Everlasting MysteryA Review of
Transformers: Lost Light #16Free of any explicit spoilers, but some may be unintentionally implied.
Rolling out and into your Wednesday Lost Light 16 rejoins the goings on with Team Rodimus, last seen in
issue #13 in some form of perilous peril. Mystery, danger, and lines that will be quoted for years await as the latest effort from writer James Roberts, artist Jack Lawrence, colorist Joana Lafuente, and letterer Tom B. Long arrives just in time to keep up a satisfyingly aggressive release schedule. Read on to find out whether or not
Lost Light puts those pieces together into something you should pick up.
Cyclonus, aka The DudeThis has never been a book to shy away from difficult topics, and the main question posed by this issue for me is, "if you suddenly find yourself in purgatory what will you do?" This is handled with the characteristic wit and charm that only this crew of Transformers could get away with - no pun intended, seriously! Surreal moments are balanced by grounded ones while emotional moments are bound on each side by humorous dialogue, though sometimes it comes through more as a relief valve for nervous tension especially in the case of Brainstorm. While the thought of funny, quippy dialogue will make some readers roll their eyes, it's nothing new for or unique to this issue and unless this winds up being your first ever reading within the series you already know whether or not that's a positive development.
Put another way, I find the dialogue well balanced and incredibly charming, but recent reminders from some others on site staff lead me to believe that some readers will, for whatever reason, find something not to like in it.
Would you like to buy some encyclopedias?The surrealism is a significant part of this first chapter of a three part story. As demonstrated in part by the image above, the world that the team has found itself on is part Cybertron, part dreamscape, and all mystery. The creation myth teased in earlier stories is expanded and even debated upon by some characters in what could be pre-emptive meta-humor. Is what occurs really happening, or is it some thoroughly crafted illusion? Does the answer to that matter when you're having fun just following the story wherever it may lead? Your own answers will frame how you feel about this installment. It works for me, but fellow staffer Counterpunch found a lack of feeling delivered by the uncertainty, stating "I don't think anything was bad, but there's nothing to do with the information. Every bit of it is as likely to be false as it is true."
Another mystery, or just coincidence?The pacing is brisk but always feels natural, with even a two-page break for an exposition dump framed in a way that both pokes fun at itself for being an exposition dump and for still leaving related questions unanswered. While that could have been an unnecessary chunk of story best left to the imagination or a couple referential lines of dialogue, it's helpful here given the abrupt nature of the opening pages. Additionally, it serves as a reminder of a conspicuously absent character, though that absence will only remain conspicuous if it continues for the remaining two chapters of this story arc.
Thok-ing the grumpy awayAfter three issues away, Jack Lawrence returns to line art duties for "The Everlasting Voices" and provides excellent, consistent mechanical designs for each Transformer while also making sure to playfully use alternate modes where possible and appropriate. Joana Lafuente's colors give superb visual continuity making the changes to and fro in lineart from issue to issue as seamless as possible. Overall it's a great effort and execution, with even the silent (and close to silent) pages managing to ooze story.
Tom B. Long does a couple things with "letters" that are so clever they need their own call-out in this section. Large, outlined reds stand out at one point to convey the tone of the words in a way that makes them distinctly Rodimus' words, and another moment with Whirl is wacky fun that only Whirl could get away with. A less skilled letterer could have tried the same thing and failed miserably, but these examples added to the experience in an unexpected, visually advantageous way.
Lawrence and Lafuente team up for the "A" cover, while Alex Milne provides the "B" cover featuring colors by Josh Perez as seen in this review's news post thumbnail. A colorless version of the same cover is also available as the 10-copy retailer incentive for this issue. As always, you can find images of all of those covers and full credits for the issue in our
Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers: Lost Light #16, but please note it contains a character appearance list and in this case that will mean
huge spoilers!
Verdict
Whirl, talking about "Lost Light Detractors" Lost Light #16 feels like the start of a part of this story that will put all the pieces in place for a confluence of huge events as both the plot and geographic scope of the series begins to narrow in on a tipping point. The last page contains what is a very big, long awaited development and should allay concerns some readers have had about the pace of the series. While some of the character moments needed a bit more space to breathe, that doesn't take away from what they were and I think the experience of reading a physical, printed copy of the book will address some of that. For an opening act, this is about as good as it gets for me but some of the other staff feedback makes me wary enough to not bump this a notch higher on the numerical score front. Very good and potentially the start of a truly great arc.
Bonus! James Roberts' soundtrack suggestions for this issue:
- Queen - "Let Me Live"
- Air - "Kelly Watch The Stars" (ed. - I second this, fantastic song from a fantastic band off a fantastic album!)
- Lou Reed - "Perfect Day"
- Wilco - "Jesus, Etc."
and shoehorning those other Hasbro books in it and IDW authors not seemingly having a clue that followers are turned off.
out of 
though I am just splitting hairs.
