Dave's Transformers - Comics: G1

	Dave's Transformers Page
Transformers Comics	IDW's TF: Generation One comics reviews.
Transformers Comics	Last Updated 7/23/11 The Transformers #22 added.

SIGHTINGS

Main TF Page

Dave's Online Nest

Opera of the Dvandom

Movieverse

Rise of the Beasts (2023)

Bumblebee (2018)

The Last Knight (2017)

Age of Extinction (2014)

Dark of the Moon (2011)

Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

2007 Movie

Studio Series

Nostalgia

Generations:
General
Prime Wars
War for Cybertron
Legacy

Post-Beast TV

Prime

Energon

Armada

Beast Eras

BW Phase 2

BMac

BWX

Other

Japanese

Side Lines

Kiddie Lines

Artifacts

Books/Comics

Non-TF

Fanfic/Essays

Art/Images

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 Drift: by Shane McCarthy and Alex Milne, the origin story of perhaps the most disdained-by-fans character since Nightscream. Find out how he became a cool loner with a giant sword in this four issue miniseries!

Transformers Drift #1 (of 4): IDW - Yes, they put "(of 4)" on the cover for once. And the only variant cover was a retailer incentive. Could they be changing their ways? Anyway, this is the origin story of Drift, the pile of fanfic cliches that walks like a bot and turns into a car. Shane McCarthy clearly likes to write asynchronously, with nested flashbacks and the like, but his way of doing it feels less like "building drama" and more like "taunting anyone dumb enough to buy the monthlies," since it leads to poor pacing when spread out over several months. No real improvement here, although at least it's MOSTLY linear with only a couple panels of flashback in among the strobeshot scenes. Milne's art is reasonably easy to follow, although the designs of the new neutral faction introduced here are reminiscent of Gundam Wing Endless Waltz in terms of being over-done and fiddly. As for story...not a lot to go on yet. Deadlock (the once and future Drift) pisses off his Decepticon buddies by being too reckless, flees, ends up on a plot device planet with Mysterious Neutral Cybertronians and gets rebuilt to resemble them so that no one will be able to tell anyone apart next issue. Eh. I can't really recommend picking up this issue on its own, there's not enough THERE there yet, only the vaguest hint of a hint. $3.99
- "I Wonder If Any Copies Shipped To Central Wisconsin?" Award to Transformers Drift #1
Transformers Drift #2 (of 4): IDW - At last, the truth is revealed! Hot Shot failed to become a major player in the neo-G1 continuity because his head was blown off in one of Drift's flashback sequences millions of years ago! ;) Anyway, while it's not obvious because of the similar designs of all the Milnebots, Drift himself is not actually on the cover. In fact, most of the characters on the cover are never named in this issue...we only get Wing, Axe and (not on the cover) Dai Atlas. Unless, of course, the guy with two swords on the cover is supposed to be Drift but the design changed between the cover art and the interior. He's a lot like Wing, so maybe he's Waver as long as they're mining late-G1 Japanese characters. Inside, at least, you can tell Drift and Wing apart easily enough by eye color (Drift's eyes are blue, Wing's are yellow), which is pretty important given how much of the issue is dialogue between the two. Story-wise, there's a lot of flashbacks in what's already a flashback series, establishing the reasons Drift had for joining the Decepticons and why he still doesn't get along with Autobots even after leaving the 'Cons. McCarthy's inconsistent approach to introducing characters continues to synergize badly with Milne's tendency to reuse certain design elements, making it hard to tell who a lot of the characters are. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Don't Blow A Gasket" Award to Transformers Drift #2 (of 4)
Transformers Drift #3 (of 4): IDW - The end of #2 suggested there'd be a fight, but...the cliffhanger turns out to be a short drop to a ledge a few inches below. Lots of talking, arguing and cajoling, but while it was clearly intended to create a tense ethical struggle I didn't really feel like there was much to it. Drift just, well, drifts. The arguments get no more heated than the ones you might have regarding what to order on the pizza. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "A New Hat Will Make Everything Better" Award to Transformers Drift #3 (of 4)
Transformers: Drift #4 (of 4): IDW - Yes, two miniseries in a row, Diamond shipped the first three and then decided we didn't need to see the final issue in Manhattan KS. Like Ironhide, there's a whole lot of fighting against nameless foes here too, with most of the combatants designed in a style that makes them hard to tell apart. Unlike Ironhide, this only felt padded out about two to one rather than four to one, and the ending wasn't quite as pointless. In fact, McCarthy actually managed to capture the idea that this is the beginning of finding meaning, the start of a personal journey, rather than nihilistic "Oh, I needed someone to kill bugs for a while, now go clean up". The giant third sword is also explained, but it's still dumb. :) Mildly recommended. $3.99 (Note: this review written based on a CBR scan of the comic, and it was written to follow the review of Ironhide #4 below, hence the opening line.)

Transformers Ironhide: By Mike Costa and Casey Coller. This series switches back and forth between Deep History flashbacks and a mystery that runs concurrently with the first year of the Ongoing series, but since the main goal is to flesh out why Ironhide is so important, I'm putting it up here with the Origins series.

