IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #24 (DC 4) Review

Synopsis

TRAPPED! Alone on a strange world, the crew of the Lost Light struggle against an unknown enemy—but what does this have to do with SHOCKWAVE’s master plan? Answer: everything. Meanwhile, OPTIMUS PRIME finds an old friend in the Dead Universe!



Story

Underwater, outerspace, aftermath. Boy, there's a lot of stuff going on. The Necrotitan boomed, the mini-nites swarmed, Cyclonus is doomed, and all for the sake of my own rhymes. Though something really is up with Cyclonus. Did John Barber and James Roberts deliver on all fronts this issue? Maybe. Are we moving in full-on Infinite Crisis? Possibly.



Crossing universes, everything is connected, the Ammonites turn out to be pretty cool (well, it is their in-pack issue after all). The tones shift adequately and appropriately between the different sets, but actually all maintain the established darker undertones to them, which is good for a sense of continuity.



I think I figured out what worked in this issue. The settings are clearly fine, we're all expecting them by now, and there's not too much stalling. But the dialogue is better. A lot better. The interaction between characters, interrupting each other, arguing, the whole thing - it's working, it feels like a cast.



Interesting. There are so many revelations, reveals, twists and turns that I almost got tired of them on the first couple of reads. It felt crammed. And yet.. I enjoyed it, I like just how devious Shockwave is, and his treatment of Megatron. I like Magnus commanding the Lost Light. I even like the very little happenings in the Dead Universe. Onwards!

Art

Oh wow. How many artists again? Nick Roche, James Raiz, Livio Ramondelli, Atilio Rojo and Robert Gill - five. Five art styles. Two for the Lost Light, two for Cybertron, one for the Dead Universe. I don't mind them as much as I did with chapter 2, Rojo and Gill blend well together, I have no clue why Raiz and Roche did two parts for the same thing (well, I do, but still), though.. they fit the tones, really well, too. And Ramondelli's Dead Universe is definitely dark, I'll give you that.



With so many artists, just one colourist - even if it is Josh Perez - would not have been enough, so I'm glad to see a second: Romulo Fajardo Jr. There's definitely a different texture to some of the colours, if I've spotted the pages right, but they still manage to work with Perez' already established stuff. Good to see wide-spread damage, after the Necroboom (my word).



And good to see Gilberto Lazcano on letters again, too! Some good work in terms of giving voices where needed, and not getting in the way of the action with sound effects. I appreciate that in lettering. A shout out to Raiz' cover, which is stunningly powerful, and Casey Coller's main cover, too!

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

It was fun. I said above, I got annoyed at all the reveals crammed into one issue, but then reread them all and couldn't stop chuckling. I almost want Barber and Roberts to leave Megatron in his current state, before it all goes combiner-shaped again. Dialogue has picked up, action has picked up, pick this one up.



Five artists and two colourists? Could be very very bad. But it wasn't! Sometimes it feels a little odd, especially with the final pages and the later Shockwave moments, but it didn't stop me from having a good read. I'd rather it were toned down again next time, though (I know I know, time constraints). NEXT!