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Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1: Back on the Street

(Transmetropolitan (Collected Editions) #1)

Warren Ellis (Goodreads Author),

Darick Robertson (Goodreads Author)

Darick Robertston (Illustrator)

Rodney Ramos (Illustrator)

Garth Ennis (Introduction)

Nathan Eyring (Illustrator)

Patrick Stewart (Introduction)

4.21 · Rating details · 40,440 ratings · 1,098 reviews

After years of self-imposed exile from a civilization rife with degradation and indecency, cynical journalist Spider Jerusalem is forced to return to a job that he hates and a city that he loathes. Working as an investigative reporter for the newspaper The Word, Spider attacks the injustices of his surreal 23rd Century surroundings. Combining black humor, life-threatening ...more

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Paperback, 144 pages

Published February 1st 1998 by Vertigo (first published January 1998)

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· 40,440 ratings · 1,098 reviews

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Feb 10, 2018 Anne rated it really liked it

Recommended to Anne by: Artemy Nizovtsev Nizovtsev

Shelves: buddy-read, graphic-novels, hoopla, read-in-2018

I don't really know what to say about this one, except it was off the wall and crazy in the best way possible.

description

The main character is this deranged genius of a journalist, who only comes back to the city because he owes his publisher and the money is already spent. For years he's been living off the grid like a hardcore prepper and is loathe to come back to civilization. And never misses an opportunity to say so.

description

I should mention that this is set in a nutty futuristicesque world where the mundane a ...more

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May 13, 2007 J.G. Keely rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, reviewed, dystopia, humor, cyberpunk, comics

Comics have been going through a very public struggle with maturity for some time now. They were well on their way to catching up with other art forms 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 bowdlerizing and stultifying 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 ...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Jeff rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: comix

Hunter S. Thompson -> Uncle Duke -> Spider Jerusalem?

Whether Ellis’ creation is an intentional ape of the Doonesbury character or not, it seems like a natural progression – putting Trudeau’s profane character in the future and turning him loose on social injustice and stuff.

After a long, imposed exile, Spider’s back in the big city and in order to keep the creditor hounds at bay, he’s looking for work as a journalist.

Armed with a bowel disruptor, righteousness, his wits and a mouth that would ma ...more

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May 31, 2017 Sr3yas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-comics-undated, comics

The word 'unique' doesn't even start to describe our title character and the story. From the moment I heard the name of our guy, I was hooked!

Spider Jerusalem, (crazy) journalist: A man who sees through everyone's bullshit.

if that's not enough to win you over, look at the character design!

*It's like the combination of the two band members from System of down!*

I Hate it here!
Spider Jerusalem was one hell of a journalist. But after years of Journalism, the man had enough of the city. He has b ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Melki rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novel

~~Hunter S. Thompson~~ Spider Jerusalem reluctantly returns from his self-imposed exile to emerge anew as the premier gonzo journalist.

Anyway, you don't learn journalism in a school. You learn it by WRITING FUCKING JOURNALISM. You teach yourself to wire up your own brain and gut and reproductive organs into one frightening machine that you aim at the planet like a meat gun - -

In addition to his mighty pen, his only other weapon is the truth, and something called a bowel disrupter set to prolapse. ...more

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Dec 26, 2013 Patrick rated it it was amazing

Written by one of my favorite comic writers, Warren Ellis.

This series is in the running for my top five favorite comics of all time. That might seem like faint praise until you consider the fact that it's competing with comics like Sandman, Bone, Hellboy, Lucifer, and Girl Genius.

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Sep 02, 2015 Jan Philipzig rated it really liked it

Shelves: addiction-obsession, civil-rights, drugs-alcohol, mass-media, mental-disorder, politics, comedy, dc, punk-goth, sci-fi

When these comics originally came out in the late 1990's, the comic-book industry lay in ashes. The speculation bubble had just burst, hundreds of retail stores were going out of business, many publishers were downsizing or declaring bankruptcy. It was a time when comic books had to reinvent themselves or fade into obscurity - a time when something as unconventional and confrontational as Transmetropolitan felt like it might actually have a chance, when somebody as cocky and subversive and spect ...more

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Mar 29, 2018 Lyn rated it really liked it

DEVILISHLY FUN!

