Before I commence with the review of this book I need to tell you a story, which should indicate, without question, my opinion of this book.

When I took over the Grinning Demon, a lot of customers were surprised to learn that I hadn’t read Transmetropolitan. Although I had touched base on a handful of more mature, non-superhero titles (Preacher, V for VeVendetta, From Hell, Black Orchid), the majority of my reading was firmly entrnched in the spandex genre. I was consistently nagged at for having omitted Transmet from my reading history so four months after starting at the shop I took home four volumes of Warren Ellis’ futuristic tale.  I started reading at around 7.30, shortly after putting the kids to bed, and was engrossed. Thus, upon completion, I put my trainers on and jogged down to the shop to pick up the remaining volumes, which I also devoured over the course of one evening. This, to date, is the only book that has left me clamouring for more in quite such an obsessive fashion. I genuinely NEEDED  to finish the story, and thank God, we had all the volumes in stock at the time.

Transmetropolitan Volume 1 – Back on the Street
In this volume we are introduced to the books main protagonist, Spider Jerusalem, a journalist who returns to the city after a self imposed exile. To him, the city is both a blessing and a curse as it is the only place in which he can write, whereas at the same time it the one place he MUST write. Obsessed by delivering the truth regardless of whose toes he steps on, Spider returns to the fore almost immediately with his live reporting of the real events occuring at the riot of Angel Town.

In Spider, Warren Ellis has created one of the greatest anti-heroes in comic history. The character spews dialogue at a rate of knots, gatling gun fashion like a rabid version of Bill Hicks, on acid. He is the focal point of pretty much everything that occurs in the books and despite his unpleasant demeanour (his ex-wife refused to come out of cryogenics till he was dead) you can’t help loving him. Scarily my wife said that if she had to pick a comic character to be, she’d be Spider…..gulp!

The various plotlines mirror events in modern society despite the story being set in a dystopian future. Always thought provoking, one may not always agree with Spider’s viewpoint, but one does have to respect it.  Ellis also has you running through a gamut of emotions as this rollercoaster ride of a black comedy unfolds. There are some great, slapstick visuals thrown in for good measure as well.

Match this up with the sublime artwork of Darick Robertson who can do no wrong in my eyes. The man has an amazing ability with regards to facial expressions, probably only matched by Macguire, whilst at the same time his attention to detail in the majority of panels is incredible. Darick creates a vision akin to Scotts take on the city in Blade Runner, only far, far, FAR more bizarre. His great pencils are backed up by some superb work by the colourist (Nathan Eyring) who helps this futuristic vision come to life with some fantastically vibrant intepretations of the panels created.

With regards marks out of ten, its a shame I can’t give more than 10. I love this book and everyone who reads comics should be MADE to read it. It won’t be to everyones liking but it’s definitely a marmite kind of thing, if you do like it, you’ll LOVE it.

With each of the reviews we’ll be getting a regular from the shop to add their views, as a counterbalance to my gushing fanboy comments. Here’s James Carters’ take on Transmetropolitan

Journalist Spider Jerusalem is easily one of the most memorable characters ever to be inflicted on comics, and when I say inflicted I just mean that there is no other way to imagine how he interacts with the world he inhabits – he smokes copiously, abuses every drug he can get his hands on, has more ink on him than a rabid octopus, and seems to hate just about everything and everyone. But you find yourself loving him for the very fact that he is honest about it – he hates everyone equally and for good reasons, and will not back down when it comes to the Truth. He is a storm of righteous fury and lunacy, using his weekly column to immerse the reader in the City, a future metropolis both intimidating and familiar. It’s pretty much our own world writ large, concentrated and then pumped full of steroids, with Ellis using it to address real issues, from racial intolerance to political corruption.

 Though I hate giving in to stereotyping, it’s just so damn hard these days not to think of journalists as fear-mongering, gossip-stirring wage slaves, given their agendas by their owners. Spider reminds you that there may actually be people out there who want to tell you the truth, and with a few choice lines on a type-writer illustrates how powerful raw journalism can be. Spider is the reader’s avatar in Transmetropolitan – whereas with most comics you can sit back and watch the story unfold, Ellis pulls you in through Spider. There is barely a page that does not feature him, and his introduction in this first volume serves to take you with him as he goes from a mountain retreat back to the sprawling city, taking the same fumbling steps into the new world together. Unfortunately this may also be Transmetropolitan’s biggest flaw – there is no let up from Spider, and if you find him a bit much it may be hard to let yourself enjoy it.

