Comics have been quietly doing politics for decades. Loudly and brightly satirising political elites can’t of course be considered quiet, but somehow the political voice of comics, long available to all, has been overlooked by mainstream culture. In the 80s and 90s, 2000AD and Judge Dredd took Thatcherism to task and Alan Moore’s Watchmen smuggled blatant anti-capitalism into superhero comics.

The 90s comic-book series that nailed the 2016 US presidential election, Transmetropolitan, is set two centuries in the future – but its speculations took only two decades to come true. Published in 1997 – just as the radical energy in comics began to dissipate, and when the internet and the growing attentions of Hollywood tempted away then-small creators to more prestigious, better-paid gigs – writer Warren Ellis and illustrator Darick Robertson’s story was an example of pure, radical energy, more overt than any other comic of its day.

Almost 20 years later, amid the primaries of the most absurd, brutal and pivotal US presidential election in recent history, Transmetropolitian has only grown more prescient, and a story set two centuries in the future seems in many ways to be coming true already.

Get ready to have your stomach turned by the picture of our political life Transmetropolitan offers. Spider Jerusalem is the antihero: a shaven-headed, heavily inked journalist who spends much of the story wearing only pants (he’s not an easy character to forget). Jerusalem is something of a homage to Hunter S Thompson, but also a portrait of his creator Warren Ellis – a political activist who can’t resist calling out the powers that be on their brands of bullshit.

Today, we don’t have a Spider Jerusalem working for a major newspaper: we have an army of them causing trouble on social media. Criticised by writers and celebrities for its “mob mentality”, Twitter has taken on journalism’s job of speaking truth to power, precisely because it gives free rein to exactly the kind of passionate outrage shown by Spider Jerusalem. Those wanting it restrained should be very careful what they wish for.

Jerusalem is pitched against two major political opponents through Transmetropolitan’s 60-issue run. The Beast is the sitting president as the narrative opens, a physically imposing bully and “strongman” leader who appeals to the authoritarian streak in those he rules over. The Beast represents the very worst aspects of modern political life – and embodies all the horrifying ignorance visible in Donald Trump.

He’s not the only enemy awaiting Spider Jerusalem: Gary Callahan, aka The Smiler (as Jerusalem calls him) is clearly modelled on Tony Blair during his rise to power. Callahan is at first presented as a liberal alternative to the Beast, but piece by piece Jerusalem’s investigations reveal a far more sinister character who will stop at nothing to gain power while keeping up a perfect public image.

The Smiler is all of our worst fears about our political elite; even when they represent policies we disagree with, we hope they at least operate with conviction. But when we look at the state of political funding – particularly in the US, with the vast sums paid by banks and corporations to political leaders – that can seem hard to believe. There are politicians, like Bernie Sanders, who appeal because their policies feel born from genuine passion (however unrealistic), while others, such as Hillary Clinton, appear to coverits absence behind relentless smiles.

But the real antagonist of Transmetropolitan is the City itself: a nameless cyberpunk sprawl, with ubiquitous screens looping its vast population into a 24-hour rolling news cycle, in exactly the way that today’s smartphones and social media make a distant election a personalised drama.

Spider Jerusalem lives in a love-hate relationship with the people of the city. As their voice of protest, his life is dedicated (in a rather slipshod manner) to liberating the people from corruption and exploitation. Jerusalem is a rebel Jesus, a swearing Mohammed, a punk Buddha, coming down from his mountain to lead the people to enlightenment.

But like all saviours, Spider Jerusalem is defeated not by the powerful, but by the people themselves. If the people would lead themselves, they wouldn’t need the Beast or the Smiler – but all the people want is to hand responsibility to somebody else, so they can carry on losing themselves in drugs, sex and video games. What Transmetropolitan captures best about modern politics is, when it comes to politicians, we the people get what we deserve.