Take a photo of a barcode or cover
55 reviews for:
Transmetropolitan: o flagelo de Spider
Rodney Ramos, Patrick Stewart, Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson
4.39 AVERAGE
55 reviews for:
Transmetropolitan: o flagelo de Spider
Rodney Ramos, Patrick Stewart, Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson
4.39 AVERAGE
The next edition of Spider Jerusalem's adventures in the world where the year is not known.
I've been fairly ambivalent of these comics so far, but this one really kicked it up a notch. I'm starting to enjoy this series, especially now there's an actual overarching plot and Spider has moved on from merely screaming obscenities and his motive has started to come out. His filthy assistants, as he calls them, are also starting to grow and I like how they're starting to become different from each other (Channon appearing to be the more enthusiastic of the two, while Yelena appears to be more sedate).
I'm looking forward the the last five of the volumes now. I still don't particularly love any of the main characters, but somehow I think none of them are meant to be loved. They're meant to be enjoyed, yes, and I do believe they're meant to be relatable, but I don't think they're meant to be loved like some authors encourage. I think this is good- nobody is 100% likable, and, given the context of these comics, I think that it works well in this series.
I've been fairly ambivalent of these comics so far, but this one really kicked it up a notch. I'm starting to enjoy this series, especially now there's an actual overarching plot and Spider has moved on from merely screaming obscenities and his motive has started to come out. His filthy assistants, as he calls them, are also starting to grow and I like how they're starting to become different from each other (Channon appearing to be the more enthusiastic of the two, while Yelena appears to be more sedate).
I'm looking forward the the last five of the volumes now. I still don't particularly love any of the main characters, but somehow I think none of them are meant to be loved. They're meant to be enjoyed, yes, and I do believe they're meant to be relatable, but I don't think they're meant to be loved like some authors encourage. I think this is good- nobody is 100% likable, and, given the context of these comics, I think that it works well in this series.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"As with most of the future worlds in science fiction, you're not talking about the future: you're talking about the present. You are using the future as a way of giving a kind of...room to move." - Alan Moore
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - Hunter S. Thompson
I find that the best pieces of science fiction are often worried. As Charlie Brooker pointed out, science fiction is often a good way to illustrate the worrying trends that we've accumulated. This is becoming more and more apparent since the future seems to be becoming more of a reality as the years move along. I should also add that science fiction often works best when it's angry.
Transmetropolitan is a very angry, contentious book. It's a good comic to read when you're feeling angry about the world that we find ourselves living in and feeling like there's nothing, you can do. Transmetropolitan is Ellis at his most angry, and most politically opinionated and while I don't agree with everything Ellis has to say in here, I do find myself in enthusiastic agreement with his main thesis with this series: this system is broken, and it needs to change immediately.
Ellis isn't subtle in this series, and there's plenty of targets that he takes shots at with this series. Much of the humor in this is often uproarious and madcap, and the characters and situations that our main cynical bastard Spider Jerusalem finds himself in often proves to be a romp. But unlike his friend Garth Ennis, Ellis doesn't get lost in the crude humor of his series, it is merely a means to an end.
Unlike DeConnick or Andrews, who are content to blame the issues of society on an overarching evil bogeyman. Ellis is more interested in what creates a society that allows corruption to fester and infect the system that's supposed to be looking out for us. Much of his concern revolves around the complacency and disillusionment of average people, who are often led to believe that their votes and opinions don't matter, so why even try to engage. But Ellis seeks to beat the complacency and disillusionment out of his readers and get them to act to make true changes to our society.
We share Spider's frustration and hatred of the city, and his rage at the carelessness of the people around him. Spider isn't easily likable and in fact is a huge pain in the ass for anyone who is unfortunate to come across his path, for better or for worse. But the points that he makes are often right, and Ellis does just enough to make us sympathize with him, even as much of an ass he is to his 'filthy assistants' and everyone around him.
Much of the science fictional aspects of this series are often light, not focusing too much on how this stuff would work in the world but exploring how these technologies affect the people who live in the world. Like all great science fiction, it often questions how the future will affect the people who live in it and how it changes the world around us. I was reminded a lot of Philip K. Dick's work in how Ellis manages to combine the surreal and the mundane, where all these wacky sci-fi inventions are just another part of life, and Ellis never stoops to ogling over how cool everything is.
While being an entertaining, science fiction romp, it is also a great piece of journalism through fiction. Much like David Simon's The Wire, Transmetropolitan is a series that exposes the dark truths of the world we live in through a fictional lens, though unlike The Wire, it is much more of a madcap romp. Ellis isn't as committed to realism as Simon is, as Ellis takes more notes from Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo journalism. He sees that truth doesn't always have to be real to attain the intended effect.
Transmet has proven to be more poignant as we move into the post-Trump era of United States politics, particularly with his depiction of The Beast, who almost seems like a carbon copy of our previous president, though somehow, he's less sleazy. Transmet is one of those series that gives me fire as a journalist, I don't know if I want to be as confrontational or as bitter as Spider, but I would like to make a similar impact in my own work as a journalist.
