Here are some expanded comments from Mike Wolfer on Warren Ellis’ Strange Killings: Strong Medicine saga. An abbreviated version of these appeared in the SK: Strong Medicine press release, along with some comments from Warren Ellis and artwork from the upcoming series, all of which you can find here. Warren Ellis’ Strange Killings: Strong Medicine begins in June.
Collaborating with Warren Ellis on the STRANGE KILLINGS saga continues to be the most comfortable and creative working experience in which I have ever been involved in the field of comics. With each successive mini-series, the storytelling bar is raised a little bit higher and I’m sure you’ll agree that in the political horror arena, STRANGE KILLINGS does not disappoint. I think that the most intriguing aspect of each series and of STRONG MEDICINE in particular is that there are elements in Warren’s tales that are absolutely real. Much is fictionalized, but there is an underlying voice, beneath the magic bullets and the Body Orchards, that reminds us, “This is happening. Now. Watch the news.”
William Gravel himself is real. You know him. I know him. We’ve passed him on the street and never guessed of the unspeakable horrors that this man has seen or participates in on a daily basis. What makes Gravel such an interesting protagonist is he is, presumably, the best there is at what he does, yet he’s expendable. The bureaucracy that struggles to control Gravel’s life knows that they can’t live without him, yet they also know that their days are numbered simply by his existence. GCHQ will ring him up to handle the dirtiest, deniable ops imaginable and although they know that on another day they’ll need his services again, his death in the line of duty would be a blessing. If you view yourself as irreplaceable, try quitting your job and see how quickly someone else is sitting at your former desk. Gravel deals with this every day. And also child murderers, mutilators, black magic, assassins, the living dead…
…It’s no wonder he smokes.
— Mike Wolfer