Full Preview of IDW Transformers Optimus Prime TPB Volume 3

WHEN does this coming out?

steve2275 wrote:WHEN does this coming out?

This week, if schedule is correct! You probably need to order it from your local comics shop.

Coming at us via both Previews World and the artist Kei Zama herself, we have a look at the retailer incentive variant cover art for issue #20 in the ongoing Transformers comics series from IDW Publishing Optimus Prime, as it concludes the penultimate story arc The Falling!

And as you can see, we're leaning heavily into Onyx Prime's beastly presence, with a fantastic homage to the Beast Wars continuity, featuring Optimus Primal, Megatron, and the Beast Wars II Nemesis ocular planet-ship used in the series so far. Take a look below, and beware of the ..'spoiler' of sorts in the solicit blurb!

Optimus Prime #20 Retailer Incentive Comic Book Cover

IDW PUBLISHING
APR180353
(W) John Barber (A/CA) Kei Zama

"The Falling," Part 5. Optimus Prime has faced defeat before and come back... but he's never seen anything like this. Beyond life, beyond death-only the wisdom of an old friend can save him. Meanwhile, Victorion battles Devastator... and only one will survive.

The return of Bumblebee! One shall rise, one shall fall, but who will destroy them all?

In Shops: Jul 11, 2018
SRP: PI

That's some stellar art there of bw op and megs but do they play any part at all?

That cover is freakin' gorgeous!

ZeroWolf wrote:That's some stellar art there of bw op and megs but do they play any part at all?

Hopefully more than the Spooky Onyx Bodyguards role that they have so far! Don't have a shred of a concrete idea though. Certainly does have me reflecting on how wildly different members of the Beast Wars cast have been handled.

Rhinox is ancient, presumably died a long time ago - unless he's Fat Tankor now which would be fine. Rattrap schemes for Prowl. Tigatron and Airazor are on the Council of Worlds. Cheetor and Blackarachnia were introduced but never had their plot or Eukaris' go anywhere and are presumably in Unicron's tummy. Primal, Megatron, and a massive host of others have been in Onyx's entourage. The universe still hates Waspinator, but at least he survived the Visionaries crossover and his temporary Thrustinator reformatting!

The continuity will probably end with waspinator still complaining about it all hating him. You know I'm surprised no one has hit upon the idea of making waspinator the tf equivalent of deadpool (just the 4th wall breaking immortal side)

That cover is gorgeous!!! I really really really hope both characters actually do something

Thanks to a heads up from Podcaster and comic master ScottyP, we have news that the final Trade Paperback for IDW's Optimus Prime series has been listed on the Penguin Random House website. The trade will collect issues 22-25 and the 2018 Annual. Worthy of note though is that the trade's cover is left mostly blank, with the top Optimus Prime logo visible as well as a thin line of the actual cover, but so far the cover itself is being kept a secret. What are they up to?

Check out the listing above as well as the little bit of the cover we see below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

End of the Road! The Autobots are faced with mutliple threats, one of them a danger not only to Cybertron, but to the whole Universe!

Trapped between Shockwave’s attack and Unicron’s onslaught, Optimus and the Autobots struggle to make sense of what’s left of their world, as Optimus’ colonist soldiers contend with a brutal reality–they have no homes to return to. Plus, Shockwave reveals ancient truths–as an old friend tries to reconnect with Cybertron.

Collects the 2018 Annual and issues #22-25, which conclude the series.

I initially thought it was the OP 19 cover with Shockwave, but the colours of that 'beacon' streak don't match.





This one, however...

If we already know the cover then why hide it?

william-james88 wrote:If we already know the cover then why hide it?

Not everyone follows the solicits or the single issue releases, and may not want the Shockwave and Bumblebee spoiler so many months in advance of the trade release.

william-james88 wrote:If we already know the cover then why hide it?

Some guy at Penguin publishing was probably just following a well-intended note from IDW.

Alternately, the cover Va'al sleuthed out is a red herring. We know Alpha Bravo will save the universe so he probably gets the last cover

Va'al wrote:

william-james88 wrote:If we already know the cover then why hide it?

Not everyone follows the solicits or the single issue releases, and may not want the Shockwave and Bumblebee spoiler so many months in advance of the trade release.

Haha, yeah I get that. But they also gave out a free comic a few weeks ago that had Bumblebee on the cover

ScottyP wrote:

william-james88 wrote:If we already know the cover then why hide it?

Some guy at Penguin publishing was probably just following a well-intended note from IDW.

