Transformers '84: Secrets & Lies Mini-Series Revealed with Interview with Editor David Mariotte
Thursday, January 23rd, 2020 6:07PM CST
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Thanks to Hasbro Pulse, we have news that there is a new mini-series coming from IDW Publishing, a story that will continue on after last year's Transformers '84 #0, which you can purchase from the Seibertron Store! The series will pick up multiple plot threads developed in Transformers '84 #0, and will examine Cybertron during the original Marvel comic run while the main Autobots and Decepticons are asleep on Earth.
Read up below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!
Behind the Scenes of Transformers ’84 Comic Book Miniseries
To celebrate the debut issue of Transformers '84 Comic Book Miniseries SECRETS & LIES, we sat down with David Mariotte; editor on this project.
TELL US ABOUT THE NEW SERIES. WHEN DOES IT HIT SHELVES?
Transformers '84: Secrets & Lies is a prequel to the original run of Transformers comics from 1984. The first issue of this 4-part miniseries will be available April 1st 2020. A little background; in the first five pages of the classic 1984 first issue, Bill Mantlo, Ralph Macchio, and the artists established the Cybertronian Civil War, the Autobots and Decepticons, why Cybertron the planet is out of its orbit hurtling through space. Then, almost immediately, the main cast leaves Cybertron and crashes into Earth. All that happens in about nine pages and on page 10, they wake up in 1984. This new Secrets and Lies series covers what else was happening on Cybertron before the Ark launched, after the Ark launched, and before the Autobots and Decepticons woke up on earth.
HOW DID THIS MINISERIES COME ABOUT?
Simon Furman has written Transformers comics for decades and when we at IDW were discussing doing a book for the franchise's 35th anniversary in 2019, Simon was the obvious choice to write it. What that book ended up being, Transformers '84 #0, was a phenomenal issue tying the events of the first U.S. comic original story to the first U.K. comic original story and fleshing out this "lost period" of the past. That book did very well and it was so great to work with Simon, Guido Guidi, and John-Paul Bove (who had previously worked together on Transformers: Regeneration One, a continuation of the original series) that we asked them if they wanted to play in the past some more and flesh out some of the threads that Simon had planted in the #0 issue.
Transformers 84 - Secrets & Lies #1 - Cover B by Casey W. Coller - B&W
Transformers 84 - Secrets & Lies #1 - Cover B by Casey W. Coller - Color
Transformers 84 - Secrets & Lies #1 - Cover RI-A by Nick Roche - B&W
WHERE DOES THE STORY PICK UP AND HOW DOES IT CONNECT TO TRANSFORMERS LORE
This story really happens around the events of Transformers #1. Parts of it take place before the Ark launched. Parts of it take place after, but before the Autobots and Decepticons woke up. There are a number of other classic issues that contribute to the overall story (Transformers #7, #8, #11 and the Transformers '84 #0 all come to mind), so if you've read those, you'll be really excited to see all the little references and ways they helped build the story. However, if you never have gotten into that first comic continuity, you'll pick up everything because it's a smart story with plenty of explanation. And, for readers who might just think "that's familiar, but I couldn't place it", Simon's going to provide a Reader's Guide of annotations every issue.
WHAT IS THE BASIC STORY ARC FOR THIS MINISERIES?
The basic story arc is that Optimus Prime has a plan to lead Megatron and other high-ranking Decepticons off of Cybertron to try to end the war. And, as it turns out, that works out just fine for Shockwave, who's new theory is that the reason the Decepticons can't win is Megatron's too caught up in fighting so he's ignoring the way to win. There's some intrigue around that as the Autobots and Decepticons head off of Cybertron to crash on Earth and those who are left behind start making new plans for Cybertron's future. Plus, the Dinobots show up!
Transformers 84 - Secrets & Lies #2 - Cover A by Guido Guidi - Color
Transformers 84 - Secrets & Lies #2 - Cover RI by Nick Roche - B&W
Transformers 84 - Secrets & Lies #3 - Cover A by Guido Guidi - Color
Transformers 84 - Secrets & Lies #3 - Cover RI by Nick Roche - B&W
Transformers 84 - Secrets & Lies #4 - Cover A by Guido Guidi - Color
Transformers ‘84: Secrets and Lies #1 (of 4))
Simon Furman returns! The beloved writer, accompanied by the equally accomplished Guido Guidi and John-Paul Bove, return to tell a new tale in the original Transformers comic universe, hot off the heels of the successful Transformers ’84 #0 one-shot! As the Cybertronian Civil War rages, Decepticon scientist Shockwave has encountered a new obstacle to the Decepticon’s victory and subjugation of the planet: an obstacle called... Megatron!
