Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead

Hotwire (collected editions) #1

by Steve Pugh, Warren Ellis

Detective Alice Hotwire lives in a place where the dead share the same space with living. Most of the dead, better known as "blue lights," are the same harmless, witless drones lost in their death as they were in life. Some of these electrical manifestations of their former selves want revenge. Some want power. Some even want company to join them in the ranks of the departed. Enter Alice Hotwire, Detective Exorcist. She is the best person at keeping the peace on the blue light beat. It's a job she doesn't want in a world she doesn't understand. But when a break-in at the Maximum Security Necropolis sets off a surge of violent hauntings, Alice knows she's the only one that can keep the blue lights in line and pull the city from the brink of chaos.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Paranormal

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Steve Pugh draws for DC Comics, Marvel, Darkhorse and 2000AD and is currently writing and painting "Hotwire: Detective Exorcist" for Radical Publishing. Other stuff you might have seen include "Animal Man" with Jaime Delano, the "Saint of Killers" mini series with Garth Ennis, and "Generation X" with Warren Ellis and Brian Wood.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork is the only saving grace. Couldn't get into the story, coz there's just too much going on. Wish it was paced to a crescendo, not sprawling like this was. Good character, high stakes, but not not done well enough for me as a reader to get enraptured in its fictive dream.
Maybe a reread will do it justice. Maybe.

[Shawn M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art was cool, the rest seemed rush and meh but hey kudos for Pugh for finishing this.

[Georgia Hott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warren Ellis is always a master. I miss Radical Publishing's style of comic. Glad to find this collection!

[Draven2005 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encanta. Trama muy original que mezcla ciencia ficción con un toque sobrenatural. El dibujo es excelente y la protagonista, un personaje con fuerza y personalidad... Un gran cómic, sin duda.

[Tanabrus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hotwire è un fumetto scritto nel 2009 dal disegnatore Steve Pugh, su un soggetto che aveva ideato per lui agli inzi degli anni ’90 Warren Ellis. All’epoca doveva essere pubblicato dalla Tundra UK, che però fallì prima di stamparlo.
E il progetto rimase nel cassetto, con Ellis che percorreva la sua carriera sempre più sfolgorante e Pugh che tornava alla Vertigo a disegnare.
Finché non ha deciso di riprendere in mano la cosa, e di inventarsi sceneggiatore oltre che disegnatore.

Probabilmente sarebbe stato più interessante fosse uscito quindici anni prima, adesso Hotwire sa di già visto.
Intendiamoci: non che conosca molte ambientazioni futuristiche in cui il mondo è percorso dalle luci blu, gli spiriti dei morti che non riescono più a scomparire e che rimangono in qualche modo imprigionati sulla Terra, spesso nulla più che manifestazioni visive stile fuochi fatui, altre volte invece con esiti più gravi e pericolosi.

Solo che il tutto assomiglia dannatamente troppo alla corrente urban fantasy che ormai va per la maggiore.

Abbiamo Alice Hotwire, investigatrice della polizia ed esorcista.
Che non significa che gira con la tonaca e il rosario, né che si comporta come Don Zauker.
Significa che è addestrata per combattere e contenere i fantasmi. Che grazie a un’operazione chirurgica ha una gabbia di Faraday nel cranio che la mette al riparo da diversi trucchetti degli spiriti.

Alice è la protagonista.
E’ la persona più intelligente che lei stessa conosca, figlia di scienziati massacrati dalla polizia quando la scienza aveva tentato di ribellarsi allo spiritismo dilagante dovuto all’innegabile realtà degli spiriti dei morti che ora tutti potevano vedere.
E’ la più dura e cazzuta del dipartimento.
Guardata abbastanza male dai colleghi, ma autosufficiente e superiore in tutto.

Troppo superiore.
Praticamente manca di spessore, da tanto che è superiore.
Non so, non ho provato il minimo attaccamento per il personaggio. Ne ho provato quasi di più per la sua involontaria spalla o anche per il nemico.

Per lo meno non ci sono vampiri né relazioni impulsive e passionali con spiriti, come il copione dell’urban fantasy tanto di moda adesso richiederebbe.
E proprio questo mi fa pensare che si, l’idea originale era proprio questa. Solo che il fumetto è stato pubblicato almeno quindici anni troppo tardi.

