Hand it over
(Spoiler free-ish)
SynopsisThe final battle begins—and when it’s over, nothing will be the same. Everything that Lost Light—and More Than Meets The Eye before it—has thrown at you, from the biggest plot twist to the smallest incidental detail, has been leading to this: all your favorites, arm-in-arm, hand-in-hand, ready to go out in style.
Abraham Dante MunsonCrucible continues, and we find ourselves following on from precisely where we left off last issue, with its ending leading directly into this opening, meaning that our efforts to keep spoilers to a minimum are taking even more of a toll on the review writing. For this, and for reasons that will become clear, this piece will look different, as Va'al and ScottyP argue over the book instead - unlike what you might see in other places, this process actually has different views and sides!
Hat-hater and compulsive doodler.V - First thing first, from a story perspective: I can see how this issue is technically, as a piece of ongoing serialised comics fiction, a good issue. What I personally took a problem with was how it dealt with some of its implications in light of previous criticisms I've brought into the fabric of MTMTE/LL. Specifically, its tendency to 'redeem' characters with a morally objectionable past and track record. A point which you disagree with.
S - New information, especially when it was not known by dead characters before they died doesn't redeem them, at least not to me. Getaway's methods were still a step too far and Scorponok was being subversive even without knowing what he might have accidentally been helping. One of the themes throughout the series is about knowing when to empathize with a character and their decisions as opposed to sympathizing with them. Understanding and forgiveness are different lanes on the same highway, but one of them can still be a breakdown lane if that's what's called for. This issue of Lost Light hits that point again subtly, but in the wider context of the bigger story the reiteration is enough for it to be effective here.
"You've had too many beers for stunts involving windows"S - As is typical with
Lost Light, the character moments and beats in their journeys take center stage here, though there is a nice amount of progression and revelation to be found in the larger plot to go along with that. A returning character that appeared at the end of LL 21 makes a real impression here, including a short but long-awaited moment with a former ally.
V - I definitely agree with that, given the encounters and beats we have with some of the lesser front characters, but well beloved by readers and integral to the story being told about that character. believe, in the grander scheme of things, my biggest issue is with Tyrest.
S - Tyrest's foundational character trait is that he used to be really wise and good and just but he's super broken now, to the point where Prowl has to send Getaway and Skids to take him out but they nudge-gun him into being
even worse. This issue furthers the mental health analogy of his character arc even further - his mind wasn't healthy to the point of corruption, misplaced (though well intentioned) treatment made it worse, and now he's truly forgotten who he ever was. Again, I find no redemption here as we were told from the get-go that he really was a good 'bot at one point.
V - I still don't entirely buy that point, and I do think something better could've been done with the analogy - I find some of it a little questionable, though narratively appealing. He is an ethically questionable character - on par with Prowl, Prime and Megatron - by his and the story's own admission, only now to have received validation with the GA's reveals.
Just look at those hats!S - One thing that deserves mention is the substantial payoff related to the larger story which occurs in this issue. Years of details, plotting, and planning (and Oxford commas) coalesce in ways that need to be witnessed to appreciate. For possibly the first time, it feels like the amount of questions still to be answered before the series wraps up is truly dwindling. In a way, all but probably one of these revelations was exposed in the past through some contextual clue in dialogue or in a background visual clue or
possibly even by Hasbro (and this is possibly a spoiler click if you choose to accept it.)V - I'll admit that some of the clues left since the beginning of the story, while not appearing to be directly linked until right now, and the reliance on trivia and minutiae and panel-analysing for some major plot points, has at times dampened my enthusiasm for the book. Especially of recent, as I think I've pointed out previously. And I'm sure some readers will also undoubtedly grimace at past references coming to play so many years later
S - I feel like this issue explains itself substantially enough, verbally and visually, that you will be entertained even if you forgot about these supporting details. Even if that weren't the case, leaving a trail of clues and breadcrumbs that build upon one another in fun ways is part of the identity of this series, and without that attention to detail it would be a different series. Were the back catalog some monolithic, inaccessible, and hyper-expensive ordeal this might be a detriment, but as it isn't, to cast all of the self-referential material in a negative light feels like it'd be the equivalent of admitting that you wanted to be smarter than the story, not learn from it.
