IDW Optimus Prime #13 Preview Is Up!

Um, wow. I'll be a bit disappointed if Sixshot really was taken down by four Throttlebots, even if he was already hurting from getting stepped on by Metroplex.

Awwww... Wideload and Freeway didn't even make it off planet?

Really caught off guard by how engaging these three pages are. Very excited for upcoming issues, now I'm impatient to read just the rest of this one.

Additionally, let the speculation commence on whether the Botanica mention is a joke or something more. I'll go with "Regen One Retcon" in a scale from "Joke" to "Botanica becomes the main character".

ScottyP wrote:Really caught off guard by how engaging these three pages are. Very excited for upcoming issues, now I'm impatient to read just the rest of this one.

Additionally, let the speculation commence on whether the Botanica mention is a joke or something more. I'll go with "Regen One Retcon" in a scale from "Joke" to "Botanica becomes the main character".

Or it’s neither and just a reference

I'm sad they are saying 2 of the Throttlebots bit it. I thought they would live.

Speaking of which, where is the 6th throttlebot?

Randomhero wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Really caught off guard by how engaging these three pages are. Very excited for upcoming issues, now I'm impatient to read just the rest of this one.

Additionally, let the speculation commence on whether the Botanica mention is a joke or something more. I'll go with "Regen One Retcon" in a scale from "Joke" to "Botanica becomes the main character".

Or it’s neither and just a reference

I'm giving you a "no fun" on a scale from "literal charisma parasite" to "parties so hard it's guaranteed to be worth the jail time"

Yes though, it probably is just using it for the sake of it. Was hoping that came across but I suppose not.

Aw man, it's super sad (yet super interesting) that the Throttle Bots don't know that the Autobots basically won the war, especially since there are hundreds if not thousands of other stranded Cybertronians that are in the exact same situation.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:I'm sad they are saying 2 of the Throttlebots bit it. I thought they would live.

Speaking of which, where is the 6th throttlebot?

Goldbug mentions that "Searchlight keeps watching the skies," and a panel shows him briefly. It was hard for me to pick him out at first too. He is supposed to be the reclusive one, so it makes sense that he would be keeping lookout alone while the others are talking.

I have been putting off this review thinking it was going to be another meh chapter of Optimus Prime... Bit no,

HOLY HANDLEBARS I wanna read a story about THROTTLEBOTS. Way to go, IDW for making a throwaway gimmick team into (potentially) interesting story.

I am excited about where this could go. Especially whwm the Tjrottlebots find outbthe Autobots won amd just didnt come for them.

Even though I am tiring of Disillusionment Prime.

Fresh from the folders of IDW Publishing, we have for all of you a full preview of the latest comic in their ongoing Transformers series, dealing with the aftermath of First Strike, and the first of a two-part story featuring the Throttlebots again.. and maybe more.

Check out the full works on Optimus Prime #13 below, and join us again after the book is released on Wednesday for a Seibertron.com review, an inevitable discussion, and more, all in the Energon Pub discussion boards.

Optimus Prime #13
John Barber (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a) • Kei Zama (c)
As the consequences of the First Strike event reverberate, Optimus Prime ventures into the wilderness of Cybertron to search for the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Optimus Prime deals with the fallout of the First Strike event!
Variant cover by Livio Ramondelli!

BOW BOW BOW

Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust

Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?

Man, what do IDW have against the Throttlebots?!?

Bob looks so sad!

Oh, and just a heads up, John Barber revealed two other characters who will finally be making their return in this issue on the newest episode of Action and Adventure: The Hasbro Universe Podcast. http://hasbrouniverse.libsyn.com/episod ... -never-die

ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?

Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562

Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome

ScottyP wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?

Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562

Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome

But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?

Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562

Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome

But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!

My assumption is those are from the sparks front the hotspot the Dinobots and Trypticon took. Dinobots are building their own Dinobots/army/people

Randomhero wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?

Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562

Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome

But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!

