Ricky Church reviews the first issue of Skybound’s Transformers…
After nearly a year since the Transformers comics ended their long run at IDW, Skybound Entertainment has begun their reboot with Daniel Warren Johnson on writing and art duties with his longtime collaborator and colourist Mike Spicer. Transformers #1 is an intriguing starting point that treads familiar ground while exploring new aspects to Johnson and Spicer’s take on the mythology.
Unlike either of IDW’s Transformers continuities, Johnson and Spicer’s Transformers is very much inspired by the original 1984 G1 animated series as a group of Autobots and Decepticons wake up on Earth after crashing landing and renew their war as young humans become embroiled in the battle. As said it’s familiar territory for the beginning of any Transformers series, whether cartoon, comics or the live-action films, but the G1 influence is clear as day with its set up and characters, though the humans gain the most change with Spike, his father Sparkplug and friend Carly.
Instead of the happy relationship Spike and Sparkplug shared in the original series, they are tense as Sparkplug (going by Sparky from a friend) is an alcoholic veteran suffering from PTSD and Spike is acting like the grown up by looking after his father and wants to get out of town with dreams of joining NASA, both of them alluding to a tragic loss in their family that neither one can get over. It puts a fresh feel on Spike and Sparkplug to have them at odds and a backstory, giving them both more of their own personality rather than having them as the audience’s surrogate.
When it comes to the bots, Johnson provides each one with their own unique voice and characteristics that again feel quite familiar by being so influenced by G1. Optimus Prime comes across as immediately heroic and noble as he protects Spike, Carly and his fellow Autobots from Starscream, even taking the time to grieve a potentially lost member. Starscream is, as usual, his arrogant, selfish and loud self, boasting about how he killed a defenseless Autobot or looking forward to killing humans. He also seems to be a bit more threatening as he doesn’t hesitate to get right into Soudwave’s face before the faithful Decepticon could even finish saying you-know-who’s name, declaring himself leader of the Decepticons. Johnson’s characterizations may feel familiar, but it is also clear he isn’t above putting his own stamp on the Autobots and Decepticons through subtle moments or bold story choices. It is quite intriguing to think of what he might do next with them.
Johnson is quite animated with his character movements in his artwork. He conveys the scale of the transformers quite well compared to the humans along with their emotions, particularly for the bots and especially for Optimus Prime. Optimus can be rather expressionless with his faceplate covering half his face, making much of his character in G1 rely so much on Peter Cullen’s excellent performances. In the wrong hands in a comic, Optimus can still feel expressionless but Johnson is able to show his emotions through shifts in his eyes and his body language. The same even goes for Soundwave whose traditional monotone voice is utilized here, but not strictly relied on either as the cornerstone of his character. Spicer’s colours also enhance Johnson’s art with how much the visuals pop and add to each of the bot’s detail. Their page layouts also make the reading experience a smooth and involving one with a dynamic flow and even at one point doing a landscape spread, making the reader turn the book around. The visuals in the book are just a lot of fun.
If you haven’t heard, Skybound is making a connected universe between Void Rivals, Transformers and their upcoming G.I. Joe series with Void Rivals being the first stop in this universe’s continuity after their surprise reveal of Jetfire in the first issue (which pretty much announced Skybound’s acquisition of the Hasbro rights) and inclusion of fan-favourite Decepticon Shockwave. One doesn’t need to have read Void Rivals to know what is going on as Jetfire’s appearance here, as well as his confusion into the state of Cybertron’s civil war, is handled clearly without saddling continuity to it.
Johnson also presents several intriguing questions throughout the first issue, such as what exactly is the situation on Cybertron, why and how did Optimus and Starscream crash on Earth and, notably, where is Megatron? The stakes are also raised considerably as Johnson shows anybody, whether transformer or human, could die and do so in graphic and brutal ways as Starscream twice showed he’s capable of. There’s fun to be had in Johnson and Spicer’s Transformers with their story, characters and artwork, but despite the G1 influence it is going to be quite a bit more mature than the classic series.
Rating: 8/10
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
Originally published October 12, 2023. Updated October 13, 2023.
