Martin's Profile

Transformers 35 dropped in some “mystery box” elements right off the bat with whatever Wheeljack was working on in the Cybertron Shard, hopefully the payoff will be worth it. The movie accurate exo-suit was a cool reveal early in the issue. When we get to the meat of the story, the plot is split between the Aerialbots (with Thundercracker) exploring the Himalayan Mountains and Optimus trying to sa ve Shredhead. One thing struck me as odd or out of place - they kept referring to Shredhead as they or them … not sure what I’m supposed to get out of that, unless I missed something. Optimus, Wheeljack and the crew cross paths with Dr Arkeville, while the Aerialbots find Skywarp and another surprise. A solid read and well paced, I really enjoyed this issue. more

The whole MASK concept just doesn’t make sense to me … 1980s vehicles that turn into different vehicles … I don’t get it. I guess if disguise was the goal, maybe - but that really doesn’t seem to be the case. Again as with issue 2 this comic just feels a tad redundant in the larger Energon Universe. G.I. Joe does what this comic does, yet so much better. The action in the comic was decently paced out if not a bit silly. The death and surprise return of Bruce Sato didn’t really carry any weight as there wasn’t much invested in him to begin with. The absolute best part of this book was the shocking reveal on the last page … which Skybound spoiled on the cover of the 2nd printing two weeks later. All-in-all … I’m somewhat enjoying this series, it’s not on the top of my Energon stack … but with that last page reveal, I am now more interested.
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Witness Point #1 started to lose me at first, but as the layers of weirdness and intrigue were added I found myself pulled in. The focal character Sheriff Calhoon, is very flat and yet interesting at the same time, makes him someone easy to follow and like. The mysterious murder in a small town is bent sideways with the added elements of clowns, roaming tigers, and children reporters. I found the overall mystery and secrets of the town captivating enough to have me ready to read issue two.more

G.I.Joe #24, in many ways felt like the Joe of old, reminding me of the books I read in the 80s. The dialog was exposition heavy, almost as if one of the characters was reading his “file card” out loud. This issue concluded the Crystal Ball storyline, where this weird character is using the “power of Energon” to create physical manifestations of other’s fears. This story might have been written li ke an 80s comic, but the plot could easily have been pulled from the “less serious” cartoon. The Baroness and Destro working together was an great element to the story, but one I don’t feel we got enough of. The plot was fine, and fun if not a tad obvious, however the last 7 pages are where you can find the “gold”. The overall story shifts into the “next chapter” on these pages setting up the next steps for Cobra and more importantly G.I.Joe. Without revealing much, I will say it’s a nice coincidence that the 1984 G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero #24 from Marvel introduced the comic reading world to Zartan. While not my favorite story arc, this was still a fun book with some nice twists at the end. more

Void Rivals #31 pulled away from all the action taking place on the Sacred Ring and zeros in 100% on the Skuxxoid storyline that was left dangling. I have a special place in my heart for ole Skuxxoid as I was a huge fan of the big swings taken in the third season of the 1980s transformers cartoon, so this issue was written for me. It wraps up things nicely with the Skuxxoid we’ve been following co ming face-to-face with Skuxxoid Alpha in a fight to the finish. The ending was well written and tied things up perfectly. My only real complaint was that it was a fast read … Kirkman could have added more meat to the bone, I still thought it was great.
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G.I. Joe #23 was a mixed bag for me. As a kid I always enjoyed the more “grounded” 80s G.I. Joe comics over the zaniness of the cartoon … with this mysterious mind-twisting technology, the series seems to be flirting with those over-the-top cartoon concepts. Granted this technology is powered by energon, but I don’t feel that should explain away what seems like magic. The pace of the storytelling was great and the art was on-point, just some of the concepts seemed too far fetched. Also the story focuses on Risk and his backstory, while that’s fine - I would rather learn more about some of the “classic” Joe characters. On the plus side Destro and the Baroness have been paired up … maybe we’ll get a scene where they are practicing their clarinets (that is such an obscure joke - sorry). Even though I’m not a fan of the sci-fi concepts at play … this is still a top tier title with an amazing creative team.
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The Last Starfighter #1 wasn’t a bad book … not by a mile … however I think it failed to nail the tone of the film. This is a direct sequel to the 1984 movie, picking up soon after Alex and Maggie leave their trailer park behind and head to the stars. The book does a great job of establishing the events of the movie as it moves into continuing the story and though well written - that’s where the b ook starts to lose me. Granted I haven’t seen the film since the last century, but I remember it being fun and bright … this book is gloomy and dark. Assuming that they are appealing to (the small amount) of folks who recall the original … they don’t seem to be writing towards them. Aside from the tone of the storytelling the art and colors are unappealing and fail to nail the look and feel of the movie. All that aside - on it’s own The Last Starfighter tells a pretty good story and if you can overlook the differences between this and the source material, I think you’ll enjoy it. more