[Matthew Purnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're like me and you've never seen the artwork of Steve Pugh before then this comic book will truly leave you speechless after you've opened to the first page. The images are painted and then digitally photographed before the word balloons get placed onto their appropriate areas, but even if this entire four-issue series was completely silent I would still highly recommend this book for its imagery alone. The story follows a Detective Exorcist named Alice Hotwire as she travels through a futuristic city (I think it's supposed to be London but no one ever comes right out and names the place) as she investigates a mysterious surge in the activity of deadly "blue-lights" which is what ghosts are called in the "Hotwire" comic book series. You see, thanks to more than one billion internet connections creating a thin fog of electrically charged particles, the life force that resides inside of a person's body is unable to rest in peace after death, so it wanders the world aimlessly until someone or something allows it to briefly become attached. That's how things are supposed to work, but when the rules of death and reanimation are thrown out the window, all hell breaks loose and it's up to Alice along with her partner Mobley to figure out why so many souls aren't leaving the living alone. The plot is easy to follow, the action is plentiful so you won't have a chance to get bored wen you read this, and there's also some bonus material at the end including a really nice interview with the writer/artist Steve Pugh. Fans of Warren Ellis won't be disappointed when they buy this book, he wrote the original story with Steve Pugh many years ago and it's finally been allowed to see the light of day since Mr. Pugh maintained direct creator control over this character and the world she inhabits. I can't single out a specific page or image that made me love this book, you'll just have to buy it for yourself and see what makes it so great. And the really great news is that there will be a second book coming out very soon!

[La Revistería Comics · Rating 4 out of 5]

Según cuenta en la divertidísima introducción Steve Pugh, co-creador y guionista-dibujante de este espectacular tomo, el personaje de Alice Hotwire: Detective Exorcista tuvo una vida ajetreada desde el momento de su concepción, ya que originalmente fue planeada para ser publicada en una editorial que terminaría fundiéndose :S Hotwire fue una creación conjunta de Pugh con nada menos que Warren Ellis, uno de los guionistas más destacados de las últimas décadas, con quien mantiene una excelente relación. Al quedarse sin casa editora, Hotwire quedó en el limbo de los comics inéditos hasta que años después resurgió de la mente de Pugh una versión actualizada, menos ácida pero más jugada y radical que terminaría formando las historias de “Réquiem por los muertos”, la primera aventura de este particular personaje.
Con el beneplácito de Ellis, Pugh se dedicó a reescribir, replantear y a llevar más allá la idea de una detective paranormal con un pasado -cómo no- de lo más misterioso y muchos ases en la manga. La editorial que lo terminó publicando en USA fue la experimental Radical Publishing, mientras que la edición española corrió a cargo de Dolmen, quienes realizaron un excelente trabajo tanto de traducción como de encuadernación y edición. Gracias a ello, esta versión cuenta no sólo con el primer arco completo sino con un capítulo extra que sirvió de piloto para el relanzamiento del personaje, un montón de ilustraciones con diseños descartados, y hasta muestras de cómo habría sido la historieta si hubiera quedado en su primera versión.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho cómo se gestó este comic. Me gustó también que quedara en el limbo y renaciera muchos años después como algo completamente nuevo. Me gustaron los dibujos, me gustaron las historias. Me gustó bastante el personaje principal y no tanto los secundarios. Y me gustó bastante la premisa pero no tanto el desarrollo y cómo se resuelve todo a los rayitos de ectoplasma modernos. Pero seguro que cuando llegue el segundo tomo le dé una chance, porque la verdad que Pugh nunca dibujó tan bien y como guionista no lo hace nada mal.

PD: ya que estos días estuve medio obsesionado con el Bechdel Test y tratando de aplicarlo en retrospectiva a los comics que he leído, acá vamos con la prueba:
Personajes femeninos con nombre: Alice Hotwire (protagonista irreverente), Kelly (prostituta enojada) y Darrow (jefa mandona).
Charlas entre ellas y que no sean sobre hombres: Entre Alice y Kelly, sobre las chicas que están desapareciendo y por las cuales la policía no hace nada. Entre Alice y Darrow: Cuando la jefa le exige que mantenga su canal de comunicación abierto todo el tiempo.

Creo que eso es todo, pero al menos tenemos dos charlas entre mujeres con nombre -aunque el de la prostituta lo mencionan casi al pasar- que no hablan de varones.

Bechdel Test en Hotwire: Réquiem para los muertos: APROBADO

[Boden Steiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if Hotwire is a perfect book, but it entertained me the way I want to be entertained by a graphic novel--cool characters, some witty dialogue, and pages painted so well that you are sometimes left a little awestruck.

You can't beat a ghostbusting story, and Ellis handles this with a more serious tone than that particular inspiration. That is not to say that Hotwire lacks charm, Alice Hotwire is all IQ and attitude, not very much unlike Dr. Gregory House wrapped in a five foot pixie. She rides a motorcycle, plays vintage games, and bosses around cops like it was a hobby. She's cool. It doesn't hurt that she backs it up with competence and unflinching bravery. She's the type of character that is hard not to like.

