Buy all 10 in the series! NOW!, 07 Apr 2007
Ok your not going to like this if you are conservative or easily offended. It's irreverent, outspoken and full of righteous indignation and I love it. It is an excellent commentary on modern day society that shows us a future that our present day exploits could take us, without taking itself too seriously remaining cool and exciting. It is excellently written by one of comics/graphic novel living legends, Warren Ellis. It oozes brilliant satire, amazing imagination and shocking ideas that are not all that far from reality. Robertson supports this with some lovely, dynamic artwork to visually create Ellis's future world.

This series is effectively one long book so its silly to say that one book in the series is better than the next. Its like saying a certain chapter in a novel was not as good as the last. With the on going plot there are bound to be part that are not as exciting but they are necessary to drive the plot.

In Spider Jerusalem Ellis has created the ultimate anti-hero. He's obnoxious and generally a right pain in the ass to be around with a highly flawed personality and little social skills. Yet he is driven by a strong and deep sense of justice. All right he takes copious amounts of drugs and has a penchant for stamping on puppies but it is he who has dedicated his work to bringing down the corruption, oppression and exploitation that is rife in his world. He's not perfect, who is? But unlike those in power he makes no pretence to be. He is the ultimate cynic but it is this cynicism that allows him not to be influenced by the propaganda be it from marketing, media, religion or government. Spider refuses to blindly believe what he is told and searches for the answers himself using evidence and facts, something perhaps we could all learn to do.


A tour of hell... or at least the city..., 12 Apr 2005
'Let me say now that with your history of drug abuse it was conceivable that you could produce a child with no head...'

Having established Jerusalem in volume 1, and shown us the city he exists in and how disturbingly similar to our own it is, Ellis now takes us on a walking tour of all the ways it's different.

All these are just believeable - most likely because of the easy way in which Ellis describes it. Spider tells us what foglets are without turning it into a science lecture, and gives us the horrors of being revived after centuries of cryogenic freezing without making it mawkish.

This is quiet work of genius. Enjoy the peace before the real story kicks in next volume...

Bowel disruptors at 20 paces!, 08 Apr 2003
A mixed bag of Transmet stories here, as we build up both Spider as a character & his assistant Channon, and also more fully realise the media-saturated & soulless futuristic world of the City. Here we see:

* Spider Jerusalem take on the President in a public toilet.

* Spider investigating TV and becoming a broken man... ("Coming up next on the Single Male Virgin Channel...")

* Spider visiting a religious convention, with a look at the many bizzare religions of the future. ("My life was nothing before I castrated myself.")

* A look at the Foglets, an incredibly cool and thought-provoking sci-fi concept.

* Spider visiting the Reservations, areas of the city simulating past cultures.

* Spider on the run from the whole city after getting a death threat in the form of a petition signed by 500 and after having his ex-wife's head stolen from cryogenics. ("I have given this considerable thought and have decided I don't give two tugs of a dead dog's c**k what you do with my EX-wife and you can have her.")

* And best of all, the deadly serious and emotional "A Cold Place", telling the story of the Revivals- people from previous eras ressurected in the future. It's not a pretty site, and a vicious attack on our culture's willingness to dump our past in the bin.

You shall buy this...

Modern day parables for life, 18 Dec 2001
Quite frankly, the pinnacle of graphic novels. Sometimes shocking, always brilliant, Ellis expertly weaves the characterisation, plot and dialogue from seemingly dischordant stories into one brilliant, superlative-defying masterpeice.

Darick Robertson's artwork is the best I have seen in a comercial work; his line drawings and use of colour are unparalelled in any other European artist. Plus, because only one artist is used throughout, the novel never feels segmented or restricted by differences of style or art, unlike so many other collections.

Hilarious in places, thought provoking and reflective in others, this book is the perfect anecdote for those who are sick of the endless stream of overly - American "Character X Vs. Character Y" stereotypical trash. Spiky, bold, and very, very sharp, this is one hell of a ride.

Not really much good, 19 Nov 2001
The first few stories in this book are readable enough, though Spider Jerusalem isn't really a character, just a mouthpiece for Warren Ellis' own views. Nobody from the other side politically ever gets a fair chance to speak, though sexy women are allowed to put him down sometimes. The art is all right, though its depiction of a dystopian future reminded me of nothing so much as The Electric Hoax - a comic strip that ran in Sounds twenty years ago. Shouldn't we have moved on since then? The best story is a single-issue piece about a woman being revived from cryogenic suspension, told in the form of one of Spider's columns; though apart from the framing device, it really has nothing to do with the ongoing series. Easily the worst is a three-issue arc that takes up the last third of the book. Incomprehensible storytelling meets ugly pictures in a mess that I found too boring and distasteful to finish. I won't be reading any more Transmetropolitan collections, and I don't recommend this one.

Buy all 10 in the series! NOW!, 07 Apr 2007
Ok your not going to like this if you are conservative or easily offended. It's irreverent, outspoken and full of righteous indignation and I love it. It is an excellent commentary on modern day society that shows us a future that our present day exploits could take us, without taking itself too seriously remaining cool and exciting. It is excellently written by one of comics/graphic novel living legends, Warren Ellis. It oozes brilliant satire, amazing imagination and shocking ideas that are not all that far from reality. Robertson supports this with some lovely, dynamic artwork to visually create Ellis's future world.

This series is effectively one long book so its silly to say that one book in the series is better than the next. Its like saying a certain chapter in a novel was not as good as the last. With the on going plot there are bound to be part that are not as exciting but they are necessary to drive the plot.

In Spider Jerusalem Ellis has created the ultimate anti-hero. He's obnoxious and generally a right pain in the ass to be around with a highly flawed personality and little social skills. Yet he is driven by a strong and deep sense of justice. All right he takes copious amounts of drugs and has a penchant for stamping on puppies but it is he who has dedicated his work to bringing down the corruption, oppression and exploitation that is rife in his world. He's not perfect, who is? But unlike those in power he makes no pretence to be. He is the ultimate cynic but it is this cynicism that allows him not to be influenced by the propaganda be it from marketing, media, religion or government. Spider refuses to blindly believe what he is told and searches for the answers himself using evidence and facts, something perhaps we could all learn to do.


A tour of hell... or at least the city..., 12 Apr 2005
'Let me say now that with your history of drug abuse it was conceivable that you could produce a child with no head...'

Having established Jerusalem in volume 1, and shown us the city he exists in and how disturbingly similar to our own it is, Ellis now takes us on a walking tour of all the ways it's different.

All these are just believeable - most likely because of the easy way in which Ellis describes it. Spider tells us what foglets are without turning it into a science lecture, and gives us the horrors of being revived after centuries of cryogenic freezing without making it mawkish.

This is quiet work of genius. Enjoy the peace before the real story kicks in next volume...

Bowel disruptors at 20 paces!, 08 Apr 2003
A mixed bag of Transmet stories here, as we build up both Spider as a character & his assistant Channon, and also more fully realise the media-saturated & soulless futuristic world of the City. Here we see:

* Spider Jerusalem take on the President in a public toilet.

* Spider investigating TV and becoming a broken man... ("Coming up next on the Single Male Virgin Channel...")

* Spider visiting a religious convention, with a look at the many bizzare religions of the future. ("My life was nothing before I castrated myself.")

* A look at the Foglets, an incredibly cool and thought-provoking sci-fi concept.

* Spider visiting the Reservations, areas of the city simulating past cultures.

* Spider on the run from the whole city after getting a death threat in the form of a petition signed by 500 and after having his ex-wife's head stolen from cryogenics. ("I have given this considerable thought and have decided I don't give two tugs of a dead dog's c**k what you do with my EX-wife and you can have her.")

* And best of all, the deadly serious and emotional "A Cold Place", telling the story of the Revivals- people from previous eras ressurected in the future. It's not a pretty site, and a vicious attack on our culture's willingness to dump our past in the bin.

You shall buy this...

Modern day parables for life, 18 Dec 2001
Quite frankly, the pinnacle of graphic novels. Sometimes shocking, always brilliant, Ellis expertly weaves the characterisation, plot and dialogue from seemingly dischordant stories into one brilliant, superlative-defying masterpeice.

Darick Robertson's artwork is the best I have seen in a comercial work; his line drawings and use of colour are unparalelled in any other European artist. Plus, because only one artist is used throughout, the novel never feels segmented or restricted by differences of style or art, unlike so many other collections.

Hilarious in places, thought provoking and reflective in others, this book is the perfect anecdote for those who are sick of the endless stream of overly - American "Character X Vs. Character Y" stereotypical trash. Spiky, bold, and very, very sharp, this is one hell of a ride.

Not really much good, 19 Nov 2001
The first few stories in this book are readable enough, though Spider Jerusalem isn't really a character, just a mouthpiece for Warren Ellis' own views. Nobody from the other side politically ever gets a fair chance to speak, though sexy women are allowed to put him down sometimes. The art is all right, though its depiction of a dystopian future reminded me of nothing so much as The Electric Hoax - a comic strip that ran in Sounds twenty years ago. Shouldn't we have moved on since then? The best story is a single-issue piece about a woman being revived from cryogenic suspension, told in the form of one of Spider's columns; though apart from the framing device, it really has nothing to do with the ongoing series. Easily the worst is a three-issue arc that takes up the last third of the book. Incomprehensible storytelling meets ugly pictures in a mess that I found too boring and distasteful to finish. I won't be reading any more Transmetropolitan collections, and I don't recommend this one.

Spider gets in the ring..., 13 Apr 2005
'Gary Callahan is a genuinely educated, intelligent man. He has honorable people working for him and political fixers tell me he's going to be president. He's also a fake.'

