Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #35 Review

For a title that likes going in weird and wacky tangents, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #35 sure knows how to do it well. This issue juxtaposes two different storylines together, marries them up by the end, yet somehow ends up being an entertaining read whatever page your on.

The official description from IDW:

Days of Deception begins with… PEACE AND HAPPINESS! To be honest, there’s not much we can say about this issue without giving away the life-changing events of last issue. What we can say is this: everything’s fine. There’s no conflict, no sadness, no angst. Why is this a problem?

This story splits itself into two stories and jumps between the two as they become slightly more related as time goes on. By opening with the new arc (one which isn’t directly following on from previous events) readers are sucked into this giant mystery and intriguing plot, while the second arc catches up and establishes some background information.

That said, I can’t help but find this first storyline so much more compelling. James Roberts instantly takes two minor characters and thrusts them in a bizarro-world. Everything feels similar, just not quite right. More importantly, he nails the essence of films such as 1984 flawlessly, using some of the Transformers lore to smoothly introduce these alternative concepts. It’s dark, surreal and utterly, utterly refreshing.

Similarly, the art work goes to great lengths to sell this concept. The scenes on Cybertron are some of the most detailed and beautiful this title has offered in a long, long time. Alex Milne’s pencils knock it out of the board park with a sheer level of detail that showcases his talent and passion – no this title gives way too so many large panels. Likewise, Joana Lafuente’s colors add enough depth, variety and vibrancy to ensure this work comes through clear and looks absolutely amazing.

All in all, if you want to grab someones attention and then run with the plot as much as you like – this is how you do it. This is what More Than Meets The Eye does best; it finds sci-fi concepts and settings, has as much fun as possible and just goes with the flow.