IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review

Thursday, April 30th, 2015 7:46AM CDT

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Ten Things We Love About You
(Spoiler free-ish)

Synopsis
Having saved the universe—kind of—the Lost Light crew deal with the fallout in a manner befitting the gravity of the situation. Kind of.

..with a hearing

Story

If last issue of More Then Meets the Eye gave us a look at the inner workings of the Decepticon Justice Division, this month we get a full return to the core, and the heart, of the Lost Light and its ever evolving crew, with all the weak joints that might need fixing among its members.

So, yeah

The general backdrop for the issue is the aftermath of Brainstorm's 'adventure', in the form of the first internal affairs the trial has seen. A general backdrop, however, that leads into the focus of the story: the crew's reactions, especially chief medical officer Ratchet. Of course.

Always busy (and grumpy)

Ratchet is shown by James Roberts as a primus motor of the crew, particularly its higher officers, but also the more marginalised, unheard and unsung voices so far. He operated with tactical and surgical precision, trying to cure, fix and mend whatever relationships seem to be not working on the ship, in an attempt to mend his own failures, of a sort.

Superscraplets, a terrible blight

The relationships, though not always as savoury as they could be (Getaway, what are you doing?), are one of the other major tenets of the series, and it was a fantastic opportunity to take one issue to wrap up some of the current plots, seed some more and bring up as many emotions as possible. While also, coincidentally and casually, leading into Drift: Empire of Stone, and past stories in the IDWverse.

Art

The artist for the issue is a regular single-issue contributor - and one who deserves all the possible praise for his work here: Brendan Cahill. The characters' emotivity is wonderfully rendered in their almost organic facial expressions, body language, and interactions aboard the equally wonderful settings of the Lost Light. And giving a hand or two (ten fingers) to develop the style of one of the creative, visionary, shy Lighters.

Ten

Joana Lafuente's colours not only highlight the stellar artwork, they also keep a sense of continuity with previous Lost Light scenes and art, and adding the personal shades (from lilac rooms to corridor greys) complementing the going-ons inside both the ship and its inhabitants.

Mood lighting

And even if there is less space this time for Tom B. Long's letters to have fun, they are always there, helping scenes, dealing with Roberts' script, keeping out of the way of the artwork, making noises pointed out when necessary. In terms of covers, Cahill and Lafuente shine yet again with the Brainstorm-centric variant (thumbnail), as Alex Milne and Josh Perez take an emotional Ratchet to the fore, and Nick Roche and Burcham show a more light-hearted 2015 Tailgate in B.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

If you're looking for a long look at Brainstorm's actions and their reception as a plot point, this is not the issue for you. This is an issue that digs into the raw stuff underneath all that, how the 'human', emotive responses of almost every member of the crew resonate and interact with each other, shifting the dynamics and preparing for the road to #50.

And it's a touching, moving issue, with moments that wrench, twist, punch, induce smiles, grins and the potential tearing up - unashamedly so, mostly positive, but all undoubtedly powerful. It does it with the visuals, with the textual, with the story and most of all, the characters. Flawed characters, feeling characters, 'human' characters and -- wait, what did Ravage just do?

out of

Credit(s): IDW, Va'al

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Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680782)
Posted by Optimizzy on April 30th, 2015 @ 8:15am CDT

yeah, 5 outta 5 that's what I thought too. or maybe Ten out of Ten

And man, what's Getaway's deal? It seems to go further than "Oh I like Tailgate and he's with Cyclonus" thing. I see some ulterior motive there. Like he's using Tailgate or something.

Oh and, Megatron getting that briefcase. I cant wait to see what happens with that.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680784)
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on April 30th, 2015 @ 8:19am CDT

Sometimes I don't loke Cahill's art, but I think that tends to be when he emulates a style that I don't care for. Here, I think he does a fantastic job; there were parts where I had trouble seeing the distinction between his and Milne's work, and others where I almost saw some Nick Roche in there. But at the same time, his powerful lines are always there to remind you who really is drawing.