Dangerous journalist Spider Jerusalem finally succumbs to covering the presidential election campaign, and immediately finds himself facing a dilemma - who do you endorse when both the candidates are utterly repulsive in different ways?

If all this seems rather familiar, there's a reason. Ellis's huge socio-political satire hits its stride with Spider entering the fray, complete with filthy assistants, bowel-disruptor gun and large amounts of narcotics.

By turns funny, striking and (certainly at the end) genuinely shocking. A must-read.

Spider gets political, 28 May 2001
In this superd collection of Transmet our hero gets his teeth into politics. Much amusing goings-on involving assistants, the "whore-hopper" editor, a better appartment and more drugs in the background keep our Spider on top form to face his most hated subject - Presidential candidates. Aiming his type writer like a gun at the collective sphincters of the parties making them "loose", "watery", "fiery" and "prolapse". Finding a new setting of $*@* into unconciousness.... Anyway, I won't tell you more of the story suffice to say I loved it and eagerly await the next collection. If you have the rest of them get this one now or I shall arm the ebola bomb behind your toilet. Cheers LostPkt

Cynical, nasty, funny - and accurate. Spider does politics!, 20 Jan 2000
I ought to point out that this is volume three of Transmetropolitan. Read the two previous books ('Back on the Streets' & 'Lust for Life') first, as they set the scene and introduce the characters. They're also very good stories in their own right.

'Year of the Bastard' is where the main theme of Transmetropolitan takes centre stage. Spider's never been happy to simply write about the City - he wants to change it. He sees the president ("The Beast") as a symbol of everything that's wrong with the system. And it's an election year, so he finally gets his chance to shake things up...

While it still has moments of pure humour, the vicious slapstick of some earlier tales fades into the background as Spider gets entangled with spin doctors and would-be presidential candidates. This is a plot-driven tale of twists and turns, where everyone has an agenda. To reveal anything further would be to spoil it.

Just don't expect to see a resolution where the plot threads are all neatly tied - this is the first section of a longer storyline, and while there's a (very) definite ending to it, it also carries a lot of plot over into the sequel, 'The New Scum'. I think it'll carry an awful lot of readers over, too...

If you like politics, or if you loathe politics, this is well worth a look. Warren Ellis has outdone himself on this one.

Buy all 10 in the series! NOW!, 07 Apr 2007
Ok your not going to like this if you are conservative or easily offended. It's irreverent, outspoken and full of righteous indignation and I love it. It is an excellent commentary on modern day society that shows us a future that our present day exploits could take us, without taking itself too seriously remaining cool and exciting. It is excellently written by one of comics/graphic novel living legends, Warren Ellis. It oozes brilliant satire, amazing imagination and shocking ideas that are not all that far from reality. Robertson supports this with some lovely, dynamic artwork to visually create Ellis's future world.

This series is effectively one long book so its silly to say that one book in the series is better than the next. Its like saying a certain chapter in a novel was not as good as the last. With the on going plot there are bound to be part that are not as exciting but they are necessary to drive the plot.

In Spider Jerusalem Ellis has created the ultimate anti-hero. He's obnoxious and generally a right pain in the ass to be around with a highly flawed personality and little social skills. Yet he is driven by a strong and deep sense of justice. All right he takes copious amounts of drugs and has a penchant for stamping on puppies but it is he who has dedicated his work to bringing down the corruption, oppression and exploitation that is rife in his world. He's not perfect, who is? But unlike those in power he makes no pretence to be. He is the ultimate cynic but it is this cynicism that allows him not to be influenced by the propaganda be it from marketing, media, religion or government. Spider refuses to blindly believe what he is told and searches for the answers himself using evidence and facts, something perhaps we could all learn to do.


A tour of hell... or at least the city..., 12 Apr 2005
'Let me say now that with your history of drug abuse it was conceivable that you could produce a child with no head...'

Having established Jerusalem in volume 1, and shown us the city he exists in and how disturbingly similar to our own it is, Ellis now takes us on a walking tour of all the ways it's different.

All these are just believeable - most likely because of the easy way in which Ellis describes it. Spider tells us what foglets are without turning it into a science lecture, and gives us the horrors of being revived after centuries of cryogenic freezing without making it mawkish.

This is quiet work of genius. Enjoy the peace before the real story kicks in next volume...

Bowel disruptors at 20 paces!, 08 Apr 2003
A mixed bag of Transmet stories here, as we build up both Spider as a character & his assistant Channon, and also more fully realise the media-saturated & soulless futuristic world of the City. Here we see:

* Spider Jerusalem take on the President in a public toilet.

* Spider investigating TV and becoming a broken man... ("Coming up next on the Single Male Virgin Channel...")

* Spider visiting a religious convention, with a look at the many bizzare religions of the future. ("My life was nothing before I castrated myself.")

* A look at the Foglets, an incredibly cool and thought-provoking sci-fi concept.

* Spider visiting the Reservations, areas of the city simulating past cultures.

* Spider on the run from the whole city after getting a death threat in the form of a petition signed by 500 and after having his ex-wife's head stolen from cryogenics. ("I have given this considerable thought and have decided I don't give two tugs of a dead dog's c**k what you do with my EX-wife and you can have her.")

* And best of all, the deadly serious and emotional "A Cold Place", telling the story of the Revivals- people from previous eras ressurected in the future. It's not a pretty site, and a vicious attack on our culture's willingness to dump our past in the bin.

You shall buy this...

Modern day parables for life, 18 Dec 2001
Quite frankly, the pinnacle of graphic novels. Sometimes shocking, always brilliant, Ellis expertly weaves the characterisation, plot and dialogue from seemingly dischordant stories into one brilliant, superlative-defying masterpeice.

Darick Robertson's artwork is the best I have seen in a comercial work; his line drawings and use of colour are unparalelled in any other European artist. Plus, because only one artist is used throughout, the novel never feels segmented or restricted by differences of style or art, unlike so many other collections.

Hilarious in places, thought provoking and reflective in others, this book is the perfect anecdote for those who are sick of the endless stream of overly - American "Character X Vs. Character Y" stereotypical trash. Spiky, bold, and very, very sharp, this is one hell of a ride.

Not really much good, 19 Nov 2001
The first few stories in this book are readable enough, though Spider Jerusalem isn't really a character, just a mouthpiece for Warren Ellis' own views. Nobody from the other side politically ever gets a fair chance to speak, though sexy women are allowed to put him down sometimes. The art is all right, though its depiction of a dystopian future reminded me of nothing so much as The Electric Hoax - a comic strip that ran in Sounds twenty years ago. Shouldn't we have moved on since then? The best story is a single-issue piece about a woman being revived from cryogenic suspension, told in the form of one of Spider's columns; though apart from the framing device, it really has nothing to do with the ongoing series. Easily the worst is a three-issue arc that takes up the last third of the book. Incomprehensible storytelling meets ugly pictures in a mess that I found too boring and distasteful to finish. I won't be reading any more Transmetropolitan collections, and I don't recommend this one.

Spider gets in the ring..., 13 Apr 2005
'Gary Callahan is a genuinely educated, intelligent man. He has honorable people working for him and political fixers tell me he's going to be president. He's also a fake.'

Dangerous journalist Spider Jerusalem finally succumbs to covering the presidential election campaign, and immediately finds himself facing a dilemma - who do you endorse when both the candidates are utterly repulsive in different ways?

If all this seems rather familiar, there's a reason. Ellis's huge socio-political satire hits its stride with Spider entering the fray, complete with filthy assistants, bowel-disruptor gun and large amounts of narcotics.

By turns funny, striking and (certainly at the end) genuinely shocking. A must-read.

Spider gets political, 28 May 2001
In this superd collection of Transmet our hero gets his teeth into politics. Much amusing goings-on involving assistants, the "whore-hopper" editor, a better appartment and more drugs in the background keep our Spider on top form to face his most hated subject - Presidential candidates. Aiming his type writer like a gun at the collective sphincters of the parties making them "loose", "watery", "fiery" and "prolapse". Finding a new setting of $*@* into unconciousness.... Anyway, I won't tell you more of the story suffice to say I loved it and eagerly await the next collection. If you have the rest of them get this one now or I shall arm the ebola bomb behind your toilet. Cheers LostPkt

Cynical, nasty, funny - and accurate. Spider does politics!, 20 Jan 2000
I ought to point out that this is volume three of Transmetropolitan. Read the two previous books ('Back on the Streets' & 'Lust for Life') first, as they set the scene and introduce the characters. They're also very good stories in their own right.

'Year of the Bastard' is where the main theme of Transmetropolitan takes centre stage. Spider's never been happy to simply write about the City - he wants to change it. He sees the president ("The Beast") as a symbol of everything that's wrong with the system. And it's an election year, so he finally gets his chance to shake things up...

While it still has moments of pure humour, the vicious slapstick of some earlier tales fades into the background as Spider gets entangled with spin doctors and would-be presidential candidates. This is a plot-driven tale of twists and turns, where everyone has an agenda. To reveal anything further would be to spoil it.

Just don't expect to see a resolution where the plot threads are all neatly tied - this is the first section of a longer storyline, and while there's a (very) definite ending to it, it also carries a lot of plot over into the sequel, 'The New Scum'. I think it'll carry an awful lot of readers over, too...

If you like politics, or if you loathe politics, this is well worth a look. Warren Ellis has outdone himself on this one.

Mood music, 03 May 2005
'Right now, there is a new religion invested in the City every thirty-five minutes. And yet, strangely, flame-throwers are still illegal. There is no balance in this place.'

This is a selection of Spider Jerusalem's columns.

As another reviewer has observed, it's been published before so beware. Also probably not a good idea to misunderstand the 'volume 0' tag and read it before you've read the volumes 1 to 10 - firstly because you won't understand half of it, and secondly because it contains more than a few spoilers.

