The Energon Pub

[Randomhero]

Okay....umm...this isn’t really happening. Ten doesn’t have a spark.

[ZeroWolf]

Unless Roberts is saying that he's gained one...or does roddy believe he had one? Or you could argue that whoever did this believed he had one just because he was a similar being...

[Randomhero]

Unless Roberts is saying that he's gained one...or does roddy believe he had one? Or you could argue that whoever did this believed he had one just because he was a similar being...

He’s not though. He couldn’t pass the ambus test and he didn’t get one along the way. Hell hes made from corpses. Technically he doesn’t even have a spark chamber because he’s a drone. He wasn’t built to have a spark.

This shows they are not in an afterlife. Skip being their ship is also something since he was shown in the last issue in a flashback. It’s a bigger picture being laid out. I’m not gonna be surprised if they were all captured and they’re all in some shared coma not unlike what was shown to be done to Thunderclash and the protectobots.

[Big Grim]

Soft Reboot brings to mind AHM. Personally I think that would be the worst case scenario. A full reboot is good. It represents change and that's always a positive, as opposed to the stagnation of the status quo.

Fair enough, I just don't feel it's stagnant. I could get rid of some of the extra nonsense added for the Hasbroverse but ROM Vs Transformers shows how it works, Vs Visionaries shows how it really, really doesn't.

[Randomhero]

Soft Reboot brings to mind AHM. Personally I think that would be the worst case scenario. A full reboot is good. It represents change and that's always a positive, as opposed to the stagnation of the status quo.

Fair enough, I just don't feel it's stagnant. I could get rid of some of the extra nonsense added for the Hasbroverse but ROM Vs Transformers shows how it works, Vs Visionaries shows how it really, really doesn't.

I don’t know about that. I’m reading visionaries and I have no problems with it.

Honestly I personally think it’s the fans fault. Revolutions was set to fail from the start because everyone screamed how much they don’t want it and through out the whole thing it was just fan rage about how much they don’t want it. First strike same thing. Ever since they announced they were bringing other franchises in people didn’t want it and the vocal minority made sure their voice was heard.

Can’t deny the passed 2 years has been people ranting “I don’t want this I don’t want this!l” and when it happened it’s been “I don’t like this! I don’t like this!”

[AllNewSuperRobot]

To be fair, that is the era we live in at the moment: The age of the vocal (minority) complainer. In decades past such people were rightly ignored, now for some mystifying reason they are being catered to and everyone else is being dragged along regardless. The constant whining of petulant adults acting like children is the perpetual din in the background of life in 2018.

But I digress. I tapped out of IDWverse with Death of Optimus Prime. I didn't like it, MTMTE or RiD (as they were back then). I didn't make a big song and dance about it, I just stopped buying the books. So I just await the reboot that is coming. If it includes more than just the Transformers, it won't really concern me as in most TF media, I just gloss over the human characters anyway.

[ZeroWolf]

Soft Reboot brings to mind AHM. Personally I think that would be the worst case scenario. A full reboot is good. It represents change and that's always a positive, as opposed to the stagnation of the status quo.

Fair enough, I just don't feel it's stagnant. I could get rid of some of the extra nonsense added for the Hasbroverse but ROM Vs Transformers shows how it works, Vs Visionaries shows how it really, really doesn't.

I don’t know about that. I’m reading visionaries and I have no problems with it.

Honestly I personally think it’s the fans fault. Revolutions was set to fail from the start because everyone screamed how much they don’t want it and through out the whole thing it was just fan rage about how much they don’t want it. First strike same thing. Ever since they announced they were bringing other franchises in people didn’t want it and the vocal minority made sure their voice was heard.

Can’t deny the passed 2 years has been people ranting “I don’t want this I don’t want this!l” and when it happened it’s been “I don’t like this! I don’t like this!”

This is true sadly, though I think this has been growing for a while

[Randomhero]

Soft Reboot brings to mind AHM. Personally I think that would be the worst case scenario. A full reboot is good. It represents change and that's always a positive, as opposed to the stagnation of the status quo.

Fair enough, I just don't feel it's stagnant. I could get rid of some of the extra nonsense added for the Hasbroverse but ROM Vs Transformers shows how it works, Vs Visionaries shows how it really, really doesn't.

I don’t know about that. I’m reading visionaries and I have no problems with it.

