My Favorite Comic
Jun. 8th, 2004 10:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariI have just finished re-reading Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan over the last three days. All the collections are finally out, and I finished retrieving them from the bookshelves and putting them in order this weekend. The experience gave me a whole new appreciation for the comic, and I think it is the best comic I have ever read. So here are my rambling thoughts on Transmetropolitan:
Transmetropolitan follows the exploits of outspoken and unorthodox journalist Spider Jerusalem in The City, in America in the not-too-distant future. Spider eventually tangles with the government and the president. The story is brilliant, but things get rather complicated at several points, and there is a lot going on with a lot of details and connections to keep track of, so the comic really benefits from being read over a short timespan. I got a lot more out of it this time around than I did when I was reading it as it came out. Of course, it didn't help that Warren Ellis is not exactly punctual about putting out new issues.
Spider Jerusalem is a wonderful character, complex yet somehow knowable. He values truth and justice and possesses his own brand of righteousness. He's a Good Guy. But Spider is also a very pointed illustration of the fact that Good and Nice can be completely separate. He's on the side of Right, but he's rarely anything approaching nice. Spider does quite a lot of drugs. He uses language that would make a longshoreman's ears burst into flame. He's no stranger to using violence, occasionally because he feels like it. He can be ruthless in his pursuit of the truth. And he's just a plain rat bastard most of the time. But damn if I didn't love him. He does the right thing, for the right reasons. And underneath it all, he really cares about the city and its people.
And then there are Spider's Filthy Assistants, Channon and Yelena. They are the ones you identify with. Their relationship with Spider is a mix of respect, loathing, admiration, disgust, and real friendship. He pisses them off, but they stick with him because they know that what he is doing is right.
And what exactly is it that Spider does? He brings down the president, gets him impeached, thrown out of office, and prosecuted. President Callahan is a despicable person, the worst example of a corrupt politician. And Spider brings him down with nothing more than the truth, by exposing what Callahan has done, complete with solid evidence. Along the way, Spider (and Warren Ellis) also offer up some amazingly perceptive social and political commentary. It's both insightful and sometimes frighteningly prophetic. I particularly recommend the segment entitled "Business", which is essentially the best essay on kids living on the street I have ever encountered. I'm not going to give any other examples or details, you have to read it for yourself.
The artwork is great. It's gritty and realistic. And there is so much detail. Not only is the foreground and main action extremely well done, but many of the panels also have an extremely rich background. All the attention given to the "Set", even in some of the more incidental panels, ensures that the reader gets a really good grasp of what this future is like, what it would be like to live there. And occasionally there's even a good cultural reference or two tucked in.
Some of my favorite parts, in addition to the aforementioned "Business":
The story of Mary the Revival (a woman from the 20th century who had gone into cryogenic suspension and is brought back).
The Chair Leg of Truth scene.
Spider's actual columns
I can't recommend Transmetropoiltan enough. Thanks to Jason for introducing me to it back in 1999, when the first issues came out.
Transmetropolitan follows the exploits of outspoken and unorthodox journalist Spider Jerusalem in The City, in America in the not-too-distant future. Spider eventually tangles with the government and the president. The story is brilliant, but things get rather complicated at several points, and there is a lot going on with a lot of details and connections to keep track of, so the comic really benefits from being read over a short timespan. I got a lot more out of it this time around than I did when I was reading it as it came out. Of course, it didn't help that Warren Ellis is not exactly punctual about putting out new issues.
Spider Jerusalem is a wonderful character, complex yet somehow knowable. He values truth and justice and possesses his own brand of righteousness. He's a Good Guy. But Spider is also a very pointed illustration of the fact that Good and Nice can be completely separate. He's on the side of Right, but he's rarely anything approaching nice. Spider does quite a lot of drugs. He uses language that would make a longshoreman's ears burst into flame. He's no stranger to using violence, occasionally because he feels like it. He can be ruthless in his pursuit of the truth. And he's just a plain rat bastard most of the time. But damn if I didn't love him. He does the right thing, for the right reasons. And underneath it all, he really cares about the city and its people.
And then there are Spider's Filthy Assistants, Channon and Yelena. They are the ones you identify with. Their relationship with Spider is a mix of respect, loathing, admiration, disgust, and real friendship. He pisses them off, but they stick with him because they know that what he is doing is right.
And what exactly is it that Spider does? He brings down the president, gets him impeached, thrown out of office, and prosecuted. President Callahan is a despicable person, the worst example of a corrupt politician. And Spider brings him down with nothing more than the truth, by exposing what Callahan has done, complete with solid evidence. Along the way, Spider (and Warren Ellis) also offer up some amazingly perceptive social and political commentary. It's both insightful and sometimes frighteningly prophetic. I particularly recommend the segment entitled "Business", which is essentially the best essay on kids living on the street I have ever encountered. I'm not going to give any other examples or details, you have to read it for yourself.
The artwork is great. It's gritty and realistic. And there is so much detail. Not only is the foreground and main action extremely well done, but many of the panels also have an extremely rich background. All the attention given to the "Set", even in some of the more incidental panels, ensures that the reader gets a really good grasp of what this future is like, what it would be like to live there. And occasionally there's even a good cultural reference or two tucked in.
Some of my favorite parts, in addition to the aforementioned "Business":
The story of Mary the Revival (a woman from the 20th century who had gone into cryogenic suspension and is brought back).
The Chair Leg of Truth scene.
Spider's actual columns
I can't recommend Transmetropoiltan enough. Thanks to Jason for introducing me to it back in 1999, when the first issues came out.
