Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Transformers Maximum Dinobots #2
IDW Comics
Furman & Roche

It’s Dinobot versus Dinobot! Or is it Dynobot versus Dinobot? You get the idea. Grimlock is confronted by some old demons as his back is to the wall. A side track has Hot Rod also in some deep trouble as his obsession with Sunstreaker seems to have led him into some trouble. It’s a good issue. You might expect that it being Dinobot heavy that the dialogue would be awful, but it actually isn’t at all. This was a good issue.

The issue begins with Hot Rod captured. Scorponok and the Headmasters have plans for Hot Rod that aren’t really revealed in this issue. However, Scorponok does try to press some of Hot Rod’s buttons by bringing up the fate of Sunstreaker. Oh, and he tortures Hot Rod too for kicks.

Elsewhere, the Dinobot team is unleashed on Grimlock. Controlled by Scorponok, the Dinobots attack Grimlock with limited knowledge or memory of what’s going on or who they are. A terrific battle ensues and after Grimlock talks a lot about his failures with the team, Scorponok decides to gamble and he allows the Dinobots to access their memory in hopes of bringing out more rage.

Other tracks in this issue have Sunstreaker and Hunter racing to the scene, seemingly unaware of what has become of Hot Rod. In fact, I’m not even sure how they seem to know what they know about which Autobots are on Earth. Also, the government and other unknown human entities seem to have plots going on, some with Transformers in their cache.

This was a fun issue. Grimlock has some great dialogue that I found refreshing on a lot of levels. First of all, he is aware of his failures as a leader, but he is also aware of the shortcomings of his teammates. Secondly, he has no problem saying the following, “Now if you’ll excuse me I feel obligated to put this lackluster life form out of harm’s way.” Lastly, he shows great restraint when battling his friends that actually doesn’t come across as corny in the dialogue.

The artwork is fantastic in this issue. The battle is sharp and loaded with Dinobot metal and fire and it comes across as clear at the same time. However, my favorite part of the comic in terms of pictures was the new look for Hot Rod post-torture. I thought this was an excellent way to show pain on the face of a robot.

The arc is really hitting its stride. Yes, this issue does use elements from stories that came out two years ago, but it makes it fairly accessible to new readers. So if you missed the battle that the Dinobots had with Shockwave in the Spotlight issue, you won’t be in the cold here. I think this arc has strong potential to be among the best of the Earth-based arcs in the new Transformers universe. This was a fun read.

4 out of 5 geek goggles