Transformers Ironhide #1 (of 4): IDW - Rather than just give a single Spotlight issue to Ironhide in an attempt to show why he's such a Big Deal, they're going for a miniseries. Most of this issue is a flashback to 4 million years ago, and so far it's pretty standard Ironhide stuff. In other words, showing why he's a trusted right hand, but not why he's a legend. Presumably the legend part will follow. Casey Coller's art is decent, but the crowd scenes end up a little too flat. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "I 'Ardly KNOW 'Er!" Award to Transformers Ironhide #1
Transformers Ironhide #2: IDW - A bit decompressed this time out. The flashback sequence to the glory days is good (and I am amused that the logo of the raceway Ironhide works for seems to be the Street Speed Mini-Con Team), and the not-quite-flashback head trip sequence (in which Outback demonstrates that his luck never changes) works, but the present-day parts spend a little too much time on "it's spooky on dead Cybertron" meandering. Oh, it's not horribly padded, but I get the feeling that Costa figured out the beginning and end first, and then didn't quite have enough middle so had to stretch a sequence or two. Still, a solid story. Recommended. $3.99
- "Waiting For Ironhide To Fight Pyramid Head" Award to Transformers Ironhide #2
Transformers Ironhide #3: IDW - Being as it is the second last issue, some answers are in order. And answers there are, if a bit prosaic. I am reminded of a transporter accident plot from Star Trek Next Generation, but at least plot threads get dealt with reasonably well before sending Ironhide out to beat stuff up for the final issue. Also, yet another canonical explanation for Transformers in capes. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Pages Don't Get Cloaks" Award to Transformers Ironhide #3 (of 4
Transformers: Ironhide #4 (of 4): IDW - Okay, this one I might not buy if I find it in person. The first half has Ironhide blowing up Insecticons in various ways, then the plot device kicks in and the rest of the issue is Alpha Trion being a condescending ass. It's as if they took an Ironhide Spotlight set pre-war and then padded it out into a miniseries just so they could A) undo killing off Sunstreaker and Ironhide and B) explain how Cybertron became marginally habitable between Stormbringer and All Hail Megatron. Heck, Ironhide himself thinks the whole thing was an utter waste of time, invoking DRHenry's Law: when characters in the story start complaining about how stupid the plot is, you're in trouble. I suggest that a Transformers fan with better image-mangling skils than mine try to assemble the Lost Spotlight out of just the flashbacks. :) Avoid. $3.99 (Note: this review was done based on a CBR format scan of the comic, hence the opening line.)

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) (TF G1 #7): 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) (TF G1 #8): 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) (TF G1 #9): 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) (TF G1 #10): 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 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 (TF G1 #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 G1 #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 G1 #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 G1 #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 G1 #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 G1 #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) (TF G1 #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) (TF G1 #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) (TF G1 #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) (TF G1 #21): 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) (TF G1 #22): 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)

Maximum Dinobots: A five issue miniseries filling in the "what happened on Earth" part between the end of Devastation and the beginning of All Hail Megatron. By Simon Furman with various artists, it's very difficult to find because Diamond didn't bother to ship it to many stores. I only managed to find the last issue on time, but later got earlier issues.

Transformers Maximum Dinobots #1 (of 5): IDW - Well, definitely not gonna bother ordering the TPB now that I have the first and last issues. :) This issue is mostly about picking up threads from Spotlight Grimlock and the Scorponok plotline running through Spotlight and the -tion minis, not leaving a lot for new plot...I suppose you could say it's more of a 4 issue miniseries with a transition issue. It's exposition-heavy even for Furman, and about the only really good thing about it is Roche's depiction of the pre-dinosaur Dynobots. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "It's Like The Best Mini-Spy Collection Ever" Award to Transformers Maximum Dinobots #1 (of 5)
Transformers Maximum Dinobots #2 (of 5): IDW - Heh, we're working from outside in on this title...got #5 first, then #1, and then #2 and #4 together. In this issue, Grimlock fights the mind-controlled Dinobots, Sunstreaker angsts and Scorponok gloats. The whole Shockwave/Soundwave plot gets some setup as well. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Who Wants A Stoopid Tape Player Anyway?" Award to Transformers Maximum Dinobots #2 (of 5)
Don't have #3 yet.
Transformers Maximum Dinobots #4 (of 5): IDW - Well, more players have come on the field, and some of the sides have changed, but Sunstreaker is still angsting and Scorponok is still gloating. I'm guessing there's one heck of an infodump in #3, given how much background I'm still missing after having read all but that issue. Tag-team art is in full effect this time around, apparently Roche couldn't make deadline on his own, and it's kinda muddled. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Smugmaster Technology" Award to Transformers Maximum Dinobots #4 (of 5)
Transformers Maximum Dinobots #5 (of 5): IDW - Yes, Diamond coughed up the FINAL ISSUE AND NOTHING ELSE. I got it on the grounds that if I really didn't like it, I would avoid the TPB, but if it's good the TPB's probably cheaper now that getting the first four issues. And the answer seems to be, if the latest reorder spits out any issues I'll get 'em, but that's it. Oh, by the end of the issue I knew what was going on, Furman is at least that competent. But there's plenty of bad or unclear caption placement, awkward scene shifts, and the fact that two artists are working on different sets of pages doesn't help. This does wrap up the whole Scorponok plotline that was abandoned in favor of All Hail Megatron, although the timing could be better, given that a recent issue of AHM revealed that part of the resolution wasn't resolved after all, oops. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Grimlock Gets Out Of Puberty" Award to Transformers Maximum Dinobots #5

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) (TF G1 #22.5?): 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
Transformers All Hail Megatron #1: IDW - While the Autobots go running off to deal with the plot in Spotlight (and we see in the final scene a little of how that might have turned out, along with some Classics 2.0 cameos), the Decepticons are left behind to do whatever they feel like on Earth. And that, this issue, is mainly "blow stuff up". McCarthy's story is a bit predictable and by the numbers, but a decent read, and at least he knows which numbers to run. Recommended. $3.99 (I got cover B, but didn't really get a choice...no copies made it to the sheld, so I got what was put in my folder.)
- "We Come In Peace, Shoot To Kill" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #1
Transformers All Hail Megatron #2: IDW - I got cover A, since that was what was put in my pull and no copies made it to the shelf. I like cover B more, though. Colonel Dan Witwicky (relation to Spike not revealed, although maybe in the current continuity Spike's given name is Dan?) shows up to head the rather futile resistance, and most of the issue is still about Decepticons showing how badly they outclass humans. And apparently the blue Frenzy has Spiral Energy, to boot. For a stompy-dominated issue, it's pretty good, though. And Witwicky provides just the right level of dark humor. Recommended. $3.99
- "He's Even Hallucinating That He's Not Red" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #2
Transformers All Hail Megatron #3: IDW - A mix of humans trying to survive and Decepticons trying to find a little bit of satisfaction in what has turned out to be a very easy victory. Probably the most important part of the issue is a heart-to-heart between Megatron and Starscream that goes pretty well (from a reader's perspective). Nice circular structure to the issue as well, beginning and ending on the same primal threat (but not Primal threat). Recommended. $3.99 (I got cover B)
- "The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is An Oncoming Train" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #3
Transformers All Hail Megatron #4: IDW - While there's a short scene or two back on Earth, this is mostly showing what's happening now to the Autobots. Not really how they got there, mind you, just occasional references and allusions. No wrapping up of the prior plotlines, lots of unexplained status changes, etc. As the sort of thing to see in #1, I'd expect that. But by #4, I'd kinda hope for less tease and more info. A two page bit involving Cliffjumper is about the only really worthwhile part of the issue. Neutral. $3.99
- "It's Not Like He Had Cable To Distract Him" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #4
Transformers All Hail Megatron #5: IDW - Decepticon fans will be disappointed, as they barely show up this issue. The opening sequence shows how the neo-Wreckers got trapped on Cybertron (man, Roadbuster's huge), and then it's popping back and forth between the human army's plans (shades of Big Broadcast of 2006 in here) and Kup/Jazz interaction. The "Five Year Gap" information is slowly doled out, but this issue feels more than a little padded. (Note to Transformers-only fans: the Five Year Gap is a Legion of Super-Heroes thing...the book got shoved ahead five years with the heroes in a crappy situation, and information on how they got there was revealed slowly or never. All Hail Megatron risks this, hopefully the fact that it's a 12 issue maxi-series means they'll try to get all the info out before it ends.) Mildly recommended. $3.99 I got cover B.
- "Exactly What Is Kup Smoking?" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #5
Transformers: All Hail Megatron #6: IDW - Ah, some verging on SNAD-ness here, and plenty of Decepti-angst. Echoes of the Big Broadcast of 2006 continue, of course, and the new Autobot continues to have a big "Hi, I'm The Traitor" sign hanging over his head. Cute bit with Perceptor, though. Recommended, mainly for Starscream being clever and Perceptor being badass. $3.99
- "Exactly When Was A Guy Who Can Shoot Things In Orbit NOT Scary?" Award to Transformers: All Hail Megatron #6
Transformers All Hail Megatron #7: IDW - The only TF title that Diamond seems willing to ship to my store. This issue is almost entirely flashback, showing how we got from the end of the previous main-story series to the start of AHM. And, of course, in nearly the driest, least emotionally impactful way possible. The only interesting bit is a different flashback that explains what the Swarm is. Very mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Not Only Are We Going To Summarize What Happened, We're Going To Pointedly NOT Talk Anout Some Of It, Because That Always Makes For Scintillating Storytelling" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #7 (of 12)
Transformers All Hail Megatron #8: IDW - Got this last Thursday, but with only one late book showing up at the newsstand I decided to just wait for the next batch rather than put out a one-book post. :) A lot of ground gets covered this issue, and part of the Traitor Subplot is revealed (along with pretty good reasons why the guy turned traitor), although only part. In other words, there's still another traitor, or other plot device, so the suspicion can still go on. My favorite part, though, was a spark-to-spark talk between Kup and Ironhide on the burden of command and the sergeant's lament. Recommended. $3.99
- "If Familiarity Breeds Contempt, What Does Binary Bonding Breed?" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #8
Transformers All Hail Megatron #9: IDW - Two artists this time out, Deas and Santalucia...one does the Earth scenes and the other the Cybertron ones. Competent, but no great shakes. The story, for its part, lurches ahead as if McCarthy suddenly realized he needed to wrap things up by #12 and had pissed away four of five issues on decompression. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Decepticon Pieta" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #9
Transformers All Hail Megatron #10: IDW - Deus ex Machina in full swing on the Autobot side. Not only was Optimus Prime brought back to life out of left field in #9, they don't really explain how that works this issue, and another character makes an awfully convenient entrance. The last of the betrayal mystery is resolved in a bit of obvious "we should probably explain this" dialogue, and various plots come to a head. Lots of fighting among the exposition, and a general feeling that the writers are finally realizing that decompressed storytelling can be taken too far and maybe it's time to wrap up what could have been done as a 6 issue story. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "I Am" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #10
Transformers All Hail Megatron #11: IDW - And at last Megatron's Master Plan is revealed, in among the double page spreads (which, to be honest, are things that deserve the double page spread treatment). It's a huge retcon, but of the "good" variety (i.e. not contradicting anything that has gone before, but probably not what the writers were thinking of back at the time). In short, a good issue, but the sort of thing we should have seen months ago, rather than padding the series out they way it was. Recommended. $3.99
- "Someone Set Up Us The Bomb" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #11
Transformers All Hail Megatron #12: IDW - Originally this was a 12 issue maxiseries with a followup mini (All Hail Megatron: Coda, which is more of a Spotlight-style thing), but they've decided to fold 'em together and run the series to #16. It's already the highest-numbered IDW series other than Fallen Angel, I believe. :) However, since the covers had already been commissioned before Coda got folded in, the retro poster style covers will only show up as retailer incentives for #13-16, sigh. Oh, and there's actually an issue in front of me at the moment. Things wrap up, and there's some fairly clunky exposition tossed in to compensate for a lack of showing things happening in the previous 11 issues, and some character threads that were set aside a while back come back for the finale (for instance, while it makes perfect sense with how he was characterized earlier, Thundercracker's actions here feel like they came out of left field if you're reading the floppies and not the collections). Kup got a couple of good moments, though, and someone told Drift to shove off. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Sometimes A Cigar Is Just A Cigar, But This Isn't One Of Those Times, Apparently" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #12
Transformers All Hail Megatron #13: IDW - The lead story has Optimus Prime and Ironhide sitting around and talking about their past together, with Don Figueroa trying out a new style that...may go down in Transformers history as one of the most offputting ways of drawing Cybertronian faces ever. The second story seems to utterly ignore Starscream's development in #11-12 in favor of a blatant ripoff of the Astrotrain scene from the original TF movie. At least the experimental art by Chee (who I previously saw in Cthulhu Tales) works in this case. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "I Think Insecticomics Already Did This Plot" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #13
Transformers All Hail Megatron #14: IDW - As with last issue, this is two short stories. The lead story fills in a few gaps in Sunstreaker's story, and I got Cover A which features his severed head. Shane McCarthy seems to be trying to partially redeem Sunstreaker by showing what a crappy deal he got, but it doesn't really work. The B story has Galvatron pick up a few of the threads left over from the whole Nemesis Prime arc in Spotlight, recapitulating old continuity as best as he can without having Unicron on-screen. All prologue, though, almost no actual story and very little character development. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Into The Hatbox With This Jerk" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #14
Transformers All Hail Megatron #15: IDW - I got the Vitruvian Perceptor cover B. This issue of what would have been "Coda" is not so much coda as intermezzo, jumping back to explain how Kup and Perceptor got to where we saw them in the main action of AHM. It even explains the cigar, although in doing so it kinda undercuts the "what cigar?" moment from AHM #12, since Kup calls it a "Cy-gar". The Kup story is really a Prowl story, though, and it builds on Prowl's long characterization across the comic companies while giving him some additional facets. It's dangerous, of course, because it's hard to write the "Vril Dox" sort of hero without giving into the temptation to either de-jerkify him or retcon him into being an outright villain. The Perceptor story explains how he became the stony sniper...it's Drift's fault. ;) Recommended. $3.99
- "Sometimes A Cigar Isn't Just A Cigar" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #15
Transformers All Hail Megatron #16: IDW - Final issue. The first story covers some of the post-war cleanup on Earth from the human side, homaging the Skids/Ravage fight from the Marvel comic but substituting Spike for Skids (Spike seems to have gotten his hands on a Constructicon handgun or something equally human-portable). Ravage gets jobbed, is all I have to say about that one. The second story has Bumblebee on Earth, on the run from humans who aren't willing to take any chances with wounded Transformers of any faction (after all, a Decepticon might be willing to put on an Autobrand...even assuming the humans would wait long enough to see the faction symbol before opening fire). It ends with a good piece of character evaluation. Recommended. $3.99
- "Spike Probably Also Got Washed By A Sexy Lady, But It Happened Off-Panel" Award to Transformers All Hail Megatron #16

Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers: This runs alongside the events of All Hail Megatron, at least initially, written and drawn by Nick Roche. While it may end up overlapping the ongoing series eventually, I'm going to stick it here between AHM and ongoing.

Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #1: IDW - Most, perhaps all, of this issue is told in flashback, ranging from "three years ago" (contemporaneous with Megatron's big push seen in flashback in All Hail Megatron) to a month ago, with a couple of scenes that may be present day or may be eight months ago or anywhere in between...Roche is ambitious with his asynchonous storytelling, but he's not careful enough with the datestamping, and the context doesn't make it clear where in the 8 month gap the unstamped "in transit" scenes happen. There is, however, a note on the inside front cover that the entire miniseries takes place before The Transformers #1. The story itself makes use of a lot of obscure characters and even drags in one of the squishies who we haven't seen since the last -Tion miniseries, and it shows some promise. I just hope it comes together rather than falling apart. Recommended. $3.99
- "Does She Have The Rest Of Mini-Fire-Convoy Stashed Somewhere?" Award to Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #1
Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #2: IDW - The time-shifting is kept to a low boil this time and the plot actually moves forward from "now" (although "now" is before Ultra Magnus arrives in The Transformers ongoing, he leaves for that this issue). Roche and Roberts juggle a fairly large cast of characters, most of whom have no real characterization in prior fiction to lean on (either they never appeared in comics or cartoons, or like Overlord they have to get new origins to fit into the IDW-verse). Regardless of who's doing most of the actual scripting, the dialogue really works well this issue, it was a Good Read in pretty much every respect. Roche's art is good, although at times it's a bit too cartoony for the tone he's shooting for. (Oh, and we get to see the rest of Verity's armor, it's not as Fire Convoy as I'd thought it might end up from the view of the gloves last issue.) Recommended. $3.99
- "Until All Are Getting Along! Wait, No..." Award to Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #2
Transformers Last Stand of the Wreckers #3: IDW - Ow. After seeing a five page preview, there were predictions that a particular character probably wouldn't survive the arc...but he didn't survive page SIX. That's brutal, but totally in keeping with the Wreckers' schtick. I also appreciated that Verity was neither totally unimportant nor implausibly effective. Definitely one of the better Transformers comics in the modern era. Recommended. $3.99
- "Guzzle Needs A Hug" Award to Transformers Last Stand of the Wreckers #3
Transformers Last Stand of the Wreckers #4: IDW - As the penultimate chapter, it's time to lay out a bunch of backstory, some of which happens while Ironfist's group is hanging out waiting for the Decepticons to break into the room with the plot device. There's also some more flashbacks (okay a LOT more flashbacks) and most but not all of the cards are laid on the table. A bunch of UK-comic Decepticons show up briefly in one of the flashbacks, and the pencilling definitely drifts into UK art homage in several places. The switching between Roche and Guidi on the art is far from seamless, unfortunately, and Burcham's coloring sometimes gets so gaudy as to obscure things. While a bit scattered, the story's otherwise good, and Verity manages to slip some innuendo past the editors. :) Recommended. $3.99
- "The Power Rangers Managed To Make Theirs Pocket-Sized" Award to Transformers Last Stand of the Wreckers #4
Transformers Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 (of 5): IDW - Diamond didn't ship this to my store, had to go get it from Hastings. As expected, quite a lot of death and dismemberment (which need not lead to death, when you're talking about Cybertronians). There's a fair amount of misdirection, but a good story with a touching ending. The MTMTE entries at the end flesh out some of the characters, but most of the important character-development information was in the story itself (if, in Ironfist's case, as an epilogue). Recommended. $3.99
- "On The Internet, Nobody Knows You're A Dog...Or A Tank" Award to Transformers Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 (of 5)

The Transformers (Ongoing): The mood has shifted, and they've decided to go with a non-miniseries approach. As a prelude, they put out Transformers Continuum to catch people up on what had gone before. The Bumblebee series looks to be interwoven with the ongoing, so I'll be sticking its issues in where they seem to fit rather than creating a separate section for them.

Transformers Continuum: The Definitive Chronology: IDW - In theory, this is filling the role of the various "Saga" freebies Marvel has been putting out ahead of major events and launches, getting people up to speed for the upcoming ongoing TF comic. The tone, barring a few weaselly "that has faded into legend" bits at the start that are likely there to allow for later retcons, it pretty much hits the Saga tone and level of detail exactly. Like, as if writer Andy Schmidt had the last several Marvel event Sagas open in front of him as he wrote this. As far as being a definitive chronology, though, not so much. There's a recommended chronological reading order of the IDW books in the back, but it uses the "lost records" weaselling to avoid nailing anything down definitively. Now, taken purely as what it seems to have set out to be, it's okay. But anyone expecting something with hard data or new information will be disappointed. There are no revelations or even clarifications, merely summaries and a few obfuscations. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Legend Recounts That I May Have Had Bacon For Breakfast, But Sadly All Records Have Been Lost" Award to Transformers Continuum
The Transformers #1: IDW - Officially, it's just The Transformers #1, no volume number or anything, but colloquially it's called Transformers Ongoing. Much has been made of Figueroa's new designs, which are mostly Classics/Universe2 toy designs...with teeth. More teeth than we've seen since the Generation 2 comics. I wish he'd redesigned his humans too, I still don't much care for how he does human faces. The story picks up after a two year gap and Prime is doing what he does best...angst. Mike Costa's writing is okay, but a bit too given to cliche. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "He Was Getting Too Long In The Tooth Anyway" Award to The Transformers #1
The Transformers #2: IDW - Lots more characters strut on stage to get the new design treatment, but otherwise it's mostly a lot of "what now?" discussions and false starts. Leaving, then not leaving. Fighting, then stopping suddenly and talking. The storytelling equivalent of an engine stalling, although clearly a sense of flailing about was intentional. It just doesn't strike me as the best way to go in a title that's theoreticaly trying to pick up new readers. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Wait, What's My Motivation?" Award to The Transformers #2
Transformers Bumblebee #1: IDW - This picks up from the end of The Transformers #2, in which Bumblebee is elected leader of the Autobots. Zander Cannon writes, so I have some hope for the story being good. Chee draws, and it's pretty good, but ignores all of the redesigns done for The Transformers, which causes a bit of a disconnect. For the most part, it looks dark and oppressive, which fits the mood, but it isn't until the Frenzy scene that Chee's background in Lovecraftian stories really comes out. :) The story starts dark and gets darker, being about compromise and betrayal, but that seems to be the IDW mandate these days, I'll give it time to turn the glimmers of hope in it into something more like a fire. Provisionally recommended. $3.99
- "Badges? We Don't Need No Steenkin' ZZZZRT!" Award to Transformers Bumblebee #1
The Transformers #3: IDW - While parallelling the Bumblebee comic, this one seems only loosely connected to it, as if the two titles were alternate universe takes on where things could have gone after the end of The Transformers #2. Hopefully it'll firm up a bit. One thing that does unify both titles is an unrelenting drumbeat of "authority figures being jerks". Ultra Magnus is like the worst stereotype of an Internal Affairs investigator. Optimus Prime is actually called on his self-flagellation by Witwicky, invoking DRHenry's Law (when a character complains about the stupidity of the plot, you know you're in trouble). Witwicky himself hunts down Autobots who simply want to leave the planet just so he can score points with his dad. Okay, Bumblebee isn't being a jerk, but he's emphasizing the "bumble" part of his name by being spectacularly inept at leading. I mean, sure, a story with nothing but competent good people as protagonists is boring. But so is one where everyone's either a jerk, a loser or both. About the only positive thing about the writing in this issue is that they're careful to name most of the characters the first time they come on screen, in case no one can figure out Don's redesigns. On the other hand, negative points for using "diffuse" instead of "defuse", evoking badly edited fanfic. Neutral. $3.99
- "Emo Prime" Award to The Transformers #3
Transformers Bumblebee #2: IDW - I have come to the conclusion that there are currently two Bumblebees. The G1-style version appearing in this book, wearing the SVI badge and not having Ultra Magnus breathing down his neck, and the neo-movie-ish style in The Transformers who seems to have no interaction with the SVI. The overt plotlines are too tightly connected (for instance, Blurr flees from The Transformers #3 almost directly into this issue) to let the two sides of Bumblebee's life fit together. I suppose it's possible that in the hours after Blurr escaping from Witwicky, Ultra Magnus heads off for another part of the planet, Bumblebee gets the offer from the Colonel and all of this miniseries takes place, and then we splice back into The Transformers #4, but it feels like I'm giving them too much credit here. Guys, this isn't the Marvel Universe, it's two books. It shouldn't be so hard to keep continuity straight. That aside, if I have to choose, I prefer this be the real one and The Transformers be forced to retcon away anything that contradicts. Bumblebee finds his spine in this issue and starts to turn things around, which is much appreciated. Recommended. $3.99
- "Blurr And Quicksilver Should Hang Out" Award to Transformers Bumblebee #2
Transformers: Bumblebee #3: IDW - Still no idea how this fits in with the ongoing, but I like it. Protagonists and antagonists continue to act intelligently, hampered not by the idiot plot but by running into ethical dilemmas. Autobots forced to consider letting the ends justify the means, human antagonists realizing that maybe they're not doing the right thing, etc. And Bumblebee himself skirts the edge of starring in the bad sort of Public Service Announcement. ;) Recommended. $3.99
- "No, I Don't Have Any Candy, Why Do You Ask?" Award to Transformers: Bumblebee #3
Transformers Bumblebee #4: IDW - Final issue, so I guess this is a miniseries. It still doesn't really fit in with the ongoing...while Bumblebee changes his look at the end of the issue, it's not to Figueroa's design. Or, if it's supposed to be, Chee either got bad information or no information at all. Cannon wraps up the story pretty well, though, dealing with the ethical quandaries and showing clearly that while Bumblebee has had to compromise his morals pretty severely, he's still a long way from even an honorable Decepticon. Recommended. $3.99
