Review: Marvel G2 #12 - A Rage in Heaven!

This is it!  The final issue of the US Marvel Comics continuity.  This is issue #12 of the US G2 Marvel Comics run of Transformers.  Abandoned is the primary / back-up story, in favor of a four chapter epic structure.  Simon Furman pens this tale, naturally.  Manny Galan draws and Jim Amash inks chapters 1 and 3, with Geoff Senior as artist on chapters 2 and 4.  Richard Starkings (w/ Comicraft) letters, and Sarra Mossoff colors.  They played with their titles, though, so it's listed as Furman, Automatic; Galan: Autocad; Amash, Autolysis; Comicraft, Autograph; Mossoff, Autochrome; Tokar, Autoknowbetter; DeFalco, Autopsy.  Cute.  Yaniger drew this cover, confirming that in fact he'd draw every cover of this tragically short-lived series.

It's the END of the ROAD for: Transformers Generation 2, or so the cover proclaims.  This is itself a cute little meta-gag, as the last issue of the US series was also titled End of the Road!.  In point of fact, so was the final original issue of the UK G1 title.  It's quite a good title for a book about car robots.  But what of the cover itself?  It's some decent Yaniger work, not his best, but servicable.  Optimus Prime is literally... CONSUMED by the SWARM!  The inking is quite good, with black closing in ominously on the white background and Optimus Prime being broken down into his component atoms.  The emotion is nice, both in his face and in his body language, but the rendering seems to lack the sort of overly detailed mechagore that mark Yaniger at his best.  This image kind of reminds me of mid 90's CG models in how it breaks apart, like the robots are empty polygons.  Details like the underside of Prime's arm are nice, but there aren't enough of them.

The story kicks off with a prelude, a one page overview of the Transformers mythology to bring the reader up to speed.  Perfunctory, but gets the job done.  Perhaps shrewd to get it out of the way so quickly and leave 47 pages for the real story.  The most interesting bit is this line: 'shorn of its mystical trappings, it is a tale of evolution.'  That seems like a loaded statement to me, pulling back from the fantasy elements that characterized the end of the G1 run in favor of a more secular book.  This is a slightly odd choice, given the resolution... but I get ahead of myself.

Book One: Judgement, opens in space, with the Swarm about to menace the Warworld and the Twilight alike.  Four faces adorn the page, representing each faction involved.  Jhiaxus is there, as is Starscream, Megatron, and... Grimlock?  Odd choice, him, but then Prime's face was on the previous page and maybe Furman was avoiding redundancy avoidance.

It's all Starscream can do to keep from engaging the thing, and he begs Optimus for help.  Jhiaxus, though, has no such compunctions and opens fire, initiating hostility.  Prime is mortified, he saw a chance to reach the Swarm slip through his fingers.  Jhiaxus's underlings realize the futility of the situation, but when they point it out to him Jhiaxus crushes the life from one.  The Cybertronian has come full circle; he is back to being the vicious tyrant he was originally, um, budded as. 

Optimus, meanwhile, convinces Starscream to return what was stolen, and Optimus is once again one with the Matrix.  Off he heads, via skysled, to the Twilight, for a detente with Jhiaxus.  Jhiaxus seems more than happy to allow the Autobot aboard.  It's a good opening chapter to the book, shifting a few pieces around for the big finales.  Starscream has now played his part in the book, and won't be doing a whole lot more.  Jhiaxus and Optimus are set for their confrontation... and what of the Swarm?

Book Two: Twilight opens with Megatron and Starscream making their way through the bowels of the Warworld.  Megatron seeks to combat (Note: he's very clear on this - 'combat,' not 'defeat') the Swarm, and he gathers up the Rheanium gas taken back in issue #7.  Nice continuity, but I wish there was a bit more set-up for this.  Maybe one more mention of Rheanium in issue 10 or 11.  BTW, I liked the idea of Rheanium so much that I namechecked it in The AllSpark Almanac when talking about Omega Supreme.  Also, lovely Senior art in this, both in the depth of the Warworld and in the hangar bay.  Isn't that shuttle awesome?  Lovely and alien, no doubt stolen by Bludgeon from some hapless alien race.

This isn't even the real meat of the chapter, though, no.  That would be Optimus, arriving on the Twilight.  (Oh, Furman, double meaning on that word.  It does feel like we're about to fall into night, and here we are on that ship.  That's solid writing, that is!)  The ship is being obliterated by the Swarm and the crew is in a panicked flight.  If only he could find Jhiaxus, he thinks, this could all be resolved.

Sadly, Jhiaxus finds him first and crushes his vocal circuits.  Denied a voice, Optimus becomes a vessel into which Jhiaxus can vent his frustration.  Optimus never even gets in a good punch!  The beating that ensues is brutal and savage, and is a fitting climax to the Optimux/Jhiaxus rivalry that has been brewing since issue #1.  Our hero is saved only by the arrival of the Swarm, breaking through the mighty vessel.  Jhiaxus, Leige Centuro of the the Decepticon Elite, High Commander of its forces, challenges this force of nature in an epic but futile gesture.  The swarm even mimics his appearance, before consuming all that he is.

The artwork, needless to say, is terrific, and Jhiaxus' end seems almost tragic.  He has set himself up against the universe, and the universe has smacked him down.  In some ways, perhaps, Jhiaxus represents the futility of battling entropy.  No matter how hard you try to impose on the universe, eventually time grinds you down.  Jhiaxus wanted nothing more than an orderly cosmos.  Yes, he was a heartless bastard who though nothing of those in his way, but his goals on some level were sympathetic.  Here he is, reduced to the primitive version of himself before ultimately destroyed by the antithesis of all he strove to be. 

The chapter ends with Megatron, witnessing all of this from afar.  He's preparing to make planetfall with his precioius cargo, but between him and Earth is the all-consuming Swarm.  Can he make it?  We'll just have to see.

Book Three: Siege opens on Earth.  Here at last is Grimlock and the rest of the Autobot/Decepticon alliance, desperately attempting to turn an emergency rendezvous site into a fortified position in which they might hold out against the Swarm.  Megatron's shuttle is late, and they can't raise him, so they'll need to hold out on their own.  Despite the lack of prep time, though, the battle is upon them.

We get some payoff on Megatron's new Decepticons, when one of them ignores an order from Razorclaw and looks to Grimlock for leadership.  Razorclaw attempts to dispatch Manta Ray, but is saved by Leadfoot.  After all... Autobots have to stick together.  It's not a bad little plotline, though it doesn't seem to fit in in this book, which is really about Autobots and Decepticons coming together. 

And come together they do.  Robot after robot is destroyed, or sacrifices himself to take out a bit more of the Swarm.  Ramjet buys it, Frenzy sacrifices himself as a sonic weapon, Slag refuses to abandon Slingshot, Nightbeat (NOOOO!) and Dirge self destruct rather than allow themselves to die as a meal. It's all rather touching, though I think Frenzy's death gets me the most.  I love Nightbeat, but he's been a non-character since late G1.  In just a few panels here, though I come to really appreciate Frenzy and what he's capable of.  Nice way for him to go out, too, as an instrument of one of Wheeljack's inventions.

It seems like it's all for naught, until Megatron walks through the swarm.  With Rheanium, he survived the Swarm's onslaught.  His shuttle did not.  Hardcore.  He distributes the Rheanium among the troops: it's payback time.

