Mairghread Scott

The start of a fantastic but short run, Scott's work on Transformers focuses on the politics of the aftermath of war, how do we get past the past, and the interplay between cynical Starscream and idealistic Windblade. There's some great stuff here, fantastic characterisation, and some of the best writing of the whole IDW Transformers thing. Pitre-Durocher's art is great too, and my only complaint for this whole book is that I hate that Chromia and some other fembots are drawn as if they are show more wearing bikinis. Its tacky nonsense and makes me grind my teeth everytime. show less

Access a version of the below that includes illustrations on my blog.

With Windlbade seemingly dead, Till All Are One moves its focus to Starscream. Till All Are One has a large cast of characters, as I guess befits a series about the reunification of a planet and a society, but it does make it hard for everyone to get their due. Most of those characters put only in small appearances in this volume, leading to its best but unfortunately also its last installment.

This volume collects five show more issues. The first two focus exclusively on Starscream, who continues his machinations but also continues to feel kind of bad about it. It builds on Starscream's long history of development in IDW, from usurping Megatron in All Hail Megatron and Dark Prelude to becoming Cybertron's postwar civilian leader in Robots in Disguise and Windblade.

Previously I haven't really enjoyed the appearance of the hallucinatory Bumblebee in Starscream's head, but this volume intimates that Bumblebee's not a hallucination, but a manifestation of Bumblebee's actual spark, as Bumblebee was revealed to be alive trapped within a microsingularity in Transformers Annual 2017. (Which I didn't read, so thanks Transformers wiki!) Anyway, here he works more for me, not just because he's "real," but also because Starscream actually does develop thanks to his intervention... in his own way, at least. There's some nice stuff as Starscream does a good thing for selfish reasons (liberating Chromia), but also some outright awful stuff (playing the feelings of the Combaticons against each other, who turn out to be pretty cute even if I can't remember who they all are).

The next two issues reintroduce Windblade into the mix, as she battle some ancient Transformer evil in her mind (introduced in volume two, but I've already forgotten the details) and Starscream actually comes to her aid. Windblade ends up coming to his aid, however, and makes an important decision about how she's going to stop compromising herself all the time.

It actually gets genuinely touching, as Windblade realizes that Starscream has been continuously molded to meet the expectations of others ever since his creation. Starscream was constructed cold as one of many Seekers and has always been rebuilding his body in search of a true self he cannot find ever since. Windblade finds the traces of all those who have touched Starscream over the years on his spark, and forges him a model of his true self. It's a great, earned moment, that pays off four years of development for Windblade and at least eight for Starscream! It was here that I felt Till All Are One maximized its previously latent potential.

The final issue focuses on Windblade, as she competes with Starscream and Elita One for the position of civilian leader of Cybertron. It does a good job building on the previous issue to show Windblade's new perspective in action, and how it will help her help the people of Cybertron as they reunite and rebuild. I'm a little sad Till All Are One ended here, right as it hit its stride, but I'm also kind of glad it did, because it ends on a moment of hope and optimism for postwar Cybertron.

Since I'm not reading any IDW series other than Lost Light anymore, this is basically the last I'll see of the planet before the universe is rebooted/destroyed/whatevered in Unicron, and it's a tremendously fitting end for the beleaguered planet and its people in what surely must be the best version of the Transformers continuity there is.

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A reimagining of Macbeth focused on the witches and the backstory that has brought them to intervene in Macbeth's story.

This book ended up on The List as the result of a recommendation from one of the podcasts I listen to. I'd hoped to read it around Halloween but holds timelines didn't work out for it. It would definitely be a perfect seasonal read. Scott crafts a really thought-provoking tale that engages with Macbeth in an original way, creating strong personalities for each of the show more witches and digging into what has brought them to make such powerful prophecies to Macbeth. It's also an exploration of what happens when found family goes sour and how one recovers from it. If you like the Scottish play, give this one a read. show less

So freaking cool. I loved getting the witches' perspectives on Macbeth, and I am definitely tempted to read The Scottish Play again. The ending felt rather rushed, but the discussion at the end is brilliant (I'd give this a 4.5). Includes discussion questions if you ever wanted to read as a book club or in the classroom...definitely lots of food for thought!

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Panels Read Harder: As I have been heartily disappointed with my options for comic-based-on-a-book-and-the-book-it's-based-on, show more I'm going to read/listen to the actual play of Macbeth (again) and call my Panels Read Harder complete! show less