Transformers #34 felt a little like filler. Lots of conversations that hopefully are laying the groundwork for what is to come. Way too much focus has been given to Optimus no longer being a Prime and it’s getting stretched a bit too far, sort of just page filler. They did drop in a factoid that I don’t think had been mentioned before - Spike’s deceased brother was an astronaut? That’s pretty conv enient, seeing as Spike now hangs out with robots from space. There is some nice random action with Cliffjumper and Shredhead, but it was maybe a little too random. As the cover suggests the story introduces Transformers Generation One cartoon villain Doctor Arkeville, and I have to ask why? With Transformers, Void Rivals, G.I. Joe, and now M.A.S.K. - doesn’t the Energon Universe have enough going on? Also Flagg made no mention of the events that took place in M.A.S.K. #1 nor did he mention Arkeville in in the M.A.S.K. book … so it makes figuring out continuity a challenge. I’m still a fan of the series, and this wasn’t a “bad” issue - it just didn’t really move the overall story forward much. more

M.A.S.K. #2 was a solid comic book … however it still feels like an Energon Universe side-quest as opposed to anything important. I don’t have too much of a history with M.A.S.K. so the introduction of Baker and Sato didn’t really move the needle for me. They were given some surface level characterization but nothing too deep. That’s actually my main issue with this book, the lack of depth. It fel t like a Saturday morning cartoon and if that’s the vibe the writer was going for he nailed it, however it seems a little out of step with the rest of the Energon books. The art was top tier, don’t know much about Pye Parr outside of this book, but he’s someone to keep an eye on. All around, it was an enjoyable read, even if it lacked a sense of depth - I would recommend it. more

M.A.S.K. #1 opened on an action sequence and then slowed down from there. The book does a good job of establishing Matt Tracker and that’s about it. We get all the backstory through an interrogation but no real action. While well written, it really failed to grab the reader and make him or her care about what’s happening or rather what’s abut to happen. Lot’s of setup but nothing that would pull i n someone who wasn’t a fan of the property or already invested in the Energon Universe. Also … though General Flagg is involved in the plot … it still feels a bit like a side-quest and not tied to the “larger story”. In spite of it’s flaws, I still would cautiously recommend this book. more

Transformers #32 was an interlude on Cybertron, that was pretty solid. I don’t like the direction the book was headed with Prime giving up the Matrix … it just feels old and over-done. That being said this was a killer straight up action issue and I liked it. Elta and her team of Autobots arrived behind enemy lines and must sneak back to their base of operations. When a damaged and decapitated Sho ckwave with a small army shows up the cogs hit the fan. I don’t necessarily care for the over the top brutality, but it keeps the story moving. In the OG cartoon Elta had the power to stop time … for this incarnation she’s given the Ghost of the Star Saber (Japanese cartoon reference?) To cut down the Decepticons. It’s all very exciting and epic. more

