Overall, this book is an incredibly fun read with excellent art. If you have not been enjoying the current ongoing series you may want to pick up Transformers Annual 2021 because it has some of Brian Ruckley’s best overall writing in the series so far. Alex Milne as always delivers with the art.
Speaking of Milne’s art, lets talk about it first because it's just superb as per usual. The action scenes feel dynamic and well done. You can really feel the emotion on the characters faces especially, Lightbright's. John-Paul Bove’s excellent coloring helps Milne’s art feel different than his work in the previous IDW Transformers continuity. The lettering by Jake Wood is pretty good overall. One minor gripe with the lettering is that after Airachnid's introduction, most of a panel showing her new design is taken up by speech bubbles that maybe could have been moved around to show more of the art.
Ruckley’s writing is on point for this issue. The character moments are excellent this issue and everyone gets their chance to shine. Scattershot has a particularly epic moment where Thunderwing tries to intimidate him and Scattershot just is not having any of it. There are many other well written character interactions, including one where Lightspeed and Lightbright have a great moment together about what it is like to be a City Speaker. Another fun example is the interaction between the Technobots and Bludgeon which I found quite humorous. There is also an implied history between them. Probably one of the most interesting interactions is between Lightbright and her titan Lodestar, you can really feel that they have a deep connection.
The conversation between Lodestar and Vigilem is rather interesting. The two are starkly different, Lodestar is content with the present where as Vigilem longs for the glories of the past. In this respect Vigilem and Thunderwing are quite alike. In the past Thunderwing was a mighty figure during the expansionist days of Cybertron but now he is relegated to the backwater that is Hexagon. He is also someone who loves to hear the sound of his own voice, as Strafe puts it. Airachnid is a nice inclusion and even though she is on the cover I forgot about her, so her appearance came as a nice surprise to me. Here she is cast as a mad scientist which is an interesting take on the character.
The story is overall very engaging and kept me invested throughout. I never once checked my phone or opened another tab while I was reading. The emotional core of the book is Lightbright and Lodestar. We see their bond and how they're hesitant to hunt down and potentially kill another Titan. The ending is quite the gut punch, as while our heroes escape the clutches of Thunderwing and his cohorts, they do not escape tragedy.
Verdict
This annual is all around excellent. The writing, the art and the coloring are all top tier. That is not to say it is perfect. The fight between Lodestar and Vigilem should have gotten a bit more page real estate to truly invoke the sense of Lodestar's struggle to defeat Vigilem. The characters and concepts introduced in this issue were very fun to read about, but in an issue that feels like a side-story, without follow-up it ultimately will not matter, so here is hoping we pick back up on the threads introduced in the near future.
Final Score
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This issue is out today, 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.
