James Raiz Incentive Cover for IDW Optimus Prime 14 to Feature Most Detailed Drawing of Trypticon

Now I love James Raiz art. He doesn’t get enough work but it just looks like an old Dreamwave cover or art piece with all those panels and looks like he’s got leprosy.

Detail is great until you start looking at something and get confused because there’s too much detail and have a hard time deciphering stuff

holy primus

He looks like he's made out of rock.

I like his art as well wasn’t able buy one of his prints to big to put anywhere but trypticon stands out cover he doesn’t blend in with background he looks paste in

Now that is impressive. One of the best covers I've ever seen.

I really dig how Full Tilt is also huge, like a Titan on a bigger Titan!

Honestly not a fan of that cover.

There was definitely a lot going on in the last issue, so holy cows lots to process.

I'm wondering what Prowl has been up to, seeing as how he was last chilling in base Maximus on Luna-1. He found Wheelie and Garnak (yay for bringing them back finally!) and he found Stardrive. And what looks like a vamparc ribbon from the Sentinel Prime days. Man, guy sure is busy.

Also, really interested to see where the Dinobots go. And what kind of an effect Slug will have the story. And Bludgeon is what, a servant of Onyx, Liege, Unicron? who is his master?

Well it looks like Christmas will be coming a little early for fans of IDW's Optimus Prime ongoing comic. Coming to us from iTunes, we have a three page preview of issue #14, which is due just a few days before Christmas, on December 20th! Picking up right where issue #13 left off, we get right into it with Prowl leading a team consisting of Wheelie, Garnak, Stardrive(!) and a HUGE gun, on a mission to save the Throttlebots (who'd been MIA for the better part of a decade, since Spotlight: Metroplex, waaaaaaaay back in 2008) from a horde of beast-mode Transformers.The other plot thread running through the issue is Optimus' team fighting the Dinobots over a cache of sparks that Trypticon is bringing to life. Read on below!

On Cybertron, Optimus Prime battles the Dinobots over the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years! But does he stand a chance when the Dinobots' newest member is two miles tall and eats cities?

So what do you think? Are you planning on picking this issue up when it comes out in a few weeks? Stay tuned to Seibertron.com for a full preview in a week or two, then come back to the Energon Pub Forums to discuss this issue when it's released.

Holy slag, that poor thing is part dire wraith.

Sunstar wrote:Holy slag, that poor thing is part dire wraith.

I had hoped that wouldn't be the case with her, but hopefully it's like that G.I. Joe character (Doc?) who's half Wraith and one of the good guys. Seems like Stardrive doesn't let any Wraith part of her take over.

Hmmm. There was a Dire Wraith in a MTMTE issue of Revolution who seemed pretty nice.
I am guessing they're not innately evil any more than humans or Cybertronians.

Maybe it's a Venom type deal: it matters who the host is, and Stardrive is very strong-willed.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Up and to the right behind Hydra - is that Drancron?

Update: yep, it's Drancron: https://twitter.com/LivioRamondelli/sta ... 5655490562

Jumping waaaaay ahead here, but if they manage to use beasts as Unicronian heralds like in BW II and Armada that will be awesome

But what if they are the coming of Onyx instead? We know he's coming next year!

>The Primes return
>Everybody is shaking in their actuators
>Turns out they have returned to prepare Cybertron for something even worse
"The tribes must unite!"
"There aren't really tribes anymore."
"If you say 'unite' do you mean 'combine'?
"This is an outrage! We have fought to rid ourselves of oppressors for millions of years!"
"Wait, what does this mean? Were these guys created by the Guiding Hand?"
"What would Primus do?"
"Is Optimus one of these Primes?"
"Scrap that - is Megatron?"
"You are being deceived!"


Also... still rooting for this to be true.

It doesn't surprise me that Stardrive is now part Dire Wraith based on the conclusion of Shining Armor. I just hope she's able to control that side of her.

I'm wondering why Prowl is missing an eye again. Maybe he had to fight someone for the Vamparc Ribbon? Maybe it's just artistic license or a straight-up goof.

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:It doesn't surprise me that Stardrive is now part Dire Wraith based on the conclusion of Shining Armor. I just hope she's able to control that side of her.

