Ask Warren Ellis

Warren Ellis has agreed to be our next victim for a Slashdot Interview. Probably best known as the creator of the awesome comic Transmetropolitan. If there is a required reading list for Slashdot, Transmet has to be at the top. His recently released Mek series was the first comic I've ever read to actually mention the EFF. His Global Frequency book makes for great reading as well- #7 is out next week. Warren's work contains great dialog, observations on humanity, and is quite frankly just great SciFi. Besides comics, you can read his blog at Die Puny Humans and his weekly graphic novel evangelism column BRAINPOWERED. Standard Slashdot Interview Rules apply: Post questions here. We'll select from the highly moderated ones, and Warren will answer in a few days.

Comments

Trade Paperbacks vs Monthly Comics...

[Cyclops]

Hello,

I'm a huge Portuguese fan of yours, and I've bought many books without any other references other than having your name, up untill now without disappointments. To me you're on a place I reserve for great comic book writers. You're up there, right besides Gaiman, Moore, Morrison, etc... Your take on X-Counter was awesome (a pity nobody really stood up properly on your shoulders). It elevated the way the X-Books were going, and proved that it was worth investing in good writers (just look at the current portfolio with the exception of Austen ;)). However, most of I have written by you is in trade paperbacks of old collections.

Enough flattery. If i can have the choice, I much rather buy the tradepaperback to get a "full" storyline without the stress of waiting for the next month. It's also a much better way to appreciate story, drawing and inking.

SO, do you feel that the grwing trend from fans of prefering trade paperbacks (and Marvel seems to be grabbing a hold on that market too) is beneficial for you? If not, why? :)

Unknown Stars?

[alwayslurking]

Anyone who's continued obscurity baffles and confuses you? Writers or artists.

How about the same question for success? No need for diplomacy, what gets said on Slashdot stays on Slashdot

My Question...

[redheaded_stepchild]

If there is a required reading list for Slashdot, Transmet has to be at the top.
Since I'll obviously have to read your works to continue reading /., what would be your pick for best series/book/compilation of your work to read for the first time? (Is it really 'Transmet'?)
Also, do you feel that good artwork is as essential to a comic as a good story?

how to get the norms

[bernz]

So I've been reading comics for years. A big part of my reading is graphic literature. I've brought many people into the fold from many many walks of life. It is hard to convince people that it's not comics they hate, just superheros (as you wonderfully point out in COME IN ALONE).

Anyhow, I have generated a list that I use to get people into comics. The 5 or so graphic novels that I actually use to start people changes between people, but the rest of the list tends to remain the same. I have my list.

But someone approaches you. They've just read Kavalier and Klay or maybe they've read about Maus or read Gaiman's successful book in transition from Stephen King. Or even better, they see you reading Alias on the train and wonder what a comic book is doing saying, "Fuck." Where do YOU, Warren Ellis, point them to?

And don't say Watchmen, cause that's (fantastic) genre crud.

Re:how to get the norms

[ajs]

And don't say Watchmen, cause that's (fantastic) genre crud.

"genre crud"? I can agree with "genre", since of course everything either *has* a pigeon-hole or *makes* one. "crud"? Hmmm.... nope, I don't think so.

So, what's "genre crud" to you? Did you dislike Watchmen because it had superheroes? Because it had... well, what it had at the end that I shouldn't spoil if folks haven't read it? When I hear "genre crud" it makes me think of something that sits comfortably within the lines defined by its genre, and Watchmen certainly did anything but! Granted, today it would be somewhat difficult to explain WHY that was the case, but that's because we have different expectations now.

My feeling is that Watchmen, The Dark Knight ("DK2".... *shudder*), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sandman, Astro City, and many other titles between the mid 80s and the mid 90s helped comics readers to explore what it was that they wanted to get out of their superheroes, and each contributed to the genre significantly. Later works such as Top 10, The Authority, Planetary, Rising Stars and many others would never be mainstream (is Top Cow mainstream? Not sure) without the contributions of those books.

That's not to say there isn't "genre crud". I look at the recent Green Arrow series, and I see a few brilliant ideas up-front that Kevin Smith always brings to the table (though honestly the first few pages felt a bit like Dogma with superheroes) and then a few issues later... it starts to get bogged down in the need to introduce a villain and a "someone could die" moment right before the end of the issue.

Lucifer also started out with some interesting ideas and stalled. Granted, it made good reading for the first 15 or so issues, which is more than I can say for most sequels.

Then there's the flagship books. Every now and then I pick up a Superman or an X-Men, and I'm reminded that superhero story telling isn't always about telling a coherent story... Sometimes it's just about setting up a big fight, angsting over some "relationship issues" and beating the bad guy to a pulp while reciting a "truth and justice shall prevail" littany.

How such sorry, tired cruft could be compared to Watchmen, I'm seriously confused on.

re: Transhuman Fun

[Zonk]

Mr. Ellis, your books entertain to no end. One of the aspects of Transmet that I enjoy a great deal is your poking at the idea of transhumanism. "Uploading", the gene-fad victims, the reanimated cryo folks, all are human, but a humanity that is to one degree or less, removed from the humanity the rest of us experience.

Where do you think our species is going in regards to current "transhumanist" ideas? Do you really think someday we'll be uploading our conciousness to a digital point of view, or swapping out yesterday's cheetah spots for tiger stripes as the mood strikes us?

Thanks for your time.

What a coincidence...

[Mr. Bad Example]

...I just started rereading Transmetropolitan last night. (I want to be Spider Jerusalem when I grow up--of course, I'll have to drop about eighty pounds, laser off all my body hair, get several tattoos...on second thought, forget it.)

Anyway, my question is this: I just finished "Year of the Bastard" and I'm reading through "The New Scum", and I was struck by how many parallels there are between the election in the books and our current situation in the US--particularly the gradual loss of civil liberties, the peevish, grudge-holding President, and so on.

Did you have any kind of feeling that the country was heading in this direction at the time you were writing Transmetropolitan? Or is this just a case of art (sadly) imitating life?

Comics in their second century.

[lost_n_mad]

I have grown up on comics since the late 70's. I have seen some good writers come and go, but through out the 90's their have been some truly great writers on par with the Golden Age of comics. Thanks to a more liberal sense of media, comics have thankfully grown out of the American Comics Approval Code (the most loathe-some piece of legislation ever written in my mind).
My question is this, through out your own career, have you received the respect as a writer you have earned? Or do you tell people at cocktail parties that you write "serials"?
More or less, I am asking, do you think comics are finally getting the respect as literature they deserve, Gaiman's awards aside.

The Spectre / Allure of Hollywood

[RobotRunAmok]

Given the revival of Hollywood's interest in comic books, and the general public's interest in Hollywood's treatment of same, how much of your character/world-building is influenced by the prospect of birthing the next big Happy Meal franchise? Do you give any thought at all to how such-and-such a notion might play and/or be accepted "cinematically," when creating (ostensibly) for the comic book medium?

...oh, and Warren, even though this is SlashDot, it's OK to admit to wanting to make money -- lots and lots of money. I'm interested in knowing how that prospect influences the creation, or whether it is more meaningful (and maybe more profitable, long-term) to ignore such-and-such a trend that could make you a bajillionaire...

On the subject of writing "Fuck" in comic books...

[16977]

Warren, I used to read comic books, like most kids, before I was a teenager. But after I got older, I looked back and realized that it was embarrassingly juvenile. Most comics were basically male power fantasies with gratuitous violence and pretentious dialogue (e.g., "although that regrettable ontogenetic experience may have dissuaded you from answering, Logan..."). And that still hasn't changed. You have "adult" comics which add gratuitous sex and profanity to the gratuitous violence; webcomics and 'zines that replace the pretentious dialogue with pretentious avant-garde layout; and "socially conscious" comics that are essentially the same male power fantasies with politically incorrect villains.

