Fundamentally my concern is people being shitty to Josh directly, especially considering that he's been nothing but civil every time he posts here.

 

FWIW few (but not none) have been directly insulting to Josh, and people criticize art and works of many who are not on this site without any backlash against the idea of criticism.

That said, I maintain the art would not be nearly as bashed were it allowed room to tell any kind of story itself. Megatron transforming as he charges out looks damn good, and then it switches to Dinobot standing and talking at length. There’s only so many ways you can draw “character standing whilst speaking in full paragraphs” in a way that grabs people.

 

Just curious why that is then? You surely know the status quo of this series by now. Seems like a waste of time and money if you truly hate it as seems the case in literally every Beast Wars post.

 

I really enjoy the story. The dialog is a little clunky but i like the Altermate take on the BW story

 

That's fair enough. I agree on the dialogue, but I actually prefer Burcham's art style to the overall writing from Burnham. Not that he isn't framing the story well, but his job is comparatively easier since really all they've done different so far is add new characters and alter some personalities and circumstances a bit.

 

See that I appreciate and can respect, it’s at least a valid concern and rationalized opinion other than just chanting “I don’t like this art style” over and over like others. Yes the writing isn’t the best but admittedly it has improved a bit since the series started and hopefully will get better over time as it finds its niche. Few things are prefect from the outset.

 

I haven't reached that point yet, I don't guess. I look forward to seeing that.

Damn right!

Aw man. I feel terrible about this now. I didn't mean to have an opinion of my own and share it on a forum where opinions are shared. I mean, sure, I've seen better art in the toilet after a bout with taco bell but...oops, there I go again. Let me stop there so I don't bring down the forum.

 

You know, I have issues with some of these designs and art style, it really isn't too my personal preferences...But I also don't feel compelled to be a complete jerk about it.

I will say, looking at these pages in an officially published book, it has somewhat given me some motivation that I could totally pull off a comic of my own...That does come off as more backhand'ish then I had thought in my head.

 

I will say that while I agree with you on the writing, (and the art), this is pretty much a dream come true for Josh. He get's to work on Beast Wars! He loves that show! Was his the right style for the subject matter? Perhaps, perhaps not. Does he have the passion for the source material? Absolutely.

That's more than can be said for the writer. Which according to his Q&A, never even saw Beast Wars.

I don't want to be nasty. Just shining some light on things.

 

It's not even so much about the quality of the story as a BW story, because while I definitely think it fails to capture the momentum and personality of the show, it's the actual moment-to-moment reading that is honestly difficult. I cringe when I read this book, because the dialogue is just... so freaking bad.

It's a very hard book to get into for me, because on every level the story is just not up to par. Art is art, it's inherently subjective and entirely up to taste, but the narrative is just unengaging on every level. It's like even if you get past the painful dialogue, clunky characterization, and bizarre interactions that feel like a bad anime dub, you realize the actual story has barely progressed. Almost a year has gone by and hardly a thing has happened aside from Dinobot's pre-ordained defection and a couple of new characters. We've had mysteries and hints dropped, but nothing developed.

Which wouldn't even be a bad thing, but without really compelling, fun characters or small-scale romps the need for some kind of plot progression becomes essential. Long or short term, this book really doesn't deliver.

 

I think Josh's art style is fine for the subject matter in a vaccuum, I just don't think Josh however has the skillset to draw a comic well. His art works fine as still pictures and prints on the internet but his actual sense of paneling, location, action, background art and more is just dreadful. Straight up amateur in some issues.

 

grab some toys, position them within a shot take a picture, and draw over that. obviously dont straight trace, but blocking out some of these panels correctly wouldve went a long way.. nothing wrong in faking it till you makin' it.

 

Compare the difference between the two artists on this book. As an adult fan of the original TV show, I could write paragraphs about which one I prefer more and why it is worthy of representing the 25th anniversary of Beast Wars, and I already have done in the issue discussion threads here. But instead, this time I will let the quality of each artist and their character designs speak for themselves.

 

Good God. That really puts it in perspective how much better the art should and could be. Insane.

 

I will admit, side-by-side like that I can really see the criticisms about shot composition and staging. Were it not for Waspinator telling everyone to get down…I’m not sure I could tell what that last panel is. Three characters clustered together so close you can’t make out what they’re doing, and then you have Terrorsaur off flying by himself. It almost looks like Waspinator has picked up Scorponok and Blackarachnia and flown off with them along with Terrorsaur. Blackarachnia looks angry, not surprised, making it even more like Waspinator has grabbed her rather than pushed them all down.

I also think it’s a it odd that Waspinator’s mouth doesn’t move at all. It makes him look like he’s got a perpetual grin.

 

You're comparing apples and oranges here, buds. Two different art styles and two completely different types of scenes. But armchair away  

I'd be happy to break down my choices on the page, if anyone cares to be civil enough to hear it. But I stand by that page. Could somebody do it better? Oh, very likely. I dont consider myself a master of storytelling by any stretch, I'm always learning (much like anyone else in the game!). But I think the storytelling is solid enough to get the necessary visual information across. That last panel specifically, I pulled in tight on purpose. The emphasis is on a sense of urgency and to focus on their expressions. I let the art work alongside the text so you can understand the overall action that's taking place (this is comics after all, where words and pictures meet!), and yes I use blackarachnia's expression to speak to her character (because yeah, she'd be more angry/annoyed that waspinator is even touching her vs a genuine surprise type of expression, like scorponoks), and the major action of them being ducked out of the way is made clear with the very next panel on the next page because this page/sequence doesn't exist in a vacuum.

But yeah, my page vs a few robots standing in a room talking ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Like, I get you're trying to legitimize your dislike for my work but come on. At least be fair about it  

There's things like the actions being conveyed, panel counts, not to mention time restrictions/deadlines. I have to maintain a page a day starting from layouts all the way through pencils, inks, AND color (all in that one day.) Which, if you dont know, is very much uncommon in comics. But I digress!

You don't like it. I think we might be starting to get the hint ;P

Anyways, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the next issue! And the one after that. And after that. And after that.. etc etc. Because I'll be there for all of them ;3

 

You’re a good colourist Josh. I won’t let anyone say you’re not, but when you don’t even bother to draw the rings around Waspinator’s eyes, something is critically wrong. You know he’s supposed to have this extra layer to his eyes, and you know readers know he’s supposed to have the extra layer. Without them, his eyes just look wrong. It looks bad. There’s simplifying a design and there’s just plain not putting in the effort to do the most basic of things expected by readers. We are not little kids here who don’t know better, which this art style is clearly aimed towards.

If you want to draw books for little kids, that’s perfectly commendable and to be respected. This art style is perfect for them. But a 25th Anniversary Beast Wars book aimed towards fans of the show who were kids and teenagers themselves in 1996 just isn’t the target audience this art style is for. And yes, that is who the book should be for. Someone put you on the wrong project, that’s all we’re griping about.


You’ll be here for all of the remaining issues? Given the poor sorry state the whole of IDW is in, that’s another two issues I’ll guess?

 

No Skull-face.


Garbage.