Transformers: Autocracy Review - Are These Our Autobots?

robotmel wrote::D
Interesting..!
Is this just going to be a short, limited edition run or are IDW planning on more digital only Transformers related stuff?
$0.99 would only be around 65 pence hear in the UK and I guess the delivery method might be via email or direct download via IDW's website?

Being a traditionalist in respect to comic books, I would probably try and print these off and collate into something comic book sized then slot into my collection where relevant... Is that just crazy or would anyone else do this?

craggy wrote:
no you get to permanently rent the comic to view online whenever you choose. you're given nothing that you can save.

Bass X0 wrote:Bi-Weekly?

Thats twice a week isn't it? Not once every two weeks. Fortnightly is the word to use for once every two weeks.

If not then, what is the word to mean 'twice a week'?

gothsaurus wrote:So has IDW said they will never collect this into a trade paperback?

Before OPTIMUS became a PRIME... he fought for order. Before MEGATRON became a conqueror... he fought for freedom. Before they were enemies... they stood against — AUTOCRACY.

AUTOCRACY is an all-new 99¢ bi-weekly TRANSFORMERS series featuring the stunning TRANSFORMERS writing debut of Chris Metzen -- SVP, Story and Franchise Development at Blizzard Entertainment and one of the main creative minds behind the company's Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® universes. Metzen is joined by co-writer Flint Dille, a fan-favorite for his work on the original TRANSFORMERS animated series, and TRANSFORMERS: CHAOS artist, Livio Ramondelli.

Debuts January 18th, 2012!
http://idwpublishing.com/digitalcomics/transformers/

tigertracks 24 wrote:

Bass X0 wrote:Bi-Weekly?

Thats twice a week isn't it? Not once every two weeks. Fortnightly is the word to use for once every two weeks.

If not then, what is the word to mean 'twice a week'?

Bi-weekly means by their words every other week.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IDW Publishing Launches First-Ever Digital-Only TRANSFORMERS Comic Series, AUTOCRACY

12-Issue digital-exclusive series comes to iPad, iPhone, Android and the Web courtesy of writers Chris Metzen & Flint Dille

San Diego, CA (January 18, 2012) – IDW Publishing proudly announces a new digital comics event five million years in the making: TRANSFORMERS: Autocracy. Released exclusively on digital platforms, this 12-part series will be released on multiple digital platforms as 8-page chapters every two weeks starting January 18th and running through June. Each episode will be priced at 99¢.

TRANSFORMERS: Autocracy has ties to the two new TRANSFORMERS comics series based on the iconic TRANSFORMERS brand from Hasbro and launching this month, Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets the Eye. “Those series look to the future,” said IDW Senior Editor John Barber, “but they have strong ties to the past. And Autocracy fills in some of the gaps in that past by telling one of the most important stories to ever appear in TRANSFORMERS comics.”

Before OPTIMUS became a PRIME... he fought for order. Before MEGATRON became a conqueror... he fought for freedom. Before they were enemies... they stood against — AUTOCRACY.

Autocracy features the stunning TRANSFORMERS writing debut of Chris Metzen – SVP, Story and Franchise Development at Blizzard Entertainment and one of the main creative minds behind the company’s Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® universes. Metzen is joined by co-writer Flint Dille, a fan-favorite for his work on the original TRANSFORMERS animated series.

“This project is a dream come true for me,” said Metzen. “I’ve loved the TRANSFORMERS brand all my life – and the chance to take these characters for a drive with my good friend Flint has been an incredible privilege. But I think it’s Livio Ramondelli’s gritty, cinematic vision that really brings this story to life.”

Artist Livio Ramondelli came to fans’ attention last year with the world-shattering TRANSFORMERS: Chaos series. “I feel beyond thankful to be a part of this project,” said Ramondelli. “These two have written a truly epic TRANSFORMERS story for the ages. I can’t say enough good things about Chris Metzen, and we should all feel lucky that Flint Dille is returning to TRANSFORMERS.”

“IDW is very excited to launch this digital-exclusive series,” said IDW CEO and Publisher Ted Adams. “The TRANSFORMERS brand has a broad international fan-base, this series will continue to increase the comics audience.” The Autocracy series will help bring these new readers to comic shops, by including a page featuring the Comic Shop Locator service and best-selling TRANSFORMERS collections and comics.

Autocracy can be found in IDW’s Apple iPad™, iPhone® and iPod touch®, apps – Transformers Comics and IDW Comics, and on the Web at read.idwpublishing.com. The series is also featured in the Comics by comiXology platform for iOS, Android, Web and Kindle Fire, and Comics + by iVerse.

