IDW Transformers Number 8 Includes Trading Card Game Booster Pack

ZeroWolf wrote:You know what I would like to see in the future, comics based on other tf settings. IDW did a great job changing G1, could they do the same with G2? Or The Unicron Trilogy?

Maybe someday with Unicron Trilogy. It would be nice to get a comic series that had a beginning middle wand end with it since we didn’t get that without DW. I would even mind a maxi-series for each part. Like 12 issues for each part.

G2...it’d be neat to attempt the only problem is G2 is just G1 continued. I wouldn’t even mind if we went back to that coda issue from Mike costa that was ended his ongoing and made a what if since they decided to make that vision instead of a “final issue” to it all

I didn't fact check it, but came across this tid bit of news a bit ago...

https://bleedingfool.com/news/idw-publi ... rs-comics/

ctrlFrequency wrote:I didn't fact check it, but came across this tid bit of news a bit ago...

https://bleedingfool.com/news/idw-publi ... rs-comics/

Interesting, I don't quite agree with the guy's standpoint 100% but I do think it could go either way. It could be really, really good, or alternatively it could be absolute pants, depending on how it's approached. If the political element is grounded "in universe" only using IRL politics as basic inspiration, then it should be good. If it goes for ripped from the headlines/"OMG this villain is just this person I don't like!" approach it'll probably be awful.

I feel stupider having read the way that "news" post was written and the comments underneath. I still have no idea who this guy is! Though I'm wondering if this was already newsed as part of the announcement of the series.

If it's going to be based on real life politics, it's gotta be a tight story, because if the balance isn't struck just right, it's going to piss off a lot of people, regardless of which way it leans, and the title will suffer for it.

Just wondering, how much are booster packs? Are they the same price as the comic? Because then it could also be seen as a free comic packed with a booster pack
Also, does anyone know if these packs are different than the ones found in stores?

So quick thoughts here about IDW's Transformers A Bold New Era ...

A Bold New Era could have been about Bumblebee's origin. Aside from the very slow and unexciting storyline that features Transformers who aren't Autobots and Decepticons, why in the world didn't they make this story about Bumblebee instead? Replace "BS" made-up-character Rubble (I think of Barney and Betty every time I see him on the page) with Bumblebee, pair Bumblebee up with various veteran Autobots like Ironhide, Wheeljack, Kup, Prowl, etc (each who has a different "job" or skill that they can show Bumblebee), wrap up that story in an issue or two, or spread out as a sub-story amongst telling the story about the early days of the war?

Hopefully Transformers Galaxies and the other books coming out are more interesting than "A Bold New Era", which is anything but "bold".

Coming in hot! Things are really about to ramp up and heat up in this next issue! Or are they? Seems as though fans are finding the current series rather polarizing and haven't hesitated to share their feelings on the matter. Below we have the three page itunes preview for issue #9. Enjoy the preview and chime in with the crew about your feelings on the new series.

Also included after the preview for issue #9 is the alternate retail incentive cover for Transformers issue #10. This is from artist Jeffrey Veregge's ongoing poster series touring Cybertron. From his Twitter account "My latest Travel poster Retail Incentive cover for @IDWPublishing Transformers issue #10. The Great Cybertron War Memorial."

From Itunes's summary:
"Time is running out! Orion Pax, his friends, and the Autobot security forces have to get a grip on their murder investigations as their superior, Sentinel Prime, makes his return to Cybertron!"
GENRE: Comics & Graphic Novels
AVAILABLE: 2019, July 17
LANGUAGE: EN-English
LENGTH: 35 Pages
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
SIZE: 28.2MB

I think it is indicative of this series as a whole, when the preview is THREE PAGES OF TALKING HEADS. A preview is supposed to be a teaser, akin to a movie trailer, to lure you in. This isn't that.

Personally, I don't think from those I've talked to, this series is very 'polarising' at all either. I haven't heard anyone say they actually like it, on its own merits.

It has already committed one of the signs of a bad reboot, reuse of the immediate cast of the previous run IE Cyclonus, Sideswipe, Windblade etc. Although we don't know his personality yet, even Sentinel Prime from the solicit, has been plucked from Megatron: Origin in his original role and aesthetic.

Seibertron wrote:So quick thoughts here about IDW's Transformers A Bold New Era ...

