IDW Transformers: Windblade #3 Preview

I love the art style, but funnily I always confuse between chromia and Blurr. Maybe if they gave Chromia thicker lips?

Synopsis
THE FATE OF CYBERTRON! WINDBLADE learns more about the new face of CYBERTRON—and lesson number one is: never underestimate STARSCREAM! She’s trapped in a no-win situation—but what is the scheming DECEPTICON really after, and how far will he go to keep WINDBLADE out of his way?



Story

We left Cybertron last month as Windblade, Chromia, the Maccadam's crew - the jolly jumble of Blurr, Snarl, Waspinator, Tankor and Tankor - and reporters Longtooth and Circuit entered the lower levels of Metroplex, as the Terrorcons prepared to pounce on the cast, and the battle was on the very brink of commencing.



The fight sequence that ensues, at the opening of the issue, is gloriously long with good narration and exposition (and world building, too) at just the right pacing from Mairghread Scott to not be either boring nor too much of a punch fest. And also serves its function as the first of many minor twists in the story of the mini-series so far, before some major changes towards the end. None of which I'll show.



Not only does the pacing work, with the captions recapping the story so far from Windblade's view, the dialogue aiding the progression of the story and some great exchanges in the aftermath of the fight, there's space for a little humour (without too much tonal discordance), and some very very dark moments during and after.



Starscream has some very nice traits in the issue, Rattrap is a little stinker, Windblade shines through her fighting skills, as does Chromia, the story goes in multiple directions at once, then returns to itself as everything changes - and we even get a new type of character introduced. Not a character, a type.

Art

The artwork, of course, makes my appreciation of the issue rise even further, with Sarah Stone's excellent panel work, returning to Longtooth's head camera (as in, his head is a camera) device and commentary on the technique. Combined with some brilliant facial expressions, the result is an issue of dynamic, clear fight sequences and truly terrifying moments later on.



Moments which are expertly enhanced by Stone's use of colour and shading, and some great contrasts in how the light, be it fire, glow or else, reflects on and refracts off different Cybertronian surfaces and bodies. Add in some subtle touches in sound effects and lettering by Chris Mowry, and we get a truly thrilling addition to the mini-series.



Additionally, not to forget, the covers. Stone's amazing 'crying' Windblade has made the rounds many times now, but Alex Milne and Joana Lafuente (thumbnail) create an impressive valiant rendition of the character, too. And continuing the 30th Anniversary celebratory series, Guido Guidi and John-Paul Bove recreate a victorious Stascream over Megatron for the retail incentive!

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Well. I mean, well. Scott had me convinced that the story would be doing certain things, and then took it wildly away, only to drag it back and split it again and end it on a note that appeared from nowhere - but could still make sense. In the next issue. Because of course there's a cliffhanger that actually leaves you wanting more.



So the narration works, the characters really work with and against each other, so many questions, points, issues, revelations are addressed and made to hang. There. Just hang. And then you get so much in terms of body language and expressions and behaviour in Stone's artwork and colours, a mixture of glee and repulsion, and - I just want more. Please?

(Though again, next issue is the last for now, at least until 2015. But still.)

It will be a shame to see this series end. Its been a good read and the artwork is amazing, I hope she gets more tf work.

Also glad that Windblade is getting another series.

Sarah is doing interior art once RID shifts back to Cybertron, apparently!
(The September issue, according to solicitations.)

Va'al wrote:Sarah is doing interior art once RID shifts back to Cybertron, apparently!
(The September issue, according to solicitations.)

That's good to hear. It was seeing Sarah's art work in the previews for Windblade #1 that made me start drawing again.

As you said, Va'al, Stone does a nice job on facial expressions. But with Slag here, this was all I could think about looking at the panel:



Gave me a good chuckle.

Dinobots. No manners *and* they're always high.

Va'al wrote:Dinobots. No manners *and* they're always high.

That's cuz they're taller than most everyone.

I just read it and while I like stone's artwork when there is a static image, I find it a little messy when there is action.

However, her expressions and the interrogation scene. Brilliant. Liking the comic. Just would like a little more clarity in the art but honestly not complaining about it.

