Review of IDW Beast Wars #7

Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 8:42AM CDT

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The Tide Pods Have Spiders in Them Now
A Review of Beast Wars #7

Spoiler Free-ish

IDW's trip to prehistoric Earth or some near-to-that equivalent continues with today's release of Beast Wars #7. The issue begins a new arc called "Pod" and features the first appearance in this comic of Blackarachnia, and that's not a spoiler when she's on the darn cover. Her fictional debut is accompanied by another that's probably the hot topic when it comes to this particular issue, as a new artist takes over for a little while.

When the art's good (letters too!)

I'm personally a big fan of Josh Burcham's art style, but I'm also not blind - it's definitely a style and reading our boards here at Seibertron and elsewhere on the internet will tell you that style is not enjoyed by some fans. For those fans (who are wrong, but that's ok, I'm wrong on the internet a lot too) it may come as good news that issue 7 features Winston Chan as the interior artist, bringing along a change in that aforementioned style concept. Chan's beast modes are stellar, managing to find that careful point between realistic-ish animals and animals that are so large and out-of-scale with one another that they're completely unreal. SidVenBlu (yes, written like that) takes up the color work and brings major consistency with the opening arc of the series that helps make the transition from one artist to another much less jarring than I'd feared.

When the art's not so good

If there's an area where Chan's art has room for improvement, it's in the characters' robot modes. Something I'm not art-literate enough to describe just looks off about many of the facial expressions, but aside from that, some of the poses the characters are depicted in feel very stiff and artificial. It's worth noting that the action scenes were better than the talking scenes in this regard. Those action scenes are also bolstered by some of Jake M. Wood's best letter work to date - check the image before the one just above (with Dinobot and Optimus Primal from page 2) for an example. Multiple fonts, fun usage of onomatopoeias and nothing in the way of other things makes for a good time.

Art's usually not the first part of my reviews, but it's good to change things up, so this is also where I'll remind Seibertron.com readers that you can find all the cover images and full credits for the issue through our Vector Sigma Database page for Beast Wars #7.

I see Cheetor also started a podcast

As much as the art's changed and is rightfully the main point of interest in this issue, the plotting has changed very little, and by that I mean the decompressed pace of events. Eric Burnham's writing leaves little to be desired and gets out of the way when it needs to. The characters are further defined and more of each faction's situation is elaborated on. All of that's good to have, but just like with the "Savage Landing" arc, "Pod" is off to a start that makes it feel much like an episode of Beast Wars' first TV season, which is not as much of a compliment as it may sound like to some. If you see the switch in the book's credits where David Mariotte has moved to supervising editor while Jazmine Joyner takes up the mantle as editor and hope for a change to the pacing from that, let me go ahead and give you the bad news - there isn't any. This issue feels like it was plotted out for the trade paperback, just like nearly every issue of this series so far.

Verdict

If you say so

Beast Wars #7 continues a story where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The series itself is quite enjoyable, but it's tough to find a single issue that jumps out as better or worse than others. It's strange that comics publishers will judge a book's success based on how many monthly orders it gets from comic shops while simultaneously creating a product that is best enjoyed by those shops' customers when they abstain from the practice of subscribing to boost those monthly numbers as they wait until the collected version is released. You have to wonder when this anachronistic business model will crack, but that's another tangent for another time.

In short, this was another enjoyable issue that works well as part of the series, it's still not something that shines extremely brightly on its own, and fans turned off by the initial art style may find more to like here than in previous issues.

Final Score
. :PREDACON:

½
out of

Look out for this issue today, August 25th, where you can pick it up at the Seibertron.com eBay store or at your local shop, check here to find the closest shop to you.

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Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114068)
Posted by william-james88 on August 25th, 2021 @ 11:16am CDT

I give this issue the same score

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114077)
Posted by ScottyP on August 25th, 2021 @ 1:10pm CDT

william-james88 wrote:I give this issue the same score

I mean, on my scale/our very unofficial scale a 3.5 = "good", so nothing wrong with that!