But a real treat if you're already familiar with Spider.

Oh, and don't miss the walk-on appearance by another of Ellis's creations on page 44.

'All fall down.', 03 May 2005
'All news services in the city are currently occupied by troops from the Martial Law detatchment. And now, footage of them killing unarmed students'

Chapter 10. End of the road for everyone. The conclusion of this fabulous story arc will leave you amazed, shocked, saddened and utterly satisfied. If it was a movie you'd be on your feet cheering and then chewing your fingernails to the bone - all within a few moments.

No spoilers here - buy it and read it. Now.

Endgame begins..., 13 Apr 2005
'I feel a bout of monstering coming on..'

Spider's on borrowed time and still has a presidency to bring down.

As usual, Ellis takes us through a dreadful situation without playing on any mawkish sentiment - his characters don't want our sympathy. At the same time, the sense of urgency running through the book is palpable, and we never get to forget it, whether the story is in high-action mode, dealing with dark conspiracies or just keeping us laughing..

Let down in a big way, 01 Dec 2004
I have every square inch of Transmetropolitan published in trade paperback form. All of the story, plus "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" (the two supplementals containing Spiders vitriollic writing)

Imagine how exited I was to see that a third supplemental was published. I pre-booked it and sat by my letter box with a puppy-dog expression on my face.

When it arrived, I ripped open the packaging only to find that "Tales of human waste" is merely "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" re-published in one book with no new material whatsoever!

I'm a little upset they would expect me to pay for something I already have.

On the flipside, if you do not already possess the two earlier books, then I would heartily recommend it.

Doesn't let you down, 02 Jul 2004
This is the final piece of the Transmet jigsaw. I cannot tell you what happens as it will ruin your enjoyment of the book.

All I can tell you is that Spider and the Smiler do finally have it out. Spider is still just as bad as you expect, his filthy assistants are still just as bad and there is still corruption everywhere.

There is no sense of anticlimax after reading this - buy it now.

The filthy monkey wrote it - now you need to buy it!

10/10

Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan series has rightly garnered much praise from a number of quarters (Cyberpunk's finest, Bruce Sterling, loves it!). In Spider Jerusalem, Ellis's angry, intelligent, polemical journalist hero, he has found a powerful character through whom to transmit his scepticism around issues of government, power, representation and truth. But this is not a dull and "worthy" comic--it is often funny, beautifully drawn, with great futuristic details, and it contains some of the sparkiest, most authentic writing around.

In this part of the series, Spider, the voice of the City's hopeless masses, the New Scum, finds himself living in extreme luxury, with two beautiful women (his assistant Yelena and his bodyguard Channon), wooed to interview the competing criminals in the race to become the new President. Drawn into the race, as the most critical commentator around, Spider realises that the people he supposedly speaks for have no interest in the coming election, perhaps understanding more clearly than he does what a charade it actually is. The trouble with the New Scum, however, is that as a reader you perceive exactly what the masses do: that Spider has got himself involved in a story, the story of the Presidency, which is, in fact, not very interesting. Notwithstanding Spider's constant, and constantly amusing, aggravation with the world, the comic needs more than the fire in his belly to heat up this particular instalment--and never quite manages to do it. The details of the story never really cohere, the suspense is minimal, the action often dull. This is not a bad Transmetropolitan chapter, but it is not a great one. --Mark Thwaite

Buy all 10 in the series! NOW!, 07 Apr 2007
Ok your not going to like this if you are conservative or easily offended. It's irreverent, outspoken and full of righteous indignation and I love it. It is an excellent commentary on modern day society that shows us a future that our present day exploits could take us, without taking itself too seriously remaining cool and exciting. It is excellently written by one of comics/graphic novel living legends, Warren Ellis. It oozes brilliant satire, amazing imagination and shocking ideas that are not all that far from reality. Robertson supports this with some lovely, dynamic artwork to visually create Ellis's future world.

This series is effectively one long book so its silly to say that one book in the series is better than the next. Its like saying a certain chapter in a novel was not as good as the last. With the on going plot there are bound to be part that are not as exciting but they are necessary to drive the plot.

In Spider Jerusalem Ellis has created the ultimate anti-hero. He's obnoxious and generally a right pain in the ass to be around with a highly flawed personality and little social skills. Yet he is driven by a strong and deep sense of justice. All right he takes copious amounts of drugs and has a penchant for stamping on puppies but it is he who has dedicated his work to bringing down the corruption, oppression and exploitation that is rife in his world. He's not perfect, who is? But unlike those in power he makes no pretence to be. He is the ultimate cynic but it is this cynicism that allows him not to be influenced by the propaganda be it from marketing, media, religion or government. Spider refuses to blindly believe what he is told and searches for the answers himself using evidence and facts, something perhaps we could all learn to do.


A tour of hell... or at least the city..., 12 Apr 2005
'Let me say now that with your history of drug abuse it was conceivable that you could produce a child with no head...'

Having established Jerusalem in volume 1, and shown us the city he exists in and how disturbingly similar to our own it is, Ellis now takes us on a walking tour of all the ways it's different.

All these are just believeable - most likely because of the easy way in which Ellis describes it. Spider tells us what foglets are without turning it into a science lecture, and gives us the horrors of being revived after centuries of cryogenic freezing without making it mawkish.

This is quiet work of genius. Enjoy the peace before the real story kicks in next volume...

Bowel disruptors at 20 paces!, 08 Apr 2003
A mixed bag of Transmet stories here, as we build up both Spider as a character & his assistant Channon, and also more fully realise the media-saturated & soulless futuristic world of the City. Here we see:

* Spider Jerusalem take on the President in a public toilet.

* Spider investigating TV and becoming a broken man... ("Coming up next on the Single Male Virgin Channel...")

* Spider visiting a religious convention, with a look at the many bizzare religions of the future. ("My life was nothing before I castrated myself.")

* A look at the Foglets, an incredibly cool and thought-provoking sci-fi concept.

* Spider visiting the Reservations, areas of the city simulating past cultures.

* Spider on the run from the whole city after getting a death threat in the form of a petition signed by 500 and after having his ex-wife's head stolen from cryogenics. ("I have given this considerable thought and have decided I don't give two tugs of a dead dog's c**k what you do with my EX-wife and you can have her.")

* And best of all, the deadly serious and emotional "A Cold Place", telling the story of the Revivals- people from previous eras ressurected in the future. It's not a pretty site, and a vicious attack on our culture's willingness to dump our past in the bin.

You shall buy this...

Modern day parables for life, 18 Dec 2001
Quite frankly, the pinnacle of graphic novels. Sometimes shocking, always brilliant, Ellis expertly weaves the characterisation, plot and dialogue from seemingly dischordant stories into one brilliant, superlative-defying masterpeice.

Darick Robertson's artwork is the best I have seen in a comercial work; his line drawings and use of colour are unparalelled in any other European artist. Plus, because only one artist is used throughout, the novel never feels segmented or restricted by differences of style or art, unlike so many other collections.

Hilarious in places, thought provoking and reflective in others, this book is the perfect anecdote for those who are sick of the endless stream of overly - American "Character X Vs. Character Y" stereotypical trash. Spiky, bold, and very, very sharp, this is one hell of a ride.

Not really much good, 19 Nov 2001
The first few stories in this book are readable enough, though Spider Jerusalem isn't really a character, just a mouthpiece for Warren Ellis' own views. Nobody from the other side politically ever gets a fair chance to speak, though sexy women are allowed to put him down sometimes. The art is all right, though its depiction of a dystopian future reminded me of nothing so much as The Electric Hoax - a comic strip that ran in Sounds twenty years ago. Shouldn't we have moved on since then? The best story is a single-issue piece about a woman being revived from cryogenic suspension, told in the form of one of Spider's columns; though apart from the framing device, it really has nothing to do with the ongoing series. Easily the worst is a three-issue arc that takes up the last third of the book. Incomprehensible storytelling meets ugly pictures in a mess that I found too boring and distasteful to finish. I won't be reading any more Transmetropolitan collections, and I don't recommend this one.

Spider gets in the ring..., 13 Apr 2005
'Gary Callahan is a genuinely educated, intelligent man. He has honorable people working for him and political fixers tell me he's going to be president. He's also a fake.'

Dangerous journalist Spider Jerusalem finally succumbs to covering the presidential election campaign, and immediately finds himself facing a dilemma - who do you endorse when both the candidates are utterly repulsive in different ways?

If all this seems rather familiar, there's a reason. Ellis's huge socio-political satire hits its stride with Spider entering the fray, complete with filthy assistants, bowel-disruptor gun and large amounts of narcotics.

By turns funny, striking and (certainly at the end) genuinely shocking. A must-read.

Spider gets political, 28 May 2001
In this superd collection of Transmet our hero gets his teeth into politics. Much amusing goings-on involving assistants, the "whore-hopper" editor, a better appartment and more drugs in the background keep our Spider on top form to face his most hated subject - Presidential candidates. Aiming his type writer like a gun at the collective sphincters of the parties making them "loose", "watery", "fiery" and "prolapse". Finding a new setting of $*@* into unconciousness.... Anyway, I won't tell you more of the story suffice to say I loved it and eagerly await the next collection. If you have the rest of them get this one now or I shall arm the ebola bomb behind your toilet. Cheers LostPkt

Cynical, nasty, funny - and accurate. Spider does politics!, 20 Jan 2000
I ought to point out that this is volume three of Transmetropolitan. Read the two previous books ('Back on the Streets' & 'Lust for Life') first, as they set the scene and introduce the characters. They're also very good stories in their own right.

'Year of the Bastard' is where the main theme of Transmetropolitan takes centre stage. Spider's never been happy to simply write about the City - he wants to change it. He sees the president ("The Beast") as a symbol of everything that's wrong with the system. And it's an election year, so he finally gets his chance to shake things up...

