James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics

Friday, June 22nd, 2018 2:06AM CDT

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Courtesy of comics journalism outlet Comics Beat, we have a lengthy interview piece with IDW Publishing's James Roberts, writer of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye and Lost Light - along with co-writing Chaos Theory and Last Stand of the Wreckers - about the run about to end (if IDW schedules ever allow that to happen, that is) on this version of the narrative Cybertronian universe.

The full piece, which you can read here, touches on a number of topics, such as planning, storyline changes, particular character developments and cast handling, Tarn and Getaway, Conjunx endurae across the board, and the Scavengers! Read some highlights below, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub

With you planning so far ahead, did any of your long-term planning change along the way?

You know, I was all ready to say that the basic mytharc — that is, the overall shape of the story I set out to tell back in 2011 — has remained broadly the same, but now that I’m an issue away from the end, I don’t think that’s true. Megatron’s defection to the Autobots, which was something no one predicted back in the beginning, did change the course of the story in more ways than I imagined at the time. And I think he changed it for the better; it made for a richer, deeper story, and one that better explores the key themes of More Than Meets the Eye and Lost Light: guilt, family, and forgiveness.

[...]

Are there any teases you can draw towards mysteries fans may not be keeping their eye on?

Well, I kind of refer you to my previous answer. The readers are so attentive, and they’re so used by now to my style of storytelling, that very few clues go unnoticed. In fact, what tends to happen is that non-clues get seized upon as evidence of an imaginary plot line that’s always, frustratingly, better than the one I’ve got planned.

I will say, however, that the finale is designed to answer all the questions that have been building up over the last seven years, including some that may have been forgotten about, or to which it appeared that the answers had already been given.

[...]

Is there anything you would like to add about the book?

Oh god, where to start? With regards to the last few issues specifically, I’ve really tried to deliver the finale that long-time readers deserve. It’s like our earlier season finales rolled into one and amplified. It’s huge, and it needs to be because this is where all those years of readers’ investment pay off. Characters get their moment to shine, or meet their end, and mysteries are finally, properly solved. The cast is absolutely huge, as is the scale – it really is like our version of Infinity War. And I’ll make no apologies – there’s a lot going on.

More generally, I’d like to say that for me, there will never be another book – or another creative journey – quite like More Than Meets the Eye and Lost Light. As a Transformers fan back in the 80s/90s, this is the One Big Story that I always wanted to tell, and everything just fell into place at the right time. Best of all, it turns out there was a market for whatever it was MTMTE turned out to be: a silly, serious, funny-sad space opera sitcom about very ordinary, very extraordinary people.

Credit(s): Comics Beat

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Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966085)
Posted by misfire19d on June 22nd, 2018 @ 11:40am CDT

“very extraordinary people”
If I want stories about extraordinary people I’ll read The X-Men or watch The CW. If I want to read stories about Transformers I’ll, well, wait till next year.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966097)
Posted by Black Bumblebee on June 22nd, 2018 @ 1:28pm CDT

misfire19d wrote:“very extraordinary people”
If I want stories about extraordinary people I’ll read The X-Men or watch The CW. If I want to read stories about Transformers I’ll, well, wait till next year.

So... you don't see the Transformers characters as extraordinary characters? o.O okay...

The intent of the line was to discuss them as characters who are unique, but if you want to go the X-Men superhero route... G1 already did that: Windcharger, magnet powers. Skywarp, teleport powers. Hound, hologram powers. Trailbreaker, force-fields. Mindwipe, telepathy.... and so on, and so on...

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966138)
Posted by mel2112 on June 22nd, 2018 @ 6:20pm CDT

Dear Mr. Roberts,

Please don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966170)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on June 22nd, 2018 @ 10:55pm CDT

mel2112 wrote:Dear Mr. Roberts,

Please don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!

No, let it hit him. Maybe it'll drive home the point that he should never come back.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966193)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 23rd, 2018 @ 2:38am CDT

I know you don't like him buy is that really necessary? Other people are sad to see him go after all. Also be careful what you say as I think he could easily return to tf after a couple years break, he did win some awards after all.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966265)
Posted by Ironhidensh on June 23rd, 2018 @ 1:03pm CDT

Rodimus Prime wrote:
mel2112 wrote:Dear Mr. Roberts,

Please don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!
No, let it hit him. Maybe it'll drive home the point that he should never come back.

