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Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are our opinions so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 10 Best Transformers Comic Book Covers of All Time
The title says it all. In light of one of the most significant eras of Transformers comics ending last wednesday, I thought of concentrating on the comics side of the brand and looking at all the beauty that adorned them throughout the years.
For those who do not know, issues in the US were split up in the UK. For instance, issue 75, which dealt with the autobots vs Unicron was split up into 4 issues. And all those issues get their own cover. the finale, issue 322, has this wonderful shot of us inside Unicron looking at Optimus about to enter it's mouth using the Matrix to light their darkest hour. It makes for a truly awesome shot that I find much more impressive and evoking than most of the more recent Unicron themed covers we have gotten.
When looking at classic Transformers covers, you will come across a lot from José Delbo, who I truly believe is on of the best of that era. And of course, there is Jim Lee, who I don't think needs an introduction. I had a hard time choosing between both these shots since I love them for the exact same reason: both use perspective to show the Decepticon threat. With Galvatron, you feel the hopelessness that all is lost while with Bludgeon you can feel the dread of the autobots where the fight seems already pretedermined even if they are higher in number (and include Grimlock!!).
Jae Lee is an incredible artist and as someone who has seen him draw live, it is truly mind boggling that the lifelike quality he brings to drawings can be done with no reference and no digital effects. That's why even the smallest of Transformers (Ravage in this case) can look so nightmarish and immense. While he has drawn characters who may be more popular in higher profile books he is very proud of his work on this book to this day and it is hard not to see why.
While Sara Pitre Durocher is a fine monthly artist, her cover work is just on another level as you can see above. She is like the Transformers' equivalent of Alex Ross and Marko Djurdjevic. While the cover above is my favourite of the lot, the whole arc run is a very good lesson in composition and the effect of symmetry.
We have the best Transformers artist we have ever had on the books right now. However when it comes to covers, many put just too much. While that amount of detail on any Alex Milne Unicron cover is astounding, a simpler composition can be more striking and eye catching, as we saw in the fist Unicron cover mentioned on this list. Nick Roche, another all star, defied the conventional standard by giving us as much if not more detail than any modern day cover artist but in a clean and smart composition, making this one of the most eye catching and awe inspiring covers of all time. It is a great companion piece to the Stewart Johnson shot from above by focusing on a different angle, making this as epic as possible.
This was one of the favourite covers of my mentor on this site and I will leave you with his succint review:
This one will always hold a place in my spark casing. - Va'al
Not only does this cover show us of Megatron's new allegiance (WHAAAAAAT????) it did it in the most playful and fun way. That cover is an homage to Roche homaging Maguire (DC's Justice League), as Milne signed it.
Which was then subsequently re-homaged by Roche (homaging Milne homaging Roche homaging Maguire) and then by Jack Lawrence.
Its a great cover layout too, giving you a sense of all the main players in the team.
3. All Hail Megatron #1 by Trevor Hutchison as well as Casey Coller and Josh Burcham.
This storyline has its fair share of dislike from the community, deserving so, but you have to give credit where credit's due, it had incredible covers. Two of the all time most eye catching covers in the history of the brand were used for the first issue. I adore the standard propaganda-esque poster which just sums up perfectly what the series aspired to be: the story where Megatron finally wins. Peace through Tyranny never looked so good.
For those not in the know, one of the greatest comic book covers of all time (if not THE best) is Brian Bolland's cover for Batman: The Killing Joke and it perfectly recreated with Megatron and Reflector. Both Brian Bolland and Casey Coller hold a very special place in my heart in terms of their art so seeing the product of both truly is a treat. It's crazy to think that both awesome Transformers covers described here happen to be for the same issue, that means I can cover two entries in one go!
