Transmetropolitan Vol. 4: The New Scum - Softcover

Ellis, Warren

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1401224903 ISBN 13: 9781401224905

Publisher: Vertigo, 2009

Synopsis

Investigative reporter Spider Jerusalem attacks the injustices of the 21st Century surroundings while working for the newspaper The Word in this critically-acclaimed graphic novel series written by comics superstar Warren Ellis, the co-creator of PLANETARY and THE AUTHORITY.

In this volume, two candidates are facing off in the presidential election, and in all the media only Spider Jerusalem seems to have the intestinal fortitude to hack his way through the campaign propaganda and find out the reality behind the spin.  But even if he manages to being the public the unvarnished truth, the question still remains: will they do the right thing once they have it?

About this title

Review:

It's no wonder he hates it here. Spider Jerusalem, journalist and hero of sorts in Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan, wades through a sewer of poverty and high-tech despair daily in his efforts to understand and report on America. In The New Scum, Ellis contrasts the powerful, in the form of presidential candidates, with the powerless, who are begging and hustling on the streets. The satire is savage and rarely subtle, but the author takes care to show some human warmth lest the comic descend into the nihilism it warns against. The plot, largely secondary to the characters and background events, focuses loosely on Jerusalem's assignment to interview the two candidates, each psychotic and unfit for any office. His bodyguard and personal assistant, meanwhile, discover the terrors of pleasure in a post-nanotech world with unlimited credit. The election-eve climax fully captures the anxiety and depression that come from having no real choice in matters of great importance. Either Ellis or his creation deserves a Pulitzer. --Rob Lightner

About the Author:

Warren Ellis is the award-winning writer of Transmetropolitan, Planetary, The Authority, and the writer and co-creator of the graphic novel RED, which was the basis of two major motion pictures.   He is also the author of the NYT-bestselling novels Gun Machine and Crooked Little Vein.  His newest publication is the digital short-story single Dead Pig Collector, from FSG Originals.

His awards and recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the Eagle Awards Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative.

Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.

Darick Robertson is a veteran comic artist who has worked at DC Comics and Marvel for nearly twenty years. He broke into the mainstream drawing Justice League for DC and went on to work for Marvel where he penciled titles including Wolverine, Spider-Man, and most notably the New Warriors. Robertson is best known as the artist / co-creator of the Eisner Award-winning series Transmetropolitan with writer Warren Ellis, which was hailed by Wired magazine as "The Graphic Novel of the Decade." He is currently working on an edgy new monthly series entitled The Boys for WildStorm with writer Garth Ennis.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vertigo
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1401224903
• ISBN 13: 9781401224905
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160
• Illustrator: Robertson Darick