But even then, Darick Robertson’s art just has so much going on it can be hard not to find something to love in these pages, and it’s so easy to go back again and again to find new nuggets and easter eggs in the panels. On every front, this book is a kinetic extravaganza that will make you question what you’re being fed by the media, and wish there could be more writers like Spider. 

Further Reading
Volume 2 – Lust for Life
Volume 3 – Year of the Bastard
Volume 4 – The New Scum
Volume 5 – Lonely City
Volume 6 – Gouge Away
Volume 7 – Spiders Thrash
Volume 8 – Dirge
Volume 9 – The Cure
Volume 10 – One More Time

A couple of the local players are conspicuous by there absence. Tommy has to work, whilst James Carter thinks he unlikely to make the event due to family commitments. However we have had three people from outside the local playgroup expressing an interest in competing, so far.

Playing in a serious event of this nature has left me in abit of a quandary as what to play. I’ve four options so far, two of which die to any deck with serious AoE effects, although they do have more raw power than the other decks I’m considering. The options are as follows

• Sinthya Flabberghast – Are You Tired? A deck keyed around the various rogue exhaust effects and abuse of Cannibalize for staying power
• Spiritualist Sunshroud – Discard. The deck I’m most familiar with to date, but the lack of Terokk’s Shadowstaffs leaves me wondering if this is really viable in a more competitive environment.
• Elendril. Hunter deck that abuses Elendril’s ability whilst attacking multiple times in a turn
• Kassandra Flameheart – Hunter Rush. I had some success with this deck in the past, with Tiril Dawnrider being a key player when tied in with Marked for Death. I’d like to get more copies of Bloody Welcome for this though.

The options are all viable, but all lack the cards I’d choose to run. If anyone has any of the following that I can trade for/borrow, let me know as it might make my decision easier.

• Bloody Welcome
• Terokks Shadowstaff
• Bringer of Death
• Alexi Barov
• Weldon Barov
• The Crossbow that deals damage to your own hero if you don’t attack (can’t recall the name, but it might be Bloodseeker)

I went 3-1 on the night with my hastily thrown together Fire Inspire deck, but was trumped by a much better build based around a similar theme. With our upcoming Canvas Challenge being a tribal event, David had constructed a seriously brutal Draenei Inspire deck with a number of AoE effects that repeatedly cleared my board. For one brief moment it looked like I may have the upper hand but it wasn’t to be. I was especially pleased for Dave as I’ve given him a lot of stick about netdecking ‘Black Ice’.

My deck worked by putting out a number of Arena Allies, controlling the board with tap down effects then burning for the win with Gladiator Loraala and a host of 1/1 arena tokens created by circle of blood. Mikael the blunt is also used for keeping my opponents board presence down to a manageable number. Daves deck however focuses on mass removal, interruption and inspired direct damage, often drawing a hatful of cards to boot (Touch of the Arcane)

Also present at the event were two new players, Chris and James Wheeler, who I’d like to congratulate on their performances, 3-1 (2nd place, Chris), 2-2 (4th place, James). Hopefully they’ll continue to appear at events in the future.

Anyway talking of being inspired, here’s a old gnomish song (sung to the tune of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m on Fire)

Now tell me horde hero is it bad for you, 
Have I nerfed all the things that you tried to do,
wo, wo, all my dudes inspire,
wo, wo, wo, you’re on fire

The format for the event is one of our own creations, a tribal event. The basic rules for tribal state that each deck must contain at least 25 allies and all allies must be of the same race as the decks chosen hero. Straightforward you may think, but putting it into practice has proved to be somewhat problematic. Nearly every deck I come up with lacks a couple of support cards that other similarly affiliated allies can provide.

I’ve narrowed the possibilities down to two, either a human deck aiming to burst out allies early using Stormwind, Lorwynn and Anduin or a Blood Elf deck aiming to shut down an opponents options using Arcane Torrent, discard effects and stealing opposition dudes. The second deck plays out in a similar fashion to my Spritualist Sunshroud deck listed elsewhere on the blog.

How the format works.
Each player cracks open his five boosters then builds a deck of thirty cards or more from that card pool. To accompany these cards he/she can use any of the heroes from the BoG expansion (these cards are provided).

New Keywords:
Hardiness: (If this ally would be dealt damage, prevent 1 of it)
Arcane Torrent: (When this ally enters play, target opposing card in play loses and can’t have powers this turn)

Arena Cards:
A number of Allies and Quests have the type ‘arena’. Other cards will then have effects that key off the number of arena cards in play, your side of the field etc. In a sealed environment these cards are going to be relevant, big time, plus keep an eye out for the uncommon location Gurubashi Arena, which makes an ally an arena ally for the turn.

