Titans Return (well, Headmasters Return but I guess Hasbro doesn’t have that trademark anymore0 to the world of Transformers with the redux of the tiniest titanium twink, Rewind!

Originally just one of Blaster’s cassette-bots but given new relevance as once half of the Lost Light’s premiere gay-married trouble magnets, Rewind’s release – in the same line as his husband, Chromedome – is yet another instance of Hasbro taking cues from IDW’s stellar comic series, More Than Meets The Eye.

The packaging is exactly the same it was for Combiner Wars but with this year’s branding. Moving on!

The cassette-bot of 1986 gets a massive upgrade for 2016, now transforming into a touch screen MP3 player… that has a cassette themed background so it makes him look like a walkman. Still, you can plug a pair of headphones into him and he can still be loaded into the Voyager scale Blaster’s chest like a cassette… Which doesn’t make a lick of sense other than THEY DID IT IN THE 80’S!

I’m really thankful that the Combiner Wars mandate of Legends scale figures being triple-changers persists because while this Space Tank mode is as basic as they come, it does add some more value to this entry level Transformer. The transformation between all three modes is so basic yet intuitive that you shouldn’t even have to unfold the instructions.

Rewind in robot mode stands about 3½ inches tall and, barring the bulky forearm kibble, is a dead ringer for his IDW design, even down to the camera sculpted to the side of his tremendous head sculpt that pays homage to Alex Milne’s comic design.

Poseability-wise, he’s got a tremendous range of movement thanks to the hinge and ball joints; allowing for all manner of cool action poses, balancing precariously, or even cute poses when his husband finally shows up.

Overall, for an RRP of £11.99, it’s hard for me to recommend Rewind simply as a toy because when I first started doing reviews five years ago, that would be the price of a Deluxe scale figure but as a massive More Than Meets The Eye fan, I had to get him and he’ll be a permanent fixture on my desk.

Oh, Roberts! You and your funny names with a hidden meaning!

Vol. 2 collects the stories ’Life after the Big Bang’, ’Interiors’ and ’Scavengers’. This volume opens up on Delphi, a medical facility on the edges of DJD territory and with First Aid, a demoted doctor with a huge problem; Delphi has succumb to plague. The Lost Light shows up, after Ratchet receives a special encoded message from the facility. Ratchet goes down to the planet with Pipes and Drift to find out what’s going on, only to become embroiled in the horrifying truth of the facility and its chief medical officer, Pharma. The patients are dying at an alarming rate thanks to the Red Rust virus, a condition that causes every vital fluid in a Cybertronians body seep out. As it turns out, Pharma is the root cause of the patients deaths and did so to provide a steady stream of transformation cogs to the leader of the DJD in order to keep Delphi safe from attack.

Ratchet is tired of your shit, Pharma!

Throughout all this, we’ve had wonderful character moments from Ratchet; whose been on the hunt for his successor since the last volume, Pipes; who is on his first alien planet and becomes an instant bad luck magnet, and Drift is frightened to even be there because of his status as an ex-Decepticon. Throughout the first story, we’re told more and more about the DJD, the Decepticon Justice Division. They’re essentially the Spanish Inquisition for the Decepticons but far more sadistic; hunting down deserters, traitors and anyone who so much as questions the Decepticon cause in delightfully creative ways, so Drift is rightfully worried. But more on them later. ‘Life after the Big Bang’ brings together a lot of elements first referenced in Bullets and Wreckers, giving them a spotlight in this story and brings a lot of new characters aboard the Lost Light including the doctors, patients and ex-warden of Garrus-9, Fortress Maximus.

“You check in, but you don’t check out!”

‘Interiors’ focuses on Fort Max as he suffers through his experiences during Last Stand of The Wreckers at the hands of Overlord and is an interesting study of PTSD, something you don’t associate with giant robots. Rung, ships psychologist and karmic whipping boy, tries to help Fort Max deal with all his problems but to no avail as he goes on a shooting spree and locks himself in Rung’s office with Rung and the worst possible person he could, Whirl. Tensions run high as the rest of the crew try to resolve the situation, all the while Rung is trying to talk Max down. Tempers flare, the situation goes from bad to worse and Rung is seemingly killed. As the crew mourns, Red Alert follows up on something he spoke to Rung about in an earlier issue. There is a voice coming from beneath the cell that held the Sparkeater in the last issue, but there is nothing there. The schematics show that the cell is the lowest point on the ship with nothing but space outside it. But Red Alert, possessing both enhanced audio receptors and a paranoid personality, keeps digging (literally) until he breaks through. And through the crack, where by all rights there should only be empty space, he finds a hidden chamber, in which, immobilized, his weapons systems removed, begging to be killed…

“And do not — I repeat do not — look in the basement.”

