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Transmetropolitan (Collected Editions) #5
Transmetropolitan, Vol. 5: Lonely City
Nobody ever accused Warren Ellis of lacking imagination. The latest collection of the Spider Jerusalem saga, Lonely City, is packed with laser-guided satire and neo-adolescent wish fulfillment in the form of a bowel disruptor. Sliding his story of government manipulation and counter-manipulation between moments of reflection and observation makes Ellis's downbeat ending a bit less nihilistic than it could have been. Despite the gulf separating us from Jerusalem's City, it's not hard to draw parallels between his milieu of police-run riots and state-maintained misery and our own less colorful environment. Lonely City drags the man who's more "anti" than "hero" out into the world he professes to hate and forces him to do something about it, while never descending into the boring comic-book morality he fights daily. --Rob Lightner
144 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2001
About the author
Warren Ellis
1,894 books5,745 followersWarren 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 226 reviews
September 7, 2017
Ladies and Gentlemen, We are back in Black!
After the events of the fourth volume, Warren Ellis opens this installment with a great stand alone chapter featuring a very interesting interview.... of Spider himself. He contemplates about death, life, the concept of the fair game, and finally ties it all up to the main story arc beautifully.
The next two chapters are also stand alone in their own term, one featuring random rants of Spider and another featuring Spider and Co'sunethical boundless investigative journalism. I enjoyed parts of these two chapters, but as a whole, these two were weakest ones in the volume, if not the whole series.
But fear not, because the rest of the Volume's three part story arc will Blow you away.
Welcome to the Lonely City.
Racism is universal. In some parts of the world, it's skin color, in others ancestry or even religious class. At the end of the day, everything comes back to your DNA.
And that's what Warren Ellis did. Racism based purely on DNA.
This, my friend, is the best story yet. It criticises authority and the politics behind it, questions media and its freedom, and presents a shocking scenario. The story is sharp and at moments, you might just be disturbed by the story's resemblance to our own world's fucked up situation.
Overall, this is one of the strongest Transmetropolitan volumes.
After the events of the fourth volume, Warren Ellis opens this installment with a great stand alone chapter featuring a very interesting interview.... of Spider himself. He contemplates about death, life, the concept of the fair game, and finally ties it all up to the main story arc beautifully.
The next two chapters are also stand alone in their own term, one featuring random rants of Spider and another featuring Spider and Co's
But fear not, because the rest of the Volume's three part story arc will Blow you away.
Welcome to the Lonely City.
Racism is universal. In some parts of the world, it's skin color, in others ancestry or even religious class. At the end of the day, everything comes back to your DNA.
And that's what Warren Ellis did. Racism based purely on DNA.
This, my friend, is the best story yet. It criticises authority and the politics behind it, questions media and its freedom, and presents a shocking scenario. The story is sharp and at moments, you might just be disturbed by the story's resemblance to our own world's fucked up situation.
Overall, this is one of the strongest Transmetropolitan volumes.
January 6, 2015
That's better. After volume four's loss of energy, this is back to the same peak. And it's probably because Ellis gave Spider an actual target: police brutality and corruption. How horribly topical, more than a decade later. I was surprised, after an appropriately manic beginning, how disturbing, even frightening, this story became. I don't know if this means the book is going to be taking a slightly more serious turn going forward, but it kind of looks that way. I'm not sure yet if that's a good thing or not, but I'm going to trust Ellis.
March 22, 2012
The Beast has been replaced in office by the Smiler, a far more sinister President with plans to obliterate the man who pursued and mocked him throughout the election, Spider Jerusalem. Following a Senator's sex scandal leads Spider and his filthy assistants, Yellena and Channon, to massive corruption within the police force of the city where a hate crime has been essentially buried. But when Spider raises his hackles on the police, he finds that he's walked into a bloody trap...
This book takes the story of the Smiler and Spider to the next level with the opening shots fired against Truth and Justice. As the bodies pile up, Spider realises the fun is has begun and the innocent must be avenged, and, with the white hot self-righteous bile vomiting forth from Warren Ellis' mind, this book is as fun and brilliant as the others are.
Also included are a couple of one-shot issues, one is an interview with Spider giving the reader more background on the character and insights into his childhood, while another is an illustrated column of Spider's "I Hate It Here".
The series continues to be excellent and "Lonely City" is a fine addition to the fun and silly, clever and dramatic stories that are building towards a compelling and enthralling storyline. Excellent writing and drawing, any fans of the series so far won't be disappointed with this book.