Amazon sure didnt get that note

https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Opt ... formers-20?tag=seibertron07-20&

william-james88 wrote:

Va'al wrote:

william-james88 wrote:If we already know the cover then why hide it?

Not everyone follows the solicits or the single issue releases, and may not want the Shockwave and Bumblebee spoiler so many months in advance of the trade release.

Haha, yeah I get that. But they also gave out a free comic a few weeks ago that had Bumblebee on the cover

Again, not Penguin!

Via the usual source Previews World, and fellow Seibertron.com admin ScottyP, we have two covers for the price of one for the upcoming issue #21 of the IDW Publishing ongoing Transformers comics series Optimus Prime! Why two in one? Because the Kei Zama line art is used for the retailer incentive cover, while the full coloured version by Josh Burcham will be the main variant for the issue.

As for the contents? Check it out below, along with the synopsis, and join the discussion about the two hands featured in the art - probably underrated protagonists of the story thread Aileron and Arcee - as we reach the end of The Falling story arc.

(W) John Barber (A) Sara Pitre-Durocher (CA) Kei Zama
"The Falling," Part 6. Bumblebee and Optimus Prime make a last, desperate bid to return to the real world as Shockwave teams up with the Autobots! Can Optimus stop what's coming, or has he played right into the hands of the ultimate destroyer?
In Shops: Jul 18, 2018

So thanks to Amazon we know what IDW were hiding. They appear to be under the mistaken assumption that Bumblebee's resurrection (revealed on one of the Unicron covers months back and confirmed by the Free Comic Book Day issue) is still a secret. He appears in his new evergreen design on the cover.

Agent 53 wrote:So thanks to Amazon we know what IDW were hiding. They appear to be under the mistaken assumption that Bumblebee's resurrection (revealed on one of the Unicron covers months back and confirmed by the Free Comic Book Day issue) is still a secret. He appears in his new evergreen design on the cover.

They still have to treat it as such.

We had featured the black and white lineart by artist Kei Zama for the main and variant covers for the IDW Publishing Transformers ongoing comic Optimus Prime #20 right here, and you may have seen the coloured up version by Josh Burcham around too - but to be fair to everyone and share the Beast Wars majesty of the piece, check it out mirrored below from Previews World, along with some detail shots by Zama herself!

(W) John Barber (A/CA) Kei Zama
"The Falling," Part 5. Optimus Prime has faced defeat before and come back... but he's never seen anything like this. Beyond life, beyond death-only the wisdom of an old friend can save him. Meanwhile, Victorion battles Devastator... and only one will survive.

The return of Bumblebee! One shall rise, one shall fall, but who will destroy them all?
In Shops: Jul 11, 2018
SRP: $3.99

Kind of a shame these guys are just background characters in the falling but hey it makes sense that they share looks with prime and megatron with shockwave as their leader

That really is a bloody gorgeous cover!

The weekend brings us not, not two, but three previews for new comics from the Transformers universe (and what is left from the Hasbro Universe too, I suppose) of IDW Publishing comics!

Starting below, the first is the shorter preview via iTunes for ongoing series Optimus Prime, now on its #20 issue, and entering the final stage of the Falling arc. Check it out, and join the conversation in the Energon Pub before its release next week.

“The Falling,” Part 5. Optimus Prime has faced defeat before and come back... but he's never seen anything like this. Beyond life, beyond death—only the wisdom of an old friend can save him. Meanwhile, Victorion battles Devastator... and only one will survive.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Victorion beats Devastator, given that Pyra Magna and (at least) the helicopter twins are seen in stories set, chronologically, after The Falling arc.

We finally have the full previews for this week's comics from IDW Publishing featuring Transformers, and we're headed for a number of endings - starting with Optimus Prime #20 below! Check it all out, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub as we prepare our review for the release date this new comic book day.

Optimus Prime #20—Cover A: Kei Zama
John Barber (w) • Kei Zama (a & c)
“The Falling,” Part 5. Optimus Prime has faced defeat before and come back... but he's never seen anything like this. Beyond life, beyond death—only the wisdom of an old friend can save him. Meanwhile, Victorion battles Devastator... and only one will survive.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Optimus Prime #20—Cover B: Casey W. Coller
John Barber (w) • Kei Zama (a) • Casey W. Coller (c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
The return of Bumblebee!
One shall rise, one shall fall, but who will destroy them all?
B&W variant cover by Kei Zama!