Cover A: Guido Guidi
Cover B: Casey W. Coller
Cover RI-A: Nick Roche (10-copy Retailer Incentive)
Cover RI-B: Geoff Senior (25-copy Retailer Incentive)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: April 2020]
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Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on January 23rd, 2020 @ 6:09pm CST
Posted by Archforce on January 23rd, 2020 @ 6:46pm CST
Posted by Seibertron on January 23rd, 2020 @ 7:17pm CST
Curious how Jetfire will be in the story since Shockwave built Jetfire and the Constructicons on Earth with help from the Creation Matrix. Maybe they retcon that his body was rebuilt, or reconstructed, or something, which I'm OK with. Just hope Furman didn't forget that Jetfire's origin was different in the comics than in the cartoon.
Posted by Sabrblade on January 23rd, 2020 @ 7:37pm CST
Posted by Seibertron on January 23rd, 2020 @ 7:48pm CST
Sabrblade wrote:What if the Jetfire thing is actually a flash forward glimpse of the future set during the Underbase Saga in which Jetfire is retroactively declared to have been killed off by Starscream after all, since he was originally among the survivors of that saga, but never appeared again afterward, with this retcon showing that Starscream ultimately did kill him off panel with our merely seeing it now for the first time ever?
I don't think Blaster's letter page mention in the UK comics makes it so that Jetfire lives. He was pretty clearly destroyed by Starscream, along with all of the other Transformers. Basically everyone that wasn't tied to an organic died (Targetmasters, Headmasters, Pretenders, and Powermasters).
Posted by PhunkJunkion on January 23rd, 2020 @ 8:39pm CST
Posted by Sabrblade on January 23rd, 2020 @ 8:44pm CST
Ah, see, that's my bad. I didn't read Marvel Jetfire's TFWiki entry closely enough and completely missed its mentioning Jetfire's death, having forgotten all about Starscream blasting Jetfire after he blasted the Seacons.Seibertron wrote:Sabrblade wrote:What if the Jetfire thing is actually a flash forward glimpse of the future set during the Underbase Saga in which Jetfire is retroactively declared to have been killed off by Starscream after all, since he was originally among the survivors of that saga, but never appeared again afterward, with this retcon showing that Starscream ultimately did kill him off panel with our merely seeing it now for the first time ever?
I don't think Blaster's letter page mention in the UK comics makes it so that Jetfire lives. He was pretty clearly destroyed by Starscream, along with all of the other Transformers. Basically everyone that wasn't tied to an organic died (Targetmasters, Headmasters, Pretenders, and Powermasters).
Posted by Bumblevivisector on January 24th, 2020 @ 12:42am CST
Sabrblade wrote:Ah, see, that's my bad. I didn't read Marvel Jetfire's TFWiki entry closely enough and completely missed its mentioning Jetfire's death, having forgotten all about Starscream blasting Jetfire after he blasted the Seacons.Seibertron wrote:Sabrblade wrote:What if the Jetfire thing is actually a flash forward glimpse of the future set during the Underbase Saga in which Jetfire is retroactively declared to have been killed off by Starscream after all, since he was originally among the survivors of that saga, but never appeared again afterward, with this retcon showing that Starscream ultimately did kill him off panel with our merely seeing it now for the first time ever?
I don't think Blaster's letter page mention in the UK comics makes it so that Jetfire lives. He was pretty clearly destroyed by Starscream, along with all of the other Transformers. Basically everyone that wasn't tied to an organic died (Targetmasters, Headmasters, Pretenders, and Powermasters).
Another possibility just occurred to me...maybe they're finally playing off the character's dual names and making Skyfire a separate character who was friends with Starscream back on Cybertron like in the cartoon, then betrayed and killed by him. Then Shockwave had a copy of Skyfire's schematics and based Jetfire's design on them in '85 on Earth. That kind of retcon would make a suitable secret/lie, and wouldn't be too far off in spirit from how Shockwave appeared to be building the Coneheads as part of his new generation of Seekers in the Blackrock plant, but never brought those to life, and then the actual trio showed up back on present-day Cybertron before taking the spacebridge to Earth in US #21.
