This one wasn't quite as good as the previous volume, but it definitely looks like the shit is about to hit the fan for Spider in the near future. But let's talk about the real breakout stars of this volume:Seriously they were just killing me the whole timeAlthough Spider did have a few good moments tooAnd as always the 'future' looks waaay too much like the present

Series review here. My Suggested Reading In Comics

3.5 Stars I am going to have you, Jerusalem, I am going to destroy you. Just when you least expect it. Every hero, even a curse-spewing junkie hero, needs a villain. A Joker to Jerusalem's Batman.Seriously, he looks like a Joker too. But the thing is, he might just be the next President of America!(I wouldn't have believed stuff like this a couple of years back. How times have changed!) Scums of the city. Before this volume, I had settled on the notion that Spider is a total dick. Se...

So far, my least favorite volume of Spider Jerusalem's stories. It wasn't bad at all, but it was more or less the ending of what volume 3 started. Half of the storylines were interesting and offered closure, but the other half were just about Spider wandering in the cities and looking for stories. They were almost wordless and over before they started. Not that I have anything against visual storytelling, but Spider Jerusalem is about more than that. He cannot afford to be uninspired and I can't...

"I have to write some stories. While I still can." -Spider Jerusalem The election for the new President of the United States is under way and Spider has lots to say on the matter!

Truthfully, this whole election business would most definitely have struck a different chord to me back in the late nineties when it was written, than today. Much has changed in these past two decades. All of a sudden Smiler doesn't seem as cartoonishly evil anymore: I almost feel like we could easily get shit like that another decade or two in. I hope not.Also, Spider is good to children. More clear signals about how he actually cares, deep down. I think it's also why he's so angry all the time...

Spider Jerusalem is f*cked-up big-time now. The election results have been announced and the country has a new president. The New Scum has decided and Spider Jerusalem is so angry who the country has voted for.The death of his friend Vita Severn has finally paid off. It is a sad truth that even Jerusalem cannot expose (since he doesn't have the facts) but was absolutely sure that it was the same group where Severn belongs who ordered it. There is so much drama in politics.Haha, aside from that,

The new scum...well Warren, this title didn't age well for what's happening to you, huh buddy? All bullshit aside because I'm reviewing the actual story/art here, not the (scumbag behavior of the writer) and there's a lot of good here. Spider is now dealing with the aftermath of the death of someone he actually liked. With that, he goes for the two trying to become president. Gets a nice look into both of their views. Guess what? They're both scumbags. Similar to most of our presidents. However,...

So in the wake of a shocking assassination/murder, Spider finds himself coveted by both the Beast and the Smiler (the 2 men running for POTUSA). The New Scum refers to the part of the City where the very lower classes manage to scrape by their existences. Spider doesn't think too highly of the men who subjugate these people, but he also expects more from them in terms of their civic responsibilities.Warren Ellis has always been an impressive writer (save maybe for Avengers: Endless Wartime - whi...

Weakest part so far.It's still very good but not as good as previous entries.

People even presented with the truth still vote wrong.

For me, this is the best volume of this story so far. Incredibly detailed run-down filthy high-tech Sci-Fi scenery. Interesting characters. Sharp, caustic satire.Spider Jerusalem is again reporting on a presidential election between "The Beast" and "The Smiler". He exposes them both to the public in all their awfulness and the public mostly shrug it off in apathy. Spider hates them for it. But if all you have is 2 bad choices, why should you care? The interview with "The Beast" takes place in wh...

Following a shocking political assassination, the election between the Beast and the Smiler ramps up and Spider Jerusalem finds himself courted by both candidates for interviews. Meanwhile Channon finds out Yelena’s dirty secret and election day looms. This book has Warren Ellis writing more about the world of the City with Spider, amidst the campaign madness, showing the reader the poverty stricken and the disenfranchised that live within the richest country in the world. It’s a bold move that

Volume 4 of the continuing journey of Spider Jerusalem finds our intrepid hero embroiled in interviewing the serving President of the United States, and his rival, Callahan, also known as The Smiler. This is a tense interview in both cases, but Spider can't help but support the serving President, also call The Beast, as the better of two evils. What transpires between Callahan and Spider is made even more interesting when he actually admits to having his personal assistant, and friend to Spider,...

Oh man. That was the best volume so far. So much anger, grit and pain, wrapped in such bitter and yet fun narrative. Each issue gave me shivers, especially the fourth one, or issue #22. The ending was very strong, too! Loved this whole volume. The two winter tales that are included in a newer version of the trade are also very good and kind of help to ease the anger built up from the main arc.

So much to relate to in our current US political system. Each time I see Callahan's face I want to rip out the page and punch the crap out of it. At the beginning of the series when I started way long ago, I liked to enjoy Spider's gruff take, it was funny, it was an escape, it was fictional... Now, it seems like reality and I feel like I'm Spider myself in several ways. "I hate you all" is plastered on the back of the book so when I read about childish walls, our reputation in the world destroy...

(originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com )The more I revisit “Transmetropolitan”, the more I see and deeply feel parallels to our current legal situation, and in turn the more I mourn the lack of a Spider Jerusalem to jump in and start speaking ten kinds of truth. This re-read is both cathartic and upsetting, but the good news is that at least I’m finding myself laughing hysterically at many points of these comics. Because Spider, Yelena, and Channon are all so perfect and filled with sna...