For as much as I love James Raiz' art, I wish now that Cahill had drawn "Little Victories" instead, just because for such an emotionally driven issue, Cahill does a better job conveying emotion.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680789)
Posted by prjkt on April 30th, 2015 @ 8:53am CDT

Ironhidensh wrote:So, it would appear that maybe Megatron is getting back to his old tricks? Or maybe he really wants to be an autobot, and will go back to change that.

The look on Megatron's face as he listen's to Rewind's reasoning for shooting his unawakened self in #38, and the staring at his Rodimus star "for giving up his evil ways" at the end that issue, added to the fact that according to UM in #40 he's hardly left his room makes me think that he's seriously considering going back and finishing what Brainstorm started. Ravage's association with stealing one of the briefcases is interesting, as it seems he's taken up Megatron's offer seriously, not just following his instructions from Soundwave...

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680790)
Posted by sabrigami on April 30th, 2015 @ 8:57am CDT

This was a great issue. The feels were strong in this one.

Anyone else getting a Skyfall vibe from Getaway? he's so backhanded with everything he says to TG. and we all know how Skyfall turned out :-(

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680795)
Posted by MrBlack on April 30th, 2015 @ 9:22am CDT

sabrigami wrote:This was a great issue. The feels were strong in this one.

Anyone else getting a Skyfall vibe from Getaway? he's so backhanded with everything he says to TG. and we all know how Skyfall turned out

Speaking of Skyfall, I wonder if Getaway knew anyone on Kimia. That might be his motivation for buddying up to someone close to Cyclonus.

My guess is that Getaway has some reason to want to take Cyclonus down, or at least hurt him, but he knows he can't do it directly. Murdering your crewmate is generally frowned upon, and, as Getaway himself said, he's no warrior. He is, however, a charismatic and manipulative liar; one would have to be in order to operate as a member of the "Diplomatic Corps." So, he's trying to harm Cyclonus the only way he can: by manipulating someone close to him.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680808)
Posted by Noideaforaname on April 30th, 2015 @ 10:53am CDT

Optimizzy wrote:And man, what's Getaway's deal? It seems to go further than "Oh I like Tailgate and he's with Cyclonus" thing. I see some ulterior motive there. Like he's using Tailgate or something.

I... kinda hope there's a ulterior motive, because otherwise it's INCREDIBLY creepy. Getaway's insulting poor Tailgate by using Cyclonus, he keeps giving him "alcohol" after Tailgate made it clear he's had enough, and Getaway warns Tailgate not to tell anyone. And to make matters worse Tailgate is effectively a child.

Meanwhile Ratchet's right there but doesn't step in. Fourth unsuccessful attempt...

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680809)
Posted by Randomhero on April 30th, 2015 @ 10:54am CDT

MrBlack wrote:
sabrigami wrote:This was a great issue. The feels were strong in this one.

Anyone else getting a Skyfall vibe from Getaway? he's so backhanded with everything he says to TG. and we all know how Skyfall turned out

Speaking of Skyfall, I wonder if Getaway knew anyone on Kimia. That might be his motivation for buddying up to someone close to Cyclonus.

My guess is that Getaway has some reason to want to take Cyclonus down, or at least hurt him, but he knows he can't do it directly. Murdering your crewmate is generally frowned upon, and, as Getaway himself said, he's no warrior. He is, however, a charismatic and manipulative liar; one would have to be in order to operate as a member of the "Diplomatic Corps." So, he's trying to harm Cyclonus the only way he can: by manipulating someone close to him.

...or he's just super creepy and likes little guys. I doubt it has anything to go with cyclonus or insane theories about ties with Kimia and what happened there. Cyclonus is just Tailgates friend and Getaway is being played the popular quarter back who turns out to be that jock who apparently doesn't know the word "no".

Never thought that this would be something in a transformers comic.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680852)
Posted by snavej on April 30th, 2015 @ 1:06pm CDT

Hmm, Ratchet is still using big clunky telephones for some reason. Later, it will probably be DJD and crew vs. time-travelling briefcase.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680853)
Posted by pie-man on April 30th, 2015 @ 1:07pm CDT

I wanna see more Megatron! Hard to believe that I'd be rooting for Megs, of all 'bots... that's the beauty of MTMTE, I guess.

