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22nd out of 1,496 books
—
3,009 voters
Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1: Back on the Street (Transmetropolitan #1)
by
Warren Ellis (Goodreads Author),
Darick Robertston , Garth Ennis
DC's new editions of TRANSMETROPOLITAN begin here, with this volume collecting issues #1-6 of the acclaimed Vertigo series from writer Warren Ellis and artist Darick Robertson! After years of selfimposed exile from a civilization rife with degradation and indecency, cynical journalist Spider Jerusalem is forced to return to a job he hates and a city he loathes. Working as...more
Paperback, 72 pages
Published
March 17th 2009
by Vertigo
(first published 1997)
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I found this comic pretty irritating. It's the story of gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem, who's pulled out of sylvan retirement when his publisher demands he deliver on his contractual obligations. Impoverished and drug-addled, Jerusalem has no choice but to comply; he gets a job writing a column called I Hate It Here, a chronicle of his experiences in the scifi megalopolis known as The City.
Throughout the comic, Jerusalem is portrayed as an underdog, fighting for the rights of the common man....more
Throughout the comic, Jerusalem is portrayed as an underdog, fighting for the rights of the common man....more
I agree with most of what Ellis is saying in this book, but I'm not really a fan of HOW he is saying it. It's a bit too juvenile and obvious, and nowhere near as subversive as it likes to think it is. Overall, it's not at all bad, it just didn't connect with me. I'll give it a few more volumes to see whether or not I change my mind about Ellis as a writer.
Everyone seems to love this! Whether they are reviewing the series or just this first volume is sometimes unclear, but with this first installation I was mostly disappointed. It's one of those comics series that you hear about here and there, so I decided to give it a go. And to me it mainly seemed crude just for the hell of it, and with characters that you're not supposed to care about or relate with. Spider is supposedly meant to be a moral character, and yet when the story starts it is made a...more
Comics have been going through a very public struggle with maturity for some time now. They were well on their way until they were hit with the 'Comics Code' in the fifties. The code was an outgrowth of reactionary postwar witch-hunting a la McCarthyism, and succeeded in limiting the content of an entire medium for thirty years.
For example, all crime had to be portrayed as sordid, and no criminals could be sympathetic. There goes any comic book retellings of Robin Hood. Good always had to triump...more
For example, all crime had to be portrayed as sordid, and no criminals could be sympathetic. There goes any comic book retellings of Robin Hood. Good always had to triump...more
Transmetropolitan's main character, Spider Jerusalem, is annoying at his best and exasperating at his worst. His childish, hyperactive antics would be funny if they didn't involve blowing up buildings, burning people with his cigarettes and shooting up bars. Spider gleeful spreads his the wanton destruction aimlessly, all while expressing a holier-than-though atttitude toward virtually every person on the planet, all the mindless sheep he hypocritically despises; he decries their addictions as h...more
What can I say? I love the main character.
Loony, unpredictable, mood-swingy Spider Jerusalem (I'm excited to find out about his name) - fighter for truth and justice :D kh..khhh..
He's on a roll from the very start:
"Working this tollbooth all week, pissing in a whiskey bottle and weakly jerking off over the radio porn that aerial picks up...must be a tough life. But you really are everything I moved to the mountains to escape from. A worthless scrap of frogshit with a pulse and a bit of authority...more
Loony, unpredictable, mood-swingy Spider Jerusalem (I'm excited to find out about his name) - fighter for truth and justice :D kh..khhh..
He's on a roll from the very start:
"Working this tollbooth all week, pissing in a whiskey bottle and weakly jerking off over the radio porn that aerial picks up...must be a tough life. But you really are everything I moved to the mountains to escape from. A worthless scrap of frogshit with a pulse and a bit of authority...more
Dec 17, 2010
Federiken Masters
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans de South Park y de la soft-SF
Recommended to Federiken by:
Sosías.
