The Energon Pub

News Credits: 6 · by **AllNewSuperRobot** » Mon Aug 13, 2018 3:06 pm

The Part Work

Some and/or many of us are reading it, if not aware of it. Now I have a few Real Life things to put in order and when I do, this first post will include a comprehensive chapter appendix of the series now and until completion.

In the meantime, I'm opening this thread to discuss it all. This collection proclaims the A-Z of G1 Transformers comics (albeit barring the notable omission of Marvel's G-2 strip, in favour of Re-G1 I presume?).

To me this collection is my first exposure to the vast majority of Transformers comics from the beginning. As such I can be a bit more objective, minus any nostalgia goggles, regarding what I read. Not to say I discount books for being "old". I've read comics for three decades, going back to the 40's and 60's comics of Marvel and DC, without bias.

The two newest books I received: Volume 73 & 76, I'll talk about today.

Volume 76: Titans Return Pt.2

Having tapped out of IDWverse with DoOP, I read the continuing tales of IDW in a bubble, without any real context at all. Personally I think it's a sign of a bad book if you can't understand/enjoy any complete story on it's own.

Now I didn't think much of part 1 and "smoke stack death" was very out of place and unbefitting for a Transformers story. Part 2 somehow managed to be even more anti-climatic. Rule 101 of comics: It's a visual medium. The attack that was supposed to be the "end" of Cybertron was the most downplayed and underwhelming sequence I've seen in any comic that comes to mind. There was no threat or menace from the Undead Titans, who were virtually cast even further into the role of Fodder for the "surprise" reveal that also managed to fall flat. A reveal like that shouldn't just be a fan-service splash page and immediate exit. It completely underscores any drama he was supposed to evoke. After reading both parts, I do hope, at their peak, MTMTE/LL & TAAO/OP are better than this.

Lastly, Volume 73: Transformers vs. GI Joe Pt.1

What the hell did I just read? :shock:

It took me a while, but by about halfway through, I was actually loving it. The art.. meh, I did struggle with. To me, if the 2019 Reboot is anything like this, in terms of story and characterisation variations, I'd be in favour of it. With better and more concise art, of course.