Transmetropolitan, Vol. 9: The Cure

Transmetropolitan (Collected Editions) #9

by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson (Illustrator), Rodney Ramos (Illustrator)

Outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem, determined to expose the misdeeds of a president that sent professional assassins after him, is diagnosed with a deadly brain infection as he and his crew of assistant investigators follow the trail of corruption.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Cyberpunk, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2003

About the author

Warren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.

The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.

He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.

Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.

A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.

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. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.

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

Reviews

[kaelan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Cure moves us one step closer to what I can only imagine will be a rollicking, gruesome finale. Problem is, I like Transmet best when it focuses on side stories, character sketches, world-building and the like. Frankly, because I find the main narrative arch—Spider Jerusalem's crusade against a corrupt, deranged and sociopathic president—unimaginative and, dare I say, rather boring.

By this point in the series, President Callahan has grown so crazed, so ridiculous, that his capacity to serve any sort of satirical, critical function has been all but spoiled. Back when Warren Ellis first introduced us to Callahan (a.k.a. "The Smiler"), we were confronted by an image of modern-day politics incarnate—no convictions, no ideology, all surface-level flash. That Callahan was legitimately terrifying. Now, we get something more palpably evil, but evil in an individual, pathological sense.

If I wanted that, I'd go read a superhero comic or something.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second to last volume of the series, and it's obvious on almost every page. Taken by itself, it feels very exposition-y, because it is setup for the last volume. That doesn't mean that it isn't satisfying. I loved seeing the pieces start to fall into place, and the last page is fantastic. If I'd been reading this in individual issues, I would have been delighted, but anxious for the month to be up. Watching Spider's ongoing deterioration is difficult. There are panels where he's intentionally drawn to look old, rough, and beaten down. Hard to see, but it's those moments when Spider feels most like a real person.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spider's brain disease (kind of like Alzheimer's) continues to kill him, the effects this time around are becoming more noticeable as he struggles to write his exposes. Meanwhile he and his filthy assistants are hot on the trail of Callahan's potentially Presidential-term ending exploits in his campaign and hunt down the last living witness to his depravities.

It was cool to see Mitchell Royce, Spider's former editor at "The Word", get more of a look in in this, the penultimate book in the series, which gave him more depth as a character and gave Spider one more piece of the puzzle to bring down the Smiler.

That said, there's a lot of exposition to get through before the final book in the series. Necessary perhaps given the complicated sequence of events that's needed to relate before shutting down President Callahan for good, but still a bit of a trial to get through (I'm thinking of Fred Christ's scene in particular).

Still, definitely worth reading and of course essential if you've made it this far in the series. Not the best of the bunch but Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson not on 100% is still head and shoulders above the average comics writer/artist. Here's looking forward to an explosive finale in "One More Time". Shall we?

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more of a 4.5 but I do still think the last volume was better so I'm going to leave this at a 4. I probably should have actually reviewed this before going on to the last volume because now I'm having trouble trying to separate everything, but I will just say that if you have been impatient with the last several volumes then you will really love this because it's pretty much non stop action and very satisfying to read.

[Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." - Hunter S. Thompson

I find that the best pieces of science fiction are often worried. As Charlie Brooker pointed out, science fiction is often a good way to illustrate the worrying trends that we've accumulated. This is becoming more and more apparent since the future seems to be becoming more of a reality as the years move along. I should also add that science fiction often works best when it's angry.

Transmetropolitan is a very angry, contentious book. It's a good comic to read when you're feeling angry about the world that we find ourselves living in and feeling like there's nothing, you can do. Transmetropolitan is Ellis at his most angry, and most politically opinionated and while I don't agree with everything Ellis has to say in here, I do find myself in enthusiastic agreement with his main thesis with this series: this system is broken, and it needs to change immediately.

Ellis isn't subtle in this series, and there's plenty of targets that he takes shots at with this series. Much of the humor in this is often uproarious and madcap, and the characters and situations that our main cynical bastard Spider Jerusalem finds himself in often proves to be a romp. But unlike his friend Garth Ennis, Ellis doesn't get lost in the crude humor of his series, it is merely a means to an end.

