Best of the Decade: 2016 // Best of the Year

Dec 28

Dec 28 Best of the Decade: 2016 // Best of the Year

Welcome back to You Don’t Read Comics Best of the Decade! Our daily retrospective of the best comics this decade had to offer in celebration for the new year. Please refer to our post highlighting the criteria used to determine each year’s entry. We hope you enjoy today’s piece and encourage you to come back tomorrow.

What a boring year 2016! No pivotal events or social upheaval to speak of three years later, right? In all seriousness, no one could have possibly been prepared for the dramatic changes brought on by that year. Our politics were divided, our cinematic heroes in Civil War, and a promotional campaign for what would be known as Fyre Fest flooded an unsuspecting Instagram. As a year of tragedy, confusion, division, and absurdity, 2016 proved to be the perfect time to say goodbye to the beloved Transformers More than Meets the Eye series by IDW. Which is exactly why it is YDRC’s pick 2016’s Best of the Year!

Written by James Roberts with art by Alex Milne, and colors by Joanna Lafuente, MTMTE was one of two main Transformers on-going series at the time opposite Transformers Robots in Disguise which was rebranded simply as The Transformers. MTMTE starred the Lost Light's crew- a team of Autobots on a pilgrimage across space searching for the fabled Knights of Cybertron, mythical forebearers of the Cybertronian race whose return is said to bring about a new Golden Age of Cybertron. On a surface level, MTMTE is a spiraling epic of galactic proportions full of adventure and mystery. But a deeper inspection past MTMTE's shiny metallic casing reveals an intense social commentary that happens to feature shape-changing robots.

The Transformers have always had a connection to the comic book world. The initial story of the franchise was mapped out by comic book greats like Denny O' Neil and Bob Budiansky, and its early Marvel Comics incarnation is still heralded as a benchmark for the IP as a whole. But the work of IDW's original continuity, specifically on the books written by Roberts, has a unique resonance to them with 2016's volume 10 marking an undeniable high point to Roberts' time with the Transformers universe.

Though the story of the Lost Light would conclude in a follow-up series appropriately called Transformers Lost Light, the original numbering for MTMTE ended in 2016 bringing many long-standing plotlines and arcs to a close in the final arc "Dying of the Light." "Dying of the Light" begins with business as usual aboard the Lost Light; former Decepticon leader Megatron is now a repentant Autobot co-captaining the ship with his egotistical but talented partner Rodimus Prime. However, it is revealed that many of the crew do not share the sentiment of allowing Megatron to search for the Knights as redemption for his crimes. Thus a mutiny is formed that successfully strands Megatron, Rodimus, and a host of characters sympathetic to Megatron—who coincidentally also happen to be the main POV characters throughout the series—on Necroworld to face death at the hands of an unstoppable enemy; the unrelenting Decepticon Justice Division.

What proceeds is a chaotic planetary siege that would make the most action-heavy Michael Bay devotee squeal in delight, reflective character moments showcasing the long-standing cast dealing with their probable deaths, and the previously mentioned plot advancement and fulfillment Roberts had been seeding since before the first issue of MTMTE; all told with the same expert craft that the creative team is known for. A script that runs the gamut of emotions from hopelessness, presented by the crew gradually definitely accepting their inevitable doom, to the humor of comically oversized shoulder canons piloted by even smaller robots. Alex Milne producing possibly the best work of his career with the excitement of incredible battle scenes, to the tragedy of a mnemosurgeon who thinks the life of his husband's ex is worth restoring at the cost of his own life. And Lafuente whose colors warm the heart with striking light from a conjux endura ceremony that celebrates friendship and love, or the opposite, striking shadows that reveal a character's darkest turning points.

In a general conversation about significant comics, MTMTE and "Dying of the Light" are awkward points to discuss. They're dense, they are a payoff, they are the culmination of events that require hours of prior-reading just to understand who the heck these robots are. And yet one can't help but marvel at the way all of those separate elements coalesce in a story that seamlessly blends spectacle, humor, and heart. Plus, the MTMTE had a tie-in to 2016s “Revolution” event, which is possibly the greatest tie-in comic ever! The only tie-in comic where Total Brand Awareness has ever been achieved. Perfection.