Rating: 
Summary: one half of a two sided coin
Review: "I Hate it Here." Perhaps this best sums up the personality of Spider Jerusalem, renegade reporter and cynic of the first degree. Disgusted by the world around him, he leaves the city and lives as a hermit.Years after his escape, his publisher drags him back into the city, wanting the books he was promised five years back. Needing money to live in the city, he whores himself out to The Word, a newspaper run by an old friend. These are his "adventures." Spider is brilliant, witty, and cynical. Through his eyes, Ellis gives an outlook of a bizarre future in which Aliens have landed, corporate America manages to advertise in your dreams, and reporters can write off their drug habits as a journalistic expense. This is the second collection of Transmetropolitan, following back on the streets. Reprinted are issues 4-12. Spider is both hostage and witness as events unfold. Fortunately, it's ammunition which he fires right back at the world. Spider can turn anything into an article, from the consequences of cryogenic freezing and restoration to simple Television. He visits reservations from the sensible to the logical extreme, and provides political commentary (And even rearranges their bowels). He encounters death threats and tangles with religion. Let's not beat around the bushes here. This is a comic book. Fancy words aside, it's packages exactly as Spider-Man or Batman would be. That's where the similarities end. This is not aimed at children, and probably shouldn't be read by children. There is blood, gore, nudity, and thought-provoking material What we do have is Warren Ellis' own use of the medium--A twisted, often dark, and humorous look at a futuristic world. his portrayal is brilliant, steps ahead of almost every other writer in the field of comics. Brilliance in such a simplistic medium. Such a refreshing and innovative series.
Rating: 
Summary: Another brilliant set from Warren Ellis.
Review: "I Hate it Here." Perhaps this best sums up the personality of Spider Jerusalem, renegade reporter and cynic of the first degree. Disgusted by the world around him, he leaves the city and lives as a hermit. Years after his escape, his publisher drags him back into the city, wanting the books he was promised five years back. Needing money to live in the city, he whores himself out to The Word, a newspaper run by an old friend. These are his "adventures." Spider is brilliant, witty, and cynical. Through his eyes, Ellis gives an outlook of a bizarre future in which Aliens have landed, corporate America manages to advertise in your dreams, and reporters can write off their drug habits as a journalistic expense. This is the second collection of Transmetropolitan, following back on the streets. Reprinted are issues 4-12. Spider is both hostage and witness as events unfold. Fortunately, it's ammunition which he fires right back at the world. Spider can turn anything into an article, from the consequences of cryogenic freezing and restoration to simple Television. He visits reservations from the sensible to the logical extreme, and provides political commentary (And even rearranges their bowels). He encounters death threats and tangles with religion. Let's not beat around the bushes here. This is a comic book. Fancy words aside, it's packages exactly as Spider-Man or Batman would be. That's where the similarities end. This is not aimed at children, and probably shouldn't be read by children. There is blood, gore, nudity, and thought-provoking material What we do have is Warren Ellis' own use of the medium--A twisted, often dark, and humorous look at a futuristic world. his portrayal is brilliant, steps ahead of almost every other writer in the field of comics. Brilliance in such a simplistic medium. Such a refreshing and innovative series.
Rating:
Summary: 2001: Fear & Loathing?
Review: For a little while now, I've been a fan of both comics and the mad yarns of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, and there's usually not a time when I walk into my comic book shoppe and not talk about both. Well, one day the shop owner says, "Have you ever heard of "Transmetropolitan"?" And I am happy to say that the legend of modern day outlaws persist well into the distant future! Embedded in a rather plain cyberpunk environment, this comic follows the adventures of the journalist Spider Jerusalem as he follows the trail of truth in his weekly column, "I Hate It Here". And he does, too. What with drug-taking household appliances, talking dogs, and people that turn them selves into colonies of nanite technology because it's a fashion statement, it's no wonder Spider ran away to a nearby wilderness community five years previous. The trouble is, without the city, Spider can't write. Anybody who's ever read and enjoyed Hunter's writings will go double eye gonzo over this portrayalof an outlaw journalist in future society. Though comic book fans will deny it, sharp readers will recognize the parallels between the two, and I know Mr. Ellis will undoubtedly admit to drawing from Hunter for the inspiration for Spider. Hunter even makes a cameo in the story "Wild in the Country".
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY FANTASTIC
Review: I cannot really go any further into it than that. I could wax intellectual, or I could simply compare Spider to Hunter S. Thompson, but I will leave it at this: This is a book unlike any other, and well worth reading. If it isn't a cult classic yet, it's only a matter of time until it is.
Rating:
Summary: Wow. Wow.
