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I didn't fact check it, but came across this tid bit of news a bit ago...

https://bleedingfool.com/news/idw-publi ... rs-comics/

ctrlFrequency wrote:I didn't fact check it, but came across this tid bit of news a bit ago...

https://bleedingfool.com/news/idw-publi ... rs-comics/

Interesting, I don't quite agree with the guy's standpoint 100% but I do think it could go either way. It could be really, really good, or alternatively it could be absolute pants, depending on how it's approached. If the political element is grounded "in universe" only using IRL politics as basic inspiration, then it should be good. If it goes for ripped from the headlines/"OMG this villain is just this person I don't like!" approach it'll probably be awful.

I feel stupider having read the way that "news" post was written and the comments underneath. I still have no idea who this guy is! Though I'm wondering if this was already newsed as part of the announcement of the series.

If it's going to be based on real life politics, it's gotta be a tight story, because if the balance isn't struck just right, it's going to piss off a lot of people, regardless of which way it leans, and the title will suffer for it.

Just wondering, how much are booster packs? Are they the same price as the comic? Because then it could also be seen as a free comic packed with a booster pack
Also, does anyone know if these packs are different than the ones found in stores?

So quick thoughts here about IDW's Transformers A Bold New Era ...

A Bold New Era could have been about Bumblebee's origin. Aside from the very slow and unexciting storyline that features Transformers who aren't Autobots and Decepticons, why in the world didn't they make this story about Bumblebee instead? Replace "BS" made-up-character Rubble (I think of Barney and Betty every time I see him on the page) with Bumblebee, pair Bumblebee up with various veteran Autobots like Ironhide, Wheeljack, Kup, Prowl, etc (each who has a different "job" or skill that they can show Bumblebee), wrap up that story in an issue or two, or spread out as a sub-story amongst telling the story about the early days of the war?

Hopefully Transformers Galaxies and the other books coming out are more interesting than "A Bold New Era", which is anything but "bold".

Coming in hot! Things are really about to ramp up and heat up in this next issue! Or are they? Seems as though fans are finding the current series rather polarizing and haven't hesitated to share their feelings on the matter. Below we have the three page itunes preview for issue #9. Enjoy the preview and chime in with the crew about your feelings on the new series.

Also included after the preview for issue #9 is the alternate retail incentive cover for Transformers issue #10. This is from artist Jeffrey Veregge's ongoing poster series touring Cybertron. From his Twitter account "My latest Travel poster Retail Incentive cover for @IDWPublishing Transformers issue #10. The Great Cybertron War Memorial."

From Itunes's summary:
"Time is running out! Orion Pax, his friends, and the Autobot security forces have to get a grip on their murder investigations as their superior, Sentinel Prime, makes his return to Cybertron!"
GENRE: Comics & Graphic Novels
AVAILABLE: 2019, July 17
LANGUAGE: EN-English
LENGTH: 35 Pages
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
SIZE: 28.2MB

I think it is indicative of this series as a whole, when the preview is THREE PAGES OF TALKING HEADS. A preview is supposed to be a teaser, akin to a movie trailer, to lure you in. This isn't that.

Personally, I don't think from those I've talked to, this series is very 'polarising' at all either. I haven't heard anyone say they actually like it, on its own merits.

It has already committed one of the signs of a bad reboot, reuse of the immediate cast of the previous run IE Cyclonus, Sideswipe, Windblade etc. Although we don't know his personality yet, even Sentinel Prime from the solicit, has been plucked from Megatron: Origin in his original role and aesthetic.

Seibertron wrote:So quick thoughts here about IDW's Transformers A Bold New Era ...

A Bold New Era could have been about Bumblebee's origin. Aside from the very slow and unexciting storyline that features Transformers who aren't Autobots and Decepticons, why in the world didn't they make this story about Bumblebee instead? Replace "BS" made-up-character Rubble (I think of Barney and Betty every time I see him on the page) with Bumblebee, pair Bumblebee up with various veteran Autobots like Ironhide, Wheeljack, Kup, Prowl, etc (each who has a different "job" or skill that they can show Bumblebee), wrap up that story in an issue or two, or spread out as a sub-story amongst telling the story about the early days of the war?

