Sneak Peek - IDW Optimus Prime #1 Preview

Quite a lot of surprising cameos here. Don't know what the lot in the last few panels are about - though I know we'll find out for sure in the full issue - but Rosanna in the crowd protesting? That's... certainly surprising. Is she being retconned into being male in IDW, because I'm pretty sure the colonies left waaaaaaay before Orion Pax's time. At the very least ages before the war which takes place just after Zeta's rule ends.

Talking of Zeta, nice to see he's got a slight redesign which... well, it still kind of screams "I'M THE BAD GUY" but not quite as loudly as before.

Also, the monsterbots protesting? The most violent Autobots in existence? Huh. Who woulda thunk it.

Art looks good, though are those some new bots showing up in the end? I don't recognize them

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Art looks good, though are those some new bots showing up in the end? I don't recognize them

One of them looks like one of the Rail Racer guys from RiD 2001

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Art looks good, though are those some new bots showing up in the end? I don't recognize them

One of them looks like one of the Rail Racer guys from RiD 2001

Also... is Optimus blue and carrying a tanker trailer?

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Art looks good, though are those some new bots showing up in the end? I don't recognize them

One of them looks like one of the Rail Racer guys from RiD 2001

Also... is Optimus blue and carrying a tanker trailer?

Pretty sure that's a new guy. I'm kind of getting a G2 Laser Optimus repaint vibe though.

Man that art is good! Really channeling some Geoff Senior and Derek Yaniker from G2 on that and Tappet! Outback! Look at all those cameos!!

Apparently Roulette has decided to join the party.

Kurona wrote:Quite a lot of surprising cameos here. Don't know what the lot in the last few panels are about - though I know we'll find out for sure in the full issue - but Rosanna in the crowd protesting? That's... certainly surprising. Is she being retconned into being male in IDW, because I'm pretty sure the colonies left waaaaaaay before Orion Pax's time. At the very least ages before the war which takes place just after Zeta's rule ends.

Talking of Zeta, nice to see he's got a slight redesign which... well, it still kind of screams "I'M THE BAD GUY" but not quite as loudly as before.

Also, the monsterbots protesting? The most violent Autobots in existence? Huh. Who woulda thunk it.

The time frame for the colonies is a bit messy. The knights left like 12 million years ago and Titans left with them supposedly. Then it was said Titans left during the era of the Primes and the Primes left after them supposedly meeting up with their colony Titans on the planets that were chosen to seed. The Prime tribes existed from 12 millions years ago to 9 million years ago and Nova was in charge for 3 millions years after them.

Again, messy

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Art looks good, though are those some new bots showing up in the end? I don't recognize them

One of them looks like one of the Rail Racer guys from RiD 2001

Also... is Optimus blue and carrying a tanker trailer?

Pretty sure that's a new guy. I'm kind of getting a G2 Laser Optimus repaint vibe though.

See the cab and trailer transforming separately in the next panel? That's Oiler and Slide, who'd be Devisens in this universe.

This preview is just freaking amazing BTW. If having to suffer through Revolution made this happen, it was worth it.

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Art looks good, though are those some new bots showing up in the end? I don't recognize them

One of them looks like one of the Rail Racer guys from RiD 2001

Also... is Optimus blue and carrying a tanker trailer?

Pretty sure that's a new guy. I'm kind of getting a G2 Laser Optimus repaint vibe though.

The train is Railspike (yes from car robots/rid)
The blue Tanker truck is Oiler and the trailer is his partner Slide. they're Micromaster combiners
the car is Roulette
the bigass lobster is Gimlet
the Armadillo is either Armordillo or Bump kinda hard to tell as he's a very reddish orange.

SG Roadbuster wrote:

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Kurona wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Art looks good, though are those some new bots showing up in the end? I don't recognize them

One of them looks like one of the Rail Racer guys from RiD 2001

Also... is Optimus blue and carrying a tanker trailer?

Pretty sure that's a new guy. I'm kind of getting a G2 Laser Optimus repaint vibe though.

The train is Railspike (yes from car robots/rid)
The blue Tanker truck is Oiler and the trailer is his partner Slide. they're Micromaster combiners
the car is Roulette
the bigass lobster is Gimlet
the Armadillo is either Armordillo or Bump kinda hard to tell as he's a very reddish orange.

