Twincast / Podcast Episode #66 "Pop Up" Part 1 of 2

A 2-parter? Interesting, I look forward to listening to these

Samsonator wrote:A 2-parter? Interesting, I look forward to listening to these

jON3.0 did a really special intro in the 2nd parter that I think you guys will get a kick out of. Let us know what you think!

Just got through part 1. Starting part 2, Jon's intro to that one was fantastic! Good stuff so far!

REAL TALK: Mr. Seibertron, you should consider doing something about your mic or doing a little bit of post production on your recorded podcasts, if you're not doing so already. Seems like in pretty much every episode there's at least 1 moment where your volume shoots way up, distorting the signal & hurting my ears. I think you can find some free software to auto-level your recordings, which would fix the volume issue at least.

Spaceship Bruce wrote:REAL TALK: Mr. Seibertron, you should consider doing something about your mic or doing a little bit of post production on your recorded podcasts, if you're not doing so already. Seems like in pretty much every episode there's at least 1 moment where your volume shoots way up, distorting the signal & hurting my ears. I think you can find some free software to auto-level your recordings, which would fix the volume issue at least.

Thank you for the feedback. Can you tell me at which point in the audio that there is an issue so that we can hopefully address the problem? Thanks.

I really was hoping that by talking about comics you guys would actually talk about the comics, going storyline by storyline, point by point, and give your opinions on those (characters, plots, dialogue, etc.). If that's at all possible in the future that would be FANTASTIC.

Something in-depth from you guys would be a lot of fun to listen to.

All I can really say is

'I really was hoping that by talking about comics you guys would actually talk about the comics, going storyline by storyline, point by point, and give your opinions on those (characters, plots, dialogue, etc.). If that's at all possible in the future that would be FANTASTIC.
Something in-depth from you guys would be a lot of fun to listen to.'

Yeah, me, too - I was all revved up to talk comics... but it had been a long night of recording & we were winding down. Next time (hopefully) - there's too damn many interesting (and ground-breaking, in my opinion) things happening in IDW Transformers comics these days.

Really great show guys,

Just after getting issue 50 of the club 'comic', it's just pictures, it really works well with the interviews and features, just pictures not so much

yeah, great job Jon, and that voices for Autism is really great,

Oh, I forgot to mention after the hilarity - Alternators Swerve does have GPS hands. Really fragile, sad, GPS hands. Mine broke the first time* I put his gun in his hand



*I was the second owner, it was already years old.

ScottyP wrote:Oh, I forgot to mention after the hilarity - Alternators Swerve does have GPS hands. Really fragile, sad, GPS hands. Mine broke the first time* I put his gun in his hand



*I was the second owner, it was already years old.

Are there gold plastic variants on Alternators Swerve? It looks like mine has that light tan colored plastic with no swirls or metallic flakes to be seen.

Seibertron wrote:
Are there gold plastic variants on Alternators Swerve? It looks like mine has that light tan colored plastic with no swirls or metallic flakes to be seen.

My alternators are conveniently not on a shelf at the moment, so I'll check when I get back from the office. May not be extremely golden in color, but the way it broke was just like any GPS break I've ever experienced.

Deadpool isn't out yet..... so if what you've heard is true then a lot of people are going to be let down.

Blurrz wrote:The Deadpool game isn't released yet!

It was a bit difficult for me to grasp Ryan's view on 'everyone being a comedian' in MTMTE, but I think I understand, but truly there is nothing wrong with. Social Psychology says that crowd behavior trumps over everything and the Lost Light is the greatest example of it. Rodimus is the most lax leader and he makes everyone around him loosen up. In parties or groups in general, if there's that one funny person, aren't they going to make the rest of the group lighten up and laugh as well? That is what makes this MTMTE book feel human, and if that's not your thing, then it isn't for everyone, but I really think with Roberts is doing - by making the robots more human, makes MTMTE attach to readers like nothing before. This series is a hit on social media, tumblr, deviantart, twitter, etc. They never had this before for Costa's run of Schmidt's reign.

You look at pop culture these days and isn't everyone, essentially, throwing humor around? Even as serious a movie as Dark Knight Rises is, there are moments where every character, at least once, says something funny. Contrast that to the Marvel Movies and they are overloaded with humor, and yet there are times when they can be serious. Aren't we all allowed a little humor, here and there?

