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{{about|the comic book series|the War from a Harlot's Mouth album|Transmetropolitan (album)|the Pogues song|Red Roses for Me}}
{{short description|American cyberpunk transhumanist comic book series}}
{{Infobox comic book title
| image = Transmetropolitan 2.jpg
| caption = Cover to ''Transmetropolitan Vol. 2'' TPB by [[Darick Robertson]].
| schedule = Monthly
| format = [[Ongoing series]]
| publisher = [[Helix (comics)|Helix]], [[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]] (imprints of [[DC Comics]])
| date = 1997–2002
| issues = 60
| genre = [[Cyberpunk]], [[science fiction]], [[black comedy]]
| main_char_team = {{plainlist|
* [[Spider Jerusalem]]
* [[Yelena Rossini]]
* [[Channon Yarrow]]
* [[Mitchell Royce]]
}}
| writers = Warren Ellis
| artists = Darick Robertson
| pencillers =
| inkers = Rodney Ramos
| colorists = Nathan Eyring
| letterers = Clem Robins
| creative_team_month =
| creative_team_year =
| creators = {{plainlist|
* [[Warren Ellis]]
* [[Darick Robertson]]
}}
}}

'''''Transmetropolitan''''' is a [[cyberpunk]] [[transhumanist]] [[comic book]] series written by [[Warren Ellis]] and drawn by [[Darick Robertson]]; it was published by the American company [[DC Comics]] in 1997–2002.<ref name=yayanos>{{cite news|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA56388.html |title=Transmetropolitan's Warren Ellis |first=Meredith |last=Yayanos |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=December 18, 2000 |access-date=2008-10-28 |publisher=[[Reed Elsevier]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207125936/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA56388.html |archive-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref> The series was originally part of the short-lived DC Comics [[imprint (trade name)|imprint]] [[Helix (comics)|Helix]], but upon the end of the book's first year the series was moved to the [[Vertigo (DC Comics)|Vertigo]] imprint after DC Comics shut down their Helix imprint. ''Transmetropolitan'' chronicles the battles of [[Spider Jerusalem]], an infamous renegade [[Gonzo journalism|gonzo journalist]] of the future.<ref name=mot>{{cite web|quote=Sometimes the cart is pulling the horse—DC/Vertigo's ''Transmetropolitan'', a dark science-fiction satire about a gonzo journalist in a sprawling future city, is the textbook example of a well-regarded comic for older readers that pulled itself up from poor sales with the help of some heavily promoted collections. |title=COMICS: Mot Just For Speciality Stores Anymore |work=Publishers Weekly |date=October 16, 2000 |access-date=2008-10-28 |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA168716.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207125928/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA168716.html |archive-date=December 7, 2008}}</ref>

Spider Jerusalem dedicates himself to fighting the corruption and abuse of power of two successive [[United States]] presidents. He and his "filthy assistants" strive to keep their world from turning more dystopian than it already is while dealing with the struggles of fame and power, brought about due to the popularity of Spider via his articles.

The monthly series began in July 1997 and concluded in September 2002.<ref name=cascio>{{cite web |title=The Transmetropolitan Collection |first=Jamais |last=Cascio |date=May 22, 2004 |access-date=2008-10-28 |work=[[Worldchanging]] |url=http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/000739.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203233517/http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/000739.html |archive-date=December 3, 2008}}</ref> The series was later reprinted in an array of ten [[trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]] volumes, and also featured two "specials" (''I Hate It Here'' and ''Filth of the City'') with text pieces written by Spider Jerusalem and illustrated by a wide range of comic artists.<ref name=filth>{{cite web|first=Augie |last=De Blieck Jr. |url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=13758 |work=[[Comic Book Resources]] |date=May 18, 2001|title=Transmetropolitan: Filth of the City}}</ref> These were later collected in trade paperbacks.

== Story synopsis ==
{{See also|List of Transmetropolitan story arcs}}
Some time in the future (how long precisely is never specified, but said to be in the 23rd century) Spider Jerusalem, retired writer/journalist and bearded hermit, lives within an isolated, fortified mountain hideaway.<ref>{{cite book | last = Bukatman | first = Scott | title = Matters of Gravity | url = https://archive.org/details/mattersofgravity0000buka | url-access = registration | publisher = Duke University Press | location = Durham | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0-8223-3119-3 | page=[https://archive.org/details/mattersofgravity0000buka/page/209 209]}}</ref> Following a call from his irate publisher demanding the last two books per his publishing deal, Jerusalem is forced to descend into the City.