IDW newcomer artist Sarah Stone has shared both her pencil work and a progression GIF (from pencils to inks to colours) for one of the pages in this week's release of Transformers: Windblade. Take a look!

(Not newsing this, potential spoilers if you haven't read yet, but still gorgeous stuff.)

Man, I dunno. I keep expecting this series to grow on me and it hasn't. I'll be honest, I find Nautica and Chromia to be much more interesting characters than Windblade, and I'd much prefer one of THEM get another series.

Things I don't get:
* Why Windblade seem pretty savvy when Roberts and Barber write her, and then, six months later in canon (when Windblade is set) she's somehow, uh, kind of really overly trusting? Like she's been there how long and she's not picked up the vibe of Starscream not being a Nice Guy? Did she not talk to ANYONE for those six months?

* Why she was 'ground zero' at a bomb that we're told was deliberately targeting her but she lived, but later we hear that a lot of people died from that explosion. That...is not how bombs work? There's no magic 'safe zone' in the kill radius.

* Torture doesn't work like that. I'll leave out that the torture the babe is a really problematic gendered trope discussion just to say that I find it improbable that she's instantly able to attack Starscream, both physically and psychologically. And moreover that it is to become this massive turning point where she goes from being gentle and hopeful to LET"S KILL EVERYONE--so bloodthirsty even Chromia is more reasonable, insisting they not kill guards unless they have to.

* Can we talk about the strangling? I get it was played for laughs, and I sure did laugh, but it was that secondhand embarrassment kind of laugh for the writer. Because, well, if Windblade's been pretty isolated from other cultures and if she is a Cybertronian herself, WHY WOULD SHE EVEN THINK OF STRANGLING STARSCREAM? You or I might because we're human and it works on humans. But if we weren't? We wouldn't even think of it.

The big issue I have with it is that it seems to be written based off a plot diagram, and Scott will bend and twist and mangle her characterization to get them to follow her carefully mapped plot points. The result is that finding a coherent characterization for Windblade herself is really difficult. Considering the main question that was used to pimp the story was "WHO IS WINDBLADE?" I have to say I still don't have a clue. Innocent, naive city speaker? Out of control angry fighter? Victim? Hero? The last issue has a LOT to try to pull together.

CC, [UNNECESSARY VOICEOVER RECAPPING EXPOSITION]

cybercat wrote:Man, I dunno. I keep expecting this series to grow on me and it hasn't. I'll be honest, I find Nautica and Chromia to be much more interesting characters than Windblade, and I'd much prefer one of THEM get another series.

Things I don't get:
* Why Windblade seem pretty savvy when Roberts and Barber write her, and then, six months later in canon (when Windblade is set) she's somehow, uh, kind of really overly trusting? Like she's been there how long and she's not picked up the vibe of Starscream not being a Nice Guy? Did she not talk to ANYONE for those six months?

* Why she was 'ground zero' at a bomb that we're told was deliberately targeting her but she lived, but later we hear that a lot of people died from that explosion. That...is not how bombs work? There's no magic 'safe zone' in the kill radius.

* Torture doesn't work like that. I'll leave out that the torture the babe is a really problematic gendered trope discussion just to say that I find it improbable that she's instantly able to attack Starscream, both physically and psychologically. And moreover that it is to become this massive turning point where she goes from being gentle and hopeful to LET"S KILL EVERYONE--so bloodthirsty even Chromia is more reasonable, insisting they not kill guards unless they have to.

* Can we talk about the strangling? I get it was played for laughs, and I sure did laugh, but it was that secondhand embarrassment kind of laugh for the writer. Because, well, if Windblade's been pretty isolated from other cultures and if she is a Cybertronian herself, WHY WOULD SHE EVEN THINK OF STRANGLING STARSCREAM? You or I might because we're human and it works on humans. But if we weren't? We wouldn't even think of it.

