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Another comic due next week is the one-shot issue of Transformers: Till All Are One, part of IDW's Revolution franchise crossover event, as written by regular Mairghread Scott and featuring art by Naoto Tushima! Check out the full preview below, and head back here for a review after its release.

Transformers: Till All Are One: Revolution #1
Mairghread Scott (w) • Naoto Tsushima (a) • Sara Pitre-Durocher (c)
WINDBLADE ON EARTH! The mysterious link between METROTITAN and MICROSPACE threatens to tear two universes apart, and only WINDBLADE has a chance to heal the Titan… and there she learns a terrifying secret that changes the stakes of the REVOLUTION.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
· Only WINDBLADE can heal the ailing TITAN—but what is his secret?
· Featuring OPTIMUS PRIME, ROM, and much, much more!
· Variant cover by Ken Christiansen, part of a 13-part connected cover!

Oh shoot.

Kurona wrote:Oh shoot.

This might be one of the few interesting things in the Revolution, based on what I've gathered.

MagicDeath wrote:

Kurona wrote:Oh shoot.

This might be one of the few interesting things in the Revolution, based on what I've gathered.

Micronauts and the Thundercracker one-shot are the only things worth it so far imo. TAAO and MTMTE are promising to me, though - admittedly mostly because both books have been tremendous so far imo.

Kurona wrote:

MagicDeath wrote:

Kurona wrote:Oh shoot.

This might be one of the few interesting things in the Revolution, based on what I've gathered.

Micronauts and the Thundercracker one-shot are the only things worth it so far imo. TAAO and MTMTE are promising to me, though - admittedly mostly because both books have been tremendous so far imo.

Well, I generally don't read the comics (Although I do like what I've read about them), and I'm too young to remember when these franchises started, so...

What I was getting at was that a good amount of the revolution has not been well-liked, and an obscure reference is always usually a good sign.

You probably figured as much with that last bit, though.

MagicDeath wrote:

Kurona wrote:

MagicDeath wrote:

Kurona wrote:Oh shoot.

This might be one of the few interesting things in the Revolution, based on what I've gathered.

Micronauts and the Thundercracker one-shot are the only things worth it so far imo. TAAO and MTMTE are promising to me, though - admittedly mostly because both books have been tremendous so far imo.

Well, I generally don't read the comics (Although I do like what I've read about them), and I'm too young to remember when these franchises started, so...

What I was getting at was that a good amount of the revolution has not been well-liked, and an obscure reference is always usually a good sign.

You probably figured as much with that last bit, though.

If you've liked what you've seen, I'd definitely recommend them if you get the chance. MTMTE is a pretty good fresh starting point with very few reading order diversions (though the crossover is a pain)

But yeah, definitely agree

Synopsis
WINDBLADE ON EARTH! The mysterious link between METROTITAN and MICROSPACE threatens to tear two universes apart, and only WINDBLADE has a chance to heal the Titan… and there she learns a terrifying secret that changes the stakes of the REVOLUTION.



Story

We return the world of Till All Are One - which is pretty much the whole universe, given the presence of the Council of Worlds - for this one-shot of IDW's Revolution crossover, only to find out that while the universe out there is much bigger than it seems, it is also much smaller too - and may hold bigger revelations than we thought.



Some of the lines in this issue, storywise, were vaguely spoiled by the release order of Revolution being off - and we had the Micronus/Microverse reveal in the Micronauts books. And yet, despite knowing where things will end up, Mairghread Scott brings a well-rounded exploration of Windblade's character as a refraction of the universe she inhabits.



As a diplomat, City Speaker, ambassador, and tentative believer, Windblade has been placed in a number of fairly heated debates since her introduction - but here, we finally see once more act as intermediary between powerful, and potentially dangerous, factions, interacting with the Microverse's facets and the events happening in her own space.



There is some very good material being offered, in terms of dialogue, characterisation (not just for Windblade, but also Shazraella, Micronus Prime, and even Optimus to an extent), and a penchant for darker twists to a story of diplomacy and compromise for greater goods. And I have one extra thought on that last point, below.

Art

Artist Naoto Tsushima, infamous in the Transformers art community for his NSFW work, has reigned in enough of his potentially unsavoury skills - especially for this type of book and narrative - resulting in a seriously stunning and craftily creepy series of pages, including a wonderful deconstruction splash page for Windblade herself.



On the colouring side, DAI-XT coordination with the artwork adds an extra dollop of creepy vibes, with a choice of fairly cold palettes, even in the red/pink accents and the excellent grey scales that make up that splash page - which I realise now is also a really interesting parallel with the explosion in the original Windblade run.



