Megatron Origin Issue #4 Discussion

Discussion in 'Transformers Comics Discussion' started by Tim Formas, Oct 24, 2007.

  1. Smasher

    Smasher HUNKY BEATS

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    See, that's where I disagree.

    The final issue was kind of plot driven -yes.
    But overall, I think it was character driven.
    From my point of view we got to see Megatron kill out of rage.
    He was surprised by his own actions -in so far as to call them an accident.
    I would have liked to have seen that explored more; a six issue miniseries would have helped.
    Then when he was on the run he had to kill again for sport. He was still hesitant to do that despite his brutal actions moments prior.
    Then after he did kill he found he liked the celebrity that it brought him.
    He found that was very skilled in violent brutal acts and it brought him followers.

    I thought it was well played.
     
  2. Nevermore

    Nevermore It's self-perpetuating a parahumanoidarianised!

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    I think thought captions would have helped tremendously. Making Megatron ACCESSIBLE as a character, rather than just showing him acting but never really letting the reader get into his head.

    One of the advantages of a comic as compared to a movie is that it allows to give insight into the characters' minds. So why not use it?
     
  3. LigerPrime

    LigerPrime Well-Known Member

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    I get what both of you guys are saying and I do agree with Nevermore....thought balloons would have helped! :D 
     
  4. Smasher

    Smasher HUNKY BEATS

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    I agree with both of you guys.
    Thought balloons (or panels) would have helped a lot.

    Especially if you consider that it appeared that Megatron had a split personality, or at least guilt during his first few murders. It would have been nice to have gotten inside his head and confirmed either one.

    Thought balloons can be overused and misused but a well done though balloon can provide as much explanation as pages of narrative and it helps to avoid the cliche of one character explaining his motives to another.
     
  5. Foster

    Foster Haslab Victory Saber Backer #3 Veteran

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    Yeah, character insight would need to be handled internally, and I agree it's needed. He couldn't really confide in any of the Decepticons though. Who would you trust?
     
  6. Nevermore

    Nevermore It's self-perpetuating a parahumanoidarianised!

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    It would have been an idea of him confiding into someone who either betrays him, or gets killed, which then results in him never trusting anyone again.
     
  7. Goodchild

    Goodchild Masterpiece Con

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    Given that you haven't seen what was discussed with Dreamwave, I'm not sure what you mean.

    I worked with IDW on the execution of the entire series, from high concept to final. This series _is_ an IDW production.


    One difference between the script and the final art is that in the script the Apex armour was a LOT larger. I had written for something lower-tech, much larger in scale rather than a compact hi-tech solution Alex came up with. It bristled with artillery and had a cockpit; Prime was driving it using screens and a weapon targeting interface; hence scouts picking and relaying targets. Yep, it was _BIG_.

    Alex went his own way with the design - it's a cool design - but it did cause some problems with the dialogue, and only some of those were addressed once the art came in. Given the schedule of getting the issue out, not all changes and corrections submitted to IDW went into the issue. So there it is.


    Trust me when I say I flagged every error that I saw in proofs to IDW. This one is on that list. I can only guess this was somehow schedule related. If it bugs you to find errors like that, try being me.


    It's good that you cared enough to post your thoughts, but when someone posts something like "I'm glad it's over" it's hard not to take it personally. Maybe the answers above will help you enjoy the series a little more.
     
  8. LigerPrime

    LigerPrime Well-Known Member

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    Goodchild - Nevermore's review may be harsh but I do agree with the issues he raised. Yeah, I know IDW is doing its best but after being spoilt by the earlier issues or "storylines", count me in as another TF fan who's also disappointed by the Megatron Origins series.

    As hard as I tried to enjoy the issue, I couldn't. Sure the art was good and I could see how the story was developing but it still feels "off" say compared to Devastation.
     
  9. Goodchild

    Goodchild Masterpiece Con

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    Well, that's too bad. I am, however, heartened to see that not everyone agrees with you :) 

    Glad you're enjoying Devastation though. While I am sure some people don't like "-ation", I agree with you - I think Simon is hitting his stride with that series.
     
