Sebastian O
Encyclopedia
Sebastian O is a comic book
series written by Grant Morrison
, drawn by Steve Yeowell
and published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics
in 1993
.
imprint, along with Peter Milligan
and Duncan Fegredo
's Enigma and J.M. DeMatteis & Paul Johnson
's Mercy. After Disney cancelled the proposed line, Young took the project with him to DC Comics, where Karen Berger
's Vertigo imprint was readying for launch.
Steve Yeowell took inspiration from Victorian artist and dandy
Aubrey Beardsley
's work when completing the art for the series.
, Sebastian O tells the story of a young flamboyant assassin
in an alternate history, technologically advanced Victorian era
London
and his attempts to track down whoever condemned him to prison for his moral crimes and transgressive literature.
Trained as an assassin, the world-traveling Sebastian belongs to the Club de Paradis Artificiel, which included the lesbian
George, the pederast Abbe, and Sebastian's current nemesis, Lord Theo Lavender. While certainly morally unsound (he shoots a police officer in cold blood and has his butler feed it to cats) Sebastian is nonetheless a sympathetic character
as he tracks down the whereabouts of Lavender, who betrayed him and had Sebastian locked up in Bedlam for offending Victorian morals.
:
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...
series written by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
, drawn by Steve Yeowell
Steve Yeowell
Steve Yeowell is a British comics artist, well-known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic 2000 AD.-Biography:...
and published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
in 1993
1993 in comics
-January:* Doom Patrol #63: " The Empire of Chairs," Grant Morrison's final issue as Doom Patrol writer.-February:* Action Comics, with issue #686, suspends publication following "The Death of Superman."...
.
Publication history
Sebastian O was originally commissioned by editor Art Young for Disney's proposed TouchmarkDisney Comics
Disney Comics was a comic book publishing company operated by The Walt Disney Company which ran from 1990 to 1993. In the USA, Disney only licensed their comic books to other publishers prior to 1990...
imprint, along with Peter Milligan
Peter Milligan
Peter Milligan born in London, a British writer, best known for his comic book, film and television work.-Early career:Milligan started his comic career with short stories for 2000 AD in the early 1980s. By 1986, Milligan had his first ongoing strip in 2000AD called Bad Company, with artists Brett...
and Duncan Fegredo
Duncan Fegredo
Duncan Fegredo is a British comic book artist born in Leicester in 1964.-Career:Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a short lived British magazine called Heartbreak Hotel...
's Enigma and J.M. DeMatteis & Paul Johnson
Paul Johnson (artist)
Paul Johnson is a British comic book artist.-Biography:Paul Johnson orbited the peripheries of the British comic book industry in the early Eighties, self-publishing and appearing in influential but short-lived publications such as Psst! and Escape Magazine...
's Mercy. After Disney cancelled the proposed line, Young took the project with him to DC Comics, where Karen Berger
Karen Berger
Karen Berger is an American comic book editor. She is best known as the Executive Editor of DC Comics' Vertigo imprint.-Biography:...
's Vertigo imprint was readying for launch.
Steve Yeowell took inspiration from Victorian artist and dandy
Dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
's work when completing the art for the series.
Synopsis
An early example of what became known as steampunkSteampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
, Sebastian O tells the story of a young flamboyant assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in an alternate history, technologically advanced Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and his attempts to track down whoever condemned him to prison for his moral crimes and transgressive literature.
Trained as an assassin, the world-traveling Sebastian belongs to the Club de Paradis Artificiel, which included the lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
George, the pederast Abbe, and Sebastian's current nemesis, Lord Theo Lavender. While certainly morally unsound (he shoots a police officer in cold blood and has his butler feed it to cats) Sebastian is nonetheless a sympathetic character
Sympathetic character
A sympathetic character is a fictional character in a story with whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, if not necessarily admire. Protagonists, almost by definition, fit into the category of sympathetic character; so, however, do many supporting characters and even...
as he tracks down the whereabouts of Lavender, who betrayed him and had Sebastian locked up in Bedlam for offending Victorian morals.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In 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...
:
- Sebastian O (with Grant MorrisonGrant MorrisonGrant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
and Steve YeowellSteve YeowellSteve Yeowell is a British comics artist, well-known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic 2000 AD.-Biography:...
, Vertigo, 3 issue mini-series, 19931993 in comics-January:* Doom Patrol #63: " The Empire of Chairs," Grant Morrison's final issue as Doom Patrol writer.-February:* Action Comics, with issue #686, suspends publication following "The Death of Superman."...
, tpbTrade paperback (comics)In 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...
, 20042004 in comics-February:*February 6: Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts announce a multi-year agreement in which EA will develop a new generation of fighting video games pitting Marvel superheroes against a new, original set of EA heroes....
, 80 pages, TitanTitan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
, ISBN 1-84023-996-4, Vertigo, ISBN 1-4012-0337-X)
External links
- Review of the trade at Comics BulletinComics BulletinComics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...