My assumption is those are from the sparks front the hotspot the Dinobots and Trypticon took. Dinobots are building their own Dinobots/army/people

But that hot spot is inside Trypticon, on Cybertron, and the Throttlebots never made it back to Cybertron.

Also, really hoping they touch more on Sixshot soon

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?

Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562

Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome

But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!

My assumption is those are from the sparks front the hotspot the Dinobots and Trypticon took. Dinobots are building their own Dinobots/army/people

But that hot spot is inside Trypticon, on Cybertron, and the Throttlebots never made it back to Cybertron.

Also, really hoping they touch more on Sixshot soon

See my assumption was trypticon and the Dino’s left. They space bridged away and maybe they ended up on the planet where the throttlebots are. But maybe it is onyx’s forced but I figured maybe it’s not becuase those guys are all dinosaurs

I wish I could share everyone’s sympathy for sixshot but I don’t. He hasn’t shown up for 8 years and he’s not that important in IDW. Not saying I don’t miss him but he wasnt very pivotal before and he really isn’t now.

I really wish IDW would stop using Livio.

Bring back EJ Su, James Raiz, Guido Guidi or Don Figuerara.

Livio and Andy Wildman are the two worst Transformers artists.

Synopsis
As the consequences of the First Strike event reverberate, Optimus Prime ventures into the wilderness of Cybertron to search for the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years!



Story

We leave First Strike almost entirely behind with this issue of the ongoing Optimus Prime series from IDW Publishing, though there are clear echoes at the start of the comic for sure - some louder than others - but the real accomplishment of the comic overall is just how much story it packs in one single issue.



You will remember the Throttlebots in the IDW universe only if you were with the publisher's output since the Spotlight days, and specifically Spotlight: Metroplex, and we really had heard nothing from them since - the way in which Barber catches everyone up is admirable, and doesn't fall into the expodump traps it could've, still leaving a lot to be inferred or imagined being left out.



On the other side, we also have a continuation of the Dynobot trilogy, or Redemption of the Dinobots, with some additional information as to what went down after that story 'ended' and what may or may not have happened to the new sparks being discovered and activated, yet again leading to more questions answered and other not at all.



And finally, we have some references to both Rom vs Transformers: Shining Armor - which will see its final issue next week - and the First Strike event, which this comic serves as one of the consequences of in terms of the general frame. And it's a frame that makes perfect sense, once you take into account how the stories have crossed paths, and who shows up in the multiple scenes that you will enjoy spending time identifying - or just using our database for (warning, spoilers obviously).

Art

The art by Livio Ramondelli adds a nice touch of continuity with the Redemption of the Dinobots story, as the writing does for First Strike and the others - and it's one of his best efforts yet, with some true standouts when another returning character appears in his machinations, and some seriously eery scenes looming over pretty much the entire book.



Ramondelli obviously also provides his own colours, and much like for the Dinobot one-shots, the choice of palette and tones used in different scenes fit perfectly to the surprisingly very dark issue that Barber's script has laid out. The flames on one side, the cold metal on the other, it does feel like the heart of something is weighing heavy, all the way through.



The lettering is once more in the hands of capable Tom B. Long, and his combinations with Ramondelli's style always stands out a little more than usual - usually thanks to the hues of the backgrounds - but that's never a bad thing. The cover used for the thumbnail is the exercise in empathic emotion, with Casey Coller and John-Paul Bove taking on the surviving Throttlebots at their most vulnerable yet resilient; all others can be found in the Database entry for the issue here.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

If you've read through me trying to highlight a couple of strands present in the issue, you make have one of two takeaways: there is a lot going on - perhaps too much, and it can get overloading or overbearing after a certain point, especially as a newer reader; there is a lot going on, and that's the best thing we could've had from a story like this, merging together threads that had been almost liminal so far. I veer on the latter, but entirely understand the former.



