Dave's Transformers - Comics: G1

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Dave's Transformers Page

Transformers Comics

IDW's TF: Generation One comics reviews.

Last Updated 4/13/08
Focus on Decepticons added.

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Transformers Megatron Origin: I considered putting this in the War Within page, because it does the same sort of thing (deep background for the setting), but for now it'll go with the rest of the IDW G1 books. If we get more Origins series, I might make a page for them. Anyway, this series purports to look at how Megatron became what he is. Written by long-time TF fan Eric Holmes, drawn by Alex Milne, and colored horribly by several people.

Transformers Megatron Origin #1 (of 4): IDW - Long time fan Eric Holmes writes, Alex Milne draws, Josh Perez and Zac Atkinson murk it up. Okay, the point is to show the oppressive, dark environs of first the mining colony and then Kaon, but a combination of smaller panels (normally welcome because it means the story's not being as decompressed) and chaotic layouts make the excessive darkness in inking and coloring a Bad Idea. Half the time, looking at Megatron, I'm not even sure it's him, a bad thing given that this is supposed to be his origin story. One also suspects the story is how Megatron remembers it, not necessarily how things happened, what with the excessively corrupt Autobots and so forth. Promising, but too hampered by confusing storytelling. Mildly recommended. (I got Cover A) $3.99
- "The Dukes Of Hazardstripes" Award to Transformers Megatron Origin #1 (of 4)
Transformers: Megatron Origin #2 (of 4): IDW - Cy-Kill dies another death in the opening scene. Poor guy. Anyway, the story skips ahead a bit, and is slightly easier to follow. The art is still murky and the flow iffy, but both Milne and Matere (each has about half the issue) do an acceptable if not great job. The corruption of the Autobots is expanded on this issue as well, and made a little more palatable, IMO. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Gordon Geckobot" Award to Transformers: Megatron Origin #2 (of 4)
Transformers Megatron Origin #3 (of 4): IDW - The Decepticon rebellion gets into full gear, and more familiar faces show up, if not always on the side you might expect. The art is still kinda murky, but not as bad as previous issues, and Holmes seems to have either gotten better at giving stage directions, or Milne has gotten better at anticipating what's needed. Recommended. $3.99
- "Buy Name Brand" Award to Transformers Megatron Origin #3 (of 4)
Transformers Megatron Origin #4 (of 4): IDW - Okay, we're back to art from Milne that conceals as much as it reveals, abetted in the former by overly saturated colors and a failure to clearly separate foreground and background. As far as I can tell from the story, it's a decent wrapup of the origins of the Decepticons as an outgrowth of Autobot decadence and corruption, and Holmes does successfully play a bit with our expectations (i.e. "Starscream is treacherous", when at this point in his development he's not necessarily the same person he would later be known as). I suspect that Holmes has already looked at the completed series and found a dozen ways he could have done things better, hopefully he'll implement these ideas in his next story. Mildly recommended. $3.99 (I got the A cover by Milne, although it wasn't a lot more interesting than the B cover.)
- "Who Was That Slimy Businessman Again?" Award to Transformers Megatron Origin #4 (of 4)

Transformers Infiltration: A totally new G1 continuity (as opposed to the Dreamwave G1, which kinda linked into the original storyline). The preview issue and initial miniseries are written by Furman and drawn by E.J. Su (whose work I first saw on the late, lamented Techjacket). The series itself is six issues, and it looks like the neo-G1 stuff will come out in six issue chunks from here on.

