Transformers Lost Light #25 Review

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Colors by: Joana Lafuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Published by: IDW

“We achieved something” taglines one of the variant covers of the final issue of James Roberts’ epic take on a group of Transformers set apart from the rest. And what an accomplishment it was.

I’ve mentioned before that I have been a recent convert to IDW’s Transformers universe and one of the first issues I picked up was of Lost Light. And almost from moment one I was gripped by this funny, clever, very touching take on a set of characters old and new from my childhood. This final issue? A clear love letter to all of them.

Roberts, in his goodbye letter at the end, reveals that he has written roughly 100 issues in his saga (by some very innovative math) of Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, Megatron and a whole slew of other characters. For the little I’ve read (roughly 12 issues), I was able, and I’m sure anyone else would as well, feel the love that Roberts had for these characters. They went on a journey, an epic quest, and came out the other end changed for the better having created bonds that could not be broken. Ultra Magnus said it best in this issue when he proclaims that he failed at finding colleagues, but succeeded in finding family.

This is the type of issue that is hard to critique because of its nature as a love letter to the series. It gets a little confusing at points, jumping from one scene to the next without much cohesion, but I’m sure that long-time fans won’t mind and probably can follow along a lot better than I could.

As for the art, Jack Lawrence and Joana Lafuente go out with a bang because as usual, Lost Light is visually pleasing and easy enough to follow (even with the extremely large cast of characters). It’s a testament to the artists that they are able to give such a distinctive look to so many different robots outside the ones that are commonly known. Excellent work!

I’m sad to see this series go, but I can’t wait to see what comes next for not only the characters themselves, but for the creators as well.