Another 1-Page Preview for IDW Transformers #8

Thanks to artist Winston Chan from his Twitter account we have a great image of the cover for issue #13 of the current IDW Transformers! You can see Starscream along with a particular pumpkin-hued Prime in the background with a nicely drawn Prowl and Chromia on the run in the foreground. Check out the image and as always share your view with the Seibertron crew in the forums.

From Winston's Twitter:
"The cover drawn and coloured by me for issue 13 of
@IDWPublishing's new #Transformers comic.
I'm so grateful for the chance to realise a dream. Much thanks to
@IDW_David_M and @TomWaltz.
Hope you all like it."

The perspective on Chromia's legs makes me physically ill. Nice colour work though.

TR Sentinel Prime? Ok then, I guess

Nice art, but I feel like we had better art before.

Nathaniel Prime wrote:TR Sentinel Prime? Ok then, I guess

Nice art, but I feel like we had better art before.

Yes I agree with sentinel. I’ve been looking forward to his official introduction even though a small part of me wondered if TR toy would be used. I have the toy. I like it but it’s not the best translated in art. I am hoping for heroic Sentinel Prime and not robot nazi sentinel. Worked for the first IDW but let’s go back to a bot Optimus looked up to.

I do like the art on the cover though

Can I ask for a sentinel prime of the middle ground or one more akin to his Animated incarnation?

ZeroWolf wrote:Can I ask for a sentinel prime of the middle ground or one more akin to his Animated incarnation?

It would definitely help show that this is a new continuity and not just a redo of what we already got.

william-james88 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Can I ask for a sentinel prime of the middle ground or one more akin to his Animated incarnation?

It would definitely help show that this is a new continuity and not just a redo of what we already got.

Like a sentinel from Megatron Origin who was alluded to being a smug A-hole but because he had a duty and didn’t care about the politicians. I’d be fine with that.

I still enjoyed Sentinel Prime from IDW but now that it’s all said and done I see errors. He revealed that like Sovereign he was an agent of Nexus Prime and then Onyx Prime and was preparing for Onyx’s return. His plan was to bring an army of titans and wipe out everyone on Cybertron. colonists and planet born Cybertronians. When Onyx returned and Shockwave revealed himself, sentinel and the plan to use titans to go all attack on Titan and trample everyone is not mentioned and none of that seemed to gel with shockwaves plans. It didn’t make any sense in the end.

One big criticism I have for the end of IDW was a lot of things didn’t end up getting resolved. Mainly plots with sovereign and Centurion. No time. They just got dumped. Woulda been nice if we’d gotten some interaction with Shockwave and those 2

Randomhero wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Can I ask for a sentinel prime of the middle ground or one more akin to his Animated incarnation?

It would definitely help show that this is a new continuity and not just a redo of what we already got.

Like a sentinel from Megatron Origin who was alluded to being a smug A-hole but because he had a duty and didn’t care about the politicians. I’d be fine with that.

I still enjoyed Sentinel Prime from IDW but now that it’s all said and done I see errors. He revealed that like Sovereign he was an agent of Nexus Prime and then Onyx Prime and was preparing for Onyx’s return. His plan was to bring an army of titans and wipe out everyone on Cybertron. colonists and planet born Cybertronians. When Onyx returned and Shockwave revealed himself, sentinel and the plan to use titans to go all attack on Titan and trample everyone is not mentioned and none of that seemed to gel with shockwaves plans. It didn’t make any sense in the end.

One big criticism I have for the end of IDW was a lot of things didn’t end up getting resolved. Mainly plots with sovereign and Centurion. No time. They just got dumped. Woulda been nice if we’d gotten some interaction with Shockwave and those 2

All the stuff with Shockwave/Onyx/whatnot still reeks of an eleventh hour pivot to simplify a more complex, pre-planned plot and move it towards a rushed conclusion to make way for the Unicron wrap-up event.

ScottyP wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Can I ask for a sentinel prime of the middle ground or one more akin to his Animated incarnation?

It would definitely help show that this is a new continuity and not just a redo of what we already got.

Like a sentinel from Megatron Origin who was alluded to being a smug A-hole but because he had a duty and didn’t care about the politicians. I’d be fine with that.

