Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #41 Full Preview
Friday, May 22nd, 2015 10:33AM CDT
Category: Comic Book NewsPosted by: Va'al Views: 21,437
Topic Options: View Discussion · Sign in or Join to reply
Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #41
James Roberts (w) • Alex Milne (a & c)
“Dear RODIMUS and crew… It’s my funeral tomorrow and I’d love it if you could all be there. Refreshments will be provided. Please R.S.V.P.—THUNDERCLASH”
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
The return of the greatest AUTOBOT hero of all time —THUNDERCLASH—which is great news!
But he’s dying—which is terrible news!
Variant Cover by Kotteri!
News Search
Got Transformers News? Let us know here!
Most Popular Transformers News
Most Recent Transformers News
Posted by Madeus Prime on May 22nd, 2015 @ 10:52am CDT
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on May 22nd, 2015 @ 11:40am CDT
Skids: "One thing's for sure; it can't be what I think it is."
Brainstorm: "That would be the sound of Getaway's brain module flummoxing."
Posted by TGS1985 on May 22nd, 2015 @ 12:06pm CDT
Nemesis Maximo wrote:Nautica: "what is that noose?"
Brainstorm: It's for Getaway. He just bet me double the Shanix he owes me that he could escape it while hanging before he runs out of breath!
Nautica: But we don't breath air, remember?
Brainstorm:...
Posted by dragons on May 22nd, 2015 @ 12:18pm CDT
Posted by TGS1985 on May 22nd, 2015 @ 12:26pm CDT
dragons wrote:Yeah dont get it comedy in movies bad, comedy in comics good for transformers fanss
Why rely to witty dialog like that in MTMTE when you can just use good old pee/balls/humping humor? /sarcasm
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on May 22nd, 2015 @ 1:00pm CDT
TGS1985 wrote:Nemesis Maximo wrote:Nautica: "what is that noose?"
Brainstorm: It's for Getaway. He just bet me double the Shanix he owes me that he could escape it while hanging before he runs out of breath!
Nautica: But we don't breath air, remember?
Brainstorm:...
Skids: " "
Posted by Quint on May 22nd, 2015 @ 2:09pm CDT
The speaker implies, the listener infers.
Pedantry always comes back to bite ya'
Posted by Shuttershock on May 22nd, 2015 @ 3:09pm CDT
Posted by datguy86 on May 22nd, 2015 @ 3:40pm CDT
Shuttershock wrote:That's kind of interesting about Ravage. Really, he and his kind feel like some of the last ambiguous mysteries of IDW Cybertron. Like, what function do they fall into? Are they forged that way or constructed cold? Are they remnants of Onyx Prime's people, and how did they avoid the implied purge during Nova's reign?
If Ravage is one of Onyx Prime's people, I would imagine survival was due to hundreds of nanoscopic attention deflectors.
Posted by Shuttershock on May 22nd, 2015 @ 3:51pm CDT
datguy86 wrote:Shuttershock wrote:That's kind of interesting about Ravage. Really, he and his kind feel like some of the last ambiguous mysteries of IDW Cybertron. Like, what function do they fall into? Are they forged that way or constructed cold? Are they remnants of Onyx Prime's people, and how did they avoid the implied purge during Nova's reign?
If Ravage is one of Onyx Prime's people, I would imagine survival was due to hundreds of nanoscopic attention deflectors.
Clever!
I guess that would explain Laserbeak and Buzzsaw as well.
Posted by Henry921 on May 22nd, 2015 @ 5:21pm CDT
Shuttershock wrote:datguy86 wrote:Shuttershock wrote:That's kind of interesting about Ravage. Really, he and his kind feel like some of the last ambiguous mysteries of IDW Cybertron. Like, what function do they fall into? Are they forged that way or constructed cold? Are they remnants of Onyx Prime's people, and how did they avoid the implied purge during Nova's reign?
If Ravage is one of Onyx Prime's people, I would imagine survival was due to hundreds of nanoscopic attention deflectors.
Clever!
I guess that would explain Laserbeak and Buzzsaw as well.
Impossible. Ravage was constructed cold.
Posted by Shuttershock on May 22nd, 2015 @ 5:23pm CDT
Henry921 wrote:Shuttershock wrote:datguy86 wrote:Shuttershock wrote:That's kind of interesting about Ravage. Really, he and his kind feel like some of the last ambiguous mysteries of IDW Cybertron. Like, what function do they fall into? Are they forged that way or constructed cold? Are they remnants of Onyx Prime's people, and how did they avoid the implied purge during Nova's reign?
If Ravage is one of Onyx Prime's people, I would imagine survival was due to hundreds of nanoscopic attention deflectors.
Clever!
I guess that would explain Laserbeak and Buzzsaw as well.
Impossible. Ravage was constructed cold.
But then there's the question: Who would build a Cybertronian like that, and for what puropse? Espionage maybe, but seems bizarre for the era they existed in.
