This page contains affiliate links. We may earn commissions when readers interact with or purchase items through these links. For more information, see our affiliate disclosures here.

IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review

Transformers News: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review

Wednesday, January 21st, 2015 7:57AM CST

Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al   Views: 46,263

Topic Options: View Discussion · Sign in or Join to reply

Pink'n'Purple
(Spoiler free-ish)



Synopsis
THE ONYX PROTOCOL! As PROWL confronts SPIKE over the human’s betrayal, the mystery of G.B. Blackrock and the Onyx Interface deepens. Meanwhile, Tokyo becomes a battleground as Arcee faces the Constructicons… and Galvatron!

Transformers News: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review
Or not


Story

In issue #36 of the Transformers ongoing, we had the different factions setting themselves like pieces on a chessboard (with chases and explosions, of course). We also found out Prowl's real - for now - feelings towards Spike, and how much the two may or may not be very similar beings. All in an effort to locate the Enigma of Combination, and prepare for the Combiner Wars event.

Transformers News: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review
He gives good recaps too


And despite Prowl and Spike being once again key players in this issue, John Barber makes two other characters really shine: leader but not quite of the Decepticons Galvatron, and Autobot but not sure Arcee. Their disputes, their interactions and Galvatron's slow game are a thing to behold.

Transformers News: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review
Such wit


We also return to some wider concepts forming the basis to the current situation on Earth, and Blackrock's personal goals and stakes in the whole thing, but so far, not as fully realised as the robotic side of things - until the very end, that is, when the worms are out of the can.

Transformers News: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review
Oh hey Kup and Sideswipe


It's nice to see a progression towards a conclusion of the arc before the beginning of the next one, without the feeling that one is being rushed or cramped for the other. Nice to see a couple of secondary characters take a little bit of light too, but the main action, because action it is, is what you're here for in this issue.

Art

Regular artist Andrew Griffith takes the full burden of the artwork this time round, and a heavy burden it is. He performs brilliantly, too, with some fantastic panel layouts, and his Arcee and Galvatron really capture Barber's script underlying the interactions.

Transformers News: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review
He's impressed


Effects obviously aided by not one but two colourists: Josh Perez and Thomas Teowisonte Deer, whose styles are different enough to be noticed, but without ever interfering with the artwork's aesthetic. Plus, we get some fantastic sky/ground transitions.

Transformers News: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review
KangabooBoomerang!


Tom B. Long's lettering is wonderfully placed, adding exactly what is needed to the various scenes, and remaining specifically absent in others, which is to be appreciated given their context. The covers are magnificent too, and bring in another fan artist for the 30th Anniversary cover - Kotteri (thumbnail) - alongside Griffith/Perez for A and Nick Roche/Josh Burcham for the bluesome B.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

As I mentioned above, there is something still a bit slow in an otherwise very well-paced issue, featuring some wonderful action of both the verbal and physical kind - allowing a decently sized playground for the visual team to try out their skills, be they layouts, body language or colours.

Transformers News: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review
Motion blur!


What I am concerned about at this point, however, is the reasoning behind Blackrock's schemes, as well as the role that Prowl and Spike will actually play in the upcoming major arc of Combiner Wars, and what actually is Galvatron's personal gain from it all.

. :CON: :CON: :CON: 1/2 out of :CON: :CON: :CON: :CON: :CON:
Credit(s): Va'al, IDW

News Search

Got Transformers News? Let us know here!

Re: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review (1641487)
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on January 21st, 2015 @ 8:06am CST
I'm Looking forward to finally getting this. what with the slow burning information from UK Toy Fair, I needs mah Transfohmah fix.
Re: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review (1641879)
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on January 22nd, 2015 @ 9:23am CST
It took me a second, but Jimmy was trying to teach the 'Cons about Bacon Numbers.

Also, what's Arcee's game? What's Prowl's game? What are Kup and Sideswipe gonna do about Sky-Lynx? Where's Jazz? Is World War T gonna bring more Transformers to Earth? So many questions!

