Sneak Peek - IDW Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #34 iTunes Preview

The art is nice, but this story seems boring. Plus, I find it irritating that Transformers in IDW continuity seem to have too many human characteristics. First, they drink when they have no physical need for sustenance. They have gift shops on other planets. They write (and, one would assume, perform in) plays, to name a few. Then, in this issue, they use cell phones. ROBOTS...from an advanced alien civilization, haven't found a better way to communicate than using cell phones. Throw in the fact that they rarely transform, and it may as well be a series about an advanced human race that cosplays as robots.

End rant.

To be fair, writing them to be not at all human-like would be so divorced from what we understand as to almost be unreadable, kind of like the Silmarillion is to LOTR. I like to think of the similarities as just ideas that sentient cultures come up with naturally. Plus, they've been at it for much longer than us in these stories.

Also, Bluestreak here is a bit of a culture connoisseur, so maybe a cell phone style communicator is something he picked up.

END DEFENSE

Bounti76 wrote:The art is nice, but this story seems boring. Plus, I find it irritating that Transformers in IDW continuity seem to have too many human characteristics. First, they drink when they have no physical need for sustenance. They have gift shops on other planets. They write (and, one would assume, perform in) plays, to name a few. Then, in this issue, they use cell phones. ROBOTS...from an advanced alien civilization, haven't found a better way to communicate than using cell phones. Throw in the fact that they rarely transform, and it may as well be a series about an advanced human race that cosplays as robots.

End rant.

They've always had external communications devices of some kind, Communicubes, what have you. It may just be easier to carry a device with more range than to retrofit something hooked to the brain. And it may be easier to get more range. Would you want to slave your MIND to the ship's computer to bounce communications?

Far as drinking goes, they run on a liquid energon like your car does fuel. Trying to judge whwre a fuel tank is gonna end up in vehicle mode could be dicey, so why not put it the same place 98% of species put theirs: the mouth. Also, tbey are swntient beings, who play chess and sword fight and walk and talk and watch TV, a vehicle mode is a second utility. Its good for a lot of things, but can a Corvette fly a space shuttle? No. No way to manipulate the controls. So put the fuel tank on the primary form: the robot.

As to boring, I'm excited to meet more Cybertronians again, but one of the things I liked about MTMTE was its continuality, and now we're going (or seem to be)more toward contained, four book arcs with a pinchful of characters and the ship in the background

Also,lookslikeIneed tosacrifice apair of ENERGON Signal Flares now for aMainframe...

I've Always been of the Opinion Transformers can operate by futurama rules.

Bender wrote: Nah, I'm trying to watch my input. I need plenty of wholesome nutritious alcohol. The chemical energy keeps my fuel cells charged.

SW's SilverHammer wrote:I've Always been of the Opinion Transformers can operate by futurama rules.

Bender wrote: Nah, I'm trying to watch my input. I need plenty of wholesome nutritious alcohol. The chemical energy keeps my fuel cells charged.

Well, Trailcutter certainly can't anymore.

Bounti76 wrote:The art is nice, but this story seems boring. Plus, I find it irritating that Transformers in IDW continuity seem to have too many human characteristics. First, they drink when they have no physical need for sustenance. They have gift shops on other planets. They write (and, one would assume, perform in) plays, to name a few. Then, in this issue, they use cell phones. ROBOTS...from an advanced alien civilization, haven't found a better way to communicate than using cell phones. Throw in the fact that they rarely transform, and it may as well be a series about an advanced human race that cosplays as robots.

End rant.

This is exactly why I like MTMTE and the more recent RID books. It's a smart approach. Likeable characters abound because they're actually something you can relate to. Cybertronians no longer so hung up in a Civil War that are having to adapt to a Galaxy that isn't just steel planets, star cruisers, and laser beams. Transforming when it makes sense and not just for the sake of it, like here, where First Aid's in a hurry so he doesn't just walk to go outside.

Idk man, if this stuff bugs you that much, it's probably just not your style. No big deal. RG1 might be more your speed, if you haven't checked it out yet.

I think it's worth noting that First Aid can transform now. Wonder when that got fixed?

Cool, does this mean there is a Generations Voyager Ultra Magnus in the works at Hasbro?

I was hoping to wrap up the Brainstorm story that went on last issue. I really want to know what his intentions are after that last page.

This week, IDW Publishing brings us another issue of the fan-acclaimed series of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye - setting the stage for the beginning of Days of Deception and Elegant Chaos. Want to know more? Check out the preview for #34 below, and head back here tomorrow for the Seibertron.com review!

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #34
James Roberts (w) • Atilio Rojo (a) • Brendan Cahill (c)
THE DILEMMA! On a planet dedicated to Right and Wrong, four damaged AUTOBOTS must make an impossible choice: kill or cure? Whatever they decide, their lives will never be the same.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
A character-intense prelude to next month’s ELEGANT CHAOS event!
30th Anniversary Variant Cover by Ken Christiansen!

Looking good, will be getting this and rid next Monday. Love the throw back to megs look in Megatron: Origins.

Am I missing something? The last issue ended with "our" Lost Light reappearing, and Brainstorm going all on everyone. I guess this is a storyline from the rest of the issue, but it doesn't seem all that interesting...so far.

ScottyP wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:The art is nice, but this story seems boring. Plus, I find it irritating that Transformers in IDW continuity seem to have too many human characteristics. First, they drink when they have no physical need for sustenance. They have gift shops on other planets. They write (and, one would assume, perform in) plays, to name a few. Then, in this issue, they use cell phones. ROBOTS...from an advanced alien civilization, haven't found a better way to communicate than using cell phones. Throw in the fact that they rarely transform, and it may as well be a series about an advanced human race that cosplays as robots.

End rant.

This is exactly why I like MTMTE and the more recent RID books. It's a smart approach. Likeable characters abound because they're actually something you can relate to. Cybertronians no longer so hung up in a Civil War that are having to adapt to a Galaxy that isn't just steel planets, star cruisers, and laser beams. Transforming when it makes sense and not just for the sake of it, like here, where First Aid's in a hurry so he doesn't just walk to go outside.

Idk man, if this stuff bugs you that much, it's probably just not your style. No big deal. RG1 might be more your speed, if you haven't checked it out yet.

I actually really loved RG1. It's the first comic I'd subscribed to since the original Marvel run in the 80s, albeit digitally. I should have explained better....I really enjoy IDW's take on G1, for the most part. I just feel they can have great characterization without resorting to human characteristics to make giant transforming robots more than just that. Like Thundercracker and Buster. Cute and relatable without making Thundercracker too "human". He's caring for a member of a species that is totally foreign to him, yet he's concerned about her welfare and knows she's fragile. The fact that they're Cybertronian and canine doesn't really matter, because care of beings important to oneself is a universal trait. Drinking liquids I can marginally accept (because they run on Energon), but a bar seems a VERY human concept, as does a gift shop (the shore leave they had on Temptoria). It just seems very silly that an advanced alien race would set up something so, ahem, alien to them.

I get that the IDW-verse isn't for everyone, and I can appreciate that. I just wish they'd cut the silliness to a minimum. The Circle of Light had it right when they called out the LL crew.

for me the transformers need that human touch or else the character would be quite dull, what social sitting would you put them in if not a bar

There has been bars mentioned before in TF lore before though, and intelligent species would have similar mannerisms to us, plus as said before, they probably came up with these concepts before us, given their war started when we were wayyy back on the evolutionary ladder. In tact considering the state of the universe, it's probably daft to consider that we are the only ones to have such things or be the first to use them.

I really wish they would get someone like Guido Guidi or James Raiz to sub for Milne. Their art styles are more varied and expressive, while Mr. Rojo's are just so...simple. And forgive me if I'm beating a dead horse here, but this is how I see his panels:


"So what's the deal with Megatron being the captain?"


"Didn't you hear about the trial? The trial of the zorn? The BIGGEST TRIAL IN THE HISTORY OF CYBERTRON SHORT OF AN AQUEATAS AFFAIR?"


"I'm sorry, have you been dead/in stasis lock/otherwise incapacitated for the last four-million years?"

Once the issue hits this Wednesday, I'd be interested to know what scene people find to be their favorite. We made a dramatic reading for the Lift scene in Issue 32 between Nautica and Nightbeat - http://youtu.be/J6V70d0oR14 - what scene in issue 34 would you like to see done dramatically by us? www.TheAudioKnightsTheatre.com

is artist trying make bots more human? human smooth faces and now cellphone to be in contact with other bots what to tansrecievers in there heads with autobot transmiss frequency?

still waiting t ofind out who injured bot is

Nemesis Maximo wrote:I really wish they would get someone like Guido Guidi or James Raiz to sub for Milne. Their art styles are more varied and expressive, while Mr. Rojo's are just so...simple.

Mr. Guidi is a good choice, but "super messy details" Raiz is not really a choice to me, even when comparing to "not very good drawings under ultra messy textures" L.V.O.

Regarding to "round heads" Rojo, my only complain is...you guys may already know.

dragons wrote:is artist trying make bots more human? human smooth faces and now cellphone to be in contact with other bots what to tansrecievers in there heads with autobot transmiss frequency?

still waiting t ofind out who injured bot is

I agree cellphones and tablet like devices seem so ancient and inefficient.