Sleeper was a
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
Ed BrubakerEd Brubaker is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland....
with art by
Sean PhillipsSean Phillips is a British comic book artist, inker, and penciller.He is best known in the American comic industry for his work on DC Comics' Sleeper, WildC.A.T.s, Batman and Hellblazer.-Biography:...
, published by
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...
under their
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...
imprintIn the publishing industry, an imprint can refer to two different things:* It can mean a brand name under which a work is published. One single publishing company may have multiple imprints; the different imprints are used by the publisher to market the work to different demographic consumer segments...
. The series consisted of two twelve-issue
limited seriesA limited series is a series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
and the events of the first "season" served as a catalyst for the
Coup D'Etat"Coup d'État" was a company-wide crossover event published by Wildstorm Comics in 2004.-Publication history:The story ran across 4 issues, each featuring one of the major titles in the Wildstorm Universe at that time: Sleeper, Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Wildcats 3.0 and The Authority...
line-wide crossover.
Sleeper was set in the
Wildstorm UniverseThe Wildstorm Universe is a fictional shared universe where the comic books published by Wildstorm take place. It represents an alternate history of the real world where ideas such as interstellar travel and superhuman abilities are common place...
and concerned the travails of
Holden CarverHolden Carver is the protagonist of the DC Comics/Wildstorm comic book series Sleeper written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Sean Phillips.- Early years :...
, a covert operative who has been placed undercover in a villainous organisation led by
TAOTao is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe.-History:The Tactical Augmented Organism was created by Optigen, a subsidiary of the Halo Corporation, on behalf of International Operations. As a child, he grew at an amazing rate...
, a WildC.A.T.s villain from
Alan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell...
's run.
Sleeper was a
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
Ed BrubakerEd Brubaker is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland....
with art by
Sean PhillipsSean Phillips is a British comic book artist, inker, and penciller.He is best known in the American comic industry for his work on DC Comics' Sleeper, WildC.A.T.s, Batman and Hellblazer.-Biography:...
, published by
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...
under their
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...
imprintIn the publishing industry, an imprint can refer to two different things:* It can mean a brand name under which a work is published. One single publishing company may have multiple imprints; the different imprints are used by the publisher to market the work to different demographic consumer segments...
. The series consisted of two twelve-issue
limited seriesA limited series is a series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
and the events of the first "season" served as a catalyst for the
Coup D'Etat"Coup d'État" was a company-wide crossover event published by Wildstorm Comics in 2004.-Publication history:The story ran across 4 issues, each featuring one of the major titles in the Wildstorm Universe at that time: Sleeper, Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Wildcats 3.0 and The Authority...
line-wide crossover.
Sleeper was set in the
Wildstorm UniverseThe Wildstorm Universe is a fictional shared universe where the comic books published by Wildstorm take place. It represents an alternate history of the real world where ideas such as interstellar travel and superhuman abilities are common place...
and concerned the travails of
Holden CarverHolden Carver is the protagonist of the DC Comics/Wildstorm comic book series Sleeper written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Sean Phillips.- Early years :...
, a covert operative who has been placed undercover in a villainous organisation led by
TAOTao is a fictional character in the Wildstorm universe.-History:The Tactical Augmented Organism was created by Optigen, a subsidiary of the Halo Corporation, on behalf of International Operations. As a child, he grew at an amazing rate...
, a WildC.A.T.s villain from
Alan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell...
's run. It was a spin-off of
Point BlankPoint Blank was a five-issue comic book limited series written by Ed Brubaker with art by Colin Wilson. It was published by Wildstorm comics.It starred Grifter from the Wildcats investigating an attempted murder on his friend John Lynch.-Plot:...
, a mini-series about Grifter from Wildcats and John Lynch from
Gen¹³Gen¹³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell...
that was also written by Ed Brubaker.
Plot
Holden Carver, a.k.a. The Conductor (although he prefers going by his real name), is placed undercover in Tao's criminal organization by John Lynch, the director of
International OperationsInternational Operations is a fictional American Intelligence Agency in Wildstorm comics. I.O. first appeared in WildC.A.T.S. volume 1 #1 and was created by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee.-International Operations:...
after being fused with an alien artifact that makes him impervious to pain, gives him a powerful healing factor, and allows him to store pain he receives and pass it on to others through skin contact. Holden hates these abilities and constantly wishes to be rid of them. Lynch falls into a coma after being shot by
GrifterGrifter is a fictional comic book character from Wildstorm Universe. He is best known as a member of Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.S.-Early youth:There are various accounts of Cole's early youth: in Gen 12 his father died while he was still young and Cole and his brother Max were raised by their mother and...