I, for one, will happily hold to door open for him, and welcome him back with open arms should he ever decide to return.

Roberts, in my opinion, is the best transformers writer in the history of the franchise.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966267)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 23rd, 2018 @ 1:23pm CDT

Ironhidensh wrote:Roberts, in my opinion, is the best transformers writer in the history of the franchise.

Debatable, if Simon Furman didn't exist.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966279)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 23rd, 2018 @ 2:17pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:Roberts, in my opinion, is the best transformers writer in the history of the franchise.

Debatable, if Simon Furman didn't exist.

Only of we count furman at his prime, he too got a bit middling at the end. Don't know about his writing now mind, he may have rejuvenated with his absence.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966281)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 23rd, 2018 @ 2:23pm CDT

Re-G1 wasn't that great but Origin to the -Ations made IDWverse what it is and those stories still hold up.

In contrast, I have noticed the shift in tone regarding opinion of Roberts from the beginning of MTMTE to LL. That is in only six years, mind you. Even by your assessment above, Furman's "decline" took a couple of decades.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966285)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 23rd, 2018 @ 2:31pm CDT

Depends on how you view the g2 comics :-P

some weren't happy about the introduction of budding after all :lol:

wonder what he's even doing these days?

To Google!

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966353)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on June 23rd, 2018 @ 11:27pm CDT

ZeroWolf wrote:I know you don't like him buy is that really necessary? Other people are sad to see him go after all. Also be careful what you say as I think he could easily return to tf after a couple years break, he did win some awards after all.

Oh I'm sure IDW will gladly have him back. And I have no problem with people thinking he's a good writer, it's a matter of opinion. I just think he's a mediocre TF writer at best, a notch above the gaggle of hacks who wrote the Bayverse films. But that has to do with my utter disappointment in the last 3rd of MTMTE and the 1st half of LL. MTMTE began with a lot of fun and promise, but it began to decline soon after, and after issue 40 or so, just went to toilet paper quality. I had hoped that LL would redeem it, but that hasn't happened. I'm not judging LL, because I have yet to read past issue 12, but I'm hard-pressed to believe the entire story will be saved.

ANYWAY. I don't want to keep bringing up my reasons, like you said, it's known that I don't think much of him as a TF writer.

I will finish LL for better or worse when the TPBs come out, as I find that reading the story in larger chunks makes it more tolerable. But I doubt I will spend any more of my time and money on anything Roberts writes in the future.

And comparing him to Furman is laughable, especially to Simon from the latter run if G1. Greatest. TF stories. EVER. In my opinion. I also think G2 would have been pretty good if he was allowed to finish it. ReGeneration One? I was very excited for it when it started, but it became clear quickly that Furman has lost a couple of steps. Recently I started thinking about it in a better light, but it was disappointing as well through the middle. Good beginning, decent ending, but it left a lot to be desired in the 2nd and 3rd story arcs.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966367)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 24th, 2018 @ 3:39am CDT

Furman did finish g2 in a way with the alignment comic he put out unofficially, and he revisited elements of it in the regeneration 1 comic.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966372)
Posted by ausbot on June 24th, 2018 @ 5:36am CDT

I'm looking forward to what do they with Transformers comics next, I stopped reading over the last few years,

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966373)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 24th, 2018 @ 5:40am CDT

ausbot wrote:I'm looking forward to what do they with Transformers comics next, I stopped reading over the last few years,

Same. I tapped out with Death of Optimus Prime, as I didn't like the overly humanising direction the series was going in (anti-Transformers, as a friend said to me). I'm hopeful the new series can recapture my imagination in the same way Origin and the -Ations did.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966399)
Posted by Ironhidensh on June 24th, 2018 @ 8:07am CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:Roberts, in my opinion, is the best transformers writer in the history of the franchise.

Debatable, if Simon Furman didn't exist.

Maybe this is the differnce. I find Furman's work to be, well, I don't want to offend people, but I don't like his pre IDW work.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966423)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 24th, 2018 @ 11:16am CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
ausbot wrote:I'm looking forward to what do they with Transformers comics next, I stopped reading over the last few years,

Same. I tapped out with Death of Optimus Prime, as I didn't like the overly humanising direction the series was going in (anti-Transformers, as a friend said to me). I'm hopeful the new series can recapture my imagination in the same way Origin and the -Ations did.