I don’t know if hardiness will play a big part in sealed. The allies that have it tend to be underpowered for cost, but it may be big against decks that ‘nibble’ like totem decks or black ice decks in constructed (sorry James and Dave). Arcane Torrent is a great keyword with regards shutting down ongoings or in some cases (as there are instant allies with this effect) responding to a cards activation.
As with all sealed events(compared to constructed),  WoW decks in this format will lean towards being ally heavy as you are darn lucky if you get a load of abilities belonging to the same class.

Hope all enjoy the event tomorrow. £15 entry for five boosters, with a guarantee of prizes  (a number of participation EA’s in addition to the prize EA’s, deckboxes and Shirt) is good value.

After a fairly comfortable time with my first 5 tourneys (only dropping 1 game, winning 4 events, second in the other), things should now prove a little different in upcoming events as the other local players all aim to raise their game.

David has now purchased the cards necessary for a ‘Black Ice’ deck (how to lose friends and alienate people), James has tweaked his Totem deck, as well as having more experience playing it, whilst Ben has been purchasing cards aplenty in preparation for future tournaments. We also have new players being welcomed to the fold, who, in time, will bring a fresh element to the state of play.

In the next two events it isn’t as applicable as one is a Blood of Gladiators sealed event, whilst the other runs a tribal format (minimum 25 allies all from the same race as the hero) but after that things could prove a little more challenging.

The deck has since been upgraded, so I’ll post V1.3 after the 8th March tournament.

Deck Name: Sunshroud V1.2
By: maidstonedemon

Hero: Spiritualist Sunshroud – Blood Elf Priest

Allies:
4 “Batter Brains” McGillicutty
1 Alexi Barov
1 Arcanist Lyronia
1 Chief Researcher Amereldine
2 Joja’bee
4 Kam’pah
1 Lilith Smythe
3 Mias the Putrid
1 Sarn Earthtrembler
2 Skumm Bag’go
2 Tatulla the Reclaimer

Abilities:
1 Equal Opportunity
1 Greater Heal
3 Lesser Heal
1 Levitate
2 Lose Control
2 Melt Face
1 Mental Anguish
1 Mindflip
1 Precognition
1 Salvation
1 Sublimate
2 Touch of Darkness
1 Vampiric Tendrils

Quests/Locations:
2 A Rare Bean
3 Bolstering Our Defenses
1 Hellfire Citadel
1 Outland Sucks!
1 Soup for the Soul
2 The Princess Trapped
2 The Root of All Evil
2 Torek’s Assault
1 Twin Spire Ruins
1 Wanted: Durn the Hungerer
1 Your Fortune Awaits You

Weapon/Armor/Item:
2 Blue Diamond Witchwand
1 Cloak of Subjugated Power

I had made three card changes to my deck since the previous event, adding two copies of Meltface and one of Salvation, whilst taking out a couple of allies and an equipment.

First opponent was Wayne and his Horde Warlock deck. His deck shares many principles with mine, relying on discards and steals to keep the opponent in check. Where his differs though is that it is quite passive, running a number of protectors and the like, whereas mine is quite aggro, relying on getting a board presence then keeping it there by forcing the opponent to top deck. I got off to a good start, a Root for all Evil saw off one potential draw, whilst Kampah prevented further draw engines seeing light of day. By the time I blew my feat to take out his last remaining Ally, I’d set up a strong position with Kampah and Alexi Barov on the field. The game was over quite swiftly, allowing me to run up the road to the local chinese takeaway while Cam and Tommy finished their game. 1-0

With Tommy the victor in that matchup, I paired up with him and his Alliance Gnome Mage. Tommy’s deck is somewhat fun as all the allies in the deck are Gnomes as well. I wasn’t looking forward to the game as his deck had handed mine its only defeat to date, albeit in a friendly at the shop. It has the ability to draw into a huge number of cards, thus negating the very essence of my deck. As per our friendly I got off the mark the quickest, but as in that game, he clawed back as the game progressed and his options were more varied due to the number of cards in hand. I’d put him on a clock by attaching a Creeping Shadow to his hero. Combined with a few nibbles from my allies, I quickly got him down to six whilst still maintaining around half my hero’s life. Then he managed to suppress my Shadow and commenced some slow nibbling of his own. I was sitting on an ability that would give a character ferocity so I just needed to hit a 4ATK ally as he had no protectors on the board, but it didn’t happen, he finished me off with his life total still on three. 1-1

The last game was against my son, Cam with his Gorebelly deck. I’d made a couple of improvements in his deck since the last time we squared off and the game followed a similar pattern. He raced away to an early lead, getting me down to 3 life on my hero in no time at all, whereas I’d managed a single point of damage on his. Levitation and Vampiric Tendrils started the recovery, then a combination of feat and meltface left him with no more than one ally, thus making Levitation crucial to my survival. I then drew into two copies of McgIllicuty, suicided them, reducing him to no allies, whilst forcing him into a topdeck situation. He never drew anything of consequence, so I repeated my come from behind win. 2-1

With three players on 2-1, it went to tiebreaks for the tourney win. Tommy bagged first, I was second, Wayne was third and little Cam brought up the rear.

