Episode Details

Wisdom.

Moses climbed the mountain to talk with a burning bush and came back with the wisdom of the Ten Commandments.

And ever since wise men have ascended above the material world, have climbed the highest mountain, to find wisdom.

Then come back down from the mountain to bestow our gifts upon mankind.

Of course before Spider Jerusalem comes back down the mountain he

bazookas the dive bar where most of his “wisdom seeking” actually happened.

Welcome to Transmetropolitan.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO ESSAY HERE

It’s the late 1990s and comics are big business

For the Zoomers, comics were a 20th century narrative media of cartoon frames printed on actual paper

Fuelled by media frenzies around Jim Lee’s X-Men #1 in 1991 and The Death of Superman in ’92, combined with rampant financial speculation on rare issues and variant covers that saw almost any comic with a bit of tinfoil attached sell for thousands of dollars…

…comics in the 90s experienced a renaissance that created a generation of superstar comic artists and writers. Image comics was founded as a “creator owned” publisher by Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen and…Rob Liefeld

While DC founded the legendary Vertigo imprint with titles written by Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison and Garth Ennis. Seeking to expand their success DC headhunted a young writer named Warren Ellis to create a new title with almost no limitations.

Initially published in 1997 through DCs Helix imprint, then through Vertigo comics, Transmetropolitan would run until 2002 and become one of DCs most successful non-superhero comics.

And somehow this cyberpunk comic published 25 years ago is a stark guide to politics in 2025.

“Journalism is just a gun. It’s only got one bullet in it, but if you aim right, that’s all you need. Aim it right, and you can blow a kneecap off the world.”

Spider Jerusalem

Because Spider isn’t a prophet or philosopher.

Spider Jerusalem is a journalist.

In fact he’s Hunter S Thompson. Spider Jerusalem is basically cyberpunk Hunter S Thompson, blasting a path of fear and loathing across the city as he publishes one blistering piece of gonzo journalism after another.

While smoking and necking anti-cancer meds

Which aren’t real

What…did you think I was actually going to set fire to this festering clump of carcinogens then suck on it?