A Bold New Era could have been about Bumblebee's origin. Aside from the very slow and unexciting storyline that features Transformers who aren't Autobots and Decepticons, why in the world didn't they make this story about Bumblebee instead? Replace "BS" made-up-character Rubble (I think of Barney and Betty every time I see him on the page) with Bumblebee, pair Bumblebee up with various veteran Autobots like Ironhide, Wheeljack, Kup, Prowl, etc (each who has a different "job" or skill that they can show Bumblebee), wrap up that story in an issue or two, or spread out as a sub-story amongst telling the story about the early days of the war?

Hopefully Transformers Galaxies and the other books coming out are more interesting than "A Bold New Era", which is anything but "bold".

that'd actually makes sense as if its REALLY a brand new continuity theres nothing to stop it. everything should be up for a change so BB "birth" isnt anti cannonical and instantly is garners more emotional investment.

TBH at this stage i dont think IDW KNOW how to do a transformers story anymore and ive have basically given up on them now.

hiring the lad from VOX DOESNT bode well at all either. i mean FFS the industry is in freefall and theres NO professional comics writer willing to take up a TF book? the only guy they can find is a weirdo leftist? that just smacks of politics to me, and the type of editorial decisions thats ruined these comics. i have no faith in galaxies at all now.

what "bold new era" has been so far IMO is bacsically half a walking tour of iacon, and half CSI cybertron.

whilst thats a nice idea for a mini series, thats NOT the core concept of this franshise and i dont think its what fans want from a "main" book.

like ive said before, TF without the war is like batman without crime. ya can DO books like that but the vast majority dont want em.

i WILL say the pace has picked up a bit in it - probably due to complaints being finally heard and getting ahead of the producion schedule (the two weekly thing means they gotta commit longer than a monthly one) .

but for me its too little too late. i look at this book and i really dont see anything to grip me. its like bad fanfic.

Dammit, Nautica is being reused too? I'm tired of these carbon-copy imports from the last continuity like ancient and enigmatic Cyclonus, hardass Prowl, and morally duplicitous Froid. I really enjoyed the new life they breathed into obscure characters the first time around, and was hoping for a new cast of these obscure characters.

Diaboragon wrote:Dammit, Nautica is being reused too? I'm tired of these carbon-copy imports from the last continuity like ancient and enigmatic Cyclonus, hardass Prowl, and morally duplicitous Froid. I really enjoyed the new life they breathed into obscure characters the first time around, and was hoping for a new cast of these obscure characters.

Indeed. That is what a reboot should be.

I really think HasTak should look into giving the license to someone else. Maybe Dark Horse or Valiant. Certainly someone new, with fresh ideas.

They would only give the licence to someone else if IDW either folded or just refused to relicense it. As far as hasbro is concerned, as long as IDW pay up, everything is peachy.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Diaboragon wrote:Dammit, Nautica is being reused too? I'm tired of these carbon-copy imports from the last continuity like ancient and enigmatic Cyclonus, hardass Prowl, and morally duplicitous Froid. I really enjoyed the new life they breathed into obscure characters the first time around, and was hoping for a new cast of these obscure characters.

Indeed. That is what a reboot should be.

I really think HasTak should look into giving the license to someone else. Maybe Dark Horse or Valiant. Certainly someone new, with fresh ideas.

I think this is all Hasbro approved and probably partly based on Hasbro demands/suggestion. So you would get the same thing elsewhere.

Most likely.

Let's be honest, the last few years of IDWverse were "Transformers" only in branding and likenesses. This new line is the logical progression of that. I doubt anyone would be given the creative flexibility that Simon Furman had at the start of IDWverse, especially now. Given Hasbro's obsession with all that "brand synergy" nonsense.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Most likely.

Let's be honest, the last few years of IDWverse were "Transformers" only in branding and likenesses. This new line is the logical progression of that. I doubt anyone would be given the creative flexibility that Simon Furman had at the start of IDWverse, especially now. Given Hasbro's obsession with all that "brand synergy" nonsense.

Yeah, i think the same.

william-james88 wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Indeed. That is what a reboot should be.

I really think HasTak should look into giving the license to someone else. Maybe Dark Horse or Valiant. Certainly someone new, with fresh ideas.

I think this is all Hasbro approved and probably partly based on Hasbro demands/suggestion. So you would get the same thing elsewhere.

