Transmasters Web Log

Titan Transformers UK issue 4.4, Februari 2012

2012-01-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

"Spy Game."

Titan Transformers UK issue 4.4, Januari 2012.
(click on image for better view)

Script: Robin Etherington
Art: Dario Brizuela
Lettering: ComicCraft

I recieved this comic by post a long time ago (actually just before christmas), went to London for my sister's birthday where I bought the "Robot Revolt" T-Shirt featuring Megatron(HAIL) but really...I should get back to the comic.....
(click on image for better view)

Page 01:
Free gifts:
- Transformers Prime Cyber Blaster. Not very impressed.
Cover features PRIME promo art of Prime and Bulkhead
Page 02-03: Index Page.
Page 04-05: Megatron's Horror-scope! (for the year ahead....)
Page 06: Titan Magazines -get 2 transformers with subscription- offer advert
Page 07-10: Part one of the the strip begins.

"Tinker, Tailor, Gamer, Spy!"
Scripting by Etherington and art by Brizuela, Bumblebee aids Raf in getting a videogame that he really wanted, the UltraLux Special Invasionauts edition in 4D! Trouble is, the game is engineered by Soundwave to Brainwash Raf into overriding the base defences. Raf succumbs to the hypnotic trance that is the game and lets a drone attack force in the base! (see page below for an example)

Page 11: Star Wars The Clone Wars Magazine advert
Page 12: Transformers Prime mini poster featuring Optimus
Page 13: Rules and explanation to the Invasionauts board game
Page 14-15: Part 3 of the PRIME episode guide, reviewing Darkness rising part 4. Also a micro quiz:
Page 16-17: the Invasionauts board game.
Page 18: Starscream's Stumpers! Spot the difference puzzle featuring Arcee and Bulkhead.
Page 19: Spot the Bot and Ratchet's Maze puzzles.
Page 20: Dark of the moon DVD and Leader Bumblebee Competitions.
Page 21: Amazing Lightsabers competition.
Page 22: Bulkhead's Wordsearch.
Page 23-26: Part 2 of the strip! Amidst the chaos the Autobots manage to get defences back up while Jack and Miko
try to wake Raf up. After the breaking of the console Raf wakes up and saves the day by sending the invading army back by creating a loop that makes a vacuum.
Page 27-29: The letterpages, hosted by Megamouth Megatron (PRIME version) with a little help from Arcee (also PRIME version).
Page 30: Titan Magazines back order advert.
Page 31: Next issue blurb which looks like a Bumblebee cover. but then I was wrong last time....
Page 32: Useless non Transformer advert

Conclusion: Great Comic strip, small simple and fun! Toy was crap but hey, I'm not going to play with it! Entertaining other features like the board game.

score: 6.8 out of 10

-Johan

...next time... the Transformers UK 2012 Annual ....I hope.

Comic Review...

2012-01-21T03:34:00.000-08:00

Cover by Livio Ramondelli

Transformers: Autocracy #1

Writers: Chris Metzen and Flint Dille
Artist: Livio Ramondelli

Synopsis: Long ago, on the planet Cybertron... as dissident Decepticons rise up to battle the Autobot leadership, ORION PAX leads a counter-terror strike team. But when a routine mission goes awry, Orion starts on an incredible journey to the heart of Cybertron's Autocracy.

Comments: This is not a typical comic but rather more like a mini-comic so we don't really get a lot of story in this first installment. Basically, Orion Pax leads some familiar Autobots (Bumblebee, Ironhide, etc.) into the "Rust Narrows" (slums) of Torus-City Nyon to find a Decepticon dealing illegal weapons. They find the Decepticon (Swindle, of course) and stop his operation. After Swindle taunts him, Orion beats him. The Autobots take their prisoner and go (someone else attempts to kill them with a bomb and they don't feel safe there). Laserbeak watches nearby, recording their actions. The End. Of course, this is supposed to be a bi-weekly online comic so we'll ultimately end up with 16 pages a month (as opposed to 22 in a normal comic). What story was there seemed good... we had a basic set-up, execution and conclusion. Once more is added to it I'm sure it will all make more sense in full context. My only real story nitpicks were using Bumblebee as a sniper to attack the dissidents. This isn't necessarily out of character for him since he's always traditionally been a scout but I feel like it seems a bit dirty for a character who was always portrayed as such a warm and friendly persona (but I can accept it begrudgingly. Maybe the humans made him softer and war is hell after all, etc. Fine. Whatever). I also didn't care for Orion Pax going all nuts and beating the tar out of Swindle but I assume it's part of the overall story arc so I can give it a pass for now--as long as someone explains it later.
The art by Livio Ramondelli is, for once, relatively straight forward to follow. In his previous efforts, during Chaos, I had times where I couldn't figure out a panel here or there, recognize a character or found visual discontinuities (too many Sweeps, no generic henchmen previously established in the story). This effort is in the same style but it's cleaner somehow. The fact it doesn't rely on the neo-G1 designs helps a lot too (I also just realized that we don't see all that much of most of the Autobots robot forms in detail in this. Just Orion Pax, Bumblebee and Swindle mostly. They all look about right).
Not a bad start. It will be interesting to see if they can take this anywhere good...

Verdict: Average.

Available online only (from www.comixology.com for 0.99 USd)

Comic Review...

2012-01-14T01:09:00.000-08:00

Cover "A" by Alex Milne

Transformers: More Then Meets The Eye #1

Writer: James Roberts
Artist: Nick Roche
(covers by Alex Milne, Nick Roche, Josh Burcham)

Summary: The ultimate Transformers saga begins here! This second all-new ongoing Transformers title reunites the fan-favorite creative team behind Last Stand of the Wreckers and sends the Transformers on an epic quest to the farthest reaches of the Transformers Universe and beyond! The adventure starts here!

Comments: Despite a promise to skip the two new series, I decided to give MTMTE #1 a try anyway. The results were typical Roberts writing... the story, in short, is about Rodimus and his crew scrambling to make final preparations to launch the Lost Light, the ship that will help take them across the Galaxy in search of the legendary lost Knights of Cybertron. It's a tale of small story threads mostly--a sub-plot about Tailgate, one about Prowl (and the suggestion he might have tried to sabotage the ship), Cyclonus finding Whirl and subsequently being chased by him, etc.
   The story isn't badly composed. Unlike with Mike Costa's work, one gets the sense that Roberts actually has some idea of where the story's going. That can only be a good thing ultimately since Costa's stories often felt like he was flailing about (he even admitted as much in a recent interview). We get several story threads, most of which are wrapped up by issue's end with a few hints about the future as well as some humorous moments by some of the characters. There is a time travel thing thrown in at the end of the story which didn't really need to be there. We are given hints that this will be a vitally important mission and things will go horribly wrong beyond what already has. In my opinion, they should've just showed that as they went instead of trying to build anticipation with some cheesy time travel message gimmick (it's been done before so much it's become cliche).
   Roberts also continues his love of introducing obscure official characters and having them die (or in this case, presumably die). Rad, Fizzle and Waverider are casualties by story's end. Why not use some generic made-up characters instead? (Especially considering that we didn't get to really know any of them as characters nor did the incident in question require named characters to die for dramatic effect--i.e. sacrificing themselves heroically to save Rodimus or something). Once Rad is dead, he's dead and can't be used again (well, unless they forget he's dead or do some stupid resurrection thing--but that merely helps make death become irrelevant like it already has in Marvel and DC's comics).
   The art is competent but I have to reiterate that I hate the neo-G1 designs IDW is currently employing. Rodimus as drawn by Nick Roche just looks wrong to me. He's too sleek and human looking while lacking the design elements that made Hot Rod so cool to begin with. The same goes for Cyclonus bizarre face and other various other characters. I wish they would drop this design scheme and go back to the classic designs that everyone loves.
   While we're on the subject of art--was it really necessary to have six covers for this issue? There's one big image, split into four covers (and all together in a special super duper Retailer Incentive Gatefold version); another one spoofing "Justice League" #1 (from 1987) and another sketch cover (which looks blank on the preview page. I assume the art doesn't translate well?) I know IDW is a business and trying to make a buck, but talk about overkill! I miss the days when a comic had one--and only one--cover.
   I also don't care for the current status quo. Ever since IDW started, they seem to have the attitude they have to shake things up and make them modern (even though they're trusting that people's nostalgia will get them to follow the comics. Does that make any sense?) We started off with Furman's secret war (which I actually liked) which turned into a cosmic threat scenario then had a "Decepticons: up-close and personal" mini (with little real fighting) then Costa's "we can't learn to grow and evolve" story which devolved into some dumb cartoony plots before going simultaneously cosmic and street level in Chaos/Police Action. Now we have "the war's over. Let's go seek out a mystery" and also "bringing Cybertron together in peace" stories. Why isn't straight out Autobots vs. Decepticons good enough for IDW? Yes, it seems simple enough but it's a pretty broad framework. A lot of good tales can be told within it if editorial is willing to do it (and the writing is there to support it). As a fan of classic Transformers, that is what I want! No experimental-whatever stuff. Roberts at last seems to be fairly competent writer but he's still not telling the story I ultimately want to see. That's why I won't be following either of these two new series. I'm just not interested enough (and if I'm not interested, why waste money supporting it?)

Verdict: Average.

Comic Review...

2011-12-28T01:13:00.000-08:00

Cover "A" by Viktor Deak

Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime (previously solicited as Transformers #32 and Transformers #125 respectively)

Writers: James Roberts and John Barber
Artist: Nick Roche
(covers by Viktor Deak and Nick Roche)

Summary: Celebrating 125 issues of IDW's Transformers! After Chaos, Optimus Prime's fate was shrouded in mystery. Was he truly gone or could there be a way he had emerged unscathed? Now, Optimus sits in contemplation, in a place he does not recognize as home. And with the cost of the battle finally taking its brutal toll, does Optimus Prime even have the will to carry on? CHAOS changed everything, and Transformers #125 sets a new direction for the Autobot leader...

Comments: This issue has gone through some changes. First it was issue #32/#125 and then it was a "stand alone" story. Clearly, the issue continues on from the Costa series though (it even has a "previously..." section on the inside cover).
    Anyway, this issue follows on from #31, showing what happened to Optimus Prime after he unleashed the Matrix on D-Void. In short, he survived. At first, he wasn't sure where he was but it turns out he's still on Cybertron and we're quickly caught up on what's going on. Megatron has vanished... Galvatron is apparently dead as are the TFs that he re-animated with the Heart of Darkness. The Decepticons survive and are quickly locked up while many ships of lost Cybertronians return home over time, forcing the Autobots to try and manage matters as best they can. Also, the Matrix has reignited their dead world and its natural energy resources somehow. On this new world, Prime no longer knows where he fits in and ultimately decides to leave, renaming himself "Orion Pax" as he was once called. Elsewhere, Bumblebee and his Autobots decide to try and administer the planet and all its new problems as best they can while Hot Rod/Rodimus decides to lead an expedition to the far side of the Galaxy in pursuit of the lost legendary Knights of Cybertron.
    As you may have guessed, this is all set-up for the two new Transformers comics debuting from IDW in January. Robots in Disguise will be set on Cybertron while following Bumblebee and company. More Then Meets the Eye is set in space and follows Rodimus. I'm not sure if these two new stories will be ballsy attempts that reinvigorate the franchise or more storytelling that ultimately falls flat (Costa seemed brilliant in his first few issues but couldn't sustain it).
    The issue itself is okay. The story is decent but not especially memorable... As I've said, much of it is a prologue for the two new series and has to address certain plot points to set those up. The remainder is about Optimus finding out where he is and deciding he no longer has any place on a peaceful world. Another issue I have with the forthcoming comics: the writers always seem to want to write Transformers without Optimus Prime involved (since he gets so much spotlight generally). This always seem to not work out very well so it will be interesting to see whether or not the new team can make it work without him in the long run.
    The art is by Nick Roche and, frankly, it's kind of weird looking. Many of the characters are spindly, for lack of a better term (particularly Rodimus. His design is so different looking from the norm now anyway. Add this style and he's just about unrecognizable. Metalhawk and a few others also have the spindly look about them too). I also think this issue's art was shrunk after the fact--the captions are smaller looking then normal and every frame has a box around it (I think it was drawn with full page bleed in mind but someone changed their mind late in the process). As you can imagine, shrinking the art affects it too so its weirdness might not be Roche's fault but a result of the change.

Verdict: Average.

warlog xmas 2011 issue

2011-12-24T02:04:00.000-08:00

it's that time of year again.....
7 pages, 8 mb
download here: http://www.filesonic.nl/file/bo9lIWC/

and enjoy !

Johan

annual xmas card is here: http://warlogthecomic.deviantart.com/#/d4k1vhv

Holiday Greetings...

2011-12-21T19:48:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, ONE AND ALL!!! :)

Best wishes in the New Year!

Thunder

Titan Transformers UK issue 4.3, Januari 2012

2011-12-14T11:39:00.001-08:00

"Cold as Ice."

Titan Transformers UK issue 4.3, Januari 2012.

Script: Robin Etherington
Art: Jeremy Tiongson
Lettering: ComicCraft

I recieved this comic by post yesterday and I will waste no more time!

Page 01:
Free gifts:
- Transformers Prime Disk Blaster. Cool gun! I'm almost tempted to open the package and play with it.
Cover features PRIME promo art of Bumblebee and Arcee
Page 02-03: Index Page.
Page 04-05: there's a Bulkhead Profile, a photo mash up puzzle.
Page 06: Titan Magazines xmas offer advert
Page 07-10: Part one of the the strip begins.

"Ice Breaker"
Scripting by Etherington and art by Tiongson, Agent Fowler enlists/asks the Autobots
to help him return a stolen nuclear powered ship, stolen by Megatron and Starscream, somewhere near the South Pole. Meanwhile, Bulkhead and Arcee join the kids for some xmas fun.

