The Apparat Singles Group (aka Apparat) is an imprint of Avatar Press for Warren Ellis' line of one-shot comics with a shared premise. Each one-shot represents a first issue of a comic published in an alternate reality where pulp stories made a direct transition into comics without spawning superhero comics. Each one-shot comes with a 3-page essay by Ellis explaining the premise of the label and a detailed behind-the-scenes explanation for the ideas that led to their creation. The line began--and seemingly ended--with four one-shots in 2004, but Ellis revisited the concept with additional one-shots in 2007-2009.