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Review of IDW Optimus Prime #8 #transformers

Date: Wednesday, June 21st 2017 5:55am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW

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Views: 26,251

Synopsis
Jazz confronts his past—and the Autobot’s future—in front of millions of television viewers. But will he make the people of Earth understand Optimus Prime's mission... or turn against it?



Story

Once again, I find myself apologising for the lateness of this review - let's call it doing an IDW shall we? just to make me feel better - and making it fall so close to all the Transformers: The Last Knight news. On the other hand, the IDW Optimus Prime ongoing in unquestionably good and staying good, so swings and roundabouts!



The usual framing device that John Barber uses for most of his TF writing is replaced here by a fairly ingenious magazine style interview - the very same interview that has been prepared in previous issues leading up to this one - with the perspective being Jazz, playing along pretty much behind the scenes all along so far.



Jazz, as pointed out in the previous issues, is an interesting choice of character - Cybertronian character - for a first big mediatic approach to Earth after Optimus' power-grab/forced annexation/colonialist actions. And all of those threads come up, and create the crux of the story...



But, while Jazz is indeed the main player and spotlight taker in the issue - almost literally - Jetfire and Pyra Magna also take on some very shiny roles, both in flashbacks and present for the former, and the present and a potential future for the latter. There are things afoot, and there are still creases to smoothen out from the past. Hopefully before everything spirals again.


Art

Zama is away from the book again this month, letting Casey W Coller to cover the interior art for a change. And Coller's art has a regularity to it, a crisp, linear feel to the lines and outlines of the character designs and layouts, that may very much appeal to recent readers - and fits perfectly with the framing device of the script.



The artistic collaboration here is with John Paul Bove, and a special one it is at that. Bove has shown how he can mimic several colour styles in the past (and is the colour wizard behind the Hachette definitive collection, too), but what he does here is keep the continuity with Burcham while also adding a lot of his own shine to it.



Of course, Tom B. Long is on lettering, and the different formats offer a whole new playground for his skills too - I actually wonder how much of his production set went into the final look of the issue, and if so, he was excellent. As for the covers, the thumbnail spotlights the Coller/Bove variant, but all the other versions of excellent art can be found in our database entry!

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

The magazine style interview is not an entirely original comics device (recently seen in the likes of The Wicked and The Divine, for example) but the way that it's employed in his issue, and how Barber manages to blend this new toy with his trademark running POV commentary - and how it feeds directly into the story - is extremely pleasing, and satisfying.



The characters, with Jetfire and Pyra Magna taking the biggest chunk, have some very very nice developments in backgrounds and perspective, and there's plotting and planning set up for things about to happen - plus gorgeous designs from Coller and Bove, covers included. Why would you not want to pick up this issue, you cool cats you?

Image-Heavy Review of Transformers Generations Titan Class Trypticon

Date: Tuesday, June 20th 2017 10:49am CDT
Categories: Toy News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): ursinemagnus

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Views: 49,147

It may be movie season, but we also have plenty of other news to cover - and it's a big one today... Thanks to fellow Seibertronian ursinemagnus, we have a full, image-heavy review of the latest figure in the Trasformers Titans Return line, Titan class - that's right, Trypticon has landed! And he brought along Full-Tilt and Titan Master Necro, all visible in the images below, along with size comparisons to other classes in the line, previous Titan Metroplex, and plenty of shots of poses, accessories and features.

Check it all out below, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub!

Ok just so you're all aware from the beginning this is probably going to read a lil like a love letter. He is great, just great. I don’t know if you remember my review of Fort Max but I was a little lukewarm, he's since come to grow on me but that’s beside the point. There is so much to like about the new Titans Return Trypticon.

There are some figures that when you get them out the package really “feel” like the character, I’ve felt it before with figures like Titans Return Sixshot and Generations Springer, and Trypticon oozes that same vibe. He just feels like a big deal.

The three modes are all pretty solid in my opinion, much more distinct than with the previous Titan scale offerings. The ship mode actually looks like a ship (so long as you ignore the dino head on the back) on top of that it feels really massive compared to the others. What I like most about this mode is how much it pays tribute to the nemesis in Fall of Cybertron/Prime where it kinda looks like a dinosaur head. Being able to open the front like a big set of jaws to fit a deluxe size car adds to the playability of this mode as well.

The dino mode is tons of fun and really stable, he's even capable of standing with his tail off the ground for a more authentic Saurian look. With hips and ankle rockers he can throw some really dynamic and menacing shapes. His arms have a fairly free range of motion and the only added articulation I would have like would a wrist swivel just so he could grab and hold Titan Masters the right way up. His head can rate but only with canons raised, when they lay flat against his back they restrict the movement that largely exists for transformation. Both of the head gimmicks are cool, working in a head master gimmick to active the head gun is a nice touch and I honestly don't think I’ll ever get sick of feeding him Titan Masters.

The base mode refreshingly doesn’t look like a yoga nightmare and with it weird shapes and spires definitely looks like somewhere deceptions could call home. The two connectors for the base come down in front instead of to the side like Fortress Maximus so when you combine it with other leader bases it takes on a military stronghold vibe and less of a township like his Autobot counterpart. You can launch Full-Tilt down the ramp that runs along the center and in this mode you can still access the storage area from the ship mode. It feels like there's more surface area and the shape gives it a larger footprint so it feels like your getting a lot more play set space.