Getaway's behavior is definetely creepy.... and it might not concern Cyclonus, but he seems to be brooding about it. Amid all the emotions & feelings, Riptide's action during the hearing was probably the funniest, in my opinion.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680858)
Posted by Optimizzy on April 30th, 2015 @ 1:14pm CDT

pie-man wrote:I wanna see more Megatron! Hard to believe that I'd be rooting for Megs, of all 'bots... that's the beauty of MTMTE, I guess.

Getaway's behavior is definetely creepy.... and it might not concern Cyclonus, but he seems to be brooding about it. Amid all the emotions & feelings, Riptide's action during the hearing was probably the funniest, in my opinion.

Ha. Yeah. I'm wanting riptide and nautica toys so bad now.

And yeah, getaway is kinda disturbing now. I didn't really see that coming.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680878)
Posted by MrBlack on April 30th, 2015 @ 1:43pm CDT

Randomhero wrote:
MrBlack wrote:
sabrigami wrote:This was a great issue. The feels were strong in this one.

Anyone else getting a Skyfall vibe from Getaway? he's so backhanded with everything he says to TG. and we all know how Skyfall turned out

Speaking of Skyfall, I wonder if Getaway knew anyone on Kimia. That might be his motivation for buddying up to someone close to Cyclonus.

My guess is that Getaway has some reason to want to take Cyclonus down, or at least hurt him, but he knows he can't do it directly. Murdering your crewmate is generally frowned upon, and, as Getaway himself said, he's no warrior. He is, however, a charismatic and manipulative liar; one would have to be in order to operate as a member of the "Diplomatic Corps." So, he's trying to harm Cyclonus the only way he can: by manipulating someone close to him.

...or he's just super creepy and likes little guys. I doubt it has anything to go with cyclonus or insane theories about ties with Kimia and what happened there. Cyclonus is just Tailgates friend and Getaway is being played the popular quarter back who turns out to be that jock who apparently doesn't know the word "no".

Never thought that this would be something in a transformers comic.

It could just be a weird obsession, I admit. I'm just wondering if there may be more to it than that.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680880)
Posted by SW's SilverHammer on April 30th, 2015 @ 1:53pm CDT

MrBlack wrote:
Randomhero wrote:
MrBlack wrote:
sabrigami wrote:This was a great issue. The feels were strong in this one.

Anyone else getting a Skyfall vibe from Getaway? he's so backhanded with everything he says to TG. and we all know how Skyfall turned out

Speaking of Skyfall, I wonder if Getaway knew anyone on Kimia. That might be his motivation for buddying up to someone close to Cyclonus.

My guess is that Getaway has some reason to want to take Cyclonus down, or at least hurt him, but he knows he can't do it directly. Murdering your crewmate is generally frowned upon, and, as Getaway himself said, he's no warrior. He is, however, a charismatic and manipulative liar; one would have to be in order to operate as a member of the "Diplomatic Corps." So, he's trying to harm Cyclonus the only way he can: by manipulating someone close to him.

...or he's just super creepy and likes little guys. I doubt it has anything to go with cyclonus or insane theories about ties with Kimia and what happened there. Cyclonus is just Tailgates friend and Getaway is being played the popular quarter back who turns out to be that jock who apparently doesn't know the word "no".

Never thought that this would be something in a transformers comic.

It could just be a weird obsession, I admit. I'm just wondering if there may be more to it than that.

Wait, people are just picking up on this now? I've noticed it since #28 that he acts all kindsa creepy and pervy around tailgate, like with the awkward touching and "don't tell anyone, we'll both get in trouble" attitude.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680893)
Posted by graham29 on April 30th, 2015 @ 2:15pm CDT

I gotta say, everytime I think I have an idea of where MTMTE is going, Roberts throws in some little detail with huge implications for what's to come. It's what I've come to love so much about the series.

The briefcase... there's been so much attention paid to it, I'm glad to see that it's not going away just yet... but what will Megatron do with it. I'm halfway between thinking he's going to finish the job himself, and thinking that he's going to change his path completely to change his legacy...