About IDW Publishing
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro's The TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, Paramount's Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC's Doctor Who; Toho’s Godzilla and comics and trade collections based on novels by worldwide bestselling author, James Patterson. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio.
IDW's original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.
As a recognized leader in digital comics, IDW’s digital partners include: comiXology, iVerse Media, Graphicly, Cryptozoic Comics, Panelfly, Digital Manga, Diamond Digital, NEC, Zero Sum and Smart Ebooks. The IDW digital line is available worldwide on top platforms including: Apple iOS apps and iBooks, Android apps, Barnes & Noble Nook, Amazon Kindle, Kobo Vox, Sony PSP, Nokia and RIM BlackBerry.
More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (http://www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes thirteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

About Hasbro
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY. The Hub, Hasbro’s multi-platform joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10, 2010. The online home of The Hub is http://www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com. © 2012 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.

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robotmel wrote:

craggy wrote:
no you get to permanently rent the comic to view online whenever you choose. you're given nothing that you can save.

Oh, thats a bit of a disapointment, do you (or anyone) think it would still be possible to 'save picture as' whilst viewing it online or would IDW lock that option off?
It's like buying an mp3 from your favourite music website, you have a digital copy on your HDD to do with what you please, so why not this also?

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Okay, will the grimmification of the good guys please stop? I'm tired of the friggin' Decepticons sometimes coming off better than the Autobots!

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Okay, will the grimmification of the good guys please stop? I'm tired of the friggin' Decepticons sometimes coming off better than the Autobots!

iaconportland wrote:Sorry, if Flint Dille is involved, count me out. I still haven't forgiven him for killing Optimus Prime in 1986.

Okay, I kid - this looks great...hopefully I'll be able to grab it.

DTR69 wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Okay, will the grimmification of the good guys please stop? I'm tired of the friggin' Decepticons sometimes coming off better than the Autobots!

Exactly, it's there way of being different but it goes deeper than that. On the outside it's trying to look like they are diverting from the tetx book goodies Vs Baddies, and actually being fair and looking at both sides of the coin. And this is kool in some respects as baddies don't neciserily think they are bad, they think that they are the good guys, it's that one side has a twisted sense of morality, it's stupid when baddies are portrayed as being bad for the sake of being bad, they have a cause too. But this is were it gets gay. Am I the only person her ewho thinks that it is trying to reflect reality and current affairs.
The simpsons movie and Avatar are all Hollywoods way of saying we understand the world and it's plight and we all have to be better people, please forgive us mother nature we did not know what we we were doing. The same goes here, this is trying to say we understand the Iraqi civillians and we understand the taliban, and we are the goodd guys but we have treated the civilians bad and hurt inocent people, but it's our leaders that are bad and ignorant, but we stand here with open arms and want to change, please teach us we can learn so much from you. It's away of looking humble and showing that we all do bad things.
This is not a bad thing as it is true to real life, I just don'tlike the fact it's done in a hidden way and packaged in Transformers. My othe rargument is that, I'm tired of transformers behaving like humans, even Bays formers had some behavioral differences, but thios is too much like us. Like in the animate dmovie when Unicron eats the planet and all the alien robots are at a bar. War is about exploitation, in the G1 cartoon the Decepticons coild fly and that was there evolvement which gave them power an dthe sense that they were different. The transforming aspect needs to be explored more such as, supremacy over non transforming robots. Morality needs to be explored, transformers can be repaired to a certain extent, so an injury is moire of an inconvieniance than an act of brutality. I want to be able to read this without pictures and know that I am reading a story about transforming robots, I don't want a story that could be written for any thing. Apart from the stale lesson in understanding which, will be arounf for a while longer, until that is too cliche and we wil go back to baddies eating puppies again.

Chaoslock wrote:

DTR69 wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Okay, will the grimmification of the good guys please stop? I'm tired of the friggin' Decepticons sometimes coming off better than the Autobots!

