Transformers: Robots in Disguise #20 Preview
Friday, August 2nd, 2013 12:10pm CDT
Category: Comic Book NewsPosted by: Va'al Views: 21,780
Topic Options: View Discussion · Sign in or Join to reply
Transformers: Robots in Disguise #20
John Barber (w) • Andrew Griffith (a) • Griffith, Casey Coller (c)
NEW CYBERTRON! It’s a brand new day—and STARSCREAM is in charge! But running a planet isn’t as easy as it looks… if BUMBLEBEE couldn’t do it, why does the former DECEPTICON think he can?
2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
- Introducing fan-favorite character RATTRAP into the world of ROBOTS IN DISGUISE!
- The dawn of a new age—or the end of everything?!
- The countdown to DARK CYBERTRON continues!
- Livio Ramondeli variant cover, interconnected with issues 21 and 22!
Credit(s): IDW Publishing
Got Transformers News? Let us know here!
Most Popular Transformers News
Most Recent Transformers News
Posted by Va'al on August 2nd, 2013 @ 2:39pm CDT
Posted by Noideaforaname on August 2nd, 2013 @ 4:50pm CDT
I wonder what Starscream's new body is. Probably the Armada one, given it's a new toy and all, though I'm not really fond of that idea.
Posted by Va'al on August 2nd, 2013 @ 4:53pm CDT
Noideaforaname wrote:I wonder what Starscream's new body is. Probably the Armada one, given it's a new toy and all, though I'm not really fond of that idea.
That's my guess too, to be honest. Hmm.
Posted by 1984forever on August 2nd, 2013 @ 8:13pm CDT
Dirge is the last seeker? What about Acid Storm!?
Posted by Va'al on August 3rd, 2013 @ 3:32am CDT
84forever wrote:Here we go with the little crappy Micromaster patrols dredged up from the last days of G1... this is what happens when IDW starts killing off good characters left and right. Is this part of the big push to aim Transformers more towards the pre-school kids? I guess they'll start filling the book with Armada and Energon characters next and make me start throwing up my lunch too, along with my Breakfast.
Dirge is the last seeker? What about Acid Storm!?
What do you mean by 'good characters'?
Posted by 1984forever on August 3rd, 2013 @ 8:04am CDT
y'know the real guys... Primarily 84-85 and some of the '86 characters.Va'al wrote:
What do you mean by 'good characters'?
Posted by Va'al on August 3rd, 2013 @ 8:40am CDT
84forever wrote:y'know the real guys... Primarily 84-85 and some of the '86 characters.Va'al wrote:
What do you mean by 'good characters'?
Seriously?
A question: why do you read the ongoing series? The cast has so very little left compared to your 'ideal' version, the story is very very different, and it's all rooted in a universe and continuity started with the IDW Furman run in Infiltration.
That's the cast, that's the setting. This is not trying to replace the first run of the fiction, this is a new series, with new characters that might look like those ones, or share their name.
Posted by 1984forever on August 3rd, 2013 @ 11:16am CDT
Va'al wrote:84forever wrote:y'know the real guys... Primarily 84-85 and some of the '86 characters.Va'al wrote:
What do you mean by 'good characters'?
Seriously?
A question: why do you read the ongoing series? The cast has so very little left compared to your 'ideal' version, the story is very very different, and it's all rooted in a universe and continuity started with the IDW Furman run in Infiltration.
That's the cast, that's the setting. This is not trying to replace the first run of the fiction, this is a new series, with new characters that might look like those ones, or share their name.
Honestly, it's the ease of downloading stuff to read while i'm at work. I would NEVER hunt down any of IDWs books in a brick and mortar store. These guys decided on a nice G1 reboot to start off with and then just messed up everything after that. IDWs writers were always bottom of the barrel. The talents of Barber and Robinson combined can't even reach the level of writing on ANY old G1 episode. Not even B.O.T. !
Now I feel with the reintroduction of the Micromaster patrols that things have finally FINALLY reached their breaking point and it's all downhill from here.
Posted by Va'al on August 3rd, 2013 @ 11:31am CDT
Barber (RID, editor for the others) has been a writer and editor at Marvel before moving to IDW, Flint Dille (Autocracy and Monstrosity) was the writer for the original cartoon series, including the 1986 movie.
Apart from that, I don't know what else to say, actually. You're obviously welcome to not like them, but the reason behind your dislike is baffling me!
Also, I'm still confused as to why you spend money on comics that you really do not enjoy.
Posted by 1984forever on August 3rd, 2013 @ 8:29pm CDT
The positive feedback these rags get is because this is the best stuff the fandom has seen since the days of Dreamwave, so they forgot what good stories were. IDW Transformers could be great if they put characters people care about in their books! Who ever said Scoop was in their top 5 favorite characters? No one! How about Flatline? Or Fixit? F*ck no! Who the f*ck are these guys!? No one knows! No one cares! THAT will be IDWs downfall! Books starring Transformers that no one gives a sh!t about.
Posted by Va'al on August 4th, 2013 @ 4:09am CDT
There has been a massive, internet-wide reaction to the death of some characters. There has been clamour for more stories about minor ones. There has been exhaustion at the re-use of the same cast, over and over again.
But.
I give up.

Posted by 1984forever on August 4th, 2013 @ 8:40am CDT
Va'al wrote:
I give up.

