The Energon Pub

Thanks to the lovely people over at IDW Publishing we have a full preview of next week's issues of ReGeneration One. Only five to go after this one! Take a look at the description and images below, and come back on Tuesday for the Seibertron.com review.

Transformers Regeneration One #95
Simon Furman (w) • Guido Guidi (a) • Andrew Wildman, Guidi (c)
AND ONE SHALL RISE! Yep, a there’s a new Prime on the block (and the old one isn’t gone yet), and just in the nick of time too, as Cybertron shudders and reels under the dual assault of BLUDGEON and his WarWorld and a spitting mad GALVATRON. But is the advent of RODIMUS PRIME a boon for Cybertron or one more dark domino falling in the headlong rush to universal armageddon?
*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Continuing the original 1980s TRANSFORMERS series by Hall of Fame writer Simon Furman!
The penultimate Regeneration One story reaches its soul-searing conclusion!
Geoff Senior variant cover!

Grimlocks back!!!!! WOO HOO!

Synopsis

AND ONE SHALL RISE! Yep, a there’s a new Prime on the block (and the old one isn’t gone yet), and just in the nick of time too, as Cybertron shudders and reels under the dual assault of BLUDGEON and his WarWorld and a spitting mad GALVATRON. But is the advent of RODIMUS PRIME a boon for Cybertron or one more dark domino falling in the headlong rush to universal armageddon?



Story

So here we are, final issue of the second-to-last arc 'Destiny', Bludgeon's mighty plan to take down Cybertron's dwellers, concocted with Soundwave and the remaining Decepticons on the planet. They've all been fighting all along, now Hot Rod is back as Rodimus Prime, Grimlock is back as, well, Grimlock, and here's where it ends.



Rodimus Prime became his proper self in ReGeneration One #0, revealing a glitch in the time-space continuum bound to destroy everything if not rectified. Though it seems here that his newly found power may have deeper ramifications, and the end of the series will truly be eventful.



Among the returning cast, Grimlock retakes his spotlight on the main stage, commanding the primal creatures from the planet's core, clearly due to the brief experience with Primus' possession. Furman seems keen on dragging every character introduced to far into the issues that remain - not that we're complaining!



There is a lot going on in here, though most of it is fighting, bashing, thumping, fighting and hinting at 'there is more'. And yes there definitely will be more, but for now, it's extremely enjoyable to see a Rodimus in action, Bludgeon's deluded speeches and a Grimlock worth of Furman's deepest desires.

Art

The artwork duties are still taken on by Guido Guidi, at least on the pencil side of things. And whoah. There is so much going on in this issue, in terms of action and fight scenes, that it can be really hard to figure out what is going on - but it isn't, because it all looks so fluid, also thanks to Baskerville's inking work.



JP Bove is still at it with his rainbow of magic crayons, making everything look so crisp yet with that throwback feeling about it. Some of the action scene renderings in colour are just stupidly amazing, with motion blur added to the already highly dynamic linework.



The lettering doesn't get in the way of the artwork, but does complement it nicely - Shawn Lee really has stepped up quite a few notches in his work since the beginning, and it's a pleasure to see him working on Furman's effects so.. effectively. As always, the artistic team are a bundle of pretty pretty joy. (And the covers are worth a look at too! Wildman and Cardy and Senior and Burcham keep doing some magnificent work.)


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Furman has a lot of fun playing with two of his favourite characters, and his baroque prose in Bludgeon's speeches just shines through. There isn't too much in terms of story or depth in this particular issue, but it does give a satisfying end to the arc, whetting our appetites for more.



Artistically, it's hard not to adore what Guidi, Baskerville, Bove and Lee have been able to do in this final issue of the penultimate arc. The sense of frenzy, hectic buildup to climactic scenes and the confrontation between Rodimus and Bludgeon are the perfect sauce for Furman's (vast) eloquent (predatory) script.

Transformers Hall of Fame scribe Simon Furman has updated his blog with a Script (W)rap for tomorrow's issue of Transformers: ReGeneration One! Take a look at what he has to say below, read the Seibertron.com review, and leave your comments in the Energon pub.