Marvel US issue #80's Andrew Wildman cover is just about as perfect as it gets. It represents all the hopelessness of knowing it's the end, but despite another hero being in the foreground about to get cut down by Bludgeon, there's that shadow of Prime in the background that always feels like it arrived just at the right moment. To this day, this cover gives me chills. Circumstances have been just plain bad for months in the comic for the Autobots and our other heroes, including you because for the last year only very few shops were sporadically getting in new issues. Despite being a little bit lost about the totality of events, among all that darkness and ruin you see that shadow back there. In some form, in some way, Optimus Prime is going to show up and save the day. It all might be about to end, but the bad guys are finally going to get what's coming to them. - Scotty P
More than three decades later and this comic cover still stands unrivaled and has only kept growing more iconic. With only one character on the cover, we can gather what happened (or what will happen). Just the smoke coming from Shockwave's cannon tells us that all hope is lost. The fact that the artist replicates many mechanical details from the toy but in a pose impossible for said toy to be in adds a great sense of realism to this image which is enhanced by the textured feel of the cover thanks to the mixture of light and shadow. This gave us the best sense of what Shockwave would look like in the real world, where we would have no chance of defeating him. I can keep talking but I fail to see the point when all you need to do to see that this is the greatest cover of all time is just to give it a glance.
With today's release of the final chapter in IDW's Transformers universe, Optimus Prime #25, you may be thinking it would be a great time to finally hear about what comes next. Maybe you're anxious to hear about that in general, or just like to hear news about new Transformers stories. If you were hoping that IDW's February 2019 solicitations would shed any light on the matter, prepare for disappointment as no new Transformers comics are in the solicitations.
First up, an advance solicitation for the March release of the Unicron trade paperback, which you can order by giving your local comic retailer code DEC180766:
(W) John Barber (A) Alex Milne (CA) Andrew Griffith
ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR MARCH RELEASE! Every IDW Transformers comic has led to this cataclysmic story! The culmination of IDW's Transformers Universe! The end is nigh! Unicron, a planet-sized being that devours other worlds, has set its sights on Cybertron and all of its colonies-including Earth! Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and their friends must unite every Cybertronian, Earthling, and ally they have to stand against this threat to all existence. But why is Unicron hell-bent on destroying Cybertron-what original sin did Optimus Prime's ancestors commit to earn this wrath? It's an all-out battle against extinction as the world-destroying, universe-shattering threat of Unicron is on its way.
Then it's the penultimate chapter of Tom Scioli's Go-Bots. The first issue is out everywhere today and you can read our review here. To order issue 4, give your retailer code DEC180767 for Scioli's A Cover featuring Turbo or DEC180768 for Dash Shaw's B Cover with AJ. Both covers are mirrored below the solicitation text:
(W) Tom Scioli (A/CA) Tom Scioli
What dark secret lies at the center of Gobotron? You won't believe the answer! From the creative mind that brought you IDW's Transformers vs. G.I. Joe! Visionary creator Tom Scioli unleashes his imagination on the bizarre, absurd, and wonderful world of Go-Bots!
Finally, something that may have some crossover interest with our Transformers fans here on Seibertron.com: a portfolio book featuring 10 prints of artwork from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy packaging. This will set you back $39.99 which is a great deal for a package of ten 11" x 17" prints. You can order this using code DEC180754, and if anyone is out there reading this that can do something about it I might suggest that something similar for Transformers package art would be very cool to see!
(A) Various
The legendary packaging artwork from G.I. Joe! Each print has been scanned from the original packaging artwork held within the Hasbro vault. Contents include ten 11" x 17" prints featuring classic packaging art from the original G.I. Joe toyline! Contents include 10 prints.
Free of any explicit spoilers, but some may be unintentionally implied. 'til all are gone?
It all (re)started with "The Death of Optimus Prime". Surprising no one, he wasn't really dead, and not even in a way requiring a true resurrection. The namesake character of this comic series has been defined throughout as both an idea and a character. With the opening pages leading off with the first lines of Bob Budiansky's original Tech Spec for Optimus Prime, you'll immediately recognize that we're starting at the start before we arrive to the end.
Here we are now at the end, with Optimus Prime, 27 (or 24) pages, and one of the longest uninterrupted Transformers stories ever created wrapping up. How did it go? Read on.
It's too late to emergency separate into the other book!
This is indeed the end with this issue serving as a final exhale, putting a cap on a good deal of unfinished business. More akin to Lost Light #25 than Unicron #6, Optimus Prime #25 provides final flashbacks and final thoughts with all the big, sweeping, intergalactic action wrapped and over. It was important for more than just Optimus Prime himself to get a last tale and that hope is fulfilled. Arcee, Jazz, Aileron, Rum-Maj, and more I won't mention (just in case you haven't caught up to the end of Unicron) at least get a little something this time out and even if a bit short in some cases, these mini-endings all feel appropriate and help take the characters further if not entirely full circle.