Unlike DeConnick or Andrews, who are content to blame the issues of society on an overarching evil bogeyman. Ellis is more interested in what creates a society that allows corruption to fester and infect the system that's supposed to be looking out for us. Much of his concern revolves around the complacency and disillusionment of average people, who are often led to believe that their votes and opinions don't matter, so why even try to engage. But Ellis seeks to beat the complacency and disillusionment out of his readers and get them to act to make true changes to our society.

We share Spider's frustration and hatred of the city, and his rage at the carelessness of the people around him. Spider isn't easily likable and in fact is a huge pain in the ass for anyone who is unfortunate to come across his path, for better or for worse. But the points that he makes are often right, and Ellis does just enough to make us sympathize with him, even as much of an ass he is to his 'filthy assistants' and everyone around him.

Much of the science fictional aspects of this series are often light, not focusing too much on how this stuff would work in the world but exploring how these technologies affect the people who live in the world. Like all great science fiction, it often questions how the future will affect the people who live in it and how it changes the world around us. I was reminded a lot of Philip K. Dick's work in how Ellis manages to combine the surreal and the mundane, where all these wacky sci-fi inventions are just another part of life, and Ellis never stoops to ogling over how cool everything is.

While being an entertaining, science fiction romp, it is also a great piece of journalism through fiction. Much like David Simon's The Wire, Transmetropolitan is a series that exposes the dark truths of the world we live in through a fictional lens, though unlike The Wire, it is much more of a madcap romp. Ellis isn't as committed to realism as Simon is, as Ellis takes more notes from Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo journalism. He sees that truth doesn't always have to be real to attain the intended effect.

Transmet has proven to be more poignant as we move into the post-Trump era of United States politics, particularly with his depiction of The Beast, who almost seems like a carbon copy of our previous president, though somehow, he's less sleazy. Transmet is one of those series that gives me fire as a journalist, I don't know if I want to be as confrontational or as bitter as Spider, but I would like to make a similar impact in my own work as a journalist.

But within its anger, I was surprised to find how compassionate and emotional this series proved to be. I often find that anger is a perversion of sadness, and Transmet is a prime example of that. Ellis' anger is masking the sadness that he has over the degradation of our society and the ideas of compassion and decency...and as this series has aged, I find that the message of Transmet to still ring true...and it shouldn't. The anger in Transmetropolitan often hides the vulnerability that is shown in its characters, and even reveals part of Ellis himself...even if he doesn't entirely mean to. For all the angry, puerile shit that Warren throws at us, there's an undeniable sense of humanity within Transmetropolitan, and that's what gives it charm after all.

At the end of the day, Ellis is a lot like Thompson. He surrounds himself with the ugliest parts of humanity to expose the ugly truth that surrounds us in our daily lives. Transmetropoltian is Warren Ellis off the leash, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stakes rise, tension mounts, Spider's mind degenerates far too quickly and far too soon, and, as it turns out, Royce is the best editor.

I love that feeling I get where I can't predict what happens next, I have no idea how the heroes are going to get through this, but when the solution does come, it feels natural and functional and works well on the whole. They've been taking a lot of punches lately, but now it's about time to start punching back.

We're nearing the end, yet I still can think of something to say of each individual volume. That's really rare of me, and should speak a lot of how much I enjoy the series, even after all these years.

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is a good example of what I'm saying when I argue that the series fizzles out: Spider's barely writing one line (it's a series about the power of the press), he's erratically fighting what he represents (absolute integrity) and the meaningful episodes are separated by air. It still has an intrinsic quality of discussing the mechanisms of democracy and it's still an above average thriller, but it's frustrating given how strong the five first volume were.

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's payback time.

Time is running out for Spider Jerusalem. What stands between him and a story are his degenerative disease and the President himself, but still he managed to uncover and reveal something that have sent Callahan presidential chills in his spine. Oh yes sir, this is a great read. The Cure is fast-paced, non-stop and action-packed.

It is also sad, and I cannot stop thinking about the real-world events that are happening right now that are eeriely reflected by the series, I mean, political cover-ups are everywhere. Deaths which are politically-motivated are there on the streets, most of sucg we do not even know they were. It is an ugly truth. We may not heard about it from the news but we know it is there.