Jerusalem returns to work for his old partner and editor [[Mitchell Royce]], who now edits ''The Word'', the City's largest newspaper. His first story is about an attempted secession by the Transient movement, people who use genetic body modification based on alien DNA to become a completely different species, and are forced to live in the Angels 8 slum district. The leader of the movement, Fred Christ, is paid to incite a riot and provoke the police, who use it as an excuse to clear out Angels 8. Jerusalem, however, publishes a story revealing the truth and brutal methods used by the police. Soon, Royce publishes it live all over the city, and the public outcry forces the police to withdraw. Jerusalem is brutally beaten by police on his way home, but defiantly says that he's here to stay.

The first year of the series consists of a set of one-off stories exploring the City, Jerusalem's background, and his often tense relationship with his sidekicks, [[Yelena Rossini]] and [[Channon Yarrow]] (referred to as his 'filthy assistants'), who as the series progresses become full-time partners in his journalistic battles.

The main storyline of the series, the election and corrupt presidency of Gary Callahan (or "The Smiler"), begins in the series' second year and lasts for the rest of its run. Spider initially considers Callahan the lesser evil compared to the incumbent president ("The Beast"), but his investigation into Callahan's past and ties with a right-wing hate group lead to Callahan having his own campaign manager, Vita Severn, a friend of Jerusalem's, murdered. In a one-on-one meeting, Spider realizes that Callahan is not merely corrupt, but a complete lunatic who wants to be President solely to hurt people with his new power. To Jerusalem's horror and disgust, the people vote Callahan into office by a wide margin.

Once elected, Callahan begins to use his presidential power to torment Jerusalem, the source of his trouble during the campaign. Jerusalem narrowly escapes a police massacre of people protesting how a recent hate crime was investigated. The police refused to release video of the incident, because it reveals several police officers watching the crime occur without interfering. Jerusalem writes a story revealing the truth about the crime and subsequent engineered massacre, but Callahan spikes it via "[[D-Notice|D-Notices]]", government censorship of stories that could "embarrass" the country and the Callahan administration. After being informed of this, Jerusalem leaks the story via a straight-text news feedsite called ''The Hole'' and follows it up with an article exposing Callahan's corrupt circle of advisers, one of whom is a pedophile. When Royce runs the story, Callahan forces the paper's board of directors to fire Jerusalem, who makes an agreement to publish his future stories with ''The Hole''. Callahan arranges for the City to be left defenseless from a hurricane-like "near-near-near ruinstorm" (an actual ruinstorm can skin anyone caught in it) that ravages the City and kills thousands, using the chaos to destroy the evidence Jerusalem has gathered against him, and places the city under martial law after the storm ends. Royce reveals that he had archived most of Jerusalem's evidence and delivers it to him on disk, but during the storm Jerusalem collapses and is diagnosed with an incurable degenerative neurological illness with similar symptoms to [[Alzheimer's disease|Alzheimer's]] and [[Parkinson's disease]], caused by constant exposure to the now-defunct informational substance known as I-Pollen. With about a year before [[dementia]] renders him dysfunctional and only a 1% chance of escaping this fate, Jerusalem increases his vendetta against Callahan, ultimately exposing his evil deeds and bringing the President down.

In the final issue's epilogue, Jerusalem returns to his mountain home. Royce comes to visit, and the assistants show him around the house while explaining that Jerusalem's disease is progressing. It is revealed that Channon has a book deal, and Yelena is taking a journalistic role similar to Jerusalem's; Channon and Royce note that Yelena is his spiritual successor, displaying his trademark rage and passion as well as his talent. In the garden, Jerusalem tells Royce that the disease is so advanced that he cannot light his own cigarettes, and he forgets one day out of seven. When Royce leaves, Jerusalem pulls out a package of cigarettes and what appears to be a handgun. He appears to be placing the barrel under his chin, until it is revealed in the next panel that it is a lighter. He lights the cigarette and then spins the lighter on his finger, suggesting that he was in fact one of the 1% of patients who recover from the disease, and is now merely faking his illness so that he may enjoy his retirement in peace.

== Characters ==
{{Main|List of Transmetropolitan characters}}

== Publishing ==
The series was originally published under [[DC Comics]]'s then-new science fiction [[Helix (comics)|Helix]] imprint. When the Helix line was discontinued, ''Transmetropolitan'' was the only series of the line that had not been canceled, and was switched to the [[Vertigo Comics|Vertigo]] imprint starting with issue #13. The entire set of [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]]s are now published under the Black Label line.

