Drift having the transformers equivalent of sushi. So much fun little details.

Got to wonder what 'domey's (   ) name was, it's not like them to drop something random in like that, 

 

My body is so ready for both of these!
I'm liking the direction Shadowplay is going in already, big epic world building story in aid of helping bring back Rung? Awesome. I only recently read Chaos Theory, so I can't wait to see more of Roberts pre-war Cybertron.
Rung's model spaceship on page 2 looks mighty familiar...
I hope I'm not the only one that found something oddly hilarious about Whirl's laughing "face", and yet again thinking something messed up is "cool", god I love him.

The RID Annual is looking pretty good so far, aswell. Love that they're using the 80's style art for the flashback sequences again.

 

I am excite!

Seriously is it tomorrow yet?

 

I haven't been following TF comics, but I have to say that the MTMTE and RID titles have my interest up. What's the consensus on accesibility (and quality for that matter) for a casual fan?

 

I'm so excited and i just cant hide it.

 

If you don't mind reading them online, then IDW's site makes everything pretty easy (their reader's not bad for zooming in on smaller screens). I'm absolutely loving the storylines of the two ongoings, and if you want a good jumping on point, start with the Death of Optimus Prime one-shot (name's not necessarily a spoiler), which will lead into the two ongoings, MTMTM and RID.

 

You can jump in pretty easily. If the odd thing comes up, you can wiki it, but for the most part these are designed to be a new hop-on spot and so you're not too locked out.

I would suggest reading the one-shot The Death of Optimus Prime before RiD or MTMTE, as it is a good bit of setup and background of what's happened so far.

Personally, I had only read up to Maximum Dinobots when I read TDoOP and then went into RiD/MTMTE, so I've missed a big chunk of the middle and am doing fine.

 

I'd definitely recommend picking up both, I found both series really easy to get into and I hadn't read any of the previous Transformers comics (other than #31 of the previous series). In terms of quality, they're both generally regarded as the best Transformers comics in quite some time, especially MTMTE.

 

Many thanks gents!

EDIT: And lady, as the case may be!!  

 

Can I hibernate until tomorrow? Shadowplay looks awesome!

 

they are trying to work him into RID.

 

Crusadercons? You've got to be kidding me...

 

Rid looks awesome. Still wish Rung wouldn't have survived.

 

Oh. My. God. I fricking want these NOW. What is it about the new IDW stuff that cuts right through my aloof cynicism and makes me a drooling fanboy?

So much good, just in these previews (and for MTMTE, you know that it won't feel thin). And as some of us predicted, the RID Annual immediately presents us with an alternative secular origin of the species, to counterpoint with the religious sacrament recited by Cyclonus in the MTMTE Annual. They don't seem to have devoted as much effort to it, but whatev. Love it. Love the way it's clearly written from a Decepticon (or similarly pro-fascist expansionist) viewpoint.

READ THEM.

They're smart, they're often funny, and I don't think you have to be a Transformers ubernerd to appreciate them.

But yeah... "casual fan"? That depends. Don't expect it to roll easily out of the old G1 cartoon or the Bay movies in that case. It still is built on the IDW continuity up until now, and the mythology is pretty dense at this point. There are lots of obscure homages and characters and references...

...but I think you can use the TFWiki to plug any holes you run across. I don't think it's worth your while to dig up the old IDW plots... a lot of them were not nearly as good, so you're better off just getting the occasional synopsis from the internet.

Honestly, you can jump on pretty easily with "The Death of Optimus Prime" (is that included in the first MTMTE trade edition?) and take it from there. Also, I think the two-part "Chaos Theory" story from the previous ongoing series (#22-#23) is required reading. Like for any Transformers fan, ever. But yeah, it's James Roberts writing, and it sets up a lot of ideas that become important later.

I usually don't like saying things like "best ever", but I've been wracking my brains on this, and I'm pretty sure we've NEVER had Transformers writing this good. Just sayin'.  

Agreed. Furman wrote him as an officious middle-management dick. Early Costa played him as an impulsive sentimental type. After the fans blasted him on that, he started playing him as a methodical hard-boiled cop with a glimmer of heart. I think Barber is trying to write Prowl with more attention to his "human foibles"... but somehow it doesn't come across. I think the key is that Prowl doesn't really have "human foibles"... he's basically Machiavelli, a Vulcan and a tactical computer wrapped up in one brain. And I so love getting into that brain and seeing how it sees the Autobot world. I'm really looking forward to seeing Prowl and Chromedome (or whatever he was called... "Gort" maybe?") as a team.

Oh man... I have to wait a whole other day before reading these....  

zmog

 

Wait, really? When was this said?

 

Huh?

 

I would like to know this as well.

 

Dat Guidi Marvel style art for flashback scenes, dat writing, dat James Robers...

HHHNNNGGGG!

 

The "secular origin" is taken right from issue 1 of the marvel comic's first page, so I can forgive it being simplified.