And it completely changes my thoughts on the DJD... this might be a stretch, but what if Tarn ends up going back in time with him and that's how we find out why and how Roller joined... I could see this leading to a really touching interaction between their present selves... meanwhile the crew of the lost light are going toe to toe with the decepticon forces. Just a thought.

the briefcase...

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680909)
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on April 30th, 2015 @ 2:44pm CDT

SW's SilverHammer wrote:
MrBlack wrote:
Randomhero wrote:
MrBlack wrote:
sabrigami wrote:This was a great issue. The feels were strong in this one.

Anyone else getting a Skyfall vibe from Getaway? he's so backhanded with everything he says to TG. and we all know how Skyfall turned out

Speaking of Skyfall, I wonder if Getaway knew anyone on Kimia. That might be his motivation for buddying up to someone close to Cyclonus.

My guess is that Getaway has some reason to want to take Cyclonus down, or at least hurt him, but he knows he can't do it directly. Murdering your crewmate is generally frowned upon, and, as Getaway himself said, he's no warrior. He is, however, a charismatic and manipulative liar; one would have to be in order to operate as a member of the "Diplomatic Corps." So, he's trying to harm Cyclonus the only way he can: by manipulating someone close to him.

...or he's just super creepy and likes little guys. I doubt it has anything to go with cyclonus or insane theories about ties with Kimia and what happened there. Cyclonus is just Tailgates friend and Getaway is being played the popular quarter back who turns out to be that jock who apparently doesn't know the word "no".

Never thought that this would be something in a transformers comic.

It could just be a weird obsession, I admit. I'm just wondering if there may be more to it than that.

Wait, people are just picking up on this now? I've noticed it since #28 that he acts all kindsa creepy and pervy around tailgate, like with the awkward touching and "don't tell anyone, we'll both get in trouble" attitude.

I picked up on it as soon as he came aboard the ship. At first I just thought he was really into Tailgate, but this issue makes it seem like he's got something against Cyclonus.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680931)
Posted by Optimizzy on April 30th, 2015 @ 3:17pm CDT

I usually didn't feel it was something to mention until it was obvious how harmful Getaway was behaving.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680941)
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on April 30th, 2015 @ 3:30pm CDT

This really was an amazing issue, full of emotion and character-driven concepts.
Getaway's attitude is very disturbing, especially since I do really like him.
"Brainstorm is an Ass!" -It's my new favorite :lol:

I'm glad we got a good explanation for Brainstorm. I'm glad he really isn't a Decepticon and that he's sticking around.
Can't wait for issue 41!

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680961)
Posted by MrBlack on April 30th, 2015 @ 5:08pm CDT

SW's SilverHammer wrote:
MrBlack wrote:
Randomhero wrote:
MrBlack wrote:
sabrigami wrote:This was a great issue. The feels were strong in this one.

Anyone else getting a Skyfall vibe from Getaway? he's so backhanded with everything he says to TG. and we all know how Skyfall turned out

Speaking of Skyfall, I wonder if Getaway knew anyone on Kimia. That might be his motivation for buddying up to someone close to Cyclonus.

My guess is that Getaway has some reason to want to take Cyclonus down, or at least hurt him, but he knows he can't do it directly. Murdering your crewmate is generally frowned upon, and, as Getaway himself said, he's no warrior. He is, however, a charismatic and manipulative liar; one would have to be in order to operate as a member of the "Diplomatic Corps." So, he's trying to harm Cyclonus the only way he can: by manipulating someone close to him.

...or he's just super creepy and likes little guys. I doubt it has anything to go with cyclonus or insane theories about ties with Kimia and what happened there. Cyclonus is just Tailgates friend and Getaway is being played the popular quarter back who turns out to be that jock who apparently doesn't know the word "no".

Never thought that this would be something in a transformers comic.

It could just be a weird obsession, I admit. I'm just wondering if there may be more to it than that.

Wait, people are just picking up on this now? I've noticed it since #28 that he acts all kindsa creepy and pervy around tailgate, like with the awkward touching and "don't tell anyone, we'll both get in trouble" attitude.