This book takes the story of the Smiler and Spider to the next level with the opening shots fired against Truth and Justice. As the bodies pile up, Spider realises the fun is has begun and the innocent must be avenged, and, with the white hot self-righteous bile vomiting forth from Warren Ellis' mind, this book is as fun and brilliant as the others are.
Also included are a couple of one-shot issues, one is an interview with Spider giving the reader more background on the character and insights into his childhood, while another is an illustrated column of Spider's "I Hate It Here".
The series continues to be excellent and "Lonely City" is a fine addition to the fun and silly, clever and dramatic stories that are building towards a compelling and enthralling storyline. Excellent writing and drawing, any fans of the series so far won't be disappointed with this book.
March 15, 2015
Wow. I love righteous fury. Ellis does it like no one else. I also love the poetic beauty he uses to describe the city and his relationship with it. The duality of filth disgust and garbage versus the positivity of energy, discovery and people. At first I found it a bit wordy...but it arts up the second act perfectly...
The Smiler has come to power, Spider vowing to take him out...in the midst of this, a brutal hate crime takes place, outraging Spider to nearly boiling point. The response of the police dictates our hero's actions, and we think we know what will happen....until the last few pages...and we see just how evil and dangerous an opponent the new president really will be.
In addition to all this, Ellis comes up with some pearls of wisdom through Spider, which really spoke to me.
The Smiler has come to power, Spider vowing to take him out...in the midst of this, a brutal hate crime takes place, outraging Spider to nearly boiling point. The response of the police dictates our hero's actions, and we think we know what will happen....until the last few pages...and we see just how evil and dangerous an opponent the new president really will be.
In addition to all this, Ellis comes up with some pearls of wisdom through Spider, which really spoke to me.
July 12, 2021
Things only continue to get so much worse after this volume, but somehow the title story's wicked scheme stood out in my mind as particularly heinous. It really got the emotions right. It painted the villains as some particular types of assholes, let us see them get away with it scott-free, and shoved even more injustice down the throats of every concerned citizen. And it was Spider's fault - kind of, in the way it's some poor abused kid's fault his dad is beating him up.
And he wasn't allowed to tell the truth.
Overall, very nice. Served to get me invested, drive the hooks in deeper. The story's an unashamed power trip more often than not, but it knows how to maintain some tension and feeling of danger and challenge. It knows to let the hero be kicked down from time to time, too.
And he wasn't allowed to tell the truth.
Overall, very nice. Served to get me invested, drive the hooks in deeper. The story's an unashamed power trip more often than not, but it knows how to maintain some tension and feeling of danger and challenge. It knows to let the hero be kicked down from time to time, too.
June 24, 2022
The first half of this book is kind of just random one shots. Second half is a story about how the police and government will cover up shit after they try to kill you.
At this point anytime I pick up Transmetropolitan I ask myself why I don't continue. I think it's because the subject matter is a bit heavy. Like sure, it's funny at times. Spider and his crew are good at making me laugh. But holy hell...police coverup. Race/Hate crime. Government wanting to rid you and they will. Blocking legit news reports. SO much...and it is SO dark and true even to this day.
Anyway, first half was a little eh. Didn't work for me. But the second half was amazing. Also the art is stunning.
At this point anytime I pick up Transmetropolitan I ask myself why I don't continue. I think it's because the subject matter is a bit heavy. Like sure, it's funny at times. Spider and his crew are good at making me laugh. But holy hell...police coverup. Race/Hate crime. Government wanting to rid you and they will. Blocking legit news reports. SO much...and it is SO dark and true even to this day.
Anyway, first half was a little eh. Didn't work for me. But the second half was amazing. Also the art is stunning.
January 8, 2019
This volume has a few standalone stories at the beginning and then a 3-part story centering on police brutality that I assume is leading into the next volume. As always the story has to balance the absolutely depressing fact that all these issues are more of a problem than ever today with funny moments that will keep you going. I think this volume did that pretty well because Yelena and Channon were featured pretty prominently and I love whenever they are around because Spider can be a bit much when there's no one there for him to play off. I also liked that we are seeing some consequences for Spider's particular brand of 'journalism' because I'm really going to need him to go through some kind of character growth in the later part of this series to make it all seem worthwhile. I feel like he often misses out on helping [or at least not actively harming] individual people because he is so focused on the big picture and it definitely causes some problems.