Posted by serre prime on January 24th, 2020 @ 1:31am CST
Posted by leokearon on January 24th, 2020 @ 2:25am CST
Posted by ScottyP on January 24th, 2020 @ 7:28am CST
Probably worth checking if Big Bang can help you out https://bigbangcomics.ie/leokearon wrote:Missed out on #0 and nowhere seels it to Irealnd cheap. Hopefully when this collections #0 will be included
Posted by leokearon on January 24th, 2020 @ 10:39am CST
ScottyP wrote:Probably worth checking if Big Bang can help you out https://bigbangcomics.ie/leokearon wrote:Missed out on #0 and nowhere seels it to Irealnd cheap. Hopefully when this collections #0 will be included
Sadly they only got a select number of #0 and quickly sold out.
Posted by Seibertron on January 24th, 2020 @ 2:19pm CST
Bumblevivisector wrote:... and wouldn't be too far off in spirit from how Shockwave appeared to be building the Coneheads as part of his new generation of Seekers in the Blackrock plant
What issue did that happen in? I don't remember that. Would like to go look it up for a refresher!
Posted by Rodimus Prime on January 24th, 2020 @ 4:48pm CST
Issues 11 and 12.Seibertron wrote:Bumblevivisector wrote:... and wouldn't be too far off in spirit from how Shockwave appeared to be building the Coneheads as part of his new generation of Seekers in the Blackrock plant
What issue did that happen in? I don't remember that. Would like to go look it up for a refresher!
I'm also looking forward to this miniseries, I just hope Geoff Senior stays far away from it.
Posted by sto_vo_kor_2000 on January 24th, 2020 @ 10:26pm CST
Seibertron wrote:Sabrblade wrote:What if the Jetfire thing is actually a flash forward glimpse of the future set during the Underbase Saga in which Jetfire is retroactively declared to have been killed off by Starscream after all, since he was originally among the survivors of that saga, but never appeared again afterward, with this retcon showing that Starscream ultimately did kill him off panel with our merely seeing it now for the first time ever?
I don't think Blaster's letter page mention in the UK comics makes it so that Jetfire lives. He was pretty clearly destroyed by Starscream, along with all of the other Transformers. Basically everyone that wasn't tied to an organic died (Targetmasters, Headmasters, Pretenders, and Powermasters).
You forget that Blaster was also “killed” by Underbase Starscream and he returned
Not Jazz ,Goldbug and Grimlock were also “killed”... in the Marvel Continuity death meant next nothing
Also, according to Tfwiki, Blasters letter page listed Jetfire among the survivors
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Jetfire_(G1)
Posted by Sabrblade on January 24th, 2020 @ 10:38pm CST
That's what he was talking about. He said Blaster's letter page shouldn't be regarded the same as the actual comic itself, which did unambiguously show Starscream blasting Jetfire. The only reason Ryan mentioned this is because I made a mistake in overlooking the mention of Jetfire's on-panel demise.sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:Seibertron wrote:Sabrblade wrote:What if the Jetfire thing is actually a flash forward glimpse of the future set during the Underbase Saga in which Jetfire is retroactively declared to have been killed off by Starscream after all, since he was originally among the survivors of that saga, but never appeared again afterward, with this retcon showing that Starscream ultimately did kill him off panel with our merely seeing it now for the first time ever?
I don't think Blaster's letter page mention in the UK comics makes it so that Jetfire lives. He was pretty clearly destroyed by Starscream, along with all of the other Transformers. Basically everyone that wasn't tied to an organic died (Targetmasters, Headmasters, Pretenders, and Powermasters).
You forget that Blaster was also “killed” by Underbase Starscream and he returned
Not Jazz ,Goldbug and Grimlock were also “killed”... in the Marvel Continuity death meant next nothing
Also, according to Tfwiki, Blasters letter page listed Jetfire among the survivors
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Jetfire_(G1)
Jazz, Goldbug, and Grimlock all got dedicated on-panel restorations from their deaths in the Underbase Saga, so they're a special case. Jetfire never got any such treatment.
Posted by Archforce on January 24th, 2020 @ 10:50pm CST
Posted by Sabrblade on January 24th, 2020 @ 10:54pm CST
A number of Underbase victims were. The time skip at the beginning of that series allowed for some things to happen off-panel in the meantime between that series and the original.Archforce wrote:Jetfire was in Regeneration One in a non-zombie capacity, wasn't he?
