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[ArmadaPrime]

"Noggin" has to be going somewhere, this is altogether too far-fetched to just be a bizarre joke.
The cloak though, now *that* interests me. The Benzene cluster is roughly where the LL is, and the Warren, which is presumably the cause of the cloaks inaccuracy. If this is a thread to bring Max, Red, Outrigger/Beak and (most importantly) Cerebros into the main plot again, I am super on board.

[Deadput]

No, he isn't. Robert's is probably the greatest Transformers writer we've ever had. I may not like the direction the story is going, but that does not make it a bad story.

If Transformers greatest write is James Roberts then that just means Transformer is always a horribly written franchise.

The only decently written parts of MTMTE was the first season right up to Remain in Light after that is when things started to fall apart narrative wise.

Lost Light is miles wide but has the depth of a puddle.


He can get a story and characters going but he sure as hell can't stay on course and it doesn't help that his ego has been fed by the rabid fans who clamor for more silly random crap.

[ricemazter]

"Noggin" has to be going somewhere, this is altogether too far-fetched to just be a bizarre joke.
The cloak though, now *that* interests me. The Benzene cluster is roughly where the LL is, and the Warren, which is presumably the cause of the cloaks inaccuracy. If this is a thread to bring Max, Red, Outrigger/Beak and (most importantly) Cerebros into the main plot again, I am super on board.

I'm going to guess that "Noggin" is just velocity playing a joke an Anode. Probably the next page will start with her smiling and saying gotcha. The whole other head thing is too stupid to be real.

[ricemazter]

I didn't think she was annoying, but I guess my humour aligns quite well here in what is supposed to be the lighter half of the tf comics. Also not all the blame falls on Roberts as there is someone above him, checking all these ideas. The editor is someone who seems to never get the blame I'm these circumstances, I wonder why that is...

The star saber thing, I've got a couple of theories:

1# he's received a power up to make him more of a threat, he was injured in his last fight so it makes sense that tryest would repair him and make him stronger.

2# this is based on the theory that getaway is stuck in a memory loop as well. Now starsaber was only able to do that to Defensor due to getaway believing that would be the result, basically, starsaber is as strong as getaway thinks he is. Although starsaber would have no trouble with mirage at all.

Or option three: bad writing.

You’re giving way too much credit and thinking way too hard

No, he isn't. Robert's is probably the greatest Transformers writer we've ever had. I may not like the direction the story is going, but that does not make it a bad story.

Did you read Till all are one? In my opinion Scott wrote circles around Roberts last year. Ever since John Barber stopped editing him, James has continued to make bad decisions and add poorer dialogue.
I don't know if Barber was holding him in check, or he's lost his touch, or what, but Lost Light feels like a poor shadow of mtmte.

Ditto on Scott and TAAO. It's a shame that book was canceled. At the least the annual was a beautiful send off. I really wish the rest of IDW would catch up and confirm "lord" Windblade and nice Starscream.

[Va'al]

Gentle reminder (before we get to that point) that criticism of people - be they users or creators or anyone else - is fine, but also to make sure we don't fall into name-calling and uncalled for insults.

[ZeroWolf]

@Randomhero you may consider it bad writing but I don't, it's more you don't like his story choices which is fair enough. Not everyone will agree with story direction, I mean look at the last jedi.

@Deadput not to be that guy but G1 is hardly good writing so yeah...the franchise has been all over the place in terms of writing, even Simon Furmans run on the marvel G1 comics was patchy in places. Beast wars was good writing, and again with Beast Machines (though, again you can argue about direction)

[Hydrargyrus]

I’m trying to avoid LL spoilers here (although MTMTE has pretty much been entirely spoiled due to my own fault), but I have a question. On a purely objective level, is James Roberts, in general, a good writer?

For example, while not everyone is a fan of Charles Dickens or William Shakespeare, they were most definitely good writers (Not that someone in the comic book industry could live up to that level).

Thanks in advance!