Posted by prjkt on May 22nd, 2015 @ 5:24pm CDT
Shuttershock wrote:That's kind of interesting about Ravage. Really, he and his kind feel like some of the last ambiguous mysteries of IDW Cybertron. Like, what function do they fall into? Are they forged that way or constructed cold? Are they remnants of Onyx Prime's people, and how did they avoid the implied purge during Nova's reign?
Ravage was affected by Tyrest's kill switch though, so he's a post Nova Prime ascendancy CC, I think Onyx' tribe will come to play in Windblade's comic, according to the August solicitations.
It'll be interesting to find out why a Ravage was made in the form he is... Maybe some senator wanted a pet? Or a tracker for hunting?
Posted by Henry921 on May 22nd, 2015 @ 5:27pm CDT
I think the "master of stealth" aspect came later. When in doubt, the answer is probably: "Decepticon engineering."
Posted by Va'al on May 27th, 2015 @ 6:09am CDT
(Spoiler free-ish)
Synopsis
“Dear RODIMUS and crew… It’s my funeral tomorrow and I’d love it if you could all be there. Refreshments will be provided. Please R.S.V.P.—THUNDERCLASH”
Story
Switching away from Combiner Wars, and dipping a couple of weeks behind in the general timeline of the IDWverse, let us return to the Lost Light after Ratchet has left to go annoy/save/be annoyed by Drift. As they receive news that the Greatest Autobot That Ever Will Have Lived Alpha Bravo Thunderclash is currently at his final stretch, even with the Vis Vitalis life support.
The issue does some really clever things, in James Robert's script set-up to the pre-wake for Thunderclash aboard his ship - we are allowed another slice of life aboard the Lost Light, with its crew interacting, clashing, bumping into each other, just ..being there and letting their voices come to the fore and speak for themselves, and Nautica, Nightbeat and Getaway getting a little more of the spotlight.
And, similarly, we get a round-up of the new characters aboard the Vis Vitalis, with new arrivals - though seemingly well established in the universe - Firestar and Velocity, plus some additional Camiens as revealed by Milne recently, playing into the wider universe of the Transformers at this stage. And how does characters clash and blend with our cast of misfitting egos.
All of the dancing, all of the jealousies, all of the distractions and the emotions are not what the issue is all about, however. Two more threads run under the surface, showing the closer converging parallels of Rodimus and Megatron, and their personal issues with pretty much anything. And a deeper, darker stream still..
Art
It's always nice to see the return of a regular artist on a series, and Alex Milne does not disappoint with this issue, at all. We get new designs, multiple crowd scenes, new cast members some serious delving into body language and dynamic dance moves (willing or not) and - of course - some magnificent facial expressions for the people who *really* don't want anything to do with the whole wake do.
The addition of Joana Lafuente's colours, the element of continuity between the various artists we've had in the recent past, makes sure the party is going on both on the dancefloor and in the readers' eyes, with some great effects being played for the multiple characters and their emotional discordances or possible re-ignitions - depending on how whose side you might want to take.
Tom B. Long is joined for the issue by fellow master letterer Chris Mowry, and with their powers combined, we can actually feel the voices and hear the music from Thudnerclash's pre-wake, along with the corridors, bars, cells and some of the emotions running high among the casts. Which are easily also found in the covers, with Milne and Josh Perez' Nautica and Camien victorious main piece, the thumbnailed Kotteri retail incentive (not depicting scenes in the issue, but rather Empire of Stone), and the triumphant Thunderclash memorial by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham.
Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead
This is not an issue to take as lightly as everything suggests we might want to. Yes, there are several lighthearted scenes, with a character focus and setting, playing on the multiple clashing egos of the cast and the new encounters (for the readers at least), and ensuring all characters are ..well, characters. They just are. With their quirks, personalities and voices.
At the same time, though, there's a deeper, creepier story coming out of the issue, and played on the sidelines of the general merriment of the Vis and Light - and one that brings us back to where MTMTE all started, again. Space horror, dark ships, and things lurking just beyond the happiness of the circle of casts shown in the light. Genre is genre is genre.
Posted by Randomhero on May 27th, 2015 @ 6:41am CDT
I will give Roberts this, he knows how to write girls as girls. Not to be critical to John or Margarite but Windblade, Chromia, and Arcee are women in name and appearance only. The female characters in this comic feel like female characters. They talk like girls and I give total props to that.
Posted by Jeen0808 on May 27th, 2015 @ 7:13am CDT
Posted by Randomhero on May 27th, 2015 @ 7:26am CDT
Jeen0808 wrote:This issue was well and all, as a setup. But it kind of reminded me of something Ultra Magnus once said.
Sure...except evenyone who is on a cover for this issue is featured in the comic.
Posted by pie-man on May 27th, 2015 @ 7:55am CDT
Great character interactions and all.... but also feel that all that dialogue slows pace of the issue. Interesting to see Ravage out and about and hanging out (sort of) with the rest of the crew.
