IDW Transformers #33 Review

As of tomorrow we'll have hit Transformers #34 in IDW's new-ish Transformers comic continuity and this time around it looks like we'll be catching up with Termagax, Landmine and Geomotus for the first time in months, at least if this five page preview is anything to go on. The publisher's synopsis for this issue says:

(W) Brian Ruckley (A) Anna Malkova (CA) Winston Chan
"Sea of Rust," part one! Megatron has learned that his former mentor, Termagax, holds a key artifact that could tip the scales of the war firmly in the Decepticons' favor, eliminating the Autobots once and for all. The first order of business, of course, is finding Termagax's House, a mobile building on the run. And as tensions erupt between Megatron's Decepticons and his old mentor, the Autobots put themselves in the crossfire!

You can check out the five page preview provided by IDW Publishing below.

Wingstun calls the blue one Space Case, then they mention Nacelle, then "Space Case" transforms and looks like Nacelle. Huh?

ScottyP wrote:Wingstun calls the blue one Space Case, then they mention Nacelle, then "Space Case" transforms and looks like Nacelle. Huh?

Don’t worry Scotty that got me as well.

ScottyP wrote:Wingstun calls the blue one Space Case, then they mention Nacelle, then "Space Case" transforms and looks like Nacelle. Huh?

No he turns into a seeker that shares G2 space case’s colors even down to his yellow/orange missiles. Not that hard to follow but I guess if you’re reading it to find something to complain about…



Guys will find anything to gripe about in the comics

Randomhero wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Wingstun calls the blue one Space Case, then they mention Nacelle, then "Space Case" transforms and looks like Nacelle. Huh?

No he turns into a seeker that shares G2 space case’s colors even down to his yellow/orange missiles. Not that hard to follow but I guess if you’re reading it to find something to complain about…

ED71CA67-4F66-4527-A023-5FBDB657C95B.jpeg

Guys will find anything to gripe about in the comics

To be fair both Nacelle and Space Case share the same colors.

Randomhero wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Wingstun calls the blue one Space Case, then they mention Nacelle, then "Space Case" transforms and looks like Nacelle. Huh?

No he turns into a seeker that shares G2 space case’s colors even down to his yellow/orange missiles. Not that hard to follow but I guess if you’re reading it to find something to complain about…

ED71CA67-4F66-4527-A023-5FBDB657C95B.jpeg

Guys will find anything to gripe about in the comics

I kinda see it, still a bit off but that's probably unfamiliarity with seeing Space Case in a G1-ish seeker body. Thanks, and please try to be polite about it next time.

Issue #34 kicks off the new Sea of Rust story arc and this issue like many others in this series is heavy on the dialogue but has a decent mix of action thrown in. The writing for this issue is on par with Ruckley’s previous outings. The art in this issue as per usual is done by Anna Malkova who brings her characteristic flare and competence in the art department.

Now let’s dive into the writing of this issue. There is no denying that Ruckley is very passionate about this series unfortunately that does not seem to have translated into reader passion. However, personally I enjoyed this issue. Is the story groundbreaking? No, but I had fun reading and that is what matters. Ruckley has definitely gotten better at bouncing back and forth between the different groups of this series. We pick up with Prime, Megatron, Shockwave as well as the Insectiacons, and it will be interesting to see how everything plays into this arc. This balance was missing from earlier issues. Termagax has lot of potential and hopefully this arc delivers on that. She also gives weird vibes like she cannot be completely trusted. The way Skywarp is written makes him feel like Loki from the MCU, but he didn’t feel quite all there.

You can find full credits for Transformers #34 in our Vector Sigma Database entry for this issue

The standout of this issue has to be the art Malkova continues to deliver. Her splash pages this issue are spectacular and some of the best moments in the book. The art overall is just really fun in this issue. Malkova is just superb at facial expressions. Both David Garcia Cruz and Evan Gauntt’s colors complement Malkova’s art incredibly well. They truly bring out the best in each other. No complaints with Jake Wood’s Lettering either.


Overall, I had a splendid time reading this book and the art is just fantastic. However, that does not mean this book is great. It is an okay story with superb art, but that being said I like this book and I am interested to see where this arc is going. Hopefully we will finally see some progress in this series or at the very least some combiner goodness.


This issue is out today, 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 didn't realize "shoot" was onomatopoeia . . .

