The Energon Pub

[steve2275]

very pretty

[philswitch engage]

I've been able to identify everyone in this except for the character above Soundwave and the character above Drift.

Anyone care to lend a hand on who those guys are?

[Va'al]

I've been able to identify everyone in this except for the character above Soundwave and the character above Drift.

Anyone care to lend a hand on who those guys are?

Above Soundwave is Lockdown, in the MTMTE/ROTF incarnation.

As for above Drift, I can see movieverse Blackout in the background, and Prime Knockout closer to us.

That help?

[Noideaforaname]

WHAT?! Beast Wars, Animated, Movie, and Sky-Byte all tiny and in the background? Boooo!

[philswitch engage]

I've been able to identify everyone in this except for the character above Soundwave and the character above Drift.

Anyone care to lend a hand on who those guys are?

Above Soundwave is Lockdown, in the MTMTE/ROTF incarnation.

As for above Drift, I can see movieverse Blackout in the background, and Prime Knockout closer to us.

That help?

Yes, I can totally see now who they are now.

[jogunwarrior]

Hello new office PC wallpaper.

Amazing artwork and I love how all the different incarnations blend so seamlessly together.

I'd be ecstatic if Prime Knockout were somehow integrated into the MtMtE comic!

[griftimus prime]

wish don would come back and do all prime and all megatron posters mark 2

[Va'al]

I'd be ecstatic if Prime Knockout were somehow integrated into the MtMtE comic!

Keep an eye on the upcoming Windblade series.

[fenrir72]

Unicron is finally showing up? One critique, why put out the Matrix, which needs to be manipulated with two hands in order for it to work and hold a gun in the other hand? For artistic effect but not really practical.

[prjkt]

It's really hard to figure this one out. Obviously brainstorms target isn't pax because we know the war doesn't happen and the Decepticons don't take over. I don't think brainstorm is actually a Decepticon but I don't see him as a functionist loyalist either because the "knock offs" get exiled and Brainstorm is constructed cold. It's possible he's like shockwave and his loyalty to cybertron and only cybertron.

We'll considering the functionists are still in control, my guess is he went back to target Megatron, stop him from ever starting an uprising. The fact that his first test was aimed at the planet Megatron was on at the time might mean that his device is targeted to him somehow

[ZeroWolf]

Unicron is finally showing up? One critique, why put out the Matrix, which needs to be manipulated with two hands in order for it to work and hold a gun in the other hand? For artistic effect but not really practical.

I doubt it actually means Unicron is showing up yet as the whole picture is of the transformers multiverse. That would be a funny twist though, brainstorm is actually an agent of Unicron, a funcionist government probably wouldn't pose as much threat as the normal universe who are used to a lot of warfare.

[BumbleDouche]

I'm frequently blown away by how awesome recent Transformers art has become and this is no exception. Personally however, I often focus on the pencil work as the basis for deciding which art I like best. This series of images shows just how flawed that view is, as it really highlights the sheer volume of meticulous effort put in by the inkers and colourists, not just the penciller. That we have such talented artists collaborating on our beloved Transformers is something I feel strangely (vicariously?) proud of, especially when you consider some of the very ordinary-looking art in contemporary comics.

[Va'al]

Timey Wimey Stuff
(Spoiler free-ish)

Synopsis
OUTLAWS! Before the war, Orion Pax was part of the Establishment—until a friend opened his eyes to the truth behind the lies and he vowed to overthrow the system. Now, it seems as if his newfound enemies are willing to go to any lengths to see him dead—even if it means waiting four million years...

Yup, definitely enemies (?)

Story

You will probably remember what happened all the way back during the 2009-11 ongoing series, in particular the Chaos Theory arc that James Roberts co-wrote. You might also have in mind the continuation of that story in Shadowplay, the Shockwave/Orion Pax arc during the first season of MTMTE. If you do not, you probably want to brush up for issue 36, as Elegant Chaos continues the pre-war story.

Oh, and all of that, too

Though not exactly as we might all remember it so far (strange choice of words, I know, but you've seen what's been happening in MTMTE so fa r, right? The trousers of time have many legs, and several are unravelling at the same time). Time travel only muddles plotlines, by its own nature, and this issue is not exception.

