IDW Revolutionaries #4 iTunes Preview

Ok lion head chest flamethrower is cool.

More of that please!

Razorclaw's head is... certainly looking quite a bit different.
Not that I mind. Bring on the Predaking! Wonder if they'll have any Stormbringer or Spotlight Jazz flashbacks with Kup...

So, I guess the Predacons are stranded on Earth following Galvatron's attack.

That probably means Flamefeather, Squawktalk, Beastbox, Cutthroat, Cindersaur, and Red Wing are doing something here too, I'm guessing random appearances in various comics

Soundwave902 wrote:So, I guess the Predacons are stranded on Earth following Galvatron's attack.

That probably means Flamefeather, Squawktalk, Beastbox, Cutthroat, Cindersaur, and Red Wing are doing something here too, I'm guessing random appearances in various comics

Knowing IDW their dead wasted potential or will never be heard from again.

The Predacons have never looked more awesome! And seeing Ironblood, Iron Klaw, and Blitz is making my inner Joe fan geek out too! Honestly, I never really cared for Revolutionaries much, but now I think I might just have to pick it up!

Hrm. Might have to read up on Revolutionaries. It has seemed fun from what I've heard.

Big Grim wrote:Hrm. Might have to read up on Revolutionaries. It has seemed fun from what I've heard.

Its quality fluctuates imo but it's not that bad, and focusing on a smaller ragtag group of characters rather than all the big names and all their teams and all their major antagonists like Revolution had to is most certainly a huge advantage. It's a bit rough around the edges but this sort of thing shows why I was really down on Revolution and the prospect of other big crossovers happening constantly but why I'm actually quite enthusiastic about the shared universe itself; it makes the world a lot bigger and you have the potential for a lot of interesting little connections and team-ups.

Deadput wrote:

Soundwave902 wrote:So, I guess the Predacons are stranded on Earth following Galvatron's attack.

That probably means Flamefeather, Squawktalk, Beastbox, Cutthroat, Cindersaur, and Red Wing are doing something here too, I'm guessing random appearances in various comics

Knowing IDW their dead wasted potential or will never be heard from again.

I dunno... although I'm still reading pre-Dark Cybertron stuff, I'd say they're just as likely to give them a Spotlight.

Also, glad to hear IDW is succeeding on multiple fronts. I was just thinking about IDW Predaking from the covers featured a while back.

Big Grim wrote:Hrm. Might have to read up on Revolutionaries. It has seemed fun from what I've heard.

it's pretty good. It, in my opinion, is what Revolution was meant to be but never got to be. it's good, and the Kup/Action Man duo is pretty fun! My favorite human/tf pair up in this universe, right there with Verity and Springer

MagicDeath wrote:

Deadput wrote:

Soundwave902 wrote:So, I guess the Predacons are stranded on Earth following Galvatron's attack.

That probably means Flamefeather, Squawktalk, Beastbox, Cutthroat, Cindersaur, and Red Wing are doing something here too, I'm guessing random appearances in various comics

Knowing IDW their dead wasted potential or will never be heard from again.

I dunno... although I'm still reading pre-Dark Cybertron stuff, I'd say they're just as likely to give them a Spotlight.

Also, glad to hear IDW is succeeding on multiple fronts. I was just thinking about IDW Predaking from the covers featured a while back.

This probably won't happen, but it would be funny to see a "Revenge Squad" of sorts to attack Sanctuary Station for leaving them behind

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Big Grim wrote:Hrm. Might have to read up on Revolutionaries. It has seemed fun from what I've heard.

it's pretty good. It, in my opinion, is what Revolution was meant to be but never got to be. it's good, and the Kup/Action Man duo is pretty fun! My favorite human/tf pair up in this universe, right there with Verity and Springer

Awesome! That kinda human TF interaction is how I like it.

Big Grim wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Big Grim wrote:Hrm. Might have to read up on Revolutionaries. It has seemed fun from what I've heard.

it's pretty good. It, in my opinion, is what Revolution was meant to be but never got to be. it's good, and the Kup/Action Man duo is pretty fun! My favorite human/tf pair up in this universe, right there with Verity and Springer

Awesome! That kinda human TF interaction is how I like it.

Also kind of helps that Action Man ends up being one of the Revolution comics that's actually pretty good. It's only gone for 4 issues so far which take place before Revolution - I'd recommend them, pretty fun - and Action Man himself is an enjoyable character.
Revolution was a bit of a mess but there are some properties involved that are pretty great.

I got a couple of Action Man issues from the last IDW Humble Bundle. I liked him. He seemed fun!

Big Grim wrote:I got a couple of Action Man issues from the last IDW Humble Bundle. I liked him. He seemed fun!