Honestly I personally think it’s the fans fault. Revolutions was set to fail from the start because everyone screamed how much they don’t want it and through out the whole thing it was just fan rage about how much they don’t want it. First strike same thing. Ever since they announced they were bringing other franchises in people didn’t want it and the vocal minority made sure their voice was heard.

Can’t deny the passed 2 years has been people ranting “I don’t want this I don’t want this!l” and when it happened it’s been “I don’t like this! I don’t like this!”

This is true sadly, though I think this has been growing for a while

Comics are dying. This was IDWs attempt to give it a bump and a facelift. I’ll admit I didn’t read everything. I stayed away from Rom Micronaughts and MASK because I just dont by know them. I stayed away from gi G.I. Joe because I didn’t read their universe back in the day so I when they brought it back I didn’t know anything and that intimidated me. I did however read revolutions and I enjoyed it, Rom vs TF which I loved and first strike was awesome to me and Revolutionaries was one of my favorite books last year. I read the entire series in bulk and was super bummed it stopped.

I read comics they’re my media so a lot of what has happened is stuff that happens with other companies. DC and Marvel did reboots once or twice the passed 8 years and they’re working toward another. It’s comics.

[YoungPrime]

Sigh......

Cyclonus was smiling as well. So will he get the spark ripped out of him to?

With all this speculation about things wrapping up or rebooting and the CCO stepping down (Getting fired). I'm kinda lossing interest in the IDW-verse, especailling the OP book and clear indication of them bringing Bumblebee back and shoehorning those other Hasbro books in it and IDW authors not seemingly having a clue that followers are turned off.

Barber was never my fav but he was a step above Costa (keyword "was") now it's hit or miss with there being so many irratating characters that take up this book's space. With Roberts it feels like the broad vision and world building he once had in the begining has a security gate around it now.

Just sad how this seems to be ending.

[Wireless_Phantom]

Ok so it might just be me, but my first thought on seeing what just happened to Ten was, "Is that the core of the Matrix?" I'm sure that probably doesn't make any sense, considering half is with Prime and the other is drifting on Luna 1, but still.

[Galactic Prime]

[list=][/list]

Not upset at all man. I'm just right.

Fact = fact when it's garbage.

Fixed it for you

Really? Now you're going to pick a fight with an administrator? I can only give you a warning, but hopefully he bans you. You contribute nothing to the discussion and are just trolling.

arguing is wrong now?

God forbid.

No one was picking a fight, except it seems him with me. Apparently you're only allowed to agree with the majority here.

[Va'al]

I have a couple of thoughts about this issue that I want to see if ScottyP, who's helping by taking on the review, will address. If not, I'll make a longer post about it once the review is up!


But I will say I think it's one of the strongest displays of Lawrence's work.

[ZeroWolf]

From that va'al I guess you didn't like this issue that much or is it more, it's good aside from one or two things.

Zerohour: nothing wrong with disagreeing but you can disagree amicably by acknowledging your differing opinions (which aren't facts) statements like "I am not a fan of Roberts writing" is fine and dandy.

[misfire19d]

[list=][/list]

Not upset at all man. I'm just right.

Fact = fact when it's garbage.

Fixed it for you

Really? Now you're going to pick a fight with an administrator? I can only give you a warning, but hopefully he bans you. You contribute nothing to the discussion and are just trolling.

arguing is wrong now?

God forbid.

No one was picking a fight, except it seems him with me. Apparently you're only allowed to agree with the majority here.

Yeah. A lot of these fan sites are operated like good ol’ boy networks. They ask for comments but get whiny and triggered when they don’t like what you have to say. Here, I’ll show you.

I dont like Roberts’ writing because he espouses (tweets and retweets) an evil and tyrannical ideology that is reflected in his work. I haven’t purchased an IDW in over a year.

Intersectionality is a meaningless concept in Transformers canon. (Is my toaster a boy or a girl?)It’s meant to pander to an almost nonexistent set of consumers. (Hot Topic employees)

I’m not interested in reading about Transformers that resemble you because you are not interesting.

[WreckerJack]

This issue just screams "Oh look all your favs are dead/dying" and then with the next two issues "Oh look they are fine again, made you worry haha."

I'll admit I want the Drift and Ratchet cover for #18 though. I'm barely hanging on to this series as I mentioned previously. But on a positive note - I was gifted Windblade: The Last City and the used book store had Last Stand of the Wreckers so I have something else to get into.

[ZeroWolf]

[list=][/list]

Not upset at all man. I'm just right.

Fact = fact when it's garbage.

