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Last time in our Creative Round-Up, Burn had just risen like a zombie after falling asleep watching the first episode of the final season of Continuum and Va'al had gone missing somewhere between Italy and England, while Va'al's minions (aka the News Crew), completely forgot to do the round-up for over a month!
After surviving the lacklustre series finale of Continuum, and after receiving a frantic distress call from Va'al, Burn has raced to the rescue ... to post the latest Seibertron.com Creative Round-Up!
PLEASE NOTE: If we missed one of your contributions to the Transtopia section, blame Va'al, and just let us know in the comments. We are catching up to the feature, and some posts slip into the cracks of the internet.
THE HELP DESK
Customiser Glarryg is looking for some tips on Revoltech joints - leave your feedback here!
And Sabrblade is curious about disassembling the CW Optimus/Motormaster figure - any tips? Tell them here!
Howdy fellow Seibertronians and welcome to this week's episode of the Transformers weekly photo challenge.
This week we will be exploring the themes and camera techniques of Film Noir. There are a few ground rules to follow this week. All submissions will need to be in black and white and use low-key lighting.
I want to step out of my comfort zone and challenge both myself and you. This is a technique that I'm not very familiar with, so I've opened a post in the Focal Point: Level Up Those Photography Skills thread and can be found by clicking here. Let's use that thread to discuss tips and technique and come back here to post the final result.
I'm a little late on getting this week's challenge post up, so this challenge will run from 11/04/15 to 11/13/15.
Submission post use TFPC #7 in the subject line. Non submitters, please feel free to join the conversation.
And remember to keep your browsers pointed to Seibertron.com for the latest Transformer news, the largest galleries and the most fun you can have this side of a space bridge.
Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here. In the spirit of Halloween, I felt like making this list thematic and covering the:
Top 5 Ugliest Transformers Toys
While being aesthetically ugly is a big factor, what is important here is that it cannot be overly intentional (like Beast Wars Injector, who revels in his aesthetic). This is a list of toys that would repulse kids and adults from playing with them. Not necessarily the worst Transformers ever (although none of these are great toys, far from it), but definitely the kind that, were they alive Toy Story style, would just hang out in a corner whispering "kill me". It was actually really hard not to simply include all movie designs. The overly alien look does render several of them quite ugly, like this one...
ROTF Arcee might be ugly and look as female as a big bearded guy cosplaying as Princess Leia, but the design was just so odd that it became interesting. Couldn’t say the same about 2007 Arcee. Her face and the addition of the lipstick and alien robot hair done that way makes her step right into the uncanny valley (and don't get me started on the wheel boobs). The reason she isn’t any higher is because she actually has an amazing alt mode and the transformation is pretty great too. It doesn’t take away from the fact that Springer would only date this Arcee if she put a bag over her head.
These could have been cool toys, and they were once. Back before Transformers existed, you had Diaclone, which dealt with small pilots that rode in vehicles which became mechs. Think Mighty Max, Hotwheels and power rangers all rolled into one !!! Ironhide and Ratchet came from that line and while they might be cool if little figures could pilot their mech bodies, they become pretty darn ugly as official transformer toys. Hasbro removed the small figures, taking away the mech aspect and forcing it down our throats that these headless contraptions were sentient lifeforms with seats for faces. Just to give you an idea that this headless thing is seriously what they were trying to pass off as a sentient being, here is Ironhide's introduction in the comics.
At least your childhood toy was initially comic accurate, not that it's a great consolation prize.
A fellow board member said it best:
Lockdownhunter wrote:Show accuracy:0%
Awesomeness:0%
Ugliness:100%
Conclusion:These toys are garbage.
By...Computron
More times than needed, you'll get an almost unrecognizable alt mode in order to get a pretty cool robot mode. The reverse has not been seen as much since G1 (see above) but Mixmaster certainly fills that spot in nicely. His truck mode is great and very nicely done but it gives way to a mess of a robot. This design looks far more alien than robotic and while it may work for some people, it looks quite ugly to me. The proportions are all over the place, on purpose, and that makes the robot look like it is made up of a pile of junk (not in a good Wreck-Gar way) and you cant make heads or tails of what you are seeing at certain angles.
The same can be said for Demolishor who's robot mode is beyond bizarre. He looks like a one legged alien just begging for his life to end (a wish Optimus kindly obliged).
