During reading:
Johnson doing a great job making starscream as annoying as possible (this is a good thing)
Holy shit starscream getting punished for doing his job
Optimus in the realm of pretty coloring
Bro... Bodybhorror
Oh my gosh this is so sweet what
HOLYNSIT ULTRA A,AGNUS
HOTLSHIR HES SOCOOLHE HAS A SWORD AND AN AWEOSME GUN???
HES THE GOAT
Magnus aura farming whileJazz is in the back getting possessed by a demon
Absolute cinema
Jazz is gonna get his ass handed to him
Putting beachcomber at the end of that awesome action sequence with both sides kicking ass...
Also how did I predict jazz getting his ass handed to him oh my gosh
Fuck em up arcee
Holy the father son visuals
Sparky statue tuff as hell this so awesome
Linessss
Carly protecting spike from starscream
WHAT A BITCH SCREAM I hate thin but he looked so cute. Here
...dyde....
"Im bad to the bone" om starscream stfu
Ok so this was awesome and great
I'll organize mt thoughts later
the 'organized' thoughts:
Ok so I read through it again after I had had enough time to ruminate and think about it and it's still a great issue. I hoped cliff would get curb stomped in this issue but we just got to see Shredhead and that's ok they're cool. In this beginning section, I found Soundwave's comment about killing more innocents just to deminish autobot morale? It's a great line and reinforces that Soundwave puts Megatron's agenda first, then cybertron and then other lives.
It hurts to read(I found myself wincing) and that's perfect. Also the Starscream violence is crazy here, I mean we know Starscream hates him and wants him dead but he never does it outwardly. But Megatron still says he fails. at everything he does even if he's following orders. He really is a punching bag here. The environment of the inside of the matrix is super pretty love it. I like the old marvel style it sort of has with
the Ben day dots completes the otherworldly look. The matrix is infected by like megatron's evil matrix which makes sense. The scene where Optimus is holding baby Spike and it has the two thin horizontal panels, (one where it's nice and the other where spike is being overtaken by wires and Optimus has claws) it shows the difference between the two matrices. The wires choking
everything like the way the evil matrix has
the ability to control others meanwhile the normal matrix shows Optimus holding spike with tenderness because it has the ability to give others the power to HELP others.
The scene with all the refugees thanking Optimus is nice because not only does it show us the autobots saving humans but it shows the effect they have. Makes it all more impactful. Plus Corona's designs are so good, the details in injuries and wear in tear but also their personal style and humanity is skillful. Magnus' speech is jarring but good. Surprisingly I don't have much to say about it, it's good and it was expected, what he said. Art wise it's tuff as hell. Magnus with a sword is something I've never seen but it looks neat. The framing and warm glow and of course the amazing typography... AND THEN THE FULL SPREAD. Dynamic, full of movement and detail, I want it on my wall. What follows is a page of autobot wins and losses, movement, the ugliness and impact!! Oughhh. And at the end beachcomber watching on with the fire in his visor like when he was recalling the fight on the arc. Back to the matrix world, I don't know for sure why Sparky isn't affected but maybe it's because he's foreign to both matrices? Outside, Starscream comes down to kill beachcomber but it's set up in a way that made me think he was gonna kill Carly and Spike, which , dude. The way she went straight to protecting spike
even thought she knew she didn't stand a chance and that she really couldn't do anything. Her face conveys so much emotion, I can feel it. Jorge Corona well done. Beachcomber gets shot twice and he doesn't fight back. Starscream is so cruel and sick gooodness. (Starscream look super evil and girl in the bottom panel tho). I love love Sparky and Spike on the next page, he loves his son so much, again the expressions are just mwah. The scene is disorienting on purpose I think, like Optimus and Sparky are in the same place? Feeling the same stuff with people they care about? Starscream gets his ass beat again, the panel where he gets slapped followed by him getting punched over and over. The flash in Megatron's eye it's so aggressive it's so visceral. (last panel on the page he's so mischievous evil guy). Optimus prime wakes up and Megatron is prepared to beat his ass too.
For the lesson or whatever. I like the matching panels where Megatron tosses aside his advantage(his weapon) and Optimus sets down his(his loved ones).