Following in the metallic footsteps of last years Transformers: Autocracy from IDW Publishing comes another digital exclusive title in the form of Transformers: Monstrosity. Written by the same time of Chris Metzen and Flint Dille and with the stunning painted artwork of Livio Ramondelli it continues the story of the early days of the Autobots and Decepticons on Cybertron. Following on from the events in Autocracy, Orion Pax has assumed the title of Optimus Prime after ousting the despotic Zeta Prime and defeating the rebellious Decepticons – who had aided his coup d’état but betrayed him and left him for dead before he uncovered the Matrix of Leadership and vanquished the duplicitous Megatron.After the role reversals of Autocracy that saw Megatron in the role of rebel leader and Optimus/Orion as the enforcer of a corrupt regime, we are on more familiar footing here with Optimus in charge and attempting to create a fairer and more just Cybertronian society in the aftermath of Zetas tyrannical reign. His main opposition comes, not from the defeated Decepticons though, rather from the disgruntled politicians in the Grand Convocation (aka the Cybertronian parliament) who don’t want to see the despotic Zeta replaced with an equally oppressive leader in Optimus who they view as a fellow warmongerer. Writers Metzen and Lille have cast the various Autobot sub-groups as grumbling guilds, all trying to politick their way into Optimus’s favour or undermine his attempts to bring fairness into the once divided society which makes for a really intriguing backdrop for the new leader. With the idealistic but uncertain Optimus cast as something of an unfinished article these early steps of his attempts to rule are fraught with missteps and misgivings which helps give the character a subtle vulnerability which we aren’t used to seeing and makes the book much more than just another take on the fight between good and evil. With the vanquished Decepticons banishing the defeated Megatron to the hellish death world of Junkion and a neat sub plot involving the Grimlock and the Dinobots operating as rebels/grifters

By the time we reach the end of issue 1 we are back on the surest of sure footings in terms of Transformers lore. With the seeds sown for the inevitable return of Megatron, this sets up future issues for an intriguing battle for supremacy and the intriguing premise of who will be on which side.

Although not as innovative in structure as Autocracy, Monstrosity is a great second act which has the potential to be another hit for IDW – especially at the bargain price of 69p per issue

Transformers: Monstrosity is available via ComiXology or from the IDW Publishing app.