IDW Transformers: Combiner Wars - A Livio Ramondelli Ongoing Insight

The news of prowl as a gigantic threat pleases me as does the news that cyclonus doesn't combine in this arc at least (maybe he's from GI Joe Transformers mini series)

Only one new member? So is it Offroad replacing Wildrider with Blackjack being part of Motormaster? Or is Wildrider still part of the team and Blackjack is the new guy? OR is Offroad Wildrider's new body (and Blackjack is still the new guy?


Personally I'm leaning towards the first option based on the cover art we've seen so far.

I just hope Starscream can finally be a badass.

Ironhidensh wrote:I just hope Starscream can finally be a badass.

We was really quite good in Windblade #4!

As is by now customary, we have a very brief preview of the first issue of IDW Publishing's Combiner Wars event, via iTunes thanks to Mariel Romero, which takes place in The Transformers #39: Opening Salvo! Check out the pages by Livio Ramondelli below, which we have ancountered already in the sneak peeks we got previously. Are you ready for this storyline?

OPENING SALVO! The Autobots and Decepticons' uneasy peace is threatened by the flames of war! STARSCREAM -- ruler of CYBERTRON -- makes contact with WINDBLADE’S homeworld -- and the only defense against a new CYBERTRONIAN EMPIRE are COMBINERS -- multiple CYBERTRONIANS forming together into huge, dangerous forms! STARSCREAM’s scheming collides with WINDBLADE’s past! OPTIMUS PRIME takes control! Who will be the first Combiner to strike? Continues in this month’s TRANSFORMERS: WINDBLADE -- COMBINER WARS #1

cant wait till next week

man.. it would be super cool if voyager prime actually looked like that rather than a glorified fisher price toy.

Va'al wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:I just hope Starscream can finally be a badass.

We was really quite good in Windblade #4!

Windblade is one of the few items left on my list to catch up on.

And yes, the voyager CW prime figure is quite the letdown.

Y'know, Prime. If you really want to keep the peace, quit picking fights in the Deceptighetto!

I like CW Prime. He's not my favorite and he could be improved but he's ok. I only bought one of him...rather than the 3 AoE EM Prime.

I wonder if optimus maximus will appear as a power up for optimus at the end of the event. Looking forward to this

Shuttershock wrote:Y'know, Prime. If you really want to keep the peace, quit picking fights in the Deceptighetto!

So true, at least send your subordinates to do it!

Va'al wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:I just hope Starscream can finally be a badass.

We was really quite good in Windblade #4!

Also, thanks to humble bundle, Ive been catching up and just read the part where Starscream takes out Turmoil. Badassness achived.

How do the Combiner Wars begin? Find out in the Comic Book Resources full preview to Opening Salvo of the new story arc in The Transformers #39, out this week with IDW Publishing, as the story links Cybertron, to Earth, to Caminus, to maybe so much more. Make sure to return to Seibertron.com, though, for a review of the issue!

Transformers #39—Combiner Wars Opening Salvo—SPOTLIGHT
John Barber (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a) • Casey W. Coller (c)
OPENING SALVO! The Autobots and Decepticons’ uneasy peace is threatened by the flames of war! STARSCREAM—ruler of CYBERTRON—makes contact with WINDBLADE’S homeworld—and the only defense against a new CYBERTRONIAN EMPIRE are COMBINERS—multiple CYBERTRONIANS forming together into huge, dangerous forms!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Tying in with Hasbro’s 2015 Transformers: Generations toy line, this 6-part epic will be supported across multiple media platforms!
STARSCREAM’s scheming collides with WINDBLADE’s past!
OPTIMUS PRIME takes control!
Who will be the first Combiner to strike?
Continues in this month’s TRANSFORMERS: WINDBLADE—COMBINER WARS #1
Variant Cover by Transformers game and toy artist Sara Pitre-Durocher!

I love how 3 of the 5 page previews are catch up. Was really hoping there was something here besides what we saw in the Apple preview to tide me over before release

like how prime is slender lokoing compared to his fat bulky voyager looking shelf does his mean prime may become combiner since he have same look as voyager toy?

