While I can’t say that Windblade #1 made me a hardcore Transformers fan, I jumped at the chance to review the second issue. My exact words to my editor were, “You know I NEED Windblade #2.” Mairghread Scott’s writing and Sarah Stone’s beautiful character designs and art made me love their young heroine, and I wanted to see where her path would go after the attack at the end of Issue #1.
Windblade is no idiot, and she’s convinced Starscream and his goons are behind the “accident” during her inspection of the Metroplex power outages. The local media tries interviewing bots near the scene, but, without proof of sabotage, no one is willing to accuse the current leader of Cybertron; however, luck comes her way when Chromia and Ironside stumble across one of the media’s video interview and infer that an insectoid bot called Waspinator may know more than he’s telling.
This issue ramps up the tension between Windblade and Starscream substantially since she finally feels certain that the former Decepticon is trouble. I also got a feel for how young the protagonist must be in comparison to the other characters, because Chromia, Ironside, and Blurr fill mentor roles and provide sage advice through the story. Windblade’s cleverness garners the final payoff, though, because her ability to know when to apply pressure and when to be kind coaxes Waspinator into helping when his self-preservation instincts scream not to.
Sarah Stone’s artwork continues to impress me, and I loved how human Windblade looked in some panels, as she struggled with guilt and fear. Translating a frightened young woman into a robot body takes skill, and Stone knocked it out of the park. I also enjoyed the new characters introduced in this issue, and I’m humbled by how robots can look so distinct. I easily picked up which patterns and appearances belonged to whom, and, for someone who isn’t techy, this is quite a feat!
I wouldn’t start this arc with Windblade #2, even with the nifty recap at the beginning, but if you’ve read Issue #1, why would you skip this one? It’s not just a gimmicky story with female Transformers; it’s a solid tale of political intrigue, deception, and loyalty. Pick it up this Wednesday!
5 Voyages into the Depths of Metroplex out of 5
