Beast Wars: Omnibus.

[Chromia]

So I totally glutted myself on comics this Saturday since they were having a HUGE sale at my normal comic store. Bought some old Superman, some Devils Due G.I Joe (which is so far Waaaay more fun to read than the new IDW stuff) and the Beast Wars Omnibus.

Oooookay, long story short you need to have watched the Japanese Beast Wars series to really understand what it going on here. The story moves at breakneck speed thrashing us through panel after panel crammed with superbly drawn characters that I didn't recognize, all the while the plot rushing through point after point with nary a moment to catch our breath so that when, in the Ascending, they tell us that the entire fate of Cybertron hangs in the balance we've been so rushed that we haven't really internalized why, or how, or who. Although many of the characters hinted at being engaging, and the story was understandable even if it was rushed, both stories were too crowded and too short for me to get terribly attached to too many characters. Though there were a few, Razorbeast, Lio Convoy, and Optimus Minor in particular, that managed to make an impact.

There is the beginnings of something good here...the taste of what could have been really good and engaging IF it had been longer and the story had been pared down somewhat, and allowed to focus on only a few characters.

The Drift Spotlight and AHM in comparison to this comic really hit something home to me. In a Transformers comic story you want to keep the number of important, speaking, players to a minimum, especially if you are going to be using somewhat unfamiliar characters. It's fine to fill the background with anyone you want. But every speech bubble causes us to pause for a moment to clarify who's talking, and if a different obscure person that we have to identify (sometimes with TFWiki) is speaking every few panels it makes the entire comic disjointed.

Furman always STARTS out right, like in Infiltration with the emphasis on Ratch and adding bits of Bumblebee and Jazz in later. But he usually dosen't waste any time pulling in the vast masses of obscure characters that have only ever appeared as toys and in a few panels of the Marvel comic. After all, these are the stuff that cannon fodder is made of. Furman can't write a comic without someone to wantonly slaughter.

BOTTOM LINE: For a TF completist (which is what I'm rapidly becoming) there are a lot worse comics out there than the IDW Beast Wars series. The omnibus is especially helpful because it has the Beast Wars Sourcebook at the end, with every character's tech specs and picture. The art it pretty and it has it's moments. If anything it introduces you to some of the lesser known characters of HARDCORE TFness. Heck, it made me want to watch the Japanese series I've missed. HOWEVER for people who just enjoy reading about the characters that they've already become familiar with...and who don't want to sort through long lists of unfamiliar names, they may be better off skipping it.