Transmetropolitan #38

Vertigo's sharp-edged sci-fi journalism saga hits a wryly despondent note with this November 2000 installment, part two of the "Back to Basics" arc. Tim Bradstreet's cover depicts Spider Jerusalem — cigarette dangling, signature spider-eye sunglasses gleaming — crouched on a gritty street corner clutching a cardboard sign that reads "Will Swear for Food," a darkly funny image of Warren Ellis's gonzo columnist at what appears to be a low ebb. With Robertson and Ramos handling interior art and Ellis steering the story, this issue captures everything that makes Transmetropolitan such a distinctively cynical and oddly hopeful read.