Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound

Wednesday, October 4th, 2023 8:23am CDT

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Transformers News: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound

This is your father’s Autobots

This review is spoiler free aside from the mention of the presence or some characters.

I keep thinking of that big bold line from the original G2 comic with “this is not your father’s Autobots” and how the strategy for franchises has changed since the Poochie filled era of the 90s. The recent era of deconstructing heroes is now past as well and instead what people want is nostalgia, like a reboot to G1. BUT, while nostalgia can seem like an easy sell, it must be done right, which is very tricky. There must be familiarity but it can't just be a retread.

After having read the first issue, I can confidently say that writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson gives us a G1 reboot in glorious loving fashion. While it can easily be seen as a reboot to both the G1 show and the G1 comic, it is also a new story, and made accessible to all types of Transformers fans. Fans of the original G1 comics are bound to get a kick out of Johnson’s art since it is very reminiscent of Geoff Senior at times. There is a great panel of Ratchet getting an action scene which reminds me of how Geoff Senior would juxtapose a dynamic and fluid scene with such simple shapes making up blocky and angular characters. We get that same contrast here in Johnson’s art. The bright colours from Mike Spicer are the icing on the cake, complementing the art perfectly for a classic feel.

The story itself is very familiar, as intended for the opening of a new saga reinventing G1. But within the first issue, Johnson makes it clear that it is not a simple retread of G1, with a significant character death. This, along with the mysterious lack of a particular villain, sets the rest of the comic in uncharted waters. The familiarity now rests simply with the characters. This is the opposite of deconstructing characters and it reminds me instead of seeing Peter B Parker in the first Spider-verse movie, where we have characters in a new story and new continuity, but written in a way that you can instantly recognize them in a classic portrayal. While there have been a lot of different versions of Optimus Prime, Jetfire and Starscream throughout the brand’s 40 years, consistent traits have lingered throughout, creating specific personas we attribute them with to the point where we can tell when a character isn’t acting as he should (or as we think they should). And in this comic, these characters feel like the ones I know and love. Optimus is as heroic as we all know him to be, Starscream is as malicious as you’d expect him to be and Jetfire battles with the familiar internal conflict.

One last point I want to address is a change to the chronology by Johnson that I find very significant for the brand. He reduces the time for both the war and the main bots’ slumber from millions to hundreds of years. It’s just a change to the dialogue, with no other repercussions, but that’s all I needed. Interactions make more sense now, I can better imagine the length of the war, and there being little change from when they crashed, if that is revealed to be the case, will make more sense. But this is just a personal nitpick I had with storylines in the past and Sci Fi in general (paging Doctor Who), so I was glad to see it addressed here.

Overall, I recommend this issue to any Transformers fan who wants new G1 content in their life. It is a really meaty issue too, leaving you both satisfied and wanting more. Plus the humans present are not annoying, nor remove any of the spotlight from the bots (if ever there was any concern).

4.5 out of 5 stars

You can pick up this comic today at your local comic shop or grab it at our toy and comic store (along with thousands of other products) at shop.seibertron.com. We also have an exclusive cover for Transformers #1.

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Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2170886)
Posted by william-james88 on October 4th, 2023 @ 8:59am CDT

We had the pleasure to talk to the writer and artist of the new Transformers series from Skybound, Daniel Warren Johnson, to get to know more about what to expect in the coming months along with an explanation for the big spoiler moment. Below is a summary of what was discussed.

Firstly, it was interesting to see that while Johnson grew up with the Transformers brand and was heavily influence by Geoff Senior for his art style, he has been removed from the modern Transformers content and discussion. So don't expect new characters to show up, even those which have retroactively become part of "G1" fiction, like Drift, Barricade or Windblade. The stories will instead have characters he is ore familiar with, though there may certainly be some G1 deepcuts.
The first issue had a passing remark regarding Megatron's absence and Johnson was not going to tell us more about that. BUT he did explain to us why he picked Bumblebee as the character to bite the dust in the first issue. At a basic level, the scene was made to establish to both new readers and the human characters in the story who were the good guys and the bad guys and how ruthless the bad guys are. Plus, since this comic is meant to be as accessible as possible, Johnson wanted to have well known characters, including the one who dies. This had nothing to do with Bumblebee's overexposure in the past 15 years, though it is interesting to note that Johnson never had a great affinity to Bumblebee growing up.

