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Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot)

Transformers News: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot)

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016 4:11PM CDT

Categories: Site News, Comic Book News, Reviews
Posted by: Va'al   Views: 38,692

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Big Trouble in Micro Verse
(Spoiler free-ish)



Synopsis
WINDBLADE ON EARTH! The mysterious link between METROTITAN and MICROSPACE threatens to tear two universes apart, and only WINDBLADE has a chance to heal the Titan… and there she learns a terrifying secret that changes the stakes of the REVOLUTION.

Transformers News: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot)
They're definitely in this comic too


Story

We return the world of Till All Are One - which is pretty much the whole universe, given the presence of the Council of Worlds - for this one-shot of IDW's Revolution crossover, only to find out that while the universe out there is much bigger than it seems, it is also much smaller too - and may hold bigger revelations than we thought.

Transformers News: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot)
CLUUUUEEEEESSSS


Some of the lines in this issue, storywise, were vaguely spoiled by the release order of Revolution being off - and we had the Micronus/Microverse reveal in the Micronauts books. And yet, despite knowing where things will end up, Mairghread Scott brings a well-rounded exploration of Windblade's character as a refraction of the universe she inhabits.

Transformers News: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot)
..not promising


As a diplomat, City Speaker, ambassador, and tentative believer, Windblade has been placed in a number of fairly heated debates since her introduction - but here, we finally see once more act as intermediary between powerful, and potentially dangerous, factions, interacting with the Microverse's facets and the events happening in her own space.

Transformers News: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot)
:(


There is some very good material being offered, in terms of dialogue, characterisation (not just for Windblade, but also Shazraella, Micronus Prime, and even Optimus to an extent), and a penchant for darker twists to a story of diplomacy and compromise for greater goods. And I have one extra thought on that last point, below.

Art

Artist Naoto Tsushima, infamous in the Transformers art community for his NSFW work, has reigned in enough of his potentially unsavoury skills - especially for this type of book and narrative - resulting in a seriously stunning and craftily creepy series of pages, including a wonderful deconstruction splash page for Windblade herself.

Transformers News: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot)
Creepy manga face is creepy!


On the colouring side, DAI-XT coordination with the artwork adds an extra dollop of creepy vibes, with a choice of fairly cold palettes, even in the red/pink accents and the excellent grey scales that make up that splash page - which I realise now is also a really interesting parallel with the explosion in the original Windblade run.

Transformers News: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot)
Sky! Space! Gods!


While there is nothing overly fancy with the lettering, it is its usual crisp, clean, good fonted work by Tom B. Long, which is always a pleasure to see alongside nice art. We've shown all the covers - Pitre Durocher and Deer's, and Tsushima and DAI-XT's - with the different previews, and you can check them out again in our database entry for the issue, except for the Ken Christiansen one in the thumbnail. And they're all stunning, actually.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

The whole team involved does an excellent job at conveying the delicate balance that Windblade is trying to achieve between four realities (at least) while also still coming to terms with her own place in relation to them - and her identity. The splash page on that point is marvelous.

Transformers News: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot)
Bit of a teasing recap, right here


While there is a good line of enquiry to follow - at some point about - Scott's penchant to place Windblade in ..well, inquisitive contexts, with Starscream-esque parallels in the questioners (literally, in this book, too), there is also a definite dark streak to compromises, deals and greater good. I'm calling Madoka Magica, here, for the record.

. :BOT: :BOT: :BOT: :BOT: - out of :BOT: :BOT: :BOT: :BOT: :BOT:
Credit(s): IDW, Va'al

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Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838580)
Posted by Shot Put on November 2nd, 2016 @ 6:16pm CDT
Dr Va'al wrote:Artist Naoto Tsushima, infamous in the Transformers art community for his NSFW work


Pretty sure that's Hayato Sakamoto who's infamous for that stuff, not Naoto Tsushima.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838667)
Posted by Sabrblade on November 2nd, 2016 @ 11:25pm CDT
Shot Put wrote:
Dr Va'al wrote:Artist Naoto Tsushima, infamous in the Transformers art community for his NSFW work


Pretty sure that's Hayato Sakamoto who's infamous for that stuff, not Naoto Tsushima.
I wouldn't quite call Sakamoto's work "NSFW". "Cheesecake", yes, but it's not full on X-rated porn. Something more like Kiss Players (for its first storyline) would better qualify as "NSFW", and we have Yuki Ohshima to thank for... that.