Leído a lo frankenstein entre números sueltos en inglés y tomos españoles de Norma. Esta serie fue uno de los hitazos claves de la línea Vertigo y ahora que finalmente leo la primera saga puedo ver los porqués. Ellis vomita todas sus ideas e ideales a medio regurgitar con total inmunidad y Robertson se preocupa por que los cachitos de comida a medio procesar generen el asco correspondiente con su dibujo prolijo y antihigiénico a la vez. La visión de la sociedad -yanqui principalmente-, las menti...more
This is a great series but you are goddamned crazy if you think I'm going to write ten reviews of a single series I've been reading over the course of the year. The comic's main character is based off of Hunter S. Thompson and has a lot of similar humor to that man's writing. He, like Thompson, is a political journalist hounding a corrupt politician who pulls some very ominously 9/11 and Katrina-aid type ploys to gain control of the nation. Ellis is a very political guy and he gets to politic as...more
So fucking awesome! If awesomeness could be condensed into six books, then this would be it!
Warren Ellis makes some eye-opening observations through Spider Jerusalem. The one that struck me most was this:
There's one hole in every revolution, large or small. And it's one word long -- people. No matter how big the idea they all stand under, people are small and weak and cheap and frightened. It's people that kill every revolution. (Issue 3)
He also captures the essence of journalism in a brief but...more
Warren Ellis makes some eye-opening observations through Spider Jerusalem. The one that struck me most was this:
There's one hole in every revolution, large or small. And it's one word long -- people. No matter how big the idea they all stand under, people are small and weak and cheap and frightened. It's people that kill every revolution. (Issue 3)
He also captures the essence of journalism in a brief but...more
Wildly inventive, politically incorrect - in the real sense, not the lame-excuses-for-being-sexist-and-racist sense - and frequently hilarious: like the canon of anarchic late-'60s and punk-era underground comics brought lurching to the cusp of the millennium. Ellis is a sharp satirist here, but the real star of the show is Darick Robertson, who packs his panels with dense layers of pop-culture references (was that John Lennon as a shirtless angel?) and jokes. If I have any complaints, it's that...more
"These are the end times. It rained cheese last night. The black squirrel has been seen as far afield as Luton."
I love Warren Ellis. He is one of the few online presences I have stuck with right through the 10 or so years since discovering the intarwubs. He relieves my pent up frustration with the ludicrous, cruel and hypocritical world we live in with his colourful observations and ...outbursts. Reading him via his website, and now his twitter (with his friendly morning greetings) is like a dee...more
I love Warren Ellis. He is one of the few online presences I have stuck with right through the 10 or so years since discovering the intarwubs. He relieves my pent up frustration with the ludicrous, cruel and hypocritical world we live in with his colourful observations and ...outbursts. Reading him via his website, and now his twitter (with his friendly morning greetings) is like a dee...more
Graphic Novel. Spider Jerusalem's been living in the mountains for five years, letting his hair grow and hiding from his fans, but an unfinished book contract forces him back into the sin-infested city. Hot DAMN is Spider sexy and messed up. This really is the perfect place for Ellis. He gets to swear and hate humanity and write monologues about how shitty life is and that's the story instead of getting in the way of the story. The art is just as manic and pissed off as Spider, full of dirt and...more
No one does dystopia like Warren Ellis, is what I learned from this book. I'm letting volume one stand in for the whole series, at least for now...it's too many volumes for me to add them all! But suffice to say, I love this stuff. It's more self-consciously "in your face" and violent than I normally go for, but the writing is so damn clever, the world-building so complete and so fascinating, and the art so captivating that I cannot put these down when I pick them up. Just like Sandman is Neil G...more
La forza della verit��
Dopo anni di esilio auto-imposto, il giornalista d'assalto Spider Jerusalem torna al luogo che pi�� odia al mondo: "La Citt��"
Ristampato a dodici anni dalla sua prima pubblicazione, questo primo volume di Transmetropolitan, appare incredibilmente attuale anche oggi.
Anzi, verrebbe da dire soprattutto oggi, soprattutto in Italia.
