IDW Transformers: Windblade #6 Full Preview

Well, I was hoping for additional pages that weren't just recaps and roll calls, but oh well, still cant wait

Faces are horrible and some characters have heads to big for their bodies Knock Out for example.


I can't believe I'm saying this but I prefer Livio Ramondelli as he can make Transformers fit with the tone of the stories.



But the story seems good but I will read the plot on TFwiki instead of buying this issue.

Since I've never been a huge fan of Beast Wars, I don't recognize that face on the cover (I know its a Maximal, however). Does anyone know who it is?

Decepticon Sunstorm wrote:Since I've never been a huge fan of Beast Wars, I don't recognize that face on the cover (I know its a Maximal, however). Does anyone know who it is?

tigatron

Is it just me or does the art look...different?

Rainmaker wrote:Is it just me or does the art look...different?

Corin Howell's art has always looked a little Animated-esque. It's better this issue than I'm used to seeing from her (less over-the-top cartoony), but I'm still glad Sara Pitre-DuRocher is drawing the new ongoing.

WHY are they using Animated Blackarachnia instead of Beast Wars Blackarachnia? Was this some corporate-mandate decision or something?

Sabrblade wrote:WHY are they using Animated Blackarachnia instead of Beast Wars Blackarachnia? Was this some corporate-mandate decision or something?

Because her Beast Wars design is ugly.

SlyTF1 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:WHY are they using Animated Blackarachnia instead of Beast Wars Blackarachnia? Was this some corporate-mandate decision or something?

Because her Beast Wars design is ugly.

I do think the animated design is better but the real shame is that we are not seeing an animated design in the " real world" I would have liked to see Milne or Griffith tackle the design but instead it's pretty much unchanged and fits in with the cartoony art. Shame really.

Has it occurred to anyone that there is a Titan on a Beast themed world and that said Titan could well have adopted a Beast Mode the same as its residents? Think Trypticon or Skorponok only jacked up even bigger and then picture that behemoth coming crashing onto the scene for the upcoming Titan Wars arc.
Just a thought.

Oh, and you people bitching about the Art style? Seriously? It's ART!! You know, freedom of expression and interpretation, not to mention individual style. I know you all have a right to your opinion but honestly, if y'all haven't figured it out by now then I hate to tell ya but the problem isn't with the book: the problem is with your perception and what you seem to think of as the definition of art.

You want my opinion on the art complaints (no choice, you're getting it)

I don't like the art either... I think the reason why is not because there's anything wrong with the style, but the tone.

Cartoony is something we associate for kids. My kids love over exaggerated style... they're 5 and 6. They watch Teen Titans Go, love the Minions, and the 5 year old can't get enough of RID 2015.
That style is great for that age of kids. I think Howell is a great artist, she really hits over the top, silly emotion. It's light, it's cute, it's funny, and it's innocent. You want to hug it.

But the Transformers comics are aimed at older teens and up. Not 5 year olds. The art suggests that this is for kids. The plots are not light hearted adventures, even in MTMTE. It's a story about war, pain, suffering, death, treachery and treason. Lots of loss of life, homes, and most importantly... innocence.

The art is jarring for the style of story, especially for such a gritty theme. A lot of people (myself included) expect different. To each his or her own, yes. There's nothing wrong with it. The issue I see is there's a clash of the aesthetics of the writing and the aesthetics of the art. For a comic medium, readers expect a lot, and well frankly, political coups and people dieing is not... cute.

I can agree with that for the reasons you suggest. The argument would be made that this is a comic based on toys and is thus for kids. But you know what? When I was a kid I wanted stuff the older kids wanted and liked. So even if this stuff is for kids (and you make a good point about the deeper stories) then a more serious art style would be better.

Then again, look at Animated. Great writing and dealt with similar themes but had a cartoony style yet it worked.
I mean it could work...but just doesn't here. And I think the artist is capable of a little more realism but she just doesn't. I dunno. She is image artist and she's just doing her job. Just think it's not the right series for her.

Oh and by the way: pointing out you don't like the art. That's ok. Pointing out why you think the art is good: also ok.

Complaining about people complaining is not ok. People are allowed to voice opinion and why they may not like something. As long as it stays civil and doesn't personally attack I think it's fine.