Full-Tilt feels more like a herald of Galatus than the keeper of the estate and he scales well with other deluxe class figure. I will say that most other heads look weird on him and make it look like whoever it is has a purple leotard on, fun but not practical for war. He has a great range of motion and a satisfyingly clever and simple transformation that helps him to integrate really nicely with Trypticon's chest.

I do have some minor grievances with some of the panels, namely the tail ramp flopping down and the chest panel with Full-Tilt attached not sitting flush, these of course may just be issues with my particular figure. What may be a drawback to some people is how he scales with the other titan class figures, he does stand a lot smaller side by side but he does feel like he has a very similar mass and even if it doesn’t come through in the photos in person you still get the feeling he could give Metroplex a run for his money. The Sticker sheet is out of control and took me two sittings, a pair of tweezers, some sweat and some tears. It’s worth time time though as those little details work together with the silver highlights in the paint job, and the details of the mould to give it some real visual interest and break up what is a massive toy.

If you haven’t been sold on this figure class before now I would say this is a great place to start.

Review of IDW Revolutionaries #5

Date: Wednesday, June 14th 2017 3:56am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews
Posted by: Kurona

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Synopsis

Cobra Commander vs. Hearts of Steel! Thousands of years ago, a starship crashed on Earth—and the Hearts of Steel Transformers were born… but how can these steampunk Cybertronians be real?! And what does Cobra Commander want with them, when he hasn’t even got Cobra to back him up? The Revolutionaries have uncovered one of the darkest and most incredible secrets on Earth!



Story

Revolutionaries so far has proven to be a greater success in terms of an engaging story and crossing over various franchises than its predecessor and progenitor Revolution. We've gotten an intelligently-written story that uses elements from Transformers, GI Joe, ROM etc. with actual restraint and intent - and now we get Hearts of Steel thrown in the mix; an IDW Transformers mini that was previously its own little thing connected to no other continuity with the pure reason of having the G1 Transformers be steampunk. It was pretty great. So, how does this manage to fit in with the new IDW Hasbroverse?



Pretty cleverly, if a tad cold. As one can garner from the preview, writer John Barber smartly manages to connect the Hearts of Steel Autobots and Decepticons to the ongoing narrative of the original 13 Primes and the Colony Worlds. Bridging the gaps in time with a lovely re-appearance of Shockwave and tying things into the backstories of GI Joe characters, the story manages to seamlessly slot Hearts of Steel into the Hasbroverse with nary a continuity error - though unfortunately, it does rely on much of the emotional motivation and pathos of the Hearts of Steel characters being nullified. If you were emotionally invested in the characters of those stories, you might find yourself disliking how this all works - Primus knows I'd be the same if a story I cared a lot about was treated this way. However, as stated; it is clever and this is only a small knock against the contents of the issue.

Talking of the contents of the issue, how does it fare? Really bloody well. We have the story we've been following with Kup and company continue juxtaposed with the backstory of Hearts of Steel Bumblebee beautifully drawn by Guido Guidi (more on that later). I will admit to being a bit confused by the former - it seems to require a decent amount of knowledge about IDW's GI Joe stories, and as someone who has never read those, it's not entirely clear to me what's going on at the start of the issue with Cobra Commander and why he's being betrayed by his former comrades. Still, the narrative can quite easily be followed without context and what follows when the Revolutionaries arrive is a very lengthy but very fun action sequence, utilising the different abilities and weapons of each member all to take down the former Terrorist organisation leader. Which to some might sound a bit dull if this is mostly action and little story, but remember - Hearts of Steel. Switching back and forth between the past and the present help give this issue a very nice balance of action and story; as a reader I didn't feel starved for either by the last page and both gave me a much better understanding of the universe and characters. All good stuff. Unfortunately, while both the flashback and the ongoing story are good and complement each other so you don't get an over-saturation of either; that doesn't mean they work together terribly well.



As the issue progresses, Blackrock is shown to be conducting on investigation into the Hearts of Steel Transformers. And as his investigation comes to a head, we get panels of his shock and surprise; leading us to believe we're about to see a revelation -- only to realise that he is just discovering something we already knew pages ago. And this is the only real flaw with the flashback: entertaining, well-written and engaging as it may be, it suffers when framed as something Blackrock is finding out. When working with a narrative it is far more advantageous for the reader to discover something at the same time as the character - otherwise the conclusion to the character's investigation just falls flat. Fortunately this is just a minor knock against the story if anything, but it is still rather frustrating when it seems like it could so easily have been done better.

Art

As always, Fico Ossio and Sebastian Cheng handle the art duties for Revolutionaries on lineart and colours respectively. And if you've liked them on the previous Revolutionaries issues, you'll like them here too! They manage to utilise a colourful cast with a darker atmosphere without dimming said colours, their facial expressions are spot-on, and they just keep getting better at drawing the robotic characters. I have nothing but praise and repetition of phrases to give for these two; they're a great artistic duo.



But what is most likely to grab one's eye in this issue is, naturally, Guido Guidi's lineart and colours for the flashback pages. Waaaaaaay back in 2012's Robots in Disguise annual, we saw him employ a very 80s Marvel-esque art style used for flashback scenes involving the ancient past dealing with characters closely related to the 13 Primes. It worked incredibly well; giving off a mystery, fanciful and otherworldly vibe while paying wonderful homage to Transformers' roots when they started in Marvel back in 1984. The same style is applied for the same reasons here with all the same positives. To be maybe just a little bit unprofessional for a moment, seeing this sort of thing is really friggin' cool and I personally ADORE it! Seeing it return excited me on the previews and I can only hope this indicates it will be used more in the future. It's simply a beautiful homage by people who are clearly very big fans of the franchise.