While it still has moments of pure humour, the vicious slapstick of some earlier tales fades into the background as Spider gets entangled with spin doctors and would-be presidential candidates. This is a plot-driven tale of twists and turns, where everyone has an agenda. To reveal anything further would be to spoil it.

Just don't expect to see a resolution where the plot threads are all neatly tied - this is the first section of a longer storyline, and while there's a (very) definite ending to it, it also carries a lot of plot over into the sequel, 'The New Scum'. I think it'll carry an awful lot of readers over, too...

If you like politics, or if you loathe politics, this is well worth a look. Warren Ellis has outdone himself on this one.

Mood music, 03 May 2005
'Right now, there is a new religion invested in the City every thirty-five minutes. And yet, strangely, flame-throwers are still illegal. There is no balance in this place.'

This is a selection of Spider Jerusalem's columns.

As another reviewer has observed, it's been published before so beware. Also probably not a good idea to misunderstand the 'volume 0' tag and read it before you've read the volumes 1 to 10 - firstly because you won't understand half of it, and secondly because it contains more than a few spoilers.

But a real treat if you're already familiar with Spider.

Oh, and don't miss the walk-on appearance by another of Ellis's creations on page 44.

'All fall down.', 03 May 2005
'All news services in the city are currently occupied by troops from the Martial Law detatchment. And now, footage of them killing unarmed students'

Chapter 10. End of the road for everyone. The conclusion of this fabulous story arc will leave you amazed, shocked, saddened and utterly satisfied. If it was a movie you'd be on your feet cheering and then chewing your fingernails to the bone - all within a few moments.

No spoilers here - buy it and read it. Now.

Endgame begins..., 13 Apr 2005
'I feel a bout of monstering coming on..'

Spider's on borrowed time and still has a presidency to bring down.

As usual, Ellis takes us through a dreadful situation without playing on any mawkish sentiment - his characters don't want our sympathy. At the same time, the sense of urgency running through the book is palpable, and we never get to forget it, whether the story is in high-action mode, dealing with dark conspiracies or just keeping us laughing..

Let down in a big way, 01 Dec 2004
I have every square inch of Transmetropolitan published in trade paperback form. All of the story, plus "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" (the two supplementals containing Spiders vitriollic writing)

Imagine how exited I was to see that a third supplemental was published. I pre-booked it and sat by my letter box with a puppy-dog expression on my face.

When it arrived, I ripped open the packaging only to find that "Tales of human waste" is merely "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" re-published in one book with no new material whatsoever!

I'm a little upset they would expect me to pay for something I already have.

On the flipside, if you do not already possess the two earlier books, then I would heartily recommend it.

Doesn't let you down, 02 Jul 2004
This is the final piece of the Transmet jigsaw. I cannot tell you what happens as it will ruin your enjoyment of the book.

All I can tell you is that Spider and the Smiler do finally have it out. Spider is still just as bad as you expect, his filthy assistants are still just as bad and there is still corruption everywhere.

There is no sense of anticlimax after reading this - buy it now.

The filthy monkey wrote it - now you need to buy it!

10/10

I hate it here..., 13 Apr 2005
'My job is to keep the majority of the people in this country alive: if fifty-one per cent eat a meal tomorrow and forty-nine per cent don't, I've done my job'

The political plot thickens as the election approaches. Spider confronts both sides, winning himself death threats from whoever gains the presidency.

Ellis's writing is as smooth as ever, with beautiful sound-bites dripping off ever tongue but still ensuring that the substance is much more solid than the style.

Fantastic - if you haven't been hooked by now you'll be grabbed by this stage. If you're hooked already this is likely to be the point where you bulk-order the rest of the series.

Life sucks. Wear a hat., 14 Aug 2001
In this collection of the transmetropolitan series, you can finally begin to understand the true inner working of politics, viewed through the ice-cold eyes of Spider Jerusalem. Warren Ellis has yet again crafted another piece of humour, so black ... it's black. It is work like this, that made me take another shot at reading comics, and I haven't looked back .

Insanity, Pure Insanity, 11 Feb 2001
Ellis and Robinson continue to amaze me with Transmetropolitan, this book continues the presidential election campaign story arc from 'Year of the Bastard' and what twisted,... backstabbing campaign it is. With the help of his 2 assistants Spider Jersualem continues his own campaign to bring the truth to the people on the streets.

Ellis' writing is by turns poignant, thilling, inspiring and provocative, while Robinson's artwork brings a depth of reality to the characters and a wealth of detail and jokes to the backgrounds of the city.

If you already read any of the previous books then you won't even be reading this you'll already have ordered it on spec, if you havn't then start reading them NOW!

Buy all 10 in the series! NOW!, 07 Apr 2007
Ok your not going to like this if you are conservative or easily offended. It's irreverent, outspoken and full of righteous indignation and I love it. It is an excellent commentary on modern day society that shows us a future that our present day exploits could take us, without taking itself too seriously remaining cool and exciting. It is excellently written by one of comics/graphic novel living legends, Warren Ellis. It oozes brilliant satire, amazing imagination and shocking ideas that are not all that far from reality. Robertson supports this with some lovely, dynamic artwork to visually create Ellis's future world.

This series is effectively one long book so its silly to say that one book in the series is better than the next. Its like saying a certain chapter in a novel was not as good as the last. With the on going plot there are bound to be part that are not as exciting but they are necessary to drive the plot.

In Spider Jerusalem Ellis has created the ultimate anti-hero. He's obnoxious and generally a right pain in the ass to be around with a highly flawed personality and little social skills. Yet he is driven by a strong and deep sense of justice. All right he takes copious amounts of drugs and has a penchant for stamping on puppies but it is he who has dedicated his work to bringing down the corruption, oppression and exploitation that is rife in his world. He's not perfect, who is? But unlike those in power he makes no pretence to be. He is the ultimate cynic but it is this cynicism that allows him not to be influenced by the propaganda be it from marketing, media, religion or government. Spider refuses to blindly believe what he is told and searches for the answers himself using evidence and facts, something perhaps we could all learn to do.


A tour of hell... or at least the city..., 12 Apr 2005
'Let me say now that with your history of drug abuse it was conceivable that you could produce a child with no head...'

Having established Jerusalem in volume 1, and shown us the city he exists in and how disturbingly similar to our own it is, Ellis now takes us on a walking tour of all the ways it's different.

All these are just believeable - most likely because of the easy way in which Ellis describes it. Spider tells us what foglets are without turning it into a science lecture, and gives us the horrors of being revived after centuries of cryogenic freezing without making it mawkish.

This is quiet work of genius. Enjoy the peace before the real story kicks in next volume...

Bowel disruptors at 20 paces!, 08 Apr 2003
A mixed bag of Transmet stories here, as we build up both Spider as a character & his assistant Channon, and also more fully realise the media-saturated & soulless futuristic world of the City. Here we see:

* Spider Jerusalem take on the President in a public toilet.

* Spider investigating TV and becoming a broken man... ("Coming up next on the Single Male Virgin Channel...")

* Spider visiting a religious convention, with a look at the many bizzare religions of the future. ("My life was nothing before I castrated myself.")

* A look at the Foglets, an incredibly cool and thought-provoking sci-fi concept.

* Spider visiting the Reservations, areas of the city simulating past cultures.

* Spider on the run from the whole city after getting a death threat in the form of a petition signed by 500 and after having his ex-wife's head stolen from cryogenics. ("I have given this considerable thought and have decided I don't give two tugs of a dead dog's c**k what you do with my EX-wife and you can have her.")

* And best of all, the deadly serious and emotional "A Cold Place", telling the story of the Revivals- people from previous eras ressurected in the future. It's not a pretty site, and a vicious attack on our culture's willingness to dump our past in the bin.

You shall buy this...

Modern day parables for life, 18 Dec 2001
Quite frankly, the pinnacle of graphic novels. Sometimes shocking, always brilliant, Ellis expertly weaves the characterisation, plot and dialogue from seemingly dischordant stories into one brilliant, superlative-defying masterpeice.

Darick Robertson's artwork is the best I have seen in a comercial work; his line drawings and use of colour are unparalelled in any other European artist. Plus, because only one artist is used throughout, the novel never feels segmented or restricted by differences of style or art, unlike so many other collections.

Hilarious in places, thought provoking and reflective in others, this book is the perfect anecdote for those who are sick of the endless stream of overly - American "Character X Vs. Character Y" stereotypical trash. Spiky, bold, and very, very sharp, this is one hell of a ride.

Not really much good, 19 Nov 2001
The first few stories in this book are readable enough, though Spider Jerusalem isn't really a character, just a mouthpiece for Warren Ellis' own views. Nobody from the other side politically ever gets a fair chance to speak, though sexy women are allowed to put him down sometimes. The art is all right, though its depiction of a dystopian future reminded me of nothing so much as The Electric Hoax - a comic strip that ran in Sounds twenty years ago. Shouldn't we have moved on since then? The best story is a single-issue piece about a woman being revived from cryogenic suspension, told in the form of one of Spider's columns; though apart from the framing device, it really has nothing to do with the ongoing series. Easily the worst is a three-issue arc that takes up the last third of the book. Incomprehensible storytelling meets ugly pictures in a mess that I found too boring and distasteful to finish. I won't be reading any more Transmetropolitan collections, and I don't recommend this one.

Spider gets in the ring..., 13 Apr 2005
'Gary Callahan is a genuinely educated, intelligent man. He has honorable people working for him and political fixers tell me he's going to be president. He's also a fake.'

Dangerous journalist Spider Jerusalem finally succumbs to covering the presidential election campaign, and immediately finds himself facing a dilemma - who do you endorse when both the candidates are utterly repulsive in different ways?