Well that's just really bloody cool

Welp, looks like the colonies were ready for a mass visit to Earth

Randomhero wrote:

Kurona wrote:Quite a lot of surprising cameos here. Don't know what the lot in the last few panels are about - though I know we'll find out for sure in the full issue - but Rosanna in the crowd protesting? That's... certainly surprising. Is she being retconned into being male in IDW, because I'm pretty sure the colonies left waaaaaaay before Orion Pax's time. At the very least ages before the war which takes place just after Zeta's rule ends.

Talking of Zeta, nice to see he's got a slight redesign which... well, it still kind of screams "I'M THE BAD GUY" but not quite as loudly as before.

Also, the monsterbots protesting? The most violent Autobots in existence? Huh. Who woulda thunk it.

The time frame for the colonies is a bit messy. The knights left like 12 million years ago and Titans left with them supposedly. Then it was said Titans left during the era of the Primes and the Primes left after them supposedly meeting up with their colony Titans on the planets that were chosen to seed. The Prime tribes existed from 12 millions years ago to 9 million years ago and Nova was in charge for 3 millions years after them.

Again, messy

Messy indeed. That whole bit about the thirteen primes uniting Cybertron doesn't really make sense from my recollection. Didn't the thirteen each have his own tribe of Cybertronians separate from one another? Wasn't there then a civil war between them that ended when Galvatron killed Nexus and all the other thirteen left? Does Optimus even know about that? It's strange, but it seems this series can never decide whether the thirteen were good or bad. Nexus wasn't a great guy, and I think it's implied that Onyx wasn't either given that Galvatron was worried about his return.

According to TF wiki Micronus left with his titan, Prion, implying that took place when the primes' scattered after Nexus' death. They say the same thing for Onyx, but that doesn't explain why he left the beast transformers that followed him behind. I dunno, things are weird.

Lost Light is not the only new title coming out from IDW Publishing in the next weeks - as John Barber and Kei Zama join forces for the new Optimus Prime ongoing spinning out of Revolution! Previews World has an interview with ex-editor still-writer and continuity master Barber, which you can read in full here, and snippers are copied below. Optimus Prime as statesman and military leader..?

John Barber: Not to give anything away, but as Revolution starts, Optimus is in a fairly antagonistic relationship with ... well, almost everybody. He’s come to Earth and said the whole planet is going to be part of Cybertron’s Council of World, without asking if the people of Earth wanted to be in it — or if the people of Cybertron wanted them. He’s doing this because he thinks he’s out of options to protect the Earth — he’s tried fighting evil Cybertronians, tried leaving the place alone. But bringing Earth into Cybertron’s fold is the only thing he hasn’t tried.

In Revolution this comes to a head: there’s a big, dangerous thing happening with Ore-13, which is a form of Energon that’s on Earth, and it looks to G.I. Joe like Optimus is behind it, so the threat becomes immediate. This isn’t a spoiler — Optimus is not behind the problem, and in the process of resolving the complex web of Revolution, alliances are formed and new relationships are established.

So...Optimus still has the goal of bringing Earth into the cosmic community of Cybertron. But who’s with him and who’s against him have shifted a bit.

Vince Brusio: How will Optimus’ origin be relayed in this new series? Is there room for the past? Or is the present too busy to spare time for reflection?

John Barber: The first arc goes full-steam-ahead into the present, but there’s a parallel story in pre-war Cybertron, when he was still Orion Pax, before he became Optimus Prime. It’s important for this series to see why Optimus is doing what he’s doing, what’s motivating his actions. He’s not just taking over, and he’s not just being decisive out of nowhere.

There’s a particular point in his life that we haven’t seen that’s really important to how he became Optimus Prime. He has some regrets — there was a war fought between him and Megatron, and that war lasted four million years and destroyed planets — including Cybertron, and very nearly Earth. And the ultimate goal of both sides was sort of the same — both sides were against an evil and corrupt system that had taken over Cybertron.

The first arc is called “New Cybertron,” so the war — and the events that led to it — weigh on Optimus’ every action.

[...]

Because Optimus made such a bold move in annexing Earth, the story was necessarily going to focus on him — or, at the very least, he becomes the axis on which the story pivots. There’s still a big supporting cast — Soundwave, Arcee, Jazz, Victorion, many others; plus the human contingent — but the shadow of Optimus’ actions is so big they can’t help but be pulled into his gravity. We’ll be seeing Optimus through their eyes.