[Deadput]

@Deadput not to be that guy but G1 is hardly good writing so yeah...the franchise has been all over the place in terms of writing, even Simon Furmans run on the marvel G1 comics was patchy in places. Beast wars was good writing, and again with Beast Machines (though, again you can argue about direction)

Never thought G1 had good writing ever but it was still entertaining sometimes, to me the only good written things in the whole franchise is Beast Wars, Animated, and some comic issues from some of the comics we have gotten over the years. (No I do not think Transformers Prime had good writing)

I don't consider writing to be everything that makes something good (I love the Room) but it has to be the number 1 most important thing...

if it is entertaining

This is why I've liked the Bay movies over the years, they are written horribly on the most part and some parts were bad but there were plenty of things that were very entertaining which is all that matters to me.

MTMTE in the beginning had some good writing but it was also entertaining to read as well with great art, good characters, some good world building and presenting some mysteries and questions.

But Over time we either lost things such as Alex Milne's great art (Although it's nice to see him back) which is a big part of MTMTE being replaced by overly cartoony or just bad looking art, the characters are now either stale, don't do much and are just there or have had their character development dropped and forgotten such as the obnoxious Rodimus, the story no longer went to other places and was very self confined compared to before, things were either not answered or if they were they were they had lackluster answers such as Tarn's identity being a red herring and the actual answer having little build up.

Oh yeah and we keep on getting obnoxious oc's like Anode that are just annoying as hell and take page time away from other characters, there are other people on the Lost Light like Inferno and Smokescreen who have done nothing why not use them or bring more obscure characters from the franchise instead of having to come up with characters nobody likes?

So I'm not entertained anymore and the only reason I'm sticking around is in the hopes the end of Lost Light is good...not that I'm optimistic about those chances.

[ZeroWolf]

Thank you for explaining your views deadput. Im still entertained and I was never bothered by the reveal about tarn as it was clear given Roberts writing that it was never who everyone thought it was.

[Deadput]

Thank you for explaining your views deadput. Im still entertained and I was never bothered by the reveal about tarn as it was clear given Roberts writing that it was never who everyone thought it was.

Yeah I'm not mad about who Tarn was but there wasn't enough evidence and build up to who he actually was, could of made about two or three other guys who could of been Tarn to keep viewers guessing.

The reveal kinda felt out of left field.

[WreckerJack]

I'll admit I read LL mostly for the characters that I like but, I am looking into reading some other TF comics since LL can be such a coinflip at times.

[Rodimus Prime]

Robert's is probably the greatest Transformers writer we've ever had.

Okay, I can't tell if you're sarcastic or serious. In case it's the latter, it's an opinion with which I vehemently disagree. In my opinion, Roberts is mediocre at best, and a hack most likely. Barber and the other artists around him were able to cover up his lack of talent for a long time, but with Lost Light his shortcomings are finally reaching the surface.

I may not like the direction the story is going, but that does not make it a bad story.

Isn't that exactly what makes it a bad story for you? If you don't like it? If I read or watch something and don't like it, to me that makes it a bad story. It's only my opinion, but when it comes to my preference in stories, that's the only thing that matters. I figured that's how it is (or should be) with everyone else. If I don't like a story I don't approve of it, regardless of who else likes it.

[Va'al]

Robert's is probably the greatest Transformers writer we've ever had.

Okay, I can't tell if you're sarcastic or serious. In case it's the latter, it's an opinion with which I vehemently disagree. In my opinion, Roberts is mediocre at best, and a hack most likely. Barber and the other artists around him were able to cover up his lack of talent for a long time, but with Lost Light his shortcomings are finally reaching the surface.

I may not like the direction the story is going, but that does not make it a bad story.

Isn't that exactly what makes it a bad story for you? If you don't like it? If I read or watch something and don't like it, to me that makes it a bad story. It's only my opinion, but when it comes to my preference in stories, that's the only thing that matters. I figured that's how it is (or should be) with everyone else. If I don't like a story I don't approve of it, regardless of who else likes it.

Not getting into debate yet, but worth pointing out: not liking something doesn't make it technically bad.

Short addition: Roberts is a very good serial storyteller, with a flair for dialogue and long-game plots - but I do think he's more of a TV series format writer than a comics writer, particularly in this second branch of his series. And yes, we should be acknowledging editorial influence throughout both MTMTE and LL.

