Avatar Press

Avatar Press is a comic book publisher which has carved a niche for itself as a company that pushes the boundaries between mainstream and independent with titles such as Alan Moore's The Courtyard and Magic Words, Warren Ellis' Strange Killings and Scars, Garth Ennis and John McCrea's irreverent private eye cult classic Dicks, Joe R. Lansdale and Tim Truman's Dead Folks, David Quinn and Tim Vigil's 777: The Wrath, company owned characters such as Pandora and The Ravening, licensed hits such as Frank Miller's Robocop and Stargate SG1, and long-running anthology title Threshold, among numerous other titles -- including comics for mature readers, and other audiences. A company that has established itself as one of the cornerstones of the American indy comic book scene over the past six years, Avatar has published over 350 comic books since 1997.

Creators

Warren Ellis

Garth Ennis

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Wolfer talks Strange Killings

Here are some expanded comments from Mike Wolfer on Warren Ellis' Strange Killings: Strong Medicine saga. An abbreviated version of these appeared in the SK: Strong Medicine press release, along with some comments from Warren Ellis and artwork from the upcoming series, all of which you can find here. Warren Ellis' Strange Killings: Strong Medicine begins in June.

Collaborating with Warren Ellis on the STRANGE KILLINGS saga continues to be the most comfortable and creative working experience in which I have ever been involved in the field of comics. With each successive mini-series, the storytelling bar is raised a little bit higher and I'm sure you'll agree that in the political horror arena, STRANGE KILLINGS does not disappoint. I think that the most intriguing aspect of each series and of STRONG MEDICINE in particular is that there are elements in Warren's tales that are absolutely real. Much is fictionalized, but there is an underlying voice, beneath the magic bullets and the Body Orchards, that reminds us, "This is happening. Now. Watch the news."

William Gravel himself is real. You know him. I know him. We've passed him on the street and never guessed of the unspeakable horrors that this man has seen or participates in on a daily basis. What makes Gravel such an interesting protagonist is he is, presumably, the best there is at what he does, yet he's expendable. The bureaucracy that struggles to control Gravel's life knows that they can't live without him, yet they also know that their days are numbered simply by his existence. GCHQ will ring him up to handle the dirtiest, deniable ops imaginable and although they know that on another day they'll need his services again, his death in the line of duty would be a blessing. If you view yourself as irreplaceable, try quitting your job and see how quickly someone else is sitting at your former desk. Gravel deals with this every day. And also child murderers, mutilators, black magic, assassins, the living dead...

...It's no wonder he smokes.

-- Mike Wolfer
[ posted Saturday, March 29, 2003 10:25:34 PM | permanent link to this item ]

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