We get an interlude in space, when Optimus is saved by Starscream, who has himself taken some Rheanium and is about to flee this sector of space.  Optimus declines his offer of Rheanium, though.  He's come to some insight about what the Swarm is and how to deal with it. For his plan to work, though.. he must die!  Of course, a cynic might point out that Optimus Prime dies a lot - twice already in this continuity alone.  I'm not too cynical, though, it's a rollicking good story.

By Book Four: Creation, we've caught up to the cover, and indeed the nightmares that Optimus has been having since about issue #4.  I rather like that. Bit by bit, he's disassembled, though he's in this position by choice.  He seeks an inner peace and tranquility, belying the 'horror of this protracted death.'  I still love Furman's turn of phrase.  To pieces he crumbles, till he's just the shredded remains of a robotic torso, and then, he explodes, releasing the light and purity of the Matrix.  To nothing he is reduced, nothing and everything!  He sees that which is, and that which was.  He flashes to Ratchet, to Fortress Maximus' sacrifice, to the victory over Unicron!

And on Earth, Grimlock and Megatron notice the swarm getting brighter, as a light dispels... no, changes the swarm!  They feel it, witness a miracle as empty voracious hunger is replaced with nobility and purpose.   And from this new beginning strides... life!  Optimus Prime is reborn, and in a new body.  (Combat Hero Optimus, to be precise.  Yes, three pages from the end of this run, we get our final new toy.  I find that hilariously apropos.  It's not even bad thematically, I kind of appreciate that tearing down Optimus to his atoms and rebuilding him wouldn't give him his exact same old body.  Of course, we've seen this before...  ) 

Optimus explains what he did, how he gave the Swarm purpose by giving up the life essense of Primus.  He takes the opportunity to give his last speech of the series, to the assembled Autobots and Decepticons.  They have an opportunity for peace, for creation.   He rallies them, and makes them believe, though maybe only for a moment, that peace between Autobot and Decepticon is truly possible.  And who knows, perhaps with Optimus and Megatron helming things, instead of the more pragmatic and less idealistic Grimlock and Bludgeon, peace truly might be possible.  One can't help but hope that maybe, JUST maybe, peace can win out in the end with enough hard work and sacrifice, that maybe the Autobots and Decepticons have earned their happy ending.

The End.

Except, of course, it's not. There's that Liege Maximo fellow that we've heard teased a bit.  In The Hub, he sits, brooding, listening to Rook tell the tale of Jhiaxus' descent.  He isn't concerned, though.  Evil cannot be destroyed, for there must always be balance.  Evil is infinite.  "This ridiculous, fragile Autobot-Decepticon alliance has destroyed but a fraction of my empire's total forces, irritated rather than wounded."  Indeed, "The day of reckoning will come!"

And that's the real end!  A teaser.  Senior pulls out all the stops, making this guy look huge and ancient and terrifying.  He's more monster than mech.  The idea, though, that his empire is so vast that all we've seen of the G2 Cybertronians are merely a 'fraction' doesn't sit that well with me.  Really, there are whole galaxies out there of this guys minions?  Seems a bit much.  How did no one notice?  I'm quibbling, though.  Emotionally, this ending is perfect.  We get a semi-happy ending, and yet with ominous overtones.  It never ends, after all!

---

And there you have it.  The final issue in this wonderful continuity.  Furman knew that he might have to end at issue 12, and structured the plot accordingly.  I'm glad he did - this series ending seems much more measured than the one we got in issue #80.  (Which I've already hyperlinked to twice and won't be hyperlinking to a third time.)  Plot threads gathered together over the series pretty much all pay off.  We get some huge battles, some pain, some joy, and have unleashed a new wonderous creation upon the galaxy.   Intellectually, emotionally, structurally, it's a great climax to a strong story.  The universe has been expanded to one that is indeed grittier, darker, less mythic.  These seem a bit more like real people and a bit less like titans, perhaps because those they fight are so much larger than themselves.  

I think I've got about one more post in me, reviewing the entirety of this continuity.  I won't rush through it today, though, so my thoughts are mostly limited to this issue and, to a lesser extent G2.  A Rage in Heaven! is the title story in Transformers Rage in Heaven. Given the very strong finish that this book, and indeed the entire latter half of the G2 run, it's a must-have in the collection of all Trans-fans, so order it if you haven't already.

Review: Marvel G2 #11 - Dark Shadows! and Tales of Earth (part 8)

We're almost done!  The penultimate issue of the US G2 Marvel Comics run of transformers was, once again, split into two parts.  The creative line-up is unchanged.  Both stories are penned by Furman, lettered by Starkings (w/ Comicraft), and colored by Mossoff.  The main story, Dark Shadows!, is drawn by Manny Galan and inked by Jim Amash.  Tales of Earth, part 8, the final in the series, is drawn by Geoff Senior.   They played with their titles (writerbot, inkerbot, etc), with editors Tokar and DeFalco listed as busybot and deactivated.  Oh, and the cover, as every, is a Yaniger piece.

Yaniger's piece is a striking image, with a gigantic Starscream veiled in red willing cackling yellow energy into Optimus Prime and Megatron.  The actual rendering is fairly simple, except for a beautifully rendered oversized hand.  To me it's the color that really sells the image.  Slightly marring it is some dialogue, "Optimus Prime (tm) and Megatron (tm), now you shall experience --" "A WARWORLD of PAIN!"  I don't think it adds much, and it's repeated almost verbatim inside.

And inside we go, picking up exactly where last issue left off.  Starscream's gloating conveys some nice exposition, tormenting Op & Meg with words before he gets down to it with action even as he directs the warworld against Jhiaxus' forces.  On Earth (but not Tales of Earth yet), Jhiaxus is disbelieving when informed that the Warworld has gone rogue.  It doesn't take him long to figure out that Starscream is to blame.  Furious, he rockets up to the Twilight, leaving a concerned subordinate calling The Hub (no, not Hasbro's new channel!) with urgent news for the Liege Maximo.  Hmmm... heard that name before. It feels like Jhiaxus is approaching his character's apex.  While Optimus and Megatron seem to have grown, the leader of the G2 Decepticons is regressing back to the state he was in back in ancient times.  It's fun to see this kind of convergence.

Op & Megatron face the interior of the Warworld, an ever-twisting maze of spikes and fusion energy and twisting metal.  They're quite a force when fighting together, but Starscream seems to be more than a match.  However, occasionally the environment seems to alter to their favor, such as a corridor that brings Optimus where he needs to go, or a cable that's lower than it seems.  Hmmm....   The pounding that the Cybertronian Empire is dishing out provides a welcome distraction.  Optimus contacts Jhiaxus from the control room of the ship, attempting to convince him that an even GREATER threat is nearly upon them.  Jhiaxus hears these words, and decides to blow up a large piece of the Earth!


It's a pretty straightforward tale, a moody piece mostly focused around the Warworld.  Optimus, even at this late point in the game, seeks rapprochement.  Jhiaxus, having devolved into a tyrant worse than the likes of Straxus, has no place for it.  It's ironic that Optimus and Megatron are able to work so well together this issue, and yet they are the ones he considers to be evolutionary throwbacks.  Starscream remains the big unkown, with his matrix-infused Warworld.  I find it funny that, in a way, his ambition is so much greater than Jhiaxus' or Megatrons'.  They seek to mold the galaxy to their liking, Starscream seeks godhood.

