The Energon Pub

[Optimizzy]

No I'm not annoyed. I just don't want them to be added JUST because they are girls. Females actually seem to get better coverage in the other comics. Who doesn't love Nautica? Or thinks Arcee isn't a badass? And who can't wait to find out what the deal is with Elita one??

Are these supposed to be tribal chiefs though? Maybe they are just chosen representatives.

I do hope they throw in some Jungle planet characters too.

[MrBlack]

No I'm not annoyed. I just don't want them to be added JUST because they are girls. Females actually seem to get better coverage in the other comics. Who doesn't love Nautica? Or thinks Arcee isn't a badass? And who can't wait to find out what the deal is with Elita one??

Are these supposed to be tribal chiefs though? Maybe they are just chosen representatives.

I do hope they throw in some Jungle planet characters too.

Perhaps it is just an attempt to more realistically display the gender ratio on Eukaris. If there are relatively equal numbers of male and female bots, wouldn't it make sense to have at least a couple of female bots among the tribal representatives rather than having them all be male?

[MrBlack]

The Windblade comic does like to emphasise how gynocentric (made by women, for women, about women) it is, and it wouldn't surprise me if Scott or someone else in IDW genuinely believes the LIE that comic, gaming and geek culture is a misogynistic boy's club that excludes women. Having read a few of her Tumblr posts and interviews, Scott strikes me as the kind of writer who cares more about equality and diversity in entertainment than she does about story and characterisation.

You're adorable.

[Optimizzy]

No I'm not annoyed. I just don't want them to be added JUST because they are girls. Females actually seem to get better coverage in the other comics. Who doesn't love Nautica? Or thinks Arcee isn't a badass? And who can't wait to find out what the deal is with Elita one??

Are these supposed to be tribal chiefs though? Maybe they are just chosen representatives.

I do hope they throw in some Jungle planet characters too.

Perhaps it is just an attempt to more realistically display the gender ratio on Eukaris. If there are relatively equal numbers of male and female bots, wouldn't it make sense to have at least a couple of female bots among the tribal representatives rather than having them all be male?

Perhaps, and I'd be fine with that...but Manta Ray? Come on. There has to be a better choice than that.

[SW's SilverHammer]

DAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW it's adorbable.

[ZeroWolf]

That cover is very adorable

How do we know that manta ray wasn't the only option

[mooncake623]

IDW Publishing just updated their Facebook page with the Retailer Incentive Cover of Windblade #6 by Agnes Garbowska. Check it out below!





Remember keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates!

[Va'al]

What is held by the webs of fate? Find out next week in Transformers: Windlbade issue #6, of which we have the full preview below via Newsarama and IDW! And make sure to come back after reading it on Wednesady for the the Seibertron.com review, too.

Transformers: Windblade #6
Mairghread Scott (w) • Corin Howell (a) • Priscilla Tramontano (c)
BEAST WAR! On EUKARIS, the colonists are more than just robots in disguise—they're whole new breeds of Transformers! But while WINDBLADE and STARSCREAM struggle to gain allies on this brave new world, an ancient power seeks to force them off the planet!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
-Another colony found—but will they be friend or foe?
-Fan favorite characters make the comic-book universe debut!
-Variant Cover by Agnes Garbowska!

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Well, I was hoping for additional pages that weren't just recaps and roll calls, but oh well, still cant wait

[Deadput]

Faces are horrible and some characters have heads to big for their bodies Knock Out for example.


I can't believe I'm saying this but I prefer Livio Ramondelli as he can make Transformers fit with the tone of the stories.



But the story seems good but I will read the plot on TFwiki instead of buying this issue.

[Autobot N]

Since I've never been a huge fan of Beast Wars, I don't recognize that face on the cover (I know its a Maximal, however). Does anyone know who it is?

[SW's SilverHammer]

Since I've never been a huge fan of Beast Wars, I don't recognize that face on the cover (I know its a Maximal, however). Does anyone know who it is?

tigatron

[Rainmaker]

Is it just me or does the art look...different?

[Bounti76]

Is it just me or does the art look...different?

Corin Howell's art has always looked a little Animated-esque. It's better this issue than I'm used to seeing from her (less over-the-top cartoony), but I'm still glad Sara Pitre-DuRocher is drawing the new ongoing.

[Sabrblade]

WHY are they using Animated Blackarachnia instead of Beast Wars Blackarachnia? Was this some corporate-mandate decision or something?

[SlyTF1]

WHY are they using Animated Blackarachnia instead of Beast Wars Blackarachnia? Was this some corporate-mandate decision or something?

Because her Beast Wars design is ugly.

[Optimizzy]

WHY are they using Animated Blackarachnia instead of Beast Wars Blackarachnia? Was this some corporate-mandate decision or something?

Because her Beast Wars design is ugly.

I do think the animated design is better but the real shame is that we are not seeing an animated design in the " real world" I would have liked to see Milne or Griffith tackle the design but instead it's pretty much unchanged and fits in with the cartoony art. Shame really.

[CrankyOldTruck]

Has it occurred to anyone that there is a Titan on a Beast themed world and that said Titan could well have adopted a Beast Mode the same as its residents? Think Trypticon or Skorponok only jacked up even bigger and then picture that behemoth coming crashing onto the scene for the upcoming Titan Wars arc.
Just a thought.

