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47th out of 190 books
—
41 voters
Transmetropolitan, Vol. 2: Lust for Life (Transmetropolitan #2)
by
Warren Ellis (Goodreads Author),
Darick Robertson (Goodreads Author)
Outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem attacks the injustices of his surreal 21st Century through black humor as an investigative reporter for the newspaper The Word in this critically-acclaimed graphic novel series written by comics' superstar Warren Ellis, the co-creator of PLANETARY and THE AUTHORITY.
In this volume, Jerusalem targets three of society's most worshipped and w...more
In this volume, Jerusalem targets three of society's most worshipped and w...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
February 1st 1999
by Vertigo
(first published January 1st 1999)
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Unlike with other comics, I've decided not to read this one at all unless I've got a real copy of it in my hands.
I loved it from the very start and I'm still fascinated by it, despite its often too disgusting depictions of horrible things. Basically, it explores various ideas of our future. Obviously we'd have progressed in technology and medicine, allowing us to live longer and to alter our physique to our likings. We got a good saying in Bosnia going: "once you have the finger, you want the w...more
I loved it from the very start and I'm still fascinated by it, despite its often too disgusting depictions of horrible things. Basically, it explores various ideas of our future. Obviously we'd have progressed in technology and medicine, allowing us to live longer and to alter our physique to our likings. We got a good saying in Bosnia going: "once you have the finger, you want the w...more
No one explores a f*cked up future like Warren Ellis. I love his unique brand of dark humour, colourful observation and his terrifying visions of the future.
Humanity has sunk to depths of squalor and depravity beyond today's wildest nightmares, large ethically dubious corporations run the world, and post-nuclear-apocalypse man is a variegated race of mutants (to one extent of another) who are slaves to their baser instincts in a world where anything goes and anything can be bought, if you have...more
Humanity has sunk to depths of squalor and depravity beyond today's wildest nightmares, large ethically dubious corporations run the world, and post-nuclear-apocalypse man is a variegated race of mutants (to one extent of another) who are slaves to their baser instincts in a world where anything goes and anything can be bought, if you have...more
This second volume is where we really see the series find its feet and we launch fully into the weird and wonderful world of Spider Jerusalem's with a tale about humans wanting to turn into sentient gas clouds, the harrowing story of the cryogenically unfrozen, synthetic reservations where you could choose to live in a past civilisation, and finally a three part story of Spider's ex-wife's revenge.
All of the stories have the verbal acrobatics and freewheeling genius level writing of Warren Ellis...more
All of the stories have the verbal acrobatics and freewheeling genius level writing of Warren Ellis...more
Despite my glee at the thought of going further into Transmetropolitan, after the chapter, "Another Cold Morning", everything went directly off-track and into what I'd like to refer to as, "Disappointmentland." The story becomes as loose as a silk kimono as Spider has a confusing flashback, he loses his assistant and he goes on a chase through the city with an antagonist who fizzles out at the end before he can offer any danger to Spider. All of this comes after a trippy as all hell story regard...more
I dunno about this series right now. Mainly, I just don't like to be hit with a graphic visual of feces in the morning. Blood and gore I'm kinda used to, but feces... Just jeez. That alone made me think I might've just had enough of this series. I might read one more book of it, but if I see one more graphic depiction of...
I also don't like the bulldog. Either end of the bulldog. Gross. Not the most pleasant thing for the 7am bus ride. Call me a sissy, I have a kinda weak stomach.
This series is...more
I also don't like the bulldog. Either end of the bulldog. Gross. Not the most pleasant thing for the 7am bus ride. Call me a sissy, I have a kinda weak stomach.
This series is...more
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This second volume is where we really see the series find its feet and we launch fully into the weird and wonderful world of Spider Jerusalem's with a tale about humans wanting to turn into sentient gas clouds, the harrowing story of the cryogenically unfrozen, synthetic reservations where you could choose to live in a past civilisation, and finally a three part story of Spider's ex-wife's revenge.
All of the stories have the verbal acrobatics and freewheeling genius level writing of Warren Ellis...more
All of the stories have the verbal acrobatics and freewheeling genius level writing of Warren Ellis...more
Jun 11, 2011
Leonardo Villarroel
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone with a broad mind, Fucking Journalists!!