It looks to me like this almost entirely IDW's decision on cast inclusion. The only recent Siege-line bots that have had a tangible effect on the plot are Chromia and Prowl, not coincidentally two big names from last time. (Prime and Megs are already a given in any continuity). Our protagonists, Bumblebee and Windblade don't even have toys as of now. Quake, the Decepticon with the most presence so far, isn't part of the current toyline either and those who are are relegated to mere cameos or minor roles like Ironhide,Refraktor, and Skytread.
The point is, IDW is telling the story with the characters they want, and only sparingly using Hasbro's merchandise tie-ins.

I keep hoping it will take off more.

But honestly, Cyclonus is the lone highlight of the series for me so far.

Man, there's some straight up negativity coming from this forum.

While I don't expect glowing reviews (since many also complain about the toys themselves), some of us are enjoying the series. Does it suffer from a lack of action, as we are accustomed to? Maybe. It's not like there aren't plenty of talking heads issues in the previous continuity - but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

While I don't buy just whatever because it has a Transformers logo on it, I think the criticisms are excessive. But hey, opinions are like a-holes.

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

Maybe, but the point remains it was scattershot across the entire run. Plenty of talking happened in Autocracy, too.

sol magnus wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

Maybe, but the point remains it was scattershot across the entire run. Plenty of talking happened in Autocracy, too.

I just went to check and Autocracy straight laid out how we get started in the war. So no, that part is not scattershot. Anyone who is curious can read just that book. It'd rather boring how straightforward everything is.

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

It's really beside the point, anyway. You guys are welcome to hate the series, the direction, the writer, the whatever. To me, it's more of the same. Same as it ever was.

I will continue to enjoy the cerebral (although admittedly action light) origin story. The thing about the action is, that can always change. Of course, if it turns into all shooting, then people will say there's no development.

I thought autocracy showed how the war started.

Maybe, but the point remains it was scattershot across the entire run. Plenty of talking happened in Autocracy, too.

I just went to check and Autocracy straight laid out how we get started in the war. So no, that part is not scattershot. Anyone who is curious can read just that book. It'd rather boring how straightforward everything is.

That's fine. I'll take that, but Autocracy came out years into the initial IDW run. This series is starting shortly before the war. Maybe when we get there, Prime (or Pax) can punch Megatron in the face or something.

sol magnus wrote:Man, there's some straight up negativity coming from this forum.

While I don't expect glowing reviews (since many also complain about the toys themselves), some of us are enjoying the series. Does it suffer from a lack of action, as we are accustomed to? Maybe. It's not like there aren't plenty of talking heads issues in the previous continuity - but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

While I don't buy just whatever because it has a Transformers logo on it, I think the criticisms are excessive. But hey, opinions are like a-holes.

My main problem comes down to 3 things with this story, which previous stories handled much better in at least 1 of them, usually more:

1) Art. art is one of the most important things for me. I want to be visually entertained. That is why the first half of LL, Heart of Darkness, and IDW 2009-2011 ongoing are not good for me, but MTMTE, the BW comics, and Windblade volume 1 are among my favorites: the art is spotless and fantastic and pulls you in. The art of this series, now 9 issues in, has been incredibly spotty and the main artist has shown a regression in quality. What you see on a glance is exactly what you get, and if you look longer, it doesn't get any better or more interesting

2) Character development. this is another one that I am struggling with here. Bumblebee's personality has been all over the map between series lately and then this series as well. The only characters I feel that have had any sort of characterization shown past talking heads is Prowl and Cyclonus. The rest are either really straight forward or anything we know about them comes from some words. MTMTE was guilty of a lot of text, but there was great art and character development to back that up. This one doesn't have that yet.

3) Plot Progression. Have some plot, plant seeds, have some grow quick, have others cultivate in a long term but interesting fashion. This book's biggest moments were the death of Brainstorm (a now beloved character), the death of Rubble (unexpected, violent, and actually had some nice leadup), and Cyclonus and his ghosts. That's it. 9 issues and nothing. I know it's unfair to compare, but MTMTE had put out a great intro, a thriller sparkeater, a hostage crisis, a medical emergency, a fearsome hit squad of thugs, a now beloved squad of cons who caught attention from the moment they were on page, and started a great 3 part pre-war story. The beginning of IDW also had some good stuff: Infiltration was done and half of Escalation was too, and that had the 3 big things above. Heck, Stormbringer did in 4 issues what almost all of the crossovers later in the series couldn't do, and that was deliver a great looking, reading, and immersing story.