Oh man, speak of a face only a mother could love, here is the greatest abomination to the Bruticus name yet. It really looks like Satan and Cerebus had a child and aborted it. Both modes are atrocious and I don't get what the smart thinking was behind using the same head for the beast mode but wrapping it in ... muscle whiskers ?
1. Beast Wars Optimus Minor
Speaking of just wrapping the robot head... urgh. Here is Optimus Minor. While he is insulting to me as a Transformer, where all you have to do is turn him 180 and move his head up, it's even worse with the way you turn him from a robot to a monkey. Here is a question for you, which is which? Look at the pics. Both heads look like robot monkey heads. And the supposed Beast Mode head is worse since it has an alien edge to it both in looks and the fact that it wraps around the "robot head" like an inverse facehugger. It is like an ugly version of those mutant heads of old instead this time, the mutant head is the head of one of the modes.
I would like to thank fellow Seibertronian Cobotron for these awesome pictures.
Honourable Metions: People find Omega Supreme ugly, but I don’t get it. He is clunky, sure, but he has a fun 80s robot look to him. You know, the ones that go “beep doop beep doop” and spin their heads, like the robot in Toy Story.
Also, I would have loved to include Animated Voyager Megatron simply for his alt mode and failed cannon, but I can’t say he is uglier than those on the list. He might be a worse toy though.
Here are some other ugly faces that I think actually work in the favor of aesthetic and add rather than take away (hence why they didnt make the cut). The best examples are from beast Wars, like Injector, Iguanus and Transquitto as well as G1's Transformers G1 Repugnus who's name suggests he takes pride in his looks.
For those not subscribed to the thread pertaining to the Botcon 2016's "Dawn of Predacus" figure set, Seibertron has had the privileged of asking Fun Pub's very own TF_JW a few questions pertaining to the choices behind the set this year, especially the colours. Here below are answers from the Club's representative which I hope will shed some light on some questions and issues some may have had with what was revealed so far. And once you are done reading, come join the discussion on the official Botcon forums found right here on Seibertron!
- About Tarantulas
Personal observation here (as a guy who had nothing to do with the mold choice on this one).
Transmetal Tarantulas was... well he was a bit like Bruce Lee. He wasn't bulky, but the guy was trim and toned (look at those abs!). And then he had a ginormous linebacker's shoulder pads thrown on, giving him an extremely wide chest and shoulders.
From the day Rook was revealed, that's kind of how I saw him too. His upper legs aren't all that bulky, and with the bomb disposal claw defining his job, I can interpret him as a moderate-sized guy inside of massively oversized protective shielding. And with this being Tarantulas working with the Predacon Secret before/instead of on ancient Earth getting turned into a spider, I can catch some interesting story vibes of him putting on some riot gear or a bomb disposal suit for a particularly tricky assignment.
As for the size of the head, thanks for pointing that out. But there has been a 3D printing made and correctly fitted to the body, even if the digital color/paint mock-up might appear to show something different.
- About the decision to use these versions of the characters and these alt modes.
The decision to make a Beast Wars Anniversary set came, well, years ago. However, since there is a very limited catalog of beast molds accessible (unless you go back to the original 20 year old molds... which does have some appeal, don't get me wrong) and since there was no knowledge of what Hasbro or Takara Tomy might do (again, we're talking a couple years ago) the focus has pretty much always been on making vehicular forms for the BW cast.
As far as how the Beast Wars Combiner Wars came about, I can't get too much into that. However I will say that Hasbro were very much excited by the concept of Fun Pub using current molds and branding to make the toy line and exclusives more cohesive.
So then with Combiner Wars in mind, Tripredacus seemed the most compelling choice for Beast Wars. Two Deluxe beasts and a Mega beast forming one of the first combiners since G1 getting turned into two Deluxe vehicles and a Voyager. And then to finish off the team of 5, Ravage and Tarantulas fit that theme quite well as being agents of the Council in the show.
The decision of show versus toys... well the Tripredacus toys already exist. And quite honestly they still hold up quite well 20 years later. The show models, however, have never had any sort of physical representation, so it became incredibly tempting to give them one finally. (Not to mention the show models where non-beasts, so that was an interesting point as well.)
Lastly, having seen and held the 3D printed heads, and seeing all of the design work and digital sculpts that led up to them, I think they fit the bodies much better than the mock-ups make it seem. I think that once samples start rolling in, some minds might be changed.
- About choice of colour, what impact Combiner Wars had, prices and souvenir figures.