Final Thoughts

I may have come across as a little bit negative in the review. I speak of how Blackrock's investigation doesn't gel well narratively, I speak of how Hearts of Steel fans may be a bit disheartened by the way the story is now retconned into the main continuity; and I do express confusion on what the deal with Paoli and his former allies is. But I do speak from a place of love, as these do not horribly interfere with the story and they do not prevent Revolutionaries #5 from continuing this series in an entertaining way and being a thrill-ride of continuity engineering and worldbuilding.



Action Man and Kup are enjoyable as always, Hearts of Steel's placement in the continuity is intelligent if not a bit cold, the gunfight between Mayday and Cobra Commander is choreographed very well - though I do question one G.I. Joe soldier being able to take down Cobra's former leader. Was he weak in the IDW G.I. Joe comics?) - and, of course, the art is bloody beautiful. The story moves on, the stakes are being raised; and the plans of Kreiger and Doctor X just keep getting more and more sinister even while each issue including this one manages to be its own individual self-contained story with characters from across all the franchises involved. Like the past four issues, Revolutionaries isn't actually anything revolutionary; but does prove that if you're willing to give the Hasbro Expanded Universe a shot, it can most assuredly deliver. It's just a damn good comic.

Review of IDW Transformers: Lost Light #5

Date: Wednesday, May 10th 2017 2:38am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW

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Here we are on part 5 of 6, "Modes of Production", the latest chapter of author James Roberts' massive Transformers tale. With just forty pages to go when you start Lost Light #5, you may be wondering just how much will end up resolved by the end of "Dissolution". After all, there are several plots all running concurrently: a whole crew of characters from the book's namesake ship that have been displaced twice-over to the point of finding themselves in another reality, a new duo of characters that fans have been trying to figure out, tension between former Decepticons and parts of "Team Rodimus", a Whirl/Tailgate/Cyclonus soap opera side-plot, Nightbeat and Rung's ongoing conversations, Megatron and Terminus' interrupted reunion, the return of Roller to action, mysteries of the Functionist Council, more clarification to get to on Rung, and then finally there's the whole part where the alternate Cybertron our heroes are on is slowly being torn apart by a Luna 2 that's been converted into some sort of gigantic galactic recycling unit.

Phew. I've probably missed something.


With Mr. Roberts clearly going for some kind of plot-juggling world record, it falls to this review to try and decide how it's working out (that is the point of these, right?) It took some careful reflection and multiple reads, but to be completely honest, it's just impossible to know how good this issue is without being able to read issue 6.

Before you accuse yours truly of going for the review-cop-out world record, hear me out. Is the pacing of this issue justified, where very dense pages jump from point to point interspersing some of the main focus with secondary stories where needed, sometimes tangentially in Roller's case? Are the interludes, including one heavy exposition dump with respect to Rung, worth the space they're taking up in a book with so much going on? To repeat a question one can find in spades over both our own Energon Pub Forums and out there online: Is the space given to Anode and Lug in this arc deserving of its inclusion? I don't know because I don't know what they're for yet. "Knowing what someone turns into is not the same as knowing what someone's for", indeed.


While the paragraph above wasn't directly critical, it does bring up a point that I'll just come out and say explicitly: "Dissolution" feels written as a trade paperback and the month-to-month reading cycle is suffering for it. I felt this way before during "Elegant Chaos", and that turned out quite amazingly well in the end. This issue has a healthy amount of effective, meaningful, and downright quality material that gives hope that everything is, indeed, fine.


One of these highlights involves an A-Lister of the Transformers franchise. Megatron and Terminus are one of the more fascinating duos in an issue/series/meta-series/universe of sometimes-robo-monogamy (platonic and otherwise) that Roberts has created. In this issue we see things progress logically, with some moments including Roller that are simply fantastic. Morality, peril, specters of the past, and peace through the tyranny of choice are all examined when these two are on the page. In a book with a big cast this is the kind of material that serves as an anchor, especially in this case as we're reminded of the ultimate reason that Megatron is caught up in all of this to begin with. Even readers jaded with this story - you know who you are and it's ok to have opinions - will have a hard time not wanting more of these two in my opinion.


Then there's this. Quite possibly the biggest mystery in Transformers comics of the past five-plus years is beginning to be brought into the light. Will this issue tell you what Rung does? Yes, and you'll need to read it to find out whether or not the answer is "Drilling! Takara Tomy loves drill tanks after all." Lost Light #5 stops just barely short of giving the total 360° answer about what Rung is for. If you've read the issue, you might take pause at that statement, because there was a very great deal explained. However, when reflecting on the last scene of the book I began to wonder if, perhaps, there are more to Functionist Universe Rung's present desires than... there appear to be.

What? What happened?


Comics are a visual medium and I've said little about that side of this issue so far. This is probably worthy of at least a night in Fan Jail because it's almost perfect to me from this standpoint. Artist Jack Lawrence's characters continue to evolve visually in this issue in a pleasing way. In some cases, this evolution brings characters closer to looks established by Alex Milne while in others, Lawrence continues to put his own touch on the series. The line work, aided by Joana Lafuente's tonally appropriate color palettes and Tom B. Long's usual lettering masterwork, gives a book that is by my count 96% pure eye candy.

