The Energon Pub

The Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast returns with Episode 0. That's right, this special edition podcast is a pilot for a new concept, the Mainframes podcast, focusing purely on the world of Transformers comics in an in-depth way. The globe spanning crew of Twincast / Podcast host Scotty P, comics expert and t-shirt guru Mr. Starscream, and Seibertron.com's very own News Administrator Dr. Va'al look to start this new project out with a bang by diving deep into More Than Meets The Eye Issue #53 from IDW Publishing.

Episode #147 "In Flanders Fields" is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on iTunes and Stitcher Radio within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

Things get going with the first pages of setup, with Ratchet and Velocity setting the stage for the events to come. The call backs go way, way back and the crew takes some time to reflect on the world-building that's taken place.



More catching up comes next as we take a look into what Brainstorm and some others are up to. Friendship takes center stage, with some of the Lost Light's cast coming closer together while others are set to depart on a different adventure.



The first round of massive speculation takes over next. Are the missing glasses pointing to something? Or is regular cleaning of the optic sensors just good hygiene?



The big reveal of big reveals surrounding a certain character gets brought up as we proceed through the events of the issue. Years of plot threads collide, with yet more speculation about what it all means to events past and future.



After the scene shifts, it's time to pick up with our villains and take stock of the odds against our heroes. Is there any chance? No. They have tanks with Decepticon symbols on them. Nothing else screams "Hopeless" like freaking tanks with Decepticon symbols on them.



Mr. Starscream then leads the way as we all ponder exactly who could have brought back the evil Overlord, and what their intentions possibly could have been. Get ready to bounce back to the Season 1 finale as we analyze what it might all mean.



Robot romance and hyperactivity come up next, with a two page spread leading to deep conversations about behavior and emotion. Tune in as we look at everyone's favorite clockmaker get bored, and everyone's favorite purple former-Decepticon get romantic.



Megatron had to come up at some point, as we take a look at his tale of redemption and try to relate it back to other themes such as addiction. Also: is there actually something physically wrong with him, or is it all a physical manifestation of a disease of the mind?



We close the show with a discussion about where More Than Meets The Eye stands in the pantheon of Transformers comic history, and then we take some of your questions sent in on social media.



We hope you enjoyed this "pilot" episode of potential Twincast / Podcast spin-off Mainframes, and be sure to listen towards the end of the episode to hear how to help make more episodes a reality! We won't get to make more of this type of show if you don't tell us you want it, so please, let us know if you do. We'll see you in the discussion thread which you can join in on by replying to this very news post.

Look at all the riveting discussion we've fostered!!

Starscream wrote:Look at all the riveting discussion we've fostered!!

Maybe we covered too much?

Took me a couple days to get through it bc my commute isn't too long but I quite enjoyed it. Pretty fun speculation & you seccussfulky made me feel bad about my reading habits.

Doctor McGrath wrote:Took me a couple days to get through it bc my commute isn't too long but I quite enjoyed it. Pretty fun speculation & you seccussfulky made me feel bad about my reading habits.

Glad you liked it, but dang man didn't mean to make you feel bad! I've been one to hard sell this book since around issue 4 (basically shoved copies into a buddy's hands when he left a meetup and was like "YOU HAVE TO READ THESE") so I don't always notice when I do it

You know...I'm only critical because I care.

Also, Linkage is great because of Stella.


But...

I think MTMtE is going to ultimately be one of if not the best stories/storyarcs because of how it has changed public recognition of Transformers. I think the question that was asked on this really only has that as an ultimate conclusion. There's too much going for the book and it does many things that fans have wanted over the years.

However...

I want to give special recognition to "Infiltration." When it came out, that book/story really put Transformers back to its roots of robots in disguise and took a measured approach to the story telling in contrast to what Dreamwave had been doing. Autobot reluctance, Megatron being methodical, and the internal conflict of the Decepticons was genuinely interesting.

ScottyP wrote:

Doctor McGrath wrote:Took me a couple days to get through it bc my commute isn't too long but I quite enjoyed it. Pretty fun speculation & you seccussfulky made me feel bad about my reading habits.

Glad you liked it, but dang man didn't mean to make you feel bad! I've been one to hard sell this book since around issue 4 (basically shoved copies into a buddy's hands when he left a meetup and was like "YOU HAVE TO READ THESE") so I don't always notice when I do it

No no, I was referring to my attention to detail. I'm sure reading this book on my iPhone screen doesn't help but you all pick out so much detail that I just don't see unless it's pointed out to me. Pretty impressive actually.


Agree with your thoughts on Infiltration CP, actually all the -ation books. Those books introduced human characters a that weren't super annoying as well.