Got to the last issue after all, sort of.
There are flashback scenes dispersed throughout, and the first few of them pay respect to characters wiped out in other Transformers comic series in a fun way that unfortunately did not continue to the end of the book, but this was necessary to carry the issue's story along. It's another way that writer John Barber ensures more characters are around if you need one last goodbye, adding to the emotional weight that ebbs and flows during the course of this installment.
Entire mini-series of Buzzsaw: Planeteer? Sold.
Somewhat similar to horrible tearjerker/fantastic comic book "The Life of Sideswipe", a sense of melancholy carries from page to page, and while it isn't all depressing or mournful something in the tone of the writing shoots pangs of regret. I can't say that there's regret here for certain, but if there is, good luck figuring out if it's about the series ending, where it ended up, or maybe even how the grand experiment of the shared Hasbro Universe followed course. Either way it's another layer to the depth of the book, which some will find more hopeful than wistful even though that doesn't match the mood I received.
A quick, special note is in order to one scene in particular featuring Aileron, Jetfire, Sunstreaker, Bob, and more of a spacefaring team aboard an Autobot shuttle as it travels the unknown and makes a discovery. Well, at least I think it did, and it was a superbly fun touch.
Go back to the Shadow
Kei Zama and Josh Burcham finish up this series by handling all the lineart and color work for Optimus Prime #25 and deliver all the striking lines, thick borders, and retro-cool lighting that defines the look of this series. A particularly amazing panel of Ravage (from a flashback scene, sorry!) is shown above that provides a sharp contrast and rich shadows that help tell the story within the story. Tom B. Long's letters further enhance the work, providing emphasis in just the right places to help some scenes comfort while others turn sinister. David Mariotte ensures a coherent package is delivered even with the flashback-to-present-and-back-again hopping and regular shifts in character focus.
This review's newspost thumbnail shows Casey Coller's B Cover for the issue, which I felt was most indicative of the kind of story within. Zama and Burcham (after Simonson) deliver a beautiful cast piece on Cover A, with just about everyone from the Optimus Prime series accounted for. Robots in Disguise helmsman Andrew Griffith takes us back to 2012 on a retailer incentive cover that I hope does not immediately sell out everywhere and quadruple in value like Alex Milne's Lost Light #25 RI cover did. You can find images of all of those covers and full credits for the issue in our Vector Sigma Database page for Optimus Prime #25, but please note it contains a character appearance list which may accidentally deliver spoilers.
This was a book with a heavy burden, but as a final epilogue after the climactic battles it still makes it to Cybertron without jettisoning Insecticons worth of weight in the process. A healthy dose of character endings, playful dialogue that snatches the Furmanism away from the jaws of finality, and a ready-built setup for the future help too, even if it won't be realized.
Optimus Prime's epilogue is a very good epilogue because it's exactly that and doesn't try to be something beyond its purpose. Even the well worn trope of the final villain being back for one last go doesn't show up, a pleasant surprise given how easy a setting like Infraspace could have been for such a moment. Enjoy this while you can since we've got a few quiet months ahead of us in the world of Transformers comics, but that's well earned after 13 years of amazing stories.
Once more, to all the creative forces at IDW Publishing that have made this happen since 2005, thank you!
The Cruel Cy-Kill Begins A Seibertron.com Review of IDW Go-Bots #1
Synopsis
Go-Bots have changed our way of life. Leader-1 is a self-aware fighter jet on a hostage rescue mission with his partner, Commander Nick Burns. Scooter is the personal transport and best friend to undergrad A.J. Foster. Turbo is Matt Hunter's transforming race car in the hottest sport in America, Go-Bot Racing. Cy-Kill is the champion of the illegal, underground Go-Bot Fighting League. A sophisticated sci-fi epic from the visionary creator that brought you Transformers vs. G.I. JOE. They say they're here to help us, but are they here to replace us?
