Books I read in September 2015
Transformers: Robots in Disguise Volume 1, by John Barber, 4/5 (B+)
The more serious counterpart to More Than Meets the Eye, this series mainly focuses on the politics of a post-war Cybertron, as more and more neutrals return home to their devastated homeworld. Starscream is already taking advantage, fitting in just fine as a political type, which should be fun to see as it develops.
Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 2, by James Roberts, 4.5/5 (A-)
Some excellent Transformers stories here, if darkly themed. Included here are an outbreak scenario, a story about a character's violent PTSD, and the introduction of the Decepticon Justice Division, the scariest set of Decepticons yet. Despite the darkness, they're fun to read, thanks to solid characterization and the occasional bit of humor. Some interesting plotlines brewing for the future as well...
Transformers: Robots in Disguise Volume 2, by John Barber, 4/5 (B+)
Following an interlude with Optimus Prime Orion Pax in space, the plot thickens back on Cybertron. Some promising threads appear, including a returning Decepticon war criminal with a game-changing secret, and weird, eerie happenings in the wilder parts of Cybertron. Looking forward to what's next!
Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 3, by James Roberts, 4.5/5 (A-)
Another great volume with great characters. This installment starts with a solid tale furthering MTMTE's metaplot (with a fun flashback to the Transformer origin story in Marvel G1 style). The meat of Volume 3, however, is the three-parter set primarily in the pre-war era, mixing a conspiracy story with lots of new and old continuity. And the twist at the very end with a certain character is really excellent...
Doctor Who: Zeta Major, by Simon Messingham, 4/5 (B)
Featuring the Fifth Doctor, this novel is a sequel to the Fourth Doctor story Planet of Evil, where the Morestrans from that story took the Doctor's offhand suggestion to harness the "kinetic force of planetary movement" as gospel. 2000 years later, an interstellar Catholic-esque church has monopolized all technology in the service of this goal, dominating the once-great empire. The Doctor becomes involved when certain shortcuts they take - once again involving anti-matter - threaten the whole of existence.
This was an entertaining read, and fans who enjoyed Planet of Evil should certainly appreciate this follow-up. The theocratic society was played a little too heavy at times, but it did keep things interesting. Villain Kristyan Fall and ally Ferdinand both made for interesting characters. The only real weakness of the novel was that it relied too much on the reader's familiarity with the original story. Which is fair, as it is an explicit sequel, but it would have been nice had they tried to keep it more self-contained.
Transformers: Robots in Disguise Volume 3, by John Barber, 4/5 (B+)
An interesting mix in this volume. We start with another adventure of Optimus Prime Orion Pax, featuring a somewhat confusing non-linear sequence of events. Then we get a story that flashes back to Omega Supreme's origins, wonderfully presented in the style of Marvel's Transformers #1 - complete with 1980s comic-book colors and character introdumps. Finally, a character makes a proverbial deal with the devil... though it's getting hard to tell which party is actually the "devil". All solid stuff. (My only disappointment is that the cliffhanger in Volume 2 hasn't been resolved.)
Bestiary of Fantastic Creatures Volume 1: Bizarre Monsters, by Casey Sorrow, 4/5 (B+)
A neat little 38-page booklet of old-school-styled monsters, with generic stats intended for use with Dungeons & Dragons (and more specifically, 2nd Edition and earlier). The selection of creatures is decent, with my top picks being the Bohx (a dim-witted, fire-obsessed giant), the Invisible Gorilla, and the Mock Dragon. The Uzhu (horned giants that shepherd explosive cows) and the Wosix (gas-breathing imps) aren't bad, either. (Full disclosure - I was a Kickstarter backer for this book.)
Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns, by Ian Brill, 4.5/5 (A-)
A terrific revival of a Disney property that needs more love. This first volume is a great reintroduction to Darkwing Duck and his world, combining callbacks to the original show and other clever references with some interesting new twists. (I admit I'm not sure this will work as well for new readers, although I think they give it a good try.) The original show's sense of humor is back in full force, and the detailed artwork is great to look at as well. Definitely recommended.
Green Lantern: Circle of Fire, by Brian K Vaughan et al, 4/5 (B)
An entertaining side-story featuring Kyle Rayner and an array of Green Lanterns from other times facing off against a cosmic villain named Oblivion. The few very minor plot hiccups towards the end are balanced out by the fun and interesting character moments throughout the rest of the storyline.
