Review - Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street

Last week I found myself at Comic Book Jones hanging around looking for something to read so I picked up the first volume of Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson, and sat down on the reading couch. I have always seen copies of the series around the shop but I have rarely heard people mention it. When I dove into it I was pleasantly surprised.

Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street takes place a few hundred years in the future and tells the story of gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem, who returns to a non-descript dystopian city after five years seclusion in a mountain cabin.  When we first meet Spider he is the spitting image of Alan Moore, complete with long scraggly hair and a beard that would make Jesus proud.  After he returns to his city apartment and takes one of the most intense showers imaginable, Spider becomes a dead ringer for Grant Morrison with a spider tattoo on his head and distinctive glasses. These glasses are supposed to provide him with constant information and news updates but we do not get to see a visual representation of this. 

The best aspect of Spider Jerusalem is that he is a bastard. Like any great modern anti-hero, he does not care what anyone thinks of him. He is not concerned with ethics or the correct moral course of action. He is a journalist and he reports the truth exactly as he sees it and if anyone does not like it they can screw themselves. Ellis does an exceptional job keeping this character accessible. He may not be a nice person but it is very easy to understand the way he reacts to the world around him.  There is also plenty of humor in the book. My favorite section was in issue five when Spider decides to spend an entire day alone in his apartment watching television and ends up having a mental breakdown. 

Darick Robertson’s art perfectly complements the mood of Ellis’s writing.  The backgrounds and landscapes of The City are oversaturated with advertisements for everything from fast food to sex toys and yet it still keeps the gritty and dangerous feel of 1970s Manhattan. Think the future world of Idiocracy without any charm or sarcasm (for the record this story was first published about a decade before Idiocracy). All in all, the art establishes a very dark comedic feel and leaves the frightening impression that a future such as this is somewhat plausible.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction, political commentary, and stories about guys you love to hate that are always smarter than everyone else in the room.  There are ten trades in this series and I cannot wait to read more.