Full Preview for IDW Optimus Prime #13
Tuesday, November 21st, 2017 4:42am CST
Category: Comic Book NewsPosted by: Va'al Views: 13,633
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Check out the full works on Optimus Prime #13 below, and join us again after the book is released on Wednesday for a Seibertron.com review, an inevitable discussion, and more, all in the Energon Pub discussion boards.
Optimus Prime #13
John Barber (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a) • Kei Zama (c)
As the consequences of the First Strike event reverberate, Optimus Prime ventures into the wilderness of Cybertron to search for the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
Optimus Prime deals with the fallout of the First Strike event!
Variant cover by Livio Ramondelli!
Credit(s): IDW
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Posted by Randomhero on November 21st, 2017 @ 6:17am CST
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Posted by ScottyP on November 21st, 2017 @ 8:19am CST
Posted by Big Grim on November 21st, 2017 @ 9:00am CST
Posted by Daniel Adkins on November 21st, 2017 @ 9:18am CST
Oh, and just a heads up, John Barber revealed two other characters who will finally be making their return in this issue on the newest episode of Action and Adventure: The Hasbro Universe Podcast. http://hasbrouniverse.libsyn.com/episod ... -never-die
Posted by ScottyP on November 21st, 2017 @ 10:07am CST
Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?
Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on November 21st, 2017 @ 10:16am CST
ScottyP wrote:Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?
Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome
But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!
Posted by Randomhero on November 21st, 2017 @ 10:26am CST
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:ScottyP wrote:Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?
Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome
But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!
My assumption is those are from the sparks front the hotspot the Dinobots and Trypticon took. Dinobots are building their own Dinobots/army/people
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on November 21st, 2017 @ 10:29am CST
Randomhero wrote:D-Maximus_Prime wrote:ScottyP wrote:Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?
Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome
But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!
My assumption is those are from the sparks front the hotspot the Dinobots and Trypticon took. Dinobots are building their own Dinobots/army/people
But that hot spot is inside Trypticon, on Cybertron, and the Throttlebots never made it back to Cybertron.
Also, really hoping they touch more on Sixshot soon
Posted by Randomhero on November 21st, 2017 @ 10:47am CST
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Randomhero wrote:D-Maximus_Prime wrote:ScottyP wrote:Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?
Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome
But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!
My assumption is those are from the sparks front the hotspot the Dinobots and Trypticon took. Dinobots are building their own Dinobots/army/people
But that hot spot is inside Trypticon, on Cybertron, and the Throttlebots never made it back to Cybertron.
Also, really hoping they touch more on Sixshot soon
See my assumption was trypticon and the Dino’s left. They space bridged away and maybe they ended up on the planet where the throttlebots are. But maybe it is onyx’s forced but I figured maybe it’s not becuase those guys are all dinosaurs
I wish I could share everyone’s sympathy for sixshot but I don’t. He hasn’t shown up for 8 years and he’s not that important in IDW. Not saying I don’t miss him but he wasnt very pivotal before and he really isn’t now.
Posted by Windsweeper on November 22nd, 2017 @ 8:01pm CST
Bring back EJ Su, James Raiz, Guido Guidi or Don Figuerara.
Livio and Andy Wildman are the two worst Transformers artists.
Posted by Va'al on November 23rd, 2017 @ 7:06pm CST
(Spoiler free-ish)
Synopsis
As the consequences of the First Strike event reverberate, Optimus Prime ventures into the wilderness of Cybertron to search for the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years!
Story
We leave First Strike almost entirely behind with this issue of the ongoing Optimus Prime series from IDW Publishing, though there are clear echoes at the start of the comic for sure - some louder than others - but the real accomplishment of the comic overall is just how much story it packs in one single issue.
You will remember the Throttlebots in the IDW universe only if you were with the publisher's output since the Spotlight days, and specifically Spotlight: Metroplex, and we really had heard nothing from them since - the way in which Barber catches everyone up is admirable, and doesn't fall into the expodump traps it could've, still leaving a lot to be inferred or imagined being left out.
On the other side, we also have a continuation of the Dynobot trilogy, or Redemption of the Dinobots, with some additional information as to what went down after that story 'ended' and what may or may not have happened to the new sparks being discovered and activated, yet again leading to more questions answered and other not at all.
And finally, we have some references to both Rom vs Transformers: Shining Armor - which will see its final issue next week - and the First Strike event, which this comic serves as one of the consequences of in terms of the general frame. And it's a frame that makes perfect sense, once you take into account how the stories have crossed paths, and who shows up in the multiple scenes that you will enjoy spending time identifying - or just using our database for (warning, spoilers obviously).
Art
The art by Livio Ramondelli adds a nice touch of continuity with the Redemption of the Dinobots story, as the writing does for First Strike and the others - and it's one of his best efforts yet, with some true standouts when another returning character appears in his machinations, and some seriously eery scenes looming over pretty much the entire book.
Ramondelli obviously also provides his own colours, and much like for the Dinobot one-shots, the choice of palette and tones used in different scenes fit perfectly to the surprisingly very dark issue that Barber's script has laid out. The flames on one side, the cold metal on the other, it does feel like the heart of something is weighing heavy, all the way through.
The lettering is once more in the hands of capable Tom B. Long, and his combinations with Ramondelli's style always stands out a little more than usual - usually thanks to the hues of the backgrounds - but that's never a bad thing. The cover used for the thumbnail is the exercise in empathic emotion, with Casey Coller and John-Paul Bove taking on the surviving Throttlebots at their most vulnerable yet resilient; all others can be found in the Database entry for the issue here.
Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead
If you've read through me trying to highlight a couple of strands present in the issue, you make have one of two takeaways: there is a lot going on - perhaps too much, and it can get overloading or overbearing after a certain point, especially as a newer reader; there is a lot going on, and that's the best thing we could've had from a story like this, merging together threads that had been almost liminal so far. I veer on the latter, but entirely understand the former.
The visual side of the book fits the tone and hits the spot exactly for the issue, and it helps deliver an intricate set-up and build of that merging I just mentioned - what I am concerned about, if anything, at this stage, is the landing. We'll see next issue how Barber and the others conclude this incursion into contemporary Hasbroverse, after such a strong take-off. But if you liked the Spotlight era, the Dinobots, the science experiments, and certain unlikeables - and a lot more about Arcee, which is never turned down as an offer - this book is for you.









