Warren Ellis

So it's been a shade over 3 months since I stepped away from this blog. I wasn't sure if I'd come back. I haven't exactly missed it. I've been hiking a lot, hitting the gym, and just trying to keep busy. Life isn't that much different for me. I mean, it's only been three months. It's not like I went to the moon or anything.

Why am I back? What's so important that I am ready to sit back down behind the keyboard and torture all the people who stumble upon this blog by accident with my disjointed thoughts and borderline unreadable sentence structure? Well, the title of this post should provide a hint. Go ahead, take a second to move your eyes a few inches higher and look. I'll wait.

Done? Good. Now, I still read a lot of comics. It's a sickness. I try to cut back, but then I feel understimulated. My brain craves the whole sensory experience of reading a comic. It's not just about the art and the story. It's also about the feel of the book in my hand and the anticipation that comes with the turn of every page. I also love the variety of stories that are out there. The best thing I ever did regarding comics was to branch out beyond superheroes.

I don't reread my individual issues too much. Occasionally, I reread a story arc once I've collected it all. It's just a pain to dig them out of my long boxes. What I do reread, and often, are my graphic novels and trade paperbacks. I bring one to work with me every day to read during my lunch break. As such, and considering that I love the diversity of the art from and also don't want to read the same ten stories over and over again, my collection is growing REALLY fast.

I don't tend to follow creators like a lot of fans seem to do. My reading habits are actually quite simple, almost insultingly so. I just look for a story that might be interesting. That's all. If I read a bad story... Oh well, that's life. I forget about it and move on to the good ones. There's enough in life to be angry or cynical about, without dragging my leisure activities into the mud. Enough of that though, it's time to get to the point.

Now, I have been aware of Warren Ellis for most of the time since I returned to the comic-reading population a few years ago. I have expressed my love of Nextwave:Agents of H.A.T.E. a number of times in the past. I'm even working on the coloring book variant of #5. (Still. That is yet another project that has been temporarily shelved.) I loved Thunderbolts and Crecy. I wasn't a fan of these books because of Ellis though. I just liked the stories. Then I read Planetary.

Planetary, for those who are still reading and don't know what I'm talking about, is a series of stories about a group of superpowered archeologists who investigate unusual occurances and individuals, many of which bear striking resemblances to stories and characters from popular fiction. Don't let my bland desciption throw you off. Planetary is as good as it gets. Every story stands on it's own, and yet contributes to a much larger one. I hate to use this comparison, even though I loved the show, but think of how The X-Files was structured and you'll understand.

I won't go into a whole synopsis of the book and its cast, but the imagination and scope on display just blew my mind. The John Cassaday art was dazzling, but it was Ellis' story that hooked me. I started reading more sci-fi comics, but my itch wasn't being scratched. It was Ellis. It had to be.

The next Ellis book I picked up was Ocean. This is a science fiction story that deals with the discovery of life on the moon Europa, which circles the planet Jupiter. The thought is that there is an ocean of liquid water underneath the icy crust of Europa, possibly heated by hydrothermal vents or by its proximity to Jupiter itself. In the story, which is set about 100 years in the future, a large number of coffins and a cache of weapons are discovered in this ocean and U.N. weapons inspector Nathan Kane is sent to investigate.

The story isn't as heady as Planetary, but it doesn't fail to astonish. Once more, without going into great detail, the ideas on display just slay me. The reason behind the caskets being there is so logical and well thought-out that you can't help but wonder if Ellis knows something we don't.

My only problem was the ending. It just ends. Just like that. Out of nowhere. Poof! It was like watching an episode of Star Trek:The Next Generation. You know what I mean. They spend the whole episode dealing with whatever threat has befallen them. Then, in the last ten minutes of the show, someone is like "Oh yeah. Let's send a tachyon pulse through the reflector dish." And that's it. They shake it off and head to Rigel 5. The end. It may sound like a criticism, but I don't see it that way. I wanted MORE story, at least another issue's worth. So I looked for more Ellis.

Next up was Ministry of Space. An alternate history story that ponders what would happen if Great Britain was the first country to make it into space, Ministry was another fantastic tale. I was seeing a pattern develop: Ellis+science fiction= gold. I do have to say though, this story has the same "problem" that Ocean had, namely a very abrupt ending. What's up with that? I needed to read more.

If there are any people still reading who know Ellis' work, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I should read Transmetropolitan. That's the book that I guess put him on the map. Well, I did read volume one a little more than a year ago. It didn't do much for me. It's an edgy book and I'm not always in the mood for edgy. I prefer the more deliberate Ellis stories to the frantic ones. Still, I'm sure I'll go back to it one day. In the meantime, I needed to find more books.

Since I wasn't really looking for superhero stuff, the books were getting harder to come by. I eventually got Black Summer. It's a superhero book, but not Marvel or DC. This was another edgy book, very dark and violent. It wasn't a bad story, but I was craving more science fiction and a deconstruction of superheroes wasn't cutting it. I will say that this story's ending wasn't as jarring. It felt right.

I started getting frustrated looking for more and turned to Amazon.com. I try not to do a lot of online shopping as it is just too convenient and easy to get carried away, but I needed more. I got two more gems: Global Frequency and Orbiter. I'll tale them in order.

Global Frequency is about a semi-secret civilian organization comprised of 1001 members, each of whom has a different specialty. They might be an athlete or a soldier or a scientist. Led by Miranda Zero, they take care of problems that government or the police either can't or won't deal with. This story is responsible for introducing me to the totally insane idea of kinetic harpoons. Check the link. Think about how crazy that sounds and then think that somewhere, someone is actually trying to make these fucking things. That's some serious mad scientist kind of shit.

That leaves us with Orbiter. Aaaaah, Orbiter. In this story, manned space flight ends when a space shuttle disappears without a trace. Ten years later it returns, covered in skin and with only one member of the crew remaining, alive and seemingly insane. A group of experts is assembled to piece together what happened and the story just gets deeper and deeper. This is my favorite of all of the Ellis books I read.

It hits all of the right notes. It's a space story with a solid, but not totally far-fetched scientific base. The characters all fit and there's a sense of wonder around the story. I got it just five days ago and have already read it three times over. The ending is a little sudden, but when the body of the story is this involving that almost seems like nitpicking.

I know Mr. Ellis has a number of ongoing books on the stands, mostly for Avatar. I'm trade waiting those. I'm also waiting for him to get moving with Newuniversal. It's been forever since the last issue!! I'm always looking for more and would love suggestions from anyone who is still reading this. So?