The visual side of the book fits the tone and hits the spot exactly for the issue, and it helps deliver an intricate set-up and build of that merging I just mentioned - what I am concerned about, if anything, at this stage, is the landing. We'll see next issue how Barber and the others conclude this incursion into contemporary Hasbroverse, after such a strong take-off. But if you liked the Spotlight era, the Dinobots, the science experiments, and certain unlikeables - and a lot more about Arcee, which is never turned down as an offer - this book is for you.

So it seems this book happens after Transformers vs. Visionaries, right?

Nik Hero wrote:So it seems this book happens after Transformers vs. Visionaries, right?

At the same time as the first issue, in fact - directly after First Strike, both stories start to unravel.

I loved this issue. Super wordy and quite an info dump but it was damn good. Kept reading and halfway i said “is this an extra long issue?” No it’s just got a lot going on in it. With Onyx and Liege Maximo coming back in January-something i thought wouldn’t happen till the Power of the Primes event- I’m curious to what power of the primes will be about.

IDW posted on Twitter that the incentive cover for Optimus Prime 14 will be from James Raiz, in an attempt to make the most detailed drawing of Trypticon ever. James Raiz has done a series of videos on his youtube channel, the box office artist, featuring his process in doing the most detailed drawings of Transformers characters. However, all those were not solicited by official channels. But his hard work paid off and his drawing of Trypticon is comissioned by IDW to be the 10 copy retailer incentive cover. Raiz also most recently did the interior pages for the Unicron reveal in First Strike #6, so it is great to see this amazing artist get his due with some really cool paid work.

The actual tweet from IDW reads as follows:

IDW wrote:@boxofficeartist presents The Most Detailed Drawing Ever of Transformers Trypticon! Get a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible skill that went into creating this astounding cover for Optimus Prime #14.

The tweet had a link to the video below which shows his process for drawing the Trypticon cover. We also included an other example of what his youtube channel can offer, which includes courses on drawing Transformers like Grimlock.







As for the claim that this is the most detailed Trypticon drawing out there, Studio Ox may want a word in (if this below is considered a drawing).

Now I love James Raiz art. He doesn’t get enough work but it just looks like an old Dreamwave cover or art piece with all those panels and looks like he’s got leprosy.

Detail is great until you start looking at something and get confused because there’s too much detail and have a hard time deciphering stuff

holy primus

He looks like he's made out of rock.

I like his art as well wasn’t able buy one of his prints to big to put anywhere but trypticon stands out cover he doesn’t blend in with background he looks paste in

Now that is impressive. One of the best covers I've ever seen.

I really dig how Full Tilt is also huge, like a Titan on a bigger Titan!

Honestly not a fan of that cover.

There was definitely a lot going on in the last issue, so holy cows lots to process.

I'm wondering what Prowl has been up to, seeing as how he was last chilling in base Maximus on Luna-1. He found Wheelie and Garnak (yay for bringing them back finally!) and he found Stardrive. And what looks like a vamparc ribbon from the Sentinel Prime days. Man, guy sure is busy.

Also, really interested to see where the Dinobots go. And what kind of an effect Slug will have the story. And Bludgeon is what, a servant of Onyx, Liege, Unicron? who is his master?

Well it looks like Christmas will be coming a little early for fans of IDW's Optimus Prime ongoing comic. Coming to us from iTunes, we have a three page preview of issue #14, which is due just a few days before Christmas, on December 20th! Picking up right where issue #13 left off, we get right into it with Prowl leading a team consisting of Wheelie, Garnak, Stardrive(!) and a HUGE gun, on a mission to save the Throttlebots (who'd been MIA for the better part of a decade, since Spotlight: Metroplex, waaaaaaaay back in 2008) from a horde of beast-mode Transformers.The other plot thread running through the issue is Optimus' team fighting the Dinobots over a cache of sparks that Trypticon is bringing to life. Read on below!

On Cybertron, Optimus Prime battles the Dinobots over the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years! But does he stand a chance when the Dinobots' newest member is two miles tall and eats cities?