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114079)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on August 25th, 2021 @ 1:34pm CDT

Sabrblade wrote: The main reason Animated ended when it did was because Hasbro wanted to leave Cartoon Network and partner with Discovery to create the Hub Network, and wanted to start over and make a new TF cartoon

It tends to be a running theme with Transformers shows of old. Just when they were getting good, becoming their own thing (usually third season) they end. Animated picked up significantly by Season 3.
Beast Wars to me, was it's own exception. As Season 3 wasn't great. But, I wanted to see where the show would have gone post-Beast Machines (so Season 5, in essence). Yet it was not to be.

As for the art. This is an objective improvement. It's not perfect. But this artist understands the fundamentals. Character scaling, basic anatomy, panel composition AKA The arty-farty stuff. That anyone who has chosen this career should know. Many stylised artists IE Tom Scioli, understand that. So it isn't a justifiable excuse to hide behind.

Then again, I've read comic books since I was 4 or 5yo. Everything from Tintin to Lone Wolf & Cub to Watchmen. Even the worst art gets it's plaudits. Rob Liefeld had his fans, after all...

^This art, a few pages ago in this very thread, was considered more favourable than Burcham.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114081)
Posted by Sabrblade on August 25th, 2021 @ 1:45pm CDT

Some poor soul in the letters page doesn't understand what Alone Together was supposed to be and asks if the writer of this series can tie it into this.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114082)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on August 25th, 2021 @ 1:47pm CDT

Sigh

One of the many reasons this was the wrong era to bring back Beast Wars.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114089)
Posted by o.supreme on August 25th, 2021 @ 3:09pm CDT

The art is definitely an improvement on what was seen in the first few issues, not enough to get me to start reading however.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114090)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on August 25th, 2021 @ 3:17pm CDT

o.supreme wrote:The art is definitely an improvement on what was seen in the first few issues, not enough to get me to start reading however.

Honestly, in good conscience I couldn't recommend this book. Between this and 2.0, I don't think IDW are doing justice to the franchise of late. Clearly money is a factor and the talent is either inexperienced and/or cheap.

Personally, as far as respecting licensed IP. I would suggest Transformers being given to Dark Horse. They did fantastic stuff with Star Wars, Conan, Hellboy etc (before the former two were poached by Disney). I think they could do much the same for the bots of Cybertron.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114091)
Posted by o.supreme on August 25th, 2021 @ 3:33pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Honestly, in good conscience I couldn't recommend this book. Between this and 2.0, I don't think IDW are doing justice to the franchise of late. Clearly money is a factor and the talent is either inexperienced and/or cheap.

Personally, as far as respecting licensed IP. I would suggest Transformers being given to Dark Horse. They did fantastic stuff with Star Wars, Conan, Hellboy etc (before the former two were poached by Disney). I think they could do much the same for the bots of Cybertron.

I've not read a single 2.0 story. Honestly, after the first continuity ended, I kept all the IDW books (450+ of them), in boxes in my closet for over a year, never looking back at a single one, which is why I decided to sell them. Unfortunately in the Purge I also sold most of my Marvel and DW collection as well. I do regret that a bit, but if I could get them back digitally, that would suffice.

Seems like most of the more talented individuals from the bigger publishers (Marvel and DC) are being poached by smaller businesses like Substack. Will it last? Is it viable? Who knows? In the past I'd agree that Dark Horse was a great publisher. I enjoyed their Godzilla series in the 90's quite a bit. But in the current environment, I am unsure. Comics overall have really gone down in quality, especially in the last 5-10 years, I really can't point to any story from any publisher that compelled me to read it.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114097)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on August 25th, 2021 @ 4:04pm CDT

I have read everything Transformers upto the Devastator storyline (Transformers Galaxies), thanks to the Part Work. But if asked for IDW Transformers recommendations, my go-to options haven't changed: Last Stand of the Wreckers and Furman's -Ations run. Nothing else since 2005 has screamed "Transformers" to me, from their entire output.

It takes a great creative team to make a noteworthy book in this day and age. Strange Adventures from DC and Immortal Hulk from Marvel, being very strong examples. A publisher brand alone doesn't cut it like it used to. If anything, I'd recommend IDW for their TMNT work.

Back when Image was formed in the 90's, it was for a purpose. To continue further splintering the industry into smaller and smaller entities, won't end well. "Too many cooks" and all that...

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114101)
Posted by primalxconvoy on August 25th, 2021 @ 4:15pm CDT

I got the impression that this BW series was aimed squarely at the younger members of the TF community (those that weren't around when the show first aired).

