I still like it, and while the artwork leaves a lot to be desired, I like the look at Cybertron pre-war. I do think IDW’s done a good job of keeping some of the last continuity’s characters and characterizations (like Froid and Cyclonus and Arcee and Prowl). Do I like this version of Prowl? No, absolutely not. Overall, not bad to me.
Still an opinion though. Some people would only say it’s the minimum requirement if it’s like MTMtE/LL, while others would say something like the Keepers Trilogy is that bare minimum (to me it’s not).
Which therein lies the problem. Most people are expecting this new continuity to be like mtmte but it's more like RiD instead. Which isn't bad by itself, it's just that some of them have been very rude and disrespectful to not only other fans, but also the other writers.
I've somewhat enjoyed this series so far, but I really hope the pacing improves. I am hopeful that it will read well as a collected trade, but the experience reading it one issue at a time feels sluggish and un-optimal. I feel like the balance between world-building and telling the main narrative could be better as well. A bit less of the former to allow more of the latter would do wonders for this series. Still, my opinion is overall positive for this series. I do love the concept of beginning the story before the war, and I like a lot of the new concepts introduced. I just hope the rough edges will be sanded down soon.
*scratches head* Nobody has said this or given any indication of this. And a fair amount of the criticism on this site has been that it's not different enough from what we had before. What a weird post.
I'd like to flip this question around and ask: why would it? The world is already full of more competent stories than any of us could ever read in a lifetime. The real puzzler is why there's still a market for anything that isn't hugely original. What is it that makes people want to relive variations of the same plot arcs and tropes again and again? Is it because familiar stories and patterns are a kind of aspirin or weak anaesthetic? Is it because everyday uncertainty is a pain that needs numbing?
It kinda sucks that the best stuff in each issue is probably hurting the overall experience. The best part of issue 3 was a third of the book where Rubble talked with Bumblebee with no impact on the plot and the little bit with Windblade afterwards. Cyclonus is interesting but that is kinda despite his role in the mystery. I feel like plot and character are either supposed to have equal importance, or that the plot is the focus, but it's the weak link. MTMTE was character driven, full of dialogue. Not everyone likes it, but it was consistent with the books aims to the end and say the Swerve stuff in the annual that I love, it has a shared theme with the plot. RID would have an issue like 7 where you get in Wheeljack's head but the entire time it ties into the current narrative with everyone coming back to Cybertron and dealing with this and the future narrative of Shockwave. Neither book puts the plot on pause for character, which is the feeling I get with the new book, even though its not all bad. Just to expand my comparisons for a moment, an issue of Dan Slott's Iron Man has some sort of beginning, middle and end while being very much a serialised book where a recent issue will pick up a cliffhanger and drop you on another. I'm not going to, but you could probably get an erratic graph if you plotted the pacing of the book but it is consistent within a single issue. Character and plot are one of the same. The cliffhanger might be a physical worldwide danger, it might be alcoholism. Either works with what the books doing. The current Batgirl book is slower paced, but again consistent. You could read an issue and just enjoy it, but if I wasn't already noticing a wall of text you could link the pacing to the actions of the character or whatever connections it has to detective stories. I guess 4 has some structure. There is a funeral and a birth. There is an interesting character even slightly related to the plot in Cyclonus. So there's some promise that things are getting better. But you could probably fit the good bits of 4 issues into 2 for a better time. EDIT: Still too long, going to work on trimming it otherwise I'm a hypocrite. EDIT: Still don't know if I'd read it, but I trimmed a little bit.
If we're going to continue to world-build pre-war Cybertron, I hope they show some more fun sides to it too. A Macadam's, Sporting and Gaming hangouts, dance clubs. I'd forgive all 4 issues so far if they revealed Cybertronic Spree exists in this universe (aside from the variant cover).
And how many genuinely low quality books stay published long after their cancelled peers that were "high quality"? I think that simply "I liked it" isn't a benchmark as far as something not being cancelled, especially since it becomes "I like it, and nobody else" which means far too few people buy the book to warrant the publisher to keep it going. There are tons of books that failed fast because the readership wasn't there, regardless of the cult following. And by cult following, I mean the extremely vocal and fanatical few that actually supported the book financially.
Loads. Most of the better-selling comic books by Marvel/DC that I've tried to follow have had, at the very least, long-ass periods of being poorly written and shakily drawn. They keep selling because they get to carry a legacy from a previous period, and because there's a core mass of comic fans who will loyally follow the big name books to the bitter end.
Gave it one last shot but I'm out. I'll come back when the next storyline starts, which should be in a couple years at the pace this one is going. The only thing I got from this issue is that we can expect a Cyclonus figure in the Siege line.
One thing I’m really happy about re: IDW and other continuities is that we seem to have moved towards Cyclonus now being a distinct (dare I say “evergreen”?) character and not always “future Skywarp or Insecticon”. Not many 86-era toys can claim that. Helps that IMO he’s always had a killer design.
The problem I’m seeing is people are justifying this book’s faults because other, more popular books suck too. What a silly and immature point of view.
Yeah, my feelings are much of the same. With this comic, it feels like we have been given the first few chapters in a long, singular book, whereas most comics that I enjoy reading issue to issue feel like self-contained episodes in a longer narrative. Not that the former is inherently a bad thing, but it makes reading single issues while they come out a lesser experience than waiting for the trade and reading it all at once.
I'm really liking the idea that previous pawns of Unicron in other universes are new characters elsewhere like past IDW and now. I'm really liking the angle with Cyclonus here; it's a familiar personality from MTMTE, but with the addition to seeing 'ghosts' gives us a new mystery to unravel. How much does he know about Brainstorm's death? What about "The blue one" that he failed to ask about? I'm not getting the vibes that it's a slow series; it's issue 4 of 12 that happens to be biweekly before the constant delays from the last series. We're halfway there and the only people that might know are Cyclonus, the civvie bot that hangs around Prowl, and maybe Rubble.
oh well the new preview is out, but comments disabled, probably because of unending negative comments. Same treatment for Lost Light. Anyway, I like that Prowl has a friend and that there's some major movement towards crisis.
Specifically he has pterodactyl! Which means two things, 1. The Transformers are already visiting Earth during the late Jurassic era. And 2. Prowl is already being shown as more than just an asshole. Heck, he's even willing to home an organic creature, something which would have been considered icky by the standards of most Cybertronians last IDW continuity. Edit: Oh I guess this also means the Dinobots will probably be showing up in this continuity seeing how Cybertronians have pet dinosaurs already.
Although it does have a tail so it could just be an alien. That being said Prowl has a pterodactyl bot with him in his Siege images.