That's actually every issue of Action Man so far Revolutionaries has essentially become his ongoing for now.

Big Grim wrote:I got a couple of Action Man issues from the last IDW Humble Bundle. I liked him. He seemed fun!

Love the character, and his pairing up with Kup. It is literally perfect

Kurona wrote:

Big Grim wrote:I got a couple of Action Man issues from the last IDW Humble Bundle. I liked him. He seemed fun!

That's actually every issue of Action Man so far Revolutionaries has essentially become his ongoing for now.

Really? Huh. I liked him.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Big Grim wrote:I got a couple of Action Man issues from the last IDW Humble Bundle. I liked him. He seemed fun!

Love the character, and his pairing up with Kup. It is literally perfect

This makes me happy. I think I'll check this out!

Synopsis

BLAST FROM THE PAST! In the deadly catacombs beneath an ancient pyramid, Joe Colton—the original G.I. Joe—found something far worse than any curse or boobytrap. He found the Decepticon Soundwave... scouring Earth for Cybertron's salvation. Their meeting remained classified—until the Revolutionaries crashed headlong into the modern-day results!



Story

This is a very late review indeed, but one that I had promised myself I would get back to once life had stopped being so busy this side of a keyboard, and before the next issue. So apologies, first of all, and I hope you'll forgive the weird scheduling of it all. Call it 'doing an IDW' if you want. Onwards!



The third issue of the strangely appealing Revolutionaries series, or, the Adventures of Action Man and Kup in the Hasbro Universe (and I Guess Some Other Characters Too) delves into some very old and obscure Transformers stories, along with some cinematic classics, and actually delivers a decently satisfying book in its long flashback format - with a bit of a pleasing twist or two towards the end.



John Barber nicely works in a lot of backstories for teams we'll probably never really encounter, and still make the various universes fit into the very complex timeline of both GI Joe and Transformers comics (in their IDW incarnation, of course), while also fully revelling in the references and easter eggs scattered throughout the book. It's good to see the fun being had, and the results show.

Art

Ron Joseph's art is an interesting take on what is going in the book, as I felt that the style suited the entirety of the characters really well - especially with the flashback work framing of the story - except for the one entirely non-organic character: Soundwave. Or rather, his head. I have no criticisms anywhere else, but the head/face for the Cybertronian just felt a little off.



Colourist Sebastian Cheng, usually working with Fico Ossio on a much glossier look, does some pretty impressive colour works on here, keeping the sandy, dusty, grainy feel of both the setting in space (Egypt) and time (the past) in a significantly different approach to other books he works with. Very pleasing indeed.



The usual caption devices, both in narration and exposition, work really really well here, and Tom B. Long makes sure of it, along with some crafty sound effects and production. As for the covers, they are all easily accessible via our database page (along with full character roster too, here), but the one highlighted specifically in the thumbnail is another take by Joseph and TF vet JP Bove on the issue's contents.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Once again, I find myself having to say 'if you're not reading the crossover-y titles, it's fine' but with an issue such as this one, and if you've been an IDW reader for Transformers and/or GI Joe - and trust John 'Continuity' Barber, plus Hedgecock and Mariotte both assisting on editing work - you'll probably enjoy it even if just for the hunt the hints games you can play throughout. It's a step out of the current Talisman story, but still about that story.



With MASK not doing too well editorially, Miles Mayhem gets a bit of a shine here; Micronauts have a cameo (see above, second image); Soundwave is at his snappiest; the ending made the whole thing fit into the current Revolutionaries timeframe, and we have some major hints as to what may happen in the next issues too. Seriously, take some time to give it a chance.

The G1 Predacons are back and at the forefront of this next issue of Revolutionaries.

Check out the preview, courtesy of Multiversity comics, below full of Predacon goodness!

Written by John Barber
Illustrated by Fico Ossio
Colored by Sebastian Cheng
Lettered by Tom B. Long

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!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
The secret history of Cybertonians on Earth—but how can it be!
Who is behind the Cobra Commander mask?!
Springing from the fan-favorite Transformers: Hearts of Steel limited series!
Variant cover by John Royle!

Yeah, I don't like these crossover books were humans take center stage. Even Kup isn't getting the respect he deserves from mouthy, iratating humans.

A Predaking one shot or Mini-series would've been nice, not as minions for some lame human terrorist group!

This book is a pass.

I love how all thr humans in Hasbro properties have teams divided between good and bad, amd they know the differences between the good guys and the bad guys, and they wear badges to differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys, but when the Transformers tell them they have good guys and bad guys and there's a way to easily differentiate the good guys from the bad guys, THAT is mind-blowing information.

I mean, you're GI Joe. You fight Cobra. You can handle Autobots and Deceptions.