Posted by Randomhero on May 27th, 2015 @ 8:13am CDT
pie-man wrote:Its certainly an interesting issue, but seemed to me that it ended kinda abruptly. I know there have been some cliffhanger-esque endings recently (Brainstorm holding a gun at a half-built Megatron comes to mind), but this this issue seemed like a few pages short.
Great character interactions and all.... but also feel that all that dialogue slows pace of the issue. Interesting to see Ravage out and about and hanging out (sort of) with the rest of the crew.
I totally agree. It feels like nothing happened but a lot did. It's hard to follow up elegant chaos and the last two because of how emotional the past 5 months of MTMTE has been.
Personally I think it has to do with this is all centered around thunderclash, a character that literally had done nothing in IDW expect for being told how amazing he is. I have no attachment to him and if people do that's fine I guess. Maybe if I read what fun pub has done because that's the only history he has.
Posted by ScottyP on May 27th, 2015 @ 8:14am CDT
Disclaimer: these are still nit-picks, and probably only coming out due to how phenomenally good 39 and 40 were.
Posted by Randomhero on May 27th, 2015 @ 8:14am CDT
pie-man wrote:Its certainly an interesting issue, but seemed to me that it ended kinda abruptly. I know there have been some cliffhanger-esque endings recently (Brainstorm holding a gun at a half-built Megatron comes to mind), but this this issue seemed like a few pages short.
Great character interactions and all.... but also feel that all that dialogue slows pace of the issue. Interesting to see Ravage out and about and hanging out (sort of) with the rest of the crew.
Posted by ctrlFrequency on May 27th, 2015 @ 8:17am CDT
Also, loved the way he wrote for the ladies. On a personality level I think Roberts really understands the female mindset. Never makes them too girly but makes them real. Even if he does put them in the wrong places sometimes *cougj*DJD*cough*
He's telling a story, and unfortunately in the limited pages of a comic that makes for slow issues.
Posted by Randomhero on May 27th, 2015 @ 8:18am CDT
Posted by pie-man on May 27th, 2015 @ 9:13am CDT
Posted by Downbeat on May 27th, 2015 @ 10:45am CDT
Posted by Noideaforaname on May 27th, 2015 @ 10:51am CDT
ScottyP wrote:This is one of those "won't notice it was a whole issue in the trade" but "too slow to be super enjoyable as a stand alone" to me. Loved the character development but not much of anything else really seemed to go anywhere, and the cliffhanger feels repetitive. Haven't we done robo-zombies/mini-scraplets/etc/etc a couple times now?
Disclaimer: these are still nit-picks, and probably only coming out due to how phenomenally good 39 and 40 were.
Definitely this, but I'm more annoyed that all the new female bots got hyped yet only Firestar really made an appearance.
Also wish we got more info about Thunderclash. He's just sorta... artificial. We're forced to agree with Rodimus not because of what TC's done, but because TC's done nothing.
Posted by Randomhero on May 27th, 2015 @ 10:57am CDT
Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
Not alien, different. As I said Chromia and Windblade are pretty much female in gender only. James and Alex have given Natica female characteristics in body language and personality. She actually feels like a female character and not just a typical "hey look a girl because she looks like a girl and were being told she's a girl!"
Posted by worldsgreatest on May 27th, 2015 @ 11:26am CDT
Randomhero wrote:Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
Not alien, different. As I said Chromia and Windblade are pretty much female in gender only. James and Alex have given Natica female characteristics in body language and personality. She actually feels like a female character and not just a typical "hey look a girl because she looks like a girl and were being told she's a girl!"
I still have no idea what this means.
What does 'a girl' sound like? What does 'female' SOUND like as character trait to you?
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on May 27th, 2015 @ 11:27am CDT
Posted by Wolfguard on May 27th, 2015 @ 11:37am CDT
Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
When you start dating, you'll understand.
Posted by TGS1985 on May 27th, 2015 @ 11:43am CDT
Also is anyone else starting to get a sort of Felicity Smoak vibe from Nautica personality wise? I can't help but hear her voice in my head when I read her lines now... And I totally mean that as a positive way because I adore Felicity on Arrow.
Lastly, a cybertronian SORORITY? That just asking for college based hijinks!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbEfV05tJz8[/youtube]
Posted by Randomhero on May 27th, 2015 @ 12:11pm CDT
Wolfguard wrote:Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
When you start dating, you'll understand.
I was not going to go there lol
Seriously there's more to identifying gender than appearance. I personally can tell the difference in speech, mannerisms, etc . Nautica's portrayal is a bit girly and I dont mean that in an offensive way at all but she is a decent written female character. Her body language and mannerisms are very femininant.
Posted by Va'al on May 27th, 2015 @ 1:46pm CDT
Noideaforaname wrote:ScottyP wrote:This is one of those "won't notice it was a whole issue in the trade" but "too slow to be super enjoyable as a stand alone" to me. Loved the character development but not much of anything else really seemed to go anywhere, and the cliffhanger feels repetitive. Haven't we done robo-zombies/mini-scraplets/etc/etc a couple times now?