Naoto Tsushima, on the other hand, is known for many AWESOME TF works, including The Battle of the Star Gate, the RobotMasters manga, the Henkei! Henkei! manga, Transformers Animated: The Cool, and more.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838712)
Posted by Va'al on November 3rd, 2016 @ 3:51am CDT
Sabrblade wrote:
Shot Put wrote:
Dr Va'al wrote:Artist Naoto Tsushima, infamous in the Transformers art community for his NSFW work


Pretty sure that's Hayato Sakamoto who's infamous for that stuff, not Naoto Tsushima.
I wouldn't quite call Sakamoto's work "NSFW". "Cheesecake", yes, but it's not full on X-rated porn. Something more like Kiss Players (for its first storyline) would better qualify as "NSFW", and we have Yuki Ohshima to thank for... that.

Naoto Tsushima, on the other hand, is known for many AWESOME TF works, including The Battle of the Star Gate, the RobotMasters manga, the Henkei! Henkei! manga, Transformers Animated: The Cool, and more.


They are both unsafe for workplaces. Most definitely so.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838889)
Posted by Shot Put on November 3rd, 2016 @ 4:32pm CDT
Again, while there's been a lot of controversy over Sakamoto with that stuff, I recall seeing zero for Tsushima.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838895)
Posted by o.supreme on November 3rd, 2016 @ 5:04pm CDT
ok so I'm a little confused (ok a lot confused) IDW has this listed as between Revolution #3 and #4 in terms of reading order, but it clearly takes place before #3 (by which point Windblade is already on earth), to make matters worse...this just came out this week when it should have came out before, or at least the same week as Revolution #3. I guess they really don't care about confusing their fans much...
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838896)
Posted by Kurona on November 3rd, 2016 @ 5:14pm CDT
o.supreme wrote:ok so I'm a little confused (ok a lot confused) IDW has this listed as between Revolution #3 and #4 in terms of reading order, but it clearly takes place before #3 (by which point Windblade is already on earth), to make matters worse...this just came out this week when it should have came out before, or at least the same week as Revolution #3. I guess they really don't care about confusing their fans much...

It's a prequel that requires context from previous Revolution issues to understand entirely. It's just non-chronological order.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838903)
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on November 3rd, 2016 @ 5:58pm CDT
Hey, for those looking for the Revolution #4 review, it will be going up within the next 2 hours or so. Been a bit busy and am still working on finishing it up. But it is coming!
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838921)
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on November 3rd, 2016 @ 7:28pm CDT
When Scrap Hits The Fan
A Seibertron.com semi-spoilerish review of IDW Revolution #4


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…

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1 on 1 on 1... My votes on the little guy


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...

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If you think that sonic blast was bad, just imagine if SIREN was in this comic


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.

Image
See, this just doesn't work for me


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.

Image
Now THIS does (just make sure you're looking at the skyline)


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.

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;)^


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

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Oh Miles, what a gift you have given us this day


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.

:SG-BOTS: :SG-BOTS: out of :SG-BOTS: :SG-BOTS: :SG-BOTS: :SG-BOTS: :SG-BOTS:
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838928)
Posted by ScottyP on November 3rd, 2016 @ 8:06pm CDT
The art for the Transformers in the 'main' Revolution books is a poor fit for the characters. The plot should be fun, but isn't. It's too busy taking itself seriously to be fun.

There are so many characters that none are a focus. Not one. Who is this story about, really?

The dire wraiths don't feel like a serious threat, especially now that they're all out in the open sort of? They're hard to follow, and I blame that on something else: the layouts. These books are legitimately hard for me to follow. There's so little plot but it's spread over the pages in such a helter skelter way that it sometimes takes re-reads to figure out what the hell is happening in what order.

I'm very interested to see how 2 and 3 sold compared to the first issue, which sold a big mess of copies for IDW. Then again, with the brands involved it might just sell by default.

I'd like to be positive about something though now. TAAO was good. Real good. Character building, actual peril, teases that make me want to read on, visceral imagery, things happen in reasonable order, and it moved some overarching plots along while giving nice context to others. I thought Tsushima towed an excellent line and never went into "sexy" territory, at least not to me. Scott knows the character so well at this point and this was a great spotlight on her. Though I do have to say that they need to give her penchant for self-sacrifice a rest for a little while. That just happened in the TR one shot.

