by Alex Dueben
“John Tallow is, basically, anyone who’s lost enthusiasm for their work. Anyone who was doing great right up until they realised it didn’t matter. Anyone who let themselves get disengaged from the world and then discovered they liked it better that way.”
– Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis is a name familiar to comics readers because of the many great series he’s written over the past two decades including Transmetropolitan, Planetary, The Authority, Nextwave, Global Frequency, Fell and FreakAngels. The graphic novel Red, which he wrote, was adapted into a 2010 movie starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. The film’s sequel, Red 2, will be released this August.
He’s also written multiple videogames including Dead Space. Ellis’ first novel, Crooked Little Vein, was released in 2007. He’s also written extensively about futurism, design and other topics for Reuters, here at SuicideGirls and currently for Vice.
Ellis’ new novel is Gun Machine, thriller set in New York City about a policeman who has to hunt a serial killer. Using that armature, Ellis uses the novel to comment on the nature of police work, explore the history of New York City, the meaning of wampum and more. We spoke with Ellis over e-mail about the book, the future of the webseries Wastelanders, which he’s writing with Joss Whedon, and whether he’s abandoned comics.
