IDW Transformers: Till All Are One Volume 1 Listing Online

So far, I'm not impressed with the series, but if it has a good ending, I'll get the TPB. It's good to see the Combaticons getting some focus. I really don't like that cover, though, I hope they change it. The one with all the Combaticons standing next to each other with the silhouette of Bruticus above them is great. That should be used.

There's going to be 2 or 3 variant covers as always. Hopefully there will be one you like.

That Bot wrote:There's going to be 2 or 3 variant covers as always. Hopefully there will be one you like.

Not for the trades, unfortunately! Though the one we newsed is preliminary, it's highly likely that it will be the one that sticks, given it was the main artist's main cover for the first issue. We'll see.

Newsarama has uploaded their second preview of the week, this time in the form of Till All Are One issue 3! In this issue, Windblade takes on the combaticons and the hunt for Swindle continues! Check out the full preview below and stay tuned next week for the Seibertron.com review!

Transformers: Till All Are One #3
Mairghread Scott (w) * Sara Pitre-Durocher (a & c)
WINDBLADE TURNS TRAITOR?! With the rise of the COMBATICON threat, STARSCREAM issues an ultimatum to WINDBLADE: do his-or everyone on Cybertron will learn her darkest secrets!
FC * 32 pages * $3.99
Bullet points:
* Will WINDBLADE betray her own ideals and become STARSCREAM's crony?
* Is ONSLAUGHT really the threat to world peace that STARSCREAM claims?
* And where in the name of the Primes is SWINDLE?!
* Sets the stage for next month's REVOLUTION!
* Variant cover by Thomas Deer!

I need to greet all new News Staff like Ironhide does.

Dr Va'al wrote:I need to greet all new News Staff like Ironhide does.

Huh

D-Maximus_Primal wrote:

Dr Va'al wrote:I need to greet all new News Staff like Ironhide does.

Huh

If you like me now, you won't once I'm done with you.

Huh, I just noticed Tall Tankor still has his Decepticon symbol - he hasn't renounced his faction. Interesting...

Dr Va'al wrote:

D-Maximus_Primal wrote:

Dr Va'al wrote:I need to greet all new News Staff like Ironhide does.

Huh

If you like me now, you won't once I'm done with you.

Kurona: run. run fast.

And I love the Ironhide Police Boot Camp

Some dude I follow on Instagram!

Now if only we had a WFC Ironhide with which to recreate Issue 4's cover...

Synopsis
WINDBLADE TURNS TRAITOR?! With the rise of the COMBATICON threat, STARSCREAM issues an ultimatum to WINDBLADE: do his - or everyone on Cybertron will learn her darkest secrets!



Story

The shift from 'Windblade' to 'Till All Are One' is one that perfectly adapts to and suits the way in which the story, plots and cast are handled in this new series. The various characters each have their own path, and while they do cross at multiple intersections, it's refreshing to see them work both with and against each other so subterfugey.



There are some key players of course, in terms of how Mairghread Scott approaches the script, playing pivotal roles in the issue - especially the Combaticons. Individuals, well-rounded, well-scripted voices and characters that operate well on their own and as a team (when necessary), even with the Blast Off ...play from last issue.



The other excellent written bot is Ironhide, who seems to be channelling a lot more of his past/future self from the miniseries, Pax Cybertronia, and possible connections with the other comic out this week (and the one not out at all until the end of the month). Whatever is going to happen, and still with my tentative dislike of the ideology behind it, he's doing it well, and it's a good hook and tease.



The one thing I was not too keen on, and worth pointing out here, is the slight confusion with timelines and where this fits in the greater picture of the IDWverse. Even that, however, was solved again once reminded that the book was supposed to start in March, pre-Sins of the Wreckers. Brawl leaving the AHO arc makes sense again, as do other enigmatic events, and EVERYTHING IS FINE again.

