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Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #1
Transformers More Than Meets The Eye TP Vol. 1
James Roberts (w) o Nick Roche & Alex Milne (a) Alex Milne (c) The ultimate Transformers saga begins here! More Than Meets The Eye reunites the fan-favorite creative team behind Last Stand of the Wreckers and sends the Transformers on an epic quest to the farthest reaches of the Transformers Universe and beyond! Also includes the one-shot Death of Optimus Prime.
Comic
First published September 7, 2012
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846 people want to read
About the author
James Roberts
530 books130 followersJames Roberts is a British comic book writer best known for his contributions to the Transformers franchise.
Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
July 4, 2017
Although branded as a Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye collected edition, this trade also contains the Death of Optimus Prime one-shot that sets the stage for two ongoing Transformers series from IDW. The one-shot sets the impetus for both More Than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise.
While the latter is a Cybertron-based series that leans to a more political and grounded story, More Than Meets the Eyes is set in space; more specifically, the Lost Light commanded by Rodimus.
Each issue of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye is structured like a Star Trek episode. Each installment has main story which is resolved in a issue and some secondary plots that moves that particular story thread to a payoff in a future issue. It also has an overarching story which drives this title.
Each issue of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye is a whole lot more entertaining that some comics out there because with each issue being one and done, there's a lot more going that a reader will surely get his/her money's worth.
While the latter is a Cybertron-based series that leans to a more political and grounded story, More Than Meets the Eyes is set in space; more specifically, the Lost Light commanded by Rodimus.
Each issue of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye is structured like a Star Trek episode. Each installment has main story which is resolved in a issue and some secondary plots that moves that particular story thread to a payoff in a future issue. It also has an overarching story which drives this title.
Each issue of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye is a whole lot more entertaining that some comics out there because with each issue being one and done, there's a lot more going that a reader will surely get his/her money's worth.
September 13, 2014
In Nick Hornby’s excellent book, The Polysyllabic Spree, collecting his Believer columns discussing books he’d bought and read each month, the author talks about attempting to read a novel outside of his comfort zone. In his case, it was a sci-fi novel by Iain M. Banks called Excession. This was his reaction:
"The urge to weep tears of frustration was already upon me even before I read the short prologue, which seemed to describe some kind of androgynous avatar visiting a woman who has been pregnant for forty years and who lives on her own in the tower of a giant spaceship...By the time I got to the first chapter, which is entitled ‘Outside Context Problem’ and begins ‘(CGU Grey Area signal sequence file #n428857/119)’ I was crying so hard that I could no longer see the page in front of my face."
This was basically my reaction to Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, Volume 1, a comic about a series/cast of characters I thought would be interesting to read because I know next to nothing about them. I saw the first Transformers movie and about 15 minutes of the second, and that was enough - I hated both. I vaguely remember the ‘80s cartoon and I remember owning some Transformers toys as a kid. I know some names: Optimus Prime (hero), Megatron (villain) and Bumblebee (tool). That’s it.
Having tried reading this, all I can say is: you need to know more - a LOT more! - to understand what’s happening in this book.
So apparently Optimus Prime died. A robot - at least, I think that’s what he is, right? - “died”? OK. They’re machines but whatever. Then he winds up in somewhere called the Afterspark which I guess is robot afterlife? It wasn’t explained. But there’s a ton of other robots there and they’re all alive - so he didn’t really die? Then there’s mention of Primus (not the band) who’s God or something - do robots have religion? These ones seem to!
Then we’re on Cybertron which I guess is the Transformers’ home planet - except Optimus is surprised that it’s populated. So I suppose it was uninhabitable before and now it is - for robots to “live” on?
Then you start getting battered with labels: Vector Sigma, Grand Imperium, Galvatron’s Sweeps, Greater Iacon, Vela Pulsar, The Battle of Kimia, Dai Atlas and the Circle of Light, the Matrix (not the movie), Alchemy-Seven Crew; do you know what any of these mean? Because they’re not explained in the comic! I was beyond lost at this point.
Then the Transformers are introduced: Sideswipe, Prowl, Whirl, Rodimus, Turbofox, Wheeljack, Perceptor, Metalhawk (who, confusingly, doesn’t transform into a hawk but an X-Wing instead!), Ratbat, Rewind. I have no idea who any of these characters are. Are they good guys, bad guys? Even Optimus Prime - the only character name I recognise - was made baffling because everyone was calling him Orion Pax. Is that another character or his real name or a title or what?!
Believe it or not, all of that information isn’t even 20 pages of this book, but that’s where I stopped. If, not even by page 20, I have no clue what’s happening on any level in a book, I’m done, and that was the case with this one. Apparently Optimus was dead, then he was alive, then he was leader again and everyone wanted him gone for some reason. I…
So that’s my first and last foray into Transformers comics - I knew there was a reason I didn’t read them! Check them out only if you know a lot about Transformers already or are willing to do the homework and have the patience to figure them out!
"The urge to weep tears of frustration was already upon me even before I read the short prologue, which seemed to describe some kind of androgynous avatar visiting a woman who has been pregnant for forty years and who lives on her own in the tower of a giant spaceship...By the time I got to the first chapter, which is entitled ‘Outside Context Problem’ and begins ‘(CGU Grey Area signal sequence file #n428857/119)’ I was crying so hard that I could no longer see the page in front of my face."
This was basically my reaction to Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, Volume 1, a comic about a series/cast of characters I thought would be interesting to read because I know next to nothing about them. I saw the first Transformers movie and about 15 minutes of the second, and that was enough - I hated both. I vaguely remember the ‘80s cartoon and I remember owning some Transformers toys as a kid. I know some names: Optimus Prime (hero), Megatron (villain) and Bumblebee (tool). That’s it.
Having tried reading this, all I can say is: you need to know more - a LOT more! - to understand what’s happening in this book.
So apparently Optimus Prime died. A robot - at least, I think that’s what he is, right? - “died”? OK. They’re machines but whatever. Then he winds up in somewhere called the Afterspark which I guess is robot afterlife? It wasn’t explained. But there’s a ton of other robots there and they’re all alive - so he didn’t really die? Then there’s mention of Primus (not the band) who’s God or something - do robots have religion? These ones seem to!
Then we’re on Cybertron which I guess is the Transformers’ home planet - except Optimus is surprised that it’s populated. So I suppose it was uninhabitable before and now it is - for robots to “live” on?
Then you start getting battered with labels: Vector Sigma, Grand Imperium, Galvatron’s Sweeps, Greater Iacon, Vela Pulsar, The Battle of Kimia, Dai Atlas and the Circle of Light, the Matrix (not the movie), Alchemy-Seven Crew; do you know what any of these mean? Because they’re not explained in the comic! I was beyond lost at this point.
Then the Transformers are introduced: Sideswipe, Prowl, Whirl, Rodimus, Turbofox, Wheeljack, Perceptor, Metalhawk (who, confusingly, doesn’t transform into a hawk but an X-Wing instead!), Ratbat, Rewind. I have no idea who any of these characters are. Are they good guys, bad guys? Even Optimus Prime - the only character name I recognise - was made baffling because everyone was calling him Orion Pax. Is that another character or his real name or a title or what?!
Believe it or not, all of that information isn’t even 20 pages of this book, but that’s where I stopped. If, not even by page 20, I have no clue what’s happening on any level in a book, I’m done, and that was the case with this one. Apparently Optimus was dead, then he was alive, then he was leader again and everyone wanted him gone for some reason. I…
So that’s my first and last foray into Transformers comics - I knew there was a reason I didn’t read them! Check them out only if you know a lot about Transformers already or are willing to do the homework and have the patience to figure them out!
