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THE SURROGATES
© Top Shelf Productions

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Comicscape - June 15, 2005

Let the X3 deathwatch begin! In a recent piece on MTV News, Brett Ratner assures us that X3 will have more humor than the last two films. In his words, "[not] jokes for the sake of jokes...jokes that come from character humor, that come from characters and that come from the situations." Why do studios decide that, after a couple of successful installments in a well-liked franchise, they need to reinvigorate the series with humor? It happened to SUPERMAN, BATMAN, STAR TREK, STAR WARS, and BLADE. Someone gets it in their head that "we need more gags." And across the board, the results always suck. Don't e-mail me citing a few one-liners from earlier installments in those series, because I understand a little comic relief ("You're a dick," for instance). But, studios have a history of going overboard when they decide to lighten a series. Humor is for comedies.

To be fair: Ain't It Cool News posted a partial script review from one of their spies. It didn't sound too terrible, but it wasn't particularly good, either. It's a rehash of X2 with some unnecessary character deaths and relationships. Now granted, I haven't read it and it's probably not the absolute final shooting script. But, this doesn't look good. If anyone from Fox is reading this: feel free to send me the damn script and I'll edit it for you. Everyone, keep posting here and elsewhere and see if we can get the studio to listen. They actually read web sites like this one and Ain't It Cool News to check fan reaction. Maybe we can save this sinking ship. But, if I'm wrong and the movie turns out great, I'll admit it here for everyone to see.

All right, now that I've ranted, here's the good stuff. Readers know Top Shelf Productions mostly for its phone book size black and white graphic novels, such as Alan Moore's and Eddie Campbell's FROM HELL and Craig Thompson's BLANKETS. A far cry from the genre subject matter so often found in comic books, the company has established itself as a purveyor of "comics as literature." Top Shelf employee Robert Venditti's upcoming THE SURROGATES is the company's first foray into genre subject matter in this case science fiction, and more specifically, cyberpunk. Employing the artistic talents of Brett Weldele and brilliant design sensibility of Jim Titus and Dave Bissel, THE SURROGATES presents a dark future wherein most people choose to live through robot replacements Surrogates. In 2054, people can sit at home remotely plugged into the minds of their machines, working, making love, and experiencing whatever they want through artificial bodies. Anyone can look however they wish, and can live without ever leaving home. But, a radical Christian prophet and a shadowy figure that efficiently disables Surrogates and departs without a trace bemuses the Central Georgia Metropolis Police Department. When Detective Harvey Greer's Surrogate is destroyed, he decides to confront his true self as he pursues those forces that would destroy the robots so that man may live authentically.

I began: "Robert, can you tell me a little bit about how you became involved with Top Shelf?"

Robert answered, "I didn't read comics until 2000, when I read ASTRO CITY. I met [Top Shelf publisher] Chris Starros at San Diego Comic Con and he seemed like someone I might be able to get some help and advice from. So, I wrote a script to bring to him at Atlanta Comic Con. The week before the con, he e-mailed everyone and said his distributor was going bankrupt and hadn't paid Top Shelf a lot of money they owed. Chris asked everyone to get people to order at least $20 worth of books and it ended up posted all over the web and orders started pouring in. It was a really good example of how the Internet was a viable way to run a company. His e-mail ended up getting picked up and posted in a lot of blogs and forums. Everyone called it the '12 Hour Miracle' because in that time, Top Shelf got 1000 orders. Though we didn't meet at the con, I called Chris to see if he needed any help answering phones or anything. He told me he could use help packing boxes, so I did that for months until all those orders went out. I was working full-time at Borders four days a week and part-time at Top Shelf on my free days. I did that for two-and-a-half years with only one day off a week."

"How did the idea for THE SURROGATES come about?" I asked.

