Barber, John
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
3.3 out of 5
(3 books)
TOP PICK:
The Transformers: Robots In Disguise - Volume 1
The Transformers: Robots In Disguise - Volume 1
(Art by Andrew Griffith and Casey Coller)
Cybertron has been reclaimed and Cybertronians from across the universe are returning. However, Bumblebee's provisional government is beset by the scheming of the pacified Decepticons, dissent among non-aligned robots and distrust among the ranks of his own Autobots.
I like the idea of seeing how the Transformers try to find peace and cooperation in the aftermath of millions of years of warfare, with prejudices old and new putting speed bumps in the peace process. I also found the concept of the Autobots having to adopt almost fascistic policies in order to secure their rule to be an interesting exploration of how if you don't die a hero, you can live long enough to become a villain. Similarly, it's refreshing to see the Decepticons, particularly the likes of Starscream, adopting very different roles than their traditional ones in the franchise.
The biggest problem with this book is that none of the interesting stuff it delves into actually feels that fresh or innovative. The concept of a post-civil war adjustment period has been explored in at least two other IDW Transformers books that I've read recently and, whilst good stuff, this feels very derivative as a result. If you've not read any of the previous IDW iterations of The Transformers, then you should find this an engaging jumping-on point.
4 out of 5
The Transformers: Robots In Disguise - Volume 2
(Art by Livio Ramondelli, Brendan Cahill and Andrew Griffith)
Orion Pax, having given up his previous identity of Optimus Prime, has undertaken the quest of unravelling the sinister experiments of Shockwave. Meanwhile on Cybertron, Bumblebee's rule continues to waver as a strange madness seizes hold of the Aerialbots and the Dinobots.
Whilst this is a perfectly serviceable continuation to the story begun in Volume 1, I can't honestly say that it added anything of great value that wasn't already there. The subplot of Ironhide investigating the strange behaviour of the Transformers in Cybertron's wilderness is an interesting one, but we don't actually get much more than set-up for that storyline here.
I will say once more, however, just how much I loved Livio Ramondelli's artwork, which elevates the first act of this book immensely.
3 out of 5
The Transformers: Robots In Disguise - Volume 3
(Art by Livio Ramondelli, Brendan Cahill and Guido Guidi)
Ancient secrets are unearthed on Cybertron as Bumblebee, Metalhawk and Starscream vie to sway public opinion in favour of themselves.
I found the previous volume to be a fine-but-not-remarkable continuation of the story and, honestly, that about sums this book up too. There's very little here that makes this book stand out from the crowd, but at the same time there's not much that I would point to as being actively bad. For me, it simply could've gone further in developing the themes of the series and moving the overall plot forward than it did.
One element of this book I did love, however, were the flashbacks to the time of Nova Prime. What makes them great is that they're illustrated in the style of the classic Transformers comics of the 1980s, even down to the four-colour art and the design of the speech bubbles. This is a really innovative way of framing the flashbacks to ancient times and feels like a particularly clever in-joke for readers who, like me, fondly remember the comics of the 80s.
3 out of 5
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