Posted by sto_vo_kor_2000 on January 25th, 2020 @ 1:51am CST
Sabrblade wrote:That's what he was talking about. He said Blaster's letter page shouldn't be regarded the same as the actual comic itself, which did unambiguously show Starscream blasting Jetfire. The only reason Ryan mentioned this is because I made a mistake in overlooking the mention of Jetfire's on-panel demise.sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:Seibertron wrote:Sabrblade wrote:What if the Jetfire thing is actually a flash forward glimpse of the future set during the Underbase Saga in which Jetfire is retroactively declared to have been killed off by Starscream after all, since he was originally among the survivors of that saga, but never appeared again afterward, with this retcon showing that Starscream ultimately did kill him off panel with our merely seeing it now for the first time ever?
I don't think Blaster's letter page mention in the UK comics makes it so that Jetfire lives. He was pretty clearly destroyed by Starscream, along with all of the other Transformers. Basically everyone that wasn't tied to an organic died (Targetmasters, Headmasters, Pretenders, and Powermasters).
You forget that Blaster was also “killed” by Underbase Starscream and he returned
Not Jazz ,Goldbug and Grimlock were also “killed”... in the Marvel Continuity death meant next nothing
Also, according to Tfwiki, Blasters letter page listed Jetfire among the survivors
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Jetfire_(G1)
Jazz, Goldbug, and Grimlock all got dedicated on-panel restorations from their deaths in the Underbase Saga, so they're a special case. Jetfire never got any such treatment.
Jazz and the others got “ dedicated restorations”....and your point being?
TD Death just wasn’t Permanent in the Marvel Continuity, Resurrections were pretty much an issue of resources and technology, or the Occasional special energy/device and Time, And you were proposing a “flash forward“ weren’t you?Its very likely Jetfire was/could be restored in the years after the underbase event
Do you recall or did you read RegenOne?Jetfire was featured there and in very good health
Posted by Sabrblade on January 25th, 2020 @ 9:18am CST
My point being that because they did and Jetfire didn't, Jetfire was indeed taken out of commission by Starscream during the Underbase Saga and remained that way for the rest of the Marvel G1 comic's run, sequel series notwithstanding.sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:Jazz and the others got “ dedicated restorations”....and your point being?
And none of which were applied to Jetfire following his being taken offline in the Underbase Saga in the main Marvel G1 comic (again, sequel series notwithstanding because me and Ryan were never talking about any sequel series, only the main Marvel G1 series).sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:TD Death just wasn’t Permanent in the Marvel Continuity, Resurrections were pretty much an issue of resources and technology, or the Occasional special energy/device and Time,
My proposal was for a flash forward to a time set during the Underbase Saga, not after it, since the present time of this new Secrets & Lies series will be set before the Ark's occupants wake up on Earth in 1984.sto_vo_kor_2000 wrote:And you were proposing a “flash forward“ weren’t you?Its very likely Jetfire was/could be restored in the years after the underbase event
Do you recall or did you read RegenOne?Jetfire was featured there and in very good health
Besides, as I stated, my proposal was based on misremembered and misread information anyway, so my proposal doesn't work.
But here's a new proposal. Seeing as the "Starscream blasting Jetfire" artwork is from a cover and those don't always accurately reflect the contents of the issue's story, suppose that the art isn't actually depicting anything that will be seen in Secrets & Lies at all, but is instead merely one of those fanwanky "Here's some Transformers art that might remind you of something from back in 1984, guys!" covers, which is entirely possible.
Posted by sto_vo_kor_2000 on January 25th, 2020 @ 10:41am CST
Sabrblade wrote:And none of which were applied to Jetfire following his being taken offline in the Underbase Saga in the main Marvel G1 comic (again, sequel series notwithstanding because me and Ryan were never talking about any sequel series, only the main Marvel G1 series).
Time was the key word
Sure it didn’t happen within the Marvel partnership, but we both know that given Marvel writers handling of deaths it’s certainly possible he could have been repaired given the right amount of time
My proposal was for a flash forward to a time set during the Underbase Saga, not after it, since the present time of this new Secrets & Lies series will be set before the Ark's occupants wake up on Earth in 1984.
Besides, as I stated, my proposal was based on misremembered and misread information anyway, so my proposal doesn't work.
But here's a new proposal. Seeing as the "Starscream blasting Jetfire" artwork is from a cover and those don't always accurately reflect the contents of the issue's story, suppose that the art isn't actually depicting anything that will be seen in Secrets & Lies at all, but is instead merely one of those fanwanky "Here's some Transformers art that might remind you of something from back in 1984, guys!" covers, which is entirely possible.
