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Transmetropolitan is a 1,300-page graphic novel that follows the adventures of journalist/writer Spider Jerusalem (likely inspired by Hunter S. Thompson, the gonzo journalist and bestselling author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). Jerusalem has retired to a life of seclusion in the mountains but is forced to return to the corrupt city due to a contract he signed five years earlier.
The publisher expects Jerusalem to deliver two more books—one on politics and another on any subject of his choosing—and the only way for him to stay “in the news” is to abandon his isolation and dive into the seedy underbelly of a society set in a dystopian future, yet one that dramatically mirrors the contemporary Western world as perceived by the author, Warren Ellis.
The first thing Spider Jerusalem focuses on is finding a job to support himself in the city while writing the two promised books, and for him, “work” once again means hard-hitting journalism.
A furious, cynical, yet ultimately hopeful socio-political fantasy, the series tackles issues such as prostitution, corruption, mutants, drug trafficking, and politics, all set in a near-future that feels unsettlingly close to our own reality.