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Post by Optimal Megatron on Jan 18, 2018 18:25:12 GMT -5
So, some things coming to a head with the latest issue of Optimus Prime (remember when Liege Maximo being out there was this big dangerous thing?) but certainly working well to give Onyx Prime a sufficiently apocalyptic entrance.
Meanwhile, Visionaries vs. Transformers did not get off to a very good start. Not helped by having a "memorial" for Kup in the end that was almost begging to say "Not a trick, not an imaginary story!" Maybe it's just my missing TAAO, but their writer's version of Ironhide is a bit more confrontational than Scott's.
Meanwhile, Lost Light had a good few issues and then the Mutineers Trilogy proceeded to end on a killfest that almost screams "Hey, now I don't have to worry about First Aid being part of a combiner anymore!" and just feels like a lousy thing to transition to the next arc over.
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Post by Deinonychus on Jan 19, 2018 11:26:25 GMT -5
Yanno...I'm kind of over the whole IDWverse post-Revolution. I always thought a big shared universe would be great, but the whole thing just seems messy and forced. Some quick encapsulated thoughts just to bring where I am with all this up to speed. OPTIMUS PRIME - This is a decent comic with some good side-characters, but it just seems like the story gets too bogged-down with everyone being unhappy with Optimus for one reason or another and then him going through the usual justification or self-doubt motions in response. TILL ALL ARE ONE - This one is in the can, but it was another decent yet overall unexciting read every month. Starscream's eventual fall from power just seemed rushed and anti-climactic. I wasn't expecting anything overtly spectacular or dramatic, just something with a little more narrative and emotional punch than "Hey everyone, look at what a baddie he is" LOST LIGHT - Continues to be my favorite title and the only reason I don't want to chuck the whole universe into Unicron's maw. However, since the "reboot" the narrative has been a little too scattered. The individual arcs have been entertaining, but I'd really like the full story to get back on the ship. Also, feels like there are just a couple too many non-toy characters being thrust into main roles lately. I usually have no issue with that (Aileron over in OP is the best) but it just seems excessive as of late. ROM - Good side characters surrounding a completely boring title character. Reading this book is a repetitive slog. MICRONAUTS - Alternates between entertaining and tedious. MASK - Hoo boy, this was the biggest disappointment of the whole Revolution. I like where they started and the changes they made to make MASK relevant to this universe and the modern times, buy the execution has just been extremely uninspiring. VISIONARIES - This really needs it's own deal and not plunked right into the Transformers sphere. ACTION MAN - This I actually really like. The whole super-spy thing really works for me and the entire cast is pretty fun and engaging. Too bad they aren't doing more with it. REVOLUTIONARIES - Another good title. The action and dialogue is a little skipable at times, but man, do they go off on some bonkers tangents as far as lore and plot go. I like the chances they take and the weird mish-mash everything becomes. If you're going to insist that something exists in a shared universe, this is the way to do it. GI JOE - Ugh. The Joes have become the connective tissue in this whole thing, and the result is their whole sphere being watered-down to the point of annoyance. It seems like almost every comic issue in any of these series has a Joe pop into the story. As big as a GI Joe fan as I am you'd think I'd like that, but it's disruptive and unnecessary. The main title isn't all that hot either. I am vaguely aware of some sort of social-media controversy concerning the writer or something, but whatever that has to do with, the comic itself is ugly, poorly written, and seems to lack a basic understanding of what makes GI Joe fun in the first place. But, to be fair, IDW GI Joe hasn't been real good since "Season 2" of the comic ended in 2012. So, that's my start-point from here. Unicron can't come quick enough.
