Transformers 'Ongoing' #10 Five-Page Preview

Wow, Skyfire is back after all this time. I know, it is Jetfire and he doesn't look that way inside the comic but it is good to see him again.

Aaaaaand.... we get another 5 pages of useless and pointless generic human dialogue and silent panels. And no Transformers. I'm really sick to death of this approach to the ongoing. It's really time to get Mike Costa off the title. ASAP. Sorry, but it's really getting ridiculous.

Hans wrote:It's really time to get Mike Costa off the title. ASAP. Sorry, but it's really getting ridiculous.

The sooner people realize I'm right about this, the sooner we can get it to happen. I mean, if they can get Betty White to host SNL, we should be able to kick a crappy writer off a boring comic title.

Darth Bombshell wrote:

Hans wrote:It's really time to get Mike Costa off the title. ASAP. Sorry, but it's really getting ridiculous.

The sooner people realize I'm right about this, the sooner we can get it to happen. I mean, if they can get Betty White to host SNL, we should be able to kick a crappy writer off a boring comic title.

No, you're NOT right. Costa is telling FAR better Transformers than Furman ever did at IDW.

Cyberstrike wrote:

Darth Bombshell wrote:

Hans wrote:It's really time to get Mike Costa off the title. ASAP. Sorry, but it's really getting ridiculous.

The sooner people realize I'm right about this, the sooner we can get it to happen. I mean, if they can get Betty White to host SNL, we should be able to kick a crappy writer off a boring comic title.

No, you're NOT right. Costa is telling FAR better Transformers than Furman ever did at IDW.

Sigh... first of all, you're in the minority here, at least now. And second, who ever said Furman would have to replace him? Personally, I'd love it, sure, but put James Roberts and Nick Roche (Last Stand of the Wreckers) on the title for all I care.

In any case, this has to change. This is becoming a GI Joe wanabe title with the occasional Transformer thrown in... and the biggest waste of 4 dollars I've ever seen.

Hans wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Darth Bombshell wrote:

Hans wrote:It's really time to get Mike Costa off the title. ASAP. Sorry, but it's really getting ridiculous.

The sooner people realize I'm right about this, the sooner we can get it to happen. I mean, if they can get Betty White to host SNL, we should be able to kick a crappy writer off a boring comic title.

No, you're NOT right. Costa is telling FAR better Transformers than Furman ever did at IDW.

Sigh... first of all, you're in the minority here, at least now. And second, who ever said Furman would have to replace him. Put James Roberts and Nick Roche (Last Stand of the Wreckers) on the title for all I care. In any case, this has to change. This is becoming a GI Joe wanabe title with the occasional Transformer thrown in...

It wouldn't be the first time that I'm in the minority (but I when I go to several other comic book fan sites and I've read that many of them enjoyed All Hail Megatron and Ongoing more than the Furman stuff so maybe you're in minority something for you to think about), as I posted elsewhere, I would rather be hated for being honest than being loved as a liar.
I love character-driven stories and I find action in comics actually quite boring (unless it's over the top and very graphic), I love a new direction that is actually new and is going in places that I don't know where and human characters that aren't annoying. While I enjoyed The Last Stand of the Wreckers it wasn't a great series by any means and quite frankly it was filled with way too many in-jokes for my taste and Verity needs to die.

Heh, I don't know if I'm in the minority or not in liking Furman. That's not what I ment. I just want this comic to be good again, regardless of who's writing it. Could be Furman, could be anyone. After 10 issues I'm convinced the title can only be salvaged by getting another writer. We've all been open minded and have given him a chance, but after 10 lackluster issues fans everywhere (even on the IDW boards themselves now) are commenting on not liking this approach at all.

So okay, we all know you dislike Furman, but what do you think of the ongoing title? Are you still honestly enjoying it?

well to paraphrase the bloke from jurrasic park.

" uh, you DO intend to have transformers in this book about giant tranforming robots dont you ?......

...helllo ? "

Hans wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Darth Bombshell wrote:

Hans wrote:It's really time to get Mike Costa off the title. ASAP. Sorry, but it's really getting ridiculous.

The sooner people realize I'm right about this, the sooner we can get it to happen. I mean, if they can get Betty White to host SNL, we should be able to kick a crappy writer off a boring comic title.

No, you're NOT right. Costa is telling FAR better Transformers than Furman ever did at IDW.

Sigh... first of all, you're in the minority here, at least now. And second, who ever said Furman would have to replace him? Personally, I'd love it, sure, but put James Roberts and Nick Roche (Last Stand of the Wreckers) on the title for all I care.

In any case, this has to change. This is becoming a GI Joe wanabe title with the occasional Transformer thrown in... and the biggest waste of 4 dollars I've ever seen.

Last time I checked nobody forced people to buy something they don`t like I will admit I hated issue 8 but 9 was fantastic

No, but there are a few dorks out there who collect the series nevertheless because they want to have a complete collection.... I would be one of them

But when they do, they are hoping for the comic itself to be great nevertheless... which it really isn't at the moment. Well, as always, Guido's art is good (although it's even better when Josh Burcham provides some texture when he colors Guido's inks, see the earlier All Hail Megatron issues). But a comic should be more than just great artwork.

The stuff about Verity and the Wreckers aside, I’ve got to agree with Cyberstrike's post pretty much whole heartedly. Personally I love my comics to be filled to the brim with dialogue. Waiting a month for a new comic to come out then having it contain nothing but someone getting punched in the face for 10 pages makes me feel kind of ripped off honestly if the plot really does not call for it. I’d take a lame but thorough plot that only has an action scene when the plot really calls for one over DERP DERP HITTING THINGS WORDS ARE DUMB which is what 99% action theme things seem like to me . To me that is the difference between the printed media and movies/TV/games, all the shows, movies and games are generally plot-sparse action romps which are fun in their own right (I absolutely loved AHM and am not ashamed one bit )but when it comes to comics/novels and the like I really prefer it be about the characters, their thoughts and feelings, how they interact with each other and their situations.

I think it’s important to remember that not everyone likes the same things, [I’m pretty sick of all the “hey look army guys” being a focus when I’d rather have robot interactions.] writing something off as awful because it is not to your personal tastes is absolutely fine, But assuring that clearly everyone must agree with me or their WRONG AND STUPID! I’m going to yell about it on the internet for 3 months like some seem to is just silly. Honestly it often seems to me that complaining about transformers comics online regardless of consistency is like some kind of fanboy badge of honor and the first person to complain about anything wins a sticker. I generally like to keep my thoughts to myself but I think more people who LIKE things need to speak up. It’s pretty annoying to go places and see nothing but a wall of ‘I DON’T LIKE IT AND EVERYONE AGREES WITH ME AMIRITE?!’ rather than of any kind constructive criticism. No one is forcing you to buy them (unless you are in a super-odd hostage situation) and if you don’t like them why are you supporting them with your money? My two cents anyway.

Zeonic_Miko wrote:No one is forcing you to buy them (unless you are in a super-odd hostage situation) and if you don’t like them why are you supporting them with your money? My two cents anyway.

Ever heard of collectors?



At any rate, any back and forth about what's good or bad is pretty much a wasted effort.
You can go on for pages and pages attacking or defending something, but it's unlikely to change anything. People will always hang on to their preferences no matter how hard you try to convince them. Atleast try to be constructive if you want to express your opinion.


And for my personal opinion on the current ongoing, it's slow paced and boring.

Then there's a ton of other stuff which doesn't make any sense:

The Decepticons have supposedly lost their vast territory and are now somehow confined to Earth and a small outpost under the command of Starscream. And how the hell did they end up attacking each other for parts and energon? Didn't they have ample supplies before coming to Earth? Where did their entire fleet and logistic infrastructure end up? Those guys had a armada of ships and the bases to support them. In short, the Decepticons went from galactic empire to unorganized mob.

The Autobots are even worse. Prime left without leaving someone capable in charge. Bumblebee became leader because, erm... he's a popular character? Don't you think that someone like Jetfire would have taken command? Ultra Magnus, yeah, I've gotta admit that character got the wrong role in this series. Furman dropped the ball when he made him a enforcer, that job would have been perfect for Devcon or Quickswitch. Costa went along with this and kept him around as a shortsighted bureaucrat who keeps going on about the Tyrest accords. I really hope that Ultra Magnus comes around and takes charge.