Posted by Targetmaster Kup on November 23rd, 2017 @ 10:29pm CST
Posted by Va'al on November 23rd, 2017 @ 11:11pm CST
Nik Hero wrote:So it seems this book happens after Transformers vs. Visionaries, right?
At the same time as the first issue, in fact - directly after First Strike, both stories start to unravel.

Posted by Randomhero on November 24th, 2017 @ 1:23pm CST
Posted by william-james88 on November 27th, 2017 @ 10:00pm CST
The actual tweet from IDW reads as follows:
IDW wrote:@boxofficeartist presents The Most Detailed Drawing Ever of Transformers Trypticon! Get a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible skill that went into creating this astounding cover for Optimus Prime #14.

The tweet had a link to the video below which shows his process for drawing the Trypticon cover. We also included an other example of what his youtube channel can offer, which includes courses on drawing Transformers like Grimlock.
As for the claim that this is the most detailed Trypticon drawing out there, Studio Ox may want a word in (if this below is considered a drawing).

Posted by Randomhero on November 27th, 2017 @ 10:06pm CST
Detail is great until you start looking at something and get confused because there’s too much detail and have a hard time deciphering stuff
Posted by steve2275 on November 27th, 2017 @ 10:08pm CST
Posted by Targetmaster Kup on November 28th, 2017 @ 5:27am CST
Posted by dragons on November 28th, 2017 @ 7:13am CST
Posted by bluecatcinema on November 28th, 2017 @ 7:44am CST