That's Just PrimeA Review of
Transformers #25A Few Minor Spoilers Within 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.
You weren't dead? Ok sure, why not. 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.
Wow, not dead and feeling better! 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.
Still wouldn't expect Generations to touch these guys again anytime soon, sorry 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.
Good face, less good face 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 #25VerdictIt's like when your mom uses your middle name 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,
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