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Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case GG, Shelf 160

(Don't) Join the Army

Comic
2013, 2013 (printed and published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Darren Cullen is an artist living and working in East London. His first, self-published comic is “an absurd and potentially offensive satire on military recruitment and the false promises that come with life (and death) in the army.”
The comic is printed on a single sheet of paper featuring a 1.48 metre Bayeux tapestry style recreation of the Iraq war. His 'deluxe edition' contains several additional pull out pieces of work, including army related flyer adverts, A3 "Action Man Battlefield Casualties" poster, a 16 page 'Make Stuff Dead' mini-comic, postcards and stickers.

Cullen uses black humour to great effect and has created a biting satire of the modern army. He uses word play to ‘subvertise’ their advertising slogans, for example the Army’s now famous strapline ‘Be the Best’ becomes ‘Be the Meat’ and the Royal Air Force is given the new line ‘Die in the Sky’. The Bayeaux tapestry is redrawn to show the death and destruction associated with Britain’s military involvement oversees including torture, bombings and displacement and an advertisement promotes a chat line for ‘real soldiers wives’. His lively illustrations and witty use of language are unapologetically controversial, yet Cullen’s comic provides a counter voice to the British Government and Armed Forces concerted efforts to boost their reputation and numbers in the wake of the unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early part of the Twentieth Century.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Title(Don't) Join the Army (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Card and ink jet printing
Brief description
'(Don't) Join the Army' satirical comic by Darren Cullen; London, 2013
Physical description
A 20 page foldable comic, hand drawn and printed in colour on a single sheet of card, the back depicts a reworked version of the Bayeaux tapestry depicting scenes from modern warfare in the Middle East, the reverse depicts comic strips and illustrations satirising adverts for the armed services.
Dimensions
  • Height: 212mm
  • Width: 148mm (Note: folded)
  • Width: 1490mm (Note: unfolded)
Production typeLimited edition
Marks and inscriptions
JOIN THE ARMY/ LIKE PRISON BUT WITH MORE FIGHTING/ STRESS! TEDIUM! MISERY/ FREE PROSTHETIC LIMBS!/ MORE REASONS TO DIE INSIDE
Associations
Summary
Darren Cullen is an artist living and working in East London. His first, self-published comic is “an absurd and potentially offensive satire on military recruitment and the false promises that come with life (and death) in the army.”
The comic is printed on a single sheet of paper featuring a 1.48 metre Bayeux tapestry style recreation of the Iraq war. His 'deluxe edition' contains several additional pull out pieces of work, including army related flyer adverts, A3 "Action Man Battlefield Casualties" poster, a 16 page 'Make Stuff Dead' mini-comic, postcards and stickers.

Cullen uses black humour to great effect and has created a biting satire of the modern army. He uses word play to ‘subvertise’ their advertising slogans, for example the Army’s now famous strapline ‘Be the Best’ becomes ‘Be the Meat’ and the Royal Air Force is given the new line ‘Die in the Sky’. The Bayeaux tapestry is redrawn to show the death and destruction associated with Britain’s military involvement oversees including torture, bombings and displacement and an advertisement promotes a chat line for ‘real soldiers wives’. His lively illustrations and witty use of language are unapologetically controversial, yet Cullen’s comic provides a counter voice to the British Government and Armed Forces concerted efforts to boost their reputation and numbers in the wake of the unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early part of the Twentieth Century.
Collection
Accession number
E.640:1-2014

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Record createdAugust 29, 2014
Record URL
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