Doktor Sleepless Vol 1: Engines of Desire
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Ivan Rodriguez
2008
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
It is not particularly original to point out that Warren Ellis has a mode of writing that owes a lot to Hunter S. Thompson (or as some of you will know him: that guy that Johnny Depp played in Fear and Loathing In Vas Vegas and/or The Rum Diary - you know: the talky misanthropic American guy with the big sunglasses and long cigarette who liked to say things like: "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me" - that guy): as styles go - it's pretty fun: there's lots of impassioned speeches that tend to rail majestically against the various and multiple injustices in the world coupled with a vitriolic disgust that spews out in all directions wrapped around a small stubborn - almost imperceptible - hope that the world could be a much much better place - if only we all tried a little harder. Oh: and not forgetting the swearing. Lots and lots and lots of swearing.
Rightly or wrongly - that's the public face of Warren Ellis that lots of people know (and love) and so you should know what I mean when I say that Doktor Sleepless is Warren Ellis at his most Warren Ellisy since Transmetropolitan and the heyday of Spider Jerusalem (and the crowd goes wild). With every character seemingly a black belt in conversational kung-fu and every speech bubble containing phrases that are probably even now gracing someone's T-Shirt: “Who’s afraid of a cartoon mad scientist?” etc.
What's it about? Well like he says here: "In Europe in 2004, 13000 kids – persons under the age of fourteen -- died due to poor water. It’s 2007 and the society does not yet understand how to operate water." I won't try and improve on that. I'll just say that if you're looking for a book that's so in love with the science-fiction possibilities in the everyday that it has it's own wiki page (see link below) and successfully manages to balance with a story that bounces along into all sorts of strange places - not excluding one of the most despairing conceptions of the universe I've ever encountered then - well - the Doktor will see you now.
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Links: Doktor Sleepless Wiki, Undress Me Robot Review #1 & #2, Comic Book Resources Interview with Warren Ellis.
Further reading: Transmetropolitan, The Filth, Planetary, The Nightly News, Gravel, Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. Thompson.
Profiles: Warren Ellis.
All comments welcome.
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