The Energon Pub

[william-james88]

iTunes has released a full preview of IDW Publishing's Transformers #38 - and you can check it out below! Make sure to head back here for a Seibertron.com review, too.

Transformers #38
(W) John Barber (A) Andrew Griffith (CA) Casey W. Coller
THE ONYX INTERFACE! The AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS face down human forces-and strange battlelines make for strange allies. Who will emerge with the ancient ENIGMA OF COMBINATION... and who will usher in the COMBINER WAR...?
Expected Release: Feb 25, 2015
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Seller: Idea and Design Works, LLC
Print Length: 27 Pages
Language: English

[steve2275]

preview dont mean bot if my comic shop cant get it

[william-james88]

preview dont mean bot if my comic shop cant get it

You can always get it on itunes

[steve2275]

i cant hold i tunes in my hands

[william-james88]

i cant hold i tunes in my hands

I just meant that we now have the technology to not be blockd by obstacles when wanting to read comics. They will still get int the way of us reading them our preffered way though. I myself preffer paper copies but if the price of online comics were cheaper, as well as their digital readers, then I would make the jump.

[ScottyP]

preview dont mean bot if my comic shop cant get it

You can always get it on itunes

They will delay the digital releases to coincide with the physical releases. Otherwise the paper distributors would be madder than a Geewunner being forced to watch Dark of the Moon.

[Randomhero]

preview dont mean bot if my comic shop cant get it

You can always get it on itunes

They will delay the digital releases to coincide with the physical releases. Otherwise the paper distributors would be madder than a Geewunner being forced to watch Dark of the Moon.

Not always. Last months delays meant nothing in iBooks. I got all my books on they're original release date. Ibooks sometimes even jumps the gun and puts them out early. I've gotten 3 issues of MTMTE three weeks early before.

I haven't picked up a physical issue in 2 years now. Everything is on my iPad or iPhone. Not because I don't like physical media but because I own too many comics and needed to start thinking smart with it. Still get trades though.

[Cheetron]

I just wait and buy the collections. It is hard some days with all these previews!

[Optimizzy]

Is it weird that I'm very worried about Buster?? Thundercracker, leave her home!!

[SW's SilverHammer]

preview dont mean bot if my comic shop cant get it

You can always get it on itunes

They will delay the digital releases to coincide with the physical releases. Otherwise the paper distributors would be madder than a Geewunner being forced to watch Dark of the Moon.

Not always. Last months delays meant nothing in iBooks. I got all my books on they're original release date. Ibooks sometimes even jumps the gun and puts them out early. I've gotten 3 issues of MTMTE three weeks early before.

I haven't picked up a physical issue in 2 years now. Everything is on my iPad or iPhone. Not because I don't like physical media but because I own too many comics and needed to start thinking smart with it. Still get trades though.

IDW has informed CBR News that all digital releases will be delayed as well, in order to maintain a synchronized schedule between the two formats.

[Randomhero]

As I said, not always. One fun fact, iBooks also releases books the night before at 10pm central time.

[steve2275]

at least when they do arrive i can read them in bulk

[budmaloney]

Looks like Scoop could be the new Scrapper

[Randomhero]

Looks like Scoop could be the new Scrapper

That's how Scoop has always looked. It's looking more as if Remnants of Scrapper in in Prowl and the other constructicons and since we know Combiner Wars is taking place on Cybertron and last we knew Scrappers corpse is on Cybertron I could see him returning by the end of the event...oh and the new toy too.

I think Scoop does have a role to play but if I had to guess I think he's going to steal the Enigma of Combination by the end of this issue and bring it to Starscream which is how everything kicks off. I don't see Gavatron getting it nor Prowl. It's gotta end up in Starscream's hands since he's the main villain in combiner wars.

[Va'al]

A reminder: this preview *usually* means the actual issue is out two weeks after it's posted.

The full preview is releases the Tuesday before the Wednesday the book is actually out, iTunes is just a way for one of the IDW assistants to feed the fire.

[Va'al]

Many many releases this week from IDW Publishing concerning everyone's favourite transforming robots - and we start off with issue #38 of The Transformers ongoing, as Days of Deception comes to a close and the stage is set for Combiner Wars' Opening Salvo next month. Check out a full preview below!

Transformers #38—Days of Deception
John Barber (w) • Andrew Griffith (a & c)
THE ONYX INTERFACE! The AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS face down human forces—and strange battlelines make for strange allies. Who will emerge with the ancient ENIGMA OF COMBINATION… and who will usher in the COMBINER WAR…?
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
All-out war in the wilderness!
Will the Decepticons learn of the humans’ treachery?
Wait, wait—did you say “the humans’ treachery”?
YES I DID!
Days of Deception continues!
The stage is set for COMBINER WARS!
Variant Cover by Jeffrey Veregge!

[Nemesis Maximo]

Live and learn indeed, Blackrock. Live and learn indeed.

[Ironhidensh]

I'm just happy Buster is safe.

