The Energon Pub

Rodimus Knight wrote:I looked at this cover and I had no Idea who the characters on it were.

Same here, I adress it in my review. Along with the robo sweat.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Yeah the sweat was the 1st thing that caught my eye. Any idea how and when this series will be released in trades? And will Galaxies really be put together with it?

I think there has been a, listing for the first TPB on Amazon
, and so far, yes Galaxies will be contained within the mainline TPB.

What I found amusing looking at the cover was that I was trying to figure out why Greenlight had been paired with Arcee, then I remembered that we got Greenlight as part of the Selects line (under Siege) and of course, Arcee is coming out in Earthrise. Coincidence?

Probably I haven't even checked to see if this Arcee looks anything like the Earthrise release

The cover you didnt realise was Greenlight is because its Gauge not Greenlight on the cover.

Loved this issue the Arcee transforming and catching Gauge sequence was a highlight panel as was the whole Arcee takes no prisoners scene.

ZeroWolf wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Yeah the sweat was the 1st thing that caught my eye. Any idea how and when this series will be released in trades? And will Galaxies really be put together with it?

I think there has been a, listing for the first TPB on Amazon
, and so far, yes Galaxies will be contained within the mainline TPB.

What I found amusing looking at the cover was that I was trying to figure out why Greenlight had been paired with Arcee, then I remembered that we got Greenlight as part of the Selects line (under Siege) and of course, Arcee is coming out in Earthrise. Coincidence?

Probably I haven't even checked to see if this Arcee looks anything like the Earthrise release

Technically, Greenlight was part of the regular Siege line, just exclusive to Amazon. Her retool, Lancer, was part of Selects, though. As I recall, Earthrise Arcee is straight up her G1 cartoon design. This looks more IDW Arcee to me.

Soo, several months abmgo I designed an interior schematic for Metroplex and was faced with the same question posed in this review: Do aliens have Stairs?

The problem is not so much that they can turn into vehicles, even for a species who can do that, you sren't going to turn into a car in the middle of your Hotel just go up to the nect level. The question is that unlike Humans, there is a VERY large range of heights and builds with no consistancy. Unlike Humans where most adults are in the 4-6ft range, we have seen Cybertronians deviate from 4-8feet to over 40, and thats just the normal guys, not counting Combiners or dudes like Omega Supreme. And on top of that, legs are not as consistantly proportionate either, so you have guys like Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead who are close to the same height, but Bulkhead's legs are half as long. And someone like Override who turns into a Motorcycle and comes up to Bulkhead's WAIST has to use the same flight of steps. So whom do you size the steps for?

A Ramp, meanwhile, is more versatile, but comes with the inherent steepness issue.

Issue 21 drops today and it is very apparent that this Optimus is Siege Galaxy Upgrade Optimus without the extra armor. That incredibly angular truck cab is clearly that Voyager Optimus and not Siege or Earthrise.

Thanks to Apple Book Preview, we have our 3rd and final comic preview for the day, this time for Transformers #22. Transformers #22 is set to focus in on the Security team that is attempting to bring in Quake, who was captured last issue and whom killed our introductory kid character Rubble all the way back in issue #5. As seen in these preview pages, that mission is not starting off very easily, and it looks like a fight is brewing for this issue.

Check out the preview below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Has this picked up worth a damn yet?

That cover is rather nice, it has to be said.

This first sentence will be the only mention of how much more other past Transformers comic series have done with 22 issues. That was a thought that needed to get out of my head, and now it's out and direct comparisons to older continuities will cease for the rest of the review.

Transformers #22 is out this Wednesday, August 19th and continues the escalation of tensions on Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons. Or Ascenticons? Risers? It really doesn't matter much now since we all know what's up by this point and are free of having to wonder whether or not this is tied in to the Netflix series (it isn't) so let's see what's happening with our favorite robots in disguise this month.