And here we are, after the short but essential detour that was issue #0 (just how essential you’ll see once we hit our final chunk of RG1), at the wall-to-wall drama and destruction finale to the third arc, “Destiny”. Hang onto your hats as Transformers: Regeneration One #95 hits the stands this coming Wednesday (October 23rd). This one has a truly cinematic summer blockbuster feel, with relentless action on all fronts. As usual, ahead of publication, here’s my scribely musings on wrapping up the penultimate RG1 arc. But be warned, there are inevitably some small spoilers, so if you’d rather go in cold, cease and desist now. Otherwise, here we go… So, where we left things several intriguing clashes were in the offing: Omega Supreme vs Monstructor, Blaster vs Soundwave, the Wreckers en route to Bludgeon’s WarWorld, Ultra Magnus battered but triumphant after his battle with Galvatron (and now pitched into the all-out rearguard action against Bludgeon’s nigh-on unstoppable Blitz Engines), Grimlock and the Dinobots surrounded by the feral Primordials at the heart of Cybertron (in the mysterious Primus Chamber). Can the Wreckers cut the supply of Matrix energy (courtesy of the remains of Thunderwing) to Bludgeon’s Blitz Engines? Not if Bludgeon himself has any say in the matter, which he certainly does. Our master of Metallikato shows exactly why he’s one of the most feared and deadly Cybertron warriors, as he takes on all the Wreckers… at once! And grudge matches abound, as Blaster squares up to his fellow ‘sonic’ warrior Soundwave. Blaster wants payback after Soundwave tried to have him silenced (permanently) in issue #92, but don’t expect Soundwave to just roll over. (Trust me, this one rocks!) And what about the freshly-minted Rodimus Prime… where does he fit into all this? And as always, as some storylines reach their conclusion others are just gathering pace, ready for the total meltdown that is our final arc, The War to End All Wars. If you think things are looking bad for our beleaguered robots in disguise this issue, wait’ll see what’s just around the corner. It’s bad, y’know. The full IDW preview of the issue is up here if you just can’t wait until Wednesday. What am I talking about? I can’t even wait!

Does the comic explain how Grimlock regained his transformation? I thought he lost that ability in the old comics.

Trikeboy wrote:Does the comic explain how Grimlock regained his transformation? I thought he lost that ability in the old comics.

yes they covered it a few issues back.

84forever wrote:I hated this issue.

Last issue we were treated to 5 pages of authentic Transformers writing and artwork ( 17-21), but now all we get is more of the same crap that put the final nail in the coffin of the Marvel series. More Nick Roche please... and if Furman can't make the characters sound like they did on the G1 cartoon then he should step down. I don't care if there is only a few issues left... just go. Geez, the dialog on the video games is better than this!

I am by no means a G1 fan, I grew up in the Beast Era, after all, but from what I have seen of the G1 cartoon and comics, they appear to have been pretty radically different in terms of both tone and word choice. Given that this series is trying to follow up on the original comics and not the cartoon, I am curious why you are looking for the cartoon in here?

That said, some of the dialogue was pretty wonky, but most of the bad lines were coming from Bludgeon, so I just chalked it up to him being completely insane. It's still pretty hard to deny that that "separating the naked from the dead" line sucks. Maybe it's a phrase that I'm just not familiar with, but I'm pretty sure it's nonsense. I could see that one line alone ruining the whole issue for someone, but you'd be letting it get in the way of some gorgeous art, and that'd be quite a shame.

Also, I was under the impression that Furman wrote all of issue 0 and Roche just did the art for his section. I could be wrong, but I thought I remembered reading something with Roche talking about working with Furman's script.

84forever wrote:I hated this issue.

Last issue we were treated to 5 pages of authentic Transformers writing and artwork ( 17-21), but now all we get is more of the same crap that put the final nail in the coffin of the Marvel series. More Nick Roche please... and if Furman can't make the characters sound like they did on the G1 cartoon then he should step down. I don't care if there is only a few issues left... just go. Geez, the dialog on the video games is better than this!

dude, this is a continuation of the MARVEL g1 comic book series, not the g1 cartoon series.

To want or expect for Furman, or any writer, to make the characters sound like they did on the G1 cartoon is not logical.............no less it would then not fit with Marvel continuity.

