Transformers '84: Secrets and Lies: Secrets & Lies

This follows the tale of an Autobot / Decepticon double agent (fans of the original cartoon series might even remember his brief cameo in the first ‘Headmasters’ episode...hint!) and adds more reasons, lore, intrigue and action to the now, gospel Transformers crash to Earth origin story. It does not replace or change the story, more as fills in some of the many blanks the millions of years between the crash and when the Transformers first woke up on Earth, one iconic battle scene is expanded to uber levels...and its great!What I would like now is quite simply...MORE, as this has opened the door for limitless G1 tales - there’s literally, millions of years to fill up and not just with the big names - who’ve seemingly had one long cup of tea since the Ark launched, there are also as much lesser known G1 characters that could be fleshed out no end - this series also contains the first (chronologically speaking) Wreckers mission, and it’s fantastic! It also explains a few minor details.The recent IDW run came off as a bit of a Woke mess at the end for me and concentrated a bit too much on humans, robot relationships and whatever as opposed to what anyone with any sense would want in a Transformers comic - Millenia old, massive, shapeshifting robot warriors blowing sh*t up! As well as all the battles, mysteries, other planets and unsaid stories we could now hear to expand on the G1 series! Am I right? Of course I am! Reap the whirlwind!

I've been out of the loop for most of the new TF comics the last couple of years and just wanted something with great art and a back to basics story that would not require me googling events in past comics to know and this is it.Without spoiling much the book captures the original cast very well and has artwork very reminiscent of the original Marvel run. All you really need to know going in is that Autobots good, Decepticons bad and their respective leaders. The rest is fairly easy to work out if you're going in totally blind.

If you're a G1 fan who enjoyed the 1980s and 1990s comics, this is a must-have. A new story that runs alongside some of the big events from the original comics, subverting them, filling in blanks or adding background twists. Some great notes from the genius that is Simon Furman at the end. More please!

Really great read, cool art.

Transformers '84 Secrets & Lies collects Transformers '84 Secrets & Lies #0-4 written by Simon Furman, art from Guido Guidi, colours by John-Paul Bove and letters from Jake M. Wood and Tom B. Long. Initially issue #0 was released in August of 2019, nearly a year before #1 was released. I first read #0 that was collected in the Transformers '84: Legends & Rumors 100 page giant that released in April of 2021. From my understanding the creative team have a long history with Transforms and possibly a big reason most are here. I sadly don't have that experience, growing up in America I was introduced to Transformers by my dad. I loved them, the idea of every day things turning into robots struck my imagination as a child, every Christmas I would hope I would get some new transforms to play with and if we ever went out to rent movies I recall mostly getting transformer movies/seasons. Sadly I really don't remember much of it but still have that fondness I've had since I was a kid growing up in the 90's, and since I've gotten into comics I wanted something old school and once I saw this I bought it from my local comic shop in a heartbeat.Now is this something that can easily be picked up for those like myself? Absolutely, but I really think this is more of a fan service and love letter to older fans, those from the begining and believe those readers will get the most out of this. It was an enjoyable story that's told from the perspective of a double agent, we learn two perspectives of the Autobots and Decepticons and the hidden motives and agendas from individuals. Fans of the Dynobots will also love the amount of focus given to them, especially Grimlock. I also was a fan of the artwork, it felt old school and I liked the use of matrix grid dots to add to the aesthetic. There are also some extras in the back of some variant covers for the issues which are not numbered as well as an author commentary by Simon Furman on issues #1-4 giving some insight and tid bits of info for fans.Overall, I think Transformers '84 delivers, it both satisfies readers new and old as well as adding to lore and appealing to fans who want the old school vibes as opposed to new. I hope that there is more Transformers '84 to come as it definitely has a fan base and scratches the itch of wanting both new stories but old styles. I haven't really given anything about the story, but I don't need to, because we know most of it already, Autobots vs. Decepticons and Cybertron. As my introduction and first proper story of Transformers comics I'm glad I picked this up and recommend it to anyone interested.Hopefully you found this review helpful and happy reading.