Brian Ruckley's mild ride is picking up the pace a bit at last, with a great deal of this issue being a battle and its surprisingly still action heavy consequences. A somewhat focused cast takes us through events that are a logical progression from what's come before, the dialogue isn't overly dense and artist Anna Malkova's sequential work carries it through much better than the output on Transformers #21 just a month ago. No 'bots are suddenly pivoted 90 degrees on their back after being attacked by a character suddenly on the opposite side of where they were in the previous panel on this one, thankfully.


The character work here is more focused than in some previous issues but there's still an overall feeling that each issue is trying to follow too much in too many places simultaneously to build its cast in a memorable way. I challenged myself to remember the character's name above and couldn't do it. All I can think of is Rice Krispies, but sadly the verbal tic presented made Voxpop - I looked back at the page now - stand out among a sea of standard fare. As another example, the Sentinel Prime here has yet to be anything more that what you probably already think he is because he keeps showing up for a panel/page or two and then leaving. While this is fine given the foreshadowing (and my personal assumptions, to be fair) on what will eventually happen to him, it's not creating anything memorable or new. That's just one example but more are around if you look hard enough. Sure, Transformers have had one-note "Red Car Guy" types of characters for a long time, but it feels at times like this entire series is comprised of archetypes playing typecast roles.


While that focused on the negative it should be made clear that this was much more fun to read than a great deal of this series' previous content. Characters may not necessarily appear but are at least mentioned, preventing any cases where doubt is cast in regards to whether or not the writers and editors remembered who was in given scenes. The Cybertronian political climate, along with its penchant for talking and walking through halls/up and down staircases, shows up briefly then goes away. It's effective in this case as it's introduced by the aforementioned Voxpop, we pivot to it, then things jump to the next logical scene. Joana Lafuente's color work also aids the narrative by giving each setting a distinct feel, and as this review is about to get into below, this is a god-send in at least one circumstance. As the next chapter of a larger story, there's a lot here that's satisfying, or at least moreso than much of the series so far.


There is one nagging production issue that was present in issue 21 that remains here in at least one case, which is whiplash between scenes. To explain, I'm going to talk about scenes readily read-able for free in the published preview for this issue, though be aware that preview has pages 2 and 3 reversed by mistake, something that does not carry over to the final product. We start with a page featuring Bumblebee and Stakeout. As soon as this is finished, your next panel is the one shown above with Sixshot. Bee and Stakeout aren't watching this battle and don't show up until the later half of the issue, so why is this here? Why has letterer Jake M. Wood not put some kind of location caption on the page with Sixshot and others, or why did one of the three editors on the book - David Mariotte, Tom Waltz, or assistant Riley Farmer - not caught the times this has happened where the narrative doesn't handle the transition well on its own? Maybe the confusion is the point, providing the reader with a sense of the chaos happening on the page, but there's been a significant recurrence of this lately in this issue and others. This has left at least this reviewer feeling some whiplash as events move from scene to scene, often without warning.

The covers do a decent job of showing things that actually happen in the book, or at least the variants do which is why Andrew Griffith and John-Paul Bove's "B" cover is used in this review's news story's thumbnail. The 10-copy incentive cover by Winston Chan depicts a similar scene, while Anna Malkova's "A" cover looks way cool but feels like it was made for another issue then placed here arbitrarily. That's no great sin, just pointing it out for readers hoping to see that triumvirate in a featured role this time since they are not. As always, you can also find full credits for the issue in our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers #22.


Production quibbles aside, this is a much more read-able comic than some of the work that's been output in this series, featuring some welcome action that draws on previous events in ways both appropriately rote and surprising. One of the bigger surprises comes at the end and I'm not sure how to feel about it. It's likely that without the follow-up content, whether or not a certain character's actions end up being compelling storytelling or a cheap pop for shock value remains to be determined. In some ways I really like where the story went, though in others I wonder if a slight variation might have done more for the characters involved. It's tough to articulate this while being vague to remain "spoiler free-ish", but feel free to comment on this post if you want to chat about it more in our forums.