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Post by machsabre on Jan 19, 2018 16:14:22 GMT -5
My quick thoughts about it all is basically this: A shared universe is a good thing, but the trick to making a good shared universe is for each component to stand strong on it's own. When they're all just piggy backing off Transformers, there's a serious problem there. If you remove ANY of the other Hasbro properties from the universe here, the Transformers will go along just fine and not miss a beat. But if you remove the Transformers? They're all screwed. Let's go point by point, like Deino did. Optimus Prime: This has pretty much become the Hasbroverse comic. It doesn't matter what you read, you kinda of have to read it. I don't like that. I was liking some of the story arcs with Aileron leading the nobodies to find Jazz, and having issues with Slide. But when they get back into the mythology stuff, like Prime being one of the Primes... It starts to drag. Yeahs ago, I said I had enough Unicron to last me a long time, and I guess it's not been long enough yet. Till All Are One: I'm really gonna miss that book. I thought it was one of the most interesting character developments of Starscream ever. Watching him go from that sneaky bastard sub-commander to sneaky bastard supreme leader to his eventual fall of his own design... I really liked it. Lost Light: This is one of those books that like the X-Men or Superman books, if it would be beneficial if it came out more frequently, like on a bi-weekly basis, with a rotating art team. because my biggest problem right now is that the story isn't going fast enough. ROM: I liked Rom. I really did. I found an interesting throwback to old horror sci-fi comics I used to read in the late 80s and early 90s from Dark Horse. But I don't think there was enough story for an ongoing series. I mean, it's a great concept, because this is one of the elements that work great in the Transformers Universe, having the Solstar Order be this antagonistic society that just really hates Cybertronians. Rom vs. the Transformers was a great miniseries. But... Micronauts: You cannot pay me enough to give a shit about the Micronauts. And the fact that the Microverse is Micronus Prime gets to what I was saying about not standing strong by itself. Rom and the Micronauts: Nope. Revolutionaries: I LOVED this comic and some of the obscure fucking references they'd pull out for it. From the Adventure Team to fucking Pound Puppies. That was an awesome ass book and I'm gonna miss it. Action Man: Liked it. It ended too shortly. But his story picked up in Revolutionaries, so that made me happy. M.A.S.K.: Just couldn't shake the feeling it was G.I.Joe-Lite for me. Jem and the Holograms: You know what? This book is great. I got no issues with it, other than knowing I'll never get to see Kimber and Stormer porn. Visionaries: What Deino said. Needs to be it's own thing. Being NuCybertron kinda sucks. And lastly... G.I.Joe: What the fuck is Skywarp doing on the G.I.Joe team?! No, seriously. Why is there a fucking Transformer on a goddamn G.I.Joe team?! Why is their headquarters the Decepticon mothership? Maybe they thought "Well, if we add a Transformer to it, people will read it." No, we won't. I read two issues, thought "This art sucks. This story sucks." And I bailed. Look, I'm all for a more light hearted, adventure oriented Joe book in the tone of the old cartoon shows. That's all gravy. But... This is NOT it. Oh my God, I fucking MISS the Devil's Due's G.I.Joe series. (And it's follow up series, Strike Force was cancelled before it began.) It doesn't help that G.I.Joe comes across like the S.H.I.E.L.D. of the Hasbroverse... And not the current AoS series that's doing goofy ass fun shit, like Ghost Rider and being stuck in the future with potential Killraven and the Freemen. But the lame ass Season One AoS. (Oh and by the way, that First Strike miniseries crossover? Does that co-writer name sound familiar to some of you?) And really... Look. A shared universe is a neat idea, if done right. And this is TOTALLY salvageable. Wildstorm had a rough beginning, but it eventually course corrected and became a pretty neat universe. If you'll permit me, I'd like to give my idea of how to do that. (Since, you know... I'm a webcomic guy, talking on a forum with only ten or so people. I OBVIOUSLY know what I'm talking about. ) Knock it down to three Transformers books a month and that's fucking it. Rename Optimus Prime as "Transformers" and get a shared artist on it and produce it bi-weekly. Lost Light keeps going. There's our three. ANd keep them out of the major crossovers for a while. There's too damn many team books. Other than Rom, there's no solo books and even that's not a solo book anymore. Be it a spin-off or a new character, we need to have a few solo character books. In fact, I'd say that it needs to out number the team books. They recently launched a Stretch Armstrong series... Use that! Make that your Spider-Man. Make that your teenage hero to focus on. Have Rom be a solo hero, but have him run around doing crazy ass sci-fi space shit, ala Silver Surfer. Go 1970s shitballs Kirbycrazy with it. Mine some of the more obscure Hasbro properties and see what can be used here. Hasbro and Takara owns Beyblades. Reimagine that fucker as something. (I could see it as an Darkhawk sort of series.) Kaijudo and the Duel Masters was something... There might be an Iron Fist type of story to tell. Ouija had two movies. (The second one was actually kinda good, believe it or not.) Create a new protagonist and have that be a means for a magic based series. (Hell, have it be Maxie from the old Barbie rival line, Maxie's World!) Fuck, they got Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders... Have that be your motherfucking Wonder Woman and Captain fucking Marvel! Hey, remember COPS? Yeah, you cocksuckers! Gimme a motherfuckin' "Bulletproof" Vess series! I'd go down on that shit!! Xevos... Zoids. There's some interesting shit to use! (Mother Fuckbuckets, can you imagine how awesome that shit would be with the Blade Liger fighting Devastator or some shit like that?) Inhumanoids. Be smarter about the releasing of these things. Find a more inexpensive method of distribution. Because I gotta say... Micronauts ain't worth $4. That all.
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Post by iacon45 on Jan 19, 2018 16:51:01 GMT -5
I have been really out of the loop with IDW since my local comic shop went belly up back in mid-2016. So I missed Titans Return and the last two big IDW-verse events but from the sound of it, it sounds like a great big mixed bag of awesome and crap. I was really enjoying MTMTE especially with Megatron as an Autobot and I loved how Thundercracker was being written but I've missed so much lately, I don't know where I would even begin and it looks like I'd be playing catch up especially with the Transformers having a hand in almost all the other IDW-verse titles. I admit though, I would be tempted to get back into them if Thundercracker had gotten his own series...that is if he is still awesome and with Buster. So....with all these other Hasbro-verse titles all having their roots and part of their story based around Transformers, has IDW done a Transformers/MLP crossover yet?
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Post by machsabre on Jan 19, 2018 17:15:04 GMT -5
Does this count? Otherwise, not yet.
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Post by SporkBot on Jan 19, 2018 18:25:59 GMT -5
All I'm getting from IDW is Lost Light and the main Turtles title (2/3 of the comics I get nowadays), and I still enjoy both. They're pricier, but I still feel like each issue is a solid read, and I'm never bored reading them. They don't waste dialogue. Though I will admit, it is sometimes hard to keep track of the 'Bots.
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Post by Optimal Megatron on Jan 19, 2018 18:43:09 GMT -5
Hmm, going by a title by title basis...
Optimus Prime: Like Mach said, this just has become the core "event" book, and frankly, it's not even about Optimus anymore. I'm seriously tired of everyone shitting on Optimus for trying to be a decent leader, even if some interesting bits of self doubt came out of it (like him admitting during First Strike that he's too used to being a military dictator that everyone listens to and not as sure of what to do in a group where most people don't listen or are actively against him). I like the epic Prime stuff that's coming out, though and I'm curious to see what they're doing with Unicron because it HAS been a while. I'm sad my idea about the Functionist Luna 2 becoming an accidental Unicron wasn't true, though.
Lost Light: This one.... Roberts' writing is getting schizophrenic, and occasionally it seems like there's shock just for shock's sake. This got really bad with Getaway's recent arc, if only because it starts with Getaway having Rook executed (because ha ha, he's just a toy character. No one cared about him). Then everyone that showed up apparently gets killed trying to escape except for conveniently the ones that Roberts had personally written prior (First Aid, Thunderclash, Riptide). I don't want to say Roberts literally killed off the rest of Defensor just because he didn't want to deal with that elephant in the room, but when fucking Star Saber can one-shot a combiner after having trouble fighting Cyclonus who's smaller than him, I feel like my bullshit meter is going off. Which is a shame because I was genuinely enjoying the arc up until that point. Also, the interesting bit of Atomizer, who was fully in on the mutiny plan, getting doubts and trying to turn things around would be a fun plotline, except Getaway murders him offscreen because apparently he's able to do so in a one-on-one fight without even any hint of resistance? Roberts has a terrible habit of writing stuff up to an important climax and then just cutting to another plot thread. He needs an editor to rein him in some, but at this point I think he's just too much of the IDW darling writer.
GI Joe: I just find this book frustrating. There's cool stuff at times (the Cobranarchists being 'native' Dire Wraiths using the symbology and genuinely working for Cobra, Doc and her dad being Dire Wraiths that AREN'T evil and just are trying to get by on Earth) and lots of stupid shit (everything to do with Rock and Roll. Grand Slam being incapable of being happy after the First Strike tie-in. The writer forgetting Destro's in a Cybertronian prison at the end of the last event and further writing him as a spineless lickspittle. Baroness going from...the Baroness... to putting on Cobra Commander's hood and going STARK RAVING MAD. Quick Kick being an insufferable asshole purely because the writer wanted someone to show up Snake Eyes). And the parts I would be interested in as a GI Joe book (say, the Joe team that's cameo'd repeatedly in Transformers? With Spike, Talon, and Flint?) aren't in here at all. Also, the world keeps giving Optimus Prime shit for doing his best to help people, while Skywarp, who killed half of the entire population of Beijing on a fucking lark in All Hail Megatron is treated as the goofy sociopath teammate of GI Joe. This gets really bad when you consider Talon is from Beijing and was there during the attacks, so you think he would know. Overall, this book does a couple good things and then hopelessly spoils them with all the shit the writer was doing. Supposedly it was supposed to get back to the more Saban style sci-fi GI Joe rather than GRITTY MODERN MILITARY THRILLER GI Joe, which is cool by me, but it sure didn't seem that the end product was that great. The previews of Scarlett's Strike Force didn't look any better. The only time I enjoyed the GI Joes since this configuration came in was in First Strike, and that was written by, conveniently, Scott and the guy that wrote the MASK Annual, which was actually good. Speaking of which...
M.A.S.K.: If I wasn't getting these on Comixology for a reduced price, I'd have dropped this a long time ago. As it is, MASK is a terrible, terrible book. The early bits before Miles betrayed them were decent, but the writing post-Revolution just became terrible. Nobody talks like that. The expressions in the art are horrible. The characters are completely inconsistent and the writing can't seem to keep the events of other books straight (the VENOM team were presumed dead in Revolution, but here, apparently they....survived? And were presumed dead in ANOTHER, DIFFERENT explosion that supposedly killed them before Mayhem teleported them out?). The sad thing is that the MASK Annual is a clever Hasbroverse retelling of a classic MASK storyline (three meteors that could be weaponized, race against time to get them together, someone's critically injured, then healed by the meteor's effects) that brings back classic elements like Dagger, ties it in nicely with GI Joe and Transformers, and even makes Miles Mayhem look like a competent schemer with the underworld connections we're told he has, rather than a raving lunatic with no coherent plan in the base book. It was such a great contrast of how GOOD the concept could be that it made the entire book look even worse by comparison. I only finished it because of the trainwreck value.
ROM: I love Rom, honestly. The Dire Wraiths are creepy, the ongoing clash of ideologies between himself, Livia, and Orphion is rather cool, and the secondary characters were just starting to come into their own. Rom vs. The Transformers was a GREAT crossover book that showed the strengths of a combined universe, and bits and pieces of it tying back into Rom proper were also clever. Furthermore, it could be its own thing since you didn't have GI Joe, the Transformers, or whatever popping in every issue. However, it couldn't apparently support its own thing, thus we got a merger with...
Micronauts: I liked this book when it was back in the Microverse. The minute they popped over to Earth, it just became awkward to justify the whole "Micro" in the title. Before then, it was kind of this weird Guardians of the Galaxy vibe I actually liked, and Karza is a fun villain to boot. But merging it in with everything else just didn't work.
Action Man: What can I say? This book was great. I'm sad it's gone. People should read it.
Revolutionaries: Probably the thing that used the IDWverse best, and not surprising since it's Barber writing it. I'm a little concerned about Kup apparently just shooting Razorclaw in the face to apparently justify why we never see Predaking again, but overall the book was really good and set up First Strike well with the ideological conflict between Colton and everyone else. I loved Colton and Savage arguing ideals on top of the building in the final battle, as it was a great scene in general.
Visionaries: I'm just.... this thing. Seriously, Krieger was a great villian and then.... suddenly he's a wizard? A wizard with enough experience with technology to make cybernetic limbs for Colton among other things, yet a rampant technophobe after the "reveal"? Merklynn and Krieger aren't the same goddamn character, and the books trying to tell me that are basically high off their ass. Killing Kup for shock value and the Visionaries aside from Leoric being smug, racist assholes who dislike Transformers (gee, like EVERY organic species in the ENTIRE IDWverse...), and this just doesn't have a good taste, much less for retroactively changing one of the characters I liked in Revolutionaries. It could get better, once we see more of the Visionaries beyond just the bad guys, but I think making them a crossover book introduction rather than waiting to establish them and THEN crossing over (like, say, Rom?) was a bad idea. It doesn't help when the writer says she was mostly there for reinventing the Visionaries and then they told her the Transformers would be involved. Oh, and she had to kill Kup, because they wanted Kup dead. It's bad Marvel editorial decisions, frankly.
I'm holding on to a degree, but... between this and IDW's bad delays and such there, it's increasingly hard to feel like following....anything beyond the Transformers books. Which is a shame, because before Revolution and after it, I was following a LOT of comics. More than I ever expected I would. And First Strike was a far more solid event than Revolution was up until the VERY last bit. What the fuck happened?
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Post by Deinonychus on Jan 19, 2018 20:18:58 GMT -5
Knock it down to three Transformers books a month and that's fucking it. Rename Optimus Prime as "Transformers" and get a shared artist on it and produce it bi-weekly. Lost Light keeps going. There's our three. ANd keep them out of the major crossovers for a while. I was thinking along these lines the other day, only slightly differently. Lost Light, Transformers (a renamed Prime but only monthly still) and then an anthology series called Tales of the Transformers or something. One to four issue story arcs that could encompass all aspects of Transformers history. Set a four issue arc in the old Marvel timeline. A pair of tales from the G1 cartoon. A Beast Wars 3-parter. A Prime or Animated one-shot. Toss in oddball side plots from the main IDWverse here or there. As long as they made an effort to keep good art and writers on it, it could be a huge hit. And on a tangent, I too would love to see the Devil's Due Joes come back. At least Hama is still doing Real American Hero (nearly 100 issues in!). It has some problems of its own (The weird space robot plot, Snake Eyes dying and then having another character immediately become the new Snake Eyes while the original's personality is now inside a teenage ninja girl, and the fact that Cobra hasn't DONE anything for a few years) but it still feels like GI Joe.
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Post by iacon45 on Jan 19, 2018 20:24:59 GMT -5
Knock it down to three Transformers books a month and that's fucking it. Rename Optimus Prime as "Transformers" and get a shared artist on it and produce it bi-weekly. Lost Light keeps going. There's our three. ANd keep them out of the major crossovers for a while. ...and then an anthology series called Tales of the Transformers or something. One to four issue story arcs that could encompass all aspects of Transformers history. Set a four issue arc in the old Marvel timeline. A pair of tales from the G1 cartoon. A Beast Wars 3-parter. A Prime or Animated one-shot. Toss in oddball side plots from the main IDWverse here or there. As long as they made an effort to keep good art and writers on it, it could be a huge hit. I was thinking something similar but more in line with the old IDW Spotlight books focusing on a particular character or maybe even a group. But I would prefer the focus to mostly be side and lesser characters that might not get the spotlight much.
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Post by darkseraph on Jan 30, 2018 18:15:31 GMT -5
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that had a bad taste left in their mouth by the Mutineers arc, mainly because it was advertised as Getaway getting his comeuppance, but instead it was just him getting an ego handjob and killing off people for the "Shock and Drama."
Also the nudge gun/Sunder combo really irks me, I thought the Nudge gun had limited ammo, so where the hell is he getting all these extra shots from?
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