Ricky Church reviews Transformers #12…
After Transformers #11‘s Decepticon-heavy development, Brian Ruckley takes another break from the series’ main story to take us back a little bit in time and more fully introduce his version of Nautica and other bots who have been missing in the series up until now. It was a fun one-off tale showcasing Ruckley’s interpretation of Nautica while exploring the relationship Cybertron has with some of its alien refugees.
The story takes place before Transformers #10, when Sentinel Prime and his retinue were discovered to be making their way back to Cybertron in the wake of the Rise’s violent actions. The focus is on Nautica, who is the most experienced and knowledgeable Cybertronian on alien races and customs. It’s interesting to see her perspective on other alien cultures and how she is bored by Cybertron in comparison with the beings and planets she’s seen. Ruckley does a great job at laying out her character and setting her apart from the rest of the pack. The scene of her attempting to reason with a self-aware bomb was a highlight of the issue as it displayed her quick-thinking, logic and compassion all in one.
In his previous issues, Ruckley has had some trouble striking a good balance between character development, world-building and plot progression, but that is not the case for Transformers #12. There’s a perfect balance of all three, especially in the world-building aspect as a good deal is explained about the various aliens on Cybertron and how the transformers are handling them. The exposition doesn’t even get in the way of the story, but feels organic as Nautica explains the differences in the races or how she was able to spot trouble brewing due to one race’s military customs and expressions. As for plot progression, while this is very separate from the main story on Cybertron, Ruckley does include a couple interesting pieces of information regarding all the aliens Cybertron is harbouring that raises the question of what part they might play once the civil war fully breaks out.
Transformers #12 is also unique in that this is the first issue of the run that is illustrated by one sole artist. Sara Pitre-Durocher is no stranger to Transformers after having drawn so many issues in the previous continuity and she excels at this Nautica tale. Her images are crisp and clear with great character movements. Whether they’re walking and talking, standing still for a discussion or in the middle of the action, the characters never feel static or boring in their actions. Pitre-Durocher puts a lot of detail into them, particularly their facial expressions. Her art is complimented by Joana Lafuente’s vibrant colours, making the various planets we get glimpses of or the vastness of space or different areas of their ship quite colourful. With the series becoming a monthly title instead of bi-weekly, hopefully we can get more issues with just one artist that look as good as this one.
Ruckley does a great job establishing Nautica in the series with her interest in alien species and relationships with her colleagues. Transformers #12 was perhaps the most balanced issue of the series so far in terms of character, plot and world-building with some of the best artwork the series has offered yet.
Rating: 9/10
Ricky Church
