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First Gen wrote:
An inside source tells me that there's more to this story than meets the eye.


But you didn't hear that from me.

Ooh when we weren't looking was Prime hit by the new human weapon, the emo bomb? turns him into a brooding loner?

I was really ready to give this series a solid chance after I enjoyed AHM, but they will have to pull some seriously awesome ****, for me to be interested after that waste of an issue.

Ugh. Horrible faces, horrible plot.

Say what you will about AHM...plot inconsistencies notwithstanding, I at least found it entertaining. This, though...this is the first time I've been prepared to say "this sucks" as opposed to a polite "well, that was unfortunately disappointing" (Spotlight: Cliffjumper, for example)

I found the plot of AHM derivative and simplified down to good Vs bad and lost the broader perspective of the "space faring saga" that -ation had put into play. Hopefully, this series will bring that back (at least a bit) and get back some of that "not-just-on-earth-but-all-across-the-galaxy-currents-within-currents" feel that was lost once AHM started and which I enjoyed. Please be aware that this is just my opinion and as the saying goes "opinions are like sphincters, everyone has one" so please don't flame me and call me a hater or whatever it is that intertube people like to do when someone has a differing opinion to themselves. I didn't particularly like AHM and that's okay. I still love the TFs and that's all that counts, right?

Also, on another note, I really liked the story of issue 1. And the artwork was really good (except for the human faces... they all had that "Don" look but it could be overlooked generally ). I don't absolutely love the new TF faces but it's growing on me and the awesome new body designs well and truly make up for it anyways. One issue I do have is that Prime's truck mode reminds me FAR too much of a red Motormaster. And since when has Prime's trailer been red? Just askin'.

I will forgive the fact that Hot Rod looks different on the cover than he does in the issue. I will chalk that up to creative changes that reflect the impending change to Rodimus. Hot Rod in issue one looks more like Rodimus Prime than Hot Rod of the cover.

Hot Rod was right in the issue. The Autobots staying on Earth was more about Prime than mankind or the Decepticons. With the war over and mankind looking more and more able to take care of themselves there far more important things the Autobots could be doing like tracking down lost colleagues and trying to find a way to fix their homeworld and restart their civilization.

Prime needed to step down. His selfishness driven by guilt was slowly eroding the Autobots and their morale.

Lastly, they are calling Hot Rod "Rodimus" on the cover of issue 2. So it is pretty obvious who will "rise from the Autobot ranks"

My review

G1 and movie style face crap do not and should not ever be done together.

Don, u will lose the fan base u built with Gen 1 fans if u keep this up.

IDW, do u think u will lose more "movie" fans on your books? Or simply alienate the true fans who will be there down the road for the franchise?

Emotimus Prime is just wrong.

Story wise there wasn't too much there, wasting a lot of time bemoaning the poor humans. Why are humans even in a TransFormers comic? If there was one thing Dream Wave did get right, it was more or less the lack of humans(I know there were a few stories involving them) in the G1 titles and I loved them for it.

Between nothing actually being interesting in the story and the horrible movie verse faces and weird character configurations, what was one supposed to be impressed by?

I'm gonna give it a few issues to see if any of the above mentioned changes and if it doesn't, I'll just drop it like I have all their other TransFormer titles.

Side note, overall I have enjoyed most of the Spot Lights and All Hail Megatron, but those even had inconsistencies and some not so great story telling.

I'm not bothered by the artwork. I like seeing different takes on things, artistically, and the faces were one of the few things done right in the movies. Mechanically speaking they just make more sense than a magic flexible metal that can bend in every ay a human face can.

The story is what disturbed me. I was sorely disappointed by the characterization. The story being set up is interesting, but it's all for naught if the characters don't behave the way they should. After IDW touted how much passion Costa has for the Transformers characters, I was expecting a better understanding of them.

After reading the previews, I was hoping against hope there would be a rational explanation as to why Prowl would go completely against the grain and break cover. To save a Decepticon, no less. A Decepticon who was threatening human lives. Prowl is the cold, analytical guy, the one who berates and punishes anyone who pulls stupid stunts like that. No... just, no. Literally anyone else would have been better for this. Heck, even Streetwise would have been better for this.

Optimus Prime. WHY? Once again, we have the return of Emo Prime who would commit seppuku over a Nintendo game. Hot Rod is right, there's no sense to stay on Earth, and THE REAL OPTIMUS PRIME WOULD KNOW THAT. He should be out there in space, kicking Decepticon skitplates and taking names and dealing with the Decepticons while they're fractured. I can understand why that wouldn’t sell as many issues because you want to keep the stories grounded on the Earth, but we need a logical reason for the setting, otherwise they risk alienating more readers than their trying to bring in.

To sum things up. Interesting setup, but character-wise it makes no sense. Characters should not be sacrificed or manipulated as the author's pawns to advance the story. Then no matter how cool the plot is, it can not be carried! I’m trying to keep an open mind and I will follow this to the end of the story arc, but unless the characters stop acting stupid for the sake of the story then there’s no point. The reason Transformers have endured for a quarter of a century is because the franchise has genuinely interesting characters that people want to follow. We want to read about THE Transformers, not about transforming robots.

Okay, finally got around to reading mine.

Artwork: Some of the designs I actually liked. Prowl, for example. Rodimus. Soundwave. Some of the designs were fugly: Ironhide, most notably, and Bee? Bleurk. And it looked like an entirely different person drew the humans. (And by now y'all know how I feel about people who put *people* into my robot stories!!!)