In June 2015, Vertigo began releasing ''Transmetropolitan'' in the premium hardcover [[DC Comics Absolute Edition|Absolute Edition]] format. The first volume included issues #1–18.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-novels/absolute-transmetropolitan-vol-1|title=ABSOLUTE TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 1|access-date=2016-07-18}}</ref> The second volume, published in May 2016, included issues #19–36.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-novels/absolute-transmetropolitan-vol-2|title=ABSOLUTE TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 2|access-date=2016-07-18}}</ref> The third volume was published November 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/warrenellis/status/955494560737742849|title=Warren Ellis On Twitter|access-date=2018-01-23}}</ref>

== Collected editions ==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+''Transmetropolitan'' collected editions
|-
!scope="col"|Volume
!scope="col"|Old printing
!scope="col"|ISBN
!scope="col"|New printing
!scope="col"|ISBN
!scope="col"|Volume
!scope="col"|Late edition
!scope="col"|ISBN
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 1: "Back on the Street"
| #1–3
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-56389-445-9}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-56389-445-9}}}}
| #1–6
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-2084-3}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-2084-6}}}}
| rowspan="2" |Book One
| rowspan="2" |#1–12
| rowspan="2" |{{ISBN|1-4012-8795-6}}
{{ISBN|978-1-4012-8795-5}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 2: "Lust for Life"
| #4–12
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-56389-481-5}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-56389-481-7}}}}
| #7–12
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-2261-7}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-2261-1}}}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 3: "Year of the Bastard"
| #13–18 
"Vertigo: Winter's Edge II":
* "Edgy Winter"
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-56389-568-4}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-56389-568-5}}}}
| #13–18
"Vertigo: Winter's Edge II":
* "Edgy Winter"
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-2312-5}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-2312-0}}}}
| rowspan="2" |Book Two
| rowspan="2" |#13–24 
"Vertigo: Winter's Edge II & III":
* "Edgy Winter"
* "Next Winters"
| rowspan="2" |{{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-9430-8}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-9430-4}}}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 4: "The New Scum"
| #19–24
"Vertigo: Winter's Edge III":
* "Next Winters"
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-56389-627-3}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-56389-627-9}}}}
| #19–24
"Vertigo: Winter's Edge III":
* "Next Winters"
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-2490-3}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-2490-5}}}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 5: "Lonely City"
| #25–30
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-56389-722-9}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-56389-722-1}}}}
| #25–30
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-2819-4}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-2819-4}}}}
| rowspan="2" |Book Three   
| rowspan="2" |#25–36
| rowspan="2" |{{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-7795-0010-6}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-7795-0010-6}}}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 6: "Gouge Away"
| #31–36
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-56389-796-2}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-56389-796-2}}}}
| #31–36
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-2818-6}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-2818-7}}}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 7: "Spider's Thrash"
| #37–42
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-56389-894-2}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-56389-894-5}}}}
| #37–42
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-2815-1}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-2815-6}}}}
| rowspan="2" |Book Four   
| rowspan="2" |#37–48
| rowspan="2" |{{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-7795-0469-1}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-7795-0469-2}}}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 8: "Dirge"
| #43–48
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-56389-953-1}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-56389-953-9}}}}
| #43–48
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-2936-0}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-2936-8}}}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 9: "The Cure"
| #49–54
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-56389-988-4}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-56389-988-1}}}}
| #49–54
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-3049-0}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-3049-4}}}}
| rowspan="2" |Book Five
| rowspan="2" |#49–60
The specials:
* "Transmetropolitan: I Hate It Here"
* "Transmetropolitan: Filth of the City"
| rowspan="2" |{{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-7795-0816-6}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-7795-0816-4}}}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 10: "One More Time"
| #55–60
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-0217-9}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-0217-0}}}}
| #55–60
The specials:
* "Transmetropolitan: I Hate It Here"
* "Transmetropolitan: Filth of the City"
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-3124-1}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-3124-8}}}}
|-
!scope="row"| Vol. 0: "Tales of Human Waste"
| Contains specials:
* "Transmetropolitan: I Hate It Here"
* "Transmetropolitan: Filth of the City"

