Transformers, Volume 8

Transformers IDW #52

by John Barber, Andrew Griffith (Artist), Livio Ramondelli (Artist)

The COMBINER WARS are over, and OPTIMUS PRIME faces the aftermath. Meanwhile, ARCEE confronts GALVATRON; SOUNDWAVE and COSMOS come face to face; TRACKS and NEEDLENOSE meet up again; and JETFIRE and KUP lead a team to investigate the mysterious ONYX system. Collects issues #42–45 of the ongoing "Transformers" series.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction

104 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2016

Reviews

[Andy Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fair slice of serialized story in John Barber's post-war mythos. Trad heroes are up against hero worship, a mockery they put in power and calls for victim's justice, Meanwhile trad bad guys are hunted and harassed as they forge a new way while trying to soothe old incendiary recruits who have no truck with the connotations. There's some great one-liners in this, some good mixing up of the cast and the sense that Barber has studied post-conflict societies for the whole feel of the text is one of uncertainty, risk, uneasiness and the re-setting of reality filters. The book works not so well self-contained but as another chapter in the series is quite welcome. I really must write John Barber a fan letter someday.

[Clint the Cool Guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Interesting story. Good art. More questionably good Autobots versus the undoubtedly good Decepticons. I don't know why they keep trying to retcon Decepticons as being deeply conscientious, peaceful government protesters but whatever. It's an extreme oddity of IDW comics, and it's apparently not going away. All these Decepticons started out with their version of Occupy Wall Street, and it just spiraled out of control from there.

That darn Optimus Prime. What's his deal, anyway? In this story the Camiens worship him as a god. Why? He's not even fit to be a leader in the IDW-verse. He's completely ineffectual and useless. I'm not even sure why he even exists in these comics. Even Brawl has more charisma.

[Marta Duda-Gryc · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-4 depending on the story. Loved the commentary from the bird gallery of Laserbeak and Buzzsaw; Thundercracker rules, like always; I liked family problems of Tracks and Needlenose, highlighted by the background of looming dissent and other disasters. A competent Arcee's always fun, too.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot doesn’t really thicken in this collection, but the stories contained within are interesting and entertaining. I especially like the Soundwave/Cosmos story…. And I would pay a monthly subscription just to read regular commentary from Buzzsaw and Lazerbeak….. that’s your winning spin-off series, right there!

3/5

[Bryce Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly think the Earth focused stories are the least interesting parts of the Transformers books.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things are so much more interesting after combiner wars

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of this volume was clearly setup for things to come, but it's interesting setup. (B+)

[Martin Lund · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prowl proves a patch I have on my jacket is right: All Copbots Are Bastards.

[Kavinay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cosmos and Thundercracker deserve their own sitcom.

[B.J. Fantine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standout issues: #42, #43, #44

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, fun read that is a welcome change of pace after the Combiner Wars brouhaha. The focus of this volume is on character and not so much on plot. Alliances shift as cast members struggle to redefine themselves amidst the never-ending political turmoil they find themselves embroiled in. An out-of-nowhere cliffhanger closes out the final issue and leaves the reader eagerly awaiting the next book. Hard to ask for much more than that from a single volume of a long running series. All this in a trade containing only four issues.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag: some of the character work is excellent but there's also a fair bit of dross, including some poor artwork in some of the issues.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zombie robot combiners? Zombie robot combiners! Also, at some point, I want an issue that is just Thundercracker's script.