M.A.S.K. Origins #1 Review: Retro Fuel, Modern Heat and One Complicated Collector Story

Matt comes across smart and capable without feeling like some flawless franchise mascot fresh out the toy package. His natural connection to machinery gives him a believable lane into the larger Energon Universe, but the personal relationships keep him human once all that wild technology starts revving around him. His friendship with Marissa Faireborn has warmth, history, and an easy back-and-forth rhythm. You believe these two know each other because they talk like actual people, not walking information kiosks trying to explain the franchise before the next commercial break.

Mayhem brings the venom long before V.E.N.O.M. officially gets behind the wheel. Kirkman writes him like the kind of dude who enters a room, studies everybody inside, and immediately starts calculating who can be used, who can be played, and who needs to disappear. He rarely raises his voice because he does not have to. The man stays cool, shifts people around like pieces on a chessboard, and keeps positioning himself closer to whatever advantage comes next. That restraint gives Mayhem real menace. Anybody can look dangerous while firing missiles. This cat makes you nervous while standing still.

The assembled story moves at a solid clip, shifting between character work, military tension, Cybertronian connections, and full-throttle action without leaving the engine idling too long. You can still feel where some of the material came from different books, especially when a transition changes lanes a little too quickly. New readers may occasionally feel like they walked into the garage after the briefing already started, but the central conflict remains easy to follow. A few fresh connecting pages would have helped the whole package shift more smoothly, because every good machine needs the right parts holding it together.

Andrea Milana gives the military sequences weight, grit, and physical consequence. Vehicles look heavy, weapons have impact, and the environments feel scratched, dirty, and properly used. His grounded approach helps keep the story believable when alien machinery starts changing what humans think is technologically possible.

Dan Mora brings the higher-octane visual swagger. His characters are expressive, his Transformers feel massive, and his vehicle action has real speed. Low camera angles, flying debris, sharp perspective, and strong panel flow make the chase sequences move like somebody cut the brake lines. The machinery is detailed without becoming difficult to read, which is no small achievement in a world where nearly everything can transform into something carrying missiles.

Lee Loughridge and Mike Spicer use color to support the two artistic approaches. The military scenes lean into colder blues, greens, and industrial grays, while the vehicle action erupts with hotter reds, oranges, and yellows. The visual shift is noticeable, but it helps separate the story’s different moods without making the issue feel completely disconnected.

Rus Wooton’s lettering keeps dialogue, radio communication, engines, gunfire, and Cybertronian voices moving cleanly across some very busy pages. The balloons never crush the artwork, and the sound effects add impact without hijacking the panels. Clean work. No traffic jam.

CRUSADERS SCORE:
4/5

Writers: Joshua Williamson and Robert Kirkman
Artists: Andrea Milana and Dan Mora
Colorists: Lee Loughridge and Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover Artists: Pye Parr, Jason Howard, Ethan Young, Danilo Beyruth and Neeraj Menon, Ben Oliver
Publisher: Image Comics / Skybound Entertainment