I'm wondering why Prowl is missing an eye again. Maybe he had to fight someone for the Vamparc Ribbon? Maybe it's just artistic license or a straight-up goof.

Why can't Prowl get his eye replaced or fixed? He's supposed to be incredibly capable and resourceful.
Come to think of it, why doesn't Elita-1 get her right-side antenna replaced? Is that deliberate, leaving the damage unfixed for many years? This might have been explained but I forgot.

It was a tiny bit. I assume too small to do more than give her an extra ability?

snavej wrote:

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:It doesn't surprise me that Stardrive is now part Dire Wraith based on the conclusion of Shining Armor. I just hope she's able to control that side of her.

I'm wondering why Prowl is missing an eye again. Maybe he had to fight someone for the Vamparc Ribbon? Maybe it's just artistic license or a straight-up goof.

Why can't Prowl get his eye replaced or fixed? He's supposed to be incredibly capable and resourceful.
Come to think of it, why doesn't Elita-1 get her right-side antenna replaced? Is that deliberate, leaving the damage unfixed for many years? This might have been explained but I forgot.

Well look at garnak. He’s got an eye patch now he didn’t during dark Cybertron. In fact all his wounds were healed From syndromica. The in-universe excuse is he has a healing factor, barber said that to fix the continuity goof. Real reason is Dark a Cybertron was drawn a year before release and the artists didn’t know he was injured. Same thing here. Livio is just following the last time he drew the characters. Prowls missing eye from the one panel he drew him in titans return even though it was repaired at the end of Sins of the wreckers only for Priscilla to follow and give him his missing eye only for her to have it repaired at the end of Titans Return and now it’s back to being gone again.

Tfwiki just put that maybe he’s missing it as a reminder of his betrayal he feels from a Prime.

Real reason: livio doesn’t bother to read previous book to follow continuity unity or it’s just in the script that it’s gone again.

Sabrewing wrote:Hmmm. There was a Dire Wraith in a MTMTE issue of Revolution who seemed pretty nice.
I am guessing they're not innately evil any more than humans or Cybertronians.

Maybe it's a Venom type deal: it matters who the host is, and Stardrive is very strong-willed.

Ryall's confirmed this. Wraiths like Doc and CONS4EVA were just a first glimpse into the fact that not all Dire Wraiths use magic for spooky evilness or whatever.

That said, Dire Wraiths are not interesting villains. I'm disappointed in this direction for Stardrive, but open to changing my mind about it. Not a good start though.

ScottyP wrote:

Sabrewing wrote:Hmmm. There was a Dire Wraith in a MTMTE issue of Revolution who seemed pretty nice.
I am guessing they're not innately evil any more than humans or Cybertronians.

Maybe it's a Venom type deal: it matters who the host is, and Stardrive is very strong-willed.

Ryall's confirmed this. Wraiths like Doc and CONS4EVA were just a first glimpse into the fact that not all Dire Wraiths use magic for spooky evilness or whatever.

That said, Dire Wraiths are not interesting villains. I'm disappointed in this direction for Stardrive, but open to changing my mind about it. Not a good start though.

Yeah they’re just Skrulls. A dime a dozen. You can make them as threatening as you want but they’re not really that interesting. IDW is trying to make them the worst enemy in the universe but cybertronians have already filled that roll for the past 12 years of IDW. Nothing wrong with that it’s a good idea and works.

Stardrive's alt mode looks interesting in this illustration. I can see Hasbto/Takara retooling the Titans Return Misfire mold into this character. That could be an interesting possibility.

WarMachine72 wrote:Stardrive's alt mode looks interesting in this illustration. I can see Hasbto/Takara retooling the Titans Return Misfire mold into this character. That could be an interesting possibility.

Well Takara isn’t gonna do it because they have no attachment to her and the Titan master gimmick is gone now so don’t hold out too much hope.

And exactly what attachment do they have to Windblade, which they have made multiple figures of?

Randomhero wrote:

WarMachine72 wrote:Stardrive's alt mode looks interesting in this illustration. I can see Hasbto/Takara retooling the Titans Return Misfire mold into this character. That could be an interesting possibility.

