The comics packed in with Thrilling 30 was the Combiner Wars comics, and the comics packed in with the Combiner Wars was Dark Cybertron IIRC (because that makes SO MUCH SENSE). and to be honest, both were event stories and both were crap. So yeah, if you've not read why Megs became an Autobot it won't make any sense, but if you have read it, then it does.

 

I agree that starting with MtMtE is probably your best bet. Its sister series, Robots in Disguise, was pretty good too, but it requires a bit more context from the previous comics to really be enjoyable. All you really need to know for MtMtE is that Megatron is currently out of commission, the war is at a bit of a standstill with the Autobots seemingly in power, and Cyclonus is no longer a loyal servant of Galvatron and the Dead Universe. Then a bunch of idiots fuck off into space.

 

That's basically the plot of Red Dwarf  

 

I've experienced Transformers fiction in all its varied forms -- comics, US cartoons, Japanese cartoons, video games, novels, live-action films, even fan fiction and Japanese doujinshi. Most are crassly commercial childish crap, with few redeeming features either visually or narratively. The exceptions are Beast Wars, which is occasionally interesting, Animated, which is occasionally amusing, and Prime, which is surprisingly compelling.

IDW's More Than Meets the Eye is so far beyond anything else in the franchise, it's hard to believe it came from such humble beginnings. Much like Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica re-imagining, it brings serious drama, moral ambiguity, political, religious, and social commentary, and thematic resonance to what was mere pulp sci-fi, and turns previously established vague concepts into a fully-realized world, with a rich and varied history. Combined with Eric Holmes' Megatron Origin (also essential reading) and The Death of Optimus Prime (an important precursor to the series), James Roberts has achieved the impossible: actual award-winning fiction* within the Transformers universe. Combined with the consistently reliable artwork of Alex Milne, I've throughly enjoyed each and every issue multiple times.

I haven't had access to anything published since More Than Meets the Eye, but I've heard similar lamentations from other readers. Combiner Wars seemed like a transparent attempt to sell toys, and corporate interference has likely destroyed whatever potential remained with IDW.

*Winner of Comics Alliance's Best of 2015, Winner of Comics Alliance's Best of 2016, three nominations for the 2014 True Believers Awards, and a listing on Comic Book Resource's top 100 Comics of 2015!

 

Oh yeah, the toy-mandated events and the Hasbro shared universe stuff have definitely been hurting the various TF series. Lost Light seems to be purposefully dragging the story away from popular toy characters and the established fiction, maybe as a way to try and avoid that. Every issue seems to bring in new characters and new mythos.

 

Presenting Autobots Unite TLK-20, The Last Knight Hot Rod.



Yes, it's Hot Rod in-name-only...
Yes, it's an ugly-looking design...
Yes, it's a poor representation of the onscreen character...
Yes, it's a cheap remold of an awkwardly-proportioned figure...

And yes, it comes with no weapons of any kind, thus necessitating theft from other figures just to conceal the poorly-sculpted hands.


But the alt. mode is pure love.





I'm never transforming him again.  

 

... I don't get it. It's just another boring sports car, like any other out of the movies. Maybe I'm just not a car guy. *shrugs*

 

Should have just grabbed the Jada Hot Rod.

 

Well, that one's not out for two more months... and it's a completely different scale anyway.  

The Bayverse is depressingly heavy on high-profile concept cars, as if every Autobot had to be a Sunstreaker clone (which is ironic, since Sunstreaker is one of the few Autobot cars that isn't in the movies). Bay's typical reliance on the "sexy cars + sexy girls = big bucks" formula has proven enormously successful, however, so I don't suppose it's gonna change anytime soon, regardless of the lack of narrative logic.  

 

Logic tried to enter in the third movie, but Optimus Prime killed him and his decidedly not little... driller... thing... too.  

 

@tekering not to rush you but it might be time for a new challenge

 

It certainly is, so... something easier still, huh?

Okay...
This ugly bastard.



The Last Knight TLK-02, Premier Edition Barricade.



Back from the dead, and back in... blue?  



Doesn't look anything like the Barricade I remember, but... whatever.  

 

Bah wheep way too high a price to be worth it for me weep ni ni bong.

 

It looks like the only real differences are a lighter shade of blue, and some white plastic replacing the beige on Hasbro's?

 

Is this the one @tekering ?



If so, challenge is...



TLK Premier Dragonstorm

 

I think he meant the Takara one

 

Actually -- as far as I know -- the only difference is a sticker on the box. The figure itself is stamped "HASBRO," after all.
I only played it because the figure hadn't previously been posted.

Challenge is now Dragonstorm.

 

SHIT
I didn't bother posting a pic because I'm so used to tekering = Takara.
I just got a new Thundercracker to play too!

 

Upper thighs are a different colour on the Takara release

 

So are the weapons and such a different color as well? As far as I can see, they go from hip to knee... Beige, silver to white.

What are you seeing? Seriously curious.