TransFormers: Generation One (Vol. 3) #0
TRANSFORMERS GENERATION ONE VOL. 3 #0 REVIEW
Originaly Presented at Comixtreme.com
Review by: Blake M. Petit
Quick Rating: Fair
The TransFormers universe moves forward - and into space.
Writer: Brad Mick
Pencils: Pat Lee, Don Figueroa & Joe Ng
Inks: Elaine To, Rob Armstrong & Eric Sander
Colors: Espen Grundet Jean & Rob Ruffolo
Flats: Kenny Li & Ferd Poblete
Letters: Ben Lee
Cover Art: Pat Lee & Eric Sander
Publisher: Dreamwave
Review: This “Zero Issue” special, oddly enough, would be a poor place for a new reader to come on-board with this series. The previous two miniseries in this line first reintroduced the TransFormers on Earth, then moved them out to their homeworld of Cybertron. In this book, some time has passed since TransFormers Generation One Vol. 2 ended, and we’re shown how the universe has evolved and what new threats are coming in from the depths of space.
This continuity has always been a mishmash of other TransFormers properties - the Marvel comic and the classic cartoon in particular. This issue reintroduces lots of elements from the movie era of the cartoon, such as the Quintessons, Wreck-Gar and the planet-eating menace Unicron. We only get glimpses of what’s going on back on Earth or what’s up with the Autobots - this issue is majorly Decepticon-heavy.
The artwork on this issue is as good as ever, and even with three pencilers and three inkers, there’s no real jarring transition between art styles - everything look good, which isn’t easy to do in a book like this where not only are your stars giant robots, but almost everything else is metal as well. The center spread is particularly good - a giant shot of Unicron while, in the background, we get a visual recap of the last twelve issues. (I still love Ultra Magnus’s new look.)
As I said, this is not a book for someone to start reading this TransFormers franchise - but if you’ve read the first two miniseries and plan to get the ongoing series with issue #1, then this is an essential piece. Really, the biggest problem with this book is that it is very exposition-heavy. We get all sorts of pieces of story that aren’t fitting together yet, but that we feel certain will link somehow. There’s a major Decepticon power struggle in the works, and it’s going to be very interesting to see how the chips ultimately fall.
Rating: 6/10