TITANS RETURN! Following the literally-Earth-shattering events of last issue… OPTIMUS PRIME establishes a new base of operations — AUTOBOT CITY! Its first visitor: a newly-revived SENTINEL PRIME, who sees a potential ally in OPTIMUS.
Writing
One of the biggest problems with a crossover event is that the characters in different books are often overlooked by what is happening in the overall event. In the individual issues surrounding the event, it is important to show how the changes are affecting the characters without losing track of the event’s widespread devastation. It’s a very difficult task. Luckily, this issue succeeds in having the issue tie into to the “Revolution” event yet at the same time helping to progress the story.
In this case, the G.I. Joes are finally called in to help with the situation. It appears the recent events involving the Transformers, such as Optimus Prime making Earth part of the Cybertronian Council of Worlds and Autobot City forming on the planet, resulted in the Joes being called in. Given what has happened in the Transformer comics previously, you would have thought they would have come into play much sooner. Still, writer John Barber tells the story in a way which helps to makes the book enjoyable even for those who aren’t planning on reading the rest of the “Revolution” event.
Artwork
As IDW Publishing likes to rotate their artists between different titles, it’s always important to make sure the right artist is used at the right time. Artist Livid Ramondelli was in charge of the art for this issue and he really was an ideal choice for it. His style was able to show a level of brutality and intensity which helped to showcase just how dire the situation was.
Conclusion
The good use of the crossover while still progressing the plot from previous issues makes the book really stand out. It will be interesting to see where they take the plot from here and how the overall Transformers series will be affected when everything is over.
