11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a fine thing, October 11, 2000
The first book in the collected Transmetropolitan comics, Back on the Street, covers the first three issues. This, the second book, covers issues 4-12. While the first is pounding with intensity, here Spider Jerusalem settles into his setting and is put through his paces. Having gotten Spider out of his mountain retreat and back to reporting, it seems writer Warren Ellis started casting about to find something for Spider to do. A few of the issues are slower than the insanity of the first three, possibly meant as quiet, sarcastic reflection on social issues. That the series is, if not strictly autobiographical, at least very close to Ellis's heart, is clear. I would hope that the comic could remain as intense, even when its protagonist is writing about somber topics. Then again, Spider's columns are what the comic is about, and if these issues aren't full of heart-pounding action, they are still very good. The issue in which Spider becomes TV is almost completely static (a full three pages, 18 frames, consist of nothing but a view of Spider sitting in his chair) but is still one of the best stories. The pace picks up again in the last three issues, a 3-part story that has Spider pursued around The City by a neatness cult carrying his ex-wife's head in a jar. Extra-spectacular is the death of the police dog.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another brilliant set from Warren Ellis., August 3, 2002
"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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spider on top form, September 4, 1999
By A Customer
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.
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