Finally, TF Revolution was also good and I wish the main Rev books were more like that. Josh Boyfriend saves the world, and Thundercracker helps too.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838934)
Posted by Kurona on November 3rd, 2016 @ 8:42pm CDT
That panel where Optimus shows up leading the Autobots, ROM, Snake-Eyes and the Micronauts into battle just sums up what I feel about this crossover.
That panel? It should feel friggin' awesome. A badass team-up of badass team-ups. You've got Optimus, you've got ROM, you've got Soundwave, you've got Snake-Eyes, you've got these Micronauts dudes who while not iconic, I've really grown to like in their own comic.
... but it falls flat when you start thinking... why are they suddenly teamed up? The Autobots and ROM, sure, they've allied. But... but why the Micronauts and Snake-Eyes? Why did they team up? Why are they fighting alongside Prime? Where's the explanation, where's the getting past animosities; where's them saying more than one friggin' sentence? It's just so frustrating; like... like they got the beginning and end nailed but failed to show the actual journey.
And you know what? I feel the same way with the Dire Wraiths. Outside of Thundercracker's own little spin-off I didn't get any build-up to them, they're just... they're here now, I guess. They've got Ore-13 now, I guess. They're allied with Miles Mayhem, I guess... what is going on? Did I miss something? Was it in the individual franchises' issues, because surely I should just be able to get the basics of everything from the numbered issues themselves.
This thing is so frustratingggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg






Windblade issue was good though. Kudos.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1838936)
Posted by Kurona on November 3rd, 2016 @ 8:55pm CDT
By the way, everyone saying this - I know that's the purpose Revolution is for, and it's supposed to be able to be a jumping-on point for every series involved... but please, Primus above, do not recommend anyone interested in the IDWverse to start with Revolution.
I've read everything of IDW from Death of Optimus Prime onwards - aside from the Autocracy/Primacy/Monstrosity stuff, and the side prose stories - and Revolution is bar none the lowest point it has ever gotten.
I'm not gonna act like modern IDW has been a perfect run. Dark Cybertron was a bit of a bore for what it was and annoying to slog through just to continue the otherwise excellent two series involved. Combiner Wars was frustrating as all heck and interrupted so much just because Hasbro decided to shove their advertising full-force into a series which was benefiting from having that in minimum supply. All Hail Optimus was... not as good as it could have been.
But y'know what? All the problems of those pale in comparison to Revolution. I'd read Dark Cybertron as many times as I could in 24 hours before looking at Revolution. I'd ask for a thousand other to-sell-toys fueled arcs like Combiner Wars - which up until now, was the worst point of modern IDW - before wanting something like Revolution to happen again.

Revolution is a generic mess of an Avengers wannabe which, while perhaps fueled by good intentions, is nowhere near the incredible heights IDW has shown us Transformers fiction can reach. Tell anyone interested to start with MTMTE, to start with Windblade; for god's sake tell them to read Combiner Wars but don't get them to start with Revolution. Because I honestly can't think of a bigger way to turn someone off the comics.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1839007)
Posted by ScottyP on November 4th, 2016 @ 6:24am CDT
Kurona wrote:and the side prose stories
:shock:

There are only a couple of these and they are really good! I recommend them.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1839010)
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on November 4th, 2016 @ 6:43am CDT
ScottyP wrote:
Kurona wrote:and the side prose stories
:shock:
There are only a couple of these and they are really good! I recommend them.

They really are! I agree!
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1839066)
Posted by Kurona on November 4th, 2016 @ 11:02am CDT
Oh believe me, I've every intention of getting to them... if I can find out how :-(
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1839086)
Posted by o.supreme on November 4th, 2016 @ 12:27pm CDT
Well to be fair Revolution really isn't a TF series, despite involving the TF's. I felt the same way about previous crossovers. Anyone remember Infestattion 1 & 2? Though those were less fueled by toy brands, they were ok...but still suffered from trying to jam too much together. Not EVERYTHING deserves or needs a crossover.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1839141)
Posted by Nexus Knight on November 4th, 2016 @ 4:00pm CDT
I'll start off my opinion with this- I love shared universes. My brother ad I are amateur writers, working on a shared universe of superhero stories together. And I absolutely love Transformers and the idea of them existing in the same universe as other big people.

And I thought Revolution was a great idea, but it should've been a little longer. I don't think five issues was enough to push a brand new universe together. I am not a comic book expert, so I'm not actually sure about that fact, but hey, this is a free site able to freely share POVs.