Here's a few of my favorite panels of our 'dream team' ;)
Here's a few of my favorite panels of our 'dream team' ;)
September 19, 2016
Do not binge-read Transmetropolitan. Try to alternate some socially-accepted books before going back and picking up a volume of Spider Jerusalem's fight against the corrupted authorities. You'd get tired of the city, its filth, its stories. Same old ugliness, same old crap.
Lonely City felt like a filler volume at first, a confined story that Spider Jerusalem must write in his column. But hell escalated quickly at the middle part of the book and damn, from all the craziness I have experienced with Transmetropolitan, I wasn't ready for some crazy yet serious stuff. The whole arc is right away relevant, not just some isolated case.
It was unfortunate for me that I did not enjoy this volume as much as I wanted to. Sure everything was fun, but once you are into this world, all the craziness and the Warren Ellis train of thought on futuristic terms turns monotonic and bland. I feel that I must rest for a bit, since the second half of the series is gonna be way more interesting. Hmmmm mmm.
Lonely City felt like a filler volume at first, a confined story that Spider Jerusalem must write in his column. But hell escalated quickly at the middle part of the book and damn, from all the craziness I have experienced with Transmetropolitan, I wasn't ready for some crazy yet serious stuff. The whole arc is right away relevant, not just some isolated case.
It was unfortunate for me that I did not enjoy this volume as much as I wanted to. Sure everything was fun, but once you are into this world, all the craziness and the Warren Ellis train of thought on futuristic terms turns monotonic and bland. I feel that I must rest for a bit, since the second half of the series is gonna be way more interesting. Hmmmm mmm.
June 21, 2015
Shit. For me, living in Russia, stories about police brutality and killings of peaceful protesters and civilians, and about the government controlling the press, they just strike a little too close to home. I guess, for US it should be the same. This volume was really sad.
Ugh, I actually love this comc book a lot now. So glad I decided to give it another go after my first, disappointing attempt at reading volume 1.
This trade also contains issue #25 "Here to Go", the first one in the trade. It was one of the two issues that got me into Transmet. If you're not a fan of the series, this, and issue #8, "Another Cold Morning" would be the ones I would recommend to get into the true, painful and angry spirit of this book.
Ugh, I actually love this comc book a lot now. So glad I decided to give it another go after my first, disappointing attempt at reading volume 1.
This trade also contains issue #25 "Here to Go", the first one in the trade. It was one of the two issues that got me into Transmet. If you're not a fan of the series, this, and issue #8, "Another Cold Morning" would be the ones I would recommend to get into the true, painful and angry spirit of this book.
February 26, 2016
Every time I feel like Transmetropolitan doesn't know what to talk about anymore, it comes out the left field with the greatest storylines. Spider Jerusalem finds fun and creative ways of getting into trouble with the law as he investigates a brutal murder the police seems oddly disinterested in. What ensues has nothing to envy to the great conspiracy theory novels, yet keeps the fun, edgy and oh-so-pertinent edge that makes Spider jerusalum who he is. One of the best, if not the best volume yet in a standout, magnificent series.
December 26, 2016
Quinto tomo recopilando del 25 al 30 dejando la serie justo a la mitad. Pasadas las elecciones presidenciales arranca con tres unitarios, el primero introspectivo de Spider que completa algo más el panorama del personaje hablando de su pasado y pareceres, el segundo son 21 páginas unitarias que describen la ciudad como a través de postales. El tercer unitario empieza a endurecer la temática metiendo a un político en una trama de muerte en filmaciones porno, todo llevado al extremo de lo no correcto políticamente resultando incómodo de leer. Los últimos tres números tratan sobre represión policial y de cuando las fuerzas públicas hacen la vista gorda permitiendo violencia discriminadora, cuando con un dispositivo que reconoce genomas puntualizando en minorías sexuales identifica a un sujeto al que dejan moler a palos. Y la cosa empeora mucho más al final,,, tremendo tomo que agrega a la serie tópicos muy duros.
August 20, 2015
Warren Ellis' graphic novel series is unmistakeably well written. The 90's art style perfectly suits the story, and even suits the cyberpunk genre. It is a gritty, ultra-violent series, with a nice, different take on hacker altruism, inspired by the sci-fi novels of the 80's.
Having said that, it is a very difficult series to read. Pure nuggets of creativity are often dimmed by schizophrenic breaks--often by the protagonist--which, I understand, makes this series unique, and to some endearing, but I felt as if it worked against my enjoyment of the series.
Overall, a lovely read for those interested in cyberpunk, or those gritty/edgy anti-heroes everybody loves.
