IDW The Transformers #46 Review

Synopsis
CONQUERORS part 1! OPTIMUS PRIME struggles to find his place on CYBERTRON where half the population hates him and the other half worships him. Meanwhile, on Earth, GALVATRON doesn’t care what anybody thinks.



Story

In the write-up to the preview for issue 46 of The Transformers, I asked three questions that may or may not have been answered in this issue: What is Galvatron up to? Has Optimus come to terms with his status as a Prime? What happened to the Autobot crew on Earth? While the latter is only briefly dealt with, there is so much more to work with in John Barber's wonderful script for the other two.



Galvatron, the smarmy, smirking warrior of old who has clearly never really left his old ways - biding his time, as it were - has started placing his pawns and pieces on the game board. We are reminded of his backstory, shown some more of his cruelty, and brought to his intentions insofar as we can determine a potential endgame. Maybe.



The major player, even more so than Smugmatron, is Optimus Prime, who takes some time, most of the issue, trying to figure out his place in the new post-colony reality of the Cybertronian race. Spurred by the Mistress of Flame on Camien, and new character Aileron on Cybertron, he needs to find a new balance of his multiple selves, playing a longer game than what we, and the other Transformers, have seen him do so far.



Optimus and Galvatron are not the sole foci of the story, of course, but definitely offer the most interesting looks at the developing, and building, story-line. Nonetheless, Starscream is shown to still be battling some of his own doubts, as Soundwave is contacted by a surprising character, and Redemption is seeded subtly.

Art

After Combiner Hunters, and several covers, we get to see Sara Pitre-Durocher's own take on the regular artwork for the series, and what a job does she deliver. Incorporating some of the elements of the recent generation of artists, and bringing her own softer flair to the characters, we get a sometimes moving look at the struggle of Optimus as he finds new leads on how to present himself.



The emotional side, both positive and negative (looking at you again, Purpletron), is beautifully highlighted by the colourwork of Bumbleburrito fan Josh Perez, blending elements nicely of the visual aspects so far with the new art style, seamlessly but still keeping some uniqueness for the development of the linework.



Tom B. Long is still here, still lettering, still doing an amazing job at conveying the intensity of the words and tones used in various interactions, as well as setting the wider tone in more dynamic scenes. The covers come in different types, feeding into convention season and the Artist Edition initiative that IDW run regularly, as Casey Coller offers a wonderful dual Optimus in black and white (thumbnailed), and Coller and JP Bove collaborate for Ricomicon on a classic OP vs Megatron piece.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

If last month's issue brought an epicentre to a massive shift in the status quo for the Transformers universe, issue 46 deals with the initial ripples that will - undoubtedly - lead to the further repercussions of All Hail Optimus early next year. The parallels, however forced, between the corrupt Primes, Galvatron and Optimus are setting themselves up for a massive collision.



The new visual team, staying on the book for a while at least, are an excellent showcase of talent. They bring a good blend of dynamics, posing, emotivity and physical language, mixing the colour skills of Perez and animated lines of Pitre-Durocher, with a side dish of font magic by Long. I'll be looking out for more of this next month, for sure.