[Comics] Because Nobody Else Will

by William Patrick Butler
February 16, 2005

The Desolation hasn't happened, yet.

But it will.

"Desolation Jones" is the newest series coming from the mind of critically acclaimed writer Warren Ellis and former "Promethea" artist J.H. Williams (who co-created "Desolation Jones" with Ellis).

For those who follow Ellis' work, this will mark the return of his writing a long-running serial since his groundbreaking work on "Transmetropolitan" with artist Darick Robertson.

The comic itself isn't out, yet, but Ellis provided his script in e-mail.

So, what is "Desolation Jones" all about? You probably can’t say it better than Ellis himself:

"'Desolation Jones' bears a ‘Mature Readers’ advisory, which means, in the world of comics, that it is Not For Children because it contains such elements as Satanic Language, Marijuana Use, A Bit of The Old Ultra-Violence, and Hitler’s Porn."

Yes. He's not lying. There is indeed Hitler Porn in the first issue. We never see it, but it is the catalyst that starts the story moving. The Hitler Porn, made and occasionally acted in by Hitler himself, has been stolen, you see? It must be found. It's considered priceless to true connoisseurs in the porn community.

To find this prize, which was stolen by former agents of U.S. Army Intelligence, the owner turns to Desolation Jones.

Desolation Jones is an ex-MI6 Intelligence Agent, always wearing his only set of clothes—an orange plastic jacket cut from a hazmat suit, black t-shirt, black plastic pants and heavy boots. He also has two very important tattoos, each on the inside forearms. On the left arm is a spiky version of the Hazmat symbol. On the right arm, the words DESOLATION 01.

These tattoos mark him as the first and only survivor of the medical initiative called "The Desolation Test" preformed on him by Britain's Secret Intelligence Service.

Broken by what happened to him, he was relocated to Los Angeles, which is maintained as an open prison for ex-members of the Intelligence Communities.

As he tries to build some semblance of a life for himself, he lends his services to his secret community, taking cases that concern them, and only them, and trying to make things right.

Because nobody else will.

With art by Williams and a tight script filled with Ellis' trademarked wit and brutal detail of non-sanitized ultra-violence, "Desolation Jones" is a comic to watch.

"Desolation Jones" hits stores April 2005 from DC Wildstorm Signature.

 
posted by William Patrick Butler on 02/16/05 at 06:30 PM. [printer-friendly version]   

posted by kdawg on 02/17/05 at 08:12 PM

posted by William Patrick Butler on 02/24/05 at 05:40 PM