The Tripredacus Council are red, silver, and black while Ravage is black, silver, and red. So I don't think he stands out as much as some are expecting. And Predacus will pull some of Tarantulas' colors into the combined mode.
I'm not sure I would agree with the Combiner Wars molds being called a "roadbump". They affected the course of the design and concept process, sure, but their hurdle isn't any higher than any other repaints really.
For the rest of your post, all I can say about the souvenirs right now is that I'm quite excited about them. And that it's too early to talk costs just yet.
- All about what went into the colours chosen and how it represents the most show accurate scheme possible, according to the Transformers Club.
The lighting after the little red disc lights are ignited makes it fairly clear that they are red and silver. The red reflects brighter on them where the red lamps shine on them, but as has been pointed out they are red where the white lamp shines on them too.
My personal interpretation of the scene is that the trick of the light/light source cheat is actually the part where they appear solid gray. More than likely the animators wanted to make their reveal a little more dramatic and therefore cut the saturation to nil so that the characters could blend in with the shadows more. This is done quite a lot in live-action filming when a scene is shot in the day time but then edited to look like night time - the saturation is cut and a blue filter applied.
Then when the lamps are activated we get bright red characters against a blue backdrop. Very contrast-y, very dramatic.
Howdy fellow Seibertronians and welcome to a very spooky episode of the Transformers weekly photo challenge.
Halloween is just around the corner and a lot of you may be gearing up the lil bots (or even the big bots for that matter) to do some Treat or Treating. So why not get the even littler bots into the spirit of things. Put on your hockey mask, jump in your mystery machine and don't forget your boom stick for this one kiddies; this week's theme is Halloween.
Send your bots out on a dark and foggy night and let's see what kind of hi-jinks they get into. Use whatever techniques you need to set the mood. Photo-shoppers, go wild!
This weeks challenge will run from 10/24/15 until the stroke of midnight on 10/31/15.
Submission post use TFPC #6 in the subject line. Non submitters, please feel free to join the conversation.
And remember to keep your browser pointed to Seibertron.com for the latest Transformer news, most extensive galleries and the most fun you can have this side of a space bridge.
Synopsis
INTO THE WILD! The DINOBOTS engaged in some of the most brutal missions of the war—which made them damaged goods in the peace. Now, a mission to change the face of CYBERTRON offers a chance for something they never imagined… redemption.
..for what?
Story
After Punishment came out, it was clear that John Barber was itching to tell another story of the post-war kind, looking at how some of the pre- and during the war misfits may have adapted - or not - to a time of peace, with still increasing tensions now that the universe is a much bigger place. You do not have to have read Punishment, but there are definitely leads into this story.
Ah, casual discrimination
And it's, in fact, a story that picks up some of the threads that both Windblade and The Transformers have been playing around with, including an overt crossover with issue #46 of the latter - but from the Dinobot perspective this time, as has been known for a while now, and their still badly fitting shapes and temperaments in the brave new planet that is Cybertron, with its expanded borders.
Overlaaaaaap
There are some pleasant, and fully aware, parallels with gritty cop stories, but most especially with the Mad Max series, and overtly so with the latest instalment of Fury Road, and they're not painful to see develop, and compare how Barber's story of redemption compares to that of the film, with their very different casts of characters.
Max?
The parallels, however, also open the book to more criticism than if they had not been there in the first place. The relationships and bonding, for example, formed between the characters in the book can feel a little contrived, or lack the depth of chemistry of other pairings in the TFverse. Some of the poignancy of certain scenes is lost as a result, unfortunately, and feels as though could've been set-up differently.
Art
Livio Ramondelli returns to the TFverse for this one-shot, too, and brings his trademark style more into the light than usual - which is only a good thing, even with the tone of the book and the potentially confusing angles that could arise with the variety of characters, both background and fore. There is much more clarity, in the lines and composition, and they allow...
SHINY...
...for the visual effect of the Mad Max references and inspiration to really shine through. Even the colours, which rotate through an intriguing choice of palettes for each region encountered by the main cast on their mission, convey enough setting for the reader not to get lost in the fogs of Rust or fights, though without ever leaving the grittier shades required.
..AND CHROME
While the title is not the work of Tom B. Long, I always admire what he does with a a Barber/Ramondelli script and layout. The dialogue changes according to the tones, and the interactions are made more emotive by just a few modified letters, even more so than with other books. Only two covers present this time round, with Ramondelli taking charge in the main variant, and James Biggie (also the logo designer) covering the alternate image (thumbnailed) playing very nicely on the same themes in different style choices.
