Sleeper (comics)

Sleeper
Sleeper, Volume 1 #1
Publication information
Publisher	Wildstorm (imprint of DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Two limited series, one-shot
Genre	Crime, spy, superhero, neo-noir
Publication date	March 2003 - March 2004 April 2004 June 2004 - May 2005
Number of issues	Sleeper #1-12 Coup D'Etat: Sleeper Sleeper: Season Two #1-12
Main character(s)	Holden Carver John Lynch Tao Miss Misery
Creative team
Writer(s)	Ed Brubaker
Penciller(s)	Sean Phillips (main series) Jim Lee (Coup D'Etat: Sleeper)
Colorist(s)	Tony Avina Randy Mayor Alex Sinclair Carrie Strachan James Sinclair
Collected editions
Out in the Cold
All False Moves
A Crooked Line
The Long Way Home
Sleeper: Season One
Sleeper Season Two

Sleeper was a comic book series written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, published by DC Comics under their Wildstorm imprint. The series consisted of two twelve-issue limited series and the events of the first "season" served as a catalyst for the Coup D'Etat line-wide crossover.

Sleeper was set in the Wildstorm Universe and concerned the travails of Holden Carver, a covert operative who has been placed undercover in a villainous organisation led by TAO, a WildC.A.T.s villain from Alan Moore's run. It was a spin-off of Point Blank, a mini-series about Grifter from Wildcats and John Lynch from Gen¹³ that was also written by Ed Brubaker.

Holden Carver, also known as The Conductor (although he prefers going by his real name), is placed undercover in Tao's criminal organization by John Lynch, the director of International Operations after being fused with an alien artifact that makes him impervious to pain, gives him a powerful healing factor, and allows him to store pain he receives and pass it on to others through skin contact. Holden hates these abilities and constantly wishes to be rid of them. Lynch falls into a coma after being shot by Grifter, leaving Holden with no link to the outside world.

He quickly rises through the ranks of Tao's syndicate and becomes one of his lieutenants, called "Prodigals". He falls in love with another Prodigal named Miss Misery and befriends Genocide Jones, a super-strong, bullet-proof member of Tao's organization. The series also focuses on Holden's internal struggle over whether or not there is a difference between his actions while serving Tao and his actions while serving Lynch.