iTunes Preview for Transformers Galaxies #5

I'm sorry but in a time of peace, a name like deathsarus would set off so many alarm bells Not surprised the natives think he's bee though if they can't see colour.

Thanks to a tweet from Sara Pitre-Durocher herself, we have news that her cover for the coming Transformers Galaxies #5 has been revealed!

Transformers Galaxies #5 will be focusing in on Cliffjumper, and will take a fun take on how Cliffjumper always looks like a red Bumblebee, and will include Cliff alongside a character famous as the Decepticon Emperor of Destruction of Victory Fame, Deathsaurus. The 2-parter is being written by Kate Leth and Cohen Edenfield, with art by the always popular Alex Milne.

Pitre-Durocher's cover dives right into this Bumblebee/Cliffjumper lookalike business by including a sad and downtrodden Cliffjumper walking alongside a window with Bumblebee smiling back at him from the reflection, with Bee clearly upbeat in the reflection and Cliffjumper surely grumpy at his lot in life.

Check out the covers below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

I'd planned to have a timely review of issue 5 up but IDW didn't get us the media review stuff for the week until late in the day on Monday (usually this happens Friday morning), thus eliminating the weekend time normally available that would have been used to write a review.

Not sure if anyone cares to know that much, but if anyone was looking for a review and wondering what's up, there you have it.

The short version is that it made me smile and Alex Milne is still awesome.

ScottyP wrote:The short version is that it made me smile and Alex Milne is still awesome.

Both of these are very true. Alex Milne is the best TF artist ever, to me.

And the story itself was pretty good! I loved both bots that starred in it

After four issues of the Constructicons and Devastator wreaking havoc, Transformers: Galaxies #5 arrives to start a new sidestory with a new creative team featuring everyone's favorite Mini-Bot Bumblebee...

...as the setup for a running joke about the issue's actual lead character, Cliffjumper. Paired up here with Deathsaurus in one of the most unlikely Transformers tandems imaginable, an off-Cybertron mission to retrieve Energon completes all the setup you need to know. Does the issue pull off this strange alliance? Read on to find out.


Kate Leth and Cohen Edenfield make their writing debut for Transformers comics in this issue, providing some possibly welcome levity after the tonally serious previous arc of Galaxies. A somewhat simple plot is aided by extra helpings of character, as both of the issue's stars receive plenty of time and context as they depart for and commence with their mission. Most of the unnecessary world-building-through-wooden-dialogue from certain other issues of the other ongoing series is absent here, with cues about the status of the world such as the now persistent Energon rationing being presented much more naturally in conversation. Another positive about the writing here is that there's no worry about one main character being the surrogate for one writer with the other for the second, as the characters' voices are distinct and generally true to what G1 fans would expect.


Almost as soon as I typed that last sentence, a realization swept over that Cliffjumper has zero weaponry throughout this issue and presents little desire for it, immediately offering an obvious counterpoint to said previous conclusion. Since this is a two-parter, we'll let it stand as a TBD. Deathsaurus does live up to a more G1-like characterization, coming off at times as the terrifying Emperor of Destruction and during others as exactly the kind of villain that would be in an '80s cartoon show. Despite the relative faithfulness to his original incarnation, I can't help but miss the excellent, imaginative take on Deathsaurus from More Than Meets The Eye and his fascinating, dramatic inner conflict which added another dimension to him that's missing here.


Speaking of MTMTE, Alex Milne makes a welcome return on this issue, bringing with him the outstanding work that we've all come to expect. Deathsaurus looks as familiar and imposing as ever with the scripting work giving Milne ample opportunity to depict his alt mode in several great sequences. The Probat race depicted within is both unfamiliar and reminiscent of some of his previous depictions of alien races, but where he really shines on this issue is in his depiction of the planet, also called Probat. A gorgeous double-page spread near the beginning of the issue and another scene with Cliffjumper by a fireside later on really show Milne's range, and it's an absolute delight to look at. It likely helps that Josh Perez handles the colors on this issue, making excellent use of lighting and shadow to help cast the mood. A unique palette is also present in a short flashback sequence that leaves no doubt in the reader with regards to what they're looking at.

More of this artistic "Dream Team" is welcome at any time, IDW!


Jake M. Wood is now our regular letterer it would seem, and he deserves credit as well for his role in the artistic presentation. The distinct bubble style and font used for Deathsaurus in alt mode avoids looking like gimmickry and instead elevates the character during the book's later sequences. Series editors David Mariotte and Tom Waltz keep the book well paced throughout and have kept it very accessible to readers that don't follow the ongoing series while also ensuring it fits in with the rest of this new-ish universe.