They see me rollin'
I will be up front and honest with all of you right now: I know practically nothing of Go-Bots. This is an entirely new experience for me with characters I know absolutely nothing about. If this comic series is not true to the Go-Bots lore, I don't know it. This is my introduction to the world of Go-Bots, so lets see how the premiere issue turned out.
I didn't know what to expect from the series. Tom Scioli did some fantastic stuff with Transformers vs. G.I. Joe, albeit some very strange and unique stuff. So coming into a series about Go-Bots, and basically reinventing the franchise, there were a lot of different ways this could play out, good and bad.
And having read issue 1, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that Scioli really seems to have hit something good.
Do your thing Leader-1
The issue itself was not lacking in character introductions that flowed well and action outlining this world of Go-Bots that will last for 5 issues. We start right off with action missions starring Leader-1, Go-Bot world building with Scooter that also provides us some necessary background, a pretty cool introduction to Turbo (who became a favorite of mine in the course of this issue), and a totally metal introduction to Cy-Kill, who certainly lives up to his name and reputation.
A short little history lesson!
The Go-Bots world is built up so fast in just 1 issue, and not in a rushed way. It flows, it feels natural, it gives someone like me who knows nothing of the franchise some background into this strange world. We get to see the line between partners and superiors/inferiors, and how it sets up the big conflict the story is set to tell. Cy-Kill is awesome too, I loved his intro and his characterization so far.
METAL (in context)
As was the case with TF vs G.I. Joe, Scioli does his own art and lettering, and he keeps up the same art styles that he did with the previous series. And it works really well with the Go-Bots universe. The art has an old-fashioned look to it that really lends itself to packing in action in each page with some pretty spectacular coloring. The scenes that are from Leader-1's view are really cool to see, and the human characters are drawn pretty well too. I appreciate how plain yet still so full the art on the pages can be. And the opening introduction to Cy-Kill was masterfully done as well. Everything about that section of the book was amazing.
This too is awesome in context
So for an introduction to the Go-Bots, this series was pretty spectacular. The writing was pretty tight and packed with information that doesn't feel rushed in any particular way and gives a lot of necessary information to understand this Go-Bot land. The writing of the characters was convincing and the Go-Bots themselves were pretty fun in their varying personalities. The art was a pretty neat retro style that made me feel like I was reading an 80's era comic and enjoying it for the fun that it is meant to be.
So good job to Tom Scioli, you gave us a great introduction, and I'm really looking forward to what you have to give us next.
The end of the current Transformers continuity over at IDW is upon us with its final chapter, Optimus Prime 25, coming out this week. The 5 page preview has been found on adventuresinpoortaste.com.
Of course, since this takes place after the finale of the Unicron mini series you may want to read that before looking below since this may spoil that book.
Optimus Prime #25
END OF THE ROAD! The battle is over. Heroes have fallen. Worlds have died. Now Optimus Prime faces his final ordeal–as past, present, and future collide. Who will stand with him? And when it’s all over, who will carry the mantle of “Prime?”
Bullet points:
– Extra-long final issue! Tying together and putting a bow on stories from the past 13 years!
– Ties in to the Unicron event!
– Part of the summer of Transformers–all building up to the end of the universe as we know it!
– Variant cover by Andrew Griffith!
Written by: John Barber
Art by: Kei Zama
Colors by: Casey W. Coller
Letters by: Tom B. Long
Cover A by: Kei Zama
Cover B by: Casey W. Coller
FC • 40 pages • $4.99
Release Date: November 21, 2018
I Need a Hero (to Save Me Now) A Seibertron.com semi-spoilerish review of IDW Tranformers: Unicron #6
EARTH WAR! With Unicron's ultimate goal revealed, the shaky alliance of Autobots and Decepticons is all that stands between Earth and the planet-eater. Heroes will rise-and fall-as Optimus Prime journeys into the dark heart of Unicron for the final confrontation with evil. At stake: the soul of a universe.
I'm just a step away
I'm just a breath away
Losin' my faith today
Fallin' off the edge today
And so the story ends. The finale comes, and the universe shakes, rocks, rattles, and rolls. But the question is, did the conclusion finally bring the show to justice?