All of the series' excesses and all its hyperboles are justified as they become the protective shell in which sweet, humane notes can be played. That is the case to be made of Transmetropolitan 4-12 (old edition) or 7-12 (revised edition). It matter as not as the core of this book, whatever edition you are reading is number 8, comprised only of the one entire Spider Jerusalem column printed so far. After testing the ground, playing some high and low notes, Warren Ellis feels free to write a trul...more
Well, as I've said in my review of Transmetropolitan vol. 1: Back on the Street, here we have the adventures of a guy Hunter S. Thompson and Doonesbury's Uncle Duke would find kinda scary. In this instalment, in pursuit of fresh material for his column 'I hate it here' he initiates his post-stripper assistant into the world of post-bodily humans the fun way: by taking her to watch the guy she's in love with rid himself of his body forever. And then have sex with another unbodied person. Tactful?...more
If I were ever to have inappropriate sexual thoughts about a comic book character, and I'm not saying I do, it would be Spider Jerusalem. Silly, but completely nonexistent fantasies notwithstanding, I'd only ever read the first collection, and then maybe 8, 9,and 10. So I've read how the series starts, and how the series ends, but what goes on in the middle has been the subject of some overheated conjecture. When did he acquire the filthy assistants? What's up with the Smiler guy? I just found 2...more
13 likes · like · see review
By default, my initial rating of any book will be 3 stars and then over the course of the book I vary my opinion. Transmetropolitan makes this hard. At various points I thought this second volume rates a 2 - too much nastiness, it's not even juvenile, just vile. And then suddenly there'll be some cleverness - the layout as Spider sinks down on the couch while watching tv and then pops up, the allusion to Jesus overturning the money-changers tables in the temple, etc. And so the rating gets bumpe...more
I changed this to a 3 instead of a 2 after considering it for a day. It's not that this volume was bad, I guess I was just a little put off by the talking castrated cop dog. The story seems to be all over the place and these comics were not intended to be collected in this grouping. The first few stories were pretty decent (excellent even), but the three part story that ends this (#'s 10-12) left a bad taste in my mouth. I will continue reading this series, but this chapter was not my favorite,...more
In questo secondo volume finalmente Transmetropolitan inizia a tirar fuori le unghie e a graffiare.
Si tratta ancora prevalentemente di episodi brevi e slegati tra loro, ma che episodi!
Splendido quello dedicato ai Revived, persone "surgelate" in punto di morte per poi essere resuscitate X anni dopo nella metropoli distopica di Spider Jerusalem; una metropoli, inutile dirlo, cui importa meno di niente di questi poveri malcapitati.
Esilarante l'episodio in cui Spider semina il chaos in una sorta di...more
Si tratta ancora prevalentemente di episodi brevi e slegati tra loro, ma che episodi!
Splendido quello dedicato ai Revived, persone "surgelate" in punto di morte per poi essere resuscitate X anni dopo nella metropoli distopica di Spider Jerusalem; una metropoli, inutile dirlo, cui importa meno di niente di questi poveri malcapitati.
Esilarante l'episodio in cui Spider semina il chaos in una sorta di...more
This volume continues to flesh out the world of Transmetropolitan and the main characters. The story involving Spider's wife is by far the best and my personal high point of the first two volumes. The art and the writing are fantastic, as before and there are several surprising scenes, showing how much potential there is in a SF story like this. Very good.
Off-the-wall, inane, and at times completely immature, but always fun. Within the hyper-gonzo ramblings of anti-just-about-everything-but-the-truth journalist, Spider Jerusalem, lie powerful social critiques that leave very few unscathed. When it comes to Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis' modus operandi can be described quite well by a single line from "Wild in the Country." While visiting the Farsight Community, an otherworldly reservation for "a culture yet to happen," Jerusalem finds that the...more
Hmmm.
I'm really not how much I liked this. I liked parts of it, yes, especially the part about the reservations, and even the part of the drug-induced orgies at the strip club. But it felt a wee bit too long for my liking. Okay, that's probably because it's a series of issues compiled into one book, but at some points I really felt it was just stretching.