The big issue I have with it is that it seems to be written based off a plot diagram, and Scott will bend and twist and mangle her characterization to get them to follow her carefully mapped plot points. The result is that finding a coherent characterization for Windblade herself is really difficult. Considering the main question that was used to pimp the story was "WHO IS WINDBLADE?" I have to say I still don't have a clue. Innocent, naive city speaker? Out of control angry fighter? Victim? Hero? The last issue has a LOT to try to pull together.

CC, [UNNECESSARY VOICEOVER RECAPPING EXPOSITION]

Well with the first point, I got the impression she had only minor contact with otherd as she was very, very busy with sorting Metroplex out the best she could. So any spare time was kept to herself (probably exploring Cybertron or inside Metroplex).

Not sure what to say about the torture thing, I don't see the problem myself, especially with the 'torture the babe' trope as you put it. I mean screamer wanted information, giving Windblades status, only logical that she'd have the information. I mean they're not going to torture blurr are they when it's clear that Windblade is the one he wants. At that point her gender doesn't matter.

As far as the blast goes I assumed the deaths were caused by aftereffects of the blast, I.e. Buildings collapsing, more explosions etc. Of course having said that, I'm used to characters surviving un-survivalable explosions. Indy 4 and Gundam Seed/ Seed Destiny spring to mind.

Now the strangling thing, I thought it was just because she'd had enough and wanted to just attack him, not the best reason but I don't think it was intentionally funny.

Dun Dun Duhhhn


Speculation?

Starscream and Rattrap are red herrings sorta, so who is it?

I've got two possible subjects, ironhide and Metroplex. Admittedly can't think why either of them would do it. There is also the possibility that it was someone who hasn't even been introduced yet.

Actually, thought of another suspect while typing. Circuit, an attempt to show media corruption perhaps

I'd also say Ironhide, or even Chromia.

As someone else pointed out, having someone we have yet to see in the story would belittle the entire thing, and using characters that show up either early or regularly could work as a twist.

Also, I still think there *could* be a connection between Skids' venture into 'Cyberutopia' and Metroplex' way of talking to Windblade. But it may just be visuals.

I hope it isn't Chromia I actually really like her

After some more thinking, some one else popped up. The person she was reminiscing about in an earlier issue. From the looks of it said bot was either her mentor or her lover. Though I hope not, that part of her history looks like good fodder for more stories.

Hmm. That would also disappoint me, though.

Let's see let's see.
(It's bound to come up when I'm away this week, just you wait..)

Va'al wrote:Hmm. That would also disappoint me, though.

Let's see let's see.
(It's bound to come up when I'm away this week, just you wait..)

Don't get me wrong I would be disappointed as well. I'm just trying to think if a suspect list. I'm hoping there would be more clues in the other issues that we may of overlooked...

(or am I looking into this too much...)

Next up from IDW Publishing, and again courtesy of Newsarama, we have the conclusion of the Transformers: Windblade mini-series, by the double-team of Scott and Stone. Check out a full preview below, and make sure to tune in again tomorrow to read the Seibertron.com review!

Transformers: Windblade #4 (of 4): Dawn of the Autobots
Mairghread Scott (w) • Sarah Stone (a & c)
PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE! WINDBLADE seeks out the last refuge she has left, the living city METROPLEX as his malfunctions intensify! WINDBLADE realizes that even if she survives STARSCREAM, METROPLEX himself may doom them all!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
WINDBLADE versus STARSCREAM for control of CYBERTRON!
WINDBLADE’S first solo adventure comes to its soul-searing conclusion!
The aftermath of this issue will affect TRANSFORMERS comics for years to come!
Variant 30th Anniversary cover by Phil Jimenez!

I like how Chromia's "assessing the situation" sounds a lot like Arcee's line to Hot Rod during the siege of Autobot City in the G1 movie. Bonus points for it also technically taking place on Metroplex.

Synopsis
PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE! WINDBLADE seeks out the last refuge she has left, the living city METROPLEX as his malfunctions intensify! WINDBLADE realizes that even if she survives STARSCREAM, METROPLEX himself may doom them all!



Story

And so we've had explosions, more explosions, scheming, Predacons, bar scenes, torture scenes, world building, a fantabulous Starscream and so far, a plot that does not seem to want to resolve itself in any way that may have been indicated by writer Mairghread Scott up until this very moment - does it pay off? Is this final issue in Windblade's story, for now at least, a satisfying conclusion? Keep on reading...



