Transmetropolitan Book One: Volume 1

It's a classic and ages like good wine. Read this in print ages ago and later pirated the scans. Now I'm gonna vote with my wallet getting and finally finishing the series, which definitely won't be the last time me digesting Ellis' vision while the years are gonna continue blurring the line between fiction and reality. Recommended; highly.

I adored the sight gags, crazed facial expressions and over-the-top situational comedy. But Spider's editorials were unrefined and somewhat adolescent, as if made by an intern with only a passing interest in real news. Spider's debut editorial on the city's bloodthirsty police force--that people, basically, put these rabid thugs in charge--ignores decades of gerrymandering and targeted disenfranchisement that puts both leaders and law enforcement beyond the reach of average voters. Of course, this comic is--first and foremost--a work of *visionary* art, and there it excels. I can’t say if Ellis ever intended it to be a focused surgical knife slicing away at relevant real-world issues. ... I just wish I or somebody in the news field could've gotten to Ellis and given him some insight into salient, grinding social issues that genuinely plague society. It might have drawn a bigger, ANGRIER audience of fans. But whose to say where Ellis would take this same project if he wrote it today?

One of the most unconventional comics I've read, and it's really good. Fans of Grant Morrison and Garth Ennis will find Warren Ellis's story and writing style to be familiar and engrossing, focusing on the profane and the bizzare elements throughout, with unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader engaged. Those who enjoy the art of Geof Darrow (who also contributed to some covers here) will appreciate the similarity with Darick Robertson's own drawing style, where each panel and page is filled with dense detail that helps to flesh out the world of Transmetropolitan. With superb storytelling and eye-catching art, the reader is quickly hooked. Highly recommended, especially for those who prefer non-mainstream comics.