The more serious counterpart to More Than Meets the Eye, this series mainly focuses on the politics of a post-war Cybertron, as more and more neutrals return home to their devastated homeworld. Starscream is already taking advantage, fitting in just fine as a political type, which should be fun to see as it develops.
Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 2, by James Roberts, 4.5/5 (A-)
Some excellent Transformers stories here, if darkly themed. Included here are an outbreak scenario, a story about a character's violent PTSD, and the introduction of the Decepticon Justice Division, the scariest set of Decepticons yet. Despite the darkness, they're fun to read, thanks to solid characterization and the occasional bit of humor. Some interesting plotlines brewing for the future as well...
Transformers: Robots in Disguise Volume 2, by John Barber, 4/5 (B+)
Following an interlude with Optimus Prime Orion Pax in space, the plot thickens back on Cybertron. Some promising threads appear, including a returning Decepticon war criminal with a game-changing secret, and weird, eerie happenings in the wilder parts of Cybertron. Looking forward to what's next!
Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 3, by James Roberts, 4.5/5 (A-)
Another great volume with great characters. This installment starts with a solid tale furthering MTMTE's metaplot (with a fun flashback to the Transformer origin story in Marvel G1 style). The meat of Volume 3, however, is the three-parter set primarily in the pre-war era, mixing a conspiracy story with lots of new and old continuity. And the twist at the very end with a certain character is really excellent...
Doctor Who: Zeta Major, by Simon Messingham, 4/5 (B)
Featuring the Fifth Doctor, this novel is a sequel to the Fourth Doctor story Planet of Evil, where the Morestrans from that story took the Doctor's offhand suggestion to harness the "kinetic force of planetary movement" as gospel. 2000 years later, an interstellar Catholic-esque church has monopolized all technology in the service of this goal, dominating the once-great empire. The Doctor becomes involved when certain shortcuts they take - once again involving anti-matter - threaten the whole of existence.
This was an entertaining read, and fans who enjoyed Planet of Evil should certainly appreciate this follow-up. The theocratic society was played a little too heavy at times, but it did keep things interesting. Villain Kristyan Fall and ally Ferdinand both made for interesting characters. The only real weakness of the novel was that it relied too much on the reader's familiarity with the original story. Which is fair, as it is an explicit sequel, but it would have been nice had they tried to keep it more self-contained.
Transformers: Robots in Disguise Volume 3, by John Barber, 4/5 (B+)
An interesting mix in this volume. We start with another adventure of Optimus Prime Orion Pax, featuring a somewhat confusing non-linear sequence of events. Then we get a story that flashes back to Omega Supreme's origins, wonderfully presented in the style of Marvel's Transformers #1 - complete with 1980s comic-book colors and character introdumps. Finally, a character makes a proverbial deal with the devil... though it's getting hard to tell which party is actually the "devil". All solid stuff. (My only disappointment is that the cliffhanger in Volume 2 hasn't been resolved.)
Bestiary of Fantastic Creatures Volume 1: Bizarre Monsters, by Casey Sorrow, 4/5 (B+)
A neat little 38-page booklet of old-school-styled monsters, with generic stats intended for use with Dungeons & Dragons (and more specifically, 2nd Edition and earlier). The selection of creatures is decent, with my top picks being the Bohx (a dim-witted, fire-obsessed giant), the Invisible Gorilla, and the Mock Dragon. The Uzhu (horned giants that shepherd explosive cows) and the Wosix (gas-breathing imps) aren't bad, either. (Full disclosure - I was a Kickstarter backer for this book.)
Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns, by Ian Brill, 4.5/5 (A-)
A terrific revival of a Disney property that needs more love. This first volume is a great reintroduction to Darkwing Duck and his world, combining callbacks to the original show and other clever references with some interesting new twists. (I admit I'm not sure this will work as well for new readers, although I think they give it a good try.) The original show's sense of humor is back in full force, and the detailed artwork is great to look at as well. Definitely recommended.
Green Lantern: Circle of Fire, by Brian K Vaughan et al, 4/5 (B)
An entertaining side-story featuring Kyle Rayner and an array of Green Lanterns from other times facing off against a cosmic villain named Oblivion. The few very minor plot hiccups towards the end are balanced out by the fun and interesting character moments throughout the rest of the storyline.