Nearly every comic creator, no matter how diverse their output, has a work that the comics-reading public has labeled as their defining work; maybe not their best, but the one that readers associate as the most indicative of that creator’s style. For Grant Morrison, it’s “The Invisibles,” for Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips it’s “Criminal,” and for comics sensation and internet icon Warren Ellis it’s “Transmetropolitan.” Despite the massive range of Ellis’s work, perhaps the most common image to come to mind upon hearing his name is the face of deranged journalist Spider Jerusalem — granted, that could be because his choice of eyewear is so snazzy. “Transmetropolitan” — often abbreviated to “Transmet” — tells the story of Jerusalem, a journalist who has made his return to “The City” for the first time in years in order to cover and influence the next big political elections, as well as the ramifications for doing so. With the political climate that’s in the air, now is the perfect time to read this equally politically-driven sci-fi ongoing if you have not before, or to re-read it if you are already well-acquainted with the saga of The City.
The character of Spider Jerusalem is as memorable as the series itself — and infamous. Created as a pastiche of what Hunter S. Thompson might be had he been alive centuries in the future, the manic, self-righteous, and above all entertaining figure is, to many, “Transmetropolitan.” The tales of political deceit and what the written word can do to either combat or further this problem are one thing, but above all, many people love the series for its protagonist. And who can blame them? Crazy as he may be, Spider Jerusalem is as charismatic as many “real” people; and, like many actual human beings, this charisma makes it hard to care about his faults, both as a character and as a fictional construct. Since his debut, Jerusalem has been criticized for being a self-insert for Warren Ellis, a mouthpiece for his political beliefs and other opinions. I am not here to argue whether or not that’s true or false; rather, I ask “Who cares?” Supposing that Spider is simply Ellis dressed up to look like Hunter S. Thompson, one certainly cannot accuse Ellis of the ultimate failing of most self-insert characters: infallibility. In fact, the majority of the series is devoted to Spider trying to correct perhaps the greatest mistake of his life, making many other failures on the way. While the wild man may sometimes seem more charicature than anything else, Ellis frequently proves Jerusalem to be just as complex of a character as many other protagonists. He is as “real” as you and I, with his successes and his failures, his loves and his hates, and — most definitely — his failures. He just has a bowel disruptor, that’s all.
“Transmetropolitan” is one of those stories that can be both laughably ridiculous and stressfully serious, sometimes shifting from one to the other in span of pages. On the one hand, the antics of Spider are often hilarious in a Tarantino or Coen brothers way, such as when he beats someone for information with “the chairleg of truth,” which is “wise and terrible.” On the other, the intensity of the political twist and turns, especially in the last third of the series, will cause you to bite away all your nails, while breaking your heart when the few truly good people are caught in the middle of other figures’ ambitions. While “Transmet” is more well known for its more ridiculous bits, it truly evokes almost every emotion under the sun throughout the course of its sixty-issue run, and all while crafting a collosal tale of intrigue. Sure, it may start off a bit slow, as the first year or so of the series is dedicated to craftinn the world Spider lives in, but Ellis cannot truly be faulted for this: his “City” is more defined than many other settings. Once it fully clicks into “on” mode, this series fires on all cylinders, and moves so fast that it almost throws you off its back, but just fast enough that you could never let go. Add in one of the best final issues of a series, with a final twist that you don’t see coming, and you have a perfect example of how to do a long-form comic series.
Continued belowWhile “Transmetropolitan” is most commonly associated with writer Warren Ellis, it would not be a fraction of what it is were it not for the truly outstanding artwork of Darick Roberston. Ellis may have created The City, but Robertson gave it life. Every page is packed to the brim with faces, objects, advertisements, animals, and more, all of which create the bizzare landscape of the future that is The City. And yet, for all of its strangeness, The City is not so foreign; the busy nature, the crowded streets, and the ostentatious advertising really help reinforce that this — not just the nature of the city that Robertson draws, but the story that he and Ellis are telling — is not one that applies to the future alone. The City is every city, no matter the century, and no matter how differently it may be dressed, Robertson helps drive that point home. Just as important to the comic is Robertson’s character design. Even the most seemingly basic-looking characters, such as Spider’s editor Royce, are so well designed that they stick in your head, to be recalled perfectly with just the slightest glimmer of thought. The tattooed and be-spectacled Spider, “filthy assistants” Channon and Yelena, and the aptly-named Smiler are not faces that are easy to forget, an essential quality in any visual medium. While, of course, “Transmetropolitan” is renowned for Ellis’s highly quotable dialogue, perhaps it owes even more to Darick Robertson’s ability to craft characters that stick with you, whether you want them to or not.
When recommending an ongoing series, I try to find one or two one-shots to recommend to readers beyond the obvious #1, in order to help them get a feel for the series. Let’s be honest: very few #1 issues are indicative of the series as a whole, and there are more than a few series I love that I took forever to get to because the first issue didn’t “pop” for me. For Transmetropolitan, there are two, which capture both ends of the serious/humorous spectrum that Ellis flies up and down on. The first is “Another Cold Morning,” issue #8 of the ongoing, which is perhaps the single best issue of any comic that Ellis has ever penned. Written in less than 24 hours, the issue tells the story of a woman named Mary, one of The City’s many Revivals, people who had themselves cryogenically frozen so that they might see the future, and the issue is entirely narrated by Spider’s journalistic voice. The issue is heart-wrenching: as well as perfectly capturing humanity’s disenterest in our fellow man, Ellis puts our disregard for history into uncomfortable perspective. Even if you do not read the rest of the series, this is one issue that everyone needs, I repeat, needs to read. On a much lighter not, and maybe a bit harder to find without purchasing a full trade paperback, is the short story ‘Edgy Winter,’ originally published in the the second “Vertigo: Winter’s Edge.” This admittedly silly story is about Christmas in The City, and you can be sure that Spider does not find the season any reason to be jolly. The results, as you might expect, are hilarious. If you can find a cheap old printing of “Transmetropolitan Volume 0: Tales of Human Waste,” which collects two other one-shots, that would probably be your best bet, but you might as well snatch up “Winter’s Edge” #2 if you can find it — surprisingly, the “Transmet” story was not collected in the recent “Vertigo Resurrected” collection of “Winter’s Edge” stories.
“Transmetropolitan” was recently reprinted, so now is as good a time as any to read this 60-issue — not including extras — ongoing series from Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. Is it Ellis’s best work? I wouldn’t say so. Is it for everyone? Probably not. Is it an exciting and entertaining read that is popular for a reason? Most definitely. I recommend taking it with some help from Dr. Whiskey.
I leave you with one of my favorite single pages of any comic ever.