I think I'm also floundering a little because I can't find a plot. Wikipedia suggests one, and thinking about it, I can see one developing, but...more
I'm really not how much I liked this. I liked parts of it, yes, especially the part about the reservations, and even the part of the drug-induced orgies at the strip club. But it felt a wee bit too long for my liking. Okay, that's probably because it's a series of issues compiled into one book, but at some points I really felt it was just stretching.
I think I'm also floundering a little because I can't find a plot. Wikipedia suggests one, and thinking about it, I can see one developing, but...more
Mar 25, 2013
Desmond Rivet
is currently reading it
I wasn't overly impressed with volume 1 of Transmetropolitan. I was taken in by the premise - the adventures of Spider Jerusalem, gonzo journalist extrordinaire, as he writes about the City, a place of wonder and horrors. I'm a sucker for futuristic urban settings, but the story left me a little...flat. I didn't dislike it, exactly. I just felt kinda...meh.
But so far the second one's a lot better (I'm about half way through). In particular, the story of Mary, a native of our time (more or less),...more
But so far the second one's a lot better (I'm about half way through). In particular, the story of Mary, a native of our time (more or less),...more
Look, if you're going to package a whole bunch of vignettes into a bound edition, the least you could do is show that it has some sort of reason for being packaged together. Here, it is the same shenanigans you found in the first book, except that there is driving story in the first that is not here in the second. Instead, you're assaulted by Spider's rants about TV, religion and other ridiculousness. It's a shock comic with no real purpose, and considering that this is the 2nd book in an 8 or 1...more
Transmetropolitan's second graphic novel outing is even better than the first. In particular, we get much more detail in the character of Spider Jerusalem, and there's a consistent underlying theme. As a journalist, Spider is a hero. And in order to do this he has to be both incredibly compassionate, and such a megalomaniac that he causes irreparable harm to those around him. This is a really interesting take on the nature of journalism and I found it to be much more compelling than the similarl...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
Warren Ellis, Transmetropolitan: Lust for Life (DC, 1998)
The great thing about Transmetropolitan is that Warren Ellis seems to remember something that no satirist since Mark Twain has gotten right; while the heart of any satire is soaked in acid, the surface is supposed to be funny. It's not satire if it doesn't make us laugh at it (the humorless bastards who can't find anything funny in “A Modest Proposal” notwithstanding). And while Transmetropolitan mirrors most modern satire in that the hear...more
The great thing about Transmetropolitan is that Warren Ellis seems to remember something that no satirist since Mark Twain has gotten right; while the heart of any satire is soaked in acid, the surface is supposed to be funny. It's not satire if it doesn't make us laugh at it (the humorless bastards who can't find anything funny in “A Modest Proposal” notwithstanding). And while Transmetropolitan mirrors most modern satire in that the hear...more
Even better than the first volume. Here we have mostly a collection of one-issue stories, oft narrated by Spider Jerusalem's writing. There's one short storyline which is basically a farce of a chase tale that nonetheless manages to maintain its tentative grasp on reality. There's a two-headed cat that smokes, an assigned assistant, commercialism on steroids, people waking up to a future they never imagined, cultural reservations, the heads of ex-wives... The list goes on. This series is amazing...more
Nov 13, 2007
Jennifer
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
graphic novel readers
Shelves:
graphic-novels
TransMetropolitan is definitely not your momma's comic book. The "hero," Spider Jerusalem, is a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, misanthropic journalist forced to return to the city from his mountain hide-out to fulfill the terms of his book deal. And what a city it is. Ellis imagines an urban dystopia of technology gone mad. People can hook themselves up to wires, change their species, even become an invisible fog of nano-bots. Sex and death are everywhere. Like many an anti-hero...more
Apparently I'm re-reading this series. Hadn't planned it, it's just happening.
A lot of people first noticed Warren Ellis's writing with this series, and with good reason. It is all-out, thought-driven sci-fi with a nasty edge and a sometimes unlikeable main character. But for all of that, it still has a lot of heart.
Ellis's vision of the future can be fairly dim, but I hesitate to call this dystopia like some reviewers. It's a future where nanotechnology has made anything possible and humans h...more
A lot of people first noticed Warren Ellis's writing with this series, and with good reason. It is all-out, thought-driven sci-fi with a nasty edge and a sometimes unlikeable main character. But for all of that, it still has a lot of heart.
