Home Columns Classic Comic Compendium Classic Comic Compendium: TRANSFORMERS – VOLUME 1 – ROBOTS IN DISGUISE

Classic Comic Compendium: TRANSFORMERS – VOLUME 1 – ROBOTS IN DISGUISE

Restarting the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons for this new generation.

08/19/2024 11:00 am

I’ve been a Transformers fan for a good long while.

Almost since the beginning, since I started with the original ’80s cartoon. They were a huge part of my childhood between that series, the movie, and the toys and beyond. There’s something about toys that actually do things that I found enthralling, from He-Man figures that spit water to Centurions that could be built out with suits and vehicles, but there was nearly nothing so captivating as robots that could transform. It was like catnip for my kid brain. That there were intriguing stories behind the robots, their doomed planet, and the expansion on the lore from the animated movie had me hooked.

I’ve seen many permutations on the franchise come and go. Some have been great. Others not so much, although I’m sure even they have their fans. I always tended to check in on the new iteration, but not all of them grabbed me like the Generation 1 stuff. Beast Wars/Machines probably for the cartoons. I enjoyed the Michael Bay movies. Until IDW acquired the license and the comics reignited a spark. I loved those comics. Up until they rebooted the franchise and I fell off again.

With the new Energon Universe from Skybound, I’ve found that joy once again.

“I saw it with my own two eyes! A fighter jet came down from space! Shaped like a box!”

Transformers – Volume 1: Robots in Disguise by Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer, and Rus Wooton is familiar, but different, in this new action-packed reintroduction of the franchise. It features the robots once again crashed to Earth on the Ark, Spike Witwicky acting as a kind of bridge to humanity, and all out battle between the Autobots and Decepticons. Although there’s little in the form of explanation so far in the first volume, leaving you wondering about the backstory of how we got here.

This series earned the 2024 Eisner Award for both Best Continuing Series and Daniel Warren Johnson himself Best Writer/Artist and it’s easy to see why. The storytelling is incredible. Though we know different versions of these characters, Johnson still takes the time to imbue them with personality and humanity. Making us care when things go awry. The horror of Starscream. Capturing that larger than life feel with his artwork. Yet, there’s still this wave of action that he pulls you into, flowing through even things like Optimus giving other bots a suplex, that refuses to let you go. It’s the kind of story that you read in one sitting, whether you intended to or not.

Mike Spicer’s colours blend the bright primary colours often associated with the toys and cartoons with a darker, moodier palette. It enhances the overall gravity of Johnson’s line art, while maintaining a familiar feel to the look of the characters.

Rus Wooton is laying down a consistent lettering scheme across all of the Energon Universe books. It’s nice to see that unified design to bring everything together. With a unique word balloon and font for the Transformers, Soundwave gets his own, and a skinny, almost snake-like approach to some sound effects that I find really works for Johnson’s art.

“I will protect the whole Earth.”

How the Energon Universe is being pieced together is interesting. It started in an unassuming place with the Void Rivals series before expanding into Transformers and the series of mini-series that are building one character at a time towards the eventual ongoing GI Joe series. You don’t necessarily have to read everything in order to enjoy an individual book, but it certainly does help. Introduction of a character or event from one series does indeed flow into others to give a broader picture of the shared universe.

Transformers – Volume 1: Robots in Disguise by Johnson, Spicer, and Wooton begins the story on Earth, restarting the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons for this new generation. It captures the spirit of the original incarnation, while still feeling fresh and exciting. It’s not a simple retread of what went before, giving a new spin to the story, and epic, knock-down battles.