Disclaimer: these are still nit-picks, and probably only coming out due to how phenomenally good 39 and 40 were.
Definitely this, but I'm more annoyed that all the new female bots got hyped yet only Firestar really made an appearance.
Also wish we got more info about Thunderclash. He's just sorta... artificial. We're forced to agree with Rodimus not because of what TC's done, but because TC's done nothing.
Agreed on the comparison to the previous two issues - they are still so good is still hurts a little.
Posted by ScottyP on May 27th, 2015 @ 1:58pm CDT
worldsgreatest wrote:Randomhero wrote:Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
Not alien, different. As I said Chromia and Windblade are pretty much female in gender only. James and Alex have given Natica female characteristics in body language and personality. She actually feels like a female character and not just a typical "hey look a girl because she looks like a girl and were being told she's a girl!"
I still have no idea what this means.
What does 'a girl' sound like? What does 'female' SOUND like as character trait to you?
I think folks are being appreciative of intelligent subtlety being used to portray categorical character differences rather than being beaten on the head with stereotypes. You probably don't understand Randomhero's exact meaning because I doubt they or anyone wants to dig into those types of complexities in detail - that could be a long post.
To put it shortly, Nautica is clearly different from Firestar who is clearly different from Windblade who is clearly different from Chromia and they're all clearly different from Nickel yet they're all portrayed as female in subtle ways despite massive differences in personality and appearance and that's also what we call a well done attempt at being inclusive. It's not Girlbot A and Femmebot B and Girlbot A (green version) just being there for the sake of it. There are actual characters being defined here, not pointless archetypal representations of an abstract (depending on your point of view) concept like gender. Many of these personalities could be assigned to other characters that aren't fleshed out yet, and it'd work just fine. This is an all around "Good Thing" and I think that's what's being pointed out in folks' reactions to this issue more than anything.
If that still doesn't answer your question, ponder the stoic look of Quig's face here while you search inside for your answers. Or something.
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on May 27th, 2015 @ 2:00pm CDT
Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
Um...because they do. I mean, when you have to worry about certain things that men don't have to worry about, then yes, you have a different mindset.
Next you'll be acting like they don't have different bodies from men.
Posted by worldsgreatest on May 27th, 2015 @ 3:57pm CDT
ScottyP wrote:worldsgreatest wrote:Randomhero wrote:Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
Not alien, different. As I said Chromia and Windblade are pretty much female in gender only. James and Alex have given Natica female characteristics in body language and personality. She actually feels like a female character and not just a typical "hey look a girl because she looks like a girl and were being told she's a girl!"
I still have no idea what this means.
What does 'a girl' sound like? What does 'female' SOUND like as character trait to you?
I think folks are being appreciative of intelligent subtlety being used to portray categorical character differences rather than being beaten on the head with stereotypes. You probably don't understand Randomhero's exact meaning because I doubt they or anyone wants to dig into those types of complexities in detail - that could be a long post.
To put it shortly, Nautica is clearly different from Firestar who is clearly different from Windblade who is clearly different from Chromia and they're all clearly different from Nickel yet they're all portrayed as female in subtle ways despite massive differences in personality and appearance and that's also what we call a well done attempt at being inclusive. It's not Girlbot A and Femmebot B and Girlbot A (green version) just being there for the sake of it. There are actual characters being defined here, not pointless archetypal representations of an abstract (depending on your point of view) concept like gender. Many of these personalities could be assigned to other characters that aren't fleshed out yet, and it'd work just fine. This is an all around "Good Thing" and I think that's what's being pointed out in folks' reactions to this issue more than anything.
If that still doesn't answer your question, ponder the stoic look of Quig's face here while you search inside for your answers. Or something.
Thanks Scotty.
That was what I was getting at. Since Roberts does such a good job of being inclusive and creating well rounded characters that it had never dawned on me that any of the lady Transformers were not being presented as female. Or without a female voice. Hence the inquiry.
To put it shortly, he seemed to be trying to say 'feminine' and not 'female'. Female would indicate stereotypes associated with gender. I didn't think that was what he meant.
I wasn't legitimately confused at what he was saying. Just how he was intimating it.
Posted by ScottyP on May 27th, 2015 @ 5:22pm CDT
worldsgreatest wrote:That was what I was getting at. Since Roberts does such a good job of being inclusive and creating well rounded characters that it had never dawned on me that any of the lady Transformers were not being presented as female. Or without a female voice. Hence the inquiry.
To put it shortly, he seemed to be trying to say 'feminine' and not 'female'. Female would indicate stereotypes associated with gender. I didn't think that was what he meant.
I wasn't legitimately confused at what he was saying. Just how he was intimating it.
Aha, now we both understand each other better! Good stuff.
Posted by ctrlFrequency on May 27th, 2015 @ 6:58pm CDT
Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
Could you elaborate on that? I'm not sure I completely got in sync with your statement.
