"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
editThe 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
editAngel Stomp Future
editGenre: 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
editGenre: 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
editGenre: 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
editGenre: 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
editThe four one-shots have been collected into a trade paperback:
- Apparat: The Singles Collection (112 pages, January 2006, ISBN 1-59291-032-7)
Imprint
editWarren 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
edit- Apparat (title) at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Apparat (imprint) at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)