Story: Angsty Prime is okay by me, but I can see the previous poster's point that any idiot would see the mistake Prime's making, and that's not so cool. And that Prowl's breaking cover is a little...thinly motivated, since Prowl isn't an emotional bot. I was more upset, honestly, by the idiot powersuits the humans have. And the heavy-handed tie ins to AHM. Ummm, can we just reboot the story along with the artwork? Seriously?

Now, I'm going to stick with this, because I think it's too early to make any real judgments, and, well, I've seen good stories come out of some pretty awkward first chapters. Plus, I'm always interested in any take on TF characters. To be honest, I'm actually pretty interested in the fact that the 'second string' characters might be getting so much more play than usual. One hopes.


HK, go, bravo team!

It's interesting that the Ongoing #1 issue came out while the Best of UK story Prey is also being released. In Prey, Optimus also "goes emo" so far as to fake his own death. It put the "quitting" aspect of the Ongoing story in to perspective for me. He may not acutally be quitting, but testing the Autobots and challenging Hot Rod to step up to the plate, put his energon where his mouth is so to speak. Thinking back to BeastWars, Megatron did a similar test with Terrorsaur. Pull from other aspects of the multiverse, and this Optimus quitting thing really isn't new at all.

As far as the art goes, I think we'll see Don tone down the facial details a bit in subsequent issues. I also think we'll see some issues guest starring other artists, just as was the case with AHM. I don't like the new faces, but I don't expect them to remain as is, especially after that Andy Shmidt interview.

The storyline with the humans hunting all Transformers isn't new either, it reminds me of the Marvel G1 storyline where Circuit Breaker's group "Rapid Anti-Robot Attack Team" was doing the same thing. This may be the heart of what disappointed me about the new issue, I was thinking "here we go again" about what seems to be the main plot. I'm still hoping that the "more than meets the eye" comments about the plot will actually indicated an unexpected new swing on things in that respect.

Ravage Eject wrote:well I guess I'm in the minority then because I actually like the art. In fact, I wish the movie designs were closer to these designs. As far as not liking the new story....come on...how many people love Cybertron, or Armada, OR Beast Wars....there is plenty of room to explore different stories and art styles in the Transformers Universe....count me out of the "this art sucks" bandwagon.

I'm scratchin my head going "WTF"@ why so much hate for the art style - I for one like it. It mixes the better G-1 look with the intricate look of the Bayverse TF's. I don't like some of the faces but way their bodies look is awesome. I'll hang in and give the story a chance..... THat ending really had me going WTF? But I guess open up some different stories we haven't seen before.

First Gen wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:

Editor wrote:Just a basic hunch.

Issue 2, the Autobots deal with the loss of Prime, while Spike begins to interrogate Prime.

Issue 3, Hot Rod/imus will be made commander and again make some tactical mistakes. Spike starts seeing Prime as a being rather than an alien invader.

Issue 4, A Decepticon will learn of Prime's incarceration and will start plans while some bots will start questioning why HR is in charge.

Issue 5, Cons attack the base, and are more successful as they aren't concerned with killing humans. Spike will release Prime to save them.

Sounds about right. Oh and Prime will be ripping off heads and faces.

An inside source tells me that there's more to this story than meets the eye.


But you didn't hear that from me.

Yeah, I kinda figured that the spectre of Rodimus Prime would arise (#-o - ) when Optimus stepped down... But wait - - where the hell is Ultra Magnus, isn't Megatron is still outta action, and still have the Matrix? Oh and if, IF, Megatron is still out of commission due to what happened toward the end of AHM, does that leave Decepticon leader up for grabs - especiall since GALVATRON has re-emerged (I hope so )?

trence5 wrote:

First Gen wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:

Editor wrote:Just a basic hunch.

Issue 2, the Autobots deal with the loss of Prime, while Spike begins to interrogate Prime.

Issue 3, Hot Rod/imus will be made commander and again make some tactical mistakes. Spike starts seeing Prime as a being rather than an alien invader.

Issue 4, A Decepticon will learn of Prime's incarceration and will start plans while some bots will start questioning why HR is in charge.

Issue 5, Cons attack the base, and are more successful as they aren't concerned with killing humans. Spike will release Prime to save them.

Sounds about right. Oh and Prime will be ripping off heads and faces.

An inside source tells me that there's more to this story than meets the eye.


But you didn't hear that from me.

Yeah, I kinda figured that the spectre of Rodimus Prime would arise (#-o - ) when Optimus stepped down... But wait - - where the hell is Ultra Magnus, isn't Megatron is still outta action, and still have the Matrix? Oh and if, IF, Megatron is still out of commission due to what happened toward the end of AHM, does that leave Decepticon leader up for grabs - especiall since GALVATRON has re-emerged (I hope so )?

Ultra Magnus is on the cover of issue 3 and looking pretty bad ass.



Starscream has the Matrix.

I was pleasantly surprised by this issue. Plot moved along nicely, almost at Furmanesque speed. Early days yet, but I'm far more likely to keep my continuing subscription now than I was at any point during Shane McCarthy's run on the comic.

Only think I didn't like was Drift - I'm surprised he doesn't sparkle in the sunlight. At least he didn't say anything - though I am surprised that they held back from anointing him as a possible leader in the teaser for the next issue. Cos, you know, Drift is so AWSM.