The 4% that's not? The final panel. I think this needed either a big splash spread or perhaps some different posing by one of the characters involved. The point is still made and wow, what a moment! That is a thing that has been built up since 2012! Unfortunately, the visual delivery came across somewhat underwhelming. Of course, maybe that is the real point and I don't truly grasp it, but that's the kind of fun chatter we can get to in course when you reply to this post to debate, opine, and converse in our Energon Pub Forums.

Returning to the good stuff, there are four really and truly outstanding covers available for this issue, including another installment in Nick Roche and Josh Burcham's beautiful series of character vignettes that you'll see in this review's News Story thumbnail. As always, you can find full credits and covers in our database entry for Lost Light #5, along with a list of characters that appear in the issue so do be aware of possible spoilers.


When reviewing Lost Light #4, I said that scores don't feel fair to big multi-part works. I stand by this even moreso for #5 as a standalone work. Taken as part of the whole, it's quite good, but with so much going on and the finish line so close, it ends up being partially victimized by its purpose and by the need for some of the resolutions occurring. The Anode interlude stops the pace dead for a reveal that, rather unfortunately for involved fans like myself, was guessed by the fandom at large two months ago. Brainstorm somehow became a wisecracking parody of himself at some point and I find myself missing the brutally clever scientist we used to know. There's more I could pick out for criticism but it wouldn't change the point, that being that despite all the good stuff in here, there's also just enough that feels off the mark to drag down the finished product.

This needs #6 and it needs it soon. Very possibly, this is an inappropriate score to give something that deserves much, much higher, and in moments it really genuinely does. However, without knowing what everything here was for this is all I can commit to from a strictly critical perspective. I will freely admit if this was too low in #6's review. For now and with a dose of hesitation -



Bonus! James Roberts' soundtrack suggestions for this issue:

• Orlando - "Just For A Second"
• Pedro The Lion - "Of Up And Coming Monarchs"
• Tarwater - "All Of The Ants Left Paris"

Encore Bonus? Uniclock Update? Unfortunately, actual real world scary things and warmongering would make it a bit insensitive and tone deaf for me to continue including this little feature, which was intended to be a fun and possibly self-deprecating bit of humor. If that doesn't make sense to you, please do realize this was not inspired by 'Watchmen'.

Review of IDW Optimus Prime #6

Date: Wednesday, April 26th 2017 3:33am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW

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Views: 31,109

Synopsis
“NEW CYBERTRON”—CONCLUSION! As the Junkions reveal their ultimate plan, Optimus Prime makes a decision that will define the relationship between Earth and Cybertron for all time... but will Arcee be able to live with the fallout?



Story

The first arc of Optimus Prime, the big core book at the heart of the Hasbro Universe (take that, Crown Jewel), comes to a close in this sixth issue, and we get some closure indeed on the multiple threads dangling through the story - and some more are left to unravel for the future...



We know John Barber's propensity for the caption technique, to aid with the narration and provide some 'behind the scenes' commentary for what is actually happening in the gutters between panels - but this time, despite the very good writing, it's perhaps the very first time I've found it clash a little with the story itself. Having Optimus Prime narrate his own arc just felt ..off, at times.



The other stories, the other faces, the other characters around which the issue and the arc revolve, on the other hand, are still really quite pleasing. There is a lot happening all in one place (if you want a hand in catching up on the roles, our database entry might help!), both in the past and in the present, and it's all satisfyingly tantalising for more story threads from here.



The way in which Optimus is perceived on the many sides of the issues, from the colonist recruits to Aileron and Pyra Magna, to Soundwave and Jetfire's past and present outlook and opinions, to how Earth sees him as coloniser and invader - the story is in no way at its end, if anything we have a new fraught beginning of a much bigger story to be told. And then there's that last page...

Art

Kei Zama is still so much joy to follow through the pages, be it for organic, Cybertronian, Cybertrorganic, landscapes, battles, dialogue or face-offs - be they blasting or verbal, in the present or past - and I'm extremely pleased to see the variations across the Sharkticon ranks as well and variety in humans, who do not obviously have designs as distinctive as the robot protagonists.



The issue also relies a lot on heavy visual cues for resolutions - as well as the trademark time shifts and parallels - allowing for more of Josh Burcham's effective colouring to blend with Zama's linework. The lighter moments, not necessarily in tone, are impressive where the writing may not reach, and any lingering shadow is that much darker for it.



As for the lettering, I am still in awe at how Tom B. Long manages to juggle so many things at once in pages that can be extremely busy, between visuals and text. Never mind some of the fight scenes, the ink work and dynamism - we still follow narration; top marks. And cover wise, while the veteran roster of Zama/Burcham (SkyLynx rider), Coller/Bove (face-off), Griffith/Perez (Sharkpile) is a wonder to behold, I'd like to congratulate Jin Kim on some really solid output with IDW covers this month - see thumbnail for proof.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

I was somehow expecting more from a conclusion, at this stage. Not that what we got wasn't a good one, mind you, but something felt a little underplayed - which might be beneficial for the wider game in the long run, and future stories, but leaves a little anticlimactic here. Soundwave's role, the explanation of his presence by Megatron's side, Jetfire's role in particular, feel well rounded enough to allow it, sure, but Optimus' actions are a bit.. whelming.



Things I am looking forwards to, nonetheless: Jazz and the exploration of his 'getting to know Earth' storyline, so very much. More Thundercracker in an active role. More challenges to Optimus, even - in spite of - apparent changes of heart/mind. Ramifications of his role in the eye of the new recruits. THAT ENDING PAGE.

