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IDW 2021 Halloween Special

Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:24 am
by Dominic
Transformers Halloween Special:

Summary: Starscream investigates a reported oddity in a dangerous/remote area, and finds his old mentor trapped in horrific circumstances. A character study ensues.


This is much better than last year's "Valentine's Day Special". At the most basic level, it does not read like inventory-content held over from before the 2019 reset. (The Cosmos/Blastoff story was clearly written and drawn to be part of "Lost Light".) And, less basic but more important, it does not read like it was written by Tumblr-types.

The story asks and answers the question of "what Starscream is really like" while not actually answering (staying purposefully ambiguous, like the character). This comic is also the best handling of sparks (one of my least favorite parts of the lore) since the concept was introduced 25 years ago.

Re: IDW 2021 Halloween Special

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:54 pm
by andersonh1
Dominic wrote: Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:24 am Transformers Halloween Special:

Summary: Starscream investigates a reported oddity in a dangerous/remote area, and finds his old mentor trapped in horrific circumstances. A character study ensues.


This is much better than last year's "Valentine's Day Special". At the most basic level, it does not read like inventory-content held over from before the 2019 reset. (The Cosmos/Blastoff story was clearly written and drawn to be part of "Lost Light".) And, less basic by more important, it does not read like it was written by Tumblr-types.

The story asks and answers the question of "what Starscream is really like" while not actually answering (staying purposefully ambiguous, like the character). This comic is also the best handling of sparks (one of my least favorite parts of the lore) since the concept was introduced 25 years ago.
Finally read this story in the collected volume 5. My LCS did not put it in my pull list at the time, and I don't remember even being aware of it, and probably would have turned my nose up at it if I had, as I usually do for these holiday-themed Transformers issues. To my surprise, it's actually quite a good story, and fits well with the story that Ruckley was telling. I agree with you, it does a nice job of examining Starscream's character and adding a facet or two without being too bold and without really changing who he is. I thought it was nicely written and the concept of a spark was explained clearly and well-used.