If we're talking about real human men and women... I can assure you we have different mindsets. A lot of it is societal I admit we're trained to think differently from each other, but as a woman in a house full of men (2 are, admittedly, under 7 years old, but 2 are adults) I don't get you guys sometimes.
I am not excessively girly, after all I like robot toys, so I have less of a problem understanding men, but trust me, we have a different mindset.
There are very few male writers who truly get the differences that make gender wonderful, and tend to make female characters unbearably unrealistic. And as was mentioned before, a lot of those writers make every female just another version of the others in the story.
Posted by 1984forever on May 27th, 2015 @ 9:14pm CDT
MTMTE is too intellectual for war, feels Minimus deserves more panels than Magnus, can't be bothered with transformations, and is now too cool to show anyone but FanFicformers.
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on May 28th, 2015 @ 12:03am CDT
ctrlFrequency wrote:Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
Could you elaborate on that? I'm not sure I completely got in sync with your statement.
If we're talking about real human men and women... I can assure you we have different mindsets. A lot of it is societal I admit we're trained to think differently from each other, but as a woman in a house full of men (2 are, admittedly, under 7 years old, but 2 are adults) I don't get you guys sometimes.
I am not excessively girly, after all I like robot toys, so I have less of a problem understanding men, but trust me, we have a different mindset.
There are very few male writers who truly get the differences that make gender wonderful, and tend to make female characters unbearably unrealistic. And as was mentioned before, a lot of those writers make every female just another version of the others in the story.
To paraphrase Prowl from the G1 cartoon: "A woman after my own central processor!"
But yes, I agree. I feel as though it's because (a) Barber doesn't want readers to think he's being misogynist if he was to try to make Windblade more feminine as opposed to "just a character being herself",(b) Scott doesn't want to come across as a hardcore feminist by being a female author writing female characters and making them outright feminine and (c) the scope of RID and Windblade are not inherently open to exploring the deeper meaning of being, when compared to MTMTE. And honestly, as with all female problems in comics, it happens even in Marvel and DC: the female superheroes could often be male. I find it refreshing that Roberts is taking the time to at least try as opposed to being afraid of trying.
Posted by budmaloney on May 28th, 2015 @ 2:31am CDT
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.
Also when Nautica told Nightbeat "can I borrow you for a moment". What does that infer? I know it's going to be revealed to the audience in next issue, but right now, what does it imply. Does it imply she wants to get intimate? The conversation between them was odd and threw in some names and references that detached me.
This issue detaches more than it latches. We get quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. I personally hated the fact that the IDW universe didn't have females, and Arcee was tested on. But this whole sudden shift of "couples", "sororities", and these random females appearing, really disrupts the continuity. It just came out of nowhere and it feels odd.
I don't know it didn't do it for me at all.
I disliked the similarities between Thunderclash's symbols and Agents of shield, it felt unoriginal. Both maps leading to a city.
It felt like pages out of the Jetsons, maybe too comical. And when you compare it to RID and the vast emptiness in Cybertron, it feels like this is completely different universe . Everyone is smiling and laughing as if no war has ever happened.
It's a big risk and a challenge to go the direction they're heading. It could have been done slightly better with more balance.
Also get to the DJD already! Another freaking filler.
Posted by Bounti76 on May 28th, 2015 @ 2:49am CDT
1984forever wrote:I feel ripped off/violated after reading this issue.
MTMTE is too intellectual for war, feels Minimus deserves more panels than Magnus, can't be bothered with transformations, and is now too cool to show anyone but FanFicformers.
It's not the first season of the G1 cartoon, so why did you read it?
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on May 28th, 2015 @ 5:54am CDT
budmaloney wrote:I'm really conflicted about this comic. I really like the new female characters and the art throughout, but there were a lot of things I didn't understand, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.
Also when Nautica told Nightbeat "can I borrow you for a moment". What does that infer? I know it's going to be revealed to the audience in next issue, but right now, what does it imply. Does it imply she wants to get intimate? The conversation between them was odd and threw in some names and references that detached me.
This issue detaches more than it latches. We get quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. I personally hated the fact that the IDW universe didn't have females, and Arcee was tested on. But this whole sudden shift of "couples", "sororities", and these random females appearing, really disrupts the continuity. It just came out of nowhere and it feels odd.
I don't know it didn't do it for me at all.
I disliked the similarities between Thunderclash's symbols and Agents of shield, it felt unoriginal. Both maps leading to a city.
It felt like pages out of the Jetsons, maybe too comical. And when you compare it to RID and the vast emptiness in Cybertron, it feels like this is completely different universe . Everyone is smiling and laughing as if no war has ever happened.
It's a big risk and a challenge to go the direction they're heading. It could have been done slightly better with more balance.
Also get to the DJD already! Another freaking filler.
Ok, I'll attempt to help here.