Transformers Infiltration #0: IDW - Okay, I got all four covers (at 99 cents an issue, why not?), so I'll start with them (no, my store didn't buy the huge number of issues needed to get the incentive covers). Series artist E.J. Su did two covers, an Autobot one and a Decepticon one. The Autobot cover has the theme "white vehicle Autobots" as Jazz, Wheeljack, Prowl and Ratchet are clumped together as if starting to move towards an enemy. It's pretty good, although they don't seem to all be in the same scene. The Decepticon cover has Astrotrain and Blitzwing towering over Starscream and Runabout in a "let's all look cool for the portrait" set of poses. Looks kinda bland. James Raiz has a cover dominated by Megatron towering over a horde of fleeing humans as Soundwave and Starscream hang around in the background. The people have a somewhat 80s Marvel New Universe look to them. Finally, "Milk" has Optimus Prime grinding Megatron's head into the dirt. Lots of subtle wrongness about this cover, from Prime's proportions to Megatron's teeth. If you only pick up one cover, I'd recommend either Su's Autobots or Raiz's Megatron. Anyhoo, on to the stuff inside. The inside front cover has the creator credits and a sort of fighting game headshot roll call in which the heads of characters not appearing this issue are black silhouettes. The story focuses on a pair of humans (with one more human waiting to show up in #1, we're told) who get involved with the secret war between Autobot and Decepticon. In the interview at the end of the issue, Furman says that he wants to use outsiders to introduce things, and the squishies this time out are definitely outsiders. This is also clearly a clean slate reboot, a "what if they went active in the past few years, not 20+ years ago" restart. One nice touch is that mechatopia.com, a website one of the squishies frequents (or maintains) exists in real life as a companion to the series. The disguise factor is being taken seriously here, as it was in early Marvel G1 comics. A promising beginning. Recommended. 99 cents
- "We Were Somewhere Around Barstow On The Edge Of The Desert When The Giant Robots Began To Take Hold" Award to Transformers Infiltration #0
Transformers Infiltration #1: IDW - If I had to sum this up in one word, it'd be "coy". Robot modes only barely show up before the final page (if you discount the cover, of course), and while there's hints that aspects of previous continuities exist in this version, it's all hidden behind layers of X-Files-ish obfuscation. On the other hand, Furman does handle the resulting "open mystery" pretty well, and the squishies are...not horrid. They may never really grow on me, but that don't immediately repulse me either. Su's art is decent, but one aspect bothers me: the faction symbols were clearly tacked on during coloring, pasted in over the final colors in monochrome. Not only do they stick out like sore thumbs, they are also not always angled correctly to appear to be on the surface. My suspicion is that Su took the "secret infiltrators" thing seriously and deliberately left off the symbols, but editorial added them in later either because Hasbro insisted or because some dip thought it would be a good idea to slap cheesy faction symbols on (and they don't always appear, so it's cheesy AND slipshod). There's a three page preview of the Beast Wars comic, which gives away less than the online preview I've seen. The lettercol is amusing. Recommended despite the flaws, though. $2.99
- "Decepticons Shop At Reprolabels' Discount Bin" Award to Transformers Infiltration #1