On the upside, I really like how Alpha Trion turned out

Despite all this, it's not the worst transformers series. That honor is reserved for a specific miniseries

Cyberstrike wrote:Costa is telling FAR better Transformers than Furman ever did at IDW.

Furman had two years worth of worth that was interesting and exciting. Costa's had fourteen (as of now) issues that have been, at best, predictable and boring. At worst, they've been an affront to the previous canon of work, a blow only softened somewhat by the fact that, by allowing AHM to exist, IDW already proved it didn't give a damn anymore.

I miss dreamwave so bad these days....I liked the transformers reboot at first...but now it's grinding on and honestly I don't know where IDW thinks they are taking transformers...I'm all for alternate versions of my favorite characters...but changing so much and calling it the new official g1 is killing me. Costa can do what he wants nobody can save this tf universe. From clashing storylines to idw saying "hey what a great idea to let each artist basically draw whatever the hell they want" I'm no longer able to get sucked into the stories. I go from BUMBLBEE looking like the old marvel stuff to infiltration and the like looking like manga to wreckers just looking in between somewhere to ongoing looking movie verse g1.....I mean seriously I LOVE alternate depictions of my 'bots but not in the same freakin' storyline! If I was new to transformers and started with idw I daresay I wouldn't be a fan comic-wise. When you change everything about a series it really isn't the series. So many characters read as new additions to me, as if they never existed before.I really feel IDW getting the tf franchise was the first step towards things happening like the movies being so full of creative libirties (but though I get irritated with said libirties I like the movies as I consider them not g1 and in their own little world with no past connections). Dreamwave at least picked a storyline and stuck with it, no backtracking to retcon past events or overworked reasons why things happened or ignoring the events already in place by previous issues. And they kept the designs the mostly the same, the only changes being one artist is more techincal than another, but same bot and vehicle mode.
PHEW! Ok so rant aside I just want a new reboot. If it's g1 make it g1. If it's gonna go into some uncharted territory of artistic freedom, make it a NEW tf series with it's own universe and characters please!

Stormwolf wrote:
Ever heard of collectors?

No one forces people to collect either. I collect Transformers like most people here I assume do, but still won’t buy things I don’t like because to me it seems silly to spend money on something that you don’t. That’s my opinion. It’s not “right” or “wrong”nor are people who do/like different things, an opinion, just that. Not looking for an argument here just expressing my thoughts like everyone else even if they are not popular.

Zeonic_Miko wrote:

Stormwolf wrote:
Ever heard of collectors?

No one forces people to collect either. I collect Transformers like most people here I assume do, but still won’t buy things I don’t like because to me it seems silly to spend money on something that you don’t. That’s my opinion. It’s not “right” or “wrong”nor are people who do/like different things, an opinion, just that. Not looking for an argument here just expressing my thoughts like everyone else even if they are not popular.

In some cases yeah unless of course you don't know it will be stupid. XD However..I do agree but also that there will be issues people dislike just like there will be episodes people do not like. Either way does it really matter? Its already published and you can't unpublish it or forget what you just read completely. Its just like when the movies came out and not a lot of people liked it, but there is nothing anyone can do to change what already is. So why bother arguing when we can just consider it another part of the big multiuniverse thing that is transformers. =o

Yeah....that issue with Spike single handedly Killing Scrapper sure did make me wanna run out and buy a Spike action figure!

Hurray! Now we won't be able to see Devastator anymore, besides nobody looks forward to seeing him ever. Just pile in more boring ass humans so the Autobot can occasionally kiss their asses and I'll be sure to tell all my friends on Facebook what they've been missing!

I mean there's over 2000 different Transformers who's stories should be revisited but hey those names humans are gold.

Can't wait to flip through the next issue then leave it at the store...

