Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! This Christmas, I received the gift of a hot rod being featured on the cover of this book, so let’s go check it out! Anyway, this is issue #15 of Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felice’s Void Rivals. This is incredible lore, so let’s dive into it. We all have a place at Christmas.
There’s so much new material to understand in this issue that it’s hard to know where to start. I think the obvious thing to point out is that this is probably the most Transformers this book has ever gotten. Here we firmly establish ourselves as being in the middle of a classic G1 manga episode, with Quintesson, Hot Rod, and Springer visiting an otherworld and introducing a massive new lore called VECTOR THETA.
Now, if you’re familiar with Transformers, you’ll immediately think: Just like anything else! And yes, this looks like exactly what us big nerds are thinking of, an adaptation, or perhaps more accurately a remix, of the G1 manga classic Vector Sigma. One often associated with Alpha Trion, a character that seems to serve as the inspiration for the invisible “Zelta Trion”. This, Quintesson’s vague, quiet way of talking about the aforementioned characters, and the appearance of that dubiously legally separate silhouette of Unicron from a few issues ago…ugh! You’re curious, aren’t you?
The point is that Kirkman is more committed to this book than ever before, and I’m very happy with that. This is a super fun way to put a new spin on popular lore, with both newbies and long-time fans in mind. For those who don’t know Transformers, I’m sure this all seems exciting and somewhat confusing. To that I say, Welcome to Cybertron, everyone! It fits perfectly.
Credit: Skybound
Now, the highlight for me of this issue is Hot Rod, my favorite character in Hasbro’s vast IP pocket. Kirkman’s favorite character (as he said in an interview a long time ago), and those of you who read my reviews regularly, know that it’s my character as well. And he’s perfect here. This is a combination of the seminal and classic “Hot Rod” persona seen in the Transformers Movie and the more responsible, self-learning “Rodimus Prime” he becomes in the subsequent third film. This is an ideal cross-sectional view between. season of the show.
Season 3 is clearly Kirkman’s biggest influence on the setting and tone of Void Rivals. This is not to say that our regulars have nothing to do with this issue. That’s true, but robots are the big attraction this time. My child is also on the cover! I hope we see more team-up between Team Hot Rod, Darak, and Solira in the next issue.
Credit: Skybound
Of course, the art is great and Lorenzo does a great job of presenting the Transformers very true to the G1 cartoon aesthetic. It’s a little rounder and has a little less detail than DWJ or Jorge Corona, but it still feels like what the Transformers looked like on that show. Delpeche’s coloring helps that a lot too, the palette is really subtle and almost Star Wars-like in a cinematic sense. It may seem like an odd comparison, but it makes sense if you understand it. Given that this is a story about Transformers invading this isolated world as outsiders, the relative simplicity of Transformers compared to the other technologies in this book makes them seem very alien. I think that’s appropriate.
Credit: Skybound
It’s kind of funny, at least to me, that Void Rivals #15 zigs and zigs in every way that the last issue of Transformers went zig-zigs. Whereas that book was beginning to be a reinterpretation of a number of well-trodden ideas, this book is a little-known, less-discussed story that has been largely left out of contemporary narratives. Reviving and reinventing the lore to make it feel completely fresh again.
I hope Kirkman continues to do his job. Because Void Rivals will definitely start getting more attention from hardcore Transformers fans right away. If you’re a Transformers fan and haven’t read this yet, what are you waiting for? Go! Grrrr!
Void Rivals #15 makes classic lore feel fresh again
Void Drivers #15
An update to the legendary, dense story that brings even more of the high-concept appeal of Transformers to the world of comics.
hot rod
Get tons of new deep geek lore
The aforementioned nerd lore doesn’t make much sense.
Overall great art, characterization, and presentation.