Transformers: Infiltration #2: IDW - In case this one gets published in the lettercol like my review of #0 did, I should state here that this is part of a review column. :) That aside, this issue continues the Marvel comic tradition that Ratchet may be a medic, but he's a COMBAT medic. He's sneaky, has a good tactical sense, and packs just enough punch to give his plans a chance to work. His internal narration is a bit purple, though. The photoshopped in faction symbols are still awkward and look like they were put on at the last minute by the editor rather than being any result of E.J. Su's efforts. Speaking of Su's art, it continues to have a raw feel to it that reminds me of Neal Adams's stuff without actually LOOKING like Adams's art, if that makes any sense. It's especially strong on the scenery and the vehicles, throttling back a lot on the humans and robots. If Raiz's cover to #0 had an 80s New U feel to it, I think Su's interiors almost feel like 70s black and white explosion. There's also a two page inked preview of #3 (which is mostly robots, so I can't tell if the 70s feel I'm getting off the finished art is all Su, or is partly colorist Rauch), and three more pages of the upcoming Beast Wars comic. Figueroa's organics are perhaps a touch too organic for my taste (in my mind's eye, the more plasticky CG look of the BW cartoon is 'correct'), but I like how he included the manga-version's tendency for beast heads to sometimes have minds of their own (i.e. Seasaurus looks around from Magmatron's shoulder). And in case anyone's curious, I got cover C. If you're gonna be 70s retro, go all the way and have speech bubbles on a cover, dude. Recommended. $2.99
- "Starscream's Been To Spencer Gifts" Award to Transformers: Infiltration #2
Transformers: Infiltration #3: IDW - There's basically two plots running through this issue. In the A plot, Ratchet deals with the consequences of involving humans in the Autobot/Decepticon war, and it's a lot of talking in boxes. Some intriguing ideas for setup, but definitely on the dry side. As if to try to balance that out, the B plot mainly involves Decepticons running around blowing stuff up for reasons that become apparent as they continue to boomify things. As I pointed out a while back in a review of Iron Man, a mix of all talk and all boom may seem balanced in theory, it doesn't always work. It sort of works here, but not as well as I think Furman hoped. Also, the art from Su continues to be good except for the blatantly pasted in Autobot and Decepticon symbols that really grate on my aesthetic sensibilities. Got the B cover, as it was the one stuck in my pull and the A cover didn't make it out onto the shelf. Somewhere between mildly recommended and recommended. $2.99
- "What Does Bumblebee's Holoavatar Say About Him?" Award to Transformers: Infiltration #3
Transformers Infiltration #4: IDW - Got cover C, with Bumblebee carrying the gun that's almost bigger than he is. A lot of emphasis on the squishies this issue, but Bumblebee gets a chance to shine...the cover isn't totally inappropriate. The Hasbro-mandated cut and paste faction symbols are a bit beter integrated this issue, although they're a bit inconsistent from page to page. Mildly recommended. $2.99
- "Big Where It Counts" Award to Transformers Infiltration #4
Transformers Infiltration #5 (of 6): IDW - Well, most of the mysteries are explained in this issue and the stakes are raised. Several things make it clear that we're not in the old G1 continuity (any of them, really) anymore, especially the way the issue 4 cliffhanger resolved. :) Good art, good story. Got cover C (Wildman). Recommended. $2.99
- "Power Surge" Award to Transformers: Infiltration #5 (of 6)
Transformers Infiltration #6 (of 6): IDW - The series takes something of a left turn here, with the protagonists of #1-5 becoming at best spectators and at worst refugees. It's a good conflict, mind you, and it clearly sets up the change of the status quo...it just feels a little like this could have been done as #2 or #3, not #6. On the plus side, it looks like they finally got permission to draw the faction symbols instead of pasting them in. Recommended despite some qualms. (Got the Guidi cover, and it seems most apt for the actual story.) $2.99
- "What About The Giant Mutant Jellyfish?" Award to Transformers: Infiltration #6 (of 6)