I just realized the resemblence of the eye in the Beast Wars game cover

So bee has been living the other side of a singularity since crystal city, wonder how he repaired him self.

budmaloney wrote:I just realized the resemblence of the eye in the Beast Wars game cover

It’s the giant eye ship Galvatron owned from the Japanese Beast Wars cartoon.

ZeroWolf wrote:So bee has been living the other side of a singularity since crystal city, wonder how he repaired him self.

My working theory since "Ghost Stories" is that Bee was resurrected by Ore-14 just before Metalhawk burned the ores out in Dark Cybertron, but didn't "wake up" until he was in the singularity. Note that Bee's death is almost exactly the same as when Shockwave "killed" Dreadwing, so his revival might've also taken some time. Might also explain why Crystal City is in ruins but not completely obliterated.

-Crossfire- wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:So bee has been living the other side of a singularity since crystal city, wonder how he repaired him self.

My working theory since "Ghost Stories" is that Bee was resurrected by Ore-14 just before Metalhawk burned the ores out in Dark Cybertron, but didn't "wake up" until he was in the singularity. Note that Bee's death is almost exactly the same as when Shockwave "killed" Dreadwing, so his revival might've also taken some time. Might also explain why Crystal City is in ruins but not completely obliterated.

That actually makes sense, thanks

Synopsis
“The Falling,” Part 5. Optimus Prime has faced defeat before and come back... but he's never seen anything like this. Beyond life, beyond death—only the wisdom of an old friend can save him. Meanwhile, Victorion battles Devastator... and only one will survive.



Story
There is something strange happening to this issue, and perhaps affecting the entirety of the arc once the feeling settles in, as we continue with The Falling now on its fifth chapter - and we get to visit the other side of a singular plot point and device that allowed to get this far. Which may or may not work for the readers, especially if you know where we're going with it.



John Barber's writing is phenomenal, mind you, and we have a tightly scripted, well paced, focused action and dialogue balance, and he weaves in so many of the plot points we have seen since the very beginning of this narrative universe that I'm surprised editor David Mariotte is keeping track any more (and surviving unscathed).



The one character to rise out of it, other than Shockwave's larger-than-the-universe weight, and Bumblebee's newly re-established totally-not-a-ghost-because-scifi presence (and narrative voice this issue), is the titular character himself, perhaps in a finally moment too, is Optimus Prime. Or rather, his guilt and messiah complex (Prime Complex?), enabled by both of the other former two and their words / actions - but for a presence that I'm still not entirely on board to accept.



As for corollary stories within the core thread of the issue, there's a lot to be appreciated, in both the flashbacks and the present day cameos and references in Liege Maximo's army of Maximals (yup), and including Armada Cyclonus, Space Case, Noisemaze/Sideways, and the covered Optimus Primal and Megatron once more. Plus, of course, Devastator and Victorion punching each other into the next issue.


Art

There is little praise I haven't yet heaped upon Kei Zama, so there is not too much more I can add here - though perhaps her ink-heavy style can make some of the more busy scenes a little too busy in some points (see some flashbacks, for example, below) - but the recognisable designs from across the franchise in her hands are something just *Italian chef hand kissing gesture* - and Casey Coller finishing off a later sequence is surprisingly well blended in



..which of course is only complemented and complimented by Josh Burcham's still incredible palettes and hues according to the different tonal aspects of the scenes taking place: from a colder fight to a more passionate one, to a dark flashback via a 'rational' exposition, he pieces it all together, and both styles, beautifully.



As for the lettering, and the established choice of narrative frame and captioning that Barber does for his stories, Tom 'Kyle' Long delivers the goods once more, in a mostly silent and subtle (bar Arcee's brutally accurate fighting style) series of action sequences and shots.

It's good to see some more Coller on the covers too, with JP Bove on colours, for a Bumblebee centric Optimus Thirteenth Prime take on the cast of the story (see thumbnail) - and of course the Beast Wars homage from Zama and Burcham is still pretty sweet, too. Check them both out in our database!

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

The Falling is an arc that brings down a lot of the narratives that have been established since the beginning of Robots in Disguise, then Transformers, then Optimus Prime, even though some of its seeds were planted all the way back in Spotlight: Shockwave, resurfaced in Dark Cybertron, and only now come to full bloom with Onyx Prime stomping around on everything that had been built - while I am still a little concerned at the ramifications of that, it is still doing so in such a way that makes me want to see more.