I still enjoyed Sentinel Prime from IDW but now that it’s all said and done I see errors. He revealed that like Sovereign he was an agent of Nexus Prime and then Onyx Prime and was preparing for Onyx’s return. His plan was to bring an army of titans and wipe out everyone on Cybertron. colonists and planet born Cybertronians. When Onyx returned and Shockwave revealed himself, sentinel and the plan to use titans to go all attack on Titan and trample everyone is not mentioned and none of that seemed to gel with shockwaves plans. It didn’t make any sense in the end.

One big criticism I have for the end of IDW was a lot of things didn’t end up getting resolved. Mainly plots with sovereign and Centurion. No time. They just got dumped. Woulda been nice if we’d gotten some interaction with Shockwave and those 2

All the stuff with Shockwave/Onyx/whatnot still reeks of an eleventh hour pivot to simplify a more complex, pre-planned plot and move it towards a rushed conclusion to make way for the Unicron wrap-up event.

Well said. I wanted to like Optimus Prime’s go at a title in his name and that whole 11th hour push/arc as you accurately called it but it was very busy and muddled then ooo inky Junkions then ooo lots of Aileron then oo Onyx and boom done. And Shockwave just didn’t feel like Shockwave. In retrospect I was left wanting a bit.

Having read the whole thing in a big whoosh like I did looking at it as a whole I think there were a lot of factors at play but nothing bored me more than the crossover stuff. Crap. Crossover crap. And I love each of those properties from my childhood dearly but it just was wrong it did not belong.

ScottyP wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Can I ask for a sentinel prime of the middle ground or one more akin to his Animated incarnation?

It would definitely help show that this is a new continuity and not just a redo of what we already got.

Like a sentinel from Megatron Origin who was alluded to being a smug A-hole but because he had a duty and didn’t care about the politicians. I’d be fine with that.

I still enjoyed Sentinel Prime from IDW but now that it’s all said and done I see errors. He revealed that like Sovereign he was an agent of Nexus Prime and then Onyx Prime and was preparing for Onyx’s return. His plan was to bring an army of titans and wipe out everyone on Cybertron. colonists and planet born Cybertronians. When Onyx returned and Shockwave revealed himself, sentinel and the plan to use titans to go all attack on Titan and trample everyone is not mentioned and none of that seemed to gel with shockwaves plans. It didn’t make any sense in the end.

One big criticism I have for the end of IDW was a lot of things didn’t end up getting resolved. Mainly plots with sovereign and Centurion. No time. They just got dumped. Woulda been nice if we’d gotten some interaction with Shockwave and those 2

All the stuff with Shockwave/Onyx/whatnot still reeks of an eleventh hour pivot to simplify a more complex, pre-planned plot and move it towards a rushed conclusion to make way for the Unicron wrap-up event.

Well that’s the thing. John did that interview with Mike and Andy on the Moonbase 2 and he said that Shockwave and Onyx was planned in 2015. He was year into season 2 of RID when he figures out how to bring back Shockwave. John still had everything planned with a Onyx and Shockwave but he decided to leave the book after “the falling arc” but when they decided to end the continuity they tossed in a unicron at the end.

You can see there was a bigger story that was gonna he told. Onyx does show up and claims to have a cure for the corrupted Energon the talisman did. He’s even holding a via of something all through the arc but in the final issue Shockwave just says he had no cure and liege Maximo’s power of deceit was rubbing off on him. Even I said “wait..what?”

I still enjoy how IDW ended very much. I still love the unicron story and everything but you can totally see there was waaaaaay more that gonna go on if it hadn’t ended.

All of Scott’s plans for till all are one.
The arisen
The colonies
The stuff that for crunched into the last 6 issues of Lost light.
Sovereign
sentinel

A lot of stuff got axed but I still think they did the best they could with a 12 month notice to end it all.

00Stargrave00 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Can I ask for a sentinel prime of the middle ground or one more akin to his Animated incarnation?

It would definitely help show that this is a new continuity and not just a redo of what we already got.

Like a sentinel from Megatron Origin who was alluded to being a smug A-hole but because he had a duty and didn’t care about the politicians. I’d be fine with that.

I still enjoyed Sentinel Prime from IDW but now that it’s all said and done I see errors. He revealed that like Sovereign he was an agent of Nexus Prime and then Onyx Prime and was preparing for Onyx’s return. His plan was to bring an army of titans and wipe out everyone on Cybertron. colonists and planet born Cybertronians. When Onyx returned and Shockwave revealed himself, sentinel and the plan to use titans to go all attack on Titan and trample everyone is not mentioned and none of that seemed to gel with shockwaves plans. It didn’t make any sense in the end.

One big criticism I have for the end of IDW was a lot of things didn’t end up getting resolved. Mainly plots with sovereign and Centurion. No time. They just got dumped. Woulda been nice if we’d gotten some interaction with Shockwave and those 2

All the stuff with Shockwave/Onyx/whatnot still reeks of an eleventh hour pivot to simplify a more complex, pre-planned plot and move it towards a rushed conclusion to make way for the Unicron wrap-up event.

Well said. I wanted to like Optimus Prime’s go at a title in his name and that whole 11th hour push/arc as you accurately called it but it was very busy and muddled then ooo inky Junkions then ooo lots of Aileron then oo Onyx and boom done. And Shockwave just didn’t feel like Shockwave. In retrospect I was left wanting a bit.

Having read the whole thing in a big whoosh like I did looking at it as a whole I think there were a lot of factors at play but nothing bored me more than the crossover stuff. Crap. Crossover crap. And I love each of those properties from my childhood dearly but it just was wrong it did not belong.

See I all about shockwaves character in the falling arc and unicron. This isn’t senator Shockwave and it’s not logic driven Shockwave. It’s a mixture of both that’s also 18-19 million years old. Much like the change in Megatron in MTMTE/LL, he’s completely different character.

See I felt that too fortunately there was enough mention of and exposition to make that really tangible for me but as we’re all kind of echoing I guess it just felt squeezed in.

Every death in Unicron felt like saying goodbye in painful chunks to something I’d fallen in love with fast and hard like a teenager’s romance. You always wish you had more time.

You mentioned how Megatron evolved that’s like all you needed to say. When his canon turned into his med case I thought oh some people are gonna hate that but I love a well written villain turnaround I lost my fanboy s$&@ when he did that. He’s like the Doctor Doom type character teaming up with the FF I always geeked out for that stuff.

00Stargrave00 wrote:See I felt that too fortunately there was enough mention of and exposition to make that really tangible for me but as we’re all kind of echoing I guess it just felt squeezed in.

Every death in Unicron felt like saying goodbye in painful chunks to something I’d fallen in love with fast and hard like a teenager’s romance. You always wish you had more time.

You mentioned how Megatron evolved that’s like all you needed to say. When his canon turned into his med case I thought oh some people are gonna hate that but I love a well written villain turnaround I lost my fanboy s$&@ when he did that. He’s like the Doctor Doom type character teaming up with the FF I always geeked out for that stuff.

Soundwaves death still gets to me so much when I got reread unicron and I do go back every couple months and read it again. He seriously became a shining gem in IDW and his death was very sad but he went out a hero. Nothing will probably ever trump IDW Shockwave as one of the best villains in transformers fiction but I don’t think anything will ever trump Soundwave either just as a character.

Randomhero wrote:

00Stargrave00 wrote:See I felt that too fortunately there was enough mention of and exposition to make that really tangible for me but as we’re all kind of echoing I guess it just felt squeezed in.

Every death in Unicron felt like saying goodbye in painful chunks to something I’d fallen in love with fast and hard like a teenager’s romance. You always wish you had more time.

You mentioned how Megatron evolved that’s like all you needed to say. When his canon turned into his med case I thought oh some people are gonna hate that but I love a well written villain turnaround I lost my fanboy s$&@ when he did that. He’s like the Doctor Doom type character teaming up with the FF I always geeked out for that stuff.

Soundwaves death still gets to me so much when I got reread unicron and I do go back every couple months and read it again. He seriously became a shining gem in IDW and his death was very sad but he went out a hero. Nothing will probably ever trump IDW Shockwave as one of the best villains in transformers fiction but I don’t think anything will ever trump Soundwave either just as a character.

Oh hells yes! Just all he fought for, by the end he totally got me.

You know what I would like to see in the future, comics based on other tf settings. IDW did a great job changing G1, could they do the same with G2? Or The Unicron Trilogy?