Sorry I misunderstood you were original proposal, didn’t realize you were suggesting it take place inside or just after the under base saga, by the way nice to Converse with you again
Posted by Cyberstrike on January 25th, 2020 @ 8:40pm CST
EFFING.
PASS.
I'm sorry but IMHO TF'84 #0 was the worst TF comics I've ever read. All it did was piss on the original series and so stupid that it was insulting. I generally don't like prequels in general because they all become just a continuity checklist in the end and why would I want to waste anymore more money and time on a damn prequel to a series 35 years old about stuff that I could look up on TF Wiki?
Otherwise all this is just a cynical cash grab because IDWV2 isn't working out like they hoped and so they they hope that by bringing in Furman do a prequel to the original Marvel US/UK series (which is something IDW should just stop messing with it's already a convoluted mess without a prequel and/or sequel) to get people to buy their TF comics when they could use the resources to try and make the IDWV2 comics you know better by hiring better writers and artists.
If Furman was trying to redeem himself after TFR1 then he should do a Generation 2 maxi series and then MAYBE I would buy it because that is the ONLY Marvel series that needs a proper ending, then again maybe Furman should just stay away from the Transformers now of days since all he seems to do is piss on his legacy.
Posted by steve2275 on January 25th, 2020 @ 10:17pm CST
Posted by partholon on January 29th, 2020 @ 8:47pm CST
It was cute for a one shot or a flashback in a comic but it's bloody ugly lookin for a full mini.
I wast thrilled with how prime was portrayed in 84 but there's a lot of fun to be had in the period alluded to and I do like the g1 set up either way I'm delighted to get more furman.
Posted by Rodimus Prime on March 13th, 2020 @ 12:45am CDT
As for the issues themselves, the cover of issue 1 featuring Starscream and Jetfire seems to have been copied/ripped off the original Marvel issue 49, where Megatron stands over Optimus after blasting him. It was part of the Underbase Saga, but Optimus got away at the end after launching the Underbase into space. Is it just ironic, a pure coincidence, or does it have to do with Starscream during the return of the Underbase, like it was speculated?
As for issue 2, I wonder if they will just elaborate on the fight between Shockwave and the Dinobots, considering Shockwave followed the Ark to Earth and the Dinobots were already on the Ark in stasis, they just had dino bodies built for them. We already know the main points and outcome of the battle. Unless there was something else between them from before?
The 3rd issue with Star Saber intrigues me, because he never showed up in the original comics, and since his sword shows a reflection of Straxus, I wonder if he's responsible for taking Star Saber out back in the day. Intriguing.
As for the black and white cover, I'm glad to see Max and Magnus together, and am I the only one who thinks Thunderwing's face looks just like the Hobgoblin with that maniacal laugh?
Posted by ScottyP on July 14th, 2020 @ 3:39pm CDT
A Review of Transformers '84: Secrets and Lies #1
Minor/Contextual Spoilers Within
Good luck not reading this in Counterpunch's voice. You know what I mean.
It's likely been said somewhere that the business of comic books is built on habits. There's the habit of going to your local comic shop on Wednesdays, the habit of ordering products a couple months ahead of time on the second-to-last Friday of the month, and of course the habit of actually reading the books.
The events of 2020 have shattered a great deal of these habits for numerous readers and many are still getting back into the swing of things where possible. We've fallen out of a habit here at Seibertron.com too: reviewing Transformers comics. With our apologies for the absence, let's get back to business with a review of Transformers '84: Secrets and Lies #1, out this Wednesday, July 15th.
Our fandom must have bought a plenty profitable amount of last August's Transformers '84 #0, because not just one follow-up issue is upon us. This expansion of the early stages of the old Marvel G1 Transformers story continues on with the staple tradition of Transformers comics - a four-issue limited series. In many ways this first issue feels like the second, with the narration not missing a beat after Punch's guided tour through issue 0. Counterpunch takes the narrator role this time around, providing a not subtly taken opportunity to expand on the character. Even colorist John-Paul Bove's choice to add in G2 Color Changer Deluge (not to be confused with G2 Aquaspeeder Deluge - this has been your toy trivia for this comic review) and a yellow Hook adds a layer to something Counterpunch basically tells you himself anyway, which is that he's not a reliable narrator. It works really well and lends a coherency to the proceedings as the plot zigs and zags through small cracks in previously established works. The high-level plot and direction here are marvelously executed.
