Transformers (2019) #1 Review

Written by: Brian Ruckley

Art by: Angel Hernandez and Cachét Whitman

Colors by: Joana Lafuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Published by: IDW

After 10 years at IDW, Transformers begins a new journey this month with the release of this new number 1 under the stewardship of Brian Ruckley, Hernandez and Whitman. Being the follow-up to a pretty successful run can be difficult, and as far as first issues go, this was a pretty could start.

Ruckley’s story begins at, well, the beginning. It’s set before the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons (if there is going to be one, we shall see) and stars a mix of old, well-known Transformers, and a freshly built, new Transformer, named Rubble, who will most likely be a stand-in for the reader as we explore this new story/world that is being built.

The story itself is pretty straightforward in that Ruckley is setting the pieces for his run. We learn that Rubble is a newly forged Cybertronian who is in the process of discovering what he will do in life by experiencing various parts of Cybertronian life. His guide in this quest is Bumblebee, who from this first issue acts as the old stalwart to Rubble’s youthfulness. Joined along the way is Windblade, who for now, seemed to be in the comic simply to be in the comic, though her presence will more than likely become needed later.

In the “B” story, Ruckley showcases a little bit of what the state of affairs is on Cybertron through the interaction of Megatron and Orion Pax (Optimus Prime). This simple interaction is a nice way for Ruckley to establish some possible tension within the world by simply having it come from the dialogue. For now, showing it would not be necessary.

The team of Hernandez and Whitman split the art duties, and editorial smartly did it so that one did the Rubble/Bumblebee story and the other the Orion/Megatron story. Both bring a slightly different style to the book - Whitman being a little more detailed than Hernandez, but the differences do not detract at all from the story. Their art is greatly enhanced by the spectacular colours of Lafuente throughout. She brings out a level of brightness to the book that helps not only the pencils themselves, but the atmosphere of the book to come out.

All in all, this was a fun debut issue that set the stage for this new era of the Transformers at IDW. Ruckley has some pretty big shoes to fill, but judging from this first issue, he’s off to a good start.