Transformers Stormbringer: Set on Cybertron at about the same time as Infiltration, plus flashbacks to the distant past, this book is promoted as "robots only".

Transformers Stormbringer Ashcan: IDW - I've already seen all these pages online, but my store pulled it for me today, so I'll comment now rather than waiting for #1 to come out. This is the first 11 pages of Stormbringer #1, the second IDW series set in their G1 continuity (and has at least one page making it clear the non-flashback events of the book take place at the same time as Infiltration). Furman's building a new backstory here, fleshing out some of the implications made in Infiltration, and setting up a mysterious cosmic-level threat that HOPEFULLY won't be Unicron again. :) Figueroa's art is good as usual, although the ashcan size makes it a little busier.
- "Global Warming Got Nothing On This" Award to Transformers: Stormbringer Ashcan
Transformers Stormbringer #1 (of 4): IDW - The Neo-G1 storyline shifts to Cybertron's ruins, showing that maybe the Ark crash-landing on Earth in the original G1 storyline was a Good Thing for the rest of Cybertron. Furman is at his most portentous here, setting up a new Big Cosmic Threat who isn't Unicron. Figueroa's art is as good as usual, although some of the layouts are deliberately muddled. Mildly recommended on its own merits, although it could end up looking better in retrospect. Also has a very long preview of Hearts of Steel #1. I got cover A. $2.99.
- "But Does He Have The Matrix?" Award to Transformers: Stormbringer #1 (of 4)
Transformers Stormbringer #2 (of 4): IDW - Sometimes part two of four slows down the action to explain what's going on. Sometimes it just throws out a big pile of partial information and red herrings. This is definitely the latter case. A little bit of everything is revealed, but not quite enough of anything, making it a "written for the trade" sort of story. Lots of nice Figueroa redesigns, though, including what I think is a canonical appearance of one of his old Macromaster designs. Mildly recommended. $2.99.
- "Has Anyone Seen My Chin?" Award to Transformers Stormbringer #2 (of 4)
Transformers Stormbringer #3 (of 4): IDW - Given all the frenetic action, very little actually HAPPENS in this issue, and the few interesting things that do happen, occur mostly off-stage...we'll see it about to happen, then later we see the aftermath, but not the actual event. Meanwhile, lots of fight scenes that go nowhere and could have been left off-stage without loss. Not one of Furman's better storytelling efforts. About the only good thing about the issue is seeing Don Figueroa's redesigns. Mildly recommended pretty much just for that. $2.99
- "Losing Face" Award to Transformers Stormbringer #3 (of 4)
Transformers Stormbringer #4 (of 4): IDW - Heh, I got the poster with the cover of this issue before I actually got this issue. There's a fair amount of flash-bang and a ticking timer of doom, but the actual resolution of the conflict takes place in a badly-laid out and anticlimactic series of slim horizontal panels that focus on Thunderwing's foot. I think. Plot- wise, this really shouldn't have been a miniseries. They should have just run an unlimited series for NeoG1 and made this an arc, because it really doesn't resolve satisfyingly as a series, but would have worked better as issues #7-10 of "Transformers". Mildly recommended. $2.99 [Later note: if you look at the barcode on the back cover, above it is a "10" in a little shield. So they do kinda recognize it's really #10.]
- "Seriously, A Closeup Of The Foot? Gah!" Award to Transformers: Stormbringer #4 (of 4)

Transformers Spotlight: A series of one-shots focusing on characters who will figure in later series, but who didn't show up in Infiltration. Not sure if this is a limited or unlimited series, and half the time they don't even show the issue numbers.