Readers not familiar with Marvel G1 will probably find plenty to enjoy on a quick read, but a deep-dive appreciation will be reserved for those familiar with the G1 books, and by that I mean both Marvel's US and UK output. While this slots into a chronologically similar position as issue 0, the plot plays with events that occur a bit after that first handful (or eight-full depending on your location) of original issues. Extra pages of notes by Simon Furman are provided at the end of the issue that really help guide the way, and these are very much appreciated.
A sub-plot of the story features the Dinobots (or Dynobots in this case since it's pre-Earth) in conflict with Skyfire and Shockwave. The former is novel but the latter is, to be frank, exhausted. I love the Dinobots but found myself getting a sense of déjà vu during this issue. G1, Dreamwave and IDW 1.0 incarnations of the characters feel like they're getting blended together here in a way that sadly feels stale in just their particular case. The story features some very fun moments and interactions, but just feels like the same thing seen before in a different setting. Guido Guidi took this given opportunity to provide some very cool new Cybertronian alt-modes for Slag, Sludge and Snarl, so I can't be too upset about this when all's said and done.
Guidi absolutely nails the line art, capturing the spirit of a book that knew it had to tell a story while also selling toys to kids. There's a grandeur to some of the larger panels that makes the Transformers look to be "more than meets the eye" while panels such as Dirge's toy accurate-ish transformation shown just above hit the "robots in disguise" beat that brand managers must crave. John-Paul Bove's colors are mostly good throughout but on the digital copy there were times the attempted replication of 1980s Marvel's cheapo coloring processes just didn't land for me. While the effort's appreciated, maybe some of those texturing details are better left in the past, and I think Bove's a talented enough colorist to convey a vintage look without having to rely on those stylistic callbacks. Letters are handled by now-regular Jake M. Wood, with careful attention paid to separation in narration and dialogue that keeps the reading experience comfortable. Kudos are also in order for the editorial team of David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and Riley Farmer for making space for the aforementioned continuity notes supplied by Furman, as these really help the experience and don't make me feel like I need to go start another re-read of hundreds of older comics.
On covers there are a plethora of options, with the more readily available "A" cover featuring more work by Guido Guidi while the "B" cover has Casey Coller showing off his G1-style chops featuring colors by Bove. The dynamic (and sorely missed on interiors!) duo of Nick Roche and Josh Burcham supply the 10-copy retailer incentive cover, which is featured in this review's news story thumbnail image. Things don't stop there, as readers that visit shops who order large numbers of copies may be able to snag a 25-copy incentive cover featuring the Dinobots with art by Transformers legend Geoff Senior and colors by, well, Transformers legend Josh Burcham. There were several variant retailer and convention exclusive covers shown in the sample file distributed by IDW to Seibertron.com and other press outlets, however we do not have details on how, when, or even if these will be released at this time. As always, you can also find full credits for the issue in our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers '84: Secrets and Lies #1.
One word comes to mind that describes this comic: fanservice. Fans of Marvel G1 will feel the love here, as Simon Furman has taken great care to have fun while also not totally wrecking established continuity. The narrator's slightly unreliable slant helps give an opportunity to hand-wave any incongruity while also building up the character in entertaining fashion.
I had a lot of fun reading this book and you probably will too. My subjective opinion is pretty simple: if you like Transformers just go buy a copy, read it while messing around with G1 Dirge or something after school/work/whatever, and just enjoy the nostalgic ride. A more objective analysis is factored into the score below, mostly flavored by all those positive thoughts yet weighed down a bit by a slightly derivative Dinobots/Shockwave sub-plot and '80s Marvel color textures that need to be retired.
.
out of
This issue's out today, so pick it up on the Seibertron.com eBay store or at your local shop, check here to see if you have one nearby and remember to check first for special hours or restrictions related to public health matters.
Posted by partholon on July 15th, 2020 @ 12:15pm CDT
I didn't know this was out today so it'll be off to the lcs tomorrow to pick it up for me.
Posted by 1984forever on July 15th, 2020 @ 1:19pm CDT
Posted by Ratbat on August 4th, 2020 @ 2:24pm CDT
On February 16, 2021--exactly one year later--the namesake trade paperback is scheduled to be released.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on August 11th, 2020 @ 6:49pm CDT
Check out the preview pages below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!
Posted by Sabrblade on August 11th, 2020 @ 6:54pm CDT
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on August 11th, 2020 @ 6:57pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:Oh, look. Another TFTM quote. How droll.
I almost called that out, but i didn't know if that was initially in the comic that that scene was in
Posted by Ultra Markus on August 11th, 2020 @ 10:23pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:Oh, look. Another TFTM quote. How droll.
i guess we shouldnt expect anything different
Posted by Rodimus Prime on August 11th, 2020 @ 11:25pm CDT
Posted by TheForgottenTaxi on August 12th, 2020 @ 10:24am CDT
Posted by Big Grim on August 12th, 2020 @ 12:41pm CDT
Posted by partholon on August 12th, 2020 @ 2:16pm CDT
whens this due out, this week or next?
Posted by partholon on August 25th, 2020 @ 9:35am CDT
its a good read.
the art still bugs me. i really wish they'd drop the faux dot matrix style and let guido go back to a more modern style. some of this is practically delbo-esque so if your gonna go like that just hire jose. when you look at the utter tumblr style trash getting better treatment on the main book its frustrating in the extreme to see a genuinely competant artists work suffer under this editorial direction.
but i gotta say storywise it covers an angle i didnt think of. IDW HAVE no savage land in their universe so the original G1 marvel version of events for the intro to the dinos CANT happen in an IDW book. it still sticks to the guts of it but theres enough different to make this worth a buy and effectively blend it with what came later in the reprints and regeneration 1 .
and theres lovely nods of the head to early lore building stuff like the mind bank which gave us tracks hoist and co.
i did smile at the sheer joy of straxus getting his smelting pool though. that was done with just the right level of wry humour.
this and the terminator crossover (for all its flaws) are the only thing worth getting IMO.
Posted by Rodimus Prime on August 29th, 2020 @ 7:31pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on August 29th, 2020 @ 11:15pm CDT
Of course, he's a bad guy. Bad guys can't have permanent wins like that.Rodimus Prime wrote:(Throughout G1 and IDW, he seems to be good at that. But it's never permanent.)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on August 31st, 2020 @ 4:07am CDT
You have to admit, this whole Shockwave-runs-things-behind-the-scenes idea is compelling, because I think most fans would agree that he made a much better leader than Megatron. If he actually got to be in charge, the Decepticons might actually have won the war. Shockwave's intellect and planning would have made up for most if not all of the Decepticon troops' shortcomings. I mean, he actually did it in IDW, even if it took him literally the length of the Transformers' existence to do it.Sabrblade wrote:Of course, he's a bad guy. Bad guys can't have permanent wins like that.Rodimus Prime wrote:(Throughout G1 and IDW, he seems to be good at that. But it's never permanent.)
As for G1, I never understood why he acquiesced to both Ratbat and Scorponok after Megatron took his leap off a short bridge so to speak. He was more effective than both of them. It was a pure freak occurrence and a lucky shot that Maximus was able to damage him and knock him out of space. Had he been the actual leader, he would have remained on the island base and perhaps send Scorponok out to deal with Maximus.
Posted by Sabrblade on August 31st, 2020 @ 9:57am CDT
Scorponok wasn't there. He was the leader of his own separate crew unaffiliated with Shockwave and Ratbat at the time. The two teams of Decepticons wouldn't join together until much later during The Underbase Saga.Rodimus Prime wrote:As for G1, I never understood why he acquiesced to both Ratbat and Scorponok after Megatron took his leap off a short bridge so to speak. He was more effective than both of them. It was a pure freak occurrence and a lucky shot that Maximus was able to damage him and knock him out of space. Had he been the actual leader, he would have remained on the island base and perhaps send Scorponok out to deal with Maximus.
As for why Shockwave went out to face Fort Max himself, there are two reasons. First, in-story, for all of Shockwave's talk about pure cold logic, he really did have an ego that he tried very much to hide but didn't always keep in check. He would never admit it, but he wanted to take Fort Max out himself. He wanted to personally deal with that Autobot pest who was ruining everything in that moment. And the other reason is an out-of-story one, in that Shockwave had by then become "old product" who needed to be gotten rid of and replaced by "new product", so Budiansky wrote him out so that Ratbat could fully take over as the new Decepticon leader. Basically, TFTM syndrome.
However, that didn't stop the UK comics from continuing to use him. The panels of his burning up in Earth's atmosphere and those right after were rewritten in the UK version to make his "death" more ambiguous and instead merely have him "fall to Earth" so that he could survive and keep working his own machinations on Earth, operating out of the Decepticon's original Earth base from the early issues that they abandoned to relocate to their new base in Wyoming.