Thoughts Spoilerish ahead
John Barber likes to play around with references, but sticks to a couple per book rather than packing them all in. He's a tone-setter, rather than tone-masher, and Redemption definitely plays to those trends and to Ramondelli's visual strengths - and is clear and explicit when doing so, as shown in the back matter of the issue (definitely worth a read, if you're so inclined).
Heh indeed
As mentioned above, however, it's the inclusion of those references that points out the lapses not as much of the story per se but of the surrounding narrative and character interaction. I can't help but think that an either more explicit link or just a nod to the material would've increased my enjoyment of the book overall. Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable ride, and a good companion to the ongoing, Combiner Hunters and Punishment, with some good links to Monstrosity, and other past TFverse books.
Synopsis
CONQUERORS part 1! OPTIMUS PRIME struggles to find his place on CYBERTRON where half the population hates him and the other half worships him. Meanwhile, on Earth, GALVATRON doesn’t care what anybody thinks.
And Sky-Byte writes poetry
Story
In the write-up to the preview for issue 46 of The Transformers, I asked three questions that may or may not have been answered in this issue: What is Galvatron up to? Has Optimus come to terms with his status as a Prime? What happened to the Autobot crew on Earth? While the latter is only briefly dealt with, there is so much more to work with in John Barber's wonderful script for the other two.
*All that Jazz joke here*
Galvatron, the smarmy, smirking warrior of old who has clearly never really left his old ways - biding his time, as it were - has started placing his pawns and pieces on the game board. We are reminded of his backstory, shown some more of his cruelty, and brought to his intentions insofar as we can determine a potential endgame. Maybe.
Smirky smirk
The major player, even more so than Smugmatron, is Optimus Prime, who takes some time, most of the issue, trying to figure out his place in the new post-colony reality of the Cybertronian race. Spurred by the Mistress of Flame on Camien, and new character Aileron on Cybertron, he needs to find a new balance of his multiple selves, playing a longer game than what we, and the other Transformers, have seen him do so far.
GOOD QUESTION
Optimus and Galvatron are not the sole foci of the story, of course, but definitely offer the most interesting looks at the developing, and building, story-line. Nonetheless, Starscream is shown to still be battling some of his own doubts, as Soundwave is contacted by a surprising character, and Redemption is seeded subtly.
Art
After Combiner Hunters, and several covers, we get to see Sara Pitre-Durocher's own take on the regular artwork for the series, and what a job does she deliver. Incorporating some of the elements of the recent generation of artists, and bringing her own softer flair to the characters, we get a sometimes moving look at the struggle of Optimus as he finds new leads on how to present himself.
Sup
The emotional side, both positive and negative (looking at you again, Purpletron), is beautifully highlighted by the colourwork of Bumbleburrito fan Josh Perez, blending elements nicely of the visual aspects so far with the new art style, seamlessly but still keeping some uniqueness for the development of the linework.
Broodimus Returns
Tom B. Long is still here, still lettering, still doing an amazing job at conveying the intensity of the words and tones used in various interactions, as well as setting the wider tone in more dynamic scenes. The covers come in different types, feeding into convention season and the Artist Edition initiative that IDW run regularly, as Casey Coller offers a wonderful dual Optimus in black and white (thumbnailed), and Coller and JP Bove collaborate for Ricomicon on a classic OP vs Megatron piece.
Thoughts Spoilerish ahead
If last month's issue brought an epicentre to a massive shift in the status quo for the Transformers universe, issue 46 deals with the initial ripples that will - undoubtedly - lead to the further repercussions of All Hail Optimus early next year. The parallels, however forced, between the corrupt Primes, Galvatron and Optimus are setting themselves up for a massive collision.
Purply and the brain
The new visual team, staying on the book for a while at least, are an excellent showcase of talent. They bring a good blend of dynamics, posing, emotivity and physical language, mixing the colour skills of Perez and animated lines of Pitre-Durocher, with a side dish of font magic by Long. I'll be looking out for more of this next month, for sure.
Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor (and this week a whole bunch of special guests!). These are our opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here. Now let's get to it!