Fixed it for you

Really? Now you're going to pick a fight with an administrator? I can only give you a warning, but hopefully he bans you. You contribute nothing to the discussion and are just trolling.

arguing is wrong now?

God forbid.

No one was picking a fight, except it seems him with me. Apparently you're only allowed to agree with the majority here.

Yeah. A lot of these fan sites are operated like good ol’ boy networks. They ask for comments but get whiny and triggered when they don’t like what you have to say. Here, I’ll show you.

I dont like Roberts’ writing because he espouses (tweets and retweets) an evil and tyrannical ideology that is reflected in his work. I haven’t purchased an IDW in over a year.

Intersectionality is a meaningless concept in Transformers canon. (Is my toaster a boy or a girl?)It’s meant to pander to an almost nonexistent set of consumers. (Hot Topic employees)

I’m not interested in reading about Transformers that resemble you because you are not interesting.

To be fair it wasn't idw who opened that can of worms as hasbro started it when they introduced arcee back in 86 (wait I'm wrong it started in the search for alpha trion episodes) and continued in almost every series (I think amarda was an exception) and fan favourite furman really brought it home to idw with spotlight Arcee. This is why I'm quite confused when people bring it up as a problem.

Also as an aside female robots have always captured the imagination with the most famous being Maria who of course featured in metropolis and is very iconic. So robots having genders has been with us for a very long time. Now if it is needed or not, that is a different question that depends on how you view the origin story of the transformers but that's for an entirely different thread.

You're welcome to your opinion on Roberts as it's just that, an opinion which is not a fact. You think he's pushing an ideology whereas in my opinion he's just writing a comic but touching up on issuses that he thinks are important. Comics have long since been vehicles for politics and the like, ever since the days where superman beat up Hitler (something he shared with cap America).

[Va'al]

From that va'al I guess you didn't like this issue that much or is it more, it's good aside from one or two things.

More the latter yeah. I just want to talk through some of the parts that have me thinking about things.

This issue just screams "Oh look all your favs are dead/dying" and then with the next two issues "Oh look they are fine again, made you worry haha."

I'll admit I want the Drift and Ratchet cover for #18 though. I'm barely hanging on to this series as I mentioned previously. But on a positive note - I was gifted Windblade: The Last City and the used book store had Last Stand of the Wreckers so I have something else to get into.

There's some good reading in there! Though a warning, Last City has some unfortunately rushed middle sections, especially with second Windblade arc.

As for the deadbait - I dunno. Maybe. Having read the issue, I am actually none the wiser.

[Burn]

[list=][/list]

Not upset at all man. I'm just right.

Fact = fact when it's garbage.

Fixed it for you

Really? Now you're going to pick a fight with an administrator? I can only give you a warning, but hopefully he bans you. You contribute nothing to the discussion and are just trolling.

arguing is wrong now?

God forbid.

No one was picking a fight, except it seems him with me. Apparently you're only allowed to agree with the majority here.

How is telling you that your opinion does NOT equal fact picking a fight? Reading into too much there mate.

You're more than welcome to disagree with peoples opinions, but do it without resorting to insults as you've been doing.

I’m not interested in reading about Transformers that resemble you because you are not interesting.

I'm just over the whole socio-political statements they sneak in.

Comics are supposed to be an escape from reality, not a platform for an individuals opinion.

Wait ... did a staff member just say something negative about IDW? Yeah, sorry but your first statement is in fact incorrect. Staff are divided on these books as much as members.

All opinions are welcome, be it for or against, just accept and respect the opinions of those that don't agree with you. We can disagree in a civilised manner.

[ScottyP]

I'm just over the whole socio-political statements they sneak in.

Comics are supposed to be an escape from reality, not a platform for an individuals opinion.

I really don't think there's a whole ton of that in these books. I do think many readers actively look for such things. The most political part of Lost Light is the Megatron story in issue 6. Anode was not much of anything to me but some quick analysis on the sociological impact of a homonormative/asexual/etc intelligent species going out into the galaxy, and it helped lampshade Spotlight Arcee which is always nice. I found it too academic to be political. Getaway is a study in Cybertronian sociopathy, which is again more academic than anything.

