“Another Cold Morning”

March 29th, 2006 | Work

It has been brought to my attention that one chapter of my 1997-2002 serial TRANSMETROPOLITAN has been placed online. Since it’s one chapter out of sixty, and no-one’s trying to earn money off it, and I am lazy benign, I choose not to release the throatfucking hounds of hell upon the criminal Internets pirate responsible.

Instead, I offer it to you to read, and tell you that the story can be found in the collection TRANSMETROPOLITAN: LUST FOR LIFE, available from Amazon and all better comics stores and bookstores.

TRANSMETROPOLITAN #8, “Another Cold Morning”, by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson with Rodney Ramos, and Clem Robins & Nathan Eyring.

(And, yes, in doing this I’m well aware that I may blast the poor guy’s image hosting to bits. Ah, well.)

32 Responses to ““Another Cold Morning””

  1. Y’know Warren, I’ve bought almost all your stuff (complete Transmet, Ocean, all current projects) , but the full scans I’ve downloaded from an unnamed filesharing prog, let’s call them placeholders. I want the paper copy, but don’t have the paper to buy them all. So don’t get pissypoopants. I’ve turned about 5 people into Desolation Jones fans by having them download the first issue, which they eventually bought. As always, free information. Be glad you’re being heard and revel and roll in the cash you already have.
    And, how else am I going to read Lazurus Churchyard?

  2. You might have the hounds ask him to spell “Transmetropolitan” correctly.

  3. Hundred Handed One: you couldn’t see that I was kidding? Try to be a little less up yourself, just for me.

  4. I see all from the dark anus past the stars where I reside. It smells here.

    But seriously, I know you uphold the cyberpunk beliefs of Phillip K. and Gibson, the noosphere needs to be completed, and you’re a part of it, Bucko.

  5. Indeed, I’m envious. I wish someone thought well enough of _my_ work to pirate it this lovingly.

  6. They don’t make Lazurus Chuchyard anymore?
    I have a copy.
    I”m neato completeo.

  7. This is probably my favourite single issue of Transmet. The regret for the way that societies tend to throw their past onto the trashpile is beautifully put. It should probably be no surpise that the “Reservations” issue is my second favourite.

    Oh, and I’ve got a Lazarus Churchyard reprint somewhere too. I’d like to read the rest though.

  8. All I can think of “AM I NOT MERCIFUL!?” for some odd reason…
    Appreciate you linking this. I’m using it to get another friend addicted to your work.

  9. Yeah, there are pirated versions of your work EVERYWHERE these days.
    I usually download a comic before I buy it though, so in the end I figure its beneficial.

  10. Oh, I know. I’ve downloaded some of it myself.

  11. Comics are one of the few media that just flat-out do NOT work for me on the computer screen. You can never see the entire page all at once, or it’s shrunk down or compressed which fucks up the art. To save $2.50, it just ain’t worth it.

    Besides, my comic store is located next to my bar. Only a fool turns down an opportunity like that to save the price of half a pack of cigarettes.

  12. To Rob:
    Depends on what you read the comics in. There’s a program called CBR (Comic Book Reader, not to be confused with Comic Book Resource) which uses rarred image files. It displays scans really really well. Ebook versions I generally hate, as they are massive and blurry.

    And Warren – there is out there, in a comics hub I go to, a man that has every single comic EVER, listed by year. His share is a few TBs. Talk about digital preservation!!! There’s also people scanning old pulp novels, which I know you’re into.

  13. I remember picking up Transmet in a bookstore several years ago, and that very story is what got me buying up all the transmet I could find.

    Well, that and the occasional boobs. I was like fourteen at the time.

  14. For whatever reason, I never picked up a copy of Transmet before. Now I get tons of your stuff, Fell, Down, DJ, Planetary…

    But fuck. That’s a good read.

  15. This is probably one of my favorite single issues.

  16. To Hundred Handed One:

    I’ll give it a look, but for my money, there ain’t nothing like getting your pulls, wandering the store for new stuff, and taking the pile to the bar.

    That said, I would’ve killed for this in college. Course, I went to college in the early Image fifteen-variant cover / Superman’s Dead / Look Who’s A Clone! days, when I’d rather have sullied my bandwidth with Guatemalan Amputee Scat Porn.

  17. Transmet hooked me up with my boyfriend who I’ve been with off and on for 5 years now. The first time I read that story about Mary I cried.
    …Achually I think I do every time I read it.
    Thanks for making me feel so good everytime I re-read Transmet Warren.
    :)

  18. Even CBRs don’t do it for me. I must have a few gigs of them from various different places, but i’ve read fuck all of them. I’m kinda waiting for some apocalypse to break down the supply chain, so I have to read them. Either that, or a really long desert island holiday. Until then, every thursday is comics day!

