Sleeper

ED BRUBAKER /SEAN PHILIPS / DC COMICS/WILDSTORM

    Secret agent Holden Carver is doubly cursed.  For one, an alien artifact has attached itself to his nervous system, allowing him to feel no pain (and virtually no other sensations for that matter), and to pass on pain and trauma he experiences to others.  Furthermore, Carver is a deep cover operative masquerading as a rogue U.S. government agent turned up-and-coming enforcer in a deadly, worldwide subversive organization.  Unfortunately, his handler is in a coma, and Carver must now maintain his cover with no back-up, as his former comrades (including his fiancée) consider him a traitor, while his current “allies,” led by the ruthlessly cunning Tao, question his loyalty.  

    Once again, Ed Brubaker confirms his status as one of the elite comic book scribes of the day.  In a mere 24 issues (‘Sleeper’ encompasses two 12 issue volumes), he creates wholesale the shadowy recesses and seamy underbelly of the otherwise uninspired Wildstorm universe in order to provide the backdrop of a harrowing, gripping saga of a man on the edge.  Afraid that his humanity is slipping away due to his inability to feel, tormented by the memory of the woman he abandoned and seemingly betrayed, Carver must endure these burdens while trying to manipulate events to his advantage and stay one step ahead of the forces arrayed against him.  The result is a man torn between his sense of duty to ideals that seem increasingly hollow and the urge to protect his life and cover at all costs, including that of his soul.

     ‘Sleeper’ is a completed story that ran through two 12 issue volumes.  The first volume has been reprinted in the trades ‘Out in the Cold’ and ‘All False Moves.’

    The first 6 issues of the second volume have been reprinted in the trade ‘A Crooked Line.’

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