This is how I think it should be view (just IMO)- This is the first big crossover event Transformers has had on this scale. True, there has been other crossovers, but not putting them in a comic book universe with other major comic book characters. I don't think it's too fair to get all spiteful and hope this never happens again. This was the Hasbroverse's first major event. True, it didn't do too well, but if we're not asses about it, maybe all the writers can go back and see where they did wrong. I prefer to look at the positive side of things and hope things can get better.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1839145)
Posted by Kurona on November 4th, 2016 @ 4:06pm CDT
Nexus Knight wrote:I'll start off my opinion with this- I love shared universes. My brother ad I are amateur writers, working on a shared universe of superhero stories together. And I absolutely love Transformers and the idea of them existing in the same universe as other big people.

And I thought Revolution was a great idea, but it should've been a little longer. I don't think five issues was enough to push a brand new universe together. I am not a comic book expert, so I'm not actually sure about that fact, but hey, this is a free site able to freely share POVs.

This is how I think it should be view (just IMO)- This is the first big crossover event Transformers has had on this scale. True, there has been other crossovers, but not putting them in a comic book universe with other major comic book characters. I don't think it's too fair to get all spiteful and hope this never happens again. This was the Hasbroverse's first major event. True, it didn't do too well, but if we're not asses about it, maybe all the writers can go back and see where they did wrong. I prefer to look at the positive side of things and hope things can get better.

I do agree. Was a bit angry and... honestly stretching for words when I wrote that; all I really wanted to mean by it is that Revolution is nowhere near the quality IDW has reached before and hence it's not a good starting point at all.
I do think an idea like this has potential, but... they just didn't do well this time around.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1839309)
Posted by ScottyP on November 5th, 2016 @ 5:57pm CDT
Kurona wrote:Oh believe me, I've every intention of getting to them... if I can find out how :-(
Signal to Noise is in v4 of the trade: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transformers-M ... 613776918/?tag=seibertron075-21&

The Sound of Breaking Glass is in v5: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transformers-M ... 613778023/?tag=seibertron075-21&
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1839310)
Posted by Kurona on November 5th, 2016 @ 5:59pm CDT
ScottyP wrote:
Kurona wrote:Oh believe me, I've every intention of getting to them... if I can find out how :-(
Signal to Noise is in v4 of the trade: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transformers-M ... 613776918/?tag=seibertron075-21&

The Sound of Breaking Glass is in v5: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transformers-M ... 613778023/?tag=seibertron075-21&

Oh I more meant like, the stuff with Sandstorm and Bludgeon.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1840104)
Posted by Kurona on November 10th, 2016 @ 4:19am CST
Internet was down for almost 24 hours so I decided to get around to reading the Action Man and ROM comics in my Revolution Humble Bundle (that being ROM 1 & 2 as well as the revolution one-shot and Action Man 1-4 which makes up the intro arc).

ROM was kinda... blah. It exists. If you wanna read it's there, it's not terrible.

Action Man I was pleasantly surprised by. It starts off pretty slow and a bit meh but it quickly caught traction and had some entertaining stuff going on by issue 4 that made me really wanna see more. It's actually up there with Micronauts for me; very good. Bit too heavy on the british slang and such though, and I say that as someone who lives in the bloody country.

Ironically, both comics gave me a feeling of excitement for their crossover event... only to remember and quickly get sad over the fact that said event is Revolution. Haha... ha... sigh.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841235)
Posted by Va'al on November 15th, 2016 @ 5:43am CST
The end of IDW's massive franchise crossover event is almost in sight, but there are still a couple of side-books to consider and left to enter the stage - this week, it's the turn of G.I. Joe! Check out the full preview of the event tie-in one-shot below, and expect a review some point this week too, from our resident staff Joexpert.

G.I. JOE: Revolution #1
Aubrey Sitterson (w) • Giannis Milogiannis (a) • Aaron Conley (c)
G.I. JOE IS BACK! Thanks to the events of REVOLUTION, the G.I. Joe team led by Scarlett returns to the fray, leading the charge against invading TRANSFORMERS and other aliens. But when a US military defense base goes dark, Scarlett has reason to suspect that these enemy forces may have infiltrated G.I. Joe. It’s up to her, Roadblock, Rock ‘n Roll, Quick Kick, Wild Bill, and Shipwreck to move in and root out any traitors before the facility falls into the wrong hands!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
G.I. JOE returns to the fray!
A key one-shot connected to the world of REVOLUTION!
Variant cover by Ken Christiansen, part of a 13-part connected cover!


