Transmetropolitan: Lust for Life

Rating:
Summary: one half of a two sided coin
Review: TRANSMETROPOLITAN is, at it's whollest core, future shock. it is how ellis and robertson illustrate future shock that make TRANS great. being an aspiring comics artist / writer, i make an attempt to look past the surface and steryotypes of a comic to what it is, how well the art can bring life to story, and how the writing can tip off to an artists quirks and style. TRANS sadly, shines through only writing. while the art is impressive, it does nothing more than illustrate words. simply, put, TRANS is great without the art. evry character brings their own personality to the playing board, and bounce off of one another, the only untrue reflection of this would have to be ziang, spider's assistant's lover/ boyfriend. while he play's a role in the changing of a character, his personality is mostly one sided ie he wants sex, all of it that he can get(provided it isn't with jerusalem's two headed cat). coming back to the art, the writer rarely gives robertson his own space, where there is no writing, and where the art can shine, and if he does, robertson takes little to no adavantage to it. despite it's faults, transmetropolitan is a masterpiece of the future we love to read, but hate to live in. reccommended for every one with the 5th element in the shelves.

Rating:
Summary: Slice of LIFE
Review: Warren Ellis had already established the "who"-- outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem-- of TRANSMETROPOLITAN with his introductory arc, "Back On The Street"; now, he defines the where. The futuristic sprawl of the eponymous City is the future-shock extrapolation of all the cultures in every modern city; a new religion is created every hour, the TV plants ads in your brain, and on every corner there's a man in a suit full of speakers who'd just love to get you on the air for the feedsites. In this collection of six one-shot stories (And the uproarious pandemonium of "Freeze Me With Your Kiss"), Ellis and Robertson point their camera at the little things that make the City what it is, from brain-fried cryogenic refugees of the twentieth century (In the unbelievably touching story "another cold morning") to the Foglets, men and women who love technology so much that they were willing to have their minds transferred into functionally immortal clouds of floating nanotechnology. Through Spider Jerusalem's cynical eyes, however (And Ellis' perfect writing), there's no way to miss all the raw humanity flowing through all of these far-out visions. Profane and vulgar, but simultaneously hilarious and moving. A can't-miss for anyone who reads comics, and a must-see for someone who's always thought them to be just for kids.

Rating:
Summary: Spider on top form
Review: With this second collection of Transmetroploitan stories both Ellis and Robertson have really found their feet. One story shines in particular about the revival of the cryogenically frozen Mary, this short complete tale alone makes the book worth buying. Transmet isn't sci-fi, it's a comment on today, on where we're going and how we react to life in general- enough psyco-babble- just buy it and see for yourself.