REVIEW: ‘Transformers,’ Issue #19

After the previous issue’s small tangent, Transformers #19 swings us back into the fray of the destruction wrought by the Rise and shows us the reactions the big, plot-moving players are having to this new chaos. The last issue focused on some minor characters, but we’re changing gears and seeing how Megatron is fairing, the puppeteer behind all this, and how the Autobots are responding to his mayhem. Transformers #19, as usual, is published by IDW Publishing, with the creative team of writer Brian Ruckley, artist Anna Malkova, colorist Joana Lafuente, and letterer Jake M. Wood making this issue come to life.

After everything that has happened, Windblade finally awakens after the damage she suffered a few issues back. So much has gone wrong, culminating in the destruction of the Tether. Windblade is surprised to see so much has changed in her absence, and the audience gets an even greater feel for the surprise and despair associated with this tragedy by seeing it from Windblade’s point of view.

All this destruction, all this chaos, seems to be in line with Megatron’s plans, and the way he talks will send shivers up your spine. He is becoming the villain many know him to be: uncaring for Cybertronian lives. All the while, the Autobots aren’t faring well. Although Orion Pax is trying to help, no one’s listening. Sentinel Prime is still after the wrong ‘bot and the only hope is the new integrated colonial security teams that are being created, of which Windblade takes part in despite only recently being approved for active duty.

Personally, I’m really enjoying the plot of this series and what’s being done in this issue. Although some series tend to portray the Decepticons as the ultimate evil and the Autobots as the pure, do-gooders, this series is much more gray. We get a feeling that both sides are wrong in this conflict and that the average ‘bots are the ones paying the ultimate price. The Autobots leader, Sentinel Prime, wants to take down the Ascenticons with brute force. He uses a relic, the matrix of leadership, to justify his actions and ignore the advice of others, including the caring Orion Pax. On the other side of the same coin, Megatron and the Rise are willing to cause destruction and even kill their fellow Cybertronians in their drive to change Cybertron for what they presume is the better. But are either of them right? It’s something the audience needs to decide for themselves.

This issue wouldn’t hit as hard without the great creative team. Malkova’s art brings some great panels to this issue. We get some fun fight scenes with a bit of situational humor intermingled that’ll have you cracking a smile. The colors by Lafuente bring the panels together and set the scenes up for the plot and dialogue to shine through. Wood’s speech bubbles are easy to follow and don’t clutter the pages. Overall, the creative team has done well in supporting the plot of this issue and portraying just what the audience should be feeling when reading this issue.

Transformers #19 feels like the true rise of the Decepticons has finally begun. Although Megatron and his followers have caused plenty of mayhem, the nonchalant nature of Megatron and the physical destruction really seems to expedite the formation of what fans know only as the Decepticons. I’m excited to see what the next issue brings with it.

Transformers #19 is available wherever comics are sold.