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Transformers issue #18 review – Arcee Coda (Ruckley, Miyao, McGuire-Smith, Burcham, Wood,IDW Publishing)

Brian Ruckley (Author) Umi Miyao (Artist, Cover Artist) Bethany McGuire-Smith (Artist, Cover Artist)  Josh Burcham (Colorist) Jake M. Wood (Letterer)

Thanks to IDW Publishing for the review copy!

Issue 18 shifts the focus to three different characters Greenlight, Arcee, and a younger Transformer named Gauge, who Arcee is mentoring.  The three have an interesting family dynamic that is established within the first few panels and drives the entire issue.  As the issue begins, Greenlight and Arcee are debating whether to leave Cybertron based on the deteriorating situation there (In issue 17, Heretech told Megatron he was leaving Cybertron with the Reversionists).

This issue, which seems largely independent of the events in Transformers 17 (the major plot point is caused by what happened in that issue), is a great vehicle (pun sort of intended) to showcase the sheer awesomeness of Arcee.  She gets a lot to do and she does it well.  This is particularly refreshing to me because in the Transformers the Movie from the 1980s, she spent most of her time taking care of Spike’s kid Daniel, and Daniel is pretty annoying.  There is also a fun cameo by two original Autobots, Red Alert and Inferno.

Art wise, this issue is helped by the clear color differences between the characters.  Arcee is pink, Greenlight is green (shocker), and Gauge is blue.  This makes it easier to tell apart, though their character design is also different enough to distinguish them.  Some of the other characters they encounter seem to fall into the ‘random bot’ category and have less attention paid to their design, but it is possible they are a character that I just don’t know about.

While this issue references things that have likely been established in prior issues (Reversionists, the Rise, the memorial crater), it is a standalone issue that doesn’t require any prior knowledge to enjoy.  This issue made me curious to learn more about the IDW Transformers’ world, some of which was established prior to the arc that was resolved in issue 17.

Transformers #18 is now available.

Check back tomorrow for my review of Transformers #19.


Have you read the issue? What are your thoughts? Feel free to chat with me on Twitter or leave a comment below!

Darren Shulman
Darren Shulman
Darren is a professional lawyer and amateur movie/comic/TV reviewer who is lucky enough to have found a wife who is into the same geeky things he is. Darren has been making the trip from Ohio to San Diego Comic-Con since 2009. Other interests include, in no particular order: monkeys, LEGO, dinosaurs, and playing basketball poorly.

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