Comic Review: Transformers - Drift

PUBLISHER: IDW (2010)
WRITER: SHANE McCARTHY
ARTIST: ALEX MILNE  

Drift is - or at least was - one of the most reviled Transformers characters ever and a lot of the blame for this was down to the obnoxious promotional push IDW comics gave him, though creator Shane McCarthy's prickly side didn't exactly smooth the path. In general the actual character wasn't quite as much of a Scrappy Doo as expected. However, a four-issue mini-series exploring his crazy mysterious backstory was hardly warranted and is every bit as terrible as these elements would suggest.


 
It's basically the most generic badass warrior origin story imaginable as Drift turns from Decepticon to Autobot while remaining his own sense of badassery - i.e. arguing with everyone else and shooting people. It's not a new idea - it's not even new to Transformers, being basically the same territory covered by Carnivac's characterisation in the UK comic. And if Drift's two-dimensional the supporting cast are even worse; Dai Atlas is a flat blank there to frustrate then be inspired by our hero and the rest are best summed up by the dynamic, fascinating names McCarthy bestows on them - Wing, Axe, Gasket. 

Bluntly this series really could be about any mech going; only a few cameos actually mark this as a Transformers comic. What there is to it would be redundant and boring in a Spotlight; stretched to four issues it's interminable.