Nautica and Firestar were best friends, but now it appears they are "Rivals" and the command position may have gone to Firestar's head perhaps. and as for taking Nightbeat aside, She may be suspicious of Firestar for something (perhaps the alien growths) and wants Nightbeat to have a look since he is a detective
As for the loads of new females: IDW is expanding, and right now the other series are focusing on the colonies, which is where all these females hail. Caminus was untouched by war, so it had 4 million more years to develop, and it didn't have Functionism or other cruel dictatorships. This means that they developed completely differently, which would logically include universities for education and other things as such. It's more of an info-dump right now yes, but it is always like that with regards to newcomers, no matter who they are.
Thunders had that symbol a year and a half ago. It may be based on Agents of Shield, but it could be completely unrelated,
And this can't really be described as a "Filler" considering the Lost Light does not have a map anymore and they need Thunderclash so they can continue their quest, so for the greater storyline this issue is invaluable. They need a map, and they can't really understand it if Thunderclash dies here.
Posted by ZeroWolf on May 28th, 2015 @ 7:23am CDT
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:budmaloney wrote:I'm really conflicted about this comic. I really like the new female characters and the art throughout, but there were a lot of things I didn't understand, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.
Also when Nautica told Nightbeat "can I borrow you for a moment". What does that infer? I know it's going to be revealed to the audience in next issue, but right now, what does it imply. Does it imply she wants to get intimate? The conversation between them was odd and threw in some names and references that detached me.
This issue detaches more than it latches. We get quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. I personally hated the fact that the IDW universe didn't have females, and Arcee was tested on. But this whole sudden shift of "couples", "sororities", and these random females appearing, really disrupts the continuity. It just came out of nowhere and it feels odd.
I don't know it didn't do it for me at all.
I disliked the similarities between Thunderclash's symbols and Agents of shield, it felt unoriginal. Both maps leading to a city.
It felt like pages out of the Jetsons, maybe too comical. And when you compare it to RID and the vast emptiness in Cybertron, it feels like this is completely different universe . Everyone is smiling and laughing as if no war has ever happened.
It's a big risk and a challenge to go the direction they're heading. It could have been done slightly better with more balance.
Also get to the DJD already! Another freaking filler.
Ok, I'll attempt to help here.
Nautica and Firestar were best friends, but now it appears they are "Rivals" and the command position may have gone to Firestar's head perhaps. and as for taking Nightbeat aside, She may be suspicious of Firestar for something (perhaps the alien growths) and wants Nightbeat to have a look since he is a detective
As for the loads of new females: IDW is expanding, and right now the other series are focusing on the colonies, which is where all these females hail. Caminus was untouched by war, so it had 4 million more years to develop, and it didn't have Functionism or other cruel dictatorships. This means that they developed completely differently, which would logically include universities for education and other things as such. It's more of an info-dump right now yes, but it is always like that with regards to newcomers, no matter who they are.
Thunders had that symbol a year and a half ago. It may be based on Agents of Shield, but it could be completely unrelated,
And this can't really be described as a "Filler" considering the Lost Light does not have a map anymore and they need Thunderclash so they can continue their quest, so for the greater storyline this issue is invaluable. They need a map, and they can't really understand it if Thunderclash dies here.
Also the coattails comment is more suggesting she's not relying on others anymore where before nautica may of hid behind chromia and windblade.
Also the comment about not acting like a war had been fought. Personally I would want to relax and party if I just got out of a four million year war.
Posted by TGS1985 on May 28th, 2015 @ 11:58am CDT
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:budmaloney wrote:I'm really conflicted about this comic. I really like the new female characters and the art throughout, but there were a lot of things I didn't understand, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.
Also when Nautica told Nightbeat "can I borrow you for a moment". What does that infer? I know it's going to be revealed to the audience in next issue, but right now, what does it imply. Does it imply she wants to get intimate? The conversation between them was odd and threw in some names and references that detached me.
This issue detaches more than it latches. We get quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. I personally hated the fact that the IDW universe didn't have females, and Arcee was tested on. But this whole sudden shift of "couples", "sororities", and these random females appearing, really disrupts the continuity. It just came out of nowhere and it feels odd.
I don't know it didn't do it for me at all.
I disliked the similarities between Thunderclash's symbols and Agents of shield, it felt unoriginal. Both maps leading to a city.
It felt like pages out of the Jetsons, maybe too comical. And when you compare it to RID and the vast emptiness in Cybertron, it feels like this is completely different universe . Everyone is smiling and laughing as if no war has ever happened.
It's a big risk and a challenge to go the direction they're heading. It could have been done slightly better with more balance.
Also get to the DJD already! Another freaking filler.
Ok, I'll attempt to help here.