I too hope for a different Sentinel Prime. He was one of those where I felt the political commentary was just a bit too much on the nose, and I adore Animated Sentinel as the guy with a chip on his shoulder that really shouldn't lead but can and does while being a jerk. We need more of that

While checking on the IDW Twitter it was noted the full cover image for IDW's Transformers #8 lists in the lower left corner that this issue will also be including a Trading Card Game Booster Pack.
From the summary:
"As Megatron seeks to bring about change to Cybertron, he meets with Termagax, a living piece of Cybertronian history and founder of the Ascenticon movement. Find out where she takes him when TRANSFORMERS #8 hits stores this week!"

Like it says in the summary the issue is due out this week so be sure to pick up your copy and let us know what you think in the forums!

ZeroWolf wrote:You know what I would like to see in the future, comics based on other tf settings. IDW did a great job changing G1, could they do the same with G2? Or The Unicron Trilogy?

Maybe someday with Unicron Trilogy. It would be nice to get a comic series that had a beginning middle wand end with it since we didn’t get that without DW. I would even mind a maxi-series for each part. Like 12 issues for each part.

G2...it’d be neat to attempt the only problem is G2 is just G1 continued. I wouldn’t even mind if we went back to that coda issue from Mike costa that was ended his ongoing and made a what if since they decided to make that vision instead of a “final issue” to it all

I didn't fact check it, but came across this tid bit of news a bit ago...

https://bleedingfool.com/news/idw-publi ... rs-comics/

ctrlFrequency wrote:I didn't fact check it, but came across this tid bit of news a bit ago...

https://bleedingfool.com/news/idw-publi ... rs-comics/

Interesting, I don't quite agree with the guy's standpoint 100% but I do think it could go either way. It could be really, really good, or alternatively it could be absolute pants, depending on how it's approached. If the political element is grounded "in universe" only using IRL politics as basic inspiration, then it should be good. If it goes for ripped from the headlines/"OMG this villain is just this person I don't like!" approach it'll probably be awful.

I feel stupider having read the way that "news" post was written and the comments underneath. I still have no idea who this guy is! Though I'm wondering if this was already newsed as part of the announcement of the series.

If it's going to be based on real life politics, it's gotta be a tight story, because if the balance isn't struck just right, it's going to piss off a lot of people, regardless of which way it leans, and the title will suffer for it.

Just wondering, how much are booster packs? Are they the same price as the comic? Because then it could also be seen as a free comic packed with a booster pack
Also, does anyone know if these packs are different than the ones found in stores?

So quick thoughts here about IDW's Transformers A Bold New Era ...

A Bold New Era could have been about Bumblebee's origin. Aside from the very slow and unexciting storyline that features Transformers who aren't Autobots and Decepticons, why in the world didn't they make this story about Bumblebee instead? Replace "BS" made-up-character Rubble (I think of Barney and Betty every time I see him on the page) with Bumblebee, pair Bumblebee up with various veteran Autobots like Ironhide, Wheeljack, Kup, Prowl, etc (each who has a different "job" or skill that they can show Bumblebee), wrap up that story in an issue or two, or spread out as a sub-story amongst telling the story about the early days of the war?

Hopefully Transformers Galaxies and the other books coming out are more interesting than "A Bold New Era", which is anything but "bold".

Coming in hot! Things are really about to ramp up and heat up in this next issue! Or are they? Seems as though fans are finding the current series rather polarizing and haven't hesitated to share their feelings on the matter. Below we have the three page itunes preview for issue #9. Enjoy the preview and chime in with the crew about your feelings on the new series.

Also included after the preview for issue #9 is the alternate retail incentive cover for Transformers issue #10. This is from artist Jeffrey Veregge's ongoing poster series touring Cybertron. From his Twitter account "My latest Travel poster Retail Incentive cover for @IDWPublishing Transformers issue #10. The Great Cybertron War Memorial."

From Itunes's summary:
"Time is running out! Orion Pax, his friends, and the Autobot security forces have to get a grip on their murder investigations as their superior, Sentinel Prime, makes his return to Cybertron!"
GENRE: Comics & Graphic Novels
AVAILABLE: 2019, July 17
LANGUAGE: EN-English
LENGTH: 35 Pages
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
SIZE: 28.2MB

I think it is indicative of this series as a whole, when the preview is THREE PAGES OF TALKING HEADS. A preview is supposed to be a teaser, akin to a movie trailer, to lure you in. This isn't that.

