Prepare for battle?
Uh sure! With Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals having launched Skybound’s Energon Universe, noted writer/artist rolled-into-one Daniel Warren Johnson takes the reins on the linchpin of this initiative, the flagship Transformers comic series! Well, he maintains the reins on the writing of this series at least, as does Mike Spicer on colors. Jorge Corona has taken over regular penciling duties with a style that barely misses a step from DWJ’s previous efforts.
In this eleventh issue, the Autobots mount a rescue mission to save Jazz and Cliffjumper from Shockwave’s torture, but not everyone’s on the same page when it comes to engaging the enemy!
Why, who’s got a problem with slagging ‘Cons??
Jeez, where do I start? Optimus wants to take the “high road”, Elita One wants to take out their enemies once and for all, Carly just wants to be useful, and Beachcomber doesn’t want to do anything at all! The good guys are all over the map in this issue about agreeing what is necessary and just to do in this war, and it only allows for the Decepticons to take full advantage of their disarray. What happened to the Optimus Prime who just blew Reflector away back in issue # 5?
Honestly, everyone’s motivations are a bit of a mess here, save maybe the Decepticons, who are as fiendish as ever. It’s a bit frustrating when Optimus Prime’s compassion only ends up endangering his own troops, and as we’ve constantly seen in this series, DWJ mostly plays for keeps when it comes to killing characters. While the Autobots are stuck with their Sunbow cartoon morality, Shockwave and his Decepticons are free to torture and kill at will. It is becoming a bit unbalanced and I find Prime’s behaviour kind of frustrating nowadays, rather than the nuance that DWJ is attempting.
Uh okay, but what about the Decepticons then?
They’re all the evil so-and-so’s they usually are, with only Soundwave showing some potential depth. Shockwave’s a cackling, torturing supervillain, which is… a different take than usual I guess. It also kind of robs Shockwave of his specificity as a villain, which is also disappointing. Skywarp is still wired into Teletraan-1 and helping the Autobots, but there’s not much explanation for that at the moment. The Constructicons and Combaticons show up, but are mostly one-note goons so far… I dunno, there’s not much I’m feeling that “clicks” in terms of characterization in this issue.
So cube?
This second story arc has sort of meandered and advanced in fits and starts, and the penultimate issue of it just left me cold. Don’t get me wrong, the art is still nice, and there’s some kernels of good ideas here and there, but the big cliffhanger of this issue just made me frustrated. Every character’s behaviour is “off” to me, and it’s just not a fun read. I hate to sound cynical, but I’m just not seeing “Eisner award-winning” material here, but I guess the book isn’t really targeted to me.
Buy Transformers # 11 this week, cuz I can’t deal with that now.
