OC&C/Main

*Of Cigarettes & Copulation*

Author
Todd Dawson-Cooper

Universe
D-242

Country
Canada

Genre(s)
Noir
Erotica

Publisher
N/A

Publication date
TBA

ISBN
N/A

Preceded by
Blank Earth (release order)
Chuck's Big Week (chronologically)

Followed by
Snow In Summer (release order)
Saudade (chronologically)

***Of Cigarettes & Copulation*** is a hardboiled neo-noir erotic thriller and the second novel in the *Blank Earth* series by Todd Dawson-Cooper.

## Book Description

Two years after the events of Blank Earth, Jacob Delsin has been faced with the death of his wife and once again finds himself withdrawn into a reclusive life of alcoholism and promiscuity. The world blurs away until one cold winter night when Jacob meets an enticing pale and sardonic young girl. After exchanging banter, the two connect for a seemingly meaningless night of sex and he thinks little when she disappears from his bed the next morning. Unfortunately, it isn't very long before some severe trouble begins to follow in her wake and interfere with Jacob's otherwise menial existence.

Forced his hand in violence; Jacob finds himself in the center of an all-out street war involving a high stakes conspiracy of political extortion, nepotism, and embezzlement under the thumb of a rich and imposing criminal empire. With a target now on his head, Jacob has sent down an unwitting path of unforgiving vigilantism, fighting alone against the world around him before he ultimately finds assistance from the elusive femme fatale herself; May Lawson.

As the gamble for their lives becomes ever higher, enemies await on every street corner, the duo is soon aided by an unlikely motley crew of others who wish the see the system of corruption collapse; such as retiring police detective Chuck Garland, alcoholic private investigator Lyla Painter, notorious street gang leader Elijah T. Cole and motorcycle club vice-president Travis Renton, who supply Jacob and May with a steady arsenal of weapons as they plan a loud, violent counterattack. But with eyes and ears in almost every corner of the Big Apple's infrastructure, it's truly on left upon Jacob and May to forge an unsteady alliance, keep their heads down and trust no one as they slowly work their way from the shadows to victory, one kill at a time.

## Development

* + Cooper first read *The Crow* in early 2017, after a friend (who was both a former English teacher and former bartender) had read and was impressed by an early draft of *Of Cigarettes & Copulation* (which includes a dedication to her after her passing in 2020) and lent him a copy of the comic due to it's similar noir prose and post-punk inspired aesthetic. Cooper took to reading it, as it had been the favorite of another friend of his who had committed suicide in 2016.

