[.ca] Transformers: Animated Movie Adaptation (ISBN 1600100511)

A worthy companion:
Whether or not you have seen the 1986 "Transformers: The Movie," this is a worthy addition to your comic book collection. In fact, you might even enjoy it a bit more if you haven't seen the movie. Don Figueroa's artwork is, as always, both beautiful and striking. It perfectly captures the darker style of the movie while still incorporating it into glossy comic form. Figueroa's work alone makes this book a must-have for any Transformers fan. Unfortunately, Bob Budiansky's talents as a writer are mostly wasted here. Because the majority of the dialogue is taken directly from the film (which is a good thing), Budiansky is relegated to creating exposition, informing those unfamiliar with the story (or even the individual issues within this collection) of the general plotlines. For anyone familiar with the movie, this soon becomes tedious and slightly annoying. (I ended up simply skipping over these boxes). It is certainly not enough to detract from the comic overall, but it would have been nice if IDW had a bit more faith in their readership's Transformers knowledge. The climactic battle both occurs and ends rather too quickly, but that is simply the nature of comics (especially a short four-comic run, as this one is). Budiansky does an admirable job, though, of bringing over as much as possible from the movie without ever making the story feel crowded or convoluted. All said and done, Budiansky brings over the most important events and lines, and thanks to Figueroa's fantastic artwork, you can literally hear the voices of the characters on the page. There are minor additions to the comic that do not impact the overall story, but Transformers fans will be excited to see some more of their favorite characters. If you are a fan of The Transformers, or if you want to be, this comic should be in your collection. And if you don't own "Transformers: The Movie (20th Anniversary Special Edition)"...you should.