Well, let's discuss this shall we?
I am just a man
Not superhuman
For starters, let's talk about our main cast. Aileron is here, and she does her part, but there is nothing really spectacular. Arcee is her typical badass self, but really doesn't need to do much to be a part of the action. She's there, and she does what she does best. Windblade and Bumblebee are also sort of just here, not really doing too much to the overall story despite previous prominence. Which is OK, all of the named characters have had some moments to shine, so their lack of doing much is forgivable.
Especially when you consider our big 3: Soundwave, Starscream, and Optimus Prime. To me, this story finally got Starscream back in line with what Till All Are One had set him up to be, and finally seems to shake loose from the later Barber runs and revert back to what IDW appears to have wanted him to be, and that is a good thing. He and his seekers got some really nice moments together and individually, so I appreciate this. Soundwave continues to pull the heart apart, and I love his part in the conclusion of this story, very well done. And Optimus is not quite Optimus. His retraction of the faceplate and the fact that he never wears it again after he gets ready to go to orbit to fight Unicron is very telling, as is the (near) conclusion of his storyline. He is Orion once more, the masks, as he puts it, are gone. He is who is he is, and he helps smooth a few of his bumpy points.
It's just another war
Just another family torn
Just a step from the edge
Just another day in the world we live
We also had some other nice character moments, from all corners of the Transformers and the Hasbro Universe in general. Action Man gets in a good shot, the seekers are great, the Dinobots do a nice part, the return of a fan favorite character by Mount Rushmore was awesome to see, Prowl, Stardrive, and Rhinox with their moments of light, and even some Sharkticons and Junkions. The wind down pages in particular, with several important character interactions, was done very nicely as well, a good bookend to the series.
Who's gonna fight for what's right
Who's gonna help us survive
We're in the fight of our lives
And we're not ready to die
But for every good moment we had, there seemed to be a dim bulb preventing the light from fully shining. Slide is without a doubt the worst part of the book, and the worst part of IDW's Optimus Prime run if I'm honest. She ended up as such an unlikable character that I feel didn't deserve the storyline she ended up getting. The continued random cameos of Maximals that don't really do anything and don't really get any development besides Rhinox in any way was disappointing. Unicron himself and how he relates to his creator, and indeed his creator in general were lacking. The way Bludgeon, Monstructor, and the Dinobots resolved felt like a bit of a mess.
But most importantly, several moments in the book that were supposed to be huge just didn't ring. They sort of thudded. Starscream, the Maximal's victims, and Unicron's creator fall heavy in this category. They needed some more oomph. And the climatic finale itself needed some extra bits in the final resolution, as I feel the true climatic moment was with Soundwave, not with Unicron or Orion.
Who's gonna fight for the weak
Who's gonna make 'em believe
I've got a hero (I've got a hero)
Livin' in me
Art duties were very heavily scattered with this book, bringing in artists from almost all the main IDW ongoings over the past few years, including Alex Milne, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Kei Zama, and Andrew Griffith. While there were noticeable shifts between most of the artist changes, with Zama using her more monstrous features, Milne his pointy-ness and detailings, and Griffith's and Pitre-Durocher's smoother and less complicated look, there was never a feeling of real disconnect, thanks to the efforts of David Garcia Cruz and Joana Lafuente. While they did give some coloring liberties to pages with certain artists, calling back to said artist's previous books and color stylings, such as Zama's pages having a more dark, metal look while Pitre-Durocher's was more clean, smooth, and bright, They did a pretty good job of keeping the look and feel of the book consistent while still giving each artist that special spice of uniqueness. Tom B. Long also continues his work of letting the art be enjoyed to its fullest extent while giving us the important dialogue needed for the story.
A hero's not afraid to give his life
A hero's gonna save me just in time
I need a hero to save me now
I need a hero, save me now
I need a hero to save my life
A hero'll save me just in time
So in conclusion, this story fell somewhere in the middle ground. The story wasn't particularly bad overall, but it certainly felt like it lacked the excitement factor, the big push, that big wow moment that it really needed to be spectacular. The characters in the book and their screen time were handled pretty well, we just needed some characters to shine more in their moments (Starscream) and others who really needed to be given fewer pages and didn't feel like they got more than they deserved (Slide). Soundwave for me was the shining point of the book, which says a lot seeing as what role others played in the grand scheme of things. We also needed more of that expanded universe, the little shots were nice, but I feel we could have used a bit more of the Hasbro Universe itself, especially seeing as how ROM has played such a small role in this issue considering he started out the book as one of the seemingly more important characters.