For me, I wish they had retold, with whatever caveats were needed, the BW2 and Neo stories, and tied both the story and art style into the excellent DW/IDW Beast Wars comics that came out before this new series. I would also have loved to read a continuation of that the IDW/DW universe, with new stories, using obscure/underutilized characters. The writers could then go nuts with new characters, or bringing in new BW/BM versions of existing G1/BM characters, etc. Basically, post BC Wreckers, and all that. It could have blossomed into its own full series...

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114102)
Posted by o.supreme on August 25th, 2021 @ 4:22pm CDT

primalxconvoy wrote:I got the impression that this BW series was aimed squarely at the younger members of the TF community (those that weren't around when the show first aired).

For me, I wish they had retold, with whatever caveats were needed, the BW2 and Neo stories, and tied both the story and art style into the excellent DW/IDW Beast Wars comics that came out before this new series.

As far as I am aware, the only BW story in DW was in the 20th anniversary one-shot that had multiple stories from different continuities. There was a fan vote for next regular series (BW vs RiD), in which BW won, but the series never materialized.

I did enjoy IDW Gathering/Ascending as well. I sold the individual books, but kept the MTMTE/Universe styled profile books.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114103)
Posted by primalxconvoy on August 25th, 2021 @ 4:50pm CDT

o.supreme wrote:
primalxconvoy wrote:I got the impression that this BW series was aimed squarely at the younger members of the TF community (those that weren't around when the show first aired).

For me, I wish they had retold, with whatever caveats were needed, the BW2 and Neo stories, and tied both the story and art style into the excellent DW/IDW Beast Wars comics that came out before this new series.

As far as I am aware, the only BW story in DW was in the 20th anniversary one-shot that had multiple stories from different continuities. There was a fan vote for next regular series (BW vs RiD), in which BW won, but the series never materialized.

I did enjoy IDW Gathering/Ascending as well. I sold the individual books, but kept the MTMTE/Universe styled profile books.

"The story for this series was a significant revamp of the scripts which Furman previously submitted to Dreamwave Productions for what was to be titled Shell Game. Selected artwork that Figueroa submitted for these original scripts was reused in the rewritten issues. Originally the plot was to tie into "Ain't No Rat". "

(Source: - https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers,_B ... _Gathering )

That's why I wrote "DW/IDW", as the IDW comic had very close ties with the abandoned/unpublished DW BW project. Arguably, one could say it WAS the DW story, which was simply finished by IDW.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114104)
Posted by o.supreme on August 25th, 2021 @ 4:54pm CDT

"significant Revamp" as in not the same, as it would have been if it had been Published by DW.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2114105)
Posted by primalxconvoy on August 25th, 2021 @ 5:00pm CDT

o.supreme wrote:"significant Revamp" as in not the same, as it would have been if it had been Published by DW.

The point is that the stories were a joint DW/IDW creation. I don't recall stating they were "the same".

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2115840)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on September 15th, 2021 @ 11:43am CDT

primalxconvoy wrote:I got the impression that this BW series was aimed squarely at the younger members of the TF community (those that weren't around when the show first aired).

To be fair, that is exactly the demographic I hear from reading the letters page. I don't think any of these letters reflect someone with long standing appreciation for what Beast Wars is and was, in the 90's.

Anyway, issue seven. A marked improvement, art-wise obviously. The interpersonal dialogue is still off and lacklustre. Concerning the Predacons in particular, I'm not getting any personality at all from their exchanges. Scorponok was awful in the show. But at least he stood out. Terrorsaur has a little characterisation. But it is just filling the trope of "bully". Honestly, Scold just needs to be written out. In a sufficiently apt way to her ham-fisted focus...

The second improvement to this is the story itself. We have a new origin story for Blackarachnia. I'll overlook how Burnham clearly doesn't understand how Stasis Pods actually work (stuff like this makes him sound as much a fan of Beast Wars as Kevin Smith is of He-Man). For the first time in seven issues, I am interested to see where this goes though. Although it does speak volumes that the only character I'm suddenly interested in, in this book, is BA. A character I don't actually like. 6.5/10

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2115848)
Posted by primalxconvoy on September 15th, 2021 @ 2:59pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
primalxconvoy wrote:I got the impression that this BW series was aimed squarely at the younger members of the TF community (those that weren't around when the show first aired).