  19. For some reason all my scans of Transmet seem to be more vividly coloured than the trades I own, sort of takes the fun out of reading the physical copies. Its probably just the colour saturation settings of my video card, but still, Robertson’s art really shines for some reason when you can see it on a good monitor.

    The scans on that site look like ass though.

  20. I think a testament to the power of that story is that I read through the whole thing online, even though I just purchased the TRANSMET trade containing it a couple of months ago and had already read it recently.

    One of the many things I liked about it as how it showed a side of Spider that we normally don’t see. Hard up as he is for pussy, he _could_ have taken advantage of her. Instead, he treated her with the utmost respect and tenderness.

  21. One thing guys, I’ve never downloaded an issue of Transmet. My friend and I got hooked on it, we both download comics, and like Ennis’ Preacher we refuse to read it in digital form, because they’re both soooo good. The scan Ellis posted is crap, too. Transmet just has some magic in it that cannot be electrickycombubalized.

  22. I don’t think I’ve ever downloaded a comic to read on my computer.
    I read the new “Finder” pages every week on lightspeedpress.com, and my growing list of web comics, and I think I might have an issue of “A Distant Soil” floating around here somewhere from WEF days. Everything else I’ve gone to the store and picked up, and I have a truly massive graphic novel collection here. I’d hate to give up the wednesday ritual, and I’m an old fart who likes to hold something in his hands when he reads.

  23. I like the idea that someone who posts work like this can be directly pulled up on it by the creator. No ‘fuck the greedy RIAA’ demon in this instance.

    As a fan of the comic, I wonder how the guy feels about posting the content now?

    How about at least posting some props/info links for the artist, the writer, the colourist? purchasing links? links to articles providing a context for the work.

  24. I download most of the comics I read (and buy), mostly because my local pusher gets them about a MONTH after the release date. And because I’m currently in France until the summer, where the access to non-dubbed comics is a bit limited.
    Thanks to CBR and the wonders of Direct Connect Plus Plus, I found out about Planetary, among others, which I usually would have stayed clear of thanks to another local pusher saying it was like the Authority. (Same with “Kev”, btw.)

  25. like many who’ve posted already, this was the first issue i read, and it totally hooked me. i’m going to try to hook some friends.
    (and that’s me on the fans page.)

  26. “Oh, I know. I’ve downloaded some of it myself.” is now my MSN name. Well played.

  27. I’ve bought all of TransMet, and lots of the other work that Warren has produced, and I’m always looking for more. It’s a real pity, as well as a crime that people post his work without permission. Hopefully, it wll inspire the people who view/download his pirated works to go out and buy a real copy.
    We have to pay Warren in order for him to continue writing stories that we love. It’s only right and proper.

  28. I think the most important part of this post is being overlooked: the coining of the term “throatfucking hounds of hell” as used to describe lawyers. Very appropriate.

  29. That reminds me…time to re-read Transmet.

  30. “Another Cold Morning” has been my favorite comic story since I first read it, and it is one of my favorite stories of any medium. I think Fullscan is doing humanity a great favor for putting it out there, Mr. Ellis is doing a favor by not unleashing the lawyers, and hopefully a whole lot of people will read it and see just what an amazing medium comics can be.

  31. Well, I didn’t download any pirated material, but my mate dumped the whole Transmet collection on my desk and said, ‘Read this you fucker, and then tell me you don’t dig comics.’

    Well, he made his point; I read the 10 vols he gave me in a little over 48 hours (I can’t imagine how any poor bugger could have read them in installments without going insane). All I can say is that ever since the selfish bastard had the audacity to ask for them all back I’ve sworn to buy every volume at some point in the future. Probably when I’m middleaged and divorced. But they will be mine. Oh yes, they will be mine. The whole thing’s a bloody masterpiece.

    (In later news, the cocky gobshite tried to lay ‘Preacher’ on me, but frankly I thought the story was standard and the artwork was crap.)

  32. [...] The entirety of Transmetropolitan #8 has been posted online, and has received Warren’s blessing…or at least Warren’s promise not to send filthy assistants to those responsible to implant live wolverines in th…. [...]

Not Even A Secret One

Kieron Gillen - 09 Feb 10

Complete Plan B Archive

Kieron Gillen - 09 Feb 10

The whole run of Plan B magazine has been released as a single 670Mb PDF. That’s 46 issues of some of the finest music writing of the decade. And a lot of posturing pretentiousness too. It’s like two of my favourite things for the price of one. Or none, as it’s a free PDF.

If you’ve any interest in music in the 00s, or music full stop, this is a great thing to just have on file. You’ll discover a new band every time you browse it.

Hell, it’s even worth getting if you’re one of the games journalist sorts. For the first 10-20 issues or so, I was doing games stuff for it. And Quinns and Mathew Kumar too, who I bullied into contributing. Very much written for the non-gamer about games which get pretty much no coverage, we had fun trying to decode the concept of Outsider Games.

Whole thing here. Go gets!

Coilhouse is Hiring! Apply Here.