I would also argue that not all the characters are trying to be comedians. Ultra Magnus is still very by the book. He's trying his hardest to, but obviously when there's a ship full of 200 hooligans and a no rules leader, things are going to break. Drift is so serious with his own ego that it's hysterical. Cyclonus. The DJD. Red Alert? The list goes on and on. Not every character is serious, nor is every character a comedian. If the book was either-or, it would be boring and not have the success that it has. Despite the opinions on their characters, one can't deny the popularity that MTMTE has achieved. This isn't because the Ongoing '09-11 sucked. Because except for for issues 22-24, it did. But MTMTE is actually really, really, really good.

You guys are missing my point or I'm not doing a good job of explaining it. I have no qualms with sarcasm. We are all sarcastic and witty in our own ways. I don't have this issue with Robots In Disguise so I know it's the style of writing used on More Than Meets The Eye. I just feel like the sarcasm applies to everyone in this book. Everyone's sarcastic or a funny guy. I don't think that's normal. Since I've received pushback against this opinion I have from so many people, maybe I need to go through all of the Robots In Disguise books and find all of the "funny guy" moments so that I can either show myself that it's consistent with which characters are having a go at sarcasm or so that I can better demonstrate to all of you what my point is.

Or perhaps its just James Roberts writing style that I don't personally care for. His writing seems very solid to me and seems to treat the overall story arc very good. I just don't care for the sarcasm being thrown left and right to whatever character needs it. I'm assuming James Roberts enjoys writing his characters in a sarcastic manner, at least that's how it comes across to me. Controlling that sarcasm to either a select few characters or to times in the book when it can be funny, instead of overused, would be greatly appreciated by me.

I felt the same way about Last Stand of the Wreckers. That book didn't do it for me either, but it was a big hit amongst many fans.

It's a good book. The "everyone-uses-sarcasm" just isn't for me.

Seibertron wrote:You guys are missing my point or I'm not doing a good job of explaining it. I have no qualms with sarcasm. We are all sarcastic and witty in our own ways. I don't have this issue with Robots In Disguise so I know it's the style of writing used on More Than Meets The Eye. I just feel like the sarcasm applies to everyone in this book. Everyone's sarcastic or a funny guy. I don't think that's normal. Since I've received pushback against this opinion I have from so many people, maybe I need to go through all of the Robots In Disguise books and find all of the "funny guy" moments so that I can either show myself that it's consistent with which characters are having a go at sarcasm or so that I can better demonstrate to all of you what my point is.

So I decided to make a go at getting a pic of the examples I found that irk me. I'm up to 30 examples from the first issue plus a few pages of the 2nd book. Maybe "sarcasm" isn't the right word. Maybe it is just his style of writing that gets me, no offense to James Roberts.

Besides the "sarcasm" and funny-guy comments, the "quiet" or "under-your breath" speech bubbles get me as well. Magnus, while not portrayed as a funny, is portrayed in a manner which is to be perceived as humorous (i.e. Rodimus asking how Magnus really sees the world, and then the next panel shows you how he sees the world ... hah hah! plus his "by-the-book" mannerisms are intended to be perceived as funny or humorous).

Maybe it's just the whole "light hearted" way the book is written. That might be a better way of saying it. I guess I'm at a loss of words to describe what it is that annoys be about how books such as Last Stand of the Wreckers and More Than Meets The Eye are written. To me, both of these books are perfect examples of "less is more" when it comes to light-heartedness, being a smart ass, being a funny guy, or being sarcastic. If this is a style of writing and I'm missing the word, please let me know what this style is called because it's just not for me.

After listening to this completely I get the impession that everyone agreed to skirt the nature of Chromedome and Rewind's relationship. Matt called them "friends". They arent friends. They are one another's conjunx endura. They love one another. There is no ambiguity.

If it was purposely not expounded upon then: dirty pool sirs. Dirty pool.

Seibertron wrote:

Blurrz wrote:The Deadpool game isn't released yet!

It was a bit difficult for me to grasp Ryan's view on 'everyone being a comedian' in MTMTE, but I think I understand, but truly there is nothing wrong with. Social Psychology says that crowd behavior trumps over everything and the Lost Light is the greatest example of it. Rodimus is the most lax leader and he makes everyone around him loosen up. In parties or groups in general, if there's that one funny person, aren't they going to make the rest of the group lighten up and laugh as well? That is what makes this MTMTE book feel human, and if that's not your thing, then it isn't for everyone, but I really think with Roberts is doing - by making the robots more human, makes MTMTE attach to readers like nothing before. This series is a hit on social media, tumblr, deviantart, twitter, etc. They never had this before for Costa's run of Schmidt's reign.

