Transformers: Beast Wars #1
- WRITER
- Erik Burnham
- Artist
- Josh Burcham
- Letterer
- Jake M. Wood
- Cover Artist
- Fico Ossio, Nick Brokenshire, Luis Antonio Delgado, Josh Burcham, Dan Schoening
- Publisher
- IDW Publishing
- Price
- 5.99
- Release Date
- 2021-02-03
- Colorist
- Josh Burcham
Of all the different iterations of Hasbro's iconic Transformers franchise, one of the biggest fan-favorite spinoffs and reimaginings was Beast Wars. Premiering in 1996, the television series saw the Autobots and Decepticons continue their eternal conflict with a key twist. Rather than possessing the ability to transform into different vehicles in addition to the natural, anthropomorphic forms, the Transformers instead would assume the shapes of different animals as they battled across the cosmos for powerful crystals known as Energon. Just in time for the 25th anniversary of the animated series' premiere, IDW Publishing is launching its own Beast Wars comic book series with an oversized debut issue that perhaps takes advantage of its additional real estate a bit too much to lay out its extended prologue.
True to its animated series roots, the new Beast Wars comic takes place a bit further in the future from the franchise's original story. The descendants of the Autobots have become the more virtuous, scientifically oriented Maximals while the descendants of the Decepticons have become the more violent and sinister Predacons. And as Megatron's descendant Galavar seeks to claim his ancestor's fiendish legacy for himself and bring a new generation under his will, the Maximals find themselves on a strange world as they set out to save the cosmos from the devious machinations of the Predacons.
Writer Erik Burnham has developed quite the portfolio of translating fan-favorite '80s franchises to the comic book medium, including several acclaimed titles with IDW. As someone that's written the Transformers on multiple occasions prior to this, Burnham certainly has a strong grasp on the mythos and its iconic characters, understanding why Transformers and Beast Wars have endured for decades, continuing to thrill fans worldwide. The biggest issue is most of this opening installment comes off as an extended prologue to a much larger story, with the scope and scale only truly beginning to reveal itself by the last several pages of the issue. While this is certainly to be expected from a debut issue, it is more striking and the pace more noticeably deliberate with the added page count to this particular chapter.
Artist Josh Burcham is also no stranger to crafting comic book adventures for the robots in disguise, with an appropriately cartoonish style that captures the Predacons and Maximals down to their most recognizable, core appeal; if you're looking for hyper-detailed Transformers this isn't it, it's a love letter to the original animated series from which this relaunch draws its primary inspiration. And just as the scripting is only just getting started, so is Burcham's artwork; the familiar Beast Wars iterations of the characters aren't on display just yet and, unfortunately, there isn't much by way of action to speak of just yet further underscoring the feeling that this opening issue plays out more like an extended prologue.
While not every first issue to a comic book series has to hit the ground running, the deliberate pace and exposition-heavy nature of IDW's Beast Wars relaunch does make one long for a little more action or a more engaging hook to draw readers more firmly into the narrative. The creative team definitely understands their characters and the wider world and story that they've woven around them but it also takes more time than necessary perhaps to set the stage. For those unfamiliar with Beast Wars, this amount of setup may prove helpful but those more acquainted with the premise will be left waiting for the story to really take shape.