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Transmetropolitan (Collected Editions) #7-9
Absolute Transmetropolitan Vol. 3
Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson's masterwork of gonzo science fiction and political soothsaying in the Transmetropolitan series comes to its conclusion with the last majestic Absolute Edition in Absolute Transmetropolitan Vol. 3.
The critically acclaimed graphic novel series Transmetropolitan shoves readers' outdated brains into a MRI scanner and rewires their flabby cortexes into screaming processors of truth!
Spider Jerusalem gets a whole new take on the world, courtesy of the untreated mental patients spat back onto the street by a collapsing healthcare system. Then Spider Jerusalem starts having blackouts and episodes of mental confusion that are not related to his usual diet of narcotics and whiskey! The story continues as the White House has utilized its emergency powers still in place over the City and introduced martial law! Federal controls are quietly being placed over the media; controls they usually roll over for. And it's all Spider Jerusalem's fault! The government troops enforcing martial law across a spreading area of the City just put a lit match to the social tinderbox. All the tensions of the last two years are going to turn into a fireball, and Spider and his team have nowhere left to run!
Collects Transmetropolitan #40-60, completing the series. The collection features a new introduction by writer/co-creator Warren Ellis, new slipcase art by artist/co-creator Darick Robertson and a bonus section with a complete script and pencils for an issue as well as a photo feature on Transmet collectibles.
The critically acclaimed graphic novel series Transmetropolitan shoves readers' outdated brains into a MRI scanner and rewires their flabby cortexes into screaming processors of truth!
Spider Jerusalem gets a whole new take on the world, courtesy of the untreated mental patients spat back onto the street by a collapsing healthcare system. Then Spider Jerusalem starts having blackouts and episodes of mental confusion that are not related to his usual diet of narcotics and whiskey! The story continues as the White House has utilized its emergency powers still in place over the City and introduced martial law! Federal controls are quietly being placed over the media; controls they usually roll over for. And it's all Spider Jerusalem's fault! The government troops enforcing martial law across a spreading area of the City just put a lit match to the social tinderbox. All the tensions of the last two years are going to turn into a fireball, and Spider and his team have nowhere left to run!
Collects Transmetropolitan #40-60, completing the series. The collection features a new introduction by writer/co-creator Warren Ellis, new slipcase art by artist/co-creator Darick Robertson and a bonus section with a complete script and pencils for an issue as well as a photo feature on Transmet collectibles.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2004
About the author
Warren Ellis
1,924 books5,775 followersWarren 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 9, 2021
Now it is in these final 4 volumes that Warren Ellis and the delightful, in this case, creative artist Darick Robertson really take the darkly comedic cyperpunk future shock sci-fi tale to some good places. Spider has an epiphany courtesy of maltreated, or should I say, mistreated mental health patients, before his body starts reacting to his life long abuse of drink and pills. If that's not enough the tension and stories of the last four years spill over with Martial Law introduced, partially because of Spider! Where will it all end? What does it all mean? Just sit back and enjoy the ride, the artwork and Spider's dialogue. 8 out of 12.
February 1, 2023
Rude, crude, and prescient at time of writing to a lot of where we have been headed societally, politically, and within journalism.
What a fuckin' end.
What a fuckin' end.
November 21, 2018
Volume 2 generated an eagerness to see Spider take down the President. While Volume 3 does deliver, it's slightly predictable and the storytelling is a more direct straight-up hero vs. villain tale. There are only a couple issues in the beginning that are simply social commentary. Robertson's art is consistent throughout. Would have also preferred a closed ending instead of being open-ended, but it is what it is.
All in all, a very enjoyable series if you can handle the crassness and depravity.
All in all, a very enjoyable series if you can handle the crassness and depravity.
November 3, 2019
The final volume is here! Transmetropolitan is a series worth reading a few times. As the final Absolute edition comes to a close, Spider Jerusalem and his filthy assistants will do what they can to expose the president of the United States dark secrets. Collecting issues #40 to 60, this final volume is one for the ride. Although it is predictable and rather straight forward, its the satisfaction of how it ended that works for me. What works for me is how it was written, the side stories that really depicts the society of reality, how even the smallest undesirable topics and theme were not discuss, is written here. It is what its written - fiction has some truth in it, that is totally ignored by many but if read, there is some facts that should not be ignored.