You look at pop culture these days and isn't everyone, essentially, throwing humor around? Even as serious a movie as Dark Knight Rises is, there are moments where every character, at least once, says something funny. Contrast that to the Marvel Movies and they are overloaded with humor, and yet there are times when they can be serious. Aren't we all allowed a little humor, here and there?

I would also argue that not all the characters are trying to be comedians. Ultra Magnus is still very by the book. He's trying his hardest to, but obviously when there's a ship full of 200 hooligans and a no rules leader, things are going to break. Drift is so serious with his own ego that it's hysterical. Cyclonus. The DJD. Red Alert? The list goes on and on. Not every character is serious, nor is every character a comedian. If the book was either-or, it would be boring and not have the success that it has. Despite the opinions on their characters, one can't deny the popularity that MTMTE has achieved. This isn't because the Ongoing '09-11 sucked. Because except for for issues 22-24, it did. But MTMTE is actually really, really, really good.

You guys are missing my point or I'm not doing a good job of explaining it. I have no qualms with sarcasm. We are all sarcastic and witty in our own ways. I don't have this issue with Robots In Disguise so I know it's the style of writing used on More Than Meets The Eye. I just feel like the sarcasm applies to everyone in this book. Everyone's sarcastic or a funny guy. I don't think that's normal. Since I've received pushback against this opinion I have from so many people, maybe I need to go through all of the Robots In Disguise books and find all of the "funny guy" moments so that I can either show myself that it's consistent with which characters are having a go at sarcasm or so that I can better demonstrate to all of you what my point is.

Or perhaps its just James Roberts writing style that I don't personally care for. His writing seems very solid to me and seems to treat the overall story arc very good. I just don't care for the sarcasm being thrown left and right to whatever character needs it. I'm assuming James Roberts enjoys writing his characters in a sarcastic manner, at least that's how it comes across to me. Controlling that sarcasm to either a select few characters or to times in the book when it can be funny, instead of overused, would be greatly appreciated by me.

I felt the same way about Last Stand of the Wreckers. That book didn't do it for me either, but it was a big hit amongst many fans.

It's a good book. The "everyone-uses-sarcasm" just isn't for me.

Then it just isn't for you. From the very beginning Roberts has been up front with readers as to what this book is all about, and what to expect. From his introduction page in issue #1:

"MTMTE is Lost in Space. It's Star Trek meets Dark Star, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It's Justice League International as re-imagined by Stephen Moffat; it's Arrested Development with alt modes. It's...it's...look, it's a bunch of mechnoids fighting and bickering, right, and haven't you ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE THAT?"

So there it is, in black in white. A statement that is pretty much everything you hate about the book. Which turns out to be...the actual purpose of the book. The very function of the thing. And as we've learned: every form has a function. Right?

MTMTE is hands down the greatest, most nuanced, distinct, intelligent, characterful, fun, breath of fresh air that the franchise has ever seen in my opinion. Roberts is a gd genius.

Concepts like Empurata, shadowplay, the Tyrest Accord, DJD, conjunx endura, whiteout rooms, Swerve's Bar, unundium, leg guns...it's all so brilliant and welcome. So while it's easy to see what you're saying (and to a point I agree), I have to also ultimately disagree.

worldsgreatest wrote:After listening to this completely I get the impession that everyone agreed to skirt the nature of Chromedome and Rewind's relationship. Matt called them "friends". They arent friends. They are one another's conjunx endura. They love one another. There is no ambiguity.

If it was purposely not expounded upon then: dirty pool sirs. Dirty pool.

There are a lot of points that we'd like to discuss. I think it was more of a time thing. We recorded from 8pm until 11pm Central that night, which is midnight for the east coast part of our crew who had to be up in the wee hours of the morning. Just not enough time to talk about everything and I'm most definitely in the very early learning stages of learning how to control the conversation so that we don't ramble on (which I know I'm notorious for on the podcast) and get stuck on a point in the conversation.

Seibertron wrote:

worldsgreatest wrote:After listening to this completely I get the impession that everyone agreed to skirt the nature of Chromedome and Rewind's relationship. Matt called them "friends". They arent friends. They are one another's conjunx endura. They love one another. There is no ambiguity.

If it was purposely not expounded upon then: dirty pool sirs. Dirty pool.

There are a lot of points that we'd like to discuss. I think it was more of a time thing. We recorded from 8pm until 11pm Central that night, which is midnight for the east coast part of our crew who had to be up in the wee hours of the morning. Just not enough time to talk about everything and I'm most definitely in the very early learning stages of learning how to control the conversation so that we don't ramble on (which I know I'm notorious for on the podcast) and get stuck on a point in the conversation.

Cool! Next time then.

