Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs. Moguera #1
(W) Johnny Parker II (A/CA) Winston Chan
In Shops: Feb 21, 2024
SRP: $7.99
Mothra is a great protector and friend to humanity, but not everyone believes the monster is always going to be on our side. When an anti-kaiju group controlling the powerful robotic Mechagodzilla and M.O.G.U.E.R.A. attacks Mothra’s home, it’s up to a few brave souls, an injured Mothra, and a little extra robotic help to save the day!
IDW Publishing has had a hell of a run with the Transformers license spanning 17 years. Some of that has been amazing, some a bit bumpy, but a lot of it was very entertaining. I didn’t enjoy the latest volume a whole lot, but decided to check out the finale of the run, Transformers: Fate of Cybertron.
Written by Brian Ruckley, the over-sized one-shot delivers the final stand of Optimus against Megatron for the fate of Cybertron. The issue wraps things up nicely but delivers few surprises, it feels like it’s pretty standard, checking off a lot of boxes.
Optimus attempts to be the voice of reason, wanting to end the conflict as peacefully as possible. Megatron wants nothing of that, headstrong and convinced his way is the correct and only way forward. He demands an audience to prove that.
The comic really only has a limited number of directions it could go. There’s little chance Megatron would win, it would leave a sad, depressing legacy for the series. So, the only two logical outcomes are a draw, entrenched in battle forever, or Optimus wins by defeating Megatron or he sees the light. The latter was also unlikely. Going that route would sully the legacy and what has come over and over in other volumes. So, that leaves us with the middle and where it all goes from here. And that’s an expected speech for us to attach our hopes to. As I said, pretty expected events.
The issue is packed with Transformers artists, Andrew Griffith, Winston Chan, Alex Milne, Ed Pirrie, and Angel Hernandez. They’re joined by Josh Burcham, Josh Perez, and David García Cruz on color and lettering by Jake M. Wood. The art is pretty good. The art style does shift at times and it’s noticeable. But, the comic hits the notes you want with titanic fights between combiners and a chaotic battle where you pause to see all of the bots taking part. But, the comic generally lacks that memorable visual moment that sticks with you.
Transformers: Fate of Cybertron does what it needs to. It wraps up the current volume in a nice package delivering the hope that Optimus and the Autobots represent. It’s not a memorable finale, but it is one. For those who have read the series up to this point, you might get a bit more out of it all but from the casual reader, it doesn’t feel like an ending to remember.
Till all are one.
Story: Brian Ruckley Art: Andrew Griffith, Winston Chan, Alex Milne, Ed Pirrie, Angel Hernandez
Color: Josh Burcham, Josh Perez, David García Cruz Letterer: Jake M. Wood
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read
IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics
Transformers: Beast Wars #14
(W) Erik Burnham (A) Josh Burcham (CA) VenBlu, Winston Chan
In Shops: Mar 23, 2022
SRP: $3.99
Everyone is acting a bit strange…In Transformers: Beast Wars #14, Waspinator and Scorponok come across some more of the aggressive mutant animals we’ve seen in earlier arcs and find out what actually mutated them! How will this new power affect the Cybertronians?
Transformers: Beast Wars #14
(W) Erik Burnham (A) Josh Burcham (CA) VenBlu, Winston Chan
In Shops: Mar 23, 2022
SRP: $3.99
Everyone is acting a bit strange…In Transformers: Beast Wars #14, Waspinator and Scorponok come across some more of the aggressive mutant animals we’ve seen in earlier arcs and find out what actually mutated them! How will this new power affect the Cybertronians?
Transformers: Beast Wars #8
(W) Erik Burnham (A) Winston Chan (CA) Andrew Griffith
In Shops: Sep 22, 2021
SRP: $3.99
“Pod,” part two! Blackarachnia has made her way to the Maximal ship, the Axalon, and encountered her first Maximal, Cheetor. Now she’s gone missing again and it’s up to the whole crew to find the mysteriously disappearing spider… before she finds them!
Transformers #34
(W) Brian Ruckley (A) Anna Malkova (CA) Winston Chan
In Shops: Sep 01, 2021
SRP: $3.99
“Sea of Rust,” part one! Megatron has learned that his former mentor, Termagax, holds a key artifact that could tip the scales of the war firmly in the Decepticons’ favor, eliminating the Autobots once and for all. The first order of business, of course, is finding Termagax’s House, a mobile building on the run. And as tensions erupt between Megatron’s Decepticons and his old mentor, the Autobots put themselves in the crossfire!
Transformers #34
(W) Brian Ruckley (A) Anna Malkova (CA) Winston Chan
In Shops: Sep 01, 2021
SRP: $3.99
“Sea of Rust,” part one! Megatron has learned that his former mentor, Termagax, holds a key artifact that could tip the scales of the war firmly in the Decepticons’ favor, eliminating the Autobots once and for all. The first order of business, of course, is finding Termagax’s House, a mobile building on the run. And as tensions erupt between Megatron’s Decepticons and his old mentor, the Autobots put themselves in the crossfire!