We're not done yet!  Senior seems to take a sadistic artistic glee in depicting the destruction of San Fransisco, matched by some pleasantly contrasting text from Furman.  "Clear skies, with a cool breeze rolling in across the bay to keep temperatures in the balmy mid-seventies.  It's hard not to smile at total strangers." 

Optimus is besides himself.  The guilt is clearly overbearing.  Grimlock and Razorclaw are awed by a mushroom cloud topping the horizon.  The end seems nigh.  Jhiaxus is elated, ordering more strikes even though, as an underling points out, some of his own troops are down there.

But salvation comes from an unexpected quarter... Starscream engages the Twilight.  Optimus questions the conniving 'Con's actions, but Starscream has no explanation.  Prime does, figuring out that the Matrix, ever willful, is rewriting Starscream into a suitable host.  This is not the dark energy that possessed Thunderwing, no, this is the Matrix purified and noble and good.  For a moment, there is hope.

And just like that, it is gone.  The Twilight and the Warworld together are engaged by the Swarm, and we are all set for the final confrontation of the Marvel Comics Transformers continuity.

Despite the final Tales of Earth (which only half takes place on Earth) being much shorter than the main story, it seems much meatier somehow.  While there's plenty of Indiana Jones style action in Dark Shadows!, Tales of Earth is all payoff.  The destruction of San Fransisco is a level of devastation never before seen in the Transformers, and I struggle to think of a comparable example since.  I mean, sure, Unicron has destroyed some worlds, I'll grant, but this is Earth!  This is HOME!  I've been to San Fransisco.  Destroying it takes balls.  This in and of itself would be enough to make this a stand-out issue, but Furman throws two more curve balls thrown at us in rapid succession.  Starscream, becoming good!  And then the arrival of the Swarm, which had of course been telegraphed way in advance, still manages to catch my by surprise thanks to the many metaphoric blows Furman rained upon my head.

After reading this issue, I feel certain that the final issue will be larger than life and probably far better structured.  The elements seem to be gathering together, and I want to see how the tapestry is woven together.  Dark Shadows! and Tales of Earth (part 8) are available for purchase in the Transformers Rage in Heaven book, published by Titan, and they come highly recommended by this not-so-humble Transformers scribe.

Review: Marvel G2 #10 - Total War! and Tales of Earth (part 7)

The tenth issue of the US G2 Marvel Comics run of Transformers. [Note, I'm being only slightly redundant when I write out all of that.  There is in fact a UK G2 series (by Fleetway) as well as a US G2 comic not done by Marvel (done instead by Fun Publications as a part of last years BotCon... see how I worked BotCon in?).  I suppose I could have dropped the country and just gone with publisher, since there is no UK G2 Marvel Comics by this point, but in the interests of uniformity with my G1 reviews I figured I'd keep it.] It is told in two parts, though they mesh somewhat seamlessly.  Both are written by Simon Furman, colored by Sarra Mossof, and lettered by Richard Starkings with Comicraft.  Pencils on the main story, Total War!, is by Manny Galan with Jim Amash on inks.  The incomparable Goeff Senior returns for Tales of Earth.  The cover is all that Derek Yaniger contributed to this issue.

Perhaps it is enough.  We get a symbolic cover this time, with a giant Jhiaxus crushing the Earth like a cheap ceramics.  TOTAL WAR! it boldly proclaims.  It's simple but very effective.  Our heroes have run out of places to hide, and all of Earth will suffer for it.  It certainly makes me want to keep reading.

Inside, we start exactly where we left off, with incoming forces buffeting the Autobase.  I find the narration rather forced.  "Autobase Earth.  A safe haven, far from the eyes and reach of Commander Jhiaxus and his second generation Transformer army.  NOT!"  Ugh.  Trying too hard, you are, Furman.  At first things seem bleak, with constant firepower knocking Megatron and Optimus off balance and killing Joyride.   Up above on the Warworld, things are faring no better.  System after system is knocked off-line, and a boarding party is forcing their way in.  The Combatacons move to repel, but it's worse than they thought.  Starscream is leading the way.  Great artwork here, especially on Starscream.  It's almost Sin City-esque.   Furman also writes desperation well.  This is starting to look like a last stand. 

However, when we flash back to Earth, our heroes are already rallying.  We get three pages of a counteroffensive that seems pretty darned effective.  Furman hangs a lampshade on this a bit, with Jhiaxus incredulous at how badly his forces are doing.  Frankly, so am I.  Hard to imagine the hundred or so G1 Transformers, backed into a corner and still managing to win.  Jhiaxus does the sensible thing, though, and summons EVERYONE to Earth.  One way or another, the fight ends here. 

It's space, though, where the interesting things are happening.  Soundwave and the crew of the Warworld have abandoned ship, leaving it in the hands of the G2 forces... and Starscream.  The G2 forces eagerly pursue the escape craft, leaving Starscream unattended.  He quickly makes his way to the Matrix, still wired into the ship.  This can't be good.  Starscream isn't the only G1 Transformer making his way to the Matrix, though.  Optimus presses Megatron, and the latter admits that he has a cloaked ship nearby.  Up they go, though who or what will greet them is yet to be determined.  I rather like the idea that Megatron would NEVER walk into the Autobase without several means of escape nearby, and further that Optimus would know that.  It feels right.  That the G2 Decepticons would leave Starscream alone in such a pivotal position seems less likely, but I can accept it during the fog of war. And hey, it looks like Roller makes an appearance, amped up for G2 of course.  I like the top panel on this page as well, what with the urgency of Optimus and th casual backwards blast that Megatron uses to shrug off pursuers.

This story isn't quite over.  A battalion of G2 Cybertronians, en route to Earth, encounter a mysterious force.  It is, of course, the swarm, and it rips them to shreds in short order.  However, the order logged in their systems, make haste to Earth, enters what passes for consciousness in the Swarm, inexorably setting up the REAL climax of the series. 

Of course, while Total War! is over, Tales from Earth (part 7) have just begun.  Starscream, apparently in complete control of the Warworld, savors the confusion on the part of Jhiaxus' forces as he refuses to answer hails.  Eventually, he gives them an answer... guns blazing, of course.  Artwork, by Geoff Senior, is of course amazingly lovely.  Starscream's sadism is a delight.  He goes from craven coward to brutal bringer of death at the drop of a hat.  After hurling the gauntlet at Jhiaxus, he waits patiently as Optimus and Megatron come aboard. The Autobot and Decepticon leaders are, understandably, nervous.  They aren't being fired upon, but neither are their hails being answered.  SOMETHING is certainly afoot.

There's a bit of a subplot down on Earth.  (Imagine that, in a story called 'Tales of Earth') 
Megatron's latter-generation Transformers, given life between issues 6 and 7, are playing a part in the seemingly neverending battle.  Some of them, Manta Ray in particular, seems to be getting on quite well with Grimlock.  Razorclaw doesn't take too kindly to this.  There's a great full-panel of his face as his stews on this, but I decided to instead go with him ripping the throat oout of a G2 Cybertronian.  He's looking damn scary!  We also see Grimlock in headband, with 'Big Grim' written on his shoulder.  Why?  I have no idea.  This feels like a set-up for some later plotlines, nice to see in a book so close to the end of its run.

