The Energon Pub

No new comics this week yet, but we have a full three pages of the upcoming issue 34 of Transformers: More than Meets the Eye, courtesy as usual of the magnanimous IDW digital assistant Mariel Romero, and her screenshots uploaded to iTunes. Check them out below, as the journey into Megatron's past begins..

THE DILEMMA! On a planet dedicated to Right and Wrong, four damaged AUTOBOTS must make an impossible choice: kill or cure? Whatever they decide, their lives will never be the same.

The art is nice, but this story seems boring. Plus, I find it irritating that Transformers in IDW continuity seem to have too many human characteristics. First, they drink when they have no physical need for sustenance. They have gift shops on other planets. They write (and, one would assume, perform in) plays, to name a few. Then, in this issue, they use cell phones. ROBOTS...from an advanced alien civilization, haven't found a better way to communicate than using cell phones. Throw in the fact that they rarely transform, and it may as well be a series about an advanced human race that cosplays as robots.

End rant.

To be fair, writing them to be not at all human-like would be so divorced from what we understand as to almost be unreadable, kind of like the Silmarillion is to LOTR. I like to think of the similarities as just ideas that sentient cultures come up with naturally. Plus, they've been at it for much longer than us in these stories.

Also, Bluestreak here is a bit of a culture connoisseur, so maybe a cell phone style communicator is something he picked up.

END DEFENSE

Bounti76 wrote:The art is nice, but this story seems boring. Plus, I find it irritating that Transformers in IDW continuity seem to have too many human characteristics. First, they drink when they have no physical need for sustenance. They have gift shops on other planets. They write (and, one would assume, perform in) plays, to name a few. Then, in this issue, they use cell phones. ROBOTS...from an advanced alien civilization, haven't found a better way to communicate than using cell phones. Throw in the fact that they rarely transform, and it may as well be a series about an advanced human race that cosplays as robots.

End rant.

They've always had external communications devices of some kind, Communicubes, what have you. It may just be easier to carry a device with more range than to retrofit something hooked to the brain. And it may be easier to get more range. Would you want to slave your MIND to the ship's computer to bounce communications?

Far as drinking goes, they run on a liquid energon like your car does fuel. Trying to judge whwre a fuel tank is gonna end up in vehicle mode could be dicey, so why not put it the same place 98% of species put theirs: the mouth. Also, tbey are swntient beings, who play chess and sword fight and walk and talk and watch TV, a vehicle mode is a second utility. Its good for a lot of things, but can a Corvette fly a space shuttle? No. No way to manipulate the controls. So put the fuel tank on the primary form: the robot.

As to boring, I'm excited to meet more Cybertronians again, but one of the things I liked about MTMTE was its continuality, and now we're going (or seem to be)more toward contained, four book arcs with a pinchful of characters and the ship in the background

Also,lookslikeIneed tosacrifice apair of ENERGON Signal Flares now for aMainframe...

I've Always been of the Opinion Transformers can operate by futurama rules.

Bender wrote: Nah, I'm trying to watch my input. I need plenty of wholesome nutritious alcohol. The chemical energy keeps my fuel cells charged.

SW's SilverHammer wrote:I've Always been of the Opinion Transformers can operate by futurama rules.

Bender wrote: Nah, I'm trying to watch my input. I need plenty of wholesome nutritious alcohol. The chemical energy keeps my fuel cells charged.

Well, Trailcutter certainly can't anymore.

Bounti76 wrote:The art is nice, but this story seems boring. Plus, I find it irritating that Transformers in IDW continuity seem to have too many human characteristics. First, they drink when they have no physical need for sustenance. They have gift shops on other planets. They write (and, one would assume, perform in) plays, to name a few. Then, in this issue, they use cell phones. ROBOTS...from an advanced alien civilization, haven't found a better way to communicate than using cell phones. Throw in the fact that they rarely transform, and it may as well be a series about an advanced human race that cosplays as robots.

End rant.

This is exactly why I like MTMTE and the more recent RID books. It's a smart approach. Likeable characters abound because they're actually something you can relate to. Cybertronians no longer so hung up in a Civil War that are having to adapt to a Galaxy that isn't just steel planets, star cruisers, and laser beams. Transforming when it makes sense and not just for the sake of it, like here, where First Aid's in a hurry so he doesn't just walk to go outside.

Idk man, if this stuff bugs you that much, it's probably just not your style. No big deal. RG1 might be more your speed, if you haven't checked it out yet.

I think it's worth noting that First Aid can transform now. Wonder when that got fixed?

Cool, does this mean there is a Generations Voyager Ultra Magnus in the works at Hasbro?

I was hoping to wrap up the Brainstorm story that went on last issue. I really want to know what his intentions are after that last page.

This week, IDW Publishing brings us another issue of the fan-acclaimed series of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye - setting the stage for the beginning of Days of Deception and Elegant Chaos. Want to know more? Check out the preview for #34 below, and head back here tomorrow for the Seibertron.com review!

