Another Awesome Trailer for Warren Ellis’s Gun Machine

Last week I posted this fantastic trailer for Warren Ellis’ new book, Gun Machine. It is a brilliant collaboration between Jim Batt, Ben Templesmith, and Wil Wheaton. This week a new trailer was released by independent filmmaker and photographer Clayton Cubitt. It’s takes a much more expressionistic approach than the first trailer did, but it is quite chilling and perhaps even more intriguing.

Vulture.com has the exclusive release and you can watch the video here. Enjoy!

An Awesome Trailer for a New Book by Warren Ellis

A few days ago Mulholland Books released Gun Machine, a new novel by Warren Ellis. Here’s the premise, it sounds pretty awesome:

Warren Ellis reimagines New York City as a puzzle with the most dangerous pieces of all: GUNS.

After a shootout claims the life of his partner in a condemned tenement building on Pearl Street, Detective John Tallow unwittingly stumbles across an apartment stacked high with guns. When examined, each weapon leads to a different, previously unsolved murder. Someone has been killing people for twenty years or more and storing the weapons together for some inexplicable purpose.

Confronted with the sudden emergence of hundreds of unsolved homicides, Tallow soon discovers that he’s walked into a veritable deal with the devil. An unholy bargain that has made possible the rise of some of Manhattan’s most prominent captains of industry. A hunter who performs his deadly acts as a sacrifice to the old gods of Manhattan, who may, quite simply, be the most prolific murderer in New York City’s history.

Warren Ellis’s body of work has been championed by Wired for its “merciless action” and “incorruptible bravery,” and steadily amassed legions of diehard fans. His newest novel builds on his accomplishments like never before, announcing Ellis as one of today’s most daring thriller writers. This is twenty-first century suspense writ large. This is GUN MACHINE.

I haven’t read Ellis’s other acclaimed novel, Crooked Little Vein, but I am a huge fan of his comic book work (you can read my piece on his steampunk graphic novella, Aetheric Mechanics here). I was intrigued by Gun Machine’s concept when I first heard about it but this trailer may have inspired me to knock it up a few rungs on my “to read” list.

I’m excited by the recent resurgence of collaborative music videos and trailers and this one features some serious talent. In addition to Ellis’s writing, we are treated to beautiful illustrations by Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night, Wormwood), narration from Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: TNG, Big Bang Theory), and animation by Jim Batt (whose video collaboration with Molly Crabapple and Kim Boekbinder I featured here).

Steampunk Files #2: Aetheric Mechanics by Warren Ellis

Steampunk, in comics perhaps more than in any other medium, has been known to experiment with a type of postmodern literary fantasy in which classic characters and literary tropes are reimagined or explored, usually with a wink and a nod, in alternate version of Victorian London. The most well-known and well-loved example of this is probably Alan Moore and Kevin O’neill’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Equally exceptional, but less widely read, Warren Ellis and Gianluca Pagliarani’s 2008 graphic novella, Aetheric Mechanics reads as an interesting companion piece to Moore’s League series. Both concepts are primarily concerned with the fictional landscape composed primarily of late 19^th century and early 20^th century English literature, and how that landscape interacts with and informs our conception and perception of reality. However, the two texts address the issue from significantly different perspectives. While Moore uses that landscape to create an original universe, radically different from its Victorian roots as it strives to revise and also pay tribute to aspects of the literature while creating a narrative that, in itself, reflects the evolution of fictional ideas and values over time. Ellis, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with the illusion that the fictional landscape represents.