Inside the Warworld, the environment seems bizarre, unfamiliar.  Corridors twist and turn almost organically, with crackling energy everywhere.  The wall twists and turns and swallows them whole, depositing them in the realms of nightmares.  Starscream, with the Matrix, seems to have merged with the ship!  He's huge and glowing, an immense creature blurring matter and energy.  It's actually quite familiar - Issue #50 of the G1 run, Dark Star, featured the same image more-or-less.  It's still rather effective.  We now have three major plot points to resolve, and only two issues to do it in.  Starscream and the Matrix; Jhiaxus and his forces; and, of course, the Swarm.  One can't help but wonder how these three antagonists will interact in the short time left to us.

As for the specifics of THIS plot point, I'm a bit ambivalent.  After all, we HAVE seen Starscream overclock himself on mystical energy sources before, so that doesn't feel very new.  His treachery did feel like it needed a climax, but then that could have been his team-up with Jhiaxus and not this additional outrage.  This marks yet another Starscream-based cliffhanger.  I'm starting to feel like the latter half of G2 has a bit too many of them.

Ending aside, it's a strong issue.  Geoff Senior artwork is very welcome, though actually the Starscream-Warworld material would have been perfect for José Delbo.  I feel like I can almost, but not quite, see where the finale will go, which is a good thing.  Furman is playing fair but not over-telegraphing anything.    While I do think it a bit silly that the Autobot/Decepticon alliance was able to shrug off Jhiaxus' initial assault, I'm willing to accept that for the sake of the story.

Only two issues left!  Total War! and Tales of Earth (part 7) are available for purchase in  Transformers Rage in Heaven  book, published by Titan.

Review: Marvel G2 #9 - Swarm and Tales of Earth (part 6)

The ninth issue of the US G2 Marvel Comics run of Transformers again contains two tales: Swarm, and Tales of Earth (part 6).  Despite this duality, there is only one creative crew.  Writing is by Simon Furman, pencils by Manny Galan, inks by Jim Amash, colors by Sarra Mossoff, and letters by Richard Starkings with Comicraft.  The cover, as always, is by Derek Yaniger.

The cover is effective, though it's a bit hard to know for sure what's going on till you read the story.  Three of Jhiaxus' G2 Cybertronians are in pieces, perhaps being consumed by the black smoke that whorls around the cover.  Optimus Prime, faded out, is in silhouette.  "Waking NIGHTMARE!" it says, which is actually somewhat shrewd, as we'll come to find.  It's intriguing, and the artwork certainly conveys what it intends to, but I think the subject matter is just a bit abstract.

We open on a familiar scene, Optimus Prime walking among dessicated bodies, indulging in a brooding (or 'bro-ding', as my wife would say it) narration.  "A dream, a vision..." it asks.   Alas, this is the reality he finds himself in.  An Autobot science crew pores over a devastated industrial plant, while the security team looks on impatiently.  Since this isn't the work of Jhiaxus, Megatron wants to move on, and Grimlock agrees, but Optimus is having none of it.  He suspects a connection between this, his visions, and the G2 Cybertronians. The most effective bit here is the misdirection around the dream state.  Furman seemingly realized that he was overusing this trope, and poked a bit of fun at it.  The cover foreshadows this rather effectively.

Elsewhere, Jhiaxus' massive onslaught continue, this time under the command of a sub-commander named Mindset.  He's systematically and dispassionately eliminating the local life, but the arrival of the Swarm brings all of that to an end.  We get many pages of action as the Cybertonians make a futile last stand, exciting stuff and it puts the cover in the proper context.  When the swarm gets to Mindset, it pauses for a moment and imitates him.  It senses familiarity in this being, though that doesn't save the Decepticon from being absorbed.  Half a galaxy away, Onslaught reacts as his presumed offspring is consumed.  Optimus Prime feels it too, that a turning point has been reached.

Swarm has one more dramatic beat left, though.  Jhiaxus surveys the wreckage of his crew on Ethos, handed to him last issue by Megatron's timely (or untimely, depending on perspective) arrival.  A figure arrives, but Jhiaxus stays his men.  He knows this one... it's Starscream.  The miscreant is looking to switch sides!  (Galan manages to capture Starscream's evil sneer perfectly here.)

The last stand of the native is a nice moment.  Though he's outmatched, his courageous stand provokes sympathy from the reader but contempt from his opponents.  One cannot help but draw connection with the similarly futile stand the Cybertronians would make scant pages later and feel that justice has been served. 


The moment with Onslaught, though, is iffier.  It's not exactly stated, but it was heavily implied that the Combaticons were made on Earth just before issue #25.  With so many hundreds of Decepticons to choose from, why Onslaught?   I do like the visual similarities between him and Mindset, though.

The final twist of the first tale of the book was a bit telegraphed.  After all, with Starscream missing last issue, where else would he go?  I think that it might have been more effective to leave this meeting undepicted.  We'd have gotten the picture, I think.

It's not over yet, though, we still have Tales of Earth!  Back at the Autobase, Perceptor educates the assembled 'Bots and 'Cons as to what they've found.  The residue from the destroyed world, J'Asik, shares  a 'genetic sequence and celluar configuration' with that of the Transformers.  I think it's a bit odd to think of the Transformers as having a genetic code, but I suppose the budding idea already introduced biological analogs to the mythology.  I absolutely love the panel I excerpted here, by the way.  Galan's abstract prime looks so down, yet it's such a simple rendering.  Well done.

Optimus fills Megatron in on his visions, connecting the dots for him (and the audience.)  They face not just the unchecked growth and accompanying amorality of the G2 Cybertronians, but also this monstrous outgrowth of their race.  However, they have no time to dwell on this... Jhiaxus has found them!

The full might, one presumes, of this far superior foe is now free to rain down on the assembled Autobot/Decepticon forces.  It's a great ending, though perhaps telegraphed a bit too much by Starscream's defection at the end of the main story.  It's a bit sad to have no Yaniger artwork.  Galan still seems to struggle with the style.  Though he has some nice moments, on the whole the imagery still seems a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

We now have three issues to go and the big confrontation has seemingly arrived already.  One has to wonder a bit where we go from here.  Three issues of Jhiaxus versus our guys?  Retreat and counterattack?  The story has certainly become exciting, and I look forward to seeing it climax.  This issue is reprinted in its entirety and available for purchase in  Transformers Rage in Heaven  from Titan publishing.

Review: Marvel G2 #8 - Escalation and Tales of Earth (part 5)

The eighth issue of the US G2 Marvel Comics run of Transformers is, as usual, a two-part tale, though this time the back up story was placed in the middle of the main story. Very strange. Both were written by Simon Furman, with colors by Mossoff and letters by Starkings with O'Neil. The artwork on Escalation!, the main story and not the excellent IDW miniseries of the same name , was by Manny Galan on pencils with Jim Amash on inks. The Tales of Earth (part 5) artwork, pencils and inks, was done by Derek Yaniger, as was the cover.

Yaniger  delivers another excellent cover.  Optimus and Megatron stand, back to back, guns smoking, a sword dripping oil.  They stand amid the wreckage of many G2 Cybertronians.  Powerful stiff.  Megatron's hip looks just a bit off, but that's a pointless nit.  Even the cover text seems somewhat necessary: "Optimus Prime and Megatron: Old Enemies / New Allies!"  Yes, the image shows that, but it's so unlikely that it's worth calling out.  Lovely work.

