Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #32 – Review

By: James Roberts (writer), Alex Milne (art), Joana Lafuente (colors)

The Story: The crew investigates a familiar shipwreck, only to find that things aren’t quite how they left them. Think of it like a director’s cut…with a rusty blade.

The Review: Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye has always been about the past. From the presence of living fossils like Cyclonus and Tailgate to the influence of Chromedome’s previous relationships to the desperate nostalgia that’s fueled Rodimus and then Megatron’s hunt for the Knights of Cybertron, the crew of the Lost Light has consistently been driven and ruined by past events. This issue we find ourselves on unsteady ground as characters are forced to consider the future in more ways than one.

Pretty immediately upon entering the wrecked Lost Light the crew realize that something’s not right, sending them on desperate searches to determine what happened, if there are any survivors, and if this fate can be avoided. The absence of MTMTE staples proves just how skillful a writer James Roberts is, as he provides the same high level of character work without any of his familiar favorites or missing a beat.

Standouts, as ever, include Megatron and Nautica, but there are some solid moments with Getaway and newcomer Ravage as well. There’s plenty more discussion of Megatron’s defection, but the subject gets a shot in the arm in the form of an actual Decepticon for Megatron to stare down. It’s still amazing how real Roberts makes this transition and anyone who’s escaped from a self-destructive friendship will be able to see a little bit of themselves in the former tyrant. Likewise, it’s great to see the Autobots admit how difficult it can be to hold a grudge.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #31 – Review

By: James Roberts (writer), Atilio Rojo (art), Joana Lafuente (colors)

The Story: Was it Megatron? In the Rod-Pod? With the Fusion Cannon?

The Review: Remarking upon the main cast of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, one bot famously observed that, “as far as I can make out, all you do is argue, crack jokes, and get sidetracked doing pointless, silly things that only you find amusing!” It may hold a scant thirty issues and an annual against the full history of the Transfomers brand, but MTMTE has carved out a well-defined niche as a place where the brand can indulge its sense of humor, its talkative nature, and its love of narrative experimentation. If you need proof, look no further than More Than Meets The Eye #31.

“Twenty Plus One” is a classic bottle episode, a television term for a dialogue-heavy story that takes place in a single location with few guest stars or visual extravagances. The idea was pioneered and perfected by the original Star Trek in an attempt to stretch the budget for other, more effect heavy episodes. Despite their pragmatic origin, bottle episodes are frequently an opportunity for character-building and significant conflict thanks to the difficulty of holding audience attention and their similarity to staged theater. Thoroughly enamored with the trope, James Roberts conducts the issue like an old-time murder mystery, paranoia, prejudice, well-timed power outages, and all.

Stuffing twenty Autobots(?) into close quarters allows Roberts to call upon the myriad tones of MTMTE all in one issue. Fittingly, the best elements of this story are generally the highlights of the series: a blurred, honest line between comedy and drama; a complex but easily followed plot; razor-sharp dialogue; and a contemplative approach to the social and political aspects of being a Transformer being notable examples.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #30 – Review

By: James Roberts (writer), Alex Milne (art), Joana Lafuente (colors)

The Story: “You’re out of order! You’re out of order! The whole trial’s out of order!”

The Review: As Megatron’s trial comes to an end, James Roberts takes the opportunity to make it something to remember. It’s pretty impressive when a Seacon invasion is the least interesting part of a trial!

Punctuated with cruel cliffhangers that are all rewarding enough to justify themselves, the flashbacks in MTMTE #30 will keep you on the edge of your seat. Megatron is a natural star and you’ll find it hard not to sympathize with Cybertron’s imperialist mass murderer. Far from the cowardly conqueror of the 1980s or the cackling madness of G1 Galvatron, Roberts writes an intense, Byronic Megatron. Tortured without seeming self-indulgent, Megatron’s inability to accept a failed life presents all kinds of fascinating ideas and propels the story forward, taking him from masterful manipulator to broken old warrior for justice and more in the span of half an issue.

Likewise, Roberts brings the best out of Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime. With a splash of humor and an appropriately straight face, each of the truckformers act as a voice of reason, even as their actions inspire a fist pump or two. Optimus is especially interesting. The mythic connection between Prime and Megatron is strong and you can feel Optimus, almost desperately, trying to nurture what he sees growing in Megatron’s spark.