The only issue I have with the art seen here is that it made Sonar look nigh-unrecognizable at first, since I couldn't tell she(?) was at first until I looked closer at the dialogue bubble that identified her(?) as Sonar.

The "?'s" are due to another point I'm about to make (one not necessarily related to the art itself): I can't tell if Manta Ray and Sonar are still fembots in this or not. Past fiction established both of them as female (when their toys were genderless), but the way they're drawn and portrayed character-wise here makes it difficult to tell if they're still female here or not. Not that I want them to have supermodel bodies or anything like that, mind you. Just that it's hard to tell if this comic will be sticking to what's been established beforehand or if it's doing something totally different with these two. So hopefully the full comic itself will shed some light on this since a small handful of sample pages aren't enough to make a fair call.

As an aside, should Optimus Primal ever show up in this, I kinda want him to be in his Beast Machines body to A) throw those expecting his BW season 1 body for a loop, and B) to make him as visually distinct from Optimus Prime as possible.

CrankyOldTruck wrote:Has it occurred to anyone that there is a Titan on a Beast themed world and that said Titan could well have adopted a Beast Mode the same as its residents? Think Trypticon or Skorponok only jacked up even bigger and then picture that behemoth coming crashing onto the scene for the upcoming Titan Wars arc.
Just a thought.

Orcanoch or bust!

Optimizzy wrote:

SlyTF1 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:WHY are they using Animated Blackarachnia instead of Beast Wars Blackarachnia? Was this some corporate-mandate decision or something?

Because her Beast Wars design is ugly.

I do think the animated design is better but the real shame is that we are not seeing an animated design in the " real world" I would have liked to see Milne or Griffith tackle the design but instead it's pretty much unchanged and fits in with the cartoony art. Shame really.

maybe it's to show that she's a different blackarachinia from her beast wars counterpart. I mean this version of Tigatron and Airrazor are different from beast wars tigatron and airrazor, even ignoring the possibility beast wars is the past/future in the IDW continuity.

I asked elsewhere yesterday why the design for Animated Blackarachnia was used instead of BW Blackarachnia and was directed to Mairghread Scott's Tumblr answering this very question back in the 13th, in which she says that it was just the artist's (Corin Howell's) choice:

I think that was Corin’s call. I just said Blackarachnia in the script, she drew that one and it looked hella cool. Since our Blackarachnia doesn’t have the same background as either of those other takes on Blackarachnia, it didn’t seem to be a problem, but if t makes you feel any better, I kinda wrote with Beast Wars Blackarachnia’s voice in my head, especially that laugh she does.

Sabrblade, I checked out that link, and the rest of Mairghread Scott's tumblr, and she does confirm, in a few posts before that one, that Sonar and Manta Ray are both still female in this continuity.

Bounti76 wrote:Sabrblade, I checked out that link, and the rest of Mairghread Scott's tumblr, and she does confirm, in a few posts before that one, that Sonar and Manta Ray are both still female in this continuity.

Ah, good to hear, thanks.

Also, anyone else notice that Tigatron's altmode is more based on his BotCon 2001 toy than his season beast mode body?

Sabrblade wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:Sabrblade, I checked out that link, and the rest of Mairghread Scott's tumblr, and she does confirm, in a few posts before that one, that Sonar and Manta Ray are both still female in this continuity.

Ah, good to hear, thanks.

Also, anyone else notice that Tigatron's altmode is more based on his BotCon 2001 toy than his season beast mode body?

Eh, I could see that. With the beastformers we've seen so far, they're more robotic animals than organic disguises. Makes sense. Might also work towards explaining Animated Blackarachnia and the Transmetals.

Sabrblade wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:Sabrblade, I checked out that link, and the rest of Mairghread Scott's tumblr, and she does confirm, in a few posts before that one, that Sonar and Manta Ray are both still female in this continuity.

Ah, good to hear, thanks.

Also, anyone else notice that Tigatron's altmode is more based on his BotCon 2001 toy than his season beast mode body?

I personally like that look better than his animation model

Bounti76 wrote:

Rainmaker wrote:Is it just me or does the art look...different?

