Void Rivals #14: You Dare Shoot…AT ME?

Void Rivals #14 shifts the focus mainly over to Darak as he continues to try to discuss the futility of the planet’s war when he gets interrupted by a mysterious arrival of an unknown space vessel. Much like the previous issue, the story contains a central focus but also transitions settings several times to show what all of the main and supporting characters are up to. By the end of the issue, a character arrives that has been teased for the last six months, setting up another element that is sure to shake up this series.

Overall, this arc has been a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to maintaining a clear throughline for the narrative. This is mainly due to the way that the narrative has placed all of its characters in different areas. This will likely work when reading this as a collected trade paperback; however, you may find yourself having to reread the prior month’s issues to remind yourself what exactly is happening. This is very apparent in Void Rivals #14 where the issue starts almost exactly where the last one left off. It almost feels like this whole arc was written at one time and separated purely on page count alone.

Lorenzo De Felici continues to shine on the art side of things, making this space spectacle feel very like such an event to read every month. This issue features a short battle in space that really shines due to the art, making the gravitas of the situation feel authentic and a blast to read. Felici also makes each setting feel unique and vibrant, giving the scope of this series a true sense of spatial awareness.

While this is a light spoiler (the cover of the next issue really will spoil it), but Hot Rod finally shows up after being teased way back in the Free Comic Book Day Special in May, 2024. While it is not explicitly stated, it seems as though he is searching for Springer, giving us two Transformers in this shared universe series. The possibilities are endless here; although, fans of G1 Transformers will know that Hot Rod may become the harbinger of the Matrix of Leadership at some point if Skybound decides to go in that direction.