I would argue that MTMTE does such a good job of incorporating the original IDW source material that they are all part of the same umbrella. It just depends how you want to slice the pie of Transformers comics. So when you say that MTMTE is the best, you could surmise that you are giving the entire whole of the G1 IDW story run just as much recognition.

Starscream wrote:I would argue that MTMTE does such a good job of incorporating the original IDW source material that they are all part of the same umbrella. It just depends how you want to slice the pie of Transformers comics. So when you say that MTMTE is the best, you could surmise that you are giving the entire whole of the G1 IDW story run just as much recognition.

I don't completely disagree but I think Barber incorporates way more of the original IDW stuff than Roberts. MTMTE is its own run IMO.

you mention how much Whirl tends to over-emote via body language. I think he does this to compensate for the lack of expression he has due to his empurata.

he have a single in place of a face, that means no eyes to wink, no mouth to smile or snarl, no eyebrows to waggle. so he has to do all of that through body language.

Doctor McGrath wrote:

Starscream wrote:I would argue that MTMTE does such a good job of incorporating the original IDW source material that they are all part of the same umbrella. It just depends how you want to slice the pie of Transformers comics. So when you say that MTMTE is the best, you could surmise that you are giving the entire whole of the G1 IDW story run just as much recognition.

I don't completely disagree but I think Barber incorporates way more of the original IDW stuff than Roberts. MTMTE is its own run IMO.

While I agree with this, I would also argue that here also lies its issue: MTMTE has set itself as almost its own universe, to the point that it can be hard to keep track of all the MTMTEness ramifications - as we said on the episode!

That is still the one big downnpoint, and it's particularly true for 'season 2', I feel.

SG Roadbuster wrote:you mention how much Whirl tends to over-emote via body language. I think he does this to compensate for the lack of expression he has due to his empurata.

he have a single in place of a face, that means no eyes to wink, no mouth to smile or snarl, no eyebrows to waggle. so he has to do all of that through body language.

Very much so, yes! It's just extremely amusing that he does it so incredibly theatrically.

Also, this is one of my favourite scenes in Spotlight: Trailcutter, to the point that I used in my thesis, where he's mocking TC's 'forcefield face'.

This was thoroughly entertaining. You guys do tend to catch little bits that I've missed and your collective memory for the history of the arcs puts me to shame, so this helped me go "Ooooh." followed by "Oooooooh!" usually followed by "Crap, how'd I miss that?!?" so more of these would be most welcome!

Additionally, I would say MTMTE is a great arc. It's the one I really look forward to and is the one I read last when my order arrives through the mail so I can savour it.

Big Grim wrote:This was thoroughly entertaining. You guys do tend to catch little bits that I've missed and your collective memory for the history of the arcs puts me to shame, so this helped me go "Ooooh." followed by "Oooooooh!" usually followed by "Crap, how'd I miss that?!?" so more of these would be most welcome!

Ha! Starscream is REALLY well prepared, and I did a full MTMTE re-read the two days before we recorded, so that may count as cheating.

But yeah, thanks for the kind words, and glad you enjoyed it!

Big Grim wrote:This was thoroughly entertaining. You guys do tend to catch little bits that I've missed and your collective memory for the history of the arcs puts me to shame, so this helped me go "Ooooh." followed by "Oooooooh!" usually followed by "Crap, how'd I miss that?!?" so more of these would be most welcome!

Additionally, I would say MTMTE is a great arc. It's the one I really look forward to and is the one I read last when my order arrives through the mail so I can savour it.

Not gonna lie, it took some repeated, critical, slow readings to catch some of this stuff. The book is so dense, when taken on the whole, that it seems almost impossible to get it all. This is great though, can read stuff months later and it's almost like new again!

Hah, preparation is key then! Gotta say, I'll have to go back and read them myself. It is awesome when you re-read stuff and pick up on the clues that were there all along but you never noticed them. I think I'll have to go back and read them as you guys did! Cheers!

What has been challenging for me is that these comics have truly integrated their art and words to relay the stories.

Most comics I skim the art and read the words. If I do that with MTMtE, I only get part of the story. It really is an adjustment to slow down (because I read the written word very fast) and take in the entire panel.

Awesome episode.

Do it again

palmcd wrote:Awesome episode.

Do it again

Yay! Thank you!

I liked the format of this episode, and it was a nice change of pace from listening to the usual podcast. It also helps because I usually delay reading my books a bit and then when I pull up the latest podcast I have to stop listening or else hear spoilers. So thank you for this opportunity to catch up with my reading and then get some excellent analysis out of it all.