"Vertigo: Winter's Edge II & III":
* "Edgy Winter"
* "Next Winters"
| {{plainlist|
* {{ISBN|1-4012-0244-6}}
* {{ISBN|978-1-4012-0244-6}}}}
| Content moved to:
* Vol. 3 ("Winter's Edge II")
* Vol. 4 ("Winter's Edge III")
* Vol. 10 ("Specials")
|N/A
|N/A
|Content moved to:
* Book 2 ("Winter's Edge II & III")
* Book 5 ("Specials")
|N/A
|}

* ''Absolute Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1'': ''Transmetropolitan'' #1–18, ''Transmetropolitan: I Hate It Here'', ''Vertigo: Winter's Edge'' #2
* ''Absolute Transmetropolitan, Vol. 2'': ''Transmetropolitan'' #19–39, ''Transmetropolitan: Filth of the City''
* ''Absolute Transmetropolitan, Vol. 3'': ''Transmetropolitan'' #40–60

== In other media ==
=== Film adaptation ===
Co-creators Ellis and Robertson were approached about making a ''Transmetropolitan'' [[film adaptation]], with [[Patrick Stewart]]'s production company Flying Freehold Productions offering to option the rights in February 2003. Later, the burgeoning [[Internet]] boom led to an offer to create an online animated film series, with Stewart providing the voice of Spider Jerusalem, but the project never fully developed. Ellis and Robertson have been rumored to have indicated that they would like to see [[Tim Roth]] play Jerusalem, but during a panel at London's Kapow! comic convention Ellis said that there is no chance of seeing Spider Jerusalem in a film adaptation, and Tim Roth was not discussed to play him, and explained that production costs would be too high to bring ''Transmetropolitan'' to the big screen.<ref>{{cite web | last = Goodsmith | first = Edward | title = Warren Ellis on 'Transmetropolitan' | work = Comics2Film | date = 2008-01-29 | url = http://www.comics2film.com/index.php?a=story&b=30937 | access-date = 2008-03-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Transmetropolitan Update | work = The Z Review | year = 2003 | url = http://www.thezreview.co.uk/comingsoon/t/transmetropolitan.htm | access-date = 2008-03-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080719065541/http://www.thezreview.co.uk/comingsoon/t/transmetropolitan.htm | archive-date = 2008-07-19}}</ref> In 2010, Ellis noted in his [[Twitter]] account that no production was underway.<ref>[https://twitter.com/warrenellis/status/16040528919 Warren Ellis on Twitter], June 12, 2010.</ref>

=== Merchandise ===
Some items of ''Transmetropolitan'' [[merchandise]] have been made, Robertson himself having produced one [[T-shirt]]: a black shirt with a three-eyed [[smiley|smiley face]] on the front and the text "I Hate It Here" in yellow on the back. [[DC Direct]] has produced five products. One is a black T-shirt with an image of Spider Jerusalem from the comic with the text "Spider Jerusalem. Cheap. But not as cheap as your girlfriend". Early in the series they produced an [[action figure]] of Jerusalem wearing nothing but his trademark [[boxer shorts]] so as to show off his tattoos, and a variant that is [[giving the finger]] and holding a bowel disruptor. The third is a statuette of Jerusalem, in the same state of near-nudity, sitting on the toilet growling into his [[cell phone]] and arguing with his editor Mitchell Royce, who is visible on his small [[laptop computer]] on the base. The fourth is a [[wristwatch]] with the three-eyed Transient smiley as the watch's face; and the fifth is a replica of Spider's trademark glasses.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/858936133|title=Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan|date=2013|publisher=[[Sequart Organization]]|others=Chad Nevett|isbn=978-1-940589-00-8|location=Edwardsville, Ill.|oclc=858936133}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://www.darickrobertson.com Darick Robertson Studios] Home page
* [http://www.mindjack.com/interviews/ellis.html "The ''Transmetropolitan'' Condition"], interview with Warren Ellis, conducted by Melanie MacBride (28 October 2002)

{{Warren Ellis}}
{{Vertigo Comics Ongoing Series}}

[[Category:Transmetropolitan| ]]
[[Category:1997 comics debuts]]
[[Category:Black comedy comics]]
[[Category:Comics by Warren Ellis]]
[[Category:Cyberpunk comics]]
[[Category:Helix (comics) titles]]
[[Category:Postcyberpunk]]
[[Category:Science fiction comics]]
[[Category:Smart drugs in fiction]]
[[Category:Transhumanism in comics]]
[[Category:Vertigo Comics graphic novels]]