ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Mick and Ben open spooky season with Fault Lines, the debut comic anthology from Robert Cullen, the Irish animator who founded Boulder Media (Danger Mouse, Transformers, Wacky Races). It has three stories about guilt, grief and the Irish diaspora. They range from Twilight Zone strange to quietly devastating, and each turns on the moment a life breaks apart.
In this episode:
- The Vanishing Act: Blackpool, 1976. Kathleen, an Irish showgirl in Tommy Cooper’s variety act, takes work as the assistant to a sleazy magician whose disappearing trick sometimes actually works. We look at magical realism, women “staying in their places”, and an eight-page silent sequence that shows how much comics can do.
- How to Be a Ghost: Mick’s favourite. A grief story set in Canada with a twist you’ll want to reread straight away. We cover Cullen’s limited colour palette, his nine-panel grids, and why this story only works as a comic.
- Siren: Campbell, a deaf man in Glasgow, hears a sound for the first time in 40 years and is pulled back to Edinburgh and an old crime. We talk about one of the best depictions of deafness and sign language we’ve seen in a comic, and about how guilt gets handed down to the next generation.
Along the way: Cullen’s move from animation director to comic book creator, how he uses cinematic framing without making the pages feel like storyboards, and why independent Irish comics deserve your money. Spoilers throughout, so read it first. It’s a book club, not a review show.
Next time, for Halloween: A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll.
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Buy Fault Lines from your local independent comic shop.
Time Stamps:
00:00 Intro and Premise
01:13 Support Indie Comics
01:51 What Is Fault Lines
03:26 Creator Background
04:24 Vanishing Act Setup
04:32 Kathleen in Blackpool
13:34 Break In and Loss
16:47 Great Dini Offer
20:07 Snuff Magic Audience
22:43 Escape and Rescue
29:03 Story One Wrap
29:52 Story Two Tease
30:54 Follow and Subscribe
32:44 Ghost Story Twist
35:22 Comics Medium Advantage
36:43 Cullen Interview Craft
38:56 Color Memory Motifs
42:49 Crash Site Grief Reveal
44:26 Restraint Happy Ending
47:06 Siren Call Deafness
52:03 Guilt Road Trip Edinburgh
55:47 Accident Backstory Unfolds
58:20 Fault Lines Aftermath
01:00:30 Wrap Up Next Episode
Tags / keywords: Fault Lines comic, Robert Cullen, Boulder Media, Irish comics, independent comics, horror comic anthology, graphic novel review, comic book podcast, comic book club, magical realism comics, Halloween comics, spooky season, Irish podcast, Collecting Issues
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