IDW Transformers: Robots in Disguise #27 (DC 11) Review

Synopsis
DEATH OF A HERO! BUMBLEBEE! RODIMUS! ULTRA MAGNUS! PROWL! One will fall in final battle with SHOCKWAVE! This one is for all the marbles, folks—it just doesn’t get any bigger than this!



Story

We're almost there, and quite an almost it is. John Barber and James Roberts keep building and building and building, something is going to have to tear (other than the space-time continuum). And here it is. But does it really not get any bigger than this? Read on to find out more, and yet not spoiling the book. Ish. Where I can.



Shockwave really takes the spotlight once more, and understandably so, now that we know his plans for everything becoming one (sound familiar?). But the rest of the cast are not neglected, and there are plenty of good moments for individuals throughout the issue overall. Including both Prowl and Bumblebee, continuing from last week's MTMTE.



And there's a lot of strategy in the fight, too. We get to see Autobots, NAILs and Decepticons actually working together, in some cases quite literally uniting forces, and there are some really good points being made about the blurred boundaries between 'good' and 'evil' - as the two series, but especially RiD has made clear for a while now.



It felt as though it didn't pack as much of a punch as its predecessor MTMTE #27, at least in terms of action. But is the death unexpected? Yes. Completely by surprise? No. But yes, unexpected in terms of the overall scheme of things. And it kind of works, actually. It may not be Pipes and Rewind, but it works.

Art

We've left the Dead Universe pretty much behind us (or have we?), so one artist has been left to rest too - and Andrew Griffith takes centre stage. And it's a good stage to be on. His Shockwave is magnificent, for one thing. There are not one, but two amazing double page spreads, and an impressive splash page, none of which I can really show. But they're good.



Let's take a moment to deal with the stratospheric work that colourist Josh Perez has been doing in this event run, shall we? He manages time, styles, places and lights amazingly throughout the whole issue just as he has done so far. Some of the wider shots would really not makes sense without the colours, and those that do just look even better.



Tom B. Long is still on letters, and there's a bit more than last time to go on, and brilliant as usual - some defining moments are really enhanced by the soundcolours. Three covers overall, and other than excellent regulars Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr, Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente, we have the quite stunning Bludgeon by Marcelo Matere and Priscilla Tramontano (see thumbnail!).

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Let's see then, penultimate chapter: death death death fighting alliances fight fight fight jokes talk talk fight death. One of which is really meaningful to the story. As I said above, on first reading it did not pack as much of a punch as chapter 10 did, but it may have also been due to *everything* happening at the same time. Including the Jhiaxus toy explanation.



I am really really interested to see what on earth (or Cybertron) the aftermath of this issue will be in the 'conclusion' next issue, because there are a lot of things to be answered for. The issue looks stunning, too, thanks to Griffith, Perez and Long, and it really helps move the story along when the story is mostly action - and keep it in the present when it's needed. It's doing all good things on a different plane than the last issue, so it gets the same mark; but they are not the same book.