Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Immanentize the Eschaton
Cameron Summers
Issue date: 9/24/08 Section: Entertainment
"Where's my F*cking Jetpack? You owe me a flying car. Where's my vacation on the moon? Where's my robot lover? Where's my alien dancing girls? Where's the future we were promised?"
These questions and more are posed by Warren Ellis in his fascinating new work. First, though, a bit of background:
Last semester, I reviewed "Transmetropolitan", the science-fiction masterpiece by Warren "Internet Jesus" Ellis. Recently, Ellis has returned to the monthly comic format with "Doktor Sleepless."
To compare the two, I want you to realize that Ellis used Transmet, as it is sometimes called, to create and popularize a new kind of hero--a clever misanthrope trying to shock you out of apathy. With "Doktor Sleepless," Ellis is showing us a new kind of villain, dealing with the same problem.
He uses an old story, though: A mysterious stranger comes to town and inspires the marginalized and the lost to seize power. He gives them the way, the means and the reason to topple the social order and drive society forward. The questions, as always, are "Why?" and "How?"
To the "Why" and "How," which he plays with brilliantly, Ellis adds "Who?" Ellis and his artist, Ivan Rodriguez, play with questions of identity and authenticity.
John Reinhardt returns to Heavenside, an American city not twenty years in the future. He calls himself "Doktor Sleepless" and wastes no time in seizing a position of influence in Heavenside's most populous counterculture, the Grinders--a group of DIY cyborgs and social rejects.
The authorities in Heavenside are rightfully worried about this.
John Reinhardt is an unparalleled genius.
John Reinhardt is the inheritor of a vast fortune.
John Reinhardt has been locked in Cell 23 of Heavenside's mental asylum for three years.
And he's still there.
Doktor Sleepless is outside. He pollutes the airwaves with his radio show broadcasted from a mansion overlooking Heavenside. Telling stories. Philosophizing. Playing Music. Preparing the Grinders to destroy the government of Heavenside.
These questions and more are posed by Warren Ellis in his fascinating new work. First, though, a bit of background:
Last semester, I reviewed "Transmetropolitan", the science-fiction masterpiece by Warren "Internet Jesus" Ellis. Recently, Ellis has returned to the monthly comic format with "Doktor Sleepless."
To compare the two, I want you to realize that Ellis used Transmet, as it is sometimes called, to create and popularize a new kind of hero--a clever misanthrope trying to shock you out of apathy. With "Doktor Sleepless," Ellis is showing us a new kind of villain, dealing with the same problem.
He uses an old story, though: A mysterious stranger comes to town and inspires the marginalized and the lost to seize power. He gives them the way, the means and the reason to topple the social order and drive society forward. The questions, as always, are "Why?" and "How?"
To the "Why" and "How," which he plays with brilliantly, Ellis adds "Who?" Ellis and his artist, Ivan Rodriguez, play with questions of identity and authenticity.
John Reinhardt returns to Heavenside, an American city not twenty years in the future. He calls himself "Doktor Sleepless" and wastes no time in seizing a position of influence in Heavenside's most populous counterculture, the Grinders--a group of DIY cyborgs and social rejects.
The authorities in Heavenside are rightfully worried about this.
John Reinhardt is an unparalleled genius.
John Reinhardt is the inheritor of a vast fortune.
John Reinhardt has been locked in Cell 23 of Heavenside's mental asylum for three years.
And he's still there.
Doktor Sleepless is outside. He pollutes the airwaves with his radio show broadcasted from a mansion overlooking Heavenside. Telling stories. Philosophizing. Playing Music. Preparing the Grinders to destroy the government of Heavenside.
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