World Famous Comics: Transmetropolitan Vol. 4: The New Scum
Transmetropolitan Vol. 4: The New Scum
By: Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson Publisher: Vertigo Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Vertigo Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 144 Publication Date: September 01, 2000 Release Date: September 01, 2000
Product Description: It's no wonder he hates it here. Spider Jerusalem, journalist and heroof sorts in Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan, wades through a sewer ofpoverty and high-tech despair daily in his efforts to understand and report onAmerica. In The New Scum, Ellis contrasts the powerful, in the form ofpresidential candidates, with the powerless, who are begging and hustling on thestreets. The satire is savage and rarely subtle, but the author takes care toshow some human warmth lest the comic descend into the nihilism it warnsagainst. The plot, largely secondary to the characters and background events,focuses loosely on Jerusalem's assignment to interview the two candidates, eachpsychotic and unfit for any office. His bodyguard and personal assistant,meanwhile, discover the terrors of pleasure in a post-nanotech world withunlimited credit. The election-eve climax fully captures the anxiety anddepression that come from having no real choice in matters of great importance.Either Ellis or his creation deserves a Pulitzer. --Rob Lightner
Amazon.com Review: It's no wonder he hates it here. Spider Jerusalem, journalist and hero of sorts in Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan, wades through a sewer of poverty and high-tech despair daily in his efforts to understand and report on America. In The New Scum, Ellis contrasts the powerful, in the form of presidential candidates, with the powerless, who are begging and hustling on the streets. The satire is savage and rarely subtle, but the author takes care to show some human warmth lest the comic descend into the nihilism it warns against. The plot, largely secondary to the characters and background events, focuses loosely on Jerusalem's assignment to interview the two candidates, each psychotic and unfit for any office. His bodyguard and personal assistant, meanwhile, discover the terrors of pleasure in a post-nanotech world with unlimited credit. The election-eve climax fully captures the anxiety and depression that come from having no real choice in matters of great importance. Either Ellis or his creation deserves a Pulitzer. --Rob Lightner
Graphic SF Reader Spider Jerusalem really does not like one of the candidates for president, and when he finds out how dirty he is and what he is doing to cover things up, he likes him even less. That doesn't stop him from becoming president, either.
Also, one filthy assistant finally admits to the other that yes, she did indeed shag Spider one night.
Why Haven't You Primates Read This Yet? Spider Jerusalem's got a problem: The Smiler survives.
After almost destroying his candidacy in Volume 3, Spider Jerusalem saw The Smiler perservere by riding a wave of sympathy from the brutal assassination of his political aide Vita Severn, a woman that the city adored, and Spider Jerusalem counted as a personal friend.
Seeing one of his admittedly many, hated enemies riding her corpse onward toward electoral victory drives him even further over the edge.
Spider Jerusalem finds himself chronicling the lives of the New Scum, as the Smiler calls them; the outcast, the downtrodden, ignored and thoroughly weird humans, and posthumans, that reside in The City. He's become their archivist, their voice, and against his will and better judgment, their hero. Now he has a bigger challenge: to become their champion. In this volume Spider deals with the strangeness of the people he's trying to save, the thoroughly deranged machinations of The Smiler, and the tiny moments of beauty and clarity that only he could find in the middle of the City as it slides toward self-annihilation in the Election.
Can Spider save The City from itself? Can anyone?
Find out in Transmetropolitan Volume Four.
Absolutely Brilliant..... Transmet has established itself as the greatest comic of all time by blending sci-fi, black humor, generally excellent storytelling, political commentary, and fabulous artwork. This is just another chapter in the fabulous sweeping saga that is Transmetropolitan. It really is a shame that not enough people are reading this stuff and dismiss it simply as another brain damaged comic book. Look just because the X-Men are god awful doesn't meen that comic's can't tell good stories. I really have been reading too much Warren Ellis (if that is possible.)
Not as good This is the most disappointing Transmetropolitan offering so far. Which doesn't mean that it's that bad, it's just not as good as the other novels in the series. Spider loses his edge. He goes around doing good deeds, and generally being pushed around by the people he hates the most. After the manic whirlwind of first three novels, it makes for disappointing reading.
The story focus in a peripheral manner on the election, but since Spider has been removed from the streets by fame, he's too far away to really get at the heart of it.
Lastly, the artwork seems to have taken a turn for the cartoony. It's a lot more '4 color' than previous efforts and just doesn't fit with the world of Spider Jerusalem as previously depicited.
The most interesting thread focuses on the relationship of Channon and Yelena. Which is, while interesting, not what I buy Transmetropolitan for.
Overall, if you liked the first three novels, this is still worth reading. If the first three novels were too offensive, you might find this one tolerable, but since so much of it is built on the first three, it's not that good a story in its own right.
future gonzo Upon reading Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan, one imeadiatly thinks of Hunter S Thomson set in the future. Spider Jeruselum, a drug-crazed, gun toting, jurnalistic lunitic, has a column in The Word titled, "I hate It Here", and he just pisses people off. A must read
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