This volume us a helluva fun thing to read. It is bittersweet and puts a smile to your face. As what Royce said to Jerusalem: catch them. And yes, Spider caught those sons of b*tches in his web of truth.

[André · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series is closing to the end. One can see that Spider's scheme is tightening. Alongside his filthy assistants, the antihero will find the latest evidence against the president. This volume is totally dedicated to the background investigation against the smiler. Jerusalem's health is getting worse, but one last effort will be needed in order to take the operation on.
The story doesn't bring much character depth, compared to the previous volumes. However, it focuses more on the facts that go against the president. Democracy is at the stake - political backstage games take part in the tale, once again, in a bloody adventure.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ante último tomo que avanza muy pero muy lento para cerrar con el numero que cierra a todo trapo. Quizá por la ansiedad del inminente final se hace largo el relleno que decora tan bien el mundo Transmet,, nada que agregar del dibujo, los pequeños detalles y los golpes de efecto, siempre estirando un poco más la crueldad y la violencia. Es un poco triste ver a Spider sucumbiendo a la enfermedad...

[Mohamed Metwally · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the cards being laid openly on the table by both Spider and the President in a public press conference, events are racing to a heady climax. Spider finally grasps the condemning evidence he needs to expose the President, and the book ends on a cliffhanger, to be concluded in the tenth and final book...

MiM

[Otherwyrld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 9 is a quieter story, a regrouping before the final onslaught. It's good, but it didn't fire on all cylinders for me. The last page is the beginning of the final story though.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Transmetropolitan, Volume 9 is a tension-filled volume that ramps up the stakes as the series hurtles toward its finale. As the plot progresses, Spider Jerusalem’s degenerative brain disease becomes a central and terrifying force. He's literally losing his mind, which forces him to kick his final investigation into high gear before his body and mind fail him completely. Shitty way to go, but even he seems okay with it.

In a last-ditch effort to expose President Callahan, aka The Smiler, Spider goes on the offensive. The volume's core plot revolves around his discovery of a massive sex scandal involving the President and a key witness, a revelation that serves as the smoking gun to bring him down. He uses all the friends he has left, from his loyal assistants Channon and Yelena to old acquaintances, to help him navigate this dangerous final mission.

This is a gritty and vicious volume, and it doesn't hold back. While it's relentlessly moving the story along, you can't help but picture how this all ends. It's a high-stakes, desperate race against time and a corrupt government. Despite the grim subject matter, it remains a fun, over-the-top, bloody, and nasty read that stays true to the series' unique style.

If you've enjoyed the series so far, there's no doubt you'll appreciate the direction it's heading. It's a gripping penultimate chapter that sets the stage for a spectacular conclusion.

A 4 out of 5.

[Negativni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uh! Ovo je bilo veliko razočarenje..

Transmetropolitan sam počeo čitati nakon odličnog Y: The Last Man series koji me iznenadio složenom radnjom i kvalitetom kojom je napisan. Tražio sam nešto "slično" a Transmetropolitan je iskakao na sve strane pa sam njega uzeo čitati.

Transmetropolitan naravno nije sličan Y: The Last Manu, nego možda Lobou, ako se dobro sjećam tog stripa, tu mislim ponajviše na "ultranasilje" kako to Amerikanci vole reći.

Glavni lik Transmetropolitana je Spider koji je pljunuti Hunter S. Thompson likom i djelom, ali uz to i unatoč recikliranju ideja strip je ipak donio i neku svježinu na scenu. Ima tu i dobrog humora, ismijavanja fanatizma pa čak i nekih zanimljivih futurističkih koncepta kojih se ne bi postidio ni neki hard sf roman. No problem je što mi se čini da se onda sve počelo ponavljati, a već mi je 4. dio bio pomalo naporan zbog previše pojednostavljene političke situacije iako je to bila glavna tema i zaplet tog dijela pa sam nakon toga stao sa čitanjem serijala.

Nakon toga sam se bacio na čitanje drugih razvikanih stripova koje sam propustio i otkrivanje novog francuskog vala koji me oduševio.

