The Finer Worlds of Warren Ellis William James Allred University of Arkansas
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University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 12-2011 Sublime Beauty & Horrible Fucking Things - The Finer Worlds of Warren Ellis William James Allred University of Arkansas Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Literature in English, British Isles Commons, and the Modern Literature Commons Recommended Citation Allred, William James, "Sublime Beauty & Horrible Fucking Things - The ineF r Worlds of Warren Ellis" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 224. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/224 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. SUBLIME BEAUTY & HORRIBLE FUCKING THINGS: THE FINER WORLDS OF WARREN ELLIS SUBLIME BEAUTY & HORRIBLE FUCKING THINGS: THE FINER WORLDS OF WARREN ELLIS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English By William James Allred University of Arkansas Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, 1994 University of Arkansas Master of Arts in English, 2002 December 2011 University of Arkansas ABSTRACT This work constitutes an in-depth discussion of the muted postmodern characteristics of contemporary comics writer and novelist Warren Ellis, highlighting his major long-form works within comics, Planetary, Transmetropolitan, StormWatch, and The Authority, as well as several shorter works such as Ocean, Orbiter, and Global Frequency. In addition, Ellis is situated within the British science fiction tradition, specifically, the British Boom movement which contains other comics writers such as Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore. This dissertation is approved for Recommendation to the Graduate Council Dissertation Director: _______________________________________ Dr. M. Keith Booker Dissertation Committee: _______________________________________ Dr. William A. Quinn _______________________________________ Dr. Robert Cochran DISSERTATION DUPLICATION RELEASE I hereby authorize the University of Arkansas Libraries to duplicate this dissertation when needed for research and/or scholarship. Agreed __________________________________________ William J. Allred Refused __________________________________________ William J. Allred ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks are due Dr. M. Keith Booker, Dr. William A. Quinn, and Dr. David Hart. Were it not for their sage wisdom, gentle guidance, and limitless patience, I would never have reached this goal, nor even considered it possible. Also, to the members of the Walton College Technology Center whose members’ good-natured and gentle prodding helped motivate me to finally finish this one remaining task, thank you. I would also like to thank the members of the Grand Comic Database for their invaluable assistance in researching the history of the comics medium in general and the superhero genre in particular. DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my wife Stacy and my sons Michael and Alexander without whom my life would be much, much less interesting than it now is, and to my parents Billy Junior and Shirley May Allred without whom I would have no life. Also, to all of the comics creators, past and present who have fired my imagination and contributed to a truly wonderful medium, please accept my heartfelt thanks. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 1 II. SCIENCE FICTION .............................................................................................................................. 39 A. British Boom ................................................................................................................................... 44 III. PLANETARY ........................................................................................................................................ 57 IV. TRANSMETROPOLITAN ..................................................................................................................... 87 V. STORMWATCH / THE AUTHORITY ................................................................................................... 96 VI. GLOBAL FREQUENCY ...................................................................................................................... 107 VII. OCEAN ............................................................................................................................................... 114 VIII. ORBITER ............................................................................................................................................ 122 IX. SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... 129 NOTES ...................................................................................................................................................... 131 WORKS CITED ......................................................................................................................................... 133 READING LIST ......................................................................................................................................... 138 I. INTRODUCTION The many works of author Warren Ellis, most of which lie within the comics medium and utilize the science fiction genre, appear to more successfully resist the enormous influence of the postmodern condition that dominates this current historical moment than other works of art. And, they seem to do so much better than many other contemporary works of art. This is certainly no accident on the part of the author. Their enhanced resistance stems from the conscious and critical decisions that Ellis has made with respect to genre, medium, and themes utilized throughout his large library of work, a library that will be examined shortly. However, before moving the discussion to each of these factors in turn and the particular manner in which each can, and in fact does, resist late capitalism’s immense power, I think a brief discussion of postmodernism must be undertaken to give us the necessary theoretical foundation upon which to build the case for Ellis as something other than postmodern due to the antagonistic relationship between his work and late capitalism. Postmodernism remains a contentious, controversial, and often thoroughly confusing topic not only to theorists, but also to artists and critics alike. In fact, a great many theorists and critics even doubt its very existence or, as with Richard Hebdige, simply regard it as a meaningless buzzword. Frank Kermode, for example, sees postmodernism as merely a continuation of modernism instead of a drastic and recognizable break with that earlier tradition. Marxist theorists, it seems, cannot even reach a consensus with respect to postmodernism. Alex Callinicos, for instance, questions the actual existence of any kind of radical break between modernism and postmodernism. Fredric Jameson, on the other hand, maintains that postmodernism “constitutes a cultural and experiential break” (Jameson Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism xiii) from modernism. Again, Jameson’s view is not something that all Marxist critics agree upon. Teresa Ebert questions any conception of a break and takes issue with Jameson’s methodology. to confine the inquiries into postmodernism to a monolithic postmodernity, as Jameson does, is in fact to become complicit with 1 "break" theories and to end up, as Jameson does, with a notion of the end of critique.” (Ebert 132) She further critiques Jameson’s specific conception of postmodernism and his resultant interpretations of the phenomenon. postmodernism is not simply a series of isolated, shifting aesthetic and architectural styles, proliferating commodifications, philosophical deconstructions, split subjectives, or multiple identities and differences. Instead, postmodernism is a contradictory historical condition, and its contradictions are those of the material base: both postmodernism and the theories that try to explain it are divided by the social contradictions of capitalism itself-by the contradictions of the forces and relations of production. (Ebert 130) While it can certainly be argued that the very nature of this phenomenon “is not something we can settle once and for all and use with a clear conscience,” (Jameson Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism xxii) this neither dissuaded Jameson from a rather comprehensive attempt to do just that, nor, in fact, prevented him from encouraging others to attempt the same. Regardless, for most Marxist theorists, of whom Jameson is most certainly included, postmodernism as a recognizable phenomenon not only exists, but offers an opportunity to interrogate the concept with an explanatory framework that allows critics to peer into the murky depths of culture and find more than meaning. Treating it as an extant concept different from what has come before allows critics to uncover truths about the culture within which the art is conversant and reveal insights into the unique historical moment within which a work of art is created. Obviously, postmodernism as a concept has generated a great many scholarly debates over the years as to its nature, its definition, and its very existence. Although