The issue starts off with a middling splash by Galan, Jhiaxus looking wrathful.  Jim Amash's inks definitely give it a certain energy and excitement, but overall it's a bit too static for my taste.  He (Jhiaxus, not Jim Amash) is ranting about how his mercy has emboldened his enemies, and perhaps he's right.  He's had both Optimus and Megatron in his power and let them get away in a futile attempt to bring them into the modern era.  No more, though.  The next page is a rather interesting two-page spread depicting the carnage that his forces are enacting in an effort to draw out Optimus Prime.  Jhiaxus stands in front of it, which works very well.  The coloring helps sell the action here, and the angle on the picture makes him seem contemplative.  Great storytelling, really.  The image of him in the upper right, though very clever, is perhaps a bit redundant.  It's a good three page start to the issue, though, setting the stage for the action to come.

From there we bounce into Tales of Earth, only three pages in.  Optimus and Megatron, both looking worse for wear, start to hammer out the terms of their alliance, with just a bit of interference from Grimlock.  It seems that their alliance is doomed for failure when an alien distress signal lures the Autobots on a mission of mercy, one that Megatron has no interest in.  The Autobots blast off for the frontier, leaving Megatron behind.  Aside from some rather gory Yaniger artwork, like the drool that spews from Megatron's mouth, the most interesting bit comes in at the end.  Starscream suggests that the 'Cons trash the Autobots base while they're off saving the universe, and Megatron dismisses him offhandedly.  Starscream realizes that it's time for him to come up with a real backup plan, and fast, because his time as Megatron's lackey is rapidly drawing to a close.

Thus ends tales from Earth, but the story is far from over.  Escalation continues!  Jhiaxus' troops destroy the peaceful dreamers of Ethos, and Optimus has no choice but to engage.  There's a nice character bit early on where Optimus wrings his hands about the devastation even as Grimlock calmly orders his troops about.  The action is decent, but it's clear that the Autobots have walked into an ambush.  Jhiaxus wanted this confrontation, and he's ready for it.  Help comes from an unexpected quarter, though... The Decepticons ride in to the rally.  (I love Starscream's lack of enthusiasm in response to Thundercracker's rallying cry - "Yeah, yeah. Ra-ra-ra."  Hard to do sarcasm in this format, but it plays well here.)

Optimus is glad that the Decepticons arrived to save their butts, but of course he's worried too.  Despite his lofty speech, it was the brutal edge of the Decepticons that won this battle.  He and Megatron confer aboard the Warworld, attempting to build on the success of this day, when Soundwave shows up with disturbing news.  Starscream is missing!

It's another decent offering, though moving the back-up tale to the middle of the issue feels really strange to me.  I'm not sure just having a different title block makes the changes in artwork any more or less jarring, and clearly Furman feels compelled to keep some portion of each story on Earth.  Leaving that aside, it's a pretty simple story.  Good guys show up, fight, get overwhelmed, and then the cavalry shows up even though they said they wouldn't.  Galan's artwork seems a bit off this time around, which in an action-heavy issue like this is quite a shame.  The brutality of the G2 Cybertronians, though, is a highlight.  Furman's prose does a good job of selling the beauty and wonder of the living computers of Ethos, even if Galan's artwork just shows a bunch of blobby alien creatures.   The real payoff, though, is seeing Autobot and Decepticon fight together.  As well, Starscream's desertion at the end is a nice way to end an otherwise fairly predictable story.  

Sadly, this is also the issue where we find out that the series will end at issue 12. Shame.  It took them a while to hit their stride, but they seem to have done so.  This story, while not brilliant, is solid on its own.  In the context of the overall story, it's really quite good, with Optimus and Megatron poised on one side and Jhiaxus on the other, and Starscream a wildcard. At least we get four more issues to finish things out, which is more than the G1 comic got after the axe fell.  Escalation (and Tales of Earth 5, of course) is available for purchase in the out-of-print titan collection,  Transformers Rage in Heaven.

Review: Marvel G2 #7 - New Dawn and Tales of Earth (part 4)

The seventh issue of the US G2 Marvel Comics run of Transformers once again contains two stories; New Dawn and Tales of Earth (part 4).  Both were written by Simon Furman, colored by Sarah Mossoff, and lettered by Richard Starkings with O'Neil.  Manny Galan penciled New Dawn, which was inked by Jim Amash.  Derek Yaniger was the artist on Tales of Earth, as well as the cover.

The cover is mostly fantastic.  Jhiaxus stands with his foot planted squarely on Megatron's neck, guns blazing.  It's another fantastic Yaniger cover, and in fact if I could have any one piece of his original artwork this would be the one.  (Sadly, this one is not in my collection.)  The only thing that mars it slightly is the pun on the cover, "Death is Afoot!"  Ugh.  It's like adding a big dollop of ketchup to a perfectly cooked steak.

The story starts off with a bang, as Megatron's new generation of Decepticons assault Tykos for its precious, precious rheanium, a gas that renders metal ultra-dense.  Are these new warriors the new dawn heralded by the title?  We get four pages of toy ads here, which really isn't so bad for the seventh issue of this series.  A particularly nice ad is Darkwing, based on the Dreadwing toy.  Didn't Galan do an outstanding job with this pin-up?  Sadly, I don't think we'll see this design again anywhere in G2.

It's not all toys, though.  We get to see Megatron be hard when a mechanoid attempts to surrender to him and is promptly blown away for his troubles.   We also get a bit of characterization, when Starscream reacts to a menial assignment with paranoid.  Then again, is it paranoia if Megatron really is planning to off him at some point?  In any event, all this carnage is merely a prelude.  A Deceptiocn shuttle sent to investigate the K'Tor Cluster and Jhiaxus' forces returns, but so badly damaged that it burns up on reentry.  Thus challenged, Megatron has little choice but to respond in kind, and rallies the troops for some blood - er - oilshed.  The story is slick, mixing in action and character development and some new toys and some plot advancement.  The set-up of the previous six issues is starting to pay off.

As the Warworld engages the Twilight, we swiftly learn how outmatched our 'heroes' are as the G2 Decepticons seemingly effortlessly dispatch Megatron's motley crew.  I like how diverse the original Decepticons are in comparison to the forces of Jhiaxus.  You've got werewolves and octopus-men and purple tanks and white cars on the one side, versus beings with a much more uniform look and feel to them, spikey and white / green cybertronian forms.

Despite Starscream urging retreat  Megatron refuses.  He only has eyes for one being, the enemy commander.  We get a nice close-up on Jhiaxus' mouth, similar to the one of Megatron's from the last issue.  The battle will take a similar course as well.  With the same apparent ease that his troopers dispatches those of Megatrons, so does Jhiaxus thrash Megatron about even as he lectures him on his lack of a place in the cosmos.  Megatron is knocked off the ship and can only watch, helplessly, as Jhiaxus transforms and blasts him down onto a planet below.  The narration is nicely poetic: "In seconds he is a fading speck in the upper atmosphere, passing the terminator... night becomes day."  It seems that the new dawn is not Megatron's bolstered army, but rather a reference to this battle, and it belongs to the Cybertronian Empire. 

But surely that can't be the end of Megatron.  The ever-loyal Soundwave leads a search party for his remains, which they eventually locate in a crater.  Incredibly, Megatron has survived his descent, and there is only one thing on his mind... revenge!  It's a powerful ending, and the understated surprise on Soundwave's silhouetted face is also very nicely rendered. 

This, the main story of the issue, was very well done.  Megatron really does seem like some kind of dinosaur here, refusing to grasp the reality of the situation before him.  The dawn metaphor is nice, partially because it's pretty subtle.  One mention in the cover, and then a bit of payoff right at the climax of the Megatron-Jhiaxus battle. 

