Transformers More Than Meets the Eye #6

MADNESS IN SPACE! A rescued Autobot loses his grip and it’s up to Hot Rod’s questing team to stop him-before the damage becomes irreparable! This is surely one of the most intense Transformers tales ever committed to paper!

More Than Meets the Eye continues to impress, taking a recently revived character and turning his agony into an intriguing (and sometimes hilarious!) story throughout the issue. More Than Meets the Eye #5 gives us that, plus an ending that creates another character issue and the potential for a huge story arc coming up that will please fans of a certain mini-series.

Last issue, Ratchet, Pipes, and Drift survived an encounter at Delphi which ended in Ratchet getting a new set of hands. Meanwhile, Red Alert claims during a session with Rung that he has begun to hear noises come from below the chamber which the Sparkeater came from. In More Than Meets the Eye #6, Fortress Maximus has his own session with Rung, as mandated by the Lost Light leadership as part of his recovery from the brink of death in Last Stand of the Wreckers. After having to recall that events that led to his long coma, Fortress ends up opening fire on several crew members at Swerve’s bar and take’s Rung hostage.

James Roberts stays on top of his game with this issue. This issue is heavily influenced by his Last Stand of the Wreckers series, referring to the beat down of Fortress Maximus by Overlord and providing further information regarding the “Roadbuster/Sparkeater” incident that has been referred to in the past. Additionally, the cliffhanger in this issue stems directly from that series and is likely to have huge implications for the future of the series. Roberts’ writing continues to be sly, witty, and humorous. Red Alert’s seemingly innocent therapy session last issue ended up being far more important than most thought. In between the seriousness of the hostage situation and the eventual outcome, Roberts was able to fit in some hysterical moments at Swerve’s bar and as part of the resolution of the hostage situation. Roberts also ups the kill count, in a rather surprising (and unfortunate) way.

Nick Roche comes back to the series for art on this issue, with Josh Burcham on colors. The art and story complement each other very well in this story. Rewind’s involvement in the hostage resolution, Rung’s attempts to signal the others, and the cliffhanger give off a very cinematic feel to it, as if the reader can picture these scenes in motion based both on the well-developed writing and detailed art. Nick Roche and Alex Milne’s art is very complementary to each other, so seeing Nick on art for this issue should not be jarring to anyone.

More Than Meets the Eye #6 is more of the same we’ve seen. Great writing, great art, great issue. The cliffhanger is one of the more surprising developments yet and one that is sure to provide for an epic arc in the future. The future can’t come soon enough…

Overall Rating: 4.5

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