Tenterhooks
(Spoiler free-ish)
SynopsisCABIN FEVER! Crammed into a dead Decepticon astropod that's ten sizes too small, the displaced crew of the Lost Light face their most serious threat yet: each other. As tensions rise and tempers fray, only one Autobot is arrogant enough to think he can save the day. Enter Rodimus, expert mediator.
Sure. StoryWe've had the last story arc be fairly brutal, in both setting, execution (heh) and consequences, so it is only natural - as these series appear to do - to have a breather issue to regain both a setting (the shuttle/pod), a cast (the Lost Light crew), and a handle of the various storylines that had temporarily, and seemingly, been put on pause.
Ten, for one, is disappoint If you will, and if we accept the TV series comparisons for James Roberts' writing, this is a bottle issue. And what that means is that we have ample space for character work rather than plot (and that is both good a bad) but it does not cancel the plot elements that are very much there (believe us, there are MANY THINGS addressed between the lines), if embedded in the character interactions.
Example A Most of all, perhaps, we get to see more of Cyclonus, his growth, development and positioning among the crew (with some impressive Whirl, Magnus, and Chromedome moments), in light of whatever may or may not have happened to Tailgate from last time we saw him and Fangry. Does buried mean dead? And how dead? Comics dead? Or is something else at play, again?
Example B I have more thoughts on how the situation is being handled, below, but I wanted to also mention the attempts (and I mean attempt) at a lighter tone for most of the issue, counterbalancing the heavier parts of the story, with Swerve and Anode playing off each other, but at the same time - I felt - clashing with the overall feeling of the issue. As I said, more below.
ArtAlex Milne returns from Shining Armor back to the Lost Light crew, and what I found most impressive was the incredible similarity in some of the beats that regular artist Jack Lawrence brings to the series usually. Some of the expressions with Ratchet, especially, and it was a delight to see reinterpretations of previous
designs and personal takes on specific characters like Anode and Lug.
Grinch Smirk! That similarity, however, is not entirely to be found in the lineart - but rather pretty much distilled to perfection in Joana Lafuente's colours. The continuity and cohesion, for lack of better terms, that her colours bring to the two different styles of art, is something to behold. Plus, we get all the usual amazingness as well.
...and a fantastic cloak. Roberts' scripts are never not dialogue/text heavy, and a good letterer is the best thing the comics needs for the flow to work well - but also pepper in some clues and hints at situations, possibilities, eventualities, and silent, blank spaces. And for that, Tom B. Long is what is needed.
As for the covers, there are several variants to be found accompanying the issue, from the Milne artist edition used in the thumbnail of this story, to the Roch / Burcham take on the lighter thread of the book, via JN Wiedle's Rodimus spotlight, and the main, regular, Cyclonus-centric Lawrence / Lafuente piece - to check them all out, head to our
database!
ThoughtsSpoilerish aheadThere is a dangling cliffhanger at the very end that might leave several readers fairly surprised, if not speechless, but I felt like the journey it took to get to it was only half as enjoyable as I wanted it to be. Forced interactions in combined spaces have been done in this series previously, and this one had a strong running thread that was - again, for me - too undercut at times, even in its own seriousness.
Shout out to the MVP In addition, the apparent suspension of a lot of plots that are still to be resolved will rub many the wrong way, but more is happening than it first looks (it definitely took a pointer for me to spot some moving parts I had missed, too). To add an even more positive spin, the issue will probably appeal more to readers closer to older stories in the series, but has more than enough material to also not completely shut out new readers, with fewer reference material to work with. So exactly a good, average issue, with some wins and some not-as-much.
(Added note: my biggest problem with the book, I'll admit, is one line of dialogue, towards the second part of the issue, about a specific relationship, and how I really do not like how and where, and regarding whom, it was deployed. I'll leave that for the discussion boards, though.)