While there is nothing overly fancy with the lettering, it is its usual crisp, clean, good fonted work by Tom B. Long, which is always a pleasure to see alongside nice art. We've shown all the covers - Pitre Durocher and Deer's, and Tsushima and DAI-XT's - with the different previews, and you can check them out again in our database entry for the issue, except for the Ken Christiansen one in the thumbnail. And they're all stunning, actually.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

The whole team involved does an excellent job at conveying the delicate balance that Windblade is trying to achieve between four realities (at least) while also still coming to terms with her own place in relation to them - and her identity. The splash page on that point is marvelous.



While there is a good line of enquiry to follow - at some point about - Scott's penchant to place Windblade in ..well, inquisitive contexts, with Starscream-esque parallels in the questioners (literally, in this book, too), there is also a definite dark streak to compromises, deals and greater good. I'm calling Madoka Magica, here, for the record.

Dr Va'al wrote:Artist Naoto Tsushima, infamous in the Transformers art community for his NSFW work

Pretty sure that's Hayato Sakamoto who's infamous for that stuff, not Naoto Tsushima.

Shot Put wrote:

Dr Va'al wrote:Artist Naoto Tsushima, infamous in the Transformers art community for his NSFW work

Pretty sure that's Hayato Sakamoto who's infamous for that stuff, not Naoto Tsushima.

I wouldn't quite call Sakamoto's work "NSFW". "Cheesecake", yes, but it's not full on X-rated porn. Something more like Kiss Players (for its first storyline) would better qualify as "NSFW", and we have Yuki Ohshima to thank for... that.

Naoto Tsushima, on the other hand, is known for many AWESOME TF works, including The Battle of the Star Gate, the RobotMasters manga, the Henkei! Henkei! manga, Transformers Animated: The Cool, and more.

Sabrblade wrote:

Shot Put wrote:

Dr Va'al wrote:Artist Naoto Tsushima, infamous in the Transformers art community for his NSFW work

Pretty sure that's Hayato Sakamoto who's infamous for that stuff, not Naoto Tsushima.

I wouldn't quite call Sakamoto's work "NSFW". "Cheesecake", yes, but it's not full on X-rated porn. Something more like Kiss Players (for its first storyline) would better qualify as "NSFW", and we have Yuki Ohshima to thank for... that.

Naoto Tsushima, on the other hand, is known for many AWESOME TF works, including The Battle of the Star Gate, the RobotMasters manga, the Henkei! Henkei! manga, Transformers Animated: The Cool, and more.

They are both unsafe for workplaces. Most definitely so.

Again, while there's been a lot of controversy over Sakamoto with that stuff, I recall seeing zero for Tsushima.

ok so I'm a little confused (ok a lot confused) IDW has this listed as between Revolution #3 and #4 in terms of reading order, but it clearly takes place before #3 (by which point Windblade is already on earth), to make matters worse...this just came out this week when it should have came out before, or at least the same week as Revolution #3. I guess they really don't care about confusing their fans much...

o.supreme wrote:ok so I'm a little confused (ok a lot confused) IDW has this listed as between Revolution #3 and #4 in terms of reading order, but it clearly takes place before #3 (by which point Windblade is already on earth), to make matters worse...this just came out this week when it should have came out before, or at least the same week as Revolution #3. I guess they really don't care about confusing their fans much...

It's a prequel that requires context from previous Revolution issues to understand entirely. It's just non-chronological order.

Hey, for those looking for the Revolution #4 review, it will be going up within the next 2 hours or so. Been a bit busy and am still working on finishing it up. But it is coming!

Synopsis
SILENT INTERLUDE! One human has the skill to break into AUTOBOT CITY—but what is SNAKE EYES going to do when he finds himself face-to-knee with OPTIMUS PRIME? And outside, MILES MAYHEM and the M.A.S.K. team wait to see who walks out alive…



Story

Well, we've reached the next to last issue, the one where we generally get the majority of the major reveals of the whole storyline. The one where the ending will leave you wanting more, with the heroes on the ropes and the bad guys all standing tall in place for their final victory. And, in the case of crossovers, the place where everything generally all comes together.

In some of those respects, Revolution #4 did not disappoint.

The entirety of the Crossover is finally revealed, with everyone falling into place and everyone's adventures finally crossing their final paths, set for the big-named characters conclusion (well, save one that only appeared very briefly so far). At least with regards to bringing everyone together for that big ending, the story has worked out and is good. And the ending of the issue does make you want issue #5 to be here soon.

So, why am I not in love with this comic? Let's take a closer look...



