William Blake’s illuminated books are full of depictions of the monstrous, like Orc’s or Urizen’s... more William Blake’s illuminated books are full of depictions of the monstrous, like Orc’s or Urizen’s metamorphoses, bestial figures such as the Leviathan in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (c. 1790–1793), and the masses of blood and flesh appearing in The Book of Urizen (1794). In contrast to eighteenth-century discourses in which moral virtue and monstrosity were polar opposites, Blake’s universe is more complex and presents an ambivalent attitude towards revolution and social transgression embodied in the monstrous. The meanings of the monstrous in Blake are associated with evil in his works, where it can be understood as released or repressed energies, two types which correspond, respectively, to liberation or alienation. Via countercultural influence, Blakean antinomianism filtered down to Alan Moore, for whom the notion of evil depends on perspectives; thus, in Moore, the socially unacceptable can appear as monstrous, but monstrosity is also a mode through which to make visible the oppressive order that defines transgression as such. This article will discuss Blake and Moore’s use of visual and verbal aesthetics to identify as monstrous characters like Satan, Urizen and Orc in Blake and William Gull, Asmodeus and Cthulhu in Moore to pinpoint the meanings that underlie them and how the direct or indirect Blakean influence operates in Moore’s works. This will contribute to trace changes in their meanings as they pass from signifying energy to tyranny, from unfallenness to fallenness, or from conventional to visionary perception. This exploration will also show the changes in their mode of representation, contributing to understand the peculiarities of the Gothic side of Moore’s construction of Blakean vision. To do this, a series of parallels found in several examples from Alan Moore’s graphic novels will be analysed, especially Swamp Thing (1984–1987), where the hero is a vegetable–human hybrid; From Hell (1989–1998), where the villain acts as both mad scientist and monster in his perverse endeavour to violently reshape female desire to his will; Promethea (1999–2005), where a divine emanation is perceived as a threatening devil by opposing fundamentalists; and finally the horrible entities in Neonomicon (2010–2011) and Providence (2015–2017).
Blake’s two sides of evil—as revolution or as repression—are present in Alan Moore’s From Hell. T... more Blake’s two sides of evil—as revolution or as repression—are present in Alan Moore’s From Hell. There are two fundamental distinctions between them: although Moore uses similar criteria to judge inequalities, the magical dimension of his story is amoral, and Blake’s revolutionary evil fails to envision a satisfactory future for women. This article discusses Blake’s female allegories of revolution and male figures of domination in his early illuminated books; by contrasting them with Moore’s characters I will argue that Moore’s villain William Gull is neither punished nor rewarded by the supernatural. The distinction between the forces of revolutionary freedom and those of domination is not as clear as in Blake, as the same energies that fuel the villain allow female characters to challenge patriarchal oppression. This article explores evil as repression in Blake and in Moore, and addresses Moore’s treatment of evil and its connections with Blake’s ideas about gender.
Industrial subculture was associated from its very beginning with counterculture, alternative spi... more Industrial subculture was associated from its very beginning with counterculture, alternative spirituality and the occult. From Genesis P-Orridge, COUM Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle, influenced by artistic and esoteric ideas from William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin, industrial music has been inspired by transgressive and unorthodox spiritual beliefs and practices. In turn, industrial has acted as a vehicle to express and spread these notions by integrating them into artistic techniques and aesthetic concepts. Multitudes of references to different strains of esotericism ritualised industrial, like Skinny Puppy and its association to The Process Church, Current 93 and Coil with their Crowleyan and Thelemic themes and Zero Kama and the Left-Hand Path. Industrial black metal, a subgenre derived from the infamously anti-religious and Satanic black metal, continues the occult tendency of both industrial and black metal by adopting a more esoteric type of Satanism. This chapter will explore the esoteric concepts behind different projects, probe the interrelated networks of initial industrial esoteric associations in earlier projects and bands and their influence in the evolution of the later bands. To achieve this aim, this chapter will use Christopher Partridge’s notions of occulture, esoterrorism and industrial Paganism developed from the perspective of Religious Studies. The esoteric visual and lyrical expressions will be analysed using Jacques Attali’s Bataillean approach to the political economy of music.