Having said that, it is a very difficult series to read. Pure nuggets of creativity are often dimmed by schizophrenic breaks--often by the protagonist--which, I understand, makes this series unique, and to some endearing, but I felt as if it worked against my enjoyment of the series.
Overall, a lovely read for those interested in cyberpunk, or those gritty/edgy anti-heroes everybody loves.
September 11, 2017
This series has felt very familiar in terms of present day political and social climates but it has really hit the nail on the head in this volume. It hits so close to home it was almost difficult to read.
I did like how the assistants and Spider became vigilantes/superheroes because they sought out and told the truth. It made me happy. Now I am just concerned about their well being...
I did like how the assistants and Spider became vigilantes/superheroes because they sought out and told the truth. It made me happy. Now I am just concerned about their well being...
February 20, 2023
I wonder why this city where Spider lives so familiar https://youtu.be/UmDg3GMLYFU
May 29, 2011
Another episode that follows the words of truth written by journalist extraordinaire Spider Jerusalem as he navigates the murky waters of politics and big city antics. This one follows on the heels of the last installment that saw a change of political faces. The new man in power is shifter than the last but puts up a much better mask and is much more slippery. So much so that he knows how to play the political game that may see our hero caught in his own trap.
The graphic novel is at it's best when it comes to laying out the dirty truth behind some politically driven scenes. This one doesn't hold back any punches. Racism, cover ups and stifling the press when the truth is too nasty to be told. I don't think Spider liked being cornered and his words censored. I hate to think how he'll react in future chapters ...can't wait to find out!
The graphic novel is at it's best when it comes to laying out the dirty truth behind some politically driven scenes. This one doesn't hold back any punches. Racism, cover ups and stifling the press when the truth is too nasty to be told. I don't think Spider liked being cornered and his words censored. I hate to think how he'll react in future chapters ...can't wait to find out!
October 23, 2014
With the Smiler in the White House, Spider Jerusalem, journalist and psycho extraordinaire demands that politicians show him their penises.
Yes, that's right. He and his filthy assistants chase down local office-holders demanding to see their penises.
Thus, begins the real meat of Transmet, Jerusalem's real crusade for the truth, the complete out-fuckery of politics and media as it stands. Nothing is safe. The entire police force can be turned out to destroy him, and Jerusalem soldiers on, exposing, or trying to, police brutality and their menace, prejudice, and what-have-you.
Again, to be read. Should be standard reading in high school, really.
Yes, that's right. He and his filthy assistants chase down local office-holders demanding to see their penises.
Thus, begins the real meat of Transmet, Jerusalem's real crusade for the truth, the complete out-fuckery of politics and media as it stands. Nothing is safe. The entire police force can be turned out to destroy him, and Jerusalem soldiers on, exposing, or trying to, police brutality and their menace, prejudice, and what-have-you.
Again, to be read. Should be standard reading in high school, really.
June 10, 2017
finally. i read the first three volumes of Trans out of order (1, 3, 2), but now i'm back on track. Volume Three, Year of the Bastard, was amazing and Volume 5, Lonely City, is the follow up i was waiting for. no disrespect to Volume 4 cause it contextualized important details that get expanded upon in V5. the parallels to the state of Journalism and Police are uncanny. unbelievable that this series was written 20 years ago. can't wait to continue.
December 4, 2017
Classic but has aged unevenly
Ellis has a gift for cynical characters, gonzo paranoia, and world building. This, however, does seem to have a retro-future feel from the end of 90s to the early aughts as much as it speaks to now. Spyder having a fully developed team does help cut against some of the revenge fantasy element of the work. Classic but has aged unevenly.
Ellis has a gift for cynical characters, gonzo paranoia, and world building. This, however, does seem to have a retro-future feel from the end of 90s to the early aughts as much as it speaks to now. Spyder having a fully developed team does help cut against some of the revenge fantasy element of the work. Classic but has aged unevenly.
May 24, 2022
Discovery of the year! It's not "edgy", it's (insert superlatives) outrageous. Transmetropolitan makes Family Guy look like Sesame Street. Spider Jerusalem might be an asshole, but he fights the right battles: corruption, police brutality, xenophobia, you name it. Highly entertaining.
August 28, 2014
Damn in the last book the Smiler is reveled to be the twisted evil f@ck we all thought he was and then there is absolutely zero about him in this book WTH. Dear Mr. Ellis, please stop being a giant dick tease.
