COMIC BOOK
What if a Christian-corporate oligarchy took over the US, censored all news, filtered the Internet - and people were too busy watching TV to care? Artist Brian Wood first raised that question in a 14-page, 1997 graphic story that, a year later, mutated into a five-issue series from Image Comics. Channel Zero drew an international cult following, but fans were left hanging at series' end: They wondered what would become of Jennie 2.5, the exiled performance artist turned computer hacker who televised illegal protests over the government-controlled airwaves. Given the brutally violent, media-addicted world Wood created, a prime-time beheading seemed plausible.
Now, Channel Zero is back with answers. The new 144-page book includes the complete Image series, plus 16 new pages, 10 of which constitute a closing chapter. It turns out that after living as a renegade broadcaster, suffering a humiliating capture on live TV, and being exiled overseas, Jennie must endure a new trial for which she is thoroughly unprepared - anonymity. Jennie sneaks back into the country only to discover that she is yesterday's news. Not all rebellious teenage girls wear Jennie T-shirts, and the government no longer seems interested in her arrest. Alone with her conscience, Jennie must admit to herself that her craving for media attention is what drove her political activities.
Just as Wood's take on the clichéd lone-rebel-versus-totalitarian-government scenario is surprising and fresh, so is his graphic style. He draws beautifully stark black-and-white panels punctuated with slash marks, broadcast-news transcripts, and rivers of random numbers and letters. And he hides tiny messages on the pages, forcing readers to look for them among the dark fringes. Guessing at their enigmatic meanings becomes an ongoing game.
But on the macro level, Wood's message is clear enough: Apathy is the real enemy, and it's harder to fight than any totalitarian government. In the book's new introduction, comic book auteur Warren Ellis writes of Channel Zero : "It's about anger as a positive force of creation." Let's hope Wood stays angry long enough to produce a sequel.
Channel Zero by Brian Wood: $12.95. AiT/Planet Lar Publishing: +1 (415) 504 7516, www.brianwood.com.
STREET CRED
Kvetch of the Day
Babes in Toyland
Jog-O-Rama
The Nuonvision Revolution
Memory Gardens
Alpha and Omega
The Zero Effect
ReadMe
Music
Surroundabout
Fear of a Freak Planet
Hasta la Vista, Baby
Just Outta Beta
Master of Vine Arts
Hooked on Symphonics
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