Onda je nedavno izašlo hrvatsko skupno izdanje "Transmetropolitan 5: Još jednom", za koje sam ja greškom mislio da je Transmetropolitan, Vol. 5: Lonely City tako da sam nenamjerno, ali kako se sada pokazalo - srećom, preskočio nekoliko dijelova i uzeo čitati sam kraj serijala (9. i 10. dio) i već mi je odpočetka bilo naporno.

Smetalo mi je pre-pre-pretjerivanje sa svime. Čak mi je i Spider postao jako iritantan. I jednostavno nisam to mogao čitati.

Što je najgore osjećao sam se (opet) prestar za ta sranja... i skoro opet odustao od stripova, ali srećom nakon toga sam posudio Perzepolis jedan od najboljih stripova koje sam pročitao...

[Javi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continúa mi relectura de Transmetropolitan. Lástima que no tenga el último volumen a mano porque me lo terminaría ya. Como siempre un cómic imprescindible. Grande Warren Ellis.

[The Library Ladies · Rating 3 out of 5]

(originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com )

I can’t believe that my re-read of “Transmetropolitan” took me this long, but I also can’t believe that it’s almost over. I’ve been reminded during my revisit that Spider Jerusalem is one of the best comic characters of the past twenty years, and that while this story is outlandish and crude it still has so much to say about the world we live in. I opened up “The Cure”, the penultimate volume, ready to be blown away by how it all turned out and totally ready to move on to the last volume, hyped and pumped up. And that didn’t QUITE happen. I am definitely ready to move on to the last and to enjoy wrapping up this series for a second time. But it didn’t hit me the way that I’d hoped it would, but honestly, that isn’t any fault of this story. It’s more the fault of the world we live in now. Somehow, “Transmetropolitan” feels, dare I say, naive.

Overall I am still totally loving this story, though, so we’re definitely going to start with The Good and save the spoilery Not So Good for a bit. I like how Ellis is pulling the final threads all together as the starts to wrap up his story. Spider, Yelena, and Channon are outlaw journalists now, and as they are starting to finish up their final gambit in an effort to take down The Smiler, we’re revisiting old characters and seeing how they still have roles to play in this story. We get to see Fred Christ, the despicable and wormy leader of the Transient movement, and how this character from way back when is connected to our final storyline (and boy, was it really cathartic seeing how Spider finally got to take him down). I loved seeing Royce again, the somewhat cowardly but ultimately loyal former Editor that Spider used to work for. And what I really loved about this volume is that we once again got to see Spider at his very best, trying to protect a source, trying to make her feel comfortable, and showing the empathy that he has deep down, as any good journalist should have when it comes to some of the more complicated and sensitive stories. Channon and Yelena didn’t shine as much in this one, but since Spider’s health is really deteriorating and therefore his downfall is inevitable I am okay with letting the spotlight be on him this time around as he tries to pull out all the stops to bring down The Smiler.

So here is that part that didn’t work for me as much, and since I need to talk about nitty gritty plot points to really address it, consider this your SPOILER ALERT. We end this volume with the first strike of the final battle between Spider and The Smiler, in which Spider gets the goods on The Smiler and brings out information that will start the snowball that will theoretically lead to his downfall. I’ve talked about how “Transmetropolitan” has managed to stay relevant in spite of the fact that it’s been out for almost twenty years, and that Ellis has been able to make it feel timeless in regards to our political climate. But what was that first blow of the final takedown? Spider reveals that The Smiler has been having sex with Transient sex workers. It’s used as a HUGE moment and for the first time you see The Smiler’s facade crack, and that he looks genuinely scared that this is going to be the scandal that will take his power away. There are two problems with this for me. The first is that in a world where we are to believe that society has become so degenerative and scummy, I have a hard time believing that a sex scandal like this, even if it involves people who have purposely hybrided (that’s not a word but I can’t think of better way to describe it) themselves with Alien DNA, would actually affect the greater opinion of this culture. I think it would have been more effective if the Big Reveal was somehow getting evidence that The Smiler had set up the murder of martyred Vita Severn, or even that of his own immediate family. And the next thing is that, as we now know, in our CURRENT society the President being revealed to have an affair with a sex worker DIDN’T MEAN JACK SHIT. It kind of takes away the timelessness. That isn’t “Transmetropolitan”‘s fault, and shame on me for projecting my frustrations in this regard to this book, but it did take me out of it.