Coilhouse - 08 Feb 10

Back around the time of Issue 03, we launched the Small Business Advertising Program to create affordable ad space for indie companies in the print version of Coilhouse. By the time Issue 04 rolled around, the number of advertisers had grown significantly – by this time, we had record labels, jewelry and clothing designers, sculptors, other magazines, web hosts, toy makers and graphic designers advertising in our pages. Click here to see them all. With editorial duties taking up more and more of our time as the weeks go by, the moment has come for us to seek help with the advertising side of running the magazine. We’re looking to hire an Ad Manager for our Small Business Advertising Program, starting with Coilhouse Magazine #05… and possibly subsequent issues.

Full details after the jump!


Read the rest of Coilhouse is Hiring! Apply Here.


Post tags: Coilhouse

Untitled Post

blissblog - 08 Feb 10

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blissblog - 08 Feb 10

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blissblog - 08 Feb 10

State of South Carolina Secretary of State Subversive Agent Form

jwz - 08 Feb 10

Check the appropriate box. Do you or your organization directly or indirectly advocate, advise, teach or practice the duty or necessity of controlling, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States, the state of South Carolina or any political division thereof?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

If yes, please outline the fundamental beliefs. If applicable, attach a copy of the bylaws or minutes of meetings from the last year.

"Inflection Points" Presentation

Open The Future - 08 Feb 10

For those folks who are interested, here's the Slideshare version of the presentation I gave last week at the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute annual meeting. I was asked to talk about foresight thinking, as the event theme was "The Big One of 2056: What Went Right?" a look at a fictional 7.8 quake in the SF region that was handled as well as they could imagine possible.

My goal was to offer a bit of reassurance to the audience that there is some real utility to thinking about the future, and to spell out (in a cursory way) the kinds of big picture issues they should keep in mind while looking ahead forty-six years.

By and large, it was a successful talk. The post-talk questions were engaged, with little push-back, and I'm told that the overall response from the audience was quite positive.

The talk was video recorded, and I'm told will eventually be available to the public. I'll link when that happens.

CAN GIFTING ECONOMIES SCALE?

John Robb - 08 Feb 10

A gifting economy is different from a barter or market economy in that valuable items are given away to those that need them, without any quid pro quo, exchange, or payment.  Gifting economics (lots of great papers on this topic) were/are the economic heartbeat of hunter-gatherer tribal cultures, the social organization where we spent 99% of our time as homo sapiens sapiens.  Barter was, in contrast, a mechanism for economic interactions between tribes.  

This gifting economic system wasn't based on pure altruism.  It did have an enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with the system over the longer term.  On the positive side, there was an intangible increase in the social status (using personal or societal metrics) of a tribal member that gifted an item.  On the negative, a failure to offer hospitality or gifts to those in need was considered a mortal slight that could incite violence or expulsion from the tribe.

There were also a considerable number of drivers for gifting at the tribal level.  Here are some:

  • The survival of the tribe, as a group, was more important than the survival of any individual.  However, the loss of any individual could put the tribe at risk.
  • The generation of surplus and innovation was highly uncertain.  Sharing reduced that uncertainty to manageable levels.
  • Sharing reduced internal friction that could put the tribe at risk.

Scalability

It's pretty clear that the societal drivers of tribal gifting economics and the mechanisms of enforcement didn't survive the transition to a global social system composed of billions of members.   Simply, the connections between any two individuals (outside of immediate familial relationships) are too abstract for these drivers and enforcement mechanisms to be relevant.   As a result, market based mechanisms for economic interaction have gained dominance.

However, the ongoing shift of the global market-based economy from a trade in rival goods (tangible items that invoke zero sum economics) to digital non-rival goods (items that can be copied at no expense or diminishment, endlessly) provides a window of opportunity.  It may be possible to revive gifting economics for non-rival goods to amazing beneficial effect.   Some ideas on how this could scale:

  • Automated reputation metrics that enhance social status based on contributions.
  • Mechanisms built using MMO gaming as a way to tie successful gifting to status improvement (leveling) or an ability to attract investment.
  • The creation of an inside/outside barrier that separates a gifting economy from the global economic mainstream.   Automated mutual interdependence (see my friend Bruce Sterling's absolutely brilliant story on this:  "Maneki Neko").

Latest on SNOW

Jean Snow - 08 Feb 10

Latest on SNOW

So what’s the latest on SNOW? I guess two new developments art that I added a dedicated Twitter feed, and also created a Facebook fan page. The Twitter feed is mostly just automated with new articles from the site — because some people actually prefer that over RSS feeds these days — but I do keep an eye on it, and will reply to questions and comments. The Facebook page is just another way of putting the site out there, and should be a good way of informing members of SNOW-related events as they happen.

Regular content updates have also continued over the past week, with a few new guest columns and my regular news items. Here’s a list of what you may have missed over the past few days.