The score below flip-flopped back and forth between what you see and a half-point higher, but dead in the middle of our rubric feels like the right place for this. The issue isn't terrible but it also fails to achieve greatness. This was an enjoyable read for me, but certainly nothing mind-blowing and not enough to tell anyone that's dropped the book to go pick it back up.



This issue's out today, so pick it up on the Seibertron.com eBay store or at your local shop, check here to see if you have one nearby and remember to check first for special hours or restrictions related to public health matters.

Thanks for the review! I have since dropped this series. It's the first time I have ever dropped a Transformers series. I collected all the Marvel from the 1980s and even got the UK Marvel series. All the Dreamwave. All the original IDW even when that series was wearing thin, I stuck with it. This series, however, I can't even try to continue... not even for the sake of the brand. I love Transformers but this "bold new era' is just that... bold as in going in the wrong direction. I just consider the original IDW the one true IDW series. I wish I could get rid of the issues that I already have. My comic book shop won't even take them back. The owner told me that a lot of people have already dropped that series and I'm seeing more and more backstock just sitting on the shelves. The Simon Furman 1984 series and the Terminator series are WAY more interesting and have beautiful artwork compared to the New Bold Era. I'll just have to wait for the inevitable reboot... hopefully sooner than later.

crazyfist wrote:It's the first time I have ever dropped a Transformers series. I collected all the Marvel from the 1980s and even got the UK Marvel series. All the Dreamwave. All the original IDW even when that series was wearing thin, I stuck with it. This series, however, I can't even try to continue... not even for the sake of the brand.

Same here mate. I agree with everything you said above. This "Bold New Era" is rather more accurately a "Boring New Era". I am also hoping for a new reboot with a rather more competent team, telling a faster paced story.

How the heck they made the end of the war considerably more interesting that the run up is utterly beyond me. 22 issue to tell us so little? Good grief.

~ Grim

We have many comic previews for you today. This one is for issue 24 of the "new" Transformers series from 2019. This issue brings us the conclusion of the Rise of the Decepticons arc. This preview comes to us from iTunes. This issue is done by Brian Ruckley (Author), Bethany McGuire-Smith (Artist, Cover Artist) with Red Powell and Nicole Goux giving us additional covers.

We have a few comic previews for you today. This one is for issue 24 of the "new" Transformers series from 2019.

(W) Brian Ruckley (A/CA) Bethany McGuire-Smith
"Wheeljack: Orbital Decay". Untethered from the world below, Cybertron's former inner moon is in a decaying orbit around Cybertron's sun. Wheeljack and his team race against the clock to save it, but the sun's pull might not be their only problem.
In Shops: Nov 11, 2020
SRP: $3.99

"Transfomrers".

I laughed at Gears and his "Come on!!"

First off, yes this review is pretty late. Transformers #25 was released last Wednesday, but with nothing coming out for the coming week on 12/16 this review was saved from not being written at all. That's all on that part.

IDW's 2019 reboot of the main Transformers comic universe has reached 25 issues, which like this year itself feels like it arrived in no time flat while also feeling like it took forever to get here. Rather than a grim hurry-to-the-conclusion-due-to-cancellation affair after a dozen issues like the latest failed G.I. Joe reboot, Transformers gets an "Event" book that isn't quite the definition of an "Event" book. Still, it's a double-sized issue to mark the occasion along with the sub-title of "War World" that will presumably grace the next several issues as well, so let's see if this hail mary play ends in a touchdown or just the slow runoff of the clock.


If I ignore my feelings towards issues 1-24 in their entirety and pretend this is issue #1 of a new series, most would probably think that to be a bad idea and a pointless thought exercise. I'm not saying you should do that, but if you want to, it kind of works to be totally honest. Outside of a couple minor references to other events and a necessary familiarity with the general idea of the franchise characters that appear within, this accomplishes the rare feat of being a great jumping on point if you're curious about this new series. If the first 24 issues were the lecture that most students slept through, 25 is the test that somehow got aced by the same students. There's lots of action, a varied cast and very few stretches of walking and talking through hallways/stairwells.


