|
TRANSMETROPOLITAN #48
"Running Out"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
|
DC Comics/Vertigo imprint
Writer: Warren Ellis
Pencils: Darick Robertson
Inks: Rodney Ramos
Colors: Nathan Eyring
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Tony Bedard
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
This is the end of the fourth year of Transmetropolitan, and it feels like
a shifting of gears. Spider and his assistants deal with the revelations of the
last couple of issues as well as a big revelation about what exactly went on
during the ruinstorm, and while the story starts out as a sort of quiet final
saying of good-byes it ends up being a call to arms for the group. I'm impressed
at the variance in tone, as there are quiet personal moments as well as definite
forward plot movement, and as always I'm just in awe of the beautiful artwork
that brings it all together.
Spider has at times stood on the precipice
of being a cartoon, defined solely by witty dialogue and outrageous behavior,
but Ellis has really grounded him with the occasional human moment or touch of
idealism, and that's been especially evident in the last few issues as he has
had to deal with his mortality. Just seeing him wandering the grounds of his new
base of operations, taking in all of the beauty he may soon be unable to
appreciate, speaks volumes about the character.
Even more interesting are his exchanges
with Channon and Yelena. Though they contain the same banter and acid wit as
usual, there are moments of genuine friendship and caring evident as well, plain
to see rather than disguised as barbs or jokes. I was particularly impressed
with Spider's "armor" sequence, where he admits his own weakness and Yelena
reacts to it. It was a very tender and honest moment between the two, nicely
encapsulating a strange relationship that has had elements of father-daughter as
well as the unfortunate shagging incident.
Then there's the bomb dropped this issue.
It seemed strange to me that the sniper's purpose in the print district hadn't
been entirely disclosed yet. I was beginning to think that it was just another
distraction, meant to keep the press from reporting an attack on Spider, but
instead it was bigger, and relates to cutting his legs out from under him right
when he's already being barraged by bad news. The last several pages are a
terrific mixture of crushing pressure, impending doom and foolish hope. There
are visual hints that Spider may have an important witness to investigate, as
Ellis and Robertson tease us with hope of a positive outcome, and Spider's
determination to win is evident, even as he and the assistants sit in a state of
shock after all of the bad news.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
