Review: Transformers #4

As the age old adage goes, when it comes to Transformers, at least in this new series from Image Comics, there is certainly more than meets the eye! Sure, there are familiar faces and themes in play, (not unlike the movies), there is also a deviation that keeps it fresh for new readers, whilst hopefully not alienating older fans.

The Autobots and their allies have suffered damage following the recent Decepticon attack. Now with wounded humans and Transformers, coupled with a lack of energon, leaves the group open for further loos and damage. With the Decepticons making their own plans, how will even the great Optimus Prime inspire his ragtag union?

Daniel Warren Johnson again provides the writing and the art, clearly enjoying both aspects. Taking the writing first, Johnson. has got the voices of Optimus and Starscream down very well, painting the characters with their intentions. One, you would follow in to battle, the other you would get stabbed in the back by! You know which is which, right? Johnson’s dialogue is a huge facor in my enjoyment of this book. I can hear Peter Cullen’s deep tone in everything Optimus says or does. Johnson does a great job of meandering around expectations to try something new, yet with the familiar hiding in plain sight. I quite like the subtle and not so subtle changes to be honest; Johnson adds a layer of human nature to proceedings which give the book a more adult tone in places. Even Optimus is affected in some climactic way.

As fantastic the writing is, I am not overly sold on the art atyle. I am not saying Johnson’s art is bad. There is a cartoony charm to it the belies the obvious size issues of the characters. The heavy lines add a weight to proceedings; that becomes a bit muddled in places. Part of this may be due to the pace of the book. There is a shed load of stuff to get through, be it the semi running battles, the conversation pieces or quarrels, can make the page seem cluttered. At this point, I would to talk about the letterer. I have a preview version of this book sans credit page, so I have no idea who completed the letters for the book. Regardless, whomever is responsible they did a fantastic job with balloon placement not impacting the thrust of the panels and even adding different fonts for the various Transformers. Competing with the heavy lines and the copious amount of word are the colors of Mike Spicer who again goes for a kind of dark hue for the book and characters.

Whether the art and colors work for you or not is a matter of taste; what cannot be argued is the fact that the robots are instantly recognisable, both visually and in tone; there is no disguising those facts!

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors -3.5 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Written by; Daniel Warren Johnson
Art by; Daniel Warren Johnson
Colors by; Mike Spicer
Letterer: ????
Published by; Image Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network