## Influence & Themes

* Irvine Welsh's novels *Crime, Porno,* and *The Blade Artist*. With the latter two being sequels to the 1993 novel *Trainspotting*; which itself was a major influence on *Blank Earth*.
	+ The character of Travis Renton is named after a scene in the *Trainspotting* film where protagonist Mark Renton stands in front of a mural of *Taxi Driver* protagonist Travis Bickle at a nightclub.
	+ Likewise, the character of Simon MacGregor was created as a tribute to the character of Simon 'Sick Boy' Williamson, the deuteragonist from that series, particularly his portrayal in *Porno* and it's loose adaptation T2: Trainspotting. He also shares the birthdate with Sick Boy actor Jonny Lee Miller, and the surname of Renton's actor Ewen McGregor.
		- Cooper included the character as a late inclusion in honor of his friend, who had confided that she was afraid to continue writing a story that he was invested in because she had thought the main antagonist had resembled Sick Boy *too much*.
* While the concept of an anarchist hacker assisting Jacob and May existed as far back as the first draft in part due to Stieg Larsson's *Millennium* novels, and the 2011 David Fincher adaptation of *The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo*, Cooper was notably unsure of the subplot and had given much consideration to scrapping it. It wasn't until after viewing the television series *Mr. Robot* that the concept of the u/d0gs syndicate was not only revived but were given a more substantial role in the story.
	+ The hacking group featured in the novel were heavily based on several real-life persons and groups, including the Black Panther Party and leader Fred Hampton, Aaron Swartz, Abbie Hoffman, whistleblowers Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, journalist Gary Webb and his book Dark Alliance, the internet hacking group Anonymous, WikiLeaks, and famous linguist and political analyst Noam Chomsky and his book Manufacturing Consent. The novel makes several references to Chomsky and allegorically alludes to real-life government programs including COINTELPRO, MKULTRA, PRISM, PATRIOT, and the Five Eyes' ECHELON.
* Marvel's *The Punisher*, particularly Garth Ennis' 2004 MAX imprint run, and the 2011 series by Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto.
	+ The novel's climax (in which, the main characters surprise attack the Stansfield Building using explosives, and engage in a gunfight against private mercenaries and hitmen with the goal of reaching Michael Sacchitello) was written as a nod to The Punisher, a beat-em-up arcade game from 1993, where Frank Castle (and optionally, Nick Fury) fight several enemies such as Jigsaw to finally reach Kingpin, who is located at the top of the King Building skyscraper, which Castle ultimately destroys by detonating.
	+ Brian Michal Bendis' *Alias* and the first season of it's Neflix adaption, *Jessica Jones*.
		- Like Jessica, the character of Lyla Painter is an alcoholic private investigator and sexual assault survivor.
	+ The first two seasons of Netflix's *Daredevil* adaptation.
		- Chuck Garland was partially inspired by show's portrayal of reporter Ben Urich, as well as Oscar Clemons, a retiring police detective who appeared as a minor character in the aforementioned 2011 Punisher comic before being adapted to the screen for the first season of *Jessica Jones*.
			* Oscar Clemons was portrayed by actor Clarke Peters, who also played Detective Lester Freamon on the television crime drama *The Wire* starring alongside Michael K. Williams who inspired the character of Elijah T. Cole.
			* Likewise, the Clemons' character in the comics was based directly on William Sommerset; the secondary protagonist of the 1995 neo-noir thriller *Se7en*.
	+ Matt Fraction's 2012-15 *Hawkeye* series.
* The 1991 novel *American Psycho* by author Bret Easton Ellis (whose previous novel, *Less Than Zero*, also influenced *Blank Earth*), as well as it's 2000 film adaptation by Mary Harron.
	+ The building where Jacob and May meet is named Bateman Palace as a nod to protagonist: the investment-banker-turned-serial-killer Patrick Bateman.
* The chapter set at Bateman Palace is both an homage to Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut, and loosely based on the real world Snctm, an exclusive private sex club which frequently hosts celebrities, models and the societal elite.
	+ This scene was intentionally included to mirror the attic orgy scene featured in *Blank Earth*, which was itself loosely based on [Shortbus], an independent film set in a post-9/11 New York. \* James O'Barr's 1989 comic *The Crow* and it's 1994 film adaptation.
* The 1994 Luc Besson film, *Léon: The Professional*, the character of Keith Stansfield and Stansfield Industries was named after Gary Oldman's character from the film: murderous DEA agent Norman Stansfield.
* The 2011 independent short-film *Six* and *Sherlock* episode *'The Hound of Baskerville'* served as primary inspirations for the Heisenberg Syndrome bioweapon. A subplot created for 'SuperStition', a scrapped novel by Cooper that would see several of it's plot elements later folded into *Of Cigarettes & Copulation* and *Holmes*.
	+ The plot element of 'M' is a set-up for the character of Jim Moriarty in Holmes. This slow build-up mirrors the criminal mastermind's introduction in the 2010 television series and the 2009-12 film series.
		- *Of Cigarettes & Copulation* also marks the introduction of John Roxton, a major character in *The Lost World*. Both of which were created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. \* Ian Fleming's 1953 novel *Casino Royale* as well as it's 2006 film adaptation.
* The title of the second chapter: *Last Exit to Brooklyn*, is a dual reference to both the 1964 Hubert Selby Jr. novel (which was a major influence for *Blank Earth*), and the song of the same name by.
	+ A minor character, an elderly woman named Francine Goldfarb appears in this chapter as one of Jacob's neighbors. Her name is a reference to Sara Goldfarb, a major character in Selby's other critically successful novel, 1978's Requiem For A Dream, and popularized by Darren Aronofsky's 2000 film adaptation, where the character is played by acclaimed actress Ellen Burstyn.
		- The character's son, heroin addict Harry Goldfarb (portrayed by Jared Leto in the film) was also one of the primary inspiration's for Jacob's character in *Blank Earth*.
* As with *Blank Earth*, the 1976 film *Taxi Driver* also serves as a major influence, with the character of Jacob Delsin still retaining some similarities to Robert De Niro's character, however, most of the influence in this novel boils down to the similar portrayal of New York City itself.
* [John Wick]
* [Death Wish]
* [The Equalizer]
* Despite overwhelming similarities, *Max Payne* and *it's sequel* were not primary influences, as the majority of *Of Cigarettes & Copulation's* characters, themes, setting and plot were actually created before Cooper had seen or played either game.
	+ Both are set in New York City during the winter, feature a cynical leather-and-suit-wearing widowed male protagonist (Max Payne) who is accompliced by a femme fatale in red whom he falls in love with (Mona Sax), fighting an Italian crime family (Punchinello), while on the run from a corrupted police force -- with the later involvement and introduction of a shadowy figure (Nicole Horne), larger government conspiracy (Inner Circle), and an anti-personnel chemical weapon (Valkyr), before a final showdown against private mercenaries (Killer Suits) in a Manhattan skyscraper (Aesir Headquarters) owned by a major corporation (Aesir Corporation).
		- The reasons for the absurd number of similarities comes down to each work's influences, both borrow heavily from classic noir cinema, hard-boiled novels and pulp fiction, political thrillers, and Asian crime cinema. It should also be noted that while both seem practically identical on paper, the way that each of the aforementioned themes and plot developments are introduced, handled and resolved are notably different as to be dissimilar.
	+ Cooper would later acknowledge the similarities between the two by renaming one of the mobsters Jacob fights at the start of the novel after one of the crime bosses in the game series.