Top 10 Best Optimus Prime / Convoy toys
This is the 20th biweekly Top TF list Seibertron has published and to celebrate, the whole staff got together to discuss the top 10 Optimus Prime toys (we will go back to regular top 5 lists in two weeks). Optimus being arguably the most popular character in the Transformers franchise has a truckload of toys to his name (as does his Japanese counterpart Convoy). This list will dive into all sorts of eras and aesthetics to give a global view of the great toys this iconic character has to offer. While we can get bogged down by specifics till the cows come home, this list tries to be as straightforward as possible where any toy called Convoy/Optimus Prime counts (Optimus Primal (Beast Convoy) will be for another list since he has his own legacy of toys).
Burn- "A big shift for Prime as he took on a fire engine. In a way he set the precedent for his successor, Cybertron Prime. He had one advantage though, he could combine with Ultra Magnus to form an even more impressive figure."
William-James88- "This is a beast of a bot and I adore that super mode headsculpt. I really feel this is the point in time where Japan decided to let loose and see how far they could go in terms of complex transformations at that point in time."
While the Reveal the Shield Deluxe Optimus Prime toy was also discussed to be included on this list, it was soon agreed that there was no need with the original toy it is homaging already on the list.
Counterpuch- "Original Lazer Prime is so much better than the RTS version, in my opinion."
Burn- "This is the guy that for years could be regarded as one, if not the best, Optimus Prime. Gone are the days of little articulation. Instead we got a big hulking Prime who embraced the 80's era shoulder pads (he was a bit late to the party though) and also became one of the first toys to come with melee weapons. And he also had a nice trailer that could transform and shoot little round discs that little Johnny would no doubt injure his eyes on!"
William-James88- "This toy is ambitious for trying to merge a totally different take on the character's design with G1. It obviously isn't as accurate or the most faithful "movie prime" but that is what I like about it. Instead, it is a fusion of two distinct styles coming together in a perfect marriage. This design to me is not movie Prime but instead G1 Prime in movie form with a full on G1 alt mode and smooth panels where there would have instead been multilayered armour, were this to indulge more in the movie aesthetic. I also adore the total lack of any kibble in either mode, the engineering is top notch here and this was my favourite toy of the entire AOE line."
Instead of a quote, one of our staff members, Shajaki, showed how fond he was of this mold by attempting to buy them all and take pictures of the varied decos. Sometimes a picture (or a few more) is truly worth a thousand words.
William-James88- "While Optimus Primal is great in his own right, this toy is more what the (G1) Optimus Prime / Convoy character would be as a beast. He has an amazing classic Optimus headsculpt which is coupled with reflective eyes and viking horns honing in on the more barbaric theme this toy is going for. It is also a great example of how fun a shellformer could be, using the shell to fully disguise the robot. While the abundance of new robot detail does mean the shell can be found all over the robot, it looks like G1 Optimus awoke from his slumber during those millions of years on earth and ventured out in the ice age, battling mammoths and skinning them to wear their pelts (it's one of my favourite TF images, it will probably come up again). This is by far one of the most badass molds Convoy ever had and it contains the very first Matrix accessory. If this toy wasn't awesome enough, he has an even more badass deco provided by Hasbro when it was issued as Nemesis Prime"
William-James88- "I have never seen this level of complexity at the Deluxe class. Instead of making this just a shellformer and calling it a day, the smooth alt mode is a mosaic of smaller panels which merge together from various parts of the robot, such as the legs, shoulder pads, arms, chest and cod piece. It is also my favourite take on what Optimus looked like before coming to earth and it works very well for the character."
Va'al- "Animated Voyager Optimus Prime is a wonder of engineering"
William-James88- "What works so well with this figure is how it is practically a straight up G1 update with the head, arms and legs basically being at the exact same spot they are in the G1 toy. And yet, it feels completely fresh and refined. It is amazing how the toy replicates the hyperstylized look of the show."
Burn- "Say what you want about the movie, but it gave us one of the most complex and highly detailed Optimus Primes."
William-James88 "I cannot believe they were able to pull off this toy. The great disparity between the first movie Optimus and the CG model made us think that it would not be possible to showcase the many moving parts of the CG model in toy form, and even less have him transform into a truck. This toy proved that the impossible was not out of reach and that Hasbro was ready to evolve with the brand by making toys for a far more mature audience than before. Along with the engineering wizards at Takara, they did their best to imitate an already conceived character design made for a different medium. And once again, this hyper detailed and hulking Optimus toy transforms into a tight truck which shows barely any sign at any angle that it can transform "
Seibertron- "The original Optimus Prime toy is one of the best toys ever. It's a classic toy that will be remembered for decades to come. It is such an iconic toy that it has been reissued or recolored at least a dozen times"
Burn- "It's iconic, he's in a league of his own."