Scott writes some magnificent Starscream narrative, alongside Windblade and Chromia's - the latter in particular, especially in this issue - and how the three key players interact on the grand scale stage of Metroplex, Iacon and Cybertron.. and maybe even further than that, as we find out more about Caminusand the Camiens, Metroplex himself, and some continuity-bending that would make Barber blush.



The plot throws us some bones, which turn out to be herrings, of the red kind, pointing in all the possible wrong directions before establishing and setting up the actual endpoint to the story started in issue 1 - which is not actually the end of the issue at all. Of course, the actual clues were there all along, and quite in plain sight, looking back.



I'm obviously not going to spoil the climax and denouement, but I do have to say that while the apex of the running plot itself was, in fact, almost anti-climactically played out, everything - everything - else happening around it is so astoundingly powerful that it more than made up for it! (So much so I just used an exclamation mark.) But more on that below.

Art

I'm not entirely sure what more I can say about Sarah Stone's artwork that I haven't commented upon in the first three reviews. But this issue does highlight what it is I really truly enjoyed in this début run for the new artist: her characters' expressions. We get anger, concentration, satisfaction, smugness, despair, hope - we get rounded personalities captured in linework, by way of faces, bodies and interactions.



All of that is before you even consider the excellent layouts and panelwork, with some truly experimental, slightly non-linear (dat final page), but not bordering into abstract just yet, pages, splashes and spreads. Then you get the colours. And the contrasts of light, of monochromatic blocks versus all-white or all-black backgrounds - something showed off on the cover, too.



Chris Mowry's lettering does some masterfully crafted complementary work to the already great artwork, rendering Scott's sounds and words vividly on the page and in characters' heads and voices, and beautifully fitting between Stone's lines, with fonts, hues, colours and fading effects alike. And just to keep us guessing, two Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr covers, one with Windblade, one with Chromia (see thumbnail).


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

A truly magnificent ending to what is clearly, obviously, just the beginning of a long long story to unfold in the Transformers universe, from MTMTE to Primacy to Empire of Stone to RID - where we'll see Windblade again not too far in the future - which, as I said, if it does tone down the plot resolution, it does so by amping up absolutely everything else, with a personal reaction that hit as far as Soundwave's arc in RID, or the C/R one in MTMTE.



Sometimes, as a comics reader, one should just revel in the pure aesthetic, sensory pleasure of a book as object, of the colours as feeling, of the story as layout, of the words as sounds. This comic has allows all of that, and sets up something so big it will make several people complain. But I, and I suspect many many more, do not care. At all.

Female transformer have lipstick on

So do I, and I'm not a Transformer.

"And so we've had explosions, more explosions, scheming, Predacons"

You mean Terrorcons?

Friday can't come quick enough for me, as tempting as it is to wait till next week when RID is out, I want to see this arc to its conclusion

Spazma wrote:"And so we've had explosions, more explosions, scheming, Predacons"

You mean Terrorcons?

Both! I forgot to drop that in, but Waspinator is a Predacon.

Nice review Va'al. Your breakdowns are always well done. I read the preview issue we got and came away somewhat dissatisfied with how the whole thing finished. But I am looking forward to more from this point... Like the next RID that they tease at the end.

I like the art but don't love it. Sometimes I felt a little lost as to who is who, or what is happening, but overall it is energetic and telling as you described.

A good series. An interesting new character. Looking forward to more.

Well all the comic shops in the city of portland sold out of issue 4 by 2 P.M today, wasn't able to get one :/

You know, I felt the issue kinda...fell flat. I was actually shocked by the reveal, which is a definite plus, how Windblade dealt with it was...nothing? I mean, Chromia basically betrayed Windblade and everything she stands for, and then Windblade just like shrugs it off and plays it like she is a parent telling a child not to tell a lie again.

However, I find that this is also one of my favorite TF stories to date. A nice miniseries that packs punch, doesn't drag on, and is stunning to look at.

