Void Rivals #28 ratchets up the threat level of the Quintesson War with mixed results. With the Aggorians and Zertonians using Energon to amplify their weapons, it seemed like the tide was turning in their favor, until a new enemy lands on the Sacred Disk and pushes them to the brink of collapse. A vaguely interesting look into the past isn’t enough to save this issue from awkward dialogue, underwhelming action, and a final page cliffhanger that doesn’t feel all that impactful.
Let’s start with what there is to like about this issue, because it does a lot right. After the revelation from Void Rivals #27, we get a glimpse of Solila’s past and learn what separated her from her brother. It’s a short but emotional scene that helps the reader empathize with the generally colder nature of the Zertonians, especially Solila.
Skybound/Image
Seeing Minister Dulin’s growth over the last 10 issues or so has also been a treat. It’s interesting to me how his changed perception of his son has really highlighted how far along Darak has come too. Add in the fun chemistry Darak has with his uncle, Grand General Dukan, and it’s been enjoyable to see the warmth that’s been injected into the Agorrians.
I like the introduction of the War Tribunal. I was a always a fan of G1 era Transformers, and it’s nice to see more of their civilization and hierarchy explored. It’s always cool to see the universe of something you know get a little bigger, even if their role isn’t exactly clear.
And that’s about where my positivity ends. The rest of the book isn’t bad, it’s just uninspiring for what’s at stake here. As much as I like the War Tribunal, their big opening line actually made me laugh out loud, but not in a good way. He’s set up as this ultimate “oh no” level bad guy, and he starts off strong, with a big, high-energy splash page and he opens his attack by saying he’s going to read the Agorrians the list of war crimes they’ve committed and the final one is “You are BAD AT WAR”. It never read as charming in a campy way to me, it just read as awkward and, well, bad.
And after a quick scene checking in on the party from Cobra-la, the issue ends. Imagine hearing relatively badass intro music for a wrestler, getting amped up, and hearing them botch on the mic just as the program ends and then not even wrestle.
Besides the flashback, there’s no scenes of Solila or any of the Zertonians. In fact the only thing that really happened in this whole issue was the arrival of the War Tribunal. Technically, yeah, that moves the plot forward I guess, but the repercussions of their involvement in battle isn’t felt in this issue anyway.
Andrei Bressan on art continues to blend science fiction and fantasy well, with two splash pages that look really, really good. The composition on these splashes makes it feel like a book from a different time. For half a second I was looking for Kirby dots on the corners of the pages, it evokes that Silver Age awe of things grander than an individual’s existence. It’s good stuff.
Skybound/Image
The coloring feels a little off here. Not bad, by any stretch, but noticeably different from previous issues. In addition to the colors seeming a bit flatter, and less vibrant, it also feels like there’s more black lines being used on character faces, giving them more detail which makes it feel like a different penciller is on the book. Again, not bad, just different than the previous few issues, which make it feel a little less cohesive.
Void Rivals #28 stalls the momentum of the Quintesson War to a crawl. A few interesting tidbits happen here and there, but not enough to make this feel less like halftime of a story when it should feel like we’re building towards something more climactic.
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