Review of IDW Transformers: Lost Light #6

Hype is a fickle beast. Comic publishers, writers, artists, and other creators need it to drive sales. Sites like the one you're on, right here at Seibertron.com, need to communicate this hype via solicitations, a slow drip of cover art, and back issue sales as a service to our readers as this ends up being the medium through which information on upcoming books is disseminated. The net effect is positive until this hype becomes unrealized upon a product's release.

While that might sound like a foreboding portent of a negative review, it isn't. It's time for Lost Light #6, and it's time for you to check the hype at the door because there's bound to be something in store you didn't see coming. Don't disappoint yourself, and give a dose of empathy to the awesome creators bringing these stories and their hype to you every month.


The crisis on Functionist Cybertron comprises the main story line given focus within this issue. There are only so many pages to wrap up a plethora of plot points, and a series of cleverly sequenced events along with a twist that feels right out of Attack on Titan helps this issue deliver on most of these points. The action is fast, furious, and even the dialogue in between avoids going over-long. There's a melancholic moment involving Ratchet and Rung that's so typical of Ratchet's life that it's heart-wrenching, which makes a parallel moment later in the issue deliver a very well-timed and uplifting beat.


The Anode story has been controversial with fans of the book, with many readers enjoying it and many others ready for it to wrap up as soon as possible. I'll admit I actually started in the former camp and ended up in the latter. There is a satisfying conclusion to what can be described as a story that introduces the character of Anode in a detailed way throughout the course of a portion of six issues. It is a story with a poignant message, honest emotion, and internal conflict you can empathize with. The ultimate point of it now seems clear, dangerous as it is to assume you really know anything in a James Roberts Transformers story. That point also makes sense within other events going on. On top of that, this also has another thing going for it: the pages focusing on Anode provide a spot to stop and breathe a little when your heart gets racing from the other action in the book.

With all of that noted, something about Anode's story didn't hit the mark. Having the earlier issues paint Anode as not necessary sympathetic might have caused that for me. Additionally, I found there to be one point in this issue where it ground the pacing to an awkward halt before it picked up again shortly thereafter. This is the most subjective part of this whole review, as there's a great deal of objectively positive material within this backup story, so my slightly empty feeling upon reading this part of the book will not apply to all readers.


Getting back to the main story of the issue, this continues to paint Rung, Rodimus, and Megatron as the three main characters of "Dissolution". It could well be argued that (Megatron's absence pre-More Than Meets The Eye 28 aside) these are also the three main characters of the series, and Rodimus does get ample time in Lost Light 6 as the captain of a stranded crew trying to get back to the first place in which they were stranded. He's under a lot of stress and it starts to bubble up to the surface in the most Rodimus-like ways you could imagine. There are times you'll cheer for him and times you'll be disappointed like your parents were when your report card wasn't up to muster despite you working very hard that one semester. His growth from here as a character seems to be approaching a tipping point, and it feels like we'll know for certain before the year's out whether or not Rodimus is fulfilling his legacy by starring in his Bildungsroman (of a sort since age is weird with Transformers), or if he's going to be a more tragic figure.


The final pages of the issue create one of those moving experiences that has driven the massive following and respect that James Roberts has earned as a writer. Megatron's been on an odyssey for the last four years on our calendars. To say that this has been a remarkable, fulfilling, thought provoking journey would be an understatement. It continues here in a meaningful manner and is set up by an unexpected plot twist, all the while presenting challenges to traditional science fiction notions of the standards by which to judge the intrinsic value of non-human lives. Some of you saw the twist coming, while others will be blinded by phrasing that doesn't fit the common vernacular of their politics and won't look under the surface for the universally positive themes, but if one or both of those applies to you there's at least a visual gag along the way for you to enjoy.

There's one thing that I think all Transformers fans will agree on, and that is that the last panel is positively joyful.

Or is it absolutely terrifying?

What did I say about agreeing on it?


Jack Lawrence's art has rounded into form quite nicely as this series has progressed. He works well with the layouts provided and brings depth to scenes, especially in wider shots where a sense of scale and distance is important. Joana Lafuente's colors assist with this in a big way, and some special call out is in order for the fantastic use of lighting and contrast between scenes and environments. There was one point in this issue where the layout didn't fit the significance of the moment, when a particular 'bot fighting off a moon ceases to be able to do so. This could have used a bigger panel and perhaps the earlier mentioned backup story could have taken a step back to provide room for such moments, but it's not a cause of any major detriment in the grand scheme of things.

Tom B. Long is masterful as usual on lettering. Some of Megatron's lines in particular stood out as having a cadence thanks to the layout of the speech bubbles that made them more effective. One thought, over to another, over to another, and then back around to the point without going in circles. Brilliant stuff that I won't directly post here to avoid spoilers.

There are several great cover options, such as the main Jack Lawrence cover (serving as this review's news story thumbnail) with colors by Lafuente, as well as a fantastically detailed piece from Alex Milne and Josh Perez, rounded out with a ten-copy incentive cover by Marcelo Matere that oozes the tone of Hasbro toy packaging art from another time in the best way. As always, you can find full credits for the issue in our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers: Lost Light #6, but do note it does contain a character appearance list that some may consider a spoiler.


I was probably harsher on Lost Light 5 than I needed to be. That's in light of having the totality of "Dissolution" now available to take a look through. This sixth issue is a great ending to a good chapter of a still phenomenal overall story. Personally, I found "Dissolution" to be held back by some pacing issues. Room to breathe is nice, of course, there were just times it felt closer to being given room for a nap.

On the whole, the negatives end there. This chapter of the quest moves the plot along in a significant way, continues the meaningful character work that's a staple of the series, and will have you ready for more.

Lost Light 6 in particular is the best issue out of the first six, and gives readers at least one moment they'll never forget while setting up a tight canvas for what's to come. Be sure to catch this one and the rest of "Dissolution", and subscribe to the series through some paid method if you like it. Support is important.



Bonus! James Roberts' soundtrack suggestions for this issue:

• Damien Jurado - "Cloudy Shoes"
• The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - "Everything You Paid For"
• Tom Brosseau - "Favourite Colour Blue"
• Sixpence None The Richer - "I Won't Share You"