Review of IDW Transformers Optimus Prime #19

Synopsis
“The Falling,” Part 4. Onyx Prime’s motivations are clear, and his scheme seems unstoppable. Heroes have fallen, and hope dwindles for the survivors. Cybertron’s last chance of salvation is in the hands of… well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?



Story
After a whole issue of backstory, and after one of shocking revelations, we have an aftermath of an issue that tries dealing with the consequences of it all, while trying to handle the seemingly infinite cast that John Barber has been playing with for a long time now - meaning that not all have the space to get the treatment they entirely deserve, but where we do, the highlights are excellent.



The major issue taking place within the story, for me and some of the other staff I consulted with before writing the review, is the unfortunate timing of the solicitations and Unicron FCBD book: they spoil what could've been a fairly well played, if not touching, moment in the pages of this arc, removing some of the subtlety that was attempted since early Till All Are One issues.



That said, seeing Onyx Prime at the height of his threat - notwithstanding his actual identity at this stage; he is indeed still both characters, as they both exist simultaneously in the past and the present - is thrilling, even with the timeline and rhetorical headaches the story itself might be producing. On the other hand, the reveal/truth about the story is still a little.. eh.



Overall, though, and with one more issue to go before the conclusion of this narrative arc, I'm ..strangely not entirely impressed. The build-up in previous issues, including the backstory, exposition filled issue of last month, had felt so much tenser and vibrant than the current unravelling of plot and mythology, and it feels as though too much is happening at the same time for all of it to be actually final or of serious consequence. More on this below.


Art
Sara Pitre Durocher takes over from Kei Zama in this issue, and brings her signature style along to another look at Starscream still hung up on the ending of Till All Are One (for a little while, at least). And after the Ramondelli break last issue, this shift works out really well, even in the stark difference between the heaviness of the lines, and the softer (but clear) direction this month.



Of course, the effect is also helped by Josh Burcham, who does some pretty amazing stuff, bringing the darker, muted tones of his regular colouring style on this series to the cleaner, sleeker art style of Pitre Durocher, without losing the continuity with previous issues or watering the art itself down for the sake of visual coherence.



There are several instances in this issue where the font-mastery and balloon placing of letterer Tom B Long ensures that the humour or pacing of the interaction hits its mark, and by several, I mean a lot. Seriously - a lot. And they all land.

Casey Coller continues to perform excellence, with colourist John Paul Bove, as the variant cover that features all the major players (thumbnail). And as we had already seen previously, but you can do so again in our database entry (warning. there be spoilers) here, Kei Zama and Bove also deliver a fantastically creepy Shockwave-centric main cover too.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

If my opening statement seemed unfair to the script, it's fair to also say that the focus on the characters that are explored is very well.. focused, and explored. There are some misgivings about Devastator and Starscream's behaviours, and my general feelings about the reveal are still not overly positively thrilled, but I'm enjoying the story moving forward even with those speedbumps.



Still, even with all of that, the issue is stunning to look at, and having now had three different art teams for the past three months is working out surprisingly well - which bodes even better for the increased frequency schedule that is supposed to take place after this month, to arrive at the final conclusion of it all alongside Unicron. I'll still shake my fists at IDW's schedules, though.

Credit(s): IDW