Transformers Spotlight #1 (Shockwave): IDW - It opens a little too infodumpy, but picks up nicely after that. The story takes the nub of the Dinobot origin from Marvel G1 #8 and fleshes it out to fit into the new Furmanverse, linking War Within to the neo-G1 storyline. I'll admit that the rampant interlinking and referencing in this story appeals to my own views of the TF mythos, but I think that this story will work well even for fairly new readers. Recommended. $3.99 (Yeah, the price breaks on TF books are over, we're up to IDW's standard pricepoint.)
- "Truly It Is A Savage Land" Award to Transformers Spotlight Shockwave #1
Transformers Spotlight #2 (Nightbeat): IDW - A month late, but thanks to #3 also being late, at least I don't get them out of order. :/ Great to see M.D. "Doc" Bright back on Transformers, and his first actual issue (he did the cover to the original G1 #5) to boot. Either he resisted the temptation to toss easter eggs into the high-density techy background though, or they were simply too obscure for me. While not the best I've seen from him, nor the best TF art out there, it's quite good. The story is a little disappointing, in that it's all beginning and no ending, instead being mainly there to set up another Cosmic Mystery and long term plot regarding the True Origins of Cybertron or something like that. Now, maybe all of these Spotlight issues are really meant to tell one big story, simply with a rotating star, but right now it just feels like Furman's tossing out threads to pick up eventually. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "An Angle On An Ark Sign" Award to Transformers Spotlight #2
- "That's INDIGENOUS, Simon, Not INDIGENT" Bonus Award to Transformers Spotlight #2
Transformers Spotlight #3 (Hot Rod): IDW - There's one disad to being a major TF fan when reading a story like this one, and that's the transparency of the plot. As soon as a particular character appeared, it was obvious (at least in broad strokes) where things were going, and what the character's name was going to be changed to by the end of the issue. Still, a fun little one-shot story, with very good art by Nick Roche. Recommended. $3.99 (I got Cover A by Roche)
- "Clouded Perceptions" Award to Transformers Spotlight #3
Transformers Spotlight #4 (Sixshot): IDW - Again, cover B. Art by Ruffalo, but it's not as bad as his usual stuff. Of the Spotlight issues, this one seems the least tied-into an overall plot...whether the threat of this issue is meant to dovetail into the uberplot later, or if Furman just wanted to take a break and do a character sketch, it's too early to say. Recommended. $3.99
- "Peace Or Else" Award to Transformers Spotlight #4 (Sixshot)
Transformers Spotlight #5 (Ultra Magnus): IDW - The #5 is an extrapolation, they're back to not having issue numbers anywhere on it. Makes it hard to order when sometimes they're listed under number and sometimes just under character. Anyway, this story makes Ultra Magnus out to be a sort of freelance peacekeeper, yes? Well, more like a circuit-riding marshal. And depending on whether Furman means years or days when he says "Stellar cycles" on the last page, this is either current events or background worldbuilding. Robby Musso's art is pretty good, if a bit on the Dreamwave-bulky side. There's a preview for a new Star Trek TNG comic, but no creator credits, and the art looks like a bad cel filter on photos. Recommended. (I got cover A.) $3.99
- "Mixed Marriages Never Work" Award to Transformers Spotlight #5
Transformers Spotlight #6 (Soundwave): IDW - Forgot to check variants on this one, got cover B because that was what was in my pull. I like it better anyway. Befitting Soundwave's role as observer in the shadows, this fills in some backstory in the IDW-verse from his POV. Not quite the loyal aide seen in the cartoon, but neither purely the opportunistic schemer of his techspecs, Soundwave even finds himself in a more heroic role here. All in all, a good fleshing out of a character who so often is thought of as a cipher in Megatron's shadow. Recommended. $3.99
- "He Who Hesitates Is Lost" Award to Transformers Spotlight: Soundwave
Transformers Spotlight #7 (Kup): IDW - Roche writes and draws this one, and he does a good job of modifying his art style for the horror-esque parts of the story. While not explicitly Mythos, it does feel like a "Lovecraft does Transformers" tale. Recommended. $3.99
- "Ia Ia Unicron Ftaghn" Award to Transformers Spotlight #7 (Kup)