V - I wouldn't cast it entirely in a negative light, as we've both been doing this sort of work with the books, but I'll stand my ground a little on this one: we had a similar appraisal but opposite reaction for Optimus Prime #21, and I wasn't too willing to let this one slide - story wise - if it weren't for what we said about the characters above.
S - Not how I'd describe my take on OP 21, but we're not here to talk about that issue, are we?
ArtV - Brendan Cahill is at the artistic helm this issue, with what is probably his most successful take on the Transformers characters yet, and for an issue with this sort of impact, we couldn't have asked for more.
S - No disagreement in this part. This is Cahill's best Transformers work ever. There is just a hint of some of the "roundness" that's bugged me about (some of) his earlier work, but he's evolved here to make it much more of a charming, Andrew Wildman-esque robotic round rather than the almost organic kind of round that I felt from some other recent issues.
V - His use of body language in particular, with the specific example of that character we mention earlier, is a testament to the development of both the artist and the character - in spite of any qualms I might personally still have about the latter.
The year is 0079 of the Universal CenturyS - SPACE BATTLE! :ahem: Great use of the layout to tell a visual story that frames in and influences the other character and "mytharc" moments that are the focus of the book. There's plenty of room to make your own head-canon side stories. Maybe Riptide can boat himself through space like it's Transformers: Energon.
V - And we have an excellent chromatic
guide giving us a
hand in Joana Lafuente's take on the lineart, aptly giving the right spotlights and hues to the interior/exterior scenes, both in the literal and figurative sense.
Cyclonus is unmoved by these window-based anticsV - The general dialogue flow is what helps issues like this one to make the landing point of the script, and having clearly demarkated lettering - such as the one by Tom B Long, who also manages to have some font fun in the process - is what ensures something like that to work. And what is particularly appreciated, speaking to our point above, is that editorial assistance from David Mariotte was well signposted, for readers wanting to go back and check the major crumbs leading to this point.
S - I uploaded all the covers and made mention of all the creator credits in our
Vector Sigma Database entry for Lost Light #22, so check that out if you'd like but be warned that the character appearance list might spoil some details! The particular cover used for this review's news post's thumbnail image is the "A" cover by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham.
ThoughtsSpoilerish aheadV - This issue made it out, entirely by accident and par for the course for the IDW schedule, earlier than its supposed release. And what I saw in reaction to it on the internet was an outporing of emotional responses that extremely heightened my anticipation for the issue to be fully available. And I think that got in the way of my more reasoned appreciation of again, what I believe to be an otherwise very good piece of comics work, reminding me of my own difficulties with one of the underlying threads part of the MTMTE/LL narrative thread.
S -
Lost Light #22 deserved a huge hype train and it got very little of an official one with the botched release timing. That said, I think the early reactions were entirely justified as countless pieces of a large puzzle suddenly clicked together here in a beautifully illustrated and written piece of science fiction. This review could never hope to properly analyze it all, especially with the attempt at spoiler avoidance, so be sure to experience it for yourself.
2012: "I'm totally Swerve, he's clever and funny!"
2018: "I'm Misfire and I have no idea what I'm doing."S - Without hyperbole, for me this was probably the most rewarding payoff in a fictional story that I've ever experienced. I was so close to being right about That One Guy, but at the same time could not have been farther away. Here's to you, eyebrows.
Va'al's VerdictV - I don't feel like repeating myself once more as to why I find it so hard to distance my personal reading filter on this issue (and the series) from the issue itself. As a book, this chapter does everything it needs to and more, more or less following its plotted path from the start, and that is impressive enough. The fact that it took two very invested people at least four days to put down thoughts on it, I think, speaks to its success as a piece of media. As for a score, however, I cannot honestly give it one. Make do with ScottyP's if you will!
