Transformers: Robots in Disguise #1-6

I knew I couldn’t resist catching up with the Transformers titles after the relaunch, and thanks to IDW knocking the price on digital copies to $1.99 after a month, I don’t have to. In the past few weeks, I’ve read a TON of Transformers comics, and as a result, I’m way more into the universe than I have been since I was 10.

Robots in Disguise follows a group of transformers as they attempt to re-populate and rebuild Cybertron. After Optimus Prime headed out for deep space (his presence was too closely tied to the war with the Decepticons), it’s time for Bumblebee to try and take charge. The problem is, all our favorite Decepticons are still on the planet too. While those ‘Cons might claim the war is over and they are done fighting, it sure doesn’t feel that way to Bumblebee’s crew.

Further complicating matters are the Nails. These are other Cybertronians who didn’t take a side in the war. Now that the dust has settled, they are back on Cybertron and want everything to go back to normal. But for both the Autobots and Decepticons, the Nails are cowards who didn’t choose a side. It’s a neat dynamic that lets characters play very different roles than what we remember from our childhood.

This is still the classic Transformers concept, just in a new status quo. The Autobots are still fighting the Decepticons, they are just doing it in space. While More Than Meets the Eye is Transformer stories in a new context, this is a classic-feeling book. John Barber is doing a nice job keeping the characters in line with how you feel they should act. Is it entirely original? No, but it is darn entertaining.

The prominent Transformers in the first six issues are Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Prowl, Iron Hide, Streetwise, Sideswipe, Blur, Silverbolt, Ratbat, Skywarp, Dirge, the Constructicons, and Prowl’s mystery helper. That’s not counting the assumed cameos like Warpath and others. Andrew Griffith has redesigned all these bots with new alt-forms so that we get the robots we know and love, but new vehicles that look suitably futuristic.

IDW seems to put their books on sale regularly. Follow me on Twitter @mrtimbotron and I’ll post when they have their next sale!

Good