And by seeing more, I put the emphasis on the visual, given how the art team on the book has been sensational and a wild ride from start to finish (not there yet, but I can presume), I cannot wait to see what Shockwave actually has in store (despite my reservations about his and Bumblebee's presence) and what deal will lead Optimus to come to terms with his own lineage and darkness - all in time for Unicron #1.

Arcee killed thunderhoof...that was a bit mean.

Remember when Dark Cybertron started to look in retrospect like a work of genius that gave Shockwave and Bumblebee significant, satisfying endings? That sure was a good time last December when I re-read it. Now that's kinda been undone :/

Another enjoyable enough issue but the treatment of the “Maximals” leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, both here and in Unicron 1.

ScottyP wrote:Remember when Dark Cybertron started to look in retrospect like a work of genius that gave Shockwave and Bumblebee significant, satisfying endings? That sure was a good time last December when I re-read it. Now that's kinda been undone :/

Now see, I agree with this, but I am also conflicted. Bee should stay dead in my opinion, nice to have him back, but his end was meaningful. Same as Shockwaves.

But with everything set up for Shockwave, almost everything works for him and I really dig the story he set up. Everything astronomical about his plans and about what happened mainly involving him worked. And him coming back was the shock of the entire IDW run. that said, he did have a great ending in Dark Cybertron. so him here again is a little at odds. But still, I think it was 90%+ great

God I hate this Arcee, I cannot wait for the reboot.

You don't like that she's a monster of a warrior?

ausbot wrote:God I hate this Arcee, I cannot wait for the reboot.

couldn't agree more.

I'd prefer a new company to take on the Transformers IDW have had their chance

Coptur wrote:

ausbot wrote:God I hate this Arcee, I cannot wait for the reboot.

couldn't agree more.

I'd prefer a new company to take on the Transformers IDW have had their chance

That's not how licensing works, as long as idw pay money and hasbro are happy with the represention and their orders are followed (like which toys to promote) then idw will keep going.

I really don't see the problem with arcee, it's far better than what we had in g1 in my opinion, only one better would prime arcee. If you don't like her origin them mauve take it up with Furman

i know. i would just like fresh team and company to have a shot.

I don't like that she's near indestructible and unbeatable.

I did actually have a jovial chat about it with Simon a couple years ago at TFNation lol.

the origin is what it is (i didn't like it but lived with it) overall i did like that spotlight issue.

Well they are having fresh writers handling this so no one knows what the tone is going to be.

Out next week with IDW Publishing is the second issue this month from the ongoing Transformers comics series Optimus Prime – which brings us to the conclusion of The Falling story arc, and the start of the lead-in / parallel track to the Unicron mini-series. Check out the brief preview from IDW below, featuring Livio Ramondelli art, and join the discussion!

“The Falling,” Part 6. Bumblebee and Optimus Prime make a last, desperate bid to return to the real world as Shockwave teams up with the Autobots! Can Optimus stop what’s coming, or has he played right into the hands of the ultimate destroyer?

Ah I'm not the biggest fan of this art style but I'm willing to over look it

The mood delivered on some of those flashback panels is great!

This said, I know the mantra "every issue is someone's first" but tbh, with this five away from the end after 13 years of IDW's continuity, I hope that gets totally ignored after this arc. Just lay it on, folks can catch up if they need to.

ScottyP wrote:The mood delivered on some of those flashback panels is great!

This said, I know the mantra "every issue is someone's first" but tbh, with this five away from the end after 13 years of IDW's continuity, I hope that gets totally ignored after this arc. Just lay it on, folks can catch up if they need to.

Yeah, if you’re not caught up at this point its a lost cause. We’re neck deep in lore and built up plots, how’s the time for things to be story heavy. It doesn’t take that long to figure stuff out if you start from DoOP.

This week sees the release of the final chapter in the penultimate arc of the ongoing Transformers comics series Optimus Prime, from IDW Publishing, and the entering into the next phase of the Unicron event. Check out a full preview for The Faling part 6 below, and join us on Wednesday for a Seibertron.com review of the book!

“The Falling,” Part 6. Bumblebee and Optimus Prime make a last, desperate bid to return to the real world as Shockwave teams up with the Autobots! Can Optimus stop what’s coming, or has he played right into the hands of the ultimate destroyer?

This is gonna be a real compressed issue it feels like. I heated there’s a huge “WTF?!?!” moment so I can’t wait to read it tonight’s

21 is a legitimately hard to follow comic that kind of cements my low opinion of the "it was Shockwave all along!!!!1" stuff. I've paid pretty damn close attention to these books and would have a hard time giving a coherent summary of the book.