Personally, I don't think from those I've talked to, this series is very 'polarising' at all either. I haven't heard anyone say they actually like it, on its own merits.

It has already committed one of the signs of a bad reboot, reuse of the immediate cast of the previous run IE Cyclonus, Sideswipe, Windblade etc. Although we don't know his personality yet, even Sentinel Prime from the solicit, has been plucked from Megatron: Origin in his original role and aesthetic.

Seibertron wrote:So quick thoughts here about IDW's Transformers A Bold New Era ...

A Bold New Era could have been about Bumblebee's origin. Aside from the very slow and unexciting storyline that features Transformers who aren't Autobots and Decepticons, why in the world didn't they make this story about Bumblebee instead? Replace "BS" made-up-character Rubble (I think of Barney and Betty every time I see him on the page) with Bumblebee, pair Bumblebee up with various veteran Autobots like Ironhide, Wheeljack, Kup, Prowl, etc (each who has a different "job" or skill that they can show Bumblebee), wrap up that story in an issue or two, or spread out as a sub-story amongst telling the story about the early days of the war?

Hopefully Transformers Galaxies and the other books coming out are more interesting than "A Bold New Era", which is anything but "bold".

that'd actually makes sense as if its REALLY a brand new continuity theres nothing to stop it. everything should be up for a change so BB "birth" isnt anti cannonical and instantly is garners more emotional investment.

TBH at this stage i dont think IDW KNOW how to do a transformers story anymore and ive have basically given up on them now.

hiring the lad from VOX DOESNT bode well at all either. i mean FFS the industry is in freefall and theres NO professional comics writer willing to take up a TF book? the only guy they can find is a weirdo leftist? that just smacks of politics to me, and the type of editorial decisions thats ruined these comics. i have no faith in galaxies at all now.

what "bold new era" has been so far IMO is bacsically half a walking tour of iacon, and half CSI cybertron.

whilst thats a nice idea for a mini series, thats NOT the core concept of this franshise and i dont think its what fans want from a "main" book.

like ive said before, TF without the war is like batman without crime. ya can DO books like that but the vast majority dont want em.

i WILL say the pace has picked up a bit in it - probably due to complaints being finally heard and getting ahead of the producion schedule (the two weekly thing means they gotta commit longer than a monthly one) .

but for me its too little too late. i look at this book and i really dont see anything to grip me. its like bad fanfic.

Dammit, Nautica is being reused too? I'm tired of these carbon-copy imports from the last continuity like ancient and enigmatic Cyclonus, hardass Prowl, and morally duplicitous Froid. I really enjoyed the new life they breathed into obscure characters the first time around, and was hoping for a new cast of these obscure characters.

Diaboragon wrote:Dammit, Nautica is being reused too? I'm tired of these carbon-copy imports from the last continuity like ancient and enigmatic Cyclonus, hardass Prowl, and morally duplicitous Froid. I really enjoyed the new life they breathed into obscure characters the first time around, and was hoping for a new cast of these obscure characters.

Indeed. That is what a reboot should be.

I really think HasTak should look into giving the license to someone else. Maybe Dark Horse or Valiant. Certainly someone new, with fresh ideas.

They would only give the licence to someone else if IDW either folded or just refused to relicense it. As far as hasbro is concerned, as long as IDW pay up, everything is peachy.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Diaboragon wrote:Dammit, Nautica is being reused too? I'm tired of these carbon-copy imports from the last continuity like ancient and enigmatic Cyclonus, hardass Prowl, and morally duplicitous Froid. I really enjoyed the new life they breathed into obscure characters the first time around, and was hoping for a new cast of these obscure characters.

Indeed. That is what a reboot should be.

I really think HasTak should look into giving the license to someone else. Maybe Dark Horse or Valiant. Certainly someone new, with fresh ideas.

I think this is all Hasbro approved and probably partly based on Hasbro demands/suggestion. So you would get the same thing elsewhere.

Most likely.

Let's be honest, the last few years of IDWverse were "Transformers" only in branding and likenesses. This new line is the logical progression of that. I doubt anyone would be given the creative flexibility that Simon Furman had at the start of IDWverse, especially now. Given Hasbro's obsession with all that "brand synergy" nonsense.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Most likely.