To be fair, that is exactly the demographic I hear from reading the letters page. I don't think any of these letters reflect someone with long standing appreciation for what Beast Wars is and was, in the 90's.

Anyway, issue seven. A marked improvement, art-wise obviously. The interpersonal dialogue is still off and lacklustre. Concerning the Predacons in particular, I'm not getting any personality at all from their exchanges. Scorponok was awful in the show. But at least he stood out. Terrorsaur has a little characterisation. But it is just filling the trope of "bully". Honestly, Scold just needs to be written out. In a sufficiently apt way to her ham-fisted focus...

The second improvement to this is the story itself. We have a new origin story for Blackarachnia. I'll overlook how Burnham clearly doesn't understand how Stasis Pods actually work (stuff like this makes him sound as much a fan of Beast Wars as Kevin Smith is of He-Man). For the first time in seven issues, I am interested to see where this goes though. Although it does speak volumes that the only character I'm suddenly interested in, in this book, is BA. A character I don't actually like. 6.5/10

It's odd that they shingle have gone after the younger demographic, when, fun what I recall, younger readers are less likely to buy comics these days, as opposed to older demographics.

As for Kevin Smith, however, I disagree. I think the recent 1st half of his new MOTU mini-series was great and showed an eye for the details and lore already established in the expanded MOTU world, but each to their own.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2115850)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on September 15th, 2021 @ 3:10pm CDT

primalxconvoy wrote:It's odd that they shingle have gone after the younger demographic, when, fun what I recall, younger readers are less likely to buy comics these days, as opposed to older demographics.

Again, all the more puzzling as this is supposed to be made as per the celebration of the 25th anniversary. Yet it isn't. The way this plays out is in a similar vein to when those writing for Beast Machines were told not to adhere to Beast Wars characterisation. You can't sell something as a sequel or homage, if you have no intention of putting the effort in.

primalxconvoy wrote:As for Kevin Smith, however, I disagree. I think the recent 1st half of his new MOTU mini-series was great and showed an eye for the details and lore already established in the expanded MOTU world, but each to their own.

The problem there, is that isn't what it was sold as. It was sold as a continuation of Filmation. Which it isn't. If someone had said this was a follow up to the 200X series, that would have been a more honest appraisal. Personally, I have no horse in the race either way. My He-Man was New Adventures. Didn't care for Filmation in comparison. To me, aesthetically, it was the difference between Spider-Man TAS and the 60's cartoon.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2115857)
Posted by primalxconvoy on September 15th, 2021 @ 4:02pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
primalxconvoy wrote:It's odd that they shingle have gone after the younger demographic, when, fun what I recall, younger readers are less likely to buy comics these days, as opposed to older demographics.

Again, all the more puzzling as this is supposed to be made as per the celebration of the 25th anniversary. Yet it isn't. The way this plays out is in a similar vein to when those writing for Beast Machines were told not to adhere to Beast Wars characterisation. You can't sell something as a sequel or homage, if you have no intention of putting the effort in.

primalxconvoy wrote:As for Kevin Smith, however, I disagree. I think the recent 1st half of his new MOTU mini-series was great and showed an eye for the details and lore already established in the expanded MOTU world, but each to their own.

The problem there, is that isn't what it was sold as. It was sold as a continuation of Filmation. Which it isn't. If someone had said this was a follow up to the 200X series, that would have been a more honest appraisal. Personally, I have no horse in the race either way. My He-Man was New Adventures. Didn't care for Filmation in comparison. To me, aesthetically, it was the difference between Spider-Man TAS and the 60's cartoon.

Thank you for your opinion. I'm not sure if you've posted there, but there's a thread about it, if you're interested:

- kevin-smith-s-masters-of-the-universe-on-netflix-t116990.php

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116293)
Posted by ScottyP on September 21st, 2021 @ 9:53am CDT

Be ready to get out of stasis lock tomorrow when Transformers: Beast Wars #8 arrives from IDW Publishing. Those familiar with the Beast Wars story know what to expect for awhile, and that's a fight over the orbiting stasis pods safeguarding Maximal protoforms. Whether this new iteration will stay on this story beat for as long as the cartoon did is yet to be seen, but based on this preview and the synopsis just below, it looks like at least this next issue will look to that as its focus.

(W) Erik Burnham (A) Winston Chan (CA) Andrew Griffith
"Pod," part two! Blackarachnia has made her way to the Maximal ship, the Axalon, and encountered her first Maximal, Cheetor. Now she's gone missing again and it's up to the whole crew to find the mysteriously disappearing spider... before she finds them!

Check out the preview below and be sure to pick this issue up tomorrow at your local comic shop, through a licensed digital comics retailer, or via the Seibertron.com eBay store.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116306)
Posted by Sabrblade on September 21st, 2021 @ 10:34am CDT

Seems like this could be a Die Hard type story, only with the good and bad guy roles reversed. Which I guess would make it an Alien type story instead.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116308)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on September 21st, 2021 @ 10:39am CDT

It would be very disappointing if that throwaway bit of dialogue from Rattrap is the explanation for Blackarachnia's behaviour.

On the plus side, hopefully some (more than one) new and different characters coming soon.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116309)
Posted by Sabrblade on September 21st, 2021 @ 10:42am CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:It would be very disappointing if that throwaway bit of dialogue from Rattrap is the explanation for Blackarachnia's behaviour.

On the plus side, hopefully some (more than one) new and different characters coming soon.

But we saw Tarantulas do exactly what Rattrap said when he infiltrated the Axalon in Issue 6. And last issue blatantly showed his shell program partially uploaded to Blackarachnia's pod as it landed. What's not to get?

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116310)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on September 21st, 2021 @ 10:52am CDT

As I said, after reading the last issue, Burnham doesn't get how Stasis Pods work. For one thing, how they can't leave orbit on their own.
So it would have been better to do something different with BA. Framing it in such a way, that she thinks she is John McClane on an enemy ship. The enemy faction, to her, being unclear.

They have been trying to set this up as an alternative Beast Wars, not the show. So instead of poorly abridging things the show already did. Go wild and different.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116315)
Posted by MaximalNui on September 21st, 2021 @ 11:10am CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:As I said, after reading the last issue, Burnham doesn't get how Stasis Pods work. For one thing, how they can't leave orbit on their own.
So it would have been better to do something different with BA. Framing it in such a way, that she thinks she is John McClane on an enemy ship. The enemy faction, to her, being unclear.

They have been trying to set this up as an alternative Beast Wars, not the show. So instead of poorly abridging things the show already did. Go wild and different.

Wait, so you want them to try and do their own thing instead of trying to follow the original story... but when they don't translate one element from the cartoon 100% and instead set their own rules (how the stasis pods work), you complain about them not following how it worked in the original story? :???:

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116422)
Posted by ScottyP on September 22nd, 2021 @ 6:39am CDT

You Say 'That's Just Prime', But It's Probably Just Another Situation Gone Wrong
A Review of Beast Wars #8

Spoiler Free-ish

The title of Beast Wars #8 is "Pod Part 02", as in the second part of a longer story just called "Pod". In my review of issue 7, I took issue with the book's pacing, and the same issues linger here. It's not terribly slow, but things don't pick up quickly with this most recent release either. As the last mention of this for most of the remainder of this particular review, I'll let Blackarachnia share a word for you if you had expectations that this latest installment would avoid the "writing for the trade" pace the series has been taking -

Blackarachnia: Still Mean

Writer Eric Burnham does well in this issue at making the events that do happen feel engaging. Even with an idea in mind on roughly what will happen (unless you're new to Beast Wars entirely) there's a sense of tension and plenty of character-appropriate dialogue, resulting in a final product that was very easy to get absorbed in. Outside of Nyx who is pure background decoration in this issue, Burnham shows that he knows who these characters are effectively communicates some of their traits as the story moves along.

"It don't matter. None of this matters."

Without going into spoiler territory, it can be pointed out that while this issue (and presumably this story arc as a whole) is repeating the beat from the show's plot about recovering Maximal Protoforms from orbit, there's enough difference here to be encouraged by what may be yet to come. Put another way, while you may still generally know from point A on page 1 to point B on page 20 that point B was always the destination, there's some road construction on the way with enticing potential for the future.