September 30, 2024
transformers one awakened something in me
me:
my brain: get really into transformers comics
me: ? why?
my brain: you gotta
me:
my brain: get really into transformers comics
me: ? why?
my brain: you gotta
Read
January 25, 2021Here I was thinking this might be a good starting point as a Transformers cartoon...and it turned out to be like taking a sip of water from a firehose.
No rating as the comic clearly has qualities, both artistic and in terms of the cheeky writing, but I was so out of my depth from pretty much start to finish I clearly was not the intended audience.
No rating as the comic clearly has qualities, both artistic and in terms of the cheeky writing, but I was so out of my depth from pretty much start to finish I clearly was not the intended audience.
June 26, 2017
I haven't been into Transformers since I was a kid but this series is so great. Roberts takes the already-absurd premise of robots that turn into cars and is like, I don't care about Autobots vs Decepticons, I'm just putting a bunch of weirdos and nerds on a ship together and sending them after some mythical robot precursors who may or may not exist. All of the characters are endearing in their own messed-up kind of way, whether they're robot dermatologists who want to be bartenders, obsessive rule-enforcers, or frightful robot psychiatrists. It does take some time to be able to tell them apart, but the art is really expressive and fits the tone of the writing perfectly.
October 18, 2016
Uh, wow this comic about robots who turn into cars is charged with political philosophy and nuanced character development and...
look, I can't believe it either but it's about a thousand times better than it has any need to be. I'm a bit stunned, really.
(But in case you are worried there is this great bit where a monster-robot totally kills some other robots and it's rad as hell. Plus spaceships and explosions).
look, I can't believe it either but it's about a thousand times better than it has any need to be. I'm a bit stunned, really.
(But in case you are worried there is this great bit where a monster-robot totally kills some other robots and it's rad as hell. Plus spaceships and explosions).
October 23, 2021
i've read this comic way too many times and it manages to be good every time i read it.
June 15, 2025
Yeah, upon reread this is still by faaaar my favorite Transformers comic book series, and favorite comic book series overall.
The characters are so insanely well written that you fall in love with them from the very first page.
And damn, this series is funny as hell! Like irl snorting in amusement type funny. And then you'll flip a page and suddenly you're reading a robot based horror comic. Just perfection.
The characters are so insanely well written that you fall in love with them from the very first page.
And damn, this series is funny as hell! Like irl snorting in amusement type funny. And then you'll flip a page and suddenly you're reading a robot based horror comic. Just perfection.
April 16, 2017
I am writing this review after reading this comic three times. Everytime I found something new in this book. It's a Masterpiece. If you ask me, in the terms of awesomeness, how much would I rate it on scale of one to Optimus? Then surely it deserves.. Bumblebee.
"Terrible things happen in war. Terrible things happen in peace too." MTMTE V1
CYBERTRON ALIVE! After fighting for 6 million years the War for Cybertron is, somehow, finally over. Megatron's missing. Galvatron's presumed dead. Decepticons are behind the bars and directionless. The Matrix is being destroyed and Orion Pax is reborn. But is war really over? Or it's just the start of a new war?
THE STORY! Goes crazy with every page and the art becomes more mesmerizing. These are the stories that helped me to move on from Batmam-Joker, Superman-Doomsday and MARVEL I rarely read. No. I mean, I am not comparing. Not at all. But all I got here, is a new world of imagination to wander with totally new characters, stories, writers, and artists.
FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH RODIMUS! I haven't read lots of things about many characters but RODIMUS is kinda cool and at the same time.. pathetic too. I mean he leaves Bee to chase some myths... Knights of Cybertron. Also he uses Rung as the bait to catch the Sparkeater. Bold moves.. sometimes can also be a reason for downfall. But as the legends say.. No Guts No Glory. The page where he catches the Sparkeater, when the Lost Light quantom jumps and flour the rules of physics.. must be one of the coolest page in comics history. I don't understand what matrix found in him and allowed him to use it's powers. But he's all about action and hype. Reading those pages of that soul snatcher in the midnight... was knida scary.
PHASE TWO! is more attractive than phase one. It's not about Optimus V Megatron, all the OLD old war that we have read and seen many times but it surely opens up the dimensions for new characters and stories for Transformers. I don't know where the story will go but wherever it goes, I am gonna follow it. The real deal. Worth the money. Totally.
TRANSFORMERS ARE HUMANS! or at least their behaviour when it comes to betray someone when they are not needed anymore. Prime is hate figure and the world sees him as the War. But when the time comes to make grand gestures and make unimaginable sacrifice.. no one can touch Optimus.
More Than Meets The Eye deserves your money.
"Terrible things happen in war. Terrible things happen in peace too." MTMTE V1
CYBERTRON ALIVE! After fighting for 6 million years the War for Cybertron is, somehow, finally over. Megatron's missing. Galvatron's presumed dead. Decepticons are behind the bars and directionless. The Matrix is being destroyed and Orion Pax is reborn. But is war really over? Or it's just the start of a new war?
THE STORY! Goes crazy with every page and the art becomes more mesmerizing. These are the stories that helped me to move on from Batmam-Joker, Superman-Doomsday and MARVEL I rarely read. No. I mean, I am not comparing. Not at all. But all I got here, is a new world of imagination to wander with totally new characters, stories, writers, and artists.
FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH RODIMUS! I haven't read lots of things about many characters but RODIMUS is kinda cool and at the same time.. pathetic too. I mean he leaves Bee to chase some myths... Knights of Cybertron. Also he uses Rung as the bait to catch the Sparkeater. Bold moves.. sometimes can also be a reason for downfall. But as the legends say.. No Guts No Glory. The page where he catches the Sparkeater, when the Lost Light quantom jumps and flour the rules of physics.. must be one of the coolest page in comics history. I don't understand what matrix found in him and allowed him to use it's powers. But he's all about action and hype. Reading those pages of that soul snatcher in the midnight... was knida scary.
PHASE TWO! is more attractive than phase one. It's not about Optimus V Megatron, all the OLD old war that we have read and seen many times but it surely opens up the dimensions for new characters and stories for Transformers. I don't know where the story will go but wherever it goes, I am gonna follow it. The real deal. Worth the money. Totally.
TRANSFORMERS ARE HUMANS! or at least their behaviour when it comes to betray someone when they are not needed anymore. Prime is hate figure and the world sees him as the War. But when the time comes to make grand gestures and make unimaginable sacrifice.. no one can touch Optimus.
More Than Meets The Eye deserves your money.
March 26, 2017
Well, that was fun!* And slightly confusing, given that I've had nothing to do with Transformers since owning a very small collection of toys back in the 80s and early 90s**. Still, I held on tight, enjoyed the ride and came out on the other side wanting more. And more I shall have!
I'm sure there's far more here to enjoy for longtime fans but newcomers should be assured that it is well worth the effort to put your trust in the writers and just jump straight in. The characterisation of the different Transformers is rich enough that backstory and continuity aren't really necessary to sink your teeth into the here-and-now of the story.
I never thought that comics based on licensed properties could be this good. Shame on me! Good comics are good comics, and this comic was damn good.
*Fun enough for me to write a review, which I've never bothered with before!
**I did however have a whole mess of Mighty Machine Men. 80s nostalgia only works if your childhood self happened to fall on what would eventually become the cool side of pop culture.
I'm sure there's far more here to enjoy for longtime fans but newcomers should be assured that it is well worth the effort to put your trust in the writers and just jump straight in. The characterisation of the different Transformers is rich enough that backstory and continuity aren't really necessary to sink your teeth into the here-and-now of the story.
I never thought that comics based on licensed properties could be this good. Shame on me! Good comics are good comics, and this comic was damn good.
*Fun enough for me to write a review, which I've never bothered with before!
**I did however have a whole mess of Mighty Machine Men. 80s nostalgia only works if your childhood self happened to fall on what would eventually become the cool side of pop culture.
