Read it. In six minutes. The first ten pages are scenes of the Combaticons trashing humans. The average number of panels in these pages is 3.6 (not even four) and the average number of word balloons per page is 1.2. Yeah, almost one speech balloon per page, and three of those speech balloons are "halt", "okay, boss", and "excellent". Now, I'm actually a big fan of telling a story through the art alone ala that entire G.I.Joe issue from Marvel back in the day that was wordless altogether. But devoting ten pages to Combaticon mayhem? Too much. Why not keep those very same panels, but shrink them down to span three pages, leaving seven extra pages of storytelling? The Combaticons are set up as a credible threat through these sequences and some of Prime's dialogue. I don't have a problem showing why the Combaticons should be feared. Given they are the focal threat of this arc, it's expected. But ten pages, almost half a comic, devoted to having them destroy human installations is just inexcusable. The idea that the humans were kind enough to supply the totally inept Autobots with a ship for Springer's crew is awful. Just awful. Since when were humans more capable that Transformers at intergalactic space travel? Guido's art is appropriate here. It very much resembles the cartoon, which this comic seems to be on par with intellectually. Give it a "C-", which is generous and likely due to it being in succession to the last issue. The plot for this arc is laid out, but this could have been done in half the space. I'm feeling very much cheated by this experience. One or two competent issues in the first nine does not warrant my $3.99 a month. Put me in the camp for putting Roche, or even bringing back Simon if you can't manage that, back on the ongoing. I think Andy is a stand up guy, but we need a new editor if this kind of approach is going to be allowed to stand. I just can't justify buying this anymore, and I've bought every TF comic since Marvel #1. I will continue to read this series, but it will be either by my reading my brother's copy or waiting for the trade, not by buying my own.
Only read it through once so far, but I enjoyed it. Some of the political parts made me facepalm though. That's just the current market atm *shrugs*
It shouldn't matter past a certain point. You can't destroy a main battle tank that's out of gas with some girders and a can of acid. Do TFs now become made of balsa wood when low on energon or something? Again, pacing is such a problem here. Half the book? Look, we all like the Combaticons, but half the book devoted to a rampage that didn't bring the story anywhere after the first few pages? I'm also less and less comfortable with the humans adapting Cybertronian tech this rapidly. It's going to be the live-action movies again soon at this rate. This needs to be going somewhere and we need to start finding out what the deal is going to be with the Transformers themselves. At the rate this is going, they're going to be an outdated footnote in their own series less than 15 issues in. Put me down for wanting to see Roche on the ongoing. Him, I trust. - Coeloptera
I agree with what people have said regarding pacing. The last two issues were filler/setup for things to come. This issue can be summed up in two simple sentences: The Combaticons attack. Autobots work with Skywatch. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the upcoming arc, but it's an unfortunate sign of the times that comics aren't self contained stories. That's why I loved the old spotlights so much-- self contained glimpses that tie into the overall arc. Couldn't agree more. I've brought this up in other threads, but G1 is becoming movie-verse with the Autobots' cooperation with the military, and vice versa, with a Machination-like group in the movie comics. It got so bad that I've dropped the movie comics-- I'd rather read that plotline from 4 years ago in the -ation series with a G1 aesthetic. I can't say how disappointed I was with the art. When I first saw the cover I thought, okay they needed to slap this together in time for the press. Kinda shocked to see the interior though. Guidi's art in AHM was very much cartoony G1, but it was gritty and dark. I loved it. This takes the colors of Don's first few issues in this run and applies a very simplified G1 aesthetic. No bueno in my opinion, Guidi and his colorist can do much better. I'm not an artist, so I can't say with confidence if it's Guidi or the colorist at fault, but I hope something changes for the next issue. It has been 9 issues with Prime sitting around. I think he needs to get off his ass or we need a spotlight-esque issue pronto to properly explain his motivations. The war with the Decepticons continues, the humans need help, and he's lost soldiers in battle before, his grieving for Ironhide should be done. I like that Prime is a thinker, but inaction shouldn't be an option.
Yeah, this book went almost nowhere and some parts made little sense. Like others have said, Costa does have some nice character moments (the two panels where everyone points to Bumblebee made me laugh), but this issue could've been adequately told in SUBSTANTIALLY fewer pages. Also, the President's comment made no sense-- wouldn't he know about Skywatch? Aren't they an offshoot of the military made specifically for dealing with TFs? And with the Prez being, y'know, the commander-in-chief and all...