Cats: Also Still Mean

The artistic team on issue 8 is the same from 7, meaning Winston Chan's on the lineart again with colors by SidVenBlu and letters by Jake M. Wood. There's a lot to like here, with fun action scenes and a regular helping of close-up character portrayals during the scenes of just dialogue. There's a particular instance where Cheetor's running through the Axalon in cheetah mode and the panel layout has him overlapping multiple panels to express a sense of speed, which was very enjoyable and clever, at least to me. There were some instances again when I thought Chan's expressions went a bit stiff or where some characters' poses looked unnatural that prevent a full helping of solid praise for the art, but in general it's well executed here and still feels consistent with the rest of the series so far.

Cover options include Andrew Griffith's take on Optimus Primal and Megatron duking it out, Martin Gee's Blackarachnia cover which is used for this review's news story's thumbnail, as well as a 10-copy retailer incentive cover featuring both spider Predacons by Ryan Miller. As always, you can find all the cover images and full credits for the issue through our Vector Sigma Database page for Beast Wars #8.

Verdict

Slowly, in this case, but sure

Beast Wars #8 was more fun to read than I expected, with just enough beneath the surface layer of plot to make things compelling despite a general overall expectation of events that went mostly fulfilled. The character development is proceeding smartly in most cases and while the art's not by any means perfect this time around it conveys the story effectively while still providing a standout moment or two. I'm excited to see where things develop, but please, please start getting us there quicker.

I really wanted to go up to a 4/5 this time, which is "very good" on my scale, but the pacing just won't allow me to go above the "good" below.

Final Score
. :PREDACON:

½
out of

Look out for this issue today, September 22nd, where you can pick it up at the Seibertron.com eBay store or at your local shop, check here to find the closest shop to you.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116477)
Posted by Sabrblade on September 22nd, 2021 @ 3:55pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:As I said, after reading the last issue, Burnham doesn't get how Stasis Pods work. For one thing, how they can't leave orbit on their own.

It didn't "leave orbit on its own". It started falling because it had received part of the invasive code Tarantulas sent to it, which contained a command for the pod's onboard computer to activate its thrusters and send it down to the planet's surface.

The pods' computers in the cartoon were essentially in sleep mode while in orbit and didn't activate until after the crash-landings. Here, their onboard computers can be accessed with a long-range signal from the ground, a technology the cartoon characters didn't have.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116516)
Posted by Nexus Knight on September 22nd, 2021 @ 8:09pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:As I said, after reading the last issue, Burnham doesn't get how Stasis Pods work. For one thing, how they can't leave orbit on their own.

Whatever gave you that impression? Just coz we never saw them land on their own in the show, doesn't mean that it isn't possible. It seems to make perfect sense, actually, that the pods have both remote control and thrusters. Since the Axalon had to eject, it is presumable that this is a safety feature designed into the pods for the purpose it was used. Quickly get rid of the pods to keep them safe, they would need not only the ability to track and report on the status of the pod and the protoform within, but make it easy to retrieve. Giving the pods the ability to maneuver on their own makes perfect sense, thus a few commands to the computer's onboard computer to fire thrusters could very wasily send it into the planet's atmosphere.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116541)
Posted by william-james88 on September 23rd, 2021 @ 12:21am CDT

I prefer Burcham's art.
Also, not a fan of Burcham's art.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2116570)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on September 23rd, 2021 @ 9:21am CDT

william-james88 wrote:I prefer Burcham's art.
Also, not a fan of Burcham's art.

I think it would be interesting to get a bit of artist rotation going in this book. A different one each arc. If these are being "written for trade", then give each trade it's own visual identity.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119619)
Posted by ScottyP on October 26th, 2021 @ 2:34pm CDT

You'll be singing "Hakuna Matata" on your way to the comic shop tomorrow, as the release of Transformers: Beast Wars #9 is upon us and, based one of the variant covers, it's time for Razorbeast to make his mark in the story. The five page preview below won't get around to that part, but hey, IDW Publishing shares these to help sell the books after all.

(W) Erik Burnham (A/CA) Josh Burcham
"Thicker Skin". The Predacons begin their hunt for other fallen protoform pods, containing potential reinforcements in their quest to crush the Maximals. But Skold, the Predacon powerhouse, is left behind because she'll slow the mission down, at least according to Terrorsaur. When Skold encounters a pod on her own, it'll be up to her to bring it to the Predacon's side... or put it down for good.