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #34
James Roberts (w) • Atilio Rojo (a) • Brendan Cahill (c)
THE DILEMMA! On a planet dedicated to Right and Wrong, four damaged AUTOBOTS must make an impossible choice: kill or cure? Whatever they decide, their lives will never be the same.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
A character-intense prelude to next month’s ELEGANT CHAOS event!
30th Anniversary Variant Cover by Ken Christiansen!

Looking good, will be getting this and rid next Monday. Love the throw back to megs look in Megatron: Origins.

Am I missing something? The last issue ended with "our" Lost Light reappearing, and Brainstorm going all on everyone. I guess this is a storyline from the rest of the issue, but it doesn't seem all that interesting...so far.

ScottyP wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:The art is nice, but this story seems boring. Plus, I find it irritating that Transformers in IDW continuity seem to have too many human characteristics. First, they drink when they have no physical need for sustenance. They have gift shops on other planets. They write (and, one would assume, perform in) plays, to name a few. Then, in this issue, they use cell phones. ROBOTS...from an advanced alien civilization, haven't found a better way to communicate than using cell phones. Throw in the fact that they rarely transform, and it may as well be a series about an advanced human race that cosplays as robots.

End rant.

This is exactly why I like MTMTE and the more recent RID books. It's a smart approach. Likeable characters abound because they're actually something you can relate to. Cybertronians no longer so hung up in a Civil War that are having to adapt to a Galaxy that isn't just steel planets, star cruisers, and laser beams. Transforming when it makes sense and not just for the sake of it, like here, where First Aid's in a hurry so he doesn't just walk to go outside.

Idk man, if this stuff bugs you that much, it's probably just not your style. No big deal. RG1 might be more your speed, if you haven't checked it out yet.

I actually really loved RG1. It's the first comic I'd subscribed to since the original Marvel run in the 80s, albeit digitally. I should have explained better....I really enjoy IDW's take on G1, for the most part. I just feel they can have great characterization without resorting to human characteristics to make giant transforming robots more than just that. Like Thundercracker and Buster. Cute and relatable without making Thundercracker too "human". He's caring for a member of a species that is totally foreign to him, yet he's concerned about her welfare and knows she's fragile. The fact that they're Cybertronian and canine doesn't really matter, because care of beings important to oneself is a universal trait. Drinking liquids I can marginally accept (because they run on Energon), but a bar seems a VERY human concept, as does a gift shop (the shore leave they had on Temptoria). It just seems very silly that an advanced alien race would set up something so, ahem, alien to them.

I get that the IDW-verse isn't for everyone, and I can appreciate that. I just wish they'd cut the silliness to a minimum. The Circle of Light had it right when they called out the LL crew.

for me the transformers need that human touch or else the character would be quite dull, what social sitting would you put them in if not a bar

There has been bars mentioned before in TF lore before though, and intelligent species would have similar mannerisms to us, plus as said before, they probably came up with these concepts before us, given their war started when we were wayyy back on the evolutionary ladder. In tact considering the state of the universe, it's probably daft to consider that we are the only ones to have such things or be the first to use them.

I really wish they would get someone like Guido Guidi or James Raiz to sub for Milne. Their art styles are more varied and expressive, while Mr. Rojo's are just so...simple. And forgive me if I'm beating a dead horse here, but this is how I see his panels:


"So what's the deal with Megatron being the captain?"


"Didn't you hear about the trial? The trial of the zorn? The BIGGEST TRIAL IN THE HISTORY OF CYBERTRON SHORT OF AN AQUEATAS AFFAIR?"


"I'm sorry, have you been dead/in stasis lock/otherwise incapacitated for the last four-million years?"

Once the issue hits this Wednesday, I'd be interested to know what scene people find to be their favorite. We made a dramatic reading for the Lift scene in Issue 32 between Nautica and Nightbeat - http://youtu.be/J6V70d0oR14 - what scene in issue 34 would you like to see done dramatically by us? www.TheAudioKnightsTheatre.com

is artist trying make bots more human? human smooth faces and now cellphone to be in contact with other bots what to tansrecievers in there heads with autobot transmiss frequency?

still waiting t ofind out who injured bot is

Nemesis Maximo wrote:I really wish they would get someone like Guido Guidi or James Raiz to sub for Milne. Their art styles are more varied and expressive, while Mr. Rojo's are just so...simple.

Mr. Guidi is a good choice, but "super messy details" Raiz is not really a choice to me, even when comparing to "not very good drawings under ultra messy textures" L.V.O.

Regarding to "round heads" Rojo, my only complain is...you guys may already know.

dragons wrote:is artist trying make bots more human? human smooth faces and now cellphone to be in contact with other bots what to tansrecievers in there heads with autobot transmiss frequency?

still waiting t ofind out who injured bot is

I agree cellphones and tablet like devices seem so ancient and inefficient.

