Well, color me impressed! Up until now, MTMtE was the superior series for me. This volume may have changed my mind! First off, I can't believe how twisted everything has gotten in the span of two volumes. Things have been stressful for Bumblebee since the beginning. As the impromptu leader of Cybertron, he's had to put up with all manner of terrible things happening. Now, we finally start to see how it's wearing on him. All he wants is for things to get better. I'm feeling that he's just not sure how to go about that though.

Also in this volume, we see the emotional side of Ironhide. Poor Ironhide. He's seen the future in a vision, and he has to carry around the knowledge alone. No one believes him, except perhaps the Dinobots, but most people just think he's completely crazy. I felt so sorry for him that the one time he finally felt like he might belong somewhere things went to hell. There are a lot of characters that John Barber just refuses to let catch a break. It's brilliant, but it's also so sad.

I guess what I'm trying to convey is that this is the series with a ton of emotion. It makes sense, since the whole story arc is revolving around the political side of things. These characters aren't really living, but just surviving day to day. They're having to build a whole new government, based on a tentative calm between factions. Worse yet, most of them still aren't even sure where they stand in terms of loyalty. I'm both excited and terrified to see what happens next. Open elections are imminent, and I don't know what's going to happen if Bee doesn't win. ( )

Access a version of the below that includes illustrations on my blog.

Physically, all IDW trade paperbacks are thin. IDW as a company just doesn't like collecting more than four issues at once, and this is as true of The Transformers as it is for Star Trek, Doctor Who, or My Little Pony. And besides, I'm reading these Transformers volumes electronically. But despite that, this one collects four issues and still manages to feel thinner than most. Probably at least partially because the first issue collected here is not about the Autobots forging a new future on Cybertron, but Orion Pax nee Optimus Prime following up on clues from crazed Decepticon scientist Jhiaxus about Monstructor. Though I'm sure it'll play into events on Cybertron in the long run, it feels like filler: Orion is not a main character in this series, and I barely know who the other robots on this mission-- on either side-- even are. Livio Ramondelli's art doesn't help; his painterly style is attractive, but the storytelling is often difficult to follow. That said, give him an amazing discovery in an ancient ice cavern, though, and he'll draw the hell out of it.

The remaining three issues here advance some of the plotlines of post-peace Cybertron: Wheeljack investigates a mysterious Decepticon recently arrived on Cybertron, while Ironhide and the Dinobots brave the wilderness of post-reformatting Cyberton and Bumblebee tries to balance his desire to be inclusive with his fear of giving Decepticons a bigger role in the global government. The stories are decent if not great, enlivened by the stuff Barber and his artistic collaborators do with voice and structure. One issue, for example, parallels happenings in Autobot HQ depicted in conventional comics formats with Wheeljack's explorations in a sixteen-panel grid filled with narration.

Also, the little touches make it sing, like the former Decepticon who produces terrible poetry at open mic night, or just how goddamned smug Starscream is all the time ("You know where to find me-- I'll be helping run the planet").

I've never really paid much attention to Bumblebee before, but I like him here-- a nice guy harried by every person, trying to live up to an impossible ideal in a difficult decision, always too hopeful that there will be an easy way out, and completely lacking confidence in himself. There's a lot simmering in this book, and it's an enjoyable simmer, but I look forward to seeing it boil over. Too often I feel like something interesting is about to happen, not actually happening.

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