''Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard'' is a four-issue

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

adaptation of the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

-nominated short story "A Hypothetical Lizard", written in 1988 by

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

for the third volume of the ''

Liavek Liavek is a series of five fantasy anthologies edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly set in a shared world. Orson Scott Card found the initial volume to be "an example of what can be accomplished n a shared-world projectwhen almost everything ...

shared world A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where one or more writers (or other artists) independently contribute works that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, charact ...

fantasy series. The story was later reprinted in "Words Without Pictures", a 1990 book of prose stories by comics writers edited by Steve Niles, but then went out of print.Weiland, Jonah (Oct. 20, 2004).
"Illusory Fantasy: Johnston Talks Alan Moore's "The Hypothetical Lizard""
Retrieved Oct. 24, 2006. In 2004

Avatar Press Avatar Press is an independent American comic book publisher founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois. It was originally known for publishing bad girl comics, such as ''Pandora'', ''Hellina'', ''Lookers'', ''The ...

published the first issue of ''Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard'' as a comic book adapted by writer

Antony Johnston Antony Johnston (born 25 August 1972) is a British writer of comics, video games, and novels. He is known for the post-apocalyptic comic series '' Wasteland'', the graphic novel ''The Coldest City'' (adapted for film as '' Atomic Blonde''), and ...

."Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard Issues #1-4"
Avatar Press, 2004. Retrieved Oct. 24, 2006 The story describes the life of Som-Som, a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

in the House Without Clocks - a brothel designed to service rare and exotic tastes. Som-Som has undergone a

corpus callosotomy A corpus callosotomy () is a palliative surgical procedure for the treatment of medically refractory epilepsy. The procedure was first performed in 1940 by William P. van Wagenen. In this procedure, the corpus callosum is cut through, in an e ...

, severing the connection between the two hemispheres of her brain; this, in conjunction with the porcelain mask attached to the right half of her face, and the thick glove on her right hand, destroys the connections between her thoughts and actions. Therefore, she can see and hear, but not speak of or act on, any secrets her wizard clientele may inadvertently reveal in the throes of passion. Consequently, Som-Som can only watch as her transsexual friend Rawra Chin is slowly destroyed by an abusive relationship.

References

Comics by Alan Moore 2004 comics debuts 2005 comics endings Comics about prostitution Experimental medical treatments in fiction Drama comics {{UK-comics-stub