Transformers: Robots in Disguise #30 – Review

By: John Barber (writer); Andrew Griffith, Casey W. Coller, and Brendan Cahill (art); Josh Perez & Joana Lafuente (colors)

The Story: “Galvatron! What is best in life?” “To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their Mini-Cons.”

The Review: Things are quickly heating up in this title. Transformers fans will no doubt be excited by the prospect of a Galvatron/Devastator throw-down and the issue delivers on that promise. Still, as exciting as a match between two of the most popular Decepticons sounds, John Barber is intent on moving things forward. The course that this story takes already moves the current status quo onto unsteady ground and, while I’m sure some readers would enjoy a little more time exploring the current state of things, it’s hard to deny that this lack of attachment creates an engaging maze of separate schemes and moving parts.

Somewhat unsurprisingly in light of the last few issues, Galvatron is a focus character. With this issue, Barber firmly nails down his version of Galvatron, a xenophobic old barbarian with his own code of honor. It still seems like a step down from the more stoic “Dark Cybertron” version, but it is interesting to see Galvs back up his claims that he’s not a Decepticon. Indeed, it appears that Galvatron has his own motives for aiding the Cons and no sympathy for, perhaps even some distain for, the Decepticon cause. The delicate balance between Soundwave’s reformationist optimism and his need for the clearly unstable Galvatron as a figurehead continues a long tradition of TF antagonists being among the most interesting elements of their series.