Hunter S. Thompson is alive and well done, shambling across the pages of Warren Ellis’ 1998 Transmetropolitan volume number one: Back on the Streets.

First published in 1998, this only demonstrates the great vision Ellis had then, he was a canary in the coal mines as much of what he wrote 20 years ago could have been created today.

Spider Jerusalem. As great a character name as Velveeta Jones or Hiro Protagonist. Spider is a journalist, an inflammatory writer, a brigand of the TRUTH ...more

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Dec 06, 2007 Andrew rated it liked it

Recommends it for: the smugly superior

Shelves: genre, scientific, visual

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. 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. He takes on religion! He takes on TWO presidents! He even wrestles with a cult leader! The problem is that Jerusalem is not, in fact, the underdog; he achieves all of his goals through bullying and brute force, and he's never in any danger. He even recovers from the neurological illness that almost humanizes him in the latter half of the series! Basically, he's a jerk. But he's a jerk the author clearly wants you to empathize with.

I'm not saying Spider's antics aren't endearing; I like it as much as the next guy when crazy religious leaders are threatened with violence. But I find it a little disturbing that he is portrayed so sympathetically, and I think my chief problem with the series is that the audience is supposed to see him as a largely moral, ethical character. He's an easy character to get behind, because of his aura of rebellion, but he isn't actually rebelling, and that's the problem. Spider Jerusalem gets everything he wants. He is the authority.

The comic also fails to deliver on its science-fictional premise. Practically all of the futuristic elements are introduced in the first two volumes, despite the immensity of The City and the world, and some events seem a little too grounded in contemporary life. People care that the President has sex with a prostitute? In a world where you can download computer viruses into your brain for pleasure? In a world where people change species when they feel like it? I don't buy it.

Anyway, most people seem to like this comic, so odds are you will, too. It's pretty funny, sometimes, and the art is generally good. But don't come running to me when Spider Jerusalem beats the hell out of a pathetic half-alien with a busted chair leg, all the time yelling about truth and being an outlaw. ...more

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Mar 04, 2008 Purple rated it it was ok

Shelves: graphic-novels, science-fiction, 2-star

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

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Oct 16, 2011 Sam Quixote rated it it was amazing

I read the Transmetropolitan series a few years ago but loved it so much I decided to go back and give them a re-read and see if they hold up the second time around. And if this first volume is any indication, they most certainly do!

Living in isolation atop a mountain idyll, renegade journalist and bestselling author Spider Jerusalem is living the life he's always wanted - shooting rats in a hovel far from the bustling metropolis of the future. If only he'd unplugged the phone... His publisher c I read the Transmetropolitan series a few years ago but loved it so much I decided to go back and give them a re-read and see if they hold up the second time around. And if this first volume is any indication, they most certainly do!

Living in isolation atop a mountain idyll, renegade journalist and bestselling author Spider Jerusalem is living the life he's always wanted - shooting rats in a hovel far from the bustling metropolis of the future. If only he'd unplugged the phone... His publisher calls to remind him that he needs to deliver two books or they'll come looking for his advance, and if he's spent it, then they'll do terrible things to him. Knowing that he can't write without being in the city, Spider makes the shaky and hesitant journey from solitary confinement to people saturation, losing the Alan Moore look he's been cultivating for the Hunter S Thompson image that we all know and love.

The best thing about this series, or one of them anyway, is the way everything is skewed and different from our world but seems familiar in small ways. Like Monkey Burger or Ebola Cola, to the kind of narcissistic twerps who endlessly blog and tweet and flood the net with their boring lives, there's plenty here that's similar to our world.

More best things about this series: Warren Ellis' writing. It's never been better than in Transmet and it is scathing, righteous, furious, white hot genius morphed into words from the page and searing itself onto your brain. The lack of restraint and free-wheeling nature of Spider gives Ellis free reign to write the most amazing screeds of hate and disgust you're ever likely to read. Put simply, there are more ideas and more poetry in a single issue of Transmet than most comics books contain. It is his best work and Spider Jerusalem is a character for the ages.

Darick Robertson's artwork is magnificent. He too seems to have cut himself free of restraint and plunged headfirst into the madness of Spider's world, embracing it for all its worth and crafting characters and a world that is utterly amazing to behold. The amount of detail he manages to cram into each panel is brilliant and, while I am unquestionably a huge fan of this man's art, Transmet remains one of his best creations, standing above his work on The Boys, The Punisher, and, more recently, Conan.