Page 11: Star Wars The Clone Wars Magazine advert
Page 12-13: Part 3 of the PRIME episode guide, reviewing Darkness rising part 3. Also a micro quiz:
Page 14: Nerf Blaster competition.
Page 15: Ice Age Mammoth dvd and Spooky X-ray Model kits Competitions.
Page 16: one page Kre-o Transformers comic.
Page 17-20: Posters of Prime and Bumblebee
Page 21: Another puzzle page. 'spot the difference' and 'crack the code'
Page 22: Simpsons comic advert
Page 23-26: Part 2 of the strip!
Page 27-29: The letterpages, hosted by Megamouth Megatron (PRIME version) with a little help from Arcee (also PRIME version).
Page 30-31: Raf's Codebreaker, decipher the code and help Raf locate Jack, who is lost in New York.
Page 32: Miko's Wordsearch puzzle.
Page 33: Next issue blurb which looks like a Starscream cover.
Page 34: Dark of the Moon dvd/blueray advert
Page 35: Prime puzzle, put the missing pieces of the photo in place.
Page 36: On this page are so-called Bot and Con baubles to cut out and hang in your xmas tree, features Bumblebee, Prime, Bulkhead, Megatron Starscream and Soundwave.

and finally......drumroll:

a Merry Megatron Mask ! to cut out and wear to scare your parents into oblivion!

Conclusion: I really liked Megatron Mask, sadly I did not care as much about the strip as I wanted to.

score: 6.5 out of 10

-Johan

...next time... the Transformers UK 2012 Annual ....

Titan Transformers UK issue 4.2, December 2011.

2011-12-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

"Don't mention the war."

Titan Transformers UK issue 4.2, December 2011.

Script: Robin Etherington
Art: Horacio Domingues
Colour: Perayra Nestor
Lettering: ComicCraft

Allright, this review's a bit late but beter late than never, right ?

I recieved this comic by post sometime last november and I will get right into it!

Free gifts:
- Transformers Prime missile launcher. Yay!(sarcasm) another foam missile to be launched from a squeeze activating plastic tube variation, but then again I am not the main demographic and I can imagine the kids loving this. I received by mistake another copy of issue 4.1 and gave it to my nephews and they were both very happy with it.

This is a Transformers Prime comic.
Want proof?
A full cover featuring PRIME promo art of Megatron with a firery background

The Index page isn't really that exciting.....so I'll skip that !

On Page 04, we get an introduction to the PRIME human characters, a missing piece puzzle and on Page 07 the the strip begins.

"War Story"
Scripting by Etherington and surprisingly strong art by Domingues, Sari is badgering Prime for a juicy tale about Megatron, prevebly of him going postal or ape as she calls it. It's not quite what she gets.

The strip is interrupted on Page 11 by a psp ad and part 2 of the PRIME episode guide, reviewing Darkness rising part 2. Also a micro quiz:
1 Who becomes a zombie robot ?
-Bulkhead
-Cliffjumper
-Arcee
2 Which Autobot smashes a piece of Ratchet's equipment ?
-Optimus
-Megatron
-Bulkhead
3 Who blows up the energon mine ?
-Starscream
-Megatron
-Optimus
Thankfully, the answers are on the same page ;) followed on the next page by a 'game of the goose' style board game and, I have to say, an excellent TFPrime Megatron poster.

Page 18 has a competition to win the Dark of the Moon dvd and page 19 has a Kre-o transformers competition

Again followed by 2 competitions to win, the Transformers UK 2012 Annual and Mars-The Ultimate adventure book !

Another puzzle on Page 22 but Page 23 is part 2 of the strip! Prime reveals that Megatron's actions had him so distracted that Megatron manages to rescue his squad and detonate a bomb with repercussions for Optimus Prime.

followed by the letterpages, hosted by Megamouth Megatron (PRIME version) with a little help from Arcee (also PRIME version).

Starscream's wordsearch is on Page 30 with next issue and kre-o ads on Pages 31 and 32

Conclusion: I really liked the strip, unexpected character development for Megatron which I think is rarely seen in a kids comic.

score: 7 out of 10

-Johan

...next time...the Xmas issue....got it today, review soon!

Comic Review...

2011-12-09T01:49:00.000-08:00

Transformers #31

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Casey Coller
(covers by Casey Coller and Rik Alvarez)

Summary: Chaos is over. The future holds many mysteries, but the past can never be forgotten. As Ironhide looks back at what was, he comes to realize that it may hold the key to what lies ahead. A new peace has settled, and a new time has come for the Autobots, for the Decepticons for Cybertron.

Comments: This issue is set fifteen million years after the Great War(s) and features an all-new generation of Transformers (who have multiple modes apparently). Ironhide is the last holdout of his time (and also Alphatrion, who looks young and chipper). He speaks mostly to three young robots (and later to an audience) reminiscing about the past and all the war he experienced. These new robots have it so good since they've never experienced war and never will, yet everyone is always so fascinated by the past and the wars of long ago.
It's a decent enough story (I can't help thinking a better writer could've done more with it though). We get a lot of splash pages of events from IDW (the Furman era, AHM era and so on). The story implies Megatron is still alive somewhere out there (Ironhide feels it but evidently he has not been seen in quite some time) and Optimus Prime was lost too. It ends on a note with Ironhide intending to retell the younger TFs about the defeat of Megatron... We also get some good observations from Alphatrion about how life is change (I think that was the best part of this tale actually).
Minor nitpicks: This issue has youth Transformers as well as old Ironhide (while Alphatrion apparently upgrades himself regularly). I realize what they were going for here but I find an "old" Transformer (at least in the physical sense) is absurd--especially when he's standing right next to another robot who is way older but looks new off the assembly line (thanks presumably to regular updating). When are TF writers going to grasp the concept that the robots aren't metal humans? Sigh...
Casey Coller provides the artwork this issue and he is one of my favorite IDW artists (his work is consistently good). I opted for the Ironhide cover as the alternative was the Megatron toy/model cover, which is a little bit bland looking (they should've done a background of some sort for these photo covers instead of just the toy on a white background). One thing about this issue I really liked: the neo Autobots are all wearing G2 Autobot symbols (a nice little touch).

Verdict: Average.

Cover "B" by Casey Coller

Comic Review...

2011-11-28T14:06:00.000-08:00

Transformers #30

Writers: Mike Costa and James Roberts (story), Mike Costa (script)
Artist: Livio Ramondelli
(Covers by Livio Ramondelli)

Summary: Chaos, part 4, brings events to a devastating head: Megatron confronts his most formidable opponent yet! The Autobots scramble to keep out of the way of the Decepti-god's unstoppable rampage and Optimus Prime faces off against Galvatron, in a battle where the fate of the whole planet rests on the outcome! CHAOS concludes here and TRANSFORMERS will never be the same again!

Comments: Between the two recent storylines, this has been the one I've found more interesting of the two (which is not to be construed as praise though). In this issue, we pick up the Arcee and Hardhead (I had thought he was dead!) thread where they rescue the survivors of Kimia plot and have them all set course to join the main story on Cybertron (which they later do). They also casually drop in the idea that Galvatron's being duped by D-Void via the Heart of Darkness. This very quickly becomes fact (there's no prior hints in any of the story that this is the case--which would've been nice. Even some subtle foreshadowing completely escaped Costa's grasp). On Cybertron, Megatron continues to battle the dark Decepti-beast thingy while the Autobots cower. In the core, Optimus Prime and Hot Rod confront Galvatron and his cronies but they are too late! Galvatron has just used the Heart of Darkness on Cybetron's core! Prime uses the Matrix and saves them all (Galvatron disintegrates but not before realizing something is wrong. He did the right thing! Arghh!) The story ends with Optimus Prime alone somewhere quite blue (the remains of the Dead Universe? Cybertron? It's unclear). As I said, there was no hint at all that Galvatron was being duped by D-Void/Heart of Darkness (although I had suspected as much some time ago). Showing hints of that before the very ending might have been nice--even a suggestion something might be amiss would've been intriguing to the reader. Instead it's just dumped at the end as a fact, which it apparently is. A more interesting take might've been to have had the Heart be part of D-Void (a terrible name, btw) but corrupted somehow by a sense of heroism (like how the Matrix had a taint of evil to it in the old Marvel series). A straight interpretation of the story was boring, frankly. They could've developed this story more--even used the space they wasted on the Prowl/Earth segments to flesh it out further and actually make people care. As it was, it felt somewhat superficial and ultimately irrelevant. (Since "The Death of Optimus Prime" is coming up, perhaps he was trapped in the Dead Universe--or something--as a result of the ending? But even that is pointless since he dies all the time and never stays that way for long).
The art is more of Ramondelli's murkiness. It makes a dull story pretty in the technical sense but hard to decipher what's going on half the time. Art in a comic should easily convey the story and its natural progression. When a reader can't figure out what a panel is supposed to represent, it fails to do its job (to be fair, a large number of modern comic artists have this problem though).

Verdict: Average. I'm glad this story is over! I wonder what they'll do for the two remaining issues--a lot of pontificating by the characters over the fall-out? (Is the sky blue?)

Cover "A" by Livio Ramondelli

Comic Review...

2011-11-28T13:29:00.000-08:00

Transformers #29

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Brendan Cahill
(Covers by Brendan Cahill and Marcelo Matere)

Summary: The Last Story On Earth ends here! When Prowl makes a breakthrough in his investigation, he assumes that he has the answers to all his questions until a shadowy adversary brings some shocking revelations to the Autobot's attention. Could this be the end of the human/Autobot truce? Mike Costa and Brendan Cahill bring this tale to its unexpected conclusion!

Comments: This issue was a prime example of what I've hated about this comic series. We start off the story with Spike admitting he killed Scrapper and telling the Autobots they should be thanking him (exactly what I've been saying about this story's non-premise all along!) Then the Autobots and Skywatch go attack a human named Ben Simpson (no idea who he is) but apparently he's a facsimile (like in the old IDW Furman stories). Swindle is controlling him somehow, apparently, and we learn ultimately that he sold Skywatch's robot-busting tech to Spike (apparently this is supposed to reaffirm Spike's "seat-of-his-pants", wreck-loose mentality. It also shows us how stupid the humans are since nobody has the brains to reverse-engineer any of the tech on their own. Although, considering how advanced TF tech is supposed to be, maybe that's a good thing.) Anyway, Spike escapes before they can confront him further and meanwhile, Jazz goes and blows up a base with Skywatch's tech presumably in it. This was a boring, contrived story that had no ultimate relevance to anything (beyond wrapping up the Earth leg of this series, anyway). I wasn't engaged by any of it and wondered the entire time why they were even bothering. Also, it seems like Costa pulled a lot of stuff out of the thin air to try and give it a conspiracy-like feel. Either none of the elements he materialized here really existed until now or he used elements from before that were so slight I don't recall any of them enough to be amazed at his story composition now (who were half of the human characters that appear in this story, anyway? I have no idea).
The art was passable although not really great. Brendan Cahill's art is decent but hardly spectacular either. I still hate all the pointless neo-G1 designs everyone has.

Verdict: Pass. A confusing, contrived ending to a story that didn't need to be told in the first place.

Cover "B" by Brendan Cahill

Transmasters Mag Fall edition!

2011-11-16T20:11:00.000-08:00

The latest issue of Transmasters Magazine, the Fall '11 issue, is now online! You can check it out here:

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue12/index1.html

A couple of quick notes:
- I literally just got TF:P Arcee today so the review was done up very fast. My camera is not the greatest but hopefully the pictures will at least give you an idea of the toy.

- Unrequited was also done up quickly. I didn't have a lot of time to refine it but I think it pretty much works as it is.

As always, comments and feedback are welcome.
- Thunder

TFUK Titan comic review: issue 4.1

2011-11-02T15:23:00.000-07:00

...bringing in the new order...?

Titan Transformers UK issue 4.1, November 2011.

Script: Robin Etherington
Art: Jeremy Tiongson

I recieved this comic by post on wednesday november 2th and is a restart of the comic, now focusing on PRIME instead of Dark of the Moon...or is it ?

Free gifts:

- which is a yellow Dark of the Moon themed 'Requiem blaster' including 3 autobot 'discs'.
- a Revenge of the Fallen Autobot movie mask (sadly not my size....)
- a nifty Transformers PRIME sticker sheet.

I'd say this is a transition issue with half Dark of the Moon and half Prime.

Another full cover featuring PRIME promo art of Optimus Prime

What also is remarkable is that the code invented by Decepticon Soundwave as read in 3.4 seems to be cracked by Raf in 4.1

We get a nice introduction to the PRIME autobot team, some puzzles and then the strip.

"The safe and the failsafe"

Strong scripting by etherington and equally strong art by Tiongson, formerly known as artist on Duel Masters (and ...?) delivering some manga influenced, detailed art. A breath of fresh air after the apparant "rush"that was last issue.

The strip is shortly interrupted by part 1 of the PRIME episode guide, reviewing Darkness rising part 1. I think there will be multiple episode reviews in future issues in order to keep up.

And then we get to the dual side of the comic, The Dark of the Moon pull out section, that incidentally, I don't want to pull out because I'd like to keep this magazine in one piece ;)
-Megatron and Optimus VS Sentinel profiles
-Awesome Dark of the Moon Shockwave poster !
-starscreams puzzles, maze, comparison pictures.

Back to the strip!
After the strip come 2 competitions (Nerfgun and Kre-o Transformers)
followed by the letterpages, hosted by Megamouth Megatron (PRIME version) with a little help from Arcee (also PRIME version).

What also is remarkable is that the code invented by Decepticon Soundwave as read in 3.4 seems to be cracked by Raf in 4.1

Conclusion: Definite improvement over last issue! Too bad Dark of the Moon seems to be fased out, I really liked that film even if Skids and Mudflap were nowhere to be seen....

-Johan

...till next time...

Comic Review...

2011-10-23T23:02:00.000-07:00

Cover "A" by Livio Ramondelli

Transformers #28

Writer: Mike Costa and James Roberts (story); Mike Costa (script)
Artist: Livio Ramondelli
(covers by Livio Ramondelli)

Summary: CHAOS part 3 rocks Cybertron as the return of an unlikely Decepticon faces off against Sunstreaker who is looking for a little redemption--Megatron suits up for what might very well be his final battle--and you are introduced to something we had to call--the DeceptiGOD! 'Chaos' goes insane!