[ZeroWolf]

But then isn't your opinion about Roberts writing based solely on if you like the story? Ironhidish opinion is that roberts can write good just that the story he's telling isn't one for him. You can separate writing ability from the story, for example I'm not into literature fiction that regularly wins the awards but I'm not going to call them bad writers for doing what they wanted with the story.

Again, I point out, with all these talk of Roberts failings, shouldn't the editorial staff bare some of this blame? After all their job is to edit and keep oversight, unless of course they have no problems with the story which means it's down to personal perspectives. I guess what I'm trying to say is that just because you don't like their story decisions doesn't mean that you can call them a hack or anything like that. It just means that they've took the story where you don't think it should go.

[Va'al]

But then isn't your opinion about Roberts writing based solely on if you like the story? Ironhidish opinion is that roberts can write good just that the story he's telling isn't one for him. You can separate writing ability from the story, for example I'm not into literature fiction that regularly wins the awards but I'm not going to call them bad writers for doing what they wanted with the story.

Again, I point out, with all these talk of Roberts failings, shouldn't the editorial staff bare some of this blame? After all their job is to edit and keep oversight, unless of course they have no problems with the story which means it's down to personal perspectives. I guess what I'm trying to say is that just because you don't like their story decisions doesn't mean that you can call them a hack or anything like that. It just means that they've took the story where you don't think it should go.

I feel this was a response to Rodimus, rather than me - correct?

[ZeroWolf]

But then isn't your opinion about Roberts writing based solely on if you like the story? Ironhidish opinion is that roberts can write good just that the story he's telling isn't one for him. You can separate writing ability from the story, for example I'm not into literature fiction that regularly wins the awards but I'm not going to call them bad writers for doing what they wanted with the story.

Again, I point out, with all these talk of Roberts failings, shouldn't the editorial staff bare some of this blame? After all their job is to edit and keep oversight, unless of course they have no problems with the story which means it's down to personal perspectives. I guess what I'm trying to say is that just because you don't like their story decisions doesn't mean that you can call them a hack or anything like that. It just means that they've took the story where you don't think it should go.

I feel this was a response to Rodimus, rather than me - correct?

Indeed, it posted later then I actually wrote it as I'd forgot to click submit.

[Lore Keeper]

Indeed, it posted later then I actually wrote it as I'd forgot to click submit

I hate when I do that.

[Rodimus Prime]

But then isn't your opinion about Roberts writing based solely on if you like the story?

Yes, it is. In my opinion the quality of the story is what determines the quality of the writer. Of course, writers can write good and bad stories, their entire body of work is what they should be judged on. And that's where I can't let Roberts have a pass. I have the entire run of MTMTE and I find it to be decent. It has good parts and boring parts. It was better toward the beginning, and seemed to get progressively worse, and ended with a disappointing arc. (Dying of the Light was atrocious, considering how good it could have been.) This is a trend that seems to be carried into Lost Light, and the lack of proper editorial supervision only highlights it more. Now, I understand that Roberts didn't start writing with MTMTE, but that's where the reboot occurs, so that's where I begin my evaluation. I should also clarify something else: I should specify that I don't think Roberts is a good comic writer. Maybe he's much better at other types of fiction. And again, all of this is just my opinion based on my history of being an avid reader of all forms of written literature. I wasn't trying to tell Ironhidensh that he shouldn't like Roberts just because I don't. If it came off that way, my mistake.

Again, I point out, with all these talk of Roberts failings, shouldn't the editorial staff bare some of this blame? After all their job is to edit and keep oversight, unless of course they have no problems with the story which means it's down to personal perspectives. I guess what I'm trying to say is that just because you don't like their story decisions doesn't mean that you can call them a hack or anything like that. It just means that they've took the story where you don't think it should go.

If that's my opinion of him as a professional writer (which it is) then I absolutely can call him a hack. You don't have to agree, but my opinion is just that: mine. You think he's great? Okay. I will disagree, but I won't tell you that you can't call him great. It all depends on how one qualifies Roberts' work. What do you look for in his stories? If he meets those expectations for you, then you should consider him a good writer.

