Ricky Church reviews Transformers ’84: Secrets and Lies #1…
After revisiting the original Marvel Comics Transformers continuity in Transformers ’84 #0 last year, writer Simon Furman has returned to that timeline in Transformers ’84: Secrets and Lies. Set in between events from that issue and the beginning of Marvel’s run, Secrets and Lies #1 offers a pretty intriguing story with equally intriguing character work, especially when it comes to Shockwave and his own machinations.
Though it continues technically two stories (the #0 issue and the original comics), Furman makes Secrets and Lies very easy for any new reader to follow. All readers have to know is the basics of Transformers lore – Autobots are good, Decepticons are bad and their home planet has been ravaged by their war. Anything else tied to previous stories Furman goes over with ease, helped by the exposition from the double-agent Counterpunch in a way that feels natural without confusion.
Though the story jumps between a few different characters as Counterpunch relates his tale, the issue is still pretty straightforward. Furman’s characterization of the various bots is interesting as he explores some ‘untold’ portions of the Marvel timeline and expands on their motivations. Shockwave in particular gets a good amount of material as he works behind the scenes to his own ends. It’s a departure from those who know him primarily from the original animated series where he was a pretty strict loyalist to Megatron instead of the conniving and manipulative figure here or in IDW’s own Transformers series (both its original continuity and recent reboot). Counterpunch is also proving to be an intriguing addition as he has to carefully choose how to play a situation and keep the Decepticons fooled into thinking he’s one of them.
Guido Guidi again does an excellent job recreating the look and feel of an 80s comic, from its grainy look to how the page layouts are presented. Guidi’s artwork is quite detailed with his characters, both in their facial expressions and general body language. It is also quite neat to see him work with the Dinobots (or Dynobots as they are in their natural Cybertronian forms). We rarely ever see the Dynobots before their arrival on Earth and Guidi, as revealed in Furman’s notes at the end of the issue, mostly created their Cybertron alt-forms on his own, remaining in the style of G1 alt-modes while still retaining some of their signature Dinobot features. The action sequence with the Dinobots is a highlight of the issue with the movements easy to follow and Grimlock and Shockwave giving some quite intimidating postures. John-Paul Bove’s colours also have that 80s feel while still making the issue as vibrant as possible. Whether its the raging battle or just the shine of the bots’ bodies, Bove’s colours stand out quite a bit.
Transformers ’84: Secrets and Lies #1 is a great start to the miniseres . Furman writes a compelling story that doesn’t require much more knowledge of Transformers or its original Marvel series than what he presents here while the artwork from Guidi and Bove is very captivating. Fans will likely have their interest piqued by Furman’s story and should check this out.
Rating: 8/10
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