Transformers Spotlight #8 (Galvatron): IDW - I got cover B, by Milne. Both were good, though. Set shortly after Escalation #6, this provides a brand new origin for Galvatron that does NOT involve him being an alteration of Megatron. Major points for just that. :) It also has a whole bunch of Cybertronian mode Autobots, AND several pages of Guidi designs so we can clearly ID who's who and what their modes are (in the event they don't transform in the story). There's still plenty of vague spots left open, but that's because it ties into the whole mystery plot Furman's been weaving around several of the stories in Spotlight (notably Nightbeat's issue). The actual story has some weaknesses, largely due to the too-coy nature of some of the storytelling, but nothing fatal. Recommended. $3.99
- "Unissons?" Award to Transformers Spotlight #8 (Galvatron)
Transformers Spotlight #9 (Optimus Prime): IDW - A number of familiar names show up here, with new backstories. This is only nominally Prime's spotlight, though...he's practically an observer for much of it, and the listener to someone else's tale for other bits. His main contribution is to angst about it all. The main purpose of the tale seems to be establishing that the great Autobot leaders of the mythical past weren't necessarily all that pure and noble, something that Megatron: Origin is doing with what amounts to the bronze age of Cybertron. Furman seems dedicated to showing that Optimus Prime really is the best, most noble leader that the Autobots have ever had, regardless of what Optimus himself may have thought. The backup story is a preview chunk for Devastation (hmmmm, given one of the plot devices in this Spotlight, I wonder what character might be appearing at the climax of the next main-story arc?). There's also a couple of sketchbook pages from Figueroa, showing some of his Prime designs. Nova Prime is sort of like Hero Prime in the cab and Laser Prime in the trailer, made all organic and rounded. Mildly recommended. $3.99 (I got Cover B by Rodriguez)
- "Arms (And Legs And Torsos) Race" Award to Transformers Spotlight #9
Transformers Spotlight #10 (Ramjet): IDW - Got the Musso cover (A). This one'll be pretty easy to slot into the timeline project, since it happens parallel to the Brasnya fight sequence (and it also marks one of the more obvious non-deep-flashback Spotlights to not roughly parallel the current issues of the main G1 series). It's also got a veiled reference to New Avengers/Transformers, cute (and yes, I'm sure that's what it is, Stuart Moore wrote both this Spotlight and that miniseries). Anyway, Ramjet's mainly here as a representative of type, the sort of ambitious Decepticon that Megatron has to keep his eyes on but doesn't keep close as he does Starscream. I love the Emcees, I hope we get more of them in future stories. And I may kitbash myself one. :) Recommended. $3.99
- "Nanomasters!" Award to Transformers Spotlight #10
Transformers Spotlight #11 (Blaster): IDW - They're throttling back, the only alternate cover this time was a retailer incentive. Kinda narration- heavy, and the plot is a fairly basic "who tried to kill me?" mystery, but taken as a spotlight story, it does the job admirably. It establishes who Blaster is, both his public face and his inner self, and why he's important. The art by Santalucia is good, and he manages to capture Silverbolt's creepy lips exactly. :) Recommended. $3.99
- "No, Everyone Wants To Shoot At Talk Radio" Award to Transformers Spotlight #11 (Blaster)
Transformers Spotlight #12 (Arcee): IDW - The Monstructor plot threads get picked up again, and while Arcee is the title spotlight, Fortress Maximus is as much in the focus as she is. Furman sets up a contrast of cold justice and hot vengeance, although the "Arcee as psycho bitch" characterization doesn't exactly thrill me. At least Furman provides sufficient motivation for it here. Milne's art gets pretty busy in places, although most of the bits that are hard to follow are supposed to be. There's still too much love for harsh lighting contrast by the coloring team, though. Anyway, warm up the MSTing circuits, Grimlock's getting the Spotlight next month. ;) Mildly recommended. $3.99 (I got Cover A)
- "The Fangs Are A Bit Much" Award to Transformers Spotlight #12 (Arcee)
Transformers Spotlight #13 (Mirage): IDW - It's labeled "Cover A" but there doesn't seem to be a "Cover B", heh. Writer George Strayton plays with a variation of the "butterfly who dreams he's a man" conceit, while also setting it up so you can't be sure if it's a dream or interdimensional resonance of some sort. To some extent, this is more of a Punch/Counterpunch story, but it works reasonably well for Mirage too. Guidi's art is sometimes a bit rough in the story flow department, but otherwise good. Recommended. $3.99
- "It's Either Real Or It's A Dream There's Nothing That Is In Between, Twilight" Award to Transformers Spotlight #13 (Mirage)

