Transmetropolitan: Lust for Life

In this second volume of the Transmetropolitan series we see Spider Jerusalem regaining his stride as a columnist writing about life in his city of the future. The first few chapters follow him through some of his research, explaining the Transmetropolitan universe as we go. The last three cover an extended storyline that is a little more action and a little less journalism.

After the constant flow of the first book, the disjointed first section of this volume feels a little stilted. A common thread is used throughout this set of short stories to try and bind them together, but it still feels like filler material in comparison to the previous volume. We felt far more at home with the second section, where Jerusalem runs into a bit of trouble. More time is taken to develop both the plot and a selection of intriguing antagonists.

Robertson's artwork continues the quality trend he set in the first book, though there's less opportunity for his superb bustling cityscapes and a little more of the inside of Jerusalem's apartment. With the second half of the book though, he's allowed a little more leash and his work is a treat.

This isn't the revolution that the first book was, but is a collection of monthly comics gaining momentum. It remains far superior to the vast majority of work you'll see in this medium and is certainly valid of collecting in this form. However, the concept of a difficult second album can sometimes refer to comics as well as music, and it's only towards the end of this collection that we felt the pace was picked back up again. Still, the last three chapters are more than worth buying the rest of the book for.