June 6, 2016
3 1/2 stars
January 14, 2016
Awesome and nasty, and that is exactly the combination I wanted. Also this book is a bit more clear again about what it wants to tell us, the reader, philosophically
April 20, 2017
Spider Jerusalem's web appears to be falling apart. Hi octane living, riots in the streets, death and betrayal is everywhere......
September 30, 2016
"Life sucks, then you die."
The fifth Transmetropolitan collection is a bit of a hodgepodge. This volume certainly is not as strong as the first first four volumes. Without the Presidential election the series loses a bit of steam. But digging into these six issues reveals some truly startling insights into the role journalism plays in our society. Many of the topics covered in these six issues are even more relavent today, including the hostile relationship between police and minority citizens and choosing between two evils in a Presidential election. We also get some interesting views into Spider Jerusalem's thoughts and feelings without him yelling at some poor unsuspecting fools.
The first two issues are pretty much musings straight from Spider Jerusalem's mind. The first, "Here To Go," is framed as an interview about death, with the reader unknowingly in the point of view of the interviewer. The second, "21 Days in the City," is a collection of column snippets placed over splash pages. Take note in the those splash pages for potential references to Marvel's Sue Storm and Franklin Richards in a park background and a human dolphin from William Gibson.
A slight water motif surfaces during the interview when Spider reveals "The older I get, the more I like it out here by the water." Very often Spider is seen relaxing near water, particularly on bridges overlooking water. Spider also talks about how rain makes everything new again. Rain is a recurring weather element in the series. And Spider's ex-wife's head winds up being tossed in a river during an earlier story, an act which cleanses Spider of his marital past.
Near the end of the interview Spider circles back to the recent Presidential election.
Spider is obviously upset about the election results. He's personally upset because Callahan has a vendetta against him. But Spider also worries about the well-being of his fellow citizens. As we see in the "Lonely City" story later, Callahan's promise of "New Hope" is anything but hopeful or helpful.
The second issue contains a series of column snippets which wind up being very hit and miss. Some pages are mostly played for humor, like Spider's Ahab garb for dog culling or the odd animal foods available at the supermarket. Several of the pages include a glimpse at a neat idea, such as the intersection of mechanics, drugs, and artificial intelligence or the crossed line talking with Mars. Spider's disdain for religion comes up again with the naivete trait which replaces instincts with hallucinating God. Spider also delves into his childhood.
One page nicely summarizes Spider's literal ascent through the City, as he moves from "hopeless shithole" to Pupin Grove to Chase Square to Puritan Mews. Spider laments "And now I can't see the street anymore." His black tower obviously contrasts with the traditional ivory tower. An ivory tower is an "environment of intellectual pursuit disconnected from the practical concerns of everyday life." Spider is very much in favor of intellectual pursuit, but he is also in favor of the practical concerns of everyday life. In fact, he pursues knowledge and the truth precisely because he cares so much about human life. Spider isn't quite certain about his own feeling on this, though, as he ends with "Time was this place didn't make sense and I could live with it. Either it's changed, or I have."
"The truth, Grisham. That's all I need."
The third issue, "Monstering," is a one-off story about pestering Senator Tarleton Sweeney in the name of journalism. For the most part this short story is played entirely for laughs. Spider defines "monstering" as "the art of abusing people. Of ambushing them with questions, following them with questions, hounding them with questions, driving them to their fucking graves with questions." Spider's constant refrain of "Mister Sweeney!" is quite humorous but gets a little tiresome, and like Yelena the reader begins to wonder what is the point of badgering a politician.
This prompts a two page diatribe from Spider about the purpose of journalism. He states "We show them that just as they try to herd us back into cages of quiet mediocrity we can chase them back to fucking hell with the truth." And proving he does indeed live outside the ivory tower, Spider declares his love for the journalism of attachment: "I want to see humans talking about human life. I want to see people who give a shit about the world." Once again Spider affirms his black tower mentality. Of course, all this is somewhat undercut by antics such as asking questions to the Senator via a hidden toilet device.
The story ends with one of Spider's seedier contacts asking "What happened to your journalistic ethics?" Spider's retort, unsurprisingly, is "The truth, Grisham. That's all I need." In the end, that's still what Spider cares about, and he doesn't care who he hurts getting to the truth and exposing it as long as he thinks he's helping humanity. That comes to disastrous results in the closing story of this collection.
"A paranoid is simply someone in possession of all the facts."
The three issue story "Lonely City" eventually ties into the aftermath of the Presidential election while also setting up some key points for later plot points.