Corin Howell's art has always looked a little Animated-esque. It's better this issue than I'm used to seeing from her (less over-the-top cartoony), but I'm still glad Sara Pitre-DuRocher is drawing the new ongoing.

"A Little" Quo? Actually, Its Alot animated.
An just about as Anti-Transformer friendly as Anti-Transformer friendly can get. We want A.Miline Fine or even Sub-Miline.
This Chic's art is so Sub standard it's in another category altogether (when it comes to Transformers anyway).

ctrlFrequency wrote:You want my opinion on the art complaints (no choice, you're getting it)

I don't like the art either... I think the reason why is not because there's anything wrong with the style, but the tone.

Cartoony is something we associate for kids. My kids love over exaggerated style... they're 5 and 6. They watch Teen Titans Go,
love the Minions, and the 5 year old can't get enough of RID 2015.
That style is great for that age of kids. I think Howell is a great artist, she really hits over the top, silly emotion. It's light, it's cute, it's funny, and it's innocent. You want to hug it.

But the Transformers comics are aimed at older teens and up. Not 5 year olds. The art suggests that this is for kids. The plots are not light hearted adventures, even in MTMTE. It's a story about war, pain, suffering, death, treachery and treason. Lots of loss of life, homes, and most importantly... innocence.

The art is jarring for the style of story,

Her art holds no place in The Transformers comic world.
Maybe on the New RiD series because it shadows the cartoon but even than I'd leave Her on fill-in ishs. An I'd argue it is 100% her style.
She has more detail in her current 'Bat-mite' mini than she does in
Transformers. Which is Shamefully inexcusable.
"She had more time with DC due to 'Convergence' blah, blah" Yea I don't care. She wants $$$, so she draws whatever. I get that,
But, WHAT I DIDN'T INITIALLY GET IS--
Why would IDW Editor(s) hire her, esp on A title that has always struggled
with sales (considering this 'WindBlade' is vol.3 or 4 in 3 or 4yrs).
Because They want to pair A (HACK) Female writer, with A Female artist on an All Female-Bot book. An its all due to the gender equality petition that started at DC A few yrs ago. When Gail Simone was the only DC Female writer. Who's Gr8 BtW, her 'Villains United' & 'Secret Six' are sum of the Best stuff out in comics in the last decade (Both said titles have been just recently Re-released in Deluxe Tpb. formats with 2+ Stories/12 comics+ per $20 trade).

My Advice quit buying it and don't kill your wallet so an industry (in our case IDW.) can try to meet gender equality standars.

Sure sure.

snavej wrote:Regarding the Titan called Chiba, the wings are a mistake. Beyond a certain size, flapping wings do not provide enough lift for flight. Building these wings was a huge waste of time, material and resources. Titan flight can only be achieved with powerful engines of some kind, maybe anti-gravity or super-electromagnetic.

Maybe the wings facilitate an anti-gravity of sorts?

also: I think the MTMTE character of Nickel needs a retcon. They have her from Caminus or something but I think she should be from Devisiun.

She should have been born to a pair called Nickel and Diamond and her other part died tragically. This left her slightly deranged and perfect for the DJD. It would have been an interesting concept to explore.

Optimizzy wrote:

snavej wrote:Regarding the Titan called Chiba, the wings are a mistake. Beyond a certain size, flapping wings do not provide enough lift for flight. Building these wings was a huge waste of time, material and resources. Titan flight can only be achieved with powerful engines of some kind, maybe anti-gravity or super-electromagnetic.

Maybe the wings facilitate an anti-gravity of sorts?

also: I think the MTMTE character of Nickel needs a retcon. They have her from Caminus or something but I think she should be from Devisiun.

She should have been born to a pair called Nickel and Diamond and her other part died tragically. This left her slightly deranged and perfect for the DJD. It would have been an interesting concept to explore.

It's transformers man, anything is possible. I like the flight idea, and there can be tech at work we do not understand. Point is: Let is happen, it's cool.

I prefer Nickel to be from a different, destroyed colony. There are 13 to work with, and I do not like the idea of her having a second part. She works so well on her own

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Optimizzy wrote:

snavej wrote:Regarding the Titan called Chiba, the wings are a mistake. Beyond a certain size, flapping wings do not provide enough lift for flight. Building these wings was a huge waste of time, material and resources. Titan flight can only be achieved with powerful engines of some kind, maybe anti-gravity or super-electromagnetic.

