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Welcome to the latest episode of the Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast! This episode features your host ScottyP with xRotorstormx and RodimusConvoy13. Listen in as we discuss the latest toys and catch up on some of the latest Transformers comic releases from IDW Publishing.

Episode #167 "Optimus Sub Prime" 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.

We start with toys, toys, and more toys. The Last Knight line is giving us more Movie Masterpiece releases, and it looks like we've seen a concept rendering of MP Movie Prime. Will he be a new figure or could it borrow heavily from the infamous Revenge of the Fallen Leader Optimus Prime?



Takara has released more of their Movie The Best figures, with a new wave featuring Ironhide, Ratchet, Soundwave, and Starscream. Along with the comparisons of these toys to their earlier releases from past Movie Universe toylines, we take some walks down memory lane. Find out if we're still more fond of Voyagers from 2007, or if we think these versions really are The Best.



Keeping with The Last Knight, we look at Leader Megatron and his 30 step Transformation. So many steps.. or is it? Maybe some context will help us work out whether or not we're going to cry or just have Transformers fun in several steps when this highly anticipated toy hits the shelves in April.



We round the corner to more Masterpiece discussion. MP-35 Grapple and MP-34 Cheetor are out now, and we don't own them yet because instantaneous shipping isn't available for everything and it's probably somehow your fault. In lieu of a useful discussion on toys after in-hand experience, which we couldn't provide here, listen in for some tips on ordering Masterpiece Transformers toys, with a look at the pros and cons of shopping through some of our various site sponsors.



We end our toy talk with some Titans Return talk. The discussion starts with the odd happenings surrounding Titans Return Chromdome showing up with the Takara Legends head. Is this a factory error or a very strange intentional running change? Plus, with Six Shot hitting US Retail, ScottyP gives us his in-hand impressions. Then, Rodimus lets us know what is up with the new Voyager Optimus Prime and how sometimes it's ok to embrace the weird.



This leads directly into a listener question from kuhlio. Would you want to see alternate takes on the heads that come with Titans Return figures? Would you get a Sentinel Prime or a Brainstorm head with no faceplate? We let you know our thoughts and how this scenario may play out.



It's then time for Comic talk. We've had a few issues come out since the last comic talk on the show.
We start with Revolutionaries #2. Check out the Seibertron review here from our podcaster friend Tigertrack. Could you almost call this a Kup ongoing series? More importantly, Kup Jet flies in to steal our hearts.



It's been out for a bit, but we haven't covered Til All Are One #7. We talk about the cliffhanger reveal and what it might mean, plus tell you why this comic is very worth your time and money each month.



What are those crazy Junkions up to? We see for ourselves in Optimus Prime #4. What's happening with Prime? He doesn't seem to be the bot we all know and love anymore. Also, it's the welcome return of Alex Milne!



We finish our comic talk with the fantastic Lost Light #3. All hail the Useless One! What is Rung's alt mode? Is it a big tease? This book made some of take a few laps around the room, and hopefully we can come back around for a more lengthy look at this issue during episodes to come.



After quickly pondering some decade old questions such as "What is Sector 7?" and "Project Iceman?", we end the show spotlighting some cool gems we've found out in the Transformers Fandom, including a part of Twitter we can't read but love.



We'll be back in two weeks with more, much more, than meets the eye!

Another enjoyable episode,

just wrt your discussion of trying to find the best deal, and the shipping quotes from buying from a foreign store, 'circa 50 minute mark, and a point I have brought up before, in some countries there can be customs charges and fines of up to 25% of the 'percieved' value of the goods, and you basically get a letter from the customs, and you need to pay them for them to release your package.

Great episode. Glad to have some comics again though! (BTW, Jaws : The Revenge is the fourth (and worst) Jaws film.)

Big Grim wrote:Great episode. Glad to have some comics again though! (BTW, Jaws : The Revenge is the fourth (and worst) Jaws film.)

Is that the one with Michael Caine? I really only know Jaws and a little bit of Jaws 2. Jaws(the first one) is one of my favorite movies.

Glad you enjoyed the episode.

RodimusConvoy13 wrote:Is that the one with Michael Caine? I really only know Jaws and a little bit of Jaws 2. Jaws(the first one) is one of my favorite movies.

Glad you enjoyed the episode.

It is, yeah. I love one of his quotes regarding the film. He said "I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific."

