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An illustration of a muscular yellow figure standing before a cloaked black figure at a table of weapons. The yellow figure asks, “I would like to buy a magical weapon. What about this talking sword?” The cloaked figure replies, “I am sorry, you can only afford a talking club.”

Peculiar MS Paint-style illustrations for The Talking Club

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Date
26 February 2016

With its strange textures and intricate craftsmanship, online comic The Talking Club manages to balance a retro computer feel with something far more sophisticated. The Tumblr-based tale has its roots in the fantasy genre, following the adventures of a bare-chested young thing and his talking club – literally, a club that talks. It’s all about death cloaks, daggers, muscles and brushes with mortality, yet the predominantly yellow and blue colour palette and unusual textures elevate it into something rather more beguiling. At first it seems funny, with its nostalgia inducing graphics, until it seems more sinister when we see that it’s heavily based around torture and death. Its mysterious creator was alerted to us by illustrator Martin Groch, and there’s something of a kinship here in the off-kilter ideas and otherworldly influence at play.

A four-panel yellow and black illustration on a dark blue background. The images depict a long, cylindrical object striking a surface from different angles, creating explosive bursts of lines.
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The Talking Club

Two yellow illustrations on a dark blue background. On the left, a figure stands with their back to the viewer, holding a club. On the right, one figure holds another's arms above their head, where they are bound by a chain.
Above

The Talking Club

A yellow and black illustration of four figures in a desolate, textured landscape. One figure holds their arm up with a speech bubble that reads “Help!”.
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The Talking Club

A two-panel illustration in yellow and white on a black background. In the first panel, a person stands over a fallen figure while another person hangs by their wrists from a rope. Speech bubbles read “Are you ok?” and “Yes I am. Thank you very much, without you I would be... ...WATCH OUT, BEHIND YOU!”. The second panel is a close-up of the hanging person with a shocked expression.
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The Talking Club

A yellow and black illustration on a blue background, arranged as a comic strip. A figure is shown in a series of panels, falling and then repeatedly rising and falling in a cycle.
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The Talking Club

A yellow line illustration on a black background shows two figures facing each other on a rugged landscape. One figure raises a club while a speech bubble above them reads “Please stop!”.
Above

The Talking Club

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About the Author

Emily Gosling

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Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

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