So, are you a Transmet virgin and wondering to take the plunge? I love comics and this series is one of the crowning achievements in all comics history. Don't deprive yourself of this ribaldry, this chaos, this pure spitting ball of imagination and beauty, of filth and darkness. There's a transient (human turning himself into a grey alien) called Fred Christ and he's calling for a revolution. Spider is on the case... let's see what he has to say about thieves and liars, shall we? ...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Zach rated it did not like it

Shelves: hated, comics

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-thou attitude toward virtually every person on the planet, all the mindless sheep he hypocritically despises; he decries their addictions as he t ...more

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Oct 09, 2018 Tina Haigler rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel

I picked this up from my library on a whim. I'm not a huge fan of the urban future sci-fi genre. I much prefer dark urban fantasy but I figured, why not. It could be fun. Right?

Hell yeah, it was fun! It was gritty, interesting, hilarious, entertaining, and crazy. I love the main character. He's absolutely insane but for all the right reasons. His rants were awesome and his vulgarity was epic. The art was also fantastic and really set the mood for the story. Well done.

I definitely recommend this ...more

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Dec 11, 2014 Ivan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, dystopia-and-postapocalyptic, satire-and-humor, graphic-novels

I don't usually reread but I was in a mood for some dark humor and missed the insane bastard.I think this is second series I started (first was Sandman) since I rediscovered comicbooks and graphic novels.Since the nearly 2 years has passed and dozen of series and over 200 volumes but this is just as good and crazy as first time I read it.

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Feb 17, 2018 Sidharth Vardhan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-picture, crimanal-friends, dystopian-utopian-futurisitic, usa, bestest, chandler-s-box

Well, I changed my avatar to Spider Jerusalem. I think a review is redundant.

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Jan 19, 2017 Book Riot Community added it

I wrote a whole thing about how amped I am about having read Transmetropolitan, but I’m just gonna have to be redundant: this cyberpunk tale of political corruption being faced head-on by a badass journalist and his badass assistants made me happy in my heart. I binge-read like 60 issues in three days.

— Susie Rodarme

from The Best Books We Read In December 2016: http://bookriot.com/2017/01/03/riot-r... ...more

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Aug 27, 2014 Sesana rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, comics

This is manic, biting, and brilliant. Ellis takes on everything he can think of: magpie popular culture, the media, politics, and anything else in his path. And though I haven't read everything he's ever written, I can definitely say that this is one of his best works. You know, I was a little irritated when I got the trade and saw just how thin it is, only three issues. But those are three powerful issues, with more substance than six issues of 90% of the comics out there.

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May 10, 2016 Trish rated it really liked it

This comic definitely is nothing like I've ever heard of.

The city this comic shows is called Future Babylon, but really, this is like Sodom and Gomorra. There is every sin imaginable portrayed. We have people abusing their power, corruption, drugs flooding every-day life, prostitution, violence, poverty, ... and a movement about genetic alterations (people changing their species, which definitely is the author's way of addressing current transgender issues).

Future Babylon is extremely bad. Witho This comic definitely is nothing like I've ever heard of.

The city this comic shows is called Future Babylon, but really, this is like Sodom and Gomorra. There is every sin imaginable portrayed. We have people abusing their power, corruption, drugs flooding every-day life, prostitution, violence, poverty, ... and a movement about genetic alterations (people changing their species, which definitely is the author's way of addressing current transgender issues).

Future Babylon is extremely bad. Without giving too much away, not even the most optimistic reader can find anything good about the place.

Then we have the MC, Spider Jerusalem. Weird name, huh? But the guy himself is even weirder. So not your hero. Then again, having a hero would have been ridiculously unrealistic and not fitting the story.
We meet a very paranoid, very dirty Mr. Jerusalem right at the beginning ... he kind of looked like a Merlin with his tribal tattoos and too long hair ... not sure if his outer appearance a few panels later is much better, but ... that's not the worst about him. He uses drugs like a normal meal and has a lot of weapons (or used to) and no regard for other people's property or even their lives - which is not what one pictures when thinking about a JOURNALIST / AUTHOR!

