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Thanks to online retailer Amazon.com, we have a listing for the issues of IDW Publishing's Transformers: Lost Light that follow the Mutineers Trilogy, collected as a trade paperback in volume 3 of the ongoing series!
The release date is currently set at September 18, 2018, and the current price for the pre-order is $13.07. This will go up to regular 19.99 later, so if you're in for the trade, take advantage of the discount. The book has the cover for issue #13, and as a bonus, you can also take a look at the Cyclonus-centric art by Jack Lawrence before it got coloured below!
A witty, smart, emotional take on fan-favorite Transformers characters in a sci-fi world unlike any other!
Winner of the Comixology Award for Best Ongoing Comic Series of 2017, as well as Best Writer for James Roberts!
Crammed into a dead Decepticon astropod that's ten sizes too small, the displaced crew of the Lost Light face their most serious threat yet: each other. No worries though, Rodimus can save the day! Plus, the Scavengers have never had it so good. The war is a receding memory, their patchy service records have been forgotten, and the five of them can roam the galaxy as they please. All's well that ends well? Not quite.
PreviewsWorld has posted Transformers: Lost Light #13 Cover B. Cover B features the art by Nick Roche for the artist's edition this month. Below is a brief synopsis of what to expect, along with a other information, and what the cover ultimately looks like!
(W) James Roberts (A) Alex Milne (CA) Nick Roche
CABIN FEVER! Crammed into a dead Decepticon astropod that's ten sizes too small, the displaced crew of the Lost Light face their most serious threat yet: each other. As tensions rise and tempers fray, only one Autobot is arrogant enough to think he can save the day. Enter Rodimus, expert mediator.
• Part of IDW's Artist's Edition Cover Month!
In Shops: Jan 24, 2018
SRP: $3.99
From fellow Seibertronian Cyberpath, we have a notification of the first images appearing of the in-pack comics of the latest batch of Takara Tomy Transformers Legends, following the Titans Return line released by Hasbro, which includes LG54 Bumblebee, LG55 Targetmaster Slugslinger, and some parts of the LG57 Octone and LG56 Perceptor manga issues, which can stay where they are, thank you very much.
There is the expected unnecessary imagery by artist Hayato Sakamoto (a couple of panels in particular), alongside a sort of storyline using Titans Return, Unite Warriors, Headmaster lore and more, and we've mirrored the first two comics (found on the back of the instruction sheets, and courtesy of TFW2005 user prime roller) below.
Synopsis
NO TURNING BACK! Getaway has crossed one too many lines and made one too many enemies. Hunted down on his own ship, the master manipulator has one last trick of his sleeve—something so shocking, so audacious, that it would put the most evil Decepticon to shame. No one is safe as the Mutineers Trilogy reaches its jaw-dropping climax.
Self-awareness is good, I guess..?
Story
This week, we return to the Lost Light, and look at the ever-eventful continuations of the horrors contained within the mind, actions and direct respondents of one ship's new self-appointed captain. Welcome back to Getaway, Atomizer, and the Plotters' Club in the conclusion to the Mutineers' Trilogy - Lost Light #12. And, I feel the need to proceed with caution here, as I have yet to make my mind up about the issue. Bear with me.
I'm getting there
Looking at the things that work, then: the interlude and the main story, taken as their own beasts, are good frames within which the two threads operate, with a connection (or several, but one in particular) that is as obvious as it is likely to miss with everything else happening. They also both nicely set-up some more world-work that we are bound to see soon. Also, First Aid continues to delight, and the action sequences are, on the whole, placed down nicely.
well paced; painful, but well paced
Which leads me to the main concern: pacing. I've discussed this with staff, and there are wildly differing views, of no help at all, that the sequences are running to fast, too disconnected, and trying to gather together too many yarns and making a big knot out of them than a tapestry. There is undoubtedly a lot going on in the issue, and I feel like you can take that one way or another entirely, without necessarily discrediting the opposite view.
...basically
The better comments to reconcile the two parts of my appreciation for the book do not find their place in this review, for the simple reason that they are entirely based on the latter part of the book, and I do not wish to simply discuss plot. My concerns with pacing remain, however, and I will add a couple of extra, more potentially spoilery notes in the section at the end of this piece.
Art
The art on the issue is in the hands of two different artists, for a very specific in-plot reason too: Jack Lawrence on the main frame, and Andrew Griffith on the interlude section featuring the return of a fair number of characters. And where the first has no real criticisms from me, the latter's linework felt oddly out of place, compared to track record: it may have been just an issue of time, it may be the contrast between two very different styles, but it stood out in not the most positive of ways - that said, the layouts are excellent, and the scenes do play out well, the issue is almost entirely with the details.
I'm not sure why
Lending fuel to the idea that there may have been a time-constraint element to the issue's production, there are three colourists to look at for the art: Joana Lafuente, Priscilla Tramontano, JP Bove. The major contrast is only really to be found in the interlude vs main story, but even there something wasn't entirely in sync between lines and colours, and perhaps a darker palette on the Lost Light scenes may have helped consolidate some of the moments we're witnessing - though the hangar scenes looked really quite apt.
it's the little things
The lettering by Tom B. Long has some really nice moments, scattered through the book, that play with the more humorous moments (dark humour, at that) and the more action-heavy scenes, and never feel out of place - the dialogue is heavy, not helping with the density of the script, but placing flows well in the panels. The cover I thought most worked for this review is the Alex Milne/Josh Perez moment of frustrated anger (nicely cut at the thigh, too), but the other two main variants are definitely worth their presence, and the Ramondelli Megatron companion to the Optimus Prime one in a previous comic is nice enough as an RI. You can, of course, see them all in our database entry here.
Thoughts Spoilerish ahead
I haven't shied away in previous reviews and general comments on the series (and this arc specifically) from expressing my dislike of how plots are created and made to work - especially with some of the character build-ups (except for First Aid and Atomizer), and the over-the-top rounding off of Getaway after issue #10. That said, and as ScottyP reminded me in the email discussion we had, liking or disliking the story valid criticism is not.
Sums it up for me
I, personally, cannot say I enjoyed the issue that much at all, but I recognise that point as extremely valid. So here is my critical thought on the issue: it is dense, definitely so, and the pacing is very very rushed but that may be exactly what it is supposed to do - except.. the problems with the visual side of things drag this down further for me, and I really want to know what happened.
The action-packed sequences on the Lost Light mirror the action of the interlude, with two different feelings of horror and frustration, seen from two very different perspectives, but not well executed enough to fully land, for me. As a whole, where this is most definitely not a book for an entry level reader, longtime followers may equally react very well or very poorly to the story, depending on your interest in the wider picture versus the more immediate character and plot work of the arc. Your Mileage May (Very Much) Vary.
And finally, our third preview of a newly released Transformers comic from IDW Publishing sees the character of Drift - introduced all the way back in All Hail Megatron, and become a mainstay in most of the stories since - show up in all of his Drift-centric stories, from Spotlight: Drift, to his eponymous mini-series to the Empire of Stone follow up, of which we are seeing repercussions to this day, more or less in the background (keep an eye out for that in the likes of Lost Light).
Check out the full preview below, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub discussion boards!
Transformers Drift: Origins & Empires
Shane McCarthy (w) • Alex Milne, Guido Guidi, Marcelo Ferreira (a) • Livio Ramondelli (c)
Repentant villain Drift roams the galaxy, waging a solitary war on his former allies, delivering swift justice to any Decepticons that cross his path. But with many Autobots refusing to trust him, and many Decepticons sure he's pulling a scheme, walking the straight and narrow path won't be easy, and Drift—previously known as Deadlock—must repeatedly face the consequences of his past mistakes. Collects Transformers Spotlight: Drift, Transformers: Drift #1–4, and Transformers Drift: Empire of Stone #1–4.
TPB • FC • $24.99 • 220 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-223-3
Our second preview up this week, from an IDW Publishing Transformers comics release, is another collected edition for a book that has already seen several editions - the Tom Scioli (with John Barber) production of Transformers vs G.I. Joe: The Quintessential Collection!
Bringing together the entire run of the series, plus the one-shot titled The Movie Adaptation (no movie was ever made, before you ask), the book can be viewed below with its new production and specific art style and writing. Check it out, and let us know if you'll finally dip into the cosmic swirls of the clashing worlds Scioli.
