The Energon Pub

AHM#13 is out

Divided into two parts.

Part #1 a closer look at the relationship between Prime and Ironhide. IMHO this should have been made a Spotlight: Ironhide (just like Jazz) with the chronology occuring in between AHM # 11 just about when Prime got back online. Too short but the art of DonFig is..............well I'm speechless again. He really evolves his style in rendering Transformers (using a mix of G1 IDW and alien insect like Bayformers).

Part#2

More of an epilogue to AHM#12 (reminded me of the scene in TFTM#1986 when Starscream called for a vote on chucking out the wounded decepticons in order to lessen the load on Astrotrain). And Megatron or should I say Starcream now possesses the Matrix ( whether or not he can use it is up in the air/or void of space to be technical)

SPOILER: I just can't understand old 'screamer, in AHM#12, he was well kind of maternal lovey dovey to the fallen Megatron. Heck even Prime was encouraging him to live the b@stard behind and yet here in AHM#13.......

I foresee alot of writer's-equivalent of butting heads for the future...and it will all be lame.

I hated this issue. I found it worse than pretty much any part of AHM... any part.

The stories were inconsequential in the presentation that they were given to us in. The Decepticon one should simply be a part of the next series, or should have ended the AHM series in #12.

THe IH / Prime story??? Blah... Furman and Figueroa, a winning team, usually...

I really like what Don's done and respect his work, and his creative ideas (love his macroformers ideas), but this art... it underwhelmed me A LOT. I thought Ironhide looked like hell most of the time. His head was too big, and his chin was too pointy, eyes too beady. But that's me.

All in all, it was a big meh... sort of a waste of money. SHould just wait for the AHM omnibus to come out.

I was underwhelmed by this.

I thought the Prime/Ironhide restrospective was ok.

The Starscream story, I thought, was a disconnect from the end of AHM #12. This seems like the Infiltration Starscream not the one who had come to see the light of Megatron's plans. It seemed like it was too much of a "What If?" homage to the animated movie.

The Decepticons likely had more ways to get off Earth than Astrotrain. And speaking of Astrotrain, if mass dispacement was such an energy drain then it makes even less sense to use him as a way to travel through space since he goes from being a robot that is around the height of Megatron to being able to carry a large amount of Decepticons inside him.

I guess since it was rough going into AHM it is going to be rough getting out.

Starscreams story was OK, but the Furman one... ugh, the drawings were horrible, and the story itself was nowhere, literally.

Very disappointing on all fronts.

The Prime/Iron Hide segment was just plain boring, in fact I will outright call it a waste. NOthing interesting at all. Don has been my favorite TF artist, but his merging of the classic and the Michael Bay bionicle designs was just awkward. It really took his work down a notch and Iron Hide looked like he had half his face melted off. And the thing over Prime's mouth sliding back to reveal a mouth? I've always thought to be a horrible idea.

For the Starscream segment, better story but I dont like the blurry art. I dont get how last issue Starscream changed his mind and now he wants Megatron dead again five minutes later. And that he was about to throw out the Matrix, is this the matrix hanging him again just like in G2?

The image for issue #14 shows Galvatron coming back. Sigh. I like Galvatron but honestly, I havent seen one original storyline since IDW took things over. Despite going through all the miniseries (which I thought were pretty boring) and AHM, I feel like I've read it all before. It's almost like FUrman is taking his old scripts, rewriting them and calling them new. The DW days were so much better.

I wouldn't have minded Don's art if it wasn't for ALL THE OVERBITES GODDAMN

Very/Severely disappointing. I should not have had such high expectations for 11 page stories, and stories that are trying to fix a story that is a 'What If' at best, but for some reason, thrown into the canon story line.

Look on the bright side: NO HUMANS. Ups and downs for me, really.

I actually kind of liked the radically different art style of the second story. It reminded me of the '90s when comics got way artistic like _Elektra Assassin_. I don't think it would work over a whole series--I'd probably be over it long before then--but I thought it was an interesting change. But I didn't really care for the change in faces. A couple of times SS's face looked downright bloated to me. I don't like artists who don't do faces well. If you can't; make 'em look less human.

At the risk of getting burned at the stake by 'real' Transformers fan (which I am finding out apparently I am not...whatever), I'm actually beginning to think maybe Simon Furman should, you know, maybe not write so much. The story was jerky with all the flashbacks--way too many for an 11 pager! And I really get a little tired of whining robots. Me whining about robots whining is like Post Modern and therefore cool, but robots whining about their inner weltzschmerz is beginning to be a little...cliche to me. It was talking heads. Again, it was okay for a short piece, but really, it was a story of talking, and not a story of action. It would have really started to drag if it had gone on much longer. And he took NO chances.