Still working through the episode but I'm so with you guys when you're loving Nightbeat driving over the wall! And that Brainstorm is SO how you draw a smiling faceplate!

For the MPM line, they are going with the older designs, Takara already said it in an interview. But it was in japanese, so not many caught it. But yeah, they are going for the models from the first movie.

Finished the episode and Scotty? I love your rambling asides! They're fun! Though I confess I did not expect the Blue to purple balls comment, and laughed aloud in the office. Got a few odd looks!

Big Grim wrote:Finished the episode and Scotty? I love your rambling asides! They're fun! Though I confess I did not expect the Blue to purple balls comment, and laughed aloud in the office. Got a few odd looks!

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it and got a laugh! I guess I was referring to the asides towards the end of episodes. When editing them/listening back I can hear my cadence change, and it's almost always right around 11 PM for me when it happens - which is usually when I call it a night and get some sleep since I have to be up before 7 every morning for work. But hey, if it doesn't bother anyone then not much sense worrying about it

I approve of all of the intentional puns.
And I chuckled a lot from tightening/Titaning onwards, too!

Combining the Japanese fandom comments with xRotorstormx's excellent aside on Rum-Maj, I give you a golden oldie:





Some actual comments!

I really like the 'war general' explanation that ScottyP gives about Optimus Prime, and the potential readings of him and Prowl in the post-war world. They do make sense, and I think other iterations of the fiction have tried exploring similar things (Dreamwave, maybe? I have a panel in mind, but am not sure where it's from..).

Of course, it's not something new, you see it in general fiction - including outside of comics - all the time, but I believe TFs have the potential to make it work even better given the fact that until IDW, all of their fiction has been about the war.

A lot of my other comments are basically the 2017 Annual, now that I think about it, so let's go see the review, shall we?


A more general point on 'comics literacy' - does the Twincast, and this cast in particular, read comics regularly, or used to when younger? The comments of not being able to follow always leave me intrigued, and I'd like to work something out.

Va'al wrote:A more general point on 'comics literacy' - does the Twincast, and this cast in particular, read comics regularly, or used to when younger? The comments of not being able to follow always leave me intrigued, and I'd like to work something out.

I did when very young (5-8) but back then it was all about the pretty pictures. I could read the words, yes, but really didn't get the message. The very local shop closing also had a huge factor in this, as it took away my means to spend my allowance on X-Men comics. That was right around when the Phalanx Covenant was a thing, I think.

I can't actually recall reading another comic until Infiltration #0. Comics just fell off my radar at some point and they didn't ever really seriously come back in a general sense. Outside of Transformers comics, I can say I've read Alan Moore's big three and it might stop there. Was going to keep up with the new Marvel Star Wars that launched a few years back but it got out of hand very quickly wrt the sheer number of books to keep up with so I stopped out of exhaustion after maybe six months.

This just reminded me that my wife has the entire run of Sandman on her bookshelf and I never read it. Probably ought to fix that :/

Edit: I also have and adore my TPB of Monster Motors. This was entirely due to Roche shilling it for months on end via Twitter, but I don't regret it one bit. Also, bought my wife Kaijumax for Christmas and will probably also read it at some point.

Iiiiiiinteresting.

Will dig around some more.

I started reading comics in '94 and haven't really stopped. Took a few years off but when the Dreamwave Transformers ended up being so late, I started back into Spider-man with Ultimate Spider-man and got into Batman with the first issue of the Hush storyline. Then I went crazy. Now I've cut way back on what I hate and just get the Transformers books, Amazing Spider-Man, and the Star Wars ongoing.

RodimusConvoy13 wrote:I started reading comics in '94 and haven't really stopped. Took a few years off but when the Dreamwave Transformers ended up being so late, I started back into Spider-man with Ultimate Spider-man and got into Batman with the first issue of the Hush storyline. Then I went crazy. Now I've cut way back on what I hate and just get the Transformers books, Amazing Spider-Man, and the Star Wars ongoing.

Even more interesting! But thanks for the answer.

I have some thoughts forming, I'll let them ferment for a while.

Va'al wrote:

RodimusConvoy13 wrote:I started reading comics in '94 and haven't really stopped. Took a few years off but when the Dreamwave Transformers ended up being so late, I started back into Spider-man with Ultimate Spider-man and got into Batman with the first issue of the Hush storyline. Then I went crazy. Now I've cut way back on what I hate and just get the Transformers books, Amazing Spider-Man, and the Star Wars ongoing.