For the binding, I do have the same issues as the previous volume 2 - it does unhinge a little. Sadly, volume 3 is out-of-print for this edition. Bonus materials are sample artworks by Darick Robertson on all front and back covers of the Absolute editions, a sample script of issue 57 and promotional stuff included with Warren Ellis introductory for this edition.
I still love Transmetropolitan and its a readable comic book series that definitely won't go out of style. If you can't handle the reality of the deprive, this may not be for you but if you want stories that has hard truth, this is one series worth picking up.
October 14, 2025
The third volume is the best one by far.
Starting with issue #40 the book finally cares about an overarching plot that has lasting consequences and spans over the entire final third of the story. And it's good. Much less 'the future is bad, look how funny' or 'here's a column about daily life in a sarcastic tone' and more of outsmarting the enemy at a very high cost.
The artwork is still brilliant and still the best thing about this comic series.
Looking back over the entire 60 issues and the awful one shots, this series would have been so much better if it focused on just the overarching plot and if it was cut to 30 or maybe even 25 issues. It takes way too long for the story to get going.
Having said that, the plot is good, but there's better out there. I'll give the book that it is unique, as it combines a political view on a futuristic society, that still deals with similar problems as we do nowadays. But the undertone of the story, where everyone and everything is bad, even though everything looks pretty is not the type of story I enjoy.
Starting with issue #40 the book finally cares about an overarching plot that has lasting consequences and spans over the entire final third of the story. And it's good. Much less 'the future is bad, look how funny' or 'here's a column about daily life in a sarcastic tone' and more of outsmarting the enemy at a very high cost.
The artwork is still brilliant and still the best thing about this comic series.
Looking back over the entire 60 issues and the awful one shots, this series would have been so much better if it focused on just the overarching plot and if it was cut to 30 or maybe even 25 issues. It takes way too long for the story to get going.
Having said that, the plot is good, but there's better out there. I'll give the book that it is unique, as it combines a political view on a futuristic society, that still deals with similar problems as we do nowadays. But the undertone of the story, where everyone and everything is bad, even though everything looks pretty is not the type of story I enjoy.
August 29, 2024
This book is edgy, and I love it. It is also insane. The characters are insane, the detail and world building are insane, and finally, the story is bananas. I would absolutely hate to have to deal with any of the characters, but from the alternative future, they are entertaining to watch. The setting gives the whole experience a lot of moral ambiguity, leading to a more digestible experience. The author sure hates dogs.
June 13, 2019
I wasn’t expecting the end of this comic to actually be good.
I previously had described it as “dumb and gross but fun”, and had never expected it to be more than that, but this last volume completely blows it out of the Park.
Spider has human emotions, the plot becomes a PLOT, and all the chickens come home to roost.
I previously had described it as “dumb and gross but fun”, and had never expected it to be more than that, but this last volume completely blows it out of the Park.
Spider has human emotions, the plot becomes a PLOT, and all the chickens come home to roost.
April 3, 2025
This is the end of the line. The finale of a 60 issues run, and the final confrontation between a psychotic president and a journalist fighting against his deteriorating mind. Don't expect clear-cut happy endings, but the story has its resolution and we get to see the final story of a mean-spirited, hateful, but always truthfull journo of the future.
January 7, 2024
Despite opening with the gratuitously bleak Business and many skippable pages of nonsense ramblings There is a Reason, the final volume hurdles white knuckled to its tragic conclusion, capped off by the unforgettable epilogue of the ultimate issue.
April 3, 2020
The final volume delivers. A satisfying conclusion to what has become one of my favorite series.
October 20, 2020
Great conclusion to the saga. I'll probably come back to this series again and again.
November 4, 2020
And now to the results.
June 22, 2022
I loved it. I didn't find a page that we could call boring. However, it wasn't just full of action but also told a story with deep thoughts.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews