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Transformers Megatron Origin: I considered putting this in the War
Within page, because it does the same sort of thing (deep background for the
setting), but for now it'll go with the rest of the IDW G1 books. If we get
more Origins series, I might make a page for them. Anyway, this series
purports to look at how Megatron became what he is. Written by long-time TF
fan Eric Holmes, drawn by Alex Milne, and colored horribly by several
people.
Transformers Megatron Origin #1 (of 4): IDW - Long time fan Eric Holmes
writes, Alex Milne draws, Josh Perez and Zac Atkinson murk it up. Okay, the
point is to show the oppressive, dark environs of first the mining colony and
then Kaon, but a combination of smaller panels (normally welcome because it
means the story's not being as decompressed) and chaotic layouts make the
excessive darkness in inking and coloring a Bad Idea. Half the time, looking
at Megatron, I'm not even sure it's him, a bad thing given that this is
supposed to be his origin story. One also suspects the story is how Megatron
remembers it, not necessarily how things happened, what with the excessively
corrupt Autobots and so forth. Promising, but too hampered by confusing
storytelling. Mildly recommended. (I got Cover A) $3.99
"The Dukes Of Hazardstripes" Award to Transformers Megatron Origin #1 (of
4)
Transformers: Megatron Origin #2 (of 4): IDW - Cy-Kill dies another
death in the opening scene. Poor guy. Anyway, the story skips ahead a bit,
and is slightly easier to follow. The art is still murky and the flow iffy,
but both Milne and Matere (each has about half the issue) do an acceptable if
not great job. The corruption of the Autobots is expanded on this issue as
well, and made a little more palatable, IMO. Mildly recommended. $3.99
"Gordon Geckobot" Award to Transformers: Megatron Origin #2 (of 4)
Transformers Megatron Origin #3 (of 4): IDW - The Decepticon rebellion
gets into full gear, and more familiar faces show up, if not always on the
side you might expect. The art is still kinda murky, but not as bad as
previous issues, and Holmes seems to have either gotten better at giving
stage directions, or Milne has gotten better at anticipating what's needed.
Recommended. $3.99
"Buy Name Brand" Award to Transformers Megatron Origin #3 (of 4)
Transformers Megatron Origin #4 (of 4): IDW - Okay, we're back to art
from Milne that conceals as much as it reveals, abetted in the former by
overly saturated colors and a failure to clearly separate foreground and
background. As far as I can tell from the story, it's a decent wrapup of the
origins of the Decepticons as an outgrowth of Autobot decadence and
corruption, and Holmes does successfully play a bit with our expectations
(i.e. "Starscream is treacherous", when at this point in his development he's
not necessarily the same person he would later be known as). I suspect that
Holmes has already looked at the completed series and found a dozen ways he
could have done things better, hopefully he'll implement these ideas in his
next story. Mildly recommended. $3.99 (I got the A cover by Milne, although
it wasn't a lot more interesting than the B cover.)
"Who Was That Slimy Businessman Again?" Award to Transformers Megatron
Origin #4 (of 4)
Transformers Infiltration: A totally new G1 continuity (as opposed to
the Dreamwave G1, which kinda linked into the original storyline). The
preview issue and initial miniseries are written by Furman and drawn by
E.J. Su (whose work I first saw on the late, lamented Techjacket). The
series itself is six issues, and it looks like the neo-G1 stuff will come out
in six issue chunks from here on.
Transformers Infiltration #0: IDW - Okay, I got all four covers (at 99
cents an issue, why not?), so I'll start with them (no, my store didn't buy
the huge number of issues needed to get the incentive covers). Series artist
E.J. Su did two covers, an Autobot one and a Decepticon one. The Autobot
cover has the theme "white vehicle Autobots" as Jazz, Wheeljack, Prowl and
Ratchet are clumped together as if starting to move towards an enemy. It's
pretty good, although they don't seem to all be in the same scene. The
Decepticon cover has Astrotrain and Blitzwing towering over Starscream and
Runabout in a "let's all look cool for the portrait" set of poses. Looks
kinda bland. James Raiz has a cover dominated by Megatron towering over a
horde of fleeing humans as Soundwave and Starscream hang around in the
background. The people have a somewhat 80s Marvel New Universe look to
them. Finally, "Milk" has Optimus Prime grinding Megatron's head into the
dirt. Lots of subtle wrongness about this cover, from Prime's proportions to
Megatron's teeth. If you only pick up one cover, I'd recommend either Su's
Autobots or Raiz's Megatron. Anyhoo, on to the stuff inside. The inside
front cover has the creator credits and a sort of fighting game headshot roll
call in which the heads of characters not appearing this issue are black
silhouettes. The story focuses on a pair of humans (with one more human
waiting to show up in #1, we're told) who get involved with the secret war
between Autobot and Decepticon. In the interview at the end of the issue,
Furman says that he wants to use outsiders to introduce things, and the
squishies this time out are definitely outsiders. This is also clearly a
clean slate reboot, a "what if they went active in the past few years, not
20+ years ago" restart. One nice touch is that mechatopia.com, a website one
of the squishies frequents (or maintains) exists in real life as a companion
to the series. The disguise factor is being taken seriously here, as it was
in early Marvel G1 comics. A promising beginning. Recommended. 99 cents
"We Were Somewhere Around Barstow On The Edge Of The Desert When The
Giant Robots Began To Take Hold" Award to Transformers Infiltration #0
Transformers Infiltration #1: IDW - If I had to sum this up in one word,
it'd be "coy". Robot modes only barely show up before the final page (if you
discount the cover, of course), and while there's hints that aspects of
previous continuities exist in this version, it's all hidden behind layers of
X-Files-ish obfuscation. On the other hand, Furman does handle the resulting
"open mystery" pretty well, and the squishies are...not horrid. They may
never really grow on me, but that don't immediately repulse me either. Su's
art is decent, but one aspect bothers me: the faction symbols were clearly
tacked on during coloring, pasted in over the final colors in monochrome.
Not only do they stick out like sore thumbs, they are also not always angled
correctly to appear to be on the surface. My suspicion is that Su took the
"secret infiltrators" thing seriously and deliberately left off the symbols,
but editorial added them in later either because Hasbro insisted or because
some dip thought it would be a good idea to slap cheesy faction symbols on
(and they don't always appear, so it's cheesy AND slipshod). There's a three
page preview of the Beast Wars comic, which gives away less than the online
preview I've seen. The lettercol is amusing. Recommended despite the flaws,
though. $2.99
"Decepticons Shop At Reprolabels' Discount Bin" Award to Transformers
Infiltration #1
Transformers: Infiltration #2: IDW - In case this one gets published in
the lettercol like my review of #0 did, I should state here that this is part
of a review column. :) That aside, this issue continues the Marvel comic
tradition that Ratchet may be a medic, but he's a COMBAT medic. He's sneaky,
has a good tactical sense, and packs just enough punch to give his plans a
chance to work. His internal narration is a bit purple, though. The
photoshopped in faction symbols are still awkward and look like they were put
on at the last minute by the editor rather than being any result of E.J. Su's
efforts. Speaking of Su's art, it continues to have a raw feel to it that
reminds me of Neal Adams's stuff without actually LOOKING like Adams's art,
if that makes any sense. It's especially strong on the scenery and the
vehicles, throttling back a lot on the humans and robots. If Raiz's cover to
#0 had an 80s New U feel to it, I think Su's interiors almost feel like 70s
black and white explosion. There's also a two page inked preview of #3
(which is mostly robots, so I can't tell if the 70s feel I'm getting off the
finished art is all Su, or is partly colorist Rauch), and three more pages of
the upcoming Beast Wars comic. Figueroa's organics are perhaps a touch too
organic for my taste (in my mind's eye, the more plasticky CG look of the BW
cartoon is 'correct'), but I like how he included the manga-version's
tendency for beast heads to sometimes have minds of their own (i.e. Seasaurus
looks around from Magmatron's shoulder). And in case anyone's curious, I got
cover C. If you're gonna be 70s retro, go all the way and have speech
bubbles on a cover, dude. Recommended. $2.99
"Starscream's Been To Spencer Gifts" Award to Transformers:
Infiltration #2
Transformers: Infiltration #3: IDW - There's basically two plots running
through this issue. In the A plot, Ratchet deals with the consequences of
involving humans in the Autobot/Decepticon war, and it's a lot of talking in
boxes. Some intriguing ideas for setup, but definitely on the dry side. As
if to try to balance that out, the B plot mainly involves Decepticons running
around blowing stuff up for reasons that become apparent as they continue to
boomify things. As I pointed out a while back in a review of Iron Man, a mix
of all talk and all boom may seem balanced in theory, it doesn't always work.
It sort of works here, but not as well as I think Furman hoped. Also, the
art from Su continues to be good except for the blatantly pasted in Autobot
and Decepticon symbols that really grate on my aesthetic sensibilities. Got
the B cover, as it was the one stuck in my pull and the A cover didn't make
it out onto the shelf. Somewhere between mildly recommended and recommended.
$2.99
"What Does Bumblebee's Holoavatar Say About Him?" Award to Transformers:
Infiltration #3
Transformers Infiltration #4: IDW - Got cover C, with Bumblebee carrying
the gun that's almost bigger than he is. A lot of emphasis on the squishies
this issue, but Bumblebee gets a chance to shine...the cover isn't totally
inappropriate. The Hasbro-mandated cut and paste faction symbols are a bit
beter integrated this issue, although they're a bit inconsistent from page to
page. Mildly recommended. $2.99
"Big Where It Counts" Award to Transformers Infiltration #4
Transformers Infiltration #5 (of 6): IDW - Well, most of the mysteries
are explained in this issue and the stakes are raised. Several things make
it clear that we're not in the old G1 continuity (any of them, really)
anymore, especially the way the issue 4 cliffhanger resolved. :) Good art,
good story. Got cover C (Wildman). Recommended. $2.99
"Power Surge" Award to Transformers: Infiltration #5 (of 6)
Transformers Infiltration #6 (of 6): IDW - The series takes something of
a left turn here, with the protagonists of #1-5 becoming at best spectators
and at worst refugees. It's a good conflict, mind you, and it clearly sets
up the change of the status quo...it just feels a little like this could have
been done as #2 or #3, not #6. On the plus side, it looks like they finally
got permission to draw the faction symbols instead of pasting them in.
Recommended despite some qualms. (Got the Guidi cover, and it seems most apt
for the actual story.) $2.99
"What About The Giant Mutant Jellyfish?" Award to Transformers:
Infiltration #6 (of 6)
Transformers Stormbringer: Set on Cybertron at about the same time as
Infiltration, plus flashbacks to the distant past, this book is promoted as
"robots only".
Transformers Stormbringer Ashcan: IDW - I've already seen all these pages
online, but my store pulled it for me today, so I'll comment now rather than
waiting for #1 to come out. This is the first 11 pages of Stormbringer #1,
the second IDW series set in their G1 continuity (and has at least one page
making it clear the non-flashback events of the book take place at the same
time as Infiltration). Furman's building a new backstory here, fleshing out
some of the implications made in Infiltration, and setting up a mysterious
cosmic-level threat that HOPEFULLY won't be Unicron again. :) Figueroa's art
is good as usual, although the ashcan size makes it a little busier.
"Global Warming Got Nothing On This" Award to Transformers: Stormbringer
Ashcan
Transformers Stormbringer #1 (of 4): IDW - The Neo-G1 storyline shifts
to Cybertron's ruins, showing that maybe the Ark crash-landing on Earth in
the original G1 storyline was a Good Thing for the rest of Cybertron. Furman
is at his most portentous here, setting up a new Big Cosmic Threat who isn't
Unicron. Figueroa's art is as good as usual, although some of the layouts
are deliberately muddled. Mildly recommended on its own merits, although it
could end up looking better in retrospect. Also has a very long preview of
Hearts of Steel #1. I got cover A. $2.99.
"But Does He Have The Matrix?" Award to Transformers: Stormbringer #1 (of
4)
Transformers Stormbringer #2 (of 4): IDW - Sometimes part two of four
slows down the action to explain what's going on. Sometimes it just throws
out a big pile of partial information and red herrings. This is definitely
the latter case. A little bit of everything is revealed, but not quite
enough of anything, making it a "written for the trade" sort of story. Lots
of nice Figueroa redesigns, though, including what I think is a canonical
appearance of one of his old Macromaster designs. Mildly recommended.
$2.99.
"Has Anyone Seen My Chin?" Award to Transformers Stormbringer #2 (of 4)
Transformers Stormbringer #3 (of 4): IDW - Given all the frenetic
action, very little actually HAPPENS in this issue, and the few interesting
things that do happen, occur mostly off-stage...we'll see it about to happen,
then later we see the aftermath, but not the actual event. Meanwhile, lots
of fight scenes that go nowhere and could have been left off-stage without
loss. Not one of Furman's better storytelling efforts. About the only good
thing about the issue is seeing Don Figueroa's redesigns. Mildly recommended
pretty much just for that. $2.99
"Losing Face" Award to Transformers Stormbringer #3 (of 4)
Transformers Stormbringer #4 (of 4): IDW - Heh, I got the poster with
the cover of this issue before I actually got this issue. There's a fair
amount of flash-bang and a ticking timer of doom, but the actual resolution
of the conflict takes place in a badly-laid out and anticlimactic series of
slim horizontal panels that focus on Thunderwing's foot. I think. Plot-
wise, this really shouldn't have been a miniseries. They should have just
run an unlimited series for NeoG1 and made this an arc, because it really
doesn't resolve satisfyingly as a series, but would have worked better as
issues #7-10 of "Transformers". Mildly recommended. $2.99 [Later note: if
you look at the barcode on the back cover, above it is a "10" in a little
shield. So they do kinda recognize it's really #10.]
"Seriously, A Closeup Of The Foot? Gah!" Award to Transformers:
Stormbringer #4 (of 4)
Transformers Spotlight: A series of one-shots focusing on characters
who will figure in later series, but who didn't show up in Infiltration.
Not sure if this is a limited or unlimited series, and half the time they
don't even show the issue numbers.
Transformers Spotlight #1 (Shockwave): IDW - It opens a little too
infodumpy, but picks up nicely after that. The story takes the nub of the
Dinobot origin from Marvel G1 #8 and fleshes it out to fit into the new
Furmanverse, linking War Within to the neo-G1 storyline. I'll admit that the
rampant interlinking and referencing in this story appeals to my own views of
the TF mythos, but I think that this story will work well even for fairly new
readers. Recommended. $3.99 (Yeah, the price breaks on TF books are over,
we're up to IDW's standard pricepoint.)
"Truly It Is A Savage Land" Award to Transformers Spotlight Shockwave #1
Transformers Spotlight #2 (Nightbeat): IDW - A month late, but thanks to
#3 also being late, at least I don't get them out of order. :/ Great to see
M.D. "Doc" Bright back on Transformers, and his first actual issue (he did
the cover to the original G1 #5) to boot. Either he resisted the temptation
to toss easter eggs into the high-density techy background though, or they
were simply too obscure for me. While not the best I've seen from him, nor
the best TF art out there, it's quite good. The story is a little
disappointing, in that it's all beginning and no ending, instead being mainly
there to set up another Cosmic Mystery and long term plot regarding the True
Origins of Cybertron or something like that. Now, maybe all of these
Spotlight issues are really meant to tell one big story, simply with a
rotating star, but right now it just feels like Furman's tossing out threads
to pick up eventually. Mildly recommended. $3.99
"An Angle On An Ark Sign" Award to Transformers Spotlight #2
"That's INDIGENOUS, Simon, Not INDIGENT" Bonus Award to Transformers
Spotlight #2
Transformers Spotlight #3 (Hot Rod): IDW - There's one disad to being a
major TF fan when reading a story like this one, and that's the transparency
of the plot. As soon as a particular character appeared, it was obvious (at
least in broad strokes) where things were going, and what the character's
name was going to be changed to by the end of the issue. Still, a fun little
one-shot story, with very good art by Nick Roche. Recommended. $3.99 (I got
Cover A by Roche)
"Clouded Perceptions" Award to Transformers Spotlight #3
Transformers Spotlight #4 (Sixshot): IDW - Again, cover B. Art by
Ruffalo, but it's not as bad as his usual stuff. Of the Spotlight issues,
this one seems the least tied-into an overall plot...whether the threat of
this issue is meant to dovetail into the uberplot later, or if Furman just
wanted to take a break and do a character sketch, it's too early to say.
Recommended. $3.99
"Peace Or Else" Award to Transformers Spotlight #4 (Sixshot)
Transformers Spotlight #5 (Ultra Magnus): IDW - The #5 is an
extrapolation, they're back to not having issue numbers anywhere on it.
Makes it hard to order when sometimes they're listed under number and
sometimes just under character. Anyway, this story makes Ultra Magnus out to
be a sort of freelance peacekeeper, yes? Well, more like a circuit-riding
marshal. And depending on whether Furman means years or days when he says
"Stellar cycles" on the last page, this is either current events or
background worldbuilding. Robby Musso's art is pretty good, if a bit on the
Dreamwave-bulky side. There's a preview for a new Star Trek TNG comic, but
no creator credits, and the art looks like a bad cel filter on photos.
Recommended. (I got cover A.) $3.99
"Mixed Marriages Never Work" Award to Transformers Spotlight #5
Transformers Spotlight #6 (Soundwave): IDW - Forgot to check variants on
this one, got cover B because that was what was in my pull. I like it better
anyway. Befitting Soundwave's role as observer in the shadows, this fills in
some backstory in the IDW-verse from his POV. Not quite the loyal aide seen
in the cartoon, but neither purely the opportunistic schemer of his
techspecs, Soundwave even finds himself in a more heroic role here. All in
all, a good fleshing out of a character who so often is thought of as a
cipher in Megatron's shadow. Recommended. $3.99
"He Who Hesitates Is Lost" Award to Transformers Spotlight: Soundwave
Transformers Spotlight #7 (Kup): IDW - Roche writes and draws this one,
and he does a good job of modifying his art style for the horror-esque parts
of the story. While not explicitly Mythos, it does feel like a "Lovecraft
does Transformers" tale. Recommended. $3.99
"Ia Ia Unicron Ftaghn" Award to Transformers Spotlight #7 (Kup)
Transformers Spotlight #8 (Galvatron): IDW - I got cover B, by Milne.
Both were good, though. Set shortly after Escalation #6, this provides a
brand new origin for Galvatron that does NOT involve him being an alteration
of Megatron. Major points for just that. :) It also has a whole bunch of
Cybertronian mode Autobots, AND several pages of Guidi designs so we can
clearly ID who's who and what their modes are (in the event they don't
transform in the story). There's still plenty of vague spots left open, but
that's because it ties into the whole mystery plot Furman's been weaving
around several of the stories in Spotlight (notably Nightbeat's issue). The
actual story has some weaknesses, largely due to the too-coy nature of some
of the storytelling, but nothing fatal. Recommended. $3.99
"Unissons?" Award to Transformers Spotlight #8 (Galvatron)
Transformers Spotlight #9 (Optimus Prime): IDW - A number of familiar
names show up here, with new backstories. This is only nominally Prime's
spotlight, though...he's practically an observer for much of it, and the
listener to someone else's tale for other bits. His main contribution is to
angst about it all. The main purpose of the tale seems to be establishing
that the great Autobot leaders of the mythical past weren't necessarily all
that pure and noble, something that Megatron: Origin is doing with what
amounts to the bronze age of Cybertron. Furman seems dedicated to showing
that Optimus Prime really is the best, most noble leader that the Autobots
have ever had, regardless of what Optimus himself may have thought. The
backup story is a preview chunk for Devastation (hmmmm, given one of the plot
devices in this Spotlight, I wonder what character might be appearing at the
climax of the next main-story arc?). There's also a couple of sketchbook
pages from Figueroa, showing some of his Prime designs. Nova Prime is sort
of like Hero Prime in the cab and Laser Prime in the trailer, made all
organic and rounded. Mildly recommended. $3.99 (I got Cover B by Rodriguez)
"Arms (And Legs And Torsos) Race" Award to Transformers Spotlight #9
Transformers Spotlight #10 (Ramjet): IDW - Got the Musso cover (A).