Comments: The battle for Cybertron continues! We still don't learn precisely what's going on in this issue and we get more fighting on Cybertron but somehow I didn't mind this issue quite as much. It felt like the plot was moving along at least a bit.
    We have a prologue with some Autobot refugees in an escape pod (are they from Kimia? Or somewhere else?) who are rescued by Arcee (apparently she finally crawled out of that hole on Gorlam Prime). The prologue's significance, if any, is not revealed in the rest of the story (perhaps it's just an attempt to account for everyone?) The rest of the issue is about the battle on Cybertron. The Decepticons from Earth come to Cybertron via a space bridge transponder Megatron had on his body (according to a theory by Jetfire anyway. The reinforcements say nothing otherwise). Again, I think they're there to tie up that plot thread more then anything else. The Decepticons stop moving eventually, start spouting binary code and all come together (along with the Sweeps and "Galvatron's army"--which has been visually absent in the art but apparently still exist) to form a giant monster (called "DeceptiGod" in the solicitation). It attacks the Autobots, who try to fight it off. Elsewhere, Galvatron tells Optimus Prime that only the Heart of Darkness can destroy the planet's core and save the Universe. He races off to do that... Optimus is contacted by Cliffjumper--who's communicator is taken by Megatron (he did not merge with the rest of the Decepticons). Prime tells him to hold off the monster, if he can, in order to save the planet. Megatron says he will do his best... Optimus goes after Galvatron.
    The art is still murky as hell, making some panels had to decipher while others look not too bad.
    The story, as I said, is decent and advances somewhat over the previous couple of issues on Cybertron. I wonder why the Decepticons are affected by the darkness/whatever-it-is but not Megatron or the Autobots. One thing that would greatly improve this story is if they would drop a few hints about what is really going on. We got a set-up in the Heart of Darkness mini-series but since then Costa (and Roberts) have played it too close to the chest. I understand we're coming to a big story revelation shortly but dropping a few hints here and there would help pique curiosity and so far we've gotten nothing at all. It is my hope next issue of Chaos actually gets to the pay-off but we'll see...

Verdict: Average.

Transmasters Mag Fall edition!

2011-10-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

The Fall Issue of Transmasters Magazine is in the works! Submissions (art, stories, articles, etc.) are always welcome. The deadline for submissions this time around will be November 15th. As always, submissions can be sent to tkphoton at hotmail.com

Comic Review...

2011-10-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

Cover B by Brendan Cahill

Transformers #27

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Brendan Cahill
(covers by Brendan Cahill and Marcelo Matere)

Summmary: 'The Last Story On Earth' continues with shocking revelations into what the humans have done to Cybertronians and what they plan to do! Alliances between the two races are on the brink-can Jazz, an Autobot who killed a human, possibly bring both sides back before utter destruction occurs? Here's a hint: Not bloody likely!

Comments: This issue sees art by Brendan Cahill, which is easier to follow in some respects then Ramondelli's is. I wouldn't say he's my favorite artist either though (give me Roche, Guidi or Matere any day).
So, Prowl survives a sneak attack thanks to Streetwise and they discover it was Brawl who attacked them. They incapacitate him and return to base. We also pick up another story thread about a woman who worked for Skywatch but betrayed them by ratting out that they were working with the Autobots in secret. Later, Prowl grabs her and tries to interrogate her to find out about who killed Scrapper. She hints at Spike and then he comes in and confronts them directly. Yes, he admits to killing Scrapper! To be honest, I'm not even sure who this woman is (maybe I missed whatever story she was in? I skipped a few issues when they went to North Korea and fought the Decepticons). If she was in the second story arc, this is a long time later to come back to her since likely all but the diehard readers have forgotten who the hell she is. Or if she wasn't in that story, her part was so small I paid her no attention. Either way, this was a plot twist out of the blue...
Finally, we get to the important part--Spike killed Scrapper and admits to it! The only thing is, who cares? In the issue (TF #9) where Spike committed his "crime", we learn Scrapper's actions caused human deaths so it's not like he went out and summarily executed an innocent party. Also, in case Prowl has forgotten, Scrapper is a Decepticon--his sworn enemy! At least if Spike had killed Bluestreak or something this story might make sense but as it is he did everyone a favor. This story highlights my disdain for this current series--it focuses on issues I just don't care about in a Transformers comic. I don't want more of the same per se, but I would rather the comic pull back and focus more on the bigger picture (like Furman's stuff used to) and less on touchy-feely characterization (or, at least, not so much on it all the time). Costa's approach works so much better for the GIJOE: Cobra comic (in part, because there are other comics in the same continuity being written about other things) but not so much here with only one title.

Verdict: Mediocre.

Comic Review...

2011-10-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

Transformers #26

Writer: Mike Costa and James Roberts (story); Mike Costa (script)
Artist: Livio Ramondelli
(covers by Livio Ramondelli)

Summary: 'CHAOS' rages on! A hole is punched through to the core of Cybertron itself-but what for? Where's Galvatron?! And why is Megatron, deep in the Autobot base and stuck in his cell, laughing? It all spells one thing-TROUBLE with a capital 'Crush the Heroes!' CHAOS part 2, in which things go from bad, to holy-hell-how-are-we-gonna-get-out-of-this-alive!!!

Comments: The Autobots fly up to attack Kimia (the big space gun/space station thing the Autobots used to control until the start of last issue). Rodimus commands the space battle while Optimus Prime and the others attack Galvatron on the surface (after Wheelie tries to snipe him and fails). The space gun fires and begins destroying a spot on Cybertron's surface... finally, two of the Technobots (who are still on Kimia) blow it up and destroy it, averting the threat and whatever Galvatron had planned to do. We still don't find out whatever Galvatron is up to, of course. Meanwhile, Megatron breaks out of prison in Omega Supreme and inadvertently comes to Cliffjumper and Wheelie's aid.
I still dislike Ramondelli's interior art and it's still too murky for my tastes. I also dislike this someone draws one issue, somebody else draws the next, the first artist does the third issue, etc. stuff. Why can't they get one guy to do a full run instead?
The story itself is okay. Mostly a long battle with some minor movements along the way. After all this time, we still don't know exactly what Galvatron plans to do to stop D-Void and we still have the Autobots not even attempting to look at the bigger picture for purposes of moving the plot along. Granted, Prime says he senses something happening via the Matrix near the end of the story but we don't know what and his reaction is to go stop Galvatron rather then endeavor to truly find out what (I may be nitpicking a tad here but it feels like the Autobots are being short sighted for plot convenience). I also wonder why if the Autobots had Kimia in the first place why they didn't use it to swing the balance of power in the war their way (I hate it when super weapon stuff like this shows up for a story and no one bothers to consider the larger picture).

Verdict: Average.

Cover A by Livio Ramondelli

TFUK Titan comic review: issue 3.4

2011-09-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

...it's been a while.....

Titan Transformers UK issue 3.4, October 2011.

Script: Robin Etherington
Art: Dario Brizuela

I recieved this comic by post on monday september 19th. I glanced over my free gift, which is a red 'disc shooter watch' including 1 autobot 'disc'.

On the cover, is a really just stock footage/film promotion of Vector Prime, mostly hidden behind all the ads for puzzles and the like.

The index is still pretty much the same and the art used for this seems like john McCrea's art showing the movie characters shown in the animated style.

A nice lowdown on Ironhide detailing his abilities and bio.

the strip:
At first, I was a little taken aback by the drop in quality seen here, the art looks like a cross between Geoff Senior and Charlie Adlard to me. What's wrong with that you ask ? well nothing really once you get used to it. let me explain: This is the first UK comic I've seen in some while since my move to the new house so I had Jon Davis-Hunt in mind when first seeing the strip. His art is more detailed than Mr Brizuela's art. like I said I got used to it.

the story is very simple but entertaining with the humans first being angry with all Transformers, later waking up to who their real friends are. This strip is split over two sections.

Inbetween we have the Sideswipe armoury section zooming in on wingsuits as seen in the movie, Ratchet's word search which is a puzzle, a Starscream and a Sideswipe Poster, another Ratchet puzzle-now a maze.

A competion to win Dark of the moon figures, 2012 annual(i'd like that), dangermouse dvd collection and a diary of a wimpy kid dvd.

Finishing off are 2 more puzzles, this time hosted by Starscream(match parts to certain transformer) and Bumblebee(word puzzle)

The letterpage(MEGA MOUTH)featuring Megatron gueststar: Sideswipe) containing some reader art and 1 letter.

on the last page is a preview for next issue hinting that it will be a Transformers PRIME issue, my guess is that it will switch from the Dark of the Moon subtitle to the Prime subtitle.

That's it.

Conclusion: For a comic i'd like it to have more art like it had in earlier/earliest issues but I guess it's more like a magazine. Still liked it though.

-Johan

cover doesn't seem to be uploading.....

Comic Review...

2011-09-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Transformers #25

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Brendan Cahill

(covers by Marcelo Matere and Brendan Cahill)

Summary: 'The Last Story on Earth' part 1 of 3! While there is much 'CHAOS' on Cybertron, there's no less bedlam here on Earth as our remaining Autobots investigate the accusation that Spike, their trusted human ally, murdered a TRANSFORMER in cold oil(?) Now it's up to our heroes to find the truth and decide the fate of human/Cybertronian relations for years to come! Prowl and Jazz take center stage!

Comments: Another Costa issue. I pretty much forgot half of the story after reading it (a typical reaction to his stuff). I'm sure he believed there was a real story left to tell on Earth but I for one don't see it. Okay, most of Megatron's Decepticons are still there but beyond that who cares about Spike's actions in killing a Constructicon? This is likely an attempt to reset the status quo for the two new series coming next year. Let us hope those series are more exciting and better written then this one, which has largely been dull and plodding. Anyway, this issue is a lot of talking between the Earth Autobots then Prowl and Streetwise covertly save Spike from an assassination attempt by Breakdown, more talking and a cliffhanger with Prowl. The ending was decent but the rest of the issue was dull. The art was adequate but that's all I can really say about it. It was clearer then last issue's murk but not particularly great.

Verdict: Mediocre.

Cover "B" by Brendan Cahill

Comic Review...

2011-08-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

Transformers #24

Writer: Mike Costa and James Roberts (story); Mike Costa (script)
Artist: Livio Ramondelli
(covers by Livio Ramondelli)

Summary: CHAOS: PART 1! The long-awaited event that will have TRANSFORMERS fans talking for years and lasting repercussions on the lives of our heroes and villains gets off to a mega-start! The Autobots land on Cybertron to discover Galvatron's plan is already in effect-but what is it? What could he possibly want on a dead planet?!

Comments: Basically, this issue is one long fight scene. The Decepticons conquer some kind of Autobot base in the opening, where Cloudburst and Downshift apparently die (why are all these obscure characters highlighted in these stories so they can die three seconds later? I know, death is melodramatic in storytelling--but not if we don't even get to know the characters and get to care about them at all. I'd rather it be generic characters unless the death has some real meaning behind it).
     The rest of the issue, the Autobots arrive on Cybertron and confront Galvatron. He starts to explain himself when Hot Rod interrupts then we go straight into the fighting. This is another one of those examples of storytelling where the whole conflict can be resolved in ten seconds if only someone communicates what their intent is but conveniently doesn't so the plot can be moved in the direction the writer wants it to go (i.e. lazy writing). Drift believes there might be some greater threat--why doesn't anyone else on the Autobot side though?
    The art is by Livio Ramondelli. The man is a master of that painted art style and his covers are superb. Having said that, some of the interior art is a bit murky due to the style and combining that with Don Figueroa's pointless IDW re-designs, it makes some of characters hard to identify. There's a white robot with a blue dot on his chest (I think it's Jetfire. Nobody refers to him by name in the story though). I really wish they'd dump these new TF designs and go back to the classic style--nobody liked EJ Su's re-designs (apparently) so they go and get Figueroa to make them look even more complicated and now all the other artists are trying to emulate his designs.
    Also, Ramondelli's art makes it seem like all of Galvatron's minions are Sweeps but that contradicts the Heart of Darkness mini-series where most of his army clearly were not Sweeps (yes, it's a visual continuity thing but shouldn't that matter in a visual medium like a comic?)
    I'd prefer they keep Ramondelli for cover art duties and leave the interior art to Alex Milne or Nick Roche (but they'll likely milk it for all it's worth instead). On the plus side, all three of Ramondelli's covers (one is a Retailer Incentive) for this issue are beautiful.

Verdict: Mediocre.

Cover "B" by Livio Ramondelli

Comic Review...

2011-08-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Transformers #23

Writer: James Roberts
Artist: Alex Milne
(covers by Alex Milne)

Summary: CHAOS Prelude! Last issue, you discovered the first ever meeting between Optimus Prime and Megatron. And if the surprises there weren't enough-you won't believe what happens just hours later! Optimus Prime recounts the fascinating end of their introduction as he decides the fate of the jailed Megatron. This one's a keeper, folks! Now let the CHAOS BEGIN!

Comments: The sequel to the previous issue, this follows Orion Pax/Optimus Prime's story after the last issue with Megatron's pre-war tale. We learn that even Optimus discovered that Cybertronian society was corrupt and made a show of his beliefs, becoming the first Autobot (technically). I liked the Megatron issue slightly better but the Prime story was a good look at his early personality then and his strong sense of justice. The present scenes are about his deciding what to do with Megatron and whether or not he can still make decisions with the presence of the Matrix (but it seemed like the past story was the primary part of it). Roberts has done an excellent job in only two issues of making the comic worth reading and he deserves kudos for that.

Verdict: Recommended.

Cover "A" by Alex Milne

Transformers: Prime Episode #23

2011-08-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

Teletoon in Canada is ahead of the Hub now for new episodes of Prime. The trend continues today with ep. 23! Check it out on Youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zMSHP3MvwM

(This is not my doing, I'm merely passing along the information to get the word out. :)

- Thunder

TM Mag Summer edition!

2011-08-17T01:09:00.000-07:00

The Summer 2011 edition of the Transmasters Magazine is now up on the website!