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Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841236)
Posted by Big Grim on November 15th, 2016 @ 5:49am CST
I'm honestly so far from caring anymore. Revolution has been a bloody mess.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841239)
Posted by SG Roadbuster on November 15th, 2016 @ 6:06am CST
Big Grim wrote:I'm honestly so far from caring anymore. Revolution has been a bloody mess.


it kinda has. I think this would have been better executed if it were split between 2 events 1 event to introduce GiJoe and Mask, and a second event to bring in Rom, Micronauts, and Action Man
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841240)
Posted by Kurona on November 15th, 2016 @ 6:09am CST
Does anyone get an 80s/90s classic anime feel from Scarlet's face? I dunno, it just sort of reminds me of that for some reason.

But yeah... Revolution I think would have been far better if it only had Transformers crossing over with one other property, or maybe two. Throwing this many fictional properties into one basket sounds awesome at first but it suffers from a severe lack of focus at it's fundamental base, especially as all of these bar Transformers and G.I. Joe are literally just starting out.

In fact, I think this is why the one-shots have proven far more enjoyable. All of them focus on a smaller group of characters and have a single story objective. They're simple and effective.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841241)
Posted by Big Grim on November 15th, 2016 @ 6:25am CST
SG Roadbuster wrote:it kinda has. I think this would have been better executed if it were split between 2 events 1 event to introduce GiJoe and Mask, and a second event to bring in Rom, Micronauts, and Action Man


Kurona wrote:But yeah... Revolution I think would have been far better if it only had Transformers crossing over with one other property, or maybe two. Throwing this many fictional properties into one basket sounds awesome at first but it suffers from a severe lack of focus at it's fundamental base, especially as all of these bar Transformers and G.I. Joe are literally just starting out.


For sure. I think if they'd taken the time to re-establish G.I. Joe and perhaps introduce M.A.S.K. first, that woulda helped. Perhaps Action Man too. The terrestrial assets. Get them running, let us see how they would work in the world with Cybertronians in it. THEN bring in the likes of ROM and Micronaughts. And give their comics time to establish themselves, though I hear that Micronaughts has managed to do so before being dropped into Revolution.

As it is, far too much is being brought in, in most cases from NOWHERE and are all being crammed together. Too much, too fast with little time to establish anything. And it has suffered. Big time.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841242)
Posted by Kurona on November 15th, 2016 @ 6:32am CST
Big Grim wrote:
SG Roadbuster wrote:it kinda has. I think this would have been better executed if it were split between 2 events 1 event to introduce GiJoe and Mask, and a second event to bring in Rom, Micronauts, and Action Man
And give their comics time to establish themselves, though I hear that Micronaughts has managed to do so before being dropped into Revolution.

Action Man's also been able to do that imo
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841244)
Posted by Moody magpie on November 15th, 2016 @ 6:42am CST
The sooner this series ends and we get back to our normal schedule, the better!
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841248)
Posted by Big Grim on November 15th, 2016 @ 7:18am CST
Kurona wrote:Action Man's also been able to do that imo


Really? Has it proven to be good fun, as I hear of 'Naughts?
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841249)
Posted by Va'al on November 15th, 2016 @ 7:20am CST
Big Grim wrote:
Kurona wrote:Action Man's also been able to do that imo


Really? Has it proven to be good fun, as I hear of 'Naughts?


Kurona and I don't entirely agree on all of this, but yes, it's enjoyable, much more than any of the other humanoid-centric series! :D

I'd say, personally, that enjoyment levels outside of the TF books are:

Micronauts
Action Man
-
-
GI Joe
-
MASK
-
ROM
-
Revolution
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841250)
Posted by Kurona on November 15th, 2016 @ 7:22am CST
Dr Va'al wrote:
Big Grim wrote:
Kurona wrote:Action Man's also been able to do that imo


Really? Has it proven to be good fun, as I hear of 'Naughts?


Kurona and I don't entirely agree on all of this, but yes, it's enjoyable, much more than any of the other humanoid-centric series! :D

I'd say, personally, that enjoyment levels outside of the TF books are:

Micronauts
Action Man
-
-
GI Joe
-
MASK
-
ROM
-
Revolution

We don't? Cos that's how I'd rank it as well :lol:
except that I haven't read GI Joe or MASK yet
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841257)
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on November 15th, 2016 @ 8:04am CST
Dr Va'al wrote:
Big Grim wrote:
Kurona wrote:Action Man's also been able to do that imo


Really? Has it proven to be good fun, as I hear of 'Naughts?