Autobot 032- "G1 wins, hands down. I'm not even a big fan of G1, either, so that should tell you something."
Burn- "Top Prime is Cybertron Prime! To me this was a great figure in both robot and vehicle mode. You could transform the cab into its own robot and use the trailer as a base platform, or you could combine him with his trailer to make one big dangerous looking Prime."
William-James88- "This to me is a true update of G1 Prime for a brave new world. He is just as simple and transforms practically the same way. However, he has a bold new look, excellent proportions, is very sturdy as well as jammed pack with new playability features making this both a favourite of young kids and older collectors. The supermode is easy to convert to and can be configured as you wish. I love how unobtrusive all the gimmicks are and how everything fits together perfectly such as the literal back pack (with straps!) and his battle mask."
William-James88- "These are undoubtedly the best Optimus Prime toys available for Transformers fans. I adore that arm and chest transformation, it's like the G1 animation come to life. These are both complex toys made very intuitive. While MP 10 may be the better of the two, I really feel both deserve this top spot since all MP 10 did was slightly improve over MP 1 (still didn't fix the cod piece being visible in alt mode though). It was the first Masterpiece Optimus which really revolutionized Transformers toys as we know them, giving them a whole new depth and showing us the possibility of reverse engineering a design from a cartoon model and turning that into a toy. This figure paved the way for the masterpiece line and MP 10 breathed new life into the line, turning it into what it is today. Also, you just gotta love that die cast on MP 1, he feels so solid. This was a toy people had been wanting for 20 years and it is still amazing today! "
Mindmaster- "If we're talking top Optimus toys, I'm throwing my hat in the ring for MP10"
Burn- "It's Masterpiece. The title by default says best."
Honorable mentions: Here are some others the staff brought up but that were cut in favor of the others present on this list.
Synopsis
JETFIRE and KUP lead a team to investigate the mysterious ONYX system. Meanwhile, GALVATRON… well, GALVATRON just doesn’t like anybody.
LYING
Story
There is a web being woven, in which each piece of the puzzle so far seems to slot, slide, slip and get trapped. SkyLynx, Kup, D.O.C., Jetfire, Soundwave, Galvatron, the Onyx system, Blackrock, Faireborne, even Thundercracker and Buster. How does it hold together? Perhaps it doesn't.
Zombiners?
John Barber, a long while ago now, talked about what was then Robots in Disguise as being the intrigue, thriller, Rome/Borgias/Game of Thrones-esque counterpart to the sitcom/space opera of MTMTE - and if anything were to prove that point further, it's this issue, with no doubt. The main plot carries on the workings of devious Blackrock mostly...
Evil Steve Jobs is still evil
...but also those of Galvatron - perhaps even more so - as the Autobots are used for purposes that are still not entirely clear at this point. In fact, they seem to be the flies of that web. Galvatron's goals are shrouded in what comes across as pure cruelty, almost for the sake of it, if we are to take the example of Skywarp's function in his eyes - a repeated, ongoing agonising torture.
Still LYING
What Barber is setting up is big, very much so, and informed by Combiner Wars in more ways than one, but giving some really emotive aspects to the lesser used characters, while keeping the spotlight pointed just to the side of the key players of something even bigger about to go down.
Art
Andrew Griffith continues a very strong stretch of regular work with this series - though I sometimes still find myself wondering at some of the human jawlines. His Galvatron is magnificently terrifying, and the way in which the art is laid out just ensures that, yes, he is in control of the space he inhabits. Not to mention some splash pages that...
Swagatron
...with the addition of Josh Perez's colour-work, really drive the 'point' home. A lot of the action, if not all of it, takes place in a strange, ethereal locating of spaces that are both inside and outside - and then you have the snow scenes. So much snow. So much.
I snow, right?
Tom B. Long is busy on this one, for pages and pages, in a sequence that I do not want to spoil for anyone reading, but the fontwork gives a fantastic sense of the scale of it all, and of what is at stake in the longer narrative of the upcoming issues. As for covers, the Griffith and Perez take on the main variant, while Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente add their own spin to the Autobot crew (thumbnailed). And of course, we have seen the Kei Zama and Yamaishi incentive variant Galvatron, being diplomatic.
