Ellis on authenticity, in music and beyond

[arbre_rieur]

Six pages from Doktor Sleepless 5. According to Ellis, the series is meant to be a sort of spiritual successor to Transmetropolitan.

Comments

[box_in_the_box]

Warren, the next time you want to monologue like this, just write a fucking prose book, and stop taking out on comics.

Reading this made me feel like if John Galt became a hipster and Ayn Rand decided to do his speech as a graphic novel.

[fiftyeighthours]

I am the subject of your documentary.
You have a question? I am the third degree.
I am authentic; authenticity!

[seriousfic]

What happens when Warren Ellis writes a PWP.

[jlroberson]

Swear to God, I have never understood why the Stone Roses were ever considered some kind of symbolic Saviors of Music. Not even back then. I am guessing you really have to have been British at the time to get it. But I always kind of scratched my head at the hype they were the "next big thing" back then. They were okay, but they were no My Bloody Valentine.

Just something that came to mind at their mention. I did like this--it seems a lot more like PUMP UP THE VOLUME than TRANSMET though. But I was a sucker for the Godspeed and (laterally) John Cale references.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Well, I'm intrigued. I don't know what the hell is going on in the actual comic - is that a robot angel? - but that's part of why I'm intrigued. I may have to look this up once it comes out in trades.

[thandrak]

When Les Paul broke his arm in a car accident, he had it set at an angle so he could keep playing his music. That's what real is. It's what you do, not who you say you are.

Jeez, just because Robert Zimmerman changed his name and assumed a persona doesn't make him a fictional person. It makes him a bard. It's the music that's real or not.

Ask Alan Moore if his god is authentic. Then ask him if his god is real.

[kiplingkat]

First of all, I love Warren Ellis' work. I love what he doing on Astonishing but...

A. Talking about the cultural "reality" through the analogy of rock music is very...well, didn't we do that when we are all 17? But then maybe that is who the book is written for?

B. Doesn't "Be authentic to your dreams. Be authentic to your own ideas about yourself. Etc" = "Be yourself"?

C. Spending pages lecturing the reader about it in a comic book seems to be one of the first questions a writer would ask himself when thinking "Have I become a pretentious tawt?"

[whatistigerbalm]

Comic =/= blog post. I can't believe a professional writer whose work I like slipped on this one.

[mullon]

I'm not sure I get it. I think Dr. Insano is complaining about people who put on personas to be more easily accepted in the music industry, but he loses me halfway through his speech.

[aaron_bourque]

[4chan]What is this pretentious hipster bullshit.[/4chan]

Seriously, Mr. Ellis. Cut that down by about 2/3rds, and maybe you've got something.

Also?

Being real, being authentic, and being believable are at least 4 very different things.

[foxhack]

Too many words.

But I like the art!

[halloweenjack]

So Dylan and Memphis Minnie are no more authentic than, say, Vanilla Ice? Is that where he's going with this? And people pay money for this book?

[philippos42]

This isn't for today's 17-year-olds, is it? Isn't it for the 40ish manchild who defined his world like this in his teens?