Realimus

Which, unfortunately, finds itself to come to standstill in the overall trajectory of the series post-Dark Cybertron. Don't get me wrong, the issue is a great read, fantastic interactions, good dialogue, characters and Whirl. Especially Whirl, in both his present and present-in-the-past situations, along with some amusing time-paradox musings.

WHIRLMAS

But it doesn't really do much else, sadly. It reinforces old situations and concepts; it has a smirk-inducing conversation between two key players which is really a one-sided admission and reflection; it sets the stage, but only that smidge more than the last two-three issues, for Elegant Chaos. And I wanted it to do more.


Art

As far as unintentional bottle episodes happen, however, the art brought to the issue by Alex Milne is a joy to behold - especially in its cranked up expressivity in both facial and body language, including some of the least likely to be able to do so (looking at you Whirl). On top of that, action sequences are magnificently laid out, with a proliferation of double-spreads and panels spanning multiple pages.

Whirl is BOOOOOOOOREEEEEEDDDD

Which are obviously but enhanced by Joana Lafuente's gorgeous colour approach, already from the very first panel of the very first page. And it just gets better from there, really, adding action to action, emotion to emotion, decoration to interiors, atmosphere to planets and making everything look just so good.

I mean

Tom B. Long and his lettering are not to be underestimated, either - and the title of the issue, and the arc, are an example of the font magic that man can do. The subtle sounds around the scene are also cleverly worked in, and never intrusive, but definitely still there. In terms of covers, we've seen the Alex Milne/Josh Perez Anniversary piece already, and the main one with juiced up Roller - check out the thumbnail for the moody Nick Roche/Burcham Orion Pax variant.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

As I said above, the issue is not a bad read, a bad comic or a bad piece of writing. It just did not do what other issues playing around with time, or indeed, arcs in the Functionist plotlines have done previously, such as the wonderful Shadowplay. That is not to say that we may very well see this all play out fantastically as of next month or the forthcoming issues in general.

Roberts, you there?

From an artistic perspective, though, the book dazzles and deals a dizzying delight - not only because of some wonderfully executed double-spread pages, colours and composition, but as a general aid to extricate the intricacies of the potentially convoluted plot. Here's to you, visual storytelling. Make sure you track down a paper copy of this one.

. ½ out of

[Madeus Prime]

Oh, my, god. Happy Whirl is adorable.

[Va'al]

Oh, my, god. Happy Whirl is adorable.

I had to settle on one panel, but there are SO MANY.

[ctrlFrequency]

I'm in love that we got to see Whirl again!

I'm not loving the double page spreads..... though it was okay on the PC, my tablet couldn't do it without sliding it all over the place. I prefer reading on the tablet. (Comixology... Kindle handles double pages far better, but even then, it's still more difficult on the small screen)

Oh and Rodimus saying "'Sup." with the smirk. I know that's just something we should expect from him, but man it made my day.

[Nemesis Maximo]

I loved Megatron's conversation with Orion. He's so classy.

Also, I loved when Whirl forgot he had been in prison at this point. Also, Wheelimus Prime is looking for something to take out of context. Ask and you shall recieve!

Also, did Roller survive? His fate was left somewhat ambiguous. I fear the worst.

Also, i liked the lead up to Trailbreaker's alcoholism.

Also, also.

But I agree with Va'al; not a whole lot happened in this issue, and it kinda felt like filler. Like, Ready Whip. Tasty, but little substance.

[ctrlFrequency]

I loved Megatron's conversation with Orion. He's so classy.

Also, I loved when Whirl forgot he had been in prison at this point. Also, Wheelimus Prime is looking for something to take out of context. Ask and you shall recieve!

image.jpg

Also, did Roller survive? His fate was left somewhat ambiguous. I fear the worst.

They never show it, so I guess we assume he survived. He was too prominent to the story to simply be cannon fodder.

But I agree with Va'al; not a whole lot happened in this issue, and it kinda felt like filler. Like, Ready Whip. Tasty, but little substance.