Revisitocracy - A Seibertron.com Retrospective on IDW Publishing Autocracy, Monstrosity, Primacy

Date: Wednesday, March 1st 2017 3:29pm CST
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW

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With this week's release of the trade collected version (the hardcover already came to fruition) of the three Cybertron Wars Prime Wars Autocracy stories into one volume, here at Seibertron.com we considered doing a brief revisitation of the Flint Dille, Chris Metzen, and Livio Ramondelli effort to bring some more backstory to the pre-war moments.

First, another look at the previously unused cover that became the collected trade one!



Transformers: Autocracy - Database entry

The Great War has begun and the Decepticons have taken the city-state of Kaon. They now work to sow dissent across Cybertron via terrorist cells. Orion Pax leads a team in an effort to stop them, while confronting the true nature of what it means to be an Autobot.

My predecessor, Tigertrack, was the one to first encounter the book as it was a digital only release, which then became digital first - his review of the opening issue is here. Other staff member Psychout worked on the other reviews, up to issue #5 (here, here, here, and here).

The major points to be taken from the first of the stories, Autocracy itself, revolves around the senate and Zeta Prime's actions around them and through them (which we're also still seeing in the Optimus Prime ongoing series by Barber and Zama), the not-very-goodness of the Autobot faction - who are essentially violent state militia - the rise of the Decepticon faction as revolutionaries, and the doubts seeded in Optimus Prime/Orion Pax as he follows Zeta's warmongering directives. And a violent Pax it is, with a little help from his friends (Bumblebee in particular) to keep him from thuggishly pounding his way to order. And from his enemies, Megatron above all, who are the ones to plant those seeds in the second place.



The read is quick, the action is action-y and a little chaotic at times, with Ramondelli not yet hitting his stride with the refined trait he uses in more recent comics, and the lettering by Robbie Robbins doesn't always necessarily help with that. While it was nice to see a War Within/Megatron Origins set of designs, some jar a bit with the characters they're representing, and did not keep well up to now.

Outcome: Megatron and Optimus fight, the war begins.

Peak Dille moment: the revisiting of the 1986 battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron, with a very, very heavy hand in the retelling (for the good part of several issues), and some JJ Abrams levels of fanwinking (with an I, but almost an A).

MVP: A young 'terrorist' that is the fulcrum of the second half of the plotline: Hot Rod of Nyon. In the words of fellow staffer Kurona, this is probably the best explanation/foundation to his MTMTE/Lost Light characterisation, actually believing in a revolutionary ideal to the point that he blows up an entire city

Transformers: Monstrosity - Database entry

In the early days of the war on CYBERTRON, OPTIMUS PRIME puts everything on the line to unify the planet—but not everyone agrees that this new Prime should be in charge! Meanwhile, the fallen DECEPTICON leader, MEGATRON, begins a journey that will change everything.

I was part of the comics staff by now, and covered all four print issues of the digital-first sequel series to Autocracy (here, here, here, here) - and admittedly, I actually quite enjoyed it for what it was. And what it was was an exploration of Megatron's commitment to his ideal (after being thrown onto Junkion by new Decepticon leader Scorponok), his formation as a full tyrant, and a peek into the collective mind of the Dynobots and the full power of their alt-modes.



All that while incorporating more elements of the 1986 movie stuff, plus some live-action movie facets of some of the characters - and by that I mean Megatron, his patchwork of injuries, and propensity for cloaks. The artwork, while still working on earlier Ramondelli style, really blended well with the tone rather than the matter, and the weird hybrids used in the story, the monstrosities, came out looking excellent.

Outcome: The war keeps beginning.

Peak Dille moment: Hey Quintesson judge. Nice to see you there, being a teacher/trophy to Megatron and all.

MVP: Despite a tie between Grimlock, though used at not his very best, but rather in a very old characterisation, and Megatron himself, even with the disproportionate amounts of cheese in the series overall - Tom B. Long's lettering wins this spot.

Transformers: Primacy - Database entry

THE WAR FOR CYBERTRON! Optimus Prime versus Megatron. Autobots versus Decepticons. At the dawn of the conflict, battle lines are drawn and sides are set… now legends will be made. The war that would define a planet begins in earnest—and its revelations will shake the TRANSFORMERS' world to the core!

I was reviewing these as they came out, but by the third one I got so bored of the story and the writing, that I never actually finished a review for the ending. First three are here, here, and here. Whoops. The issues I had with this final section were mostly to do with contradicting and confusing statements made by characters in the story (Omega Supreme above all still grates me), though the first half was way more enjoyable than the latter part. The plot, on the other hand, is very very very very thin.



Ramondelli and Chris Mowry have all of the fun with this series, playing around with large-scale devastation and all the noises that come with it, because all the series wanted to do was have a giant battle with all of the possible characters in one place, and pit Trypticon against Metroplex. Done and done.

Outcome: The war KEEPS BEGINNING TO START. Jeez.

Peak Dille moment: All of it.

MVP: Sarah Stone and her covers.


Concluding thoughts

The series doesn't really add that much to the IDW universe, even in its attempt to uncomfortably sit between Megatron: Origin, Chaos Theory, early flashbacks across the ongoings, and most importantly, the current happenings in Optimus Prime. With the latter especially, what information is being fed to us by Barber's writing is actually more than enough to get the rest of the context - at the same time, the highlights of the series might appeal to a reader who wants some extra cheese on a sprinkle of background motivations, and with the Junkions and Quintessons appearing or bound to reappear soon, it's worth giving a look at if you're so inclined. It can fit with an IDW or Transformers completionist, but it is by no means essential reading, and for a more traditional fan, the IDW editorial veil may not sit well. It has fights, but also politics; it has references, but also new characterisations; it has an audience, but we're not sure who that is, essentially.

