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The Exterminators (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Exterminators was an American monthly comic book
series
, published under the Vertigo imprint by DC Comics
. The comic was created by writer Simon Oliver
and artist Tony Moore
and follows the employees of the Bug-Bee-Gone extermination
company. The book is notable for its graphic and darkly humorous take on the extermination business. The first issue was released on January 4, 2006. At the 2007 San Diego Comic Con it was announced that the series had been cancelled and would finish at issue 30. The series had initially been envisioned as a 50-issue series.
friend of Oliver had become good friends with Karen Berger
of Vertigo Comics after they had discussed 100 Bullets
. Through this friend the pitch of The Exterminators reached an interested publisher quickly. After some reworking with editor Jon Vankin the project was greenlit and the first issue was released January 2006.
A short preview of the comic before its initial release appeared in an issue of Y: The Last Man
.
es. Draxx has some serious side effects which have been discovered by Dr. Saloth Sar, the in house scientist of Bug-Bee-Gone. (Saloth Sar is also the birth name of the infamous Cambodian leader Pol Pot
.)
Sal, the head scientist at Bug-Be-Gone, also discovers that insects mutate after prolonged exposure to Draxx, skipping their evolution up several generations. After Henry and his new partner clean out a run down apartment complex and a swarm of mutant cockroaches attack them, Henry breaks up with his girlfriend who is working at the company that produces Draxx and plans to market it as a street drug to wipe out poorer neighborhoods.
One of the apartment's mutated cockroaches finds the resurrected AJ, now calling himself CJ, who is actually a reborn Egyptian phraroah who worships insects. CJ murders one of the employees of Bug-Be-Gone to prove himself to the mutant roach leaders, as fruit from Madagascar infested with Hisser cockroaches is shipped to America. The hissers eat the Draxx, and evolve into Mayan hissers, responsible for that civilization's destruction. Henry's ex girlfriend, now the head of the Draxx producing company, is herself removed from the board after the hissers paralyze her, and Henry moves on to a new girlfriend.
CJ, now recognized as the resurrected pharaoh, attacks the city with the hissers as Henry and the other exterminators destroy them. In the final battle Henry loses an eye, but he marries his new girlfriend.
motif. Henry James found it in AJ's truck just before AJ died, and the subsequent flashback sequence indicates that the box was found during AJ's stint in the Marine Corps, in the Gulf War
. The box appears to be made of stone, and has an elaborately carved scarab on one side. On another are four keyholes and a swastika
. It is entirely possible that the box is Egyptian, as it may have been carried by Roman
soldiers into Iraq
, and then rediscovered sometime before AJ's military service.
The box's significance is elaborated on in issue 25.
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
Ongoing series
The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...
, published under the Vertigo imprint by 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...
. The comic was created by writer Simon Oliver
Simon Oliver
Simon Oliver is the writer of the Wildstorm comic book series Gen¹³ and the Vertigo comic book series The Exterminators and Hellblazer Presents: Chas - The Knowledge.-Biography:...
and artist Tony Moore
Tony Moore (artist)
Michael Anthony "Tony" Moore is an American comic book artist, whose work consists mainly of genre pieces, most notably in horror and science fiction, with titles such as The Walking Dead, Fear Agent and The Exterminators.-Career:...
and follows the employees of the Bug-Bee-Gone extermination
Pest control
Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...
company. The book is notable for its graphic and darkly humorous take on the extermination business. The first issue was released on January 4, 2006. At the 2007 San Diego Comic Con it was announced that the series had been cancelled and would finish at issue 30. The series had initially been envisioned as a 50-issue series.
History
The Exterminators initial incarnation was a TV pitch and pilot outline as writer Simon Oliver was working in the film industry at the time. After consideration Oliver realized the story wasn't really network material. Oliver then decided to pitch it to a comic book publisher. Luckily a film producerFilm producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
friend of Oliver had become good friends with 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:...
of Vertigo Comics after they had discussed 100 Bullets
100 Bullets
100 Bullets is an Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comic book written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso. It was published in the USA by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint and initially ran for one hundred issues...