I've spent the last month catching up on the IDW transformers story line from All Hail Megatron. I'm fairly invested right now.

[snavej]

That poor dog Buster must be heavily traumatised !

There's so much heat and noise from jet engines, energy weapons and giant robots yelling at each other. Being so close to all that noise could make a dog permanently deaf, if nothing else.

Oh, I just remembered, there was Buster Witwicky in the Marvel continuity. Buster the dog could be a little joke about that.

[Shuttershock]

That poor dog Buster must be heavily traumatised !

Oh, I just remembered, there was Buster Witwicky in the Marvel continuity. Buster the dog could be a little joke about that.

What's funny about Buster is that she's surprisingly nonplussed by the whole giant robot thing. Must be like animals bred for war, they just get used to it.

[Ironhidensh]

That poor dog Buster must be heavily traumatised !

Oh, I just remembered, there was Buster Witwicky in the Marvel continuity. Buster the dog could be a little joke about that.

What's funny about Buster is that she's surprisingly nonplussed by the whole giant robot thing. Must be like animals bred for war, they just get used to it.

or maybe Thundercracker really is a gentle soul, we, spark.....whatever.

[Va'al]

Displacement and Enigmas
(Spoiler free-ish)

Synopsis
THE ONYX INTERFACE! The AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS face down human forces—and strange battlelines make for strange allies. Who will emerge with the ancient ENIGMA OF COMBINATION… and who will usher in the COMBINER WAR…?

PUNS!

Story

On a very different playing field from MTMTE, the 38th issue of The Transformers also brings a storyline more or less to its conclusion, and finishes setting the stage for the Combiner Wars event due to begin next month, alongside revisiting some of the characters and power plays we hadn't seen in a while. And it does it very well.

And Spike is still despicable

The most obvious, and personal highlight of the issue, is John Barber's writing of individual characters and interactions, rather than general team/theme work - with Thundercracker, Soundwave, Arcee and Galvatron in particular standing out among the rubble. The humans have some nice moments too, but the more ambiguous players really take the spotlight.

oooh ambiguuuuity

Of course, that is not to forget Prowl, the Constructicons and the strange dynamics of Devastator as it currently stands, and as it will stand for the next three or four months. The development on gestalt technology, plotting and writing has been a great thread to follow since pre-Dark Cybertron, and there are very interesting developments in this issue that might affect the wider concept.

No hamfistedness here

There were some misgiving about some of the more plot-device heavy moments, but overall, the issue serves really quite well to seed even further plotlines and potential, and we may see some of those potential lapses come back in Barber's continuity-magic at a later stage. That, and Thundercracker is still a wonderful piece of writing work.

Art

What really has to be said for this issue, is that artist Andrew Griffith undoubtedly kills it from an artistic perspective. The poses, settings, expressions (robot, dog and human alike) are spot on and fantastically execute everything at play in the script. Galvatron in particular is stupendously sinister, and the pain and confusion found in some Prowl/Devastator and Thundercraker scenes is actually quite moving.

Foof

Josh Perez' colours, on top of that, allow for a wider range of emotional charge that blend fantastically well with the linework and script. The bigger scale moments do not dwarf the smaller, personal scenes; the Soundwave situations in particular which both show nothing of what is actually happening and the pure anger that the true Decepticon must be feeling, are stunning.

What elephant in the room?

Tom B. Long is still as font-abulous as he can be, and Devastator's speechbubbles, any title or caption and the impressive amount lettering in the more explosive sequences is carefully controlled. Again, we have encountered the RI cover by Jeffrey Veregge yesterday, though still beautiful; the thumbnail then is the B cover, by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente helps with a sense of scale and stakes for this and the coming story.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Once again, ScottyP was a good sounding board for some of the points I made in the review, and his thoughts also come through in this piece. Personal highlights, however, are the return to Soundwave's own schemes and plans, which may or may not be working with/alongside/for Galvatron and the Decepticons, and the wonderfully poignant conflict within the Constructicons - and of course, Thundercraker.

A Handsome Jet

Hoping that Combiner Wars doesn't slow down the great pace and development in the post Dark Cybertron era of exRID too much, this issue shows just how much change Cybertronians and Earthlings have gone through, all the way since the -ations and All Hail Megatron, and with both positives and negatives considered, it is a lot. And definitely worth the read.

. - out of

[ScottyP]

I can also now point out that yes, indeed, that Soundwave is now in a body that's a repaint/retool of Combiner Wars Voyager Motormaster/Optimus Prime.

Neat!

[dragons]

thundercracker is taking role of majin buu being nice he found puppy what will thundercracker do if evil transfomrer or human kill puppy will he turn evil fight against humans?

[Gallifreyan Autobot]

I can also now point out that yes, indeed, that Soundwave is now in a body that's a repaint/retool of Combiner Wars Voyager Motormaster/Optimus Prime.

Neat!

SOON i will be able to trade in my pRID sound wave in for CW Sound wave then get a second copy and paint it white and blue with a red insignia causewhy not ?!

what will be the combined forms name be , Soundblaster?