Ricky Church reviews Transformers Annual 2017…
GHOST STORIES! Optimus Prime returns to Cybertron—only to be confronted by his rival for the Matrix, Pyra Magna! As Pyra’s origin—before she was part of Victorion—is finally revealed, Optimus relives his own past—the first time he met Bumblebee!
SEE ALSO: Read a preview of Transformers Annual 2017 here
IDW’s Transformers Annual 2017 offers the series a bit of an interlude that looks at the early days of Pyra Magna and, surprisingly, Bumblebee. Both stories offered a deeper look at these characters, though it was Pyra Magna’s story that really shed light on the character along with setting up future conflicts. All in all, though, the annual delivered a good pair of tales of the Transformers universe.
When it comes to Bumblebee, there’s not really much that needs to be said about his past or why he joined up with the Autobots. He’s one of the most recognizable characters in the franchise and has been in the spotlight in most iterations of Transformers. Expanding on how he met Prime and his personality before the true outbreak of the war didn’t really say anything new about the character, but the issue did end on a nice reveal of Bumblebee’s deceased status.
Pyra Magna’s story at least revealed how she got such an edge to her. It shed a bit more light onto why she is such a believer of the Primes and the Matrix and shows the, deep down, she does have a softer, compassionate side. The story is also important for setting up the future conflict with Onyx Prime, something John Barber has been building to for quite some time now. Even with the brief glimpse at Onyx and his powers, he comes off as a great threat to the transformers.
There were a couple small issues with Transformers Annual, however. Firstly, readers might be a little confused at the start of the story. Optimus and Pyra are on Cybertron, but anyone reading Optimus Prime will know that currently they’re on Earth dealing with the Junkions, yet there’s no note detailing when this discussion takes place. I’m assuming its after the current events of both Prime and Till All Are One, but its somewhat jarring continuity-wise to figure it out for yourself.
Secondly, while Priscilla Tramontano’s art is very nice, there’s again a couple things about her work that don’t fit continuity-wise, particularly in the first part of the issue which takes place in Cybertron’s past. Prime and Jetfire, for instance, look fairly different from how they’re currently depicted in Optimus Prime.
That said, though, it’s a relatively minor issue when stacked against the rest of Tramontano’s art. Her facial work is quite detailed throughout the book and she uses some nice subtle touches as well, such as how all the dead bots in Bumblebee’s nightmare resemble Megatron, hinting at the true architect behind them, or the nods to Beast Wars and Transformers Prime in depicting Onyx Prime and his minions. Combined with the colours of Thomas Deer, Josh Perez and John-Paul Bove give Tramontano’s artwork a vibrant look. Having three colourists can sometimes lead to mismatched chaos, but they pull off their sections quite well and make everything blend together smoothly.
Aside from the jarring beginning and a couple inconsistencies, Transformers Annual 2017 was a good issue that provided an interesting look at Pyra Magna’s early days that helped expand the future conflict. While nothing new was really said about Bumblebee, it was a nice reminder of what he brought to the table. The reveal that he may still be out there should also please longtime Transformers and Bumblebee fans.
Rating: 7/10
Ri9cky Church
Originally published March 10, 2017. Updated November 14, 2019.
