Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard
Encyclopedia
Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard is a comic book
adaptation of the World Fantasy Award
-winning short story "A Hypothetical Lizard", written in 1988 by Alan Moore
for the third volume of the Liavek
shared world fantasy series. The story was later reprinted in "Words Without Pictures", a 1990 book of prose stories by comics writers edited by Steve Niles, but then went out of print. In 2004 Avatar Press
published the first issue of Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard as a comic book adapted by writer Antony Johnston
.
The story describes the life of Som-Som, a prostitute in the House Without Clocks - a brothel designed to service rare and exotic tastes. Som-Som has undergone a corpus callosotomy
, severing the connection between the two hemispheres of her brain; this, in conjunction with the porcelain mask attached to the right half of her face, and the thick glove on her right hand, destroys the connections between her thoughts and actions. Therefore, she can see and hear, but not speak of or act on, any secrets her wizard clientele may inadvertently reveal in the throes of passion. Consequently, Som-Som can only watch as her transsexual friend Rawra Chin is slowly destroyed by an abusive relationship.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
adaptation of the World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
-winning short story "A Hypothetical Lizard", written in 1988 by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
for the third volume of the Liavek
Liavek
Liavek is a shared world brought to life in a series of five fantasy anthologies edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly.-Contributors:Contributors include Bull, Shetterly, Gene Wolfe, Jane Yolen, John M. Ford, Kara Dalkey, Barry B. Longyear, Megan Lindholm, Nancy Kress, Patricia C. Wrede, Steven...
shared world fantasy series. The story was later reprinted in "Words Without Pictures", a 1990 book of prose stories by comics writers edited by Steve Niles, but then went out of print. In 2004 Avatar Press
Avatar Press
Avatar Press is an independent American publisher of comic books, founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois.Avatar initially published only mini-series; however, they have since begun to branch out...
published the first issue of Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard as a comic book adapted by writer Antony Johnston
Antony Johnston
Antony Johnston is an award-winning British writer. He is known for the post apocalyptic comic series Wasteland, his graphic novel adaptations of Anthony Horowitz' Alex Rider novels, and his work with Alan Moore.-Career:...
.
The story describes the life of Som-Som, a prostitute in the House Without Clocks - a brothel designed to service rare and exotic tastes. Som-Som has undergone a corpus callosotomy
Corpus callosotomy
Corpus callosotomy is a surgical procedure that disconnects the cerebral hemispheres, resulting in a condition called split-brain....
, severing the connection between the two hemispheres of her brain; this, in conjunction with the porcelain mask attached to the right half of her face, and the thick glove on her right hand, destroys the connections between her thoughts and actions. Therefore, she can see and hear, but not speak of or act on, any secrets her wizard clientele may inadvertently reveal in the throes of passion. Consequently, Som-Som can only watch as her transsexual friend Rawra Chin is slowly destroyed by an abusive relationship.