Do not expect Barber, Roberts, or Scott levels of writing: the exploration of the grey shades between the factions is done much better in later series, including the very current Lost Light and Till All Are One, but most of all, the flashbacks in Optimus Prime. Do expect cheese: it's what Dille does best, and Metzen is mostly there for the assist in world building of a world that already existed. Don't @ me if you like it more or less than I did: I'm just noting down thoughts on a series that happened over three years ago, as I had some time over the weekend and there are no new comics for me to review.

*insert 1986 movie reference here to come full circle*

IDW Lost Light #2 Review

Date: Wednesday, February 1st 2017 9:59am CST
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: D-Maximal_Primal | Credit(s): IDW

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Views: 40,241

Synopsis
Rodimus and Co. find themselves in a dangerous place. Even more dangerous than on a planet that exploded from the inside. That’s already pretty dangerous. But where they are now? Oh boy.



Story

Well, where do I begin?

We'll start with this: we have some plot action moving forward, like a lot. We've wrapped up the DJD battles, and we have moved on and started to venture back into the quest, despite the fact that we aren't on the ship and no one from the ship even makes an appearance for yet another issue (it's been almost a year). Taking cues from Drift and another member of the cast, we are progressing towards something quest related. It also appears that another long standing plot point is set to be resolved, which is exciting and interesting the way that it will end up getting done.

A second point of contention for attention is Megatron. As revealed last issue, half of the storyline is now occurring in a universe where Megatron never existed. What can we expect out of this you may ask? Well, I can tell you that Megatron is an interesting character to watch. Seeing his reaction to his new surroundings as well as what has transpired certainly places Megatron in an interesting situation that, in this issue at least, receives a deal of interest from reader and characters in the story. Overall, the "Megatron in a universe where he never existed" arc is doing good, and is keeping with the established traits Megatron has started to show over the past year. While we have yet to see what will become of Megatron and the functionists, it is comforting to know that he is still sticking close and comfortable with his developed path thus far.



The parts of the story touching on Tailgate and Cyclonus are very well done as well, and it will be interesting to see how these 2, Rung, and Megatron come through the rest of the arc.

Art

Art duties are once again taken up by Jack Lawrence, and 2 issues in I have yet to be completely impressed. The artwork, while not bad, does not feel like it fits the narrative of the book. The artwork comes across as slightly too exaggerated, with certain characters that have mouths suffering some with expressions. Proportions and some poses do not appear properly either, and characters such as the the Functionists enforcers and Swerve suffer for it. The enforcers just don't look as intimidating as they were portrayed originally, while Swerve pulls off a very awkward looking pose considering his design.



Joana Lafuente takes up coloring duties once more, and she does some very good work with the different shades for the different settings of this book. The coloring of Cybertron is appropriately very dark and very dreary, and the mixes of the burning colors with dark reds and red mixes make for a very convincing dark age.



Meanwhile, the coloring of Necroworld is also well done, with the sunset painted in beautifully alongside the darkness of night when Cyclonus and Tailgate go for a stroll. It doesn't matter where it is, the colors work.



Once more, Tom B. Long delivers in his lettering. The various points in time when characters get thrown and slammed around are pronounced with very convincing and very entertaining lettering, and the dialogue is done very well. Once more, a bang up effort.

Final Thoughts



Since the ending of More Than Meets The Eye and the beginning of Lost Light, I have had a hard time getting into the new book/season 3. While I can definitely state some positives, such as continuing with the same characters, touching more on the Functionists universe-a real treat really-and bringing another long-standing major plot thread forward, there is a disturbance in the force. A few complaints that I have.

The main complaint would be the art. It doesn't feel like it suits the book, and it feels at odds with what was previously established. It makes some scenes just difficult to look at and enjoy while reading the commentary. It feels more rounded, less detailed, and more "Robots in Disguise cartoon" than "More Than Meets The Eye."

The other major complaint comes from characters both new and not seen in forever. It was last March where we saw the mutineers take over the ship, and we have yet to touch on them again, which is a real disappointment for me. I've been aching to see this part of the crew and see what's happening in the fallout of the mutiny. I've also not taken very kindly to the new characters introduced. Anode has put me off quite a bit as she has generally come across to me as an unlikable character. Lug is a bit better, but I am unimpressed by either. It feels like the new characters are hogging some spotlight from those that really need it AKA the mutineers.

Overall, the book is not bad, it really isn't. Megatron in the Functionists universe, Rung, and Cyclonus and Tailgate are all great positives for the current ongoing. But it doesn't have that magic that it used to. The writing is still quite good, but the art and storyline don't match up to my liking, and I hope that we can work towards reclaiming some of that harmony for me.

Review of IDW Revolution #5 (Final Issue)

Date: Sunday, December 4th 2016 10:15am CST
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW, Va'al

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Views: 34,905

Synopsis
LAST STAND IN AUTOBOT CITY! It’s all come to this—TRANSFORMERS vs. ROM vs. MICRONAUTS vs. G.I. JOE vs. M.A.S.K. vs. the ultimate evil! The futures of Earth, Cybertron, and the Microverse will all be changed forever by the decisions made this day.