I can understand the difficulties of bringing together multiple big-name characters and making them all coexist alongside one another. I've seen it done well, and I've seen it fall flat. There is a very specific rhythm you need to set, a very precise way to make the gel that holds it altogether. Unfortunately, this crossover has just not done that. Getting everyone into the comic feels too forced, too clunky, and it is throwing in way too much to handle within the pages of the book itself. It feels rushed at times, underdeveloped at others, and overall just a bit too crazy for my liking. The ordering of the releases is not helping matters either, considering some important expositions have been revealed after they were needed and in some cases entire releases being spoiled by stuff coming out first. It's just not working for the Revolution storyline as a whole.

Art

Art duties have been taken up by Fico Ossio, and there are some places in the book where the art really works and it looks pretty nice. The Micronauts benefit from Ossio's style of art, and ROM and Snake Eyes are not bad either, and considering both do get a fair bit of exposure in the comic, there are some good highlights.

But then there are other parts that just don't work at all. I'm not sure why, but most of the Cybertronians in this issue feel too far removed from their regular designs. Victorion, Arcee, and Windblade in particular feel off this issue, with Arcee being a recurring art difficulty throughout the crossover. It just feels too organic and too stylized for me to like. And the faces are not turning out too well either. Some of the Joes - mainly Scarlett - also suffer a bit in the artistic department, which is strange considering how well the Micronauts have come across.



Sebastian Cheng joins in on coloring duty, and he does a pretty good job of adding some extra spice to the pages, so to speak. His backgrounds do work well, such as the starry night seen below, and the big double-spread battle sequence is helped out by his colors setting parts of the action apart. I particularly liked his work with the Dire Wraiths, despite how bland they are supposed to be.



Tom B. Long takes up lettering duty, and does not fail to keep the story moving as well as it can with his speech bubbles. The conversations from the viewpoints of the Micronauts are particularly good, seeing as how they give us some good perspective on not being able to understand a single noise others are saying.



You can also check out a full database that shows off all the covers for this issue (as there were many) as well as a list of all the others who helped contribute to Revolution #4, art and otherwise!

Final Thoughts



As I said before, there is some stuff to like about Revolution, and let's face it: a large crossover with big names does sound like a cool idea. And there are some things that are coming out of the event well (I'm still trying to decide if Action man is better off for not being in this, considering how well his Revolution comic went and I do like him). But as has been said for a couple reviews now, it is just not working out as well as it should have and could have been. This should have been the Avengers of the Hasbro properties world. It could have been a big thing that jumpstarted a comic, continued another excellent comic, and given life to some new comics. Instead, it feels clunky, off, and more like a chore to read than an enjoyment.

I will finish off reading Revolution, but I cannot wait to get back to regular comics. I just wish I could have gotten the enjoyment out of the crossover it truly did deserve, like I did with Transformers: Revolution and Action Man: Revolution.

The art for the Transformers in the 'main' Revolution books is a poor fit for the characters. The plot should be fun, but isn't. It's too busy taking itself seriously to be fun.

There are so many characters that none are a focus. Not one. Who is this story about, really?

The dire wraiths don't feel like a serious threat, especially now that they're all out in the open sort of? They're hard to follow, and I blame that on something else: the layouts. These books are legitimately hard for me to follow. There's so little plot but it's spread over the pages in such a helter skelter way that it sometimes takes re-reads to figure out what the hell is happening in what order.

I'm very interested to see how 2 and 3 sold compared to the first issue, which sold a big mess of copies for IDW. Then again, with the brands involved it might just sell by default.

I'd like to be positive about something though now. TAAO was good. Real good. Character building, actual peril, teases that make me want to read on, visceral imagery, things happen in reasonable order, and it moved some overarching plots along while giving nice context to others. I thought Tsushima towed an excellent line and never went into "sexy" territory, at least not to me. Scott knows the character so well at this point and this was a great spotlight on her. Though I do have to say that they need to give her penchant for self-sacrifice a rest for a little while. That just happened in the TR one shot.

Finally, TF Revolution was also good and I wish the main Rev books were more like that. Josh Boyfriend saves the world, and Thundercracker helps too.