Review: I understand it is incredibly cliche to write a review proclaiming a book/movie/comic etc. is the greatest thing to ever be published in the medium. But quite frankly, it is true in this case. Warren Ellis has quite possibly created one of the greatest characters in modern fiction, Spider Jerusalem. Transmet (as the fans call it) is unbelievably original and engaging. Who woulda thunk a comic about a renegade gonzo guerilla journalist in the future would surpass every other modern comic in terms of quality? I would go into the plot but you should enter it like a virgin. If I had to describe it I would say imagine Hunter S. Thompson and the Wachowski brothers collaborating on a comic and you will get the picture.
Rating:
Summary: Wow. Wow.
Review: I understand it is incredibly cliche to write a review proclaiming a book/movie/comic etc. is the greatest thing to ever be published in the medium. But quite frankly, it is true in this case. Warren Ellis has quite possibly created one of the greatest characters in modern fiction, Spider Jerusalem. Transmet (as the fans call it) is unbelievably original and engaging. Who woulda thunk a comic about a renegade gonzo guerilla journalist in the future would surpass every other modern comic in terms of quality? I would go into the plot but you should enter it like a virgin. If I had to describe it I would say imagine Hunter S. Thompson and the Wachowski brothers collaborating on a comic and you will get the picture.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best comic currently in publication.
Review: Neck and neck with Preacher for being the best, this book rocks. Filled with savage critisim, a cynical exterior, and somehow filled with hope for a better world. The Cryogenics story (Another Cold Morning) is one of the ten best individual comic book story published in the last decade. You need to buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: The future isn't orange, its jet black.
Review: Oh where to start? If you've not read Transmetropolitan before, then you're probably not familiar with outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem and his penchant for hard drug abuse. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to Hunter S. Thompson, Jerusalem has been dragged from his country retreat back into the city he hates in order to fulfill his contract with his editor "the whorehopper". He lands a job as a columnist for the (unnamed) city's biggest newspaper the Word and sets about rediscovering the city. Lust for Life, the second book in the series sets up many of the vital elements that have greater significance as the series progresses, including one really important scene that you are guaranteed to overlook. Unlike similarly praised graphic novels, such as the Sandman or Watchmen, the key to Transmetropolitan's success is its ultra-black humour. The book is packed with cruel one liners, wicked satire and ridiculous situations. Its concluding chapter Freeze Me With Your Kiss is at heart, a brilliant, foul-mouthed farce that has to be read to be believed. You've probably never read anything like it in your life! To be honest, I can't do the book justice with just a review. Everyone that I've lent this book to have come banging on my door asking for the next one. And the one after that. and the one after that... If you're easily offended then please save yourself the trouble and buy something nice and heartwarming that'll be turned into a
major motion picture starring Nicholas Cage anytime soon. Otherwise all I can say is BUY IT and see what the fuss is all about. Watch out though, you might find yourself addicted.
Rating:
Summary: Makes being mean all the cooler
Review: Probably the finest work of cynical writing I've ever encountered. Ellis amazingly takes this journalist Spider Jerusalem and makes him into the smartest, angriest, craziest champion of the truth the printed page has seen in forever. Read this, but if you find yourself singing its praises and writing one of these reviews online, you wonder if Ellis is having a laugh at you.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best graphics out there
Review: Spider Jerusalem has come off the mountain and... Let me dispense with a small warning first. If you think that you might be offended - not easily, just offended - I'd dteer way clear of this book. I can't really describe any of the scenes in here and stay PG-13, but I'll try. Spider Jerusalem has decided that he will investigate religion to write a column. That being done, he takes enough drugs not to sleep for three days, dresses himself in a toga (complete with motel logo from the stolen sheets), a tinfoil halo and a fake beard. Leaving his apartment, he decides to jump on a car ranting and raving about how religion is a crutch for the weak minded. His assistant boils his comments down (out of his hearing) thusly: "Take more breaths or just repeat 'I've taken lots of big red pills'." (that's a sanitized paraphrase). If you're not sure if that's offensive or not, it gets worse. If you think that's funny, buy this book. It's a drug-soaked high-speed trip through a world gone crazy in the future. There are a few touching moments. For example, what happens when all the people that had themselves frozen in the past are raised in a future where cancer is cured and all that fun stuff. Think on the changes from 10 years ago to now, multiply by a large number. So what does society do with these visitors from the past? The answer is fairly interesting. In more than one way. The artwork is beginning to hit its pace in this novel. Channon's (Spider's assistant and ex-stripper) face goes from a middle aged jowled version to a younger one, but I never liked how she came out. Her body is, of course, trim the whole time. That's comics for you. Spider's teeth have settled down and his broken tooth seems to gain a fixed location and is always there. Overall, if this won't offend you, you are going to have to read it. Now.
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