Check out the preview below and be sure to pick this issue up tomorrow at your local comic shop, through a licensed digital comics retailer, or via the Seibertron.com eBay store.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119620)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 2:44pm CDT

That dialogue almost seems to be mocking the plot of The Agenda. It isn't really a good idea to poke fun at something of higher quality.

Speaking of which, after last issue, I really need to stop reading the letters page. Someone comparing the dialogue of Dinobot in this to Code of Hero. Which there isn't even a subjective comparison to be made. It just reads as "tell us you're a shill, without telling us you're a shill".

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119621)
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 2:51pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That dialogue almost seems to be mocking the plot of The Agenda. It isn't really a good idea to poke fun at something of higher quality.

To be fair, the characters in the show called Megatron's plan "madness" too.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119622)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 2:55pm CDT

Sabrblade wrote:
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That dialogue almost seems to be mocking the plot of The Agenda. It isn't really a good idea to poke fun at something of higher quality.
To be fair, the characters in the show called Megatron's plan "madness" too.

True. But Megs himself rationalised it as: 'The ultimate risk... for the ultimate prize!' He knew what was at stake. But the benefits outweighed the potential drawbacks.

Always lamented the backtrack on that cliffhanger. Season 3 could have been so much more interesting. Set within a dystopian, alternate future >:oP

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119624)
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:07pm CDT

Would have been hard to sell the toys that were already in production at that point though :lol:

I don't mind them poking fun at it. Might mean they're making more changes then we think.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119625)
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:08pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That dialogue almost seems to be mocking the plot of The Agenda. It isn't really a good idea to poke fun at something of higher quality.
To be fair, the characters in the show called Megatron's plan "madness" too.

True. But Megs himself rationalised it as: 'The ultimate risk... for the ultimate prize!' He knew what was at stake. But the benefits outweighed the potential drawbacks.

Yet, he admitted to himself the enormity of what it entailed and, in his hesitance, held off going through with it until all of his other options were exhausted.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Always lamented the backtrack on that cliffhanger. Season 3 could have been so much more interesting. Set within a dystopian, alternate future

We got that dystopian future. It was called Beast Machines. :-D

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119626)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:14pm CDT

Sabrblade wrote:Yet, he admitted to himself the enormity of what it entailed and, in his hesitance, held off going through with it until all of his other options were exhausted.

If not for Blackarachnia, it might have paid off too.

Sabrblade wrote:
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Always lamented the backtrack on that cliffhanger. Season 3 could have been so much more interesting. Set within a dystopian, alternate future
We got that dystopian future. It was called Beast Machines.

Touché

ZeroWolf wrote:Would have been hard to sell the toys that were already in production at that point though

To be fair, looking at how different the TM 2 line was. It wouldn't have been too far a leap to assume that was the "alternate" cast of Season 3. There was no Primal in that line, after all.

ZeroWolf wrote:I don't mind them poking fun at it. Might mean they're making more changes then we think.

Cynically, I'd say that is a nod to the fans. With a realisation this series won't last long enough to reach that point.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119628)
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:23pm CDT

Only IDW would know that, unless they make their sales figures public.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119631)
Posted by primalxconvoy on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:36pm CDT

Oh dear, we're back to "this" type of aesthetics now, are we? Perhaps this is the "dystopian" future mentioned in a post or two above?

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119632)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:39pm CDT

Indeed. I just sighed when I saw the preview. The idea I opted for a while back IE a different artist per arc, could have been a much better way to go. Unfortunately, instead, we are back to Beast Wars Roar

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119633)
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:44pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:Yet, he admitted to himself the enormity of what it entailed and, in his hesitance, held off going through with it until all of his other options were exhausted.

If not for Blackarachnia, it might have paid off too.

He would have been better off not going through with it. The future without the timestorm ever happening at all would have yielded him a better conquest of Cybertron, this time with Predacons instead of Vehicons, and which would have lasted for years with Predacons hunting down and executing hapless Maximals before they'd finally give a more concerted fightback years after Megatron took over. Megatron's timestorm in the past changed all that and resulted in the Vehicon-takeover and Spark War instead.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:To be fair, looking at how different the TM 2 line was. It wouldn't have been too far a leap to assume that was the "alternate" cast of Season 3. There was no Primal in that line, after all.