June 16, 2016
From a pure nostalgic perspective, a very enjoyable book where you get several of your Generation 1 Transformers in big splashy colors. The plot, however, is a bit slow-going as the Autobots (led by Bumblebee?) try to institute a new government on Cybertron. So if you like giant robots discussing fair housing, this book is awesome. If you were hoping for something a bit more...kinetic, then maybe patience is necessary.
February 22, 2025
there’s too many volumes/issues of this comic to list them all here but i finished the entirety. went into this comic expecting nothing more than an action comedy and came out of it genuinely shocked by how deeply characters are explored and thoroughly the world is built. covers sociopolitical issues that you wouldn’t expect from a TRANSFORMERS comic.
April 1, 2019
Solid writing and beautiful illustration. The Death of Optimus Prime was truly an excellent start to the arc. The politics of the Civil War aftermath was facinating and the NAILS (non aligned intelligent life ...) Was genius. Cybertronians with no allegiance is a concept that I'd never considered, but here we are. After 4 million years, there has to be some inadvertent casualties and some combatants who get sick of the war and defect.
There were a few 'gaps' as the story progressed and a slightly but I liked it, a lot.
There were a few 'gaps' as the story progressed and a slightly but I liked it, a lot.
March 7, 2020
I thought this was a decent Transformers story. Not the best jumping on point for someone not real familiar with the characters. There were a couple familiar faces, but there were a lot of characters featured in this volume that I didn't know beforehand. It explains some of the history of Cybertron, which was useful for me. This book didn't draw me in enough to really want to read more of the story though.
Read
June 2, 2022bless my coworkers for getting me back into transformers <3 i've only read the first issue in this series so far but i love the style and the story seems interesting so far ^^
March 11, 2015
So, Humble Bundle's newest offer the other day was pretty much the entire current run of IDW's Transformers run of comics ($155 worth of comics according the website - I got it for $15, so not a bad deal). I've been curious about the current run that IDW has been publishing, so this seemed like a ridiculously good deal to me. I read the first volume of each series and actually thought they were pretty good.
The whole idea between both volumes is that the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons has finally ended with the Autobots in charge of Cybertron (a Cybertron that has changed as a result of something that happened just prior to the beginning of these two stories, and something that I'm not at all familiar with). Since the war, more and more Transformers who had fled Cybertron in the wake of the war are now returning, and see no need to have either faction on the planet anymore, as both Autobots and Decepticons are equally seen as responsible for the destruction of the planet. However, the Autobots don't see it this way and want to set up a new government to try to keep another from happening. Optimus Prime sees himself as the most visible sign of the war, so relinquishes his title as Prime, returns to calling himself Orion Pax, and exiles himself from Cybertron, leaving Bumblebee in charge. Meanwhile, Rodimus sees no point in giving up their heritage and starting over so decides to travel from Cybertron in search of the Knights of Cybertron. This is where the series splits into two.
More Than Meets The Eye follows Rodimus and his crew in search of the Knight of Cybertron, while Robots in Disguise deals with Bumblebee trying to reestablish something of a government on Cybertron and dealing with the disillusionment felt by just about everyone over this, especially the newly returned, unaligned Transformers. I've read about the More Than Meets the Eye title from several sources around the internets, and it turns out that they weren't wrong about the title. It combines a pretty decent story with some great character development and just enough wit to make something that's actually fun to read. Robots in Disguise is intriguing as well, given the way the series is dealing with the repercussions and aftereffects of the war. Overall, both series are surprisingly good (I think it would be easy for most people to write off Transformers as a whole, but these are legitimately good comics), but I did find that I enjoyed More Than Meets The Eye more. I'm really glad I bought into this most recent Humble Bundle and will be gladly reading the rest of the volumes.
The whole idea between both volumes is that the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons has finally ended with the Autobots in charge of Cybertron (a Cybertron that has changed as a result of something that happened just prior to the beginning of these two stories, and something that I'm not at all familiar with). Since the war, more and more Transformers who had fled Cybertron in the wake of the war are now returning, and see no need to have either faction on the planet anymore, as both Autobots and Decepticons are equally seen as responsible for the destruction of the planet. However, the Autobots don't see it this way and want to set up a new government to try to keep another from happening. Optimus Prime sees himself as the most visible sign of the war, so relinquishes his title as Prime, returns to calling himself Orion Pax, and exiles himself from Cybertron, leaving Bumblebee in charge. Meanwhile, Rodimus sees no point in giving up their heritage and starting over so decides to travel from Cybertron in search of the Knights of Cybertron. This is where the series splits into two.
More Than Meets The Eye follows Rodimus and his crew in search of the Knight of Cybertron, while Robots in Disguise deals with Bumblebee trying to reestablish something of a government on Cybertron and dealing with the disillusionment felt by just about everyone over this, especially the newly returned, unaligned Transformers. I've read about the More Than Meets the Eye title from several sources around the internets, and it turns out that they weren't wrong about the title. It combines a pretty decent story with some great character development and just enough wit to make something that's actually fun to read. Robots in Disguise is intriguing as well, given the way the series is dealing with the repercussions and aftereffects of the war. Overall, both series are surprisingly good (I think it would be easy for most people to write off Transformers as a whole, but these are legitimately good comics), but I did find that I enjoyed More Than Meets The Eye more. I'm really glad I bought into this most recent Humble Bundle and will be gladly reading the rest of the volumes.
Read
April 1, 2023So having been won over by all the love for Lost Light, I gave that a go only to be told that no, I was coming in halfway through the story, and really I should go back here. Now, some said that even this was a bit late in proceedings, and actually I should go back further, but frankly we're none of us getting any younger and since I only have the series as PDFs, really I do need to get it all read before the collapse of technological civilisation, so here we are. And yes, it's still clearly not the very beginning, but I've been reading comics for long enough to be used to that. In short: the war between Autobots and Decepticons, which has raged for millions of years, is finally over. And as we all know, when wars end, a new age of peace and harmony dawns. Right?
Ha.
Various of Cybertron's population who never took either side are back, some insisting both sides were as bad as each other, to the extent that before long the Autobots are letting the imprisoned Decepticons out because they need help with crowd control, which definitely isn't going to end badly. And even before that, fractures are growing among the victors, as the simple goal of winning gives way to the far more complex trade-offs of rebuilding a world. If it were the whining Ratbat – easily the most slappable character here – talking about "A rival set of facts, alternative truths" then that would be an easy gotcha, but no, it's the most heroic figure in the whole damn mythos, Optimus Prime. Who, outside, is being hanged in effigy by robots carrying placards with Nietzsche quotes (and not the super-obvious ones, either). It's Russia, Iran, Burma, every revolution that went 360 degrees, every bold new regime that inexorably went to shit – played out with toy robots, which really shouldn't work, and yet does. With the possible exception of cult leader Dai Atlas who, even if we're soon informed it's a corruption of Dei Atlas, I can only picture as a Welsh robot, possibly transforming into the Snowdon funicular. Which may seem like a niche British reference for a project like this, but then it does have an arc title riffing on a Dexys album track. And the art! I don't know how any artist could commit to issue after issue of all these lines and weird geometric solids interacting when they could be having an easy life fudging feet, let alone then express emotion with them, but I'm very glad that some devoted few do. Definitely carrying on with this one. Though anyone else who tells me to go back and read a whole other series first is getting a hard stare.
Ha.