Posted by Va'al on August 4th, 2013 @ 9:12am CDT
84forever wrote:Va'al wrote:
I give up.Gee Winning!
A favour, though.
If all you're going to comment in these threads is along the lines of 'they're bad because I don't like the cast', please avoid posting. If you're willing to make it more constructive, feel free to join in again!
Posted by Matrix. on August 4th, 2013 @ 10:14am CDT
84forever wrote:IDW Transformers could be great if they put characters people care about in their books! Who ever said Scoop was in their top 5 favorite characters? No one! How about Flatline? Or Fixit? F*ck no! Who the f*ck are these guys!? No one knows! No one cares! THAT will be IDWs downfall! Books starring Transformers that no one gives a sh!t about.
If you think the G1 cartoon had genuinely good writing or even had *characters*, then I think you need to have another go at pleading with your captor for some more viewing material.
Because kidnapping and extreme isolation is the only way I could understand how someone could hold this opinion.
Posted by dragons on August 4th, 2013 @ 10:19am CDT
Noideaforaname wrote:^ I guess that means Flatline doesn't have a toy coming anytime soon.
I wonder what Starscream's new body is. Probably the Armada one, given it's a new toy and all, though I'm not really fond of that idea.
I like starscream legends design, with his fall of cybertron design for cybertron look
http://tformers.com/ig.php?mode=album&dispsize=600&album=20911&start=0&sl=transformers-igear-toys-conair-ig-c01
I liked this design as his earth bot mode
Posted by quickmixed on August 5th, 2013 @ 2:32am CDT

84forever wrote: Who ever said Scoop was in their top 5 favorite characters? No one!
The sudden inclusion of Scoop is a blatant product placement with the recent announcement of his figure revealed. If its nostalgia in a TF comic your'e after, There's always that

Posted by synapse on August 5th, 2013 @ 3:14am CDT
Noideaforaname wrote:^ I guess that means Flatline doesn't have a toy coming anytime soon.
But if he designed as "possible redeco"... what's the original toy he coul be redecoed from?
Posted by Va'al on August 5th, 2013 @ 4:56am CDT
synapse wrote:Noideaforaname wrote:^ I guess that means Flatline doesn't have a toy coming anytime soon.
But if he designed as "possible redeco"... what's the original toy he coul be redecoed from?
Griffith's tweets are not clear on that, but it's either the Trailcutter/Hoist mold or the Skids one.
Posted by Va'al on August 6th, 2013 @ 5:38am CDT
(Spoiler free-ish)
Synopsis
NEW CYBERTRON! It’s a brand new day—and STARSCREAM is in charge! But running a planet isn’t as easy as it looks… if BUMBLEBEE couldn’t do it, why does the former DECEPTICON think he can?

He has a plan!
Story
Remember how last issue was about Orion Pax and Gorlam Prime? And the one before about the factions now residing outside Iacon and Arcee, and before that it was Shockwave and D(r)eadwing? If you haven't read them yet, you're in luck, as issue 20 still does not advance the plot much!

You're welcome
Starscream really does take centre stage with this issue, and with him arguably being the best character to come out of Robots in Disguise, that is definitely not a bad thing. Barber has swapped his monologue by captions technique by coming out and calling the issue 'Three Monologues', allowing him to let Starscream speak, pretty much to himself, the whole time.

And to cameras!
It feels a little better than the usual floating voices, and there are ways of showing a 'silent audience' like Metalhawk's body which almost justify it. But Screamer-fest aside, very little happens in the issue, except for the introduction of upcoming toy Scoop and potential upcoming toy Rattrap.

Who also has a distinct.. er.. voice
The characterisation and hints at future developments aren't bad, and I enjoyed it more than other issues along the same lines. But the story really did not do much, at all. Rattrap is a peculiar choice, in terms of personality, especially when placed next to Starscream, and Scoop felt almost unnecessary.
Art
Visually, though, it works really well. From Metalhawk's body and the other ..incapacitated characters throughout the issue to the newcomers Rattrap and Scoop, and the play between blacked-out Iacon and the city once power is restored - it's all really good looking. And Griffith shows off his skills on page 6, with some excellent panel work.

Boy, does Starscream love that pose
The lighting differences mentioned above really pop out thanks to Priscilla Tramontano's colouring work. The story progresses from complete darkness in the heart of night to the first lights of dawn, via artificial lighting coming back in operation - and yes, you can feel it in the tones and shades.

J.J. Abrams directed this scene
Shawn Lee's lettering work gets a few particularly creative moments too, which is very nice to see. The three artists working on this issue have done a stellar job to make a fairly static story particularly aesthetically pleasing, and if anything, pick the issue up for the look of it.
Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead
Abandoning the caption monologue was a good strategy, though I'm not sure how I feel about still having the monologues anyway. On the plus side, they fit the character of Starscream perfectly. The art on the issue, also Starscream-centric, is stunning, and if Starscream Starscream, then Starscream Starscream Starscream. So Starscream. Starscream?

Starscream
Starscream-fest aside, though, it does little to the plot other than introduce two-three characters and hint at some stuff, and it then tries to make up for it with the final page reveal - which is nice, but the gimmick is getting a bit tiresome. Still, as I said, I enjoyed it more than previous similar issues, and Starscream really does shine in this.








Posted by 1984forever on August 6th, 2013 @ 10:24am CDT