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This volume of More than Meets the Eye is less focused than the last few, in a good way. Instead of featuring one big story, this one gives us a number of one- or two-chapter tales, spotlighting the broad cast of this book in a variety of situations. Among other events, the Decepticon Justice Division learns that Megatron's gone Autobot, Brainstorm is put on trial for the events of volume 7 while Ratchet weighs up what's important, the Lost Light finally catches up to the Vis Vitalis and has multiple dance parties, the entire crew visits a sitcom version of Earth, and the Lost Light discovers a clue to the existence of the afterlife. Phew!

After what I saw as getting overly convoluted in volume 7, volume 8 is largely a return to form. The D.J.D. plotline continues to burble away in the background, but this volume makes it more likely that some kind of confrontation is coming, as the D.J.D. learns of Megatron's heel-face turn, considers ending it all, but then realizes that Decepticonism is not a person, but an ideology. Nice enough, but of course the best part of the whole issue was the jokes, particularly learning how much the D.J.D. is into forms; their ferocious, ruthless, murderous leader chastises his subordinates for poor safety etiquette: "You think we have a health and safety policy because it's fun? Which reminds me: appraisals, my quarters, soon as Nickel [their medic] gives you the all clear. And this time come prepared--bring you P.D.P.s." This last word is footnoted as "Personal Development Plans"; the D.J.D. has to fill out the same kind of forms my wife does as a high school teacher!

The next story is cute, mostly for Ratchet's considerations of his friendship with Drift, who departed the Lost Light all the way back in volume 4. I look forward to seeing where this goes, because I miss Drift. (Words I never thought I'd say after All Hail Megatron.) Hopefully Ratchet does bring him back to the Lost Light.

After that comes what must be one of the wackiest More than Meets the Eyes stories (though not the wackiest; that's coming up), where the Lost Light and the Vis Vitalis both come under attack by aliens who feed off charisma. New crewmembers such as Nautica and Nightbeat continue to get some much needed development, as the Vis Vitalis crew has been joined by a number of Camiens, including Nautica's amica endura. I like Nautica a lot. (Maybe I was predisposed to, because my wife and I both took a "which Lost Light character are you?" quiz and she got Nautica!) In some ways, though, this story gets to be James Roberts as his most James Roberts-ish because it ends with the characters having an indie music dance party!

THEN THINGS GET ABSOLUTELY NUTS.

Explaining it is probably beyond my powers, but in short there's a fake Earth based on sitcom tropes where the crew has to project their holomatter avatars... an Earth upon which their own adventures appear in the form of a comic book called More than Meets the Eye. Of course this leads to lots of self-referential jokes: Cyclonus complains that the planet is "weird and farcical and-- and unrealistic," but Hot Rod retorts that their own adventures are if anything, more unrealistic. But also there's some cute character-based stuff. So maybe More than Meets the Eye at its most More than Meets the Eye-ish isn't so bad after all.

The last story in the book was my favorite. The Lost Light arrives at a planet home to the Necrobot, a mysterious Transformer who visits Cybertronians at the moment of their death. There's more good character stuff here: Chromedome and Rewind's love for each other even though Rewind is seeking a previous lover, Nightbeat's hope that there's something more to the afterlife than the Dead Universe, and a couple great moments for Megatron, including one that's absolutely heart-rending. But also Megatron tries to learn how to banter, with little success.

Though it's never been bad, I feel like the post-Dark Cybertron iteration of More than Meets the Eye ("season two") is just now hitting its groove, finding its feet, &., &c. The new characters are starting to feel like old friends, and the drama and the comedy are in good shape. I can't wait to see what happens next... but I will have to, because as per the chronology I've been following, I'm about to hit my longest gap between More than Meets the Eye collections: I have six other books to read before I turn back to volume 9, whereas normally it's been one or maybe two. That's life in a shared universe, I guess.

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