This one'll be pretty easy to slot into the timeline project, since it
happens parallel to the Brasnya fight sequence (and it also marks one of the
more obvious non-deep-flashback Spotlights to not roughly parallel the
current issues of the main G1 series). It's also got a veiled reference to
New Avengers/Transformers, cute (and yes, I'm sure that's what it is, Stuart
Moore wrote both this Spotlight and that miniseries). Anyway, Ramjet's
mainly here as a representative of type, the sort of ambitious Decepticon
that Megatron has to keep his eyes on but doesn't keep close as he does
Starscream. I love the Emcees, I hope we get more of them in future stories.
And I may kitbash myself one. :) Recommended. $3.99
"Nanomasters!" Award to Transformers Spotlight #10
Transformers Spotlight #11 (Blaster): IDW - They're throttling back, the
only alternate cover this time was a retailer incentive. Kinda narration-
heavy, and the plot is a fairly basic "who tried to kill me?" mystery, but
taken as a spotlight story, it does the job admirably. It establishes who
Blaster is, both his public face and his inner self, and why he's important.
The art by Santalucia is good, and he manages to capture Silverbolt's creepy
lips exactly. :) Recommended. $3.99
"No, Everyone Wants To Shoot At Talk Radio" Award to Transformers
Spotlight #11 (Blaster)
Transformers Spotlight #12 (Arcee): IDW - The Monstructor plot threads
get picked up again, and while Arcee is the title spotlight, Fortress Maximus
is as much in the focus as she is. Furman sets up a contrast of cold justice
and hot vengeance, although the "Arcee as psycho bitch" characterization
doesn't exactly thrill me. At least Furman provides sufficient motivation
for it here. Milne's art gets pretty busy in places, although most of the
bits that are hard to follow are supposed to be. There's still too much love
for harsh lighting contrast by the coloring team, though. Anyway, warm up
the MSTing circuits, Grimlock's getting the Spotlight next month. ;) Mildly
recommended. $3.99 (I got Cover A)
"The Fangs Are A Bit Much" Award to Transformers Spotlight #12 (Arcee)
Transformers Spotlight #13 (Mirage): IDW - It's labeled "Cover A" but
there doesn't seem to be a "Cover B", heh. Writer George Strayton plays with
a variation of the "butterfly who dreams he's a man" conceit, while also
setting it up so you can't be sure if it's a dream or interdimensional
resonance of some sort. To some extent, this is more of a Punch/Counterpunch
story, but it works reasonably well for Mirage too. Guidi's art is sometimes
a bit rough in the story flow department, but otherwise good. Recommended.
$3.99
"It's Either Real Or It's A Dream There's Nothing That Is In Between,
Twilight" Award to Transformers Spotlight #13 (Mirage)
Transformers Escalation: Phase 2 of the earthbound neo-G1 storyline.
Furman and Su still on the creative chores. Picks up the overall number of
the series at #11.
Transformers Escalation #1 (Transformers #11): IDW - INDIGENOUS, GAH.
That's twice now Furman has referred to the "indigent species" of a planet.
If you're gonna get fancy and use something other than "native", *please*
look up the word you're using. I suppose I should be grateful he didn't try
to use "autochthonous species," goodness knows what would have actually hit
the page. Granted, this could be the fault of the editors "fixing" Furman's
correct usage. Of course, given that a map shows the city of "St. Luis" on
page 12, I'm not really expecting much from the editors. While I'm
nitpicking, while the exit 31 of I-94 shown on the cover is indeed on the
Lake Michigan shore, I'm pretty sure there's no buttes or cacti in that
vicinity (as seen on several pages). At least they seem to have picked a
fictional town (Lebanon MI does not exist as far as I can find, unless it's a
two-house unincorporated thing), so they can't get its details wrong. :)
Okay, having vented about the details the editors should have caught, the
actual plot/story/art is good. Recommended. $3.99 (I got cover A, of
Sunstreaker) [Later note: there is a Lebanon township in Michigan, but it's
north of Lansing and not on I-94.]