Various of Cybertron's population who never took either side are back, some insisting both sides were as bad as each other, to the extent that before long the Autobots are letting the imprisoned Decepticons out because they need help with crowd control, which definitely isn't going to end badly. And even before that, fractures are growing among the victors, as the simple goal of winning gives way to the far more complex trade-offs of rebuilding a world. If it were the whining Ratbat – easily the most slappable character here – talking about "A rival set of facts, alternative truths" then that would be an easy gotcha, but no, it's the most heroic figure in the whole damn mythos, Optimus Prime. Who, outside, is being hanged in effigy by robots carrying placards with Nietzsche quotes (and not the super-obvious ones, either). It's Russia, Iran, Burma, every revolution that went 360 degrees, every bold new regime that inexorably went to shit – played out with toy robots, which really shouldn't work, and yet does. With the possible exception of cult leader Dai Atlas who, even if we're soon informed it's a corruption of Dei Atlas, I can only picture as a Welsh robot, possibly transforming into the Snowdon funicular. Which may seem like a niche British reference for a project like this, but then it does have an arc title riffing on a Dexys album track. And the art! I don't know how any artist could commit to issue after issue of all these lines and weird geometric solids interacting when they could be having an easy life fudging feet, let alone then express emotion with them, but I'm very glad that some devoted few do. Definitely carrying on with this one. Though anyone else who tells me to go back and read a whole other series first is getting a hard stare.
August 19, 2018
I had heard some really good things about this book, including that there was a relationship between two male-coded characters (and I’m a sucker for gay romance in comics). I had almost no frame of reference for Transformers beyond the 90s “Beast Wars” cartoon and things like Autobots are good and Decepticons are evil. Honestly? That was really OK.
This is sort of a new era for Transformers and clearly meant as some level of jumping on point for new readers. There are solid introductions to these characters and a good amount of exposition. I’m genuinely interested in what happens to the Lost Light and its crew. The obvious decades (or centuries, in continuity) of history with these characters makes them more interesting to me.
I was a little disappointed with how death was handled. There are a handful of characters who die through this first volume, but it’s so quick and so shortly after we meet them that there’s no weight to it. I remember being frustrated in the Transformers movies that it seemed like it took SO MUCH to kill something, but in the book it seems like it’s almost too easy. I’m also disappointed with how infrequently the Transformers, well, transform. I’m really curious what everyone’s “alt-mode” is, but I think we only see maybe 3.
The art is really cool, though. Nick Roche has a great animated style. It feels like something from a cartoon and manages to convey a real sense of motion at times. Alex Milne does a good job of picking up the book with issue 2 without it being a jarring transition. The bots all look cool and interesting, but it can be a little hard to figure out who you’re looking at in a given panel. I think it’ll get easier the more I read, but it did make me keep going back to the character list at the beginning.
Overall, I think it’s an excellent launch of a new book. Enough to get readers interesting and laying plenty of groundwork for some interesting stories in the future. I’m excited to read more.
This is sort of a new era for Transformers and clearly meant as some level of jumping on point for new readers. There are solid introductions to these characters and a good amount of exposition. I’m genuinely interested in what happens to the Lost Light and its crew. The obvious decades (or centuries, in continuity) of history with these characters makes them more interesting to me.
I was a little disappointed with how death was handled. There are a handful of characters who die through this first volume, but it’s so quick and so shortly after we meet them that there’s no weight to it. I remember being frustrated in the Transformers movies that it seemed like it took SO MUCH to kill something, but in the book it seems like it’s almost too easy. I’m also disappointed with how infrequently the Transformers, well, transform. I’m really curious what everyone’s “alt-mode” is, but I think we only see maybe 3.
The art is really cool, though. Nick Roche has a great animated style. It feels like something from a cartoon and manages to convey a real sense of motion at times. Alex Milne does a good job of picking up the book with issue 2 without it being a jarring transition. The bots all look cool and interesting, but it can be a little hard to figure out who you’re looking at in a given panel. I think it’ll get easier the more I read, but it did make me keep going back to the character list at the beginning.
Overall, I think it’s an excellent launch of a new book. Enough to get readers interesting and laying plenty of groundwork for some interesting stories in the future. I’m excited to read more.
January 24, 2016
Let me just get a couple of things out of the way here: As a child growing up in the 80's, my life consisted of G.I. Joe, Count Chocula, Masters of the Universe, and Transformers. Transformers was HUGE in my early life. I obsessed. Now, as an adult, I watched the first Bay-former flick (I fell for the nostalgia ploy) and was really underwhelmed (to put it nicely). That was several years back, and I just sort of gave up on Transformers.
So recently, we discovered Rescue Bots (via Netflicks) and me and the whole fam have been obsessed. I Knew that IDW had a couple of on-going Transformers comics, so I gave this one a shot and man, I've gotta say, it is awesome. Now, it took me a minute to reacquaint myself to the cast of characters, which is quite extensive, but once I could pick out the major players involved on this journey to find the Knights of Cybertron, I was hooked. I would compare it to deciphering the cast of characters in a Legion of Superheroes comic, except that they're robots; a little awkward at first, but once things get going it's good fun.
I will say that this is not exactly for people who aren't at least casual fans (which describes me pretty well in adulthood). There's been a Bot renaissance, so to speak, in our household and I got really lucky that the Transformer comics being done right now are really something special. Thanks guys, and keep it coming.
So recently, we discovered Rescue Bots (via Netflicks) and me and the whole fam have been obsessed. I Knew that IDW had a couple of on-going Transformers comics, so I gave this one a shot and man, I've gotta say, it is awesome. Now, it took me a minute to reacquaint myself to the cast of characters, which is quite extensive, but once I could pick out the major players involved on this journey to find the Knights of Cybertron, I was hooked. I would compare it to deciphering the cast of characters in a Legion of Superheroes comic, except that they're robots; a little awkward at first, but once things get going it's good fun.
I will say that this is not exactly for people who aren't at least casual fans (which describes me pretty well in adulthood). There's been a Bot renaissance, so to speak, in our household and I got really lucky that the Transformer comics being done right now are really something special. Thanks guys, and keep it coming.
June 13, 2015
Pretty enjoyable. The first part of this volume (The Death of Optimus Prime) was better than the later part, mostly because the later part was more reliant on humor that took the edges off in places where they should have been left (like Whirl's weirdly homicidal character or how no one can remember Rung or tell Ore and Shock apart and then they are tragically dealt with). Still the jokes were generally funny. "The Death of Optimus Prime" was good because it took a serious look at how do the Autobots, Decepticons, and non-aligned Cybertronians deal with the end of the war that defined them.
As a side note, I got a kick out of reading reviews for this because there were a couple negative reviews from people who knew nothing about Transformers in general and therefore thought this book was bad.
As a side note, I got a kick out of reading reviews for this because there were a couple negative reviews from people who knew nothing about Transformers in general and therefore thought this book was bad.
July 26, 2019
Don't know why I bought this one.
couldn't finish. badly written, totally boring.
couldn't finish. badly written, totally boring.
December 25, 2023
The emotional whiplash I suffered..
January 6, 2025
Comics are so good when you’re ignoring academic responsibilities to read them yesssss
January 26, 2024
16/10
Note: out of convenience, this is a review for the entirety of MTMTE, not just volume 1.
Let me preface this review with some pertinent information. Six years ago, I read the entirety of MTMTE, a burgeoning (read: fully-fledged, but still pre-pubescent) Transformers fan that had only, up to then, watched either the TV shows or—what introduced me to the world of Transformers—read lots and lots of AO3 fanfiction. I remember loving MTMTE. I don’t quite remember everything. Or, rather, I remember very little, except the major beats. The huge reveals, emotional climaxes.
Then, a month ago, having recently been reintroduced to the wonders of Transformers fanfiction (read Victory Condition by Astolat on AO3 and thank me later), I decided to catch myself up on TFP and IDW lore to ensure full understanding of the continuities to best enjoy the fanfiction (which is, often, better than most published books I’ve read). This included reading almost the entire TFWiki entry on IDW Megatron.
Long story short: I spoiled the near entirety of More Than Meets The Eye for myself right before, two weeks ago, I decided to reread it.
