Reflections on new Transformers covers

IDW editor-in-chief Chris Ryall has updated his blog RyallTime (ryalltime.blogspot.com) with cover art for upcoming Transformers titles. Starting in November is the much-anticipated ongoing title, written by Mike Costa with art by Don Figueroa; and the Bumblebee miniseries, written by Zander Cannon and art by Chee. And in January next year, Nick Roche goes solo in his miniseries Last Stand of the Wreckers. Also included are my opinions and things spotted on the covers. Feel free to comment and agree with me or verbally abuse my opinions. Well, what are you waiting for? Scroll down already, for Primus' sake!

Below is the wraparound cover A for The Transformers #1 (art by Don Figueroa, colors by James Brown):

The second cover for this issue is a b/w version of the one I showed earlier in the month, along with a preview page of the ongoing series. Now, Don's new artwork style has met extreme controversy with the TF fandom. IDW's forums are buzzing with discussion on the topic, and the general opinion seems to be that the new movie-esque style is a bad idea. Personally, I quite like the new style, save for two little annoying things. The grille-like constructs inside the 'bots' mouths make them look like they're always gritting their teeth, and the pupilled eyes are just wrong. But other than that, Don, great work. I always welcome a wraparound cover. Oh, and take note; Bumblebee has doors behind his shoulders, like in the movie. One word, Don: WHY?

The next cover is for the Bumblebee mini (art by Chee, colors by Moose Baumann):

I am quite intrigued by this artist. His art style is shadowy, with realistic, humanistic faces that echo the art of Andrew Wildman. Moose's colors are great, I've seen them in AHM #13, so no complaints here. Great cover.

And finally, the cover for the all-Nick Roche miniseries Last Stand of the Wreckers (art by Nick Roche, colors by Josh Burcham):

This cover is fricking awesome. I have always loved Nick's style, and this cover is no exception. The lineart is exceptional, and Josh Burcham's colors always went nicely with Nick's art - see Maximum Dinobots for the lowdown. Now, about the art itself; Nick's style is a bit more stylized than usual, as seen in his older fanzine art and covers for the Generations reprints. Still looks awesome though. And Josh's colors seem to be halfway between his style for AHM and Maximum Dinobots. Cooooooooolllll!!!

Posted by Fanbot at 8:08 pm, FRIDAY 7 August