There is no way Mainframe would have taken the existing cast they spent two seasons developing and discarded them for all-new people. Especially since that would have required creating completely brand new CG models for everyone when they were trying to save every buck they could when making the ones they already had (Tigatron and Blackarachnia being modified from Cheetor and Tarantulas, Ravage being modified from TM Cheetor w/ Tigatron's head, etc.).

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Cynically, I'd say that is a nod to the fans. With a realisation this series won't last long enough to reach that point.

In that interview I mentioned Burnham saying that Razorbeast was originally gonna be someone else that Hasbro vetoed, Burnham also revealed that the Ark and its occupants are currently "not on the table" for this series.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119635)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:52pm CDT

Sabrblade wrote: Megatron's timestorm in the past changed all that and resulted in the Vehicon-takeover and Spark War instead.

Which he would have won, if had just killed Primal & co outright. When he first took control of Cybertron.

Sabrblade wrote:There is no way Mainframe would have taken the existing cast they spent two seasons developing and discarded them for all-new people. Especially since that would have required creating completely brand new CG models for everyone when they were trying to save every buck they could when making the ones they already had (Tigatron and Blackarachnia being modified from Cheetor and Tarantulas, Ravage being modified from TM Cheetor w/ Tigatron's head, etc.).

The eternal noose around the show's neck - the budget. Hence no Coneheads for the Nemesis finale.

Sabrblade wrote:Burnham also revealed that the Ark and its occupants are currently "not on the table" for this series.

That would lead me to believe this series has a predefined length of time attached to it, assigned by Hasbro. Given the Beast Wars show narrative pivoted entirely in that direction for Season Two.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119636)
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:57pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That would lead me to believe this series has a predefined length of time attached to it, assigned by Hasbro. Given the Beast Wars show narrative pivoted entirely in that direction for Season Two.

Twelve issues is the current plan, with more to come should the series do well enough.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119637)
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:00pm CDT

Oh I see, one more arc I imagine? If only 12 ends up being the case, a third artist would have been a really good idea.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119638)
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:14pm CDT

Was there any clues to who the vetoed character was?

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119639)
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:18pm CDT

ZeroWolf wrote:Was there any clues to who the vetoed character was?

No clue. Burnham wasn't allowed to say who it was nor what their beast mode was since that would have given away its identity.

The only BW character that comes to mind that I could see Hasbro putting their foot down on is BW Grimlock, but it's fun to wonder if it could have been someone without any ties to G1.

I guess we'll have to see what kind of role Razorbeast plays. If he emerges from his pod a newly born Maximal, that'll make it harder to figure out who he replaced. But if he emerges as a preexisting person from Cybertron who was put into stasis, that might make it easier.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119640)
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:29pm CDT

I see, thanks Sabrblade. In some cases, if the comic survives past 12, it'd be good to see more toy only characters. There shouldn't be that many that hasbro say no to, other then the magnaboss combiner of course, if the bw grimlock theory holds true.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119641)
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:39pm CDT

We did get Magnaboss Ironhide in the first issue.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119642)
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:42pm CDT

Sabrblade wrote:We did get Magnaboss Ironhide in the first issue.

I did mean more of the ongoing cast.

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119648)
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on October 26th, 2021 @ 6:47pm CDT

Glad to see Burcham back, love his art.

I'm hoping the 1st TPB comes out soon. I am eager to actually read the whole first arc proper

Re: Review of IDW Beast Wars #7 (2119658)
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 7:11pm CDT

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Always lamented the backtrack on that cliffhanger. Season 3 could have been so much more interesting. Set within a dystopian, alternate future
We got that dystopian future. It was called Beast Machines.

pic

Touché

In fact, now that I think about it, if one were to jump immediately from watching "The Agenda (Part III)" to "The Reformatting" and "Master of the House", that would kinda feel like history was rewritten, with only Blackarachnia being chummy with the Maximals and Megatron's dragon mode unexplained but which be written off as part of the history rewrite.

Of course, later episodes directly calling back to BW season 3 ruin this, but still.