A lot of y'all hated Spotlight: Cliffjumper, but you must admit at least Shane M did something *new*. Simon's playing it too safe.

And I did like Don's retool of Optimus. Really, I did.

HK, oh, boy, here come the pitchforks.

hellkitty wrote:At the risk of getting burned at the stake by 'real' Transformers fan (which I am finding out apparently I am not...whatever), I'm actually beginning to think maybe Simon Furman should, you know, maybe not write so much. The story was jerky with all the flashbacks--way too many for an 11 pager! And I really get a little tired of whining robots. Me whining about robots whining is like Post Modern and therefore cool, but robots whining about their inner weltzschmerz is beginning to be a little...cliche to me. It was talking heads. Again, it was okay for a short piece, but really, it was a story of talking, and not a story of action. It would have really started to drag if it had gone on much longer. And he took NO chances.

I'm not a fan of Furman either, and frankly I dont see why so many see him as some sort of authority on writing TF. I have yet to see much during his IDW time that is impressive.

Art alone typically doesn't make a or break a story for me, but there do come times when what's present is hideous enough to really detract from the experience. The Prime/Ironhide tale was one such example. I respect Don for trying out new directions, but the G1 and Movie looks just shouldn't be mixed, ever. I don't mind Prime having a mouth, really - heck, it was worth it to see him knocking one back and taking it easy for once. He doesn't often do that.

Liked the second story a lot more, problematic though it may be. What's unfortunate is it really flies in the face of SS willingly supporting Megs during the final issues of AHM. Screamer really seems to revert to G1-cartoon persona here, and it's done well - I loved the last shot of him with his face in his hand. Just wish his personality wasn't quite so inconsistent.

AHM #13 Story 1

Story -
Ironhide questions himself - Should have been a story about Sideswipe, he's the Autobot left with so much self doubt at the end of #12. But he already had a spotlight so what the hell, let's have Prime and Ironhide get drunk and smash together their fuzzy memoirs. Some of the flashbacks didn't even make that much sense.
Art-
I like to keep my movie and my other IDW stuff seperate thank you.

AHM #13 Story 2

Story-
I thought #1-12 of AHM also served as a coming of age story for Starscream. He came in "as the master of these (fear and terror) things" and left the master of his own destiny. I thought he truely understood what being an adult was, what being a Decepticon was, and what Megatron had tried so many cycles to teach him. Come issue #13 he's back to being just a whiney little boy.

Shrapnel was written poorly too, he didn't even repeat himself when he talked. Also, the role would have been more appropriately played by Kickback.

Art-
Reminded me of Gen 2 with less tonges.

hellkitty wrote:A lot of y'all hated Spotlight: Cliffjumper, but you must admit at least Shane M did something *new*.

Yeah, the storyline and moral of SL: Cliffjumper have totally never been done before.

Back on topic, though, I have to agree that I found this issue, both stories, lackluster for most of the reasons stated here. I'm kind of wary of Costa being the ongoing writer, and Furman and Figueroa have done way better work than this before.

Hey fellas is it me or does it seem like they're reversing Prime/Ironhide/Kup's relationship a little?

Think about it.. We always viewed Ironhide as Prime's right hand but now we find out that when Optimus first became Prime Ironhide was NOT in favor of him - while Kup backed Optimus from the get-go. Wow back in the cartoon area when I was a kid I thought it was the other way around.

One last thing: I think I saw a slip up here Ironhide said that Optimus was no soldier, leading one to think that he was STILL the data archivist when the matrix chose him - BUT in BLUR's spotlight, Optimus was already a lieutenant when some named "Zeta" was the prime and if you look closely one of his squad members does look like Ironhide...... See what I'm saying?

You've got to hand it to IDW, they know how to make TF's...............wrong! (I'm b@stardizing an old KFC add they do chicken right......)

hellkitty wrote:Look on the bright side: NO HUMANS. Ups and downs for me, really.


At the risk of getting burned at the stake by 'real' Transformers fan (which I am finding out apparently I am not...whatever), I'm actually beginning to think maybe Simon Furman should, you know, maybe not write so much. The story was jerky with all the flashbacks--way too many for an 11 pager! And I really get a little tired of whining robots. Me whining about robots whining is like Post Modern and therefore cool, but robots whining about their inner weltzschmerz is beginning to be a little...cliche to me. It was talking heads. Again, it was okay for a short piece, but really, it was a story of talking, and not a story of action. It would have really started to drag if it had gone on much longer. And he took NO chances.