But within its anger, I was surprised to find how compassionate and emotional this series proved to be. I often find that anger is a perversion of sadness, and Transmet is a prime example of that. Ellis' anger is masking the sadness that he has over the degradation of our society and the ideas of compassion and decency...and as this series has aged, I find that the message of Transmet to still ring true...and it shouldn't. The anger in Transmetropolitan often hides the vulnerability that is shown in its characters, and even reveals part of Ellis himself...even if he doesn't entirely mean to. For all the angry, puerile shit that Warren throws at us, there's an undeniable sense of humanity within Transmetropolitan, and that's what gives it charm after all.
At the end of the day, Ellis is a lot like Thompson. He surrounds himself with the ugliest parts of humanity to expose the ugly truth that surrounds us in our daily lives. Transmetropoltian is Warren Ellis off the leash, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - Hunter S. Thompson
I find that the best pieces of science fiction are often worried. As Charlie Brooker pointed out, science fiction is often a good way to illustrate the worrying trends that we've accumulated. This is becoming more and more apparent since the future seems to be becoming more of a reality as the years move along. I should also add that science fiction often works best when it's angry.
Transmetropolitan is a very angry, contentious book. It's a good comic to read when you're feeling angry about the world that we find ourselves living in and feeling like there's nothing, you can do. Transmetropolitan is Ellis at his most angry, and most politically opinionated and while I don't agree with everything Ellis has to say in here, I do find myself in enthusiastic agreement with his main thesis with this series: this system is broken, and it needs to change immediately.
Ellis isn't subtle in this series, and there's plenty of targets that he takes shots at with this series. Much of the humor in this is often uproarious and madcap, and the characters and situations that our main cynical bastard Spider Jerusalem finds himself in often proves to be a romp. But unlike his friend Garth Ennis, Ellis doesn't get lost in the crude humor of his series, it is merely a means to an end.
Unlike DeConnick or Andrews, who are content to blame the issues of society on an overarching evil bogeyman. Ellis is more interested in what creates a society that allows corruption to fester and infect the system that's supposed to be looking out for us. Much of his concern revolves around the complacency and disillusionment of average people, who are often led to believe that their votes and opinions don't matter, so why even try to engage. But Ellis seeks to beat the complacency and disillusionment out of his readers and get them to act to make true changes to our society.
We share Spider's frustration and hatred of the city, and his rage at the carelessness of the people around him. Spider isn't easily likable and in fact is a huge pain in the ass for anyone who is unfortunate to come across his path, for better or for worse. But the points that he makes are often right, and Ellis does just enough to make us sympathize with him, even as much of an ass he is to his 'filthy assistants' and everyone around him.
Much of the science fictional aspects of this series are often light, not focusing too much on how this stuff would work in the world but exploring how these technologies affect the people who live in the world. Like all great science fiction, it often questions how the future will affect the people who live in it and how it changes the world around us. I was reminded a lot of Philip K. Dick's work in how Ellis manages to combine the surreal and the mundane, where all these wacky sci-fi inventions are just another part of life, and Ellis never stoops to ogling over how cool everything is.
While being an entertaining, science fiction romp, it is also a great piece of journalism through fiction. Much like David Simon's The Wire, Transmetropolitan is a series that exposes the dark truths of the world we live in through a fictional lens, though unlike The Wire, it is much more of a madcap romp. Ellis isn't as committed to realism as Simon is, as Ellis takes more notes from Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo journalism. He sees that truth doesn't always have to be real to attain the intended effect.
Transmet has proven to be more poignant as we move into the post-Trump era of United States politics, particularly with his depiction of The Beast, who almost seems like a carbon copy of our previous president, though somehow, he's less sleazy. Transmet is one of those series that gives me fire as a journalist, I don't know if I want to be as confrontational or as bitter as Spider, but I would like to make a similar impact in my own work as a journalist.
But within its anger, I was surprised to find how compassionate and emotional this series proved to be. I often find that anger is a perversion of sadness, and Transmet is a prime example of that. Ellis' anger is masking the sadness that he has over the degradation of our society and the ideas of compassion and decency...and as this series has aged, I find that the message of Transmet to still ring true...and it shouldn't. The anger in Transmetropolitan often hides the vulnerability that is shown in its characters, and even reveals part of Ellis himself...even if he doesn't entirely mean to. For all the angry, puerile shit that Warren throws at us, there's an undeniable sense of humanity within Transmetropolitan, and that's what gives it charm after all.
At the end of the day, Ellis is a lot like Thompson. He surrounds himself with the ugliest parts of humanity to expose the ugly truth that surrounds us in our daily lives. Transmetropoltian is Warren Ellis off the leash, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Great stuff, Warren Ellis at the top of his game. A gritty but believable depiction of the near future, with such a sick sense of humour it almost makes you feel guilty for finding it funny. And the Smiler is becoming a more and more sinister villain (even though we don`t even get to see him!).