Art

Sara Pitre Durocher does some fantastic work in laying out some of the parallel scenes, between fighting and hacking, more fighting, some talking, a bit of fighting, and tensions running just a little higher between one of sides in the book. Plus, we get an actual montage. A training montage. With Ironhide and Blast Off. A Montage.



The colours are really well played too, in the vibrant approach that Joana Lafuente brings to the linework and layouts. The nice contrasts between night/day and under/overground have some great touches to them, too, and the fight scenes - as a juxtaposition to the Metroplex scenes with Chromia and Windblade - are given an added layer of dynamism.



The fighting and training, along with Metroplex scenes, allow for some nice space in terms of lettering too, and Tom B. long delivers his neon magic once more (keep an eye out for the location/setting captions, too). As for the covers, we've seen the hauntingly good main one by Pitre Durocher for a while now, but both Alex Milne/Josh Perez and Thomas Teyowisonte Deer (this one thumbnailed) play around with the tone of the book, pitting the pawns under Starscream's control on the game board.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Things I have yet to figure out: Elita One's role in all of this. Obsidian is still a menacing presence, but much more in the background - what is the plan behind things? Rattrap - what does he have to do with everything? because he's stuck in the middle of it, always. Things I really enjoy: the Combaticons, all of them. More please. The breaking point that Windblade seems to be reaching with both Starscream and Chromia, on two different sides.



The book may have been a slow burner at first, but it's paying off, significantly, already. More tension, more political play, more teasing of something MUCH BIGGER (and maybe not even entirely intentional, going by my own speculation from the cover of #4), and more humour where you might not expect it. And a training montage, you guise.

The Milne/Perez cover, as shared by IDW.



And my favourite Vortex in the issue.

He don't like you.

Despite the faceplates, the combaticons have been really emotive

Swindle is brain-dead = Bruticus has a cripple for a leg. Discuss.

Kurona wrote:Swindle is brain-dead = Bruticus has a cripple for a leg. Discuss.

I'm wondering how that will work.

D-Maximus_Primal wrote:

Kurona wrote:Swindle is brain-dead = Bruticus has a cripple for a leg. Discuss.

I'm wondering how that will work.

We've seen from Prowl's run with the Constructicons that combining with others can lead to a sort of shared point of view and sympathy, maybe the hope Onslaught has is that combining with Swindle will jumpstart his brain module, using all of their memories of him much like how Rewind's storytelling group helped Rung in MTMTE.

There is, funnily enough, a similar situation that happened with IDW Devastator - the constructicons combined... when Scrapper was still dead. Devastator literally had a dead leg and was crippled because of it.

Kurona wrote:There is, funnily enough, a similar situation that happened with IDW Devastator - the constructicons combined... when Scrapper was still dead. Devastator literally had a dead leg and was crippled because of it.

I do remember that, which is why I wonder how this will work, but I believe this guys right:

Brakethrough wrote:We've seen from Prowl's run with the Constructicons that combining with others can lead to a sort of shared point of view and sympathy, maybe the hope Onslaught has is that combining with Swindle will jumpstart his brain module, using all of their memories of him much like how Rewind's storytelling group helped Rung in MTMTE.

I believe this will be right since Swindle is completely dead

There has been a bit of a quiet spell on the comics front from IDW Publishing, but we do have a new three-page preview of the next Transformers: Till All Are One issue - the fourth - via the iTunes page for the book. You can check out the short look at a Bruticus in progress below, and get ready for its release in the next couple of weeks!

SWINDLE LIVES! And ONSLAUGHT knows the perfect way to unlock the secrets in his head. As the COMBATICONS rampage through Iacon, can IRONHIDE and his newly formed police force stop them before they annihilate STARSCREAM—and anyone else who gets in their way?

Here's those last two pages stitched back together for the full effect.

Daaaaaaaaaamn. Pitre-DuRocher is knocking it out of the park. Loving the art.

... okay, so.

Admittedly, the last three issues... haven't been amazing. They haven't been bad either; but they've just been good, y'know? A fun little read but that's about it.