However, after the first few impressions of the city he lived in and now has to go back to, it was no surprise he turned out this way. Also, he kind of hands out the violence where it is due.

Seriously, there is nothing positive here. We have relatively harmless bad visions of the future like constant news feeds and ads and shit (already bad enough). But we also have really dark stuff like religious movements, the physical alterations (not just on humans but on animals too), drugs for basically everything imaginable, plain and simple violence and everyone seems to be a nut job.

What I loved? That the MC wasn't ONLY a guy with paranoia, a temper and not enough physical hygiene. He was a smart cookie too and he knew how to use his intelligence. It even seemed, if only for just one little moment, that he tried using his intelligence for the greater good. The morale about public perception and the influence journalism can have was done very well.
Oh, and the physical cleaning unit. Bwahahahahahahahaha!
And the cat with one and a half heads that was smoking. xD

However, the art. That one is tricky to rate. I didn't like it. If I had to come up with a verb, I'd say dirty or messy or weird or ugly - EXTREME. But then again, that is exactly what this story is; what this city and everyone in it is so it was extremely appropriate.

I think the author managed to pull off something that is unique: this is a satirical take on our world, blown up to its extremes to basically not hold up the mirror to our faces but smash it over our heads. Bad people can be cops in riot gear, a guy taking advantage of a movement, or just normal people who sit around and do nothing! And THAT is very well done. Seriously, this city, this MC and this story have so many layers, one might want to read it more than once to make sure no aspect was missed. ...more

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Mar 24, 2019 André rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: comics, graphic-novels, science-fiction, favorites

Transmetropolitan is the graphic novel that I've been looking for so long! Dark humour, sci-fi, and unconventional journalism are the main elements of this comic series.

Warren Ellis conveys a dystopian futuristic world where depravity, religion, social inequality and ideologies are scrutinised in a fully ironic approach.

The protagonist, Spider Jerusalem, is a clever, non-conformist journalist who follows a particular lifestyle, a lifestyle motivated by pushing the truth, debunking false dogmas, ...more

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Feb 01, 2020 Sara *~The Loquacious Lassie~* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-graphic-novels

I LOVED this!

Transmetropolitan is set on a futuristic Earth with a pretty bleak and unflattering depiction of the human (and humanoid) race. The main character, Spider Jerusalem, is a completely whacky journalist - turned reclusive mountain-man. When Spider decides to come back to the city to rejoin the human race, crazy shit ensues. I mean craaazy. Dirty jokes, prostitutes, murder, and mentally ustable characters abound.

It...was...hilarious! Spider initially made my skin crawl a little. He is a ...more

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Oct 04, 2012 Irena rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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

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Mar 02, 2012 Shannon rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy-scifi, action, graphic-novels, books-reviewed

I put off reviewing this graphic novel to give it a fair shake but my feelings haven't changed. I found the main character to be chaotic and without much in the way of morals and most of his attempts to be funny just turned out crude or got a question mark for me. The artwork felt jammed on the page rather than flowing nicely. There were certainly some interesting ideas within but I found myself struggling in the latter 20% of the the graphic novel. I will give the second volume a chance but I d ...more

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Dec 10, 2016 Arielle Walker rated it liked it

Shelves: visual, graphic-novels-and-comic-books

Seems all too relevant right now.

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Aug 27, 2016 Jedi JC Daquis rated it really liked it

I asked myself before reading the first volume: my friends have recommended Transmetropolitan to me, but how on earth can a journalism-themed graphic novel interest so many.

The answer is generic yet very effective: a phenomenal first volume.

I have read so many titles with an awesome first volume. Many have kept me interested and excited until the end/current story arc (Chew, Sandman, Preacher, Scalped, Y The Last Man) while there are some that performed poorly after the first volume (Black Scien I asked myself before reading the first volume: my friends have recommended Transmetropolitan to me, but how on earth can a journalism-themed graphic novel interest so many.

The answer is generic yet very effective: a phenomenal first volume.

I have read so many titles with an awesome first volume. Many have kept me interested and excited until the end/current story arc (Chew, Sandman, Preacher, Scalped, Y The Last Man) while there are some that performed poorly after the first volume (Black Science, Sex Criminals).

Transmetropolitan captures what the 90s is made of: beautifully chaotic and crazily colorful (not psychedelic because that would be the 70s), plus a handful of shitbombs here and there made by intelligence-inducing drug user gonzo journalist named Spider Jerusalem.

