The Energon Pub

[Randomhero]

This issue was all over the place. This did not feel like Barber. This felt like a big commercial. there really wasn't that good a storyline, and the ridiculous combining showdown in the end was just crazy. half the guys with names in the fight suddenly combined. And Galvatron, the fact that he hates combiners yet is perfectly ok with just throwing random cybertronians together just wasn't right. It wasn't his character. Scotty said it best: Galvatron felt like his season 3 fellow, not the IDW guy we've gotten used to.

MTMTE definitely beat out this comic this month, no question. This was a bit of a train wreck

Johns IDW Galvatron is very season 3 at some points. He's threatened to kill astrotrain for just being there when he meets up with Arcee last year and him using combiners is fine. Yeah he hates them but if it gets the results done sure he'd use them.

Even megatron planned on killing the Constructicons/devastator once his usefulness was done in all hail megatron. Sometimes you have to do stuff you have to get the job done.

At the same time though, he has been very particular about what happens and very thoughtful and strong in his beliefs. He wanted to destroy the enigma, but is now using it. It doesn't feel like the serious and particulate Galvatron that we have had. He just didn't feel right in this issue. And the combiners just felt like they were overdoing it. Like, yes we had Optimus Maximus, but now these 2, it feels wrong, feels rushed, feels a bit too random for what Barber normally does, and that is where I feel disappointed

He's also played Soundwave with the idea that be believed everything Soundwave believes in only to turn on him. Is it not possible for Galvatron to be lying when he goes on and on about how much he hates combiners?

[Randomhero]

I don't think it's rushed. It's been set up since before combiner wars that black rock was using the enigmas code in everything. This is the final reveal of what that code is capable of

[ricemazter]

Gotta say, I'm not the biggest fan of Tramontano's line work. Specifically the faces of the bots that actually have mouths instead of face plates. The way she draws them is really similar to sakamoto's (that's his name right?) over in MTMTE, and its way too manga for my tastes. Probably a matter of personal preference, but still.

[Randomhero]

Gotta say, I'm not the biggest fan of Tramontano's line work. Specifically the faces of the bots that actually have mouths instead of face plates. The way she draws them is really similar to sakamoto's (that's his name right?) over in MTMTE, and its way too manga for my tastes. Probably a matter of personal preference, but still.

I can understand that. Her art is very stylized which worked for animated RID. Much like how Marcelo Matera excelled with Animated and his G1 is decent. Very thick, very blocky dreamwave-like. The art is aright but I think maybe an inker and different colorist would have made it better.

[ricemazter]

Gotta say, I'm not the biggest fan of Tramontano's line work. Specifically the faces of the bots that actually have mouths instead of face plates. The way she draws them is really similar to sakamoto's (that's his name right?) over in MTMTE, and its way too manga for my tastes. Probably a matparallel ersonal preference, but still.

I can understand that. Her art is very stylized which worked for animated RID. Much like how Marcelo Matera excelled with Animated and his G1 is decent. Very thick, very blocky dreamwave-like. The art is aright but I think maybe an inker and different colorist would have made it better.

Really I find it most noticeable in how the two artists draw faces. It's much more noticeable with sakamoto, but whenever they have to draw robot faces you can see them default to a few simple shapes. The mouths and noses are the most common. the same triangles and rectangles are used for noses while the mouths are either the same parralelagram or trapezoid. Granted Sakamoto has gotten better at this, especially when he's forced to try and mesh with Milne.

Though I would have preferred the colors to be less neon this issue. Would like a happy medium between Livio and this issue's colorist.

[Randomhero]

Personally I'd really like to see Guido come on to his series to fill in for Andrew when he takes an issue or two off. Or even Robby Musso or even EJ Su. Robby hasn't done a transformers book for IDW since Sootlight Cliffjumper and EJ, I really miss EJ on theses books.

I'm so done with Livios murky, flat, backgroundless issues where day light is a rarity and it looks like someone forgot to pay the light bill and everyone just lives in darkness and I just can't stand Sara Pitre-Durocher anymore.

[Rodimus Prime]

Yeah, I'm also finding the art a bit lacking. It just detracts from the enjoyment of the story, which itself is borderline right now. It seems to be going downhill all over. I hope they pick it up soon.

[Va'al]

From Andrew Griffith:

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Pretty cool looking stuff. And now Sunstreaker is not only the first headmaster in IDW continuity, but the first to be a limb for more than 1 combiner (Prowl was the head/shoulders, hence the specification)

[o.supreme]

From Andrew Griffith:

Well I did call it. *sort of*, I figured Sky Lynx severe damage/repair would result in Sky Reign...I never would have seen this coming though. The designs are cool, but there are two schools of thought, and unfortunately there is no winner...

Some fans say the comics are a slave to the Hasbro Toys
Some fans say the comics aren't following the toys enough

This one really threw my head for a spin... The concepts are cool, but it is just so...random. Many of these characters don't even have current toys (coming out with Titans Return). I would love to see how some fans kit bash these, or if it is even possible/plausible.

Also...I wonder if I should be nervous about how Bruticus will me portrayed in TAAO