IDW Transformers #1 For All Mankind Review
After the surprisingly solid and well put together IDW Transformers Ironhide Mini-series (see review here) I decided to go back and give the IDW Transformers a look at. I really enjoyed what they did with Ironhide, and the more mature theme running through that series, and was looking forward to seeing what they did with the rest of our G1 Favorites.
It wasn't easy as IDW Transformers Issues have no dating on the covers to help, and there has been several previous runs to sort through. After a little bit of initial confusion I located Transformers Issue One, of the For All Mankind arc and it seemed a good jumping on point. After all it was the start of new Transformer comic series, (okay I know printed in Nov 2009 but), and rule of thumb when picking up a new series is find a start of an arc, and go from there.
This is a review of the first issue of this IDW Transformers series and I did find myself feeling a little flat, where Ironhide honed in on the characteristics of that Bot, this felt unfocused. Maybe because I came in not knowing all the back story that has lead up to the events in this comic, and the summary just needed a little more for new readers like me.
More after the jump…
The events in For All Mankind take place two years after the events in All Hail Megatron that seemed to have wreaked havoc on the Earth. The Autobots have gone into hiding, and are waiting to see if the Decepticons are going to come back to Eart, so they can protect the humans. In the meantime the humans have formed Skywatch, a Special Ops unit tasked to bring in rogue Transformers albeit Decepticon or Autobot, and they are pretty efficient at it too. Skywatch is lead by Major Spike Witwicky, has armored battlesuits and tech that can immobilize the Transformers.
Events come to a head when Prowl is captured in a trap set up by Skywatch, and Optimus allows a team led by Hotrod, with Ironhide as an observer, to rescue Prowl from Skywatch HQ. This turns out to be another trap, and although the Bots get Prowl out, one of there number fall to the human guns.
Now things get a little odd here, because Optimus is a military leader and I am sure he has lost other Bot's in the long war with the Decepticons. But, for some reason he blames himself for this death and resigns as leader of the Autobots, leaving the Autobots leaderless as he refuses to designate a new leader, and he then goes and surrenders to the humans.
Okay, problems here are we have Optimus being anything but a leader throughout this issue. The humans now have the tech and the know how to cripple a Transformer in less than 20 seconds. Leaving Optimus' reason to stay on Earth to protect the humans fairly empty (never seen an Autobot take down a Decepticon as fast the humans do in this issue). Nothing is really adding up in this issue, and to have Optimus walk away and showing an extreme lack in the leadership skills, which we all know he has just doesn't track right.
Saving grace is the artwork by Don Figueroa is very nice to look at, and we get a nice feeling of scale and power of the Transformers. The action is clear and unmuddled and the panel flow is nice. Explosions are big, and Bot action you can feel the power of the impacts. Compared to Ironhide, this opening story was a disappointing kick off for this Transformers Arc and it didn't grab me which first issues are supposed to.
Two Thumbs up out of Five
I will have to find the Trade to read the For All Mankind arc to judge the story in full, but at the moment I'm not really grabbed by this series. Which is sad because I was really impressed by what they did with Ironhide.
