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.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #29 – Review

By: John Barber (writer); Andrew Griffith, Guido Guidi, and Brendan Cahil (art); Josh Perez and Joana Lafuente (colors) The Story: “Prowl’s got it all planned out.”

The Review: Having left us with a shocking cliffhanger last month, John Barber steps back to provide some clarity on who the Autobot’s opposition is and how they came together before stepping back into the conflict at hand. The robot fighting is actually pretty limited this month but, say what you will about this issue, it’s full of character. Barber’s assurances that Prowl will  be a major character going forward are already coming true as we get a Prowl’s side of a story that, thus far, has taken the unspectacular position that he is a prick. It’s fascinating to hear him talk about his strained relationship with the recently deceased Bumblebee, but now that Optimus Prime has retaken command of the Autobots, I’m interested to see how a stronger willed commander will deal with Prowl’s “hero they need, not the one they deserve” shtick. Likewise, it’s great to see him interact with the Constructicons, who find their loyalty torn between Megatron and a bot who wishes him dead. Interestingly, this conundrum doesn’t seem to bother them terribly. What does it mean for the balance of power that Prowl has the beginnings of a small army, and a powerful one at that? Meanwhile a fascinatingly similar issue seems to be brewing within the Decepticon camp. Despite presumably having a hand in writing him during “Dark Cybertron,” Barber’s Galvatron seems different from the nostalgic old soldier we met there, himself somewhat different from the bot with a savior complex from “Chaos”, who was different from the calculating usurper of the Simon Furman days.