Transformers Escalation: Phase 2 of the earthbound neo-G1 storyline. Furman and Su still on the creative chores. Picks up the overall number of the series at #11.

Transformers Escalation #1 (Transformers #11): IDW - INDIGENOUS, GAH. That's twice now Furman has referred to the "indigent species" of a planet. If you're gonna get fancy and use something other than "native", *please* look up the word you're using. I suppose I should be grateful he didn't try to use "autochthonous species," goodness knows what would have actually hit the page. Granted, this could be the fault of the editors "fixing" Furman's correct usage. Of course, given that a map shows the city of "St. Luis" on page 12, I'm not really expecting much from the editors. While I'm nitpicking, while the exit 31 of I-94 shown on the cover is indeed on the Lake Michigan shore, I'm pretty sure there's no buttes or cacti in that vicinity (as seen on several pages). At least they seem to have picked a fictional town (Lebanon MI does not exist as far as I can find, unless it's a two-house unincorporated thing), so they can't get its details wrong. :) Okay, having vented about the details the editors should have caught, the actual plot/story/art is good. Recommended. $3.99 (I got cover A, of Sunstreaker) [Later note: there is a Lebanon township in Michigan, but it's north of Lansing and not on I-94.]
- "Shell Games" Award to Transformers Escalation #1 (Transformers #11)
Transformers Escalation #2 (TF #12): IDW - I got cover B, I liked the design better. Heh, the UPC/price bit is a sticker, looks like someone goofed on layout for the cover (or it was planned for a retailer exclusive initially). Cute easter egg on the last page of story. The cliffhanger of #1 resolves about how I think most people expected it would, and we get a bit more worldbuilding regarding Decepticon strategy. Recommended. $3.99 [Later note: cover A had the sticker too. Hm.]
- "SLEIGHT of Hand, Guys" Award to Transformers Escalation #2 (of 6)
Transformers Escalation #3 (TF #13): IDW - We get a bit more into the relationship between the Decepticons and their human-like "facsimiles" as Megatron uses one to enact his escalation plans. It is nice to see Decepticons using intelligent strategies and tactics, although we have yet to see how those directly impact inter-Transformer combat. Yeah, it's a bit slow in getting going, but it does seem like things will finally get booming next issue. Recommended. I got cover A. $3.99
- "Just The Fax, Ma'am" Award to Transformers Escalation #3 (of 6)
Transformers Escalation #4 (of 6 - TF #14): IDW - Got cover B. A fair amount of cliffhanger cheating in the old movie serial style, but it works, if a bit anticlimactically. A good point is made about why previous issues have been about small scale conflicts, without being rammed home too blatantly. Namely, if you use a wide variety of disguising altmodes for tactical flexibility, it also means that when you get too many of your forces together at once the result is...odd. The human B-plot is a bit on the padded side, and the TF A-plot has a couple of idiot moments, but it's generally good. There's also a short preview of the delayed TF movie prequel comic (which I hear leaked out a few places, despite publisher requests that the misprinted few that did ship not be sold). Recommended. $3.99
- "Fort Wayne? Surely A Coincidence" Award to Transformers Escalation #4
Transformers Escalation #5 (of 6 - TF #15): IDW - I got cover B, but neither really thrilled me. All the plots get moved forward at least some, but the main focus of this issue is the brawl between Megatron and Optimus Prime, as suggested by both cover versions. Nice to see some of the humans behaving intelligently. The dialogue is a bit too peppered with Furmanistic grunts, though, it's getting a tad, hnnn, cliche. :) Recommended. $3.99
- "A Talky Power-Drunk" Award to Transformers Escalation #5 (of 6)
Transformers Escalation #6 (of 6 - TF #16): IDW - The day is saved by characters pulling out new abilities they hadn't displayed before, kinda cheaty. Some of the Spotlight stories come into play, and more mystic mumbo jumbo worldbuilding happens. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "And I Will Hug Him And Squeeze Him And Call Him George" Award to Transformers Escalation #6 (of 6)

Transformers Devastation: Furman and Su continue the "main thread" of the neo-G1 continuity, as Megatron tosses out the six phase structure and goes for the jugular.