Our protagonist definitely has a heart but is so fed up with urban pop culture / a city ripe with weird fashion statements, racial discrimination and prostitution with other "normal" people living their normal life that reacts violently whenever something radical shows ups in the news or whatever sources which they subjectively deem to be credible. In short, Spider is fed up by today's society.

Warren Ellis' commentary about the transient riot that happened to be Spider's first comeback column in the series is brilliant in two ways. First, it is not bound by time. Something will come up somewhere and things will go down ugly in the end because someone did something nasty and everything blew out of proportions. That is just how evil and primal the core of humanity is. Everybody are warriors of a silly cause, defenders of self-righteous faith and fighters of subjective law. Nobody is right and nobody is wrong. All is in the middle of this civilized muddy ocean of sorts. Second, Transmetropolitan manages to be (and paradoxically) unbiased in a way that it presented the truth from all sides. Spider Jerusalem is not a self-righteous man, god he is far from it, yet he reports what he see without judging one side in favor of another. The way Ellis wrote the story, it is neither a preach nor a manifesto of a particular view. It is an opinionated truth, but still the truth. I just love how he manages to walk that very thin line.

As my friends recommended this to me, I also recommend Transmetropolitan to you. ...more

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Nov 19, 2017 James DeSantis rated it really liked it

My buddy Jimmy told me to read this ages ago. My buddy Chris has also told me it's a must read Ellis story. I'm glad I took time to read this because 8 or 9 years ago I don't think James would have liked it much. Now? Well...

The story is about Spider. He's a journalist. Don't worry, if you didn't know that or care to know he'll fucking TELL YOU. I mean this dude is no filter loud mouth, foul mouth, loony bin type main lead. That's a good thing here though because it keeps you entertained through My buddy Jimmy told me to read this ages ago. My buddy Chris has also told me it's a must read Ellis story. I'm glad I took time to read this because 8 or 9 years ago I don't think James would have liked it much. Now? Well...

The story is about Spider. He's a journalist. Don't worry, if you didn't know that or care to know he'll fucking TELL YOU. I mean this dude is no filter loud mouth, foul mouth, loony bin type main lead. That's a good thing here though because it keeps you entertained throughout. So he missed his due dated for two books to be written and handed in and now might be in debt. Living on a mountain secluded he is trying to live free. No city around him. However, due to the publishing company, he has no choice but to come back and be a columnist!

The first three issues are one story that focuses on a new type of people getting attacked by the police force. Sad enough it probably shows more about today's society but still, pretty cool to see how it easily fills the political nature in this story. The remaining stories are basically one offs, different themes, but all connect to Spider and how he works. The themes and stories mostly cover religion, product placement, and so much more.

Good: I really fucking loved the 2nd half. Every story was interesting, funny, insightful, and the religion one at the end just killed me. The art is a old 90's, early 2000 feel, but works so well. Ellis writes the main lead as a loud mouth asshole, but it works, and it does make me laugh. I might not like him but I'm always entertained. I also love his partner, she's great, and can hold her own against Spider.

Bad: The first arc is pretty entertaining but I don't find it the best way to start it. I suspect I'd like if the first few chapters reversed with the last few but overall I wasn't overly impressed with the first arc.

Overall Transmetropolitan really grabbed me by the end. I wasn't too sure at first if this series was for me but by that last page I was already ordering the next few volumes. Bring me more I say, this is a fun series to be had! A 4 out of 5. ...more

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Feb 08, 2019 Wreade1872 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, 1990s, satire, graphic-novels, detective

A wordy but worthy comic. Even better than i remember but perhaps the current political/social climate has something to do with that.

