What a weird comic. It took me quite some time to work up
the nerve to buy this trade, mostly because I was so lost after reading the
free comic book day issue a few years ago.
Listen, I’m clearly a Transformers
fan, and I read the 80’s series all the way through the last issue. I’ve
actually read a bunch of the Transformers UK material. And yet I had absolutely
no idea what was happening when this book started.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Let me break it down for you. Transformers Regeneration One takes
place 20 years after the end of the 80’s Marvel title. Optimus Prime and his
Autobots won the war. Prime is mentoring Hot Rod as a future leader. Many of
the Autobots seem to have faded into the background of the story, leaving the
focus on the Wreckers, the Autobots’ special strike team. Springer, Kup,
Topspin, Broadside, RacknRuin, Whirl, and Roadbuster make up most of the team. Grimlock
is trapped in robot form after ingesting a substance called Nucleon that has
affected Inferno, Blaster, Huffer, and the other Dinobots. Maybe more! I can
confirm a few other survivors like Smokescreen, Red Alert, Wheeljack,
Trailbreaker, Cosmos, and Tracks.
On the Decepticon side, Soundwave now leads the Cybertron
based villains. I must confess I didn’t recognize most of them, other than the
2nd generation Insecticons. Most of the baddies I do recognize are
basically zombies working for Megatron on a post-apocalyptic Earth.
Fortunately, reading these issues in order and all together
kept things a lot clearer. Simon Furman does a nice job focusing on his new
starring cast. While there are fewer “classic” Decepticons getting panel time
in favor of guys like Bludgeon, the conflict is clear and satisfying when the
metal fists start flying.
Andrew Wildman’s art is as enchanting to me now as it was
when I was a kid. We are blessed with a plethora of talented Transformers
artists these days, but Wildman’s art has nostalgia going for it in addition to
everything else. Megatron in particular looks like he walked out of a book 20
years ago. I do lament the lack of backgrounds, but I suppose on a
post-apocalyptic Earth and a monochrome robot planet, backgrounds are gonna be
sparse.
This isn’t quite as excellent as IDW’s modern TF books, but
it is still a GOOD comic for fans of the Transformers.
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