Well Takara isn’t gonna do it because they have no attachment to her and the Titan master gimmick is gone now so don’t hold out too much hope.

I'm more interested in seeing what Prowl has been up to, considering he was chilling on Luna 1. And where he found his hidden Vamparc Ribbons. And how he brought his team together.

Also, looks like poor Searchlight bit it. Dang, down to 3

Previews World has shown us a look at the retail cover B of the IDW Optimus Prime #14 comic that is set to release later this month around December 20th. The cover is done by artist, Casey Coller, as part of IDW's Artist Edition Cover month series. While the comic deals still with the fallout of the First-Strike series still, the production of the comic itself features the talents of writer, John Barber and the art skills of Livio Ramondelli inside the cover. The summary on PreviewsWorld states:

"On Cybertron, Optimus Prime battles the Dinobots over the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years! But does he stand a chance when the Dinobots' newest member is two miles tall and eats cities?

Lastly, the sales price is set to $3.99. Be sure to support the comic if you love it!

The third preview of this week's comics from IDW Publishing - as the Till All Are One Annual was covered already here - brings us back to Transformers proper, and the second part of the Livio Ramondelli-drawn issues featuring both the Throttlebots and the Dinobots in Optimus Prime #14. There are pretty much all of the possible spoilers for the previous issue present in the opening pages of this, so if you're a trade reader, or still waiting for #13, avoid the images below!

Will you be picking up the issue this week? Let us know what you think, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub discussion boards.

Optimus Prime #14
John Barber (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a) • Kei Zama (c)
On Cybertron, Optimus Prime battles the Dinobots over the first new Cybertronian life to emerge in four million years! But does he stand a chance when the Dinobots' newest member is two miles tall and eats cities?
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
Part of IDW’s Artist’s Edition Cover Month!
Optimus Prime deals with the fallout of the First Strike event!
Variant cover by James Raiz!

Anyone recognizing any Easter eggs in prowls weapons cache? So far I think I see AOE lockdowns face gun, maybe the sniper rifle from WFC/FOC and a second vamparc ribbon


Oh and a giant stone head of Unicron

Randomhero wrote:Anyone recognizing any Easter eggs in prowls weapons cache? So far I think I see AOE lockdowns face gun, maybe the sniper rifle from WFC/FOC and a second vamparc ribbon


Oh and a giant stone head of Unicron

I was looking at that head trying to figure out what it was. It looked more like a skull, but now I see Unicron clearly.

The one gun looks like Megatron's fusion cannon hanging from the roof. As for the others, I may need to reread A/M/P to see if I recognize any of them

I keep wanting to say that scythe is something but I have no idea. First I was thinking Straxus’s weapon of choice but that’s a sickle

The Unicron head I didn’t notice at first. I thought it was a table. Not gonna bitch and moan about Livio but it’s not a good drawing.

soooo, are IDW not allowed to let competent artists draw the Dinobots anymore? cuz for the last 2 (almost 3 years), every time the Dinobots show up, they're drawn by that hack Ramondelli.

the Dinobots are my favorite characters, and every time I read a solicit that mentions them I get excited. until I see Ramondelli's name in the art credits, at which point my excitement shrivels and dies like an earthworm on a Texas Sidewalk in July.

idw has dozens of amazing artists working for them. Matt Frank, Alex Milne, Jack Lawrence, Sarah Pietre Durocher, Guido Guidi, Kei Zama, Hayato Sakamoto, Andrew Griffin, E.J. Su, just to name a few.

hell, at this point i'd rather have Pat Lee back.

SG Roadbuster wrote:soooo, are IDW not allowed to let competent artists draw the Dinobots anymore? cuz for the last 2 (almost 3 years), every time the Dinobots show up, they're drawn by that hack Ramondelli.

the Dinobots are my favorite characters, and every time I read a solicit that mentions them I get excited. until I see Ramondelli's name in the art credits, at which point my excitement shrivels and dies like an earthworm on a Texas Sidewalk in July.

idw has dozens of amazing artists working for them. Matt Frank, Alex Milne, Jack Lawrence, Sarah Pietre Durocher, Guido Guidi, Kei Zama, Hayato Sakamoto, Andrew Griffin, E.J. Su, just to name a few.

hell, at this point i'd rather have Pat Lee back.

Because hes reliable and can meet deadlines? Sadly half those artists have either other commitments, been unable to commit to deadlines or just been unavailable due to whatever reason. While I’m not a fan of his art he’s a nice dude and has an outstanding relationship with the editors and that’s why he gets work. He’s a dude that draws, inks and colors his own stuff and makes the deadline. I’ll respect that with him.

OK, so to start things off with, this was a difficult story for me to get my head around. When I first read this issue, I had to take a step back, wonder what I just read, take a few more moments, and reread. And even then, I still wasn't sure of what I read.

Take a few moments to read some other staff inputs, and some more sense it made.



Now, that is not to say that this is an issue that is very confusing. It's not an issue where we are jumping around time, not one where things are jumbled, not one where the writing is bad. The story itself is a really good read and another great installment for the Optimus Prime run. It's just an issue where, much like last issue, there is a lot of stuff going on. It is dense in its content. And most of that is saved for the final few pages, where a reveal throws all kinds of continuity dense implications to us.



Now that we got that out of the way, here are some actual thoughts. The opening pages with Prowl and crew, it felt cool and yet unique. Here we have a crew of misfits essentially, those who have not been accounted for over the past few years, mostly. Wheelie and Garnak once again make a triumphant return, the Throttlebots, and Stardrive, not to mention all of Prowl's tech. The one oddball thing about this whole section: what on Earth is Prowl gathering everything for? And why this crew of characters? It does make me smile some to see Prowl is still up to his old ways, even if it does feel a bit weird following the ending of Titans Return.

Cut back to Cybertron: the whole section feels just a bit wonky, but it still works out for me. This is the first part that gave me some pause. The way the characters fight each other feels a bit weird, but bringing together characters developed in different stories for this section will do that to you. I did enjoy the Trypticon "reveal" part though, and jokes about Dinobot child resemblance made me smirk several times. The writing with the Dino-crew is a great story in and of itself to follow.



Arcee had some good moments in there, as did Prime. With Till All Are One coming out with some big new story developments, it was fun to see Starscream interact with both Bumblebee and Bludgeon. I'm interested to see where the Dinobots go from here too, along with Sandstorm.

As for the final 2 pages, that is a reveal I didn't see coming, but one where things make all kinds of sense, and they make me worry about what is about to happen next. Taking 2 of the biggest... pricks/pains-in-the-back characters and now showing them to be in cahoots with each other is interesting and a take that is setting up even more tension prior to the Unicron story to come. Barber is probably the only one who could handle this whole set up, and as far as I am concerned, he is nailing it, and he is setting us up for some truly fun stuff to come.



The story was helped a lot by Livio Ramondelli and his art, and as I and others have said, his art has improved greatly. I really enjoyed the scenes he was drawing, and there are distinct close ups that he nails perfectly, such as Arcee and Prowl. Everything Trypticon is awesome in this story too. I give props to Livio for continued improvement, his art has become something that is quire enjoyable to follow.



And Tom B. Long continues to do great work with the lettering. I am especially appreciative of the inverted speech bubble colors. He helps add that mysticism that Bludgeon is helping to set up.

As a close friend of mine likes to say: "long story short": this is a great book, and one that nicely compliments issue 13 as a 2 part continuity-heavy saga leading up to the Primes and Unicron. Things are being done, they are being done right, and they are being done enjoyably, with no major complaints on story, art, or otherwise.



The story has moved, old continuity points are being sewed up, and we are getting set for a big year next year with comics. And I am glad this crew continues to be a flagship for the comic run.

The captions were masterful, well done!

In the full list of IDW Publishing comics solicitations for January 2018 - posted here - we had seen one of the covers for the upcoming The Falling arc in the Optimus Prime ongoing series, by Casey Coller.

We now also have, directly from the source herself and via fellow Seibertronian Sunstar, the cover as imagined by regular artist Kei Zama and colourist Josh Burcham, featuring a very different take on the concept, though with Optimus, Windblade and the Mistress of Flame still taking front stage. Give it an eye below!

Also mirrored from Previews World is the Brendan Cahill retailer incentive cover, featuring a scene with Megatron and Optimus Prime that has nothing to do with the interior of the comic itself, but pretty impressive nonetheless!

“THE FALLING, PART 1!” Darkness falls over Cybertron as the legendary Onyx Prime returns. What does this mean for Optimus Prime—and the Earth? Windblade defends an already tense planet against a secret that could shatter Cybertron forever.

Thanks to a tip from fellow Seibertronian Soundwave902, who pointed us towards iTunes, we have the initial three-page preview for Transformers: Optimus Prime #15! This issue promises the return of the big bad Onyx Prime, whose return has been hinted, assumed, and downright spelled out over the last couple of years in IDW comics. Check out the preview below, and head back here for the full preview, and a rousing discussion, once the issue is released on January 17th!

“THE FALLING, PART 1!” Darkness falls over Cybertron as the legendary Onyx Prime returns. What does this mean for Optimus Prime—and the Earth? Windblade defends an already tense planet against a secret that could shatter Cybertron forever.

I see Optimus Primal and BW Megatron!

Oh man, here's the meat. And Zama/Burcham is doing fantastic work of it.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww yeah, this is what I have been looking forward to! And Primal and Beast Megatron are there! Hopefully they actually get called out by name this time, seeing as how both were seen in issue 10 I believe(?) and unnamed in Trion's story.

This going to be epic I can’t wait. I can’t wait for the Beast Wars cameos.

The art is fantastic Zama and Burcham are a perfect team.

Am I being blind? I can see Optimus Primal clearly but I can't see bw Megs...there's also a few others I recognise like the bunny one, but I can't place a name on him.

ZeroWolf wrote:Am I being blind? I can see Optimus Primal clearly but I can't see bw Megs...there's also a few others I recognise like the bunny one, but I can't place a name on him.

BW Megatron is alright right beside Primal in the same panel as him. He's a bit trickier to identify, but you can see the glow of his T-Rex head on his hand.

and the bunny would be Stampy, except he showed up in sins of the Wreckers in a different role, so it must be different

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Am I being blind? I can see Optimus Primal clearly but I can't see bw Megs...there's also a few others I recognise like the bunny one, but I can't place a name on him.

BW Megatron is alright right beside Primal in the same panel as him. He's a bit trickier to identify, but you can see the glow of his T-Rex head on his hand.

and the bunny would be Stampy, except he showed up in sins of the Wreckers in a different role, so it must be different

Ah I thought that spec was just the background showing through but yeah I can see it now, thanks.

So by the colors I’m guessing those two bots with The Mistress Flame are previous torchbearers.

Mr.MicroMaster wrote:So by the colors I’m guessing those two bots with The Mistress Flame are previous torchbearers.

Indeed! We've seen Praesidia before, in last year's TF annual.

Are you ready for some bots to the wall mythological action? Next week's IDW Publishing comic book, from the ongoing Transformers title Optimus Prime, sees John Barber, Kei Zama, and Josh Burcham bring back in full the story of Onyx Prime, the Mistress of Flame, and the Torchbearer predecessors to the Rust Renegades who form Victorion. You can see the full preview below, courtesy of fellow Seibertronian Sunstar and entertainment website Newsarama - join the conversation in the Energon Pub discussion boards, and stay tuned after the book's release for the Seibertron.com review!

Optimus Prime #1
Cover A: Kei Zama
John Barber (w) • Kei Zama (a & c)
“THE FALLING, PART 1!” Darkness falls over Cybertron as the legendary Onyx Prime returns. What does this mean for Optimus Prime—and the Earth? Windblade defends an already tense planet against a secret that could shatter Cybertron forever.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
· Variant cover by Brendan Cahill!

That onyx prime needs to appear as a toy...

ZeroWolf wrote:That onyx prime needs to appear as a toy...

Oh he is. You get a little Prime master

Randomhero wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:That onyx prime needs to appear as a toy...

Oh he is. You get a little Prime master

Don't forget Batman! Oh wait that's Onyx Primal...

Really looking forward to this!

Randomhero wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:That onyx prime needs to appear as a toy...

Oh he is. You get a little Prime master

I might still get him depending on his pretender sheLl. There's certainly a way they could get more money by giving us proper figures of the primes (well the ones we haven't got figures for yet)