So glad I've given up on the on going, seems the only thing IDW has done right in the last few years is like Nick and James write for them.
The appearance of Kim Jong Il was unintentional comedy for me. When they mentioned WMDs, all I could think of was "HANS BRIX". Boy, that photoshopped Autobot symbol on Bumblebee's chest looks kinda stretched on the panels where Guido didn't draw them. I agree. It seems like the ongoing books are incredibly bad value for money in terms of stuff happening and dialogue per page. It seems like Costa's stuff has a lot of padding going on.
Yeah, that is also nonsensical. If Skywatch was keeping this, this huge fact, a secret from the POTUS that would technically make them traitors. I mean really, some arm of the US military is actively recruiting Cybertronians and not only establishing a more peaceful relationship with them, but accepting military support from them, and the President is totally ignorant of this? That's deranged. On a little side note, I'm finding the Transformers' dialogue a little interchangeable. Onslaught, at the beginning, never seemed like an "Okay, boss." kind of mech to me. That could just be my expectations talking, but even Jetfire seemed somewhat generic in his dialogue. - Coeloptera
I will say one thing positive. It's nice to see some hard numbers on stuff finally. We have around 10,000 total Transformers in existence. That's a good number, enough to be rare, but not so rare the carnage of LSotW is apocalyptic. We have 7,000 cubic feet of energon be enough to fuel 5 average-sized Cybertronians for a month, making each one's portion 1,400 cubic feet. That's 46.67 cubic feet per day. If a cube is 9 cubic feet (one cubic yard), that makes juuuuust about 5 cubes per day! If we go by the cartoon measure, that's a whopping 5,000 barrels or 210,000 gallons of oil per day! That would get a car 2.5 million miles! DAMN these aliens are inefficient. - Coeloptera
That's why they had the big upgrade mentioned in Beast Wars, fuel efficient vehicles and "going green" hadn't been invented 4 million years ago!
I liked this issue. Nowhere nears as disappointing as the last. For some reason, Spike calling Prime weird for being in his thinking corner made me bust out laughing. I mean I don't like this Spike all that much (THIS is the Mary Sue fans should be raging over.) but he does get a few damn good lines once in a while.
That line was originally from Beast Wars. BW Megatron called the Generation 1 Transformers (specifically the Autobots, I believe) "archaic energon guzzlers".
We are all thinking along the same lines. Big bots = greater energy consumption. Hence why the BW characters are the size of Micromasters.
Yes, quite true. Of course the old style ones are also leagues more powerful than the Beast-era ones. Hmm...I pegged an energon cube at 9 cubic feet because the cubes you see Transformers normally handle and consume fit in one hand, though filling it. Now don't we often see some much larger? Like the ones Soundwave made from his chest. - Coeloptera
this has been a huge problem with IDWs output from the get-go. the only issues i've seen that ever felt PACKED with story were the Furman Spotlights and Stormbringer, the other Spotlights feel like little 5-minute vignettes by comparison and the -ation series (that i read) were glacially paced. (the first 2-1/2 issues of Infiltration, which i just re-read in the big hardcover, is essentially nothing but Runabout and Runamuck chase humans and Ratchet.)
I enjoyed the fight. Guido's art was excellent, and the coloring really suited it. Maybe it didn't need seven pages to tell, but I enjoyed the purely visual fight quite a bit. He's certainly proven himself, I agree. At least we're getting another mini-series from him somewhere down the line. Over on the IDW boards, Guido mentioned having to redraw half the book (mainly the Autobot sections) on very short notice, due to character model issues. That's apparently why he was off his game for portions of this issue. I sometimes wonder if the writers only have so many story ideas when they script the issues, so rather than run out of material they drag things out to make their ideas last longer. That, or else they're so used to watching movies/TV that they write things that would be more suited for that media rather than tailoring the writing to comics. And I don't mean any disrespect with either of those guesses. But I just seriously wonder if either or both is often the case. If you were hired to write a monthly book, would you want to rush through all your story ideas? You'd want to make things last too, so there's plenty of material to keep things going.