In short, one of these 3 needs to pick up, cause 3 is amazing, 2 is really good, 1 is at least interesting, but having none of the 3 makes for a difficult to keep in it story, to me at least

Well, your complaints are well articulated. And that's fine. I'm not saying there are no legit gripes with the series - but, it's never going to be "perfect", even if such a thing exists.

sol magnus wrote:Well, your complaints are well articulated. And that's fine. I'm not saying there are no legit gripes with the series - but, it's never going to be "perfect", even if such a thing exists.

I witnessed perfection and it was in the form of IDW Transformers 22 and 23.

f course, thats just my opinion and just 2 issues rather than an entire series

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

So which was the point you were looking for? How the war got started (your initial comment) or when it started (your reply)?

How it got started was addressed in Megatron: Origin. The Autobots were a fascist ruling class, that oppressed its workers. Through circumstance a figurehead rose up to unite said oppressed and overthrow those in power. That is exactly how the war started and. In contrast to the new continuity, that was all covered within 4 issues.

Autocracy was part of the Retconned IDWverse origin. Chiefly because it read like those disgruntled to read Megatron was the initial protagonist, the Autobots were the villains and Optimus wasn't even a part of the origin story. Some clearly didn't like how new and different IDWverse was at it's inception. Explaining why those early days were repackaged into something more "G1 friendly".

Also please don't try to assert that this new run is anything approaching a "cerebral" story. I've read comics for 30 years. For cerebral books, I'd point you to Alan Moore, Grant Morrison or a whole host of Indie authors.
This current IDWverse is superficial story telling with clunky, heavy exposition and very little substance beyond that.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

sol magnus wrote:but none of them straight laid out how we get started in the war, either. All of that is scattershot across the continuity.

Megatron: Origin did exactly that. The first canonical story in the pre-retconned IDWverse.

Umm, no. The war hadn't started at the end of the series. Megatron said he "had a few ideas."

Also please don't try to assert that this new run is anything approaching a "cerebral" story. I've read comics for 30 years. For cerebral books, I'd point you to Alan Moore, Grant Morrison or a whole host of Indie authors.
This current IDWverse is superficial story telling with clunky, heavy exposition and very little substance beyond that.

Not gonna address the war origin part, because it's splitting hairs.

I didn't say this series was "cerebral," and wouldn't exactly look to Transformers for that kind of storytelling anyway, since there's always a sales component to it. I've been reading comics for quite a while myself. I know the difference.

The main thing where we part ways is you don't like and I do. Were you the one who pretty much proclaimed everybody hates it? Not sure, don't have time to read up. I for one, don't hate it, and am hoping it's all leading somewhere satisfying. I, like many, could use some more action. But I'm not throwing the baby out with the bath water.

To me there is nothing to like. Or dislike. Because eight issues in and nothing has happened.

Characterisation is also nonexistent, other than what is accepted as pre-established. For example, by issue one or two of Infiltration, you had a sense of the new personalities of Ratchet, Starscream and others. All the developmental focus of the new run has been on two characters, max. Everyone else, you are just left to presume they think and act as you assume they would from previous continuity. Has Pax or Megs been given any depth beyond being Orion Pax and Megatron, badgeless?
That is what a new continuity needs to do as quickly as possible.

As I said before, by issue 8, IDWverse was into Stormbringer IE World Building and in the way most important to comics, as a visual medium, by showing said building, not talking about it.

What I "proclaimed" was no one has talked positively about this. To state a book is "hated" is childish and frankly that kind of attitude is beneath me. I treat what I read rationally, as an adult.

With the current series being where it’s at where would each of you see a cool upswing?

Say you’re the new writer taking the title in a bold new direction, where do you take us?

All perspectives welcome totally just making conversation.

Next immediate issue/arc: Threefold Spark War.

As IDWverse did with Stormbringer, showing why the Cybertronians abandoned Cybertron (a great new idea that each subsequent writer gave up on). The new book needs to SHOW why their race has imposed such restrictions upon itself.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Next immediate issue/arc: Threefold Spark War.

As IDWverse did with Stormbringer, showing why the Cybertronians abandoned Cybertron (a great new idea that each subsequent writer gave up on). The new book needs to SHOW why their race has imposed such restrictions upon itself.

I can agree with that. Even a story unto itself, in a separate series.

There are a lot of valid criticisms in this thread, but the people who complain about having too many words in a book...

Though I'm seriously considering "Weirdo Leftist" as a new screen name. It speaks to me.

I haven't warmed to the new series yet, but I went into it expecting that my love for the characters in the previous universe would bias me against the reboot that ended that series, so I don't know that my marginal interest in the series isn't because of that.

People saying that the characters are more of the same I don't really get - Bumblebee and maybe Optimus are more or less the same, but the others feel significantly different. Which would be fine; it's a new timeline, and it's at a different point in time, so a lot of characters should be different. Unfortunately, the new versions of the characters are generally pretty flat.

In the previous series Prowl was fun because he was ruthless, and a great thematic mirror to Shockwave. Now Prowl is just... mildly abrasive? Which we largely know from what other characters say about him, rather than from his own actual actions.

Chromia was arguably more ruthless than Prowl, had moral conflicts with her duties, had a dry snark that was fun, and yet also had a vulnerable streak. Interesting character. Now she's cop, and that's about it.

Cyclonus was basically a man-out-of-time, thrust back into a world where he no longer belonged. Interesting character. Now he's a war vet with PTSD, which can be interesting, but at this point can also be hackneyed. Authors love to write about veterans with PTSD, because it's a safe form of 'wokeness' - deep and controversial without actually being controversial or especially deep. People seem really excited about Cyclonus, but I'm just feeling like, 'Oh, here we go again.'

Soundwave was a tool of 'the man' who found liberation in the Decepticon cause and threw himself into it fanatically for reasons that were relatable and even good. Interesting! Now he's a senator himself, but as a high-profile office holder, for some reason he still runs around doing shady things personally, rather than delegating his questionable activities to his cassettes and/or interns. His motivations are ambiguous and his competency as well.

Megatron was a writer first and foremost, and had more beautifully crafted dialogue than he's ever been given in any Transformers canon. His talent for using words to inspire or demoralize was amazing (I ended up quoting him in the foreword to my dissertation). While he seems to be having more legitimate success in this new universe, it's hard to see why - his one big speech sounded like it was written by an uninspired high schooler.

Of course, Rubble wasn't in the previous universe - he's a new character, with all sorts of potential. There's no way to guess how his character development and choices might influence the pl-

Overall, while I respect the idea of starting a new continuity from the beginning, that's still not what we have - a great deal of time is invested in world/history building retrospectively, revealing things that have already happened, and which seem generally more interesting than the story line transpiring in the comics' present.

See I'd be interested in a "political intrigue" story if it actually did something fresh and interesting rather than just "IRL politics complete with author's biases BUT WITH ROBOTS". Or heck, even if it did take inspiration from IRL politics but didn't use the exact same sources of inspiration as every other "political intrigue" story with the exact same biases.

There's loads of ways one could approach the "rise to power of evil dictator" story from a political angle. If you must use allegory (like Tolkein I rather dislike it) you could do a critique of Socialism, with Megatron championing a downtrodden workforce in some principality of Cybertron and rising up to cast down the oppressive Autobot overlords...only to discover that they totally lack the means, resources or knowledge to sustain themselves at even the most basic level, let alone the "free stuff" utopia Megatron dreamt of, resulting in the Decepticon state becoming an absolute trainwreck relying on invading neighboring states to get the resources needed to feed the woefully inefficient and corrupt workings of the Decepticon Union. Whilst obviously the immediate IRL parallel would be the Soviet Union, you could also work in a bit of the mess going on in places like South Africa and Zimbabwe ("Let's reclaim these farms from the colonist descendants for we natives!...Oh. Wait. We have no idea how to run these farms, and they're falling apart and we're starving. Whoops!").

There's so many cases of well-intentioned (and not so well-intentioned) people coming to power and slowly being twisted into insane despots by the corrupting influence of power and the harshness of reality. It's a shame that it'll most likely be yet another "ZOMG the villain is totally HITLER and the bad guys are all NAZIS!!!!" mess which doesn't do anything new with the concept and just uses loose IRL allegories as narrative punching bags, whilst also completely ignoring the IRL factors that lead to the rise of their inspirations in the first place (in the case of Nazi Germany, for example, the atrocious state of the country post-WW1 thanks to the Treaty of Versailles, leading to utter economic ruin save for a privileged few, who of course became immediate scapegoats).

Black Hat wrote:There's loads of ways one could approach the "rise to power of evil dictator" story from a political angle. If you must use allegory (like Tolkein I rather dislike it) you could do a critique of Socialism, with Megatron championing a downtrodden workforce in some principality of Cybertron and rising up to cast down the oppressive Autobot overlords...only to discover that they totally lack the means, resources or knowledge to sustain themselves at even the most basic level, let alone the "free stuff" utopia Megatron dreamt of, resulting in the Decepticon state becoming an absolute trainwreck relying on invading neighboring states to get the resources needed to feed the woefully inefficient and corrupt workings of the Decepticon Union. Whilst obviously the immediate IRL parallel would be the Soviet Union, you could also work in a bit of the mess going on in places like South Africa and Zimbabwe ("Let's reclaim these farms from the colonist descendants for we natives!...Oh. Wait. We have no idea how to run these farms, and they're falling apart and we're starving. Whoops!").

So, Animal Farm and basically every McCarthy-to-Reagan era wet dream of Capitalism being God's chosen economic system. But with alien robots.

Re: Authorial Bias: Fiction isn't supposed to be objective. Any author who has any passion about what s/he is writing has something to sell, philosophically, morally, or politically.

But even considering that, I have always found it odd that political Cons get so upset about liberal biases in IDW's Transformers comics. Certainly there's an absence of a proconservative bias, but I read the Decepticons' story arc in the previous run as a cautionary tale for liberals - not about what our opposition could become, but what we could become. Megatron and Soundwave, especially, spoke to the slippery slope of moral compromise that one can encounter when trying to resist right wing authorianism.

Edit: I mean, for Pete's sakes, Megatron: Origin ends with Megatron assassinating a narrative effigy of how Liberals view conservative politicians. Sentinel Prime represents everything Liberals hate, but Megatron murdering him was what triggered a massive civil war and began the Deceptions on a path towards becoming as bad as him.

Dr. Caelus wrote:

Black Hat wrote:There's loads of ways one could approach the "rise to power of evil dictator" story from a political angle. If you must use allegory (like Tolkein I rather dislike it) you could do a critique of Socialism, with Megatron championing a downtrodden workforce in some principality of Cybertron and rising up to cast down the oppressive Autobot overlords...only to discover that they totally lack the means, resources or knowledge to sustain themselves at even the most basic level, let alone the "free stuff" utopia Megatron dreamt of, resulting in the Decepticon state becoming an absolute trainwreck relying on invading neighboring states to get the resources needed to feed the woefully inefficient and corrupt workings of the Decepticon Union. Whilst obviously the immediate IRL parallel would be the Soviet Union, you could also work in a bit of the mess going on in places like South Africa and Zimbabwe ("Let's reclaim these farms from the colonist descendants for we natives!...Oh. Wait. We have no idea how to run these farms, and they're falling apart and we're starving. Whoops!").

So, Animal Farm and basically every McCarthy-to-Reagan era wet dream of Capitalism being God's chosen economic system. But with alien robots.

I mean, Animal Farm IS one of my favourite books, and whilst capitalism ain't perfect (though ultimately no system ever can be, as "utopian" ideals never work out- which would be an interesting theme to play with incidentally) it's sure better than the alternatives, especially that one they tried up until about '91 which caused more deaths than just about any other regime in history.

Black Hat wrote:I mean, Animal Farm IS one of my favourite books, and whilst capitalism ain't perfect (though ultimately no system ever can be, as "utopian" ideals never work out- which would be an interesting theme to play with incidentally) it's sure better than the alternatives, especially that one they tried up until about '91 which caused more deaths than just about any other regime in history.

Right wing authorianism in a pink dress is still fascism.

Edit: And if the bodies were tallied honestly capitalism would be far deadlier than any other economic system. At least, I'm sure it'll reach first place in thirty years or so.

Dr. Caelus wrote:Edit: I mean, for Pete's sakes, Megatron: Origin ends with Megatron assassinating a narrative effigy of how Liberals view conservative politicians. Sentinel Prime represents everything Liberals hate, but Megatron murdering him was what triggered a massive civil war and began the Deceptions on a path towards becoming as bad as him.

Sometimes, a rose is just a rose. Or an oppressed underclass rising up against a fascist dictatorship, as I read it. Plus all that sounds like American political claptrap, of which the Scottish author Eric Holmes, isn't.

You can never know the intent of authors unless they say it themselves, I mean the president at the time was G W Bush, and its quite easy for a non-American to hold a view of American politics now in the days of the web.

Now with the recent reveal of Battlemaster Rung, does this mean he'll be re-entering the comics? Maybe being a font for Primus from the get go. It is good though to see that these characters are getting their due and will maybe start to appear in other media, thus proving there is a taste out there for brand new characters.

ZeroWolf wrote:You can never know the intent of authors unless they say it themselves, I mean the president at the time was G W Bush, and its quite easy for a non-American to hold a view of American politics now in the days of the web.

I'm sceptical about that. Nothing within Origin really parallels Bush Era. Which like with the current Trump Era, if an author has something to say directly, it isn't subtle.

ZeroWolf wrote:Now with the recent reveal of Battlemaster Rung, does this mean he'll be re-entering the comics? Maybe being a font for Primus from the get go. It is good though to see that these characters are getting their due and will maybe start to appear in other media, thus proving there is a taste out there for brand new characters.

Well given they are shamelessly lifting the cast of the last continuity into the new one, anything is possible. Maybe one day we'll get a genuine reboot

Surely lifting the characters out isn't the problem, but having the exact same characterisation is? I mean prime and the like are consistently recycled, so what's wrong with Rung and Co joining in?

The cast isn't what's harming this series, the writing is but then I wonder... Do hasbro want this series to run concurrently with the trilogy? Is that why the series has been paced the way it has?

A reboot is a fresh start, with in theory, fresh characterisation. Infiltration for example, no one spoke or really acted as the last time they were seen, in G1/G2. Plus the cast you saw in the last issues of Marvel US and UK, were not those in Infiltration #1.

It is not always a right or wrong answer. It is about fulfilling a brief. A Reboot does not mean copy & paste the last run, in any form, it means begin again from scratch.

I think the book will change as soon as the WFC cartoon starts.

A cartoon on which we still don't Know much about... Good thing it's SDCC this week

What I don't understand is why we have to have yet another "serious business" type story. Is it impossible to just have a fun Transformers comic? Heck, it's not even like having silliness and daft robot antics precludes having hidden depths or serious parts; look at Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell manga as an example. It features top-class worldbuilding, intriguing hard-sci-fi concepts and some heavy moments, but you still have the Major being a drunken goofball and occasionally turning into a floofy gremlin for comedic effect. And even in Transformers itself, some of the best entries in the franchise (Animated and Beast Wars) were often really, really silly. Heck, the G1 cartoon wasn't exactly fine art, as much as I like it.

I dunno, rather than focusing on trying to be "deep and meaningful" I'd much rather they just made something enjoyable. Sod the socio-political commentary, throw the unconvincing drama out the window and just give us a fun robot romp that anyone can enjoy.

Or if they must try and add some kind of food for thought, make it something interesting. I would suggest a criticism of consumerism, the "Don't ask questions, just buy product and be excited for next product" mindset and how easily people are duped into buying products from massive brands thinking they'll make them more complete/better people/whatever (example: "If you don't watch this movie, buy the merchandise and make your friends do the same you're behind the times/a bad person!"), but given the semi-toy-selling aspect that's never happening in a million years.

I'd agree about fun. As I've often said, to me one story is the absolute pinnacle of IDWverse, better than anything else. The Last Stand of the Wreckers. Dark at times? Serious at times? yes. Fun, from start to finish? Absolutely.

You've reminded me that I would kill for season 4 of animated to continue in comic form, there was plans and I'd like to see where they went. That branch of the tf universe never gets the love it deserves. I dare say that was the last time that hasbro tried something radically different

Not to get too sappy but thank all of you for the depth of passion and intelligence you put into this stuff like it’s so easy for people to just trash opinions it takes a Transformer fan to choose to outthink problems instead of bashing them over the head

So, well done

Our own fellow Seibertronian Scotty P has discovered seemingly out of what feels like nowhere with no press or fanfare, some previous issues of IDW's new series have received new printings and are available today. He only found out about this through IDW's weekly newsletter. Each cover is modified and is available by clicking either the links or images below.

So that's issue 1's third printing, issue 3's second printing, and issue 4's second printing.

If any of you rabid readers out there missed out on your first chance now's your time! These have apparently been released as of today so head out to your local comic shop and demand your copy!








Enjoy the reads and as always stay tuned to Seibertron for the latest in Transformers news!