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May 10, 2016 Sud666 rated it really liked it

Shelves: comics

Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan is one unique work. Reminiscent of series like Preacher and Crossed, it can be very shocking. But it IS good. The story revolves around Spider Jerusalem a journalist who had gone to live in the mountains. His publisher makes him come back to the "City" and we are off on a marvelous satire of modern life. Transmetropolitan does not pull punches- from its dystopian future where overcrowded cities are clearly divided into upper, middle and lower class areas to the in Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan is one unique work. Reminiscent of series like Preacher and Crossed, it can be very shocking. But it IS good. The story revolves around Spider Jerusalem a journalist who had gone to live in the mountains. His publisher makes him come back to the "City" and we are off on a marvelous satire of modern life. Transmetropolitan does not pull punches- from its dystopian future where overcrowded cities are clearly divided into upper, middle and lower class areas to the invasive advertising to corrupt politicians to abusive police to the "trans" movement which has gone from gender to species.
This is not a story about anything other than Warren Ellis's take on our modern society viewed through the eyes of the journalist Spider. From genetically modified cats to drugs for everything under to the sun, to modern religions it is a dark, yet weirdly twisted and funny satire of our society. It certainly is one of the more unique comic books out there. Spider Jerusalem is crass, smart, tough and foul all at the same time. His hyperbolic rantings take him from covering the "trans" movement where people tired/bored/convinced-on-their-own that how they were born is not what they are- have now moved on to changing species (started with animals and now are trying to become aliens). The government doesn't care about them and their erstwhile leader is using the movement for sex. But, then lawyers get involved and pay off some of the trans movements people to riot. Once they do, the police move in and brutally suppress the riot-the entire time Spider records and transmits live his take on what he sees.
Thats just a small example of the story. Other issues have Spider, and his ex-stripper (who is stripping to pay for journalism school- a nice take on a common stripper trope) assistant, take on the President, modern religion, television (with 2,0000 channels on the basic package and advertising that can play in your dreams when you sleep), sexual identity, the concept of love, etc...and this is just the first volume collecting the first 6 issues. So if you enjoy dry,dark, witty and subversive satire on our modern society-this is for you. If you are PC, sensitive, or any other such drivel then avoid and go read People magazine.
The artwork is quite good. I found it interesting since the backgrounds are worth paying attention too because there are often subtle nuggets hidden in there from "Ebola Cola- you drink it and it eats you" to "Sex Puppets for children". It made me grin. The subtle digs at modern culture, while taken to the extreme, show where "group think" society could end up. This is a dystopian future with a sense of humor, albeit twisted. ...more

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Mar 04, 2018 Otherwyrld rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel, science-fiction

Reading the first volume of Transmetropolitan for the first time, I feel that I've been shot between the eyes with a bullet coated in a variety of psychedelic drugs which is giving me the trip of my life as I die. There's more ideas per page than I think I've ever seen in a graphic novel before.

It's not just that though, it's the heart and soul that comes pouring off the pages as well. The author is angry about so many things - the violence and brutality of the police, the corruption of the medi ...more

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Aug 11, 2010 Mike rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned-and-read, creator-owned, favorites

Still awesome. Ellis' lightning writing makes my brain sit up and take notice - the tight phrasing, constant barrage of unpleasant yet intriguing ideas/scenes/concepts, coupled with a completely insane, totally id-driven hero, all conspire to keep me far too alert and fuels my longstanding paranoia.

Robertson's art is energetic, fully-formed (filling frames, not just phoning them in) and just plain whacky. Every cell has extra shit he's scribbled in - I imagine it's like leakage from his own imag ...more

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Apr 12, 2016 Travis Duke rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I have to be honest I often feel like Spider, but I dont have the guts to act like him haha. Prophetic for 1997, Ellis nails the subject matter and the art is pretty darn good for mid/late 90's. Spider is a journalist that has been in hiding and comes back to the city to only see its a nightmare filled with police brutality, TV overload, and religious cults. The personality on spider is comical and in your face, which i found to be really entertaining. Ellis really does a great job and describin ...more

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ABQ Graphic Novel...: November's Meeting: Transmetropolitan Vol 1	3	11	Nov 28, 2016 12:06PM
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About Warren Ellis

Warren Ellis

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Warren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.

T Warren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.

The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.

He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.

Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.

A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.

Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.

Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway. ...more

Other books in the series

Transmetropolitan (Collected Editions) (1 - 10 of 13 books)

Books by Warren Ellis

Transmetropolitan, Vol. 2: Lust for Life

Transmetropolitan, Vol. 3: Year of the Bastard

Transmetropolitan, Vol. 7: Spider's Thrash

Planetary, Volume 1: All Over the World and Other Stories

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Trivia About Transmetropolitan...

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Quotes from Transmetropolitan...

“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.” — 91 likes

“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.” — 88 likes

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