Robert said, "I didn't have much of a background in comics before 2000. I was in grad school for creative writing and had written short stories before then. I wanted to be a fiction writer. I'd read a book called THE CYBERGYPSIES by Indra Sinha written in the 1990s about people addicted to the Internet and online gaming people that spent all their time with character personalities that lost their jobs and got divorced so they could keep playing. A few years later when I started reading ASTRO CITY I was amazed at how literate it was, which was different from what I thought about comics before then. But, the idea from CYBERGYPSIES always stuck with me that is, people addicted to a virtual persona. When I started reading comics, I thought it would be fun to write them. I don't know if I can put my finger on its origin, but ideas coalesced. I envisioned a world where people can send themselves out into the virtual world and it can work, go on dates, or whatever. I wrote the whole script in five months and I didn't do a lot of research into whether it was possible or not. After I wrote it, I read about a study where they hooked electrodes to a monkey's brain and he could move a robot arm just by thinking about it."

I said, "While we obviously don't have Surrogates yet, you can just escape into cyberspace if you want. A lot of people do."

"I hope its plausibility makes it appealing. The other day someone asked me why technology always gets a bad rap like why stories are always like THE MATRIX or THE TERMINATOR. There are people that will see the Surrogates themselves as bad, but it's the people operating them, really," he said.

"Like 'guns don't kill people, people kill people' right?" I asked.

"I don't know that I'm trying to make any definitive statement. I don't know if the Surrogates are good or bad. I want the audience to make those kinds of decisions for themselves. If Surrogates existed, I don't know if I'd have one or not. But, you have to wonder if there's a point at which technology stops helping us and starts hurting us," Robert answered.

I said, "Well, didactic art gets tiresome. I know a lot of comic writers are fairly liberal, whereas more of the fanbase than they realize leans conservative. There are people in the so-called 'red states' that just like reading X-MEN, and I know it raises people's ire when they feel like a story has crossed from art to propaganda. I know I prefer a story to ask questions, rather than hit you over the head with answers. I think if you just let the story go, those lessons will be inherent in the material. But, I did like that good and bad are ambiguous in THE SURROGATES. The Prophet that would bring down the system and make everyone live authentically again is clearly out of his fking mind and isn't a 'good guy,' per se. And the protagonist, Greer, is working for the system, at least thus far. But, he clearly has qualms with it."

Robert said, "Everybody has two sides to them, and I want readers to sympathize with all of the characters and see all points of view Harvey's, his wife Margaret's, and the Prophet's. I didn't want to pigeonhole anyone as definitively good or bad. When you do that you get into preaching."

"How did you come to work with your artist, Brett Weldele?" I asked.

"That was all Top Shelf's doing. When I showed the script to Chris, I though that it was such a mainstream project that I just wanted him to help me shop it around. As an employee of the company, I didn't want him to think I was demanding they publish it. At the time, they were looking at doing 'mainstream comics.' Chris noticed Brett Weldele at the Savahana College of Art of Design when he did a portfolio review. I wasn't really familiar any comic artists before that. But he had the sketchy style that matched the content and mood of the story. Brett had some time in his schedule and he's really a one-stop shop he does colors, inks, and pencils. He had done some projects for Oni like SHOT CALLERZ, JULIUS, and COUSCOUS EXPRESS, as well as THE CRAPTACULAR B-SIDES for Marvel," Robert said.

He continued, "I was also really happy to work with Jim Titus and Dave Bissel, who designed all of the supplemental material in the back of the comics. I wrote the copy, but they designed the motifs and the mock ads. And they look like real ads! They designed the logo and found the images. Each issue of THE SURROGATES is 32 pages 24 pages of story and eight pages of supplemental material and pin ups."

"How did you hook up with those guys?" I asked.

"Chris knows them because they help design the magazine COMIC BOOK ARTIST with John Cooke. Chris thought they'd be good for helping us flesh out the world of THE SURROGATES and it seemed like black text on white pages wouldn't cut it. It really helps makes it look like it's a real world," Robert said.

I asked, "Does Top Shelf plan to move into more mainstream, monthly comics or are they going to see how THE SURROGATES does first?"

"I don't know. That's up to Chris, but we haven't talked about it. A lot of it will depend on how well THE SURROGATES does, but our heart will always be with stuff like BLANKETS and FROM HELL. But, if it's a good story, they'll publish it. Diversity is a good thing and we need different kinds of stories out there," he answered.