84forever wrote:^^

The reason why I'm looking for the G1 cartoon in the Regeneration comic is because that cartoon is the best representation of Transformers to date. The only reason most people even played with cars and planes that transformed into statues was because of the cartoon. If all of the KO series and bad movies were based on the G1 cartoon they would have been more successful. In short, the more something is like the G1 cartoon the better it is.

IN YOUR OPINION.......which by the way is not an opinion shared by everyone.

there are plenty of fans that will tell you they liked the comics far more then the cartoon.

as much as I enjoyed the cartoon, it had immature and inconsistent writing that catered to children.There was very little to no character development.......not even for the main characters.

There was very little thought given to the stories impact on the characters or continuity for the viewers........

wow, sounds like the G1 toon was a lot like the Micheal Bay TF films.

[quote="sto_vo_kor_2000
as much as I enjoyed the cartoon, it had immature and inconsistent writing that catered to children.There was very little to no character development.......not even for the main characters.

There was very little thought given to the stories impact on the characters or continuity for the viewers........

wow, sounds like the G1 toon was a lot like the Micheal Bay TF films.[/quote]

Whilst I agree with the principle of what you're saying, the G1 cartoon was MADE FOR Children hence being 'immature' and 'catering for children'.
Of course it is. There was no angst driven fanbase critisizing its every move at the brands inception in the early 80s.
As a child from the 80s who grew up enjoying the cartoon (I was 6 when it debuted and remeber it well) - it more than served it's purpose. At the end of the day, it was a 30 minute advert for hasbros toys. This is why, in the later seasons and as more toys were released the plot suffered to accomadate these characters. IDW UK collected vol 1 explains this well, as do other publications.
The comics (especially the UK stories) were very far detached from the cartoon. This is explained athe the begining of IDWs UK collected volume one.

[quote="sto_vo_kor_2000
as much as I enjoyed the cartoon, it had immature and inconsistent writing that catered to children.There was very little to no character development.......not even for the main characters.

There was very little thought given to the stories impact on the characters or continuity for the viewers........

wow, sounds like the G1 toon was a lot like the Micheal Bay TF films.[/quote]

Whilst I agree with the principle of what you're saying, the G1 cartoon was MADE FOR Children hence being 'immature' and 'catering for children'.
Of course it is. There was no angst driven fanbase critisizing its every move at the brands inception in the early 80s.
As a child from the 80s who grew up enjoying the cartoon (I was 6 when it debuted and remeber it well) - it more than served it's purpose. At the end of the day, it was a 30 minute advert for hasbros toys. This is why, in the later seasons and as more toys were released the plot suffered to accomadate these characters. IDW UK collected vol 1 explains this well, as do other publications.
The comics (especially the UK stories) were very far detached from the cartoon. This is explained athe the begining of IDWs UK collected volume one.

84forever wrote:^^

The reason why I'm looking for the G1 cartoon in the Regeneration comic is because that cartoon is the best representation of Transformers to date. The only reason most people even played with cars and planes that transformed into statues was because of the cartoon. If all of the KO series and bad movies were based on the G1 cartoon they would have been more successful. In short, the more something is like the G1 cartoon the better it is.

That's a...bold opinion, but I certainly won't knock it if you love the show that much. Still, it doesn't address the fact that this comic never set out to imitate the cartoon. Even if it should have, the stated intention was clearly always to be a continuation of the old comics, so it should have been pretty easy to predict that you would not like this and save yourself a bunch of money.

Dear 1984Forever, the comic beat the cartoon to the punch by almost 4 months, so why does it make sense for the comic to subscribe to the cartoon?

Anyway, i really liked the issue. Ithink Thunderwing must have escaped though and we will see him back, fused with that evil matrix apparition again. I'm sad it's nearly all over, and I'm hopeful of some mini series or 'spotlight' style one shots. There are enough stories to tell IMO, even if issue 100 is the definitive end.

I've really enjoyed most of the series thus far but... am i alone in thinking that this issue felt a little rushed?

As much as I loved the original marvel run I always hated how rushed the last few issues felt and I can sense history starting to repeat itself.

I don't see the sense in the series ending on a round number at 100 if it's going to compromise on a good (maybe) story. I don't care if the series ends at 112 or 305, just as long as we get a quality story and all loose ends tied up cleanly (not shoved in) I'll be well content.

And I agree with a lot of people here that a lot of the dialogue in this issue was without a better word.... awful.