Post by grahamthomson on Jun 11, 2009 6:47:46 GMT
"The Reign of Starscream"
If, while watching the end credits of Transformers (2007) and waiting for your hearing to return, you saw Starscream blasting off into space and wondered just what happened next, then the answer is to be found within the pages of “The Reign of Starscream”.
As to be expected from a series billed as the “Official Movie Sequel”, the story picks up directly from the end of the film. With a mandate to apparently tie up any loose ends from the film the plot starts unsteadily before finding its confidence and sweeping its way through over 100 pages of well choreographed action and incident.
For his first time writing Transformers, Chris Mowry shows a great deal of promise and no small amount of flair handling the characters. The main. . . star of the story, Starscream himself, grows exponentially from his wafer thin portrayal in the actual movie to a complex and well-rounded character. And armed with some absolutely dynamite one-liners, he earns his respect on every page he’s featured.
Aside from Starscream the rest of the cast are actually not from the Transformers (2007) film, instead culled from the expansive accompanying toyline. Despite such a large cast, there’s a competent balance in handling them all and certain gems, such as Arcee and Thundercracker are developed well.
The only downside with the story itself is, due to the need to “reset” the story for the events of the actual (presumably unauthorised, since this is the official one) film sequel, that nothing really happens that is of lasting consequence.
Alex Milne, back from his stint illustrating the “Movie Adaptation”, provides the artwork to “The Reign of Starscream”. I have to admit that Alex’s work is generally not to my personal tastes and here, while there are some stand out panels, the artwork feels erratic and hurried. The scenes set on Earth are nice, clear and easy to follow, but when the action returns to the Transformers homeworld of Cybertron, things become a lot more difficult to parse.
“The Reign of Starscream”, overall, is most certainly worth reading, especially if you enjoyed the Transformers (2007) film. Writer Chris Mowry looks to have a bright future in Transformers and his grasp of the characters is the real highlight of this mini-series. All hail Starscream.
Verdict: three stars out of five.
“The Reign of Starscream” (110 pp) was originally published by IDW Publishing in Transformers: The Reign of Starscream #1-5 (April-August 2008)
If, while watching the end credits of Transformers (2007) and waiting for your hearing to return, you saw Starscream blasting off into space and wondered just what happened next, then the answer is to be found within the pages of “The Reign of Starscream”.
As to be expected from a series billed as the “Official Movie Sequel”, the story picks up directly from the end of the film. With a mandate to apparently tie up any loose ends from the film the plot starts unsteadily before finding its confidence and sweeping its way through over 100 pages of well choreographed action and incident.
For his first time writing Transformers, Chris Mowry shows a great deal of promise and no small amount of flair handling the characters. The main. . . star of the story, Starscream himself, grows exponentially from his wafer thin portrayal in the actual movie to a complex and well-rounded character. And armed with some absolutely dynamite one-liners, he earns his respect on every page he’s featured.
Aside from Starscream the rest of the cast are actually not from the Transformers (2007) film, instead culled from the expansive accompanying toyline. Despite such a large cast, there’s a competent balance in handling them all and certain gems, such as Arcee and Thundercracker are developed well.
The only downside with the story itself is, due to the need to “reset” the story for the events of the actual (presumably unauthorised, since this is the official one) film sequel, that nothing really happens that is of lasting consequence.
Alex Milne, back from his stint illustrating the “Movie Adaptation”, provides the artwork to “The Reign of Starscream”. I have to admit that Alex’s work is generally not to my personal tastes and here, while there are some stand out panels, the artwork feels erratic and hurried. The scenes set on Earth are nice, clear and easy to follow, but when the action returns to the Transformers homeworld of Cybertron, things become a lot more difficult to parse.
“The Reign of Starscream”, overall, is most certainly worth reading, especially if you enjoyed the Transformers (2007) film. Writer Chris Mowry looks to have a bright future in Transformers and his grasp of the characters is the real highlight of this mini-series. All hail Starscream.
Verdict: three stars out of five.
“The Reign of Starscream” (110 pp) was originally published by IDW Publishing in Transformers: The Reign of Starscream #1-5 (April-August 2008)