If all this seems rather familiar, there's a reason. Ellis's huge socio-political satire hits its stride with Spider entering the fray, complete with filthy assistants, bowel-disruptor gun and large amounts of narcotics.

By turns funny, striking and (certainly at the end) genuinely shocking. A must-read.

Spider gets political, 28 May 2001
In this superd collection of Transmet our hero gets his teeth into politics. Much amusing goings-on involving assistants, the "whore-hopper" editor, a better appartment and more drugs in the background keep our Spider on top form to face his most hated subject - Presidential candidates. Aiming his type writer like a gun at the collective sphincters of the parties making them "loose", "watery", "fiery" and "prolapse". Finding a new setting of $*@* into unconciousness.... Anyway, I won't tell you more of the story suffice to say I loved it and eagerly await the next collection. If you have the rest of them get this one now or I shall arm the ebola bomb behind your toilet. Cheers LostPkt

Cynical, nasty, funny - and accurate. Spider does politics!, 20 Jan 2000
I ought to point out that this is volume three of Transmetropolitan. Read the two previous books ('Back on the Streets' & 'Lust for Life') first, as they set the scene and introduce the characters. They're also very good stories in their own right.

'Year of the Bastard' is where the main theme of Transmetropolitan takes centre stage. Spider's never been happy to simply write about the City - he wants to change it. He sees the president ("The Beast") as a symbol of everything that's wrong with the system. And it's an election year, so he finally gets his chance to shake things up...

While it still has moments of pure humour, the vicious slapstick of some earlier tales fades into the background as Spider gets entangled with spin doctors and would-be presidential candidates. This is a plot-driven tale of twists and turns, where everyone has an agenda. To reveal anything further would be to spoil it.

Just don't expect to see a resolution where the plot threads are all neatly tied - this is the first section of a longer storyline, and while there's a (very) definite ending to it, it also carries a lot of plot over into the sequel, 'The New Scum'. I think it'll carry an awful lot of readers over, too...

If you like politics, or if you loathe politics, this is well worth a look. Warren Ellis has outdone himself on this one.

Mood music, 03 May 2005
'Right now, there is a new religion invested in the City every thirty-five minutes. And yet, strangely, flame-throwers are still illegal. There is no balance in this place.'

This is a selection of Spider Jerusalem's columns.

As another reviewer has observed, it's been published before so beware. Also probably not a good idea to misunderstand the 'volume 0' tag and read it before you've read the volumes 1 to 10 - firstly because you won't understand half of it, and secondly because it contains more than a few spoilers.

But a real treat if you're already familiar with Spider.

Oh, and don't miss the walk-on appearance by another of Ellis's creations on page 44.

'All fall down.', 03 May 2005
'All news services in the city are currently occupied by troops from the Martial Law detatchment. And now, footage of them killing unarmed students'

Chapter 10. End of the road for everyone. The conclusion of this fabulous story arc will leave you amazed, shocked, saddened and utterly satisfied. If it was a movie you'd be on your feet cheering and then chewing your fingernails to the bone - all within a few moments.

No spoilers here - buy it and read it. Now.

Endgame begins..., 13 Apr 2005
'I feel a bout of monstering coming on..'

Spider's on borrowed time and still has a presidency to bring down.

As usual, Ellis takes us through a dreadful situation without playing on any mawkish sentiment - his characters don't want our sympathy. At the same time, the sense of urgency running through the book is palpable, and we never get to forget it, whether the story is in high-action mode, dealing with dark conspiracies or just keeping us laughing..

Let down in a big way, 01 Dec 2004
I have every square inch of Transmetropolitan published in trade paperback form. All of the story, plus "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" (the two supplementals containing Spiders vitriollic writing)

Imagine how exited I was to see that a third supplemental was published. I pre-booked it and sat by my letter box with a puppy-dog expression on my face.

When it arrived, I ripped open the packaging only to find that "Tales of human waste" is merely "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" re-published in one book with no new material whatsoever!

I'm a little upset they would expect me to pay for something I already have.

On the flipside, if you do not already possess the two earlier books, then I would heartily recommend it.

Doesn't let you down, 02 Jul 2004
This is the final piece of the Transmet jigsaw. I cannot tell you what happens as it will ruin your enjoyment of the book.

All I can tell you is that Spider and the Smiler do finally have it out. Spider is still just as bad as you expect, his filthy assistants are still just as bad and there is still corruption everywhere.

There is no sense of anticlimax after reading this - buy it now.

The filthy monkey wrote it - now you need to buy it!

10/10

I hate it here..., 13 Apr 2005
'My job is to keep the majority of the people in this country alive: if fifty-one per cent eat a meal tomorrow and forty-nine per cent don't, I've done my job'

The political plot thickens as the election approaches. Spider confronts both sides, winning himself death threats from whoever gains the presidency.

Ellis's writing is as smooth as ever, with beautiful sound-bites dripping off ever tongue but still ensuring that the substance is much more solid than the style.

Fantastic - if you haven't been hooked by now you'll be grabbed by this stage. If you're hooked already this is likely to be the point where you bulk-order the rest of the series.

Life sucks. Wear a hat., 14 Aug 2001
In this collection of the transmetropolitan series, you can finally begin to understand the true inner working of politics, viewed through the ice-cold eyes of Spider Jerusalem. Warren Ellis has yet again crafted another piece of humour, so black ... it's black. It is work like this, that made me take another shot at reading comics, and I haven't looked back .

Insanity, Pure Insanity, 11 Feb 2001
Ellis and Robinson continue to amaze me with Transmetropolitan, this book continues the presidential election campaign story arc from 'Year of the Bastard' and what twisted,... backstabbing campaign it is. With the help of his 2 assistants Spider Jersualem continues his own campaign to bring the truth to the people on the streets.

Ellis' writing is by turns poignant, thilling, inspiring and provocative, while Robinson's artwork brings a depth of reality to the characters and a wealth of detail and jokes to the backgrounds of the city.

If you already read any of the previous books then you won't even be reading this you'll already have ordered it on spec, if you havn't then start reading them NOW!

Super story with a twist, 19 Feb 2008
from the ZigZag book series.

From the back cover:-

'What is the mystery of the pond in the park?
Something lurks beneath the water......'

Example of text:-

`When Jake took the net....
...to fish by the rock
he saw what he thought....
was the eye of a croc!
"A croc by the rock!" Jake called to the man....
...who let his dog out from the back of a van....'

However, Jake's croc turns out to be something quite
innocent......or does it?

32 high quality shiny pages in the popular 2-page spread format. Numbered pages with clear, easy-to-follow text.
Humorously illustrated throughout, this book is further enhanced by relevant facial expressions and a rhyming theme.

There are a number of `ZigZag' stories to choose from and these are listed on the very last page.

The darkest yet..., 13 Apr 2005
'I followed all their rules, but I just kept on telling the truth. So they fired me.'

The title is somewhat misleading - this volume is something of a pause after the violent upheavals of previous stories and the denoument which is round the corner. In taking time to show us a little more of the side stories of the city, Ellis manages to keep us immersed in what's happening in the wider story and how these apparently unconnected vignettes reflect on the wider issues.

It's still wonderful - but also takes a darker tone than previously. Something bad is coming.

A Great Continuation of a Classic Series, 07 Jan 2003
Spiders Thrash is the seventh book in Warren Ellis' classic comic series Transmetropolitan. After the events of the sixth Gouge Away, Spider is homeless and alone but for his "filthy assistants".
However he is determined that he will not stop writing, indeed he feels that he is now closer to the people on the street. However considering the kind of people that live in the streets of the dystopia envisiged by Ellis, that may not be a good idea.
Spiders Thrash continues the series well, using a similar format as previous collections. However if you are new to the series, the plot is to advanced to really get into. A better start would be (rather obiviously) the first title Back on the Streets.
Overall Spiders Thrash is a brillant work of ocasionaly comic and frequently shocking genius. However being familiar with the series is essential to fully appeciate all that is presented.

Buy all 10 in the series! NOW!, 07 Apr 2007
Ok your not going to like this if you are conservative or easily offended. It's irreverent, outspoken and full of righteous indignation and I love it. It is an excellent commentary on modern day society that shows us a future that our present day exploits could take us, without taking itself too seriously remaining cool and exciting. It is excellently written by one of comics/graphic novel living legends, Warren Ellis. It oozes brilliant satire, amazing imagination and shocking ideas that are not all that far from reality. Robertson supports this with some lovely, dynamic artwork to visually create Ellis's future world.

This series is effectively one long book so its silly to say that one book in the series is better than the next. Its like saying a certain chapter in a novel was not as good as the last. With the on going plot there are bound to be part that are not as exciting but they are necessary to drive the plot.

In Spider Jerusalem Ellis has created the ultimate anti-hero. He's obnoxious and generally a right pain in the ass to be around with a highly flawed personality and little social skills. Yet he is driven by a strong and deep sense of justice. All right he takes copious amounts of drugs and has a penchant for stamping on puppies but it is he who has dedicated his work to bringing down the corruption, oppression and exploitation that is rife in his world. He's not perfect, who is? But unlike those in power he makes no pretence to be. He is the ultimate cynic but it is this cynicism that allows him not to be influenced by the propaganda be it from marketing, media, religion or government. Spider refuses to blindly believe what he is told and searches for the answers himself using evidence and facts, something perhaps we could all learn to do.


A tour of hell... or at least the city..., 12 Apr 2005
'Let me say now that with your history of drug abuse it was conceivable that you could produce a child with no head...'

Having established Jerusalem in volume 1, and shown us the city he exists in and how disturbingly similar to our own it is, Ellis now takes us on a walking tour of all the ways it's different.