Four cover options await for this installment, with Milne and Perez's "A" cover used as this review's news story thumbnail image. The other regular cover available features a cheeky Bumblebee by Sara Pitre-Durocher that fits in thematically, while the 10-copy retailer incentive cover from Anna Malkova helps deliver an idea of some of the book's tone. Fans that frequent especially busy shops can possibly look forward to Kei Zama and Josh Burcham's intimidating depiction of Deathsaurus on a 25-copy incentive cover. As always, you can also find all the cover images, full credits for the issue and a list of all the characters that appear in the book through our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers: Galaxies #5.


The stunning art alone is enough to recommend that Transformers fans keep reading the stellar Galaxies series as it continues to outshine its parent publication in practically every way. The story here is simple and has some twists and turns, though there are a few times where it gets so wordy that one can't envy Wood's job of bubble placement. As the first half of a two-part story arc, the issue's momentum is stymied just as it picks up and releasing its follow-up a week later would have made sense while also clearing some of the backlog of delayed issues that IDW is working through. While that's not to be, it's also something that would only ameliorate a minor negative factor as the issue's characters elevate it in a significant way.

The art on Transformers: Galaxies #5 is a 5/5 while the story, for me, is a 4/5 so let's split the difference -



A late review means this issue is out now, 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.

Anybody figure out where these Constructicons Rising fits into this reading order?

NOBODY LOVES WHEELIE wrote:Anybody figure out where these Constructicons Rising fits into this reading order?

Anytime after 12 and before 15, in my opinion. Not tied in tightly enough to have one "correct" place so putting it in the roughly intended publication order works for me. The second hardcover coming out in June will provide a more definitive spot.

ScottyP wrote:

NOBODY LOVES WHEELIE wrote:Anybody figure out where these Constructicons Rising fits into this reading order?

Anytime after 12 and before 15, in my opinion. Not tied in tightly enough to have one "correct" place so putting it in the roughly intended publication order works for me. The second hardcover coming out in June will provide a more definitive spot.

Works for me.

Very good review, I fully agree!

I loved the pairing, it was a pairing of bots I didn't realize would work but yet it really worked well

Thanks to Alex Milne on Twitter, we have some line art from the just released IDW Transformers Galaxies #5.

The line art that Milne shared with us today comes from 2 different pages: Page 11 and Page 16. Page 11 features Cliffjumper and the Probats around a fire enjoying the light, while Page 16 features a beast mode Deathsaurus losing his temper, what one might call a "Catastrophe". The pages show the level of detail Milne puts into his pages, and the results can be nothing short of stunning.

Also, we get to admire just how good looking Deathsaurus is, and just how great Milne draws him in this comic.

Check out the pages below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

incredibly gregarious as usual.

It's great to have different artists take their hand at Transformers, but man Alex Milne should ALWAYS be on the back-burner for that EXCELLENT art.

I really can't help thinking this series is being intentionally delayed to sell the mainline series? This book is only two stories in, and a vast improvement over that one.

I'm thinking this is definitely the IDW book I'll trade wait for.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I really can't help thinking this series is being intentionally delayed to sell the mainline series? This book is only two stories in, and a vast improvement over that one.

I'm thinking this is definitely the IDW book I'll trade wait for.

As far as I'm aware, it's only been collected in with the mainline series and not getting its own seperate volume. Meaning that you have to buy the collected trades for the main line just to get Galaxies, at least, at this junction.

Interesting. I'll wait and see until we've crossed the '6 issue' Trade threshold, to see what's occurring. I definitely refuse to support the mainline book, so if need be, I'll grab back issues of this one.

Stormshot_Prime wrote:incredibly gregarious as usual.

It's great to have different artists take their hand at Transformers, but man Alex Milne should ALWAYS be on the back-burner for that EXCELLENT art.

Alex Milne should be attached to almost every Transformers project in some form ever. He is far and away my favorite artist

Best active artist for IDW Transformers by a country mile.

His pencils are probably in the top 3 all-time greats for the IP.

Thanks to Apple Books Preview, we have our first preview for the upcoming Transformers Galaxies #6!

Transformers Galaxies #6 follows up to Galaxies #5, serving as the 2nd and final chapter in the Bumblebee, er Cliffhanger, um dangit! Cliffjumper saga! In the previous issue, we were left on the last page with Deathsaurus standing menacingly over Cliff, not even able to get his name right, asking if he was ready to stoop to his level. And here we start with a look at Cliffjumper's birth, which itself was apparently unexpected, unwelcomed, and he was apologizing for existing from his first moments.

We must now see if Cliffjumper can rise up and make a true name for himself, and stand tall against a fearsome Deathsaurus!

Check out the preview below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

galaxies has been so good, no real bad parts to it at all yet, not even really subpar.

I am excited for the issue!

Hilarious and sad all at the same time. Best Galaxies so far.

ohhhh pretty