Transformers: Beast Wars #7
(W) Erik Burnham (A) Winston Chan (CA) Fico Ossio
In Shops: Aug 25, 2021
SRP: $3.99
“Pod”, part one! After their first explosive battle, both the Maximals and Predacons have allowed a lull to refresh and regroup. But when the first protoform pod comes down and a new entrant to the Beast Wars enters the fray, things are going to change in a major way! But whose side is Blackarachnia on?!
IDW Publishing’s line of Transformers comic books will rule the summer… so proclaims King Grimlock! Debuting in August, two new miniseries, Transformers: King Grimlock and Transformers: Shattered Glass, will thrill lifelong Transformers fans and newcomers to the franchise. Additionally, new story arcs will appear in IDW’s monthly series Transformers and Transformers: Beast Wars.
Transformers: King Grimlock
Written by Steve Orlando with art by Agustin Padilla and colors by Jeremy Colwell, King Grimlock is a five-issue miniseries that casts one of the most iconic Transformers characters into a world of fantastical beasts and magical powers!
In a savage world where the strong rule with sword and iron, the Dinobot Grimlock finds a new opportunity to prove he’s the strongest there is… but as Grimlock and the human barbarian Arko will learn, sometimes brute strength isn’t enough.
Cary Nord, the Eisner Award-winning artist of Conan the Barbarian, provides the perfect cover artwork to fit Transformers: King Grimlock’s high fantasy theme, illustrating issue #1’s Cover A. Additional cover variants will be available for retailers and fans to enjoy, including Cover B by series artist Agustin Padilla, and a Retailer Incentive Edition featuring art by Mateus Santolouco.
Transformers: Shattered Glass
Everything you thought you knew about Cybertronian lore will be turned inside out with Transformers: Shattered Glass, an all-new five-issue miniseries written by Danny Lore, illustrated by fan-favorite Transformers artists Guido Guidi, and Dan Khanna, and colored by John-Paul Bove.
In a parallel universe, a war raged across the cosmos from Cybertron to Earth… a war between Decepticon laborers-turned-freedom fighters and the power-hungry Autobot autocrats. Many kilocycles after the blue planet was devastated and the Decepticons were brought to heel, the evil Autobot bodyscrapper named Blurr hunts a new bounty… one who holds a piece of information that could reignite the war!
Three cover variants will be available from comic shops for Transformers: Shattered Glass #1: Cover A by Alex Milne, Cover B by series artist Dan Khanna, and a Retailer Incentive Edition by Sara Pitre-Durocher.
Transformers #34, by writer Brian Ruckley and artist Anna Malkova, kicks off the new “Sea of Rust” storyline in IDW’s critically acclaimed comics continuity of Cybertron in its earliest days of war! Megatron has learned that his former mentor, Termagax, holds a key artifact that could tip the scales of the war firmly in the Decepticons’ favor, eliminating the Autobots once and for all. The first order of business, however, is running Termagax down! Issue #34 features Cover A by Winston Chan, Cover B by Susan Margevich, and a Retailer Incentive Cover by Andrew Griffith.
Transformers: Beast Wars #7, by writer Erik Burnham and artist Winston Chan, launches a new story arc entitled “Pod.” Regrouping after their first explosive battle, the Maximals and Predacons are alerted to the descent of a new protoform pod… and its sole inhabitant, Blackarachnia! Whose side will this mysterious newcomer take? Issue #7 features Cover A by Fico Ossio, Cover B by Ed Pirrie, and a Retailer Incentive Cover by Gavin Guidry.
IDW Publishing expands the universe of the ongoing Transformers comic books with an all-new miniseries Transformers: Escape, focusing on a handful of fan-favorite Autobots scrambling to save innocent bystanders from the war between Cybertronian factions. Written by Brian Ruckley, architect of IDW’s Transformers continuity since 2019, and illustrated by Bethany McGuire-Smith, Transformers: Escape is a five-issue monthly series slated for release beginning in December.
As Cybertron descends into a state of war, countless civilians — unaligned with the Autobots, Decepticons, or any faction — are caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, a solution may be coming, as Wheeljack, Hound, Nautica, and some of Cybertron’s greatest (and most infamous) scientists seek to reactivate the Ark program and evacuate the planet with huge spaceships. On the verge of war, will their efforts be enough to escape?
Transformers: Escape #1 will be available with multiple cover variants for retailers and fans to enjoy, each by an established Transformers comic book artist. Cover A features illustration from series artist Bethany McGuire-Smith, Cover B from Winston Chan, and two Retailer Incentive editions feature art by Sara Pitre-Durocher and Alex Milne, respectively.