But most importantly, we got a new take on Unicron, but it didn't quite live up to expectations. The destruction he caused and the look were impressive, but what he ended up being was a bit disappointing. I feel like we could have gotten a lot more from this badass villain who was the end. I feel like the moments inside him would have done very well for a personality of his own to shine through, but we did not get that. And considering how big of a deal he was, I wish we could have gotten a bit more from him.
And the series itself feels like that overall. It had potential, but for some reason, the big moments just never got quite the flare they needed. It needed something more, a bit more life to it, and maybe a bit less of the Main Cast and a bit more of the small moments, like Blurr's moment, but for others. It also needed a bit more of Unicron, and maybe a bit better executed finale. But overall, again not bad, just not quite up where I wish this book could overall have been.
1/2 out of
This final Review of Unicron #6 features the Skillet song Hero, a personal favorite of mine, and the fitting end to this book.
As I tried but ended up not being able to work it into a single issue review, I decided to make my personal favorite song of all time the theme song for the series itself, and I feel this song in a way encapsulates how several characters felt in the series, never giving up in spite of overwhelming odds, and keep their faith. The theme song for the Unicron series is: Feel Invincible, also by Skillet. As it is the theme, I have also linked the video below for listening without leaving this page:
Thanks to a multitude of sources, we have word that the ending of IDW's Transformers: Lost Light has garnered some major attention.
BBC News, a fairly well known news outlet, has published a story about Lost Light and how it broke down so many barriers in the Transformers fandom, particularly the gender barrier. In the article, much is discussed related to how the representation of women attending Transformers conventions and getting involved in the fandom has grown massively in the past few years, and More Than Meets The Eye / Lost Light has been the reason for much of this change.
The article of course features James Roberts, the writer behind MTMTE/LL, and he talks about how is comic was meant to be something completely different, something new, and based on the critical acclaim and the fandom's response to the many years of Robert's ongoing, it has been a success.
You can check out some sections of the article below, and follow the above link to read the whole story!
ransformers started out as a boy's toy. The robot characters, which could be quickly reconfigured into guns and cars - tapped into the young male zeitgeist of 1984.
Those children have grown into today's adult collectors. But thanks to a cult comic, the franchise's male-dominated audience has crossed the gender divide.
At Europe's largest Transformers convention this year, TFNation, women accounted for almost half of attendees aged 21 to 31. It caps a three-year trend in which female attendance grew by a third. Taking the credit is the comic Lost Light.
.....
Responsible for much of this is the comic's author, James Roberts, who penned all 80-odd issues.
Although the stories are infused with a British sci-fi humour - BBC TV comedy Red Dwarf was a major influence - his ambition for the publication, which tackled topics such as same-sex relationships, freedom and self-determination, was "unashamedly political".
"Misfits and also-rans, in an enclosed space with a pitch-able quest - it's a good way into a story," says Roberts. "This is the difference between American and British sci-fi and comics, and TV shows like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the new Doctor Who - their love of language, puns, banter.
"You can get away with more swear words if they're British."
.....
The publisher wanted the comic "to speak to Transformers fans and beyond," he says.
Roberts was given the freedom to look beyond the A-list of characters. And with that came the opportunity to take more chances.
An initial positive reception emboldened Roberts, leading to his favourite moment - issue 16, the "declaration of love" between two same-sex Transformers characters, Chromedome and Rewind. It was "a first".
"In the nicest possible way, it became normalised. The world didn't come to an end. That reaction gave me and others the confidence to tell more stories like this," says Roberts.
There was some concern about what Hasbro, a toy maker with a long history and a wholesome, family-friendly image, would make of this turn of events. But head office appeared remarkably unruffled, says John Barber, Lost Light's publisher.
"The company's vice-president of global publishing said something to the effect of: 'I asked you guys to make the characters human and you have'," recalls Barber.
