Hey folks, your ol’ pal Crooker here with another Energon Universe review! Today we have issue #21 of Void Rivals, written by Robert Kirkman and pencilled by Conor Hughes. Not a particularly crazy issue this time, but still plenty worth talking about. So, let’s get right into it then.
More of that classic Kirkman pacing. Advance a handful of subplots at once, and leave it off for more next time. Basic structure we’re all familiar with by now. Basically every subplot gets some play this time though, with both rulers of the Sacred Ring getting a chance to do something important, Hot Rod and Springer getting a page or two, and a couple more to Skuxxoid. And of course, our main duo takes center stage. The main action set piece of this one is the Zertonian attack on Agorria, leading to Darak going full X-Wing: Rogue Squadron in a short but fun space dogfight that feels very Star Wars. I like that Darak and Hot Rod exchanged a couple words too, to which Darak immediately comes off as unlikable to mine and Kirkman’s poor favorite bot. It’s okay, Hot Rod, you two get along swimmingly on the variant covers. Obviously, of all the plots advanced this time, as a Transformers fan this is the one I’m most interested in. I really want to see more Transformer interactions with the Sacred Ring characters! It feels like they’ve barely exchanged more than a few words, not to mention that Springer and Hot Rod have spent the better part of five issues standing outside waiting for the plot to catch up with them. Bit of a waste, if you ask me. I wanna see them get involved! Their dynamic with our double leads is fun! We need more Budianskian story telling with ALIENS, damn it! It’s fun!
Image/Skybound
I will also say, there’s something extremely funny about the comic going out of it’s way to say that nobody can die from their ship being swatted out of the air, Hot Rod even lampshading that he doesn’t really have the stomach for brutality like that. Thinly veiled self-jab at Kirkman’s own reputation as “the gore and violence guy”? Taking a poke at the Transformers Skybound comic’s infamous human body count and shocking use of death? Bit of both, perhaps? Either way, I enjoy the obvious self-awareness of it, even having the pilots of the ships float down in a very “I can see their parachutes! They’re okay!” type of sequence. Like if this was a Saturday Morning Cartoon from the ’80s, this would be how they get away with destruction. It’s cute, I dig it.
Image/Skybound
Hughes’ art is, so far, a perfect match for this book. It feels distinct from De Felici’s previous outings but still firmly within the established aesthetic. The coloring from Patricio Delpeche helps quite a bit there, as does Rus Wooton’s lettering. I think I like how Hughes draws the mechanical aspects of the book just a bit better, as I noted before, De Felici never seemed to quite get comfortable with the extremely cartoonish G1 Transformer designs. A fine and respectable job to be sure, but this feels a bit more effortlessly natural.
So, that’s another Void Rivals! Still as solid a book as ever. Though, with the recent announcement that Kirkman will also be taking over on Transformers in a couple months, I’m super excited to see how these stories might bleed into each other, if at all! C’mon Robert… I know you want a full-on, Matrix wielding, lead character Rodimus Prime as much as I do. Giiiiiive iiiiiiiin to your season 3 love… do what none have ever managed to fully commit to before… It is your destiny!
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