The second installment of Beast Hunters is here. Is this Prime companion filled with quality or a shameless cash-in? It’s a typical Transformers story, made interesting with the alignment to the Prime continuity.

Here’s the official description from IDW:

THE WORLD BELOW! Deep beneath the surface of CYBERTRON, the last vestiges of life struggles to survive. Their only protectors: GRIMLOCK and his loyal DINOBOTS—who find themselves at the center of a dark mystery!

The issue picks up where the previous one left off. We have the Dinobots, mainly Sludge, taking on the Insecticon Kickback. The first issue was okay, but nothing truly special than asking the question “What are the Dinobots up to after the Fall of Cybetron?” This issue is an improvement, packing some solid action and dialogue. It’s still lacking a really good story, but it’s becoming fun for fans of the Prime continuity.

The writing team of Mairghread Scott & Mike Johnson pack this issue with pretty solid writing. Kickback is written surprisingly great and is far from being a one-dimensional Insecticon. The battle between him and Sludge is satisfying. Sludge carries the story well enough with his narration. There are some really interesting things to be read from him, such as doubt, self-denial, and more. The narration really gives him a more ‘human’ aspect. The best part of the comic might be the whole Airwave ordeal. It’s unexpected and a pretty brutal. Firestar is very fun to have around, I’m hoping she’s given more to do in coming issues.

Agustin Padilla’s art is pretty solid throughout. I don’t get a very ‘Prime’ look from it this time, but it’s no big deal. The main cover  has the Dinobots about to enter some kind of underground cave. A unique cover, showing that just cause the robots are big, they can be drawn in a way that makes them appear small to large surroundings. The RI is something fans of Prime want to pick up, with Bumblebee (and his new look from Season 3) taking center stage. The Subscription variant stars Arcee, a very nice piece fans will be interested in.

Overall, definitely a stronger issue than the first part. Beast Hunters is slowly becoming more than a companion story. With some good writing and action seen here, I’m confident we’ll be getting some really good stuff in coming issues.

4/5

My name is Daniel (@Destroyer_199), the main guy for comic reviews here at Unleash the Fanboy. I was born in 1995 in the Big Apple, spent my formative years in Staten Island, and currently reside in the awesome state that is New Jersey.