I still don't understand this sentiment, I don't see how they are humanising them any more than the comics did previous (including marvel, dw and early idw), or even more then any animation or the live action films.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966437)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 24th, 2018 @ 12:49pm CDT

Ironhidensh wrote:
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:Roberts, in my opinion, is the best transformers writer in the history of the franchise.

Debatable, if Simon Furman didn't exist.

Maybe this is the differnce. I find Furman's work to be, well, I don't want to offend people, but I don't like his pre IDW work.

Not need to preface that. I'd like to think we're all adults here who accept personal taste varies from person to person. Nothing to be "offended" by.

Personally, other than two Marvel stories, I didn't acknowledge any Transformer comics before IDW. If it wasn't a cartoon, game or toy, I wasn't interested. I'm learning about the rest retroactively through the part-work. A lot of it doesn't hold up.

ZeroWolf wrote:
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
ausbot wrote:I'm looking forward to what do they with Transformers comics next, I stopped reading over the last few years,

Same. I tapped out with Death of Optimus Prime, as I didn't like the overly humanising direction the series was going in (anti-Transformers, as a friend said to me). I'm hopeful the new series can recapture my imagination in the same way Origin and the -Ations did.

I still don't understand this sentiment, I don't see how they are humanising them any more than the comics did previous (including marvel, dw and early idw), or even more then any animation or the live action films.

Guffaws, pets, Faux Latin, pseudo-psychology, romance, the "power of friendship" etc etc
I don't remember any of that in Origin, the -Ations, Spotlights or even LSoTW.
Outside of IDW, the gold standard in Transformers is you use Humans for humanising. Or even in series they are not present (ala Beast Wars) you draw a line, so people still know they are an advanced sentient cybernetic race.

Read Stormbringer, then any equally sized arc from MTMTE/LL and you will see the difference.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966447)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 24th, 2018 @ 1:59pm CDT

When you say guffaws do you mean jokes or something else?

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966448)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 24th, 2018 @ 2:01pm CDT

ZeroWolf wrote:When you say guffaws do you mean jokes or something else?

When you lean so hard into comedy you alter the tone of the work.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966452)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 24th, 2018 @ 2:33pm CDT

What if the tone was meant to be humorous anyway? Mtmte was supposed to be light hearted from the get go.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966453)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 24th, 2018 @ 2:38pm CDT

ZeroWolf wrote:What if the tone was meant to be humorous anyway? Mtmte was supposed to be light hearted from the get go.

IDWverse as a whole, wasn't. The disparity was akin to going from Battlestar Galactica (2004) to Red Dwarf.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966458)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 24th, 2018 @ 3:21pm CDT

I don't know about that I think the tf universe is big and full of quirky characters that you could do multiple styles without stepping on toes, in fact idw did for a while with rid/op, TaaO and MtMtE/LL each had their own style and ran with it. I don't see why it's any different than what the big two do, or why should it be any different. Also considering Red Dwarfs inspirations; I could easily see that being part of the blade Runner universe ;-)

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966473)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 24th, 2018 @ 4:25pm CDT

The difference being is there is no real contrast. The equivalent of everyone in Beast Wars becoming Rattrap/Waspinator from one season to the next.

The Big Two still consider the source material as the foundation for the story, not just window dressing for whatever story the writer actually wants to tell.

Batman is still Batman, the X-Men are still allegory for oppressed minorities. First and foremost, The Transformers are shape-shifting Giant Alien Robots. You work off of that premise or you're not actually writing Transformers at all.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966477)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 24th, 2018 @ 4:44pm CDT

Or maybe you look past that and see them as characters with their own personalities...their sparks if you will? Also do you have proof that alien races have no concept of any of the things you claim to be humanising elements? I mean it's not something you can prove or disprove really so it really becomes opinion, and one that I fall pretty much on the side of: they aren't a problem in the slightest. I mean I rather focus on the bigger things then the little things that are meant to make the characters feel three dimensional. Basically just because they are alien giant robots doesn't mean they have not act like that and become one dimensional representations of tech specs. I mean if an alien species choosing to spend time with another because of mutual interests or a desire for company destroys your suspension of dis belief then I have to question how you got past humanoid looking alien giant robots in the first place.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966596)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 25th, 2018 @ 7:59am CDT

ZeroWolf wrote:Or maybe you look past that and see them as characters with their own personalities...their sparks if you will?

