Transmetropolitan: Back On the Street

Rating:
Summary: it's okay.
Review: "Gonzo journalism" is the brainchild of Hunter S. Thompson, author of the American classics FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS and FEAR AND LOATHING ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL '72. This form of journalism, part truth and part outrageous tale-spinning, in the primary inspiration for Warren Ellis's TRANSMETROPOLITAN: BACK ON THE STREET, a comic that attempts to turn what is already mostly fiction into complete fiction with a humorous and blackly satirical bent. From the internal ramblings of protagonist (it's hard to call him a "hero") Spider Jerusalem to the bizarre world that surrounds the character, the writing of BACK ON THE STREET reeks of Hunter Thompson's particular brand of drug-fueled outrage. Coupled with Darick Robertson's artwork, which brings the grimy City of the story to colorful, grungy life and gives Jerusalem a very Thompson-esque appearance (complete with omnipresent cigarette clenched between the teeth), TRANSMETROPOLITAN may be the most involved homage to ever see print.

This is not to say that BACK ON THE STREET is not worth the reader's time. There's something almost refreshing about the way Warren Ellis plunges directly into the dark heart of his main character. Spider Jerusalem is unquestionably insane, but no more so than the world around him. The plot of this collection, which spans the first three issues of the TRANSMETROPOLITAN comic, turns on a group of people voluntarily mutating their DNA in order to be more like space aliens. Actual space aliens. Jerusalem takes in a chain-smoking cat with one-and-a-half heads. His major home appliance, artificially intelligent, is on virtual acid. Weirdness abounds.

What keeps BACK ON THE STREET from really shining, though, is that all this weirdness doesn't seem to have much of a point. If the purpose of TRANSMETROPOLITAN is to out-gonzo Hunter Thompson, the creator/master of gonzo, then one can arguably say that Ellis has succeeded: his world is truly twisted, as garish as an acid trip. If Ellis means to turn the reader on to new ideas, or engage a latent sense of iconoclasm, he is far less successful. His work here is foul-mouthed and unrelentingly critical, but it's simply too far outside the mainstream to make any real impact on contemporary thought; the reader has to work too hard to connect the dots. Take the "transients," those wretched folks transforming themselves into aliens. Are they meant as stand-ins for transsexuals and, if so, what is Ellis trying to say about them? It's impossible to say.

As a wild, funhouse ride BACK ON THE STREET does its job well. Ellis and artist-collaborator Robertson have worked hard to make the story as outrageous as possible, from the lived-in filth of the City to the antics of the drug-addled Spider Jerusalem. The story is worth reading just to see how wacky things will become. In the end, however, there's the sense that it's all just absurdity for absurdity's sake, and therefore BACK ON THE STREET lacks the intensity of Hunter S. Thompson's best work. Ellis is a solid writer, but a writer of fiction, and no amount of talent will ever make Spider Jerusalem as real as he needs to be.

Rating:
Summary: Gonzo journalism goes fiction.
Review: "Gonzo journalism" is the brainchild of Hunter S. Thompson, author of the American classics FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS and FEAR AND LOATHING ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL '72. This form of journalism, part truth and part outrageous tale-spinning, in the primary inspiration for Warren Ellis's TRANSMETROPOLITAN: BACK ON THE STREET, a comic that attempts to turn what is already mostly fiction into complete fiction with a humorous and blackly satirical bent. From the internal ramblings of protagonist (it's hard to call him a "hero") Spider Jerusalem to the bizarre world that surrounds the character, the writing of BACK ON THE STREET reeks of Hunter Thompson's particular brand of drug-fueled outrage. Coupled with Darick Robertson's artwork, which brings the grimy City of the story to colorful, grungy life and gives Jerusalem a very Thompson-esque appearance (complete with omnipresent cigarette clenched between the teeth), TRANSMETROPOLITAN may be the most involved homage to ever see print.

This is not to say that BACK ON THE STREET is not worth the reader's time. There's something almost refreshing about the way Warren Ellis plunges directly into the dark heart of his main character. Spider Jerusalem is unquestionably insane, but no more so than the world around him. The plot of this collection, which spans the first three issues of the TRANSMETROPOLITAN comic, turns on a group of people voluntarily mutating their DNA in order to be more like space aliens. Actual space aliens. Jerusalem takes in a chain-smoking cat with one-and-a-half heads. His major home appliance, artificially intelligent, is on virtual acid. Weirdness abounds.

What keeps BACK ON THE STREET from really shining, though, is that all this weirdness doesn't seem to have much of a point. If the purpose of TRANSMETROPOLITAN is to out-gonzo Hunter Thompson, the creator/master of gonzo, then one can arguably say that Ellis has succeeded: his world is truly twisted, as garish as an acid trip. If Ellis means to turn the reader on to new ideas, or engage a latent sense of iconoclasm, he is far less successful. His work here is foul-mouthed and unrelentingly critical, but it's simply too far outside the mainstream to make any real impact on contemporary thought; the reader has to work too hard to connect the dots. Take the "transients," those wretched folks transforming themselves into aliens. Are they meant as stand-ins for transsexuals and, if so, what is Ellis trying to say about them? It's impossible to say.

As a wild, funhouse ride BACK ON THE STREET does its job well. Ellis and artist-collaborator Robertson have worked hard to make the story as outrageous as possible, from the lived-in filth of the City to the antics of the drug-addled Spider Jerusalem. The story is worth reading just to see how wacky things will become. In the end, however, there's the sense that it's all just absurdity for absurdity's sake, and therefore BACK ON THE STREET lacks the intensity of Hunter S. Thompson's best work. Ellis is a solid writer, but a writer of fiction, and no amount of talent will ever make Spider Jerusalem as real as he needs to be.

