TRANSMETROPOLITAN-A review

Recently, mostly because I stumbled over the title while looking for copies of THE TWELVE to review, I reread the entire five year run of TRANSMETROPOLITAN. For those who don’t know or do not remember, TRANSMETROPOLITAN was a wonderfully witty comic series by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson that ran from 1997 until 2003. Published by DC, it originally ran under their Sci-Fi Helix imprint but, at the end of the first year when DC cancelled the Helix line, it rolled into a Vertigo title. The series, which ran for 60 issues, was later reprinted in the form of ten trade paperback volumes

The series begins sometime in the 23rd century where we meet retired writer and currently bearded hermit Spider Jerusalem (think attitude like Hunter S. Thompson but currently looking like Alan Moore). Five years ago, he retired, left The City and moved to the mountain life. But his publisher calls looking for the two books he owes them, causing him to pack up and move back to The City. The City is the nightmare wew were all afraid of: sex, drugs, rock and roll and looking like something out of a Sigue Sigue Sputnik video. Spider contacts his former editor at THE WORD, Mitchell Royce, and gets his old job back as a columnist. His first assignment involves Fred Christ and the Transient movement. Christ is a former rock band manager and the Transients are a group of people who change their bodies based on alien DNA. Spider exposes the faked police riots and gets himself beat for his troubles. We also get to meet his “filthy assistants”: Channon Yarrow(his first assigned assistant who actually ends up leaving him for a time and becomes a nun in Fred Christ’s church) and Yelena Rossini(allegedly Royce’s niece, although he learn otherwise before series end). and (known collectively as the 'filthy assistants'), along with a host of supporting characters who run throughout the series.

The second year of the book and beyond concentrated on the election presidency of Gary “The Smiler” Callahan. We learn of dirty tricks on the way to the Oval Office, a genetically cloned Vice President, the murder of Callahan’s campaign manager(and friend of Spider’s) Vita Severn and eventually  the electing of ‘The Smiler” to the highest poffice in the land. It becomes Spider’s goal to take Callahan, who defines abuse of power, down. Callahan manages to get THE WORD’s Board of Directors to fire Spider. He also arranges for the City to be left defenseless during a "ruinstorm". During this, Spider collapse and is diagnosed as having an incurable neurological disease because of exposure to Information Pollen. He is told he has about a year until total dementia kicks in and he ramps up his decision to take down ‘The Smiler’.

I won’t totally spoil the last year of the tale for you but will say that Callahan and his filthy assistants spend those twelve issues trying to bring down the Callahan Administration. Suffice it to say, it reaches a well thought out, logical conclusion that is totally believable and satisfying. The book comes to an awesome end and our heroes ride off into the sunset…so to speak. In my mind, this series is required reading for any comic fan or anyone wanting to write comics. It looks great, reads like a wild Orwellian infused fever dream and is still so relevant today.