"Shell Games" Award to Transformers Escalation #1 (Transformers #11)
Transformers Escalation #2 (TF #12): IDW - I got cover B, I liked the
design better. Heh, the UPC/price bit is a sticker, looks like someone
goofed on layout for the cover (or it was planned for a retailer exclusive
initially). Cute easter egg on the last page of story. The cliffhanger of
#1 resolves about how I think most people expected it would, and we get a bit
more worldbuilding regarding Decepticon strategy. Recommended. $3.99
[Later note: cover A had the sticker too. Hm.]
"SLEIGHT of Hand, Guys" Award to Transformers Escalation #2 (of 6)
Transformers Escalation #3 (TF #13): IDW - We get a bit more into the
relationship between the Decepticons and their human-like "facsimiles" as
Megatron uses one to enact his escalation plans. It is nice to see
Decepticons using intelligent strategies and tactics, although we have yet to
see how those directly impact inter-Transformer combat. Yeah, it's a bit
slow in getting going, but it does seem like things will finally get booming
next issue. Recommended. I got cover A. $3.99
"Just The Fax, Ma'am" Award to Transformers Escalation #3 (of 6)
Transformers Escalation #4 (of 6 - TF #14): IDW - Got cover B. A fair
amount of cliffhanger cheating in the old movie serial style, but it works,
if a bit anticlimactically. A good point is made about why previous issues
have been about small scale conflicts, without being rammed home too
blatantly. Namely, if you use a wide variety of disguising altmodes for
tactical flexibility, it also means that when you get too many of your forces
together at once the result is...odd. The human B-plot is a bit on the
padded side, and the TF A-plot has a couple of idiot moments, but it's
generally good. There's also a short preview of the delayed TF movie prequel
comic (which I hear leaked out a few places, despite publisher requests that
the misprinted few that did ship not be sold). Recommended. $3.99
"Fort Wayne? Surely A Coincidence" Award to Transformers Escalation #4
Transformers Escalation #5 (of 6 - TF #15): IDW - I got cover B, but
neither really thrilled me. All the plots get moved forward at least some,
but the main focus of this issue is the brawl between Megatron and Optimus
Prime, as suggested by both cover versions. Nice to see some of the humans
behaving intelligently. The dialogue is a bit too peppered with Furmanistic
grunts, though, it's getting a tad, hnnn, cliche. :) Recommended. $3.99
"A Talky Power-Drunk" Award to Transformers Escalation #5 (of 6)
Transformers Escalation #6 (of 6 - TF #16): IDW - The day is saved by
characters pulling out new abilities they hadn't displayed before, kinda
cheaty. Some of the Spotlight stories come into play, and more mystic mumbo
jumbo worldbuilding happens. Mildly recommended. $3.99
"And I Will Hug Him And Squeeze Him And Call Him George" Award to
Transformers Escalation #6 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation: Furman and Su continue the "main thread" of
the neo-G1 continuity, as Megatron tosses out the six phase structure and
goes for the jugular.
Transformers Devastation #1 (of 6)(TFG1 #17): IDW - Um, Ravage is
feline, not canine/lupine. He should not "aroo". That aside, the premise
behind "Devastation" is that Megatron's tossing aside the usual phase order
(which we haven't even seen run through once) and dropping his poison pill on
Earth. But that's practically a sideshow to the whole Hunt For Sunstreaker
thing, which not only gets the A-cover this time, but also seems to dominate
next issue, despite the nature of the cliffhanger this issue. Odd pacing and
priorities. Mildly recommended. $3.99 (got Cover A by Su.)
"Of COURSE He's Phase Six" Award to Transformers Devastation #1 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #2 (of 6)(TFG1 #18): IDW - Heh, I think it was
shown last issue, but I only now realized that Hot Rod is a Dodge Viper, and
hence modeled after Super Speedbreaker in vehicle mode (and with a robot mode
now inspired by Alternators Rodimus, at least in the "headlight chunks as
shoulderpads" bit from the Alt.Mirage mold). The Zarak plot comes to a head
(ow, pun not intended this time, caught myself in the backblast) in an
effective if somewhat telegraphed way. Recommended. $3.99 (I got cover B by
Roche.)
"There Are 10 Kinds Of Bond In This World" Award to Transformers
Devastation #2 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #3 (of 6)(TFG1 #19): IDW - While the Headmasters
plot gets some service, this is mainly about an extended chase scene.