But already this preview is blowing me away. What always disappoints me about Combiner stories is how they don't really focus much on how their being a Combiner effects the components psychologically; what the mental effect and strain on them is; what it means to be a Combiner. IDW's been pretty good with it recently by showing some complicated stuff with Superion, but we barely if ever get a good look at how the components feel.

But we do now. And it's perfect. THIS is the combiner story I wanted! I wanted to see what it means for the components within; what this does to their heads; what it's like to still be yourself but at the same time 5 guys but AT THE SAME TIME the new combiner! Hopefully this keeps up throughout the issue because if it does, this is by far the best representation we've gotten of a Combiner by a long shot aside from maybe Prowlastator who because of CW never got to fulfill his true potential. And maybe Optimus Maximus, but this is still proving to be a bit more interesting.

indeed kurona

Kurona wrote:... okay, so.

Admittedly, the last three issues... haven't been amazing. They haven't been bad either; but they've just been good, y'know? A fun little read but that's about it.

But already this preview is blowing me away. What always disappoints me about Combiner stories is how they don't really focus much on how their being a Combiner effects the components psychologically; what the mental effect and strain on them is; what it means to be a Combiner. IDW's been pretty good with it recently by showing some complicated stuff with Superion, but we barely if ever get a good look at how the components feel.

But we do now. And it's perfect. THIS is the combiner story I wanted! I wanted to see what it means for the components within; what this does to their heads; what it's like to still be yourself but at the same time 5 guys but AT THE SAME TIME the new combiner! Hopefully this keeps up throughout the issue because if it does, this is by far the best representation we've gotten of a Combiner by a long shot aside from maybe Prowlastator who because of CW never got to fulfill his true potential. And maybe Optimus Maximus, but this is still proving to be a bit more interesting.

Yeah. They always pay lip service to the idea, but never actually explore it. Combine it with the fabulous art and I'm really excited for this issue.

Also, just noticed that Swindle's flashing back to Combiner Wars. While that event was easily the worst arc of post-DoOP IDW, it's still nice to see that they're still dealing with it's consequences and repercussions instead of just sweeping it under the rug and trying to pretend it never happened. I love it when fiction does this; instead of trying to scrub a bad story out of it's history, they use it as a springboard to improve other stories.

Great art. And I too am glad for the perspective of the individuals, it shows so much more about combining.

And Blastoff is going to be fun for this issue

Onslaught is using Combining as a method of interrogation. This is epic. But if he's doing that, who's driving Bruticus?

Flashwave wrote:Onslaught is using Combining as a method of interrogation. This is epic. But if he's doing that, who's driving Bruticus?

Looks like maybe Brawl. Isn't that him on the top of the splash page?

Glarryg

Glarryg wrote:

Flashwave wrote:Onslaught is using Combining as a method of interrogation. This is epic. But if he's doing that, who's driving Bruticus?

Looks like maybe Brawl. Isn't that him on the top of the splash page?

Glarryg

That's Vortex. Brawl is in Swindle's eye having a massive freakout.

I'm not sure anyone is driving Bruticus. It seems more like they are all adapting to a meshed mind very differently

It looks to me that Bruticus is acting out Onslaught's action of reaching for the memory.

Anyways, this may be the first Transformers issue i have ever gone out of my way specifically to buy....

I wonder if this is what it was like that one time the Constructicons combined with Scrapper's dead body? Explains why his memory haunted them long after his death.

One think I really hope doesn't happen after this is all over is for this newfound characterization of the Combaticons to be dropped or forgotten. The problem with Transformers having such a big cast and so much to do is that these spotlight moments of individuals frequently get dropped in favor of the main characters.

ESPECIALLY so with the combiners, who to often merge into one character.

Shuttershock wrote:I wonder if this is what it was like that one time the Constructicons combined with Scrapper's dead body? Explains why his memory haunted them long after his death.

One think I really hope doesn't happen after this is all over is for this newfound characterization of the Combaticons to be dropped or forgotten. The problem with Transformers having such a big cast and so much to do is that these spotlight moments of individuals frequently get dropped in favor of the main characters.

