MTMTE #48 Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Transformers Comics Discussion' started by bullettrain, Dec 23, 2015.

  1. MatrixOfWumbo

    MatrixOfWumbo I see you

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    Roberts did a big Q and A on Twitter recently and a few people asked about the #47 thing.


    He mentioned in another question that he doesn't consider Cyclonus' condition at the end of 47 a fakeout.* The emotional impact of the issue still happened. Which I can agree after with. I would have like to see the resolution play out, particularly in a prose story (which I miss and see two places where they might have gone) I don't take issue with the resolution itself, being that the officer class immediately smelled a rat.

    I didn't mind the personality ticks this year. It wasn't the strongest issue of MtMtE but it was still the best comic that month, and I don't really get why it gets under some readers' skin so much even in retrospect. (The Swearth issue I legitimately think is great)

    It's been a whole since we had an Under Cold Blue Stars caliber story (the finale to Elegant Chaos and #47 came damn close) but I still think that with 3 "clunkers" among 50 issues of IDW comics I can still afford to give Roberts the benefit of the doubt.

    *He does regret Red Alert'a self-beheading for skewing what we think a Transformer could or couldn't survive.
     
  2. Carnivos

    Carnivos Well-Known Member

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    Judging by another cover it could be Ten who beats him(possibly to defend Tailgate who'd try to stand up to him) I imagine that either his "bruised brain" or just his nature as a legislator could render him immune to
    Sunder's remote mnemosurgery
    It could be a chance for him to shine.
     
  3. optimusmegas

    optimusmegas Target-Power-Titan-Prime-Battle-Master

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    i didn't hate the personality ticks issues per say but my main gripe is that they were issueS. that should have just been a one and done. i like the character additions those issues brought and i like the characterization of nautica and her relationship with skids. i like how they interacted. i can forgive the issues because they weren't that bad especially with what i did like about it negated what i didn't.

    and swearth...that issue is a great argument for why spotlight issues need a return. if that was a spotlight issue it would be great but as it stood it seemed like filler. and all just to have a DJD bullet that didn't really matter at the end anyway? could have been done differently. but spolight: swerve would have made this issue fun and relevant like trailbreaker's spotlight.

    i do agree though that 3 questionable issues out of a 50 issue run is more than forgivable. i'd never drop a series for numbers like that. it just seemed like a lot because the release of those 3 issues were so close together it gave off the impression he was losing what made the comic great to begin with. so it boils down to bad timing and overreaction.



    on a what i don't like note it's all the pop culture stuff and hipster indy music stuff. oh and dial back on the dr who stuff....we get it...you're british.
     
  4. SMOG

    SMOG Vocabchampion ArgueTitan

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    Haha! Yeah... I think that in fiction, once the author starts trying to tell you about himself through his work, it's a bad path. It gets too transparent. I'm here to read these stories and characters... and I'm fine with doing so without learning anything about Roberts' personal interests. Save that for a Con or twitter or whatever.

    zmog
     
  5. optimusmegas

    optimusmegas Target-Power-Titan-Prime-Battle-Master

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    yes and that's where you cross the line into mary sure territory and the comic itself being an extension of you the writer...hence where some hate for rung is coming in now. it's not always a bad thing but to not be it so much about you is what separates this from fanfics, ironically where he started.

    i don't mind it here and there. pop culture is unavoidable as is product placement and it's not like transformers loving earth culture is something new but christ....it's too much. a little bit does go a long way. if it was just swerve that would be fine since they've established him as being obsessed with earth entertainment but it's reaching everyone now. i just think he needs to tone it down some.
     
  6. Autovolt 127

    Autovolt 127 Get In The Titan, Prime!

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    I have to agree.

    I mean I like the idea of alien species enjoying our pop culture but its a bit much and already becoming at the expense of the story.
     
  7. soundwaverulls

    soundwaverulls Taking a break

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    Hey, I actually read an issue before the next one's come out. And it just reminds me why I now wait for the price to drop and why, even after that happens, I've been forgetting to buy them. There's a lot of criticism for this issue and agree with pretty much all of it.

    The resolution to the (emotional) last issue was actually something that was used as a joke in the Personality Ticks story. "Oh, it all happened off screen". It did feel happy and convenient to the point that I'm wondering if this is leading to a huge twist but I'm not certain I still have enough confidence in Roberts' writing to be optimistic about it.

    The plot with Froid and Rung was interesting but it feels like it's just an elaborate and unnecessary way to dig up Skids memories, which led to such an obvious reveal. I guess we'll just have to see where this is all going. Hopefully both plots will have real consequences.

    In the end, I guess I did sorta enjoy this issue. As I said before, the stuff with Rung was interesting and Sunder was kinda creepy. However, I think the main reason I don't feel pissed off with everything else is because I've stopped getting hyped for each issue, which is a bad thing. I'm never excited to read this comic anymore.
     
  8. SMOG

    SMOG Vocabchampion ArgueTitan

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    Yeah, and even if he ISN'T done with the Tailgate-Cyclonus-Getaway thing just yet, the way that he casually swept all that aside to get this Sunder plot rolling still achieved the same effect... it utterly killed the emotional momentum of the plot. You can't get that back just by revisiting it, or adding a new reveal. It's just bad pacing, and Roberts has always had issues with denouement.

    I do suspect that he is cracking the whip here with these arcs not out of choice, but because he needs to reach certain story goalposts in time for #50... which is both an outside, industry constraint, and reflection of his difficulty with pacing (so many of his stories manifest this on the small scale, where it seems like way too much is crammed into the last few pages, and things end too abruptly). So I understand his predicament (if that's the case), and I'm sympathetic. But I think it's still fair game to make the criticism, and to hope that he rolls with this stuff better in the future.

    I do agree that Sunder feels like an enormous plot device, custom designed to respond to the immediate needs of the Skids story (and probably a few others) moreso than a character in his own right. But if he writes it well, it can still turn out interesting.

    I agree here too. Part of the reason I'm a bit pissed off is because I've realized how acclimated I've been getting to disappointment... it shouldn't be that way! :( 

    And really, last month's issue was sooo good. Is it wrong to want several issues in a row that manage that, now? It used to be the rule, not the exception.

    zmog
     
  9. WilyMech

    WilyMech Well-Known Member

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    Mostly Skids memories will bring the DJD in for the showdown in issue #50. Meaning Skids will remember being Vos or the his alter persona will consume him. Sunder is nothing more a plot device and Froid had a decent chance to be an excellent antagonist for Rung. Rung had become K 9 of Dr Who for the Lost Light.
     
  10. GoLion

    GoLion Banned

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    Waiting for the 1.99 price drop is really easy at this point and it shouldn't be. I should be salivating as the days get closer to an eventual release. As it is, I'm barely aware of the release, and I typically only notice a new issue has come out when I see the tfw thread discussing it.
     
  11. WilyMech

    WilyMech Well-Known Member

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    Roberts that the next issue is delay until the 3rd of February we get two issues next month.
     
  12. soundwaverulls

    soundwaverulls Taking a break

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    I definitely agree. The emotion's gone and can't be brought back as strong, at least, not in the same way. I wouldn't be surprised if things have been effected by a deadline. All these events are what's causing me to lose interest in IDW TF. Although, as you say, some of the does fall on Roberts. If he is cutting stuff to meet a deadline, his priorities are out of whack. The stuff with the Personality Ticks and Swearth are what should be cut for time, as they don't add to the story.

    I definitely have more hope that these stories will actually go somewhere interesting. Hopefully the next issue will do more with the Rung story and Skids' memories will hopefully play an important role in the conflict with the DJD.

    You know something's wrong when you're asking if having two emotional issues in a row is expecting too much (even if you're not entirely serious in asking that). Hopefully, Roberts can realize what's wrong with his writing and fix it. I just hope he won't simply dismiss the criticisms and sees they don't come out of hatred (in most cases) but a desire to see him return to his old glory.
     
  13. SMOG

    SMOG Vocabchampion ArgueTitan

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    Totally agree.

    Heck, MTMTE and Roche's new Wreckers series are the only things still holding me to IDW. I gave up on the other two titles long ago. They just weren't telling stories I was interested in. Or they weren't telling them well, at the least.

    So yeah, Roberts is pretty much my anchor to IDW right now. So I hope he can get back to a more even keel.

    zmog
     
  14. soundwaverulls

    soundwaverulls Taking a break

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    Same. I've dropped Barber and Scott's comics. Haven't been reading Sins but I might eventually.
     
  15. SMOG

    SMOG Vocabchampion ArgueTitan

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    Yeah, for a miniseries like that, it's a lot easier to just wait for a trade edition. The only reason I'm really buying this stuff monthly anymore is out of a faint sense of responsibility and obligation... to reward the TF comics stuff that I think is worthy (since monthly sales are a big factor of how they measure the success of a series).

    Plus I'm too lazy to call my comic shop and change up my order. :) 

    zmog
     
  16. emptythreat

    emptythreat Well-Known Member

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    Been so long since I dropped in on a MTMTE forum, but so pleased people are looking at this book more critically rather than through the "JRo is infallible" nonsense when I last was on here. I've vented my dislikes and criticisms of the book as a whole on another thread and can't comment on this issue. I am both saddened that the book has strayed from where it started quality wise but also happy that people are seeing the flaws, because I think Roberts could do with some constructive criticism to get this back on track. A Best Writer win is not going to help there though.
     
  17. osenator

    osenator Well-Known Member

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    I also gave up on all... I just didn't find the stories really interesting anymore... Was a fan...