Finished reading Hicksville and loved it. Enjoyed the New Zealand themes entwined with the comic book themes. There’s several bits in it where Charles Heaphy, James Cook and Hone Heke continue their conversation about why the islands of Aotearoa-New Zealand seem to be physically drifting (read the book for more explanation), and there’s a strand to do with the maps we impose upon the land – from Heaphy’s surveying and painting, to Cook’s exploration through to Maori maps of words and stories. Heke remarks that sometimes we treat the land as a corpse, a dead thing, and that we’re surprised when our geography changes – both physically, and in some way, spiritually – as the land is actually not static. Resonated for me with Steve’s e~mergent kiwi: place, spirituality and mission.
Oh, and Horrock’s included a nice glossary at the end of the book to explain people, places and terms to the uninitiated. He quotes cartoonist Wally Wood who said,
working in comics is like sentencing yourself to a life at hard labour in solitary confinement. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t do it…and yet, I’m not sorry for where I am.
That’s very close to how feel about the PhD at the moment.