Nautica and Firestar were best friends, but now it appears they are "Rivals" and the command position may have gone to Firestar's head perhaps. and as for taking Nightbeat aside, She may be suspicious of Firestar for something (perhaps the alien growths) and wants Nightbeat to have a look since he is a detective
As for the loads of new females: IDW is expanding, and right now the other series are focusing on the colonies, which is where all these females hail. Caminus was untouched by war, so it had 4 million more years to develop, and it didn't have Functionism or other cruel dictatorships. This means that they developed completely differently, which would logically include universities for education and other things as such. It's more of an info-dump right now yes, but it is always like that with regards to newcomers, no matter who they are.
Thunders had that symbol a year and a half ago. It may be based on Agents of Shield, but it could be completely unrelated,
And this can't really be described as a "Filler" considering the Lost Light does not have a map anymore and they need Thunderclash so they can continue their quest, so for the greater storyline this issue is invaluable. They need a map, and they can't really understand it if Thunderclash dies here.
My interpretation is a little different. I think what's going on between Nautica and Firestar can be sum up as one's the awkward wallflower while the other's pretty Ms. Popular. They're friends, no question about that, but from what I can tell Nautica does sort of have some jealousy towards Firestar and Firestar is oblivious to this fact. I say this based on the fact she calls her "Naughty Nautica" a nickname that Nautica apparently really dislikes but which she has also apparently never has mention to Firestar. The reason they both stopped talking after Firestar mentioned the coattails of Windblade and Chromia is because it's probably a sensitive subject for Nautica. Not to mention Firestar didn't phrase it in the best way possible (not intentionally though mind you). Windblade is a Cityspeaker a select few that can speak to titans. This makes her special. Chromia is a bad ass warrior and Windblade's guardian, this make her special. Nautica is super smart genius which is special, but not really directly related to either of the other two. So that said I sure she feels/appears like a 3rd wheel and to those looking in from the outside and that she's letting those two define who she is (whether it is true or not). So I wouldn't go as far as call it a rivalry as much as it is that Nautica simply wishes she was as cool as Firestar.
Regarding Nautica borrowing Skids for a second, I think you're reading WAY too much into it. (Besides, and it's just my opinion, if she does have a thing for anyone it's obviously going to end up being Brainstorm considering how much they hang out, but truth me told I think even they're just good friends.) I think what D-Maximus_Prime said is more likely in that she might have notice the weird alien growths also. Although it's my strong impression only Nightbeat and Getaway are the only ones that know about them for sure while First Aid, Minimus Ambus, and Velocity are close to finding out. And the reason all the name dropping might have thrown you off is because they were all names of the new female transformers (and one male) that we haven't seen yet, so I think it's understandable if you're like "Wait, who?".
Also like D-Maximus_Prime stated, Thunderclash had the symbol first waaay before, but too be honest I never got a Agents of Shield vibe from it and I love that show. Regarding the map, ehhhh I can see where you're coming from but I still think it's just a coincidence. I want to that Roberts started his Quest for the Knights storyline before Shield started their Alien Symbol storyline. I'm too lazy to look it up right now to confirm, but that even said you have to remember he's not making up the story as he goes. He has plan this all out a year maybe years in advance but where as a TV show gets to show an episodes per WEEK, he can get's only get an issue out per MONTH (if we're lucky).
ZeroWolf wrote:Also the comment about not acting like a war had been fought. Personally I would want to relax and party if I just got out of a four million year war.
EXACTLY. If you really think about that number it's ridiculous, especially consider the longest HUMAN war was a little over 100 years. That's 100 vs 1,000,000 X 4! That's why I was happy to see even Ravage socialize with Blue Streak and Swerve in this issue (Although I cracked up at him drinking his Energon in a milk saucer/water bowl. Oh, man... I can has Energon?)
Posted by ctrlFrequency on May 28th, 2015 @ 12:25pm CDT
TGS1985 wrote:D-Maximus_Prime wrote:budmaloney wrote:I'm really conflicted about this comic. I really like the new female characters and the art throughout, but there were a lot of things I didn't understand, perhaps someone can explain it to me.
Wwhy did Nautica and Firestar suddenly stop talking to each other. It wasn't clear, what did Firestar mean by coattails? Did she mean Nautica is not capable of making stuff on her own? was it a female competition thing I'm not getting.
Also when Nautica told Nightbeat "can I borrow you for a moment". What does that infer? I know it's going to be revealed to the audience in next issue, but right now, what does it imply. Does it imply she wants to get intimate? The conversation between them was odd and threw in some names and references that detached me.
This issue detaches more than it latches. We get quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness. I personally hated the fact that the IDW universe didn't have females, and Arcee was tested on. But this whole sudden shift of "couples", "sororities", and these random females appearing, really disrupts the continuity. It just came out of nowhere and it feels odd.
I don't know it didn't do it for me at all.
I disliked the similarities between Thunderclash's symbols and Agents of shield, it felt unoriginal. Both maps leading to a city.
It felt like pages out of the Jetsons, maybe too comical. And when you compare it to RID and the vast emptiness in Cybertron, it feels like this is completely different universe . Everyone is smiling and laughing as if no war has ever happened.