Exactly, it's there way of being different but it goes deeper than that. On the outside it's trying to look like they are diverting from the tetx book goodies Vs Baddies, and actually being fair and looking at both sides of the coin. And this is kool in some respects as baddies don't neciserily think they are bad, they think that they are the good guys, it's that one side has a twisted sense of morality, it's stupid when baddies are portrayed as being bad for the sake of being bad, they have a cause too. But this is were it gets gay. Am I the only person her ewho thinks that it is trying to reflect reality and current affairs.
The simpsons movie and Avatar are all Hollywoods way of saying we understand the world and it's plight and we all have to be better people, please forgive us mother nature we did not know what we we were doing. The same goes here, this is trying to say we understand the Iraqi civillians and we understand the taliban, and we are the goodd guys but we have treated the civilians bad and hurt inocent people, but it's our leaders that are bad and ignorant, but we stand here with open arms and want to change, please teach us we can learn so much from you. It's away of looking humble and showing that we all do bad things.
This is not a bad thing as it is true to real life, I just don'tlike the fact it's done in a hidden way and packaged in Transformers. My othe rargument is that, I'm tired of transformers behaving like humans, even Bays formers had some behavioral differences, but thios is too much like us. Like in the animate dmovie when Unicron eats the planet and all the alien robots are at a bar. War is about exploitation, in the G1 cartoon the Decepticons coild fly and that was there evolvement which gave them power an dthe sense that they were different. The transforming aspect needs to be explored more such as, supremacy over non transforming robots. Morality needs to be explored, transformers can be repaired to a certain extent, so an injury is moire of an inconvieniance than an act of brutality. I want to be able to read this without pictures and know that I am reading a story about transforming robots, I don't want a story that could be written for any thing. Apart from the stale lesson in understanding which, will be arounf for a while longer, until that is too cliche and we wil go back to baddies eating puppies again.

I think you are reading too much out of this, this isn't a taliban-iraqi "lesson" - otherwise, I agree with your post, I too hate those stories that can be put as a cover over every- and anything - and the first issue was really just like that. "We are the good guys, who doesn't stand with us, stand against us, and all our deeds are justified" - Meh.

DTR69 wrote:

Chaoslock wrote:

DTR69 wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Okay, will the grimmification of the good guys please stop? I'm tired of the friggin' Decepticons sometimes coming off better than the Autobots!

Exactly, it's there way of being different but it goes deeper than that. On the outside it's trying to look like they are diverting from the tetx book goodies Vs Baddies, and actually being fair and looking at both sides of the coin. And this is kool in some respects as baddies don't neciserily think they are bad, they think that they are the good guys, it's that one side has a twisted sense of morality, it's stupid when baddies are portrayed as being bad for the sake of being bad, they have a cause too. But this is were it gets gay. Am I the only person her ewho thinks that it is trying to reflect reality and current affairs.
The simpsons movie and Avatar are all Hollywoods way of saying we understand the world and it's plight and we all have to be better people, please forgive us mother nature we did not know what we we were doing. The same goes here, this is trying to say we understand the Iraqi civillians and we understand the taliban, and we are the goodd guys but we have treated the civilians bad and hurt inocent people, but it's our leaders that are bad and ignorant, but we stand here with open arms and want to change, please teach us we can learn so much from you. It's away of looking humble and showing that we all do bad things.
This is not a bad thing as it is true to real life, I just don'tlike the fact it's done in a hidden way and packaged in Transformers. My othe rargument is that, I'm tired of transformers behaving like humans, even Bays formers had some behavioral differences, but thios is too much like us. Like in the animate dmovie when Unicron eats the planet and all the alien robots are at a bar. War is about exploitation, in the G1 cartoon the Decepticons coild fly and that was there evolvement which gave them power an dthe sense that they were different. The transforming aspect needs to be explored more such as, supremacy over non transforming robots. Morality needs to be explored, transformers can be repaired to a certain extent, so an injury is moire of an inconvieniance than an act of brutality. I want to be able to read this without pictures and know that I am reading a story about transforming robots, I don't want a story that could be written for any thing. Apart from the stale lesson in understanding which, will be arounf for a while longer, until that is too cliche and we wil go back to baddies eating puppies again.

I think you are reading too much out of this, this isn't a taliban-iraqi "lesson" - otherwise, I agree with your post, I too hate those stories that can be put as a cover over every- and anything - and the first issue was really just like that. "We are the good guys, who doesn't stand with us, stand against us, and all our deeds are justified" - Meh.

