Comics Syllabus 005 – “Transmetropolitan” by Ellis and Robertson with Johnny Hall and Best of 2017 So Far

On this week’s Comics Syllabus podcast, Paul and this episode’s co-host Johnny Hall discuss “Transmetropolitan” by Warren Ellis (w), Darick Robertson (p), Rodney Ramos (i), Nathan Eyring (c), looking closely at the start of volume 3, “The Year of the Bastard” (DC/Vertigo; originally DC/Helix), originally published starting Sept, 1998. On the 20th anniversary of Transmetropolitan’s debut, they dig deep into the social and political commentary of this landmark series, how Spider Jerusalem calls forth Hunter S. Thompson for contemporary times, and the prescience of Ellis and Robertson’s dark comic vision of the future (or present?).

[audio: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/332603674-twoplai-005-transmetropolitan-by-ellis-and-roberston-vertigo-plus-best-of-2017-so-far-w-johnny-hall.mp3]

But first, in the opening “General Ed” segment, Johnny and Paul talk about their lists of some “Best Comics of 2017 So Far,” a non-comprehensive but wide-ranging list of some of the comics they’ve most appreciated in the year. They also review similar lists from AV Club, Paste Magazine, and Vulture,

I’m Paul, and I’m inviting you to join us for another episode of The Comics Syllabus, a comics analysis podcast. Our mantra is, we read widely and we dig deep. Each week, I choose one work from a wide breadth of current and classic comics, including superhero fare, comics from independent publishers and small presses, global comics, newspaper strip archives, and various collected editions. We spend time digging deep into the work from various perspectives, sometimes in actual live conversation with others, sometimes with just me on a mic surrounded by a pile of comics studies and academic books. It’s like a comics seminar, where the only prerequisite is that you love comics.

Download the podcast episode here.

NEXT WEEK on the Comics Syllabus: Paul is joined by comics scholar Dr Rachelle Cruz to talk about “Uncomfortably Happily” by Yeon-Sik Hong and translated by Hellen Jo (Drawn + Quarterly). Subscribe to the podcast or keep it locked here at Multiversity for that conversation.

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Thanks for listening!

IMAGES DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Note: All images featured below are from “Transmetropolitan v3: Year of the Bastard” (DC/Vertigo) penciled by Darick Robertson, inked by Rodney Ramos, colored by Nathay Eyring, and written by Warren Ellis.

Morning Red Pill