Let's be honest, the last few years of IDWverse were "Transformers" only in branding and likenesses. This new line is the logical progression of that. I doubt anyone would be given the creative flexibility that Simon Furman had at the start of IDWverse, especially now. Given Hasbro's obsession with all that "brand synergy" nonsense.

Yeah, i think the same.

william-james88 wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Indeed. That is what a reboot should be.

I really think HasTak should look into giving the license to someone else. Maybe Dark Horse or Valiant. Certainly someone new, with fresh ideas.

I think this is all Hasbro approved and probably partly based on Hasbro demands/suggestion. So you would get the same thing elsewhere.

It looks to me like this almost entirely IDW's decision on cast inclusion. The only recent Siege-line bots that have had a tangible effect on the plot are Chromia and Prowl, not coincidentally two big names from last time. (Prime and Megs are already a given in any continuity). Our protagonists, Bumblebee and Windblade don't even have toys as of now. Quake, the Decepticon with the most presence so far, isn't part of the current toyline either and those who are are relegated to mere cameos or minor roles like Ironhide,Refraktor, and Skytread.
The point is, IDW is telling the story with the characters they want, and only sparingly using Hasbro's merchandise tie-ins.

I keep hoping it will take off more.

But honestly, Cyclonus is the lone highlight of the series for me so far.

Man, there's some straight up negativity coming from this forum.

While I don't expect glowing reviews (since many also complain about the toys themselves), some of us are enjoying the series. Does it suffer from a lack of action, as we are accustomed to? Maybe. It's not like there aren't plenty of talking heads issues in the previous continuity - but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

While I don't buy just whatever because it has a Transformers logo on it, I think the criticisms are excessive. But hey, opinions are like a-holes.

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

Maybe, but the point remains it was scattershot across the entire run. Plenty of talking happened in Autocracy, too.

sol magnus wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

Maybe, but the point remains it was scattershot across the entire run. Plenty of talking happened in Autocracy, too.

I just went to check and Autocracy straight laid out how we get started in the war. So no, that part is not scattershot. Anyone who is curious can read just that book. It'd rather boring how straightforward everything is.

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

Maybe, but the point remains it was scattershot across the entire run. Plenty of talking happened in Autocracy, too.

I just went to check and Autocracy straight laid out how we get started in the war. So no, that part is not scattershot. Anyone who is curious can read just that book. It'd rather boring how straightforward everything is.

That's fine. I'll take that, but Autocracy came out years into the initial IDW run. This series is starting shortly before the war. Maybe when we get there, Prime (or Pax) can punch Megatron in the face or something.

sol magnus wrote:Man, there's some straight up negativity coming from this forum.

While I don't expect glowing reviews (since many also complain about the toys themselves), some of us are enjoying the series. Does it suffer from a lack of action, as we are accustomed to? Maybe. It's not like there aren't plenty of talking heads issues in the previous continuity - but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

While I don't buy just whatever because it has a Transformers logo on it, I think the criticisms are excessive. But hey, opinions are like a-holes.

My main problem comes down to 3 things with this story, which previous stories handled much better in at least 1 of them, usually more:

1) Art. art is one of the most important things for me. I want to be visually entertained. That is why the first half of LL, Heart of Darkness, and IDW 2009-2011 ongoing are not good for me, but MTMTE, the BW comics, and Windblade volume 1 are among my favorites: the art is spotless and fantastic and pulls you in. The art of this series, now 9 issues in, has been incredibly spotty and the main artist has shown a regression in quality. What you see on a glance is exactly what you get, and if you look longer, it doesn't get any better or more interesting

2) Character development. this is another one that I am struggling with here. Bumblebee's personality has been all over the map between series lately and then this series as well. The only characters I feel that have had any sort of characterization shown past talking heads is Prowl and Cyclonus. The rest are either really straight forward or anything we know about them comes from some words. MTMTE was guilty of a lot of text, but there was great art and character development to back that up. This one doesn't have that yet.