While every scene in the book could probably be described as character-driven, Roberts really shows off how strongly he can structure an interaction. Exposition, character, and comedy are woven throughout the entire script and moments like Ratchet’s final line to Rodimus hit you like a punch to the gut.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #28 – Review

By: James Roberts (writer), Alex Milne (art), Josh Burcham (colors)

The Story: Megatron ended the war with a badge and fought it with a canon, but he started it with a pen. Only now does he look down at the story he’s written to find that it’s a tragedy.

The Review: Say what you will about IDW’s handling of the Transformers brand, but it’s been a while since you could honestly say that they’re getting stale. John Barber and James Roberts have done an impressive job of recombining the desperate elements of the classic franchise in new and fascinating ways. Two years of reconstruction and five months of “Dark Cybertron” and transformers is trying something new again. Last week Optimus Prime set off for Earth to find that the more things change the more things stay the same and before that, Transformers: Windblade showed us that the classic TF political reformation story need not be a series of grandiose battles but can thrive using simple effective character work. Both reintroduce classic elements of the mythos, but move in new and interesting directions.

In this new world that the it falls, most of all, to More Than Meets The Eye to keep the spirit of the past few years alive and the shared universe expanding.

Caught, like all of the Dawn of the Autobots issues, between “Dark Cybertron”’s fallout and the present day, MTMTE #28 returns us to the Lost Light and its group of rag-tag crusaders. The roster has changed slightly, but the ship’s character remains the same.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #22 – Review

by James Roberts (Writer), James Raiz (Artist), Josh Burcham (Colorist)

The Story: ”Lost Light: The Movie” starring the crew of the Lost Light!

The Review: Humor isn’t the easiest thing to write. No matter how funny any creative team think they are, there’s a certain sense of timing and a pre-established knowledge of the humor material that is needed in order for anything to produce laughs. Some books may create a line or two that may cause chuckles or amusement, yet comedy that actually do make people laugh is actually pretty hard.

Well, it seems that James Roberts can very well proclaim that he can actually do comedy well, as this transition issue before the big crossover event is a fun and laugh-worthy entry to this series as the writer continues what he does great: characterization.

Simply put, Roberts let the character speak for themselves as the context of a sort-of documentary film allows for some kind of study in how most of the crew of the Lost Light are pretty dysfunctional. Close to every important characters from this series get to appear here, with some funny lines that adds to the whole experience. The jokes are not only a bonus here, as they are the key to what makes the issue works as they not only bring laughs, but characterization as well.

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 #20 – Review

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

The Story: Chaos happen as Ratchet tries to save a dying Ambulon, Tyrest tries to enact his insane plan and Rodimus try to stop him.

The Review: This is how you do it. A bold statement to be sure, but one effective nonetheless as James Roberts shows how you can plant seed for future storylines as he connects multiple threads together, some from the very first issue of the series. Long-form storytelling is something that not every writer is able to pull off, yet it can be incredible when done well and James Roberts can be categorized as being able to do so wonderfully.

One of the best thing to come out in this issue would be the explanation for Skids, detailing just how he got in a ship with the binary gun in the second issue as everything is told from Getaway’s point-of-view. It explains close to everything about the character while adding up to the conflict at hand while doing what James Roberts does best: throw in new concepts that fit perfectly with the Transformers themselves.

That’s not the only point hat is brought forward, as the quest for the knights of Cybertron even goes forward a bit, connecting with the confrontation with Tyrest. This is one of those big issues, where the antagonist is up for a confrontation, where the stakes are high and everything move along at a brisk pace to make sure the importance of the situation is straight for the 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.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #17 – Review

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

The Story: The crew of the Lost Light arrives on Luna-1 as they make several discoveries, while some weird robots arrive and want to take Skids.

The Review: If there’s something that always astound me when I read this title, it’s the fact that despite the huge number of characters that I have no knowledge about and the huge lore around those transforming robots, I always manage to understand close to everything. At least, I manage to understand the very important facts about what’s happening, along with the emotional impact it’s supposed to have.