The Grand Architect
(Spoiler free-ish)
(Spoiler free-ish)
Synopsis
Something is coming. It cannot be stalled. It cannot be avoided. It cannot be reasoned with. As the end of everything draws near, a simple instruction rings out across the universe: prepare, confront, repel.
Some people are ready for the fight of their lives. Rodimus and the increasingly shambolic crew of the Lost Light…yeah, they’re really not. Like, at all.
Crusadercons congregate!
Story
We reach the third chapter in this final story arc, Crucible, and some of the answers to the bigger questions (raised since some very early stages not only of Lost Light, but also More than Meets the Eye, and even early days of Phase two of IDW) start coming to the surface, without too much ambiguity to them, but still plenty to unpack. How did it all fare? Read on to get an idea!
series recap from Misfire again
Nothing is created from nothing. You need a beginning, a grounding, a starting point for anything else to develop, and that applies to story matter too. Nothing is entirely new, but new takes on something previously established can work well, and James Roberts has some experience in doing just that. The reception of those elements, of course, will vary, but I was pleased with the majority of what was put out.
spot the hint(s)
What we interestingly, and gloriously, have in the characterisation of the cast is something of a full circle, with some development arcs coming to fruition (see Rodimus and Ultra Magnus, for example), and some true to form points in the plot advancement and pacing that lent themselves well to appreciating just how much these characters have been through since the Death of Optimus Prime at least.
you guise
I have more thoughts on two of the bigger plot points below, but give this some time to air first. The characters have always been the lynchpin for the plot to revolve around in this series, and this issue makes sure to return to that idea even while giving us some direct answers, even while hurtling towards the end, even when those answers were not what we thought we looked for.
Art
Jack Lawrence returns to cover the art side of the book after last issue, and what I was really takne by was the almost lightness, thinner lines that the issue seems to sport, as if the inking brush has gone down by a couple sizes - and you know what? The book is all the better for whatever changed: it's sleek, it's clean, it's pointed, and everything is uniquely itself (even the one possibly repeated panel), and it's what the issue needed most of all.
wot e said
The accomplishment of the art, of course, is also due to Joana Lafuente's work on the colours, which wonderfully complement the panels. Her approach ends up giving us a game of light and shadows leading to the Grand Architect reveal and their ship's crew, as well as highlighting each indivually, painstakingly rendered character on the page.
and then of course, shots like these
The lettering brought in by Tom B Long has some excellent moments in its fontwork, but the captions are probably what you might want to pay attention to more specifically - especially with a script which comes through as surprisingly succinct and direct to the point.
In terms of covers, Lawrence and Lafuente's main version of the shocked cast is repurposed, in its uncoloured lineart as the retail incentive, so you can pick out more details there if sought after - while the series continues its creator spotlight with a Geoff Senior / Josh Burcham B variant, of a very different vision of the Lost Light crew and the Crusadercons. Check the thumbnail, and our database for more!
Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead
There are two major moments in the book. This is the closest we've ever been to the Grand Architect and the major disappearances from the series, and we do get a reveal about their identity - though whether that is final is up to debate, as the Seibertron.com Energon Pub thread is already showing. The second is a nudge closer to the 'Great Threat' against which they were preparing to confront and repel. Something that I am still mulling over, admittedly. But a minor gasp was gasped nonetheless.
oh, Starscream is in here too, yeah
With what is probably the sleekest, lightest Lawrence art in the series so far, the book is a pleasure to get lost in, and there is no actual losing oneself in the story - everything is surprisingly clear and accessible even in its self-referential universe, the editorial touches from Mariotte work in that regard, and almost the entire cast is present for what will be the final Big Bad - be they who you think they are or not, that is entirely yet to determine.
. 
½ out of
½ out of
) that 