Posted by Rodimus Prime on September 1st, 2020 @ 12:15am CDT
That's right. It's been a while since I read the G1 comics, those events all run together in my memories. Shockwave and Scorponok didn't get together until their fight in New York/New Jersey, where Shockwave would have handed Scorponok his skidplate if it wasn't for the Neo-Knights. more useless human characters.Sabrblade wrote:Scorponok wasn't there. He was the leader of his own separate crew unaffiliated with Shockwave and Ratbat at the time. The two teams of Decepticons wouldn't join together until much later during The Underbase Saga.Rodimus Prime wrote:As for G1, I never understood why he acquiesced to both Ratbat and Scorponok after Megatron took his leap off a short bridge so to speak. He was more effective than both of them. It was a pure freak occurrence and a lucky shot that Maximus was able to damage him and knock him out of space. Had he been the actual leader, he would have remained on the island base and perhaps send Scorponok out to deal with Maximus.
Makes sense, I hadn't thought about it. This was issue 39, which would put it in summer of '87, and Shockwave didn't appear past TFTM in the cartoon. He was too good a character to discard, but like you said, newer toys had to be shilled.As for why Shockwave went out to face Fort Max himself, there are two reasons. First, in-story, for all of Shockwave's talk about pure cold logic, he really did have an ego that he tried very much to hide but didn't always keep in check. He would never admit it, but he wanted to take Fort Max out himself. He wanted to personally deal with that Autobot pest who was ruining everything in that moment. And the other reason is an out-of-story one, in that Shockwave had by then become "old product" who needed to be gotten rid of and replaced by "new product", so Budiansky wrote him out so that Ratbat could fully take over as the new Decepticon leader. Basically, TFTM syndrome.
And since you mentioned TFTM, I just realized after 34 years that Prime was killed off both on screen and on page roughly at the same time. Until, of course, the magic of floppy disk.
I never read the UK comics. I need to track down a set of collections like Titan did with the US version. Unless I can find them all online. I'd like to read the actual comics instead of just going through all the wiki entries.However, that didn't stop the UK comics from continuing to use him. The panels of his burning up in Earth's atmosphere and those right after were rewritten in the UK version to make his "death" more ambiguous and instead merely have him "fall to Earth" so that he could survive and keep working his own machinations on Earth, operating out of the Decepticon's original Earth base from the early issues that they abandoned to relocate to their new base in Wyoming.
Posted by Sabrblade on September 1st, 2020 @ 12:27am CDT
Yep. That was on purpose too. Hasbro wanted Prime killed off so the order came from on high for not just TFTM but for the comics to kill him off as well. Of course, Prime's first death in the Marvel comics was his worst death ever, IMHO, but that would later be redeemed in his second death, the one where he died fighting Unicron, being his best death ever, IMHO.Rodimus Prime wrote:And since you mentioned TFTM, I just realized after 34 years that Prime was killed off both on screen and on page roughly at the same time. Until, of course, the magic of floppy disk.
PM me. I can help you out.Rodimus Prime wrote:I never read the UK comics. I need to track down a set of collections like Titan did with the US version. Unless I can find them all online. I'd like to read the actual comics instead of just going through all the wiki entries.
Posted by ScottyP on September 1st, 2020 @ 11:40am CDT
Look for this issue tomorrow at your local comic shop, on the Seibertron.com eBay store, or via digital release on Comixology, Apple Books and other authorized digital retailers. Speaking of the Seibertron.com eBay store, you can visit now to experience the aforementioned The Transformers #17 and The Transformers #18 for yourself, or possibly just to upgrade your current beaten up vintage copy.
(W) Simon Furman (A/CA) Guido Guidi
With Megatron, Shockwave, and the Decepticon brass gone, the power vacuum on Cybertron leads many Decepticon commanders to stake their claims on the world. And with the Decepticons divided, which Autobots will step up to take command? Meanwhile, on Earth, Grimlock wanders into the strangest battle yet!
Posted by Sabrblade on September 1st, 2020 @ 12:44pm CDT
Posted by Rodimus Prime on September 1st, 2020 @ 2:48pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on September 1st, 2020 @ 2:56pm CDT
It's like Magnus says, they're stretched to the breaking point. They don't have the resources to do much of anything, let alone embark on another space voyage.Rodimus Prime wrote:So if Magnus apparently knows where the Ark crashed, why not make an effort to recover them? Or does he know Prime wouldn't want that? Is he privy to the actual secret plan?
Posted by Optimutt on September 1st, 2020 @ 4:13pm CDT
"Go ahead, Fortress Maximus..." but no picture. Guess I'll have to get the book!