Hopefully Transformers Galaxies and the other books coming out are more interesting than "A Bold New Era", which is anything but "bold".

that'd actually makes sense as if its REALLY a brand new continuity theres nothing to stop it. everything should be up for a change so BB "birth" isnt anti cannonical and instantly is garners more emotional investment.

TBH at this stage i dont think IDW KNOW how to do a transformers story anymore and ive have basically given up on them now.

hiring the lad from VOX DOESNT bode well at all either. i mean FFS the industry is in freefall and theres NO professional comics writer willing to take up a TF book? the only guy they can find is a weirdo leftist? that just smacks of politics to me, and the type of editorial decisions thats ruined these comics. i have no faith in galaxies at all now.

what "bold new era" has been so far IMO is bacsically half a walking tour of iacon, and half CSI cybertron.

whilst thats a nice idea for a mini series, thats NOT the core concept of this franshise and i dont think its what fans want from a "main" book.

like ive said before, TF without the war is like batman without crime. ya can DO books like that but the vast majority dont want em.

i WILL say the pace has picked up a bit in it - probably due to complaints being finally heard and getting ahead of the producion schedule (the two weekly thing means they gotta commit longer than a monthly one) .

but for me its too little too late. i look at this book and i really dont see anything to grip me. its like bad fanfic.

Dammit, Nautica is being reused too? I'm tired of these carbon-copy imports from the last continuity like ancient and enigmatic Cyclonus, hardass Prowl, and morally duplicitous Froid. I really enjoyed the new life they breathed into obscure characters the first time around, and was hoping for a new cast of these obscure characters.

Diaboragon wrote:Dammit, Nautica is being reused too? I'm tired of these carbon-copy imports from the last continuity like ancient and enigmatic Cyclonus, hardass Prowl, and morally duplicitous Froid. I really enjoyed the new life they breathed into obscure characters the first time around, and was hoping for a new cast of these obscure characters.

Indeed. That is what a reboot should be.

I really think HasTak should look into giving the license to someone else. Maybe Dark Horse or Valiant. Certainly someone new, with fresh ideas.

They would only give the licence to someone else if IDW either folded or just refused to relicense it. As far as hasbro is concerned, as long as IDW pay up, everything is peachy.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Diaboragon wrote:Dammit, Nautica is being reused too? I'm tired of these carbon-copy imports from the last continuity like ancient and enigmatic Cyclonus, hardass Prowl, and morally duplicitous Froid. I really enjoyed the new life they breathed into obscure characters the first time around, and was hoping for a new cast of these obscure characters.

Indeed. That is what a reboot should be.

I really think HasTak should look into giving the license to someone else. Maybe Dark Horse or Valiant. Certainly someone new, with fresh ideas.

I think this is all Hasbro approved and probably partly based on Hasbro demands/suggestion. So you would get the same thing elsewhere.

Most likely.

Let's be honest, the last few years of IDWverse were "Transformers" only in branding and likenesses. This new line is the logical progression of that. I doubt anyone would be given the creative flexibility that Simon Furman had at the start of IDWverse, especially now. Given Hasbro's obsession with all that "brand synergy" nonsense.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Most likely.

Let's be honest, the last few years of IDWverse were "Transformers" only in branding and likenesses. This new line is the logical progression of that. I doubt anyone would be given the creative flexibility that Simon Furman had at the start of IDWverse, especially now. Given Hasbro's obsession with all that "brand synergy" nonsense.

Yeah, i think the same.

william-james88 wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Indeed. That is what a reboot should be.

I really think HasTak should look into giving the license to someone else. Maybe Dark Horse or Valiant. Certainly someone new, with fresh ideas.

I think this is all Hasbro approved and probably partly based on Hasbro demands/suggestion. So you would get the same thing elsewhere.

