Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #21 – Review

by James Roberts (Writer), Alex Milne (Artist), Josh Burcham (Colorist)

The Story: Tyrest gets what he deserves, secrets are revealed and the fate of Tailgate and the rest of the Lost Light is shown.

The Review: People who read the MTMTE reviews I write can usually see me showering this title with many positive comments, praising it’s ingenuity and what it accomplishes. Skeptics might see it as merely as a way to sell them on a book that perhaps only a few might really enjoy, yet this series has been a real joy to read and discover from start to finish. As James Roberts closes up many of its plot threads and give a certain amount of conclusion to the development of several characters, this issue shows exactly why this title has been a shining exemplar of long-form storytelling.

While this issue clearly isn’t exactly a fine example of being reader-friendly, Roberts manage to direct his characters and conflicts from point A to B without breaking the pacing or the narrative flow of his issue, which is remarkable considering the high number of them he had in play. Pharma’s fate, Tyrest and his desire to kill to those who were constructed cold, Skids and his identity problems, Tailgate and his cybercrosis, everything gets resolved as Roberts also manage to surprise the readers by showering the readers a lot of various elements.

However, not all of these elements are equally interesting, as the character of Cyclonus, Rodimus, Tailgate and another one who I shall not reveal really do steal the spotlight. While the other elements are nonetheless captivating, there are many character defining moments attributed to them that really makes them the more fascinating aspects of this month’s issue. The amount of humanity that those characters possess is nothing short of astounding, as Tailgate gets even closer to death by cybercrosis, with Cyclonus being the unfortunate one that has to see his close friend nearing his demise.* There is something in how each character reach a certain step in their evolution in this issue that shows that the seed planted in the 20 previous issues have bloomed, resulting in something quite satisfying for long-time readers.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #19 – Review

James Roberts (Writer), Alex Milne, Brian Shearer (Artists), Josh Burcham (Colorist)

The Story: Ratchet prepares for a confrontation with Pharma, Whirl and Cyclonus gets ready to get their companions out of jail and we get the whole story behind Ultra Magnus.

The Review: James Roberts is a master.

There, that’s the review. Go buy the issue now.

…

Of course, that would make for a rather boring review, yet this first statement, made in a humorous manner, still stands as the truth when talking about the quality of this comic. With so many comics nowadays being decompressed, being unable to truly flesh out their ideas or with too many characters that aren’t allowed to be brought in interesting directions, there are comics like MTMTE here that proves that comics that defies expectation on a monthly basis does still exists.

How Roberts seem to manage such a feat seems rather simple, yet it’s how effectively he does such a thing that is remarkable: by juggling with a whole variety of plots attached to a whole plethora of characters that keeps on going. In this issue, we see more about Ultra Magnus and his history with the Tyrest accord, the tension between Cyclonus and Whirl, the mystery behind Skids, the antagonism behind Ratchet and Pharma as well as some more of the great development and explanation of the Transformers lore that James Roberts is able to provide. While it seems like a lot of plot to juggle with, the writer is able to give enough panel time and development to each of them in order to provide setups, surprise, action and all that we may need in order to enjoy them in a seamless manner. None of these plots or subplots feel forced or rushed in any way, which gives us a lot to read and enjoy.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #18 – Review

By: James Roberts (Writer), Alex Milne, Brian Shearer (Artists), Josh Burcham (Colorist)

The Story: The crew of the Lost Light fight an invasion of seemingly single-minded robots that are out to take Skids while Rodimus and those that went with him in his exploration are waiting for justice.

The Review: I have to admit, I know close to nothing of the Transformers lore. It is kind of foolish of me to review a series such as this, one that relies on the knowledge of its readers to make sure they get most of everything out of each issue, yet my impulsive streak always gets the best of me.

Despite my confusion over some of its terminology and some of the events, James Roberts fills this book with so much energy, so much humor and with a colossal amount of innovation that I find it hard not to enjoy. Under his pen, we have seen love, religion, medicine, a caste system and politics adapted to this universe in ways that not only made sense, but were also incredibly fun to read, making this title one that the readers could easily invest their time into.