Transformers/Back to the Future #3: We Don’t Need Another Hero

This crossover seems like it’d be obvious to anybody familiar with either property or anyone familiar with ’80s pop culture but what continues to surprise me is the ideas that author Cavan Scott has come up with and just how he tells this story. First off, hats off to him (or editors David Mariotte & Chase Moritz) for making this a 4 issue series instead of the industry standard 6. I really think the extra 2 issues would’ve hurt the storytelling here and made it a lot less enjoyable. Part of the enjoyment of the Back to the Future movies is the pacing. The films clip along at a very fast pace and it’s part of what makes them so exciting and entertaining. Scott is able to mirror that same pacing so far, only taking time to let an explanation catch up to you and occasionally to set up the action that’s about to take place. Scott has not only taken the best parts of the Back to the Future franchise, but he’s also taken the best parts of the Transformers cartoon series. There are somethings that are changed, but this is definitely the cartoon continuity, which is a perfect companion for the Back to the Future continuity. Scott digs deep and really gives the character of Gigawatt some extra depth and…well…character. He’s not just the standard Autobot good guy. This is a very well-written issue that’s very enjoyable no matter which franchise you’re there for.

Artist Juan Samu is no slouch, either! Sometimes, the Transformers can really get a little too blended with each other, if you’re not careful you sometimes can’t tell where one stops and another one starts, but Samu has really got his ‘bots together because everything looks great, and I’m sure that colorists David Garcia Cruz & Candice Han have no small hand in that. Samu creates some great technology that exists in neither world but looks like it belongs in both, and he has the human characters down to a “T” without making them distracting at all. Very well laid out issue.