Moving on to the backup story, Tales of Earth continues.  The story has shifted from the Decepticons to the Autobots.  Optimus Prime is being repaired after the drubbing Megatron handed him.  His metaphysical musings about what the loss of the Matrix means to him are well done.  What really does it for me, though, is three pages (including a lovely two-page vertical spread) of flashbacks to Metatron over the years.  We get reference to issues 1, 4, 8, 24, 25, 59, and 70, all fit together rather perfectly.

Of course, all this is going somewhere.  Megatron is here, looking like he might fall apart at any moment.  (Derek Yaniger has said that this image of Megatron was his favorite piece from this run.  I can't say I blame him, it's fantastic.)  It seems that Megatron has reconsidered Optimus' proposal for an alliance. The artwork is lovely, but there's a subtle touch that I appreciate.  When Megatron shows up, Optimus Prime's line is "at last..."  How apropo.

Once again, the Tales of Earth were short but punchy.  We're starting to build to the idea that the war without end between Optimus and Megatron is a not just a political tragedy but also a personal one.  It's a great idea, one that is surprisingly intuitive.  These sorts of themes wouldn't really be explored again until Alex Irvine's Transformers: Exodus.

Taken as a whole, we're again given a tale where the primary and secondary stories play off of each other, and both are stronger for it.  In fact, this is probably the first time in the G2 run where the result is actually better with a one-two punch than it would be as an integrated story.  Each story climaxes in a very satisfying way.  G2 #7 kicks off the moderately out-of-print titan collection,   Transformers Rage in Heaven, available at Amazon used.  It's quite good, so check it out if you haven't done so.

Review: Marvel G2 #6 - Tales of Earth (pt 3) and The Gathering Darkness

The sixth issue of the US G2 Marvel Comics run of Transformers contains two stories; Tales of Earth, part three, and The Gathering Darkness.  Both were penned by Simon Furman.  Tales of Earth was drawn by Derek Yaniger, while The Gathering Darkness was penciled by Manny Galan and inked by Jim Amash.  Both were colored by Sarah Mossoff, lettered by Richard Starkings with Gaushell, and edited by Rob Tokar and Tom DeFalco.  Nothing clever in their titles this time out, perhaps because the dense titleblock of Tales of Earth came first this time out.  Cover, as always, is by Derek Yaniger.

The cover is competent.  Optimus Prime is completely surrounded by Decepticons, with a nice variety of guns pointed at him from all angles.  "Prime:Target" it says, which is a little bit clever, I guess.  It certainly conveys the idea that Optimus is in trouble pretty well, but something about it doesn't quite work for me.  Maybe it's Prime's face, which is a little too blank somehow.  Maybe it's the composition of the image, which is pretty darned busy.  Regardless, not one of my more well-loved covers from this run.

Fortunately, the issue itself is a strong offering, the best we've had since the powerhouse that was issue #1.  We open on Tales of Earth, part three.  Megatron tours the Warworld, and despite himself he is impressed.  In fact, he almost regrets the finality with which he removed Bludgeon from the picture... almost.  Given Bludgeon's obvious alacrity as Decepticon leader, Megatron is perplexed as to the purpose of the seemingly random attack on Earth, but when the nervous Swindle shows him an army of not-yet-living Decepticon warriors, Megatron gets it immediately.  I like Furman's characterization of Swindle here, the first real bit of personality my favorite Combaticon has demonstrated in this universe.

Down below, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Ramjet battle the American military for a 'strategically unimportant bit of land,' AKA the White House. (Lovely lettering/art integration again, one of the techniques of this book that I really enjoyed.)  Ramjet can't help but wonder why Starscream was the 'bot Megatron reanimated.  Back on the Warworld,

Soundwave obsequiously asks the same question as Rumble and Frenzy attempt to keep Darkwing alive on heavy life support.  (Nice continuity there from last issue, and it'll pay off next issue.) Megatron concedes the point.  (Though, really, who else was Megatron going to revive?  Shockwave?  Galvatron?  I think Megatron chose the lesser of two evils here.) While Starscream was necessary when Megatron was all alone, he's outlived his usefulness.  Megatron fully intends to give Starscream 'a well deserved rest' after his new army is up and running.  Shrewd, though one wonders if Megatron is waiting a bit too long to pull the trigger on this one.  (Spoiler alert: he is.)

Thus ends Tales of Earth, part three, a most interesting prologue to the story about to come.  It's mostly set-up, but what action there is has really quite nice artwork, which helps.  Besides, it IS only five pages, and it flows so smoothly into the next tale that one hardly notices how little actually happens.

Speaking of the next tale, The Gathering Darkness.We open on the good folks of G.I. Joe, who has been given the unenviable task of salvaging the U.S. Army's efforts to resist the Decepticons.  General Hawk has pinned his hopes on an Autobot counter-attack.  He's disappointed to find that Skydive has only been able to rustle up one Autobot. Hawk is, understandably, furious.  Optimus tries to explain that a full-scale war would do even more harm to the Earth than the wanton destruction visited upon her by the Decepticons.  What alternative, then, asks Hawk.  Even surrender doesn't seem a viable option, given the lack of demands on the part of the Decepticons.  Prime tells them the truth, that there is a greater threat out there than Megatron's Decepticons, and that the plan is to convince Megatron to stand with the Autobots.  Flint spits on that plan, as well he should.  It seems to me that Optimus is more-or-less selling out the human race to get a chance to ally with Megatron.  While that's an interesting emotional direction to take the story, the true ramifications of it never seem to be explored.  This is also the last we'll see of G.I. Joe in the pages of this book.  I'm glad we got one last look at them, though.  It makes sense that they'd be one of the few groups on Earth with a ghost of a prayer against the Decepticons.  I suppose that the Neo-Knights should probably have made a stand somewhere, but then this really isn't their book.  The Joes, at least, have been introduced already, back in issue #2.

Did'ja notice Starscream flying overhead during Optimus' conversation with Flint and Hawk?  Nice set-up there, when Starscream reports to Megatron that their target has arrived.  Love the pannel of Megatron's mouth here; it seems very Frank Miller to me.  Megatron gets ready to confront his nemesis.  Grimlock, too, gets ready for a confrontation.  He thinks Prime's plan of going to Earth alone is sheer lunacy, and wants to gather a strike force to back Prime up.  Prowl, though, argues against it.  Grimlock is left with a choice...  Really, though, is there any doubt what he's going to do? 

Back on Earth, the conflict heats up.  Tantrum (remember him?  Predacon, got a bit of facetime with his teammates back around issues 25-50?)  runs around, destroying houses that seem out of scale with him gleefully... until Optimus Prime blasts him, then runs him over.  (I think it's funny, but the little radar dish module arm on the platform that comes with Prime's trailer is sticking up from the roof of Prime's trailer.  Yes, the toy can do that, but it's kinda funny to see it done in artwork.)  Optimus demands that the chaos end now, declaring that it's time to talk.  This seems somewhat hypocritical to me, as he stands amidst the wreckage of one of Megatron's soldiers. 

Perhaps Megatron thinks so too.  He blasts Optimus in the back, setting the tone for their fight.  Megatron brutally savages Optimus, ignoring the Autobot's pleas for alliance.  Before long, Optimus' chest is ripped open, and the Matrix energy siphoned from him.  As Megatron prepares the coup d'etat, he's interrupted by the arrival of a squad of Autobots.   The battle rages for a bit, but Megatron knows a losing fight when he sees one.  With his objective secured, he has the drop ship retrieve him.  Prowl (why did he even come along?) frets that this must truly be their darkest hour, but his maimed leader isn't so sure.  Optimus has a sense that Jhiaxus will be on the receiving end of Megatron's new army.