I came to the conclusion that Roberts can't break out of the novel style of writing. Which is great, I'm willing to bet he's already written of the issues for the next 2 years, it leads to a very cohesive story, and very little subplots getting forgotten. But with a limit of 20 some pages per issue, we get a lot of 'build up' issues that would, in a novel, be just a blurb (you know, a page or two of set up before the chapter of action). But we have it fed to us in bits. So it gets boring.

[Nemesis Maximo]

They never show it, so I guess we assume he survived. He was too prominent to the story to simply be cannon fodder.

That's my hope. But I could see Roberts dealing with it later on in a posthumous way, like out of the blue somebody says "Man, I miss Roller" and then later we get flashbacks or explanation to how he may have been killed.

As to Roberts' writing style, I somewhat agree. Usually, he doesn't put out too many build up issues that feel like build up issues. By comparison, most of RID was paced specifically to BE a build up Prowl's actions and consequences. Right before Dark Cybertron, Barber's Monologues were pretty slow, even by RID standards. What I would love is more miniseries by Roberts.

[ctrlFrequency]

They never show it, so I guess we assume he survived. He was too prominent to the story to simply be cannon fodder.

That's my hope. But I could see Roberts dealing with it later on in a posthumous way, like out of the blue somebody says "Man, I miss Roller" and then later we get flashbacks or explanation to how he may have been killed.

As to Roberts' writing style, I somewhat agree. Usually, he doesn't put out too many build up issues that feel like build up issues.

Sometimes it's unavoidable. I think that's where it is at right now. Especially when laying ground work for something big, if you're laying a lot of ground work, slow paced build up might not be able to be avoided.

[Nemesis Maximo]

I'm not trying to be negative about it, because you're right, it IS unavoidable sometimes. I see it as a compliment towards Roberts, as even when he does give us filler issues (#34 comes to mind), it doesn't feel rushed or slow.

As for letter statement, that was a little non sequitur. I was just making an observation; miniseries are always my favorite Transformers stories.

[ctrlFrequency]

I didn't think you were being negative.

[Va'al]

They never show it, so I guess we assume he survived. He was too prominent to the story to simply be cannon fodder.

That's my hope. But I could see Roberts dealing with it later on in a posthumous way, like out of the blue somebody says "Man, I miss Roller" and then later we get flashbacks or explanation to how he may have been killed.

As to Roberts' writing style, I somewhat agree. Usually, he doesn't put out too many build up issues that feel like build up issues. By comparison, most of RID was paced specifically to BE a build up Prowl's actions and consequences. Right before Dark Cybertron, Barber's Monologues were pretty slow, even by RID standards. What I would love is more miniseries by Roberts.

Roller is Tarn.


That is what the internet has declared. Discuss.



As for the 'meh' element of this issue, I agree pretty much with all the comments made by the two of you - unavoidable lulls in a sustained stretch of good storytelling. It's a shame that it coincided with the beginning of a fairly convoluted plot.

[ctrlFrequency]

They never show it, so I guess we assume he survived. He was too prominent to the story to simply be cannon fodder.

That's my hope. But I could see Roberts dealing with it later on in a posthumous way, like out of the blue somebody says "Man, I miss Roller" and then later we get flashbacks or explanation to how he may have been killed.

As to Roberts' writing style, I somewhat agree. Usually, he doesn't put out too many build up issues that feel like build up issues. By comparison, most of RID was paced specifically to BE a build up Prowl's actions and consequences. Right before Dark Cybertron, Barber's Monologues were pretty slow, even by RID standards. What I would love is more miniseries by Roberts.

Roller is Tarn.


That is what the internet has declared. Discuss.

That is the internet rumors I have heard too. I can see it. And there's certainly a basis for it being set up. And it would be a good time to fit it in. I won't discredit it.

[Va'al]

I'm not sure all quirks are accounted for, yet.

Addiction to transforming - only really the one scene in this issue where it happens.
Blind devotion to Megatron's writing - probably being set up in this issue, with Pax recommending it to Roller.
Music/sound/spark manipulation stuff - not much in terms of that yet.
Point one percenter - yes, that's there.

The shape sort of fits, too. And the March solicits bring the DJD back to the fore, too.

I love speculation.