  10. Nevermore

    Nevermore It's self-perpetuating a parahumanoidarianised!

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    I admit that I don't know what the specifics for the pitch to Dreamwave were. So I can only judge the story from the final product. And all I can say is, the story "feels" more Dreamwave-y than IDW-y.

    To use an analogue: Imagine you are designing a car as a pitch to Chevrolet. You studied existing Chevrolet vehicles and try to come up with something that's both new and innovative while at the same time staying true to the Chevrolet heritage.

    But before your design gets put to work, Chevrolet goes belly-up. You take your unused design and manage to find another job at Ford. So eventually you decide to dig out your old unused Chevrolet design and heavily rework it to better match the Ford "style". But no matter how hard you try, it's still a Chevrolet design at the very core, and the only way to get rid of that would be starting entirely from scratch.

    That's what I mean by "it feels like a Dreamwave comic". It simply feels out of place with the overall "feel" of the IDW-verse. And it can't be the fact that it's by a different writer than Furman - Nick Roche's script for Spotlight: Kup didn't feel out of place at all. So the only explanation I can come up with would be that it's due to being originally considered as a Dreamwave story.


    In general, one of the problems I had with the writing was that it was ultimately too ambivalent in terms of continuity - it could be placed in nearly any continuity with some minor tweaks.



    Okay, I give you that point. Of course, I couldn't tell from having just read the issue itself. ;) 

    Heh. The second Target exclusive Movie prequel comic appears to be worse - if I recall correctly, there were about five misplaced speech bubbles. :redface2: 

    I certainly applaud you for being man enough to openly address my criticism. Other people would have either outright ignored this thread, or asked a mod to edit my post, or used a sock puppet for attacking me and accusing me of having something against minorities I didn't even know you belonged to. (some, if not all, of these things actually happened in similar situations in the past) So rest assured that I appreciate your openness, and I will make sure to let you know if I find any of your future writings more satisfying. :) 

    EDIT: I posted this link in the other thread, but I thought it'd be helpful to all of you who want to work in comics one day. What comic book writers should better leave to the artist to figure out himself. (this is not particularly about M:O, Eric - it's just a general hint for everyone who's interested in becoming a comic book writer, like myself. I know I learned a lot from reading that little rant!)
     
  11. LigerPrime

    LigerPrime Well-Known Member

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    Of course, I don't expect everyone not to agree with me or Nevermore but I do expect some folks who do. The thing is I'm not a even considered a "fussy" comic book reader.

    For example, I don't buy comics for the "art" but for the plots. Case in point, the art in Megatron series is IMO better than the Devastation's.
     
  12. KA

    KA Well-Known Member

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    i see posts by insider. as one of the naysayers of this series i hope you guys see the comments here as constructive. we wouldnt continue buying the title if we didnt want to support you guys. cheers.
     
  13. yami4ct

    yami4ct Well-Known Member

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    I didn't hate Megatron:Origin, but it felt incomplete to me. I think it's a good start and I hope the expand on what happens after where it ends. I loved the design of the Sentinel's Armor, but overall, the art was very weak. It was muddy and almost impossible to tell what was going on. I did, in the most part, like the story. The end with soundwave pulling out Ratbat's spark and putting it into a tape not only makes the tape-bots make much more sense, but was probably one of the most enjoyable twists we've had in a while. This may not be the best series we've gotten in a while, but it's a nice start. Can't wait to see where the end up taking this.
     
  14. Smasher

    Smasher HUNKY BEATS

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    I enjoyed it.

    I'd like to see more "Origins" in the future.
     
  15. Omnius

    Omnius Guest

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    Next up, Origin:OP? :D 
     
  16. MilkManX

    MilkManX TF Comicbook Fan

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    I finally read mine. Great story but the editors really dropped the ball on this. They should be at fault for all of the errors in this issue.