Rating:
Summary: This Spider has a real bite
Review: "Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street" is a book-length comic by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. The copyright page notes that the contents of the book originally appeared in single issue form as "Transmetropolitan" 1-3.

This vividly illustrated tale focuses on Spider Jerusalem, a journalist in a futuristic city. This is very much a science fiction story, spiced with references such as one to a Martian secession movement. In this volume Spider investigates a controversy involving an emergent subculture of genetically altered humans.

The tattooed, chain-smoking, gun-toting Spider is a compelling protagonist. The book is violent but intelligently written and often quite funny. The story raises questions about police conduct, multiculturalism, the First Amendment, and the role of the journalist in society. It's a remarkable book that has whetted my appetite for more of Spider's saga.

Rating:
Summary: This Spider has a real bite
Review: "Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street" is a book-length comic by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. The copyright page notes that the contents of the book originally appeared in single issue form as "Transmetropolitan" 1-3.

This vividly illustrated tale focuses on Spider Jerusalem, a journalist in a futuristic city. This is very much a science fiction story, spiced with references such as one to a Martian secession movement. In this volume Spider investigates a controversy involving an emergent subculture of genetically altered humans.

The tattooed, chain-smoking, gun-toting Spider is a compelling protagonist. The book is violent but intelligently written and often quite funny. The story raises questions about police conduct, multiculturalism, the First Amendment, and the role of the journalist in society. It's a remarkable book that has whetted my appetite for more of Spider's saga.

Rating:
Summary: The start of something wonderful
Review: As a voracious reader, and a journalism student, I've come across lots of stories about reporters (from Complicity by Iain Banks to Superman and Ditko's Mr. A and the Question), but I've never seen something like this.
A lot of people think Spider IS Hunter S. Thompson, but they're wrong. He's definitely in there, but there's so much more. Ellis combines political satire, political science fiction, transhumanism, and sick humor to create something unique in the world of comics.
He stacks the book with interesting characters, draws you through a fascinating world, and makes you care about all of it.
It all starts here. A bit prescient, too.

Rating:
Summary: Warren Ellis has a rabies infected imagination....
Review: But you've got to love it. After his run on Marvels Excalibur, Ellis and Robertson created Spider Jeruselam and his mad, information soaked world. Through Spider Ellis is eloquent in his condemnation of the police state, cutting in his observations about modern politics and damn entertaining. For anyone that wants an intelligent, well-written wander into the future, or if you just want to be smacked in the face by the sheer power of a book then this is the place to begin.

Rating:
Summary: A Quality Read
Review: Ellis creates a comic book for adults here, and does it in a compelling manner. Unlike later issues which got bogged down in splash pages, Ellis gets the plot across quickly and nicely. The main storyline is nothing extraordinary, but everything that makes the book popular: dark humor, and gratuitous violence is on display here. It's satire at its finest, and a worthy purchase. Even if you don't like it, it's only eight bucks. If you do like it, you'll get entertainment for a good while.

Rating:
Summary: Truly brilliant!
Review: He aims, shoots....bullseye! Warren Ellis has proven himself to be what this reader daresay the greatest storyteller of the late 90's, whom also will hopefully continue his truly brilliant work way into the new millennium. «Back on the streets» was for me personally a great story, great artwork, funny yet dark...But most of all I found it to be a quite realistic view of modern day America, and the western world, and the way we let media tell us what happens, let the media outrage us or guide or minds into the parts of our world we dare not visit for ourselves. Before we scream "Stop it, It's enough" for a moment - then lapse into the apathy for anything beyond our own well being five minutes later. "Back on the streets". A must-have for anyone who appreciate fine litterature.

Rating:
Summary: This is an astonishing piece of work
Review: I am not a comic book reader by character, but a friend who is introduced me to Spider Jerusalem. I will not mince words here: Transmetropolitan is... incredible. It exudes rebellious, anti-establishment energy in the same way that a volcano exudes boiling rock. I found myself left with an almost irresistable urge to walk into a grocery naked and punch out a security agent after reading the first collection. Some movies have been characterized as "lifestyle flicks" because they're purpose or effect is to teach a hip or alternative way of looking at the world, and Transmetropolitan is like those in some ways. But it's deeper than that, too. The conflict in the stories is genuine and poignant, and the graphically violent and sexual artwork alone is enough to disturb brain cells into active contemplation. The humor is laugh-out-loud and the evil works much better for more mature audiences than anamistic baddies. The formula of dystopian future is old as beauracracy itself, but Transmetropolitan steers away from the rocky gulfs of cliche, effectively shanghai-ing the genre to a new medium. Anyone who reads it will be glad they did.

Rating:
Summary: a fine, fine thing
Review: i don't usually like to mention that i read comic books. it makes me look like more of a geek (hard to do). however, this title is so good, i am breaking my self-imposed silence. the frantic story of gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem is set in a familiar dystopic urban future. we've all seen this bleak, over-commercialized, multi-culti, hyper-computerized megalopolis before. the difference, and the cool part about this comic, is the righteous outrage the main character expresses. in most of your retreaded cyberpunk junk, the protagonist is some kind of super-cyberpunk, the epitome of his world--the uber-techno-warrior. in contrast, Spider is a throwback to humanitarianism. he rails against corruption and ennui the way Hunter S. Thompson did in the 1960s. plus, he looks just like my pal Bill McBride.