Story

Here we are, the final issue of the core storyline for IDW's Revolution. The end of this stretch of the road. The final chance to prove that this could lead somewhere, and do so well. By the timing of this review, you can probably guess how much it lived up to that, really. But let's proceed with order, and constructively, shall we?



First, a recap. Karza has allied himself with the Dire Wraiths to save his universe, then merged with them, and realised that he's about to destroy two universes for the price of one. Everyone else decides to stop him. Humans (G.I. Joe and M.A.S.K.) are still not happy that aliens are doing things on their territory. Miles Mayhem keeps being evil but maybe not but maybe yes.



The good things, writing wise: there are some good interactions, especially when it comes to established group dynamics like between the Transformers or between the Joes, and the Micronauts still have a better edge. Windblade digging at Optimus is always a treat. There is some sort of organic fitting in of the different factions at play, and yes as a crossover it does create a common starting point for stories from here.



On the other hand, personally, ROM has brought nothing to this whole event (sure, it started because of him, but the character is nothing much at all compared to others), both MASK and GI Joe are used very oddly given their potential, and fans of the latter in particular may feel a little under-catered for. Where not having a fixed villain could've been good ground for interesting stories, it fell short of using the various 'antagonists'. But more below on the follow-up.

Art

From the visual side of things, I have defended Fico Ossio's work previously, as there are some good ways of depicting humans, and giving that more organic feel to some robotic designs - more appropriate for MASK and ROM than Transformers, I felt, and better executed overall - but in this issue in particular, a lot of flash covered the undermining problems of the 'too much together' elements of the series.



And if that was true for the layouts and linework, the colours did not help make things clearer either. Mind you, I am not saying that Sebastian Cheng did not do a good job, but rather that the colours do not clarify what the art is trying to do, opting instead for a DC or Marvel-style visually punchy style with shaky substance beneath the technicolor smoke.



Similarly, and unfortunately, the lettering could only do so much: with this still being an event trying to draw in new readers, Tom B. Long was asked to fit in name tags and Budiansky pretty much the entire issue, making the most of the space available - not an enviable task, and not one that leads to a result that makes things any clearer either.

The covers, I have to say, are excellent: Tradd Moore and Felipe Sobreiro with the cartoon classic, Ken Christiansen with a part of his composite patchwork, Adam Riches and James Biggie with their signature toy and promo art respectively, Brandon Peterson's take on superenergised Karza, Art Baltazar suggesting the Aw Yeah! issue coming in the new year, Guido Guidi's excellent G2/I Joe mashup (thumbnailed) - and the oddly chosen John Byrne art, with Len O'Grady on colours.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Really, all in all? It was a bit of a mess. The suggested schedule was not helpful, nor accurate, to follow the event in a linear fashion - and the tie-ins were decidedly much better, to varying degrees, than the core story itself - and the events happening within the issues were either too stretched out to begin with, or too condensed towards the end as was the case for this last book, visually and script-wise. It was confusing, or negligible, and just ..sort of happened. And looked inconsistent while happening.



As we've said in previous reviews, it's really a shame: all the series going into this were written by people who actually believed in the books and their characters, from Ryall to Easton to Barber to Bunn, but somewhere along the line, the idea of making a comic book EVENT proves one of IDW's missing achievements, especially one acting as a shared universe catalyst as Revolution was meant to be.

That said, it does not detract from the stories that come out of this, with Revolutionaries sounding like Revolution done right (now that it's out of the way), Till All Are One and Micronauts working on a wider scale, MASK, ROM, and GI Joe continuing the Earth-based sides of the plot, and Optimus Prime sort of shoving people around to sneak in between everyone.

IDW Revolution Issue #4 (of 5) Review

Date: Thursday, November 3rd 2016 7:35pm CDT
Categories: Site News, Comic Book News, Reviews
Posted by: D-Maximal_Primal | Credit(s): IDW, D-Maximus_Prime

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Views: 50,427

Synopsis
SILENT INTERLUDE! One human has the skill to break into AUTOBOT CITY—but what is SNAKE EYES going to do when he finds himself face-to-knee with OPTIMUS PRIME? And outside, MILES MAYHEM and the M.A.S.K. team wait to see who walks out alive…



Story

Well, we've reached the next to last issue, the one where we generally get the majority of the major reveals of the whole storyline. The one where the ending will leave you wanting more, with the heroes on the ropes and the bad guys all standing tall in place for their final victory. And, in the case of crossovers, the place where everything generally all comes together.

In some of those respects, Revolution #4 did not disappoint.

The entirety of the Crossover is finally revealed, with everyone falling into place and everyone's adventures finally crossing their final paths, set for the big-named characters conclusion (well, save one that only appeared very briefly so far). At least with regards to bringing everyone together for that big ending, the story has worked out and is good. And the ending of the issue does make you want issue #5 to be here soon.

So, why am I not in love with this comic? Let's take a closer look...



I can understand the difficulties of bringing together multiple big-name characters and making them all coexist alongside one another. I've seen it done well, and I've seen it fall flat. There is a very specific rhythm you need to set, a very precise way to make the gel that holds it altogether. Unfortunately, this crossover has just not done that. Getting everyone into the comic feels too forced, too clunky, and it is throwing in way too much to handle within the pages of the book itself. It feels rushed at times, underdeveloped at others, and overall just a bit too crazy for my liking. The ordering of the releases is not helping matters either, considering some important expositions have been revealed after they were needed and in some cases entire releases being spoiled by stuff coming out first. It's just not working for the Revolution storyline as a whole.