While the book has a very familiar premise for anyone who grew up in the G1 era, the book is meant to be accessible to all and Johnson asks us to leave everything we know at the door. The story he will be telling is fresh and new. It will be written as a series of arcs, with no end planned at the moment. At the same time though, Johnson is adamant to make each issue feel satisfying in its own right, as we saw with the first issue, with a full character arc for Jetfire. This is something extremely important to him.

A change we felt was significant was the talk of time. In most Transformers fiction, eras are measured in "millions of years" be it the Cybertronian war or the time between the Arc crashing and the bots awakening. Johnson changed that to "hundreds of years" in the dialogue since it felt more logical, but the impact story wise is minimal. It wasn't that big a decision for him and Hasbro had no notes on it. Speaking of Hasbro's involvement, they did give him feedback about the way he draws Optimus' hands. While they would want them to look less human, Johnson is sticking to the Geoff Senior school of robot hands, which are simply human hands with some rings drawn on the fingers. It is also less taxing for him, since he does have the double duty of being the writer and artist.

Speaking of that double duty, it gives an added layer to what we see in the comic and which characters appear. For instance, the cassette Soundwave chooses to deploy is Ravage. Johnson, as a writer, wanted to include this character that he loves and Johnson as an artist really wanted him in the story because it adds a different kind of element to draw. Him being an animal makes him fun to draw and adds contrast to the more blocky shapes of the other bots.

Those were the main parts of the interview, if you want to watch the full interview, you can do so below. But please be aware of some issues with framerate and the interviewer going on some random rants/tangents.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2170919)
Posted by blackeyedprime on October 4th, 2023 @ 10:29am CDT

So time wise...they just killed G1 (beast wars) and UK comics dinobots. Bold and an easy pass XD

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2170929)
Posted by william-james88 on October 4th, 2023 @ 10:58am CDT

blackeyedprime wrote:So time wise...they just killed G1 (beast wars) and UK comics dinobots. Bold and an easy pass XD

It's a whole new world, anything is possible. Only 1 character is confirmed dead so far

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2170932)
Posted by ScottyP on October 4th, 2023 @ 11:03am CDT

I thought it was average. Plenty of good stuff, plenty of stuff that wasn't for me.

Really liked the war not being ancient/on an insane timescale, felt the balance of human drama to robot stuff was done well and some of the small nods like Prime's trailer having a real purpose were neato.

The art is not to my taste overall, but the only part that seemed actually bad to me were the attempts at using Geoff Senior-style action. That only works for Senior because his entire style is like that, it's really awkward and jarring here. The tone also gets too edgelord for my liking by the end, but I think a lot of people will like that and not view it as a negative point.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2170933)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 4th, 2023 @ 11:06am CDT

Just seeing the preview, I wasn't interested in this. It's been nearly 40 years since G1 and that doesn't make seeing the crashed Ark or dormant occupants as anything other than an 80's throwback. As much as I loathed IDWverse post-Furman. At least they had the guts to be different.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2170946)
Posted by william-james88 on October 4th, 2023 @ 2:18pm CDT

ScottyP wrote:I thought it was average. Plenty of good stuff, plenty of stuff that wasn't for me.

Really liked the war not being ancient/on an insane timescale, felt the balance of human drama to robot stuff was done well and some of the small nods like Prime's trailer having a real purpose were neato.

The art is not to my taste overall, but the only part that seemed actually bad to me were the attempts at using Geoff Senior-style action. That only works for Senior because his entire style is like that, it's really awkward and jarring here. The tone also gets too edgelord for my liking by the end, but I think a lot of people will like that and not view it as a negative point.