So what do you think? Are you planning on picking this issue up when it comes out in a few weeks? Stay tuned to Seibertron.com for a full preview in a week or two, then come back to the Energon Pub Forums to discuss this issue when it's released.

Holy slag, that poor thing is part dire wraith.

Sunstar wrote:Holy slag, that poor thing is part dire wraith.

I had hoped that wouldn't be the case with her, but hopefully it's like that G.I. Joe character (Doc?) who's half Wraith and one of the good guys. Seems like Stardrive doesn't let any Wraith part of her take over.

Hmmm. There was a Dire Wraith in a MTMTE issue of Revolution who seemed pretty nice.
I am guessing they're not innately evil any more than humans or Cybertronians.

Maybe it's a Venom type deal: it matters who the host is, and Stardrive is very strong-willed.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?

Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562

Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome

But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!

>The Primes return
>Everybody is shaking in their actuators
>Turns out they have returned to prepare Cybertron for something even worse
"The tribes must unite!"
"There aren't really tribes anymore."
"If you say 'unite' do you mean 'combine'?
"This is an outrage! We have fought to rid ourselves of oppressors for millions of years!"
"Wait, what does this mean? Were these guys created by the Guiding Hand?"
"What would Primus do?"
"Is Optimus one of these Primes?"
"Scrap that - is Megatron?"
"You are being deceived!"


Also... still rooting for this to be true.

It doesn't surprise me that Stardrive is now part Dire Wraith based on the conclusion of Shining Armor. I just hope she's able to control that side of her.

I'm wondering why Prowl is missing an eye again. Maybe he had to fight someone for the Vamparc Ribbon? Maybe it's just artistic license or a straight-up goof.

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:It doesn't surprise me that Stardrive is now part Dire Wraith based on the conclusion of Shining Armor. I just hope she's able to control that side of her.

I'm wondering why Prowl is missing an eye again. Maybe he had to fight someone for the Vamparc Ribbon? Maybe it's just artistic license or a straight-up goof.

Why can't Prowl get his eye replaced or fixed? He's supposed to be incredibly capable and resourceful.
Come to think of it, why doesn't Elita-1 get her right-side antenna replaced? Is that deliberate, leaving the damage unfixed for many years? This might have been explained but I forgot.

It was a tiny bit. I assume too small to do more than give her an extra ability?

snavej wrote:

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:It doesn't surprise me that Stardrive is now part Dire Wraith based on the conclusion of Shining Armor. I just hope she's able to control that side of her.

I'm wondering why Prowl is missing an eye again. Maybe he had to fight someone for the Vamparc Ribbon? Maybe it's just artistic license or a straight-up goof.

Why can't Prowl get his eye replaced or fixed? He's supposed to be incredibly capable and resourceful.
Come to think of it, why doesn't Elita-1 get her right-side antenna replaced? Is that deliberate, leaving the damage unfixed for many years? This might have been explained but I forgot.

Well look at garnak. He’s got an eye patch now he didn’t during dark Cybertron. In fact all his wounds were healed From syndromica. The in-universe excuse is he has a healing factor, barber said that to fix the continuity goof. Real reason is Dark a Cybertron was drawn a year before release and the artists didn’t know he was injured. Same thing here. Livio is just following the last time he drew the characters. Prowls missing eye from the one panel he drew him in titans return even though it was repaired at the end of Sins of the wreckers only for Priscilla to follow and give him his missing eye only for her to have it repaired at the end of Titans Return and now it’s back to being gone again.

Tfwiki just put that maybe he’s missing it as a reminder of his betrayal he feels from a Prime.

Real reason: livio doesn’t bother to read previous book to follow continuity unity or it’s just in the script that it’s gone again.

Sabrewing wrote:Hmmm. There was a Dire Wraith in a MTMTE issue of Revolution who seemed pretty nice.
I am guessing they're not innately evil any more than humans or Cybertronians.