We have two pieces of news concerning the final chapter of the Unicron mini-series. Firstly, Scotty P has made us aware of a five page preview over at Comic Crusaders. For those unaware, this final issue is a double issue and Alex Milne will be accompanied by Sara Pitre-Durocher, Andrew Griffith, and Kei Zama for art duties.
The preview is below but before that we wanted to share a variant cover sent to us by artist John Paul Paras who also wrote to us the following:
I've been a Transformers fan all my life and when I heard they were doing a Unicron Mini Series, I knew I had to be apart of it. I wanted to do a cover homaging the Classic "Infinity Gauntlet" Issue 4 George Perez Cover. IDW and Hasbro approved of the concept and I was off into the creative phase. I wanted to show that although Unicron was small compared to vastness of space, he was ready to conquer it. KRSComics.com are taking Preorders for the Release date of November 14th. The Variant is limited to 500 copies and is only available their online. I'm proud to be apart of Transformers history and hope you guys enjoy my cover to Transformers Unicron issue #6.
Transformers: Unicron #6 (of 6)
Cover A: Alex Milne / Cover B: James Raiz
John Barber (w) • Alex Milne (a & c)
FC • 48 pages • $7.99
November 14 2018
This is it! The end of an era! Finishing off 13 years’ worth of continuity with a bang!
EARTH WAR!
With Unicron’s ultimate goal revealed, the shaky alliance of Autobots and Decepticons is all that stands between Earth and the planet-eater. Heroes will rise—and fall—as Optimus Prime journeys into the dark heart of Unicron for the final confrontation with evil. At stake: the soul of a universe.
Free of any explicit spoilers, but some may be unintentionally implied. I'll drink to that
Sometimes I find the best way to start saying "goodbye" is to get straight to business.
For this review, sharing some context for this final issue of Lost Light may be an appropriate starting point. For those keeping up with the series you'll know that issue 24 left us with most of the series' main plots resolved. This finale serves as a way to put a bow on some other points of unfinished business while also providing a coda to show just where things go once the dust has settled. The biggest questions still to be answered are addressed for the most part, and even some yet-to-come events in IDW's other stories are alluded to in a telling way without venturing far into spoiler territory. That latter point is not the book's fault, but rather due to the chaotic release scheduling we've all come to be familiar with.
It hasn't been long enough since Steins;Gate 0 for this
The primary story is set in the far flung future, where everyone that has survived to that point is older and sadder. It's just like real life, only with robots that turn into cars and stuff, and that allows the story to deliver some of the emotional beats the series has become so well known for.
The sincere, dedicated following this series has earned stems from that ability to present a narrative that allows for an escape into another world that retains a connectivity to its readers by examining, among many things, our relationships to others. Interpersonal, romantic, platonic, professional, friendly, or just plain casual, the Lost Light crew forged various bonds through their journey. What those are, were, could be, and could have been form the backbone of this finale, sparing no remorse for your feelings along the way.
Had to know the wet blanket would show up
There's little left to really wrap up, and the biggest question on the minds of most readers probably has to do with how exactly this story might tie in to things going on elsewhere. This is answered early and allows the story to keep going, and ends up leaving some wonder in my mind anyhow about whether or not that question is actually addressed - but that's just me and it almost definitely was in its entirety.
The other one has to do with one of the central figures of the story since "Season 2" of More Than Meets The Eye began. A great deal of nuance is present in the approach to this plot, and unfortunately it crosses into the point of ambiguity. This may have been on purpose, or it could be that I just plain missed something. If that's the case, I'm happy to eat crow later because it's my only real critique of this issue, and even then it's more critical of the content than the delivery.
Now if we can just get MP3 to save the day in Unicron 6
This is an ending that manages to do exactly what it needs to do, and it does so in a way that only this story with these characters at this moment could do. There's just enough of a twist to it to make you wonder "is it really over?" This occurs almost immediately after reaching the point of the issue where it appears that it truly is - goodbyes are said, farewells are made, and characters have again gone their separate ways. The mood received is comparable to one that might be felt on the last day of school, or at the last meeting at a soon-to-be-departed job, or even while writing the last review about your favorite comic book series of all time.
