Comic Review: Transformers Animated The AllSpark Almanac by Patrick

The AllSpark Almanac is a visual guide to the first two seasons of Transfomers Animated, the Transformers series that recently aired on The Cartoon Network. In some ways it is like The Ark, which serves as a guide to Generation 1. However, much like the series on which it was based, The AllSpark Almanac approaches its task of being a visual catalogue with a great deal of personality and style.

It is almost surprising that there would be a book devoted to the art of Transformers Animated, as this was the one aspect of the series that caused the most controversy among fans. It was a little jarring at first to see giant transforming robots realized in such a consciously cartoony way but for those of us who stuck around as the series found its footing, it became clear that the art style played to the show’s greatest strength: characterization. Not since Beast Wars has a Transformers show been this successful developing characters and relationships, not to mention complex multi-season storylines.

In Transformers Animated, one finds very few of the sort of flat, dull characters that have plagued Transformers through out its long history. The show even finds a fresh angle on Optimus Prime, making him a younger, less powerful version of his classic character and we are invested in his journey to become the hero that we know him to be. And Animated features what is probably the best and most unhinged Starscream to date. The art style helps to support these kinds of fresh characterizations and is the polar opposite of the sort of horrible stiff characters from the shows of the later 1990’s and early part of this decade. One can make the argument that the Animated characters are less successful as literal interpretations of robots but I will take interesting characters over realistic robots any day.

Whereas The Ark is little more than pages upon pages of character models, The AllSpark Almanac contains a surprising amount of original text that accompanies the artwork. In keeping with Animated’s focus on character, the text here is primarily in-universe with characters talking about other characters, recapping episodes, journal entries, etc. One gets the impression that the book was simultaneously created for adult fans and also to sell to kids as well. While the mockumentary take is entertaining, there is little of the background information about the production that might have proved truly satisfying to fans of the show.

Ultimately, The AllSpark Almanac is a valentine to fans of this too-soon cancelled series, which contained some of the best Transformers storytelling ever produced (just compare The Revenge of the Fallen in terms of plot and characterization) and a fun celebration of twenty five years of Transformers history. The creators of The AllSpark Almanac have hinted that a follow up may be in the works focusing on season three, which was chock full of exciting characters and locations familiar to fans of the various Transformers series over the years. Hopefully that won’t be the last we see of The Animated universe.

Patrick Garone
Staff Reviewer