Twisted Plot
(Spoiler free-ish)
(Spoiler free-ish)
Synopsis
THE FATE OF CYBERTRON! WINDBLADE learns more about the new face of CYBERTRON—and lesson number one is: never underestimate STARSCREAM! She’s trapped in a no-win situation—but what is the scheming DECEPTICON really after, and how far will he go to keep WINDBLADE out of his way?
Hum, far..?
Story
We left Cybertron last month as Windblade, Chromia, the Maccadam's crew - the jolly jumble of Blurr, Snarl, Waspinator, Tankor and Tankor - and reporters Longtooth and Circuit entered the lower levels of Metroplex, as the Terrorcons prepared to pounce on the cast, and the battle was on the very brink of commencing.
On the edge, even
The fight sequence that ensues, at the opening of the issue, is gloriously long with good narration and exposition (and world building, too) at just the right pacing from Mairghread Scott to not be either boring nor too much of a punch fest. And also serves its function as the first of many minor twists in the story of the mini-series so far, before some major changes towards the end. None of which I'll show.
Have some air-fighting
Not only does the pacing work, with the captions recapping the story so far from Windblade's view, the dialogue aiding the progression of the story and some great exchanges in the aftermath of the fight, there's space for a little humour (without too much tonal discordance), and some very very dark moments during and after.
Comedy gold
Starscream has some very nice traits in the issue, Rattrap is a little stinker, Windblade shines through her fighting skills, as does Chromia, the story goes in multiple directions at once, then returns to itself as everything changes - and we even get a new type of character introduced. Not a character, a type.
Art
The artwork, of course, makes my appreciation of the issue rise even further, with Sarah Stone's excellent panel work, returning to Longtooth's head camera (as in, his head is a camera) device and commentary on the technique. Combined with some brilliant facial expressions, the result is an issue of dynamic, clear fight sequences and truly terrifying moments later on.
'Is this thing on?'
Moments which are expertly enhanced by Stone's use of colour and shading, and some great contrasts in how the light, be it fire, glow or else, reflects on and refracts off different Cybertronian surfaces and bodies. Add in some subtle touches in sound effects and lettering by Chris Mowry, and we get a truly thrilling addition to the mini-series.
See? Stinker. And creep.
Additionally, not to forget, the covers. Stone's amazing 'crying' Windblade has made the rounds many times now, but Alex Milne and Joana Lafuente (thumbnail) create an impressive valiant rendition of the character, too. And continuing the 30th Anniversary celebratory series, Guido Guidi and John-Paul Bove recreate a victorious Stascream over Megatron for the retail incentive!
Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead
Well. I mean, well. Scott had me convinced that the story would be doing certain things, and then took it wildly away, only to drag it back and split it again and end it on a note that appeared from nowhere - but could still make sense. In the next issue. Because of course there's a cliffhanger that actually leaves you wanting more.
What? WHY WHAT?!
So the narration works, the characters really work with and against each other, so many questions, points, issues, revelations are addressed and made to hang. There. Just hang. And then you get so much in terms of body language and expressions and behaviour in Stone's artwork and colours, a mixture of glee and repulsion, and - I just want more. Please?
(Though again, next issue is the last for now, at least until 2015. But still.)
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- out of
- out of 