People have noticed it, but the creepiness didn't really set in until this issue. Getaway has been buttering up Tailgate, but it seemed like it was just a story beat to show Cyclonus' jealous side. Getaway was a lot more skeevy in this issue.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680964)
Posted by MrBlack on April 30th, 2015 @ 5:13pm CDT

graham29 wrote:I gotta say, everytime I think I have an idea of where MTMTE is going, Roberts throws in some little detail with huge implications for what's to come. It's what I've come to love so much about the series.

The briefcase... there's been so much attention paid to it, I'm glad to see that it's not going away just yet... but what will Megatron do with it. I'm halfway between thinking he's going to finish the job himself, and thinking that he's going to change his path completely to change his legacy...

And it completely changes my thoughts on the DJD... this might be a stretch, but what if Tarn ends up going back in time with him and that's how we find out why and how Roller joined... I could see this leading to a really touching interaction between their present selves... meanwhile the crew of the lost light are going toe to toe with the decepticon forces. Just a thought.

the briefcase...

The thing is, Megatron shouldn't be able to use the time machine with just one briefcase. It's only part of the whole, which is now destroyed. He could approach Brainstorm about rebuilding the time machine, but even if Brainstorm had the inclination (which is questionable) he may not have the materials to rebuild it.

Megatron appears to be genuinely disturbed by his past actions, but he is going to need to come to terms with them in some way or another rather than taking the easy way out. I would guess that this will all come to a head during his inevitable confrontation with Tarn.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1680969)
Posted by Randomhero on April 30th, 2015 @ 5:32pm CDT

MrBlack wrote:
SW's SilverHammer wrote:
MrBlack wrote:
Randomhero wrote:
MrBlack wrote:
sabrigami wrote:This was a great issue. The feels were strong in this one.

Anyone else getting a Skyfall vibe from Getaway? he's so backhanded with everything he says to TG. and we all know how Skyfall turned out

Speaking of Skyfall, I wonder if Getaway knew anyone on Kimia. That might be his motivation for buddying up to someone close to Cyclonus.

My guess is that Getaway has some reason to want to take Cyclonus down, or at least hurt him, but he knows he can't do it directly. Murdering your crewmate is generally frowned upon, and, as Getaway himself said, he's no warrior. He is, however, a charismatic and manipulative liar; one would have to be in order to operate as a member of the "Diplomatic Corps." So, he's trying to harm Cyclonus the only way he can: by manipulating someone close to him.

...or he's just super creepy and likes little guys. I doubt it has anything to go with cyclonus or insane theories about ties with Kimia and what happened there. Cyclonus is just Tailgates friend and Getaway is being played the popular quarter back who turns out to be that jock who apparently doesn't know the word "no".

Never thought that this would be something in a transformers comic.

It could just be a weird obsession, I admit. I'm just wondering if there may be more to it than that.

Wait, people are just picking up on this now? I've noticed it since #28 that he acts all kindsa creepy and pervy around tailgate, like with the awkward touching and "don't tell anyone, we'll both get in trouble" attitude.

People have noticed it, but the creepiness didn't really set in until this issue. Getaway has been buttering up Tailgate, but it seemed like it was just a story beat to show Cyclonus' jealous side. Getaway was a lot more skeevy in this issue.

Skeevy is too nice of a word. Getaway is full blown "here drink this, I SWEAR THERES NOTHING IN IT" scumbaggery in this. I do not like this sub plot. it's creepy, and uncomfortable and ugh! He's pumping drinks in tailgate even after tailgate says no.

Re: IDW Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #40 Review (1682118)
Posted by Sagitta on May 4th, 2015 @ 4:26am CDT

Thought had occurred regarding the briefcase. Did Ravage end up bringing back the case from the -other- Lost Light? That and Rewind were the only two that remained . Should the briefcase go...does that mean Rewind also disappears? Is Megaton trying to do a favour of sorts? One has to wonder since Megatron did show regret for what became of the -other- Lost Light crew at the hands of the D.J.D. And he also seems to show remorse on hearing Rewind's explanation on why he "killed" the sometime-but-not-yet tyrant before he was born.

As for another main spotlight in the issue:

"Ten!
"Ten!
"Ten!
"Ten!"

Ratchet may be grumpy...but he has a spark of a teddy bear.