Synopsis
THE DILEMMA! On a planet dedicated to Right and Wrong, four damaged AUTOBOTS must make an impossible choice: kill or cure? Whatever they decide, their lives will never be the same.



Story

Last issue was a gigantic piece of everything happening, in quantum manners, with sonic wrenches, parallel timelines, lost loves rekindled, and purple-soaked betrayals. How does one issue later compare
or stand up to all that, with only four members of the main cast facing an impossible choice and maybe, just maybe, more impossible horrors?



Quite cleverly written, James Roberts' script uses the setting of the four Autobots on Ofsted XVII, and Trailcutter's new reading habits, as the frame for his journey into another type of past than Barber's in RID #34 - the origin of Megatron's ideology, body of work and cruelties he had to endure under the mind games of the functionists.



The two stories run quite nicely in parallel to each other, and easily distinguishable with the casts being so different as well as limited. And to keep them as relevant to each other as possible, the Megatron story has some very intriguing snippets from present day Trailcutter's current reading of 'Towards Peace', which somehow reflects onto the bots' situation, and the possibly dying Cybertronian in their care.



What could've simply been a long flashback with some tenuous links to the present turns out to be a much more rounded story in multiple parts, bringing back some old ..er.. friends, from both the distant and the recent past. And thrown in for good measure are politics and some excellent world building, leading into the Days of Deception post-DC phase.


Art

Atilio Rojo takes over from Alex Milne for this issue's setting-up of what's to come in Elegant Chaos. While there are some potential issues with his more rounded style, given the two stories unravelling in the issue, I personally thought it really worked with the more personal themes and touches to Megatron's problematic situation, with some excellent layouts and body language in crucial scenes.



What really helped Rojo's linework, though, was regular Joana Lafuente's amazing use of colours throughout. Not only is the Decepticon purple used very appropriately in the background of key moments for all the cast involved, the contrast between Messatine and Ofsted XVII, with such limited environments to deal with, and what actually happens on them, is really brought out.



Remember I mentioned those 'key, crucial scenes' in this issue? You can imagine they mostly revolve around Megatron - but it's Tom B. Long's lettering wizardry that makes sure they drive home, and firmly lodge into your reading mind. To visually complete the whole ensemble, the two main covers (A by Brendan Cahill, B by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham) shed different lights on the story, while Ken Christiansen's Anniversary variant continues a great streak of homage pieces - see thumbnail.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Four Autobots relaxing on a planet dedicated to Ethics, and finding more they ever wanted to know about it, with dire consequences for some old friends. A miner struggling against a corrupt senate and segregated control system, and facing the nastiest, most intrusive part of it. What do they have in common? Great writing, one set-up issue, an unsettling last page and, obviously, more horrors ahead.



As I claimed above, the issue is extremely well put together visually too, as we see Megatron's writing taking centre stage, quite literally, as story and art converge into it and use it as source for their progression and layouts. Make sure to pick this one up, as the stage is now wider than ever - just not where you thought they might be.

Great issue, and thanks for the review Va'al. As always a pleasant review to read. The last time Rojo took aver pencilling duties I was less than impressed. Of course that issue was a lot of Autobots standing around in a tight space, but it was still too static. This issue he captured a lot of emotion with the four 'Bots discussing the possible life or death choice with the mystery Transformer. I'll be sad to see Trailcutter go, if he goes, he's been a fave, especially since Roberts has made him more and more interesting since the first time he appeared on the Lost Light.

But some questions do arise though...

1) Does this issue take place after Megs and crew reactivated the correct timeline or concurrent? Two of the bots on the planet arrived to the crew after take off, the other two were on board at the beginning.

2) Who is strong enough to beat down the mystery bot and his companion, and who's side are they on?

3) Timeline wise, at the end, was the Autobot symbol in use in the functionalist-strong society, and if so, would it have been so widely used already? I didn't think Pax's proclamation to the Senate had happened yet. But with Megs in the mine and his writings are now being distributed, maybe so.

Tal El wrote:But some questions do arise though...

1) Does this issue take place after Megs and crew reactivated the correct timeline or concurrent? Two of the bots on the planet arrived to the crew after take off, the other two were on board at the beginning.

I saw this sort-of answered on Twitter by Mr. Roberts himself:

@jroberts332 wrote:“@pstinson42: So is all of #Transformers #MtMtE Season 2 taking place on one very eventful day? Not counting flashbacks?” More or less!

Link: https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/ ... 9648698368

Didn't want to double post but this thread is dead. C'mon Seibertronians, this thing just came out! The time is nigh to post and speculate!

So now that I've re-read this and stewed on it a bit, I've only got one theory, given the way Vos and Kaon were beat up so badly whereas they've looked dominantly powerful in every other appearance. (Spoiler tags on that last bit due to context clues.) Anyway, here's my theory:

Overlord is/was on Ofsted XVII and he's why the DJD had two guys down for the count.

I'm still fleshing out more detail to it, but it makes sense. Due to this, it's certainly incorrect. Roberts never fails to swerve in the most delicious ways.