Armato delle sole armi che possiede (i suoi occhi, la sua mente e il suo computer) in questo primo volume Spider si scaglia contro la brutalit�� poli...more
Dopo anni di esilio auto-imposto, il giornalista d'assalto Spider Jerusalem torna al luogo che pi�� odia al mondo: "La Citt��"
Ristampato a dodici anni dalla sua prima pubblicazione, questo primo volume di Transmetropolitan, appare incredibilmente attuale anche oggi.
Anzi, verrebbe da dire soprattutto oggi, soprattutto in Italia.
Armato delle sole armi che possiede (i suoi occhi, la sua mente e il suo computer) in questo primo volume Spider si scaglia contro la brutalit�� poli...more
Why I Reread This Book: I saw it on the library shelf while looking for the second collection of Preacher so I figured I might as well try it again.
Science Fiction is hands down my favorite prose genre. I also enjoy comic books. I find it odd that the two don't seem to mix very well, at least as far comics by the Big Two (DC and Marvel) go. It seems to me that Marvel mostly sticks to superheroes. DC does publish some non-superhero stuff, especially in its Vertigo imprint--see the Wikipedia for d...more
Science Fiction is hands down my favorite prose genre. I also enjoy comic books. I find it odd that the two don't seem to mix very well, at least as far comics by the Big Two (DC and Marvel) go. It seems to me that Marvel mostly sticks to superheroes. DC does publish some non-superhero stuff, especially in its Vertigo imprint--see the Wikipedia for d...more
At first I thought this was some bullcrap Hunter S Thompson fan fiction, I really wouldn't have read this had my friend not put it in my hands and said 'You should read this comic' turns out that was some pretty good advice because this comic is absolutely bad ass.
It's hilarious for starters, there are some seriously sharp witted one liners, my favourite of which being 'The best part of you dried up on your mommy's thigh'. The artwork is pretty darn awesome, it creates a pretty in depth visual o...more
It's hilarious for starters, there are some seriously sharp witted one liners, my favourite of which being 'The best part of you dried up on your mommy's thigh'. The artwork is pretty darn awesome, it creates a pretty in depth visual o...more
I'm reading a lot of reviews here saying that this series is "crude just for the hell of it," among other things. I think those people, and anyone else who reads this series, would do well to keep a couple things in mind: first, if you bother to read the forward to volume one, it's stated that Warren Ellis doesn't like nice things and doesn't trust nice people, and that this series is his way of breaking away from the "nice" world of superhero comics. Second, this series (or, at least, the first...more
This was my introduction to Warren Ellis, as it was I imagine for lots of people. I'm reviewing the whole thing, not just the first volume, as I don't want it to drown my shelves like I allowed The Invisibles to.
It's very far from my favourite work of his - the basic "Hunter Thompson in the future" concept is as limiting as it is liberating. For every moment of Spider Jerusalem righteously reading someone the riot act, you've got... well, more of the same, which gets a bit tiresome. It's the me...more
It's very far from my favourite work of his - the basic "Hunter Thompson in the future" concept is as limiting as it is liberating. For every moment of Spider Jerusalem righteously reading someone the riot act, you've got... well, more of the same, which gets a bit tiresome. It's the me...more
Absolutely frikkin brilliant this is!
This is the book that made me bow my head and acknowledge the genius that is Warren Ellis.
Granted the man is so slow and annoyingly delayed as a writer (especially these days) that you want to pull your scalp off along with you hair but there is no denying that he can create stories and ideas that are beyond amazing and so damn good that you can't help but wait for the next one regardless of how long it takes!
Damn you Ellis, damn you...
But back on track - t...more
This is the book that made me bow my head and acknowledge the genius that is Warren Ellis.
Granted the man is so slow and annoyingly delayed as a writer (especially these days) that you want to pull your scalp off along with you hair but there is no denying that he can create stories and ideas that are beyond amazing and so damn good that you can't help but wait for the next one regardless of how long it takes!