I liked Blackrocks line about the lonely trillionaire. Creepy comedy at it's sleaziest. And Galvatron's face:
image.jpg

Those are some pretty glorious facial panels. He looks so distinguished. I bet that's what all the fembots look for in an older mech. And it was nice to see him interact with Arcee.
Re: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review (1642262)
Posted by wetwithwaterwings on January 23rd, 2015 @ 4:59am CST
Good review, Va'al. My memory is about as clear as that motion blur and I haven't read anything pre-RID. With everyone deceiving everyone I can never tell if I've forgotten a detail, the detail is a mystery, or the detail was revealed but now the speaker is lying. Do we know who actually killed Spike's dad and why? And why did his dad (Sparkplug/Daniel?) consider him a traitor? And what specifically did Spike do to betray Prowl? And why did it look like an atom bomb when Galvatron hit the ground? Was the satellite that Galv and Arcee destroyed important, or was that just to look cool? Is there a trade I need to read to better understand the earth/cybertonian war that this book references so much? Should I just give up and focus on the pretty pictures?
Re: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review (1642285)
Posted by Va'al on January 23rd, 2015 @ 8:04am CST
wetwithwaterwings wrote:Good review, Va'al. My memory is about as clear as that motion blur and I haven't read anything pre-RID. With everyone deceiving everyone I can never tell if I've forgotten a detail, the detail is a mystery, or the detail was revealed but now the speaker is lying. Do we know who actually killed Spike's dad and why? And why did his dad (Sparkplug/Daniel?) consider him a traitor? And what specifically did Spike do to betray Prowl? And why did it look like an atom bomb when Galvatron hit the ground? Was the satellite that Galv and Arcee destroyed important, or was that just to look cool? Is there a trade I need to read to better understand the earth/cybertonian war that this book references so much? Should I just give up and focus on the pretty pictures?


Spike's dad was killed by Galvatron a couple of issues ago.
Spike's betrayal of Prowl's trust consisted in killing Scrapper (a Cybertronian) all the way back in the 2009 ongoing, as revenge for Devastator's actions in All Hail Megatron.
All Hail Megatron is also probably what you need to understand the Cybertronian war on Earth; that, and the -ations.

The satellite was pretty much just a detail of no importance, unless it bears massive importance as of next month. :P
Re: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review (1642448)
Posted by wetwithwaterwings on January 23rd, 2015 @ 2:03pm CST
Thank you, sir. I wish I had a better excuse for not remembering the issue where Spike's dad is killed until you mentioned it, but I don't. My memory is just that spotty when it comes to monthly comics. Thanks for the refresher and the recommendations.
Re: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review (1642630)
Posted by 1984forever on January 24th, 2015 @ 8:19am CST
Thundercracker is a joke to even humans now. Thundercracker works best with Starscream and Skywarp, not alone! But because of the obsession over Henkei Thundercracker years ago, Hasbro execs think he is the fandom's all time favorite seeker! They don't understand that it is not love which attracts the fandom to Thundercracker... It is guilt! The fandom feels guilty that they left Thundercracker to collect dust on store shelves back in '84 and '85! Back then, there was only 2 reasons a kid had Thundercracker 1) You had everyone else on the shelf

Or

2) Thundercracker was the only one left on the shelf
There were so many left over Thundercrackers at the end of '85 that stores returned them to Hasbro. Hasbro took them out of the original boxes, put them in tiny little rectangle boxes and sold him thru the mail for $8 and a few robot points (not people points IDW, ROBOT points)! As for the fans who weren't born yet... you only like Thundercracker because you fed into the hype :lol:
Re: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review (1642683)
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on January 24th, 2015 @ 12:54pm CST
No, '84ever, it is you who does not understand that you're like, one of the only peple here who doesn't like Thundercracker. What IDW has done with the character, is a good thing. His most distinctive feature from your time ws that he was just another Decepticon goon who looked kinda like Starscream. Now, he actually has character development; the reluctant seeker, berated and left behind on an alien planet by those who he thought were his brothers in arms,now trying to find a way to leave his past behind but unable to becaue those same former brothers won't leave him in peace. But you'd rather have a one-dimensional drone who does nothing better than make stupid jokes about everting on Earth being so flat.