…hangs Overlord.

Thankfully, Rung’s life is saved, though he remains on spark support without a head for a few issues. Red Alert is alone with no-one to trust with the information he discovered, he leaves it with Rung, hoping it would be safe. Until he is observed by a diagnostic drone and a mysterious figure appears later to steal the data.

“No one expects the SPANISH INQUISITION!”

Meanwhile, we meet the DJD who are dispatching Black Shadow, a Phase-Sixer, who is on the same level as Overlord in terms of raw killing potential. He’s pretty much here to show how powerful the DJD are and how effective they are at their jobs. All of them are some manner of torture device or a means to hunt ‘Cons apart from their mysterious leader Tarn, who likes music (maybe something to do with Skids?), quoting the works of Megatron and literally talking his quarry to death. That’s his special talent, he can modulate his voice in such a way as to make a bot’s spark explode! That’s badass and full of creepy potential, which we see some of here. They soon go to their next target and we meet up with the Scavengers! The Scavengers are a right rag-tag bunch of misfits, lost and without purpose since the Decepticons lost the war. The discover the DJD’s next target, Fulcrum, and soon a Worldsweeper ship with some truly strange goings-on aboard.

“RUN AWAY!”

Once the DJD arrive, the Scavengers do what good Wombles do; they make good use of the things that they find, including the armaments of the Worldsweeper and the one other ‘bot they find onboard: Grimlock. Grimlock went missing during the event of Wreckers, after being driven mad by Overlord and this is the first time we’ve seen him since and to say he’s broken would be an understatement. The Scavengers are outgunned and outclassed by the DJD but it’s only the fortune of Overlord’s discovery on the Lost Light that earns the Scavengers a reprieve as the DJD set off in search of his signal. The Scavengers, badly beaten and now lacking a member of their crew opt to take Grimlock with them in the hopes of earning favour with whoever won the war back on Cybertron. The Scavengers is an entertaining and fun introduction to a whole host of new characters that we’ll be seeing more of in the future, whether it’s the lovable Scavengers or more of the new menace; the Decepticon Justice Division.

The Noblest of Suicide Bombers

18 months later, a mysterious figure known as the Necrobot comes to the body of the fallen Scavenger Flywheels and notes his death, alongside those of Ultra Magnus, Drift and Chromedome. Meaning that sometime between now and 18 months in the future, some (if not all) the crew of the Lost Light will die and that’s how this volume ends, with the promise of much more adventure and death!

When I reviewed the first volume of MTMTE, I made reference to the bonus material and unfortunately, this volume is sorely lacking in bonus materials, only including covers and two “Meet the Crew” pages, one for the main crew, one for the Scavengers. This volume will jumps into the journey the crew is undertaking and builds on what Roberts’ has done before and it’s my favourite thus far. Some have criticised the book because it’s not making all that much out of it’s original premise but this is a high concept book, it’s like Farscape. The overall goal is the same as what it was at the start but its the journey and the characters and the crazy world they inhabit which is the major draw of this series and it is always the title I look forward to reading month to month. James Roberts builds characters and worlds that feel real and wonderful but always terrifying and it’s all complimented by the amazing art of Alex Milne, Nick Roche and Josh Burcham.
More Than Meets The Eye Vol. 1 & 2 are available through all good book retailers.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts, be sure to leave them below and I’ll be sure to get to them before the Necrobot does!

In the wake of the lacklustre Chaos event, IDW decided to split its ongoing book into two. One would be Robots in Disguise, helmed by John Barber and Andrew Griffith and the other would be More Than Meets The Eye, with James Roberts and Alex Milne (Although Roche would do the first issue and the preceding one-shot.)
This trade includes the Death of Optimus Prime one-shot and the three-part story Liars, A To D. The one-shot shows the fallout of Chaos as Cybertron is dialled back to it’s very origins as a primordial wasteland with only a small shanty town serving as port. The war is over and the planet sent out a signal to all it’s children, “Come home.” So while the Autobots are still rounding up wayward Decepticons, thousands of neutral Cybertronians make the pilgrimage home and they’re not pleased with what they find. The NAILs (Non-Aligned Indigenous Lifeform) thought they were returning to a utopia, only to find a barren wasteland and the Autobots acting as an occupying force. It’s all very “War in Iraq” and tensions rise until Optimus Prime leaves. He renounces his leadership and heads off into space, leaving the two squabbling factions within the Autobot camp to their own devices. Bumblebee (interim-leader back on Earth) wants to stay and rebuild society with the NAILs while Rodimus (Former Matrix-Bearer) wants to leave to find the Knights of Cybertron to recover some of their lost heritage. Rodimus is resolute and despite what others think, he finds a willing crew to go on his quest.

