Desolation Jones was a bimonthly
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
series written by
Warren EllisWarren Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, well known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
. Art for the first six-issue storyline was provided by J.H. Williams III and
José VillarrubiaJosé Villarrubia is a Spanish artist who has done considerable work in the American comic book industry, particularly as a colorist.-Biography:...
. The second storyline will be illustrated by
Danijel ZezeljDanijel Zezelj is a Croatian comic book artist, painter and illustrator and author of a number of graphic novels.-Biography:Zezelj studied classical painting, sculpting and printing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Croatia....
and Villarrubia. The series is published by the
WildstormWildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, publishes American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
imprint of
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
; it was launched in July
2005-April:*April 13:**DC Comics announces the discontinuation of its Humanoids and 2000 A.D. titles.**Powerade and DC Comics show the first of four new online comics starring LeBron James as superhero "King James"...
.
The story follows the former MI6 agent Jones.
Film producerA film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors...
David Friendly announced in 2008, while the comic was in production limbo, that he intended to adapt
Desolation Jones as a feature film.
Characters
Michael (Desolation) Jones
The story’s protagonist and title character is Michael Jones, a former agent of British intelligence service MI6, who earns a long record of drunkenness and misconduct within the organization. This is possibly due to a breakup with a woman only mentioned as “Jessica.” In lieu of being discharged for his behavior, he was chosen to participate in a secret government project called the "Desolation Test." Jones believes he would be taking part in an innocuous research study, but instead becomes an unwilling human test subject. Part of the test was being strapped to a hospital bed for a full year without being allowed to sleep. Jones is the only known survivor of this program. To mark him as a potential biological threat, the British government brands a biohazard symbol on the underside of his left forearm and a "Desolation 01" (i.e. test subject #01) brand on his right forearm.
The Desolation Test caused numerous physical changes. He has become a scarred and frail figure with grey skin and chalk white hair, who must avoid direct sunlight, although the exact effects it would have upon him are not revealed. He suffers from chronic pain and impotence. Mentally, Jones exhibits no fear, remorse, or any other emotion, and is numb to killing people, many times with his bare hands. He heals poorly when wounded, although this may be a result of his constant drug abuse rather than due to the Desolation Test. Even in the best of times, he has hallucinations of half-naked, sometimes bloody angels. The character also wears a trademark orange trench coat, an oxygen mask, and a pair of goggles, presumably to avoid exposure to sunlight. On several occasions he demonstrates super-human reflexes.
He resides in Los Angeles, which is secretly maintained by the US Government as a veritable prison for ex-agents of numerous intelligence organizations. The ex-agents are legally invisible within the city, but are not allowed to leave without being hunted for going rogue. Jones makes a living as a
private investigatorA private investigator or private detective is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigations. Private investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
, only doing jobs for other members of/within the intelligence community.
Story arc #1: Made in England
The initial story arc (
Made in England) involves Jones aiding an affluent, elderly collector named Colonel Nigh in retrieving stolen property, namely the lost pornographic films of
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
(similar Don DeLillo's novel
Running DogRunning Dog is a literal translation into English of the Chinese/Korean communist pejorative, 走狗 'Zou Gou', meaning lackey. Its first recorded use in English was in 1937....
). Jones is assisted by an assortment of bizarre companions and ex-intelligence agents. There is Robina, a woman skilled in creating robotic miniature explosives, and Emily, who as the result of
CIAThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government.It is an independent agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior United States policymakers....
experiments, emits constant pheromones that cause almost animalistic fear and revulsion in people around her (save Jones, because of the Desolation Test). He also receives assistance from an ex-agent/doctor who helps him with his wounds and even with a firefight.
Jones must unravel the schemes of Nigh's three daughters, work his way through the seedy underbelly of the pornographic industry, survive secrets of his own past and deal with his agent (whose CIA-modified stomach allows him to only eat four times a year, but requires him to consume vast amounts of protein, sourced directly from live cows).
Collections
- Desolation Jones Vol. 1: Made in England (ISBN 140121150X) Collects Desolation Jones #1-6
External links