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Thanks to our friends at IDW Publishing, we're glad to offer a preview of next week's two comics! First up is issue 20 of the Robots in Disguise ongoing, still building up to the Dark Cybertron event. Check out the comics goodness below.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #20
John Barber (w) • Andrew Griffith (a) • Griffith, Casey Coller (c)
NEW CYBERTRON! It’s a brand new day—and STARSCREAM is in charge! But running a planet isn’t as easy as it looks… if BUMBLEBEE couldn’t do it, why does the former DECEPTICON think he can?
2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:

• Introducing fan-favorite character RATTRAP into the world of ROBOTS IN DISGUISE!
• The dawn of a new age—or the end of everything?!
• The countdown to DARK CYBERTRON continues!
• Livio Ramondeli variant cover, interconnected with issues 21 and 22!

A quick addendum, from Andrew Griffith's Twitter feed, about Flatline.

^ I guess that means Flatline doesn't have a toy coming anytime soon.

I wonder what Starscream's new body is. Probably the Armada one, given it's a new toy and all, though I'm not really fond of that idea.

Noideaforaname wrote:I wonder what Starscream's new body is. Probably the Armada one, given it's a new toy and all, though I'm not really fond of that idea.

That's my guess too, to be honest. Hmm.

Here we go with the little crappy Micromaster patrols dredged up from the last days of G1... this is what happens when IDW starts killing off good characters left and right. Is this part of the big push to aim Transformers more towards the pre-school kids? I guess they'll start filling the book with Armada and Energon characters next and make me start throwing up my lunch too, along with my Breakfast.

Dirge is the last seeker? What about Acid Storm!?

84forever wrote:Here we go with the little crappy Micromaster patrols dredged up from the last days of G1... this is what happens when IDW starts killing off good characters left and right. Is this part of the big push to aim Transformers more towards the pre-school kids? I guess they'll start filling the book with Armada and Energon characters next and make me start throwing up my lunch too, along with my Breakfast.

Dirge is the last seeker? What about Acid Storm!?

What do you mean by 'good characters'?

Va'al wrote:
What do you mean by 'good characters'?

y'know the real guys... Primarily 84-85 and some of the '86 characters.

84forever wrote:

Va'al wrote:
What do you mean by 'good characters'?

y'know the real guys... Primarily 84-85 and some of the '86 characters.

Seriously?

A question: why do you read the ongoing series? The cast has so very little left compared to your 'ideal' version, the story is very very different, and it's all rooted in a universe and continuity started with the IDW Furman run in Infiltration.

That's the cast, that's the setting. This is not trying to replace the first run of the fiction, this is a new series, with new characters that might look like those ones, or share their name.

Va'al wrote:

84forever wrote:

Va'al wrote:
What do you mean by 'good characters'?

y'know the real guys... Primarily 84-85 and some of the '86 characters.

Seriously?

A question: why do you read the ongoing series? The cast has so very little left compared to your 'ideal' version, the story is very very different, and it's all rooted in a universe and continuity started with the IDW Furman run in Infiltration.

That's the cast, that's the setting. This is not trying to replace the first run of the fiction, this is a new series, with new characters that might look like those ones, or share their name.

Honestly, it's the ease of downloading stuff to read while i'm at work. I would NEVER hunt down any of IDWs books in a brick and mortar store. These guys decided on a nice G1 reboot to start off with and then just messed up everything after that. IDWs writers were always bottom of the barrel. The talents of Barber and Robinson combined can't even reach the level of writing on ANY old G1 episode. Not even B.O.T. !

Now I feel with the reintroduction of the Micromaster patrols that things have finally FINALLY reached their breaking point and it's all downhill from here.

What IDW is producing at the moment - and this is not just my opinion, check out other reviewers and comics sites like Bleeding Cool and Comic Book Resources - is a lot better than most fiction in the franchise. I can understand the point of nostalgia for the old cartoon (because apparently the Marvel US and UK comics don't count, either), but that's it.

Barber (RID, editor for the others) has been a writer and editor at Marvel before moving to IDW, Flint Dille (Autocracy and Monstrosity) was the writer for the original cartoon series, including the 1986 movie.

Apart from that, I don't know what else to say, actually. You're obviously welcome to not like them, but the reason behind your dislike is baffling me!


Also, I'm still confused as to why you spend money on comics that you really do not enjoy.

Flint Dille was A writer on G1s 3rd season and IMO wrote some of the weakest episodes of that season! His original script for TFTM was not good enough so they ripped out the decent parts and had another guy write it!

The positive feedback these rags get is because this is the best stuff the fandom has seen since the days of Dreamwave, so they forgot what good stories were. IDW Transformers could be great if they put characters people care about in their books! Who ever said Scoop was in their top 5 favorite characters? No one! How about Flatline? Or Fixit? F*ck no! Who the f*ck are these guys!? No one knows! No one cares! THAT will be IDWs downfall! Books starring Transformers that no one gives a sh!t about.

Believe it or not, I care about them. I like the new characterisations, and the stories. They're not the best comic out there, but they're good stories and definitely some of the best Transformers comics.

There has been a massive, internet-wide reaction to the death of some characters. There has been clamour for more stories about minor ones. There has been exhaustion at the re-use of the same cast, over and over again.

But.

I give up.

Va'al wrote:
I give up.

Gee Winning!

84forever wrote:

Va'al wrote:
I give up.

Gee Winning!

A favour, though.

If all you're going to comment in these threads is along the lines of 'they're bad because I don't like the cast', please avoid posting. If you're willing to make it more constructive, feel free to join in again!

84forever wrote:IDW Transformers could be great if they put characters people care about in their books! Who ever said Scoop was in their top 5 favorite characters? No one! How about Flatline? Or Fixit? F*ck no! Who the f*ck are these guys!? No one knows! No one cares! THAT will be IDWs downfall! Books starring Transformers that no one gives a sh!t about.

