Ha, issues been out for barely a day and people are already attacking the new writer.

 

Yeah this forum is great because you can actually talk about the comics.

and same here. I love Chromia.

I'm really digging this ensemble cast so far. They could've easily played it safe and followed Optimus or Bumblebee's POV, but we're seeing everyone.

I think we'll see colonies. I can't remember where I read it, but this Cybertron is supposed to be a big cultural/trading planet for other parts of the galaxy. Space travel seems to be a big deal. (or maybe I'm making that up).

 

cute panel

The art is so... sterile and lifeless. I totally dig toy accuracy in the fiction but Milne this isn't, alas. The faces and characters are so stiff and something about the lining is off. That two page spread of Cybertron was neat though.

I'll have to echo Coffee before me in saying this wasn't an amazing first issue. I haven't read Last Stand of the Wreckers in a while but when I read the beginning of Sins of the Wreckers I thought to myself, "Now that's a first issue!" Multiple characters and relationships are (re)introduced and established, the central conflict is laid out, and hooks and threads are seeded for future issues. For an ongoing equivalent rather than a miniseries, the first issue of MTMTE does these things as well.

The comic spends a lot of time saying how great Cybertron is without really showing why. Megatron is upset with Cybertron and we don't understand why. Showing these two contrasting views would have been great but the first issue never does this. The space monkeys were cool but aren't indicative of Cybertron being a utopia of many races living together like advertised. The shock death at the end doesn't really hit hard enough to be a hook either, there is no reason for the reader to be invested in the turn of events unless you're a big fan of the character (my condolences). I hope down the line there's a reason given to why a peaceful society has armed security. Maybe they've waged war, but just in space rather than on the planet :/

Very talky first issue, lots of set up without much excitement, humor, or intrigue.

 

Spoiler

Geezus creemsicel some of these guys are really overacting over Brainstorms death.

 

I'll just leave this here:

 

It was okay, not great for a first issue, will buy the collection if the story improves. I do hope we get to see Rumble eventually turn to the Decepticons and joining Soundwave in a logical way. How almost an entire half of a race can turn to evil. What did the Autobots or other to cause this. I hope they explore this.

 

Loving this so far! It’s so awesome to see all the optimism surrounding this new continuity. Feels good to start fresh and have everyone on the same page  

In regards to the death, I am very surprised. Kinda bummed he had to go so soon but I’m very interested where they take the story next!

 

The character's a new guy named Rubble, not Rumble.

 

Heres an idea. What if those ape looking creatures are protohumans or maybe proto nebulons?

 

Doh, aren't I a silly goose ?!
Now, I will only see BARNEY RUBBLES now....
Lack of sleep do that to you..

 

Joana Lafuente did an incredible job on this issue.

 

Man they had to off my man like that. 10 dollars says it's actually a elaborate ruse to some end.

 

Yeah, this didn't do a good job with starting the story in media res. At all. The pre-release talk was all about how THIS incarnation of Cybertron is such a utopia...and once it's released we don't see any of it and there's ALREADY a giant social movement in-story protesting what the heck's going on. That Megs-Orion scene was so sparse on actual substance that it might as well not have been included. ( "Can we agree or compromise on this unelaborated-on situation?" "No". "Okay. Cya later") I know it's only a first issue and they can't show everything at once, but it doesn't feel like it showed anything before introducing the conflict. That's just really weak. All tell, no show.

Also, calling it now: "Ascenticons" become "Dissenticons" and then "Decepticons"

 

Okay I’m digging it. Art is kinda lame but the colours are nice. I’m liking the emphasis on choice and forging paths. Literal Transforming. It’s a very fitting theme. Although I feel it’d be better if the death was left till like issue 4 or something. Set up the world so we can get some ideas about it. Show how good and/or trash Cybertron is. We could get some idea on the world and structure. And once we’ve known it all we get the death reveal and we’re left to wonder what they’ll do. How will the everyday people react? Who do they blame? Who do they want to blame? What are they gonna do? I’d like to see what the deal is with the ascenticons before the story catalyst starts and they are probably effected.