Oh, and you people bitching about the Art style? Seriously? It's ART!! You know, freedom of expression and interpretation, not to mention individual style. I know you all have a right to your opinion but honestly, if y'all haven't figured it out by now then I hate to tell ya but the problem isn't with the book: the problem is with your perception and what you seem to think of as the definition of art.

[ctrlFrequency]

You want my opinion on the art complaints (no choice, you're getting it)

I don't like the art either... I think the reason why is not because there's anything wrong with the style, but the tone.

Cartoony is something we associate for kids. My kids love over exaggerated style... they're 5 and 6. They watch Teen Titans Go, love the Minions, and the 5 year old can't get enough of RID 2015.
That style is great for that age of kids. I think Howell is a great artist, she really hits over the top, silly emotion. It's light, it's cute, it's funny, and it's innocent. You want to hug it.

But the Transformers comics are aimed at older teens and up. Not 5 year olds. The art suggests that this is for kids. The plots are not light hearted adventures, even in MTMTE. It's a story about war, pain, suffering, death, treachery and treason. Lots of loss of life, homes, and most importantly... innocence.

The art is jarring for the style of story, especially for such a gritty theme. A lot of people (myself included) expect different. To each his or her own, yes. There's nothing wrong with it. The issue I see is there's a clash of the aesthetics of the writing and the aesthetics of the art. For a comic medium, readers expect a lot, and well frankly, political coups and people dieing is not... cute.

[Optimizzy]

I can agree with that for the reasons you suggest. The argument would be made that this is a comic based on toys and is thus for kids. But you know what? When I was a kid I wanted stuff the older kids wanted and liked. So even if this stuff is for kids (and you make a good point about the deeper stories) then a more serious art style would be better.

Then again, look at Animated. Great writing and dealt with similar themes but had a cartoony style yet it worked.
I mean it could work...but just doesn't here. And I think the artist is capable of a little more realism but she just doesn't. I dunno. She is image artist and she's just doing her job. Just think it's not the right series for her.

[Optimizzy]

Oh and by the way: pointing out you don't like the art. That's ok. Pointing out why you think the art is good: also ok.

Complaining about people complaining is not ok. People are allowed to voice opinion and why they may not like something. As long as it stays civil and doesn't personally attack I think it's fine.

[Sabrblade]

The only issue I have with the art seen here is that it made Sonar look nigh-unrecognizable at first, since I couldn't tell she(?) was at first until I looked closer at the dialogue bubble that identified her(?) as Sonar.

The "?'s" are due to another point I'm about to make (one not necessarily related to the art itself): I can't tell if Manta Ray and Sonar are still fembots in this or not. Past fiction established both of them as female (when their toys were genderless), but the way they're drawn and portrayed character-wise here makes it difficult to tell if they're still female here or not. Not that I want them to have supermodel bodies or anything like that, mind you. Just that it's hard to tell if this comic will be sticking to what's been established beforehand or if it's doing something totally different with these two. So hopefully the full comic itself will shed some light on this since a small handful of sample pages aren't enough to make a fair call.

As an aside, should Optimus Primal ever show up in this, I kinda want him to be in his Beast Machines body to A) throw those expecting his BW season 1 body for a loop, and B) to make him as visually distinct from Optimus Prime as possible.

Has it occurred to anyone that there is a Titan on a Beast themed world and that said Titan could well have adopted a Beast Mode the same as its residents? Think Trypticon or Skorponok only jacked up even bigger and then picture that behemoth coming crashing onto the scene for the upcoming Titan Wars arc.
Just a thought.

Orcanoch or bust!

[SW's SilverHammer]

WHY are they using Animated Blackarachnia instead of Beast Wars Blackarachnia? Was this some corporate-mandate decision or something?

Because her Beast Wars design is ugly.

I do think the animated design is better but the real shame is that we are not seeing an animated design in the " real world" I would have liked to see Milne or Griffith tackle the design but instead it's pretty much unchanged and fits in with the cartoony art. Shame really.

maybe it's to show that she's a different blackarachinia from her beast wars counterpart. I mean this version of Tigatron and Airrazor are different from beast wars tigatron and airrazor, even ignoring the possibility beast wars is the past/future in the IDW continuity.

[Sabrblade]

I asked elsewhere yesterday why the design for Animated Blackarachnia was used instead of BW Blackarachnia and was directed to Mairghread Scott's Tumblr answering this very question back in the 13th, in which she says that it was just the artist's (Corin Howell's) choice:

I think that was Corin’s call. I just said Blackarachnia in the script, she drew that one and it looked hella cool. Since our Blackarachnia doesn’t have the same background as either of those other takes on Blackarachnia, it didn’t seem to be a problem, but if t makes you feel any better, I kinda wrote with Beast Wars Blackarachnia’s voice in my head, especially that laugh she does.

[Bounti76]

Sabrblade, I checked out that link, and the rest of Mairghread Scott's tumblr, and she does confirm, in a few posts before that one, that Sonar and Manta Ray are both still female in this continuity.