Flashwave wrote:I love how 3 of the 5 page previews are catch up. Was really hoping there was something here besides what we saw in the Apple preview to tide me over before release

I know, that gets to me every time as well. Sigh.

I love how droll the naming conventions on the roll call page are; it's like opening for rocky horror. Combiner Wars; Starring
Starscream (Ruler of Cybertron),
Optimus Prime (A Hero),
Windblade (A heroine),
Wheeljack (A Rival Scientist)
And Meatloaf as Motormaster (a combiner leader)

Not that I don't like Ramondelli's art, but the stuff I've seen from Sarah Stones part of Combiner Wars makes me wish she and Griffith were the 2 working on this. Stone's art and Ramondelli's are just too far apart to truly blend together, and I feel Griffith would fit better. That Caminus preview we saw of Stone's was amazing too. She did a great job with Windblade and I look forward to her part of the story.

The Combiner Wars may just be getting started but Amazon has a pre-order for those who like their comics in collected Trade Paperback form. Transformers: Combiner Wars collects issues #39-41 of Transformers as well as the first three issues of Transformers: Windblade-Combiner Wars. This Trade is 152 pages has a scheduled release date of August 25, 2015. There is currently no cover image available.

SW's SilverHammer wrote:And Meatloaf as Motormaster (a combiner leader)

Oh man. I love that.

Thanks for the link.
I just added the trade to my preorder list.

So, funny thing happened to me as I'm organizing my stack of comics: In the Dark Cybertron introduction to the Fembots, Chromia and Magnus are discussing the former's run in with Trion... and Chromia's words are "He was being enigmatic and I wanted to lampshade him." I realize this is not that far from when they were writing Dark Cybertron, but does anyone else find these writers frightening how far out they plan these things?

Flashwave wrote:So, funny thing happened to me as I'm organizing my stack of comics: In the Dark Cybertron introduction to the Fembots, Chromia and Magnus are discussing the former's run in with Trion... and Chromia's words are "He was being enigmatic and I wanted to lampshade him." I realize this is not that far from when they were writing Dark Cybertron, but does anyone else find these writers frightening how far out they plan these things?

To be fair, Alpha Trion is nothing if not enigmatic, always off on his own with an agenda that Primus only knows.

Still, it's entirely possible. Chaos Theory is still playing out to this day.

Synopsis
OPENING SALVO! The Autobots and Decepticons’ uneasy peace is threatened by the flames of war! STARSCREAM—ruler of CYBERTRON—makes contact with WINDBLADE’S homeworld—and the only defense against a new CYBERTRONIAN EMPIRE are COMBINERS—multiple CYBERTRONIANS forming together into huge, dangerous forms!



Story
Days of Deception is over, Windblade was over a long time ago, Punishment saw both its digital and print run, and we have been really setting the stage for Combiner Wars for a long long time now. And yet, The Transformers #39 takes another small step, piecing together the various parts leading up to here, preparing the spark, the casus belli, if you will and giving it all just a gentle prod.




John Barber takes main writing duties for the issues, but both him and Mairghread Scott are palpably present in the plotting of story. The dialogue provides a great framework of power dynamics and hierarchy being subverted at every turn, with some further development for a lot of older faces - and Swindle, of all characters, whose perspective guides the story.



We have Windblade and Optimus and some intriguingly almost 'post-colonial' moments of perspective shifts; we get Wheeljack and Ironhide and Chromia just trying to do their jobs, and being almost entirely confused; we get Starscream being Starscream, and gloriously so; we are introduced to Offroad, and given a *fantastic* explanation for their presence; we get another addition to the chapter in Transformers fiction that is Alpha Bravo, and Powerglide.



As an introduction, the Opening Salvo of Combiner Wars does much more than wht it could've,and is an immensely enjoyable read, with good humour, a good establishing of the playing field and just enough references to older continuity points to keep older fans entertained while bringing in some new ones too. Kapoom.

Art

Livio Ramondelli, as we knew, takes on the whole brunt of the artistic duties for this and the majority. And I have to unfortunately admit this time, we are not seeing the great work he provided in recent publications such as Punishment. The composition is great, and there are really good layouts in the issue, and some of the expressivity is well conveyed.



At other times, however, some of those same faces, especially the newer or less frequently used ones, fall a little short of the full enjoyment of the piece. The tone is captured, and the washed-up, grimy sense of a post everything Cybertron works well - as might Caminus - but sometimes it really does jar a little.



The lettering does work quite well, even so, and Tom B. Long demonstrates once more the craft of a good letterer in some great sound effects and speech modifications. And While we have seen the beautiful Casey Coller/Joana Lafuente regular Menasor cover, and Ramondelli's poster variant for B, the gem of the variants is undoubtedly Sara Pitre-Durocher's Menasor and Swindle - see the thumbnail!


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Being able to follow what is going on on Cybertron from Swindle's perspective is, in and of itself, a treat. Seeing the world how he sees it and through those purple eyes, with the cynicism, degrees of naivete and, well, Swindle attitude, is truly refreshing. We get all of that, plus some very good interactions, and a great cameo from the Lost Light, too.



If this what we are to expect from the crossover event, and the merging of Barber and Scott's plotting minds, then we're certainly in for a fun trip down six or so issues. Combiner Wars is playing on multiple angles without, so far, reaching too far out to be forced to justify the number of players, has a healthy dose of Swindle and Starscream, and is suitable for anyone under or over the age of Galvatron.

Good solid issue! I enjoyed it a lot. Only gripe was art, always enjoyed Livio in the past but as time goes on I see what other see. Everything is very flat, no depth and the awful photoshop filtered landscapes. Still rather have him on than Pat or Don ever again though

I liked this issue. We finally get to see Caminus. The art was ok, it's dark and I think it is suitable for the CW intro. I just felt things were moving a bit too fast. And lots of narration and retelling of old events. I know it's retelling for the new readers, but perhaps this issue should have been stand alone along side RID and MTME. So hopefully #2 should be next week?

I thought this issue was a lot of fun. Felt lighthearted somehow, even with some of the doom and gloom about. Swindle being the focal point of the narrative was great, he's just so Swindle in this issue.

The explanations for some of the toy characters are spot on, as in, hey let's not take this so seriously and tell a cool, fun story. Definitely on board with what they're doing.

I agree with Va'al on the art. Really really good for the most part, but then some notable spots where I'm like uh, hey, what happened here? I know Livio does everything on the issues he's on - pencils, inks, colors, lighting - but maybe if the duties got spread around a little the quality would be better? I only say that because the odd looking parts look rushed more than anything else, like there was a deadline and erasing things to help them look better wasn't a luxury time would allow.

Is Swindle a mini-con now? Why is he so tiny on the cover?

GuyIncognito wrote:Is Swindle a mini-con now? Why is he so tiny on the cover?

Well, he was always a bit shorter than others to my recollection, but there's also a generous amount of mass-shifting going on for combiners to be as big as they are. Otherwise you either get combiners barely bigger than regular big bots or individual members being ridiculously big compared to their leaders.

I really like the fact that they made Menasor, the 1-time failed experiment of Swindle's the first offender of Combiner wars. With The engimna, I expect Superion will be up shortly and ready to rock. Also really like how Rodimus sends a shuttle with Lost Light delegates, and I bet we all know who will be on that shuttle don't we?
Just wonder if First Aid will be on that shuttle or not, considering the toy still has him a part of Defensor.
Also, considering Starscream has pulled Swindle back to his old tricks, I wonder if that means Swindle will eventually become part of one, wink wink.
Finally a question: I heard a while back in an interview that someone will be returning. Could Scrapper be resurrected to form a new Devastator and Prowl be transferred to Ultra Prime as a limb?

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:I really like the fact that they made Menasor, the 1-time failed experiment of Swindle's the first offender of Combiner wars. With The engimna, I expect Superion will be up shortly and ready to rock. Also really like how Rodimus sends a shuttle with Lost Light delegates, and I bet we all know who will be on that shuttle don't we?
Just wonder if First Aid will be on that shuttle or not, considering the toy still has him a part of Defensor.
Also, considering Starscream has pulled Swindle back to his old tricks, I wonder if that means Swindle will eventually become part of one, wink wink.
Finally a question: I heard a while back in an interview that someone will be returning. Could Scrapper be resurrected to form a new Devastator and Prowl be transferred to Ultra Prime as a limb?

I doubt it somewhat as solitcs for future issues reveal that First Aid is indeed with the protectorbots (along with a couple of others like Cyclonus), and prowl...yeah he's not combining with prime anytime soon and it's more likely that bumblebee will be resurrected.

Just because it happens in toys doesn't mean the comics will follow suite

I liked the cameo by Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, and Megs and it would only make sense story wise that they send the protectobots as their representatives, as I think all of them are on the Lost Light, though it doesn't seem wise to be that they would give up their chief medical officer in training. Given the size they've portrayed Swindle at, I wonder if we might seem him downgraded in size, and be a legends class like Groove, with a new bot taking a limb position.

I cant wait to read the whole Combiner wars saga, pretty interesting lead up so far.

Today; I tunes issued a 3 page preview for Windblade Volume 2 #1. This issue is part of the combiner wars crossover, and takes place directly after The Transformers (formerly Robots in disguise) #39: Opening Salvo. Windblade volume: 2 Issue 1 is scheduled for release on 03/25/15.



I soooo wanna see machine wars starscream done in Sarah Stones art style.

Surely you mean issue 39 :p things are starting to heat up

ZeroWolf wrote:Surely you mean issue 39 :p things are starting to heat up

Happy?

Indeed though I wish these previews went a little bit further

The next chapter in the IDW Transformers crossover event between the Transformers ongoing and the return of Windblade in an all-new series has been previewed by iTunes in the usual short short sneak peek - and mirrored below thanks to a tip from Seibertronian SW's Silverhammer; check them out!

THE WAR BEGINS! The first strike in COMBINER WARS is against WINDBLADE’S homeworld—and she’s not happy about it! Her long- lost CYBERTRONIAN colony is found… and the only thing that can protect it is SUPERION.

I wonder, is that a new body for Swindle?

"Mah nam ish Shwindl, an dish ish mah combinator."

IDK why, but that's what I imagine Swindle saying right now.

ZeroWolf wrote:I wonder, is that a new body for Swindle?

Looks like a Cybertronian reworking of the Figueroa/Costa version - and one that may have featured already in the previous Windblade series. The only issues is that all the angles that he's drawn in, we never really see the full body design. So definitely maybe.

The "Commander" reminds me of Prime Dreadwing

Optimizzy wrote:The "Commander" reminds me of Prime Dreadwing

Same here, but that head is something else entirely.

I want to see the next page after Swindle reveals his identity, I see Menasor.

jaws wrote:I want to see the next page after Swindle reveals his identity, I see Menasor.

Tomorrow's preview may bring the answers you seek.

big guy looks like Beast Hunters Dreadwing, though that staff reminds me of TFCC Depthcharge

Va'al wrote:

jaws wrote:I want to see the next page after Swindle reveals his identity, I see Menasor.

Tomorrow's preview may bring the answers you seek.

READ IT NAO!!!

But seriously, Can't wait to see what Starscream does. I really love it when Miss Scott writes him. But I certainly hope he doesn't revert to being an "evil" character - he's been so interesting these last 2 years.

I think there's a general reading of Starscream as 'the bad guy'. Does he want power? Yes. Is he a bad guy in the ways in which he goes about getting it? Yes. But he is not an enemy of Cybertron. He's a narcissistic leader, who actually believes he can bring better things to Cybertron, but has a tendency to slip into too much of a tyrant silhouette.

And I quote Zangief:


He is a really interesting, if morally dubious and questionable a lot of the time, character. And I think both Barber and Scott have given him some great writing and room to grow.

ZeroWolf wrote:I wonder, is that a new body for Swindle?

The shape of his chest reminds me of the chest "plates" Breakdown and Dead End have in their new Combiner Wars bodies.