The story begins with the hate crime murder of Rory Flanagan Lockwood. The twist is the hate crime is based on the young man's genetics (the conclave modification, also known as polytemple or sexgang change, which leads to multiple genitalia) instead of his skin color, sexual preference, sexual identity, or the plethora of other causes for hate crimes in our contemporary reality. As Spider notes to the detective assigned to the case, "City can't even get basic racism, right, can it? Skin color don't matter, was the message we beat into these fuckers. It's what you got inside." Of course, in this case it was literally what was inside the victim that got him killed.
The actual death scene is somewhat long at five pages out of 22 pages. That's a lot of real estate to eat up with a series of images with no dialogue about a man getting beaten to death. Especially when another three pages are just different views of Spider's book. But the visual impact is made, and the effects of this crime are felt well into the next volume of the series, so it's mostly warranted. It's just a jarring difference from Tranmet's usual heavy dose of prose and dialogue.
In fact, much of "Lonely City" contains more action than the series has seen up to this point. As the police cordon off the crowd reacting to the release of the criminals, and during the resultant bloodbath that ensues, there isn't much time or space for the usual lengthy talks and tangents. But the commentary surrounding the police actions is blood chilling, especially in light of our recent reality of cops with itchy trigger fingers. The trumped up (to the point of totally fabricated) claims of incitement from the crowd are all too reminiscent of the vague, racist logic used to justify shooting citizens.
Spider's column about the truth behind the riot comes up against the Callahan administration's policies. Spider's reaction is that "This is the start of something fucking disgusting." An earlier debate between Yelena and Spider about the contrasting job descriptions of police and journalists foreshadows this development. But the reader has to continue to the next volume to see the fallout between Spider Jerusalem and President Callahan.
While this volume may not be as stellar as the previous three, it still contains enough wit and food for thought to warrant high praise. And it becomes even stronger after reading the next volume.a
The fifth Transmetropolitan collection is a bit of a hodgepodge. This volume certainly is not as strong as the first first four volumes. Without the Presidential election the series loses a bit of steam. But digging into these six issues reveals some truly startling insights into the role journalism plays in our society. Many of the topics covered in these six issues are even more relavent today, including the hostile relationship between police and minority citizens and choosing between two evils in a Presidential election. We also get some interesting views into Spider Jerusalem's thoughts and feelings without him yelling at some poor unsuspecting fools.
The first two issues are pretty much musings straight from Spider Jerusalem's mind. The first, "Here To Go," is framed as an interview about death, with the reader unknowingly in the point of view of the interviewer. The second, "21 Days in the City," is a collection of column snippets placed over splash pages. Take note in the those splash pages for potential references to Marvel's Sue Storm and Franklin Richards in a park background and a human dolphin from William Gibson.
A slight water motif surfaces during the interview when Spider reveals "The older I get, the more I like it out here by the water." Very often Spider is seen relaxing near water, particularly on bridges overlooking water. Spider also talks about how rain makes everything new again. Rain is a recurring weather element in the series. And Spider's ex-wife's head winds up being tossed in a river during an earlier story, an act which cleanses Spider of his marital past.
Near the end of the interview Spider circles back to the recent Presidential election.
"I always thought people were essentially bright. Distracted, sure, and weak, and beaten, but never stupid. And then you show them, here's the two people who want to be president. One is evil, but you can deal with him, because he actually harbors beliefs. The other one will tell any lie, wear any mask, to become president, and not only that, he fucking hates you, and he's doing this just so he can make your lives hell. And who do you think they vote for? Stupid."
Spider is obviously upset about the election results. He's personally upset because Callahan has a vendetta against him. But Spider also worries about the well-being of his fellow citizens. As we see in the "Lonely City" story later, Callahan's promise of "New Hope" is anything but hopeful or helpful.
The second issue contains a series of column snippets which wind up being very hit and miss. Some pages are mostly played for humor, like Spider's Ahab garb for dog culling or the odd animal foods available at the supermarket. Several of the pages include a glimpse at a neat idea, such as the intersection of mechanics, drugs, and artificial intelligence or the crossed line talking with Mars. Spider's disdain for religion comes up again with the naivete trait which replaces instincts with hallucinating God. Spider also delves into his childhood.
"Spending days and nights sitting out on the sidewalk with the other kids, listening to all our parents spouting uneducated hate-filled bullshit over cheap beers and thinking is this it? and is that me in twenty years? and planning our escapes, from eight years old planning our grand escapes from our lives."
