A Rhapsody of Words: Come In Alone

I'd say I'm re-reading Come In Alone by Warren Ellis as a side reading, but I don't think it's an accurate enough statement. I am constantly reading and rereading this book. Come In Alone has the rare distinction of entirely living up to the promises of the back cover description. Although it comes as no surprise to me, being a devout fan of the mad scientist author that is Uncle Warren, I have found over the years that many books make similar lofty claims only to shank me between the ribs once I've paid my money.

However, Come In Alone does, in fact, take "a hard look at the comic book industry, what it's done right and wrong, and where it needs to go next in order to evolve into an industry that will take itself into the mainstream Warren's candor on the subject may surprised you, but at the same time you'll find yourself contemplating the comics industry from an entirely new perspective. Come In Alone is more than just comics criticism; it is a theology all comic book fans should subscribe to."

It's one of my favorite books it's its own begotten way. And it feels very strange to say that about a nonfiction book. It's a collection of a yearlong series of columns Ellis did for Comic Book Resources in 2000-2001. In this columns, a myriad of topics are discussed: from the idea of pulps and how the superhero genre nearly ruined comics to why the medium is important to amazing drunken diatribes, this book has it all. The man is intensely quotable and many of his ideas are alarmingly flawless (and some prophetic, seeing where the comic industry has gone in the years since the book's publication).

Even if you only have a mild interest in comics, Ellis is too charismatic and entertaining a writer to resist. If you'll allow (and you will), the beginning to the Introduction of the book:

"This book is about comic books.

There we go. Lost about half of you.

Gets worse. This is a collection of columns about the world of comic books written for a website.

And there go the rest.

So it's just you and me. No, don't run away. I have whiskey."

People suspect I love Warren Ellis because he's a far more twisted mind than I, and I love him for it. That's partly true. Also, of any comics writer or author, Ellis, in his own mindfucking way, exhibits such a genuine love for the medium, or rather, the potential of the medium of graphic storytelling. He lives and breathes science fiction. He once offered the quotation (from whom I cannot remember) that "Science fiction is a way of thinking about things." It's not simply aliens and rocket ships (and who doesn't love those old pulps?), but a very serious, alarming mode of fiction than offers a unique vision of things through a different lens, giving a distinct statement on the current state of things in the process.

Science fiction, in essence, is probably the most important genre in literature. It is also the most overlooked and underutilized.

But I digress. I love comic books. Since before I could read, I loved comic books...

Hmmm...I'll continue that later.

But yes, all this rambling to note that I am constantly reading my favorite authors nonfiction piece.

I know. You despite me now. Tough.