Maybe the wings facilitate an anti-gravity of sorts?

also: I think the MTMTE character of Nickel needs a retcon. They have her from Caminus or something but I think she should be from Devisiun.

She should have been born to a pair called Nickel and Diamond and her other part died tragically. This left her slightly deranged and perfect for the DJD. It would have been an interesting concept to explore.

It's transformers man, anything is possible. I like the flight idea, and there can be tech at work we do not understand. Point is: Let is happen, it's cool.

I prefer Nickel to be from a different, destroyed colony. There are 13 to work with, and I do not like the idea of her having a second part. She works so well on her own

yep, was just a thought though. I actually am interested to see more of Devisun (Devisen?) though. Even if it was draw in a very Chibi way.

Synopsis
BEAST WAR! On EUKARIS, the colonists are more than just robots in disguise—they're whole new breeds of Transformers! But while WINDBLADE and STARSCREAM struggle to gain allies on this brave new world, an ancient power seeks to force them off the planet!



Story

As the Velocitron arc ends, probably much too quickly even for its thematic elements, we venture to yet another colony, another part of the storyline, and yet another Titan in the ever-growing Transformers IDWverse, as Mairghread Scott delves into a Beast Wars tribute via planet Eukaris.



And indeed a Beast Wars tribute it is. Scott made no secret of her admiration and attachment to that particular era of Transformers fiction, even when we interviewed her (here), and those elements seep in quite naturally into the Onyx Prime-devout Eukaris inhabitants, outcasts, tribes and in-betweeners included.



The main plot, however, is Windblade's dealings with the beastformers, and how Cybertronians are perceived and received by them after the incidents of Galvatron's times back in the pre-Expansion period. And I'll admit, I particularly enjoyed the small moments between the single characters, and each of their voices, though everything felt a little too fast for a single issue.



There are plenty of subplots, too, with Starscream's machinations playing alongside Velocitron and Eukaris, and Rattrap not really revealing everything he knows to Windblade - perhaps too many subplots at time, even. The issue's main thread needed something entirely different to really set in, perhaps, even with the reactions of the various characters being reinforced and re-established. Plus, one or two of the conclusions are very satisfying.

Art

Corin Howell continues her art duties, on both line/pencilwork and inks, and brings a lot more Animated into it. If you've followed so far you've seen it already, but there are some explicit moments and references - along with some unfortunate minor inconsistencies in designs - that bring out the other most popular animation models of the TFverse.



Thomas Teyowisonte Deer brings to the show what some might find jarring in Howell's style (though not myself), by making sure that what is glorious about the art comes across as definitely so. The wider shots and panels, the contrasts between darker and lighter tones and scenes, the more active panels versus the diplomatic ones - it all comes together beautifully with the linework.



The lettering by Tom B. Long is wonderful, and there are some excellent noises that go along with Howell's style that I believe are both entirely suited and adding small tidbits of relief and contour, and some good Blackarachnia personalising. We have also seen most of the covers up to this point, with the stunning main Priscilla Tramontano one (thumbnailed), a savage variant by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente, and yet another adorably apt RI variant by Agnes Garbowska.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Is this a bad issue? No. Not by any means. It does, however and unfortunately, suffer from a condition that several Transformers books seem to have caught of recent - a feeling of the story being rushed. Not sure why, not sure due to what, and definitely not sure of whether this is a result of Scott's multiple work commitments or the ending of the ongoing as it turns into Till All Are One in the new year.



That said, there are some wonderful references to the entire run of Beast Wars in here, as well as some moving moments for the new status of characters we are still coming to understand. As a writer who grew up with that era, and as a reader who did the same, the issue is full of smile (both of mirth and sadness), smirk and chuckle moments if you know where to look.

Yeah, I'm really thinking this is an example of so much story and so few pages. Not really her fault I think. Which is a shame. I'd really like to have seen these stories fleshed out over several issues. Like 3 months on Velocitron, 3 of Eukeris and so forth. Perhaps that's what I'll get in TAAO. Hope so.

