The Surrogates, Volume 2: Flesh and Bone » (New Edition)

In a dark, downtown alley in Central Georgia Metropolis, a juvenile prank goes too far and a homeless man is killed. When the ensuing investigation reveals that the attackers aren't who they appeared to be, justice depends on the testimony of a single missing witness - a street snitch with a history of providing information to a cop named Harvey Greer. Harvey is placed on special assignment to track down the informant, but others have their own designs, including a wealthy socialite and an ex-con turned religious leader known to his followers as The Prophet. As days pass and anger among the anti-surrogate population grows, the city stands on a razor's edge. Will punishment be exacted in a courtroom or on the streets?

Set fifteen years prior to the events of the original Surrogates graphic novel, Flesh & Bone sheds light on the past that binds the cast together. From the streets of Central Georgia Metropolis to the boardroom of Virtual Self, Inc., Flesh & Bone takes us on a journey through a city struggling to come to grips with its present. Not only a suspenseful thriller but also a cautionary tale, this book reminds us that tomorrow will be determined by the choices we make today.

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up–The Surrogates (Top Shelf, 2006) was an intriguing metaphor for our culture’s increasing reliance on computers for communication: mechanical automatons called surrogates, which humans use for all physical interaction. Despite the promising premise, that graphic novel rarely rose much above the level of its boilerplate police-procedural dialogue. And with the release of this prequel, coinciding with a film of the first book, readers might expect a cheap movie tie-in. Instead, the creators have vastly improved on their original vision, producing a complex, thought-provoking novel. The story opens with the murder of a homeless man by three teenagers joyriding their parents’ surrogates. While Officer Harvey Greer investigates, a religious leader called the Prophet uses the crime to spark the rage of the underclass of citizens who cannot afford surrogates. Readers of the original book will recognize the beginnings of the 2039 anti-surrogate riots–the last gasp of anti-surrogate sentiment before these automatons took over every aspect of society. Venditti sharpens his ethical critique by focusing on this moment of societal choice over a new technology. That choice–between the utopian rhetoric of the surrogates’ creators and the Prophet’s complicated moral vision of society–puts into relief the attractions and limitations of each, while highlighting the elaborate moral calculus that societies constantly perform. Weldele’s art, meanwhile, is sketchlike and raw, providing a powerful comment on the story’s inherent ambiguity. Fans of Watchmen (DC Comics), and other dystopian science fiction should be right at home with thisexcellent graphic novel.–Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA