Transformers Optimus Prime “Beauty And Tragedy” by Daniel Warren Johnson

Transformers Optimus Prime “Beauty And Tragedy” by Daniel Warren Johnson

The end of 2023 was kinda rough for me. One of the comics that got me through it was Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers. This comic captures the incredible action and heart that DWJ brings to his art, and it also got me going back to rediscover Transformers as a whole.


Daniel Warren Johnson continues to show he is a once in a generation talent, masterfully blending kinetic action with moments of poignant, beauty, tragedy and heart .

In the opening of its second issue, Optimus accidentally takes the life of a deer. You see this hardened war hero who has seen too much, a hulikng machine, who is devastated by the taking of this woodland creatures life. Regardless of how familiar you are with the property this two page sequence tells you everything that you need to know about the character of Optimus Prime.
Daniel has spoken in interviews about how he fought with Hasbro to include this scene to show why Optimus fights to protect humanity. For me. This was the moment in the series that Transformers became Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers.

When I had the option of getting a 6 x 9 piece, I asked Daniel to reinterpret that scene and he crushed it. It was a joy to watch Daniel create this and I have a hard time expressing just how much I love this piece. At the time Daniel even remarked this was one of his favorite things he drew this weekend.

Thank you to Daniel for creating something so special for me.