I get all your points (except for the edgelord stuff, I didn't feel that), but I think the wholesomeness and accomplishment of a G1 reboot made me look past them. I don't really care that it's a G1 reboot, but I like that it is done well. Some fans wanted that and I am happy for them. I hated the IDW 2.0 stuff, especially in terms of pacing, so by comparison this issue felt like a great read.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2170948)
Posted by ScottyP on October 4th, 2023 @ 3:48pm CDT

william-james88 wrote:I get all your points (except for the edgelord stuff, I didn't feel that)

Gonna keep it vague since I think this will show in the news story view comments where spoiler tags don't work - what I'm mostly referring to is the final panel of the issue. Made me roll my eyes. In a vacuum it doesn't bother me but as it is, it felt like the definition of a first issue trying way too hard to be serious/grim/important. Move that scene to a later point in the story, heck not even much later, and I think it has more impact.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2170964)
Posted by william-james88 on October 4th, 2023 @ 4:29pm CDT

ScottyP wrote:
william-james88 wrote:I get all your points (except for the edgelord stuff, I didn't feel that)
Gonna keep it vague since I think this will show in the news story view comments where spoiler tags don't work - what I'm mostly referring to is the final panel of the issue. Made me roll my eyes. In a vacuum it doesn't bother me but as it is, it felt like the definition of a first issue trying way too hard to be serious/grim/important. Move that scene to a later point in the story, heck not even much later, and I think it has more impact.

Ah right, I get it now. While I felt it was in line with the way the character was portrayed through the comic, I won't disagree with any of that.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2170982)
Posted by sol magnus on October 4th, 2023 @ 6:22pm CDT

There was plenty to enjoy, but there were some things I have...opinions on. There's something in there I felt was making a point that didn't really need to be made, but we got the truest version of a character I've ever seen in fiction due to that plot decision.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171004)
Posted by Supreme Convoy on October 4th, 2023 @ 11:06pm CDT

Transformers #1 is one of my most anticipated comics this year and it did not disappoint! It really is the perfect mix of DWJ sensibilities mashed up with the Transformers.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171006)
Posted by william-james88 on October 5th, 2023 @ 12:33am CDT

Supreme Convoy wrote:Transformers #1 is one of my most anticipated comics this year and it did not disappoint! It really is the perfect mix of DWJ sensibilities mashed up with the Transformers.

Yeah, I know people here aren't really feeling it, but the reaction online has been positive overall. While I'm indifferent on it being a G1 reboot, I think it accomplishes what it sets out to be.
Here are some more words of excitement I found for this issue:

We are so fuckin back, I knew DWJ wouldn't fail us.

The art's pulpy and fresh, the human and cybertronian characters are both interesting, it's got the signature robot-ultra-violence. 9/10, wish it was longer. Great start, hope we got years ahead of us.

What a fantastic read with some interesting twists to the formula. You can also already tell DWJ gets these characters.

I enjoyed it. How nice it is to see the 'compassionate warrior' take on Optimus Prime again as opposed to angry and vengeful in other media.
Welcome back, Caring Warrior Dad G1 Optimus

Just read the comic. I have to say this is the best TF comic I've read for a very, very long time. Feels good to be excited about Transformers comics again!

Really enjoyable. It is a pretty fresh look at the Sunbow Pilot Episode MtMtE with a ton of hooks for new story.

Listen, you there. That’s right, you reading this. I want you to read this carefully and picture these words in your mind. You understand? Good. Pick. Up. This. Book. It’s everything I wanted in a new Transformers series, going back to the core strengths of the franchise, the mechanical lifeforms learning and changing through their interactions with humanity, with amazing artwork and engaging writing and pacing. Pick it up. ‘Nuff said.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171053)
Posted by Big Grim on October 5th, 2023 @ 9:08am CDT

I rather enjoyed it, though I don't remember Cybertronians ever feeling as fragile as they seem to be here. Maybe I'm just used to how hard to kill they were in the IDW days. It certainly looks like two deaths in this issue alone.

~ Grim

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171101)
Posted by ScottyP on October 5th, 2023 @ 12:56pm CDT

Big Grim wrote:I rather enjoyed it, though I don't remember Cybertronians ever feeling as fragile as they seem to be here. Maybe I'm just used to how hard to kill they were in the IDW days. It certainly looks like two deaths in this issue alone.

