Luke Owen reviews the latest issue in IDW’s January Mars Attacks series…
“The weekly invasion continues: AUTOBOTS vs. DECEPTICONS vs… MARTIANS?! The invaders from Mars take advantage of the colossal Cybertronian’s conflict and begin their assault on Earth in full force. It’s Martian vs. Machine as the audacious Autobots and the devilish Decepticons begrudgingly join forces to repel the inhuman invaders and save the planet!”
I’ve been saying for the last few weeks that the IDW Mars Attacks series has been really, really great. It got off to a fine start with Mars Attacks Popeye, continued the brilliance into Mars Attacks Kiss and then created an absolute gem last week with Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters. At the time, I thought that would be the best issue of the series, until I read Mars Attacks The Transformers.
It’s been quite some time that a comic has made me laugh out loud as many times as this did. While at times it feels like a parody of the original 80s cartoon series, Shane McCarthy’s writing still keeps faithful to the original source material – just choosing to poke fun when it’s appropriate. If like me you grew up watching The Transformers, you will find a lot of clever in-jokes and air-punching moments that will caress your nostalgic bones. From jokes about Spike’s yellow boots to the awesome sight of the Insecticons battling the Martian giant ants, Mars Attacks The Transformers is a Transformers comics made for Transformers fans.
The story and pacing are perfect. The Autobots have finally defeated the Decepticons and place Megatron under arrest. However when the Martians start to invade, Megatron must put aside his hatred for Optimus Prime so that the Martians don’t win the war he wants to win himself. Because it’s so perfectly simple, it doesn’t take long to set up which means more time can be spent on jokes, fight scenes and fantastic artwork. The interplay between the Autobots and Decepticons is absolutely fantastic and it’s just awesome to see them working together, even if it is just for this one fun comic.
While the story is centred around the Autobots and Decepticons fighting Martians, this is really Megatron’s comic. You can tell that McCarthy has a lot of love and affection for the character as he revels in writing every line of dialogue and gives him all of the best moments. That’s not to say that he overshadows every other aspect of the comic, but he is clearly the stand out character from the issue. I made the comment in Mars Attacks Popeye that the Martians weren’t given enough focus as the issue centred around one character, but here McCarthy has managed to get the balance just right.
Also getting the balance right is artist Matt Frank who has created artwork that doesn’t look out of place in 21st Century comics but still maintains the original 80s designs. I said in the Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters comic that Jose Holder didn’t quite capture this and that it was a slight detriment to the issue, but Frank has nailed it 100% and got the entire comic spot on.
I have nothing but praise for Mars Attacks The Transformers and would go as far to say that there isn’t a fault in there. The writing is great, the art is great, the jokes are funny and the action is exciting. It makes me wish that McCarthy was back writing The Transformers (as I have issues with both the current series) or that he can carry on with this Mars Attacks The Transformers series as a spin-off.
If you’re only going to buy one comic today, make sure it’s this one.
Originally published January 23, 2013. Updated November 6, 2019.
