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Transformers Infiltration Manga

By Josh Hechinger
July 23, 2007 - 11:58

Transformers: Infiltration Manga
IDW Publishing
Writer: Simon Furman
Art: E.J. Su

It seems like every five years or so, the Transformers comic license changes hands. After a stint with Pat Lee’s now-defunct Dreamwave publishing company, the Robots in Disguise have landed in the capable hands of IDW.

Infiltration represents the starting point for IDW’s continuity, loosely based off the Generation One series and helmed by longtime Transformers writer Simon Furman.

Furman plays up the idea of robots in disguise in this story. Instead of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons spilling over to Earth with a big crash and a lot of fanfare, both sides have a small detachment posted to the planet in secretive spy cells.

The Autobot/Decepticon war here is a more Cold War-esque affair than it’s usually been depicted. It mostly involves each side keeping an eye on each other and countering whatever small military actions are made. True to their name, the Decepticons are in the business of conquering by slowly destabilizing a planet’s political structure and then moving in to pick up the pieces.

It’s a subtle, delicate conflict…and it all goes right to robot hell in a cybertronic hand basket when three young humans stumble into the middle of it.

In terms of storytelling, Furman simply rolls  a minor event down the hill and lets it snowball into huge crushing ramifications for the characters, robot and human alike. Bad news becomes worse news becomes really terrible news, and the fact that disaster’s adverted at all comes down to equal parts effort and luck. It makes for a compelling read, especially with the set up for the next series (Escalation, appropriately enough) that closes out the volume.

It also helps that Furman inherently understands the cocktail of character drama, military intrigue, and giant robots messing each other up with lasers that makes for a successful Transformers story.

On the art front, E.J. Su brings a smooth animation to the characters. Which isn’t to say they’re cartoony, more that he gives a sense of motion and life to the blocky Generation One designs. It’s a nice compromise between the hyper-detailed-but-stiff-and-squatty Dreamwave depiction and the uneven and vaguely trippy Marvel version.

Probably the most stand-out character under Su’s pen is Megatron. He’s an imposing, nigh-invulnerable tank (literally and figuratively) of a villain, and Su not only pulls that off, but gives him a great Judge Dredd-esque perpetual scowl.

Overall, it’s a great start to what’s shaping up to be a long run of IDW Transformers comics. Here’s hoping, anyway.

As for the format: the original mini series and trade were normal sized, full color comic books. The “Manga” edition of the series is a digest-sized, grayscale, and most importantly, half-price collection of the six issue mini-series.

It’s a nice thought, and a savvy move to reach the kids who are more familiar with Naruto than Spider-Man when they are hunting for comics after seeing the Transformers movie.

But it’s not as well executed as it might be.

First, there’s the problem of color. If I wanted to be nice, I’d say that Transformers has a very unified sense of design in terms of faces and body types. If I wanted to be less nice, I’d say that these characters aren’t burdened with an excess of original design even under the pen of the talented Su.  

It’s not his fault. Consider this: the only difference between Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker is a coat of paint and a little bit of personality.

Consider that Ironhide, Ratchet, and Prowl all have the same basic head with minor differences in helmet crest.

Consider that three of Decepticons in this story turn into identical jets, and  two of them turn into identical cars.

Consider that it’s actually really hard to tell some of these guys apart when they’re all the same color. And it doesn’t help that in an effort to keep close to the fine coloring job on the original series, this manga version is flooded with vaguely different shades of grey.

Between that, and the fact that the back twenty pages of the comic came loose from the binding in my copy, I can’t really say I recommend the Manga version, despite the more reasonable price tag.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12