Even more interesting! But thanks for the answer.

I have some thoughts forming, I'll let them ferment for a while.

That really should say "Cut way back on what I get." Not "what I hate."

ScottyP wrote:This just reminded me that my wife has the entire run of Sandman on her bookshelf and I never read it. Probably ought to fix that :/

That is an incredible read, when you read it please let me know what you think!

RodimusConvoy13 wrote:and got into Batman with the first issue of the Hush storyline.

What a time to have been a fan!

RodimusConvoy13 wrote:

Va'al wrote:

RodimusConvoy13 wrote:I started reading comics in '94 and haven't really stopped. Took a few years off but when the Dreamwave Transformers ended up being so late, I started back into Spider-man with Ultimate Spider-man and got into Batman with the first issue of the Hush storyline. Then I went crazy. Now I've cut way back on what I hate and just get the Transformers books, Amazing Spider-Man, and the Star Wars ongoing.

Even more interesting! But thanks for the answer.

I have some thoughts forming, I'll let them ferment for a while.

That really should say "Cut way back on what I get." Not "what I hate."

I gotcha.

I've been on quite the anime kick over the past year-ish, and I realized that what I like in that medium parallels what I enjoy in comics quite a bit. Shorter shows with super strong character work (Bebop, etc) are like a good one or two TPB comic series that neatly tells its story and wraps up (Watchmen, before the recent continuation which I ignored)

Medium length stuff that's known to be really great (Fate/SN or UBW and Fate/Zero) have some appeal because they're only somewhat of a time invesent but extremely well worth it (something like the first Civil War series, or so I've heard, could be way off)

Then there's MAL and Hulu and whatnot saying that if I've watched all that Gundam and Dragonball, I should totally jump into Naruto and One Piece. Problem is, there's so much too them I don't want to commit to it and will probably never watch them. These are the Batman and Spiderman and whatnot of the comics world - I've heard they're great, but would rather get to know a greater diversity of characters and themes through shorter works than to spend all my time in one echo chamber. I have Transformers and the Hasbroverse as my high-time-investment serial for comics, Gundam (always something new) and Dragonball Super for it in anime, and I'm just too booked up to be fussed with 60 years of Marvel/DC stuff.

ScottyP wrote:I've been on quite the anime kick over the past year-ish, and I realized that what I like in that medium parallels what I enjoy in comics quite a bit. Shorter shows with super strong character work (Bebop, etc) are like a good one or two TPB comic series that neatly tells its story and wraps up (Watchmen, before the recent continuation which I ignored)

Medium length stuff that's known to be really great (Fate/SN or UBW and Fate/Zero) have some appeal because they're only somewhat of a time invesent but extremely well worth it (something like the first Civil War series, or so I've heard, could be way off)

Then there's MAL and Hulu and whatnot saying that if I've watched all that Gundam and Dragonball, I should totally jump into Naruto and One Piece. Problem is, there's so much too them I don't want to commit to it and will probably never watch them. These are the Batman and Spiderman and whatnot of the comics world - I've heard they're great, but would rather get to know a greater diversity of characters and themes through shorter works than to spend all my time in one echo chamber. I have Transformers and the Hasbroverse as my high-time-investment serial for comics, Gundam (always something new) and Dragonball Super for it in anime, and I'm just too booked up to be fussed with 60 years of Marvel/DC stuff.

The Original Civil War is indeed good fun, as is most Mark Millar stuff, like his Ultimate X-Men, Ultimates 1&2, Old Man Logan, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Marvel Knights Spider-man, Nemesis and others. Nothing ultra high brow but simple, fun and he uses the medium to its max in terms of bombastic entertainment.

If you like a quick one two punch, he is your man. And you are smart to have ignored the watchmen stuff although the Darwyn Cooke ones are worthwhile. I met him a few times and he told me the reason he didnt mind doing more watchmen is because he was covering stuff that Alan Moore never wrote about so he didnt feel it was replacing anything and instead just adding and doing some fun stuff with the characters.

As for the 60 years of Marvel and DC, dont let that overwhelm you, they reset every 10 years or so, which actually becomes quite frustrating for longtime reading friends like me. Like some people no longer existing or their past being rewritten. You are better off getting the one two punch from when particular writers and artists take over a book. So say you want to get into some good super stories, you can just look into an author's run like...