. Through this friend the pitch of The Exterminators reached an interested publisher quickly. After some reworking with editor Jon Vankin the project was greenlit and the first issue was released January 2006.
A short preview of the comic before its initial release appeared in an issue of Y: The Last Man
Y: The Last Man
Y: The Last Man is a comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra published by Vertigo beginning in 2002. The series is about the only man to survive the apparent simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth...
.
Characters
The main character of The Exterminators is Henry James. Fresh out of jail, he starts working for his stepfather Nils Peterson's extermination company Bug-Bee-Gone. Henry lives in an apartment with his girlfriend Laura, a high level employee of Ocran Industries, manufacturers of chemical products. One of these products is Draxx, a new poisonous gel for exterminating cockroachCockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
es. Draxx has some serious side effects which have been discovered by Dr. Saloth Sar, the in house scientist of Bug-Bee-Gone. (Saloth Sar is also the birth name of the infamous Cambodian leader Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
.)
Plot
Henry is training with his partner, AJ, under Bug-Be-Gone, an extermination company ran by Henry's father, Nils. Henry is out of prison, and after AJ overdoses on Draxx, the insect-killing gel Bug-Be-Gone uses, the police try to solve a break in at the extermination company.Sal, the head scientist at Bug-Be-Gone, also discovers that insects mutate after prolonged exposure to Draxx, skipping their evolution up several generations. After Henry and his new partner clean out a run down apartment complex and a swarm of mutant cockroaches attack them, Henry breaks up with his girlfriend who is working at the company that produces Draxx and plans to market it as a street drug to wipe out poorer neighborhoods.
One of the apartment's mutated cockroaches finds the resurrected AJ, now calling himself CJ, who is actually a reborn Egyptian phraroah who worships insects. CJ murders one of the employees of Bug-Be-Gone to prove himself to the mutant roach leaders, as fruit from Madagascar infested with Hisser cockroaches is shipped to America. The hissers eat the Draxx, and evolve into Mayan hissers, responsible for that civilization's destruction. Henry's ex girlfriend, now the head of the Draxx producing company, is herself removed from the board after the hissers paralyze her, and Henry moves on to a new girlfriend.
CJ, now recognized as the resurrected pharaoh, attacks the city with the hissers as Henry and the other exterminators destroy them. In the final battle Henry loses an eye, but he marries his new girlfriend.
The Box
The box in question is of unknown origins, though it carries a distinct EgyptianCulture of Egypt
The culture of Egypt has thousands of years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations. For millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself...
motif. Henry James found it in AJ's truck just before AJ died, and the subsequent flashback sequence indicates that the box was found during AJ's stint in the Marine Corps, in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. The box appears to be made of stone, and has an elaborately carved scarab on one side. On another are four keyholes and a swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
. It is entirely possible that the box is Egyptian, as it may have been carried by Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
soldiers into Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and then rediscovered sometime before AJ's military service.
The box's significance is elaborated on in issue 25.
Collected editions
| # | Title | ISBN | Publication date | Reprinted issues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bug Brothers | ISBN 1-4012-1064-3 | August 2, 2006 | The Exterminators #1–5 |
| 2 | Insurgency | ISBN 1-4012-1221-2 | March 7, 2007 | The Exterminators #6-10 |
| 3 | Lies of Our Fathers | ISBN 1-4012-1475-4 | September 12, 2007 | The Exterminators #11-16 |
| 4 | Crossfire and Collateral | ISBN 1-4012-1685-6 | April 30, 2008 | The Exterminators #17-23 |
| 5 | Bug Brothers Forever | ISBN 1-4012-1970-3 | November 12, 2008 | The Exterminators #24-30 |
External links
- Who You Gonna Call? Simon Oliver and the Exterminators, Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...