Steve Pugh made these pages with a lot of love and it shows. Going with the photo-real," Alex Ross" style--a style that sometimes misses terribly and normally leaves me a little flat-- he just sells it. Dynamic page layouts, and character perspective, and some beautiful lighting throughout, the art is what pushes this book as a higher entertainment for me. Much respect to Mr. Pugh.

A nice touch, like in any GN, was the inclusion of early work on Alice, pages and sketches. This always gives a trade added value, and made Hotwire worth every penny to me.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in a future where the dead coming back as ghosts is so common that the police employ an exorcist, the story centers around Alice Hotwire (a somewhat silly name that actually has a logical--story-wise--origin), an exorcist who's trying to find out why the dead are being more destructive than normal, while avoiding a city-wide riot. This is the first story that Steve Pugh has written (Warren Ellis was a co-creator the character and the idea, but didn't actually write this volume) and there are a few points where his inexperience shows through. But it's lost in the positives. Alice Hotwire is a good character--very good and competent at her job, but a complete wreck outside of it. The story is well paced, making the supernatural elements both feel realistic and common place and yet larger than life at times. But what I enjoyed most was the art. I know I've see Steve Pugh's art before, and actually didn't care for it all that much. But I think he did a amazing job with the painting--it's both clean yet beautifully done, with characters who feel distinct and realistic.

I saw that Pugh's written another volume, so I've already pre-ordered the next trade from my comic
book store.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Pugh gets a chance to exercise his writing talents with Hotwire, a project that Warren Ellis abandoned when the publisher they were working on it for wasn't going to pay either of them. Pugh couldn't let go of the character, and with Ellis' blessings (I'm a bit of an Ellis fan) he revised and completed the story on his own.

Some changes had been made to Alice Hotwire's character. Taking Pugh's description she bore a resemblance to Ellis' Spider Jerusalem. Pugh softened her, and added some idealism to her. She remains the only detective/exorcist in the near future. Whether the city is meant to be London or an unnamed American city isn't made clear, and really isn't necessary for the story.

You see Alice is the police's blue light specialist. No, not K-Mart specials, but 50 years before the story begins the dead stopped leaving and their ghosts hover around street level in various forms, aka blue lights. The only problem is that Alice has stumbled onto a bigger case than some possession. Someone is weaponzing the ghosts, and building a bomb.

I definitely could go for more stories of Alice. Pugh gives us all of her background that is necessary for understanding the setting and avoids huge (they're there but not huge) exposition dumps.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hotwire is a resuscitated graphic novel project that germinated with a discussion between author, Warren Ellis and artist, Steve Pugh in the (1980s?). It has now been rewritten and meticulously inked by Pugh. It's a solidly executed dystopian sci-fi action police story that follows Alice, a young pixieish detective with cunning, but a noirish disregard for self-preservation. "Blue light" ghosts are aggressively interfering with the world of the living and, some humans are being used as ghost bombs. The police precinct seems to be a target. Characters are fleshed out just well enough to hang the story around, and the story is just good enough to support some exciting action. All these parts hang together so well, however, that they amount to a more than their sum, making this a more satifying read than I expected. Fans of grrrl power monster slayers, and dystopic action stories will appreciate it the most.

[Trike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this on a whim because it was on sale at Borders (RIP) and it looked interesting. When I finally settled down to read it, at first I wasn't too sure about the story, but once I got past the rather clumsy infodump on the early pages I was in for an extremely cool ride.

This is a fantasy-noir-cyberpunk tale that's a real throwback to the good stuff, and it's aged just fine. The story moves along at a great clip and the art is simply gorgeous.

I can't sum up the story any better than the official description, but suffice to say that this is a far superior version of the rather pedestrian Occult Crimes Taskforce. the fact this covers much of the same ground was just accidental, as I wasn't look for stories like this. The comparison is perfect, though, as it shows how this tale can be done right.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warren Ellis always surprises me. Which should not be possible because I am always surprised by him. You would think that, after a time, I would stop being surprised. This comic surprised me. I sincerely hope he decides to continue this series as this is refreshing and one of his more important works (IMO).

[Robert Bussie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. The expressions on the peoples faces are amazing. I would compare the artist, Steve Pugh, art work to artist Alex Ross. In my opinion, that is a big compliment.

The story by Steve and Warren Ellis is really good. The futuristic detective noir mixed with paranormal activity is interesting. I will be trying to track down book 2.

[David Alderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great premise. Like Ghostbuster's but with a female lead and some extra sci fi thrown in. Wish it would have run an issue or two longer - felt a little quick at the end, but then again, it is a comic book.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I love the painted art and the Story was great. I love the interesting intersection of the afterlife and technology. The characterization of Alice was very well done. I can't wait to see more Hotwire stories.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great art. Great lead character. Fantastically boiler room in the setting, and a somewhat more interesting than usual universe.

[George Saoulidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best comic book I have ever read.