Aetheric Mechanics quickly immerses us a sprawling retro-futuristic version of turn of the century London. Our experience is grounded through the lens of Watcham, a doctor returned home after serving during the United Kingdom’s war against Ruritania, who also marvels at the many changes that have occurred to the London he knew during his sojourn. When we are introduced to the character of Sax Raker, who appears to be an amalgam of Sherlock Holmes and Sexton Blake, we come to recognize that Watcham is in an analog for Holmes’s Watson. When the two characters meet after their extended separation due to the war, Raker wastes no time before filling Watcham in on his latest case: “the man who wasn’t there.”  The mystery begins to unfold as a mechanically crafted homage to the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, however, we begin to learn that the entire concept of the case, a murderer who is seen to flicker in and out of existence while committing his crimes, is merely a McGuffin or a red herring for the real story being told, and the ultimate revelation about the double meaning of the case name.

It is tempting to go into more detail about the plot but it would be impossible to do so without divulging a hefty pile of spoilers, suffice it to say, it will appeal to fans of steampunk concepts, Sherlock Holmes style mysteries, and general sci-fi alike. That being said, there is a part of me that would refrain from placing this comic directly under the steampunk umbrella. This is because steampunk generally locates most of its interest in the actual functioning of the anachronistic technology and, though such technology abounds in this narrative, it carries little agency, it is, rather, an aesthetic conceit. The real discussion centers on modern technology and the way that it shapes our conception of the world – and how tenuous and flimsy that conception of the world can be. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it a commentary on contemporary steampunk culture, rather than a work of steampunk itself. As such, however, it is a very compelling and playful read.

Warren Ellis has written a significant amount of other steampunk works, both before and after Aetheric Mechanics. Steampunk tropes occasionally made its way into his work on Planetary and his more recent Captain Swing is a full on steampunk airship pirate adventure. He has also explored various dieselpunk and retro-futuristic concepts in Ignition City, Anna Mercury and Freakangels. In all of these examples alternative and anachronistic technologies play a much more central role in the narrative while serving political subtexts to greater or lesser degrees. Despite the backdrop of war and politics in Aetheric Mechanics, it is not as directly political as these other works, however, I decided it would be a more fitting text to look at in this column because it provides a unique perspective on our cultural infatuation with turn of the century London and pushes the boundaries of what we may conceive to be the capabilities of the steampunk genre.

Notes on Webcomics: Crossed, Freakangels and Lady Sabre

                I want to take a post to discuss webcomics – their potential, the current shortfalls, and some of the better professional examples out there right now. First, I think it’s important to distinguish between digital comics and webcomics. Digital comics merely refers to the digital production or distribution of comics in general, while webcomics is really its own medium. That being said, the medium has really not developed very far as of yet while the digital production of comics hasn’t seen the level of success that the digital production and distribution of other creative media has. The most interesting, and successful online comics exist in a space somewhere in between the digital production of traditional comics and the realization of a new medium.

DC and Marvel have each established digital sales campaigns, and though small efforts have been made to create digital only comics, the main push has been to make their print line of comics available to be read on e-readers and tablets. I won’t hide my bias; I can see how this would appeal to a certain demographic of readers, but I still have trouble paying money for anything in a solely digital format. As someone who has experienced multiple computer crashes and broken phones, I just don’t find the transaction acceptable. Many readers undoubtedly feel different; however I have had conversations with many who feel the same way. This is a tough obstacle for these publishers to overcome. They have compensated by offering print/digital combo packs, a tactic that’s been employed by record companies offering vinyl/digital combos for some time now. However the latter combos basically come at the same price while the comic version usually costs about 2 dollars more. I’m merely speculating about the costs involved, but I think a main difference between the two industries is that the digital production of music has been in place for years; in fact, the vinyl version of an album is pressed off of a digital copy. There are very little added costs. Conversely, print comics need to be reformatted into a consumer friendly digital version after production and there is no single source sales venue like music has in iTunes. Digital comics in this vain are really a financial rather than creative innovation, albeit one still finding its feet.

Webcomics have the potential to redefine the medium. In his book, Reinventing Comics, Scott Mccloud discusses some of the ways that publication via the internet could potentially redefine the parameters of comic creation. Panel layouts are no longer confined to a standard size page, hyperlinks can be embedded in order to create interactive reading experiences, and images can be zoomed in and out. All of this would rewrite the rulebook and allow creators to expand the way they use the tools and techniques of the trade. I’m sure there are some of these out there, but I haven’t found them.

