Sarah Stone's art is amazing. I wish she did more comics. ( )

I hereby profess my undying crush on Windblade. Hey, I'm not ashamed of it. The Transformers universe is already amazing. The politics, the friendships, the loyalties, it's all just pulled me in and kept me reading. Windblade far exceeds all of that though. She, herself, is a force to be reckoned with. Strong, fierce, and full of the kind of compassion that just makes you want to hug her. I'm addicted, and I don't care who knows it.

First off, let me gush about Sarah Stone's art. I already thought that Windblade's character was pretty, but Sarah Stone makes her look stunning. Windblade is almost ethereal in this comic. She's my... spirit transformer? Her facial expressions are spot on, and Stone makes it so that you can feel every emotion that Windblade feels. It makes the whole premise of this story that much more effective. Who do you trust, when you're not sure that anyone at all is on your side?

Plus, well, Chromia is also all kinds of awesome. Stone captures her fire and her snark perfectly. These two are like night and day, but that's what I love about them. Is it okay to admit that I secretly hope they'll be together forever? Because I do. I'd miss one without the other.

Love to the ends of the earth! I need more Windblade in my life, obviously. However this also makes me want more TF Universe and much MUCH more Sarah Stone illustrations. ( )

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

Windblade first appeared in Dark Cybertron, as a female Transformer from a lost colony who ended up throwing in her lot with the Autobots. A Cityspeaker, Windblade is now the representative of the Titan Metroplex, where the majority of Cybertronians are now living following the devastating events of Dark Cybertron. Windblade actually feels more like a continuation of the first five volumes of Robots in Disguise than Robots in Disguise, Volume 6 did. Aside from Windblade and her friend Chromia, all the main characters of Windblade were characters in Robots in Disguise up until that series relocated to Earth, and the concerns of Windblade are much more like that of volume 1-5 of Robots in Disguise. That is to say, this is about Starscream, Ironhide, Blurr, Waspinator, Rattrap, and others on a rebuilding Cybertron trying to move beyond war.

The high point of the book is Sarah Stone's painted art, which is gorgeous and unusual for a Transformers book, but much more dynamic and lively than Livio Ramondelli's painted Transformers art. Stone does a good job capturing personality and dynamism, and the characters have distinct, interesting designs. Mairghread Scott does a good job with characterization, too, populating her story with a number of distinct, memorable people-- I particularly liked the regulars at Blurr's bar.

The story itself is a little disappointing. Big things happen, but feel underdeveloped: someone tries to kill Windblade, but it doesn't quite seem as dramatic as it ought. If Windblade really does think Starscream is trying to kill her, I'm not sure that the actions she takes make a lot of sense. You'd think she'd do more than muse suspiciously. And the ending revelation of who is responsible is kind of weird, in that it makes someone into a horrible person beyond plausibility, and I don't like the way that person's deeds are dealt with. Also, the end indicates that Windblade's conflict over her two worlds was supposed to be a driver of the book, but I don't think it entirely sold that throughout.

Still, I enjoyed reading this moment to moment even if the story as a whole left me cold. Good characters, good art, good jokes, and as there are future installments of Windblade to come, I can see how this could potentially improve into something great.

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