As for the variant cover for Transformers: Lost Light #1 from IDW Publishing, Ript Apparel have also posted the clean lineart for their Timothy Ninjaink Lim variant for Optimus Prime #1 - with an early version of the writing on the wall (One Shall Stand, instead of final edit Are All One)! Check it out below.

All they had to do to make this cover really work is to put a question mark at the end of the phrase, making it, "Are All One?," which would have been fitting. Someone missed an opportunity to make a cover that might have stuck.

Another first issue of a new series, but not entirely new series, from IDW's take on the Transformers, comes in the shape of Optimus Prime #1 out in the new week! Follow the full preview below, as we continue from the end of Revolution into Reconstruction, and check out our review soon after the issue is released on Wednesday.

Optimus Prime #1
John Barber (w) • Kei Zama (a & c)
REVOLUTION is over—but the danger to Earth is just beginning. As OPTIMUS PRIME pulls Earth into the larger universe, he’s painted a target on Earth… and a new alien incursion begins when a corkscrew shaped craft drills into our world!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
The next evolution of TRANSFORMERS is here!
OPTIMUS PRIME’s past on CYBERTRON haunts his present on Earth!
Amazing artist Kei Zama (Scarlett Witch) makes her debut with veteran writer John Barber (Transformers)!
Variant cover by Sara Pitre-Durocher, Sonny Lieu, and Paul Pope!

So... Who are they?
Any theories?

Darth Zax wrote:So... Who are they?
Any theories?

I want to say, Railspike, Bump,Roulette, Gimlet, Oiler, and Slide. Do I win?

Ebonyleopard wrote:

Darth Zax wrote:So... Who are they?
Any theories?

I want to say, Railspike, Bump,Roulette, Gimlet, Oiler, and Slide. Do I win?

Guess you do, would have never recognized Oiler.
So are these Cimeracons?

Darth Zax wrote:

Ebonyleopard wrote:

Darth Zax wrote:So... Who are they?
Any theories?

I want to say, Railspike, Bump,Roulette, Gimlet, Oiler, and Slide. Do I win?

Guess you do, would have never recognized Oiler.
So are these Cimeracons?

They're all colonists, if anything.

Shot Put wrote:

Darth Zax wrote:

Ebonyleopard wrote:

Darth Zax wrote:So... Who are they?
Any theories?

I want to say, Railspike, Bump,Roulette, Gimlet, Oiler, and Slide. Do I win?

Guess you do, would have never recognized Oiler.
So are these Cimeracons?

They're all colonists, if anything.

Pretty sure they are colonists. With Oiler and Slide being micromasters, I'd say they are Divusians.

And the two beastformers? Likely from Eukaris.

Kurona wrote:And the two beastformers? Likely from Eukaris.

Up to this point the Eukarians have only sported robotic beast modes,
which is why I thought these were Cimeracons.
But yeah, it's more likely they're Eukarians adapting earth modes, since they're with the other colonists.

Thanks to Josh Burcham on Twitter, we have a look at an alternate coloring for one of the Transformers #56 covers, originally drawn by Kei Zama. The original cover features a much grittier look at Optimus Prime and Soundwave that current IDW Optimus Prime ongoing artist Zama will be using, while the alternate coloration features a cleaner yet darker coloration. You can check out the original cover first followed by the alternate one below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below! And stay tuned: Optimus Prime #1 drops this week, so be prepared for our Seibertron.com review!

That cover was for Transformers #56, though, not Optimus Prime.

Shot Put wrote:That cover was for Transformers #56, though, not Optimus Prime.

Holy... wow, thank you for notifying me. I dunno how I missed that. It's been fixed

From comics and entertainment site Comicosity, we have another interview with creators John Barber and Kei Zama about their upcoming (i.e. tomorrow) first book together: Optimus Prime #1! Part of the post-Revolution phase in the IDWverse, Reconstruction, you can find out more about the book below and here, check out the full preview here, and read our review once the book is released.

AL: Based on the cover I can assume Optimus won’t be alone in this series. Can you discuss who will be working with and/or against him in the series?