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe: The Quintessential Collection
Tom Scioli, John Barber (w) • Tom Scioli (a & c)
Earth makes contact with an alien race—and G.I. JOE is on the front lines! But, when the Transformers arrive—well, let's just say you've never seen Transformers vs G.I. JOE like this! Presenting the entire 13-issue Transformers vs G.I. JOE series—full of Kirby crackle and the relentless fun of Scioli's vision—plus the all-new Transformers vs G.I. JOE: The Movie Adaptation one-shot in one unforgettable edition. Travel from Earth to Cybertron and back again as comic book luminary Tom Scioli turns his imagination loose on Hasbro's beloved toys! This oversized deluxe hardcover also includes commentary and extras by creators Tom Scioli and John Barber!
HC • FC • $49.99 • 420 pages • 7” x 11” • ISBN: 978-1-63140-860-1
Bullet points:
"Instead of trying to take '80s toy nostalgia and make it sexy and modern, Tom Scioli and John Barber have made a comic that feels like playing with action figures in your backyard..."—Vice
This week, we have a whole list of new comics releases from IDW Publishing in their Transformers roster, some of which we'll only showcase as previews - starting with the latest re-release of another format of the Autocracy trilogy, the pre-war stories that collect Autocracy, Monstrosity and Primacy, and lead almost directly into the current arc of the Optimus Prime ongoing via the Redemption of the Dinobots stories.
Check it out below, and let us know if you'll be dipping into the book this time round!
Transformers: Autocracy Trilogy
Chris Metzen, Flint Dille (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a & c)
Follow the early days of Optimus Prime and Megatron on their paths to leadership. Before Optimus became a Prime, he fought for order. Before Megatron became a conqueror, he fought for freedom. In the early days of the war on Cybertron, two leaders–one Autobot, the other Decepticon–start down their paths towards destiny. Collects the Autocracy, Monstrosity, and Primacy series into one volume.
TPB • FC • $29.99 • 336 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-074-1
Courtesy of fellow Seibertronian Cyberpath, who found the source on the official Takara Tomy Transformers Legends website, we have another chapter in the ongoing manga series that accompanies the Legends toyline, both in-pack and as digital releases to the figures themselves. The chapter, mirrored below, is number 51, which is the same designation as Targetmaster Doublecross (Twinferno in the Hasbro Titans Return line) and features the White Leo Headmaster along with a whole cast of Beastformers from the original Japanese animated series for the Headmasters - check it all out below, and let us know what you think in the Energon Pub discussion board!
Transformers has just won the biggest comic book awards possible at the Comixology Reader's Choice Awards, reflecting the best in 2017. It was practically a sweep for the Transformers brand with Transformers: Lost Light winning best ongoing series, James Roberts winning best writer for his work on Lost Light and Sara Pitre-Durocher winning for best artist for her work on Transformers: Till All Are One. Transformers were even linked to the best letterer award for Tom B Long who worked on the First Strike series.
The fact that this is a choice of the people reading the comics as opposed to a select committee really shows the presence of the brand in the comic book medium and in the hearts of fans all throughout the world. It is worth noting that the best ongoing series was a shared win with Saga, My Hero Academy and The Mighty Thor, which is impressive when you realize that it is the only series out of those whose characters come from a totally different medium (unless you count Norse Mythology).
After the Twincast Podcast Mainframes episode in which we spent over an hour talking about a number of elements present in IDW Publishing's Transformers: Lost Light #11.. the full preview for the final chapter in the Mutineers' Trilogy (LOst Light #12) already negates at least three of our major speculation points!
You can check out the preview below, and let us know what you think of the arc so far in the Energon Pub discussion boards.
Transformers: Lost Light #12—Cover A: Jack Lawrence
James Roberts (w) • Jack Lawrence (a & c)
NO TURNING BACK! Getaway has crossed one too many lines and made one too many enemies. Hunted down on his own ship, the master manipulator has one last trick of his sleeve—something so shocking, so audacious, that it would put the most evil Decepticon to shame. No one is safe as the Mutineers Trilogy reaches its jaw-dropping climax.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
Variant cover by Livio Ramondelli!
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