But I’m liking the characters at least. Bumblebee is doing mentor things and he’s very fun. Windblade seems cool but she’s a bit straight edged. Kinda pulling faces for different people. Megatron seems alright. I’m not really getting much from him though. But I respect how he’s committed to his freedom revolution and just wants to get his word out even people start attacking. He doesn’t seem very war mongery yet. It’ll be great to see how that works. Similar to prime. He wants to control things or more so keep things and run the city or whatever his job is. But he’s obviously raised differently. So yeah. Not a bad read at all and I’m hoping to see more.

 

Oh god, people are actually doing this? ‘What is wrong with you humans?’

I mean...I sort of *get* having to readjust. It’s been very recent that one continuity ended, one in which the murder victim was a prominent, fleshed-out character.

It kind of bugged me the same way in the Bumblebee movie in which an obviously G1-looking

Spoiler

Cliffjumper

got offed before ever even getting to Earth. The reason for that is really simple, and the problem lies with me - even after all these years, the G1 cartoon is still etched into my memories and I’m simply not used to known characters being killed off (and not being able to live out some sort of potential arc).

But that’s the hurdle with a good murder, right? (in fiction guys, RELAX!) You don’t want it to be a complete nobody because that has no impact (like the million background Go-Bot kills in previous comics), and you also don’t want to cut short on a more important character with a role that might benefit future stories. The latter, however, is slightly less of a problem with Transformers since we’ve got more than a dozen spare stock characters (military guy, scientist, pacifist, overachieving baddie) that can be put into place when one dies, and who are dying to get their time in the spotlight.

So yeah, whatever anyone’s opinion on the writing is so far (after one issue, give it some time people), I think the character picked to be killed was exactly the right level of ‘ouch’. Big enough character to make an impact and a statement that this is a new universe, new rules, and at least for now: anything can happen.


Also I said I was out / taking a break from TF comics / TFW in general and here I am. What’s that thing you call self-control?  

I’d agree with you, but a first issue needs to have some kind of incentive to get people talking as well as motivated to go invest in the next issues - that’s why you’ll find that in a lot of comics issue #1 is where right out lf the gate something happens that turns the protagonist’s world upside down.  

Even in minor reboots/relaunches! TF#1 had Ironhide killed. RID#1 had Bumblebee crossing a border he couldn’t come back from in detonating Horri-Bull’s bomb chip, and MTMTE#1 had the Lost Light supposedly exploding and an omnious message from the future going totally unheard.  


Edit: fixed some grammar.

 

I liked it. Some cool foreshadowing, especially the dormant titans as others have said. I’ll pass ultimate judgment over the first year, not the first issue, but for now I’m excited to see where it goes and I’m psyched to be on the train from day one.

 

So, I finally read the comic and found it...really quite underwhelming. I'm giving it a chance, because so many comics only really find their feet a few issues in. But considering it's only 12 issues long, this really needed to hit the ground in alt mode. And it didn't.

Do we blame Warren Ellis for popularising decompression? Maybe a little bit, but did we really need to spend the first ten pages of the comic on Rubble cooing at everything he comes across? It felt incredibly badly paced. And the dialogue stinks! It feels like that old classic problem of dialogue that's never been said out loud. It lacks the rhythm and idiosyncrasies of real speech and feels so very...comics.

I do hate the last page. Not because of attachment, but because I think that sort of character use is just so bloody careless and self absorbed. Robert's was a fiend for it himself. How many name characters actually made up the background cast on the Lost Light? Being the sad herbet I am, I can tell you it's an ungodly amount of the old G1 cast because I once got all the G1 figures out to take a Lost Light crew photo. It takes off so many options for other writers, and all because you wanted a certain effect for your story. Rather selfish way to approach writing for a franchise.

 

So, was it just me who expected Rubble to be killed on the final page?

All the "Your just starting out, you've ages until you need to decide on an alt mode" dialogue.

 

Also I’m really interested who the heck the poetry lady they’re chanting is. Also cause the assenticons chant her name.

 

It was definitely a shock for the murder.

Also, somewhat symbolically a hard break between the old continuity and the new, as that particular character was such a large part of LL/MTMtE.

Also, I liked other small throwbacks to other continuities like the hand gestures Drift used when Orion and Megs used them.

 

Yeah that was neat. And whatever it means in this continuity we can probably infer if we see it any other point.