Kurona and I don't entirely agree on all of this, but yes, it's enjoyable, much more than any of the other humanoid-centric series! :D

I'd say, personally, that enjoyment levels outside of the TF books are:

Micronauts
Action Man
-
-
GI Joe
-
MASK
-
ROM
-
Revolution

Sort of my ranking, except Action Man would be number 1 and the rest are about tied with one another
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841258)
Posted by Big Grim on November 15th, 2016 @ 8:05am CST
Hrm. Might just have a look at that then. Got a few issues of Action Man in the Humble Bundle recently.

I had such high hopes for MASK. Cybertronian tech/biology being used to create hitech transforming vehicles and Masks! What could go wrong?!? Oh. Turning them into a Black Ops team created by Miles Mayhem...instead of a group of do-gooders fighting a bunch of bad guys. Just...such a misstep in my opinion. I so wanted MASK to be aces.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841259)
Posted by Kurona on November 15th, 2016 @ 8:10am CST
Big Grim wrote:Hrm. Might just have a look at that then. Got a few issues of Action Man in the Humble Bundle recently.

I had such high hopes for MASK. Cybertronian tech/biology being used to create hitech transforming vehicles and Masks! What could go wrong?!? Oh. Turning them into a Black Ops team created by Miles Mayhem...instead of a group of do-gooders fighting a bunch of bad guys. Just...such a misstep in my opinion. I so wanted MASK to be aces.

The four Action Man issues in the Humble Bundle are actually the only AM issues out so far; aside from of course the Revolution one-shot. But even just them on their own are fantastic in my opinion; it starts off slow and you think it's gonna be on the "meh-it's-okay-but-nothing-special" level but it quickly builds up momentum in the endgame.
I've gotta say, if there's anything good that has come out of this crossover it's that it did in fact introduce me to two decent new comics - even if they weren't portrayed well within the crossover itself. I suppose even if this crossover was terrible, it still done it's job...? So I guess it's on the level of me doing retail.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841260)
Posted by Va'al on November 15th, 2016 @ 8:10am CST
Kurona wrote:We don't? Cos that's how I'd rank it as well :lol:
except that I haven't read GI Joe or MASK yet


You like more of what I don't, so it's a common ground agreement but not on every aspect!
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841263)
Posted by Big Grim on November 15th, 2016 @ 8:53am CST
Hmmm. Okay, come payday, I may just pick up MIcronauts and the AM one-shot. See what I think of them.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841376)
Posted by ScottyP on November 15th, 2016 @ 8:08pm CST
Big Grim wrote:Hmmm. Okay, come payday, I may just pick up MIcronauts and the AM one-shot. See what I think of them.
Action Man is a pretty good little mini series, though it feels a little like Barber couldn't decide if he was going for Sterling Archer or not. It's fun and I don't feel like it was a total waste reading it, but it's not something I would go out of my way to recommend.

Micronauts though? It's real good. Not "change your life great" by any means but surprisingly well paced, has a few deep characters, and is building a fun mythos. I think most Transformers fans will like it, and probably Guardians of the Galaxy fans too.

That said, issue 7 is clearly a breather issue meant to not spoil the end of Revolution too completely. Oh well, release schedules are what they are.

Moody magpie wrote:The sooner this series ends and we get back to our normal schedule, the better!
I like this post. Couldn't agree more.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841433)
Posted by Big Grim on November 16th, 2016 @ 5:43am CST
ScottyP wrote:Micronauts though? It's real good. Not "change your life great" by any means but surprisingly well paced, has a few deep characters, and is building a fun mythos. I think most Transformers fans will like it, and probably Guardians of the Galaxy fans too.

Sold.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841543)
Posted by Tigertrack on November 16th, 2016 @ 3:04pm CST
Reflections of a GI Joe comic by a mostly Transformers comics reader - GI JOE Revolution Issue #1 - by **************

G.I. Book Blurb:

Image

CREATIVE CREDITS:
Image

Presently: It’s a clandestine mission to our favorite Transformers playwright’s old hideout… BIKINI ATOLL for an extraction that maybe you wouldn’t predict…

TRANSFORMERS STUFF

Besides BIKINI ATOLL, and the mention of what has been going on with Optimus Prime, Autobots, and Decepticons, there isn’t much here for Transformers fans except a little gem at the end that I want to hint at with a very vague image below. Next issue of REV should be of much more interest to Transformers readers.

Image

REVOLUTION STUFF
It’s pretty obvious, it’s a REVOLUTION title so it’s going to be about all the main players and continuing that over-arching story-line. It’s the GI JOE ONESHOT though, so mostly, we get Joes. A handful of them to be precise. And a whole island full of zombie-like Dire Wraiths.