That panel where Optimus shows up leading the Autobots, ROM, Snake-Eyes and the Micronauts into battle just sums up what I feel about this crossover.
That panel? It should feel friggin' awesome. A badass team-up of badass team-ups. You've got Optimus, you've got ROM, you've got Soundwave, you've got Snake-Eyes, you've got these Micronauts dudes who while not iconic, I've really grown to like in their own comic.
... but it falls flat when you start thinking... why are they suddenly teamed up? The Autobots and ROM, sure, they've allied. But... but why the Micronauts and Snake-Eyes? Why did they team up? Why are they fighting alongside Prime? Where's the explanation, where's the getting past animosities; where's them saying more than one friggin' sentence? It's just so frustrating; like... like they got the beginning and end nailed but failed to show the actual journey.
And you know what? I feel the same way with the Dire Wraiths. Outside of Thundercracker's own little spin-off I didn't get any build-up to them, they're just... they're here now, I guess. They've got Ore-13 now, I guess. They're allied with Miles Mayhem, I guess... what is going on? Did I miss something? Was it in the individual franchises' issues, because surely I should just be able to get the basics of everything from the numbered issues themselves.
This thing is so frustratingggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg






Windblade issue was good though. Kudos.

By the way, everyone saying this - I know that's the purpose Revolution is for, and it's supposed to be able to be a jumping-on point for every series involved... but please, Primus above, do not recommend anyone interested in the IDWverse to start with Revolution.
I've read everything of IDW from Death of Optimus Prime onwards - aside from the Autocracy/Primacy/Monstrosity stuff, and the side prose stories - and Revolution is bar none the lowest point it has ever gotten.
I'm not gonna act like modern IDW has been a perfect run. Dark Cybertron was a bit of a bore for what it was and annoying to slog through just to continue the otherwise excellent two series involved. Combiner Wars was frustrating as all heck and interrupted so much just because Hasbro decided to shove their advertising full-force into a series which was benefiting from having that in minimum supply. All Hail Optimus was... not as good as it could have been.
But y'know what? All the problems of those pale in comparison to Revolution. I'd read Dark Cybertron as many times as I could in 24 hours before looking at Revolution. I'd ask for a thousand other to-sell-toys fueled arcs like Combiner Wars - which up until now, was the worst point of modern IDW - before wanting something like Revolution to happen again.

Revolution is a generic mess of an Avengers wannabe which, while perhaps fueled by good intentions, is nowhere near the incredible heights IDW has shown us Transformers fiction can reach. Tell anyone interested to start with MTMTE, to start with Windblade; for god's sake tell them to read Combiner Wars but don't get them to start with Revolution. Because I honestly can't think of a bigger way to turn someone off the comics.

Kurona wrote:and the side prose stories

There are only a couple of these and they are really good! I recommend them.

ScottyP wrote:

Kurona wrote:and the side prose stories

There are only a couple of these and they are really good! I recommend them.

They really are! I agree!

Oh believe me, I've every intention of getting to them... if I can find out how

Well to be fair Revolution really isn't a TF series, despite involving the TF's. I felt the same way about previous crossovers. Anyone remember Infestattion 1 & 2? Though those were less fueled by toy brands, they were ok...but still suffered from trying to jam too much together. Not EVERYTHING deserves or needs a crossover.

I'll start off my opinion with this- I love shared universes. My brother ad I are amateur writers, working on a shared universe of superhero stories together. And I absolutely love Transformers and the idea of them existing in the same universe as other big people.

And I thought Revolution was a great idea, but it should've been a little longer. I don't think five issues was enough to push a brand new universe together. I am not a comic book expert, so I'm not actually sure about that fact, but hey, this is a free site able to freely share POVs.

This is how I think it should be view (just IMO)- This is the first big crossover event Transformers has had on this scale. True, there has been other crossovers, but not putting them in a comic book universe with other major comic book characters. I don't think it's too fair to get all spiteful and hope this never happens again. This was the Hasbroverse's first major event. True, it didn't do too well, but if we're not asses about it, maybe all the writers can go back and see where they did wrong. I prefer to look at the positive side of things and hope things can get better.

Nexus Knight wrote:I'll start off my opinion with this- I love shared universes. My brother ad I are amateur writers, working on a shared universe of superhero stories together. And I absolutely love Transformers and the idea of them existing in the same universe as other big people.

And I thought Revolution was a great idea, but it should've been a little longer. I don't think five issues was enough to push a brand new universe together. I am not a comic book expert, so I'm not actually sure about that fact, but hey, this is a free site able to freely share POVs.

This is how I think it should be view (just IMO)- This is the first big crossover event Transformers has had on this scale. True, there has been other crossovers, but not putting them in a comic book universe with other major comic book characters. I don't think it's too fair to get all spiteful and hope this never happens again. This was the Hasbroverse's first major event. True, it didn't do too well, but if we're not asses about it, maybe all the writers can go back and see where they did wrong. I prefer to look at the positive side of things and hope things can get better.

I do agree. Was a bit angry and... honestly stretching for words when I wrote that; all I really wanted to mean by it is that Revolution is nowhere near the quality IDW has reached before and hence it's not a good starting point at all.
I do think an idea like this has potential, but... they just didn't do well this time around.