Which many, many writers have achieved without making them human caricatures.

ZeroWolf wrote: Also do you have proof that alien races have no concept of any of the things you claim to be humanising elements? I mean it's not something you can prove or disprove really

I mean I rather focus on the bigger things then the little things that are meant to make the characters feel three dimensional. Basically just because they are alien giant robots doesn't mean they have not act like that and become one dimensional representations of tech specs. I mean if an alien species choosing to spend time with another because of mutual interests or a desire for company destroys your suspension of dis belief then I have to question how you got past humanoid looking alien giant robots in the first place.

I've seen variations on this answer before, so let's cut through the BS of it's overtly sardonic tone and point it directly at Transformers. With Transformers, there is a line, as I've said before. Lean too heavily over it, you are just writing people in cosplay. The "proof" that that line exists for a reason and works elsewhere?

The Award Winning Beast Wars and Transformers: Prime?

They humanise but not to excess. It's not a case of either Humans in Robot suits or Tech Specs. That is needlessly reductive and somewhat dismissive of the franchise as a whole.

I don't recall Simon Furman's G1 or IDW work being 'Tech Specs' and it wasn't pandering to the mentality of it's era either. The next shift in attitude, likely in the next decade, public opinion will likely change once more and a critical and dismissive eye will be cast on everything that dated itself in that era IE That was so 90's etc This era will likely be mocked for it's bizarre social politics.

To reiterate, I don't want a person in a Robot cosplay talking about their feelings, gender politics and guffaws. There are plenty of books for that, written by far more well informed and capable people. Yet I don't want two robots smashing against each other either. That's the mass media tripe that Bayformers sells.

I want balance and that is what I am looking to the Rebooted Universe for. I joked about it before but maybe putting someone like Grant Morrison at the helm would give the series the jolt of new life and purpose it deserves.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966598)
Posted by Ironhidensh on June 25th, 2018 @ 8:03am CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
ZeroWolf wrote:Or maybe you look past that and see them as characters with their own personalities...their sparks if you will?

Which many, many writers have achieved without making them human caricatures.

ZeroWolf wrote: Also do you have proof that alien races have no concept of any of the things you claim to be humanising elements? I mean it's not something you can prove or disprove really

I mean I rather focus on the bigger things then the little things that are meant to make the characters feel three dimensional. Basically just because they are alien giant robots doesn't mean they have not act like that and become one dimensional representations of tech specs. I mean if an alien species choosing to spend time with another because of mutual interests or a desire for company destroys your suspension of dis belief then I have to question how you got past humanoid looking alien giant robots in the first place.

I've seen variations on this answer before, so let's cut through the BS of it's overtly sardonic tone and point it directly at Transformers. With Transformers, there is a line, as I've said before. Lean too heavily over it, you are just writing people in cosplay. The "proof" that that line exists for a reason and works elsewhere?

The Award Winning Beast Wars and Transformers: Prime?

They humanise but not to excess. It's not a case of either Humans in Robot suits or Tech Specs. That is needlessly reductive and somewhat dismissive of the franchise as a whole.

I don't recall Simon Furman's G1 or IDW work being 'Tech Specs' and it wasn't pandering to the mentality of it's era either. The next shift in attitude, likely in the next decade, public opinion will likely change once more and a critical and dismissive eye will be cast on everything that dated itself in that era IE That was so 90's etc This era will likely be mocked for it's bizarre social politics.

To reiterate, I don't want a person in a Robot cosplay talking about their feelings, gender politics and guffaws. There are plenty of books for that, written by far more well informed and capable people. Yet I don't want two robots smashing against each other either. That's the mass media tripe that Bayformers sells.

I want balance and that is what I am looking to the Rebooted Universe for. I joked about it before but maybe putting someone like Grant Morrison at the helm would give the series the jolt of new life and purpose it deserves.

I think this is just a matter if opinion. I don't see any difference in the "humanizing" in MTMTE, than I do in Beast Wars or Prime.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966600)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 25th, 2018 @ 8:15am CDT

Ok, if that's what you think. Find Rung and/or Swerve's Bar and point out their contemporaries within Prime and Beast Wars?