All these are just believeable - most likely because of the easy way in which Ellis describes it. Spider tells us what foglets are without turning it into a science lecture, and gives us the horrors of being revived after centuries of cryogenic freezing without making it mawkish.

This is quiet work of genius. Enjoy the peace before the real story kicks in next volume...

Bowel disruptors at 20 paces!, 08 Apr 2003
A mixed bag of Transmet stories here, as we build up both Spider as a character & his assistant Channon, and also more fully realise the media-saturated & soulless futuristic world of the City. Here we see:

* Spider Jerusalem take on the President in a public toilet.

* Spider investigating TV and becoming a broken man... ("Coming up next on the Single Male Virgin Channel...")

* Spider visiting a religious convention, with a look at the many bizzare religions of the future. ("My life was nothing before I castrated myself.")

* A look at the Foglets, an incredibly cool and thought-provoking sci-fi concept.

* Spider visiting the Reservations, areas of the city simulating past cultures.

* Spider on the run from the whole city after getting a death threat in the form of a petition signed by 500 and after having his ex-wife's head stolen from cryogenics. ("I have given this considerable thought and have decided I don't give two tugs of a dead dog's c**k what you do with my EX-wife and you can have her.")

* And best of all, the deadly serious and emotional "A Cold Place", telling the story of the Revivals- people from previous eras ressurected in the future. It's not a pretty site, and a vicious attack on our culture's willingness to dump our past in the bin.

You shall buy this...

Modern day parables for life, 18 Dec 2001
Quite frankly, the pinnacle of graphic novels. Sometimes shocking, always brilliant, Ellis expertly weaves the characterisation, plot and dialogue from seemingly dischordant stories into one brilliant, superlative-defying masterpeice.

Darick Robertson's artwork is the best I have seen in a comercial work; his line drawings and use of colour are unparalelled in any other European artist. Plus, because only one artist is used throughout, the novel never feels segmented or restricted by differences of style or art, unlike so many other collections.

Hilarious in places, thought provoking and reflective in others, this book is the perfect anecdote for those who are sick of the endless stream of overly - American "Character X Vs. Character Y" stereotypical trash. Spiky, bold, and very, very sharp, this is one hell of a ride.

Not really much good, 19 Nov 2001
The first few stories in this book are readable enough, though Spider Jerusalem isn't really a character, just a mouthpiece for Warren Ellis' own views. Nobody from the other side politically ever gets a fair chance to speak, though sexy women are allowed to put him down sometimes. The art is all right, though its depiction of a dystopian future reminded me of nothing so much as The Electric Hoax - a comic strip that ran in Sounds twenty years ago. Shouldn't we have moved on since then? The best story is a single-issue piece about a woman being revived from cryogenic suspension, told in the form of one of Spider's columns; though apart from the framing device, it really has nothing to do with the ongoing series. Easily the worst is a three-issue arc that takes up the last third of the book. Incomprehensible storytelling meets ugly pictures in a mess that I found too boring and distasteful to finish. I won't be reading any more Transmetropolitan collections, and I don't recommend this one.

Spider gets in the ring..., 13 Apr 2005
'Gary Callahan is a genuinely educated, intelligent man. He has honorable people working for him and political fixers tell me he's going to be president. He's also a fake.'

Dangerous journalist Spider Jerusalem finally succumbs to covering the presidential election campaign, and immediately finds himself facing a dilemma - who do you endorse when both the candidates are utterly repulsive in different ways?

If all this seems rather familiar, there's a reason. Ellis's huge socio-political satire hits its stride with Spider entering the fray, complete with filthy assistants, bowel-disruptor gun and large amounts of narcotics.

By turns funny, striking and (certainly at the end) genuinely shocking. A must-read.

Spider gets political, 28 May 2001
In this superd collection of Transmet our hero gets his teeth into politics. Much amusing goings-on involving assistants, the "whore-hopper" editor, a better appartment and more drugs in the background keep our Spider on top form to face his most hated subject - Presidential candidates. Aiming his type writer like a gun at the collective sphincters of the parties making them "loose", "watery", "fiery" and "prolapse". Finding a new setting of $*@* into unconciousness.... Anyway, I won't tell you more of the story suffice to say I loved it and eagerly await the next collection. If you have the rest of them get this one now or I shall arm the ebola bomb behind your toilet. Cheers LostPkt

Cynical, nasty, funny - and accurate. Spider does politics!, 20 Jan 2000
I ought to point out that this is volume three of Transmetropolitan. Read the two previous books ('Back on the Streets' & 'Lust for Life') first, as they set the scene and introduce the characters. They're also very good stories in their own right.

'Year of the Bastard' is where the main theme of Transmetropolitan takes centre stage. Spider's never been happy to simply write about the City - he wants to change it. He sees the president ("The Beast") as a symbol of everything that's wrong with the system. And it's an election year, so he finally gets his chance to shake things up...

While it still has moments of pure humour, the vicious slapstick of some earlier tales fades into the background as Spider gets entangled with spin doctors and would-be presidential candidates. This is a plot-driven tale of twists and turns, where everyone has an agenda. To reveal anything further would be to spoil it.

Just don't expect to see a resolution where the plot threads are all neatly tied - this is the first section of a longer storyline, and while there's a (very) definite ending to it, it also carries a lot of plot over into the sequel, 'The New Scum'. I think it'll carry an awful lot of readers over, too...

If you like politics, or if you loathe politics, this is well worth a look. Warren Ellis has outdone himself on this one.

Mood music, 03 May 2005
'Right now, there is a new religion invested in the City every thirty-five minutes. And yet, strangely, flame-throwers are still illegal. There is no balance in this place.'

This is a selection of Spider Jerusalem's columns.

As another reviewer has observed, it's been published before so beware. Also probably not a good idea to misunderstand the 'volume 0' tag and read it before you've read the volumes 1 to 10 - firstly because you won't understand half of it, and secondly because it contains more than a few spoilers.

But a real treat if you're already familiar with Spider.

Oh, and don't miss the walk-on appearance by another of Ellis's creations on page 44.

'All fall down.', 03 May 2005
'All news services in the city are currently occupied by troops from the Martial Law detatchment. And now, footage of them killing unarmed students'

Chapter 10. End of the road for everyone. The conclusion of this fabulous story arc will leave you amazed, shocked, saddened and utterly satisfied. If it was a movie you'd be on your feet cheering and then chewing your fingernails to the bone - all within a few moments.

No spoilers here - buy it and read it. Now.

Endgame begins..., 13 Apr 2005
'I feel a bout of monstering coming on..'

Spider's on borrowed time and still has a presidency to bring down.

As usual, Ellis takes us through a dreadful situation without playing on any mawkish sentiment - his characters don't want our sympathy. At the same time, the sense of urgency running through the book is palpable, and we never get to forget it, whether the story is in high-action mode, dealing with dark conspiracies or just keeping us laughing..

Let down in a big way, 01 Dec 2004
I have every square inch of Transmetropolitan published in trade paperback form. All of the story, plus "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" (the two supplementals containing Spiders vitriollic writing)

Imagine how exited I was to see that a third supplemental was published. I pre-booked it and sat by my letter box with a puppy-dog expression on my face.

When it arrived, I ripped open the packaging only to find that "Tales of human waste" is merely "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" re-published in one book with no new material whatsoever!

I'm a little upset they would expect me to pay for something I already have.

On the flipside, if you do not already possess the two earlier books, then I would heartily recommend it.

Doesn't let you down, 02 Jul 2004
This is the final piece of the Transmet jigsaw. I cannot tell you what happens as it will ruin your enjoyment of the book.

All I can tell you is that Spider and the Smiler do finally have it out. Spider is still just as bad as you expect, his filthy assistants are still just as bad and there is still corruption everywhere.

There is no sense of anticlimax after reading this - buy it now.

The filthy monkey wrote it - now you need to buy it!

10/10

I hate it here..., 13 Apr 2005
'My job is to keep the majority of the people in this country alive: if fifty-one per cent eat a meal tomorrow and forty-nine per cent don't, I've done my job'

The political plot thickens as the election approaches. Spider confronts both sides, winning himself death threats from whoever gains the presidency.

Ellis's writing is as smooth as ever, with beautiful sound-bites dripping off ever tongue but still ensuring that the substance is much more solid than the style.

Fantastic - if you haven't been hooked by now you'll be grabbed by this stage. If you're hooked already this is likely to be the point where you bulk-order the rest of the series.

Life sucks. Wear a hat., 14 Aug 2001
In this collection of the transmetropolitan series, you can finally begin to understand the true inner working of politics, viewed through the ice-cold eyes of Spider Jerusalem. Warren Ellis has yet again crafted another piece of humour, so black ... it's black. It is work like this, that made me take another shot at reading comics, and I haven't looked back .

Insanity, Pure Insanity, 11 Feb 2001
Ellis and Robinson continue to amaze me with Transmetropolitan, this book continues the presidential election campaign story arc from 'Year of the Bastard' and what twisted,... backstabbing campaign it is. With the help of his 2 assistants Spider Jersualem continues his own campaign to bring the truth to the people on the streets.

Ellis' writing is by turns poignant, thilling, inspiring and provocative, while Robinson's artwork brings a depth of reality to the characters and a wealth of detail and jokes to the backgrounds of the city.

If you already read any of the previous books then you won't even be reading this you'll already have ordered it on spec, if you havn't then start reading them NOW!

Super story with a twist, 19 Feb 2008
from the ZigZag book series.

From the back cover:-

'What is the mystery of the pond in the park?
Something lurks beneath the water......'

Example of text:-

`When Jake took the net....
...to fish by the rock
he saw what he thought....
was the eye of a croc!
"A croc by the rock!" Jake called to the man....
...who let his dog out from the back of a van....'