Batman The Long Halloween and Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
Batman The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder and Jock
New X-Men by Grant Morrison
Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon (read the Grant Morrison stuff above first though)
Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender (also read after the Grant Morrison stuff, I realize now how much he sets up of the X-Men landscape with his run)
Fantastic Four 1 2 3 4 by Grant Morrison (this one is freaken genius, in a quick 4 issue tale, he gives you the ultimate fantastic four story with everything you'd ever need, it really makes the most of 4 issues like i have never seen before)
Daredevil: The Devil in Cell Block D by Ed Bruebacker

Some are just one TPB, some are longer runs, but everything is contained and its all great stuff to give you an idea of what there is out there for superheroes without investing too much into it.

Or you know, read outside of the superhero genre.

Va'al wrote:Or you know, read outside of the superhero genre.

Of course.

But I was just replying to Scotty's comment about how the vast history of those universes were daunting (or at least thats how i interpreted it).

I have a question fo you Va'al, is Hellboy considered Super Hero genre? I really like those comics too.

william-james88 wrote:

Va'al wrote:Or you know, read outside of the superhero genre.

Of course.

But I was just replying to Scotty's comment about how the vast history of those universes were daunting (or at least thats how i interpreted it).

I have a question fo you Va'al, is Hellboy considered Super Hero genre? I really like those comics too.

It's kinda building into it, but comes out of the old Dark Horse school (along with The Sandman in Vertigo, for example) - people tend to see it as horror/superhero, yeah, as has happened to Hellblazer before the move to mainstream DC. Short version: a take on superhero genre.

I find non-superhero comics tend to have better self-concluding narratives, which would answer the 'daunting' aspect of things. Something like Joe the Barbarian or I Kill Giants or heck, even Wanted (as much as I utterly despise Millar) - before moving into the likes of The Nao of Brown, Pretty Deadly, or even Monstress, Bitch Planet, WicDiv.



Suggestion for the Twincasters who find it harder to process comics density: The Arrival, by Shaun Tan. There are no words at all.

Then move to Saga, by Vaughan and Staples. It's the closest, best, mainstreamiest comic out there that does things that MTMTE/LL and TAAO and RID/TF/OP have been doing, and I can see Roberts taking some beats from it at times, too.

Va'al wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Va'al wrote:Or you know, read outside of the superhero genre.

Of course.

But I was just replying to Scotty's comment about how the vast history of those universes were daunting (or at least thats how i interpreted it).

I have a question fo you Va'al, is Hellboy considered Super Hero genre? I really like those comics too.

It's kinda building into it, but comes out of the old Dark Horse school (along with The Sandman in Vertigo, for example) - people tend to see it as horror/superhero, yeah, as has happened to Hellblazer before the move to mainstream DC. Short version: a take on superhero genre.

I find non-superhero comics tend to have better self-concluding narratives, which would answer the 'daunting' aspect of things. Something like Joe the Barbarian or I Kill Giants or heck, even Wanted (as much as I utterly despise Millar) - before moving into the likes of The Nao of Brown, Pretty Deadly, or even Monstress, Bitch Planet, WicDiv.



Suggestion for the Twincasters who find it harder to process comics density: The Arrival, by Shaun Tan. There are no words at all.

Then move to Saga, by Vaughan and Staples. It's the closest, best, mainstreamiest comic out there that does things that MTMTE/LL and TAAO and RID/TF/OP have been doing, and I can see Roberts taking some beats from it at times, too.

The reason I didnt metion Saga (one of the 5 comics i currently read every month)is bcause it is becoming a very long series, like what Kirkman likes to do. Nothing wrong with that of course, but its not that nice one two punch I was trying to get examples of. Excellent comic though and yes very much in line with the wit found in MTMTE.

And Va'al, you probably told me already but its fuzzy in my head, what do you dislike about Millar. I personally dislike his utter lack of any humility and how some of his craft is mainly based on making something a spec script for a movie project. But at the same time, I cant say his writing isnt fun and full of energy. Especially when he works for something that isnt his own property and thus he clearly isnt doing it to hold film rights.

Also, dont hate me, but aside from MTMTE, Saga and Batman, the other monthly comic I get is Jupiter's Legacy. I cant help it.