Spider’s Man: Darick Robertson, Artist and Co-Creator of Transmetropolitan

“Those that refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” says artist Darick Robertson, when asked about the longevity of Transmetropolitan, the politically-charged cyberpunk comic that he co-created with author Warren Ellis in the late 90s. “The humanistic themes Warren put beneath our sci-fi — rich versus poor, political corruption from the top down, and ‘truth shall set you free’ — are resonant.”

Transmetropolitan — and its tattooed protagonist Spider Jerusalem, along with his filthy assistants, and many other familiar faces from the series — returns later this month, about ten years after the original critically-acclaimed series ended, in the form of a one-off charity art book (for more about the book itself, read our interview with its general production manager Chunk Kelly). Darick, along with a whole host of artists, will be contributing new pieces.

“[These characters] never feel like they’re away from me,” he says. “I get requested to draw them so often and they live in my head, so it’s not that much of a reach. I do however, miss Warren Ellis’ scripts.”

Return To The City: Chunk Kelly, General Production Manager Of The Transmetropolitan Art Book

There’s very little that can be said about Transmetropolitan, the political cyberpunk comic from the late 90s starring heavily inked outlaw journalist Spider Jerusalem, that hasn’t already been said — and probably said better. The series, written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Darick Robertson, counts among its fans Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky, author Cory Doctorow and actor Patrick Stewart. It ended its run ten years ago, but is still gaining new followers, even today.

And now it’s back. “Susan [Auġér, Darick Robertson's "webelf"] came to me with the idea,” says Pirate Press’ Chunk Kelly, the general production manager behind the Transmetropolitan art book, a charity project that brings back characters from the wildly popular series to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a group that protects the First Amendment rights of comics and its community, and the HERO Initiative, an organisation that helps comic book veterans through financial aid.

Pussy Gets Inked

Yeah, that got your attention. No, I did not tattoo my genitalia. I did, however, get a tattoo — despite being just about one of the biggest wimps when it comes to needles ever, as well as a chronic over-thinker.

I’ve wanted to get inked for a while. Hell, don’t all angsty teenage girls want to get some sort of tattoo at some point? A butterfly or a fairy or a California license plate that’s all tribal and shit. I’ll confess — when I was 15, I wanted a triquetra on my left shoulder blade. Why? Because it was on frickin’ Charmed (Wednesdays, 8PM on Star World).

So this idea of a tattoo remained nascent in the back of my head, playing with other forms of teen rebellion –- like that one Slipknot track on my playlist which made me feel alternative and badass beyond measure, or the propensity of my pimply self to misquote Nietzsche. Thankfully, while stupid is forever, youth isn’t. With age comes slightly less tacky ideas for tattoos.