A Disease of Language

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A Disease of Language is the 2005 collection of adaptations by Eddie Campbell of two of Alan Moore's performances, The Birth Caul (1999) and Snakes and Ladders (2001). It is rounded by a 2002 interview of Moore conducted by Campbell for Egomania 2 and sketches. It is published by Palmano Bennett in association with Knockabout.

Eddie Campbell Scottish comics artist and cartoonist

Eddie Campbell is a British comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Chicago. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of From Hell, Campbell is also the creator of the semi-autobiographical Alec stories collected in Alec: The Years Have Pants, and Bacchus, a wry adventure series about the few Greek gods who have survived to the present day. His graphic novel The Lovely Horrible Stuff, which playfully investigates our relationship with money, was published in July 2012 by Top Shelf Productions.

Alan Moore English writer primarily known for his work in comic books

Alan Moore is an English writer known primarily for his work in comic books including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Ballad of Halo Jones, and From Hell. Regarded by some as the best graphic novel writer in history, he is widely recognised among his peers and critics. He has occasionally used such pseudonyms as Curt Vile, Jill de Ray, and Translucia Baboon; also, reprints of some of his work have been credited to The Original Writer when Moore requested that his name be removed.

Contents

The Birth Caul

In 1995 Alan Moore had recently revealed himself as a practicing magician. He did a spoken word performance called The Birth Caul (A Shamanism of Childhood) with music by David J and Tim Perkins, which was soon released on CD. It was staged at the Old County Court in Newcastle upon Tyne on 18 November 1995.

David J British musician

David John Haskins, better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician, producer, and writer. He was the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus and Love and Rockets.

The birth caul is a portion of birth membrane sometimes present at birth covering the head, face or rarely the entire body like a veil or a second skin. It denotes that the child will possess gifts of the sixth sense, and so is often dried and kept traditionally as a protective talisman. When Moore's mother dies he finds her birth caul amongst her effects. The Caul represents a map of humanity which Moore proceeds to read from. [1] The text is essentially an examination of the connections between our language, our identity and our perceptions of the world. The narration regresses from early adulthood, adolescence, childhood, infancy and prenatal existence in a quest for a primitive consciousness existing before language. [2] Ultimately the quest aborts as there are no words to describe that consciousness.

A caul or cowl is a piece of membrane that can cover a newborn's head and face. Birth with a caul is rare, occurring in fewer than 1 in 80,000 births. The caul is harmless and is immediately removed by the physician or midwife upon delivery of the child.

In 1998, after completing From Hell , Campbell visited Moore and he played the CD recording to him. He asked Alan Moore if he could do a pictorial setting and he published it himself in 1999. [3]

<i>From Hell</i> graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

From Hell is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998 and collected in 1999.

In 2003 an essay, "Unwrapping the Birth Caul", written by English teacher and comics reviewer Marc Singer, was published in Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman.

Snakes and Ladders

This was a performance given on 10 April 1999 at Conway Hall in Red Lion Square, with music by Tim Perkins. It deals with the disinterment of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Siddal and with Arthur Machen's visionary experiences. [4]

Oliver Cromwell 17th-century English military and political leader

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader. He served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1653 until his death, acting simultaneously as head of state and head of government of the new republic.

Elizabeth Siddal Pre-Raphaelite model, poet and artist

Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall, styled and commonly known as Elizabeth Siddal, was an English artist, poet, and artists' model. Siddall was an important and influential artist and poet. Significant collections of her artworks can be found at Wightwick Manor and the Ashmolean. Siddall was painted and drawn extensively by artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, including Walter Deverell, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and her husband, Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Arthur Machen Welsh author and mystic

Arthur Machen was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His novella The Great God Pan has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror, with Stephen King describing it as "Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language." He is also well known for "The Bowmen", a short story that was widely read as fact, creating the legend of the Angels of Mons.

The Eddie Campbell adaptation was published in 2001. The CD was released in 2003.

Publication

Knockabout Comics is a UK publisher and distributor of underground and alternative books and comics. They have a long-standing relationship with underground comix pioneer Gilbert Shelton.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ The Birth Caul Archived August 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine .
  2. ↑ Marc Singer, Unwrapping the Birth Caul in Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman
  3. ↑ Eddie Campbell in A Disease of Langue introduction
  4. ↑ Annalisa Di Liddo (2005) "Transcending Comics: Crossing the Boundaries of the Medium in Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's Snakes and Ladders". International Journal of Comic Art . 7 (1). 530-545.
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