Review of IDW Transformers: Requiem of the Wreckers

Synopsis
Wreck & Rule! The final entry in the Wreckers trilogy! They've been beaten up, torn apart, betrayed, and had their sins revealed. The few remaining Wreckers are more lost and lonelier than they've ever been, which makes it the perfect time for them to come under fire from an anti-Cybertronian campaigner and an old foe! Remember them fondly, because this is the "Requiem of the Wreckers." Written and drawn by Nick Roche (Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows)!



Story
The one-shot that concludes a story that almost started the second phase of the IDW Publishing Transformers comics universe (yes, I know, it was still in the Costa era, let me embellish the narrative here), is here. As we discussed with the writer and main artist Nick Roche in a Twincast Podcast episode here, 'this is the last story of the Wreckers, and there’s not enough characters to give them all a happy ending' but ultimately 'Hopeful, and about letting go.'

If you are all ready to start letting go, then, join me for a review below and make sure to join in with your own thoughts later.



We start much later than we left off with Sins of the Wreckers, after the death of Kup in Transformers vs Visionaries - and the story in the book is as much about Kup as it is about Springer, and Verity's connection to both of them and the Cybertronian world more in general, with Impactor's looming presence as they both head out to seek him for several reasons of closure and perhaps confrontation. The setting, of course, is not entirely ideal, given the events of both Revolution and First Strike (and the Ongoing, and All Hail Megatr-- you get it).



The writing, then, is dense. Very dense, as it is indeed delivering on the promise of tying up a lot of narrative threads that were left in the Wreckers saga, including Impactor, Mayhem and the aftermath of Sins, plus Springer's own personal 'quest' if you will. All of which includes revenging, avenging, venting, and some extremely spoilery interactions between characters that need to be enjoyed in the comfort of one's personal reading experience.



Parts of the story give us an idea of how close Roche had been working with the rest of the IDW creative team, as we get some developments from across the wider universe, but also potential repercussions on what we'll be seeing with the end of this narrative universe too, even just in potential. But as a story of coming to terms with loss, acceptance of change, and pursuit of truth(s), this is a solid addition to any comics reading reserve.


Art

Brendan Cahill does some amazing work on the central section of the book, with the roadtrip that Verity and Springer take, and his lines are clean and so very well modelled to Roche's style that - while the personal flairs are clear and obvious - there is no jarring difference between the two, and the action flows beautifully.

Having the original artist for Impactor and Springer, as Wreckers anyway, from the Marvel days - Geoff Senior - take part in the comic as the artist on the flashbacks was a brilliant move, and it is executed marvelously. I understand that the appeal here will be to followers of the Transformers universe rather than younger/newer readers, but let Roche have his fanboy moment too.



The two Joshes from the IDW stables, Perez and Burcham, both provide their skills and talents to that fluidity that the artistic team had set up in the tripartite delegation of linework duties (Cahill, Roche, Senior) - and to be entirely honest, they are so in sync that other than the obvious switches in style (Senior vs the other two) it is almost impossible to distinguish their masterful handiwork. For a book with these many layers, the visual cohesion can only be a bonus.



There are some truly excellent moments in the script that further sediment the tonal contrast (never really jarring, even with two characters' very distinct voices), and the lettering team of both Tom B. Long and Shawn Lee are able to bring it even further with some visual font gags or at least highlights, and spruce that dialogue just a little more.

In terms of visual work, I want to spend a word on the backmatter in the one-shot, mostly due to editorial and Nick Roche, with some of the preparation that went into the book for Senior to come into the contemporary comics (in style and tone, mostly) and for the general research and development going into the book. Do not skip it, seriously.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

As I said above, this is not a light book - much like Sins before it, and by Roche's own admission, there is a lot happening in not too much space, and self-editing is very hard. I commend David Mariotte for the impressive amount of work he undoubtedly put into this, but it's clear that Roche got as much space (and time) as he wanted, perhaps needed, to tell the final stories about these characters.



What has been achieved in the cutting is a hard-hitting, emotional, darkly humorous story and interweaving of stories within it - admittedly, stories that will only really land with readers who have been following these narratives since they started, there is no escaping any of that. That said in what Roche, with Senior, Cahill, Burcham, Perez, Long, Lee, and Mariotte, have had a hand in creating since 2009 and brought all the way to 2018, we got an imperfectly cut diamond, which refracts light at whim and when least expected, perhaps - but a gorgeous, unique one nonetheless.