It's time for your monthly dose of Rucklin' and rulin', or something, as the ongoing Transformers title from IDW Publishing reaches issue 35 tomorrow. This is the second part of the "Sea of Rust" story, and features art by Anna Malkova, colors by David Garcia Cruz and Evan Gauntt, and letters by Jake M. Wood. The official synopsis for the issue says:

(W) Brian Ruckley (A) Anna Malkova (CA) Joana Lafuente
"Sea of Rust," part two! Termagax has many secrets - information that could forever tip the scales in the favor of the Autobots or the Decepticons. As the Decepticons close in, she allows Optimus Prime and the two other Autobots she respects into her inner sanctum to share her knowledge. But will the Autobots be able to act on it before the Decepticons start their siege? And where does Skywarp factor into the equation?

Check out the preview below and be sure to pick this issue up tomorrow at your local comic shop, through a licensed digital comics retailer, or via the Seibertron.com eBay store.

I gotta admit, that is a cool way to have Sky Lynx deploy troops. And Shockwave looks AMAZING there.

~ Grim

Who is the character next to Shockwave in that last panel?

Razorbeast88 wrote:Who is the character next to Shockwave in that last panel?

I'm guessing Shadow Striker.

Nice to see Blades' bloodlust portrayed.

Flamewar is funny, egging Hyperdrive on.

bluecatcinema wrote:

Razorbeast88 wrote:Who is the character next to Shockwave in that last panel?

I'm guessing Shadow Striker.

Thank you!

The long road through the Cybertronian War, or at least one of them, continues onwards with today's release of Transformers #35. Several months of build-up and maneuvering have culminated in a showdown at Termagax's house, House. While a single issue alone will never be enough to get me back "in to" this series, it came as a surprise to find plenty to like in the trenches of this series' latest installment.


Most of "Lord of Misrule: Sea of Rust II" takes place in the same setting as issue 34, though after a brief but pretty enjoyable skirmish at the beginning the action cools. An opportunity to have one very well focused issue, or at least relatively for this series, is cast aside so we can find out what "Skywarp" is up to this month. Some readers will like that, but I found it distracted from what this issue was doing on the whole. My intense dislike of what Brian Ruckley has done with the character and the series' presumable overarching villain probably doesn't help here.


That aside, and without giving too much away, what this issue does is set up and begin to execute a big, exciting, fun to read set-piece battle between a bunch of Autobots and a just-as-large group of Decepticons. It provides at least a small amount of payoff for the series' excessive cast, jumping from group to group while nearly managing to pull off the impressive feat of building up that cast in a positive way as it does so. While I didn't like every development within the battle and found Optimus Prime to be abhorrently misused during it, it was still very exciting and makes this the most entertaining issue of the series in a long while.


The art steals the show here without question, as Anna Malkova shows off every skill she's developed as a Transformers artist in as big a way as could be imagined. There are dozens and dozens of characters in this issue doing dozens of different things while conveying a wide spectrum of emotion and it's hard to pick a spot where things ever get bad, though Sandstorm's teeth are a little weird. David Garcia Cruz and Evan Gauntt provide the colors, and outside of the orange tinted hues of the Sea of Rust looking marvelous there's great lighting work as well. Jake M. Wood's letter work never distracts and some of the effects serve as a welcome compliment to Malkova's transformation sequences. You can't literally hear Sky Lynx or Sixshot transform, but you will and they sound very different. Tremendous stuff.

This section went a bit long so remember that as always, you can find all the cover images and full credits for the issue through our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers #35.


Transformers #35 could have been another chapter of this series where I frantically looked to push this review off onto another staff member, but the art and key battle sequence provided enough entertainment that I wanted to let you all know about it. There's certainly still a healthy helping of things I really, genuinely disliked, but at least there's cool stuff here to distract from, say, one of the hands-down worst versions of Optimus Prime that has ever existed, which I'm happy to go into on the boards where spoilers can roam more freely.

If you ignore everything but the battle scenes this is a 4.5/5, but on the whole, the issue has some really excellent stuff that's dragged down by its wider circumstances and context. If you've been enjoying the series, ignore my "average" rating for this one and keep that high score in mind instead.


This issue is out today, September 22nd, 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.

You say most misused optimus...is that even worse then what they did in the latter days of IDW 1?