What I have found are a plethora of serial style comics, both professional and amateur, traditionally created or digitally created, released for free via online sources. The quality varies wildly, and much of the amateur stuff tends towards the comedic and away from the dramatic or experimental, and though there is nothing wrong with this, it’s not really my cup of tea. For my money, there are three free, professional quality webcomics that represent the best of what’s available right now. Two are from Avatar Press:  Warren Ellis’s recently concluded Freakangels and the latest addition to the Crossed franchise, Wish You Were Here. Another is the constantly improving creator owned and self-published series by Greg Rucka and Rick Burchett, Lady Sabre and the Pirates of the Ineffable Aether. These projects vary in execution, but they all operate along the same lines – short, consistent installments of an ongoing serialized story released 1 or 2 times a week. If they make money they do it through a combination of advertising, merchandising, and the print release of collected volumes. The fact that collected printed editions are still being sold, and perhaps necessary for a profit, should be a good indicator of the current state of the medium.

Freakangels ran weekly for several years and was collected in 5 trades. It is a beautifully illustrated tale of a group of psychokinetic teens in post-apocalyptic London with a steampunk bite to it. It was released consistently 6 pages at a time and divided into 5 self-contained story arcs.              Warren Ellis and co. always did a good job merchandising, keeping the store loaded with t-shirts, tote bags, and more with original art and logos from the series. It reads differently from a traditional comic only in that it is paced to transmit a complete idea, if not a complete story in 6 pages. There is a consistency of aesthetic that is preserved throughout, 6 even panels per page, and briskly paced.

Avatar is in the process of filling the void left after the finale of Freakangels with an online component to their Crossed franchise entitled Wish You Were Here. For those uninitiated, Crossed is an over the top, often disturbing, always gory, spin on the zombie paradigm in which most of humanity has succumbed to a plague that turns them into sadistic, amoral, madmen. This ongoing webcomic differs a little from the other Crossed stories because it follows a group of people in a fortified island stronghold rather than on the run across some harsh and unforgiving landscape. It’s not as unique as Freakangels was but it delivers all of the goods that the fans of the franchise have come to expect. As a webcomic it doesn’t do anything too unique. Each installment is on the longer side for webcomics, and each episode is fairly self-contained. Nothing seems terribly different between this reading experience and that of print comics, other than the speed of production and delivery, and of course the fact it’s free.

  The final subject is the pure steampunk fantasy, Lady Sabre and the Pirates of the Ineffable Aether. This one is released biweekly but in shorter installments, usually about 1-2 pages at a time. I think this series is more interesting as an exercise in online publishing, mainly from a writing standpoint. There was an interesting interview with author Greg Rucka in Steampunk Magazine #8 (reviewed on this blog here: http://entropicworlds.com/2012/04/25/explore-the-past-and-celebrate-the-future-with-steampunk-magazine-8/) in which he discusses the challenges of writing in a short, biweekly format. He explained that he was disappointed with how the first chapter reads as daily individual stories. He’s right; when you read individual pages from the first few weeks they feel disjointed and incomplete, as if you were reading a full comic one page at a time. It would be absurd to attempt to tell a complete story in a single page on an ongoing basis, but still, each page must contain a complete idea, or characterization, or reveal – something to make it interesting as a complete work, but also a fluid piece of a whole, rather than an episode of a serial.  From this perspective it is interesting to watch the writing improve in this way as the series progresses.

This is merely a sampling of webcomics, but I know that many more offerings of similar quality must exist out there. Please post links to your favorites, professional and amateur alike, in the comments section so that we can all see and support what’s out there. I’d love to use this platform to highlight more of the best that’s out there in the webcomic world, and hopefully to share some truly innovative examples.