JB: There’s a big supporting cast. He’s still got a team on Earth—Soundwave is at his side, and we really see what’s going on psychologically betweem them in issue 3. Optimus blackmailed Soundwave to join him back before Revolution, but Soundwave has essentially come over to Optimus’ side pretty completely. How strong the bond is, how deep the trust between Autobot and Decepticon can be, is a big question. There’s a flashback story going on through the first six issues that goes back to Pre-War Cybertron, and we see how Soundwave and Optimus (then called Orion Pax) first met… and how deep the trust and mistrust goes.

Arcee is on Optimus’ side, but she’s a little wary of what he’s doing. She’s been around a long time, and she’s seen a lot of stuff happen, and is worried about Optimus overstepping the boundaries of right and wrong; but she’s really struggling to see if there is a real boundary between those things.

Pyra Magna, who leads the team that combines into Victorion, is becoming more hostile toward Optimus—and really, with good reason. She’s a strong believer in the Primes, and in the meaning of the Matrix of Leadership, which Optimus holds but doesn’t believe is a holy object. Pyra thinks she should have the Matrix, and is disturbed by Optimus’ attitude toward it.

Plus we’ve got some other favorites, Aileron (who’s a new character we introduced in the Transformers series and who had a key role in Revolution), Jetfire, Sky Lynx, Jazz. And a new G.I. Joe team featuring some surprising characters will be on-scene in the first story. Plus, Thundercracker and his dog Buster are still out there somewhere.

One of the big new additions, though, are the Colonist Soldiers—these are Transformers from Cybertron’s colony worlds who are fiercely loyal to Optimus Prime, who see him as a True Prime, a sort of space messiah figure. They’ll follow him anywhere… and Pyra Magna, in particular, is disturbed by that.

[..]

AL: Kei, you’re working with one of the most recognizable characters in pop culture with Optimus Prime. From a design perspective, can you discuss what elements of Prime’s look you are tweaking to make the design your own?

Kei Zama: I’m so honored to be able to draw him. At the same time, I’m feeling pressure to draw a character that’s everyone’s hero.

I’m always trying to draw him to look “heavy.”

In actuality he has big heavy metal body but on top of that he has struggled from pre-war to the current era and is now carrying the future of the Earth and universe—I don’t express him emotionally so much, but try to give just a glimpse of his hidden emotions and aggression.

And I try to draw him as a warrior. Not just with Optimus Prime, though—I usually add many scratches, bullet wounds, and rust on everyone’s body.

AL: Can you discuss the process of giving each Transformer a visual personality? Is it a challenge at times to infuse them with emotion considering facial limitations or vehicle modes, etc.?

KZ: I always think it’s difficult to express their emotions on their face, because head-parts or helmets often cover their features. Then I’m trying to express by gesture and lights/shadows/shadings, not only facial expressions.

I don’t think about alt-modes deeply. Instead of alt-mode, I try to add various personality on the robot mode. In Japan, a lot of robot characters are often drawn handsome or cool. I feel that’s boring, so I try to draw their appearance in various ways. For example, the colonists that entered in Optimus Prime #1 each have an individualistic design. There’s a cute boy, bad looking guy, tough girl, etc. Especially Gimlet, who’s my favorite!

sounds like a good series

Synopsis
REVOLUTION is over—but the danger to Earth is just beginning. As OPTIMUS PRIME pulls Earth into the larger universe, he’s painted a target on Earth… and a new alien incursion begins when a corkscrew shaped craft drills into our world!



Story

What do we have here? A new title from John 'Continuity' Barber? Look at it this way: Revolution is over, Reconstruction is starting, corporate is backing out slightly just for a little bit, and it's time to patch up what's left of crossover events. Enter the same cast, a different title, and a lot of clashing personalities. Welcome back to Earth.



Barber has a penchant, has always had it, to play with story from an entry point. This series is probably the most promisingly enabling of that, with Optimus Prime being narrator and thread, as his personal story bleeds into his formation and current situation, shaping and being shaped by the context and the players around him.



This is true for the flashbacks, in which we see his young idealist law-enforcer self. This is true for when we switch back to the current events, where those ideals are a little shakier, and other people are more likely to call him out on things, from Pyra Magna (more of her please), to Soundwave, and even to his older allies.



For a reader who's followed RID, Transformers, all the crossovers and events, and even before all that, back to earlier stories with red-blue-bot, some of this may feel familiar, sure. But it's an excellent first issue that doesn't compromise its jumping on point in any way. It has enough new stuff to keep regulars in, and enough grounding to bring new audiences along too. That's a win-win for me.

Art

Kei Zama's work on the pages is something to behold. It's not often that an excellent cover artist is also a truly great interior artist, and when it happens, they deserve all the praise they can get. One of the interviews about her cited a number of heavy influences, from Marvel G2 to 2000AD, but I also see some James Raiz in more TF-friendly terms, and it's definitely her own take on sequential narrative, with bold inks and shading to boot.



And if the lines are gritty, and bold, and heavy without crushing the page, Josh Burcham crushes the work with some of the best colours he's produced in his career. If you thought Sins of the Wreckers was good, this goes in a different, even better direction altogether, and the two styles work oh so very well.



With the old style coming back, and a lot of new faces, Tom B. Long has a lot on his lettering plate, but do we really have any doubts that he can make it work, even with new art and busy panels? Not at all. The flow is great, the captions fit, and nothing is sacrificed. Plus, IDW got Paul Pope (with Lovern Kindzierski) to do a variant cover. Sara Pitre Durocher tags the shiz out of graffiti art, regulars Casey Coller, Joana Lafuente, Andrew Griffith are still magnificent, and the Sonny Liew and Tim King are great additions/banes to completists. Nice touch on the UK-variant Zama cover too, with David Garcia Cruz on colours.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

We know this by now: Roberts and the MTMTE Lost Light team work best with the fandom they created, Barber and his rotating titles and teams are in charge of the core mythology, lore, and backbone storylines for the IDW verse. Optimus Prime, in this first issue is very similar to the early RID books I loved so much - internal narration devices included - and yes, while full of stuff, leads directly from the general reader that bought Revolution.



If this is what Reconstruction is going to bring, I'm quite happy to cautiously join in for the ride, and for one, accept our benevolent diplomatic if ego-inflated robotic overlords. And if they look this good doing it, thanks to Zama and Burcham, it's definitely going to be a swish ride for a little while at least, despite the criss-crossing plotlines that the editorial team will have to keep track of (thanks, synergy - we will achieve Total Brand Awareness).

One little detail I enjoyed about the issue is Jetfire being a Decepticon pre-war. You never really saw that whole part of his character after 1985 and... it actually fits in here. His whole deal of being a scientist yet being a big bulky jet built for combat jibes PERFECTLY with what's been built up about the Functionists and the pre-war Decepticon cause in IDW as of late. It's kind of one of those things that should have been obvious to you, but it wasn't and you're glad you got it.

I also really like that they're exploring Earth outside of the usual territories, with Mexico and the Alps showing up in this issue. Let's hear it for global crises not meaning US-based!

I absolutely just adore this issue. More superlatives later as it's almost dinner time.

That said, anyone else catch a slight nod to TF UK #99-100 with the Prime and Outback stuff, only with some fun contrast in their relationship? Of course, maybe this is nothing at all and just happenstance, but it made me chuckle regardless.

The interviews keep on rolling in for John Barber and the whole of IDW's Optimus Prime ongoing. Comic Book Resources were able to snag an interview with Mr. Continuity himself and ask him even more questions about the new ongoing and where it will be headed. You can check out the full interview HERE and catch a sneak peak below. Let us know what you think of this latest interview in the comments section below!

In Prime, you have this unique lead with literally millions of years of history. Will you be digging into that?

We’ll definitely be digging into Optimus Prime’s past. The first arc has a parallel story set before the war — back when Optimus was Orion Pax, a police officer on Cybertron. It’s another view, on another world, in another time, of a lot of the same issues at play in the present day: the relationship of a protector to the protected, and how Optimus/Orion looks at his enemies. Back then, Cybertron was on a downward curve, historically speaking. Orion’s on the precipice of a four-million-year-long war that he winds up being an essential part of.

.....

Optimus tends to have a crew around him. Will that be the case in here? Who can fans expect to see at his side?

Optimus still has a big crew with him. The real difference here is that Optimus’ actions are so big, the people around him can’t help but be pulled into the orbit of what he’s doing. Soundwave is still at his side, and Pyra Magna and the Torchbearers (who form Victorion) are there, but she’s not exactly standing at his side. Arcee is cautious toward him, but in a different way. And Aileron, who was a Colonist who sees Optimus as a space-messiah, has had her worldview shattered a bit. She sees Optimus is just a guy – a big, metal guy – dealing with things as best he can.

