Transformers, Vol. 5: Breakdown

Transformers US Titan Collections #5

by Bob Budiansky, Ian Akin, Don Perlin

The stories that laid the groundwork for the entire Transformers Universe continue, as the Autobots mourn the death of their leader — Optimus Prime! Things go from bad to worse for the Autobots, as new adversaries step up to rock their world. From the human threat of the Mechanic, to the giant menace of Trypticon, to the all-consuming plague of the Scraplets. Who will lead them in their darkest hour? Prowl? Blaster? Grimlock? And if you think it's all a bed of roses for Megatron and the Decepticons — think again! Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the phenomenon that is Transformers with these classic collections!

Genres: Comics, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

American comic book writer, editor, and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel's Transformers comic. He also created the Marvel character Sleepwalker and wrote all 33 issues of that comic.

Reviews

[Julian Stimach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This trade (and part of its subsequent trade, Treason) collects what IMHO is Bob Budiansky's best work out of the 50ish issues he wrote for the original comic. For a scant period he was able to do as he wished with the series (free of pressure from Hasbro to showcase unreasonably huge amounts of new characters in every issue), and it shows. With Optimus and Megatron out of the way, the comic's direction takes an intriguing departure from that of the cartoon, with Grimlock and Ratbat assuming leadership of the Autobots and Decepticons, respectively.
Most of the issues in this TPB center on the development of specific characters, such as Megatron in "Gone but Not Forgotten!", Ratchet in "Funeral for a Friend!", Grimlock in "King of the Hill!", and Blaster and Goldbug in "Mechanical Difficulties!", "Crater Critters," and "The Cure!"
Of course, no proper comic review is complete without mentioning the art, and while Don Perlin's pencils weren't the most fluid of the original comic, they were still leagues ahead of those of Jose Delbo, Perlin's successor. Perlin's art brought Budiansky's characters to life in ways that no other artist on the US book did (not including Andrew Wildman or Geoff Senior, of course).

For those of you who are interested in Transformers but haven't given the old '80s comics a good look yet, this is one of the series' high point and I highly recommend giving it a shot.

[Jdetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. Things get worse. Many of these issues are still more about the human characters than about the Transformers themselves, and worse, the personalities of the Transformers seem to twist and warp to fit the needs of that issue's particular story. There are occasional good moments and some interesting plot points, but this is the real beginning of the worst era of Transformers comics history, which will last for the next few years.