## Appearances

### Characters

* Jacob Delsin
* May Lawson
* Michael Sacchitello
* Chuck Garland
* Lyla Painter
* Elijah T. Cole
* Travis Renton
* Pablo Fuentes
* Anthony Sacchitello
* Quint Schraeder
* Rania Al-Khatib
* Kevin Lesler
* Tony Santoro
* Simon MacGregor
* Jennifer Mulgrew
* Sophia Procter (flashback only)
* *View Complete List*

### Locations

* New York City, New York
	+ Brooklyn, New York
		- Jacob's Apartment (242 Lafayette Avenue)
		- Gordon's Bar & Grill (348 Franklin Avenue)
		- [Seattle's Best Coffee ()]
	+ Queens, New York
		- May's Warehouse (369 57th Avenue)
	+ Manhattan, New York
		- Stansfield Building (200 Park Avenue)
		- Bateman's Palace (167 Orchard Street)
		- East Village Community Center (638 East 6th Street)
		- Painter Investigations (107 Eldridge Street)
		- World Trade Center (285 Fulton Street)
		- Santoro's Italian Bistro (84 Thomas Street)
		- 150 West 55th Street
		- Sophia's Apartment (575 Park Avenue) (flashback only)
	+ The Bronx, New York
* [[
* White Plains, New York
	+ White Plains Facility
* Seattle, Washington (mentioned, flashback only)
	+ [[]] (flashback only)
	+ 138 South Cognac Street (mentioned only)
* Virginia (flashback only)

## Playlist

Like with *Blank Earth*, Cooper curated a playlist of songs that reflected the novels tone and themes, while several of the songs featured in the playlist would be used as chapter titles. As with the novel's setting, the playlist deviates heavily from Blank Earth's raw compilation of riot grrrl/grunge aesthetic into a colder mix of post-punk and new wave covers, featuring a mixture of blues rock and jazz elements to complement the novel's erotic noir tone.

Several of the songs and artists were chosen due to their association with or usage in other media that inspired *Of Cigarettes & Copulation* (Moby's cover of 'New Dawn Fades' featuring in *Heat* and *The Equalizer*, Health's cover of 'Blue Monday' in *Atomic Blonde*, 'You Know My Name' and 'No Time To Die' being *James Bond* themes and 'The Real Folk Blues' being the ending theme of *Cowboy Bebop*), while some additions were made before/without knowledge of any prior association ('Bright Lights' featuring in *Max Payne 3 and* Luke Cage*, Manson's 'The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles' appearance in* The Punisher *or other songs featured in* John Wick *and the* Max Payne *film, New Order's 'True Faith' and Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy The Silence' in* American Psycho*, 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out' being a chapter title in the* Trainspotting *novel, and Health being the main composer of* Max Payne 3*).*

According to Cooper, the artist 'Cigarettes After Sex' was absent from the playlist. While he had been aware of the band since mid-2015, the book's title *Of Cigarettes & Copulation* had actually pre-dated both his knowledge of the band and the novel itself by several years. Several artists including Moby, Soft News, and Thalo are from New York, while Gary Clark and David Bowie mention the locale directly in their songs.