    Overall I enjoyed the series even with its faults.
     
  17. ckhtiger

    ckhtiger old skool fool

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    so I waited until getting all of the issues before reading the series. I'm glad I wasn't the only person who had a difficult time figuring out what was going on. while I don't think a lot was actually told throughout the four issues, the story that was there was good.

    a question, though. as I was reading it, I was trying to figure out if it took place before or after the war within storyline, but then I realized that wwi was a dreamwave story. does idw still consider that series to be in their "universe," or is this now something totally different, and I should never think of hearing references to the activities in wwi again?
     
  18. MilkManX

    MilkManX TF Comicbook Fan

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    Officially War Within doesnt exist in the IDW continuity. I know what you mean about the Megatron book though. You could go right into War Within volume 1 from there...

    I tend to have my own fun and kinda mix the continuities up in my head for my own ultimate TF universe.
     
  19. Smasher

    Smasher HUNKY BEATS

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    I can't argue with people who say they had a hard time following the art. I can't argue with people who say the change in colorists every couple of pages was pretty distracting (indeed I agree with them). There could have been some areas of the narrative that were better explained.

    However, how can one say "I don't think a lot was actually told throughout the four issues"?

    We have Megatron who went from being a miner, to a reluctant murderer, to a fugitive, to gladiator, to a wanton murderer, to leader of the gladiators, to leader of a makeshift army that overtakes their first city.

    All of this was orchesrated behind the scenes by a surprising version of Ratbat who gets forced into his more familiar form.

    Meanwhile we see Sentinel Prime for the first time (besides glimpses of his corpse in other continuities) and a hint that the Autobots were originally a type of police force.

    Not to mention there cameos and Easter Eggs that fill a thread pages long.

    How is that possibly "not a lot actually told"?

    Compared to the Avengers crossover where all four issues seemed like they took place in 20 minutes of the characters' lives and this is positively epic.
     
  20. Teratron

    Teratron Kaiser Dragon

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    I only just made it out to my comic book shop the other day, so I'm only now checking in on the discussion. Overall, I really enjoyed the series. Of all my comics, it was the first I read each time an issue was available, and it has probably been the most enjoyable as well. Admittedly, that probably partially comes from my love of the character, but I was still satisfied by how he was handled in this series, which hasn't always been the case in the past.

    I do have to agree with the most common complaints. I would have preferred to see the series spread out a little more. While I'm not a fan of stretching stories out too far, this series is the origin of Megatron, the Decepticons, and the war that the entire saga is about. This should have been a monumentally epic event. Having the final product feel so rushed is disappointing.

    And while I didn't have as much trouble making stuff out as some of the other people here, the final published artwork is indeed rather muddy. I've seen the online previews, and read the comments made previously about how the printed art didn't look as expected, so I know there's some sort of printing issue going on. But regardless of whose fault it is, the final product is lacking. Some of the errors really detracted from the experience as well. I'd definitely be willing to pick up a trade of this series if these things are corrected!

    I don't have the issue to look at right now, but I don't remember this being unclear at all. I remember a panel from SP's perspective with Megatron talking about finishing off SP with his fist pulled back, ready to deliver a final blow. Then I believe another panel, also from SP's perspective, as the blow is delivered, basically just showing that he's going offline. Reminded me of the end of Terminator 2, when we see from the T-100's perspective during his last few seconds after dipping into the molten metal.

    I believe this was actually intentional. I remember reading an interview with Eric before M:O launched. I can't remember the exact quote, but I remember he said that it really could work for any TF continuity. I got the impression it was actually a goal for the series. That might not be to everyone's taste, but I actually kinda like that.

    Really, just about every G1 incarnation had pretty much the same beginnings: Megatron forming his Decepticon army after his time as a gladiator, and then starting the war. Short of completely eliminating the gladiator past, or changing what started the war, almost any origin story would work for just about any continuity. Only the G1 cartoon is different, and even that doesn't really contradict anything from M:O or any other previous tidbits about Megatron's origin.