Check it out here:
http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue11/index1.html

A special thanks to our contributors for this issue. We couldn't have done it without you! :)

(A note about my Opening Shots comic: Yes, it is there this time around. I had hoped to finish it off but ran short on time so I only have six pages up. I hope to get the remaining pages done soon-ish and I will post a message when they're done.)

Comments are always welcome! Praise, criticism, suggestions--let us know how you feel!

Thunder

Summer TM Mag deadline!

2011-08-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

An update on the Summer Issue of Transmasters Magazine: The deadline for submissions (art, stories, articles, etc.) will be Monday August 15th. If anybody's got anything for it, feel free to email it to me: tkphoton at hotmail.com (also, if anybody needs more time, let me know. I can always push it back a bit if needed).

Thunder

Summer time!

2011-08-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

The Summer Issue of Transmasters Magazine is in the works! Submissions (art, stories, articles, etc.) are always welcome. I don't yet have a submissions deadline in mind but I hope to have the issue ready in a week or so (I still have a comic to draw and that will take some work). As always, submissions can be sent to tkphoton at hotmail.com

Thunder

Comic Review...

2011-07-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

Transformers #22

Writer: James Roberts
Artist: Alex Milne
(covers by Alex Milne)

Summary: 'Chaos' really gets under way! Megatron: firebrand, tyrant, psychopath... prisoner? The Decepticons leader had the Autobots at his mercy-and then surrendered. Optimus Prime tries to find out why in a story that spans four million years and features a cast of thousands. Events in this issue will forever change the way you look at the Transformers Universe...

Comments: This was a bit of a departure considering the previous issues. While the Autobots are en route to Cybertron we stop and take the time to examine the dynamic between Optimus Prime and Megatron, even flashing back to the post-Megatron Origin era and seeing Megatron while he was still an idealist. In that sense, the story does a better job then the actual Origin comic ever did in explaining his transition from sorta-decent guy to tyrant (the mini-series failed for me on that level and yet Roberts managed to do it in one issue here). Overall, this issue was a serious improvement over just about anything Mike Costa has done (or at least since his initial issues, anyway). There actually seemed to be a point, for one thing (which is always good when you're telling a story). I'm still not sure, though, after all of it was said and done precisely why Megatron surrendered (other then lazy writing to begin with on Costa's part). Did he want to do some penance for his crimes? To remind Optimus that he helped in a way to make him who he was and he must carry some of the blame? (I think I just answered my own question. :) One minor quibble--during the Prime/Megatron conversation we see a flashback in a couple of frames where Megatron is trapped in his gun mode. But since this continuity started off with him being a tank that makes no sense (unless he was a gun for some time, then became a tank then a gun again--mirroring real life, actually :).

Verdict: Recommended.

(Cover "A" by Alex Milne)

Savcon 2012 TF Convention!

2011-07-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

(Information courtesy Robo_Rob).

http://savcon.net/

Starting in the Summer of 2012 Savannah, Georgia will be added to the
list of ever growing Unofficial Transformer Conventions.
This Con, SavCon, to be exact, will be the first in Savannah's
history. Savannah is known for its rich civil war history, landmark
buildings and event attractions such as the famous St. Patrick's Day
Parade and music & movie festivals that draws thousands to the area,
it seems fitting that such a convention should take place here, and
every year.
This is a fan run convention and the best possible team has been put
in place so you enjoy your experience to the fullest, As always your
input is very important to us to continue to make this the best
possible experience. I encourage everyone to submit ideas to us on our
forums and if it's possible... It will happen!

--
robo_rob
www.tfradio.net

Comic Review...

2011-07-17T00:23:00.000-07:00

(Cover "B" by Guido Guidi)

Transformers #21

Writer: Mike Costa
Artists: Guido Guidi and Brendan Cahill
(covers by Marcelo Matere and Guido Guidi)

Summary: TRANSFORMERS goes bi-weekly! Two stories for the price of one, kicking off the 'CHAOS' event!! In part one, Rodimus makes his triumphant return to Earth, and sets off the major events that will spin off into CHAOS. And in part two, Prowl begins his investigation... of Spike. This storyline will change TRANSFORMERS forever!

Comments: And so it begins... or the prologue to Chaos does anyway. Whatever. Part one takes the tact of setting this up like some legendary or prophetic story. Using captions to explain Hot Rod's legendary return to Earth and how after returning the Matrix to Optimus, he would forever be known as Rodiums, etc. The whole gimmick feels cheesy to me honestly. Part two is Prowl staying behind on Earth with some Autobots to apparently investigate Spike's actions behind their backs (i.e. killing Scrapper back in issue #8). I don't really understand the logic behind this--Spike can't kill a Decepticon in cold blood but it's okay for Jazz to incinerate a human a couple of issues ago seemingly without consequence (it seemed like a perfect "crap hits the fan" moment and they totally brushed it off and forgot about it!) Anyway, this issue sets up the "final" storylines for Cybertron and Earth (after which, what happens? The comic ends? A reboot? I dunno). So far, I'm not that impressed by what I see and the thought of having to buy this bi-weekly seriously puts me off).

Verdict: Average.

***

Transformers: Heart of Darkness #4 (of 4)

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist: Ulises Farinas
(covers by Ulises Farinas, Casey Coller and Livio Ramondelli)

Summary: THE ROAD TO 'CHAOS' ENDS HERE! With his army assembled, Galvatron is ready to take the Heart of Darkness back to Cybertron. But first, he must now face down the ultimate threat, a force of unimaginable power and overwhelming darkness. Will Galvatron stand strong or will he bend to the will of inescapable evil? HoD leads directly into 'CHAOS'-the first-ever TRANSFORMERS event book from IDW!

Comments: For the most part I liked this series (terrible art aside). However, like most all of IDW's mini-series, it doesn't really end conclusively but instead leads into the main title to be resolved. I prefer the old school, where mini-series actually told a story and had a point in existing in the first place (the Drift mini wasn't that great but at least it followed that formula properly). I still wonder about the titular Heart of Darkness. It was introduced during Simon Furman's run and seemed at the time to be a anti-matrix/dark matrix. In this mini-series, it has become a force of good apparently and is leading Galvatron to try and stop D-Void from coming into our Universe. I was expecting some kind of story twist--that Galvatron was actually doing D-Void's bidding unknowingly but the mini at least doesn't end on any such note. So, we have this "evil" power source trying to stop the evil from coming here? Why? Is D-Void going to be beaten and then we find the HoD is Unicron's soul or something? Or is that twist I predicted still coming? It just seems strange that the HoD suddenly is good natured and wants to stop evil for no apparent reason. I wish that would be explained...

Verdict: Average.

(Cover "C" by Livio Ramondelli)

Music Review...

2011-07-01T23:29:00.000-07:00

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (score)

Composer: Steve Jablonsky

Available on iTunes for $9.99 (there was supposed to be a physical release originally too. However, the entry on Amazon and other websites is gone now so I'm not clear if that's coming later or this will be an exclusively digital release).

Track Listing:

1. Dark Side of the Moon
2. Sentinel Prime
3. Lost Signal
4. In Time You'll See
5. Impress Me
6. We Were Gods Once
7. Battle
8. There Is No Plan
9. We All Work for the Decepticons
10. The Fight Will Be Your Own
11. Shockwave's Revenge
12. No Prisoners, Only Trophies
13. The World Needs You Now
14. It's Our Fight
15. I'm Just the Messenger
16. I Promise
17. Our Final Hope

Total Running Time: 59:47

I recently purchased the instrumental soundtrack to the recent live action Transformers movie and decided to share my thoughts. Then I realized there were about the same as my review to the original 2007 score Jablonsky did so I mostly re-posted that here.

In case you don't keep up with this stuff, there are two TF soundtracks to the recent movie. The first one is full of pop/rock songs that are in the movie/inspired by the movie. This is the other one with strictly instrumental music on it (and this is a digital release as previously noted while the other version is also out on CD).

In short, the music is grand and orchestral. It befits an epic storyline full of action and excitement. As with Jablonsky's previous efforts, the music doesn't really stand out in my mind. It's not bad by any means--certainly, it's sufficient for any modern action epic. But it doesn't capture my imagination the way some soundtracks of the past have. The original TF movie soundtrack by Vin Dicola is far more distinctive as are soundtracks like James Horner's beautiful Star Trek scores, John William's Star Wars music and Chris Franke's Babylon 5 compositions. Interestingly, this time around I caught a couple of tracks that sound as if they were borrowing elements from The Dark Knight ("We Were Gods Once" is an example as is "We All Work for the Decepticons"). It's also possible they just both share a few common elements and I'm hearing stuff that isn't there--but that's a bad commentary on the sameness of so many soundtracks these days.

All and all, a good effort. Not outstanding but still a solid release and worth checking out if you like instrumental soundtracks.

Comic Review...

2011-06-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Transformers #19

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Guido Guidi

(covers by Marcelo Matere and Guido Guidi)

Summary: 'CHAOS' PRELUDE! The situation on Earth continues to deteriorate while we shift focus to outer space where RODIMUS was last seen dead! A classic character returns as the things heat up and we begin our descent into 'CHAOS'-THE YEAR'S BIGGEST TRANSFORMERS EVENT! Don't miss 'SPACE OPERA, Part 1!'

Comments: In some ways it was nice to find Hot Rod again and see what he was up to. Having said that, though, the story was pretty by-the-numbers. No real surprises or twists to see. Mostly, it seems Costa was trying to tie up loose ends by bringing Wheelie back (which wasn't really a loose end in my mind). Also, they use the Matrix to power the ship, which makes no sense to me. (I like Guido's cover quite a bit).

Verdict: Average.

(cover "B" by Guido Guidi)

***
Transformers #20

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Guido Guidi

(covers by Marcelo Matere and Guido Guidi)

Summary: Through a series of misunderstandings, Rodimus and his two strange new partners arrive on a planet we haven't visited in a long time, and meet a few other 'bots everyone thought were lost forever. Those are a lot of vague words, because this issue has a TON of surprises. Check them out in SPACE OPERA Part 2

Comments: Basically, Hot Rod, Wheelie and their new alien friend go to Cybertron and encounter Ironhide and Sunstreaker. While there, they discover Galvatron is there too. What is he up to? We never find out (maybe they should've waited until Heart of Darkness #4 is out. This seems like it was released a little too soon). At any rate, the Autobots escape and head for Earth. It was nice to see Galvatron drawn well again after the terrible HoD art.

Verdict: Average.

(Cover "A" by Marcelo Matere)

***

Transformers: Heart of Darkness #3 (of 4)

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist: Ulises Farinas
(covers by Ulises Farinas and Casey Coller)

Summary: 'CHAOS' PRELUDE! We learn new truths about the TRANSFORMERS' ancient history-truths that may lead to their ruin. GAVATRON and company gather arms and recruit major forces. With a raving lunatic leading the DECEPTICON forces-absolute destruction is sure to follow. HoD leads directly into 'CHAOS'-the first-ever TRANSFORMERS event book from IDW!

Comments: Despite his terrible Transformers art, Farinas alien fishermen here (in the first three or so pages) aren't half bad looking. I can't quite understand why that is yet his TFs look consistently awful. As for the story, it continues on with Galvatron recruiting more and more previously dead TFs (of which there are a convenient graveyard around a planet he's gone to). One continuity error here: Galvatron resurrects one of the "lost ancient Headmasters" even though they were only invented a couple of years ago in Furman's run (not that continuity seems to matter to anyone at IDW). Also, we find the return of Nemesis Prime at the end of the issue. What does he want? Is he friend or foe? (And why doesn't anyone in this damn story ever actually die?)

Verdict: Average.

(Cover "B" by Casey Coller)

It's here! It's now!

2011-06-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Spring Issue of Transmasters Magazine is finally up and ready to go!

Check it out here:

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue10/index1.html

Thanks to all who contributed this issue! :)

(I didn't have time to do my Opening Shots comic this time around and I also abandoned another comic strip I'd planned to do since I was sick on the weekend when I planned to draw it up. Both will be in next issue though.

Questions? Comments? Let me know! :)

Thunder

Fixed!

2011-05-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that the Transmasters Magazine, issue #4 link has been fixed on the site. It had previously linked to a "Freeservers" website but the issue was apparently erased from there (fortunately I backed it up while it was still live. I had a feeling something like that might happen).

The new link is here:
http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue4/index.html

UPDATE: TM Comic, issue #4 link has also been fixed.

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmcomic/issue4/index.html

Thunder

Impressions BOTS NL Transformers convention

2011-05-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

So I went here with my wife, and since I was too lazy too shoot pictures (actually my phone was near death from using the navigation function) here's a couple pics and movies others made.

pics:
AutobotJazz4's album (Niels Berndsen)

NTF-Archive

Videos:
Yigal

C.O.N.S.

enjoy ! and oh yeah you can find me on these pictures recieving my lottery prize, ROTF Skids !
picture 1

picture 2

-Greetz johan

source: main BOTS website

Spring Time!

2011-05-22T22:28:00.001-07:00

The Spring Issue of Transmasters Magazine is in the works! Submissions (art, stories, articles, etc.) are always welcome. The submissions deadline for the Spring issue is May 30th. Send any submissions to me at: tkphoton at hotmail.com

Thunder

Warlog Weekly 2011-05

2011-05-18T15:18:00.001-07:00

Warlog continues !

Today is the fight between Soundwave and Hotrider ! Having infiltrated the decepticon base, Hotrider is in trouble now Soundwave has found him !

This will be the last entry for may as I am now starting work on a Powercore combiner story featuring Skids and Mudflap for Transmasters fan Magazine.

Warlog Weekly returns june 2011 !
See you soon and Enjoy !

-Johan/Backbreaker

comments are welcome.

Warlog Weekly 2011-04

2011-05-09T14:26:00.001-07:00

Warlog continues!

While Kasmun meets the mysterious Backslip, Let's see how the Autobots are doing....

Comments are very welcome.

for those who missed the other stories, I am compiling the old ones into one file. Coming soon.

-UNB

NEXT WEEK: Mayhem !

Spring has arrived!

2011-05-03T22:42:00.000-07:00

The Spring Issue of Transmasters Magazine is in the works! I hope to have it ready sometime later this month (May). Submissions (art, stories, articles, etc.) are always welcome (the deadline for submissions will be announced at a later date).