But then Optimus brings in a half-dozen new Colonists, all very eager to follow his every word. This decision doesn’t sit well with all of his crew, but it introduces some very obscure faces into the fold – characters like Oiler, Slide, Gimlet, Bump, Midnight Express, and Roulette. Don’t be worried if you don’t know them — nobody else on Optimus’ team knows them, either. But Aileron and Pyra are both colonists themselves, and seeing these hopeful ‘bots willing to lay down their lives for Optimus, right or wrong…well, they get a little uneasy with the situation.

.....

How does bringing in a new artist like Kei change your approach to Optimus and these other characters?

When I thought about what a comic drawn by her would look like, it was like a whole new approach to the Transformers opened up. I mean, I’ve been writing these characters for a while, and I’m always super-excited to get to do this stuff, but the idea of Kei’s vision of the characters, of the way she’d draw G.I. Joe characters, and how she’d approach all this…it seemed like such an exciting idea.

Carlos Guzman, our editor, didn’t take too much convincing, and he brought in Josh Burcham to color and Josh has brought a very unique, very cool color palette. The book has an amazingly distinct look to it. It doesn’t feel like anything else out there, which is amazing.

Trying to delete this....

Via the usual iTunes screenshot uploads, we have an early look at the next issue of the new IDW Publishing Transformers ongoing series - Optimus Prime #2 - in which we meet the newcomers to Earth in their corkscrew ship. Check the three pages mirrored out below!

NEW CYBERTRON! A massive corkscrew-shaped space ship has drilled into Earth, bringing with it a surprising disruption to OPTIMUS PRIME's plans. Meanwhile—ARCEE fields a dangerous offer that may be too good to resist!

Slag it, I read that entire preview parsing his name as "Rum Mage" and not the blatent "Rummage" Stupid, sneaky, tricky IDW and their tricks. And pulling a Bait and Switch by showing us the years-long teased Quintesson ship and then giving us the Junkions.

Corkscrew ship? isn't that the same kinda ship that was in the original animated movie

Whew, the art is not the best. I can't tell what's happening half the time. Also, did Wreck-Gar just rip his own head off to prove a point?

But truly, I'm hoping that Wreck-Gar eventually could be the Deadpool of this universe: Breaking the fourth wall whenever possible and being rather insane comic relief.

#Sideways# wrote:Whew, the art is not the best. I can't tell what's happening half the time. Also, did Wreck-Gar just rip his own head off to prove a point?

But truly, I'm hoping that Wreck-Gar eventually could be the Deadpool of this universe: Breaking the fourth wall whenever possible and being rather insane comic relief.

I'm not sure, but I think the problem might be the coloring rather than the line work. There's barely any contrast between shades. Everything has the same lighting despite being different colors. This isn't so much a problem with characters who aren't Junkions. The other Autobots are only made up of one or two primary colors anyway.

#Sideways# wrote:I'm hoping that Wreck-Gar eventually could be the Deadpool of this universe: Breaking the fourth wall whenever possible and being rather insane comic relief.

I kinda agree, given the vibe I'm getting from him.

Via another surprising choice for a reveal, we have the IDW Publishing Transformers Optimus Prime #2 full issue preview. The images come courtesy of comics website Comic Crusaders, and can be seen below - head back to Seibertron.com for our review once the book is out next week!

NEW CYBERTRON! A massive corkscrew-shaped space ship has drilled into Earth, bringing with it a surprising disruption to OPTIMUS PRIME’s plans. Meanwhile—ARCEE fields a dangerous offer that may be too good to resist!

Optimus Prime #2
John Barber (w) • Kei Zama (a & c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

It becomes even better if you read it in Eric's voice.

I don't know.....compared from Issue #1 to this......the art style is just cluttered, there's no better word for it. There's too much crammed into every panel, too much going on to follow the narrative without multiple re-readings, etc. If it continues this way, I may just unsubscribe from the book and catch up with it on the wiki.

Desiiiiiiiiiigns!





Via: http://steelandstarlight.com/post/15519 ... dw-optimus

Inked preview pages, too - pre Burchaming.

http://steelandstarlight.com/post/15519 ... -2-preview

Let's start the new year with some contemplation and good art, with two new incentive covers for upcoming issues of IDW Publishing Transformers comics - first up, Optimus Prime #3's retailer incentive cover by Joana Lafuente, with Earth, Optimus and a lot of spaaace. Check it out below via Previews World!

