Transmetropolitan Vol. 4: The New Scum

Amazon.com
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


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

After surviving the events of Transmetropolitan: Year of the Bastard, outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem is revitalized and ready to cover the presidential election in all of its dark glory. When he learns of the vicious murder of political consultant Vita Severn, one of the few people in the world that he liked, Spider mounts a full scale attack on both candidates. Determined to uncover any and all hidden truths about the contenders, he conducts two irreverent interviews with the incumbent President and his rival, the Smiler. In the end, what he learns shocks and confuses even him.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices