They are strange people, with an unhealthy and almost religious, even zealous, respect and devotion to the show, especially to Mr. Punch.īoth also describe the traditional puppeteers who tell the story. Punch also murders a doctor, a police officer, a crocodile, and the Devil himself I assume there are variations performed by different people, but both novels tell the same basic story about the murderous Mr.

Punch is a sinner: a violent, horny, drunken lout who is clever enough and evil enough to get the better of everyone else in the show – if by “get the better” we mean “beat to death with a stick,” which is basically what Punch ends up doing to everyone, including Judy, who attacks Punch after he throws their baby off the stage to its presumed puppety death. So the basic plotline, if you can call it that, of the traditional Punch and Judy puppet show follows the story of Punch. Both are disturbing because Punch and Judy? That’s one messed up story. That one was disturbing because it’s post-apocalyptic, and written in a language that is not quite English and is very difficult this one is disturbing because it’s Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.

This is the second book I’ve read ( Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban was the first) that focused on the traditional Punch and Judy show. The Comical Tragedy or The Tragical Comedy of Mr.

The comical tragedy of mr punch