(who had been brainwashed by Tao), leaving Holden with no link to the outside world.
He quickly rises through the ranks of Tao's syndicate and becomes one of his lieutenants, called "Prodigals". He falls in love with another Prodigal named
Miss MiseryMiss Misery is a fictional comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm. She appeared in the series Sleeper.-History:Gretchen McDonald was a very normal girl; an excellent student and kind to all others. When she got older, Gretchen fell ill and doctors could find no cause for her illness...
and befriends Genocide Jones, a super-strong, bullet-proof member of Tao's organization. The series also focuses on Holden's internal struggle over whether or not there is a difference between his actions while serving Tao and his actions while serving Lynch.
Tao learns of Holden's true allegiance, and Holden is forced to live on the run. With the help of Peter Grimm, his most trusted Prodigal, Tao captures Holden and tells him that he is a survivor, past petty concepts like "good" and "evil." Beginning to believe Tao and seeing no other options, Holden rejoins Tao's organization, this time as a true criminal. As Season One ends, John Lynch miraculously awakes from his coma.
Coup D'Etat"Coup d'État" was a company-wide crossover event published by Wildstorm Comics in 2004.-Publication history:The story ran across 4 issues, each featuring one of the major titles in the Wildstorm Universe at that time: Sleeper, Stormwatch: Team Achilles, Wildcats 3.0 and The Authority...
comes to pass and the members of Tao's organization are forced into hiding so The Authority cannot discover them. Holden is now a full-fledged villain and a trusted Prodigal. While on a mission with his own band of Torpedoes (lower-level members of Tao's organization) called the Hounds, consisting of the eager-to-please Pit Bull (introduced in Season One) and the
werewolfA werewolf or werwolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely, by being bitten or scratched by another werewolf, or after being placed under a curse...
Blackwolf, Holden is contacted by an agent of John Lynch. Lynch wants Holden to leave Tao and defect back to I.O. He later presents Holden with a member of the alien race who built the artifact that gave Holden his abilities and promises that if he agrees to come back he'll rid him of his powers.
Holden then begins to play both sides against the middle, hoping he will be able to free himself of his obligations to Tao and Lynch and run away with Miss Misery. As this goes on, he tries to reform, despite knowing that he will never again be the man he thought he was before falling in with Tao.
At the end of Season Two, Holden Carver is left in a vegetative state. Lynch uses his gen factor powers to make the vegetative Holden believe that he is finally retired and living with Miss Misery and his ex-wife, Veronica St. James, on a tropical island. Tao's tongue was ripped out by Holden as a last effort to 'disarm' the main villain of the series before being handed over to Lynch. It is here that the story ends.
Collected editions
Sleeper has been collected in a series of four
trade paperbacksIn comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Sleeper: Season One (ISBN 1401223605) collects:
- Sleeper Vol. 1: Out in the Cold (collects Sleeper Season 1 #1–6, ISBN 1401201156)
- Sleeper Vol. 2: All False Moves (collects Sleeper Season 1 #7–12, ISBN 1401202888)
- Sleeper: Season Two (ISBN 1401224938) collects:
- Sleeper Vol. 3: A Crooked Line (collects Sleeper Season 2 #1–6, ISBN 1401206182)
- Sleeper Vol. 4: The Long Way Home (collects Sleeper Season 2 #7–12, ISBN 1401206271)
- Coup D'état (collects Coup D'état #1: Sleeper, ISBN 1401205704)
Film
Tom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards...
and
Sam RaimiSamuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series and Drag Me To Hell as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films.-Early life:Raimi, the fourth of five children, was born in Royal Oak,...
are in the process of creating a movie adaptation of
Sleeper with
Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. (also known as Warner Bros. Pictures, or simply Warner Bros.—the shortened form of the former official, sometimes still used, formal corporate name: Warner Brothers
, in which Cruise may star and Brad Inglesby is writing the screenplay. Brubaker has said that this is at least the fifth time there have been serious attempts to film the story.
See also
- Criminal
Criminal is an ongoing American creator-owned crime comic book series by writer Ed Brubaker with artist Sean Phillips published by Marvel Comics' Icon imprint....
, a series from the same creative team published by MarvelMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
- Incognito
Incognito is a six-issue comic book limited series written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, It was published by the Icon Comics imprint of Marvel Comics.-Publication history:...
, a similar series series from the same creative team published by MarvelMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
.