However, the purity of plot looks to be about over, as the last page starts
throwing plot elements in right and left...planetkiller or even
dimensionkiller level threats (and mis-aimed word balloons). It portends a
badly incoherent wrapup to this arc, I'm afraid, unless it's meant to be deep
foreshadowing for the next couple of arcs (in which case, the way it's all
dumped at once is simply bad pacing). Just dealing with both Sixshot and the
Headmasters is a tad busy for a six issue arc, tossing in these other threats
is just messy. Mildly recommended. $3.99 (I got cover A by Su) [Later
note: Shoulda mentioned at the time, Roche does the interior art.]
"Hunter, That Was SUCH A Straight Line" Award to Transformers Devastation
#3 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #4 (of 6) (TF G1 #20): IDW - Got the Su cover A.
Lots of explosions this issue, and as kinda expected the threats seen last
issue partially cancelled each other out in the short term. There's also
some cliffhanging regarding the human cast. In any case, things are moving
along at a decent pace, although it feels like there's no real connection
between the two main storylines (Sixshot story and Headmasters)...this
wouldn't be an issue if they just called this an unlimited series, but for a
"miniseries" to have two parallel arcs that don't connect to each other is
bad storytelling. As Transformers #20 it'd be recommended, but as
Devastation #4 (of 6) it's only mildly recommended. $3.99
"Who Says Only The Decepticons Get To Teleport Away When The Going Gets
Tough?" Award to Transformers Devastation #4 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #5 (of 6): IDW - Cover B was the only one the
store had left, but I think I would have gotten it anyway. It's such a
twisted display of domestic bliss, Decepticon style. Megatron and Starscream
(who looks pretty femme) in profile, side by side, smiling in satisfaction as
the world burns behind them. It's like Starscream is just about to turn and
say, "I love you," with Megatron replying, "I know." ;) Unfortunately, the
cover tells a clearer story than the entire comic inside, which is so
shattered in focus between the multitude of plot threads (plus a couple of
flashbacks) that I was left with the feeling I'd just read the equivalent of
a movie trailer. Lots of significant bits, many explosions, several
cliffhangers, but it just didn't hang together very well. And as if there
weren't enough plot threads native to Devastation, they also hare off onto
Spotlight Arcee's plot (in a scene that would be even more confusing if I'd
gotten this issue three weeks ago when it actually came out, instead of a
week after reading Spotlight Arcee). Mildly recommended. $3.99
"Decepticon Gothic" Award to Transformers Devastation #5 (of 6)
Transformers Devastation #6 (of 6): IDW - I really shouldn't be
surprised. Rather than actually bring things together and resolve anything
in this issue, Furman instead tosses MORE elements into the pot and then just
has everyone dash off in different directions after killing off some random
minor characters. Not to mention, cover A (which is the one I got) is
misleading. They should really stop lying to readers with this miniseries
titling...Devastation isn't a single story, or even really a chapter. It's a
randomly chosen chunk from the middle of several intertwining stories...the
cover should emphasize that this is Transformers #22, and leave the "#6 of 6"
stuff to the title page. I'd be a lot less annoyed at Furman's "throw
another plot into the curry" approach here if this weren't supposedly the end
of a miniseries. It'd still be mildly annoying, but not on the level of
wanting to find IDW's head office people and metaphorically slap them
around. Neutral. $3.99
"Too Many Chiefs" Award to Transformers Devastation #6 (of 6)
All Hail Megatron: Writer Shane McCarthy and artist Guido Guidi tell
the story of Earth left to the mercy of the Decepticons as the Autobots are
called away by another plot device. Kicked off by a one-shot preview.
Transformers Focus on Decepticons (one-shot): IDW - Gasp, it's not
$3.99! Of course, it's also more along the lines of an ad you pay for.
Pitch, design sketches, interviews with writer and artist, a roster of who's
going to show up (mainly recycled art as far as I can tell) and then a short
preview in which Decepticons blow stuff up and sneer at humans. Decent
teaser, but really the sort of thing most companies charge significantly less
for. Mildly recommended. $2.99
"Everybody's A Critic" Award to Transformers Focus On Decepticons