3) Plot Progression. Have some plot, plant seeds, have some grow quick, have others cultivate in a long term but interesting fashion. This book's biggest moments were the death of Brainstorm (a now beloved character), the death of Rubble (unexpected, violent, and actually had some nice leadup), and Cyclonus and his ghosts. That's it. 9 issues and nothing. I know it's unfair to compare, but MTMTE had put out a great intro, a thriller sparkeater, a hostage crisis, a medical emergency, a fearsome hit squad of thugs, a now beloved squad of cons who caught attention from the moment they were on page, and started a great 3 part pre-war story. The beginning of IDW also had some good stuff: Infiltration was done and half of Escalation was too, and that had the 3 big things above. Heck, Stormbringer did in 4 issues what almost all of the crossovers later in the series couldn't do, and that was deliver a great looking, reading, and immersing story.

In short, one of these 3 needs to pick up, cause 3 is amazing, 2 is really good, 1 is at least interesting, but having none of the 3 makes for a difficult to keep in it story, to me at least

Well, your complaints are well articulated. And that's fine. I'm not saying there are no legit gripes with the series - but, it's never going to be "perfect", even if such a thing exists.

sol magnus wrote:Well, your complaints are well articulated. And that's fine. I'm not saying there are no legit gripes with the series - but, it's never going to be "perfect", even if such a thing exists.

I witnessed perfection and it was in the form of IDW Transformers 22 and 23.

f course, thats just my opinion and just 2 issues rather than an entire series

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

So which was the point you were looking for? How the war got started (your initial comment) or when it started (your reply)?

How it got started was addressed in Megatron: Origin. The Autobots were a fascist ruling class, that oppressed its workers. Through circumstance a figurehead rose up to unite said oppressed and overthrow those in power. That is exactly how the war started and. In contrast to the new continuity, that was all covered within 4 issues.

Autocracy was part of the Retconned IDWverse origin. Chiefly because it read like those disgruntled to read Megatron was the initial protagonist, the Autobots were the villains and Optimus wasn't even a part of the origin story. Some clearly didn't like how new and different IDWverse was at it's inception. Explaining why those early days were repackaged into something more "G1 friendly".

Also please don't try to assert that this new run is anything approaching a "cerebral" story. I've read comics for 30 years. For cerebral books, I'd point you to Alan Moore, Grant Morrison or a whole host of Indie authors.
This current IDWverse is superficial story telling with clunky, heavy exposition and very little substance beyond that.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

Also please don't try to assert that this new run is anything approaching a "cerebral" story. I've read comics for 30 years. For cerebral books, I'd point you to Alan Moore, Grant Morrison or a whole host of Indie authors.
This current IDWverse is superficial story telling with clunky, heavy exposition and very little substance beyond that.

Not gonna address the war origin part, because it's splitting hairs.

I didn't say this series was "cerebral," and wouldn't exactly look to Transformers for that kind of storytelling anyway, since there's always a sales component to it. I've been reading comics for quite a while myself. I know the difference.

The main thing where we part ways is you don't like and I do. Were you the one who pretty much proclaimed everybody hates it? Not sure, don't have time to read up. I for one, don't hate it, and am hoping it's all leading somewhere satisfying. I, like many, could use some more action. But I'm not throwing the baby out with the bath water.

To me there is nothing to like. Or dislike. Because eight issues in and nothing has happened.

Characterisation is also nonexistent, other than what is accepted as pre-established. For example, by issue one or two of Infiltration, you had a sense of the new personalities of Ratchet, Starscream and others. All the developmental focus of the new run has been on two characters, max. Everyone else, you are just left to presume they think and act as you assume they would from previous continuity. Has Pax or Megs been given any depth beyond being Orion Pax and Megatron, badgeless?
That is what a new continuity needs to do as quickly as possible.

As I said before, by issue 8, IDWverse was into Stormbringer IE World Building and in the way most important to comics, as a visual medium, by showing said building, not talking about it.

What I "proclaimed" was no one has talked positively about this. To state a book is "hated" is childish and frankly that kind of attitude is beneath me. I treat what I read rationally, as an adult.

With the current series being where it’s at where would each of you see a cool upswing?

Say you’re the new writer taking the title in a bold new direction, where do you take us?

All perspectives welcome totally just making conversation.

Next immediate issue/arc: Threefold Spark War.

As IDWverse did with Stormbringer, showing why the Cybertronians abandoned Cybertron (a great new idea that each subsequent writer gave up on). The new book needs to SHOW why their race has imposed such restrictions upon itself.