“You with the Decepticons or against them?”
“What’s a Decepticon?”
“…that was a really bad answer.”
It’s a double-sized issue this month, as Megatron and the Decepticons have disbanded the senate and declared martial law “for everyone’s good,” and the Autobots are literally going underground. Keep reading for a review of Transformers #25.
There are tons of callbacks this issue for super fans, nods to the toys and previous incarnations in the comics and cartoons. Both writer Brian Ruckley and artist Anna Malkova did a massive amount of research to pull this off, and it shows.
We get a lot of introductions, much of it is the “we know who we are but the reader doesn’t so we’ll use each others names for their sake” kind. That’s always going to happen in comics but by necessity it has to happen a lot this issue: according to TF Wiki (bless you TF Wiki) there’re almost 50 characters visible.
“…you’ve kept your maintenance regime up, right? Hoist checked you over not long ago, right?”
“These are not the kind of questions that fill me with confidence.”
I’ll admit I was a little worried when I started reading, because it seemed like a lot of talking. Introductions, posturing, exposition…I thought “and we get 40 pages of this?”
Nevermind, I was wrong. Halfway through it seriously picks up speed.
“Are you praying, Groove?”
“Not exactly, I just find the repetition helps to renew my focus. It’s centering, you know?”
“Huh. That’s very you, I guess.”
That exchange comes right before a brutal battle scene, massive amounts of artillery fire and casualties, and during the whole thing you see the narration boxes with Groove’s little prayer repeating in the background, it’s a very nice effect.
Anna Malkova’s art, with Joana Lafuente’s colors, was definitely up to the challenge this issue, I loved all the dramatic shots and epic backgrounds, and the carnage was off the charts, my jaw literally dropped, several times.
Combat scenes, snarky comebacks, escapes, deaths, defiant stands, and one hell of a flashback that takes up a whole two-page spread. I can’t say a lot more because a ton happens this issue, and it’s nice to be surprised by all of it. But if you’re concerned that it starts out on the quiet side, you should definitely keep reading.
