Going Backwards - Stormbringer #3

Welcome back. Let's cut the slag and get straight into the revew, shall we? Here's Fanbot's scoop on Transformers: Stormbringer #3 ...

TRANSFORMERS: STORMBRINGER #3

Written by SIMON FURMAN

Art by DON FIGUEROA

Colors by JOSH BURCHAM

Color assist by GRUNGEWORX

Covers by Figueroa

SYNOPSIS: Thunderwing continues to devastate the surface of Nebulos, while on Cybertron, Bludgeon prepares to submit himself to thepolydermal grafting process. On the dead planet's surface, Nosecone and Afterburner are attacked by Centurion drones, but are rescued by the Wreckers, who have arrived with Optimus Prime. The Autobots breach Bludgeon's bunker and rapidly overcome his team-mates. Iguanus flees to the pressure vat chamber, seeking Bludgeon, only to discover a massive figure wielding a glowing sword.
Darkwing orders the Decepticon infiltration unit on Nebulos to attack Thunderwing, but the monstrous being eliminates over half the attacking Decepticons within seconds. After their own attacks prove ineffective, Darkwing and Dreadwind abandon Nebulos. They send a message to Razorclaw, who in turn contacts the High Command. After being briefed, Megatron authorizes Razorclaw to do what ever is necessary to stop Thunderwing, even if it means destroying Cybertron in the process.
The Wreckers breach the pressure vat chamber and discover a catatonic Bludgeon within his shell. Iguanus, dying from being cleft in two by Bludgeon's sword and Jetfire, who tells Prime to shut Bludgeon's control throne down. Jetfire gets to work on the data in Bludgeon's computers, but an orbital warning sounds—with Bludgeon's control system destroyed, Thunderwing is returning home...

THE ART: Heaven. It is terribly, awesomely, trouser-shatteringly beautiful. Don could not have done a more expert job with his lineart. I find myself completely blown away by the sheer ease with which Don seems to convey the story. He makes full use of some effective (albeit a bit different) panel angles as well as some carefully executed point-of-view shots. The action sequences on Nebulos where the resident 'Con infiltration team get themselves completely mashed by Thunderwing are beautiful to behold, and the sheer, blatant apocalyptical destruction on the first three pages is just plain fraggin' magnificent. Absolutely nothing wrong with this issue and if there's anyone who disagrees then comment and tell me why the hell you think that. And who could forget Josh Burcham. His always awesome colors completely beautify this issue, expertly rendering everything on the pages, from Bludgeon's growing shell to the  fiery explosions from Thunderwing. Great job.

THE STORY: Simon Furman continues to impress with his expert writing skills, the action well-paced and beautifully written. Bludgeon's dialogue at the start is awesome and I like Furman's new portrayal of him as one of those misguided zealots who ultimately has his homeworld's interests (if not perhaps its best) at the heart of his reign of chaos. Furman also continues his barrage of obscure characters, with Crankcase, Roadgrabber, Ruckus, Darkwing, Dreadwind and Thrust being added to the mix. Oh, and Predacon Razorclaw! So all in all Simon continues to do a great job on this awesome limited series. And so here's the overall results for this issue:

ART RATING: 9.5 out of 10

STORY RATING: 8.5 out of 10

OVERALL RATING: 9.5 out of 10

ERRORS: Iguanus has a different design for his face during his "death" scene.

FAVE QUOTE: Springer: Suppose there's no point in asking you to stay up here, out of the firing line."

Optimus Prime: "No." [Optimus doesn't do the whole "leader-behind-the-scenes" thing.]

VERDICT: Another greatly done issue from an expert creative team. The boys have once again proved that perfection can be achieved and surpassed. I love you Don, your drawings are so cool! Rated 9.5 out of 10. Next month: Thunderwing comes home, and the Predacons move in. But what for?

Posted by Fanbot at 1:06 pm, FRIDAY 11 December