Hey folks, it’s Crooker here, with issue #16 of Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona’s Transformers from Skybound! Now, last time I was maybe a little harsh; it comes with the critic territory sometimes, and while I stand by what I said in the last review, I can safely say this issue alleviated a lot of those worries. Let’s take a look.
Already, we’re off to a good start by just how densely packed this one feels. A lot happens in this one, but not in a way that feels overwhelming. We’re now balancing four to five perspectives, with Optimus on Earth, Cliffjumper on Cybertron, Spike and Carly on the road, the Decepticon infighting and…. MEGATRON! We’ve FINALLY gotten a present day, full-bodied appearance of Megatron himself in the main book! It was a long time coming, and he’s seen better days, but him showing up at all means you know this is when things are going to really get real for our heroes.
But I’m getting sidetracked. The fact is, despite so much going on, and with a reveal as big as that, no space feels wasted and no scene feels cut short. I particularly enjoy the further slipping of control Optimus is having to the impulses of Megatron’s arm (which eagle-eyed readers will note, this version of Megatron similarly compelled Starscream to violence with mental suggestion in the flashback arc), and the open dissent in the ranks as things fall apart all around Soundwave. Thundercracker finally having enough and running off from all of it made me happy as a big fan of his portrayal in IDW’s comics, leading me to hope he ends up in a similar neutral position as he was in those books.
Skybound
Skybound
I can’t comment on everything, obviously, because so much is happening, but one of the most interesting parts of this issue for me was Cliffjumper’s desire to see the remnants of his friends’ sparks be remade into “something new.” Now, that’s a prospect I’m interested in. Much like X-Men, it’s always fun when a creative team gets to add a new character or concept to the tapestry of Transformers, if that is what this is going to be. Personal speculation: perhaps it’s going to be used to introduce a new Combiner robot? It would certainly align with how combiner-crazy this current arc is getting, and Hasbro does have a new Superion to promote… hmmm….. Well, regardless, it’s a pretty tantalizing prospect either way. I really can’t wait to see where that goes. Lastly, I’m very happy that the human cast is given their own section of the book and isn’t being suffled off to have off-panel adventures. That was my biggest worry last review.
Corona’s art is still pitch perfect, and the raw mayhem on display here is quite the visual feast. While I think as a big story climax I will always hold Johnson’s issue six as the pinnacle of this run so far, this gets pretty close by just having so much detail in everything. Also, another quick symbolic Evil Arm vision being mixed with the “baby Spike” visions. We all expect them by now, but they’re still nice bits of visual metaphor.
Skybound
So then, all in all? Transformers #16 is a nice step up from last time. While my concerns about repetition haven’t been fully abated, a lot of other worries have been. It helps that it feels like we’re moving into more new idea territory despite the repeated structural beats, which gives me a lot more to be excited about, as well as anticipate and speculate on. A step up, if ever there was one. Not that I ever had any real immense doubts, the book’s still going strong! Let’s hope it only keeps evolving, changing… Transforming.
You must be logged in to post a comment.