It was an exciting fight, over quickly but for all of that possessing a jagged energy.  I love Megatron ripping off Prime's torsoplate.  I find it a bit odd that the Matrix is seemingly back to being just energy again.  I suppose that the vessel that we'd seen in the Matrix Quest storyline was destroyed along with Unicron, and whatever energy Optimus has was put back there by The Last Autobot.  I also like Megatron's almost gentle last words to Optimus... "Hush.  Darkness gathers... "  It seems very fitting, though of course it's not yet Optimus' time. 

The book's not quite over yet, though.  A race of mechs, nomadic clones, is gathering solar energy on a world without clouds or night.  They will be the first victims, at least that we learn of, of the swarm that was introduced last issue.  It's legitimately terrifying; a black mass in the sky, reaching down and absorbing them in seconds.  Now I'm starting to get why Optimus had such a bad feeling, even above and beyond the threat posed by the Cybertronian Empire of Jhiaxus.  Oh, and I absolutely love the almost musical script that represents the Esk speech.

Finally we're getting to some real a-list material.  This time out, the two-act structure to the story really works.  Optimus and Megatron have a very satisfying fight, really the first they've had since, what, issue 4 of the G1 book?  I mean, they fought in 69, but Megatron was half Ratchet and entirely mad.  They fought in 24, but that was a computer simulation.  In any event, it's been a long, long time coming.  Megatron's boiling resentment seemed entirely justified.  His plans have been thwarted by Optimus time and again for millenia.   Manny Galan seems to be getting more comfortable with the art style he's emulating.  There are still some clunky pages, like the splash where Optimus gets shot by Megatron, but he does some very nice things too.  Perhaps most imporantly, the book feels like it's starting to get real direction and momentum now.  We get some hints as to what's to come; Megatron will confront Jhiaxus, and the Swarm will surely be drawn closer to our heroes.  A very satisfying tale.  This issue closes out the Transformers Dark Designs book by Titan publishing, available used at Amazon.com.  Glad to see they ended it on a high note.

Review: Marvel G2 #5 - The Power and the Glory and Tales of Earth (pt 2)

The fifth issue of the US G2 Marvel Comics run of Transformers contains two tales.  The creative teams for both stories are mostly the same.  Furman scribed the tale, Galan penciled it, Amask inked it, Starkings with Gaushell lettered it.  Only the colorist changed, with Chia-Chi Wang on Power & Sarah Mossoff on Earth.  Oh, and editors Tokar and DeFalco are credited as 'Power' and 'Glory,' continuing that fun tradition.  The cover artwork is, of course, by Derek Yaniger, his only contribution to this particular G2 issue.

However, as far as contributions go, it's quite quite lovely.  Megatron clutches the severed head of Bludgeon, still dripping oil and exuding smoke.  "Alas, poor Bludgeon" it says, one of the most effective uses of text in a Transformers cover that I can think of.  This particular scene from Hamlet would be homaged again in The War Within.  In fact, I've got the original Figueroa artwork from that piece.  I'll stop bragging now and get back to the review.  Once again, Yaniger's style proves dramatically successful when depicting robots that have been beaten and battered.  Megatron looks hard, and Bludgeon, well... he's seen better days. The homage certainly works well with a skull-faced 'bot and lends a bit of extra literary weight to the issue.

Our first story opens with some Cybertronian landscapes.  Bustling around on Cybertron are Wheelie, Blurr, and Scourge... pretty odd choices, really.  The Primus origin of the Transformers is restated, as Optimus Prime straps himself into some kind of contraption surrounded by robed robo-monks.  He's a bit nervous about allowing the natural properties of Cybertron to be used to better tune himself to the Matrix, but what choice does he have?  Down he goes, with some lovely lettering on his screams.  Once again, all of this is starting to feel a bit familiar to me, a bit repetitive.  It's also a bit of a letdown, since last issue we were promised 'Cybertron.'  It seems like we're getting more dreamscapes instead. 

Cut away, briefly, to a world teeming with life getting colonized by G2 Cybertronians.  A nervous functionary reports to Jhiaxus, though he has only good news to report.  Really, though, Jhiaxus is more interested in bad news... he was hoping to lure forth the Autobots, and yet nothing.  The silence disturbs him, as well it should.  What could Prime be up to?  The highlight of this scene is probably the scurrying administrator mention the "flourishing deceptic -- er, Cybertronian Empire."  I also like the designs on the futuristic construction vehicles bulldozing the landscape.  I can't help but think that, if this story was told in 2005 or beyond, those would have been Constructicon green.  Much as I like the designs, though, it's all a bit silly.  If they're going to cyberform whole worlds, they wouldn't be doing it by hand, now, would they? 

Back to the past, though, Optimus sees the first robot crawl from the primordial nanobots of Cybertron, then seemingly get imprinted with a unique design.  It's kind of an odd visual, but it's so in synch with things like the protoforms of Beast Wars that I have to wonder at the coincidence.  To me, the logical way that robots would come about would be off of some kind of assembly line, so this organic-analog of creation is simultaneously interesting and counter-intuitive.  Prime's vision continues, and one of the creatures starts to bulge out, in some kind of bizarre process reminiscent of Akira.  It's not apparent to the reader what's happening, though Prime gets it right away. 

Cut away again, this time to Autobase.  Hot Rod trains with the Aerialbots, leading them into an ambush.  This somewhat awkwardly leads to Kup wondering about Hot Rod's 'youthful exuberance' being odd, what with all Cybertronians being the same age.  Aren't they?

Nope, as Optimus Prime learns, they aren't.  What he's witnessing is some kind of budding.  He sees the birth of Jhiaxus, and realizes that the racial memory of their species budding was lost for a reason.  The race wasn't meant to grow as large as it did, their morality diluted as the spark of Primus was spread too thin.  He rips himself free of the contraption, as he resolves to get help fighting the G2 Cybertronians.  Upon a moment's reflection, one realizes that the only beings who he could reasonably look to for help would be the G1 Decepticons.  Intriguing!  Sadly, he missed the last part of the vision, sort of dark residue of the process drifting into space and becoming a kind of massive amorphous cloud, moving 'with direction and purpose!" 

Thus ends this exposition laden tale.  It's certainly a new idea to try to digest.  While I'd never given much thought as to the specific mechanism by which Primus endowed his creations with life, budding would have been pretty far down on the list.  Also, while I can grasp the idea that too much duplication would spread the essence of Primus too thin, resulting in a race more amoral than immoral, the idea that this process would as a side-effect produce a mass of black energy in space seems pretty odd.  There IS a kind of comic book logic to it, but I'm not sure I fully accept it.  Since this issue is all about exposition, there's not much more to say.  The interludes we get serve more to remind the reader of who the other players are than to do anything to advance the plot.  All told, a bit weak.  No action, a repetitive means of conveying new information, and artwork that isn't particularly compelling.  I'll admit that having a title cribbed from The Lord's Prayer is somewhat clever, given the divinity central to the Transformers creation. 