Geez, that’s just the basic outline of the first two issues of the trade. Hoo-boy. Throughout those two issues, you really get a sense of where the characters are at. Tensions are high, nerves are wearing thin, 4 millions years of war ended in a massive anti-climax and the people they’ve been fighting for want little more than to throw them off Cybertron. The first part of Liars, A To D shows various members of The Lost Light (The irony is delicious) coming together and showing us why we will love every single one of them for the foreseeable future. The launch of the ship feels understated but as an “accidental” explosion launches them into the vastness of space (Leaving the Autobots on Cybertron to think they’re dead) an ominous message falls on deaf ears.

From here on, the series really comes into it’s own as an adventurous romp through the cosmos with plenty of laughs, horror and emotional whiplash. It’s also from the second issue of MTMTE that Alex Milne takes over art duties and he does an excellent job of blending Nick Roche’s expressive art with Milne’s detail and imaginative designs. Alex Milne really cemented his place as my favourite Transformers artists when he began this series and he hasn’t disappointed since.

The Lost Light is now, well, lost. They find themselves in deep-space and down forty crew members after a hull-breach. They set down on the planet below to pick up survivors and two new crew members, Skids and Cyclonus. Skids appears, oblivious to even his own name, in a mysterious ship that is coming apart at the seams. He escapes the crash only to realise he’s being hunted, as the ships parts seemingly form several sworld-wielding warriors. He works through his amnesia until he works out his own name, function and even his motto (Which he thinks is rubbish, a sly dig at his previous portrayal). Cyclonus is offered a place on the ship after his Heel Face Turn in Chaos and subtly threatens Whirl (whom he caught desecrating corpses last issue) and Skids is found by other members of the crew. Once all are on board and on their way again, Rodimus receives a message from Red Alert (Ships paranoid Director of Security) with grave news:

The final issue of the trade is one big homage to Alien and serves up a big dollop of space horror. I love it when they establish folklore for the Transformers, it makes them more than just robots, that they have their own mythology and deities, something Roberts has been putting plenty of in since he starting writing. In fact, James Roberts’ writing has a lot to do with the success of this book. He builds complex, diverse characters in such a small amount of time, builds worlds for them to inhabit and makes us care when they ultimately succumb to his sadistic whims. Oh, yes. Jimmy likes to kill, maim, torment and goad his characters in all manner of ways but it never feels mean-spirited. He loves all of the characters he uses and makes us love them too.

What I absolutely love about the creative team on this book is that they love to give the fans extras. James Roberts provided so much more material for both releases of Wreckers and Alex Milne has proven time and again to dole out concept work like it’s candy and this trade is no exception. After the four issues, you get a ton of bonus material like cover art, a “Meet the Crew” segment that humorously introduces most of the cast, concept sketches from Milne for various characters and ship locations (plus a look at two characters appearing in the next volume), and a 2-page editor’s comment with “behind the scenes” information about the series which is chock-full of interesting trivia. Not only that but Milne produced a brand new cover just for the trade off his own back, something that he previously did for the Drift miniseries rather than rely on one of the single issue covers.

While its sister-book is by no means a bad book but it really suffers when compared to this immensely fun series. It’s a delightful blend of humour, horror and Firefly-esque antics. Between an engaging story, beautiful artwork, brilliant dialogue and characters, and tons of extras, More Than Meets The Eye gives you your moneys-worth and then some. The first volume is available now through all good book retailers and the second volume will be out October 16th (According to Amazon)

As always,  if you have any thoughts, opinions or comments just leave them in the comment section below!