Review of Superhero Comics, by Chris Gavaler
London: Bloomsbury, 2018, 357 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4742-2... more Review of Superhero Comics, by Chris Gavaler London: Bloomsbury, 2018, 357 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4742-2634-9
William Blake’s illuminated books are full of depictions of the monstrous, like Orc’s or Urizen’s... more William Blake’s illuminated books are full of depictions of the monstrous, like Orc’s or Urizen’s metamorphoses, bestial figures such as the Leviathan in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (c. 1790–1793), and the masses of blood and flesh appearing in The Book of Urizen (1794). In contrast to eighteenth-century discourses in which moral virtue and monstrosity were polar opposites, Blake’s universe is more complex and presents an ambivalent attitude towards revolution and social transgression embodied in the monstrous. The meanings of the monstrous in Blake are associated with evil in his works, where it can be understood as released or repressed energies, two types which correspond, respectively, to liberation or alienation. Via countercultural influence, Blakean antinomianism filtered down to Alan Moore, for whom the notion of evil depends on perspectives; thus, in Moore, the socially unacceptable can appear as monstrous, but monstrosity is also a mode through which to make visible the oppressive order that defines transgression as such. This article will discuss Blake and Moore’s use of visual and verbal aesthetics to identify as monstrous characters like Satan, Urizen and Orc in Blake and William Gull, Asmodeus and Cthulhu in Moore to pinpoint the meanings that underlie them and how the direct or indirect Blakean influence operates in Moore’s works. This will contribute to trace changes in their meanings as they pass from signifying energy to tyranny, from unfallenness to fallenness, or from conventional to visionary perception. This exploration will also show the changes in their mode of representation, contributing to understand the peculiarities of the Gothic side of Moore’s construction of Blakean vision. To do this, a series of parallels found in several examples from Alan Moore’s graphic novels will be analysed, especially Swamp Thing (1984–1987), where the hero is a vegetable–human hybrid; From Hell (1989–1998), where the villain acts as both mad scientist and monster in his perverse endeavour to violently reshape female desire to his will; Promethea (1999–2005), where a divine emanation is perceived as a threatening devil by opposing fundamentalists; and finally the horrible entities in Neonomicon (2010–2011) and Providence (2015–2017).
Blake’s two sides of evil—as revolution or as repression—are present in Alan Moore’s From Hell. T... more Blake’s two sides of evil—as revolution or as repression—are present in Alan Moore’s From Hell. There are two fundamental distinctions between them: although Moore uses similar criteria to judge inequalities, the magical dimension of his story is amoral, and Blake’s revolutionary evil fails to envision a satisfactory future for women. This article discusses Blake’s female allegories of revolution and male figures of domination in his early illuminated books; by contrasting them with Moore’s characters I will argue that Moore’s villain William Gull is neither punished nor rewarded by the supernatural. The distinction between the forces of revolutionary freedom and those of domination is not as clear as in Blake, as the same energies that fuel the villain allow female characters to challenge patriarchal oppression. This article explores evil as repression in Blake and in Moore, and addresses Moore’s treatment of evil and its connections with Blake’s ideas about gender.