Once again, it falls to the back-up story to carry the issue.  (It's telling that the cover is from this six page story, rather than the longer The Power and the Glory.)  Bludgeon laments how things have turned out.  His glorious symphony of carnage was meant to draw out Optimus Prime... not Megatron.  Megatron declares his intentions, though could there ever have been a doubt?  Darkwing is the first casualty, but then the battle begins in earnest.  Bludgeon disarms Megatron, but gets beheaded in return, a pretty uneven trade.  But wait, Bludgeon is a Pretender, and Furman remembers this.  Beheading his shell doesn't kill him, and he manages to score, in his tank configuration, a direct hit on Megatron.  Megatron transforms and returns the favor, and just like that the fight is over. Skydive watches from behind cover and realizes that he's in way over his head. 

I can help but think that, as awesome as Bludgeon was, he deserved a cooler death.  Sure, Megatron is pretty amazingly bad-ass, but Bludgeon was always written as a very canny fighter.  Two and a half pages of battle just doesn't seem adequate, especially one where he commits a tactical blunder, survives it, and then gets overpowered in a tit-for-tat tank exchange.  Still, finally, it feels like the pieces are where they belong.  Megatron is once again standing at the head of the G1 Decepticons.  With Optimus Prime on the hunt for another alliance, we seem poised to get to the real meat of this story.

Taken as a whole, another weak offering.  Too much exposition in part one, just not quite enough of part two.  We could have cut out the Autobot training exercise from Power and given that space to the Bludgeon/Megatron battle and I'd have been pretty happy.  Galan's artwork fails to excite here, though I really do love the clever use of lettering in this story, like Prime falling or Megatron shooting through his own cannon's onomatopoeia.  However, when the biggest praise I can muster for a book is the lettering, however nice, you know it's not top shelf material.  Still, I feel like finally the pieces are positioned, the backstory told, and we're ready to start moving forward.  Unless I miss my mark, issue #6 will be a big step up in quality.  Here's hoping, anyway.  Both parts of this story have been reprinted in   Transformers Dark Designs  by Titan publishing, available used at Amazon.

Review: Marvel G2 #4 - Devices and Desires! and Tales of Earth (pt 1)

The fourth issue of the US G2 Marvel Comics run of Transformers contains two tales.  Both were penned by Simon Furman, colored by Sarra Mossoff, and lettered by Richard Starkings with Gaushell.  Devices and Desires!, the main story, was drawn by Manny Galan and inked by Jim Amash and Marie Severin.  Tales of Earth, part one, was illustrated by Derek Yaniger, who also provided the cover to the issue.

It's a great cover, featuring the five Dinobots.  Grimlock is, appropriately, the focus, and looks colossal.  The ground-based Dinos, Snarl, Sludge, and Slag, stampede towards the viewer, while swoop flies point.  It all works very very well.  Dino-MIGHT! it declares, redundantly.  Ss it turns out it's not really a Dinobot heavy issue, which dings the cover slightly.  Still, I'll overlook that given the superb rendering here.  Oh, and Prime is back in the Marvel box, this time sporting a big-ass gun. 

Devices and Desires! opens on a desolate dreamscape.  Optimus is surrounded by robotic corpses.  When he approaches, some kind of black gunk sprays over him and he begins to burn, alien and corrupting and yet... familiar.  He's awoken from his foreshadowing vision by Kup, who trots out the old 'wake up - wait, we don't sleep!' line.  It seems that Grimlock has defied his orders to turtle-down in the Autobase and taken a crew to hit Jhiaxus. 

Cut to another full-page splash of the Twilight, though Galan's rendition is not quite as spectacular as Yaniger's was back in issue one.  Grimlock and some commandos are approaching in a stolen maintenance scow, the Kiro.  His plan is simple, land, drop a huge bomb, skedaddle.  He's got the troops nice and rallied, though internally he knows he's using them to reassert his position as number-two Autobot.  Running to Optimus for help back in issue one really grates on him, as it turns out.  Unfortunately for him, his unpure motives have lead him into a bad outcome, as the shuttle is surrounded with troopers, his move anticipated.

Jhiaxus lays it out for him.  With the resurgence of the Autobots, security has been throttled way up, with many extra layers of security.  When Jhiaxus strikes Grimlock, Red Alert suicidally points a weapon at the Decepticon and is promptly and brutally killed.  This pacifies the Autobots, who are loaded onto a prison ship for transport to someone or somewhere or something called the Liege Maximo.  Thus does Furman lay the groundwork for the next story, though one he won't get to finish in this particular comic book series.  I do love this aspect to his storytelling, though, the layers within layers.

Grimlock's grim reflections on his failures as a leader are interrupted by the cavalry.  The Saber, a delta class strike ship in the Cybertronian Empire, is fireing on them despite having ALL of their security codes check out.  Grimlock takes advantage and leads a jailbreak, and soon he's got control of the ship.  (Not before Mirage is dispatched, though, with some fantastic lettering work.)   Particularly well done is the parallel between an anonymous G2 Decepticon and Grimlock.  When the captain of the Saber feels guilty for not putting up more resistance, Optimus calls his decision a noble one, putting the safety of his crew first.  Grimlock, alas, put his own ego first. 

Grimlock frets that his next meeting with Optimus will be worse than anything the Decepticons can dish out, but instead finds himself left in charge of the Autobots.   Optimus needs to go to Cybertron to find out what his visions really mean.  I love the bit where Grimlock wonders aloud that Optimus would trust him again "After this m -- miscalculation."  Mutiny almost tripped from his vocal processor.  Optimus explains that Grimlock simply didn't go far enough, and should have captured a crew as well as a ship.  Of course, this mutiny got two Autobots killed, but that fact is glossed over in true comic book fashion.

The story is a bit thin.  I think that, in abstract, the choice of a character study on Grimlock in issue four is a good one, given that the last issue was really all about Prime.  Still, this does feel a bit like retreading old ground.  It's not bad, but neither is it great.

Tales of Earth, Part One, a six-page little story, gets it more right.  We open with four panels of devastation, with a spooky narrative about the carnage.  Human skulls, fires, craters, destroyed bridges, wrecked cars, grounded boats, scorched trees, this and more opens the story.  From orbit, the Warworld rains down fire and death as Bludgeon watches.  There's a certain irony that what might well be the end of the world would be wrought by a demon with a skull for a face, confirming so many old mythologies. 

Down he leads his Decepticons, into the fray.  His goal is simple, draw Optimus Prime into the open.  In a nice bit of continuity, his forces are much the same as the Decepticons active in issue #80 of the G1 continuity.  They continue to devastate all before them, until a blast knocks the sword from Bludgeon's hand.  Is it Optimus Prime, here to save the day?  Nope, no indeed.  It's Megatron and Starscream, here to wrest control of the Decepticons back from Bludgeon!

A short story, very simple, but it certainly packs a punch.  We got so little carnage in the G1 run, and now it's just savage, wanton fury.  Furmans prose compliments the images of death and destruction beautifully.  Yaniger's artwork works well here, though I'm not as keen on his final shot of Megatron and Starscream. 

Taken as a whole, we get one excellent, though simple, story, and one more ambitious but merely good story.  It's better than the previous offering, but still not all that compelling.  The main story didn't really advance the plot much, except for a bit of foreshadowing.  The backup story at least has some nice momentum to it.  It's still hard to see exactly where the Cybertronian Empire plot is going to go.  The threat is so huge, so massive, that it's hard to see how they'll start to combat it.  Worse, I find myself not all that interested in finding out.  The G1 Decepticons on Earth, at least, are fairly compelling.    Transformers Dark Designs , from Titan publishing, contains both parts of this story if you'd care to check it out used at Amazon.