INTO THE WILD! The Dinobots engaged in some of the most brutal missions of the war—which made them damaged goods in the peace. Now, a mission to change the face of Cybertron offers a chance for something they never imagined… redemption.
The Dinobots, Slug especially, have been walking around with chips on their shoulders for a long time. Disliking Autobots and Decepticons alike, Slug looks for meaning in the bottom of an engex bottle up until someone waves a briefcase of money in his face. He takes the deal for one reason, justifies it with another reason, and ends up finishing the deal in a way that surprises even him.
Click the jump for a review of Transformers: Redemption.
John Barber’s writing is, as always, incredibly layered, pulling from multiple storylines across all the IDW books. Not only do we get to see a scene from Transformers #46 (but played out from the Dinobots point of view) we also get to hear about the mysterious Camiens that have placed themselves in one of the worst areas of Cybertron, meet another Camien we saw briefly in Combiner Wars, see more of Starscream’s secret Badgeless division, and learn what it was Slug did during the war that made him so hardened and bitter.
All the IDW writers have done an amazing job of really driving home the fact that this war lasted four million years. There is so much potential to create all this amazing history for one single character; Slug fought in a gladiator pit, enjoyed killing Decepticons in battle, and even destroyed the potential for new life, just because “it was easier to be a monster.” It’s a fantastic look at a character that, honestly, I never gave much thought to. (When you think of Dinobots, you tend to think of Grimlock first, and everybody else second. The Triceratops looked cool, but who’d think to give him such an amazing back story?)
We get to meet several Camiens on this adventure, and once again the writing does a great job of letting you meet a character at the beginning, and by the end of the book you’ve become completely attached to them.
We also get a brief look at a character that was never one of my favorite Decepticons, but only because I thought this particular kind of head on a Transformer looked ridiculous. But Livio Ramondelli somehow makes it look cool.
I could go on and on (and on and on) about Livio Ramondelli’s art, but what could I say that I haven’t said several times already? It’s beautiful. The texture just boggles the mind, it’s so intricate. It really feels like this is how a Transformer who’s endured millions of years of war would look: scarred, imperfect, but impressive as anything. The glowing eyes are the best; we get life and personality, but also a clear reminder that these are mechanical beings, so glowing eyes just make sense.
Redemption is the continuation of a story that began in Punishment, but you don’t have to read Punishment to understand what’s going on. Having read Redemption, though, I think you’ll want to find Punishment and read that too, and then go find Primacy, Monstrosity, and Autocracy too (different writers, but all Ramondelli art) because why stop with just two awesome books when you can read all of them?
What do you think? Shout out in the comments!
John Barber – writer
Livio Ramondelli – art
Preview copy courtesy of IDW.