So, despite knowing most of the major emotional beats and major twists, here’s a cool statistic, because I keep track, because it informs the exact rating I give media I consume:
I cried seven times.
I shouted out loud at a plot twist seven times.
I know what you may (not) be thinking: seven times a plot twist caught you off-guard, despite having spoilt the whole thing for yourself beforehand? To this I reply, firstly, thank you for enabling my hypophora, and secondly, yes. All but one of those times, I already knew the broad strokes of the twist. I’d think I was past it, and then a page later, something smaller, something relatively unimpressive, would just completely catch me off-guard, and I’d—well, I’d shout out, and put the book down, and contemplate the implications. The case was similar for the crying: I’d be prepared for the climax. I’d be prepared for it. And then—it’s the eyes, Alex Milne always draws such expressive eyes—I’d see one panel, just one, and I’d tear up. Whirl. Brainstorm. Maybe you know the scenes at which I cried. Maybe you don’t. That’s the thing about James Roberts. He never settles for just one. He barely settled for fourteen.
Now, here’s the thing: this comic isn’t perfect. Far from it. Issues 12, 13, and 22 are a bit filler (by no means skip them—they have important character development, just… little else. By this point, I’d gotten used to my insanely well-written characters coming with insanely intricate plot). I really, really struggled to find myself interested in the Dark Cybertron crossover (and skim-read the first few issues, before only reading the ones in MTMTE, not bothering with RID even though they felt like they were getting better from #24 onwards). And the series ends on a low note in terms of writing prowess—issue 55, absolutely amazing, jaw-droppingly fantastic, one of my favourite arcs (that is to say, tied first place with the other 5? 6? However many?), follows onto #56 and #57, which, although high-stakes, re-introduce characters we’d not seen for a while, with stakes only important for those reading RID, the sister series. So. A bit of a let-down, but that’s okay, since the sequel Lost Light follows directly after.
Let me continue to get the bad stuff out of the way so I can rave about this to my heart’s content. The art. What’s that you say? Is it bad? Well, you really have to stop indulging my hypophora, because it gives me an opportunity to now say almost never. Alex Milne, and some others, have illustrated (with the help of the almost-ubiquitious beauty of Joana Lafuente’s colouring) what I feel comfortable stating is one of the best-looking comics I’ve ever read. The only reason it’s not absolute best is because Saren Stone’s stylistic Windblade is unconventionally amazingly bold, and Starember of the 天官賜福 fandom surely can’t be human, their illustrations are so intricate. That being said, every so often, especially during the first half of Dark Cybertron, and issue 22, there are other illustrators which take the spark out of MTMTE. 22 looked so gritty and—I’m sorry—ugly, that I barely recognised the characters I loved. The Dead Universe illustrator in Dark Cybertron was amazing at colours, but by god the way they drew the characters were unflattering, reminiscent of old-school G1. Still, some other illustrators really shone despite Alex Milne’s shadow, including the final issues’ Priscilla Tramontano, and Hayato Sakamoto (special shoutout to Sakamoto for making the iconic panel of Rodimus on top of the plinth. You know the one). Brendan Cahill also gets a mention for blending with Alex Milne’s style so masterfully I didn’t even notice. That must’ve taken work. Nick Roche for the first issue, the covers… and the character design. Oh my god, my favourite character design of any transformers media to date. Ever.
Alright, alright, bad stuff… more bad stuff…? Hmm. Okay. Sometimes, when there’s a major emotional panel or scene, the comic is too quick to move on. Not a fatal flaw, just dilutes the emotions sometimes. Like James Roberts and Alex Milne don’t even know what they’re doing to us. Bullshit. Uh. Anything else? Oh! Okay, the brutality of the Scavengers kinda threw me for a loop early on. They’re Quirky and Funny, but in their big emotional moment, I just found it falling flat. Same with the DJD: with the even smaller amount of time we get with them, I can’t even begin to sympathise. When Tarn reveals why he wears his mask? I didn’t feel anything except incredulous scorn. I genuinely have no idea if James Roberts was trying to make them more likeable, or just showing us how deeply twisted they are, but. Yeah. Idk. I feel like I could’ve loved Tarn, and really felt bad for him, from the very little we got into his backstory. But James Roberts didn’t take the opportunity. Maybe he will in the future…? I don’t know. Also, not character-specific, but the way Optimus Prime/Orion Pax is characterised in IDW is a bit… hmm. Realistic, I suppose—nobody’s perfect—but. Yeah. Compared to his infinite benevolence of the other adaptations like TFP, he doesn’t seem so much flawed and human (except for one memorable occasion in Chaos Theory, preceding MTMTE) as just… less nice. Idk. Thunderclash would’ve been nice to elaborate on as well, but, yea, Lost Light and all that. I guess he’ll get to it.
Now, for the good parts. Oh yeah. I haven’t even started talking about the good parts. Let’s split this up into parts:
1: the art (again)
2: the characterisation
3: the plot
1:
First, just to get it over with, since I’ve already brushed over it quickly. It. Is. Phenomenal. The expressions are amazing. Robots have never simultaneously looked so robotic, and so human, before. Sometimes, many times, just a single panel, and a single text box, that’s all it’d take for the waterworks to start. The subtlety and intricacy—and gorgeousness brought by Lafuente’s colours—make it all so delightful to look at. This is one of those comics where pretty much every panel could be screencapped and set for a wallpaper. Maybe it won’t be the most artsy or bold, but it’ll still be a nice thing to look at, first thing, every time you turn on your phone or computer. Every so often, there’ll be a vista across a two-page spread, and I’ll just stop and zoom in to different parts and appreciate it. That’s how good it is. Sometimes, it didn’t even take two-page spreads to get me to do that.
2:
WOW. WOW. Wow oh my GOD. This is one thing that stayed solid throughout MTMTE—sometimes, the plot would hit a snag, but I’d never stop reading because I knew I’d still enjoy the characterisation. The slow growth of relationships (of which many—the majority, actually—were ‘queer’ (however that works with wacky gender)! It’s normal and fantastic and so beautifully done), the banter oh my god the banter (there’s so much, and it’s hilarious, I’ve genuinely never laughed so much at a non-comedy-centred work before), the intricacy. No character is one-dimensional. Not one character. You’ll meet a throwaway character, and before you know it you’re rooting for them and want to know more. And then you’ll meet so many characters you’d never even heard of before, and don’t care about, and James Roberts will make you care. Like Tailgate, or Rung, or Fortress Maximus, or Rewind and Chromedome, or Skids, or Brainstorm, or, here’s an idea, maybe I should not list ever non-famous character in MTMTE. (Oh, and, just so you know: don’t let the amazing humour of this comic fool you. People die. Dreams are crushed and hopes are smothered. This is brutal, but beautiful, and I finished it feeling happy, so you have no excuse.)
3:
The plot. I can’t spoil anything. I mustn’t spoil anything, even if that barely dampened my enjoyment of any of it, anyway. But I will say this: at first, MTMTE looks like it’ll be about a crew of mainly autobots going on an aimless quest and hijinks ensuing. Make no mistake. The stakes for many of these arcs are sky-high. I felt more invested in the Lost Light than Cybertron, to be honest, and a gajillion times more than Earth. And I will applaud James Roberts, because issue one ties directly into issue forty-something. Because the entire thing is literally inconceivable without a certain action in issue 37 (or 38). Because what started it all, what made it all possible, the whole war, I’d argue, and certainly the deleted mention at the beginning of Towards Peace, is caused by something revealed in issue fifty-something. Fifty-three? I don’t know. Everything is interconnected, nothing is ever forgotten, look away for one second and you’ve missed something crucial. I just—the fact that a single issue set in functionist Cybertron made me more disturbed than some horror podcasts… yeah. James Roberts knows how to write, how to link, how to make every connection you— maybe I should stop rambling. It’s getting late. I’ve been writing this review for an hour.