On the second point, I think that's a little shortsighted on the purpose of any entertainment. While primarily around to provide leisure or pleasure, it can be a way to broaden horizons, challenge beliefs, and spread ideas that might help the world be better. The purpose of Transformers is for us to have fun while Hasbro makes money (mostly the latter, let's be honest), but if the entertainment it presents is mixed with a dose of material that helps us spread empathy, equanimity, and wisdom - or leads us to at least thinking about these things - then I don't see the big deal. If something does that by providing a Cybertronian avatar for underrepresented or marginalized groups, I also don't see the big deal. If anything it's great that inclusivity is such a focus, because it builds the fanbase and most of y'all are pretty cool

[Burn]

I'm just over the whole socio-political statements they sneak in.

Comics are supposed to be an escape from reality, not a platform for an individuals opinion.

I really don't think there's a whole ton of that in these books. I do think many readers actively look for such things. The most political part of Lost Light is the Megatron story in issue 6. Anode was not much of anything to me but some quick analysis on the sociological impact of a homonormative/asexual/etc intelligent species going out into the galaxy, and it helped lampshade Spotlight Arcee which is always nice. I found it too academic to be political. Getaway is a study in Cybertronian sociopathy, which is again more academic than anything.

Point conceded. In the greater spectrum though, IDW isn't the only publisher guilty of doing this, they just seem to be more obvious about it.

On the second point, I think that's a little shortsighted on the purpose of any entertainment. While primarily around to provide leisure or pleasure, it can be a way to broaden horizons, challenge beliefs, and spread ideas that might help the world be better. The purpose of Transformers is for us to have fun while Hasbro makes money (mostly the latter, let's be honest), but if the entertainment it presents is mixed with a dose of material that helps us spread empathy, equanimity, and wisdom - or leads us to at least thinking about these things - then I don't see the big deal. If something does that by providing a Cybertronian avatar for underrepresented or marginalized groups, I also don't see the big deal. If anything it's great that inclusivity is such a focus, because it builds the fanbase and most of y'all are pretty cool

ehhhhhhh if anything it's probably a personal preference. I read comics, I watch TV shows, I watch movies, all as a temporary escape.

Ask anyone who's worked with me, you do NOT interrupt me during my lunch hour. Aside from it being rude, you're cutting into my comic reading time.

[Rodimus Prime]

While primarily around to provide leisure or pleasure, it can be a way to broaden horizons, challenge beliefs, and spread ideas that might help the world be better...if the entertainment it presents is mixed with a dose of material that helps us spread empathy, equanimity, and wisdom - or leads us to at least thinking about these things

But then it stops being entertainment and becomes social commentary, thus negating the reason for its existence in the first place. I understand that everyone has his/her own preference and reason for reading a comic book, but personally I don't want a writer's personal point of view shoved down my throat, especially at the expense of an already established property such as Transformers. Had Roberts been the originator of the entire franchise, it would be different. When I pick up a TF comic, I don't want to read about social issues that resonate with current events in humanity, I pick up a comic precisely to escape such things.

And yes, Roberts is at best a mediocre TF writer in my opinion. He should have been shown the door after MTMTE #55, and a more competent writer should have written Lost Light. Mairghread Scott, perhaps? I mean, TAAO was really good for the most part, and IDW killed that book. She could have taken over the MTMTE cast.

[WreckerJack]

I think that is a big thing for me too. I don't like politics much. I pay attention because I have to and the issues effect our lives so we should be informed. It's kind of like having constant focus and anxiety over things that we are already dealing with in real life. I watch the news, I am aware of these issues. I want to take a break from them and have a little fun with comics. I want action, adventure, favorite characters and fun! I don't mind some heavy themes, stories that make us ask the hard questions or a little bit of politics now and again. But as a constant recurring theme, it's not for me.

[ScottyP]

Everlasting Mystery
A Review of Transformers: Lost Light #16

Free of any explicit spoilers, but some may be unintentionally implied.

Rolling out and into your Wednesday

Lost Light 16 rejoins the goings on with Team Rodimus, last seen in issue #13 in some form of perilous peril. Mystery, danger, and lines that will be quoted for years await as the latest effort from writer James Roberts, artist Jack Lawrence, colorist Joana Lafuente, and letterer Tom B. Long arrives just in time to keep up a satisfyingly aggressive release schedule. Read on to find out whether or not Lost Light puts those pieces together into something you should pick up.

Cyclonus, aka The Dude

This has never been a book to shy away from difficult topics, and the main question posed by this issue for me is, "if you suddenly find yourself in purgatory what will you do?" This is handled with the characteristic wit and charm that only this crew of Transformers could get away with - no pun intended, seriously! Surreal moments are balanced by grounded ones while emotional moments are bound on each side by humorous dialogue, though sometimes it comes through more as a relief valve for nervous tension especially in the case of Brainstorm. While the thought of funny, quippy dialogue will make some readers roll their eyes, it's nothing new for or unique to this issue and unless this winds up being your first ever reading within the series you already know whether or not that's a positive development.