However, Jake's croc turns out to be something quite
innocent......or does it?

32 high quality shiny pages in the popular 2-page spread format. Numbered pages with clear, easy-to-follow text.
Humorously illustrated throughout, this book is further enhanced by relevant facial expressions and a rhyming theme.

There are a number of `ZigZag' stories to choose from and these are listed on the very last page.

The darkest yet..., 13 Apr 2005
'I followed all their rules, but I just kept on telling the truth. So they fired me.'

The title is somewhat misleading - this volume is something of a pause after the violent upheavals of previous stories and the denoument which is round the corner. In taking time to show us a little more of the side stories of the city, Ellis manages to keep us immersed in what's happening in the wider story and how these apparently unconnected vignettes reflect on the wider issues.

It's still wonderful - but also takes a darker tone than previously. Something bad is coming.

A Great Continuation of a Classic Series, 07 Jan 2003
Spiders Thrash is the seventh book in Warren Ellis' classic comic series Transmetropolitan. After the events of the sixth Gouge Away, Spider is homeless and alone but for his "filthy assistants".
However he is determined that he will not stop writing, indeed he feels that he is now closer to the people on the street. However considering the kind of people that live in the streets of the dystopia envisiged by Ellis, that may not be a good idea.
Spiders Thrash continues the series well, using a similar format as previous collections. However if you are new to the series, the plot is to advanced to really get into. A better start would be (rather obiviously) the first title Back on the Streets.
Overall Spiders Thrash is a brillant work of ocasionaly comic and frequently shocking genius. However being familiar with the series is essential to fully appeciate all that is presented.

Mood music, 03 May 2005
'Right now, there is a new religion invested in the City every thirty-five minutes. And yet, strangely, flame-throwers are still illegal. There is no balance in this place.'

This is a selection of Spider Jerusalem's columns.

As another reviewer has observed, it's been published before so beware. Also probably not a good idea to misunderstand the 'volume 0' tag and read it before you've read the volumes 1 to 10 - firstly because you won't understand half of it, and secondly because it contains more than a few spoilers.

But a real treat if you're already familiar with Spider.

Oh, and don't miss the walk-on appearance by another of Ellis's creations on page 44.

'All fall down.', 03 May 2005
'All news services in the city are currently occupied by troops from the Martial Law detatchment. And now, footage of them killing unarmed students'

Chapter 10. End of the road for everyone. The conclusion of this fabulous story arc will leave you amazed, shocked, saddened and utterly satisfied. If it was a movie you'd be on your feet cheering and then chewing your fingernails to the bone - all within a few moments.

No spoilers here - buy it and read it. Now.

Endgame begins..., 13 Apr 2005
'I feel a bout of monstering coming on..'

Spider's on borrowed time and still has a presidency to bring down.

As usual, Ellis takes us through a dreadful situation without playing on any mawkish sentiment - his characters don't want our sympathy. At the same time, the sense of urgency running through the book is palpable, and we never get to forget it, whether the story is in high-action mode, dealing with dark conspiracies or just keeping us laughing..

Let down in a big way, 01 Dec 2004
I have every square inch of Transmetropolitan published in trade paperback form. All of the story, plus "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" (the two supplementals containing Spiders vitriollic writing)

Imagine how exited I was to see that a third supplemental was published. I pre-booked it and sat by my letter box with a puppy-dog expression on my face.

When it arrived, I ripped open the packaging only to find that "Tales of human waste" is merely "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" re-published in one book with no new material whatsoever!

I'm a little upset they would expect me to pay for something I already have.

On the flipside, if you do not already possess the two earlier books, then I would heartily recommend it.

Doesn't let you down, 02 Jul 2004
This is the final piece of the Transmet jigsaw. I cannot tell you what happens as it will ruin your enjoyment of the book.

All I can tell you is that Spider and the Smiler do finally have it out. Spider is still just as bad as you expect, his filthy assistants are still just as bad and there is still corruption everywhere.

There is no sense of anticlimax after reading this - buy it now.

The filthy monkey wrote it - now you need to buy it!

10/10

Buy all 10 in the series! NOW!, 07 Apr 2007
Ok your not going to like this if you are conservative or easily offended. It's irreverent, outspoken and full of righteous indignation and I love it. It is an excellent commentary on modern day society that shows us a future that our present day exploits could take us, without taking itself too seriously remaining cool and exciting. It is excellently written by one of comics/graphic novel living legends, Warren Ellis. It oozes brilliant satire, amazing imagination and shocking ideas that are not all that far from reality. Robertson supports this with some lovely, dynamic artwork to visually create Ellis's future world.

This series is effectively one long book so its silly to say that one book in the series is better than the next. Its like saying a certain chapter in a novel was not as good as the last. With the on going plot there are bound to be part that are not as exciting but they are necessary to drive the plot.

In Spider Jerusalem Ellis has created the ultimate anti-hero. He's obnoxious and generally a right pain in the ass to be around with a highly flawed personality and little social skills. Yet he is driven by a strong and deep sense of justice. All right he takes copious amounts of drugs and has a penchant for stamping on puppies but it is he who has dedicated his work to bringing down the corruption, oppression and exploitation that is rife in his world. He's not perfect, who is? But unlike those in power he makes no pretence to be. He is the ultimate cynic but it is this cynicism that allows him not to be influenced by the propaganda be it from marketing, media, religion or government. Spider refuses to blindly believe what he is told and searches for the answers himself using evidence and facts, something perhaps we could all learn to do.


A tour of hell... or at least the city..., 12 Apr 2005
'Let me say now that with your history of drug abuse it was conceivable that you could produce a child with no head...'

Having established Jerusalem in volume 1, and shown us the city he exists in and how disturbingly similar to our own it is, Ellis now takes us on a walking tour of all the ways it's different.

All these are just believeable - most likely because of the easy way in which Ellis describes it. Spider tells us what foglets are without turning it into a science lecture, and gives us the horrors of being revived after centuries of cryogenic freezing without making it mawkish.

This is quiet work of genius. Enjoy the peace before the real story kicks in next volume...

Bowel disruptors at 20 paces!, 08 Apr 2003
A mixed bag of Transmet stories here, as we build up both Spider as a character & his assistant Channon, and also more fully realise the media-saturated & soulless futuristic world of the City. Here we see:

* Spider Jerusalem take on the President in a public toilet.

* Spider investigating TV and becoming a broken man... ("Coming up next on the Single Male Virgin Channel...")

* Spider visiting a religious convention, with a look at the many bizzare religions of the future. ("My life was nothing before I castrated myself.")

* A look at the Foglets, an incredibly cool and thought-provoking sci-fi concept.

* Spider visiting the Reservations, areas of the city simulating past cultures.

* Spider on the run from the whole city after getting a death threat in the form of a petition signed by 500 and after having his ex-wife's head stolen from cryogenics. ("I have given this considerable thought and have decided I don't give two tugs of a dead dog's c**k what you do with my EX-wife and you can have her.")

* And best of all, the deadly serious and emotional "A Cold Place", telling the story of the Revivals- people from previous eras ressurected in the future. It's not a pretty site, and a vicious attack on our culture's willingness to dump our past in the bin.

You shall buy this...

Modern day parables for life, 18 Dec 2001
Quite frankly, the pinnacle of graphic novels. Sometimes shocking, always brilliant, Ellis expertly weaves the characterisation, plot and dialogue from seemingly dischordant stories into one brilliant, superlative-defying masterpeice.

Darick Robertson's artwork is the best I have seen in a comercial work; his line drawings and use of colour are unparalelled in any other European artist. Plus, because only one artist is used throughout, the novel never feels segmented or restricted by differences of style or art, unlike so many other collections.

Hilarious in places, thought provoking and reflective in others, this book is the perfect anecdote for those who are sick of the endless stream of overly - American "Character X Vs. Character Y" stereotypical trash. Spiky, bold, and very, very sharp, this is one hell of a ride.

Not really much good, 19 Nov 2001
The first few stories in this book are readable enough, though Spider Jerusalem isn't really a character, just a mouthpiece for Warren Ellis' own views. Nobody from the other side politically ever gets a fair chance to speak, though sexy women are allowed to put him down sometimes. The art is all right, though its depiction of a dystopian future reminded me of nothing so much as The Electric Hoax - a comic strip that ran in Sounds twenty years ago. Shouldn't we have moved on since then? The best story is a single-issue piece about a woman being revived from cryogenic suspension, told in the form of one of Spider's columns; though apart from the framing device, it really has nothing to do with the ongoing series. Easily the worst is a three-issue arc that takes up the last third of the book. Incomprehensible storytelling meets ugly pictures in a mess that I found too boring and distasteful to finish. I won't be reading any more Transmetropolitan collections, and I don't recommend this one.

Spider gets in the ring..., 13 Apr 2005
'Gary Callahan is a genuinely educated, intelligent man. He has honorable people working for him and political fixers tell me he's going to be president. He's also a fake.'

Dangerous journalist Spider Jerusalem finally succumbs to covering the presidential election campaign, and immediately finds himself facing a dilemma - who do you endorse when both the candidates are utterly repulsive in different ways?

If all this seems rather familiar, there's a reason. Ellis's huge socio-political satire hits its stride with Spider entering the fray, complete with filthy assistants, bowel-disruptor gun and large amounts of narcotics.

By turns funny, striking and (certainly at the end) genuinely shocking. A must-read.