Look. Look. I’m rating this comic 16 out of 10. And I’m not one to rate five stars easily. Check out my Goodreads average rating. 2.23, as of writing this review—of 65 reviews. I DNF stories even quicker if I’m bored, and have given stories negative ratings, if their flaws outweigh their positive attributes.
But by sheer brute-force, by the gigantic scope and ambition of MTMTE, James Roberts has managed to flesh out characters and a plotline so intricate and fantastic that I have no choice but to consider that any flaws are disgustingly disproportionately outweighed by positive attributes.
Read this comic. It’s not gonna be easy if it’s your first foray into Transformers. But you won’t regret it. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Note: out of convenience, this is a review for the entirety of MTMTE, not just volume 1.
Let me preface this review with some pertinent information. Six years ago, I read the entirety of MTMTE, a burgeoning (read: fully-fledged, but still pre-pubescent) Transformers fan that had only, up to then, watched either the TV shows or—what introduced me to the world of Transformers—read lots and lots of AO3 fanfiction. I remember loving MTMTE. I don’t quite remember everything. Or, rather, I remember very little, except the major beats. The huge reveals, emotional climaxes.
Then, a month ago, having recently been reintroduced to the wonders of Transformers fanfiction (read Victory Condition by Astolat on AO3 and thank me later), I decided to catch myself up on TFP and IDW lore to ensure full understanding of the continuities to best enjoy the fanfiction (which is, often, better than most published books I’ve read). This included reading almost the entire TFWiki entry on IDW Megatron.
Long story short: I spoiled the near entirety of More Than Meets The Eye for myself right before, two weeks ago, I decided to reread it.
So, despite knowing most of the major emotional beats and major twists, here’s a cool statistic, because I keep track, because it informs the exact rating I give media I consume:
I cried seven times.
I shouted out loud at a plot twist seven times.
I know what you may (not) be thinking: seven times a plot twist caught you off-guard, despite having spoilt the whole thing for yourself beforehand? To this I reply, firstly, thank you for enabling my hypophora, and secondly, yes. All but one of those times, I already knew the broad strokes of the twist. I’d think I was past it, and then a page later, something smaller, something relatively unimpressive, would just completely catch me off-guard, and I’d—well, I’d shout out, and put the book down, and contemplate the implications. The case was similar for the crying: I’d be prepared for the climax. I’d be prepared for it. And then—it’s the eyes, Alex Milne always draws such expressive eyes—I’d see one panel, just one, and I’d tear up. Whirl. Brainstorm. Maybe you know the scenes at which I cried. Maybe you don’t. That’s the thing about James Roberts. He never settles for just one. He barely settled for fourteen.
Now, here’s the thing: this comic isn’t perfect. Far from it. Issues 12, 13, and 22 are a bit filler (by no means skip them—they have important character development, just… little else. By this point, I’d gotten used to my insanely well-written characters coming with insanely intricate plot). I really, really struggled to find myself interested in the Dark Cybertron crossover (and skim-read the first few issues, before only reading the ones in MTMTE, not bothering with RID even though they felt like they were getting better from #24 onwards). And the series ends on a low note in terms of writing prowess—issue 55, absolutely amazing, jaw-droppingly fantastic, one of my favourite arcs (that is to say, tied first place with the other 5? 6? However many?), follows onto #56 and #57, which, although high-stakes, re-introduce characters we’d not seen for a while, with stakes only important for those reading RID, the sister series. So. A bit of a let-down, but that’s okay, since the sequel Lost Light follows directly after.
Let me continue to get the bad stuff out of the way so I can rave about this to my heart’s content. The art. What’s that you say? Is it bad? Well, you really have to stop indulging my hypophora, because it gives me an opportunity to now say almost never. Alex Milne, and some others, have illustrated (with the help of the almost-ubiquitious beauty of Joana Lafuente’s colouring) what I feel comfortable stating is one of the best-looking comics I’ve ever read. The only reason it’s not absolute best is because Saren Stone’s stylistic Windblade is unconventionally amazingly bold, and Starember of the 天官賜福 fandom surely can’t be human, their illustrations are so intricate. That being said, every so often, especially during the first half of Dark Cybertron, and issue 22, there are other illustrators which take the spark out of MTMTE. 22 looked so gritty and—I’m sorry—ugly, that I barely recognised the characters I loved. The Dead Universe illustrator in Dark Cybertron was amazing at colours, but by god the way they drew the characters were unflattering, reminiscent of old-school G1. Still, some other illustrators really shone despite Alex Milne’s shadow, including the final issues’ Priscilla Tramontano, and Hayato Sakamoto (special shoutout to Sakamoto for making the iconic panel of Rodimus on top of the plinth. You know the one). Brendan Cahill also gets a mention for blending with Alex Milne’s style so masterfully I didn’t even notice. That must’ve taken work. Nick Roche for the first issue, the covers… and the character design. Oh my god, my favourite character design of any transformers media to date. Ever.
Alright, alright, bad stuff… more bad stuff…? Hmm. Okay. Sometimes, when there’s a major emotional panel or scene, the comic is too quick to move on. Not a fatal flaw, just dilutes the emotions sometimes. Like James Roberts and Alex Milne don’t even know what they’re doing to us. Bullshit. Uh. Anything else? Oh! Okay, the brutality of the Scavengers kinda threw me for a loop early on. They’re Quirky and Funny, but in their big emotional moment, I just found it falling flat. Same with the DJD: with the even smaller amount of time we get with them, I can’t even begin to sympathise. When Tarn reveals why he wears his mask? I didn’t feel anything except incredulous scorn. I genuinely have no idea if James Roberts was trying to make them more likeable, or just showing us how deeply twisted they are, but. Yeah. Idk. I feel like I could’ve loved Tarn, and really felt bad for him, from the very little we got into his backstory. But James Roberts didn’t take the opportunity. Maybe he will in the future…? I don’t know. Also, not character-specific, but the way Optimus Prime/Orion Pax is characterised in IDW is a bit… hmm. Realistic, I suppose—nobody’s perfect—but. Yeah. Compared to his infinite benevolence of the other adaptations like TFP, he doesn’t seem so much flawed and human (except for one memorable occasion in Chaos Theory, preceding MTMTE) as just… less nice. Idk. Thunderclash would’ve been nice to elaborate on as well, but, yea, Lost Light and all that. I guess he’ll get to it.
Now, for the good parts. Oh yeah. I haven’t even started talking about the good parts. Let’s split this up into parts:
1: the art (again)
2: the characterisation
3: the plot
1:
First, just to get it over with, since I’ve already brushed over it quickly. It. Is. Phenomenal. The expressions are amazing. Robots have never simultaneously looked so robotic, and so human, before. Sometimes, many times, just a single panel, and a single text box, that’s all it’d take for the waterworks to start. The subtlety and intricacy—and gorgeousness brought by Lafuente’s colours—make it all so delightful to look at. This is one of those comics where pretty much every panel could be screencapped and set for a wallpaper. Maybe it won’t be the most artsy or bold, but it’ll still be a nice thing to look at, first thing, every time you turn on your phone or computer. Every so often, there’ll be a vista across a two-page spread, and I’ll just stop and zoom in to different parts and appreciate it. That’s how good it is. Sometimes, it didn’t even take two-page spreads to get me to do that.