HK, oh, boy, here come the pitchforks.

Agreed on all fronts, but these in particular. And after all the talking-off-a-ledge hellkittys' been doing for me, I'm going to throw my massive internet presence to her defense.

I agree with the general disappointment with both halves of the issue, although the Starscream fanatic in me clearly liked his segment better. And, I LOVE how the IDW characters from time to time have learned the lessons of their alternate-continuity counterparts, like when Screamer postulates that chucking Megatron out into space would only lead to his eventual and more powerful returning.....laughed until I stopped.
I dislike very much the blind follower-Soundwave, but there;s something very neat about the Seeker/Insecticon team up really. Obviously, to foreshadow, Starscreams' ignorance of the Matrix will lead to his downfall. I like that he thinks upon arrival Razorclaw is going to challenge him for leadership, that's classy. The art made me upset, don't like it at all.
I'm also tired of robots whining about the tribulations they face as robots. I think it's just boring.

Here's a question, unanswered so far: Where's Thundercracker?
Skywarp shot him in AHM 12, but then what? He can't be dead....

Dagon wrote:Here's a question, unanswered so far: Where's Thundercracker?
Skywarp shot him in AHM 12, but then what? He can't be dead....

Dead, so as McCarthy can leave a lasting mark on the fiction...
Skywarp left him for dead, after the Decepticons had already left Earth.

He has two, maybe three ways out:
1. The Autobots find him and CR chamber him back to health
2. A human team find him and start looking at his tech (chance to be returned online)
3. Other Transformer finds him later.

Seeing as he was shot down near the Battle site at NY, chances are his body will be found, I expect we will see him again, no-one stays dead long in Transformers lore (unless you are the Battle Chargers)

i_amtrunks wrote:

Dagon wrote:Here's a question, unanswered so far: Where's Thundercracker?
Skywarp shot him in AHM 12, but then what? He can't be dead....

Dead, so as McCarthy can leave a lasting mark on the fiction...
Skywarp left him for dead, after the Decepticons had already left Earth.

He has two, maybe three ways out:
1. The Autobots find him and CR chamber him back to health
2. A human team find him and start looking at his tech (chance to be returned online)
3. Other Transformer finds him later.

Seeing as he was shot down near the Battle site at NY, chances are his body will be found, I expect we will see him again, no-one stays dead long in Transformers lore (unless you are the Battle Chargers)

there might, just might be one more ; if Scourge has NOT shown up yet in the IDWverse then there may be a chance that somehow Thundercracker could get remodified into him, and decide to follow Galvatron because he sees that Galvatron in his mind exemplifies that whole honor thing he was talkin about.

trence5 wrote:

i_amtrunks wrote:

Dagon wrote:Here's a question, unanswered so far: Where's Thundercracker?
Skywarp shot him in AHM 12, but then what? He can't be dead....

Dead, so as McCarthy can leave a lasting mark on the fiction...
Skywarp left him for dead, after the Decepticons had already left Earth.

He has two, maybe three ways out:
1. The Autobots find him and CR chamber him back to health
2. A human team find him and start looking at his tech (chance to be returned online)
3. Other Transformer finds him later.

Seeing as he was shot down near the Battle site at NY, chances are his body will be found, I expect we will see him again, no-one stays dead long in Transformers lore (unless you are the Battle Chargers)

there might, just might be one more ; if Scourge has NOT shown up yet in the IDWverse then there may be a chance that somehow Thundercracker could get remodified into him, and decide to follow Galvatron because he sees that Galvatron in his mind exemplifies that whole honor thing he was talkin about.

Each one of those is an excellent point to ponder. I just sort of figured he's show up again in the background somewhere the way he always did in the G1 cartoon. The Scourge idea is cool, but so far it seemed like AHM was sort-of rejecting the original storyline, or at least not following it the way the DW G1 was kind of doing with bringing in Unicron and stuff. That may all sound muddled, and for that I'm sorry, but AHM has been so much better at working the characters than just about any other TF comic in my opinion. Like, I got real bored with the -ation MEgatron being nothing but a meglomanic, which he is, but to a painful and boring extent. From what TC said before catching the bomb in AHM 12, I doubt the Autobots would be able to convince him to defect, and as far as humans finding him and retro-engineering the technology, I stopped with Maximum Dinobots because I got so bord of the pointless rambling of the Headmaster experiments.

And now with AHM 14 we now know TC does not become Scourge...it was a good try though!

tigertracks 24 wrote:And now with AHM 14 we now know TC does not become Scourge...it was a good try though!

Too bad......