Comic Roundup: The Transformers, Prophet and the Scarlet Spider

This week marks the 50th installment of this little review column I like to call the Comic Roundup. To celebrate, I review the new Michael Bay‘s Transformers and Scarlet Spider series and the return of Rob Liefeld’s Prophet. Plus, next week we reboot with a brand new #1 (just kidding)! Enjoy!

The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #1
By James Roberts and Nick Roche

After 125 issues of IDW’s Transformers (if you add up all the miniseries and monthlies), this month sees the franchise heading off in new directions with two new ongoing series and new creative teams. The first book out of the gate is The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye and it is not what you would expect.

In the wake of the Death of Optimus Prime one-shot, the Autobot/Decepticon War is over and Rodimus Prime has decided to take a group of Transformers in search of the legendary Knights of Cybertron. You may think you are in for a typical science fiction comic, but what you won’t see coming is how funny the book is. Roberts is adding a wicked sense of humor to all the existing elements that make for a great Transformers comic, which is a refreshing and welcome change. Roche adds in some incredible artwork that has a different, kind of organic look to it. Put them together and you have a different, yet familiar take of the Robots in Disguise.

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye is a fresh and funny new take on a concept that is more than 25 years old. If you’re a fan (and who isn’t) give it read. You won’t be sorry.

Prophet #21
By Brandon Graham and Simon Roy

If we needed any more proof that the 90’s are back, the return of Rob Liefeld’s Extreme Universe of characters should seal the deal. Prophet is but the first of four titles that are going to be making a comeback and using a cumulative numbering scheme, hence the #21, instead of a #1. But this really should have been a #1, since this book has less than nothing to do with any comic named Prophet that came before.

The return of John Prophet reads more like the first level of a video game than the first issue of a new comic series. We see Prophet emerge from a stasis capsule, see the list of his equipment (literally) and off he goes of some mysterious quest. I will say this; Graham and Roy have created the most un-Liefeld comic book ever, especially on the art side. Roy’s artwork has more of a European feeling that gives Prophet a distinct look that helps it stand apart from anything else on the stands. I just wish there was more to the actual story than what little there was.

Prophet has the potential to be a sleeper hit that will sneak up on a lot of Image fans, but only if we get a more fleshed out story that doesn’t read like a poor man’s Dead Space 2 or Rage. I’ll give it a couple more issues before it earns a permanent place on my reading list.

Scarlet Spider #1
By Christopher Yost and Ryan Stegman

Fresh from his rebirth in this summer’s Spider-Island, Kaine gets his own series as the new Scarlet Spider. Can Yost and Stegman make a character, who to many represents some of the worst Spider-Man stories of all time, someone we would want to read about month after month? If issue #1 is any indication, I can unreservedly say yes.

Kaine has been healed and now heads west, trying to put some ground between him and his past. The story works on several levels, but the most interesting part is to see a Spider-Man surrounded by darkness. Kaine is not a likeable character. His life has been nothing but pain and suffering and he is not a hero, at least, not yet. Yost has shown us the first steps on the journey he will take and it will be fascinating to watch as it progresses. Stegman’s artwork is just page after page of web swinging goodness. His Scarlet Spider doesn’t move or come across as Spider-Man, which is perfect. He is giving Kaine his own presence and look and I look forward to seeing him get better with each issue.

Scarlet Spider #1 is a must buy if you are a Spider-Man fan. For everyone else, I recommend it whole heartedly. It’s a great comic book that you’ll enjoy more with each reading.