The biggest positive about the book, for me as a longtime Transformers fan, is the number of generally obscure, nobody, D-List non-characters that get use here. It's always fun to see an old favorite that was never more than a toy show up and do something, even if it's still ultimately not much. A fair warning is in order that some of these appearances do end in your favorite old toy getting blown up, but within this issue it feels like it could be in service of something that probably should have happened a long time ago in some Cybertronian war story or another that's in a G1 universe or a derivative of it - the crew members of the Ark and Nemesis/the Autobots and Decepticons that end up crash landed on Earth are shown as survivors of a dangerous war. We'll see if this ends up being a consistent theme as this may be me projecting what I want to see happen onto the plot, but if it is I think this is a good thing, sad as it is to see some cool toys get blown to pieces.


Most of what Brian Ruckley does in this issue was very enjoyable, though one issue that remains is how some of the dialogue could be thrown onto any other character and work just as well. It could be argued that this holds for almost all action-oriented issues of Transformers, which is maybe why it doesn't feel quite as generic here. Or it could be that characters like Ironhide and Brawn feel like characters in this issue, which is promising improvement. Even Hubcap and Strongarm appear to make an attempt at explaining their poorly timed faux-pas from last summer. Hopefully it isn't too little too late, and continued improvement here would still be appreciated.


Anna Malkova handles the lineart for this entire oversized issue, a daunting task that was met with great success for the most part. The panel above with Sentinel Prime and Megatron is one where some constructive criticism can be levied, because while for the most part her work on characters, alt modes, backgrounds and particularly faces on characters with faceshields is solid, I look at Megatron here as an example of something that isn't working for me. While not a theme overall, his nose is too big here, and while that beats the creepy giant lips of Polygon's Megatron on the Netflix show, the proportions are off just enough for me to have a tough time reading his tone. As previously stated, the line work is generally very good throughout, so don't let my words here be too much of a detractor. Joana Lafuente's colors elevate the visual appeal in the issue as well, even serving to help in the transition of scenes from page to page in a way that I didn't notice until a third read through. Jake M. Wood handles the letter work just fine, which is another way of saying that while sometimes the word bubbles can get in the way during action heavy comics, in this case, they do not.

There's a bit of an editorial crediting change for this issue, with David Mariotte and Riley Farmer still listed as editor and assistant editor, respectively. Tom Waltz is now listed as a "Supervising Editor" and while I can't admit to knowing what that means, I'll (irresponsibly, sorry) speculate that maybe the path of the story has been shaken up a bit? The last page of this one had me internally screaming "Finally!", whether or not this has anything to do with that though, I have no idea.

Angel Hernandez and Joana Lafuente handle the art and colors for the "A" cover which is featured in this review's news story thumbnail, and it's nice to see a small dose of Hernandez again for this mini-milestone issue even if I wasn't his biggest fan on interiors. Malkova's "B" cover is inspired by actual events of the issue, with Fico Ossio and Lafuente working on the 10-copy retailer incentive cover that thankfully features 0 characters from Hasbro's Visionaries franchise. As always, you can find all the cover images, full credits for the issue through our Transformers #25


If issue 26 is a big let down I'm going in on it with no mercy. That said, in a vacuum issue 25 is probably my favorite of the main Transformers series since this reboot started. There's action, character work, plot progression and just a fun read in store.

The things that happen here feel significant and were very exciting, but it must be stressed that these probably should have happened a dozen issues ago on books priced at $3.99 and not $7.99. That will be something entirely forgivable if the series can carry this momentum into its next run, which will hopefully be one where it finds its own identity while being an interesting read month after month. So far it has not been able to do this at any turn, but today I'm choosing optimism.

With the big disclaimer that this score is with a lot of hope that this is a turning point and not the bang before a let down, here's the tally:


This issue is out now, and you can pick it up at the Seibertron.com eBay store or at your local shop, check here to find the closest shop to you.

I entirely forgot this series still existed to be frank. I'll wait for next issues review to see if this positive note means it's worth attempting again.