It's a big risk and a challenge to go the direction they're heading. It could have been done slightly better with more balance.
Also get to the DJD already! Another freaking filler.
Ok, I'll attempt to help here.
Nautica and Firestar were best friends, but now it appears they are "Rivals" and the command position may have gone to Firestar's head perhaps. and as for taking Nightbeat aside, She may be suspicious of Firestar for something (perhaps the alien growths) and wants Nightbeat to have a look since he is a detective
As for the loads of new females: IDW is expanding, and right now the other series are focusing on the colonies, which is where all these females hail. Caminus was untouched by war, so it had 4 million more years to develop, and it didn't have Functionism or other cruel dictatorships. This means that they developed completely differently, which would logically include universities for education and other things as such. It's more of an info-dump right now yes, but it is always like that with regards to newcomers, no matter who they are.
Thunders had that symbol a year and a half ago. It may be based on Agents of Shield, but it could be completely unrelated,
And this can't really be described as a "Filler" considering the Lost Light does not have a map anymore and they need Thunderclash so they can continue their quest, so for the greater storyline this issue is invaluable. They need a map, and they can't really understand it if Thunderclash dies here.
My interpretation is a little different. I think what's going on between Nautica and Firestar can be sum up as one's the awkward wallflower while the other's pretty Ms. Popular. They're friends, no question about that, but from what I can tell Nautica does sort of have some jealousy towards Firestar and Firestar is oblivious to this fact. I say this based on the fact she calls her "Naughty Nautica" a nickname that Nautica apparently really dislikes but which she has also apparently never has mention to Firestar. The reason they both stopped talking after Firestar mentioned the coattails of Windblade and Chromia is because it's probably a sensitive subject for Nautica. Not to mention Firestar didn't phrase it in the best way possible (not intentionally though mind you). Windblade is a Cityspeaker a select few that can speak to titans. This makes her special. Chromia is a bad ass warrior and Windblade's guardian, this make her special. Nautica is super smart genius which is special, but not really directly related to either of the other two. So that said I sure she feels/appears like a 3rd wheel and to those looking in from the outside and that she's letting those two define who she is (whether it is true or not). So I wouldn't go as far as call it a rivalry as much as it is that Nautica simply wishes she was as cool as Firestar.
That's how I read it too. Classic case of geek and cool girl. Firestar certainly has that Homwcoming Queen vibe to her, nice and all... but is a but wrapped up on herself to realize her teasing hurts.
As for females being introduced... and Nautica and Nightbeat, try not to read too much intimacy into it. The entertainment industry has programmed us to think males and females can't be alone without being "intimate". There may not love in the air... and sometimes girls and boys are just friends.
Posted by ctrlFrequency on May 28th, 2015 @ 12:30pm CDT
Nemesis Maximo wrote:ctrlFrequency wrote:Downbeat wrote:There sure are a few posts in here acting like women have alien mindsets that are incredibly different from men.
Could you elaborate on that? I'm not sure I completely got in sync with your statement.
If we're talking about real human men and women... I can assure you we have different mindsets. A lot of it is societal I admit we're trained to think differently from each other, but as a woman in a house full of men (2 are, admittedly, under 7 years old, but 2 are adults) I don't get you guys sometimes.
I am not excessively girly, after all I like robot toys, so I have less of a problem understanding men, but trust me, we have a different mindset.
There are very few male writers who truly get the differences that make gender wonderful, and tend to make female characters unbearably unrealistic. And as was mentioned before, a lot of those writers make every female just another version of the others in the story.
To paraphrase Prowl from the G1 cartoon: "A woman after my own central processor!"
But yes, I agree. I feel as though it's because (a) Barber doesn't want readers to think he's being misogynist if he was to try to make Windblade more feminine as opposed to "just a character being herself",(b) Scott doesn't want to come across as a hardcore feminist by being a female author writing female characters and making them outright feminine and (c) the scope of RID and Windblade are not inherently open to exploring the deeper meaning of being, when compared to MTMTE. And honestly, as with all female problems in comics, it happens even in Marvel and DC: the female superheroes could often be male. I find it refreshing that Roberts is taking the time to at least try as opposed to being afraid of trying.
Ooo I have the perfect jar to put your processor in (i'm starting a collection)
Posted by TGS1985 on May 28th, 2015 @ 1:01pm CDT
ctrlFrequency wrote: That's how I read it too. Classic case of geek and cool girl. Firestar certainly has that Homwcoming Queen vibe to her, nice and all... but is a but wrapped up on herself to realize her teasing hurts.
Yeah exactly, but not in a mean girls kind of way (or so I assume as I've never watch said movie.)
Besides knowing Roberts and based on the regular cover for this Issue I'm pretty sure Nautica ends up the one saving the day proving to Firestar and those like her she doesn't need Windblade, Chromia, or anyone to help define her and everyone gains a new found greater respect for her, etc etc...
Posted by SW's SilverHammer on May 28th, 2015 @ 1:05pm CDT