When Transformers: Generation One came out, there were some complaints even from those who liked it. It's clearly aimed at an older audience, and it's light on the transforming robots fighting and heavier on the plot development. Transformers: Armada is the answer to those complaints, as it is a new starting point rather than revitalization of favorite characters, and though the story is not written down to younger audiences, the take on the characters plays up their colorful and cool side more than the inherent dangers a giant robot could offer defenseless humans. I could have used a bit more of a primer on the characters, as these robots are all fairly new to me, but the general flow of things and the artwork is pretty solid.
If you want to sell Transformers, you can appeal to one or two things: nostalgia or the basic coolness of giant robots. Armada can't fall back on nostalgia, as these are mostly new characters, so it has got to sell the visual spectacle, and on that score, it definitely succeeds. Raiz has clearly put a lot of work into the designs of Cybertron, with a stunning opening splash and some fantastic first shots of Optimus Prime and Megatron. I also love the sense of speed he gives the auto form of Hot Shot, and the simultaneously claustrophobic and wide open feel of the Mini-Con village.
However, I did sometimes have trouble telling these characters apart, even though Sarracini does a pretty good job of having the characters identify themselves. While Sparkplug has a pretty obvious physical difference, a lot of the Mini-Cons look almost identical in their robot forms, differentiated only by a couple of colors. And since there aren't the easy shortcuts of "what vehicle do they transform into?" used this issue to help readers sort things out, the result is a blur of characters who I couldn't identify on a bet. There wasn't enough of a hook, in the art to some degree but especially the story, to set them apart.
That's not to say that the story is without merit. In fact, I found Sarracini's tense and action-packed pace to be completely at odds with Transformers: Generation One, and that is exactly what this book needed to work. Instead of the political games and creepy foreboding feeling, Sarracini gives us wild epic science-fiction/fantasy, as a group of robots struggle to defeat an oncoming and dangerous foe. The Autobots and Decepticons have been set up as not just two races on the planet, but warrior classes (one evil, one good) who alternately protect or terrify the population.
Leave out a lot of the logical questions that might come to mind, such as why Cybertron of a million years has cars of Earth design, and you'll have a lot more fun. In fact, the best way to enjoy Transformers: Armada is to view it as a rollercoaster ride. A shiny setting, giant robots and powerful heroes and villains make this a good entry-level book for those who like the idea of giant transforming robots but who aren't necessarily in it for the nostalgia. As a side benefit, this makes it a better book for new readers than Transformers: Generation One probably is, even though for me I find Generation One to be a better book overall so far.
