Apparat Singles Group
"Apparat Singles Group", a.k.a. "Apparat", is a fictional comic book line and a label used to publish four one-shot comic books created by Warren Ellis and published by Avatar Press.
| Apparat Singles Group | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Created by | Warren Ellis | ||
| Publication information | |||
| Publisher | Avatar Press | ||
| |||
| Formats | Original material for the series has been published as a set of one-shot comics. | ||
| Publication date | November – December 2004 | ||
| Number of issues | 4 | ||
| Creative team | |||
| Artist(s) | Juan Jose Ryp (Angel Stomp Future) Carla Speed McNeil (Frank Ironwine) Laurenn McCubbin (Quit City) Jacen Burrows (Simon Spector) | ||
| Colorist(s) | Greg Waller (Frank Ironwine & Simon Spector) | ||
| Editor(s) | William A. Christensen | ||
| Reprints | |||
| Collected editions | |||
| Apparat: The Singles Collection | ISBN 1-59291-032-7 | ||
Publication history
The premise behind the line was that each one-shot represented a first issue of a comic published in an alternate reality where pulp stories made a direct transition into comics without spawning superhero comics. Each one-shot came with an essay explaining the premise of the label and a detailed behind-the-scenes explanation for the ideas that led to the creation of each comic. To help maintain the premise, each one-shot had an Apparat label, with the Avatar Press label appearing only on back covers.
Titles
Angel Stomp Future
Genre: Science fiction
Doctor Angel Antimony takes the reader on a tour of her very weird future. Rampant body modification, black comedy and memetics fill out the pages.
Frank Ironwine
Genre: Detective
Frank Ironwine is a middle-aged homicide detective with a low-key investigative style, focusing on character and motivation instead of forensics.
Quit City
Genre: Aviator adventure
The story follows a woman pilot who dropped out of the Aeropiratika group of adventurers and returned home to San Francisco, where she deals with the unfinished business from her past.
Simon Spector
Genre: Pulp vigilantes
Modeled after Doc Savage and The Shadow, Simon Spector is a wealthy man who apparently lives in a skyscraper in Manhattan. He has been trained to kill barehanded and makes use of drugs which make him "super-sane" with advanced cognitive abilities, at the cost of cutting his life expectancy with each dose.
Collected editions
The four one-shots have been collected into a trade paperback:
- Apparat: The Singles Collection (112 pages, January 2006, ISBN 1-59291-032-7)
Imprint
Warren Ellis has recently announced plans to return to Apparat label to publish the original graphic novellas Crécy, Aetheric Mechanics, Frankenstein's Womb, and the ongoing monthly Doktor Sleepless.
References
- Apparat (title) at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Apparat (imprint) at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)