Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Spotlight: Cliffjumper
IDW Comics
MCarthy, Musso & LaFuente

Cliffjumper, we are told, is a one man army. He is a master of weapons, he is unstoppable, unbeatable! Unfortunately, this comic only tells us that and it doesn’t show us and therefore, ultimately, it isn’t very believable. It’s a good story with very good artwork but in a one and done issue you need to establish what you want the story to tell and then execute it. This story wanted to show how Cliffjumper is a one man wrecking crew and instead it showed us how he is a survivor and how he has a high level of humanity.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Maximum Dinobots #5 of 5
IDW Comics
Furman, Roche, Raiz & Lafuente

The wrap up issue for the series, and possibly the run for writer Simon Furman, is excellent. This issue brings in a few characters for the ending that haven’t been seen in quite some time and again solidifies the core of the Dinobots. The Decepticons prove to be more than capable of freeing themselves from their human captures. It’s a fun and fast issue.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Spotlight: Drift
IDW Comics
McCarthy, Coller & Lafuente

Drift is a character that has gotten a lot of face time in the All Hail Megatron arc from what I understand and he gets his own back-story told here. This one shot shows just how he went from a Decepticon named Deadlock turned man in the middle named Drift to joining up with the Autobots. The issue is a good isolated story that has interesting moments with the toughie, Kup.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Maximum Dinobots #4
IDW Comics
Furman, Roche, Raiz & Lafuente

This issue sets up the finale very nicely. However, there are some spots where I felt like we are stalling a little bit. This issue introduces a couple of characters that will make the next issue something to see. Some of them we saw tidbits of here and there but one of them I was completely blindsided by. The overall plot has really been consolidated to two plots by the end of this issue. It’s a good issue but is hurt by some dull spots and the split in time between artists. The switch in art is noticeable and very jarring in the differences.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Spotlight Jazz
IDW Comics
Van Reyk, Knowler, Su & Tramontano

This comic was a pleasant surprise. It doesn’t seem to fit in with any current storyline continuity making it truly a one-shot and yet it packs an awful lot into a fairly simple story. This is the type of Transformers comic that anyone can pick up and follow. I would also think if you are even a little bit of a fan, that this is the type of Transformers comic that most would like a lot.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Maximum Dinobots #2
IDW Comics
Furman & Roche

It’s Dinobot versus Dinobot! Or is it Dynobot versus Dinobot? You get the idea. Grimlock is confronted by some old demons as his back is to the wall. A side track has Hot Rod also in some deep trouble as his obsession with Sunstreaker seems to have led him into some trouble. It’s a good issue. You might expect that it being Dinobot heavy that the dialogue would be awful, but it actually isn’t at all. This was a good issue.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Maximum Dinobots #1
IDW Comics
Furman & Roche

This issue returns to the Earth part of the story that the Revelations arc departed when it focused on the Dead Universe. Some of the Transformers that were left there get some play after too long of a break. This is was an exciting opening issue to a new arc. Some questions about continuity do come up though.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Spotlight: Blurr
IDW Comics
McCarthy, Coller & Lafuente

A one shot that has little to do with any current continuity as it is set in the golden age of Cybertron. Blurr is a story about a ‘bot needing to pick a side when war breaks out, but first he needs to get through his denial phase. This comic provides an interesting look at what the scene looked like on Cybertron when it all fell apart from a side that wasn’t involved in the makings of the war. It’s a very good story that is aided by the use of a small, but familiar cast. The story moves through the phases quickly and is marked with clear and sharp artwork. It’s a good exploration of an underused character.

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