TRANSFORMERS: WINDBLADE #1 Review

While this latest big flashy arc looks to be much better than Dark Cybertron, it does bounce around a few titles. This time, the second issue is Transformers: Windblade #1, the first in a three part miniseries. The last Windblade miniseries was great and, well, there’s a lot of potential here.

The official description from IDW:

THE WAR BEGINS! The first strike in COMBINER WARS is against WINDBLADE’S homeworld—and she’s not happy about it! Her long- lost CYBERTRONIAN colony is found… and the only thing that can protect it is SUPERION.

With the Combiner Wars arc under way, this issue does a good job in upping the stakes and presenting a slightly different drama. Given that Windblade is an important character in the story and this arc, it’s clear there is a change in focus for the Windblade series, although it does naturally tie into things at large.

In terms of writing, Maighread Scott takes to the helm – with help from John Barber on story duties – and her understanding of Windblade is clear to see. Scott writes characters very naturally, much better than she writes action, as the latter often happens in the background. Still, this political aspect offers a nice contrast and adds to the tension, especially where characters such as Starscream are concerned. Scott’s main talent here is taking this mixed cast and flawlessly setting up the interactions and interesting developments. The downside? Some of the plot does sort of fly by at various points.

Visually, Sarah Stone’s artwork is fantastic. The slightly loose pencils play well with Windblade’s previous miniseries and gives a unique charm, seperate from other titles. Likewise, the use of more ambient, vibrant lighting works well juxtaposed with the large areas of darker tones, making for a title that simply oozes color where it can. Sure, there are a few pages which are a little dull, but Stone’s attempt to make every page or panel interesting where she can deserves some credit.

All in all, it’s not too obvious where this title is going, but that’s a good thing. For now, the ride is thoroughly enjoyable, even if it means hoping from issue to issue, series to series, to make sense of it all.