Thunder

Tales of the Destara: The Light Odyssey...

2011-05-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

If anybody's interested, I have a few extra copies of "The Light Odyssey" laying around. I will send whoever wants one a copy for free. If you're interested, feel free to email me (tkphoton at hotmail dot com) and let me know. Obviously, I would need an address to send it to.
If anyone takes me up on this offer, you can do two things in return:
1) "Like" the Facebook page for "Tales of the Destara: The Light Odyssey". (Assuming you liked it, of course, and you're on FB).
2) If you like it, please feel to pass the word along to any friends you might think would want to read it.
Also, I always appreciate feedback on my stories, so feel free to let me know what you thought of it.

What is The Light Odyssey? If I had to describe the plot in one sentence, I would say it's like Transformers meets Star Wars.

Comic Review...

2011-04-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

Transformers: Heart of Darkness #2 (of 4)

Writers: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist: Ulises Farinas

(Covers by Ulises Farinas and Casey Coller)

Summary: Galvatron is on the move! With the mystery surrounding Gorlam Prime still unsolved, Cyclonus and Scourge are tasked with helping raise an army! But an army to do what?! Find out as the ROAD TO 'CHAOS' finds its first travelers!

Comments: Ugh! My eyes! The art--it's so bad! Wherever did they find this guy? Thankfully I got the Casey Coller cover this time around but it's too bad he couldn't have done the interiors too. Ulises Farinas should never have been let near a professional comic book with his terrible lack of skill. As to the story... it's actually not bad. Galvatron finds some answers to the main mystery of the story--namely, where did the inhabitants of Gorlam Prime go. This stands in stark contrast to many other recent TF comics where they go four issues and essentially nothing happens. We know the Dead Universe is the enemy and it is awakening. It goes by the moniker "D-Void" (which is kind of silly sounding. I suspect it will eventually go by the name "Unicron"). I suspect the Dark Universe will be revealed as Unicron and, indeed, it is a logical outcome here. The Dark Universe is devoid of life and alive, seeking to devour cybernetic life energy... it only makes sense and if the writers decide to make it something else, it seems like both a wasted opportunity and a bit redundant (especially if Unicron shows up some other time later on to have two nearly identical villains). A decent story and I look forward to issue three.

Verdict: Recommended.

(Cover "B" by Casey Coller)

Warlog Weekly 2011-03

2011-04-17T13:40:00.001-07:00

Warlog continues!

Ratbat returns with a surprise announcement.

Comments are very welcome.

for those who missed the other stories, I am compiling the old ones into one file. Coming soon.

-UNB

NEXT WEEK: Who or What is the mentor ? It will have to wait because next week promises ACTION as it's Soundwave VS Hotrider !

Comic Review...

2011-04-17T00:46:00.000-07:00

Transformers #18

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Alex Milne

(cover art by Nick Roche and Marcelo Matere)

Summary: The Autobots have been beaten down, backed into a corner, and harried into making a huge mistake. But the biggest blow has yet to fall, as Prime sets out to face Megatron one-on-one in the final chapter of REVENGE OF THE DECEPTICONS. Nobody dies... but somebody's gonna wish they had.

Comments: From reading the solicitation synopsis above, one would assume this issue is mind blowingly awesome. That would be wrong. It's not a terrible issue per se but, frankly, not a lot really happens. After last issue's dramatic ending I had hoped for a real follow-up. Instead, the whole Jazz thing is all but ignored and Optimus goes storming off to fight Megatron. Megatron beats him but then surrenders himself--he wants to watch the chaos that is coming. Optimus is given suspicions that his human allies might not be as copesetic as they pretend... The Prime/Megatron battle is dull and the rest of the issue is set-up for future things (at least, I think it is. Costa doesn't seem to understand how to write comics very well. If you're going to set up a story element then pay it off! Don't set it up and ignore it because you suddenly had some other whim to pursue).

Verdict: Mediocre.

(Cover "B" by Marcelo Matere)

Warlog Weekly 2011-02

2011-04-09T01:47:00.000-07:00

Warlog continues!
Larry(Kasmun) was left alone last week so Ratbat could deal with an Autobot threat.
Let's see how he copes.

Comments are very welcome.

for those who missed the other stories, I am compiling the old ones into one file.

-UNB

enjoy, until next week !

Warlog Weekly 2011-01

2011-04-01T09:40:00.001-07:00

NOT AN APRIL FOOLS PRANK !

Warlog Weekly is back.

The story of Kasmun continues with more conflict and intrige.

for the previous installments of the story i refer to:

part 01(Transmasters comic 4, sadly currently not available)
part 02(Transmasters comic 5)
part 03(Warlog weekly 2009 series)

or the previous post which is a small audio file

View or download image here

enjoy. untill next week.

-Backbreaker.
comments are welcome.

W.A.C. - I am called Kasmun audio version

2011-03-26T01:32:00.000-07:00

----edit. alternate location-----

(currently file under experiment)

Warlog Audio Comics presents:

I am called Kasmun.

Duration 3:43
Size: 8.5 Mb
Quality: 320 kbs

description: This is an audio version of the preview story "I am called Kasmun", to listen to on your Ipod or whatever. This is my first production, I may do more in future. Warlog Weekly will be back on April 1st, 2011 with the continuation.

Comments are welcome !!!

Download here or view the newsitem

Comic Review...

2011-03-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Transformers: Heart of Darkness #1

Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist: Ulises Farinas

(Covers by Ulises Farinas and Casey Coller)

Comic Summary: GALVATRON. Last seen, he was leading a team of Decepticons through space. Clearly, he has a purpose, an agenda, and a vendetta. But how it will play out and to what end has been shrouded in mystery. That mystery is about to be revealed!

Comments: Wow! That is some really bad art! Going off Cover "A" I would've thought the art was good but the more I saw of Ulises Farinas art the more I hated it. Many of his panels look cartoony (at best) and just terrible at worst. I cite the pics of Galvatron looking shocked as an example as well as the art of Arcee near the end. Yuck! Were all the good artists busy with other stuff or what? (I know, I know. My own art isn't spectacular--but I actually had to pay money for this and I expect better from a professional comic). The story is decent but with some inconsistencies from the Furman stories it follows off. For example, Gorlam Prime was not a techno-organic world nearly identical to Cybertron. Furman's story stated it was an organic world in a state of some kind of evolutionary flux, changing from organic to techno-organic. It was not already there and thriving as this story states. The story also says Galvatron was "dead" for years before re-emerging but that can't be right either. The previous stories stated that the Dark Universe TFs (except Galvatron) could only exist outside that realm for small amounts of time before dying in this one (so how could Cyclonus and Scourge now exist for so long in a decomposing state?) I don't know if the writers messed up the details by accident or intentionally as some kind of retcon but I don't like it. Without knowing their intent, it feels lazy to me. Going off Furman's stuff, I'm thinking the Anti-Matrix/Heart of Darkness was possibly the soul of Unicron, brought from a Universe he'd already devoured into this one (likewise, the Matrix is likely the soul of Primus). I also think these new guys might be leaning in that direction as well. I guess we'll find out in time... I also don't like Galvatron's new tank mode--I much preferred his cannon form (is the tank an attempt to make it jibe with the Universe toy?) All in all, a decent tale with terrible art.

Verdict: Mildly recommended.

(Cover "B" by Casey Coller)

Comic Review...

2011-03-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

(WARNING: The following review contains story spoilers for the issue's ending).

Transformers #17

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Alex Milne

(Covers by Marcelo Matere and Nick Roche)

Summary: Megatron's plan enters its second stage as the Autobots continue to fall under attack from heavily armed humans. Elsewhere, Starscream attempts to initiate a plan of his own with an old ally. Costa and Milne aren't bringing everyone out of this issue in one piece as the REVENGE OF THE DECEPTICONS continues!

Comments: We start the story with Optimus and company finally being accounted for after missing for a couple of issues (they were shot down). Anyway, it's mentioned in passing that Megatron either shot them down or ordered it. He sends them a message and we find he has the Autobots from last issue as hostages. What makes no sense is that when last issue ended, it seemed like he'd left after having taunted them so I guess he turned around for some reason and captured them all anyway. The rest of the story makes sense otherwise and ends on an attempt at drama. Jazz does what any of the Autobots would've realistically done and kills a human when he sees it threatening fellow Autobots with a Megatron gun (unless we're supposed to assume they're all retarded or something. Why wouldn't they defend themselves rather then allow humans to kill them?) What he didn't realize is that the others had all but talked the man down (oops!) I look forward to seeing this resolved. Hopefully Prime will stick up for Jazz and not just have him be lead off and disassembled or killed.

Verdict: Recommended.

(Cover "A" by Marcelo Matere)

Andrew Wildman Graphic Novel...

2011-03-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Andrew Wildman, the well known Marvel G1 comic artist is working on a self-created Graphic Novel. He's taking preorder donations so that the project can happen. Check it out here:

http://www.indiegogo.com/horizon

(the project's Facebook page is here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Horizon/205112842835102?sk=wall

I think this is cool and have already donated $20 to it. Why not? :)

Thunder

Opening Shots, part two...

2011-03-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

It's done finally. Newly added to the TM Winter Magazine, is Opening Shots, Part Two:

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue9/os_page7.html

This continues the first part from the Summer 10 issue, which is available here:

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue7/openingshots.html

Eventually, the story will be finished in part three or four (I have 22 pages plotted out). Part two was a bit rushed art-wise but I hope people like it (I also hope people can read the text okay. I might need to fix some of it?) Comments are welcome (hint, hint).

- Thunder

TransMasters Magazine, Winter 2011 Edition!

2011-02-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

At long last, the next exciting installment of the TransMasters Magazine is ready! You can check it out here:

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue9/index1.html

Comments are welcome! Also, contributions for future issues are also always welcome!

(One note: Opening Shots, part two is running behind schedule and not quite ready yet. I hope to have it done in a few more days but I didn't want to hold the issue back any longer as it was intended for February and is in danger of growing stale. When part two is done and up, I'll post an update and let everybody know).

Also, Peter Phelps had originally done up a Valentine's Day pic for the issue but since things took longer then planned, I didn't include it (since it would be dated now). The pic in question was also on his Facebook page though, if anyone's curious what it looked like.

- Thunder

Comic Review...

2011-02-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

Transformers #16

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Alex Milne

(covers by Marcelo Matere and Nick Roche)

Summary: MEGATRON's plan enters its second stage as the AUTOBOTS continue to fall under attack from heavily armed humans. Elsewhere, STARSCREAM attempts to initiate a plan of his own with an old ally. Costa and Figueroa aren't bringing everyone out of this issue in one piece as the 'Revenge of the Decepticons' continues!

Comments: For once, I can honestly say I liked this issue. It wasn't earth shattering or anything but I found it sufficiently entertaining. Also, Milne's art was pretty good... I do wonder why Megatron revealed himself so early on in his scheme--I had assumed he'd want to stay behind the scenes for a while and pull strings (of course, he hasn't left Ultra Magnus and the others by the end of the issue so perhaps there's more to reveal next issue?) Also, I find it interesting that now that Megatron's back in charge again, now Starscream decides to act--against him. He had control of the Decepticons all that time and did nothing. Does he need Megatron as his muse or something? I would rather see Starscream act as a competent leader for once (just for the purposes of character development, if nothing else). All things considered, though, this wasn't a bad issue. Hoping more will be revealed next issue...

Verdict: Average.

(Cover "B" by Nick Roche)

Submissions for the TM Winter 2011 issue...

2011-02-16T21:00:00.001-08:00

After a week of working to get it done, my content for the next issue of the Transmasters Magazine (Winter 2011) is ready. If anyone wants to submit any content for the next issue, please send it in by February 23rd at the latest so I can get this issue done up and ready. (email it to: tkphoton at hotmail.com)

Thanks again! :)

Thunder

Working on it...

2011-02-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

Work is under way on the Winter Issue of the Transmasters Magazine. I don't yet have a release date in mind (hopefully sometime this month). If anyone has any submissions they want to include, you still have time... I will announce a deadline for them as soon as I get closer to being ready myself.

Stay warm! :)

Thunder

Comic Review...

2011-01-06T00:31:00.000-08:00

(cover "B" by Nick Roche)

Transformers #13

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Nick Roche
(covers by Nick Roche and Don Figueroa)

Summary: Hot Rod/RODIMUS might be impulsive, but he's not stupid. The last anyone saw of him, he was rocketing off Earth in disgrace and a stolen ship. In this issue we finally see where he went, what his plan was, and which long-absent DECEPTICONS he came up against. Mike Costa and fan-favorite artist Nick Roche deliver a stand-alone issue that sets up the entire second year of the hit ongoing series.

Comments: It's weird to review one issue then go back and read the issue before it that you missed, but that's what I did here (Hey, I was curious about Hot Rod's fate.) In this story, Hot Rod uses Ultra Magnus' ship to track the Decepticons to their asteroid base (it has advanced tracking systems). A problem with this is why didn't Ultra Magnus ever gather an assault force and do that himself? Then, he allows the ship to be blown up while he launches an attack on the base. Both of the things here seem stupid. Yes, Hot Rod is rash and impetuous but is he really willing to be suicidal to prove his value to the other Autobots? Also, who picks a fight like this only to have their first move be to allow their only means of transportation to get blown up? Hot Rod was always supposed to be like a leader-in-waiting character but they always use his "youthfulness" to justify him doing stupid things. There's no way to believe he'd ever be a leader of his people if even the most basic tenants of tactical thinking eluded him. Once he retrieves the Matrix and bests Starscream he gets blasted into space by a newcomer--it is Megatron, reborn! Hot Rod is severely damaged but almost certainly going to reappear in the future at some point. An okay story overall and it sets up the next issue I review (#15) very well. Also, not crazy on Roche's recent art...it's gotten very cartoony, frankly. I preferred his earlier stuff.

Verdict: Average.

