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Va'al wrote:

william-james88 wrote:If we already know the cover then why hide it?

Not everyone follows the solicits or the single issue releases, and may not want the Shockwave and Bumblebee spoiler so many months in advance of the trade release.

Haha, yeah I get that. But they also gave out a free comic a few weeks ago that had Bumblebee on the cover

ScottyP wrote:

william-james88 wrote:If we already know the cover then why hide it?

Some guy at Penguin publishing was probably just following a well-intended note from IDW.

Amazon sure didnt get that note

https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Opt ... formers-20

william-james88 wrote:

Va'al wrote:

william-james88 wrote:If we already know the cover then why hide it?

Not everyone follows the solicits or the single issue releases, and may not want the Shockwave and Bumblebee spoiler so many months in advance of the trade release.

Haha, yeah I get that. But they also gave out a free comic a few weeks ago that had Bumblebee on the cover

Again, not Penguin!

Via the usual source Previews World, and fellow Seibertron.com admin ScottyP, we have two covers for the price of one for the upcoming issue #21 of the IDW Publishing ongoing Transformers comics series Optimus Prime! Why two in one? Because the Kei Zama line art is used for the retailer incentive cover, while the full coloured version by Josh Burcham will be the main variant for the issue.

As for the contents? Check it out below, along with the synopsis, and join the discussion about the two hands featured in the art - probably underrated protagonists of the story thread Aileron and Arcee - as we reach the end of The Falling story arc.

(W) John Barber (A) Sara Pitre-Durocher (CA) Kei Zama
"The Falling," Part 6. Bumblebee and Optimus Prime make a last, desperate bid to return to the real world as Shockwave teams up with the Autobots! Can Optimus stop what's coming, or has he played right into the hands of the ultimate destroyer?
In Shops: Jul 18, 2018

So thanks to Amazon we know what IDW were hiding. They appear to be under the mistaken assumption that Bumblebee's resurrection (revealed on one of the Unicron covers months back and confirmed by the Free Comic Book Day issue) is still a secret. He appears in his new evergreen design on the cover.

Agent 53 wrote:So thanks to Amazon we know what IDW were hiding. They appear to be under the mistaken assumption that Bumblebee's resurrection (revealed on one of the Unicron covers months back and confirmed by the Free Comic Book Day issue) is still a secret. He appears in his new evergreen design on the cover.

They still have to treat it as such.

We had featured the black and white lineart by artist Kei Zama for the main and variant covers for the IDW Publishing Transformers ongoing comic Optimus Prime #20 right here, and you may have seen the coloured up version by Josh Burcham around too - but to be fair to everyone and share the Beast Wars majesty of the piece, check it out mirrored below from Previews World, along with some detail shots by Zama herself!

(W) John Barber (A/CA) Kei Zama
"The Falling," Part 5. Optimus Prime has faced defeat before and come back... but he's never seen anything like this. Beyond life, beyond death-only the wisdom of an old friend can save him. Meanwhile, Victorion battles Devastator... and only one will survive.

The return of Bumblebee! One shall rise, one shall fall, but who will destroy them all?
In Shops: Jul 11, 2018
SRP: $3.99

Kind of a shame these guys are just background characters in the falling but hey it makes sense that they share looks with prime and megatron with shockwave as their leader

That really is a bloody gorgeous cover!

The weekend brings us not, not two, but three previews for new comics from the Transformers universe (and what is left from the Hasbro Universe too, I suppose) of IDW Publishing comics!

Starting below, the first is the shorter preview via iTunes for ongoing series Optimus Prime, now on its #20 issue, and entering the final stage of the Falling arc. Check it out, and join the conversation in the Energon Pub before its release next week.

“The Falling,” Part 5. Optimus Prime has faced defeat before and come back... but he's never seen anything like this. Beyond life, beyond death—only the wisdom of an old friend can save him. Meanwhile, Victorion battles Devastator... and only one will survive.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Victorion beats Devastator, given that Pyra Magna and (at least) the helicopter twins are seen in stories set, chronologically, after The Falling arc.

We finally have the full previews for this week's comics from IDW Publishing featuring Transformers, and we're headed for a number of endings - starting with Optimus Prime #20 below! Check it all out, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub as we prepare our review for the release date this new comic book day.

Optimus Prime #20—Cover A: Kei Zama
John Barber (w) • Kei Zama (a & c)
“The Falling,” Part 5. Optimus Prime has faced defeat before and come back... but he's never seen anything like this. Beyond life, beyond death—only the wisdom of an old friend can save him. Meanwhile, Victorion battles Devastator... and only one will survive.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Optimus Prime #20—Cover B: Casey W. Coller
John Barber (w) • Kei Zama (a) • Casey W. Coller (c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
The return of Bumblebee!
One shall rise, one shall fall, but who will destroy them all?
B&W variant cover by Kei Zama!

I just realized the resemblence of the eye in the Beast Wars game cover

So bee has been living the other side of a singularity since crystal city, wonder how he repaired him self.

budmaloney wrote:I just realized the resemblence of the eye in the Beast Wars game cover

It’s the giant eye ship Galvatron owned from the Japanese Beast Wars cartoon.

ZeroWolf wrote:So bee has been living the other side of a singularity since crystal city, wonder how he repaired him self.

