Things really started moving in this issue.
Good to know Shockers has his own machinations (no link to Maximum Dinobots!), though the Metalhawk panels were confusing, I am still not sure if he is still Metalhawk, is under control/posessed etc.
Once again, the characters and scenes on the Lost Light are full of one liners, information and filling in of information, while the Cybertron based scenes are slow, plodding and repetitious of themes we have been bombarded with over and over again in RiD. Rattrap is devolving into some "gangsta" sterotype as each issue goes on. It was cool to see that losing half of your body just makes some NAILS angry; Skybyte for example!
The Dead Universe stuff is intruiging, I think it has been wise to only give us snippets of what id going on there. Good to see an old friend, and personally I wonder if Cyclonus is dying in the Dead Universe as he no longer feels aligned to Nova and co.
Lost Light is the highlight here, the Rodpod was more or less what I expected, Magnus is becoming a character again, instead of a caricature (which I found amusing, but its nice to have more than one aspect of him obsevered). The reveal at the end was all the better for the Roche-tacular art.
It is sad, but the art here is either wonderful or pitiful. Lost Light scenes are brilliantly drawn, inks are not too heavy, the colours give off a good sense of "this is somewhere different -alien even" and the Rung splash page is a favourite, I need to try and get that as one image to use as a desktop image.
The Cybertron pages are awful. Prowl's crest shrinks with every issue, is it a physical manifestation of his demasculinity? The characters lack any detail, their expression is almost back to the DW "dull surprise" levels of inanity. Starscream is unsure if he wants to be in an IDW designed Amarda head or more of a Marvel G1 head. It is too simplistic and devoid of interest for what is going on, it makes the Cybertron pages feel rushed and incomplete. Compared to the other two art styles, it feels as though the RiD portion is truly letting the team down, and I wonder how long the other two can drag the half dead mangled carcass of it along before they tire of it and dump it into a river.
The Livio pages are ok, easy to tell who is who, and the style really works, but Hardhead needs to pick a design and stick with it.
Overall a fine issue, lots of pieces being setup. However it is done in a way that does not feel too fabricated, you know in the back of your mind this is still a setup issue, moving characters into place for alter on, but it is done in an enjoyable way, with enough new stuff and hints dropped to keep you engaged throughout.
Looking For: Wreckers Saga TPB Collection (with Requiem)