***

(cover "A" by Don Figueroa)

Transformers #15

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Don Figueroa
(covers by Don Figueroa and Nick Roche)

Summary: The most dangerous Decepticon in the universe is back... but not in a way anyone expected. What has happened to Megatron in his years away, and what is his plan for his enemies? Costa and Figueroa reveal all, as the darkest chapter since ALL HAIL MEGATRON continues!

Comments: This issue explains how things got the way they were in the last few issues. Megatron has been rebuilt with a new body because his old one was un-salvageable (which is odd, considering he was shot in the head in AHM). When Hot Rod attacks, he dispatches with him ensuring the Matrix leaves too (he feared the fact it was an unknown element and in Starscream's possession). They use the space bridge they designed to send Walter P-38 guns (created out of the remains of Megatron's former body, I believe) to Earth where the units can send data and the one that the guy who shot Bumblebee used communicated conspiracy theories to him, making him think he was nuts and he decides to go take out the evil alien. It's been said that Costa seems to have abandoned his earlier story plans and went in a new direction. I can't say for a certainty but I do like this set-up better then what he was doing before. The first story arc (Autobots/Decepticons on the run, Hot Rod as savior) had hints of potential but ended up going the obvious route ultimately. The second arc (Combaticons join up with North Korea) was boring, frankly. It felt like it was borrowed from your standard G1 cartoon... I doubt arc three will amaze us but it does have the potential to do so if Costa can exploit it right. I want to see Autobots vs. Decepticons, not some weird status quo where the giant alien robots are fleeing from the big bad humans so I'm glad we've drifted back in that direction. I also love Megatron's new design and look forward to seeing his alternate mode (some kind of space craft/jet, I think). Figueroa still can't draw humans without making them look stupid but his robots are cool (if deviating from how they should look).

Verdict: Average.

***

(Editor's Note: The Prime prequel story was released as a digest sized trade paperback in November, in time for the debut of the Prime cartoon. Apparently, they are also releasing it as four full sized individual issues during the month of January. I have both the digest version and the first issue of the comic mini-series. This review covers both as I likely won't spend money buying the whole story again).

Transformers Prime #1 (of 4)/Digest sized TPB

Writer: Mike Johnson
Artist: EJ Su (issue #1). Various (issues #2-4)

Summary: Based on the all-new animated series! Join CLIFFJUMPER and ARCEE as they battle their way through DECEPTICON forces in a desperate adventure to learn the secrets of Space Bridge Technology! STARSCREAM, the DECEPTICON enforcer stands in their way, not just from the mission, but to rejoin OPTIMUS PRIME and his AUTOBOTS as well! This is the PREQUEL to the new hit TV Show!

Comments: I have no idea who this writer is but the story overall is decent and easily fits with the cartoon (he does seem to emphasize Cliffjumper and Arcee being partners, almost to the point of a romantic relationship while the cartoon makes it seem more like they were just intended to be friends). EJ Su's art in the first issue is pretty good and he manages to fit the new show's style very well... the subsequent chapters are hit and miss. Chapter/issue two and three have human pupils on Cliffjumper and Arcee and the art is a bit weaker. Issue four gets a bit better again (Other then Su, I've never heard of any of these artists before. Frankly, I wish Su could've done the whole series). Anyway, the story is basically Cliffjumper and Arcee meeting up on Cybertron, attacking the Decepticons (lead by Starscream) and then getting to Earth via the space bridge. It's a simple enough premise and it works fine.

Verdict: Good.

(Issue #1 cover by Jose Lopez and Augusto Barranco)

(Digest Trade Paperback cover by Jose Lopez and Augusto Barranco)

XMAS2010

2010-12-25T02:23:00.001-08:00

Hi,

I used to do annual xmas cards, these can be found here but 2 years ago I had an idea to do a xmas story instead. If you know me I tend to toy around with ideas, make some art, then foprget about it for a while because of the plentiness of time and then at the end of the deadline make insane hours to complete the project. I had this story finished thursday the 23d, colors can come later.

It's about megatron in a 'typical' scrooge story, hope you like it.
DOWNLOAD

merry xmas,

Johan

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T16:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays, one and all, and best wishes in 2011!

- Thunder

"BRAINS!"

2010-12-10T22:07:00.000-08:00

So IDW's first big crossover event will apparently involve putting Zombies into Transformers, GIJOE, Ghostbusters and Star Trek. You're probably thinking, "wow! Zombies and Transformers make as much sense as a Star Trek and Highlander crossover". And you'd be right. These crossover events at any comic company are designed solely to help boost sales by making you buy all the extra stories. Marvel's already done a bunch of zombie stories where their Universe was consumed by zombies (in an alternate universe setting, naturally). Apparently IDW's brain trust couldn't even muster up something vaguely original and just settled for ripping them off.

Crossovers happen all the time in fanfic but that doesn't mean they should happen in official sources. Name one instant where even a Transformers/GIJOE crossover was compelling and made any sense. Simply put, there aren't any. One side always gets more spotlighting and we end up rehashing plot points like Snake Eyes vs. Storm Shadow or something about Unicron and the Matrix.

I have no idea if IDW's zombies will involve characters from any of the concepts directly interacting or just have zombies as a commonality between them. Either way, zombies simply don't belong in three of the concepts (you could make a point for using them in Ghostbusters but not the others).

In the end, given IDW's track record, I can also pretty much guarantee these stories won't even entertain readers on any level. They'll be exercises in wasting time with some lame-ass action thrown in. Then they'll do the collected TPBs and maybe even a hardcover collection to catch the suckers that waste money on those.

Instead of zombies (what's next? Vampires?) why doesn't IDW hire some competent writers for their comics and let them craft some worthwhile stories. GIJOE already has Chuck Dixon and Larry Hama--why can't Transformers get some good writers on it too? And while they're at it, why don't they try to make some interesting stuff happen? I'd love to cover some new territory but they only seem to be interested in appealing to the nostalgia crowd. The people that go "hey! Transformers! I remember those from when I was a kid!" instead of trying to cultivate a serious following, which TFs do have and would appreciate some good stories for a change.

But, no. Bring on more half-baked crap like International Incident and All Hail Megatron instead. IDW currently reminds me of Image Comics in its heyday. They sold millions of comics, all based off their pretty artwork. The concepts were all derivative though--Spawn was Ghost Rider, Savage Dragon the Hulk, Youngblood ripped off X-Force, etc. Over time, much of their comics have all but disappeared off the map. IDW has curried whatever originality and popularity they initially had and mined it to snap up as many licensed properties as they can find (similar to how Marvel had all that crap in the 80s). The reason Marvel's Transformers and GIJOE worked, though, is that they had reasonably good writers that gave a damn about telling their stories. Does anyone remember Marvel's He-man comic? Or their Sectaurs? Or Crystar? Of course not. Because they all ultimately sucked.

Will anyone care if IDW eventually loses their license for Transformers? Not likely. IDW will have made it's quick buck and the fans will mostly be indifferent to their collection of stories. Sadly, IDW had a real chance to put their stamp on the concept but they've failed miserably. Instead of establishing an interesting story continuity, they throw stuff in willy-nilly and hope something will stick. Letting fans/so-called professionals with no idea how to write a story take a crack and/or letting anybody and everybody draw a story (would it kill them to keep one damn artist on a title for more then two issues?)

So, yeah. Bring on the zombies. Bring on the vampires, the werewolves, and whatever other crap you have lined up. It might sell a few more comics but in the end it won't make your terrible product any better then it was.

That takes something they don't seem to have: focus and talent.

Comic Review...

2010-12-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

Transformers #14

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Don Figueroa

(covers by Don Figueroa and Nick Roche)

Summary: Two Autobots felled in the past two issues and the punishment is only beginning! A shocking revelation and an unexpected attack begins the 'REVENGE OF THE DECEPTICONS,' the storyline that leaves a lot more Autobots on the operating table, and their entire future on Earth in question-and also features the return of superstar artist DON FIGUEROA!

Comments: I skipped the last three issues due to a lack of interest. In that time, International Incident ended (finally) and, presumably, Hot Rod got killed last issue (I base this off the description above). Bumblebee has also been assassinated as well by some kind of human anti-robot movement that materialized... This issue seems to exist to shuffle the plot elements around--we learn a little bit about BB's assassin and his motivations; the returning Autobots aboard a plane are attacked by some unrevealed source; the Autobots at the human military base are attacked by Decepticons who rescue their prisoner comrades and several guns that appear like G1 Megatron begin appearing on the Earth (including the weapon that shot Bumblebee). A giant cup of "meh". I guess Figueroa is back to drawing the art again (at least for the moment anyway). The story itself is unfocused due to its need to set up future events... Once again I am reminded of how little has truly happened in the IDW universe in the last five years.

Verdict: Neutral.

(Cover "B" by Nick Roche)

FALL 2010 issue ready!

2010-11-19T01:02:00.000-08:00

The Fall 2010 issue of the Transmasters Magazine is now live! You can view in all its glory, HERE:

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue8/index1.html

Unfortunately this issue is lacking part two of my Opening Shots comic. Simply put, I didn't have enough time to work on the art this time around... I hope to have it ready for the February issue though. In its stead, I present my Legacy of Darkness comic script instead. A special thanks to both Johan and Peter for their efforts in this latest issue.

Comments are welcome!
Thunder

TransMasters Magazine Submissions...

2010-11-15T01:18:00.000-08:00

After a week of working to get it done, my content for the next issue of the Transmasters Magazine (Fall 2010) is ready. If anyone wants to submit any content for the next issue, please send it in by November 20th at the latest so I can get this issue done up and ready. (email it to: tkphoton at hotmail.com)

Thanks!

Thunder

Radio Free Cybertron 11th Anniversary Contests

2010-11-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

Hi Transmasters members, it's Rob from RFC just letting everybody know about the cool contests we are running at RFC. As it's our 11th anniversary (yeah, we've been on for that long) we decided to end the year with a bang and offer our listeners with all sorts of cool prizes to win. Details can be found here on tfradio.net.

Here's the list of prizes we have!

TRANSFORMERS GENERATIONS TOYS
One (1 winner) Blurr, One (1 winner) Darkmount

TITAN TRANSFORMERS TRADES
Three (3 winners) Showdown (Hardcover), One (1 winner) All Fall Down (Hardcover), One (1 winner) Last Stand, One (1 winner) Matrix Quest, Two (2 winners) Treason, One (1 winner) Second Generation, Two (2 winners) Fallen Angel, Two (2 winners) Target: 2006, One (1 winner) Perchance to Dream, Two (2 winners) Earthforce

TITAN TRANSFORMERS MAGAZINES
One (1 winner) August 2009, One (1 winner) September 2009

OTHER
One (1 winner) Fanboy Versus Clock, One (1 winner) XL ENI T-Shirt

Check us out at www.tfradio.net and keep supporting Transmasters!

A little bit delayed...

2010-11-03T22:57:00.001-07:00

Due to some life complications, the current issue of the Transmasters Magazine will be a bit delayed. I hope to have it out later this month though. (I got a new job recently and am behind on my work for the TM Mag... I bought several new TF toys and needed to add them to my review article as well (also waiting on another one in the mail). It's just been busy of late so if anyone's working on anything for the mag, you still have time. I will announce the deadline for submissions for this issue before the issue's ready to come out...

Thunder

Comic Review...

2010-11-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

Transformers: Drift #4 (of 4)

Writer: Shane McCarthy
Artist: Alex Milne

(cover by Alex Milne)

Summary: The time for conflict has arrived! But can Drift possibly hope to survive the coming onslaught? Old fears are put aside and new bonds are forged as Drift and the Knights prepare to make their final stand!

Comments: The final battle. Can good triumph over evil? Is the sky blue? An adequate ending to an adequate story. As usual with IDW, this story just didn't wow me... it was okay but that's all the praise I can really give it. We all knew it was a flashback and that Drift would survive so there was little real drama there. As mentioned in my previous reviews, not enough is done to establish Drift's true motivations in becoming a Decepticon in the first place nor in his change of heart in this story. Without that, this story has no real soul and feels like a superficial exercise instead of the epic it should be. We don't even have much happen to the Neutrals so Drift doesn't even have any guilt to carry with him in that aspect either. Shallow storytelling with nice art... (of all the issues I think the first one was the best).

Verdict: Mildly recommended.
The Series as a Whole: Neutral.

Comic Review...

2010-10-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Transformers: Drift #3 (of 4)

Writer: Shane McCarthy
Artist: Alex Milne

(cover by Alex Milne)

Summary: Drift's presence has been discovered, and he must now choose between old allies and new. Can one final act of courage save his soul? Or has he gone too far toward darkness to ever hope of coming back? A colossal battle is brewing, and Drift's future has never been more uncertain!

Comments: The second issue ends with it seeming like Drift might betray the neutrals. Issue #3 turns this around and makes it clear he's on-side (it's possible he's playing them but I don't think so. There's not enough time in the story to go that direction now and it wouldn't make much sense). Basically, the third issue sets up the final one with Drift and others plotting to deceive the slavers and Decepticons into thinking they are the only ones there so the new Crystal City can continue on without them. The art is still good and the story is still somewhat interesting (if a tad predictable). Obviously, Drift will survive all this and emerge a stronger, better person, etc. One thing I don't care for is how quickly Drift changes sides in this series. We get a rationale for it but there could be more depth. He's a loner/drifter taken and molded by Megatron, then he gets here and quickly changes sides. A bit more on the why might've made it more convincing and interesting (a better writer could've easily done it. As it is, McCarthy's not quite up to it). Ironically, I usually complain IDW goes too long with its stories--this series could've actually used another issue to better flesh out the character.

Verdict: Mildly Recommended.

PCC Smolder preview sketch art

2010-10-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

First sketch of Smolder for my Powercore combiner story for the Transmasters magazine. It's not entirely symmetrical but this being a sketch I think it's allright.

-Johan

also linked at UNBLOG

Comic Review...

2010-09-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Transformers: Drift #2 (of 4)

Writer: Shane McCarthy
Artist: Alex Milne

(cover by Alex Milne)

Summary: What is the secret behind DRIFT's startling rescuers? How is it they came to be on the isolated, desert planet and what does this have to do with DRIFT's future? As DRIFT uncovers answers, he's suddenly faced with a decision that could alter his life forever!