The overall perception of comics is of an industry that just hasn't grown up, and comic book enthusiasts are seen as adults who can't let go of their childhood. This is especially true in the case of hentai and furry porn, where adult themes are combined with "childish" cartoon artwork. But although I have seen writing that does fit this description, I have also seen examples of competent, mature writing, and I know that comic books can be as effective a form of art as any other.

I want to know what you, having worked in the mainstream comics industry, have to say about this. If you know of comics out there that are truly great -- not amateur, pretentious, or immature -- I would like to know what they are. I gave up on comics years ago, but I have hopes that one will come along that will change my mind.

Hostile Waters

[RupW]

You acted as a creative consultant for Rage's Hostile Waters game, and it showed: the story line is a cut above anything I've played for some time and the cut-scene narratives beautifully eloquent.

How satisfying did you find the experience? (Did you get a say in the voice cast?) Would you do it again?

If you could try another media to work with, which would it be?

"What human invention gives with one hand it takes with the other: hell lies implicit in a gift of Eden."

Current status of Transmet movie / Patrick Stewart

[x mani x]

Patrick Stewart, being a vocal Transmet fan, has expressed interest in starring in a Transmet movie or TV (mini?) series. I think you too have expressed interest in this kind of venture. Basically, my questions are:

1) What is the status of a Transmet movie or TV series? Have any studios shown interest in this kind of project?

2) What kind of role would you play if such a project was green-lit? Which story arc from your comics do you think would be best suited for the big screen, or would you develop an entirely new arc?

3) Are you friends with Patrick Stewart? I honestly can't picture him either reading Transmet or portraying Spider in a movie. That being said, I would love to see how Patrick Stewart would interpret Spider Jerusalem.

I hope you continued success. To me, people like you and Garth Ennis represent the new breed of comic writers who are and will continue to expand the art just as effectively as writers such as Frank Miller and Alan Moore (who also continue to do their own thing, and are far from retirement :) ).

Cheers,
-Mani

Hellblazer

[Sandman1971]

There was a lot of controversy on your run of DC's Hellblazer, which seemed to start with the (understandably) cancelled Columbine-like issue. What can you tell us on what's happened (without naming names) and how does it affect your relationship with DC to this day?

Second question, if I may. We often hear about which book/character that a comicbook writer would love to work on. What character or book from the big 2 wouldn't you touch with a 10 foot pole?

what pop culture?

[agilliland]

Warren, you are always talking how you immerse yourself in pop culture, using it to feed your ever growing imagination. This has always troubled me because I can only take so much American Idol and Britney Spears before my brain begins turning into coal and everything ends up looking hazy violet. I'd like to hear what you mean by pop culture. What sources do you most commonly draw from now? There is practically nothing mainstream worth the effort anymore, so where else do you turn?

The end of "Transmet."

[ReverendJake]

I was always a little disappointed by the ending of "Transmetropolitan." As much as I like the thought of Spider making it out of the city and living happily in his garden, it just didn't seem to fit the tone of the series.

A friend of mine (a journalistic bastard in his own right) introduced me to Transmet, and had his own theory about the end of the series---Spider discovers, in a wave of revelation, that the city itself is a cultural reservation, and he escapes to the outside (presumably even worse than the city).

My question is this: Why end the series with such a hand-of-God maneuver? Spider's in remission, he's happy in the garden, everyone lives happily ever after? It was definitely a payoff, but not the one that I (and many other readers) had been expecting or waiting for---it seemed a little incongruous with the rest of the series.

why the U.S.?

[justins]

I've always been curious why you and Garth Ennis, among others, spend so much time with stories set in the U.S.?

If the main reason is simply that you sell more of the stuff that way (and I'm not trying to be offensive), what are some of the other reasons?