Hey guys, here’s another review of Daniel Warren Johnson and Jorge Corona Transformers Skybound. This is problem #17 and we’re deeper into this run for a year and a half. That’s crazy, isn’t it? This is the “man-in-the-middle” in question, and many small threads are moving forward, so let’s break it all down.
There’s a lot going on here. There are no follow-ups yet on Megatron, but you can see what happens to Ultra Magnus, Thunder Crackers, Cliff Jumpers and Main Autobot Teams on Earth. Despite Wheyjack’s claims, he insists that it is better to check out because of an increasingly common breakdown, trying to save as many human lives as possible. This is a considerable part of the subtle character work, presenting Optimus’ flaws. He is genuinely kind to his mistakes, even when it may be as risky as people’s lives do. It’s clever, and again, quite subtle.
The Ultra Magnus part is very fast, but I think it will go a long way to follow up later in exploring how extremely traumatic a poor guy is. For me, the most important thing is the cliff jumpers and the gang. Returning to Cybertron, we’ll have a conversation between BlueStreak and Elita-1. This calls her about her action in Optimus in the previous arc. Erita’s actions are a bit divisive and she fully believes in the correctness of her cause, but it is important to show that she is not angry or bitter at the blind point. She actually gives the foundation and admits that perhaps her ideas are not perfectly in line with everyone’s greater needs. I think it was a good call to show that she is not a completely moving rock, as Erita is presented as a very difficult and uncompromising character in this incarnation.
Skybound
But most importantly in that whole sequence is Skybound: Shredhead’s first new Autobot character! What a fun ’80s name feels like you’re at home in the Bob Budianski naming style from that day. Would you like to pay tribute to the teenage mutant ninja turtles too? Oh, you ruin me. The design of this new character is also pretty cool! I don’t know who should trust it, I’m planning on assuming COVID-19, but the severe Dicron-inspired sensibility is very exhibited. They seem to have a bit of a lot of classic G1 guys without being a borrowed Kibble monster from Frankenstein, and I want to see what they can do (And more importantly, what will they change!).
Skybound
Speaking of design and art, we still have COVID and Spicer, so things are still gorgeous and very detailed. As I said many times before, I love how the corona style has adapted to some kind of Johnson over time, and it helps to give this book and the world a very clear identity 2 People create some sort of midway point between the normal style of artists from all other Transformers comics before. Spicer coloring obviously lifts a lot of stuff there too.
So, what do you feel about Transformers #17? good! At least I think so, but like I said, it’s a bit of a man-in-the-middle. So there are plenty of small scenes that help to move all the threads rather than pinning them one at a time. Should I wonder if maybe it was better to reverse it? That’s not to say this doesn’t work. Hopefully next time we will be able to see a new guy acting.
“Transformers” #17 debuts new Autobot
Trans #17
A solid entry in the ongoing story that will debut our latest heroic Autobot… Shredhead!
New character! Where are the toys?
Lots of plots to follow to keep everything moving steadily
As always, great art and coloring