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966603)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 25th, 2018 @ 8:25am CDT

Megatron having a rubber ducky and brushing his dinosaur teeth with a toothbrush? Also what about macadam oil house? That existed before idw. Isn't having a code of honour a humanising aspect? I agree with ironhideish that this is just a matter of opinion, and it's not the thing that brought down this continuity.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966609)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 25th, 2018 @ 8:38am CDT

A rubber ducky or toothbrush were just things, not a human institution. Again, this isn't about having no humanising aspects, you have to have something relatable for the mass market to grasp, as many struggle with the notion the Transformers are aliens and not just bigger versions of ASIMO.

This is about making them so human, they cease to be believable as anything other. The fact that MTMTE/LL had a whole issue with the cast as human avatars and it wasn't jarring in the slightest reinforces that point.

What brought down this continuity, is no single thing. It never is that simple. Usually decline sales, often in licensed IP's it comes down to a change in artistic direction from the license holders.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966742)
Posted by starfishy on June 25th, 2018 @ 6:23pm CDT

yeah, I’m not following this ‘overly humanizing’ critique at all.

From the get go, transformers turn into tractor trailers, helicopters and frikkin dinosaurs. What could be more humanizing than that?

Sure they are alien robots, but they are sentient, so I’m not seeing the problem. A good writer crafts a story around characters, unlike the live action films. I’m only on book 6 of MTMTE but so far it’s one of the best character driven transformers stories out there, for me at least.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966768)
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on June 25th, 2018 @ 7:43pm CDT

Thanks to a Tweet from James Roberts himself, we have a new cover of Lost Light to show you, and this one is Geoff Senior's cover for Lost Light Issue 21! The cover features Geoff Senior's ever classic art styles utilized on the Lost Light crew, along with the Scavengers. The colors for the cover are done by Josh Burcham. This very team also did the flashback scenes for Requiem of the Wreckers, and they continue to showcase their talent here.

Check out the cover below, and let us know what you think of Geoff Senior's and Josh Burcham's cover below! Do you like the fact that Geoff is back in action, doing some panel work and some covers? Let us know as well!

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966805)
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on June 25th, 2018 @ 11:38pm CDT

Love Geoff Senior and his work always has so much style and energy to it but even he can't make that Rodimus design look good.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966856)
Posted by Quint on June 26th, 2018 @ 6:24am CDT

It looks like a coloured-in convention doodle.

I hope the reboot refrains from using nostalgia artists, with the possible exception of Don Figueroa. This isn't the same Geoff Senior who did Target:2006, Legacy of Unicron or Edge of Extinction. Whether he's out of practice (though he's been doing these guest spots off-and-on for a few years now) or the purse from IDW is miserly, it's starting to cannibalise his legacy a tad.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966860)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 26th, 2018 @ 6:50am CDT

I don't think it's that bad, but I do want to see more fresh talent brought up through the ranks, same with writers. I still think they should have an anthology type deal where every few months they put out a book which is several one shot stories of tf fiction where a new writer and a new artist is teamed up and we see what the result is.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966872)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 26th, 2018 @ 7:18am CDT

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Love Geoff Senior and his work always has so much style and energy to it but even he can't make that Rodimus design look good.

Agreed.

ZeroWolf wrote:I don't think it's that bad, but I do want to see more fresh talent brought up through the ranks, same with writers. I still think they should have an anthology type deal where every few months they put out a book which is several one shot stories of tf fiction where a new writer and a new artist is teamed up and we see what the result is.

Definitely agreed on bringing in New talent and New ideas. Hopefully they also refrain from the kind of art used in the Primacy Trilogy too. Certainly not a fan of any of that.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966891)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 26th, 2018 @ 8:35am CDT

Yeah I wasn't a fan of that style either, but I'm sure there was some who liked it for what it was.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1966902)
Posted by Big Grim on June 26th, 2018 @ 9:09am CDT

Geoff Senior is my fav classic TF artist. Met him at Auto Assembly years ago. Nice fella. Got a signed Death's Head print.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967074)
Posted by Sagitta on June 27th, 2018 @ 2:14am CDT

Stormshot_Prime wrote:
DarkEnergon wrote:Ok, I'm really confused, but kind of excited, too. Here is one spoiler question someone has got to be able to explain to me:

Why the @#$@ are Perceptor, Hound, etc. sparkeaters?

Did I miss something, or is it just implied that Getaway did something?

