Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...

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Bingham 70 decisions which resulted in deaths. In ways, he now sees his actions as the equaling or leveling forces of justice. The second grid which follows the previously described illustrates this perception in four quadrants. The first shows Rick's torso, a glimpse of his finger, and face cloaked in shadow from a low angle (Figure 41). Tyreese had asked him what he had done in the panel before, but Rick can only answer with an account of Thomas' actions: “He killed them.” The lettering has returned to normal size and the speech balloons are no longer distorted, so he seems to have calmed down some. The second panel shows an extreme close up of Rick's severely damaged, blood-soaked open right hand. One of Thomas' teeth appears to be lodged in the second knuckle of his ring finger and his palm is blacked out by shadow. The third panel is exemplary of the eclipsing nature violence has upon character (Figure 42). An extended shot shows Rick standing over Thomas' body against a virtually plain background. Rick's face is totally blacked out though. Finally, we see a close-up of Thomas's face; it is completely disfigured. As opposed to the attacks perpetrated by the zombies, this double homicide has tested the vague social contract holding the group together. It forces the group to think long-term and construct rules for their community. A microcosmic example of society, the members must come to a conclusion about how to serve justice. The moment is pivotal for Rick, whose word holds most weight based upon his recognition as leader (Figure 43). The punishment he decrees is clearly retributive: “You kill, you die” (Figure 44). He has already broken this law as the group's leader; but for a community desiring vindication, this inconsistency does not seem to matter. Lori is the only person who contests the imposition of capital punishment and even she backs down. Rick then
Bingham 71 sentences Thomas to hang (Figure 45). Since Lori had accused Dexter vehemently and was wrong, it seems as though she now has more reservations about making condemning judgments so quickly. The others, however, do not share her sentiments. The method of execution which Rick voices speaks for a vengeful desire. It suggests a public spectacle where others can witness the transformation the condemned man forced others to undergo. Though his cause of death will differ from the girls', Thomas will reanimate too. Effectively he'll have to be killed twice; once for Susie and again for Rachel. Apart from setting an example, the act could provide the community with a form of closure. The punishment puts violence to a purpose of erasure, which is in its essence the same the homicide: “Violence thus has no hesitation in putting itself in the service of the Good, specifically of a Good—or, if one prefers, a Truth—that even claims to benefit the victims, defenseless and random, of that very violence” (Cavarero 85). Violence is intensely personal; for this reason it is hard to imagine Rick or any of the other affected members of the group wanting to leave the fate of the killer to chance. If seeing is equivalent to believing, certainty of death can only be guaranteed by sight. Yet violence further complicates the ability to see situations from an objective or detached perspective; and that stance is essential for making correct ethical decisions. As James Elkin's notes, “I do not focus on anything that is not connected in some way with my own desires and actions” (Object 22). Therefore, violence distances individuals from ethical ideals rather than restoring order after its interruption. Though Rick's decree isn't exactly an eye for an eye, it is similar in that it is an erasure of perspective. As I read his story through facial expressions and body language as well as letters, I can't help but think of Elkins's argument that drawings provide viewers a chance to consider what is
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Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants:
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Bingham 3 I owe an extreme debt of
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Bingham 5 Introduction My project e
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Bingham 7 personal growth through t
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Bingham 9 beliefs. Seeing a possibl
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Bingham 11 zombie exceeds death as
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Bingham 13 the validity of singular
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Bingham 15 Chapter I: The History o
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Bingham 17 Swamp Thing. According t
Page 19 and 20: Bingham 19 instructional profession
Page 21 and 22: Bingham 21 Another artist who worke
Page 23 and 24: Bingham 23 action into panels (Cohn
Page 25 and 26: Bingham 25 sponsorship. He designed
Page 27 and 28: Bingham 27 Charles Moulton. Marston
Page 29 and 30: Bingham 29 Frederick Wertham prompt
Page 31 and 32: Bingham 31 “graphic novel” was
Page 33 and 34: Bingham 33 what is or isn't a graph
Page 35 and 36: Bingham 35 Works Cited Benton, Mike
Page 37 and 38: Bingham 37 Chapter II: Transfusion
Page 39 and 40: Bingham 39 conflict or war. This ex
Page 41 and 42: Bingham 41 and dismember other bodi
Page 43 and 44: Bingham 43 bodies to pieces. (Cavar
Page 45 and 46: Bingham 45 thus creating an affecti
Page 47 and 48: Bingham 47 margins. Unlike the four
Page 49 and 50: Bingham 49 implicates the role of o
Page 51 and 52: Bingham 51 demonstrates that he is
Page 53 and 54: Bingham 53 Amy (Figure 10 & 11). Th
Page 55 and 56: Bingham 55 being who has done nothi
Page 57 and 58: Bingham 57 transgressions, this ima
Page 59 and 60: Bingham 59 Returning to the full pa
Page 61 and 62: Bingham 61 order” (200). The prem
Page 63 and 64: Bingham 63 possession, selling, ste
Page 65 and 66: Bingham 65 with yourself? Not me. I
Page 67 and 68: Bingham 67 immediate proximity of t
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Page 75 and 76: Bingham 74 Works Cited Berger, Arth
Page 77 and 78: Bingham 76 APPENDIX A Fig. 1. Openi
Page 79 and 80: Bingham 78 Fig. 7. Fig. 8.
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Page 101 and 102: Bingham 101 Chapter III: Speaking o
Page 103 and 104: Bingham 103 preserved, yet not enti
Page 105 and 106: Bingham 105 increasingly more discu
Page 107 and 108: Bingham 107 Wrightson only drew the
Page 109 and 110: Bingham 109 by the inexorable progr
Page 111 and 112: Bingham 111 appeared. Though the tw
Page 113 and 114: Bingham 113 General Avery Carlton S
Page 115 and 116: Bingham 115 dismembered body which
Page 117 and 118: Bingham 117 sheltered from or not e
Page 119 and 120: Bingham 119 authority. This subtle,
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Bingham 121 the center of the page
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Bingham 123 affect. Apart from this
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Bingham 125 acts of fictional chara
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Bingham 127 resemblance, their comp
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Bingham 129 experience. The creator
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Bingham 131 justified. What follows
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Bingham 133 present to witness it t
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Bingham 135 If we read each charact
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Bingham 137 able to issue an urgent
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1 According to comics historian Rob
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Bingham 140 - Interview by David Ro
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