REVIEW: ‘Transformers,’ Issue #4

Transformers #4 is published by IDW Publishing, written by Brian Ruckley, with art by Sara Pitre-Durocher, Angel Hernandez, and Andrew Griffith, colors by Joana Lafuente and Josh Burcham, and letters by Tom B. Long.

In Transformers #4, Chromia, Geomotus, and Windblade investigate the wilds of Cybertron in search of clues about the recent murder of a scientist. While reminiscing about the dead scientist, they cross paths with a familiar face. However, despite the familiarity, Chromia is certain this bot is withholding valuable information. All the while Barricade and Prowl are spread thin trying to police a celebration that has as much likelihood of turning violent as it is peaceful.

This is the fourth issue of a new Transformers reboot from IDW. This series is set before the war between the Decepticons and the Autobots during a time of relative peace, where Cybertronian society is flourishing and technology is ever evolving.

In the first few issues, including this one, the story follows Rubble, a newly born Cybertronian, as they learn more about the world around them. This is an old, but good plot device. As Rubble learns about this new world, the reader too learns more about this new reboot. As Bumblebee answers Rubble’s unceasing questions, the reader is introduced to the mechanisms of this new, but old Cybertron. At first, Rubble is fascinated with the world around them; everything is wonderful and beautiful. However, the world isn’t as peaceful or safe as they’ve been told.

What this issue does well is how it reveals tidbits of information about how Cybertron functions and its political atmosphere, how Cybertronians are born, and even some of the spiritual beliefs held by a few Cybertronians. In fact, it is very refreshing to see politics being brought back into the series. I feel that many movies, TV shows, and comics have been removed from the central politics that originally resulted in the main conflict that created the well-known dichotomy between Autobots and Decepticons. So it’s great to go back and see more political conflict.

Many of the characters featured in this issue are old, well-worn characters. Despite the familiarity, the roles they have and situations these characters are put into are new. The personalities are true to character, along with the dialogue. In general, it’s nice to see old, loved characters before they were changed or divided by the Cybertronian Great War. There isn’t as much silly banter as some older IDW comics that you may be used to, so there’s definitely a more serious tone to this one. But, it fits the series.

As per usual, the art is great. There are three different artists for this single issue. Therefore, the art style does change three times and it’s rather obvious. In some other comics, a shift in art style can lead to the characters looking vastly different. In this issue, the characters remain distinct and identifiable. Therefore, the change in art styles doesn’t detract from the comic.

My one real hiccup with this issue is that the plot is slow and there’s not a whole lot of plot advancement in this issue. In fact, the previous issues were also rather slow. But, it’s understandable considering IDW is rebooting their Transformers universe. There are also a few spots in the issue in which references are made about other characters that have not been introduced yet. This is a bit confusing but I can only assume that, by doing this, more information will be revealed later on.

Besides this, I’m excited to see where this new series goes.

Transformers #4 is available now wherever comic books are sold.