We can only assume. Remember the sparkeater gun that Brainstorm created? This seems to be playing off the vision that Drift has back in issue 1, so there’s also a big possibility that Pharma is at work here too. If his body was dragged to this medical facility, we can only assume he was repaired before his spark faded.

Which raises another question, was the place Skids saw through the portal this same “Cyberutopia”? What of those orbs of light speaking in symbols?

The TF Wiki has some general background information that might be helpful https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Sparkeater_(creature) - but as for who's now what and why...that's one of those plots left for the upcoming issue I suppose.

Still, maybe blame it all on Getaway?

As for Skids & the orbs...maybe it was some sort of Iconic Telepathy?

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967095)
Posted by skyshadowprimus on June 27th, 2018 @ 5:22am CDT

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Thanks to a Tweet from James Roberts himself, we have a new cover of Lost Light to show you, and this one is Geoff Senior's cover for Lost Light Issue 21! The cover features Geoff Senior's ever classic art styles utilized on the Lost Light crew, along with the Scavengers. The colors for the cover are done by Josh Burcham. This very team also did the flashback scenes for Requiem of the Wreckers, and they continue to showcase their talent here.

Check out the cover below, and let us know what you think of Geoff Senior's and Josh Burcham's cover below! Do you like the fact that Geoff is back in action, doing some panel work and some covers? Let us know as well!

Seeing Ultra Magnus and Rodimus being drawn by Geoff Senior has really slammed it home to me how much LL and other comics have changed the franchise and perceptions of the characters.

In comics from 1986-1991 these were serious characters who had some gravitas to them, now they are caricatures of themselves where Geoff's cover conveys a sense of urgency but the interior will be filled with cliches and other distractions.

I have enjoyed Lost Light and MTMTE before it but every issue I'm seeing it more far removed from the original serious action comic that I really loved as a child and later as an adult, Roberts does have his moments but more and more of late he is throwing in political statements that are less and less subtle. "Will of the people" "Fake news" and "Strong and Stable" to name a few, these were so blatant in his pushing his own political views onto others and done so in a mocking way that it takes over the story so it feels like I'm reading his own political views with some transformers stories woven in around them as opposed to the other way around.

With all that said he does write some good stories but I'm feeling that he is running out of steam and doing a bit of a lazy handwaving job to tie it all up in the end so much so that I don't feel much connection with the characters on an emotional level, that I did say when reading Marvel 80 or Armada etc. It feels far more like watching an episode of Friends which is comedy driven that tries to throw serious issues in for a change but never really pulls it off quite well so when you get to the end it just doesn't resonate with you.

Keen to get answers to where Skids went and the fate of Pharma and others such as Sentinel Prime, but fully prepared for the fact these will meet my expectations as well as the scheduled release dates of the issues...

Rant over

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967098)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 27th, 2018 @ 5:42am CDT

I don't think Roberts will touch on sentinel prime, in fact I don't think the titans returns stuff went down to well at all. So anything lingering will be completely forgotten. I also don't mind the characters being different as this is idw not marvel, the same that hot rod isn't rodimus from Energon. We also shouldn't want them the same, otherwise what's the point as their stories were concluded. What happens now doesn't take away from what's been done.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967101)
Posted by skyshadowprimus on June 27th, 2018 @ 7:05am CDT

ZeroWolf wrote:I don't think Roberts will touch on sentinel prime, in fact I don't think the titans returns stuff went down to well at all. So anything lingering will be completely forgotten. I also don't mind the characters being different as this is idw not marvel, the same that hot rod isn't rodimus from Energon. We also shouldn't want them the same, otherwise what's the point as their stories were concluded. What happens now doesn't take away from what's been done.

While I agree in principal that we shouldn't ask for a total rehash, Transformers to be has been a primarily action themed story with other elements woven in.

It's moved along way away from that core premise to something that if done today as a fresh new show, probably wouldn't appeal to me as a child as it's too slapstick without much gravitas.

Guess in 20 years time our kids will be talking about this though as the golden era as we all do about Marvel's heyday 8-}

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967106)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 27th, 2018 @ 7:32am CDT

Nah they'll remember the bay movies as the golden age :lol:

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967121)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 27th, 2018 @ 9:48am CDT

Okay, I've heard variations on this a lot now: "This book too overt with it's politics", "Get politics out of my comic" etc I often ascribe this attitude to people who are new to comics. Because political satire and allegory have been a thing in comics since they started in Newspapers.