Yo Joe…

Image
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!!! Big Hat, Parrot Guy, Nose Man, Darryl, and The Rock


Joe Colton’s death was not a shock to most people keeping up with the series. The fact that he was a Dire Wraith, also not a shock at all. And indeed like the body snatchers of old, and any number of newer horror, sci-fi related movies and materials; this revelation involving several shape changers has sown the seeds of distrust, nervousness, anxiety, and even panic amongst the humans who have been infiltrated: mainly the government and GI JOE.

Who do you trust? How far? With what? The handful of Joes chosen for the mission by Scarlett meant that she could, hopefully, trust her crew and they could trust each other. Whoops…

Image

The only Joes to go on the mission with Scarlett are Rock ’N’ Roll (machine gunner/infantry), Quick Kick (silent weapons), Road Block (Heavy weapons support), Shipwreck and Polly (naval command infiltration/extraction), and Wild Bill (air combat commander/pilot). Seems like a pretty solid group- but to me it does feel lacking-. Seems we have no Mainframe, who featured previously in REVOLUTION and who had ties to ACTION MAN, and the EDC. I think I might need to do a re-read to see if he got lost somewhere and I missed it, but I think, Myles ‘Mayhem’ Manheim may be the culprit, if my memory is doing its thing correctly.

Image

It's really no surprise, when we find out one of this inadequate group is a traitor, a Dire Wraith in disguise, and this traitor looks to take out the group and end the mission tout suite (Who do you take out of that group as traitor? There’s no ‘C” level member, no red shirt, or green shirt...). The result is a nice little bit of horrorfest, which would have been perfect, if distributed about two weeks ago around Halloween. But now is good too.

Image
Friend, Foe, or alien?

Image
Definitely, alien.

MY TAKE
It was a somewhat morbid, despairing story that I thought really read well as a tale of deception by the alien Dire Wraith element and the mind-twisting, gut wrenching consequences, with another decent enough twist at the end that won’t pay off until later. Lots of gun play and action, albeit featuring about 6 Joes that have never been listed amongst my personal favorites, but certainly are popular among lots of the Joe fandom. The story becomes most relevant at the end for TF fans, but may not be worth a purchase for those not into GI JOE, or who aren’t collecting all the individual issues of REVOLUTION. Ask your Joe collecting buddy, or REVOLUTION collecting roommate to see the final page, and then wonder about what happens next…

The art was enjoyable, and while a scratchier, lots-of-line-work, somewhat detail-heavy style, it was still pretty slick and appealing. While Scarlett stuck out as seeming a bit to manga/anime-ish at times, and faces lacked eyes or even entire faces in some panels, I did not find it to be off putting or even bad -somewhat adding to the horror and unsettling storyline-. Action scenes were well-executed and very upbeat, if not unrealistic at times (it's a comic, so...). The lettering and colors played well to create the creepy, overall dark feeling that the story pervaded. The dialogue was pretty clear military jargon when it needed to be, but also was able to help you to understand more about their personalities and relationships. Like Rock 'N' Roll is a bit of a jerk.

Image
The comedian or just a jerk?

Image
What does this face mean?

YOUR TAKE (Recommendations, or not)
:BOT: :CON: Skip and borrow for TF fans.
:GIJOE: :COBRA: Joe fans**- worth it- certainly if any of those characters are amongst your favorites.
;)^ REVOLUTION readers, of course, BUY IT!

Image
No crossbow for this zombie killer!

**GI JOE toy fans might find new reason to buy those new two-packs of Zombie Troopers at TRU, if you can find them. They could make great stand-ins for the Dire Wraith zombie people that are found on BIKINI ATOLL, standing in the way of our heroes and their goal.**

Image
GI JOE toy image credit to site sponsor BigBadToyStore
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841573)
Posted by ScottyP on November 16th, 2016 @ 6:08pm CST
Big Grim wrote:
ScottyP wrote:Micronauts though? It's real good. Not "change your life great" by any means but surprisingly well paced, has a few deep characters, and is building a fun mythos. I think most Transformers fans will like it, and probably Guardians of the Galaxy fans too.

Sold.
Let's see if I go 2 for 2, I'm 1 for 1 on recommending it so far. Had a Twitter friend pick it up and enjoy after my praise of it :lol:
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841878)
Posted by Va'al on November 18th, 2016 @ 5:13am CST
Via the iTunes page for IDW Publishing's Revolution #5, we have an initial preview of the last chapter in the Hasbro cross-franchise cross-comics crossover event - and we've mirrored the imaged, copied the info below, and will be ready for a full preview next week! Check it out.