2:
WOW. WOW. Wow oh my GOD. This is one thing that stayed solid throughout MTMTE—sometimes, the plot would hit a snag, but I’d never stop reading because I knew I’d still enjoy the characterisation. The slow growth of relationships (of which many—the majority, actually—were ‘queer’ (however that works with wacky gender)! It’s normal and fantastic and so beautifully done), the banter oh my god the banter (there’s so much, and it’s hilarious, I’ve genuinely never laughed so much at a non-comedy-centred work before), the intricacy. No character is one-dimensional. Not one character. You’ll meet a throwaway character, and before you know it you’re rooting for them and want to know more. And then you’ll meet so many characters you’d never even heard of before, and don’t care about, and James Roberts will make you care. Like Tailgate, or Rung, or Fortress Maximus, or Rewind and Chromedome, or Skids, or Brainstorm, or, here’s an idea, maybe I should not list ever non-famous character in MTMTE. (Oh, and, just so you know: don’t let the amazing humour of this comic fool you. People die. Dreams are crushed and hopes are smothered. This is brutal, but beautiful, and I finished it feeling happy, so you have no excuse.)
3:
The plot. I can’t spoil anything. I mustn’t spoil anything, even if that barely dampened my enjoyment of any of it, anyway. But I will say this: at first, MTMTE looks like it’ll be about a crew of mainly autobots going on an aimless quest and hijinks ensuing. Make no mistake. The stakes for many of these arcs are sky-high. I felt more invested in the Lost Light than Cybertron, to be honest, and a gajillion times more than Earth. And I will applaud James Roberts, because issue one ties directly into issue forty-something. Because the entire thing is literally inconceivable without a certain action in issue 37 (or 38). Because what started it all, what made it all possible, the whole war, I’d argue, and certainly the deleted mention at the beginning of Towards Peace, is caused by something revealed in issue fifty-something. Fifty-three? I don’t know. Everything is interconnected, nothing is ever forgotten, look away for one second and you’ve missed something crucial. I just—the fact that a single issue set in functionist Cybertron made me more disturbed than some horror podcasts… yeah. James Roberts knows how to write, how to link, how to make every connection you— maybe I should stop rambling. It’s getting late. I’ve been writing this review for an hour.
Look. Look. I’m rating this comic 16 out of 10. And I’m not one to rate five stars easily. Check out my Goodreads average rating. 2.23, as of writing this review—of 65 reviews. I DNF stories even quicker if I’m bored, and have given stories negative ratings, if their flaws outweigh their positive attributes.
But by sheer brute-force, by the gigantic scope and ambition of MTMTE, James Roberts has managed to flesh out characters and a plotline so intricate and fantastic that I have no choice but to consider that any flaws are disgustingly disproportionately outweighed by positive attributes.
Read this comic. It’s not gonna be easy if it’s your first foray into Transformers. But you won’t regret it. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
December 3, 2020
Well this was amazing and in my opinion a decent starting point for someone wanting to get into Transformers comics. I been a fan of the brand since I was a kid, but I ain't gonna act like i knew half of what was going on. They all looked the same to me and sounded similar and the stories seemed rather simplistic (an yet none the less badass). Therefore I feel like I must confess, at best, I've only had a cursory knowledge of Transformers all my life. Like, I enjoy them and am a fan of two of the flicks (I'll let you guess which ones they are, lol), but at the end of the day I've never felt like a very knowledgeable fan. I couldn't talk about them for hours like I do Star Wars. Megatron and Optimus were my main dudes. And of course I'd hear names like Soundwave or Rodimus, etc and kinda get the idea.
None of this hurt my enjoyment of this or even Lost Light. The story doesn't really hold your hand, but it does give you enough to put things together. Similar to how when you watch A New Hope you don't know jack shit about anyone, but it's clearly a story that's been going on awhile and you've walked in at the middle.
More Than Meets the Eye seems to pick up after the War between Autobots and Decepticons. The timeline is referenced enough times to hopefully sink in for most readers. You have these shapshifting robots, a corrupt senate, a rebellion, a civil war that lasts like 4 million years between the ultimate versions of good and evil (though thankfully the Decepticons are sympathetic enough this time around to make the drama not so one sided). This story kinda picks up with the war done with. Megatron is missing. (As someone who read most of Lost Light first, I think anyone with half a brain will tell you he won't stay missing for long) and Optimus... or... errr, Orion Pax? (You learn something new every day). Orion Pax has gone of in self exile and you got Cybertron safe again with a bunch of neutral bots.
The Autobots are split into two factions between Bumblebee (and Prowl) and Rodimus and his gang. I was fascinated to see Bumblbee portrayed in... not so much a negative light, but you're not exactly rooting for him either.
Having read Lost Light ahead of time (which I can't say I endorse or recommend. On one hand this basically reads as a more nuanced and dense prequel for me. On another, I can't help but wonder if some of these reveals would have hit stronger had I read MTMTE first- but I digress), since I read Lost Light first, I kinda saw a lot of stuff coming. On another, I'm a slut for anything Cyclonus and Tailgate related, and seeing them was so satisfying. (Even if Cyclonus looks a little... weird. Much prefer his Lost Light design. Same with Rodimus. Purple suits him better).
The humor is the unsung hero of this comic. It bursts with so much wit and charm it endears you to these Transformers in a way no film or show ever has. (At least for me). On one hand I do like the Black and White epic civil war shit between Optimus and Megatron- but this does feel like the natural progression and evolution of the narrative. Like, what would happen after the war finally ends? What would it look like if these characters were a bit more nuanced rather than so one sided? If any of those questions peek your interest, then I do believe this is a great place for you to start in your Transformers quest. It convinced me this brand was more than meets the... oh lord, I can't. Fine. I'll say it. This brand, thanks to this comic, is... more than meets the eye. (I know you cringed. If it helps, I did too. Doesn't mean what I said still isn't true tho).
None of this hurt my enjoyment of this or even Lost Light. The story doesn't really hold your hand, but it does give you enough to put things together. Similar to how when you watch A New Hope you don't know jack shit about anyone, but it's clearly a story that's been going on awhile and you've walked in at the middle.
More Than Meets the Eye seems to pick up after the War between Autobots and Decepticons. The timeline is referenced enough times to hopefully sink in for most readers. You have these shapshifting robots, a corrupt senate, a rebellion, a civil war that lasts like 4 million years between the ultimate versions of good and evil (though thankfully the Decepticons are sympathetic enough this time around to make the drama not so one sided). This story kinda picks up with the war done with. Megatron is missing. (As someone who read most of Lost Light first, I think anyone with half a brain will tell you he won't stay missing for long) and Optimus... or... errr, Orion Pax? (You learn something new every day). Orion Pax has gone of in self exile and you got Cybertron safe again with a bunch of neutral bots.
The Autobots are split into two factions between Bumblebee (and Prowl) and Rodimus and his gang. I was fascinated to see Bumblbee portrayed in... not so much a negative light, but you're not exactly rooting for him either.
Having read Lost Light ahead of time (which I can't say I endorse or recommend. On one hand this basically reads as a more nuanced and dense prequel for me. On another, I can't help but wonder if some of these reveals would have hit stronger had I read MTMTE first- but I digress), since I read Lost Light first, I kinda saw a lot of stuff coming. On another, I'm a slut for anything Cyclonus and Tailgate related, and seeing them was so satisfying. (Even if Cyclonus looks a little... weird. Much prefer his Lost Light design. Same with Rodimus. Purple suits him better).
The humor is the unsung hero of this comic. It bursts with so much wit and charm it endears you to these Transformers in a way no film or show ever has. (At least for me). On one hand I do like the Black and White epic civil war shit between Optimus and Megatron- but this does feel like the natural progression and evolution of the narrative. Like, what would happen after the war finally ends? What would it look like if these characters were a bit more nuanced rather than so one sided? If any of those questions peek your interest, then I do believe this is a great place for you to start in your Transformers quest. It convinced me this brand was more than meets the... oh lord, I can't. Fine. I'll say it. This brand, thanks to this comic, is... more than meets the eye. (I know you cringed. If it helps, I did too. Doesn't mean what I said still isn't true tho).