Maybe it's a Venom type deal: it matters who the host is, and Stardrive is very strong-willed.

Ryall's confirmed this. Wraiths like Doc and CONS4EVA were just a first glimpse into the fact that not all Dire Wraiths use magic for spooky evilness or whatever.

That said, Dire Wraiths are not interesting villains. I'm disappointed in this direction for Stardrive, but open to changing my mind about it. Not a good start though.

ScottyP wrote:

Sabrewing wrote:Hmmm. There was a Dire Wraith in a MTMTE issue of Revolution who seemed pretty nice.
I am guessing they're not innately evil any more than humans or Cybertronians.

Maybe it's a Venom type deal: it matters who the host is, and Stardrive is very strong-willed.

Ryall's confirmed this. Wraiths like Doc and CONS4EVA were just a first glimpse into the fact that not all Dire Wraiths use magic for spooky evilness or whatever.

That said, Dire Wraiths are not interesting villains. I'm disappointed in this direction for Stardrive, but open to changing my mind about it. Not a good start though.

Yeah they’re just Skrulls. A dime a dozen. You can make them as threatening as you want but they’re not really that interesting. IDW is trying to make them the worst enemy in the universe but cybertronians have already filled that roll for the past 12 years of IDW. Nothing wrong with that it’s a good idea and works.

Stardrive's alt mode looks interesting in this illustration. I can see Hasbto/Takara retooling the Titans Return Misfire mold into this character. That could be an interesting possibility.

WarMachine72 wrote:Stardrive's alt mode looks interesting in this illustration. I can see Hasbto/Takara retooling the Titans Return Misfire mold into this character. That could be an interesting possibility.

Well Takara isn’t gonna do it because they have no attachment to her and the Titan master gimmick is gone now so don’t hold out too much hope.

And exactly what attachment do they have to Windblade, which they have made multiple figures of?

Randomhero wrote:

WarMachine72 wrote:Stardrive's alt mode looks interesting in this illustration. I can see Hasbto/Takara retooling the Titans Return Misfire mold into this character. That could be an interesting possibility.

Well Takara isn’t gonna do it because they have no attachment to her and the Titan master gimmick is gone now so don’t hold out too much hope.

I'm more interested in seeing what Prowl has been up to, considering he was chilling on Luna 1. And where he found his hidden Vamparc Ribbons. And how he brought his team together.

Also, looks like poor Searchlight bit it. Dang, down to 3

Previews World has shown us a look at the retail cover B of the IDW Optimus Prime #14 comic that is set to release later this month around December 20th. The cover is done by artist, Casey Coller, as part of IDW's Artist Edition Cover month series. While the comic deals still with the fallout of the First-Strike series still, the production of the comic itself features the talents of writer, John Barber and the art skills of Livio Ramondelli inside the cover. The summary on PreviewsWorld states:

"On Cybertron, Optimus Prime battles the Dinobots over the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years! But does he stand a chance when the Dinobots' newest member is two miles tall and eats cities?

Lastly, the sales price is set to $3.99. Be sure to support the comic if you love it!

The third preview of this week's comics from IDW Publishing - as the Till All Are One Annual was covered already here - brings us back to Transformers proper, and the second part of the Livio Ramondelli-drawn issues featuring both the Throttlebots and the Dinobots in Optimus Prime #14. There are pretty much all of the possible spoilers for the previous issue present in the opening pages of this, so if you're a trade reader, or still waiting for #13, avoid the images below!

Will you be picking up the issue this week? Let us know what you think, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub discussion boards.

Optimus Prime #14
John Barber (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a) • Kei Zama (c)
On Cybertron, Optimus Prime battles the Dinobots over the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years! But does he stand a chance when the Dinobots' newest member is two miles tall and eats cities?
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
Part of IDW’s Artist’s Edition Cover Month!
Optimus Prime deals with the fallout of the First Strike event!
Variant cover by James Raiz!