It’s that time of month again, for Transformers by Daniel Warren Johnson, Jorge Corona and Mike Spicer, this time issue numero 15. I have a lot of thoughts for this one now they’re we’re back to the central narrative, so lemme not waste your time, eh?
Right. So. This is a significant one. We start this issue by saying goodbye to FOUR entire main cast members – most notably Spike and Carly, our human duo. They’re off with Beachcomber and Arcee to go find Ultra Magnus, who has apparently not shown back up since fleeing from battle with Shockwave a couple issues ago.
I’ll touch back on that in just a bit, though. First, I just want to say that Johnson’s dialogue and character writing is still very strong, and I am still enjoying the bits of build up we’re getting towards the inevitable return of Megatron, the culmination in Optimus’ visions and violent impulses (#EvilArmTheory is bascially #EvilArmCANON), and I know I’m going to love all that stuff. I’ve spent a majority of my time reviewing this comic showering it with endless praise. Deserved praise, and this issue isn’t much different. So, in lieu of just telling you “the story and characters are good and I like them” again, I’m going to highlight the other side of the coin. This wont be an angry rant or anything, but certainly a different perspective than I usually take, so bear with me and leave the pitchforks ’till the end.
Skybound
For the first time in the book’s run, I’m starting to get worried. While a great issue in general, I have reservations about all this. I have always championed the human element of Transformers as something vital to making it work at the core. Without humanity to give perspective, ground, and entice change in the Transformers, they lose that otherworldly quality, that mecha flavor, and just become… big metal guys. I believe a lot of people WANT that, but I’ve always seen it as a faustian bargain. You ditch your human characters, things stop feeling so… Transformers, y’know? All of this is to say: I hope this just means we’re going to follow Spike and Carly alongside Optimus and the (now down to…three guys?) crew, and that they wont just vanish from the book for months.
Skybound
On that note, this issue chooses to tackle the long-running, and if I’m being honest, immensely over-trodden territory of: “what if the humans thought the AUTOBOTS were the bad guys, actually?” Now, this is not inherently a bad thing – it’s being used to good effect here, that being stoking the very obvious violent outbursts that Optimus is mysteriously having lately. It’s meant to beat the Autobots down even further so that they can eventually rise back up and claim victory against overwhelming odds… for the third arc in a row.
Yeah, so, sorry to say this is the point where despite still loving this book and Johnson’s writing talents, I need to take the fanboy hat off and put the “professional” reviewer one back on. This arc, the third one thus far, is already looking immensely similar structurally to the last two. The Autobots are misunderstood by humans, the Decepticons go on a genocidal rampage, the Autobots get their asses beaten into submission, and then the other shoe drops and things get even more insurmountable. All leading to Optimus turning the tides but at some great cost. It’s a great formula! It’s worked both times so far! But… a third time? I dunno man, all I can say is I hope I’m wrong in my assumptions here, but I can only call it as I see it.
Skybound
The art, with Corona back in the helm, is certainly still the top of the line. Things are back to being that delightful blend of heavy, grungy inking with bright popping colours from Mike Spicer. No matter what signs the story may be showing to give me the slightest bit of worry, you can pretty much always count on this book having some amazing shots.
The last thing I want is for this comic to get stale. It’s been a fantastic ride so far, and I think everybody involved is so immensely talented and I have nothing but the highest respect for them and they work so far. The book needs a status quo to fall back on between massive events like this. The Starscream flashback showed us that a lot can be done with a different story setup, something that broke up the balls to the wall action. But if that action formula ends up BEING our new status quo? The candle is gonna burn out fast on things, and I really don’t think anybody wants to get tired of one of their favourite books. Or I’m just worrying over nothing, because at the end of the day, we’ve still got a long way to go to see how this all plays out.
Look, Transformers #15 is a good issue of a still a great book, one I love a lot. I’m highlighting this stuff because I really do care and don’t want anything I’ve speculated on here to end up being true. I’ve basically started to run out of things to praise about this series to the point I’ve dedicated a lot of this review to expanding on my handful of misgivings. That should tell you a lot, and a great book with some misgivings is still a great book.
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