That aside, I’m very excited to go on to the next and final volume of “Transmetropolitan”. I kind of remember how it ends, but the details are fuzzy. No matter how it susses out, Warren Ellis has created a fantastic world that is still relatable when you look past the very outlandish aspects of it.

[Vikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title gave me a little hope for Spider, but the Cure here meant some other cure, of course, for a story. The fight against Smiler is full-on, and the city is the battleground. Let's jump ahead and keep on reading.

I have always loved comics, and I have I can. I love comics to bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and hope always to love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.

[Timo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of what happened just yesterday (Jan 6th 2021) in Washington, reading this felt so much more up to date. I have been re-reading this series though the era of this orange floppy dick and I just keep finding eerie similarities. Ellis must've seen the future and makes this feel really important series.
Now, lets wait who finds this and adapts this on tv.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

We be more to go and I will have completed this series. It's frightening and unreal how close to home this is to our current political climate. Especially considering it was written over a decade ago. Pay attention fellow Americans. And never be silent.

[Angel Noir · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an explosive volume! There’s so much satisfaction in all the time put into learning about the city, the side stories. It all really comes together in this dastardly piece. I’m loving how the series has begun to wrap itself up at this point.

[José Muñoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spyder Jerusalem. Comic americano muy ameno. Describe un futuro disruptivo en el que critica los comportamientos en nuestra sociedad con ejemplos de ese futuro. La carga a los políticos también cuenta y empapa toda la trama.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s all going straight to Hell in a wild hand basket y’all!!!!

[Gabriell Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finále se blíží. Čím dál víc je jasné, jak tohle dopadne a že to bude slušná jízda.

Mohlo by se vám (ne)líbit viz první book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Wade Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

No filler here! Full volume of Spider getting his leads back while he can to stick it to the President. Story flying on all gears here, no background checks.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even in its 9th volume Transmetropolitan manages to feel fresh. The detailed, future-shock, ads-gone-mad art is a thrill to behold, and Spider Jerusalem ranks as one of the best comic characters of all time. The story is taut, and you can feel the time ticking away as Spider rushes to take down the status quo as his brain is slowly eaten by disease. Even if you don't care about comics, you need to read this series.

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally picking up the series again, I stopped because I basically didn't want to watch a certain character die.

This is good stuff, man. I love Spider, he's truly one of my heroes. Bleeding for the story, forcing people to do right by themselves, insisting on a better world. Love love love him.

Read during the October 2015 24-hour Read-a-thon.

[Artemy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, at this point, I just can't put these books down once I start 'em. Three volumes in one day. I kind of feel bad, because I'm supposed to savour it, but damn it, I need to know what happens next! This book got incredibly serious and tense. And I absolutely love it.

[Colin Bischoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Presidential sex scandal seems pretty quaint at this point.

[Michael Emond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read these last volumes in a blur so they run together but as we are nearing the close of this epic it is coming together nicely. As an overview - the series lagged a bit in the middle and I wasn't sure where it was going but now that the finish line is in view I can see what a masterpiece this was. This was a long epic of how a corrupt
President came to power - tried to stifle the press from speaking the truth and finally how one rogue reporter made a difference.
It does make me sick to my stomach to see us living through a Presidency that is not far removed from the President painted in these pages. What Ellis foresaw (maybe because he lived through Thatcher) was how there would be a President who lied, whose only goal was to keep power not to help improve the country with his power, and one that would corrupt the media for his own use and try to destroy anyone who opposed him.
As I look back on the series it is interesting to see Spider evolve from a manic insane joke to a hero. Ellis' idea to give him a disease that was killing him was a brilliant stroke of genius because it allows us to feel for Spider more than we did in the earlier volumes. It humanizes him and turns him from a cartoon shooting people with his poop rays and doing ALL the drugs to something more real.
It is also neat to see some of the clues and reporting that Spider did along the way.

It will admit in volumes 4-6 I was wondering "what's all the fuss about - Ellis is so much better in his other series" but now that I see the WHOLE arc, I can see why this is a historic run.

Oh and the side story with the editor of the Word (coming through for Spider) was another brilliant touch. I love when a character is set up as a "punch line" but then reveals he has layers.