I found the story to be okay. Not fantastic but not terrible either. I'm still having issues with the art though. Pick a design and stick with it. Yes, each artist will have their own style but at least stick with the overall design of the characters themselves. I find it annoying that the design will seemingly change part way through the issue - first half is more detailed and then becomes increasingly "80s" as the issue progresses. Whether this is a time constraint issue or what I don't know but please, IDW, some consistency!

Well, it's a bit much to make an opinion on a 5 page preview, and at least none of the humans sound like Kicker "makes-emo-look-good" Jones. Is it ridiculous for 27 a year old man to think that the human characters should be like Joes? Not only in dialogue but in actual Costumes, despite the fact they're more realistic as they are portrayed now?

Okay, color needs to be stepped up a little, but I know there's only so much time in day. Damn you Alex Ross and Bryan Hitch, you spoiled me!

Again, I hope this story is written more like comic, and less like a trade.

lowman_x,

I agree -- I am starting to have an issue with IDW's artwork as well. Why does it seem that the quality of their artwork has been on a downward spiral since AHM, with the one exception being "The Wreckers"? It seems that IDW needs to either raise their standards and/or bring on new folks to the team. Better yet, why don't they take lessons from previous Transformers artists such as Geoff Senior? I am unsure how others feel about his work, but I think Geoff Senior produced some of the best Transformers artwork ever when he worked on the Marvel-US/UK staff.


- Bob

I get the feeling the art seems rushed due to deadlines. Guido can be a fantastic artist, as the first couple of issues of AHM show (at least, I thought they were fantastic). I'm also a huge fan of Casey Coller (the Ironhide mini looked fantastic!). I just think that monthly deadlines can be a bit much for the artists. With full bleed pages and present day printing techniques the art needs to be better than in the Marvel days, and even then fill-in issues were needed. So if artists rotate story arcs, in theory that should be the answer. Although the ongoing title so far hasn't shown it.

I'm also worried about the statement that all the designs from issue # 13 on will be the Don Figueroa designs. Those were the ugliest ones of the bunch IMO, improved heads or not. The movie universe is not G1, IMO. So far I don't see anything coming up that would get me excited about IDW's TF comics. It doesn't seem too hard to make a good Transformers comic, but so far they seem to be having a very hard time getting it right... (and I'm not even talking about continuity issues...)

Cyberstrike wrote:

Hans wrote:

Cyberstrike wrote:

Darth Bombshell wrote:

Hans wrote:It's really time to get Mike Costa off the title. ASAP. Sorry, but it's really getting ridiculous.

The sooner people realize I'm right about this, the sooner we can get it to happen. I mean, if they can get Betty White to host SNL, we should be able to kick a crappy writer off a boring comic title.

No, you're NOT right. Costa is telling FAR better Transformers than Furman ever did at IDW.

Sigh... first of all, you're in the minority here, at least now. And second, who ever said Furman would have to replace him. Put James Roberts and Nick Roche (Last Stand of the Wreckers) on the title for all I care. In any case, this has to change. This is becoming a GI Joe wanabe title with the occasional Transformer thrown in...

It wouldn't be the first time that I'm in the minority (but I when I go to several other comic book fan sites and I've read that many of them enjoyed All Hail Megatron and Ongoing more than the Furman stuff so maybe you're in minority something for you to think about), as I posted elsewhere, I would rather be hated for being honest than being loved as a liar.
I love character-driven stories and I find action in comics actually quite boring (unless it's over the top and very graphic), I love a new direction that is actually new and is going in places that I don't know where and human characters that aren't annoying. While I enjoyed The Last Stand of the Wreckers it wasn't a great series by any means and quite frankly it was filled with way too many in-jokes for my taste and Verity needs to die.

Stop lying AHM and the ongoing are anything but good or character driven and LSOTW was the best comic idw has ever released Costa can only dream to have the skills of nick Roche and James Roberts. And what kind of character development does the ongoing have? Even Spotlight Sideswipe had more character development for Sideswipe than any character in AHM and the ongoing has, and he gets like what 4 pages for himself?
The ongoing is so bad it makes AHM look good, yes AHM is better than the new ongoing which only recycles old plot points that have been done to death in TF already while Roche, Roberts and Furman tell stuff that we haven't seen in TF before.

Oh and Spike needs to die, the annoying little git.