Not sure that Void Rivals #30 stuck the landing for the Quintesson War, it just seemed to feed into the next story arc as opposed to closing this one out. The action and danger was turned up with this issue, with daring escapes and ferocious battles. There was a clear status quo change with the end of this book, I don’t know if that merited a 6-issue story arc. I’m interested to see where things a re going, however it doesn’t seem that Kirkman cares about the destination, but the ride has been enjoyable thus far. I still highly recommend this title and all of the other Energon books. more

Emperor Aquaman #16 was a slight return to form for the series. It broke away from the family drama and KO nonsense to be a story that moves … this time to an alien world. The plot wasn’t over complicated or all that captivating, it was just a mini-adventure for the King of Atlantis. Also, it was a basic one-and-done tale, but I think that’s what the series needed. I wish we could get back more of the supporting cast from the first few issues … but I am still excited to see where things go from here.more

The writing is solid the art is what it needs to be … yet Thunder The Barbarian #3 falls on so many levels. This series will be many folks first introduction to these characters and this world, so Aaron decides to go with a time travel alternative history story. That is a huge mistake as a new reader has no time to truly understand what’s happening before everything is turned inside out. Also, no one actually believes that anything that happens in the alternate version will have any lasting ramifications on the series. I will give it one more issue, to see if there isn’t some really exciting twist coming up, if not - I’m out.more

I have been avoiding the Dynamite Disney comics, but for Free Comic Book Day I picked up Stitch #1 - after reading it … I will continue to avoid the Dynamite Disney comics. I don’t envy any writer having to come up with new ideas for this character, however this book was a muddled mess. It’s obviously written for little kids and in that I think it fails, the plot wouldn’t appeal to kids and is to o thin to appeal to adults. Without featuring Lilo the story has zero heart and the characters (especially Stitch) are off. The artwork is decent but a tad too basic. At the end of the day Disney/Stitch fans will no doubt LOVE this, even though it misses the vibe and charm of the film by about a mile.
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I enjoyed the Energon Universe 2026 Special - but I think I’m already getting tired of MASK. The first 16 pages were a MASK story, setting up what to expect in the series. While it was fine, and exciting - it felt like it should have been a GI Joe story - espionage, prison breaks, action, and a page where they “call in the team”. It just seems to me that MASK is taking up space that should be give n to the Joes. The next 6 pages were a tight Transformers story, more mood and texture than an actual narrative, but I liked it. The 6 pages after that was where the Void Rivals story fell, it was a nice “bridge” story - but in some ways spoilt the end of the Quintesson War. The final 6 pages were a backstory for something that recently happened in the GI Joe comic, good foundational stuff that I’m sure will have ramifications. All-in-all a great sampling of what is to come in the Energon Universe.
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I can’t say that I was excited to read Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge - Echoes of the Empire #1 as it is more “product” than “art” - more “marketing” than “story”. That’s pretty much what it turned out to be. It’s dull and contrived, crafting a story in two different timelines - sometime after The Force Awakens with the meat of the story being flashbacks to between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Everything feels hobbled together - wedging characters into situations that defy continuity and feel a bit pointless. The creators are (I’m sure) doing the best they can with the task they were given. Unless you are a Star Wars completest or a die hard Disney Parks fan, you can skip this comic. In the past this sort of marketing was regulated to FREE comics given away with a box of C-3POs cereal.
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I didn’t know what to expect when I cracked open Void Rivals #29 … the cover felt nostalgic, harkening back to the 1986 Transformers movie, what I got was shades of that and so much more. Where as the Transformers series is a love letter to the classic Transformers of the 80s, Void Rivals seems to be madly deeply in-love with the insane elements of the (post movie) third season of the cartoon. Eve rything about this book so far (including this Quintesson War story arc) screams third season, and we are all better off because of it. This chapter finds Zerta Trion communing with Vector Theta in a last ditch effort to stop the war. Meanwhile on the surface the battle is turning against the Agorrians, making things feel hopeless and yet still epic. Cobra-La is at play once more and small story elements are starting to come together. This feels like the penultimate chapter … but unless the next issue is double sized … I have no idea how all these plots can be wrapped up in just one issue. more