As the poll is proving not rid is nowhere near as well received by many or loved. I know mtmte has had the odd weak story arc and it's not to everyones tastes (what is) but it still easily reigns supreme in the fiction stakes.

Of course you have got to account for vocal defenders of the underdog contrarian types but this discussion is almost a little too one sided to truly be interesting. I think not rid versus other older Idw runs could be a more interesting comparison point. What is better; furman run or not rid? all hail Megatron or not rid? Or ongoing or not rid?

Personally think though it had serious problems and pacing issues furman's run beats it as it had one of the very few good human characters in verity, some excellent world building with the Decepticon infiltration phase system, had some sold volumes like escalation and devastation, and some great spotlights

All hail megatron shamelessly shredded continuity but gave us much better spectacle than rid's combiner wars non spectacle and also during and part of coda gave us some interesting bits of prowl and starscream development that not rid seems to fail hard on so I would class them as a sort of draw with not rid slightly ahead just on consistency alone.

Ongoing vs not rid seems a pretty close one for me as they both feel incredibly slow and rid started with its ponderous monologues and ongoing had its equally boring talks about leadership between optimus prime and spike and both where allegedly meant to all about the politics but where too vague to say anything thought provoking or interesting on the subject. Art for ongoing was bad and rid has varied in quality between average and Livio so not rid just about wins.

Even though not exactly an entire run Scott's contributions are also note worthy and a interesting point for comparison with not rid, and I would say she writes with much more flair and personality than barber so even though not as many comics released and she gave a pretty bad twist to her arc they still feel like more enjoyable comics to read than not rid for me.

 

"not rid is nowhere nar as well received by many or loved on vocal internet forums" would be a much more true statement.

Sales numbers for both IDW series are pretty much comparable with small rises here or there.

The only thing forum polls are showing when it comes to comic books or video games is that internet forums are never an accurate litmus test for anything.

We don't know how both series are doing in reality. There's so much vocal upheaval against Barber or Scott as opposed to MTME, and yet those books are selling.

Of course there's this favorite argument about MTME doing great in mythical digital sales, which is a non factor because nobody can really explain why titles other than MTME couldn't have digital sales as well. And no official numbers for digital sales were published for any IDW TF title.

Until some real statistics will be published, nobody can really tell anything in favor of each title. Thin air and personal beliefs are not an accurate database.

 

I think its pretty clear that MTMTE is by far the more popular one. I wouldn't call clicking on a thread and tapping your favourite as being vocal, either, but more importantly it is hugely noticeable how much of a massive influence MTMTE has made to the Transformers franchise, as opposed to RID not really doing anything.

Just look at the toys, for example. How many RID toys have been made? Absolutely none. Any toy that matches an RID character was either a form that was already used in another continuity (Jazz, Soundwave, etc) or one that was a toy first and then the comic changed to match (Blitzwing, Jetfire, etc). In comparison, check out MTMTE; Brainstorm, Skids, Swerve, Tailgate, Trailbreaker, Ultra Magnus (heck we have a Minimus Ambus!) all were comic designs prior to the toys. MTMTE is also the only one of the two series to get TFSS to release toys specifically designed to represent them (Chromedome and Rewind). We even have Takara making redecoes to match MTMTE in the Cloud Series (Rodimus). Outside of toys, look at its popularity in other forms of fandom around the internet; fanfic, fanart, etc is far, far more likely to come from MTMTE then RID. Heck, even David Wyatt has declared his love for MTMTE, while nobody really ever mentions RID at all.

While quality doesn't necessarily equate to popularity (although in this case it does), MTMTE is clearly the more popular book among Transformer fans.

EDIT: I just noticed I'd basically already said this earlier in the thread. Whoops.

 

Chucking in a quick comment about digital sales. MTMTE has broken into the top 10 comixology (US and UK) almost consistently since the beginning of 2015. #42 even made it to the #3 slot in the uk. I think that says something about its online popularity.

I think I've seen NotRiD make it into the chart once? Maybe.

 

Really?

Because I do not recall any TF books scoring Top 10 Bestsellers frequently on Comixology, and certainly not consistently.
Even now I look at table like:

For US

1. Secret Wars (2015-) #4
2. Darth Vader (2015-) #7
3. Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four (2015-) #9
4. We Stand On Guard #1
5. A-Force (2015-) #2
6. The Wicked + The Divine #12
7. Ultimate End (2015) #3
8. Princess Leia (2015) #5
9. Action Comics (2011-) #42
10. Batman: Year 100 (2006) #1

and for EU:

1. Secret Wars (2015-) #4
2. Darth Vader (2015-) #7
3. Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Four (2015-) #9
4. The Wicked + The Divine #12
5. Batman: Year 100 (2006) #1
6. Batman: Year 100 (2006) #2
7. Batman: Year 100 (2006) #3
8. Princess Leia (2015) #5
9. Batman: Year 100 (2006) #4
10. We Stand On Guard #1

And there are no TF titles at all.

With average score at 10k in Diamond charts both exRiD and MTME are rather niche books, certainly I'd have a hard time believing that any of them outsells the Big Two titles on Comixology.
Heck, digital sales are small factor of how comic books are selling. If any book from any publisher had twice as many digital sales as it has in print this would be a revelation cited on every comic books news site from Comicvine to CBR.
Those gamechanging unrecorded digital sales for any book are just a myth. You can bet at IDW showcasing it everywhere if they were true.

 

I definitely would liek to see more of a comparison thread between Not-RID and the previous runs.

I guess at the end of the day, every run has its fair share of good and bad...even the Costa run did a solid job with Thundercracker.

 

I had to stop following RiD cause livio's art was so bad it became unreadable for me for a couple issues. MTMTE may have had a stupid issue or two, but it's still some of the best tf-related media we've ever gotten and it has yet to be stained by livio's terrible, terrible art

 

The difference between a bad issue of MTMTE and a bad issue of RiD: A bad MTMTE issue is still a fun read, while a bad RiD issue is painful to read.

While yes it is annoying that the Lost Light crew has made zero progress in their quest, MTMTE's about, as Ratchet put it in the first issue "the journey, not the destination." The quest itself isn't important, and I wouldn't be surprised if they actually end up failing it. The series is about character interactions and all the fun little adventures that the characters go on.

Meanwhile, RiD has almost none of that. For me Galvatron, Soundwave, and Cosmos are pretty much the book's only redeeming factors. Optimus is an incompetent, indecisive moron for no reason, Prowl's been totally mishandled, and while Combiner Wars had a good start it ended up being a poorly executed mess that delivered almost none of its promises. The series pretty much just meanders aimlessly from big Hasbro-mandated event to big Hasbro-mandated event.

 

Exactly...though I'd replace Soundwave with Thundercracker.

 

I disagree.

The shoe-horning of Camiens, Thunderclash's death-oh-but-wait-he-was-only-pretending-to-be-dead, the asinine Space Barnacles, and the excessive spotlight on Nightbeat, Nautica, and Skids, all of these have made the last two issues some of the worst in the entire series and an absolute chore to get through.

 

It updates every few days so I'm not sure what you were hoping by posting the list. And it's not like I take screenshots of these things but Mtmte 42 was on the 10 slot last time I looked (which would have been the 3rd of July) and it was #3 in the UK on the week of its release, Roberts even tweeted it.

And of course I'm not claiming that MTMTE (or any TF book) could beat the big Two. I was using the chart as a rough guide to show how well MTMTE sells compared to NotRiD. More often than not MTMTE does make it into the top ten, I can't recall a time when NotRiD did.

Edit: Friend helpfully pointed me towards the tweet.

 

I feel that sometimes mtmte is trying to emulate Doctor Who in its wacky and quirky for the sake of being wacky and quirky style interspersed with techno babble to make simple plots seem more complex and original than they actually are. It needs to calm down, stop trying so hard and quit the jokes as they undermine the emotional impact of things sometimes. Also, the band and pop culture references. It's like, we get it Mr Writer, you're a cool British hipster... If you want to write that stuff go ask Kieron Gillen if you can write a series of Phonogram or something and get it out of your system. I'd like my transformers a bit more serious and 'alien' please. Not into the earth infatuation.

 

I were hoping to point precisely at the fact that it updates every few days, what actually makes this Comixology chart a bit ruseless to evaluate anything.. You have a book released and even if it is sold only in hundreds it will end on this list because it takes into consideration only how it does in comparison to other titles released in those few days, which is not a representative sample because those titles can also sell in hundreds.

Bottom line, is, the Comixology top 10 chart is not a proof for anything. It doesn't even stick for an entire month to really show trends.

A title "A" is sold in 500 or 1000 or 666 or whatever numbers, but it's compared only to titles released at the same time. So let's say they sold less and it outsells them.
A title "B" could sell even in 2000, but it's compared with titles with more sales so it does not show on charts.

And then you can have strange outcomes like TF or indy books supposedly outselling, IDK, titles like Spider-Gwen?

That's a cool fun thing to tweet, but that's not even a real sample to compare with anything, not even compare between two titles unless they're released at precisely the same date.

So unless Amazon will start releasing monthly charts, there are no datas besides myths.

 

i just find it funny as the 2 sub standard MTMTE issues where still better then 90% of what the marvel and DC force out

and every one in making it out like it;s th end of the world. still 10000x better then the original ongoing was

 

Might be a stupid question but why are you buying it?

 

Side note: pleased to see ultramagnus1 here!! See, way better where there's actually a forum full of chatting.

I feel like perhaps Roberts' Season 2 has had a tough time finding direction; lots of storylines with character moments but not as much progression and a *lot* of unanswered questions with more raised each issue (How did Tarn know about Ultra Magnus' Tyrest recall switch, what's under Aequitas, etc.). It seems to be spinning its wheels in similar fashion to RiD but in a more entertaining way.

 

I wouldn't overstate the effect- Sure, MtMtE is more popular, but 1/3rd of people find RiD equal or better.

That's a significant part of the fans here.

If you compared the Costa ongoing to MtM, do you think it'd do nearly as well? I don't. Ditto AHM. You'd find a few supporters, but I'm betting it'd be well short of 30% in both cases. Furman's run likely a bit closer, but I don't see it performing so well either.

Because, let's remember, while not perfect RiD does some things very, very well, the build-ups with huge pay-offs (City on Fire is still IMO the best single payoff story of either book), the getting inside character's heads and developing them, and the tying together and fixing in continuity points most would've forgotten about. Plus, of course, it's a book about the political situation of cybertron (and later Earth) and adjusting to a post-war period- something that hasn't been done before, not in nearly as much depth, and that's interesting.

Personally, I find a RiD issue, at worst, tends to be a bit dull, but it never gets painful. And most issues are pretty good at building up to the sense that something is coming, some big event or reckoning.

Where do people *get* this 'Optimus is incompetent' thing from?

Did they miss him outmaneuvering Starscream politically with the Camien deligation and forcing 'Screamer to act like he's on board with Optimus's proposal when his own would've been difference?

 

It is pleasing to hear you find enjoyment from rid but I can't say I agree with all of your points. As many journalists love the great thing about stats like our poll is you can word them in a sentence to sound like they prove either side of an argument for example someone could say not rid only got 12 votes saying it was better out of a potential 136 voters. I'm not saying you was trying to be overtly biased but no matter which way you word it, it is inescapable that there is a widely held preference amongst fans here which maybe I was being a little unfair in dismissing the other side. I understand its appeal in that it doesn't seem to leave itself open to much ridicule and plays it safe in tone and does its homework with continuity but for me it's excecution is so weak that it kills its appeal.

It's funny when I first heard the premise of the two comics with rid being about the politics of adjusting to post war life and mtmte being a Star Trek or Red Dwarf style space quest I honestly thought rid would be my favourite as I absolutely LOVE political shows like the Wire (best show ever) and newer ones like house of cards or game of thrones and only have a passing interest in Star Trek or Red Dwarf. I love webs of intrigue whist characters plot against each other and attempt to work within the confines of there various political establishments and find shows like Dr who and Red Dwarf too light weight in comparison.

The thing that won me around to mtmte as favourite is that despite rid supposedly meaning to be about transformers politics it feels like mtmte does it much better and shows us much more of there culture and history. Right from lsotw or that roberts penned two parter during ongoing it has gave us insight into motivations, actions and there cultural underpinnings. If you look through the mtmte run it has expanded upon loads from empurata, shadowplay, Transformers relationships/bonding, alt mode elitism/prejudice, different creation methods and there cultural impact, transformers mental health/pyschology, information creep, different transformers religions and belief structures , cybertronian law within different factions, An intricate understanding of the Decepticons cause and its beliefs and I'm sure other themes woven into there stories. In comparison rid feels a little like a shallow jostle for power between different factions with them all having the odd turncoat on there side for spice a bit like any average transformers TV show.

The earth setting was a huge let down for me as the signs where good as he was showing a level of self awareness of the repetitive monologues with thundercrackers script and I was hoping the earth setting would give us something with a little more depth but for me it's plausibility failed hard and we didn't get much interesting world building around cybertronians technology and presence affecting earth culture instead we got a transformers prime style scavenger hunt for a McGruth sadly lacking transformers prime usually pretty good fight scenes.

Combiner wars had potential to be great and compound the positives of rid but sadly the art made it a hard read and killed the sense of scale, setting and flow of action. I know this isn't the writers fault and sounds a little shallow on my part and would love to see it redone with more consistent art.

Sorry if this has sounded like a little bit of an overlong and ranty post, I must reinstate what I said earlier if you get enjoyment from not rid I couldn't be happier for you and I do respect everyone here's opinion.

 

I'm not interested in political stuff at all, maybe that's why I find a lot of stories in RID boring. And maybe that's why it is good we have 2 books. Others don't like how MTMTE plays out. So all fans can have something they like. Although I still buy both.

 

QFT

A lot of folks simply cant accept that the amazing James Roberts can have an off day or two.

Hes only human and humans make mistakes or errors.

MTMTE still has some tremendous issues and when we get another one folks will realise just how poor these last two issues have been.