Heading inwards
(Spoiler free-ish)
SynopsisWHAT LIES BENEATH! ULTRA MAGNUS leads what’s left of the Lost Light crew deep into the last place they ever thought they’d be—and they find they last CYBERTRONIANS they ever expected to find! Meanwhile: MEGATRON versus GALVATRON: Round One!
"Gerremoff gerremoff!"Eee-hop. We've passed the mid-event hurdle, with last week's issue of More Than Meets the Eye, and the seventh chapter of Dark Cybertron actually does tend upwards again (well, plot-wise - the characters do a lot of down-wise stuff). After the big spoilers in the solicits for post-Dark Cybertron, let's take a look at how James Roberts and John Barber are going to get us there, shall we?
Nova Prime, an ego?The Lost Light crew are running about all over the place, be it the insides or the outsides of Metroplex, with Ammonites in pursuit. We get a quick look at Crosscut too, who features on the B cover, and whose toy accompanies the issue. Admittedly, the introdump was a bit odd, but the resolution in the following panels made up for it.
Bam! Introduction!The Dead Universe developments are quite interesting, but more in terms of what they set up than what actually happens. The Nightbeat exchange felt a bit lacking, and the resolution very sudden - or rushed, even. But we do get to see Rodimus' hand, which only leaves more questions.
Starscream so sad 
The happenings on Cybertron are really interesting, with Galvatron being shown off amazingly by the writers. Scoop is filling in a bit more of a role, even if it is the same one, and Starscream is coming out quite badly from the whole thing. There is so much teased, in a good way, in this issue, that it feels terrible to have to wait!
ArtJames Raiz is still on Lost Light/Metroplex duties, Livio Ramondelli on Dead Universe and Atilio Rojo on Cybertron. And wow does Rojo shine - his Galvatron is magnificent, with some exceptionally over-dramatic poses and postures. Raiz is still as strong as we've come to see him by now, and Ramondelli's take in the DU is good, though the weakest of the three in this issue, admittedly.
Heh - Multiple jokeJosh Perez on colours does a magnificent job of capturing both burning Cybertron and swarming Metroplex and the planet around it, with some pretty spot-on light/dark play. Ramondelli in the Dead Universe has some clean, clear colours, keeping the art nicely visible and uncluttered.
Panels *and* lettersGilberto Lazcano is still doing some pretty impressive stuff on lettering, really complementing the panel work by the artists and Perez' colours. And again, we get two variant covers: one by Phil Jimenez and, returning, one by Andrew Griffith - some great art right there.
ThoughtsSpoilerish aheadAs I said above, the Dead Universe plot is the weakest of the four (Starscream, Galvatron, Metroplex) running so far, but still manages to leave me wanting for more. This issue finally seems to have found its grounding in the serialised format, too. And be ready for those final pages. You have been warned.
I, for one, am hookedThe three styles of art work well, once again, and I had no issue at all with how they worked with each other. Perez and Lazcano work amazingly with Raiz and Rojo, and Ramondelli blends in nicely with some . Fine. Dark Cybertron, you really have my attention now.
PS: What is going on with the Dinobots' names..? Isn't the big one Sludge? Why is he called Snarl? Just bad speech-bubbles? Halp.