ESPECIALLY so with the combiners, who to often merge into one character.

At least this series is acknowledging that Combiners have individual components and aren't just big robots, unlike Machinima.

King Kuuga wrote:

Shuttershock wrote:I wonder if this is what it was like that one time the Constructicons combined with Scrapper's dead body? Explains why his memory haunted them long after his death.

One think I really hope doesn't happen after this is all over is for this newfound characterization of the Combaticons to be dropped or forgotten. The problem with Transformers having such a big cast and so much to do is that these spotlight moments of individuals frequently get dropped in favor of the main characters.

ESPECIALLY so with the combiners, who to often merge into one character.

At least this series is acknowledging that Combiners have individual components and aren't just big robots, unlike Machinima.

True. Another thing that doesn't seem to get touched on enough after Combiner Wars is the notion that staying combined all the time is BAD for them, as it erodes their personalities and makes them all think and act the same like the Constructicons.

King Kuuga wrote:

Shuttershock wrote:I wonder if this is what it was like that one time the Constructicons combined with Scrapper's dead body? Explains why his memory haunted them long after his death.

One think I really hope doesn't happen after this is all over is for this newfound characterization of the Combaticons to be dropped or forgotten. The problem with Transformers having such a big cast and so much to do is that these spotlight moments of individuals frequently get dropped in favor of the main characters.

ESPECIALLY so with the combiners, who to often merge into one character.

At least this series is acknowledging that Combiners have individual components and aren't just big robots, unlike Machinima.

Psht, Machinima CW doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as this. Even ROTF done combining better.

Shuttershock wrote:

King Kuuga wrote:

Shuttershock wrote:I wonder if this is what it was like that one time the Constructicons combined with Scrapper's dead body? Explains why his memory haunted them long after his death.

One think I really hope doesn't happen after this is all over is for this newfound characterization of the Combaticons to be dropped or forgotten. The problem with Transformers having such a big cast and so much to do is that these spotlight moments of individuals frequently get dropped in favor of the main characters.

ESPECIALLY so with the combiners, who to often merge into one character.

At least this series is acknowledging that Combiners have individual components and aren't just big robots, unlike Machinima.

True. Another thing that doesn't seem to get touched on enough after Combiner Wars is the notion that staying combined all the time is BAD for them, as it erodes their personalities and makes them all think and act the same like the Constructicons.

I agree with this. We all know and love the big combiners, but rarely do the components get that good characterization, and I'm glad to see we are getting that here

D-Maximus_Primal wrote:I agree with this. We all know and love the big combiners, but rarely do the components get that good characterization, and I'm glad to see we are getting that here

that is what I am enjoying for sure. Such personalities.

Man, I cannot wait for this issue. This should be awesome! *Fingers crossed*

Newsarama has updated with the full preview for Transformers: Till All Are One, which is to be released next Wednesday. Check out the full preview below, featuring Bruticus, and check back here on Wednesday for the review!

alright

Air Hammer!

Cannot wait! This looks aces!

Synopsis

SWINDLE LIVES! And ONSLAUGHT knows the perfect way to unlock the secrets in his head. As the COMBATICONS rampage through Iacon, can IRONHIDE and his newly formed police force stop them before they annihilate STARSCREAM—and anyone else who gets in their way?

Story

As we come to the end of the first story arch for Till All Are One, all the cow patties hit the fan. We have a Bruticus, we have an Ironhide-led police force, and we have an Air Hammer. And overall, things mesh together pretty well. The highlight of the story has to be the war within Bruticus' mind though. Save for Combiner Wars issue 5 with Optimus Maximus, we really haven't got any sort of look inside the mind of the combiner where the individuals are concerned. This issue decides to take a look into that and make it the major story plot, as the minds are meshed and the combaticons share minds. It is very well executed too, with a legitimately justice-seeking Blastoff trying to quell the violence of Vortex and the vengeance of Onslaught.



