Transmetropolitan 4: The New Scum (Transmetropolitan (Graphic Novels)) - Softcover

Ellis, Warren; Robertson, Darick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1563896273 ISBN 13: 9781563896279

Publisher: Vertigo, 2000

Synopsis

Acclaimed writer Warren Ellis ("X-Men") and artist Darick Robertson ("The Boys") invite you back to visit their dysfunctional dystopia! In the aftermath of Vita Severn's assassination, Spider goes looking for answers with two jaw-dropping interviews: one with the venal, vicious sitting President, 'The Beast', and one with his Presidential challenger, 'The Smiler'. Revelations abound and the pressure builds for an explosive Election Day! This title is suitable for adults only.

About this title

Review:

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

About the Author:

Warren Ellis has created and written The Authority, Transmetropolitan, Orbiter, the award-winning Planetary, Ministry of Space and much more. Darick Robertson is the artist and co-creator of Transmetropolitan. He is also the artist on The Boys and Fury, and creator of Space Beaver.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vertigo
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1563896273
• ISBN 13: 9781563896279
• Binding: Paperback