If you think the G1 cartoon had genuinely good writing or even had *characters*, then I think you need to have another go at pleading with your captor for some more viewing material.

Because kidnapping and extreme isolation is the only way I could understand how someone could hold this opinion.

Noideaforaname wrote:^ I guess that means Flatline doesn't have a toy coming anytime soon.

I wonder what Starscream's new body is. Probably the Armada one, given it's a new toy and all, though I'm not really fond of that idea.

I like starscream legends design, with his fall of cybertron design for cybertron look


http://tformers.com/ig.php?mode=album&dispsize=600&album=20911&start=0&sl=transformers-igear-toys-conair-ig-c01
I liked this design as his earth bot mode

Yay! Quickmix got a panel They name dropped him a couple of issues back so I've been waiting for that.

84forever wrote: Who ever said Scoop was in their top 5 favorite characters? No one!

The sudden inclusion of Scoop is a blatant product placement with the recent announcement of his figure revealed. If its nostalgia in a TF comic your'e after, There's always that (I actually dont mind this at all if it must be known).

Noideaforaname wrote:^ I guess that means Flatline doesn't have a toy coming anytime soon.

But if he designed as "possible redeco"... what's the original toy he coul be redecoed from?

synapse wrote:

Noideaforaname wrote:^ I guess that means Flatline doesn't have a toy coming anytime soon.

But if he designed as "possible redeco"... what's the original toy he coul be redecoed from?

Griffith's tweets are not clear on that, but it's either the Trailcutter/Hoist mold or the Skids one.

Synopsis

NEW CYBERTRON! It’s a brand new day—and STARSCREAM is in charge! But running a planet isn’t as easy as it looks… if BUMBLEBEE couldn’t do it, why does the former DECEPTICON think he can?



Story
Remember how last issue was about Orion Pax and Gorlam Prime? And the one before about the factions now residing outside Iacon and Arcee, and before that it was Shockwave and D(r)eadwing? If you haven't read them yet, you're in luck, as issue 20 still does not advance the plot much!



Starscream really does take centre stage with this issue, and with him arguably being the best character to come out of Robots in Disguise, that is definitely not a bad thing. Barber has swapped his monologue by captions technique by coming out and calling the issue 'Three Monologues', allowing him to let Starscream speak, pretty much to himself, the whole time.



It feels a little better than the usual floating voices, and there are ways of showing a 'silent audience' like Metalhawk's body which almost justify it. But Screamer-fest aside, very little happens in the issue, except for the introduction of upcoming toy Scoop and potential upcoming toy Rattrap.



The characterisation and hints at future developments aren't bad, and I enjoyed it more than other issues along the same lines. But the story really did not do much, at all. Rattrap is a peculiar choice, in terms of personality, especially when placed next to Starscream, and Scoop felt almost unnecessary.

Art

Visually, though, it works really well. From Metalhawk's body and the other ..incapacitated characters throughout the issue to the newcomers Rattrap and Scoop, and the play between blacked-out Iacon and the city once power is restored - it's all really good looking. And Griffith shows off his skills on page 6, with some excellent panel work.



The lighting differences mentioned above really pop out thanks to Priscilla Tramontano's colouring work. The story progresses from complete darkness in the heart of night to the first lights of dawn, via artificial lighting coming back in operation - and yes, you can feel it in the tones and shades.



Shawn Lee's lettering work gets a few particularly creative moments too, which is very nice to see. The three artists working on this issue have done a stellar job to make a fairly static story particularly aesthetically pleasing, and if anything, pick the issue up for the look of it.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Abandoning the caption monologue was a good strategy, though I'm not sure how I feel about still having the monologues anyway. On the plus side, they fit the character of Starscream perfectly. The art on the issue, also Starscream-centric, is stunning, and if Starscream Starscream, then Starscream Starscream Starscream. So Starscream. Starscream?



Starscream-fest aside, though, it does little to the plot other than introduce two-three characters and hint at some stuff, and it then tries to make up for it with the final page reveal - which is nice, but the gimmick is getting a bit tiresome. Still, as I said, I enjoyed it more than previous similar issues, and Starscream really does shine in this.

It sounds like this issue is all about Starscream, and the rest of the characters are just filler... which is how it should be. Fan favorites should get the limelight, while the scores of low interest characters that were introduced after the early days of G1 can be used for crowd building scenes during times of peace, and fodder during times of war.

The plot still isn't moving? You would think by this point something would happen but I guess not. There comes a time when you need to stop the endless setup and actually get on with it. Especially since this one doesn't seem to bring the punch even when it actually gets going. I find the characters aren't that interesting either (SS gets a pass here). MTMTE could get away with this glacial story because the characters are so interesting. To have a worthwhile comic you either need the characters or the story and to me this has neither.

The blatant toy advertising in this series is kinda on par with the old comics. Not that I mind. More toys is a good thing in my book. Thing is, I would like toys of the established guys in the story, not some random ones. Has Scoop shown up before this? Who the heck is he? At the same time, I wouldn't mind Rattrap, but that's because I loved Beast Wars It baffles me has Hasbro seems to avoid toys of the main guys.

*edit* Forgot to ask. Is there a reason SS is getting a new body? He looks fine to me. I mean, story wise other than to advertise the upcoming armada toy

I don't like using the 'filler' word, but this issue more than any has struck me as just sitting there, not doing much except for the last page, advertising Scoop and introducing another beastformer to the continuity. I did like the dialogue, and I did like Starscream.

But it's, professionally put, all a bit meh.

Hasbro, Rattrap, NOW!

Hasbro, Terrorsaur, now!