Also, thank you for (a) trying to speak for every fan from 1984 as to their Thundercracker buying habits, and (b) insulting those of us who do actually like new things, instead of living 30 years in the past. Go back to writing slashfics where New Year's Day of 1985 never happened.
Re: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review (1642703)
Posted by 1984forever on January 24th, 2015 @ 2:37pm CST
Try watching more than one episode of G1 and then get back to me. Thundercracker had a personality back in season one of the real Transformers. He was a disgruntled goon and a proud warrior. He was never the tin-foil fool that IDW portrays him to be!
Re: IDW Publishing The Transformers #37 Review (1642709)
Posted by ZeroWolf on January 24th, 2015 @ 3:14pm CST
As some one who has watched more then one episode of G1 only missed starscreams brigade due to dvd issues. I much prefer this thundercracker he has something called character development in his favor and he has a moral compass of sorts. Plus if his screen writing skills were to be believed he'll have a job at syfy channel soon enough.

Change is good, just keep whispering that to yourself when you read this series. This is better then the animated series

Transformers and More @ The Seibertron Store

Visit our store on eBay
These are affiliate links. We may earn commissions when you purchase items or services through these links.
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "MINER MEGATRON + SENATOR RATBAT Transformers Legacy Evolution 2-Pack 2023 New"
NEW!
MINER MEGATRON + S ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "SHARD Transformers Legacy United Deluxe Class Infernac Chaos Hasbro 2024 New"
NEW!
SHARD Transformers ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GO-BOTS GUARDIANS 3-PACK Transformers Legacy United Deluxe G1 Hasbro 2024 New"
NEW!
GO-BOTS GUARDIANS ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GEARS Transformers Legacy United Deluxe Class G1 Hasbro 2024 New 240924A"
NEW!
GEARS Transformers ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "Transformers Legacy United DOOM N DESTRUCTION COLLECTION Rukus +Bludgeon /Ruckus"
NEW!
Transformers Legac ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "ORIGIN WHEELJACK Transformers Legacy United Voyager Cybertron Mode Target 2024"
NEW!
ORIGIN WHEELJACK T ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "SOUNDWAVE + BUZZSAW + RAVAGE + RUMBLE Transformers Legacy United Leader 2024 New"
NEW!
SOUNDWAVE + BUZZSA ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "METALHAWK Transformers Legacy United Voyager G1 Hasbro 2024 New"
NEW!
METALHAWK Transfor ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "ENERGON GALVATRON Transformers Legacy United Core Class Hasbro 2024 New"
NEW!
ENERGON GALVATRON ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GALVATRON Transformers Legacy United Leader Armada Universe Hasbro 2024 New"
NEW!
GALVATRON Transfor ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "THE MOTORMASTER Transformers Legacy United Voyager Animated Hasbro 2024 New"
NEW!
THE MOTORMASTER Tr ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "ARMADA OPTIMUS PRIME Transformers Legacy Evolution Commander Hasbro 2023 New"
NEW!
ARMADA OPTIMUS PRI ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "OPTIMUS PRIME Transformers Legacy United Deluxe Class G1 Hasbro 2024 New"
NEW!
OPTIMUS PRIME Tran ...
Visit shop.seibertron.com to buy "GEOCRON Transformers Legacy United Core Class Hasbro 2024 New"
NEW!
GEOCRON Transforme ...
* Price and quantities subject to change. Shipping costs, taxes and other fees not included in cost shown. Refer to listing for current price and availability.
Find the items above and thousands more at the Seibertron Store on eBay
Transformers Podcast: Twincast / Podcast #362 - Devastation Part Deux
Twincast / Podcast #362:
"Devastation Part Deux"
MP3 · iTunes · RSS · View · Discuss · Ask
Posted: Saturday, November 2nd, 2024

Featured Products on Amazon.com

These are affiliate links. We may earn commissions when you purchase items or services through these links.
Buy "Transformers: Generations Power of The Primes Legends Class Autobot Tailgate" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Generations Power of The Primes Deluxe Terrorcon Cutthroat" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Generations Power of The Primes Deluxe Class Dinobot Snarl" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Studio Series Number 14 Voyager Class Autobot Ironhide" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Generations Power of The Primes Deluxe Class Sinnertwin" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers: Generations Power of The Primes Voyager Class Grimlock" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Studio Series 12 Voyager Class Movie 1 Decepticon Brawl" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers: Generations Power of The Primes Deluxe Class Dinobot Sludge" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Generations Titans Return Titan Master Monxo and Wolfwire" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Voyager Class Silverbolt Figure" on AMAZON
Buy "Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Deluxe Class Firefly Figure" on AMAZON
Buy "Playskool Heroes Transformers Rescue Bots Optimus Prime" on AMAZON