ROB'S NOTE: May has become the go-to month of the Comic’s Industry (even
though National Superhero Day is late April, but whatever… Congress…
pshaw). It is when Marvel drops their
big movie of the year. May also sees the
annual Free Comic Book Day celebration take place on the first Saturday of the
Month, so I hope you all got to check that out.
May also has 31 days of the month so what better way to celebrate the
wonderful world of sequential art with the 31 Days of Comics?
Seth Hahne, who runs the blog GoodOkBad,
has put together the 31 Days of Comics challenge. A daily challenge in which you are given a
category and you have to fill it with a comic that you think fits it the
best. You’re all on the internet, I
shouldn’t have to explain it to you. For
the rest of the month I will be taking this challenge. It is my hope it encourages others to make
and share their own lists either in the comments here or on their own
websites. The sharing not only might
turn comic fans on to works they have yet to sample but maybe catch the eye of
a few non-comic fans and highlight the diversity of the form.
Our prompt for Day 27 “The Comic You’ve Read The Most Times”
Transmetropolitan
Written by Warren Ellis
Pencils by Darick Robertson
Inks by Rodney Ramos
Colors by Nathan Eyring
I’m not
going to lie, this is a pure guess.
Legitimately
this entry could have gone to a number of different books. I think I own several editions of Cassanova
(single issues, trade, ICON reprints) and I’ve read each of those a number of
times. I’ve re-read Invisibles at least
once a year since I got those trades, mostly to see if I actually understand it
still. In the future I think Young
Avengers will probably be in the running.
In the end I know that if Transmetropolitan wasn’t exactly number one on
the list, it is right up there.
Transmetropolitan
is probably Warren Ellis at his most Warren Ellisy. It’s equal parts speculation about the
future, biting social commentary, and optimism hidden behind the cynical
outlook of the protagonist. Set in the
23rd century our story begins with Spider, holed up in the mountains
away from civilization getting badgered by his publisher because he still owes
two books on his deal. Spider ends up
returning to “the City”, which is basically what happens if our obsession with
technology, social media, and consumerism continues to grow at its current
rate. Although there are several
“mini-stories” throughout the run the main story centers on Spider’s coverage
of the Presidential race between the incumbent, known as The Beast, and his
challenger Gary Calhoun, AKA “The Smiler.”
Transmetropolitan
is science fiction in the best use of the term.
It gives us a futuristic setting with wonderful technology and uses it
to speak about modern society through that lens. Ellis uses Spider to examine consumerism,
body modification, apathy, politics, social media, alienation through
technology, homogenization of culture, and the power of the media. Although Spider is based on a number of
journalists (and Ellis himself) he has most often been compared to
“gonzo-journalist” Hunter S. Thompson in his approach and lifestyle. Spider has no problem not being objective (he
is a columnist after all) nor inserting himself into the stories he is
writing. Some of the better, overlooked
issues, eschew dialogue and only have an article of Spider serving as our
narration.
Anybody who
knows me will understand why I continually come back to this comic. First of all, I am a sucker for the “power of
journalism” storyline that runs throughout the series, no matter how
unrealistic or rare it is in the real world. The Newsroom, Sports Night, Murphy
Brown, and All the President’s Men have shaped this hope that although it isn’t
the norm, there are good reporters out there who will deliver the truth for the
good of our society and hold people accountable. Spider is that idealized journalist that I
really do hope that all journalists aspire to be.
In the end
though it is the interplay of cynicism and optimism that really drives me back
to Transmetropolitan. Too often I
believe that people view cynics as pessimists who can turn a witty phrase. However I think Spider is an accurate
portrayal of what a cynic really is; an optimist whose expectations for the
world and the people around him are so high that he is constantly
disappointed. Spider has a genuine love
for the world around him and not just the “beautiful things.” He goes to the impoverished areas and
basically wonders in a world where so much is possible, why do people have to
live like this? It’s a trademark of
Ellis’ (you see it a lot with Jenny Sparks in his Stormwatch and Authority
runs) for his protagonists to constantly remind people that this could be a
much better world than it is.
And it has
one of the best, if not the best, final panels in all of comics. Of course, to appreciate it you have to read
the whole thing. Which I will continue to do, over and over again.
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