Spider gets political, 28 May 2001
In this superd collection of Transmet our hero gets his teeth into politics. Much amusing goings-on involving assistants, the "whore-hopper" editor, a better appartment and more drugs in the background keep our Spider on top form to face his most hated subject - Presidential candidates. Aiming his type writer like a gun at the collective sphincters of the parties making them "loose", "watery", "fiery" and "prolapse". Finding a new setting of $*@* into unconciousness.... Anyway, I won't tell you more of the story suffice to say I loved it and eagerly await the next collection. If you have the rest of them get this one now or I shall arm the ebola bomb behind your toilet. Cheers LostPkt

Cynical, nasty, funny - and accurate. Spider does politics!, 20 Jan 2000
I ought to point out that this is volume three of Transmetropolitan. Read the two previous books ('Back on the Streets' & 'Lust for Life') first, as they set the scene and introduce the characters. They're also very good stories in their own right.

'Year of the Bastard' is where the main theme of Transmetropolitan takes centre stage. Spider's never been happy to simply write about the City - he wants to change it. He sees the president ("The Beast") as a symbol of everything that's wrong with the system. And it's an election year, so he finally gets his chance to shake things up...

While it still has moments of pure humour, the vicious slapstick of some earlier tales fades into the background as Spider gets entangled with spin doctors and would-be presidential candidates. This is a plot-driven tale of twists and turns, where everyone has an agenda. To reveal anything further would be to spoil it.

Just don't expect to see a resolution where the plot threads are all neatly tied - this is the first section of a longer storyline, and while there's a (very) definite ending to it, it also carries a lot of plot over into the sequel, 'The New Scum'. I think it'll carry an awful lot of readers over, too...

If you like politics, or if you loathe politics, this is well worth a look. Warren Ellis has outdone himself on this one.

Mood music, 03 May 2005
'Right now, there is a new religion invested in the City every thirty-five minutes. And yet, strangely, flame-throwers are still illegal. There is no balance in this place.'

This is a selection of Spider Jerusalem's columns.

As another reviewer has observed, it's been published before so beware. Also probably not a good idea to misunderstand the 'volume 0' tag and read it before you've read the volumes 1 to 10 - firstly because you won't understand half of it, and secondly because it contains more than a few spoilers.

But a real treat if you're already familiar with Spider.

Oh, and don't miss the walk-on appearance by another of Ellis's creations on page 44.

'All fall down.', 03 May 2005
'All news services in the city are currently occupied by troops from the Martial Law detatchment. And now, footage of them killing unarmed students'

Chapter 10. End of the road for everyone. The conclusion of this fabulous story arc will leave you amazed, shocked, saddened and utterly satisfied. If it was a movie you'd be on your feet cheering and then chewing your fingernails to the bone - all within a few moments.

No spoilers here - buy it and read it. Now.

Endgame begins..., 13 Apr 2005
'I feel a bout of monstering coming on..'

Spider's on borrowed time and still has a presidency to bring down.

As usual, Ellis takes us through a dreadful situation without playing on any mawkish sentiment - his characters don't want our sympathy. At the same time, the sense of urgency running through the book is palpable, and we never get to forget it, whether the story is in high-action mode, dealing with dark conspiracies or just keeping us laughing..

Let down in a big way, 01 Dec 2004
I have every square inch of Transmetropolitan published in trade paperback form. All of the story, plus "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" (the two supplementals containing Spiders vitriollic writing)

Imagine how exited I was to see that a third supplemental was published. I pre-booked it and sat by my letter box with a puppy-dog expression on my face.

When it arrived, I ripped open the packaging only to find that "Tales of human waste" is merely "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" re-published in one book with no new material whatsoever!

I'm a little upset they would expect me to pay for something I already have.

On the flipside, if you do not already possess the two earlier books, then I would heartily recommend it.

Doesn't let you down, 02 Jul 2004
This is the final piece of the Transmet jigsaw. I cannot tell you what happens as it will ruin your enjoyment of the book.

All I can tell you is that Spider and the Smiler do finally have it out. Spider is still just as bad as you expect, his filthy assistants are still just as bad and there is still corruption everywhere.

There is no sense of anticlimax after reading this - buy it now.

The filthy monkey wrote it - now you need to buy it!

10/10

I hate it here..., 13 Apr 2005
'My job is to keep the majority of the people in this country alive: if fifty-one per cent eat a meal tomorrow and forty-nine per cent don't, I've done my job'

The political plot thickens as the election approaches. Spider confronts both sides, winning himself death threats from whoever gains the presidency.

Ellis's writing is as smooth as ever, with beautiful sound-bites dripping off ever tongue but still ensuring that the substance is much more solid than the style.

Fantastic - if you haven't been hooked by now you'll be grabbed by this stage. If you're hooked already this is likely to be the point where you bulk-order the rest of the series.

Life sucks. Wear a hat., 14 Aug 2001
In this collection of the transmetropolitan series, you can finally begin to understand the true inner working of politics, viewed through the ice-cold eyes of Spider Jerusalem. Warren Ellis has yet again crafted another piece of humour, so black ... it's black. It is work like this, that made me take another shot at reading comics, and I haven't looked back .

Insanity, Pure Insanity, 11 Feb 2001
Ellis and Robinson continue to amaze me with Transmetropolitan, this book continues the presidential election campaign story arc from 'Year of the Bastard' and what twisted,... backstabbing campaign it is. With the help of his 2 assistants Spider Jersualem continues his own campaign to bring the truth to the people on the streets.

Ellis' writing is by turns poignant, thilling, inspiring and provocative, while Robinson's artwork brings a depth of reality to the characters and a wealth of detail and jokes to the backgrounds of the city.

If you already read any of the previous books then you won't even be reading this you'll already have ordered it on spec, if you havn't then start reading them NOW!

Super story with a twist, 19 Feb 2008
from the ZigZag book series.

From the back cover:-

'What is the mystery of the pond in the park?
Something lurks beneath the water......'

Example of text:-

`When Jake took the net....
...to fish by the rock
he saw what he thought....
was the eye of a croc!
"A croc by the rock!" Jake called to the man....
...who let his dog out from the back of a van....'

However, Jake's croc turns out to be something quite
innocent......or does it?

32 high quality shiny pages in the popular 2-page spread format. Numbered pages with clear, easy-to-follow text.
Humorously illustrated throughout, this book is further enhanced by relevant facial expressions and a rhyming theme.

There are a number of `ZigZag' stories to choose from and these are listed on the very last page.

The darkest yet..., 13 Apr 2005
'I followed all their rules, but I just kept on telling the truth. So they fired me.'

The title is somewhat misleading - this volume is something of a pause after the violent upheavals of previous stories and the denoument which is round the corner. In taking time to show us a little more of the side stories of the city, Ellis manages to keep us immersed in what's happening in the wider story and how these apparently unconnected vignettes reflect on the wider issues.

It's still wonderful - but also takes a darker tone than previously. Something bad is coming.

A Great Continuation of a Classic Series, 07 Jan 2003
Spiders Thrash is the seventh book in Warren Ellis' classic comic series Transmetropolitan. After the events of the sixth Gouge Away, Spider is homeless and alone but for his "filthy assistants".
However he is determined that he will not stop writing, indeed he feels that he is now closer to the people on the street. However considering the kind of people that live in the streets of the dystopia envisiged by Ellis, that may not be a good idea.
Spiders Thrash continues the series well, using a similar format as previous collections. However if you are new to the series, the plot is to advanced to really get into. A better start would be (rather obiviously) the first title Back on the Streets.
Overall Spiders Thrash is a brillant work of ocasionaly comic and frequently shocking genius. However being familiar with the series is essential to fully appeciate all that is presented.

Mood music, 03 May 2005
'Right now, there is a new religion invested in the City every thirty-five minutes. And yet, strangely, flame-throwers are still illegal. There is no balance in this place.'

This is a selection of Spider Jerusalem's columns.

As another reviewer has observed, it's been published before so beware. Also probably not a good idea to misunderstand the 'volume 0' tag and read it before you've read the volumes 1 to 10 - firstly because you won't understand half of it, and secondly because it contains more than a few spoilers.

But a real treat if you're already familiar with Spider.

Oh, and don't miss the walk-on appearance by another of Ellis's creations on page 44.

'All fall down.', 03 May 2005
'All news services in the city are currently occupied by troops from the Martial Law detatchment. And now, footage of them killing unarmed students'

Chapter 10. End of the road for everyone. The conclusion of this fabulous story arc will leave you amazed, shocked, saddened and utterly satisfied. If it was a movie you'd be on your feet cheering and then chewing your fingernails to the bone - all within a few moments.

No spoilers here - buy it and read it. Now.

Endgame begins..., 13 Apr 2005
'I feel a bout of monstering coming on..'

Spider's on borrowed time and still has a presidency to bring down.

As usual, Ellis takes us through a dreadful situation without playing on any mawkish sentiment - his characters don't want our sympathy. At the same time, the sense of urgency running through the book is palpable, and we never get to forget it, whether the story is in high-action mode, dealing with dark conspiracies or just keeping us laughing..

Let down in a big way, 01 Dec 2004
I have every square inch of Transmetropolitan published in trade paperback form. All of the story, plus "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" (the two supplementals containing Spiders vitriollic writing)

Imagine how exited I was to see that a third supplemental was published. I pre-booked it and sat by my letter box with a puppy-dog expression on my face.

When it arrived, I ripped open the packaging only to find that "Tales of human waste" is merely "I hate it here" and "Filth of the city" re-published in one book with no new material whatsoever!

I'm a little upset they would expect me to pay for something I already have.

On the flipside, if you do not already possess the two earlier books, then I would heartily recommend it.

Doesn't let you down, 02 Jul 2004
This is the final piece of the Transmet jigsaw. I cannot tell you what happens as it will ruin your enjoyment of the book.

All I can tell you is that Spider and the Smiler do finally have it out. Spider is still just as bad as you expect, his filthy assistants are still just as bad and there is still corruption everywhere.

There