The Energon Pub

[Blurrz]

The month of January brings in a new chapter to the Transformers 'Ongoing' series. Exclusive to Newsarama, they offer up a 5-page preview of the Issue #3. We get to see a relatively odd relationship between Hot Rod and Jetfire. This chapter marks the arrival of certain Commander. Check out the description, covers and a little preview below......

Transformers #3
Mike Costa (w) • Don Figueroa (a) • Figueroa, Andrew Wildman (c)
HOT ROD’s desire to get off-planet leads to some desperate measures, OPTIMUS PRIME and Spike sit down for an unpleasant conversation, and a new arrival to the AUTOBOT camp comes at their most vulnerable time possible. Costa and Figueroa continue to make history, bringing the AUTOBOTS to their (almost) darkest hour.
*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

.....while the rest can be seen at your own discretion here.

Issue #3's publishing date is on January 13, so you should find it in your local comic store by the end of the week. Till then,

Stay tuned to Seibertron.com for the fastest Transformers news on the net!

[Chaoslock]

On the seventh page, besides Bumblebee, there are no names shown in the middle panel, who could the other two bots be? [/sarcasm]

Oh well, doesn't look any worse than the two comics or AHB before it...

[Blurrz]

We're into Issue 3 and we still need name tags.......

And I know Jetfire is a gentle giant... but a dumb giant now?

and Wolverimus calling him J.F.?

Oh dear.. Ryan's gonna rip this apart.

[lowman_x]

It's not that Jetfire's "dumb" it's that his processors are having to slow down so much because of the 'archaic' communication systems we use. I can kind of relate because, as a teacher, I spend a lot of time with teenagers and, to be honest, I sometimes get home feeling like I'm getting more stupid because of the constant interaction. LOL

I'm liking how Ultra Magnus is being portrayed. The IDW Magnus is a cool take on him as a "cop" (oooh! A Cops style issue would be cool LOL) and not as a self-doubting, Prime neverbe.

The art is starting to have some modifications to it I can see. They've lost the "teeth" and the lines on the faces are becoming a little less distinct. I think we'll see some more mods as the issues progress. All in all, I'm really digging the ongoing and I can't wait to get my hands on the new issue.

[Ultra Magnus]

I do like this very interesting take on Jetfire's design; Don has a long standing tradition of interesting Jetfire designs. This one's quite unique. Lean, too!

Yes, the detractors will get their quips in soon enough, so let the floodgates open and let the Hater-ade flow! Oh boy this one should be interesting. Still, I got your back, Don.

[Peter Bilt]

Is the publishing date correct? Because in the newsletter and my local comic shop list it as coming in this wednesday the 13th. (Though I do live in Canada I doubt they would send it to us first)

[lowman_x]

Yeah, my store here in Australia has it due in this week too...

[Blurrz]

Is the publishing date correct? Because in the newsletter and my local comic shop list it as coming in this wednesday the 13th. (Though I do live in Canada I doubt they would send it to us first)

Extreme typo on my part. Thanks.

[Elvaan]

That Ultra Magnus would make an awesome mold...

[BATTLEMASTER IIC]

I do like some of the redone alternate modes. I like the looks of the Decepticons in the preview, plus Jetfire looks like a B-1B offshoot.

[cadenheadr04]

Anyone else wondering why they chose purple for Huffer instead of blue?

[Savage]

anybody else think Jetfire's new design looks like a non-organic Optimus Primal?

[Bouncy X]

damn, someone beat me to the hot rod/wolverine thing.

but wow, they put their names when they first appear? they do realize its fans reading this right? i mean its not like the designs look nothing like them or something.

[Mechastrike]

they really did a great job on Magnus' artwork. i just don't know why Cliffjumper and Seaspray didn't have names below them though.

[JediJerseyJoe]

I hate HATE HATE HATE the new look they've gone with.

wow... is all I can say

I don't know who convinced Don that drawing G1 like some sort of CraptasticMovieverse rip offs was a good idea, but HEYsus-Christ I actually am rooting for this to fail.

I mean seriously, how can you give us 4 years of drawing the SAME charicters in the SAME universe one way, then switch to this

guys - its not like this is separate from Infiltration/devastation/escalation/spotlight/stormbringer/all hail/meg origin/etc

ITS THE SAME UNIVERSE the characters have the same backstory. Now all of a sudden we are supposed to accept them drawn in some stupid puzzleformer look?

