"Nothing-Men"
is a Surrealist super-hero satire that takes place in the small sleepy
Hertfordshire town of Potters Bar.
The
comic follows many of the town's absurd residents whose boring, mundane
and unexciting lives are suddenly turned upside-down with the arrival
of a mysterious nocturnal vigilante: “The Hertfordshire Hero”.
“Nothing-Men”
is a scathingly frank and amusing portrait of a media-driven, fame-obsessed
and money-motivated society primarily made up of middle-class white
male idiots.
The
narrative's complex web of characters interweave and overlap in strange
and dark situations and many tongue-in-cheek (but loving) nods and winks
to the super hero and comic book genres are made throughout.
"Nothing-Men"
utilises a wide range of unconventional materials that you wouldn't
usually find in a comic. These include acrylic, oil, gouache, water
colour, poster, enamel, emulsion, glass and spray paints; pens; pencils;
fine-liners; graphic markers; biros; inks; an array of different paper,
card and cardboard; photographs; chalks; charcoals; conte and wax crayons;
oil pastels; coloured pencils; washes; masking, gaffer and electrical
tape; tissue-paper; crepe-paper; newspaper; wallpaper; sandpaper; maps;
tea and coffee staining; bubble-wrap; tin-foil; cling-film; beading;
acetate; stencils; tipex; bleach and photographed mannequins.
The
comic also incorporates all kinds of found/everyday objects
including clothes, keys, masks, playing cards, wood, shaving-foam, alcohol,
fencing, packaging, used painting palettes, signage, fruit, note-books,
drawing-pins, circuitry, wires, money, pills, plasters, bandages, safety-pins,
string, rope, chains, flowers, plants and dead insects.
Throughout "Nothing-Men", a range of different artistic techniques and
appraoaches are employed, these include: drawing, painting, collage,
photography, photomontage, assemblage, printing, relief, textiles, computer
manipulation, digital imaging, spin art, chiaroscuro, grattage, declomania,
beading, Rayographs, frottage and fumage.
The
comic also contains pages either in the style of, or as homage to various
art movements including Cubism (both Analytical and Synthetic), Expressionism,
Constructivism, Suprematism, Pop Art, Art Brut and Abstract Expressionism.
All
of the words and pictures in "Nothing-Men" are by Mark Garvey.
The
"Nothing-Men" comic also features some of the lyrics from
the song "Nothing-Men Theme" written by Bill Hooper of the
band Tasha Fights Tigers.
