Hey all, as the resident Transformers reviewer, I’ve decided I’ll also be taking over the review duties for Void Rivals now as well! Same universe, lots of Transformers showing up, and it’s a great book! So why not, right? This issue, Void Rivals #13, is handled by the regular team of Robert Kirkman on writing and Lorenzo De Felici on pencils. I’ve not covered this book before now obviously, but I have kept up with it, so hopefully no trouble jumping right on in, assuming you’ve also been keeping up, right? Right.
Image Comics
We continue the ongoing trend of this series slowing intermingling with the rest of the Energon Universe titles with the inclusion of some G.I Joe baddies from Cobra-La. I can’t actually tell you if they’re important, I’m not a Joe guy, and I don’t keep up with that corner of this universe at the moment, but thankfully one of the strengths of Void Rivals as a title is you don’t really need to know much about these franchises it mingles with to enjoy the book. I didn’t even remember who Skuxxoid was originally when this book started, but Kirkman has really turned him into a fun reoccurring character with certainly presented with more memorability than he had back in the old Transformers episodes he starred in. Back to Cobra for a second though, I find it interesting that they’re up in space at all, and this deep into the cosmos at that. I didn’t expect an Earth-bound society like there’s to have any hooks in the grander cosmology, so I’m really fascinated by this connection being built.
Image Comics
The usual, Void Rivals original material is certainly the best part though. I enjoy the slow unfolding lore that makes this book feel more and more Transformers than it originally seemed, while still firmly feeling like the start of a brand new franchise. It feels like we’re getting to a boiling over point and the real big reveals are going to be coming sooner rather than later, and I really can’t wait for the characters in this book to become bigger players on the grander scale. It’s a bold attempt to do a new multi-franchise connected universe that isn’t part of the Big Two, but thankfully the small number of focused books have helped in the long run so far.
Kirkman manages to really make this feel like a modern reboot of an old toy line tie-in that never was, and I adore that vibe immensely. All the connections to Transformers as the sort of central canon makes it serve as a nice supporting, third pillar paired with the G.I. Joe stuff. A lot better an attempt at synergizing different brand ideas than was previously tried by the “Hasbroverse” era of IDW (as much as I adore you Rom, you were better at Marvel). Void Rivals really fits here, like a missing puzzle piece we never knew we needed. Also Hot Rod appears in this book a lot, and he’s my favorite, so it’s automatically good. (Good taste, Robert!)
Image Comics
Since this is my first time saying it in any official capacity, Lorenzo De Felici’s art is great. I think it has a fantastic sense of cartoon sci-fi-iness that is right in line with other Hasbro properties. The way he draws the characters with their body language goes a long way, especially considering the main two barely have any emoting in the face at all with their helmets. It’s a very Mandalorian or Master Chief effect – the personalities come through in their body language, so you don’t need their faces to tell how they’re feeling, which is a harder thing to pull off in a non-moving picture medium like comics. Of course colorist Patricio Delpeche deserves praise here, too – the muted, blueish tones of this book give it a great ’80s sci-fi look and feel.
Overall, a great issue in the ongoing story. A book like this can be hard to talk about because it, like many of Kirkman’s previous works, is an ongoing tale. The real brilliance (or lack thereof, I suppose) can really only be gleamed in the long run. That said, the short term is good too, and we get just enough new stuff introduced to keep us coming back for more each month. And it’s a Kirkman book, so even if things are in a slow patch, you know good stuff is always right around the corner.
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