There were moments I wanted to stop reading. I’ve never felt that way about at a Transformers comic before.
I’ve
read boring Transformers stories, and bad ones too, but none of them made me
feel the way I felt during selected issues from James Roberts’ second “season” of Transformers: More Than Meets The
Eye (Volumes 6-10 of the trade paperbacks, encompassing Issues #28-55). It was
a physical desire to close the book and not read any further. It was a feeling
of being, not shocked exactly, but offended in some vague and unnameable
way, of having my expectations gently but unmistakeably violated--this is
not the book I paid good money to read.
I’m
glad I stuck it out. I’m
also glad James stuck it out. He weathered a lot of criticism on this arc. The
online reaction to many of the later issues in the arc --particularly the
mid-forties issues--seemed to be a mix of anger, confusion and disappointment.
I’m
also glad I’d read some
of the online reaction and even some of the spoilers. By knowing going in it
might not be what I wanted, I was able to let go of the story I wanted to read
and pay attention to the story Roberts was telling.
To me, that story is about the choices we make when we’re pulled between principles
and people. What do we do when faced with a conflict between the values we hold
most dear and the ones closest to us…and at what point does upholding our commitment to one cross the
line into a betrayal of the other? It was a question that all the significant
characters--both hero and villain--faced at some point.
Roberts’
approach to characterization felt odd in this arc. Sometimes it felt like his
cast was too large, and other times it felt like it wasn’t large enough--like he was ignoring
the rest of the Lost Light’s
crew in favor of a handful of characters who often didn’t appear to be doing anything of
significance, plot-wise.
But despite Roberts reputation for meticulous set-ups and
pay-offs, I don’t think
Roberts’ focus was the
plot. I don’t think
character was his focus either. Roberts writes great character moments and
many of them happen in this arc. Still, characterization--at least in the ‘following a protagonist or
group of protagonists as they journey from A to B to C’ sense of the term--takes a back seat.
Theme holds together this arc of More Than Meets the Eye. If
you’re reading for plot
or character, then it’s
a disjointed and frustrating experience. But if you’re looking at the story thematically,
it all…well, it doesn’t come together, not exactly…but each piece plays off the
others. We get a multifaceted look at the interaction between character choice
and consequences, each ornament tied to the others by the thematic string of
loyalty and betrayal. Multiple characters face this issue in large ways and
small. Again and again, we watch different characters with different
personalities in different context grapple with the same fundamental question:
Megatron. Rodimus. Trailcutter. Whirl. Getaway. Nautica. Tarn. Nightbeat.
Overlord. Censere. Ravage. The Scavengers. Deathsaurus.
It was uncomfortable reading. Often characters I liked made decisions I didn’t. Or they made a decision I
agreed with, but the consequences of that decision weren’t what I hoped. Other times it was
Roberts’ writing that
challenged me. Intentionally or not, his offbeat structural, plotting, or
narrative choices that intentionally or not, left me in the same position as
the characters: this franchise isn’t doing what I think it should be doing. Do I stick with it or
not?
It was hard reading--and I’m looking forward to reading it again.