Put another way, I find the dialogue well balanced and incredibly charming, but recent reminders from some others on site staff lead me to believe that some readers will, for whatever reason, find something not to like in it.

Would you like to buy some encyclopedias?

The surrealism is a significant part of this first chapter of a three part story. As demonstrated in part by the image above, the world that the team has found itself on is part Cybertron, part dreamscape, and all mystery. The creation myth teased in earlier stories is expanded and even debated upon by some characters in what could be pre-emptive meta-humor. Is what occurs really happening, or is it some thoroughly crafted illusion? Does the answer to that matter when you're having fun just following the story wherever it may lead? Your own answers will frame how you feel about this installment. It works for me, but fellow staffer Counterpunch found a lack of feeling delivered by the uncertainty, stating "I don't think anything was bad, but there's nothing to do with the information. Every bit of it is as likely to be false as it is true."

Another mystery, or just coincidence?

The pacing is brisk but always feels natural, with even a two-page break for an exposition dump framed in a way that both pokes fun at itself for being an exposition dump and for still leaving related questions unanswered. While that could have been an unnecessary chunk of story best left to the imagination or a couple referential lines of dialogue, it's helpful here given the abrupt nature of the opening pages. Additionally, it serves as a reminder of a conspicuously absent character, though that absence will only remain conspicuous if it continues for the remaining two chapters of this story arc.

Thok-ing the grumpy away

After three issues away, Jack Lawrence returns to line art duties for "The Everlasting Voices" and provides excellent, consistent mechanical designs for each Transformer while also making sure to playfully use alternate modes where possible and appropriate. Joana Lafuente's colors give superb visual continuity making the changes to and fro in lineart from issue to issue as seamless as possible. Overall it's a great effort and execution, with even the silent (and close to silent) pages managing to ooze story.

Tom B. Long does a couple things with "letters" that are so clever they need their own call-out in this section. Large, outlined reds stand out at one point to convey the tone of the words in a way that makes them distinctly Rodimus' words, and another moment with Whirl is wacky fun that only Whirl could get away with. A less skilled letterer could have tried the same thing and failed miserably, but these examples added to the experience in an unexpected, visually advantageous way.

Lawrence and Lafuente team up for the "A" cover, while Alex Milne provides the "B" cover featuring colors by Josh Perez as seen in this review's news post thumbnail. A colorless version of the same cover is also available as the 10-copy retailer incentive for this issue. As always, you can find images of all of those covers and full credits for the issue in our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers: Lost Light #16, but please note it contains a character appearance list and in this case that will mean huge spoilers!

Verdict

Whirl, talking about "Lost Light Detractors"

Lost Light #16 feels like the start of a part of this story that will put all the pieces in place for a confluence of huge events as both the plot and geographic scope of the series begins to narrow in on a tipping point. The last page contains what is a very big, long awaited development and should allay concerns some readers have had about the pace of the series. While some of the character moments needed a bit more space to breathe, that doesn't take away from what they were and I think the experience of reading a physical, printed copy of the book will address some of that. For an opening act, this is about as good as it gets for me but some of the other staff feedback makes me wary enough to not bump this a notch higher on the numerical score front. Very good and potentially the start of a truly great arc.

. out of

Bonus! James Roberts' soundtrack suggestions for this issue:

• Queen - "Let Me Live"
• Air - "Kelly Watch The Stars" (ed. - I second this, fantastic song from a fantastic band off a fantastic album!)
• Lou Reed - "Perfect Day"
• Wilco - "Jesus, Etc."

[Big Grim]

Can’t deny the passed 2 years has been people ranting “I don’t want this I don’t want this!l” and when it happened it’s been “I don’t like this! I don’t like this!”

Oh sure. I have no problem with most of it existing in the same universe. G.I Joe works, ROM works and MASK SHOULD have worked. I admit, I've not read Micronauts but I really don't like the idea of Visionaries. If they existed by themselves, they would probably be fine.

[ZeroWolf]

Good review scottyp, though I feel for the caption of the matrix above roddy it should say "hello, do you know about primus?" though I am just splitting hairs.

Just remember, there is always someone who'll find a reason to not like it, regardless of content