It's the end and it's ok to be a little sad, but it's better to be glad that it happened.
You won't believe who gets to say something! Well, even moreso than in this panel.
Jack Lawrence returns for the finale, a fitting assignment as this lands him at 16 issues of the series' 25 on primary line art duties. The output does not disappoint, with his signature adeptness with expressions allowing many character moments to come through precisely as they were intended. Joana Lafuente's colors are a wonderful complement as usual, with special attention and praise in order for the subtle but impossible to miss difference in palette between scenes set in the future and those occurring in the "present". Tom B. Long takes the dense script and places every bubble of text with care, creating a full package between art, color, and text which ensures these unique characters keep their voice. Peaks and valleys help even Swerve convey speech that hits more at home with its realism than a Swerve line ever possibly could otherwise.
The covers available are the "A" cover, featured in this review's news story thumbnail, with art by Lawrence and colors by Lafuente. Nick Roche's art and Josh Burcham's colors take up the traditional "B" cover spot, with editor David Mariotte making the spelling assist that will be forever appreciated turn into a reality. MTMTE regular Alex Milne provides an appropriately decorated RI cover with Josh Perez's colors shining as they always do. You can find images of all of those covers and full credits for the issue in our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers: Lost Light #25, but please note it contains a character appearance list which may accidentally deliver spoilers.
Verdict I guess we have to deal with this now.
I've taken great care here to not spoil much. If you've been reading the series, you'll read this issue, and I think you'll be satisfied. There's always a desire to want more of a good thing, and while you might be left with a lingering question or two that won't ever be answered, there's always that faint chance that one day Simon Furman's old adage "it never ends" might apply here as well. Transformers was kept alive in part by the passion of its fans even after the Marvel comic ceased publication - twice, counting G2 - so every back issue, collected version, trade paperback, and fancy hardcover omnibus set (please?) you buy in the future helps keep the possibility of Team Rodimus having some future adventures alive.
"Chances of this actually working?" "Oh, astronomically slim." But with the backup content of Roberts' retrospective teasing at just enough as it relates to the murdered word, and considering other strange goings on such as the initially solicited 40 page, $4.99 sized issue not happening, it feels like there's something in a distant tomorrow. Maybe one day the Crusadercons will quip their way into our hearts all over again, and this reader would welcome that with open arms.
Right, a score. 5/5 if there were numbers, but no numbers are needed this time.
To James Roberts, Jack Lawrence, Joana Lafuente, Alex Milne, Nick Roche, Josh Burcham, Brendan Cahill, Casey Coller, E.J. Su, Priscilla Tramontano, Tom B. Long, Carlos Guzman, David Mariotte, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Andrew Griffith, John Barber, Hayato Sakamoto, Brian Shearer, JP Bove, Agustin Padilla, Jose Aviles, and the huge list of other creators that worked on Lost Light and More Than Meets The Eye that I'll kick myself for forgetting to mention here -
Fellow Seibertronian Grimlocktimus has dropped us a note regarding a new pre-order listing on online retailer Amazon.com, for another IDW Publishing Transformers Phase Two Collection volume, due in June 2019.
This volume is listed as Phase 2 Volume 9, and features the Transformers issues #39-43, More Than Meets The Eye issues #41-44, and Windblade Volume 2 issues #1-5. There is no cover listed for the Volume, but we should expect Marcelo Matere or Sara Pitre Durocher to provide one in the near future.
You can find the description below, and let us know what you think of the upcoming collections continuing on in the comments section below!
Presenting IDW's Transformers comics in recommended reading order, including one-shots, crossovers, and event series! It's everything a beginner could need, everything a diehard could want.
The Autobots and Decepticons' uneasy peace is threatened by the flames of war! Starscream, ruler of Cybertron, makes contact with Windblade's homeworld--and the only defense against a new Cybertronian Empire is the Combiners--multiple Cybertronians joining together into huge, dangerous forms!
Collects Transformers issues #39-43, More Than Meets The Eye issues #41-44, and Windblade Volume 2 issues #1-5.
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* Price and quantities subject to change. Shipping costs, taxes and other fees not included in cost shown. Refer to listing for current price and availability.
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