The Transformers franchise is one of those things that sounds like a really stupid idea, but thanks to the efforts of a lot of really smart and capable people, it turns out better than it has any right to be. Like, we can all agree that the idea of turning a toy line of robots that transform into various vehicles and planes with lots of guns into a cartoon (and let’s not forget, the cartoons were only there to sell the toys) is kind of stupid right?
And yet, thanks to the efforts of some of the best creative minds in America and Japan the franchise has grown and thrived into something incredible that runs the gamut from movies, to tv shows, to action figures, and even comics.
The comic license used to be owned by IDW, but now it’s being published by Robert Kirkman and Skybound. Let’s see how well they continue the legacy of the Autobots and Decepticons.
Written and Illustrated by Daniel Warren JohnsonCover by David Aja
Colored by Mike Spicer
SERIES PREMIERE
THE ALL NEW TRANSFORMERS ERA STARTS HERE!
Superstar creator DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON (DO A POWERBOMB, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth), alongside ENERGON UNIVERSE showrunner ROBERT KIRKMAN (VOID RIVALS, INVINCIBLE), reimagines Hasbro’s robots in disguise for a brand-new generation.
Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies-the Decepticons.
As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.
Discover THE TRANSFORMERS like you’ve never seen them before!
“Transformers” #1 opens with a kid named Spike checking on his dad, who is passed out in a bar. They’re both mourning the death of an older brother named Jimmy, who died in a war. Spike and his dad have separated due to their grief and Spike leaves with his friend Carley to go stargazing.
Fortunately for Spike, Carley, and the plot of the comic they stumble across an alien ship that crash landed in the middle of the wilderness and contains the deactivated hulks of the last heroes of Cybertron. Unfortunately, as the hulks are reactivated they split off into their Autobot and Decepticon factions and start fighting. Neither side is at full strength and it seems that the early issues of this series are going to be each side scrounging for parts and energy so they can reactivate their fellow warriors. The Autobots are led by the capable and noble Optimus Prime and the Decepticons are led by everyone’s favorite power hungry coward Starscream with Spike and Carley serving as the hapless humans trying to survive a war between giants.
“Transformers” #1 is written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson and the script immediately signals that this is a much more mature story than a lot of people might have expected from an intellectual property meant for younger kids. Johnson isn’t afraid to delve into the trauma of losing a loved one and does a fantastic job of drawing some great parallels between the human grief of losing a loved one and the sacrifices that the Autobots have to make in their war against the Decepticons. Spike is a well rounded character with his own emotional baggage and aspirations and makes a great everyman stand in for the audience to witness and learn about the new history of Cybertron.
But the real highlight of the story are the Transformers themselves and it gets really deep and surprisingly violent really quickly. Without giving too much away, the warriors of Cybertron are re activated by a Decepticon named Jetfire, who actually doesn’t want to fight and just wants to look after his people. All of that is ended by Starscream, who is the closest thing you can get to a murderous and amoral psychopath in a children’s show. Couple that with some solid character moments and truly heartbreaking moral dilemmas and it’s safe to say that “Transformers” #1 is a great introduction to this new reality.
Continued belowIf “Transformers” #1 has any flaws, it’s that it might be a bit too mature for certain readers and it’s mostly thanks to the opening of the comic and Starscream’s actions. The fallout of losing a loved one can be complicated and messy for a lot of people, and “Transformers” #1 doesn’t pull a lot of punches when dealing with it, which might be a turn off for a lot of younger readers. Meanwhile, as stated above, Starscream is an absolute monster in the comic and even though he mostly kills robots (and a single human, but it’s not shown in the comic) he does execute his fellow robots with ruthless abandon. To be clear, this isn’t a bad thing, it’s just that some parents might want to read through this comic first before buying it for their kids and possibly prepare for some tough questions.
The artwork for “Transformers” #1 is provided by Daniel Warren Johnson and colored by Mike Spicer, who has been a longtime collaborator with Johnson. The two deliver some great artwork with a fantastic blend of old and new sensibilities when it comes to comic book art that come together in a style that will delight older and newer comic book readers and Transformers fans alike. On a macro level, Johnson uses a heavy panel count on each page to give the story a sense of momentum and a sense of pacing. At the same time, he has a great comprehension of scale when it comes to showing the humans interacting with the robots and the reader gets a real sense of how big the robots are and how destructive they can be. On a micro level, all the robots look like their Gen 1 designs and while the humans have relatively simplistic features that allow them to effectively emote, everything else is very well laid out and very well detailed. It’s a great style for the story and is a real treat to read.
“Transformers” #1 is a great first issue for the new age of Cybertron. It doesn’t matter if you’re a new or long time Transformers fan, there’s plenty of great action, emotional moments, and new ideas for everyone to enjoy.
Final Verdict: 9.2- A really good and surprisingly mature re-introduction to the world of Transformers that has the potential for a lot of great ideas and future stories.