Comments: Another issue and another reasonably good story (although I have to admit I can see the ending coming a mile away). The story is not mind shattering (nor has anything IDW's done to-date) but it is competently written and about what one would expect. Milne's art is also still good (too many characters look alike, though. It's hard to tell the difference between Drift and Wing most of the time). The character revealed at the end (a shout-out to Animated--yes, really) is a welcome addition to the IDW-verse.

Verdict: Recommended.

Comic Review...

2010-09-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

Transformers: Drift #1 (of 4)

Writer: Shane McCarthy
Artist: Alex Milne

(cover by Alex Milne)

Summary: What was it that caused one of the DECEPTICON's most ruthless soldiers to turn his back on them? And what ancient secret lies hidden deep within an alien planet? All this and more as the origin of the newest AUTOBOT, DRIFT, is finally revealed!

Comments: One thing I noticed right away was how many G2 characters are in the background in the opening pages. We see Terradive, Skyjack, one of the Predators (Skydive? Talon?), Dreadwing and Smokescreen (and possibly others). On the one hand, it's cool to see a shout out to these neglected characters. On the flip side, it seems like the artists do this stuff a lot in IDW... The story is about Deadlock (aka the future Drift), a merciless Decepticon who tries to lead a coup against his commander, only to fail and have to flee for his life. He ends up on a planet with a mysterious character that needs his help to rescue some slaves... but in a display of his usual bravado, things end up going horribly wrong. It's a fairly solid first issue of story and since the series is only four issues, we don't have to worry so much about McCarthy stretching it out too long like he did in AHM. The story and art are both pretty good. I can predict where the story will go ultimately but hopefully it will be an interesting journey to get there. One review I saw mentioned that many of the TFs look too Gundam-esque in their designs (that is, overly elaborate) and I would tend to agree (but it's a minor quibble). I also liked the "two guns" joke--it's an old standard but it worked well in this case.

Verdict: Recommended.

Comic Review...

2010-08-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

Transformers #10

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Guido Guidi

(cover by Guido Guidi)

Summary: 'International Incident,' Part 2: Spike and Optimus lead a covert team onto South Korean soil, but do they have a chance against a fully-armed platoon of Combaticons? Somebody's about to get their tail-pipe kicked in a big way. Costa and Guidi bring the pain with the biggest brawl yet in the Transformers ongoing title.

Comments: Like the previous issue, a decent story and reasonably good art (if a bit cartoony). My problem is that I'm tired of "decent" and would like to see more of "spectacular". I'd also like to see some tighter writing so stories don't go on and on forever. This story could've been wrapped up quickly but apparently its slated to go at least four issues! All International Incident really is ultimately is a extended battle between the two sides (it reads like the plot of a G1 cartoon episode). There's no intrigue or sub-plots really. What you see is what you get--and it's just not interesting or exciting enough for me. Of all IDW's output, I can't say they've really ever done a truly memorable story (although a few of Furman's came close)--and this is no exception. I planned to give the ongoing series a couple of issues to try it out and see how Costa did. I'm just not feeling it overall and after ten issues, I think it's time to call it quits. (I might still pick up a trade or mini in the future if it sounds good but I'm done with the ongoing for the time being).

Mildly recommended.

adres change and new blog

2010-08-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hi all, from now on my warlog files aswell as other news can be found on:

UNB

be sure to visit from time to time, since the warlog link in the box to the right is no longer valid.

-Johan/Backbreaker.

...am busy with a concept powercore combiners strip....

TRANSFORMERS Coming to Universal Studios Hollywood

2010-08-21T00:53:00.000-07:00

This site may replace the "Backdraft" attraction. Photo by Eustace M.

Update to Karmic Salt...

2010-08-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

An update to my other website for a change...

As some of you may know, I helped do the Balance of Power fanzine in the 90s and 00s and my website has an archive of the old stories. I was on there the other day and realized the Covers gallery was not up to date (which is weird, because I was sure I'd done that ages ago). Anyway, I updated the Cover Gallery completely and then I decided while I was at it to update the rather pathetic Profiles section too (it had barely any of them on it). Over the last two days, I've added EVERY SINGLE PROFILE ever done for BOP. Most are in html while a few are scans (like Matt's old stuff, which I don't have the original files to. Also, Tom's original three profiles were printed with a laser printer and have a lot of line detail I'd have to erase out and then color in so I just left two of them b/w for now).

The Archive is here:
http://www.karmicsalt.org/boparchive.html

...and the profiles are on the bottom half of the page.

Comments are always welcome! :)

- Thunder

NEW! Transmasters group on Facebook!

2010-08-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

I just created a TM group on Facebook! The link below should take you to it:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=145086098844168

(If, for some reason, the link doesn't work, go to Facebook and do a search for "Transmasters" and you should find it anyway).

Don't delay, join today! :)

- Thunder

TM Mag is ready!

2010-08-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

The Fall issue of Transmasters Magazine is done and ready to go! You can check it out here:

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue7/index1.html

Comments, questions, etc. are always welcome. Contributions for future issues are also welcome and encouraged (it can be as simple as a TF picture or article even!)

Til All Are One!
- Thunder

Comic Review...

2010-08-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

Transformers: Ironhide #4 (of 4)

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Casey Coller

(covers by Casey Coller and Marcele Matere)

Summary: Filled with destiny, purpose, and seven million years of Decepticon-whuppin' to catch up on, Ironhide goes out to meet the Swarm in an epic final confrontation. Casey Coller and Mike Costa deliver what is far and away the most action-packed issue of their careers, and the fate of Cybertron is changed forever.

Comments: And so Ironhide concludes. I enjoyed the characterization throughout the story but the ending left me with a "that's it?" feeling. I mean, now what? Will we ever find out what happens? Alphatrion is total jerk in this story and while it differs from the cartoon depiction I like that he's given a personality here instead of generic sage like before. Unlike Bumblebee, which was a total waste of time as series go, this story had some value but I do question if it needed to be told in a mini when it easily could've been a sub-plot in the main comic. But I guess IDW can't make more money off me that way... A decent enough series, but not a great one.

Verdict: Recommended.
The series as a whole: Recommended.

(cover "B" by Casey Coller)

Submissions for Transmasters Magazine, Fall 2010

2010-07-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

Transmasters Magazine, Fall 2010 issue will be available on August 10th. I have most of my content for the issue ready (including my long delayed comic story). If anyone out there is interested in submitting any content--be it stories, art, comics, reviews, etc. please send it in soon (by about August 5th at the absolute latest).

Submissions can be sent to tkphoton@hotmail.com

The more people contribute, the better this production will be.

- Thunder

Transformers on Twitter

2010-07-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

Comic Review...

2010-07-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

(Cover "A" by Don Figueroa)

Transformers #9

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Guido Guidi

(Covers by Guido Guidi and Don Figueroa)

Summary: 'International Incident,' Part 1: After MEGATRON left Earth three years ago, DECEPTICONS all over the globe were left stranded and leaderless. It was only a matter of time before an insane international despot assembled a bunch of them together to serve as a living Weapon of Mass Destruction, setting off the most action-packed TRANSFORMERS storyline in years, with art by fan-favorite Guido Guidi.

Comments: I usually find Guido Guidi's art fairly good--he's not my favorite comic artist or anything but he's competent. This issue, though, felt more cartoony looking for some reason. I'm not sure if it's my imagination or it really does look more "animated" then normal. Or maybe it's because I bought the Figueroa cover and that sub-consciously looks more gritty (even though I didn't care for Figueroa's new style) compared to Guidi's more cartoon style. At any rate, the story is about North Korea and the Combaticons teaming up for conquest. Unlike previous stories I didn't feel any attachment to this issue. The previous stories Costa did (especially the first six or seven) had a sub-text flowing throughout them. It was about the main action but we also got a hint at bigger things going on. Optimus believed they needed humanity's adaptability while Thundercracker was having a crisis of conscience. Hot Rod just wanted to get the hell out of there and so on. This story, by contrast, is straightforward. The North Koreans and Combaticons have teamed up; Skywatch and the Autobots plan to go stop them--but, uh-oh! The U.S. has gone on record now as saying they would never use Cybertronian tech for their own ends. So it has to be a sneaking mission instead! I mean, it's not the worst story ever or anything but it hardly interests me. We've seen this sort of TF story a million times and we all know how it will end already (which is good because this damned thing goes at least three issues!) It reads like someone wanted to write a cartoon script for the old G1 series and got their wish. I don't hate it but I don't like it either. I feel indifferent--and I'm not sure that's a good thing for IDW's profits in the long run. A bored reader will inevitably drop a title they don't care for and I doubt I'm the only one feeling this way. To be blunt, I need this comic to be interesting--just having "Transformers" on the cover is not good enough for me (sadly, it is for some though).

Rating: Neutral.

minor TM site updates...

2010-07-16T02:58:00.000-07:00

I updated the Comics section slightly.

- IDW's Wreckers series was incorrectly listed as being four issues (instead of five).

- Added an entry for the Ironhide mini-series.

- Added entries for IDW's two Beast Wars series (which I had somehow overlooked the first time. Maybe because they weren't all the great in the first place and I forgot them? :)

- Added a listing for the Drift mini-series (not sure how long it is. I assume four issues but I'm not certain).

Also, and perhaps most importantly, I decided to try a new website banner out! It's an attempt at adding some more graphic flair to the site (and just doing something new with the banner image). Do you like it? Hate it? Feel indifferent? Let me know!

Thunder

www.transmasters.org

Also, work continues on the next Transmasters issue for August... my comic strip is still behind but several other items are done up already. Contributions are always welcome!

More of My TF Stuff on eBay

2010-07-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

I know it's shameless, but I've posted more of my TF stuff, etc on eBay they had a free listing deal this week:

http://shop.ebay.com/transmasterpete/m.html?_nkw&_armrs=1&_from&_ipg=25

Transformers on Flickr

2010-07-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Comic Review...

2010-07-11T22:20:00.001-07:00

(Starting with this review I am going to attempt to keep from explaining the entire plot of the issue. I will give a short description instead... this is an attempt to keep from spoiling a certain comic if someone reading this should want to track it down later and read it).

Transformers: Ironhide #3 (of 4)
"Chapter Three: Ironing Out the Details"

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Casy Coller

(covers by Casey Coller and Marcelo Matere)

Summary: He's been stranded on a deserted Cybertron, but IRONHIDE is about to meet the only two other functioning AUTOBOTS on the planet. One is an old friend in dire need of help, and the other is a legendary character making his IDW debut. Mike Costa and Casey Coller reveal why exactly IRONHIDE-and his death-were so important to the future of Cybertron.

Comments: A pretty good issue overall. The art is excellent and the story is able to move forward (unlike the main title's snail's pace). Sunstreaker returns this issue too--which is odd since I had thought he'd been totally destroyed (I'm going off memory here. Perhaps I'm wrong). I presume Ironhide's mission in this issue is Metroplex's mysterious purpose from his Spotlight? Or perhaps not... I guess time will tell.

Recommended.

(Cover "A" by Marcelo Matere).

Megatron Fan Art

2010-07-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Megatron fan art by TwitPic.Com/Hydro74

Comic Review...

2010-06-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

(Cover "B" by Javier Saltares)

Transformers #8

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Javier Saltares

(covers by Don Figueroa and Javier Saltares)

Summary: In the humans Skywatch base Spike works out and thinks about how he hates machines. He recalls his life growing up--his time with his dad and time at school. He fights a fellow soldier in a friendly bout and beats him, thinking how his men are trained to fight dirty and efficiently in hand to hand combat (why they need these skills when they're there to fight Transformers is anybody's guess). Spike has a teleconference with his dad, General Allenby and some other General. We learn Allenby is not on-side with Spike's work-with-the-TFs idea and both Spike and Sparkplug are concerned about whether or not they can keep him in-line. Later that night, Spike has had his people track down Scrapper's location. He goes to the location himself, knowing the Skywatch satellite is out of range at that time and proceeds to engage Scrapper. He throws acid at him to get his attention then drops some steel girders on him to trap him (they're in a construction yard). He explains to the helpless Decepticon that this is personal because Devastator helped destroy Tim Simmons and other humans in New York (Simmons was another soldier and friend of Spike's apparently). He shoots Scrapper in the head, destroying the Decepticon's head completely. He thinks how he's had to become like a machine himself mentally and despises that the most about this job as he walks away.

Comments: This story is well constructed in the technical sense. It teaches us about Spike's personality more and functions well as a spotlight of sorts. My problems with it lie elsewhere. After last issue's jump to focus on Megatron, Starscream and the other Decepticons in hiding, did we really need another side story? I would've preferred moving the main story along and maybe having done a Spike solo story later on. Most annoying about this issue is how Spike can take out a "not very smart" engineer Decepticon with little trouble. First off, engineers are generally regarded as among the smartest people in a society so essentially calling Scrapper stupid makes no sense (of course he'll be stupid if you write him that way). And if Rambo/Spike is so smart and tough that he can take out a full sized Decepticon single-handedly then why does he even need the Autobots help? A better story might've involved him getting into this situation, realizing he was in over his head and being helped out at the last minute by the timely arrival of Optimus or somebody. I also didn't like the art much--Saltares art is decent at best but his one frame of Devastator (in flashback) makes him look terrible (I've never seen him look so bad before). This whole issue made me question whether or not I want to keep buying this comic--in the grand scheme they don't seem to be able to keep one artist on the book (which makes it feel amateurish. I didn't care for Figueroa's new style but at least it was consistent. Now we just seem to be randomly cycling through people). As for the writing, I like Costa's attempts at characterization but this whole issue was a bad mis-step and I am very much tired of long chains of comics where nothing really happens (this problem dates back to the Furman era stuff in IDW too. His stuff had more action generally but it seems the consistent rule of thumb with this company is "drag everything out as much as possible so we can put into a trade paperback and sell it again" as opposed to write entertaining and engrossing tales that accomplish something in the bigger sense. I'm not saying every story has to change our very notion of what Transformers is about but even simpler things--like somebody accomplishing something would be nice. Have Starscream do something! Have the Autobots leave Earth! Something, already!

Verdict: Pass.