Art

Art duties have been taken up by Fico Ossio, and there are some places in the book where the art really works and it looks pretty nice. The Micronauts benefit from Ossio's style of art, and ROM and Snake Eyes are not bad either, and considering both do get a fair bit of exposure in the comic, there are some good highlights.

But then there are other parts that just don't work at all. I'm not sure why, but most of the Cybertronians in this issue feel too far removed from their regular designs. Victorion, Arcee, and Windblade in particular feel off this issue, with Arcee being a recurring art difficulty throughout the crossover. It just feels too organic and too stylized for me to like. And the faces are not turning out too well either. Some of the Joes - mainly Scarlett - also suffer a bit in the artistic department, which is strange considering how well the Micronauts have come across.



Sebastian Cheng joins in on coloring duty, and he does a pretty good job of adding some extra spice to the pages, so to speak. His backgrounds do work well, such as the starry night seen below, and the big double-spread battle sequence is helped out by his colors setting parts of the action apart. I particularly liked his work with the Dire Wraiths, despite how bland they are supposed to be.



Tom B. Long takes up lettering duty, and does not fail to keep the story moving as well as it can with his speech bubbles. The conversations from the viewpoints of the Micronauts are particularly good, seeing as how they give us some good perspective on not being able to understand a single noise others are saying.



You can also check out a full database that shows off all the covers for this issue (as there were many) as well as a list of all the others who helped contribute to Revolution #4, art and otherwise!

Final Thoughts



As I said before, there is some stuff to like about Revolution, and let's face it: a large crossover with big names does sound like a cool idea. And there are some things that are coming out of the event well (I'm still trying to decide if Action man is better off for not being in this, considering how well his Revolution comic went and I do like him). But as has been said for a couple reviews now, it is just not working out as well as it should have and could have been. This should have been the Avengers of the Hasbro properties world. It could have been a big thing that jumpstarted a comic, continued another excellent comic, and given life to some new comics. Instead, it feels clunky, off, and more like a chore to read than an enjoyment.

I will finish off reading Revolution, but I cannot wait to get back to regular comics. I just wish I could have gotten the enjoyment out of the crossover it truly did deserve, like I did with Transformers: Revolution and Action Man: Revolution.

IDW Publishing Revolution Reviews - The Other Titles, pt. 1

Date: Friday, September 30th 2016 10:17am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al

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Views: 34,529

The new IDW Publishing cross-franchise event REVOLUTION is not limited to ROM the Spaceknight, the Transformers and G.I. Joe, though the latter two are probably the biggest players so far and the foundation of the setting, and the former was reintroduced into the IDW universe almost explicitly for and due to the event. Other licensed properties are part of the mix, with M.A.S.K., Micronauts and Action Man taking a little slice of the action for themselves too!

This occasional feature on Seibertron.com is a one-off (three-off?) write-up on those other titles that don't fall under the robots categories, so you may go find more comics if you like what you see. The reviews are brief, with an eye to connecting them to the wider story and what readers might enjoy coming from a Transformers perspective, so please keep that in mind. [For an alternate and more systematic look at how Revolution is currently working out, see ScottyP's comics FAQ here!]

With order then...

Micronauts #1-#6, Revolution #1

Cullen Bunn, whom regular comics readers will undoubtedly recognise from several Marvel and other titles, dives deep into the Microverse, reigniting a spark in a very very old and dormant fire that not many may have remembered. However, he does so with such gusto and charm, even in the obnoxiously 80s patina that most of these properties have, that you can't help but chuckle at the interactions and overt cheese of some of the scenes. The Biounits, Acroyears, names - they just made me giggle so much, reading them in 2016. At the same time, Baron Karza is beautifully nuanced as a villain, and actually has a good characterisation through the Revolution book itself.

Bonus: Direct and unexpectedly good link to Cybertronian lore. Ties up with Transformers franchise in general, with things discussed in Titans Return, and with the covers teasing

Malus (but not really): The cheese. The name Shazraella.






As it hasn't had enough time to go anywhere significant, there's not really too much to say about this one-shot comic - if not that it's probably the most played down and yet the most direct in terms of how G.I. Joe and Earth in general are planning to respond to the Cybertronian contingent and the perceived threat that Optimus's annexation of the planet to the Council of Worlds constitutes for, well, us. Written by Brandon Easton, with visuals from Tony Vargas and Jordi Esquin, the book is a crisp if slightly by the numbers origin story of the Kommand at the hands of Miles Mayhem, building to some interesting dynamics with the Joe envoy Scarlett. And then, it just... stops. Which is a shame. (But will start/continue in November as its own series!)

Bonus: Ego trips all over the place.

Malus: Ego trips all over the place.





Currently running through three issues of its new ongoing series, with Chris Ryall and Christos Gage at the helm, the return of the Solstar order knight had a very promising beginning, with a bit of a plateau after the second issue hit. With a giant team taking control of the art, there are some really sweet spots visually too, but sometimes the story just doesn't hit the right beats enough to hold it all together.

Bonus: The designs (Wraiths and Rom in particular) are fantastic, and the book is the one that will providing the biggest cohesive for the various threads and titles so far, with its planet/universe wide conspiracies.

Malus: May not be one to follow too closely if it doesn't catch you immediately, and it does have a lot of Ryallisms (compare: Onyx), but that may be your thing!