Last Stand of The Wreckers is a 5-issue miniseries released by IDW and helmed by British-born James Roberts and Irish-born Nick Roche released in 2010. Roche had written and drawn for IDW in the past and brought Roberts in to help on a coda story before they were both assigned to this series. Re-assembling the Wreckers (a black-ops Autobot team) in the wake of the All Hail Megatron maxiseries, the series follows the team as they attempt to retake Garrus-9, a prison facility that has fallen into Decepticon hands and, most worryingly of all, into the hands of renowned sadist, Overlord. To quote the ‘Wreckers: Declassified’ entry for this event, this is:

“The story of ten soldiers and a stowaway who rode into the valley of death. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them. Volley’d and thunder’d. It’s a story of sacrifice and betrayal, and of good people dying in stupid, pointless ways.”

And that sums up the series. In fact, it’s pretty much the central theme. Lies run rampant throughout; whether from the Wreckers’ superiors or the Wreckers themselves. Every character is flawed and broken, but, at the same time, put on a façade to convince the world that they’re not but ultimately transcend their problems in the face of the ultimate enemy. It’s really funny that most of the people I’ve shown the series to dismiss it outright because of it’s art-style and while Roche’s style might seem cartoony, that doesn’t detract from the horror and visceral nature of the book. If anything, it makes it all the more horrifying as the bright visuals contrast against the dark tone of the series. That’s not to say there aren’t lighter moments and our writer/artist duo does their best to inject some humour into bad situations, something that will be more prevalent in James Roberts’ future writing, whether as a guest writer or helming an ongoing series.

The themes of betrayal, sacrifice and hero worship run deep within all the characters and it’s the characters that really bring this book to life. The cast list runs into the dozens but I’ll focus on a few of the major players and do cliff-notes of some of the others. First up:

Ironfist is the fan boy proxy. He’s utterly devoted to the Wreckers and their numerous adventures, to the point where he takes on the moniker of ‘Fisitron’ to write Wreckers: Declassified, an abridged recounting of the Wreckers adventures, culled from mission reports and other sources. He is the series’ most tragic character and with good reason.

Overlord is the series primary antagonist; a Phase-Sixer, a Decepticon known for being immensely powerful and incredibly sadistic. Equal parts Caligula and walking nuclear warhead,  He would be part of Megatron’s “final solution” except for one thing. Overlord defected and has spent every waking moment since trying to goad Megatron into action, taking Garrus-9 being just the latest in a long line of “whimsical displays” Overlord has taken advantage of. Shockwave put it best:
“You think you’re enjoying this, but you’re not. … The open graves. The torture chambers. All just hollow theatrics. This is an exercise in provocation. This is you trying to get Megatron’s attention.” He’s an endearing villain and the perfect enemy to fight a rag-tag bunch of suicidal Autobots.

Rotorstorm, Pyro and Guzzle round out the newbie Wreckers, all on their first mission with Ironfist. These four (along with Overlord and a bunch of Decepticon Predators) are plucked from the depths of obscurity and given their first real depiction in Transformers media. Each have their own reasons for being on the team and each get their moment to shine, for good or ill. Rotorstorm is a hot-head narcissistic aerialist with a dark past and a penchant for chiding himself in private. Pyro is a sufferer of Primus apotheosis; an acute form of hero-worship bordering on the obsessive, and Guzzle is on a mission for revenge but never really gets it, which is one of the weaker points of the book.
The rest of the Wreckers consist of veterans Springer, Kup, Perceptor, Twin Twist, Topspin and stowaway Verity (A holdover human character from IDW’s previous Transformers series)

The series is available in trade paperback and hardcover. The TPB includes an 11-page prose story written by James Roberts that expands on the characters backgrounds and their motivations, a one page strip called Dead Man’s Boots, profiles of Overlord and Snare, behind the scenes facts and more all done off the creator’s own backs.
But the hardcover blows that out of the water with 46 extra pages of content, including all the profiles omitted from single issues that were omitted from the trade plus more, series covers, script extracts, guest artwork, a page on Squadron X, a 2-page segment called “Escape”, 2 pages of promotional artwork, 2 pages of Pin-Ups, a first draft, the 5-page “Zero Point” and “In Word and Deed”.
If you choose to pick up the series, you can’t go wrong with either option.

I cannot express my love for this miniseries enough. It brought together toy-only characters who hadn’t been seen in decades and finally gave them voices. If All Hail Megatron could be equated to a summer blockbuster then Wreckers would be the cult favourite and it has very much earned that status. It’s a fantastic story with an incredibly engaging story and lovable characters. It’s no wonder this series has been heralded by many critics as “The Transformers’ answer to Watchmen”. But come back next time when I’ll be reviewing the first volume of a series that’s so much More Than Meets The Eye!