Was just using Iraq as an example, most of our wars are the same, but it's the same moralistic humble high ground. But my main point is that, not only are they aliens but they are transforming robots, but there behaviour is too similar to humans, and westernised humans at that. SUrely there must be some areas that would be different, and it would be alot of fun to explore that, and war is about exploitation, and the evolvement of power. One side feels they have evolved in a more superior way and that they are better, or like dictators they have been gven power and us ethat to exploit those that provide that power. There are many variations but the point is that someone is exploiting someone else, it's those variations that should be outline din this story and the variation should be something specific to the transformer race. Even the way they talk is just too human. Anothe rthing that always puzzles me is the batman utility belt situation, there always seems to be a transformer who has a unique ability that others don't have a the right miment. WHy can only one transformer smell. These arer robots, so why can;t they all be uograded with that feature.
WHy do transformers transform, it's a drastic rac trait to have been given or evolve, so why doesn;t it play a greater roll. I think it's such a deal breakker, and I find it hard to understand why it is hard for game developers to make it essential to transform in games, even fighting I can see it so useful, to be able to drive into an enemy then transform and start layoing into them all in one move, but even in wfc it seems liek an after thought. WHy aren't there alt modes more war friendly, remeber when soundwave transforms into street furniture, yes a boring alt mode, but thats useful in a war.
From the outsid ethis looks to be a matur gritty story with alot of promise and going straight for the jugular, but it still lacks the point of what it is to be a transformer. All life is form follows function and if hey are making them life like as possible, they need to follow there function which is transforming robot snot human beings. It's like old Marvel comics when the illustrators drew the hands like humans as it was easy to draw what they knew, and the same goes here for the writers, they are writing a great story becuas ethe subject matter is base don what they know, ot's time they looked at the subjetc matter and take a reall risk and write about what they don't know, they can;t research it, bit hey can look at how, morals differ across the globe, and how animals conduct there lives and how the difference in form and function dictates there morals an dbehaviour, even location plays a big part, so does situation, a lack of food energy or whatever, makes people act different ly, but different types of people act differently in those situations, so surely a robot race would also have differences. Yes they are showing prime not to be perfect, but I want to see something different than what is hown in human stories. I hat eBay films, but there's that moment when ironhode wants to shoot spikes dog, as he doesn't understand the human and og relationship, he thinks its just like a rat, that is what I'm talking about, I don't want to see robots in a bar drinking oil, I don;t want to see a non gender race, having fembots with robot titties, I want to see things I have never seen before, maybe they do drink oil socialy, but not in a bar eating energon goodies.
Yes this id different but not different enough, and differnt for the sake of different is not different it's actually the norm nowdays. If this is the best they can do then I'll accept ti, as it's nice to see a mature approach and it's a step in the right direction, and teh detah of prime, was a sign that they are willing to take things further, and it shows that G1 is not just a story to be recycled, it is actually alive and kicking, mores o than when it wa sin it's hayday.

Sabrblade wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Okay, will the grimmification of the good guys please stop? I'm tired of the friggin' Decepticons sometimes coming off better than the Autobots!

This makes me wanna start listing all the times the story got uber dark, gritty, and edgy like this.

Let's see, G2 comics, Beast Machines, War Within comics, Keepers Trilogy, first arc of Kiss Players, All Hail Megatron comics, Bay Movies, Prime cartoon... any others?

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Okay, will the grimmification of the good guys please stop? I'm tired of the friggin' Decepticons sometimes coming off better than the Autobots!

This makes me wanna start listing all the times the story got uber dark, gritty, and edgy like this.

Let's see, G2 comics, Beast Machines, War Within comics, Keepers Trilogy, first arc of Kiss Players, All Hail Megatron comics, Bay Movies, Prime cartoon... any others?

And... I either didn't like most of those or don't really care about them too much.

Sabrblade wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Okay, will the grimmification of the good guys please stop? I'm tired of the friggin' Decepticons sometimes coming off better than the Autobots!

This makes me wanna start listing all the times the story got uber dark, gritty, and edgy like this.

Let's see, G2 comics, Beast Machines, War Within comics, Keepers Trilogy, first arc of Kiss Players, All Hail Megatron comics, Bay Movies, Prime cartoon... any others?

And... I either didn't like most of those or don't really care about them too much.

Like I've said in the past, thank goodness for Rescue Bots.

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:I don't need it that simple, but I also am rather sick to death of heroes acting more the villains than the actual villains.

Sabrblade wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:I don't need it that simple, but I also am rather sick to death of heroes acting more the villains than the actual villains.

Dude, Rescue Bots is brilliant! Two episodes in and it's hooked me in.

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:I don't need it that simple, but I also am rather sick to death of heroes acting more the villains than the actual villains.

Dude, Rescue Bots is brilliant! Two episodes in and it's hooked me in.

Legit question. Are you serious? My interest might be... piqued.

Chaoslock wrote:Autocracy #2: The writers succeeded in making a bigger idiot than TFA Sentinel Prime. Congratz.