Let's not squash others opinions.. What one likes, another may hate. Deal with it as it is life.

It's really really hard to please everybody - for proof, all I had to do was read this thread. Plus, as someone who was in the art world (ok, so not as pristigious as, say, a comic book illustrator), you get burned out doing the same stuff over and over again. That might be one reason that the artwork changes and seems inconsistant. So, you give one artist and break and let someone else take over for awhile. As an artist, I always needed time to develop new and different stuff, too.

Personally, I find Ongoing a bit boring. The art is fine - even DF's art, which I really disliked at first, kinda grew on me. The story could use a little more action. After all, this is Transformers, right? Giant alien robots with big guns should rumble just a little more often.

I'm gonna be optimistic - the story is going to get better. There's a lot of loose ends and side-stories that are eventually gonna get all tied together. Though how it all ends up probably won't please everyone, it has us all talking anyway.

Am I the only one that thought it random for Broadside to make an appearance in "Ongoing" #10? I am all up for more characters, but he wasn't even given a chance in this issue -- he fired off a few salvos at the Combaticons and then - BAM - hit by a crashing Jetfire.

On a related note, wasn't Broadside an aircraft carrier rather than a destroyer?


- Bob

i havent read the book but the word is that broadside is meant to be the boat they came in on.

They would rather give us 5 pages of sparse but still senseless and unneeded human dialogue than explain that "tiny little tidbit" about Broadside.

Just as issue # 9 had 7 pages of silent "action", then another 5 pages of human dialogue, and one very important SENTENCE about Springer and his "people" suddenly getting a ship from the humans... leaving everyone with questionmarks.

Need I say "priorities"? (if there was an eye roll smiley I'd put it here...)

Hans wrote:They would rather give us 5 pages of sparse but still senseless and unneeded human dialogue than explain that "tiny little tidbit" about Broadside.

Just as issue # 9 had 7 pages of silent "action", then another 5 pages of human dialogue, and one very important SENTENCE about Springer and his "people" suddenly getting a ship from the humans... leaving everyone with questionmarks.

Need I say "priorities"? (if there was an eye roll smiley I'd put it here...)

I think they kept it to a down low, because it would be a bit ridiculous to stop in the middle of one story and give an exposition on a potential upcoming story that still in the planing stages. DC's weekly comic, Countdown had a terrible ending because the story's conclusion was meant to be a set up for Final Crisis. When Final Crisis #1 came out it completely contradicted Countdown's ending. So I wasted $155.48 because a weekly comic and an event comic are just too hard to coordinate. Countdown had to have a ridiculously short turnaround time for the creators, but Final Crisis needed a lot of prep time to get going right. In other words, the die was cast for Countdown, but Crisis was stilling on the drawing board, changing as needed/desired.

So, I really don't want any Wreckers story to beholden to the ongoing. Wreckers works because it's short, but dense and free to let the story be what needs to be.


That said, I'm excited for this "Legacy of Rust" business.


Oh, my original intended post:

I read #10, and I got to say, I liked it a lot. Plenty of action, but good characterization for the other non-swindle Combaticons, and more Thundercracker. Meanwhile the Autobots are packing heat, and Prime used his G2 guns! So my only complaint is that I wanted more pages, which to me is a good sign.

Granted there were many Autobots to take on the Combaticons, but the Autobots were confined to altmodes only. As for Broadside, the way he was taken out makes sense (His original toy tech spec mentions the fact that his "Boat" mode has weak armor for his size). I could almost hear Wheeljack say, "glee". The only downside, Onslaught not quite being a military genius, but I chalk it up to him being caught off guard.

Finally, North Korea's "yellow" Energon is outright hilarious if you know a little bit about N.Korea.

Hans wrote:They would rather give us 5 pages of sparse but still senseless and unneeded human dialogue than explain that "tiny little tidbit" about Broadside.

Just as issue # 9 had 7 pages of silent "action", then another 5 pages of human dialogue, and one very important SENTENCE about Springer and his "people" suddenly getting a ship from the humans... leaving everyone with questionmarks.

Need I say "priorities"? (if there was an eye roll smiley I'd put it here...)