When IDW took over the license for
TRANSFORMERS comics from the canadian company Dreamwave, it was a slow and painful turn-off for me.
I had hopes that the
Transformers: Infiltration #0 at the price of .99 that began the series would be a great way for me to stay involved in the world of my favorite 'bots.
7 issues and 54 covers later..."
UGH", for lack of a better term. I'd had enough of the sub-standard artwork and the totally unlikeable human characters. Hell, the series didn't even focus on more than 4 Transformers for around 3 issues. SO, I dropped the series like a bad habit and never looked back.
After
INFILTRATION came
ESCALATION came
DEVASTATION....
yadda yadda yadda...
Caught a glimpse for "ALL HAIL MEGATRON". Thought, "hmm, I MIGHT try that at some point." Never did.
Then about a month ago, I saw that IDW FINALLY decided to start a regular Transformers monthly series. I snagged a copy of #1 from my LCS and took it home, expecting disappointment.
Wow. What a difference 4 years has made.
Writer
Mike Costa has turned the status quo of the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons on its' ear, and yet made the story of these alien robots that transform into cars and planes make sense in a world that has made tremendous strides in technology since 1984.
The interior art and covers are still provided by fan-favorite TF
Don Figueroa, but with a
HEAVY influence from the look of the characters from the recent motion pictures.
There's the usual angst and personal struggles between the characters as seen in pretty much every incarnation, but there's something different in this one I can't quite put my finger on.
I hesitate to say a dose of reality (
because we ARE talking about giant robots that turn into automobiles here) but certainly a dramatic element that prior series' have lacked for many years.
I'm glad to say I took a chance on this title. Honestly, I await every issue with as much anticipation as James Robinson's
SUPERMAN titles at the moment.
So
'roll out' and give this series a try.
You'll be glad you did-a-tron.