Review: Transformers #17

We all love Transformers. Anything combining heavy doses of nostalgia with cars, robots and battles must be worthwhile. IDW more recently has divided Transformers stories into two types. One type is simple crossovers focused on the main characters we know and love combined with some other 80s 0r 90s property. The other is core stories building up an independent universe often pitting villains we know well with Autobots we barely know. These new Autobots are often blue and generally difficulty to relate to. The challenge of the main Transformers series is to add to the tapestry of The Transformers even while using characters and concepts less familiar to the larger audience.

The first half of Transformers 17 gives us great interaction with heroes and villains we know and love. Seeing Astrotrain and Slipstream banter is fantastic, seeing Cyclonus mourn gives his character added depth, seeing Wheeljack lead reminds us just how good that character can be. The issue uses character moments even as it builds towards a larger threat. The Cyclonus scene in particular is an incredible moment, showing a soldier mourn for the fallen and the guilt and responsibility those losses bring.

We then unfortunately, get a large number of characters that take classic fans right out of the story. Gizmo, Wavelength, Vigilem, Lodestar, Skystalker and Lightbright are all brought up within a single page.Â Our attention then shifts to Lightbright on a mission to connect the Titan Lodestar with Vigilem. Vigilem in turn spouts Cybertronian philosophy before releasing a missile burst and attacking the the moon and destroying Lodestar.

The art in this issue varies greatly. The art on pages 2-7 by Bethany McGuire-Smith is astounding. The scene where Cyclonus mourns those he lost even as the dead surround him is tragic and incredibly well rendered. The remainder of the issue by Anna Malkova is clear and concise, but full of awkward angles emphasizing that these are robots with limited mobility. But Malkova’s final pages inject emotion and expressiveness which wonderfully convey the destruction and loss. The colors throughout the issue by both Joana Lafuente and John-Paul Bove are well done if a bit simplistic.

The enjoyment for the reader with this issue depends deeply on how strong your connection is to the characters in danger. While there are large philosophical concepts being thrown out by Vigilem, they just don’t matter unless you care about both Vigilem and Lodestar. Ultimately the challenge with this main Transformers title is the tendency to ignore characters we have known for decades, and instead focus on characters and concepts new readers would be less familiar with. But the series deals with large interesting concepts and seeks to build something new within a world we are familiar with.

Writing: 2 of 5 stars
Art: 4 of 5 stars
Colors: 4 of 5 stars

Overall: 3 of 5 stars

Writer: Brian Ruckley
Art: Anna Malkova and Bethany McGuire Smith
Colors: Joana LaFuente and John-Paul Bove
Publisher: IDWÂ

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.