We Caminus, We Sawinus, We..
(Spoiler free-ish)
SynopsisTHE WAR BEGINS! The first strike in COMBINER WARS is against WINDBLADE’S homeworld—and she’s not happy about it! Her long- lost CYBERTRONIAN colony is found… and the only thing that can protect it is SUPERION.
And of course, Alpha BravoLast week's Opening Salvo to Combiner Wars highlighted the major players and stages for the IDW event to take place, but it's with the first issue of a returning Windblade series (reuniting its creative team, if briefly) that the refuse really hits the propeller. And you can blame Swindle again, of course.
..or can you?Mairghread Scott, one half of the plotting team behind the event with John Barber, takes the writing duties as seriously and as cruelly as she can, with death death rampage, death, destruction, no gardening, a bit more destruction and, on a different side altogether, talks of religion, diplomacy, incorporation and assimilation, politics and cultural differences - and makes both sides work really really well, if sometimes a little disjointed due to two worlds almost literally clashing.
ALL THE BACK-UPSwindle is still pretty glorious all the way through this issue too, though the spotlight goes to Windblade unsurprisingly, and her political, diplomatic (with an edge) skills as a Camien and a Cityspeaker - as opposed to the machinations of Starscream or war-like leadership of Optimus Prime. The interactions and moments that the three have are wonderful, and at times smirk-inducing, as a result.
And some dynamics never really dieWhat the issues offers, then, other than some mighty fine scenes of destruction and good old fashioned imperial foreign policy, is a glimpse into how different strands of continuities are addressed as belief systems, how ex-Cybertronian societies have evolved very differently from their original soil, and how all of that, right now, holds a trepidantly unexpected set of consequences.
ArtSarah Stone returns to interiors, too, and shows off some more lovely digital artwork, spreads, splashes, body language and physical/facial interactions corresponding and developing Scott's script ever so marvellously. Especially with the foregrounded characters, new Camien introductions and Starscream's undying quest for the perfectly suited chassis befitting his own ego.
So haaard to choooose..We had seen Stone's amazing work on chases and landscape type panels, and we are now also treated to bigger scale creatures that are not hanging from rafters in repair workshops - and the interactions between the big brutes. Coupled with some trademark contrasting chromatic effects, highlighting key moments in fights and heated exchanges.
Dennis the MenasorIf at times, especially in the second half of the book, you might feel a little dazzled by the locations, Tom B. Long's letters are a godsend (heh), identifying not only voices but pinpointing the scenes with needed, fontastic accuracy. A slew of covers also allows to cover the multiplicity of worlds we're encountering, slowly, from the Travis Sengaus/Josh Burcham Devastator retailer variant, the Casey Coller/Joana Lafuente established Superion cover, Livio Ramondelli's poster Menasor - and the thumbnailed gorgeous Sara Pitre-Durocher Superion/Windblade variant.
ThoughtsSpoilerish aheadThere is a lot going on in this issue, even more than was the case in Opening Salvo. While it may not sit entirely well with some readers, the material Scott (with Barber) are covering is both established and a new take, new aspects and new introductions to the mythology, world-building and conventions of the until now Cybertron/Earth axis - with minor detours - of the Transformers fiction, thanks to the Way of the Flame and its repercussions among the governing side of Caminus. And it works, for this reviewer.
Holy Mistress of Tall Flames, BatmanIt is really good to see more Sarah Stone artwork too, and the fight scenes look great - but much like the writing aspect of the issue, it's what is going on around the fighting that is really the crux of the story. And trust me, you want to get all the engines running on multiple franchise continuities with this one, and revisit and reassess some older pacts that were made in light of the ongoing
ark arc.