That one moment though? Fun and flirtatious and I thought it was great. Once more folks read it there'll be a dumpster fire fueled by readers taking it too far beyond what it was probably meant to be, but I hope I'm wrong about that.

Synopsis
“The Falling,” Part 6. Bumblebee and Optimus Prime make a last, desperate bid to return to the real world as Shockwave teams up with the Autobots! Can Optimus stop what’s coming, or has he played right into the hands of the ultimate destroyer?



Story
And lo! we reach the end of this penultimate narrative arc of the ongoing Optimus Prime series, and.. it gets weird? It definitely does things, and quite a few, but it also feels like it's trying to do more things than it wanted to do - to varying degrees of success - and The Falling just sort of hobbled and stumbled a bit there. Let's see...



If you've followed the Seibertron.com reviews of several of John Barber's work, you'll have noticed that one element keeps coming up when we reach the climax of his stories - two, actually: first, the climax is always magnificent and much earlier than the denouement; second, the latter, the endings, can have a tendency to not land entirely satisfactorily, to be generous in my wording.



If the script wanted to play more on Shockwave's evolution in time - plenty of it - it did so with probably too many tropes and clichés, reminding me too much of the Galvatron resolution in Combiner Wars, and an over the top, super evil villain element to an otherwise nuanced take on the senator's story, and his influence on titular character Optimus.



That said, there are still some very good individual character moments and scenes, mostly featuring Arcee and Aileron, Pyra Magna and her reluctant partnership with Optimus, and Bumblebee's presence as an almost outsider to the entire story - plus, some very nice callbacks to very early storylines seeded in the very first Shockwave story, and everything since, in true Barber continuity style. And final bang for the universe to go out on, for which a clue may or may not be in the cover...


Art

We have previously seen how Kei Zama and Sara Pitre Durocher can work really quite well together in the same book, even with theyir recognisably own style - and there are some very much both moments, spotlighting strengths from each of the two artists - but adding the third, very distinct style of Livio Ramondelli to the mix might not have worked that well. It does. Oh if it does: giving him the infraspace sections allows his style to be justified by the narrative itself, and the end result - of all three - is nothing short of masterful.



Josh Burcham is doing nothing short of a miracle, bringing a cohesion to three very distinct visual styles that would not have otherwise worked at all - and even with what may be Ramondelli's colours on his own lineart (has always been so, I wouldn't expect that to change), the final effect we get out of the three is truly a sight to behold, and probably the redeeming element of the whole book this time round.



With the script being so baffling at times, in terms of its narrative linearity, I was a little thrown off at one specific instance of balloon placing in the very first pages, that threw me off entirely for a whole two days, until my third read. The rest of the lettering was Tom B Long's regular top shape, but I felt like my disappointed feelings just tainted a lot about this book.

As for covers, the Aileron / Arcee cover by Zama and Burcham is splendid, though without the colours it can be a little harder to decipher, though the spotlight still goes to the Pyra Magna-centric Casey Coller and JP Bove silhouette variant, the last in this gorgeous series (see thumbnail). Check them all out in full size in our database!

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

If the previous couple of issues was starting to feel as if the story was dragging on, this issue put a stop to that, and one that was a little too abrupt and perhaps undeserved - in its convoluted path to the end point, at least - to make up for the jarring feeling that came out of the close proximity of these last two issues. The story is tepid at best, thought there is nothing inherently wrong about it, but his landing not sticking well, even with that one scene with its wholesome, touching moment, and its lead into the Unicron happenings, just soured the whole experience for me.



There is some really good art present in this book, though, with some exquisite colours in the Ramondelli sections, and some poignant moments kept well balanced even with three separate sets of hands being worked on by a fourth, and some of the scenes alone are worth the scope of the book - but still not always enough to supersede the disappointment of a tepid resolution. I do want to see how this all ends, of course, but I'm less inclined to fully appreciate the Unicron story now that these cards are sliding off the table.

I was super confused by the ending. To a point I was upset and didn’t like it and had to read the tfwiki article to understand what happened to Optimus and Bumblebee.

However I think I was also mad because I expected this to lead straight into Unicron #1and it doesn’t. Obviously #22 is going to be an epilogue and after accepting that I really did like the issue.

Fair warning if you haven’t read it, don’t expect it to completely tie up with this issue and lead straight into unicron. It doesn’t. If you do you might enjoy it more but this very much like the final issue of Remain in Light. Too much happens and is way too crammed