One page nicely summarizes Spider's literal ascent through the City, as he moves from "hopeless shithole" to Pupin Grove to Chase Square to Puritan Mews. Spider laments "And now I can't see the street anymore." His black tower obviously contrasts with the traditional ivory tower. An ivory tower is an "environment of intellectual pursuit disconnected from the practical concerns of everyday life." Spider is very much in favor of intellectual pursuit, but he is also in favor of the practical concerns of everyday life. In fact, he pursues knowledge and the truth precisely because he cares so much about human life. Spider isn't quite certain about his own feeling on this, though, as he ends with "Time was this place didn't make sense and I could live with it. Either it's changed, or I have."
"The truth, Grisham. That's all I need."
The third issue, "Monstering," is a one-off story about pestering Senator Tarleton Sweeney in the name of journalism. For the most part this short story is played entirely for laughs. Spider defines "monstering" as "the art of abusing people. Of ambushing them with questions, following them with questions, hounding them with questions, driving them to their fucking graves with questions." Spider's constant refrain of "Mister Sweeney!" is quite humorous but gets a little tiresome, and like Yelena the reader begins to wonder what is the point of badgering a politician.
This prompts a two page diatribe from Spider about the purpose of journalism. He states "We show them that just as they try to herd us back into cages of quiet mediocrity we can chase them back to fucking hell with the truth." And proving he does indeed live outside the ivory tower, Spider declares his love for the journalism of attachment: "I want to see humans talking about human life. I want to see people who give a shit about the world." Once again Spider affirms his black tower mentality. Of course, all this is somewhat undercut by antics such as asking questions to the Senator via a hidden toilet device.
The story ends with one of Spider's seedier contacts asking "What happened to your journalistic ethics?" Spider's retort, unsurprisingly, is "The truth, Grisham. That's all I need." In the end, that's still what Spider cares about, and he doesn't care who he hurts getting to the truth and exposing it as long as he thinks he's helping humanity. That comes to disastrous results in the closing story of this collection.
"A paranoid is simply someone in possession of all the facts."
The three issue story "Lonely City" eventually ties into the aftermath of the Presidential election while also setting up some key points for later plot points.
The story begins with the hate crime murder of Rory Flanagan Lockwood. The twist is the hate crime is based on the young man's genetics (the conclave modification, also known as polytemple or sexgang change, which leads to multiple genitalia) instead of his skin color, sexual preference, sexual identity, or the plethora of other causes for hate crimes in our contemporary reality. As Spider notes to the detective assigned to the case, "City can't even get basic racism, right, can it? Skin color don't matter, was the message we beat into these fuckers. It's what you got inside." Of course, in this case it was literally what was inside the victim that got him killed.
The actual death scene is somewhat long at five pages out of 22 pages. That's a lot of real estate to eat up with a series of images with no dialogue about a man getting beaten to death. Especially when another three pages are just different views of Spider's book. But the visual impact is made, and the effects of this crime are felt well into the next volume of the series, so it's mostly warranted. It's just a jarring difference from Tranmet's usual heavy dose of prose and dialogue.
In fact, much of "Lonely City" contains more action than the series has seen up to this point. As the police cordon off the crowd reacting to the release of the criminals, and during the resultant bloodbath that ensues, there isn't much time or space for the usual lengthy talks and tangents. But the commentary surrounding the police actions is blood chilling, especially in light of our recent reality of cops with itchy trigger fingers. The trumped up (to the point of totally fabricated) claims of incitement from the crowd are all too reminiscent of the vague, racist logic used to justify shooting citizens.
Spider's column about the truth behind the riot comes up against the Callahan administration's policies. Spider's reaction is that "This is the start of something fucking disgusting." An earlier debate between Yelena and Spider about the contrasting job descriptions of police and journalists foreshadows this development. But the reader has to continue to the next volume to see the fallout between Spider Jerusalem and President Callahan.
While this volume may not be as stellar as the previous three, it still contains enough wit and food for thought to warrant high praise. And it becomes even stronger after reading the next volume.a
June 11, 2018
Transmetropolitan has never been an especially smart comic. But as far as world-building goes, it most certainly has its charms (cryogenic-induced PTSD, cured-cancer-equals-tobacco-proliferation, low-key cannibalism...). Unfortunately, Lonely City—i.e., Transmet #5—finds Warren Ellis retreading past terrain. The reader is again confronted with police brutality and political corruption. Spider Jerusalem again antagonizes the baddies through a particular combination of violence and brooding which, in the world of the comic, goes by the name of "journalism."
Not terrible by any standard. But Transmet has done it better.
Not terrible by any standard. But Transmet has done it better.