- "But How Thick Is His *Emotional* Armor Now?" Award to Transformers: Bumblebee
The Transformers #4: IDW - This issue is narrated by Thundercracker, focusing first on his experiences after betraying Megatron and then his view of the Autobot/Decepticon alliance that Hot Rod (now going by Rodimus Prime) is trying to hold together. The tone is definitely wistful, as Thundercracker things the wheels are going to come off this at any time, and he's starting to think humanity may actually be superior to Cybertronians. It's an interesting character study, although it does slow the plot down quite a bit in order to backtrack over TC's past. At least the "Two Bumblebees" question is avoided this issue, BB doesn't show up. Recommended. $3.99
- "Why Does Anyone Trust A Guy Named Swindle?" Award to The Transformers #4
The Transformers #5: IDW - I got cover A, with Figueroa's Stunticons. There's a footnote that clarifies that this issue happens after the Bumblebee miniseries, so we have at least one reference point. :) The first half of the issue is Prime philosophizing at Spike, then Spike mulling things over. The second half is the inevitable confrontation with Rodimus's group and the equally inevitable doublecross. Said doublecross involves Figueroa's new design for Menasor, which looks even more like the limb robots are simply being worn as armor rather than being integral to the combined mode...Menasor has a lot of kibble. Prime's bit is a little stock and/or cliche, but at least it makes sense. Bumblebee mainly wibbles, showing little of the character growth experienced in his miniseries. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "I Bet He Could Do It At 150mph" Award to The Transformers #5
The Transformers #6: IDW - The first few pages make it abundantly clear that Mike Costa is a LOT more interested in examining the effect of leadership on people than he is in, oh, fight scenes. Menasor showed up, and the fight against him is practically background noise in the opening pages! By contrast, Last Stand of the Wreckers also addresses the issues of leadership, but revels in the combat elements. Oh, we do get a few pages where Figueroa gets to show his chops in terms of fight scenes, but it's over very quickly and then it's back to talking. At least Bumblebee finally stops being a wuss, although Rodimus apparently starts. I say "apparently" because there's a possible subplot-device going on here. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "TF Meets STFU" Award to The Transformers #6
The Transformers #7: IDW - Most of this issue catches up on the straitened circumstances into which most of the Decepticons have fallen since AHM ended, an echo of the Char years in the G1 cartoon, but there's a look in on the Terran side as well. Unfortunately, the obvious identity of the narrator pretty much saps any shock value the Final Page Reveal might have had. EJ Su is trying out a new style here, and all the robots look like they're wearing crude camouflage paint. At first I thought it was meant to make the Decepticons look grungy and ill-maintained, but even the Autobots suffer from it. I don't care for the look, it's even worse in its own way than Pat Lee's "everyone is covered in tiny cracks" thing. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Never Let An Insecticon Do Your Social Engineering" Award to The Transformers #7
The Transformers #8: IDW - This would be more accurately titled Spotlight Spike...the lone Transformer to even appear in this issue doesn't come on-panel in the story until page 16 (okay, another Transformer shows up in flashback for one panel a few pages later). Now, if Javier Saltares's humans weren't so ugly (and obviously influenced by McFarlane on many pages) this would be less of an issue. Of course, Costa resorting to the cliche "show character A is a badass by killing character B" plot doesn't really help. Yes, I can see what Costa's storytelling goal was. But I think he undercuts the setting more than he had to...he swings the pendulum way too far back the other way. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "One Of The Ingredients Is A Nigh-Mythical Substance...WATER" Award to The Transformers #8
The Transformers #9: IDW - The timeline skips ahead a few months, to let any aftermath of Wreckers happen in the gap. Despite opening with several pages of combat, it's mostly another talky issue with the biggest threat to the Autobots being not the Combaticons but instead Stupid Politicians HUR HUR. Takes a promising, if slow, start and rather dampens it, as if Costa regrets having ended the "Autobots in hiding" plot element and wants it back NAO. Very mildly recommended. $3.99
- "North Korea Is Ruled By A South Korean Actor, Apparently" Award to The Transformers #9 (Kim Jong-Il has many kids, none of whom are named Kim Jong-Du)
The Transformers #10: IDW - Over on the AllSpark forums, one of the regulars has been doing single-page distillations of Transformers issues, or even entire miniseries. I think this one would start with three panels of various characters saying, "I have a plan," then the middle third of the page being a big battle spread, then three more panels at the bottom, with two characters (one Autobot, one Decepticon) saying, "Run away!" and then the last panel with Bumblebee saying, "I have a plan." The theme of the issue is "making things up on the fly," but it's hard to avoid thinking that maybe Costa's making things up just ahead of deadline himself. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "I Have A Cunning Plan" Award to The Transformers #10
The Transformers #11: IDW - I got cover B, with Bumblebee riding Thundercracker in a totally non-slashy fashion. Honest. Speaking of "not slash, honest," BB and TC have an extended heart to heart chat for the first third or so of the issue, followed by some of the benched Autobots being grumbly, and finally a short fight scene that ends with the "surprise" appearance of characters who are on BOTH covers. While I can definitely see how this one would also be condensed to one page, at least the opening scene was well-played and worth spending the time on. Recommended. $3.99
- "He Needs To Meet Shannon" Award to The Transformers #11
The Transformers #12: IDW - Costa's weird pacing continues, as the petty stuff gets loads of screen time and the important events happen in a panel or two or even occur off-screen. It's like he's trying to startle the reader by having the important stuff SUDDENLY APPEAR and then go away again. A summary of this issue would sound pretty good, but the actual execution not so much. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "We Are Aliens, And Know Nothing Of Your Terran 'Dramatic Pacing'" Award to The Transformers #12