~ Grim

Gotta get that shock value in or something. Tbh, characters dying in a premiere issue is probably more predictable now than the opposite.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171107)
Posted by Stormshot_Prime on October 5th, 2023 @ 1:28pm CDT

And Thundercracker missed being a part of the main Con cast by *that* much.

That aside, I am so stunned and excited by this first issue! I’m loving all the reimaginings of the human characters, I love Carly and her van so much already (hope Ironhide becomes her van, they had a great dynamic in the G1 cartoon.)

One thing that seems new(ish?) that I’m VERY interested in is the duration of the war. It appears to barely have gotten started, so we’re going to see some interesting “early days” of the war that other series (looking at you IDW2019!) didn’t manage to grasp.

It’s going to be hard waiting for #2 is all I have left to say!

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171111)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 5th, 2023 @ 2:22pm CDT

Post-Furman IDW didn't even grasp the war to begin with. Let alone how to "end" it in a logical and satisfying narrative way.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171116)
Posted by Hero Alpha on October 5th, 2023 @ 2:54pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Post-Furman IDW didn't even grasp the war to begin with. Let alone how to "end" it in a logical and satisfying narrative way.

War rarely ends in a logical and satisfying narrative way. I thought IDW handled it quite realistically, as far as giant space robots go. Both sides losing, trying to move on, even the "bad" guy, kinda getting away with it, for a time, with plenty of the other side backing him. Pretty good grasp on war to me.

As for the new comic; I liked it a lot. Carly should be blonde though.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171171)
Posted by william-james88 on October 5th, 2023 @ 11:00pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Post-Furman IDW didn't even grasp the war to begin with. Let alone how to "end" it in a logical and satisfying narrative way.

The war under IDW post Furman was always nebulous to me. It only ever made sense, time wise, when Roberts made this beautiful 2 page spread explaining how the leaders would over-strategize to the point of taking 100 years to plan one battle.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171192)
Posted by snavej on October 6th, 2023 @ 5:27am CDT

The whole idea of Teletraan-1 was SO 1950s, when computers were huge. It's redundant now. I'm glad that Image Optimus blew it up.

It's 'good' (realistic) to see Starscream & co. casually killing humans, who Decepticons would see as offensively inferior and an obstacle to progress. Maybe they will start a programme of human eradication this time. Given the increasing use of drones in real-world war, the Decepticons could unleash self-replicating attack drones against human civilisation. That way, the genocidal process would be automated, leaving the Decepticons free to strengthen their positions and fight the Autobots.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171200)
Posted by sol magnus on October 6th, 2023 @ 6:10am CDT

snavej wrote:The whole idea of Teletraan-1 was SO 1950s, when computers were huge. It's redundant now. I'm glad that Image Optimus blew it up.

It's 'good' (realistic) to see Starscream & co. casually killing humans, who Decepticons would see as offensively inferior and an obstacle to progress. Maybe they will start a programme of human eradication this time. Given the increasing use of drones in real-world war, the Decepticons could unleash self-replicating attack drones against human civilisation. That way, the genocidal process would be automated, leaving the Decepticons free to strengthen their positions and fight the Autobots.

Re: Starscream, - this is the truest take on the stated characterization of Starscream going back to his 1984 file card we've ever gotten. He was probably the best character in the book, and while I don't think his other major action was needed whether or not for overexposure - it made me feel something, so on that level this book is a success in my eyes.

Re: Review for Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers 1 from Skybound (2171260)
Posted by william-james88 on October 6th, 2023 @ 1:58pm CDT

The first issue of Daniel Warren Johnson's new Transformers title is a success both critically and in sales. Many fans who have wanted a modern take on G1 are saying they finally have it. So the anticipation for issue 2 is pretty big. Below you will see preview images for the second issue. Some are in black and white while others are in colour. We see Optimus killing a deer by mistake, realizing how fragile creatures of Earth are and saddened by his action (a direct contrast to the way the first issue ended) and we also see Cliffjumper, who will be a main player in this series. Enjoy!