September 1, 2023
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - Hunter S. Thompson
I find that the best pieces of science fiction are often worried. As Charlie Brooker pointed out, science fiction is often a good way to illustrate the worrying trends that we've accumulated. This is becoming more and more apparent since the future seems to be becoming more of a reality as the years move along. I should also add that science fiction often works best when it's angry.
Transmetropolitan is a very angry, contentious book. It's a good comic to read when you're feeling angry about the world that we find ourselves living in and feeling like there's nothing, you can do. Transmetropolitan is Ellis at his most angry, and most politically opinionated and while I don't agree with everything Ellis has to say in here, I do find myself in enthusiastic agreement with his main thesis with this series: this system is broken, and it needs to change immediately.
Ellis isn't subtle in this series, and there's plenty of targets that he takes shots at with this series. Much of the humor in this is often uproarious and madcap, and the characters and situations that our main cynical bastard Spider Jerusalem finds himself in often proves to be a romp. But unlike his friend Garth Ennis, Ellis doesn't get lost in the crude humor of his series, it is merely a means to an end.
Unlike DeConnick or Andrews, who are content to blame the issues of society on an overarching evil bogeyman. Ellis is more interested in what creates a society that allows corruption to fester and infect the system that's supposed to be looking out for us. Much of his concern revolves around the complacency and disillusionment of average people, who are often led to believe that their votes and opinions don't matter, so why even try to engage. But Ellis seeks to beat the complacency and disillusionment out of his readers and get them to act to make true changes to our society.
We share Spider's frustration and hatred of the city, and his rage at the carelessness of the people around him. Spider isn't easily likable and in fact is a huge pain in the ass for anyone who is unfortunate to come across his path, for better or for worse. But the points that he makes are often right, and Ellis does just enough to make us sympathize with him, even as much of an ass he is to his 'filthy assistants' and everyone around him.
Much of the science fictional aspects of this series are often light, not focusing too much on how this stuff would work in the world but exploring how these technologies affect the people who live in the world. Like all great science fiction, it often questions how the future will affect the people who live in it and how it changes the world around us. I was reminded a lot of Philip K. Dick's work in how Ellis manages to combine the surreal and the mundane, where all these wacky sci-fi inventions are just another part of life, and Ellis never stoops to ogling over how cool everything is.
While being an entertaining, science fiction romp, it is also a great piece of journalism through fiction. Much like David Simon's The Wire, Transmetropolitan is a series that exposes the dark truths of the world we live in through a fictional lens, though unlike The Wire, it is much more of a madcap romp. Ellis isn't as committed to realism as Simon is, as Ellis takes more notes from Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo journalism. He sees that truth doesn't always have to be real to attain the intended effect.
Transmet has proven to be more poignant as we move into the post-Trump era of United States politics, particularly with his depiction of The Beast, who almost seems like a carbon copy of our previous president, though somehow, he's less sleazy. Transmet is one of those series that gives me fire as a journalist, I don't know if I want to be as confrontational or as bitter as Spider, but I would like to make a similar impact in my own work as a journalist.
But within its anger, I was surprised to find how compassionate and emotional this series proved to be. I often find that anger is a perversion of sadness, and Transmet is a prime example of that. Ellis' anger is masking the sadness that he has over the degradation of our society and the ideas of compassion and decency...and as this series has aged, I find that the message of Transmet to still ring true...and it shouldn't. The anger in Transmetropolitan often hides the vulnerability that is shown in its characters, and even reveals part of Ellis himself...even if he doesn't entirely mean to. For all the angry, puerile shit that Warren throws at us, there's an undeniable sense of humanity within Transmetropolitan, and that's what gives it charm after all.
At the end of the day, Ellis is a lot like Thompson. He surrounds himself with the ugliest parts of humanity to expose the ugly truth that surrounds us in our daily lives. Transmetropoltian is Warren Ellis off the leash, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
March 7, 2020
Half fillers issues and half a 3 issue arc. This book covers the beginnings of police corruption/brutality(like the first volume). The jump in this is the effects felt by the election in it's final pages.
Not my favourite volume but still a good read.
Not my favourite volume but still a good read.
September 11, 2017
La cantidad de sentimientos que me genera esta historia mientras la leo: odio, rabia, alegría...
Me dan ganas de comprar un disruptor intestinal y hacer justicia por el mundo.
Me dan ganas de comprar un disruptor intestinal y hacer justicia por el mundo.
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February 19, 2018The most anger-inducing in the series yet.
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