Damn you Ellis, damn you...
But back on track - t...more
Imagine if Hunter S Thompson really had been as mad as Doonesbury's Uncle Duke (back in the glory days before he went straight). Imagine him in a mad future where ebola grenades are considered to be small arms, the weapon of choice is the colon gun (mild, spastic, prolapse), where people inject themselves with alien DNA as a fashion statement, and religions hold massive trade-fairs rather like Comicon. And his only 'friends' are a demonic mutant cat and a stripper / journalism student.
That is ju...more
That is ju...more
Aug 16, 2009
Ninja Sock Puppet
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone looking for a good graphic novel but don't know anything about them and are afraid of anime.
Recommended to Ninja Sock Puppet by:
Jeremy Wikre
Shelves:
mrs-ceridwen-jerusalem
In homage to Spider Jerusalem (the cartoon (sorry, graphic novel) character) every man wants to be and every woman wants to fuck (and let's face it, so do the men), I'm writing this review with my laptop warming my knees, an evil glint in my eyes, a cigarette dangling precariously from my mouth, whilst enjoying a thoroughly good dump on the crapper. I've taken to calling my wife 'filthy assistant' and making odd culinary requests involving the remains of Irish children and the eyeballs of endang...more
Es notorio que soy incapaz de resistirme a cualquier forma de subcultura: he jugado a toda clase de juegos de rol, cartas, estrategia o videojuegos, he visto toda clase de infrapelículas y cutreseries, y desde luego, colecciono cómics.
Dentro de todo esto, me gustan particularmente todas las cosas que tienen que ver con el futuro. La ciencia ficción es una de mis pasiones, con todo lo bueno y malo que eso conlleva. Es un género donde a menudo te encuentras con subproductos pobres y carentes de im...more
Dentro de todo esto, me gustan particularmente todas las cosas que tienen que ver con el futuro. La ciencia ficción es una de mis pasiones, con todo lo bueno y malo que eso conlleva. Es un género donde a menudo te encuentras con subproductos pobres y carentes de im...more
I like this comic. It is 'edgy'. I like it because it rails against the world it sees as the problem, while simultaneously inventing all sorts of new problems for the world. Like it says, what matters is not how much of the stuff that goes on there is shit, what matters is that the city is alive.
I couldn't help thinking of the movie 'Talk Radio' when I read this, it being one of my favorite movies, and the shared idea of the journalist who is wanting to be the furious messenger who is really, in...more
I couldn't help thinking of the movie 'Talk Radio' when I read this, it being one of my favorite movies, and the shared idea of the journalist who is wanting to be the furious messenger who is really, in...more
O.O
Okay.
Comics are no books. I don't read comics. Comics are for children who can't read texts yet, if for anyone. All those pictures. Nothing there to take seriously, and calling them "graphic novels" doesn't help a bit, bah.
Truth is, I only ever read one comic in my life, and this was a children's comic. Up to that point, comics meant "superheroes" to me, and I could not care less about Spiderman or Superman or any other of those bunch. So not interes... *softly snoring*
Then a friend recommen...more
Okay.
Comics are no books. I don't read comics. Comics are for children who can't read texts yet, if for anyone. All those pictures. Nothing there to take seriously, and calling them "graphic novels" doesn't help a bit, bah.
Truth is, I only ever read one comic in my life, and this was a children's comic. Up to that point, comics meant "superheroes" to me, and I could not care less about Spiderman or Superman or any other of those bunch. So not interes... *softly snoring*
Then a friend recommen...more
I love Hunter S. Thompson. Really, really, love him. With the possible exception of David Foster Wallace, there isn't an author who I've read more thoroughly, or whose style I adore more.