I thought it might grow on me, but it hasn't. Every-time I see a new character I think its worse then the last one. the faces are just random crap.

I'm sorry, but our I expected a LOAD more for our first "on-going" series in like 10 years, and all I can think of is "God I have to sit through the pain of 80 more issues of this craptasticness ..."

If it wasn't for Last Stand of the Wreckers, I would boycott IDW for pulling this. Whatever is in the water of the people making the decisions over there, is making them Batshit-crazy!


bring back spotlight...

[Chaoslock]

I've cancelled my preorders on Ongoing when I first saw the 5-page preview and Ironhides death from issue 1. Along with it I cancelled the All Hail Bumblebee preorder too (I've had a bad feeling about it), the only one I kept was the Wreckers. If and When the series' level will rise to the earlier levels (art- or storywise*), I'll get the TPBs, but until then I won't pay for this.


*: AHM I sit through, and bought the comics, because I knew it was going to be only 12 issue, and the art was still good enough for a Geewunner. This "art": Seriously, Jetfires and Hot Rods faces on page 4; and no background on most of the pages?

[Shadowstream]

Down the hill we go

[Matrix.]

We're into Issue 3 and we still need name tags.......

I much prefer nametags to clumsy name dropping. Despite the Dynobots appearing consistently in IDW, Furman roll-called them in every issue of Maximum Dinobots, as if it were a toy advert.

Have to remember that it's a very large cast, and someone who isn't already into the franchise will find it difficult at first. I personally would have kept to a smaller roster, however.

I'm quite amazed at the negativity in places. These two issues have been far superior to Infiltration's initial two, in my opinion. *shrug*

[Tigertrack]

Jetfire reminds me of the pre-Earth seekers from the movie-verse.



Okay, maybe only sort of.

I think one can find these superior to Infiltration's beginning, because Infiltration and the other -tions already set the table. We did not have to get re-introduced to the story, etc., although random Autobots do seem to be just popping up.

[Samsonator]

Say what you will about his face, and I'll agree, but still that Magnus looks hardcore. He's a bit closer to Don's more old-school stuff than what he's dishing out right now (like that Jetfire for instance)... All in all the design style still strikes me as a bit off, especially in the aforementioned faces... but I suppose I'm still interested in where the story goes from here...

- Sam

[First Gen]

Can someone tell me why every new series Don does has to have a radically different Jetfire? I mean, even compared to this "new art style" he does not resemble any form of any prior Jetfire in the least.

Then its like a slap in the face when you read Bumblebee (which is directly related to Ongoing BTW) and you get super old school G1 art, when they are supposed to be the same exact bots in the same exact storyline.

I'm gonna give the story a chance and keep reading, but this art is bad
(don't get me started on the humans too) and the nametags have got to go already.

[AutobotOutlaw]

Jetfire looks like he is desperately trying to be a Gundam, are those fin funnels on his back ? One would think he would look more like a Valkyrie from Macross than a Gundam ...

[Neurie]

Jetfires alt mode looks like Beast Machines Jetstorm with a tail fin

[dragons]

i perfer the machine look without teeth and very human face looking on hese bots i choose the machine faces anytime it suits them machines dont have human faces, & teeth unless your terminator, cyborg superman , & robocop, which transfromers are non of the thing i have mentioned.

i would like to see toys made of some these characters in this series desgins if possible that would be intersting

[JRFitzpatrick7]

Then its like a slap in the face when you read Bumblebee (which is directly related to Ongoing BTW) and you get super old school G1 art, when they are supposed to be the same exact bots in the same exact storyline.

in Iron Man 2 Don Cheadle will be playing Rhodes (War Machine). His face is different, his physique is different. He is still the same character. it is still the same continuity. everyone gets bent out of shape about the artist interpretation in this book but really, its the same characters if you read the dialogue and for the most part its the same color schemes and alt modes (with the exception of a few, thank you i knew that). The faces are those of machines, they do all look alike, i imagine these guys were created on a factory line possibly by quintessons. the faces should all look the same. a few characters retain the mouthplates they had in g1 (seaspray,wheeljack) while others retain battle helmets (swindle, ultra magnus).evryone is recognizeable. and who cares about the humans? who reads transformers for the humans?