Loved every issue collected here: an issue that`s Spider`s monologue from start to end, a very funny issue dealing with a politician involved in a sex scandal, and a three-issue story that`s extremely violent, dramatic and which leaves the reader with a sour taste, as we see Spider losing his only weapon against the system: his column.
Loved every issue collected here: an issue that`s Spider`s monologue from start to end, a very funny issue dealing with a politician involved in a sex scandal, and a three-issue story that`s extremely violent, dramatic and which leaves the reader with a sour taste, as we see Spider losing his only weapon against the system: his column.
This is about when the series starts to change from The Wacky Adventures of Angryman and turns into some darker serious shit. Also, the police-condoned violence and following brutality feels particularly salient in the given moment.
The part where Spider calls for seeing the politician's genitals was unfortunately too realistic. Sometimes I think we ended up in this worse timeline.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What is The City? (capital letters deliberate). At one level it is a steroidal jacked-up and cocaine filled hyped-up version of New York (this has not been 100% clear in previous volumes but you can clearly see the Chrysler Building in one panel). You look more deeply though and The City is a microcosm of all that is both good and bad in the world, and in humanity in particular.
I mention this fact because The City is a character in its own right in so many stories, and many of the things that happen to people are a direct result of living in this place. On the one hand it is an incredibly vibrant and alive place where race, gender, sexuality and disability seem irrelevant, where cancer has been cured, where the air and water are pure and fresh, and you can eat anything that you feel like (I'm assuming that you don't genuinely eat Irish babies or any of the other "delicacies" but these are somehow vat grown, but maybe I'm wrong). On the other hand you can only have it all if you have the money to pay for it, and if you don't then your life is probably just as bad as it was in the tenement slums of New York in the 19th Century.
Part of this volume is taken up by Spider Jerusalem's stories of The City, a paean to living in it and with it. They are for the most part a beautifully written series of shorts that serve as a backdrop to the remainder of the volume, which is as seamy and ugly as the previous stories were beautiful. This 3 part story starts as a hate crime murder and ends with a massacre. In the middle, Spider and his team come to the horrible conclusion that not only is this his fault for writing about it, but he is going to take the blame for it. Partly this is as a result of making an enemy of the newly elected President of the United States, but is also a result of Spider's hubris in always believing that what he is doing is the right thing. In this case, doing the right thing got a lot of people killed,and it will be interesting to see where the author takes this story next.
I mention this fact because The City is a character in its own right in so many stories, and many of the things that happen to people are a direct result of living in this place. On the one hand it is an incredibly vibrant and alive place where race, gender, sexuality and disability seem irrelevant, where cancer has been cured, where the air and water are pure and fresh, and you can eat anything that you feel like (I'm assuming that you don't genuinely eat Irish babies or any of the other "delicacies" but these are somehow vat grown, but maybe I'm wrong). On the other hand you can only have it all if you have the money to pay for it, and if you don't then your life is probably just as bad as it was in the tenement slums of New York in the 19th Century.
Part of this volume is taken up by Spider Jerusalem's stories of The City, a paean to living in it and with it. They are for the most part a beautifully written series of shorts that serve as a backdrop to the remainder of the volume, which is as seamy and ugly as the previous stories were beautiful. This 3 part story starts as a hate crime murder and ends with a massacre. In the middle, Spider and his team come to the horrible conclusion that not only is this his fault for writing about it, but he is going to take the blame for it. Partly this is as a result of making an enemy of the newly elected President of the United States, but is also a result of Spider's hubris in always believing that what he is doing is the right thing. In this case, doing the right thing got a lot of people killed,and it will be interesting to see where the author takes this story next.
The next edition of Spider Jerusalem's adventures in the world where the year is not known.
I've been fairly ambivalent of these comics so far, but this one really kicked it up a notch. I'm starting to enjoy this series, especially now there's an actual overarching plot and Spider has moved on from merely screaming obscenities and his motive has started to come out. His filthy assistants, as he calls them, are also starting to grow and I like how they're starting to become different from each other (Channon appearing to be the more enthusiastic of the two, while Yelena appears to be more sedate).
I'm looking forward the the last five of the volumes now. I still don't particularly love any of the main characters, but somehow I think none of them are meant to be loved. They're meant to be enjoyed, yes, and I do believe they're meant to be relatable, but I don't think they're meant to be loved like some authors encourage. I think this is good- nobody is 100% likable, and, given the context of these comics, I think that it works well in this series.
I've been fairly ambivalent of these comics so far, but this one really kicked it up a notch. I'm starting to enjoy this series, especially now there's an actual overarching plot and Spider has moved on from merely screaming obscenities and his motive has started to come out. His filthy assistants, as he calls them, are also starting to grow and I like how they're starting to become different from each other (Channon appearing to be the more enthusiastic of the two, while Yelena appears to be more sedate).
I'm looking forward the the last five of the volumes now. I still don't particularly love any of the main characters, but somehow I think none of them are meant to be loved. They're meant to be enjoyed, yes, and I do believe they're meant to be relatable, but I don't think they're meant to be loved like some authors encourage. I think this is good- nobody is 100% likable, and, given the context of these comics, I think that it works well in this series.