You know, I felt the issue kinda...fell flat. I was actually shocked by the reveal, which is a definite plus, how Windblade dealt with it was...nothing? I mean, Chromia basically betrayed Windblade and everything she stands for, and then Windblade just like shrugs it off and plays it like she is a parent telling a child not to tell a lie again.

However, I find that this is also one of my favorite TF stories to date. A nice miniseries that packs punch, doesn't drag on, and is stunning to look at.

Well finally read the issue, the big reveal didn't have much impact I thought, and I imagined better motive. I do like the Starscream and Windblade relationship reversal at the end there. All in all I liked this miniseries, from the beautiful art to the characters themselves. I also loved the call out to beast wars Here's hoping to see Air Hammer get her chance to shine at IDW.

Okay, so, I've been reading the series again in order to see it hollistically. If anyone else has done so, does it seem as though Starscream knew who the culprit was the whole time?

Nemesis Maximo wrote:Okay, so, I've been reading the series again in order to see it hollistically. If anyone else has done so, does it seem as though Starscream knew who the culprit was the whole time?

I don't think he knew at all, but it's rather down to him being a very adaptable opportunist: he clearly thought it was Rattrap, even just for the throwaway line about it. Issue #3 shows his honest surprise, though whether it is at it not being Windblade trying to blow herself up or at something else, I do not know.

We've seen it with the Metrotitan, with the NAILS, in pretty much every iteration of the character- he's quick, he learns, he knows how to spin things his way, with varying degrees of success. And he probably sees how others can be like him, and only takes it as natural if that actually happens.

Nemesis Maximo wrote:You know, I felt the issue kinda...fell flat. I was actually shocked by the reveal, which is a definite plus, how Windblade dealt with it was...nothing? I mean, Chromia basically betrayed Windblade and everything she stands for, and then Windblade just like shrugs it off and plays it like she is a parent telling a child not to tell a lie again.

However, I find that this is also one of my favorite TF stories to date. A nice miniseries that packs punch, doesn't drag on, and is stunning to look at.

I think Windblade valued Chromia's friendship above all else and understood why her friend did it: to save their own home. But as a Speaker she had to make the decision to stand above her own desires and help all Cybertronians. Though that seems counterintuitive, I believe Windblade made the decision to spare Chromia because in her heart she felt her friend was doing what she did for the right reasons and it'll better for her if they both stand together in their brave new world.

Va'al wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:Okay, so, I've been reading the series again in order to see it hollistically. If anyone else has done so, does it seem as though Starscream knew who the culprit was the whole time?

I don't think he knew at all, but it's rather down to him being a very adaptable opportunist: he clearly thought it was Rattrap, even just for the throwaway line about it. Issue #3 shows his honest surprise, though whether it is at it not being Windblade trying to blow herself up or at something else, I do not know.

We've seen it with the Metrotitan, with the NAILS, in pretty much every iteration of the character- he's quick, he learns, he knows how to spin things his way, with varying degrees of success. And he probably sees how others can be like him, and only takes it as natural if that actually happens.

That's true, I now remember his line about how Ratrap should show more initiative. But to your point about his opportunism, I love how he has evolved from somewhat of a lunatic in most early fiction into what he is now. He may still want to take power whenever he can, but he does it in more intelligent ways than just (star)screaming "Decepticons! Let's betray Megatron and then get our asses kicked!"

Exactly! This series, even more than RID, has shown how effective Starscream actually is (even with Windblade at the end playing the game). And I am *very* curious to see what happens with Wheeljack's return in #34.

Tal El wrote:I think Windblade valued Chromia's friendship above all else and understood why her friend did it: to save their own home. But as a Speaker she had to make the decision to stand above her own desires and help all Cybertronians. Though that seems counterintuitive, I believe Windblade made the decision to spare Chromia because in her heart she felt her friend was doing what she did for the right reasons and it'll better for her if they both stand together in their brave new world.

I'm still expecting some sort of dealing with Chromia in the next installment of the story, either in RID or the next Windblade mini-series. In some way, at least! The issue left it a bit too hanging.