April 6, 2025
Here we go. I've just begun my third re-read of the James Roberts Transformers saga and I'm already bracing myself for all the times I'm going to cry. It's a woefully underrated series and it's so criminally hard to find that it's on the verge of being lost media. IDW failed to anticipate demand for this book and the few copies that have reached the secondhand market have been scalped to hell and back. And with the transfer of the Transformers license over to Image, the whole series has been unlisted from Kindle and ComiXology. Image has made vague promises to reprint the IDW catalog but it's clear by the way they're celebrating the eleventy billionth reprint of Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers #1 that it's not a priority.
But please.
Please, despite how difficult it is to read this book in 2025, try to search it out. I've read so many comics and one has never moved me quite like this. It was difficult to pick the series up again because I've come to love the characters like family, but it's exciting to get to hang out with them again. Roberts weaves them into a compelling narrative full of twists and turns-- so much stuff is brought up in the first issue alone that I know, with the benefit of two reads under my belt, won't get paid off until twenty, thirty, forty issues down the line. Already we get glimpses of:
* Chromedome and Rewind's complicated relationship
* The first inklings of a romance between Tailgate and Cyclonus
* Whirl's status as Team Psycho and potential redemption arc
It's all there from the very start. It's intricate character work set against a galaxy-spanning cosmic odyssey. It's a masterwork in setting up story threads and tying them off months (or even years) later. It's not just for fans of Transformers, but for fans of comics in general. I can't recommend this book highly enough. 5/5
But please.
Please, despite how difficult it is to read this book in 2025, try to search it out. I've read so many comics and one has never moved me quite like this. It was difficult to pick the series up again because I've come to love the characters like family, but it's exciting to get to hang out with them again. Roberts weaves them into a compelling narrative full of twists and turns-- so much stuff is brought up in the first issue alone that I know, with the benefit of two reads under my belt, won't get paid off until twenty, thirty, forty issues down the line. Already we get glimpses of:
* Chromedome and Rewind's complicated relationship
* The first inklings of a romance between Tailgate and Cyclonus
* Whirl's status as Team Psycho and potential redemption arc
It's all there from the very start. It's intricate character work set against a galaxy-spanning cosmic odyssey. It's a masterwork in setting up story threads and tying them off months (or even years) later. It's not just for fans of Transformers, but for fans of comics in general. I can't recommend this book highly enough. 5/5
January 24, 2025
And here we plunge headfirst into Transformers. I know some of the characters from one or two Michael Bay movies, I know the Transformers One movie, and... a vague collection of things learned through cultural osmosis. And this story starts with Megatron gone and Optimus leaving so there's the majority of my knowledge right out the window.
Bumblebee stays behind on the Transformers' home planet to start a new government or whatever (that, I understand, is for the other series, not this one) whole Rodimus gets a group of Transformers together to go searching the stars for some fabled not-quite-the-Knights-of-the-Round-Table legend of what the Transformers' planet used to be. Bumblebee wants to build something new, Rodimus wants what was great about the old days back.
We don't get a whole lot here after the setup. By the time they start doing things in space the volume is basically over! So this is a lot of setup, a looooooot of names and lore that's kind of confusing, and while I can see myself growing to like this I didn't get that strong of an impression of this volume. The art is neat, but it's taking me a bit to remember who each Transformer is and which vaguely red-orange-yellow character is which. There's some great sci-fi art of these planets and machines and all that but nothing too crazy has really gone on for me to rave about.
Bumblebee stays behind on the Transformers' home planet to start a new government or whatever (that, I understand, is for the other series, not this one) whole Rodimus gets a group of Transformers together to go searching the stars for some fabled not-quite-the-Knights-of-the-Round-Table legend of what the Transformers' planet used to be. Bumblebee wants to build something new, Rodimus wants what was great about the old days back.
We don't get a whole lot here after the setup. By the time they start doing things in space the volume is basically over! So this is a lot of setup, a looooooot of names and lore that's kind of confusing, and while I can see myself growing to like this I didn't get that strong of an impression of this volume. The art is neat, but it's taking me a bit to remember who each Transformer is and which vaguely red-orange-yellow character is which. There's some great sci-fi art of these planets and machines and all that but nothing too crazy has really gone on for me to rave about.
August 24, 2020
This book was mildly confusing to a casual Transformers fan like myself but the book had few great bits to it. For one thing, I love that it mostly focuses on the losers, underdog characters. Rewind, Perceptor, Ratchett, Rodimus, Skids etc. Plus, Tailgate is lots of fun.
I first got this book because several friends compared it to the DeMatteis and Giffen runs on Justice League. Which doesn't quite hold true for the story in The Death of Optimus Prime. The first issue two issues have their moments and it just sort of gets there by issue three. Which is fine. I mean, the Giffen DeMatteis Justice League didn't find its voice until the middle of issue five.
And i love, love, love, love the concept of Cybertronians who were just bystanders on the whole war thing. This seems real to me. It is something I wish the cartoons and the god awful Michael Bay movies did. If you want to sell us on the idea that these robots are people, don't be afraid to show a bunch of them who just don't give a damn.
When I get more time/money I hope to check out the rest of this series.
I first got this book because several friends compared it to the DeMatteis and Giffen runs on Justice League. Which doesn't quite hold true for the story in The Death of Optimus Prime. The first issue two issues have their moments and it just sort of gets there by issue three. Which is fine. I mean, the Giffen DeMatteis Justice League didn't find its voice until the middle of issue five.
And i love, love, love, love the concept of Cybertronians who were just bystanders on the whole war thing. This seems real to me. It is something I wish the cartoons and the god awful Michael Bay movies did. If you want to sell us on the idea that these robots are people, don't be afraid to show a bunch of them who just don't give a damn.
When I get more time/money I hope to check out the rest of this series.
April 16, 2021
My knowledge of the Transformers comes from basic pop-culture, and the live-actions films which I deteste (barring 2018's Bumblebee). Going into this story, I was at a disadvantage as I did not know it followed on from a series, and was left to play catch-up with what happened before. To be fair, I managed to pick up the gist, and was left interested with the Autobots trying to quell Cybertron, as war has passed, and what's left is trying to maintain the peace. This allows us to see this team at disagreements, and making regretful decisions in the moment, and the divide between Prowl and Rodimus was especially interesting. As the story took off into space, I was less interested in seeing the characters regroup, and pay homage to Alien, as this was the weaker story for me. The artwork is pretty good, capturing this universe and it's characters very well. Characterwise, I must admit I confused some characters at times, and didn't like the overly jokey tone this book seemed to have, yet I was enthralled by the variety of them, with the unfortunate Tailgate being my favourite. Time will tell whether I continue this story on, but for now, this was a good way to spend my time.
May 5, 2024
I’ve been hearing good things about this for a decade, but as somebody whose only history with the franchise is a deeply felt hate towards the Bay movies I hesitated for ages, then started with the wrong series, abandoned it severely confused and only learnt of my mistake that other day.
So I now started at kind of the right point (lots of editor’s boxes do point out it’s still kind of in medias res), I have to cede is very good yet not exactly friendly to people just tuning in. It took me about half the trade to start being able to tell the numerous colorful robots apart, but the writing gives everybody their own voice and manages to be funny, smart and at times even genuinely creepy.
And suddenly a I can see myself doing the other 20 or so volumes of Roberts’ Run and look forward to it.
So I now started at kind of the right point (lots of editor’s boxes do point out it’s still kind of in medias res), I have to cede is very good yet not exactly friendly to people just tuning in. It took me about half the trade to start being able to tell the numerous colorful robots apart, but the writing gives everybody their own voice and manages to be funny, smart and at times even genuinely creepy.
And suddenly a I can see myself doing the other 20 or so volumes of Roberts’ Run and look forward to it.
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