Comic Review: Transformers #17

Transformers #17

IDW Publishing

Writer: Brian Ruckley

Artists: Anna Malkova and Bethany McGuire-Smith

I’d argue that any good artist knows when to let their story speak for itself. That’s especially true for a visual medium. That’s been one of my biggest problems with Brian Ruckley’s Transformers run. Despite all my issues with the series ever-changing art teams, he never gives any of their work a chance to breathe.

For all the information thrown at the reader in this story, there’s no time to really process or appreciate any of it. That’s especially ironic when you consider how slow Transformers has been. Though I now think the dense storytelling is specifically why this book feels so slow. Issue #17 is a perfect example of this problem.

As a part of the Decepticons revolutionary plans, they awaken the gigantic Titans that helped construct Cybertron and its colonies. The characters make a big deal about this historic event but unfortunately, it’s robbed of a lot of its impact by the series’ incessant chatter. Vigilem, who’s a towering engine of destruction even in the eyes of the Transformers, can’t resist the empty philosophizing that characterizes Transformers.

The dialogue clumsily tries to give him some gravitas but it has the opposite of the intended effect. His actions at least have a major consequence in the story. Regardless of the consequences, Vigilem’s verbose rampage is a great example of how self-defeating Transformers is.

This apocalyptic event is preceded by Cyclonus moping around, haunted by literal ghosts of his past. With any long-running franchise, it’s impossible for characters to remain static. Any attempt to make them perfectly preserved brand icons just causes stagnation. That acceptance of change is how we got the pompous, bot-out-of-time version of Cyclonus that preceded this one.

Even so, Cyclonus’ few appearances in Transformers just remind me of what we lost in this reboot. In this case, a dynamic, interesting character who had meaningful agency with a unique backstory. Cyclonus’ role in this series fails to capitalize on one of the most interesting characters to come out of IBM’s time with Transformers.

The Anna Malkova and Bethany McGuire-Smith art team continue on from the last issue, offering some much-needed continuity. While previously I had appreciated Malkova’s work more, I’m starting to favor McGuire-Smith’s contributions. As much as I disagree with the character’s depiction, her art for Cyclonus’ has a lot of nuance and humanity while still feeling at home with Transformers.

Additionally, the shortcomings of Malkova’s work become more apparent the further Transformers gets from Angel Hernandez’s subpar work. It’s mostly average, though the designs are pretty weak, particularly Vigilem’s equally forgettable robot and alt modes.

A lot of that comes down to who gets which colorist. Malkova’s art has Joana Lafuente’s flat colors, which suffer from a clashing palette and bizarre lighting effects. Meanwhile, McGuire-Smith benefits from John-Paul Bove’s much more complex, subdued colors, which bring out the best aspects of her art. As with the rest of the book, this is a case of decent ideas mired by a questionable execution and some serious disorganization.

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