~ Grim

Big Grim wrote:I entirely forgot this series still existed to be frank. I'll wait for next issues review to see if this positive note means it's worth attempting again.

~ Grim

I think this is a good idea. Have been several moments when I thought this series might be turning around then I crack open the next issue and it's 18 pages of walking and talking. Hell even 23 was at least so-so, then 24 was nothing but an extended boring promo for the now month late (and still counting) Escape #1

ScottyP wrote:I think this is a good idea. Have been several moments when I thought this series might be turning around then I crack open the next issue and it's 18 pages of walking and talking. Hell even 23 was at least so-so, then 24 was nothing but an extended boring promo for the now month late (and still counting) Escape #1

Man, that's kinda damning. We gave up the previous continuity fer this? Why was that again? The whole "Hasbroverse" nonsense? I want the Lost Light, the Scavengers and good guy Megatron back, but I suppose it is what it is.

~ Grim

Rodimus Prime wrote:I still believe that if these 25 issues were to be condensed down into maybe 15 or 16, it would make for a more interesting story.

I second this with the slight amendment that it could have been done in 12. 3-3-3-3: Rubble/intro plotline; politics of Cybertron stuff ending in The Rise's jailbreak; Megatron consolidating The Rise and Ascenticons culminating with the fall of the pillar; Escalation into war with birth of the Decepticons and Sentinel's death + Optimus Prime getting the matrix from this latest issue.

I enjoyed Transformers #25. Then Transformers: Galaxies #12 and Transformers: Escape #1 came out and I enjoyed them as well. It felt like things had finally turned around, or at least that the overall new-ish reboot series had started to. This feeling has been betrayed. By what?

Walking and talking. They're back, and I am not pleased.


That's right, if you missed your monthly dose of robotic characters talking at one another in the midst of all the actual things happening in the last few issues, well hold on to your easy chair because that will mean you aren't having to hold this comic and read it. This series has had a problem with momentum almost from the beginning, and any fears it had turned a corner on this have not been assuaged. Sometimes it's good to have a break from the action, to take a beat to reset things and let the characters react to and stew about in everything that has occurred. That's what this issue attempts to do, but it hasn't earned it yet. The battle in issue 25 presumably just ends and everyone goes back to their bases. It's like if Hot Rod opened the matrix from within Unicron then popped back over to Autobot City to regroup. I don't get it.


Maybe it's a "me" thing, but I'm not the only one on staff just disillusioned with this book, so maybe it's an "us" thing that doesn't apply to you, reader of this review. An extremely cursory look at Amazon reviews for the second hardcover volume of the series shows it has an audience, and if you indeed prefer Transformers to not be an action series then this issue is probably for you - and you should ignore my score at the end if this applies.


It's not just a lack of fighting though, Transformers can do cool things outside of that. However, very little of that is present here either, with only some last page "please come back next month" reveals doing anything remotely within the realm of on-brand for the Transformers franchise. There are also some plot progressions that are significant, all surrounding Megatron, so while the issue's not a total dud its density still leaves something to be desired.


The visual presentation is excellent regardless of what it's depicting, with Anna Malkova again on line art providing some long-due consistency as well as continued improvement. David Garcia Cruz is now handling colors and while my limited art vocabulary won't be able to articulate this very well, there's a depth he's given to the linework here that I really appreciate. The sunset lighting effect throughout is a great touch and used appropriately for the environment in which the characters are present. Jake M. Wood has the unenviable task of fitting in some super dense word balloons within limited page space, but does well at placement and in addition of beats in between paragraphs. Perhaps the editorial grouping of David Mariotte and Riley Farmer can work with writer Brian Ruckley to make some of those a bit more succinct.

As always, you can find all the cover images as well as full credits for the issue through our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers #26.


I'm so tired of this. My apologies to the artists and other creative personnel doing their best with the provided script and plot.

Again, please ignore the below score if you are someone that prefers the slow-paced, vapid, dialogue heavy style ever-present in this series.


This issue is out now, and you can pick it up at the Seibertron.com eBay store or at your local shop, check here to find the closest shop to you.