With Chromia, I'm not expecting too much in the way of resolution, it looked like she herself had a lot to think about. As such I think she'll be even more loyal the next time we see her. I'm more wondering about the colonies and their role in the future (like say elegant chaos and combiner wars).

Now as for screamer, this is the best version of him I think, it's been a while that we seen him like this. I only hope that he doesn't end up throwing all this development away in the near future by joining back up with the cons.

Well, Rhinox has been shown on one of the covers, and we have a toy for him.

I know Sarah is really happy to be working on TFP Knockout's design, which makes me think we'll see him too.

Knock-Out will be a fun addition, even better if he got to interact with the boyz from the lost light

With Rhinox, now I understand how controversial a choice it would be, what about if they took his character from Beast Machines (Tankor). Not everyone from the colonies is going to be good...unless thats how they add Gobots into the mix

We have some exiting news for Windblade fans, a new graphic novel is on the way. It will be a long wait until it comes out on Febuary, 18th, 2018 which is it's current release date. However, it is listed as having a whopping 220 pages!

Have a look about what the listing says about this book:

The original fan-made Transformer stars in her own series. She cuts straight to the truth and no obstacle is going to stand in her path.

Built by the fans, Windblade is a force for good, who never fails to do the right thing. But what happens when she’s forced to work with the Decepticon Starscream to recruit new colonies to the Council of Worlds?

If you are a fan of Windblade, check out this variant cover for TAAO #12 and if you are in Canada, her Titans Return Deluxe Figure is hitting shelves!

So it this something new, or a compilation of several preexisting issues?

Sabrblade wrote:So it this something new, or a compilation of several preexisting issues?

Given the description, my guess is that it might be a compilation of the two Windblade miniseries.

Bounti76 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:So it this something new, or a compilation of several preexisting issues?

Given the description, my guess is that it might be a compilation of the two Windblade miniseries.

That would be my guess also.

I really do enjoy the paperback volumes. They feel like they hold up a little better than the single issues. I'm one of those people that likes to read their books over and over again so having things that hold up well are a must. There is just something really great about having a paper book in my hands. Its worth the extra few bucks over digital imho.

(Not knocking digital, I love humble bundle!)

cool looks like her Combiner hunters look

Our main preview this week for IDW Publishing Transformers comics - as Optimus Prime #15 was shown here last week - is a collected volume that sees the previous Windblade series all in one place, including the initial four issues, and the seven issues of Windblade volume 2 - with art by Sarah Stone, Corin Howell, and Till All Are One regular Sara Pitre Durocher, along with Marcelo Fereira, Livio Ramondelli, and a whole host of colourists, letterers and inkers, all with writing by Mairghread Scott.

Take a dive back into the past, way before the Titans returned, Swindle disappeared, Starscream knew better, and Windblade realised who she actually was, and pick up the book in the coming weeks if so inclined!

Transformers Windblade: The Last City
Mairghread Scott (w) • Sarah Stone, Corin Howell, Sara Pitre-Durocher (a) • Sara Pitre-Durocher (c)
The original fan-made Transformer stars in her own series. She cuts straight to the truth and no obstacle is going to stand in her path. Windblade is a force for good, who never fails to do the right thing. But what happens when she's forced to work with Starscream to recruit new colonies to the Council of Worlds? Collects both the four-issue and seven-issue Windblade mini-series.
TPB • FC • $24.99 • 220 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-224-0

Bullet points:
· Advance solicited for February release!
· “This is not your average Transforming Robot comic book, this is so much more!”—Big Glasgow Comic Page

Damn I miss Sarah's artwork

I still consider this to be one of, if not the, most gorgeous pieces of Transformers artwork of all time.

My only familiarity with this character is in that silly transformers earth wars mobile game. I had no idea Windblade was a fan-created character though, kind of wicked.

Sarah Stone’s art looks fantastic, will pick this compilation up when it comes out.

I just finished the last city and I really enjoyed it. It's the first windblade book I have read so now I need to figure out what will come next. I'm probably going to wait until there is another volume out since I prefer those to individual comics.

Anyways it's time for bed. I want to read more but I should be asleep right now.