Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...
Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...
Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...
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B<strong>in</strong>gham 114<br />
of how. As the qu<strong>in</strong>tessential embodiment of the desensitized, prideful capitalist,<br />
Sunderland has a vested <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> discover<strong>in</strong>g an answer though. S<strong>in</strong>ce L<strong>in</strong>da was killed<br />
shortly after her husband's disappearance, the lab exhumed her rema<strong>in</strong>s to see if a similar<br />
change had occurred. They were baffled to discover it had not, and thus ruled out<br />
exposure to the formula as the s<strong>in</strong>gle determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g factor for prompt<strong>in</strong>g such a happen<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Understandably, the mystery surround<strong>in</strong>g this case extends past the scientific realm and<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the level of metaphysics regard<strong>in</strong>g death as a f<strong>in</strong>ite marker for existence.<br />
The title of this issue, “The Anatomy Lesson,” plays with the expectations of<br />
comics as a medium for juvenile readers while simultaneously express<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
about the content of the publication. Anyone pick<strong>in</strong>g up the piece for the first time could<br />
easily assume it will have a biological focus. Though the work is not an <strong>in</strong>structional or<br />
factual pamphlet, it is educationally valuable. It's a visceral exercise <strong>in</strong> engag<strong>in</strong>g<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>ation and generat<strong>in</strong>g questions about the ethic of bodies as enforced by<br />
communities and the accepted correctness of justified kill<strong>in</strong>g. All <strong>in</strong> all, body ethic deals<br />
with the prevention of harm. This ethic addresses a spectrum of harm rang<strong>in</strong>g from the<br />
relatively <strong>in</strong>nocuous, where self-image might be damaged or m<strong>in</strong>or <strong>in</strong>jury susta<strong>in</strong>ed, to<br />
the extreme, where acts of brutal violence, rape, and torture would fall. An establishment<br />
of body ethic and collective agreement upon its adherence seems like a difficult task to<br />
accomplish s<strong>in</strong>ce there is so much variation from one person to the next. However, this<br />
doesn't mean that an attempt at consensus should not be made. The desire to vocalize<br />
concerns for violations of body ethic comes <strong>in</strong> some ways from fear of the <strong>in</strong>evitability of<br />
death. Support<strong>in</strong>g this assumption and further particulariz<strong>in</strong>g the scope of the work is the<br />
image on which the title is overlaid. “The Anatomy Lesson” is written on the torso of a