Optimizzy wrote:Yeah, I'm really thinking this is an example of so much story and so few pages. Not really her fault I think. Which is a shame. I'd really like to have seen these stories fleshed out over several issues. Like 3 months on Velocitron, 3 of Eukeris and so forth. Perhaps that's what I'll get in TAAO. Hope so.

Pretty much, yes. Hopefully TAAO does expand on the Council without sacrificing too much in any event that may be decided at company level. I'd like Barber and Scott to have some time off from crossovers and the such.

The background action finding the planet of twin sparkers was my favorite part. Planet Micro sort of...

Just wanted to make sure if you didn't read it, I don't totally kill it for you yet.

Corin Howell has really improved since issue #1. The first issue had characters with gaping mouths for no good reason, and some of Windblade's expressions gave me nightmares . You gotta love the amount of emotion you see from Windblade when it comes to the Titans. First we see her tear up at seeing the neglected state at Velocitron's Titan, and then we see her heartbroken when Starscream kills Chela .I wonder why Starscream bothered to save Windblade? I guess she's starting to grow on him like a worthy adversary.
One thing I don't understand is this whole winning points thing. I get that Windblade talked Velocitron into joining, and Starscream talked Devisiun into joining, but they seem just as likely to vote for one side as much as the other. The same story with Tigatron and Airazor who I'm assuming left their respective tribes due to their love for each other as each tribe is divided by their attribute except for Blackarachnia. It certainly is a twist to see the old spider go from a psychotic killer to a well respected leader.
I am rather depressed that we are not getting an in depth look at the colonies and their citizens though. I understand that this is because we are supposed to focus on Windblade, and in the Woman of Transformers Panel it was explained that this will be made up for in the "Till All Are One" series, which will focus on all the characters from the colonies, but it's hard to forgive this flaw as it will be a literal year until it will be resolved.

Yeah, this is a bit rushed for my liking. I can understand it due to the limited issues and the fact that we need to get to many colonies, but I would've preferred a bit more time on each, not just 1 or 2 issues

I just read the issue. Some bullet points:
* I don't like them using Blackarachnia's Animated design. I feel like her Beast Machines body would have fit better in the soothsayer role. But whatever. Nobody has their actual designs anyway, because these are more mechanical beasts than organic. It's a small concern compared to the rest of it.
* While I would have liked to see the iconic Beast Wars characters brought back as the tribe leaders or delegates or whatever, I agree with what was said earlier about personality roles, and also I like seeing formerly toy-only characters get fiction, like in the other IDW Beast Wars books. I like Mairghread Scott's writing and I have confidence she can write them well, given the chance. We'll probably see more of the classic cast in TAAO. I wonder if there's a Megatron or equivalent on this planet......
* Starscream getting Divisiun off-screen is simultaneously hilarious and frustrating, because it further hammers in that the final issues of this series are being rushed like hell.
* EXPOSITIONAL DIALOG POWERS, ACTIVATE!
* That sweeping landscape shot is leaps and bounds above the character art style, holy crap. It's almost like two different artists at work.
* Chela is awesome! This is the first titan we've seen that isn't all blocky. He (she?) looks like a phoenix rising from the volcano, deliberately I'm sure. The sheer idea of a gold avian titan is pretty fantastic, and this design is so good.
* Aaaaaand they killed Chela. SO MUCH FOR THAT AWESOME NEW CHARACTER.

This does not set up a very promising finale to the series, even if it's going to pick up in TAAO next year. I hope we can return to quality storytelling when they aren't trying to cram several issues' worth of storylines into one. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was, a good read, some nostalgia, and advancement of the story.

One thing I don't completely understand is Windblade and Starscream's little "competition" to recruit the colonies. I know Starscream wants an empire, and Windblade wants more of a republic, but I've never really understood how Starscream intends to create or exert control over this empire, or how the particular person to recruit the colonies tips the balance. Someone else said that the colonists are as likely to vote for Windblade as Starscream on interplanetary affairs, so I have never gotten the sensation from this series that it seems to want to generate, which is that Windblade making friendly with the colony worlds is the only thing standing in the way of a new Cybertronian Empire that will threaten the entire universe..