12. SPIDER JERUSALEM (Transmetropolitan)

Like Preacher, Transmetropolitan had a short life – but for 60 brilliant, dazzlingly inventive issues, writer Warren Ellis and artist Darick Robertson brought their A-game. And the creation of Spider Jerusalem, gonzo journalist, imbiber of enough drugs to floor a struggling musician, and seeker of truth, was at the centre of it all. A foul-mouthed tribute to, most obviously, Hunter S. Thompson, Jerusalem is known as the God-King of journalists, who devotes his life to delivering the truth to his readers (one article simply repeated the word "fuck" 8000 times - we have to try that sometime), no matter how unpalatable it may be for the establishment (which, incidentally, he's trying to bring down). Not averse to taking the odd life in his quest (mostly in self-defence), Spider is a true one-off, a character so fearless and vibrant and nonchalantly cool that Patrick Stewart is his biggest fan. And if that's not a recommendation, we don't know what is.

Trademarks: Virtually hairless (after an encounter with a faulty shower), foul-mouthed and dogged about rooting out the truth. He's festooned with tattoos, including – yes! – a spider and wears red-and-green spectacles.

On Screen: Much to his publicly expressed chagrin, Patrick Stewart is too old to play Spider in anything other than an animated flick. Our vote? Colin Farrell's got the right edge of mania and earnestness. We can just see his mad eyes twinkling behind a pair of glasses, one lens green and rectangular, the other red and round...

Did You Know?: Spider's middle names are Django Heraclitus. Nice.

Buy Transmetropolitan Book One now on Amazon