Ellis's vision of the future can be fairly dim, but I hesitate to call this dystopia like some reviewers. It's a future where nanotechnology has made anything possible and humans h...more
Once again Transmet grabbed me, and I blew through another volume. While some aspects of the story were a bit disappointing (like his assistant becoming an emo puss) over all once again great comic!
Dark, violent, in your face, unforgiving, and relentless, yet some how really funny too. Transmet once again makes a great point about humanity and our future, with wonderful writing, and a very graphic way. The only bad part about finishing a volume of this comic is waiting until I can buy another
Dark, violent, in your face, unforgiving, and relentless, yet some how really funny too. Transmet once again makes a great point about humanity and our future, with wonderful writing, and a very graphic way. The only bad part about finishing a volume of this comic is waiting until I can buy another
"Lust for Life" is about what living really means - questions of whether you are still you once you've been revived from the dead, translated into a computer, etc etc. Unlike most books that dwell on this topic, though, Transmet dances over it, only making its argument (basically, screw it, you're you and there's no point worrying about philosophy) as casually as it can.
Also, the scene where Spider tromps through the convention of new religious movements is priceless.
Also, the scene where Spider tromps through the convention of new religious movements is priceless.
Ellis’ dystopian satire might read a lot better today if his main character, Spider Jerusalem, with his ironic tattoos and journalist self-righteous anger and hyper-coolness, didn’t seem so dated. Beyond that there is some good humour and accurate cultural criticism here. The best story of this volume is issue 8 about an elderly woman has her head cryogenically frozen and wakes up in The City. Its indicative that Spider doesn’t appear in the majority of this issue until he almost ruins the whol...more
Warren Ellis continues the genius that is "Transmetropolitan" in this second volume: "Lust for Life".
Outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem takes on the President, television, and religious leaders as Ellis glimpses the future and reflects on our present. There is also a heavy transhumanist theme in the book as the stories look at downloading the self into machines and cryogenics.
All at once entertaining, thought-provoking, and hilarious, this series is like nothing you've ever read.
Outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem takes on the President, television, and religious leaders as Ellis glimpses the future and reflects on our present. There is also a heavy transhumanist theme in the book as the stories look at downloading the self into machines and cryogenics.
All at once entertaining, thought-provoking, and hilarious, this series is like nothing you've ever read.
Meh.
This book was a collection of shorts. It feels way too early in the series for that sort of thing. Much as I hate to admit it, this series may be too gritty for me. Of course, it doesn't help that the "grittiness" is so forced. It's just trying too hard. Instead of clever observations and satire, the rants just come off as hateful. Not quite ready to give up, but that's mainly because of the same sick determination that compelled me to finish the Twilight series.
This book was a collection of shorts. It feels way too early in the series for that sort of thing. Much as I hate to admit it, this series may be too gritty for me. Of course, it doesn't help that the "grittiness" is so forced. It's just trying too hard. Instead of clever observations and satire, the rants just come off as hateful. Not quite ready to give up, but that's mainly because of the same sick determination that compelled me to finish the Twilight series.
So in this volume Spider Jerusalem manages to not come across as such a jerk probably because he tries to help his assistant come to terms with losing a boyfriend and more importantly because several people are trying to kill him. Oh he also crashes and burns with some women, too. Some of the ideas within are intriguing even if not fully detailed yet: fogletting (your life essence is put into a nanobot cloud), cryogenic preservation (with a focus on 20th century types awakened and in for a major...more
1 like · like · see review
Possibly even more fun than the first volume. I like a continuous narrative, but Transmetropolitan seems more about creating a world, like Fables and dipping into it for this story or that, while building a larger narrative in the background (maybe). At any rate, while the first volume of the series consists of only two stories, this one has far more and a greater concern with fleshing out the picture of the future. There are wonderful pages crammed with images and jokes, especially at the relig...more
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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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“...You people don't know what the truth is! It's there, just under their bullshit, but you never look! That's what I hate most about this fucking city-- LIES ARE NEWS AND TRUTH IS OBSOLETE!”
—
15 people liked it
“We may have been crazed, strange and entirely too eager to find new things to have sex with - but we went out to preserve great chunks of this planet's cultures and we damned well did it with some style”
—
6 people liked it
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