Transformers Devastation #1 (of 6)(TFG1 #17): IDW - Um, Ravage is feline, not canine/lupine. He should not "aroo". That aside, the premise behind "Devastation" is that Megatron's tossing aside the usual phase order (which we haven't even seen run through once) and dropping his poison pill on Earth. But that's practically a sideshow to the whole Hunt For Sunstreaker thing, which not only gets the A-cover this time, but also seems to dominate next issue, despite the nature of the cliffhanger this issue. Odd pacing and priorities. Mildly recommended. $3.99 (got Cover A by Su.)
- "Of COURSE He's Phase Six" Award to Transformers Devastation #1 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #2 (of 6)(TFG1 #18): IDW - Heh, I think it was shown last issue, but I only now realized that Hot Rod is a Dodge Viper, and hence modeled after Super Speedbreaker in vehicle mode (and with a robot mode now inspired by Alternators Rodimus, at least in the "headlight chunks as shoulderpads" bit from the Alt.Mirage mold). The Zarak plot comes to a head (ow, pun not intended this time, caught myself in the backblast) in an effective if somewhat telegraphed way. Recommended. $3.99 (I got cover B by Roche.)
- "There Are 10 Kinds Of Bond In This World" Award to Transformers Devastation #2 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #3 (of 6)(TFG1 #19): IDW - While the Headmasters plot gets some service, this is mainly about an extended chase scene. However, the purity of plot looks to be about over, as the last page starts throwing plot elements in right and left...planetkiller or even dimensionkiller level threats (and mis-aimed word balloons). It portends a badly incoherent wrapup to this arc, I'm afraid, unless it's meant to be deep foreshadowing for the next couple of arcs (in which case, the way it's all dumped at once is simply bad pacing). Just dealing with both Sixshot and the Headmasters is a tad busy for a six issue arc, tossing in these other threats is just messy. Mildly recommended. $3.99 (I got cover A by Su) [Later note: Shoulda mentioned at the time, Roche does the interior art.]
- "Hunter, That Was SUCH A Straight Line" Award to Transformers Devastation #3 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #4 (of 6) (TF G1 #20): IDW - Got the Su cover A. Lots of explosions this issue, and as kinda expected the threats seen last issue partially cancelled each other out in the short term. There's also some cliffhanging regarding the human cast. In any case, things are moving along at a decent pace, although it feels like there's no real connection between the two main storylines (Sixshot story and Headmasters)...this wouldn't be an issue if they just called this an unlimited series, but for a "miniseries" to have two parallel arcs that don't connect to each other is bad storytelling. As Transformers #20 it'd be recommended, but as Devastation #4 (of 6) it's only mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Who Says Only The Decepticons Get To Teleport Away When The Going Gets Tough?" Award to Transformers Devastation #4 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #5 (of 6): IDW - Cover B was the only one the store had left, but I think I would have gotten it anyway. It's such a twisted display of domestic bliss, Decepticon style. Megatron and Starscream (who looks pretty femme) in profile, side by side, smiling in satisfaction as the world burns behind them. It's like Starscream is just about to turn and say, "I love you," with Megatron replying, "I know." ;) Unfortunately, the cover tells a clearer story than the entire comic inside, which is so shattered in focus between the multitude of plot threads (plus a couple of flashbacks) that I was left with the feeling I'd just read the equivalent of a movie trailer. Lots of significant bits, many explosions, several cliffhangers, but it just didn't hang together very well. And as if there weren't enough plot threads native to Devastation, they also hare off onto Spotlight Arcee's plot (in a scene that would be even more confusing if I'd gotten this issue three weeks ago when it actually came out, instead of a week after reading Spotlight Arcee). Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Decepticon Gothic" Award to Transformers Devastation #5 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #6 (of 6): IDW - I really shouldn't be surprised. Rather than actually bring things together and resolve anything in this issue, Furman instead tosses MORE elements into the pot and then just has everyone dash off in different directions after killing off some random minor characters. Not to mention, cover A (which is the one I got) is misleading. They should really stop lying to readers with this miniseries titling...Devastation isn't a single story, or even really a chapter. It's a randomly chosen chunk from the middle of several intertwining stories...the cover should emphasize that this is Transformers #22, and leave the "#6 of 6" stuff to the title page. I'd be a lot less annoyed at Furman's "throw another plot into the curry" approach here if this weren't supposedly the end of a miniseries. It'd still be mildly annoying, but not on the level of wanting to find IDW's head office people and metaphorically slap them around. Neutral. $3.99
- "Too Many Chiefs" Award to Transformers Devastation #6 (of 6)

All Hail Megatron: Writer Shane McCarthy and artist Guido Guidi tell the story of Earth left to the mercy of the Decepticons as the Autobots are called away by another plot device. Kicked off by a one-shot preview.

Transformers Focus on Decepticons (one-shot): IDW - Gasp, it's not $3.99! Of course, it's also more along the lines of an ad you pay for. Pitch, design sketches, interviews with writer and artist, a roster of who's going to show up (mainly recycled art as far as I can tell) and then a short preview in which Decepticons blow stuff up and sneer at humans. Decent teaser, but really the sort of thing most companies charge significantly less for. Mildly recommended. $2.99
- "Everybody's A Critic" Award to Transformers Focus On Decepticons

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Transformers Comics	Last Updated 4/13/08 Focus on Decepticons added.