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The Surrogates is a five-issue comic booklimited series written by Robert Venditti, drawn by

Brett Weldele, and published by Top Shelf Productions from 2005 to 2006. In 2009 it was

followed by a prequel graphic novel, The Surrogates: Flesh and Bone.

Publication history

The first series ran from 2005 to 2006, with a collected edition published in July 2006

(ISBN 1891830872). A prequel graphic novel, The Surrogates: Flesh and Bone, was published in July 2009 (ISBN 1603090185). A limited edition hardcover, The

Surrogates Operator's Manual, collects both books into a single volume (ISBN

1603090452).

Venditti was inspired to write The Surrogates after reading about numerous individualswho lost their spouses or their jobs due to their addiction to the internet and their online

personas. In an interview, he says: "It dawned on me that if you were somehow able tocreate a persona and send it out into the real worldwhere it could go to work for you,

and run your errands, and so onthen you would never have to go back to being

yourself." [1]

Plot summary

[edit] The Surrogates

In the year 2054, people are using surrogates (humanoid remote control vehicles) to

interact with each other (telepresence). The story, set in a fictional city called Central

Georgia Metropolis, begins with Lt. Harvey Greer investigating the destruction of twosurrogates. Greer soon discovers a mysterious figure, which he nicknames

Steeplejack, plots to permanently disable all surrogates in an effort to eliminate

people's dependence on them. Greer considers the anti-surrogate religious leader namedThe Prophet a suspect, but The Prophet is later killed by Steeplejack. Similar toSteeplejack and The Prophet, Greer feels people have become too reliant on surrogates

for superficial reasons. Greer chooses to work the investigation in person afterSteeplejack destroys Greer's surrogate. Greer later discovers Steeplejack is a surrogate

controlled by Lionel Canter, the inventor of the original surrogate. Lionel designed

surrogates as a tool for the physically impaired and became dissatisfied with their

widespread personal use by the non-impaired. Eventually Lionel/Steeplejack

successfully disables surrogates throughout the city. The story ends when Greer

discovers his wife Margaret, a surrogate-addict, has committed suicide because her

attractive-looking surrogate was disabled.

[edit] The Surrogates: Flesh and Bone

Flesh and Bone is set fifteen years prior to the original Surrogates story. It explores the

early days of surrogate availability, including riots that take place in the wake of a

surrogate-related murder.[2]

Harvey Greer is a patrolman investigating the beating death

of a homeless person by a teenage boy who uses his fathers surrogate without

permission. The fathers lawyer claims the father operated the surrogate in self defense.

The police reluctantly drop the charges after their witness is murdered by an assassin.

Thousands of members of a religious group riot for several days, protesting the dropped

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charges and the growing popularity of surrogates. The mayor meets with the groups

leader The Prophet and negotiates an end to the riots by giving the group a large parcel of land to establish a reservation. Greer is promoted to detective after his

investigation leads to the teenage boys involvement in the beating death of thehomeless man. The lawyer is charged (framed) with plotting the witness murder,

although the murder was actually orchestrated by The Prophet.