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.


Image

Image

Image
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841880)
Posted by steve2275 on November 18th, 2016 @ 5:22am CST
viva revofunlution
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841881)
Posted by Kurona on November 18th, 2016 @ 5:24am CST
Oh dear... I obviously always should have expected a battle like this to be one, but this is just a mess. I can barely make out what's going on and the proportions and scale are all messed up.
And what is Snake-Eyes' deal? I'm really confused, nothing about him has even been attempted to be explained since he first showed up. He's just here now because icon!
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841886)
Posted by Big Grim on November 18th, 2016 @ 6:23am CST
Kurona wrote:Oh dear... I obviously always should have expected a battle like this to be one, but this is just a mess. I can barely make out what's going on and the proportions and scale are all messed up.
And what is Snake-Eyes' deal? I'm really confused, nothing about him has even been attempted to be explained since he first showed up. He's just here now because icon!


I couldn't have put it better.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841888)
Posted by Randomhero on November 18th, 2016 @ 7:00am CST
I haven't had a problem with revolution at all. It's been a fun story. Just harmless fun.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841900)
Posted by Va'al on November 18th, 2016 @ 8:22am CST
Randomhero wrote:I haven't had a problem with revolution at all. It's been a fun story. Just harmless fun.


That's cool!

Can I ask a question, then: did you find anything that impeded the enjoyment at all, or did you just take it in as it came, as you say, harmlessly? I just ask because in my case the art sometimes just distracted me too much from the story, and once I got to the latter, I was already annoyed.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1841918)
Posted by Randomhero on November 18th, 2016 @ 10:14am CST
Dr Va'al wrote:
Randomhero wrote:I haven't had a problem with revolution at all. It's been a fun story. Just harmless fun.


That's cool!

Can I ask a question, then: did you find anything that impeded the enjoyment at all, or did you just take it in as it came, as you say, harmlessly? I just ask because in my case the art sometimes just distracted me too much from the story, and once I got to the latter, I was already annoyed.


I find the story to be fun. It's not amazing but most events are not. Comics are my thing. Not just transformers but entertainment in general. I read a lot of comics and I've read a lot of event books. I was an 80s kid, it's fun to see my toys that arnt transformers coming out the box again. This is IDWs first really big event that spans a shared universe. There's pros/cons, ups/downs whatever you call them but it's taking many different franchises and doing its best to pu them together and John is a very talented editor and writer. Probably one of the few editors to come out of Marvel that cared.

The art is fine, I've seen way worse and I've had zero trouble following the layouts and story telling. I have not followed every Revolution tie in, just Transformers and Mask and haven't had trouble following the story. I'll admit I should have read Micronaughts because it is needed before issue 3 but i didn't read it till almost a month later and it didn't ruin my enjoyment not having read it before.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1842081)
Posted by BumbleDouche on November 19th, 2016 @ 6:27am CST
Than Baron Karzu/Wraith hybrid speaking Ancient Cybertronian has a similar sort of silhouette to Megatronus Prime from the Covenant of Primus book... A crappy, art snafu, coincidence or am I imagining things?
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1842186)
Posted by Va'al on November 19th, 2016 @ 4:30pm CST
If you were waiting for news on the last Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye issue under that title (the story will continue, with the same cast and plots, in Lost Light #1), we have the coverage for you! Via iTunes, we have a quick three-page preview at the IDW crossover Revolution tie-in book, written by James Roberts and Nick Roche, and featuring the Scavengers. Check it out below!

A DATE WTH DESTINY! After years of doing very little, Krok, Crankcase, Fulcrum, Spinister, and Misfire think they can wriggle out of anything—but not even they can avoid a heavily-promoted multi-franchise crossover. It’s the Scavengers Versus Your Childhood in a story that exposes all other art for the sham it is.


Image

Image

Image
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1842188)
Posted by Kurona on November 19th, 2016 @ 4:35pm CST
Argh, I can't find any way to make the first page big enough to actually read it :/

Loved the third page though. Beautiful. ... well. Aside from the dumb-technology-obsessed-teenager trope. JRO tends to subvert tropes and play with them rather than just using them.
Re: Review of IDW Transformers: Till All Are One - Revolution (One-Shot) (1842198)
Posted by Insurgent on November 19th, 2016 @ 6:18pm CST
That subversion may come on page 4. Or page 20. Of lost light #23. Maybe.

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Transformers Podcast: Twincast / Podcast #346 - Gas Station Jamboree
Twincast / Podcast #346:
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