My working theory since "Ghost Stories" is that Bee was resurrected by Ore-14 just before Metalhawk burned the ores out in Dark Cybertron, but didn't "wake up" until he was in the singularity. Note that Bee's death is almost exactly the same as when Shockwave "killed" Dreadwing, so his revival might've also taken some time. Might also explain why Crystal City is in ruins but not completely obliterated.

-Crossfire- wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:So bee has been living the other side of a singularity since crystal city, wonder how he repaired him self.

My working theory since "Ghost Stories" is that Bee was resurrected by Ore-14 just before Metalhawk burned the ores out in Dark Cybertron, but didn't "wake up" until he was in the singularity. Note that Bee's death is almost exactly the same as when Shockwave "killed" Dreadwing, so his revival might've also taken some time. Might also explain why Crystal City is in ruins but not completely obliterated.

That actually makes sense, thanks

Synopsis
“The Falling,” Part 5. Optimus Prime has faced defeat before and come back... but he's never seen anything like this. Beyond life, beyond death—only the wisdom of an old friend can save him. Meanwhile, Victorion battles Devastator... and only one will survive.



Story
There is something strange happening to this issue, and perhaps affecting the entirety of the arc once the feeling settles in, as we continue with The Falling now on its fifth chapter - and we get to visit the other side of a singular plot point and device that allowed to get this far. Which may or may not work for the readers, especially if you know where we're going with it.



John Barber's writing is phenomenal, mind you, and we have a tightly scripted, well paced, focused action and dialogue balance, and he weaves in so many of the plot points we have seen since the very beginning of this narrative universe that I'm surprised editor David Mariotte is keeping track any more (and surviving unscathed).



The one character to rise out of it, other than Shockwave's larger-than-the-universe weight, and Bumblebee's newly re-established totally-not-a-ghost-because-scifi presence (and narrative voice this issue), is the titular character himself, perhaps in a finally moment too, is Optimus Prime. Or rather, his guilt and messiah complex (Prime Complex?), enabled by both of the other former two and their words / actions - but for a presence that I'm still not entirely on board to accept.



As for corollary stories within the core thread of the issue, there's a lot to be appreciated, in both the flashbacks and the present day cameos and references in Liege Maximo's army of Maximals (yup), and including Armada Cyclonus, Space Case, Noisemaze/Sideways, and the covered Optimus Primal and Megatron once more. Plus, of course, Devastator and Victorion punching each other into the next issue.


Art

There is little praise I haven't yet heaped upon Kei Zama, so there is not too much more I can add here - though perhaps her ink-heavy style can make some of the more busy scenes a little too busy in some points (see some flashbacks, for example, below) - but the recognisable designs from across the franchise in her hands are something just *Italian chef hand kissing gesture* - and Casey Coller finishing off a later sequence is surprisingly well blended in



..which of course is only complemented and complimented by Josh Burcham's still incredible palettes and hues according to the different tonal aspects of the scenes taking place: from a colder fight to a more passionate one, to a dark flashback via a 'rational' exposition, he pieces it all together, and both styles, beautifully.



As for the lettering, and the established choice of narrative frame and captioning that Barber does for his stories, Tom 'Kyle' Long delivers the goods once more, in a mostly silent and subtle (bar Arcee's brutally accurate fighting style) series of action sequences and shots.

It's good to see some more Coller on the covers too, with JP Bove on colours, for a Bumblebee centric Optimus Thirteenth Prime take on the cast of the story (see thumbnail) - and of course the Beast Wars homage from Zama and Burcham is still pretty sweet, too. Check them both out in our database!

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

The Falling is an arc that brings down a lot of the narratives that have been established since the beginning of Robots in Disguise, then Transformers, then Optimus Prime, even though some of its seeds were planted all the way back in Spotlight: Shockwave, resurfaced in Dark Cybertron, and only now come to full bloom with Onyx Prime stomping around on everything that had been built - while I am still a little concerned at the ramifications of that, it is still doing so in such a way that makes me want to see more.



And by seeing more, I put the emphasis on the visual, given how the art team on the book has been sensational and a wild ride from start to finish (not there yet, but I can presume), I cannot wait to see what Shockwave actually has in store (despite my reservations about his and Bumblebee's presence) and what deal will lead Optimus to come to terms with his own lineage and darkness - all in time for Unicron #1.

Arcee killed thunderhoof...that was a bit mean.

Remember when Dark Cybertron started to look in retrospect like a work of genius that gave Shockwave and Bumblebee significant, satisfying endings? That sure was a good time last December when I re-read it. Now that's kinda been undone :/

Another enjoyable enough issue but the treatment of the “Maximals” leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, both here and in Unicron 1.

ScottyP wrote:Remember when Dark Cybertron started to look in retrospect like a work of genius that gave Shockwave and Bumblebee significant, satisfying endings? That sure was a good time last December when I re-read it. Now that's kinda been undone :/

Now see, I agree with this, but I am also conflicted. Bee should stay dead in my opinion, nice to have him back, but his end was meaningful. Same as Shockwaves.

But with everything set up for Shockwave, almost everything works for him and I really dig the story he set up. Everything astronomical about his plans and about what happened mainly involving him worked. And him coming back was the shock of the entire IDW run. that said, he did have a great ending in Dark Cybertron. so him here again is a little at odds. But still, I think it was 90%+ great

God I hate this Arcee, I cannot wait for the reboot.

You don't like that she's a monster of a warrior?

ausbot wrote:God I hate this Arcee, I cannot wait for the reboot.

couldn't agree more.

I'd prefer a new company to take on the Transformers IDW have had their chance