If you want nuanced, subtle politics I'd advise you to read an actual book, because comics are a dynamic and visual medium and throw their message at you. The younger the audience the book is aimed at, the less depth there is to the message. Yet the message does still exist, it is simply over their heads.

Let's be frank, nothing about the politics of this era is new in any way. The internet has just made the naysayers more vocal.

Transformers can be taken as a parable on Warfare and it's escalation. A large scale study on the cause and effect of something so deeply tied into the history of our own species. It would be fascinating to see someone try to humanise War through this series. To educate on the cost of war and the toll it takes on life, resources etc

Without two robots mindlessly smashing against each other and without patronising guffaws. It hasn't been done yet, the writer hasn't risen to the challenge. Stories have been tailored at selling the next wave of toys or a writer telling the stories they want with Robot skins over it. Both of these facets can still be integrated into a more fixed narrative, a commitment to an all encompassing serialised storyline would require a big ask of HasTak and a singular uncompromising editorial/creative vision. Which I'm not entirely sure is achievable long term with a licensed property. Yet I am hopeful the Rebooted Universe can give as something new. Unbeholden to out of date G1 and the other dated series that can after it. Time will tell.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967168)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 27th, 2018 @ 12:54pm CDT

I think a more in depth look at what it means to be at war like you put would be good but I think it would get naysayed by a few still, because theses small number of people want a guilt free war, sadly.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967173)
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on June 27th, 2018 @ 1:06pm CDT

Not really related to IDW but I love these Geoff Senior pics on his site. Both for conventions and depicting Transformers at those locations where the conventions were held.

Megatron and a very blue (G2?) Grimlock battle at the Isle of Wight (that grass looks a bit too toxic with that choice of green but other than that and the super bright sky in both images I love this)

megatron_grimlock.jpg

Unicron obliterating the seaside town of Brighton. I've always loved Senior's rather savage badass version of Unicron as opposed to the mostly immobile version depicted in the 86 movie.

Unicron_v_Brighton_copy.jpg

Still by far my fave TF artist. There are those who do better defined details and shapes and such but none have the sharp kinetic style I crave from my Transformers comics (and I still far prefer the way he draws G1 faces than any other TF artist since... Roche is probably among my least favourite for that..too many weird goblin faces...)

Follow his Instagram for cool Transformers pics.

https://www.instagram.com/senior.geoff/

Anyways i'll leave this topic now. Enjoy your idw comics, dudes.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967181)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 27th, 2018 @ 1:47pm CDT

That unicron pic is epic!

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967195)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on June 27th, 2018 @ 2:27pm CDT

ZeroWolf wrote:That unicron pic is epic!

Agreed. I also agree with comic Unicron being more menacing than movie Unicron, even though the animation in the scene when he transforms is beautifully done.

Even though my all-time favorites are Andrew Wildman and Guido Guidi, I also like Senior's work a lot. I didn't care for his style when I was younger, but I appreciate it more now. Did he do the entire run of the Marvel UK comics?

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967201)
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 27th, 2018 @ 2:34pm CDT

Not all of them but he did do the majority. Never realised he did zoids either, loved that one as a kid.

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967237)
Posted by Quint on June 27th, 2018 @ 4:28pm CDT

Nah, he was used quite sparingly, usually for the first part of one of Simon Furman's epics.

It was quite a disappointment, even as a nipper, knowing that Legacy of Unicron was going to be his last UK interior.

However when he returned a couple of years later, it was a treat.

As for Lost Light 19... when was that pushed back??

Was looking forward to read it today

Re: James Roberts on Ending the IDW Transformers: Lost Light Comics (1967870)
Posted by Va'al on July 1st, 2018 @ 2:15am CDT

Fellow Seibertronian Spades has shared with us the full preview - courtesy of Comic Crusaders - for next week's new comic from IDW Publishing and their Transformers ongoing series: Lost Light #19! We return to recaps, to Scavengers, to Team Rodimus, and plenty of new challenges, with the art of Transformers comics veteran EJ Su - check it all out below, and join us next week for a review and more discussion as the final arc of the series begins here!

DEATH FROM ABOVE!

Years ago, the crew of the Lost Light fought a demonic Cybertronian mutant that fed on its victims’ souls. Years later, Rodimus and Co. are about to discover that the only thing worse than a sparkeater… is an army of sparkeaters!