As for the editors taking some of the blame, I agree. But is MTMTE a typical Roberts story with better editing? And Lost Light is typical work without close editing? If so, then Roberts is still mediocre at best, except now there's no one there to correct his mistakes before the story makes it to the pages of a book. And that's where the responsibility of the editor is. My favorite story from the last 5 years is Dark Cybertron. It was a well-told and interesting arc. Whatever collaboration took place to get that written is what should be happening all the time.

Let me reiterate: these are all my opinions, in no way am I trying to force my point of view on anyone else. I'm just very disappointed in Roberts' work lately and it's giving me a bitter outlook.

[Deadput]

I think Robert's talents are wasted with comics, I do agree that he would be much more suited writing for T.V

He's just not writing the comic as a comic to me.

[Ironhidensh]

I think Robert's talents are wasted with comics, I do agree that he would be much more suited writing for T.V

He's just not writing the comic as a comic to me.

That's probably why I love him.

[ricemazter]

I think Robert's talents are wasted with comics, I do agree that he would be much more suited writing for T.V

He's just not writing the comic as a comic to me.

That's probably why I love him.

Ever since MTMTE hit "season 2," I haven't understood why people keep saying that Roberts writes as if this were a TV show. This was something that was true at one point but clearly isn't anymore.

Back when the book first started, there were miniature story arcs that normally resolved within one or two issues, maybe three. Each miniature story carried small connecting threads that either led into the next arc or "episode" or carried into the finale. You would get a more or less complete package in a short amount of time that still led into the next story to keep you going.

The easiest comparison for this kind of structure is the relaunched Doctor Who, which operated basically the same way. The reason, I thought, Roberts' was TV-esque was because it harkens back to when TV shows had to have complete episodes with the occasional multi-parter or cliff hanger to leave audiences satisfied, since they would have to wait a week to see the next episode. Now this is largely irrelevant thanks to online streaming, so episodic shows can draw out their plotlines as long as they want.

In MTMTE, this started to break down during season 2, where individual plots started stretching out, and completely fell apart in season 3 where the first story took an entire 6, some would say 7, issues to complete.

Now the series is written more or less like any other comic series where it takes about 5 issues to get a complete picture. I guess you can make the case that it's similar to modern drawn out shows, but comics have been like that, in my experience, since at least the early 2000s.

Maybe someone else who understands this better can explain, but I don't see how this has been different from any other comic format for at least a year and a half now. If anything, it's written like a graphic novel since everyone keeps insisting it's better to read the trades over single issues.

[Hydrargyrus]

Nobody specifically answered my question, but I think I get the gist. I’m glad we can all express opinions without getting upset. I’m gonna go now before the conversation veers back towards stuff I haven’t read yet.

[ricemazter]

Nobody specifically answered my question, but I think I get the gist. I’m glad we can all express opinions without getting upset. I’m gonna go now before the conversation veers back towards stuff I haven’t read yet.

He can be a good writer. When the story is relatively small scale, Roberts can craft interesting and likeable characters that interact in equally interesting ways. I fully credit him with crafting some of my favorite transformers personalities at this point.

With proper editorial oversight, one might even call him great. However, as the story has gotten bigger and more sprawling, he's had a harder time keeping things together. I've explained in detail before, but one of the big issues with the current series, IMO, is that it's structured to basically fix "mistakes" in the story while setting up convoluted plot points and twists that'll only pay off later. He also has a tendency to insert himself in the story and editorialized on the comic in a way that can be grating, the whole "Swearth" and "Tarn" thing. That's just my 2 cents.

[ScottyP]

I think Robert's talents are wasted with comics, I do agree that he would be much more suited writing for T.V

He's just not writing the comic as a comic to me.

That's probably why I love him.

It feels like a manga, he just needs someone else to draw it. He knows what he wants and what he wants it to look like. No "Marvel Method" going on in MTMTE/LL, but I think that's fine.

Not replying to the above, or any specific posts, but I think some of the folks here are teetering on "irrational over-negative reaction mode" every time a piece of media from this book comes up. If that's how it makes you feel, consider waiting for a trade? I don't feel like anyone can geek out and speculate here anymore, it's just haters everywhere.

[misfire19d]

That coloring on the B Covers is horrendous!

How so?

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