Thoughts Spoilerish ahead
If you were paying attention to other aspects of the Transformers universe, not just its fiction, you might start spotting some patterns emerging that were not there initially. Barber's weaving is intricate, logical, underlying a slower pace than MTMTE at times - but this month, this is definitely the book that delivers the most punches, in my view.
I'll.. just wait shall I?
There are several moments - stunningly and darkly rendered by the visuals team - that feel not too dissimilar from major game-changing episodes or scenes in those same shows that stand as inspiration, and no one is really in control of their fate or condition, except for whoever is actually pulling the strings. Read this.
The One Where Grimlock is Possessed by Unicron (Spoiler free-ish)
Synopsis
Make a list of every single DECEPTICON. Remove the warriors, the high-rankers, the loyal foot soldiers, the over-achievers, and anyone who’s ever made even a modest contribution to The Cause. You should now have five names left. Welcome back, guys.
IN STORES NOW!!!
Story
Let's leave aside the storylines being run so far in More Than Meets the Eye, and dip into the lives and troubles of the bunch of misfits introduced all the way back when the DJD was still just a name. In issue #45, MTMTE brings back the Scavengers, Grimlock, and their ship - the Weak Anthropic Principle. Has anything changed? Read on and find out.
Same here.
James Roberts knows these characters, and the Scavengers are in fact one of the best example of how he operates as a writer, giving the spotlight to minor, lesser-known faces, in order to (sometimes) address a wider narrative. That has been the case for MTMTE, but Krok, Spinister and the crew show it even more.
Sounds.. sensible (goodie?)
There is a narrative, obviously, though it will feel really quite distanced from everything else currently happening in the IDWverse for the Transformers - at least until much later in the book. What I find both a positive and negative here, are the parallels with the group's first introduction to the readership, in terms of plotlines.
Some parallels are wonky, fine
Nevertheless, the read is extremely enjoyable, the humour is plentiful, the characters all have their voices, and we do circle back in time for tea to the wider plots left dangling in season 1, while also exploring the single characters along the way. More thoughts overall included below.
Art
Alex Milne and Brian Shearer team up for some slick linework (layouts, pencils and inks), and the initial pages are an excellent nod to the regular ongoing issues with a Scavenger spin (check out this article, too). The flexibility and dynamism of the different styles condensed in the opening alone are enough to reinforce the rep of the visual team of the book - and it only continues strong from there.
Just a matter of..
The visual team, of course, also features the excellent work that Joana Lafuente brings to the colours, complementing and complimenting the lines and inks that the artists provide. Shading, mood, tone, and the same dynamism of layouts are accentuated and made even more lush to look at throughout.
ScAVengERs
There is a specific running gag relating to the Scavengers, too, and Tom B. Long's work is the only means of achieving it - which is a nice recognition of the importance of lettering in the medium, even to convey humour. As for covers, the main recurring group shot by Milne and Josh Perez stand triumphant, as Nick Roche and Josh Burcham take on cover B (thumbnailed) a little less seriously. We've seen Kei Zama and Yamaishi's take on MTMTE's big baddies of the past too, but still pretty, yes?
Thoughts Spoilerish ahead
This issue is definitely filler material, until it's not. Not entirely, at least. But until that point, a lot of what you're reading is predominantly Roberts enjoying his own writing skills with a bunch of misfits, and their interactions, dragging in popular culture references and callbacks (though much less so than the Swerve issue from a couple of months ago). It's a fun romp, with exceptional visuals, and both good characterisation and well-placed twists.
ANGER GOOD?
However, and I realise this may just be me, so far it just sort of hangs there, at the periphery of the wider story, much like the first time we came across the WAP and its crew. The next issue will undoubtedly fill us in more, given that last sequence and last page, but I kept finding myself thinking about the overall relevance of the issue in terms of narrative. Think of it as a bottle-episode, with a twist, if you will. It may be more your thing.
. ½ out of
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!!! Ironhide and Ratchet came from that line and while they might be cool if little figures could pilot their mech bodies, they become pretty darn ugly as official transformer toys. Hasbro removed the small figures, taking away the mech aspect and forcing it down our throats that these headless contraptions were sentient lifeforms with seats for faces. Just to give you an idea that this headless thing is seriously what they were trying to pass off as a sentient being, here is Ironhide's introduction in the comics.
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