Optimus Prime #3
John Barber (w) • Kei Zama (a & c)
An uneasy peace between Optimus Prime and the newly arrived Junkions is threatened by Soundwave’s discovery within their massive ship…
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bounti76 wrote:I don't know.....compared from Issue #1 to this......the art style is just cluttered, there's no better word for it. There's too much crammed into every panel, too much going on to follow the narrative without multiple re-readings, etc. If it continues this way, I may just unsubscribe from the book and catch up with it on the wiki.

I'm in a similar situation with the art, it feels cluttered as you said, and not as clear as I'd like to see. it's not bad, but it feels...unrefined

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:I don't know.....compared from Issue #1 to this......the art style is just cluttered, there's no better word for it. There's too much crammed into every panel, too much going on to follow the narrative without multiple re-readings, etc. If it continues this way, I may just unsubscribe from the book and catch up with it on the wiki.

I'm in a similar situation with the art, it feels cluttered as you said, and not as clear as I'd like to see. it's not bad, but it feels...unrefined

Disagree, review coming up soon.

Synopsis
NEW CYBERTRON! A massive corkscrew-shaped space ship has drilled into Earth, bringing with it a surprising disruption to OPTIMUS PRIME’s plans. Meanwhile—ARCEE fields a dangerous offer that may be too good to resist!



Story

A giant corkscrew spaceship lands in the Alps. Robots with apparently, arguably, perhaps not some screws loose pop out of it. Hilarity and hijinks (your mileage may vary) ensue. And we bring back a lot of loose threads from a long, long, long time ago in this new issue of Optimus Prime. Resolutions? No, just dangling. Like bait.



What I really enjoy about the two new characters we encounter - Junkions Rum-Maj and Wreck-Gar - is that while the latter carries across a lot of his canonical characterisation, they both also sport some sinister undertones to their easily dismissed comedy relief. Much like charming cannibalistic psychologists, perhaps, but with Eric Idle's voice stuck in your head.



A point of contention, elsewhere at least, is the inclusion of GI Joe teams in the book. But this is the status of the universe, and the book does some more steps towards acknowledging the wider status of it all. Not just American settings, not just American teams, not just Americans. This feels part of that pseudo-post-colonial shift that started way back when with the colonies being rediscovered.



John Barber is doing pretty much what he wants, now that he no longer has the editorial shackles, and he can delve into older Transformers universe, both within and outside of IDW's. This is some entertaining, and successfully so, storytelling with good characters.

Art

I'll admit, I echoed some sentiments I've seen around about Kei Zama's art in this starting to look a bit more cluttered than the first issue, covers or fan art. My initial worries, however, did not last long. There may be a couple of panels which sport heavier inks (or feel that way) but they never jar with the spot-on designs and backgrounds.



That is also thanks to Josh Burcham's colour wizardry, marrying the dark linework of Zama's layouts with his muted (yet somehow still vibrant - see? wizard) palette; I could not have thought of a better choice of team for any selection of Junkions. Where there might've been the risk of too dark, colours light it up. Done.



The fears I had about the art were also a little in the lettering, as lots of dialogue means lots of ballooning, means a lot of stuff in the same panel - but I should've trusted Tom B. Long, of course. Both dialogue and sound effects work, and Wreck-Gar's speech pattern is well conveyed visually too. As for covers, we've seen the main Zama/Burcham one, and I spotlighted the Casey Coller/Joana Lafuente variant in the preview. We also have another Zoner piece, featuring Arcee, and thumbnailed with this review, the Andrew Griffith/Josh Perez Rum-Maj centrepiece. Admire them all.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

The issue is, overall, thoroughly enjoyable, much more than I initially feared I would feel about the book, from the preview. My biggest misgivings were not about the story as much as the art - as I explain above - but they were easily assuaged once you take in the whole story. There is no clutter. There is no lasting distraction.



What else does it bring, as well as ensuring that the mythos goes forward? Re-evaluation of both Primacy and Monstrosity, old Spotlights and -ations, Budiansky references, G1 references, early days of IDW's Robots in Disguise, i.e. Barber's best output. Until now. This is a series worth keeping at hand and in mind, and it does an excellent job of using those references as complementary, not essential.

Loving the story, but the art is still killing me.

I have trouble telling what's going on one panel to the next.

Not feeling this at all.