We ran our first UDE day on Sunday past (01/02/09), with three tournaments running consecutively. The Yugioh event was well attended, immediately followed by the less well supported VS and WoW events. My son had a great day going 4-3, 2-1, 2-1 over the course of the day. This may not sound amazing but when you consider that he is only six years of age and was playing against all adults in the latter two events it does shed things in a more favourable light.

Anyway, it was our second WoW event to date as our first, The Ironforge Invitational for Noobs, was held ten days previous. That event had drawn six people, James, Amy, Dave, Cameron, Wayne and Myself with Wayne heavily touted as favourite as he was the only player with any real experience of the game. I went on to win that with my really badly built Priest deck posting a 3-0 record, despite the majority of the cards having no real synergy, plus the balance of Allies to Quests and Abilities was seriously wrong.

So I went into Sundays event (The Sha’tar Swiss) with a slightly more honed version of the deck. The deck still wouldn’t stand up to any serious competition due to the tiny card pool that I had to play with but at least now the principles behind the deck were sound.

Game 1 saw me square off against my son, Cameron. I had already tasted defeat at his hands earlier in the Vs, so I was keen not to let him bag a 2-0 day against me, though you wouldn’t know that in the early turns. Running an equipment heavy Gorebelly deck that I had built him, Cam came out of the blocks really quickly whereas I failed to hit any allies early on, despite having mulliganed. With the lie totals standing at 30 plays 4, I staged what could only be considered a miraculous comeback. I topdecked into a Levitation, suicided my two Allies into two of his then blew off my feat to force him to destroy his last remaining ally. He was then left to rely on topdecking as my deck had been decimating his hand since the beginning of the game. I’d also forced him to either discard, or I’d destroyed all his key equipment. So the gradual fightback began. I drew into some Allies, allowing me to nibble at his life, whilst Levitation prevented any real aggressive board presence from him, although the fear of a heavy drop with ferocity was always present. It was slow work as I regularly needed to suicide my guys into his to keep him at no more than one dude, but I managed it, with the final damage being done to him with me on a mere 2 life. A great performance from Cam, whilst being a truly satisfying victory. 1-0

Game 2 was against James with his Alliance Shaman. James was the only Alliance player on the day and had bagged a win over Wayne in the first round in a drawn out battle, nibbling at Wayne with burn whilst playing multiple equipments and abilities. I had seen the end of their game and was pleased that my deck was packing three copies of Sublimate. The game started in a similar fashion to my game against Cam with me taking a lot of early damage. But late game the effects of my discards and having had Kampar out for long periods paid dividends. I was able to establish a stronger board presence with regards to allies, whilst keeping his key equipment off the board by playing multiple copies of Munkin Blackfist. Eventually the numbers game was too much for James as he was playing the top deck, with me still not having blown my hero’s feat. 2-0

Game 3 saw me face off against Adrian and his Blood Elf Rogue. Despite Adrian being more experienced at WoW than me, he was probably the only person there with a smaller card pool available to him. I’d lent him a couple of equipment cards before the tournament. As per the earlier games I started slow, forcing discards and flipping quests face down, though on this occasion so did he. Alexi Barov proved to be the MVP though. He was unable to deal with the ferocious peasant tokens who were used as fodder to take out his allies over and over. The game wasn’t partuclarly close evn if he did get my life down to twelve. 3-0

All in all a very satisfactory day, three wins, maintaining my unbeaten start whilst at the same time giving me insight into what cards need to come out of the deck and what additions need to be made. I definitely want to get my hands on copies of meltface.

Three years passed, until Alun decided it was time to forge a career on his own. Wanting to start away from the stomping grounds of his parents, Alun headed Northeast to the more frontier areas of Luruar, where danger, even if not fame and fortune, was easier to find.

Alun is possessed of a somewhat heavier soul than the majority of Half-Elves, hardly surprising considering events of recent years. He makes strong friendships, though his trust is hard won. He is somewhat aggressive in combat with what tends to be a total disregard for his own personal safety, whilst ensuring the safety of those around him.