I said, "Let's talk about the influence of cyberpunk literature on THE SURROGATES."

"I've probably read less than ten science-fiction novels, but luckily William Gibson's NEUROMANCER was one. I also read Phillip K. Dick's DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? because I liked BLADERUNNER a lot. It's all been good science fiction that uses futuristic settings to ask questions about the modern world, and not just action story with flying cars. I don't have an encyclopedic background of cyberpunk, but what I've read I've really enjoyed," he said.

"What did you read, then?" I asked.

Robert answered, "In grad school, I read more literature. I go through phases. Right now I'm reading a lot of biographies and non-fiction. The only fantasy novels I've read are THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy."

"Do you have any new projects in the works?" I asked.

"I'm working on another miniseries right now. I'm halfway through scripting it it's more of a political thriller. I've still got my day to day Top Shelf stuff and I'm still getting behind THE SURROGATES. My goal was to have this second series finished by the time I went to San Diego Comic Con, but that's not going to happen," he said.

"I think we're about out of time, but it's been good talking to you, Robert. I'll see you at San Diego," I said.

"Good talking to you, too. I'll see you there."

I'd like to start this week's rundown by mentioning that I got zero sleep last night and I'm wicked cranky. So, uh, expect even more complaining than usual. And considering how much complaining there usually is in this thing anyway...well, brace yourselves.

DARK HORSE

CONAN & THE JEWELS OF GWAHLUR #3 (OF 3) $2.99

SUPER MANGA BLAST #52 (MR) $5.99

USAGI YOJIMBO #84 $2.99

DC COMICS

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #641 $2.50

AUTHORITY REVOLUTION #9 (OF 12) (MR) $2.99

BATMAN BEGINS MOVIE ADAPTATION $6.99
Al: It mystifies me that these adaptations always come out before the actual movie does. I bet people totally buy them, too! Spoiler much? Here's a tip: Wait two friggin days.
Kurt: It comes out the same day as the movie, ya taint.

BATMAN BEGINS THE MOVIE & OTHER TALES OF THE DARK KNIGHT TP $12.99

BATMAN DARK DETECTIVE #4 (OF 6) $2.99

BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #66 $2.50

BIRDS OF PREY #83 $2.50

BUGS BUNNY VOL 1 WHATS UP DOC TP $6.99

DAFFY DUCK VOL 1 YOURE DESPICABLE TP $6.99

DAY OF VENGEANCE #3 (OF 6) $2.50
I know folks aren't too hip on the INFINITE CRISIS dealie, and I'm not either, but it's worth mentioning that DAY OF VENGEANCE and VILLAINS UNITED are at least kinda cool series. (I haven't read Rann/Thanagar - interstellar warfare doesn't fire my jetpack.)

EX MACHINA #12 (MR) $2.99
Just how dumb is fortune telling? We'll find out!

HAWKMAN #41 $2.50

JLA CLASSIFIED #8 $2.99

JSA VOL 8 BLACK REIGN TP $12.99

LUCIFER #63 (MR) $2.75

MANHUNTER #11 $2.50

MNEMOVORE #3 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
First issue: great; second issue: impenetrable; third issue: still buying it.

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE VOL 3 VAMP TP (MR) $12.99

SCOOBY DOO #97 $2.25

SEVEN SOLDIERS KLARION THE WITCH BOY #2 (OF 4) $2.99
I think this is going to hook up with THE MANHATTAN GUARDIAN somehow. I hope they use protection when it happens.

SUPERMAN GODFALL TP $9.99

TRIGGER #7 (MR) $2.99

V FOR VENDETTA TP $19.95
Al: Note: Those of you who've been talking about boycotting WATCHMEN until it reverts back to Moore, you might as well boycott this too. The movie's gonna suck.
Kurt: Moore still gets royalties on this book, so buy away. It just goes to show you: never listen to Al about anything, ever.

VIMANARAMA #3 (OF 3) (MR) $2.99
The last in Grant Morrison's trilogy of bizarro trilogies concludes. While We3 was the best by a long shot, this has been fun too.

