What do you think?
Rate this book
Gravel (collected editions) #2
Stranger Kisses
Finally, back in print! Warren Ellis brings his mad visions to life with the same team who brought you Strange Kiss. Stranger Kisses is about people for whom two genders are not enough, no matter how you play mix and match with sexuality. It's also about videotape, bad secrets, and what it's like to have an entire city wanting to kill you. The videotape is of seriously physically modified whores. Possibly altered at the genetic level. Because those extra orifices look grown. And those weird protuberances don't look artificial.... A very 21st Century comic, mad and modern and speedy and full of nasty ideas. In LA, the future of rich man's whoring and trophy women is being designed. Two sexes are not enough. People like their kisses stranger than that.
72 pages, Paperback
First published December 10, 2001
57 people want to read
About the author
Warren Ellis
1,971 books5,763 followersWarren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 12, 2011
Short, sharp and a little disturbing. Feels like Ellis had a good crazy shitbird idea and decided to run with it. Thank dog for Avatar Press or else many of Ellis' more
Bizarre ideas would never have seen the light of mass-market distribution.
However, I can't say I'm not a little disappointed in how quickly this book finished once the action started moving. It's like there was only room for one good idea, and I'm not used to getting duh a micro-dose of Ellis.
The art is well-executed - not flashy, but clearly conveys who's doing what (which should be Comic Art 101 but is missing way too often). There's one wordless sequence where Gravel stops, looks in two directions and you know exactly what's going on in his head.
Bizarre ideas would never have seen the light of mass-market distribution.
However, I can't say I'm not a little disappointed in how quickly this book finished once the action started moving. It's like there was only room for one good idea, and I'm not used to getting duh a micro-dose of Ellis.
The art is well-executed - not flashy, but clearly conveys who's doing what (which should be Comic Art 101 but is missing way too often). There's one wordless sequence where Gravel stops, looks in two directions and you know exactly what's going on in his head.
July 31, 2017
So in this one we find William Gravel tackling a pornography/prostitution ring. However, this one does special surgeries on its performers to give them extra appendages and orifices and caters only to the rich and famous.
Interesting concept but overall seemed to push the envelope just for the sake of pushing the envelope rather than having any sort of real story behind it. The Mike Wolfer artwork wasn't bad, but once again not his best work.
This is still an interesting series and I'll be continuing with further volumes.
Interesting concept but overall seemed to push the envelope just for the sake of pushing the envelope rather than having any sort of real story behind it. The Mike Wolfer artwork wasn't bad, but once again not his best work.
This is still an interesting series and I'll be continuing with further volumes.
February 17, 2020
Gross-out pulp, but surprisingly with an actual soul (as with the first)
June 23, 2020
Less annoying military background more underground and transgressive. Still not that great other than a trashy pulp comic. (And I like trashy pulp comics)
January 3, 2023
Videodrome called; they want their New Flesh back...
January 11, 2012
To me, this is the clear standout of the GRAVEL series. It's as gonzo as any of the others, and it makes the "combat magician" idea clear, without revolving around his military background. Instead, Ellis focuses on an underground, sex-related ring, and it's through this that he's able to take the series to its greatest transgressive highs, which for me make this one of the bravest and most fascinating comics of its era.
May 14, 2009
The similarities between the visuals in this TPB (2001) and Charles Burns' Black Hole (1995-2005) are striking, but rather than write Ellis' idea off as a rip-off, I experienced "Stranger Kisses" as the inventive crimebuster that it is.
October 4, 2016
It's a dive into LA's seedy underbelly where a special brand of snuff films are commercialised. The main character always keeps his cool and fixes the problem in a nice and spectacular way.
The ride is even bloodier than the last one, but still in black and white so it's just a tad more difficult to imagine the blood and gore. But just a tiny tad as the artwork is very detailed.
The ride is even bloodier than the last one, but still in black and white so it's just a tad more difficult to imagine the blood and gore. But just a tiny tad as the artwork is very detailed.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews