Heart of Darkness/Infestation Appreciation

Discussion in 'Transformers Comics Discussion' started by FantomLibrarian, Sep 5, 2013.

  1. FantomLibrarian

    FantomLibrarian Iaconian Data Coordinator

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    I was just re-reading the Heart of Darkness mini and the Infestation issues and a few things struck me on this third review:
    • Heart of Darkness has a real Eastern European mad-art vibe. Ulises Farinas' art reminds me of the paperback cover illustrations to Stanislav Lem's sci-fi books (like Solaris or the Cyberiad). Trippy kinds of LSD hyper-detailed art and decent character designs are marred by inconsistent facial expressions and details but for me it became one long distorted dreamscape. Perhaps that was the point? Galvatron's insanity made manifest?
    • I like the reverse tank mode for Galvatron, particularly that his cannon doesn't go where you think in vehicle mode.
    • I also like the throwback references to the Micromasters and THINKBOX OF THE LONG LOST HEADMASTERS! The name 'Thinkbox' just makes me chuckle.
    • There's no doubt that Farinas' art helps immensely in the D-Void dream sequence.
    • Are all the Cybertronians Galvatron revives Decepticons? They must be since he makes a point of mentioning that he cannot revive the Autobot husks - something Cyclonus makes a point of given his misgivings.
    • The D-Void call that brings Decepticons to itself is very much like Galactus from Marvel Comics. Those touched by the Dead Universe are relatively immune to the call (Scourge, Cyclonus, Galvatron, Jhiaxus) or are subsumed by D-Void's influence (Nemesis Prime, Galvatron). Those touched become 'Heralds' of D-Void in the living universe and are thus capable if not outright chosen to hold the Heart of Darkness.
    • Infestation gets a bad rep simply because it's a crossover event. It marks a turn away from the nutso-quasi-political ongoing and tunes the prevailing attitude of the line towards Chaos and the Death of Optimus Prime. Not to mention Nick Roche's art.
    • Wheeljack's forcedomes are introduced in Infestation issue 1. It's nice to see they planted the seeds of the stasis field this far back.
    • Optimus pulls an Ultra Magnus - "I really don't have time to deal with this"
    • The whole 2-parter is really just a sequel to Spotlight: Kup and the AHM coda since it pays-off the Kup pretender process and Prowl's partitioning of his mind.
    • Kup's appearance immediately returns to his Spotlight: Kup emaciated form once his cygar is lost with no explanation.
    • There's a distinct shift from the AHM-Ongoing characterization into the present Chaos/RiD/MtMtE characterizations of characters. Optimus and Prowl especially.
    Anyone else have any observation/musings?
     
  2. Jalaguy

    Jalaguy has no known physical weaknesses

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    Looking quickly back through, Kup actually seems to change back at the start of #2 after getting impaled and infested (he looks normal in the opening splash of #2, but is all spindly by the time he escapes Bayonet on page 6).

    It was never really made clear if Kup's Pretender stuff was organic in the same way as, say, Bludgeon's, but I suppose something about the infestation could have effectively melted the Pretender tech away?
     
  3. Kaijumaster

    Kaijumaster 335

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    Yeah, somewhere along the line 'Heart of Darkness' got trashed and that just became the 'narrative' It's not a bad story, and while the art isn't Milne or Roche it's not the atrocity so many claim it to be.
     
  4. MECHADOOM

    MECHADOOM I'm Doombot and I know it

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    I like to think of Heart Of Darkness as how Galvatron is perceiving things through the lens of being controled/manipulated by D-Void.

    I'm pretty sure that was the intent, as there's that scene with the Sweep where, to the outside observer, it looks like Galvatron is killing him for failing, but in Heart of Darkness, it is shown that he's healing the Sweep.
     
  5. gregles

    gregles quintesson

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  6. FantomLibrarian

    FantomLibrarian Iaconian Data Coordinator

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    That was my biggest question: was the Pretender shell just extra metal on his spindly body or was it a whole new body?
     
  7. Kraken

    Kraken Is a vegiesaurus, Lex. Veteran

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    I always assumed it was a shell. His parts weren't compatible to be upgraded, and wasn't there something about his spark was too weak to be transplanted to a new body or something? so the shell kept his existing parts going.
     
  8. Jalaguy

    Jalaguy has no known physical weaknesses

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    Well, Prowl's dialogue is:

    So I guess it's not a straight-up Pretender-suit-the-old-body-goes-inside deal, but perhaps more like upgrades that are connected to him in the same manner. So rather than being directly wired into him, he controls them via the Pretender-y mental connection?
     
  9. GWolfv2

    GWolfv2 Deathsaurus - A name you can trust for peace

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    Infestation is an ok comic. It's not mind blowing in hindsight, but it's a laugh, looks very pretty and hey...continuity! During the ongoing...what a twist

    I hate HoD with every fibre of my being, in every possible way, from every possible angle. I hope to one day amass thousands of copies so that I may burn them in a sacrifice to James Roberts, Simon Furman and other people who have actually contributed to joy, rather than sapped it from the universe. I fully expect it one day to replace waterboarding as the most controversial means of torture

    ...
    ...
    ...
    I'm not a fan. Honestly consider it the worst TF comic since...well, certainly in IDWs run, it's as bad as the worst of DW...yeah, only the absolute worst of marvel is lower on the ladder in my eyes...
    ...
    ...
    ...
    seriously, burning effigy a mile high baby
     
  10. Maverick Hunter Christian

    Maverick Hunter Christian Choke on that, causality!

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    I'll send you my copies!

    ...well, what if I just sent you the interiors? The Casey Coller covers were lovely.

    Which, unfortunately, is the extent of the good things I have to say about Heart of Darkness.
     
  11. Kraken

    Kraken Is a vegiesaurus, Lex. Veteran

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    The only good thing about HoD imo was Galvatron's alt mode design, everything else was just, ugh.
     
  12. Mechafire

    Mechafire Shadow Broker Moderator News Staff

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    Heart of Darkness is one of the worst pieces of TF fiction ever. There is absolutely nothing positive I can say about it.

    Infestation is pretty shit too, aside from DAT Nick Roche art.
     
  13. scubaboy31

    scubaboy31 Digital Gypsy

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    Eh, I have a somewhat fond memory of HoD. Mostly because I kinda dug the art. If you check out his other stuff he's actually quite an amazing artist, and I can see why he was brought on board for the whacked out trip that is Galvatrons perception of the events going on around him.

    Then again, I've found a lot to like in all the fill in artists we've had on MTMTE rather than the intense dislike a lot of fans seem to have.
     
  14. AdyCarter

    AdyCarter Mentalist Conspiracies

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    On a metatextual level HoD was a success then?
     
  15. Yggdrasil

    Yggdrasil Banned

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    Coller's covers for it are apsolutely amazing. That's the only nice thing I'll ever be able to say about HoD.
     
  16. Mechafire

    Mechafire Shadow Broker Moderator News Staff

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    Coller's covers were indeed fantastic (Casey Coller is a beautiful man) but that just makes it even more of a kick in the nuts when you actually open the book and find that it's like staring directly into the Ark of the Covenant.
     
  17. FantomLibrarian

    FantomLibrarian Iaconian Data Coordinator

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    I agree. I have a tendency to like the most fringe things in various series (my favorite Godzilla movies include Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster and Godzilla vs. Biollante, I liked Godfather Part III, my favorite story in The Sandman was A Game of You, etc.) and in all honesty it really wasn't that bad. Arcee's face
    [​IMG]
    was pretty bad and the design for Hardhead was just...urg...but it was a pretty cracking story. It reminded me very strongly of the 'worst' episodes of G1 Season 3, Webworld and Call of the Primitives, where they have absolutely whacked out storylines combined with trippy visuals.

    I'd like to think of all the characters in their standard IDW designs just watching Galvatron trip out across the galaxy in a 60's acid trip.
     
  18. Uncle Madness

    Uncle Madness Well-Known Member

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    What happen to Galvaton and company in HOD was a Crystal Skull-esk type of raping. Good characters in a horrible book with sh*t art work.

    And I don't really even complain about art but when you've got a light bulb for an arm canon, deformed arms and wiring sticking out that shouldn't be. Its bad.

    Not trying to derail this thread but the only thing that I'd appreciate is if those writer's and artist never stepping foot in a IDW building again.
     
  19. FantomLibrarian

    FantomLibrarian Iaconian Data Coordinator

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    Really? It isn't like HoD took the series in a different direction - a la Crystal Skull - it was just drawn differently. If it were Milne or Roche on art duties would that have made it better? We're talking about a very trippy internal journey with liberal doses of hallucinogens and fever-dream imagery introducing a very hoary and indefinable threat (D-Void). It's like trying to bring a Lovecraft story to life, D-Void is like Cthulhu (presumably) in that it is an impossible creature unknowable to sentient minds. He is only perceivable through the bizarre images and that fantastic skeletal mental dreamscape.
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
    Honestly, I dig the abstract pop art.
     
  20. Mechafire

    Mechafire Shadow Broker Moderator News Staff

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    Hell fucking yes?