Industrial subculture was associated from its very beginning with counterculture, alternative spi... more Industrial subculture was associated from its very beginning with counterculture, alternative spirituality and the occult. From Genesis P-Orridge, COUM Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle, influenced by artistic and esoteric ideas from William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin, industrial music has been inspired by transgressive and unorthodox spiritual beliefs and practices. In turn, industrial has acted as a vehicle to express and spread these notions by integrating them into artistic techniques and aesthetic concepts. Multitudes of references to different strains of esotericism ritualised industrial, like Skinny Puppy and its association to The Process Church, Current 93 and Coil with their Crowleyan and Thelemic themes and Zero Kama and the Left-Hand Path. Industrial black metal, a subgenre derived from the infamously anti-religious and Satanic black metal, continues the occult tendency of both industrial and black metal by adopting a more esoteric type of Satanism. This chapter will explore the esoteric concepts behind different projects, probe the interrelated networks of initial industrial esoteric associations in earlier projects and bands and their influence in the evolution of the later bands. To achieve this aim, this chapter will use Christopher Partridge’s notions of occulture, esoterrorism and industrial Paganism developed from the perspective of Religious Studies. The esoteric visual and lyrical expressions will be analysed using Jacques Attali’s Bataillean approach to the political economy of music.
Review of Superhero Comics, by Chris Gavaler
London: Bloomsbury, 2018, 357 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4742-2... more Review of Superhero Comics, by Chris Gavaler London: Bloomsbury, 2018, 357 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4742-2634-9
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understood as released or repressed energies, two types which correspond, respectively, to liberation or alienation. Via countercultural influence, Blakean antinomianism filtered down to Alan Moore, for whom the notion of evil depends on perspectives; thus, in Moore, the socially unacceptable can appear as monstrous, but monstrosity is also a mode through which to make visible the oppressive order that defines transgression as such. This article will discuss Blake and Moore’s use of visual and verbal aesthetics to identify as monstrous characters like Satan, Urizen and Orc in Blake and William Gull, Asmodeus and Cthulhu in Moore to pinpoint the meanings that underlie them and how the direct or indirect Blakean influence operates in Moore’s works. This will contribute to trace changes in their meanings as they pass from signifying energy to tyranny, from unfallenness to fallenness, or from conventional to visionary perception. This exploration will also show the changes in their mode of representation, contributing to understand the peculiarities of the Gothic side of Moore’s construction of Blakean vision. To do this, a series of parallels found in several examples from Alan Moore’s graphic novels will be analysed, especially Swamp Thing (1984–1987), where the hero is a vegetable–human hybrid; From Hell (1989–1998), where the villain acts as both mad scientist and monster in his perverse endeavour to violently reshape female desire to his will; Promethea (1999–2005), where a divine emanation is perceived as a threatening devil by opposing fundamentalists; and finally the horrible entities in Neonomicon (2010–2011) and Providence (2015–2017).
London: Bloomsbury, 2018, 357 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4742-2634-9
understood as released or repressed energies, two types which correspond, respectively, to liberation or alienation. Via countercultural influence, Blakean antinomianism filtered down to Alan Moore, for whom the notion of evil depends on perspectives; thus, in Moore, the socially unacceptable can appear as monstrous, but monstrosity is also a mode through which to make visible the oppressive order that defines transgression as such. This article will discuss Blake and Moore’s use of visual and verbal aesthetics to identify as monstrous characters like Satan, Urizen and Orc in Blake and William Gull, Asmodeus and Cthulhu in Moore to pinpoint the meanings that underlie them and how the direct or indirect Blakean influence operates in Moore’s works. This will contribute to trace changes in their meanings as they pass from signifying energy to tyranny, from unfallenness to fallenness, or from conventional to visionary perception. This exploration will also show the changes in their mode of representation, contributing to understand the peculiarities of the Gothic side of Moore’s construction of Blakean vision. To do this, a series of parallels found in several examples from Alan Moore’s graphic novels will be analysed, especially Swamp Thing (1984–1987), where the hero is a vegetable–human hybrid; From Hell (1989–1998), where the villain acts as both mad scientist and monster in his perverse endeavour to violently reshape female desire to his will; Promethea (1999–2005), where a divine emanation is perceived as a threatening devil by opposing fundamentalists; and finally the horrible entities in Neonomicon (2010–2011) and Providence (2015–2017).
London: Bloomsbury, 2018, 357 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4742-2634-9