It looks to me like this almost entirely IDW's decision on cast inclusion. The only recent Siege-line bots that have had a tangible effect on the plot are Chromia and Prowl, not coincidentally two big names from last time. (Prime and Megs are already a given in any continuity). Our protagonists, Bumblebee and Windblade don't even have toys as of now. Quake, the Decepticon with the most presence so far, isn't part of the current toyline either and those who are are relegated to mere cameos or minor roles like Ironhide,Refraktor, and Skytread.
The point is, IDW is telling the story with the characters they want, and only sparingly using Hasbro's merchandise tie-ins.

I keep hoping it will take off more.

But honestly, Cyclonus is the lone highlight of the series for me so far.

Man, there's some straight up negativity coming from this forum.

While I don't expect glowing reviews (since many also complain about the toys themselves), some of us are enjoying the series. Does it suffer from a lack of action, as we are accustomed to? Maybe. It's not like there aren't plenty of talking heads issues in the previous continuity - but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

While I don't buy just whatever because it has a Transformers logo on it, I think the criticisms are excessive. But hey, opinions are like a-holes.

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

Maybe, but the point remains it was scattershot across the entire run. Plenty of talking happened in Autocracy, too.

sol magnus wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

Maybe, but the point remains it was scattershot across the entire run. Plenty of talking happened in Autocracy, too.

I just went to check and Autocracy straight laid out how we get started in the war. So no, that part is not scattershot. Anyone who is curious can read just that book. It'd rather boring how straightforward everything is.

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

Maybe, but the point remains it was scattershot across the entire run. Plenty of talking happened in Autocracy, too.

I just went to check and Autocracy straight laid out how we get started in the war. So no, that part is not scattershot. Anyone who is curious can read just that book. It'd rather boring how straightforward everything is.

That's fine. I'll take that, but Autocracy came out years into the initial IDW run. This series is starting shortly before the war. Maybe when we get there, Prime (or Pax) can punch Megatron in the face or something.

sol magnus wrote:Man, there's some straight up negativity coming from this forum.

While I don't expect glowing reviews (since many also complain about the toys themselves), some of us are enjoying the series. Does it suffer from a lack of action, as we are accustomed to? Maybe. It's not like there aren't plenty of talking heads issues in the previous continuity - but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

While I don't buy just whatever because it has a Transformers logo on it, I think the criticisms are excessive. But hey, opinions are like a-holes.

My main problem comes down to 3 things with this story, which previous stories handled much better in at least 1 of them, usually more:

1) Art. art is one of the most important things for me. I want to be visually entertained. That is why the first half of LL, Heart of Darkness, and IDW 2009-2011 ongoing are not good for me, but MTMTE, the BW comics, and Windblade volume 1 are among my favorites: the art is spotless and fantastic and pulls you in. The art of this series, now 9 issues in, has been incredibly spotty and the main artist has shown a regression in quality. What you see on a glance is exactly what you get, and if you look longer, it doesn't get any better or more interesting

2) Character development. this is another one that I am struggling with here. Bumblebee's personality has been all over the map between series lately and then this series as well. The only characters I feel that have had any sort of characterization shown past talking heads is Prowl and Cyclonus. The rest are either really straight forward or anything we know about them comes from some words. MTMTE was guilty of a lot of text, but there was great art and character development to back that up. This one doesn't have that yet.

3) Plot Progression. Have some plot, plant seeds, have some grow quick, have others cultivate in a long term but interesting fashion. This book's biggest moments were the death of Brainstorm (a now beloved character), the death of Rubble (unexpected, violent, and actually had some nice leadup), and Cyclonus and his ghosts. That's it. 9 issues and nothing. I know it's unfair to compare, but MTMTE had put out a great intro, a thriller sparkeater, a hostage crisis, a medical emergency, a fearsome hit squad of thugs, a now beloved squad of cons who caught attention from the moment they were on page, and started a great 3 part pre-war story. The beginning of IDW also had some good stuff: Infiltration was done and half of Escalation was too, and that had the 3 big things above. Heck, Stormbringer did in 4 issues what almost all of the crossovers later in the series couldn't do, and that was deliver a great looking, reading, and immersing story.

In short, one of these 3 needs to pick up, cause 3 is amazing, 2 is really good, 1 is at least interesting, but having none of the 3 makes for a difficult to keep in it story, to me at least