Writer & Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Cover Artists: Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer; Andre Lima Araujo; Orlando Arocena; Eric Canete; Joe Quinones
Publisher: Image
Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 13, 2024
Ratchet awakened Arcee and Jazz with power from Wheeljack and Sparky’s water turbine. Optimus Prime killed Skywarp and Frenzy and injured Starscream during the Decepticons’ attack on the dam. Believing the numbers were in their favor, Optimus Prime ordered an assault on the Ark. Can the Autobots retake control of their mothership? Let’s recharge our Energon batteries, leap into Transformers #6, and follow Sparky's transformative journey!
Story
Starscream rules through deception and fervor. He sways the Decepticons with his strength of personality. His lust for death and destruction inspires his followers. Soundwave carries out Starscream’s orders and dispassionately directs their forces while Starscream seeks out victims. Soundwave’s latest creation is Starscream’s ideal weapon. Or, in Starscream’s words, his new toy. Assembled from a freshly regenerated Constructicon army, Devastator is a giant-size version of the Decepticons' fearful leader. He destroys first and reasons later.
Confronted by Devastator’s might, Optimus Prime spurs his people toward the Ark. Cliffjumper instantly follows, but Carly argues a different strategy. Cliffjumper cares for the Human teenager but yearns to obey his Autobot leader. Like Optimus Prime and Sparky, Cliffjumper and Carly have much in common. And the Autobots do practice equality and inclusion.
In Transformers #6, Optimus Prime learns that size does matter. But while powerful enemies can destroy the body, hope and sacrifice renew the spirit. Starscream regards everything as disposable. Sparky knows that Optimus Prime values life in its myriad forms. It’s why he serves the giant Space Invader robot: because Optimus protects what he values.
Art
Standing before the Ark’s main hold, Optimus Prime and the Autobots fight off Starscream’s Decepticons. The wide-eyed Human soldier clutches a rocket launcher. He should be seeking a weak linkage between the Constructicons as Devastator approaches. Yet all he sees is Jimmy and his son's NASA spaceship exploding.
Daniel Warren Johnson employs varying camera angles to convey the size differentials between Humans, Transformers, Devastator, and the Ark. His direction lines and blurred characters convey rapid movement in Transformers #6. The characters' expressions reveal their pain, shock, fright, jubilation, and resolve. Johnson’s detailed drawings reveal that some of the Constructicons making up Devastator struggle to maintain cohesion. Scenes of the behemoth looking into the Ark and reaching for Autobots pay homage to the cinematic classic “King Kong.”
Johnson often inks to convey shading, leaving Mike Spicer less to color. Green and purple Devastator wreaks havoc against the gray ground, a bluish-gray Ark, and a purple sky. Carly's lavender sweater darkens to grant her camouflage at night. Yet nothing shields the Autobots from view, making it easy for Devastator to reach out and touch someone. "Puny Autobot!" Spicer also spices up the night fight by accenting panels with bright colors, suggesting the intensity of the battle.
Letterer Rus Wooten infuses dark backgrounds with giant, bright, colorful, and energizing sound effects. He fills white dialogue balloons with large-size black italicized letters. Soundwave remains the sole holdout. The Decepticon fills blue rectangular dialogue balloons with yellow lettering. His dialogue never swells in size or changes color, as do Devastator and Ratchet’s. Perhaps that makes him the strongest person in Transformers #6, as Soundwave keeps a cool head, and his dedication to his cause never wavers.
Thanks to Image Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Hasbro for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
A Human leads an Autobot, an ally makes the ultimate sacrifice, and when heroes hold their enemies in their clutches, they refuse to kill in Transformers #6.
Rating 9.5/10
For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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