Vita Severn is dead. The one politician Spider Jerusalem could ever give a damn about; hell, he could respect her-- and her brains are blown out on live TV in what is, apparently, a publicity stunt for her employer, president-elect Gary Callahan ("The Smiler"). Spider-- a lover of many depravities, a taker of many drugs, a speaker of many truths-- is thoroughly disillusioned. Not that this is an unusual state of mind for the world's biggest cynic, but this is bad. Very bad. The Smiler was the way out for the City-- crushed for eight years under the girth of the president "lovingly" referred to as "The Beast"-- but instead, it looks like the City has to bend down and grab its ankles once more. Spider's newspaper has him living in a sterile, rich-snob arcology that feels more like a prison (I can hear Radiohead's "Fitter Happier" hissing through the hallway speakers...). You didn't think anything ever got to Spider Jerusalem? Just turn to page 15 of #19...
TRANSMET story arcs start out slow. YEAR OF THE BASTARD may have been rip-roaring at its conclusion, but its opening chapter featured Spider waking up, acting pissy, and talking to someone (He beat up Charlie Brown too, but that's beside the point). The first two chapters of THE NEW SCUM are no different: Spider basically walks around town thinking to himself about how annoying everyone is. This is what he normally does anyway; why are we seeing it for two straight issues while his assistants sit back at the apartment talking about sex? Once that question is asked, however, things heat up. Basically, Spider's just been walking the streets because he refuses to think about the election: Either the despicable, heartless Beast gets re-elected, or the man who had Spider's only friend assassinated grabs the office. However, the election once again jumps up and bites him on the ass when The Beast calls Spider's paper and demands an interview. With Spider.
Issue 21's cover is misleading. Spider, to everyone's surprise, in no way has the Beast whipped; in fact, they fight each other to a standstill. Ellis has the guts to portray his protagonist as a man who has leaped to the wrong conclusions: Spider always assumed that the reason the Beast was so terrible was because he doesn't believe in anything. But Spider was wrong, and now he's faced with the horrible realization that since the Smiler doesn't believe in anything and the Beast actually does, the latter's got an edge.Of course, this arc of TRANSMET is not all pouting and angst. It's still incredibly funny. Issue #21, the most serious of the batch, still ends with the line "Spider Jerusalem: Cheap, but not as cheap as your girlfriend" and the admission that Spider planted a substance on the Beast that causes him to hallucinate about sex with baboons (The latest in a string of offenses by Spider against the president , begun in issue #4 with a shot from a bowel-disruptor gun). And God knows Channon's issue-20 description of her vision of "Bedtime with Spider" is hilarious, if... vivid. And there's not even any need to mention Darick Robertson's artwork; after twenty-one monthly issues he's still chugging out beautiful and often disturbingly funny work every time. TRANSMET is one intelligent and hilarious series, and THE NEW SCUM has the potential to be another of the great story arcs. However, Ellis had better pick up the pace; the story's only six issues long and he's already chewed up three. Average for the three issues: 8.5 out of 10. Advisory: R, Suggested For Mature Readers. R.I.Y.L.: Preacher, Invisibles, The Minx, Hitman, Channel Zero, Hunter S. Thompson.
"Let's get in there and cover the story-- if just to confirm that I'm not having some kind of channeled flashback to eating mushrooms with Jesus by the Sea of Galilee while watching the local lawmen work--" Back To Reviews
Interested in learning more about TRANSMETROPOLITAN? warrenellis.com