WILDSIDERZ #0 $1.99
Using a "z" instead of an "s" is like broadcasting that this book is made by 40-year-olds who have no idea what teenagers are into. "You crazy kids! You spell everything all kooky!" Also note: there is not an actual story in this book. I'm not totally against the book, despite the fact that the spelling makes me want to push old ladies down stairs - it's by J. Scott Campbell, whose DANGER GIRL was a fun time. But God save me from filler origin "#0" crap.

YEAR ONE BATMAN RAS AL GHUL #1 (OF 2) $5.99
Isn't it great how CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS left years of unexplored Batman continuity? I'm not really being sarcastic, either. Without that gaping hole, we wouldn't have YEAR ONE.

IMAGE

GRAY AREA VOL 1 ALL OF THIS CAN BE YOURS HC SGN $39.95

HERO CAMP #2 (OF 4) $2.95
Cute concept here, but the execution's been a little amateurish so far. (What, you want to know what it's about? Whatever you imagine when you see the title, you're right.)

MARVEL

CABLE DEADPOOL #16 $2.99

DAREDEVIL #74 $2.99
Kurt: I know I'm in the minority lately, but I really like Bendis's talky Daredevil run. Yeah, I'll go hide now.

FANTASTIC FOUR THE MOVIE TP $12.99
Someone tell me how badly this sucks, because I'm not buying it.

GAMBIT #12 $2.99
Al: Last issue! The X-line continues to mercifully pare itself down.
Kurt: I'm going to pitch a story where this virus kills character based on outdated, inaccurate regional stereotypes created by writers that think there are actually Canjun people in New Orleans (there aren't).

GIANT SIZE X-MEN #3 $4.99
Al: Hey, y'know how this says "Giant Size"? What they mean is, "8 pages of new stuff and then some reprints". The first two were original! (The second one was bad! I have both, envy me!) Why not call it a "Milestone"? Or an "Essential"? Or one of the other 8 million different names you have for "Reprint"? Why...ARGH. Excuse me while I go pour vinegar on my eyeballs.
Kurt: Dude, the Essentials are one of the best things Marvel's got going. But, go ahead with that vinegar thing. I'm waiting.

GLA #3 (OF 4) $2.99

HERCULES #3 (OF 5) $2.99
Al: This title should not be bought by any means. Do not buy this. It is bad.
Kurt: And apparently, you bought it already. Good going, ass.

LAST HERO STANDING #3 (OF 5) $2.99
Eh. So far this hasn't been as fun as I was hoping it would be.

MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #1 $2.50
Kurt: Hey Al, I bet this would go great with a Charlston Chew next time you're hanging around the daycare center.

MARVEL AGE SPIDER-MAN TEAM UP VOL 1 HELP FRIENDS DIGEST TP $7.99
"Help Friends"? Is the Hulk naming your books now? (Note: It's actually "A Little Help From My Friends", so it's McCartney who's naming their books. Which makes me picture a hulked-out Paul McCartney. Ha ha, that would be funny.)

MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #19 $2.99

POWER PACK #4 (OF 4) $2.99

POWERS #11 (MR) $2.95

SPIDER-MAN BREAKOUT #3 (OF 5) $2.99

STORMBREAKER SAGA OF BETA RAY BILL #6 (OF 6) $2.99

ULTIMATE MARVEL FLIP MAGAZINE #1 $3.99

ULTIMATE TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #1 $3.99
What the hell is this? No, seriously, what?

UNCANNY X-MEN #461 $2.50
Al: I cannot believe the X-Babies are back. Hold on, I'm gonna go shove forks through my nipples.
Kurt: If you want, I'll hook up some alligator clips to my car battery and we can take care of those nipples once and for all.

UNCANNY X-MEN ADAM KUBERT VARIANT COVER #461 $2.50
I know you're on it like Car 54, Al.

WOLVERINE #29 $2.50
Kurt: No gay joke, Al? I feel kind of cheated. Anyway, Wolverine's kicking ass for S.H.I.E.L.D. now, instead of slaughtering B-listers and hundreds of unnamed-and-just-made-up heroes.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at comicscape@cinescape.com.