But Warren Ellis, who is a great author in his own right, just isn't Hunter S. Thompson. Spider Jerusalem mimics Thompson's obvious traits: the drugs and the guns and the antics and the anger. But Ellis's homage to Thompson misses the more subtle, but more important characteristics of the great godfather of Gonz...more
But Warren Ellis, who is a great author in his own right, just isn't Hunter S. Thompson. Spider Jerusalem mimics Thompson's obvious traits: the drugs and the guns and the antics and the anger. But Ellis's homage to Thompson misses the more subtle, but more important characteristics of the great godfather of Gonz...more
Transmetropolitan is a mad, fun romp through a dystopian future so over-stimulated and corporatized that the only rational response is to jack up on jump-start pills, run around naked, and shoot off as many guns as possible in an egomaniacal and holy quest for the truth. At least that's the philosophy of Spider Jerusalem, the Hunter S. Thompson inspired journalist-hero of this book, whom we follow as writes his weekly column, harasses priests and politicians, furiously buys things from infomerci...more
Spider Jerusalem, retired writer and bearded hermit, lives an isolated existence in a fortified mountain hideaway, retired from City life for the last five years.
Following a call from his irate publisher demanding the last two books per his publishing deal, Jerusalem packs his belongings and descends the mountains before traveling back into The City, a twisted amalgam of pervasive consumerism, sex, violence, and drugs. However, this futuristic culture is highly self-centered and focused almost e...more
Following a call from his irate publisher demanding the last two books per his publishing deal, Jerusalem packs his belongings and descends the mountains before traveling back into The City, a twisted amalgam of pervasive consumerism, sex, violence, and drugs. However, this futuristic culture is highly self-centered and focused almost e...more
I'm on a bit of a Warren Ellis kick at the moment, and this might be my favorite thing so far.
A crazy, disillusioned, world-hating author is forced to return to the city he thought he had escaped for good 5 years ago when he is told that he can either finish the last 2 books of his contract or be sent to debtors prison. He can only write in the city and so he returns, in a foul mood with a bunch of weapons. Needing money he takes a job as a reporter and goes into the world to see what troubles h...more
A crazy, disillusioned, world-hating author is forced to return to the city he thought he had escaped for good 5 years ago when he is told that he can either finish the last 2 books of his contract or be sent to debtors prison. He can only write in the city and so he returns, in a foul mood with a bunch of weapons. Needing money he takes a job as a reporter and goes into the world to see what troubles h...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Staggering change of heart from when I first began this, I thing that the first two episodes lay somewhere between weak and okay, but in the final episode, a corner is turned. Sure, it still has the same gritty feel that the first had and you aren't exactly cheering on Spider even after it's all said and done, but it comes to a point where something bordering poetry emerges. For about 6-8 pages, you are immersed into this very observant nature of the harm inflicted on those who are less fortunat...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| So. | 6 | 43 | May 17, 2013 05:36pm | |
| Boston Scifi Fant...: copies are in | 1 | 3 | May 09, 2013 02:20pm | |
| Modern SF: Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis/ Darick Robertson | 9 | 11 | Feb 26, 2013 10:16pm |
Has written comics & graphic novels, books, journalism, animation, tv, film, videogames and anything else that looks like it might pay a bill or buy whisky.
Second novel, GUN MACHINE, due from Mulholland Books in autumn of 2012.
First non-fiction book due from FSG in 2014.
Currently a weekly columnist for VICE UK.
Hello. WHERE AM I
More about Warren Ellis...
Second novel, GUN MACHINE, due from Mulholland Books in autumn of 2012.
First non-fiction book due from FSG in 2014.
Currently a weekly columnist for VICE UK.
Hello. WHERE AM I
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1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“There's one hole in every revolution, large or small. And it's one word long— PEOPLE. No matter how big the idea they all stand under, people are small and weak and cheap and frightened. It's people that kill every revolution.”
—
35 people liked it
“Journalism is just a gun. It’s only got one bullet in it, but if you aim right, that’s all you need. Aim it right, and you can blow a kneecap off the world.”
—
33 people liked it
More quotes…
Oct 28, 2008 01:18pm
Really? You think that? Did you read the same series I did?
Jan 27, 2013 06:45am
Mar 18, 2013 08:20pm