LOL, LOL and LOL. You people used to suck on Don's balls like they were made of hemp, now you're all jumping on his neck hating his artwork. That's why I don't do 2D TF art anymore. You guys don't deserve it. Don, if you read this... keep up with the awesome job, don't let these haters put you down.
All Hail Megatron follows Infiltration? Not really. All Hail is a reboot of the comic series. Infiltration, Escalation, Devastation ect are available in TPB form, been out for awhile, I believe. You can consider the storyline that started with Infiltration to stop at Maximum Dinobots issue 5. AHM is essentially a reboot with some scraps and fragments from Furman's stuff included. What was once known as AHM Coda (now AHM 13-16?), from what I understand, attempts to bridge the gap between Furman's truncated storyline and McCarthy's AHM, and to explain away inconsistencies.
Off the top of my head; Infiltration Spotlight 1 Storm Bringer Escalation Spotlight 2 Spotlight 3 Devastation Revelations Maximum Dynobots All Hail Megatron Volume 1 All Hail Megatron Volume 2 and Coda have not been put into TPB You might want to just buy the Premium editions volume 1 and 2, instead of buying each individual TPB. I can honestly tell you that this is the best writen Transformers Universe to date.
I for one am not going to complain about Don's wonderfully expressive, detailed and unique art. He's undoubtedly one of the best TFs artists ever imo. His artwork seems to have changed in positive ways over time; he's always improving. And i think it's interesting that some of the movie aesthetics is being incorporated into the G1 designs here. For the most part, the visual changes in facial designs are positive. Somehow, the focused lights of the optics seem more expressive and soulful. It's ironic how Prime is talking about needing to "re-learn" and "adapt" for a "changed world" as the art for this comic story is obviously doing. The story of IH & Prime's past is definitely catching my attention too. This feels like it's gonna be a favourite comic story of mine!
Remind yourself of the Optimus Prime he drew in the issue. That was the worse artwork I ever saw in a Transformers comic.
I know a lot of people rag on the "liquid metal faces" but...it just looks so much nicer to me than whatever the hell is going on here. It may be more logical that they have all sorts of different plates in their faces, but it just appears cluttered and makes them look like any old cold, random robot. One of the main attributes of the Transformers franchise, and one of the main charms as far as I'm concerned, is that the robots are identifiable, with personalities akin to that of humans. I think the smoother, simpler faces teeter more towards the human-like side of the spectrum and serve as a better physical mirror of the personalities, and yes, I think it has been done convincingly without going too far ala teeth and tongues. This high-tech, almost skeletal look loses a bit of that charm and serves as a slight disconnect from their...perceived human-like nature, I think.
I agree with you about the “liquid Metal” it does looks better thankfully though, IDW usually has a variety of artistic tastes going on in their Transformers series however, as Prime said ‘we need to adapt’ and remember it could be much worse; Ironhide could be colored black, Prime could have flames, and Megatron could be a underling and maniac that encompasses the evil archetype (contrary to the current IDW Megatron which is cold, calculating, but has a rhyme and reason for everything).
Usually love Don's work, but this is...well, shit, frankly. If IDW tell their artists to draw movie faces for G1 characters I'll be out the door like a shot, and I've bought all their non-movie stuff to date. The thing with the movie style I find is, that whilst it works on screen, I personally feel it looks crap in toys and ESPECAILLY comics. That aside, it simply makes no sense for IDW to create this mish-mash. Make movie comics for the movie fans and G1/Universe comics for everyone else. If you mix the two your figures will drop even more. If it's a one-off choice made by DOn, then fair enough - he's more than earnt the right to try it with all the brilliant TF work he's done over the years, but if this is a new look for IDW please STOP IT NOW.
Since this is a licensed comic, the decision for any sort of far-reaching visual change across the board would have come from Hasbro.
the art is nice overall, except, maybe, the heads. i imagine G1 prime with mouth sporting the same face as prowl. kinda like a detailed autobot symbol. i tried drawing it just to see...
I'm guessing that it's a one-off choice made by Don. I'm liking it. Ironhide's teeth are a bit strange, though, but as I said, I'm fairly certain it's not permanent. Oh, this fanbase. Make a single change to any aspect, and people overreact out the wazoo.
I dont really mind the faces at all. It actually seems strange that IDW artists didn't do it earlier, since their robot mode designs have far more little robot gribblies, joints, and such than previous G1 designs. However, its just one style, and I doubt it'll be like that for the rest of the series. Only thing that bothers me about it is the LED bulb eyes instead of semi eye shaped lenses. I've always thought that movie Primes eyes in particular looked just... weird, and this version of Prime has the same thing going on. At least its not Pat Lee's marshmellow puff, perma-crouching bullshit.