Attack on Titan
A Seibertron.com Semi-Spoilerish Review of IDW Transformers #14
SynopsisNow shipping monthly! The Ascenticon Guard, Security Operations, and The Rise are caught in a three-way faceoff. Cybertron is teetering on the brink of chaos, but there is still hope for peace. And leading the way to restore that peace are the only bots that make sense: Megatron, Soundwave, and Starscream!
Genre Savvy SwiperAfter a bit of a hiatus, we return to you with a review for the just released IDW Transformers #14, part of the Bold New Era. And as for how that Bold New Era is doing, keep reading below! And for more information on this issue, you can check out our
database entry!
There is a light that never goes outSo far, the Bold New Era has been heavy on the dialogue, but not so heavy on the story or intrigue. If anything, that has been the weakness of the Bold New Era to date, not a lot happening for the page space. The story has been slow going, and every time we get something that seems intriguing, it stalls out.
But after the Rubble of issue 5 and the return of Sentinel Prime to Cybertron, it seems the story might finally be making some ground. While it still wasn't very deep, there was some excitement to the story, it felt like there were more risks and consequences. We also learned some things about a few characters and also got to see some new ones. Motivations that were seemingly not there or unclear have focused in some, and we got some more character development, though we still don't really have many highly intriguing characters.
Pictured: a new character and one existing character sorely needing some fictionI liked the inclusion of Starscream in this issue, and he proved to be a welcome addition, bringing to the table some of the traits described in the paragraph above. I also think it was important for Orion Pax to be entirely absent and Megatron to only briefly show up. Both characters are very important Transformers characters, but so far have proven to be more attention vacuums than intriguing characters. It was good to have a good sized cast represented here without them with a chance to shine on their own, and Starscream, Soundwave, and to a lesser extent Sideswipe, Kup, Landmine, and Geomotus.
On another note, the inclusion of Strongarm alongside Sideswipe in this issue is a continued sign of the thing I so far like most in this comic: the variety of the characters showing up. Sure it has a lot of G1/Siege going on, but non-G1 characters showing up and referencing things outside of previous G1 stories is refreshing. I enjoy inclusions such as this, and want a little bit more of those characters and story too. The comic has showed a cast with variety, it just needs to flex that diversity a bit more.
ArtArt for this issue is split between Anna Malkova and Bethany Mcguire-Smith on lines, Joana Lafuente on colors, and Tom B. Long on letters. The art for the series so far has been a bit loose and all over the place in terms of quality, but outside of issue 13, I feel this is the best comic issue in terms of artistic consistency. While there were some questionable shapes thrown during this issue (Nautica being a primary offender compared to her prior appearances), the art overall was good quality, the two line artists had similar styles that allowed for a smooth transition between the artists, and the facial expressions were very well done in this issue.
He knows he's in one of the best panels of the comic so farThe colors matched up with the line art pretty dang good as well, giving you a good sense of what time it is on Cybertron, and it also helped give the book some depth, showing shadows and sun glistening off of the lined surfaces. It was very pleasing to look at. The glowing optics were also a highlight in terms of colors.
The lettering is once more of good quality, and helps compliment the art while not getting in the way. I also enjoyed the word effects for all the different types of action happening throughout the issue, it helped augment the lines and colors of the different panels.
ConclusionOverall, I would argue that this is the best overall chapter of the Bold New Era so far. We had a good first issue that helped set things up, but after that, there haven't been many highlights, and the ones that have happened have had a bit too much dead space between them to truly have a impact. If issue 14 had come earlier, such as being issue 8 instead of 14, I feel like the story would be progressing better and more coherently. The story needs better pacing and some more intrigue to it. We don't necessarily need to be told everything, let stuff happen in the background. Speech and walking heads can get in the way.
On those notes, issue 14 seems to be a step in the right direction. No real depth, nothing really to pick up with a 2nd read, but it was intriguing, it had some depth to it, and it made you want to actually read through it again. If we can actually keep this tempo up, the story will progress and we will start having some more depth and more enjoyment for the readers.