I went back this weekend and read issue 1 to current with all the mini series and tie ins and I’m just going to say it, this is some of the best transformers comics I’ve read in over 5 years. I like the first IDW-verse. I think John barber is without a doubt one of the best writers there’s been. While RID/TF/OP had its ups and down I enjoyed it a lot. That said I think this current iteration of the comics is without a doubt on par with the first year of RID and MTMTE in 2012 and is leaps and bounds better then the 5 years of MTMTE/LL. It’s pacing is better, it’s actually paying things off while also exploring other lore and giving some wonderful character development but also it’s not written like a f$@?ing television show but not just a television show it’s not written like red dwarf/dr who fan fiction. It’s written like a comic but not only a comic but an ongoing comic and what I mean by that is I couldn’t tell where the arc breaks were binge reading it all.

I love the stories, the characters and what’s going on with them. You can complain about Skywarp all you want but he’s being handled not too dissimilar from how he was conceived by Bob Budiansky. A deadly character who is kinda off and a prankster. Hate to break it to ya but Brian Ruckley read the bios of characters and is utilizing them to a very good extent.


I’ve seen people complain about the pacing and how slow the series and how little goes on and it’s all talking. Reading it from start to current, the pacing isn’t slow. It’s not just talking and there’s tons of stuff going on! The problem have been the delays. Even I was struggling a little at a point but reading it all I blame the delays and that’s unfortunate but that’s not the story’s fault.

I’ll say it again I think this is some of the best transformers comics in over 5 years and I highly recommend it. It’s leaps and bounds better the the last 2 years of the the original IDW verse and better then the -ation start that’s for damn certain and I loved the -ation series a lot.

ZeroWolf wrote:You say most misused optimus...is that even worse then what they did in the latter days of IDW 1?

He spends this issue talking to Termagax while the big ol' cool battle scene happens instead of participating in it. I don't care how important that talk is to him, no Optimus should ever do that. He doesn't seem to give one crap that some of his soldiers are out there probably dying and I mean, wow, unless the point is that he's just not any better or much different from Sentinel then I don't get it.

ScottyP wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:You say most misused optimus...is that even worse then what they did in the latter days of IDW 1?

He spends this issue talking to Termagax while the big ol' cool battle scene happens instead of participating in it. I don't care how important that talk is to him, no Optimus should ever do that. He doesn't seem to give one crap that some of his soldiers are out there probably dying and I mean, wow, unless the point is that he's just not any better or much different from Sentinel then I don't get it.

Ah I get what you're saying.

ScottyP wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:You say most misused optimus...is that even worse then what they did in the latter days of IDW 1?

He spends this issue talking to Termagax while the big ol' cool battle scene happens instead of participating in it. I don't care how important that talk is to him, no Optimus should ever do that. He doesn't seem to give one crap that some of his soldiers are out there probably dying and I mean, wow, unless the point is that he's just not any better or much different from Sentinel then I don't get it.

Oh Bullshit no he doesn’t spend the issue inside while the battle is going on. Optimus shows up over halfway through the issue and the battle doesn’t even kick off till page 22/23 spread out of 24 pages. and it’s only the beginning! This is once again a shining example of the staff, mainly you due to this review just trying to find stuff to dislike and is reaching to a point of just being sad.

You just don’t want to enjoy this series. You ignored blatant problems with roberts books and gave them perfect scores acknowledging the problems but admitting not caring about them which should have been a the last time you ever shoulda have been allowed to review comics personally because thats a bad reviewer there and you’re just looking for stuff to criticize with this series because you don’t want to like it.

He spends his time BEFORE the battle truly kicks off full force trying to talk sense into Termagax and convince her that while she refuses to join a side, she running out of options and he has his second I command with him helming the battle. Someone who is regarded as one of the greatest soldiers in cybertoanian history. Something that’s establish Optimus is not. The same second in command that refused to let him meet megatron and volunteered to go instead due to his safety and importance when he wanted to talk peace but he is here at this time during this due to how important this situation is. We don’t know Optimus’s war history because it hasn’t been explored other then he was present during the war the threefold spark. Where he’s at currently is where he should be. Trying to convince the most important person there aside from himself(because he’s a prime) to get involved and hey, guess what? Spoiler: he does.

You wanna complain Optimus isn’t there on the battlefield and that “no Optimus should do that” but that Roberts who you’ve always held in such a high regard showed Optimus sitting in a bubble surrounded by monitors watching and coordinating battles. But no Optimus should do that…unless it’s written by a writer you like. But again, MTMTE/LL. see the issues and flaws, doesn’t care because bias and likes the series.