The Transformers #13: IDW - This issue is pretty much just set-up for Costa to do an anti-homage, while also pulling a "bored now" with one of his plots and brushing it aside without a real resolution. Actually, it probably counts for ditching at least two plots, while pulling a new one out of Costa's reactor linkage. An interesting change of style for Roche, at least, but all in all the issue feels like Costa admitting that he never expected to still be writing the book this long, and he'd just thrown out plot threads he figured would be someone else's headache. Very mildly recommended. $3.99
- "There's Probably A TVTropes Term For This Sort Of Story" Award to The Transformers #13
The Transformers #14: IDW - Regarding cover A, why is there a bullseye around the crotch of the Optimus Prime silhouette? Do they really have an important reactor linkage there? Anyway, this issue is a "things get shaken up and the Decepticons become a serious threat again" story, which might have actually worked if there had been any sort of stable status quo to shake up in the first place. Instead, it's just more turmoil and chaos and keeping anything from lasting long enough to care about. It's worse than the new- toyline churn the Marvel Transformers comic had to deal with. And Figueroa's cartoony humans work counter to the Dire Situation scenes Costa is putting them in. Neutral. $3.99
- "Best Minecraft Ever" Award to The Transformers #14
The Transformers #15: IDW - So, having apparently decided to scrap earlier plans and change direction a few months ago, Costa spends much of this issue backfilling. Apparently Rodimus's jobbing in #13 took place several months before the events of #12, and this issue bounces all over to fill in backstory. Okay, so the actual plot elements make sense and have the potential to be interesting, but it all feels like a continuity kludge, like Costa got bored with the planned plot and rather than hand it off to another writer so he could do something else, he just shifted direction and waved his hands furiously to obfuscate any discontinuities. In short, pretty much how most of IDW's non-movie Transformers feels lately. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "Gun Like A Think" Award to The Transformers #15
The Transformers #16: IDW - A lot of characters get shot at or beat on, but nothing really gets resolved yet. Basically, this is all set up for what I presume will be a lot of Master Plan Monologuing from Megatron next issue, to be followed by the big explosions in #18. They may no longer sell these as 6 issue minis, but they still pace it like that. Mildly recommended, mainly for some good snarking. $3.99
- "What Part Of 'Unable To Kill Me At Point-Blank Range When I Was Completely Taken By Surprise' Do You Not GET?" Award to The Transformers #1
The Transformers #17: IDW - Had to get this at Hastings. The issue title is "Burning Chrome," but when Gibson used it he meant burning in the sense of a grift and Chrome was someone's handle. It's boringly literal here. Next issue is "The Demolished Man," which I'm betting won't involve psis. It's one thing to make references, it's another to make people think of much better stories while reading yours. And while this isn't a bad issue, writing-wise, it's no Burning Chrome. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- Didn't do awards that week.
The Transformers #18: IDW - ANGST! By the bucketload. It's always dangerous to set things up so that only someone's death will satisfy the plot, when external factors (like licensing) mean that the death will never happen. And while Costa has made and continues to make small steps towards the idea that maybe Prime will find a better solution than Megatron's death, we're still having to wade through a lot of PrimeAngst along the way. And it'll take a literal deus ex machina to pull it off (fortunately, the mythos has no shortage of those, one of which is shown on the "next issue" page). It's not so much that Costa is painting himself into a corner, but rather we know he's relying on a crane to lift himself out of that corner, and we can all see the crane idling its engine. It'll be abrupt, and quite possibly poorly set up. There's a few cool ideas in this issue, but the sledgehammer of angst tends to drown them out. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "DEATH FROM ABOVE!" Award to The Transformers #18
The Transformers #19: IDW - Well, I guess Rodimus wasn't quite so jobbed as it looked in #13, and he lands in what feels like a Transformers UK setting with a tie-in to some of the old Spotlights. Costa's definitely trying to emulate the UK stuff here, that's for sure. He does a good job of it, at least, and this makes for a welcome break from the "Megatron is so uber you can't do more than amuse him with your struggles" plotline. Recommended. $3.99
- "Need A Few More Boyz" Award to The Transformers #19
The Transformers #20: IDW - More pieces are put together for the upcoming CHAOS event, and the characters themselves notice that everyone in this little group has been presumed dead at some point recently, then somehow come back. A bit lampshade-y, that. I got a general feeling of Costa finally finishing with the repair work and feeling he can get on with what he'd wanted to do all along if only he hadn't been left a box of such terribly broken toys. Mildly recommended. $3.99
- "The Shane McCarthy Revenge Squad" Award to The Transformers #20
The Transformers #21: IDW - CHAOS BEGINS HERE! Whee. Can't say I'll be keeping up with this series in TPB form. The issue is split into two stories. The first is pretentious/portentious and sets up the departure of most of the Autobots for Cybertron to deal with Galvatron's horde, the second shows the other side of the same day as the few leftbehinds set up...eh, I'd have a hard time caring in the best of times. Both stories are terribly coy about some Horrible Secret that is revealed, not actually letting the reader in on it at the time, only to allude to it on the last page in a way that makes me wonder why they bothered being so roundabout. Didn't readers already know that secret? Or is it a different one that looks the same but is supposedly worse? Meh. Neutral. $3.99
- "And Lo, The Narrator Was Mightily Impressed" Award to The Transformers #21
The Transformers #22: IDW - No chaos banner thing, but the B cover (which I got) makes it pretty clear that Megatron: Origins will be tied into the current storyline. And it is. It's practically a requirement that every so often Optimus and Megatron have some sort of one on one philosophical argument that doesn't involve dismemberment, and that's pretty much this issue. The idealistic young Megatron is contrasted with the cruel and bitter (and yet still idealistic in his own way) Megatron, while Prime's ruthless core is thrown into sharp relief as we see flashbacks of some of the things he's done in his attempts to stop Megatron. James Roberts turns in a pretty good debate issue while still giving Milne plenty of chances to draw action sequences. Recommended. $3.99
- "Clearly He Knows He's Protected By Merchandising" Award to The Transformers #22

Transformers Comics

IDW's TF: Generation One comics reviews.