The rest of the story outside of Bruticus though feels a bit clunky still. The one major complaint I would have about this first arch would be that it was a bit rushed. It felt like it would have worked better in a 5-issue arch instead of a 4-issue arch. Things felt a bit too rushed at points when they really could have been drawn out a bit to make it more meaningful, such as Ironhide's police force versus Bruticus. When Prowlastator was formed back in Season 1 of then Robots in Disguise, he was formed one issue, and then spend the next 2 issues formed and in battle. In this case, Bruticus was formed in the first panel and his part of the story, for now at least, is done by the end of the comic. I feel it could have been a bit more drawn out and better paced, but that's hardly a severe damper compared to Bruticus' mind-meld.



Art

Art work is once again done by Sara Pitre-Durocher, and it is a marvelous job of art indeed. It's one thing to actually manage to write about the internal brain struggles of 5 guys fused together; it's a whole other thing entirely to try to draw, and Sara does a marvelous job of drawing the scenes. She also does a great job with Bruticus' design, managing to mesh together his combiner wars toy while also maintaining the characters designs, especially with Swindle. The action and explosions are well done as well, and she manages to draw a combiner de-combining properly. A great job overall.



Colors fall once more to Joana Lafuente, and she compliments the neural landscape of Bruticus' mind with Pitre-Durocher's pencils very well. The orange and black coloring beautifully marks out the in-head scenes while making that plane of existence very dangerous and chaotic, as it is. Lafuente even managed to color the flashback panels a little more coarse and dark, showing not only the fuzziness of the memory in the brain-dead Swindle, but also flashing back to Livio Ramondelli, who originally drew said art. The colors to pencils is strong this issue.



And the visuals would not be complete were it not for Tom B Long and his lettering. Long does a great job this issue of showing the combiner struggles using letters, as Bruticus phases between control and chaos, all the while Blastoff crying out from inside trying to maintain his control over himself.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this issue was great. What I had really wanted was a look into the individuals in the combiner, and we got that and we got it in spades. The combiner struggle was real and it was fantastic, both in writing and in artwork. Blastoff made this issue for me, and he has gone from being a shuttle on a team of combat vehicles random guy to a legitimately lovable character. Again, my main issue with this book is the pacing and how this could have lasted another full issue, but compared to the quality of combiner story we got, I can forgive it.



This is definitely an issue worth picking up, and as this series continues to get its feet under it, it will progress and be a great ongoing. Keep an eye on this series: there is some serious potential.

I am heading out to get the book shortly.

Better Combiner shit in one issue than all of Combiner Wars or AHO. Fantasticly done. I agree it felt like a five parter would've been a little better, but what a terrific arc.

Awesome story!

Thanks to Previews World we have a look at the Subscription Variant cover for Transformers: Till All Are One Revolution! Normally, Windblade is the voice of the massive Transformers known as the Titans, such as Metroplex. But what Till All Are One: Revolution is showing us is that Windblade may meet up with some of the smallest beings ever to live: the Micronauts! You can check out the cover below, and stay tuned to Seibertron.com for all your latest Transformers News and Galleries!

Hopefully this should be a lot better than Revolution 1 and use Windblade to her strengths of, y'know, diplomatics and peace-talking rather than FIGHT FIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING FIGHT.

I mean I'm sure there'll be some fight but I hope it's more like the latter issues of Windblade Volume 2 where they set up talks and relations.

We return to your regularly scheduled Transformers comics from IDW, now that the end of the crossover Revolution is in sight, with a quick iTunes preview of Transformers: Till All Are One #5! The regular team in back on board, with Scott, Pitre Durocher, Deer and (probably) Long at their posts. Check it out, and head back for a full preview in the next week or so!

REVOLUTION is over but the danger isn’t over! A wave of undead TITANS threatens CYBERTRON! STARSCREAM will need more than secret police to stop the oncoming horde, but our Fearless Leader finds himself short on friends and firepower. Who can be called upon—and why aren’t they stepping up to the plate?