I'll admit, I've only read the last several issues. It's just not my type comic.

Seibertron wrote:Are there gold plastic variants on Alternators Swerve? It looks like mine has that light tan colored plastic with no swirls or metallic flakes to be seen.

X-posting this from Twitter -

Checking out my Swerve, the plastic definitely has that swirly-ness to it. It's a bit hard to see, but it's there:


Swerve Gold 1

And here's the broken off thumb:


Swerve Gold 2

Seibertron wrote:Thank you for the feedback. Can you tell me at which point in the audio that there is an issue so that we can hopefully address the problem? Thanks.

Try 20:15 in part 1 of this episode, there's a pretty big pop shortly thereafter.

Also, so that my post isn't purely critical: Thanks for all of the free entertainment, I enjoy the podcasts.

Spaceship Bruce wrote:

Seibertron wrote:Thank you for the feedback. Can you tell me at which point in the audio that there is an issue so that we can hopefully address the problem? Thanks.

Try 20:15 in part 1 of this episode, there's a pretty big pop shortly thereafter.

Also, so that my post isn't purely critical: Thanks for all of the free entertainment, I enjoy the podcasts.

I bet this is caused when I absent-mindedly close the lid on my laptop. The "pop" is probably caused when I shut the lid or promptly reopen it when I realize what I did.

I use the mic on my laptop instead of my headset because the audio for my voice sounds better. I really need to get a better headset so that I can use the mic on the headset instead.

Just finished listening to both parts. That was an epic listening.

I am psyched about the new pop-up book and cannot wait for it to come out. Though we have already seen some artwork from the bible that this book took from (and more at BotCon 2010 & 2011), it'll be sweet to see all of the additional Binder of Revelation's artwork for the Aligned Continuity characters that this book used.

Regarding the Go! toys, the second combiner team (the ninjas) are also Autobots.

Although, Ryan, I kinda get what you mean by Go!'s story premise being like a modern take on Masterforce's setup (with the main Autobots and Decepticons leaving Earth while a small unit of second tier dudes stay behind to defend the planet), but I don't quite understand what you mean by it also being like Beast Wars II.

Regarding the... erm... hmmm, the uh... "Alternity-esque" toys with the race girl figurines, the toyline for those toys is called just "Transformers GT", whereas "Super GT" is just the name of the racing car brand that's sponsoring this toyline.

I just sold and transformed Alternators Swerve to ship. I didn't notice any GPS issues at all. Sorry for your losses guys, I was hoping to maybe add to that discussion. I was as careful as possible with his hands though after hearing the first half of the podcast.

The Deadpool game isn't out yet. Sales of an unreleased game couldn't possibly have been the reason High Moon had to trim down. Adding insult to injury, I couldn't possibly care less about a Deadpool game, comics or anything related to the character. I bought and enjoyed the comics for a long time. Eventually a string of poor writing and poor stories overall broke my connection to it. Reading some of that stuff again is horrendous. I would have much rather gotten more fantastic TF games from those folks for a long time to come.

I really enjoyed the guest for these episodes. I'm interested in checking out the pop up books now if not adding them to my shelf. He seemed to add a lot to the conversation and bring up more talking points and counterpoints. Overall, a joy to listen to.

I'm nearly current on my comic trades. More Than Meets the Eye is hands down my favorite TF comic we've EVER gotten. What started with Last Stand continues in that book and it just captures me. The combination of humor, wit and sharp artwork is a winner. RID is alright too but everyone is so 90's Marvel in it. Grim and dark. Regeneration One? Man, Simon Furman really is a one trick pony with Transformers comics isn't he? Easily my least favorite of the current stuff. Don't get me started on Livio Ramondelli. Transformers is not where he should be making his home. His style fails miserably here.

As far as toys go, I haven't been able to find jack lately. I'm STILL hunting for Beast Hunters Shockwave. No dice on Cyberverse Hun Grr. I can't even find the single pack Kreons. Papa needs a Hook! I did run across Blitzwing and Springer. They look like great figures. Springer has got some in your face deco going on though. It's almost G2 loud. I'm waiting to see what Takara pull off before I commit. I'm really looking forward to getting solid info about final decos for Metroplex and confirmation on whether or not Metrotitan is in the works. Oh, and Fort Max came in. Mine has minimal issues and I am tickled pink to finally have him in my collection. Now Brave Max finally has a weapon to hold in the Master Sword.

All in all, good stuff guys.


::EDIT:: The racing queens wouldn't fit inside Alternators scale either even if they were that large. Microman figures are slightly shorter/smaller than a standard GI Joe.