***

Transfomers: Ironhide #2 (of 4)
"Iron in the Blood"

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Casey Coller
(covers by Marcelo Matere and Casey Coller)

Summary: Ironhide investigates the old racing arena on Cybertron. He remembers when he used to work there millennia ago and how a lone Transformer attempted to assassinate Drag Strip (a champion racer at the time). Ironhide stops and arrests him while the other protests that Drag Strip is in league with Megatron (the assassin looks similar to the Technobot Afterburner but I'm not sure if that who he is or there's just a resemblance). Ironhide goes back to the present and is still astonished by the destruction (it seems he has forgotten the Great War, due to his prior battle damage most likely). He is attacked by the Insecticon Swarm then and fights off a couple. He transforms and races off then, hoping against hope to find something--anything--other then desolation and destruction here. He finds a strange robot after that which beckons for him to follow it. He does so reluctantly then follows it to a large, pristine building complex (which is Metroplex).

Comments: In a sharp contrast with the previous comic, I actually liked this one. The art is pretty good and the story is interesting enough (even with the flashbacks, which seem to mostly be there to fill space under the pretense of characterization). I was worried the Swarm would overwhelm the story and it would turn into a Ironhide struggles to survive story--but then it went in an entirely different direction. Also, that character I thought might be Afterburner in the first flashback looks more like Outback in the final one. Who is he? I don't know. Although the art is fairly nice the details for that particular character could be a little bit more distinctive. I also loved the ending with Metroplex--I have high hopes this will go somewhere good (I was wondering what the point of that Metroplex Spotlight was. Actually, I still do since it doesn't really matter much even now). I do hope we get something interesting for the remainder of this mini-series.

Verdict: Recommended.

(Cover "A" by Marcelo Matere)

Comic Review...

2010-05-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

Transformers #7

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: EJ Su

(covers by Don Figueroa and Andrew Wildman)

Summary: On some world in the cosmos the Decepticons pursue Dreadwind. They finally catch up to him where he begs for their mercy then shoots them and tries to escape. They catch up to him and shoot him dead (he's been stealing Energon rations for some time and now that his brethren have found out they show no mercy). All the while, a voice narrates about the Decepticons... we cut to Shockwave for a panel then Soundwave and then Starscream. He tells Bombshell he wanted an equation for energon processing but Bombshell tells him survival of the fittest will see to who survives. He shows Starscream something else instead--his newest invention--the cerebro shells, which he can use to control anyone. Starscream is ultimately impressed by them. We switch to Earth where Optimus Prime meets Sparkplug for the first time... he's uncertain about Spike's alliance with the Autobots but Spike manages to convince him of their usefulness. Megatron thinks Prime is a fool for placing his faith in the humans... back at the Decepticon base, Megatron's damaged hand clenches and he thinks how he will soon return! (Megatron narrates the entire issue with a reveal at the end. It is obvious who is speaking for most of the story anyway).

Comments: This issue doesn't see any real action but exists to show us what the Decepticons are up to. To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed that Starscream isn't actually doing something. For some reason I just assumed he'd be plotting something instead of just cooling his heels (which is exactly what Megatron did on Earth in AHM and Prime did afterward). Obviously Megatron is still somewhat functional... hopefully he'll be back in the story some time soon (I also hope someone follows up on Galvatron and co. at some point too). Storywise, didn't they already use cerebral shells on Beachcomber in an older spotlight issue? I just double-checked and am right (it happened in Spotlight Blaster). I guess we shouldn't expect IDW's editors to remember this stuff though (I'm a fan and don't get paid to edit the stories but I catch stuff like this constantly). I welcomed EJ Su's return to art duty on this issue (not sure if it's for good or just a one-off but I'll take it). For some reason all his TFs have some kinda weird "camo" thing going on this time around. A decent issue overall.

Recommended.

(cover "B" by Andrew Wildman)

Comic Review...

2010-05-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

(cover "B" by Casey Coller)

Transformers: Ironhide #1 (of 4)
"Chapter One: The Iron Age"

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Casey Coller

(covers by Casey Coller and Marcelo Matere)

Summary: On Cybertron a panel lights up. Flashback to four million years ago on Cybertron... The Autobots and Decepticons fight a battle on Cybertron. Prime goes to flank the Decepticons and is hit from behind by Soundwave. Soundwave launches his Recordacons and is about to attack when Ironhide shows up and saves the day. Afterward, Prime takes out Ramjet and orders the Decepticon convoy they've been stalking to surrender--or else. Later, the Autobots hold a party and celebrate. Kup tells Prime privately he has to inspire the others not just lead them. Prime says he's doing his best... they all return to the party where Ironhide notices a strange Autobot. He gets suspicious just in time to see the Transformer pull a side arm and attempt to assassinate Optimus. He gets in the way and takes the blast himself. He awakens then on Cybertron in the present and wonders where everyone else is (the place is desolate and deserted).

Comments: The story was pretty straightforward, but insightful and interesting despite that. This seems to be Mike Costa's strength--to find interesting character moments in an action story that others seem to miss. We get a good sense of both Optimus Prime and Ironhide in the flashback. It was also nice to see Axer in a comic for a change (he was the assassin). Not sure what was with the panel in the prologue--perhaps it remotely activated Ironhide for some reason? Also, why would they repair Ironhide's body (when he was already dead) then ship his corpse to Cybertron? (For that matter, if the Autobots are marooned on Earth, how did they do that?) That strikes me as kind of odd... why not just bury/whatever him on Earth instead? Despite that, I enjoyed the comic overall. The writing and art were both good (something I don't often say about IDW). I do wonder what point this story will have overall--will it actually affect the main story in a significant way or will it be another pointless sideline like the Bumblebee story was? I guess we'll find out...

Recommended.

***

Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 (of 5)

Writers: Nick Roche and James Roberts
Artist: Nick Roche
(covers by Nick Roche and Trevor Hutchison)

Summary: Overlord rips Guzzle in half. He uses the pieces to smack Kup in the head while Impactor shoots him in the optic with his spear gun. Overlord is barely phased. Elsewhere, Perceptor, Verity and their team opt not to use the deterrence chips--instead letting Pyro sacrifice himself to the Decepticons while the rest of them run away. As they run, Perceptor explains what really happened in the past with Squadron X--the Wreckers did indeed stop them and arrest them. Prowl ordered them remotely to let the Decepticons go due to a new treaty with that world that made it no longer the Autobots problem. Instead of doing as ordered, Impactor went and executed them all--a thing Springer found horrific. Elsewhere, Springer is bested by Overlord but defiantly tells him that the others will have freed the Autobot prisoners by now. Overlord informs him he had his men execute all the prisoners when he learned they'd arrived so no help is coming. Then, Perceptor, Ironfist and Verity show up and attack. Ironfist strafes him with some kind of cannon. Overlord rips Springer's face off. He moves to take out Ironfist but the other has tricked him--having shot him full of deterrence chips. He activates them (thanks to having downloaded Aequitas into his mind) and blows Overlord to bits. Overlord is still slightly functional but Impactor paralyzes what's left so he can be heroic and not a murderer (which is stupid after all Overlord's done) and Overlord can stand trial for his crimes (again, who will do the judging? No one's left!) We learn all are dead--except Springer (he's comatose), Fort Max (same thing). Impactor and Guzzle take off for parts unknown (why?), Ironfist copies Aequitas' logs for Prowl then dies of a "mechanical aneurysm". On Earth, Verity has been narrating the story and types into her laptop how the moral of this story was: life persists.

Comments: Wow! And so the five-part Wreckers comic concludes. Any potential this story had to impress was lost after about the second issue or so... It ended up being a long gore-fest with very little point to it. The writers seemed to want to do a major death story but forgot to make us care about the characters leading up to the finale. All we got for Autobot characterization was Springer and Impactor--the one being an immoral Autobot while the other had worshiped him as a hero until his unforgivable act of murdering a bunch of immoral murderers rather then setting them all free. And then we had Ironfist who didn't feel like he fit in with this elite group of bad-asses. But he ends up being really smart then dying ultimately from a "mechanical aneurysm". I guess that's just as bad as a cyber-stroke or a robo-heart attack... good lord! They're robots! They can't get aneurysms! Do we really have to humanize them this much? What's next? An Autobot peeing on someone--oops! I guess that already happened in the live action movie, didn't it. On the Decepticon side, we had characterization in the form of Overlord, which amounted to "he's an indestructible bad-ass". Okay, thanks. It's immoral to use the deterrence chips to kill all the Decepticon prisoners because it might also kill Impactor--but it's fine to let them gang up on Pyro and tear him apart instead? These Autobots must be really stupid... And in the end, when Impactor should kill Overlord for all the pain and suffering he does, he grows a set of morals and let's him live instead? WTF?! This story also seemed to lack a cohesive theme or point--and "life persists" is not it. A better writer could've turned this into a morality play. In the hands of Furman or Costa this might've been a masterpiece. As it was, it just seemed lazy and ill-conceived with too much emphasis on action and death and not enough on plot and theme. If, for example, Springer had manned up and stood tall on his Autobot morals to the end while Impactor and Overlord insisted on their "death first" approach, we could've had a much better story. If it had become a good versus evil philosophy story I would've loved it, but alas we ended up with this mess instead. I think this is part of the problem of fans pushing their stories into official tales when their stories are not quite up to par with good pro writers like Costa or Furman. IDW apparently doesn't seem to care about the brand beyond whatever they can push out fast enough to make a quick buck on. Otherwise they'd consider stories like this more carefully and actually do some editing to them instead of letting them pass through as-is.

This issue: Pass.
The series as a whole: Pass.

(cover "B" by Casey Coller)

Andrew Wildman & Optimus Prime

2010-05-22T03:42:00.000-07:00

Optimus Prime by Andrew Wildman, 5/2010

An update to my update...

2010-05-10T02:09:00.000-07:00

Regarding the PDF of the TM Magazine... I was looking it over and realized the Vegatron comic was goofed up somehow (the second panel repeated as the fourth). I tried editing the file with a program but it made the graphics worse so I went and re-did the PDF file instead (I hope Johan doesn't mind. It was nothing against his work or anything, I was just trying to fix that mistake and ended up going to more lengths then originally intended).

The link in the post below is still the correct one (the new file is the same name as the one I put on the website originally).

Thunder

TM Magazine update...

2010-05-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Johan Piest, we have a pdf version of the Spring 2010 issue of Transmasters Magazine (if that's more convenient for some). View/download it here:

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tm_mag_spring2010.pdf

- Thunder

TM Magazine, Spring 2010 Issue!

2010-05-06T23:38:00.001-07:00

The Spring 2010 issue of the Transmasters Magazine is now available! To see it, click the link:

http://transmasters.angelfire.com/tmmag/issue6/index.html

I had initially intended to have a TF comic story in there too however it ended up being delayed (I'm having a few plot issues I haven't resolved yet) so I decided to hold on to it for next issue instead.
Please let me know if any links don't work for some reason. Also, general feedback is also welcome (my email is tkphoton AT hotmail.com).

- Thunder

Comic Review...

2010-04-30T21:42:00.001-07:00

Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #4 (of 5)

Writer: Nick Roche and James Roberts
Artist: Nick Roche and Guido Guidi

(covers by Nick Roche and Trevor Hutchison)

Summary: On Garras-9, Kup and Guzzle take on several Decepticon guards near a cell, only to find the cell empty. It had been Grimlock's cell but he's gone now, his fate unclear. Elsewhere, we find out Aequitas is a giant super computer designed to calculate guilt. Perceptor says they must have its hard drive... the only way to turn the computer on without Garras-9's command crew is through Spark Donation--that is, someone has to sacrifice themself to activate it. Top Spin volunteers since Twin Twist is being tortured elsewhere and they have a joint-spark. Both die. Elsewhere, we learn Impactor's crime was to settle a score with their Decepticon rivals--Squadron X--by killing everyone in it. Stalker goes to torture them some more but is killed by Springer when Kup, Guzzle and Snare show up (Snare also dies at Stalker's hand). Overlord shows up then, asks, "ready?" and Springer replies, "ready." Elsewhere, Perceptor downloads Aequitas' information into Guzzle's brain and then finds they can detonate all the ex-prisoners Deterrence chips (which includes Impactor). He votes for it, Pyro against it and then Guzzle votes in favor--saying he knows everything now and everything they've been taught is a lie!

Comments: One question dawned on me as I wrote this review--is Garras-9 literally the only Autobot prison around? If so, that would explain why Grimlock was put there. Otherwise, I can't see his supposed crimes really being all that bad that he should've been sent there (all he really did was disobey orders to settle a score--which is bad, I agree, but not worth locking him up here for). His fate is also glossed over--they obviously didn't want him in this story but failed to really say where he is (he certainly isn't dead!) The revelation about Aequitas was a major letdown, frankly. Why risk their lives for something seemingly so trivial? And Spark Donation? Really? Who comes up with such a stupid way to turn the system on? No one would design something like that! More deaths this issue--Top Spin and Twin Twist, Stalker and Snare. Snare is the only one I don't really care about... at least Stalker died doing something suitably evil. The Jumpstarters died for plot convenience to support something that was a stupid idea in the first place. Finally, I think Impactor's "crime" was overblown too. Yes, he executed a squadron of Decepticons--but they deserved it, were in a potential hostage position and he also had fellow Wreckers assisting him (who apparently didn't share his fate--possibly since he was in-charge, he took all the blame). He made a logical military decision and no one in any army would realistically imprison him for that. I mean, if he'd killed a bus load of kittens or something indisputably evil then fine. But his crime is questionable at best. One more issue of this drivel...

Mildly recommended.

(Cover "B" by Trevor Hutchison)

***

Transformers Spotlight: Prowl

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: EJ Su

(covers by EJ Su and Nick Roche)

Summary: Two years ago, in the wake of the devastation of AHM, Optimus Prime sends Prowl out in disguise to monitor the humans and try to help out where he can. Prowl does this and at one point saves a little girl from certain death. His cop partner tells him to go--but he'll give him enough time to escape (before he calls Skywatch). Further on, he thinks how Spike neutralized him (in TF #1) and how things have changed recently. During the story, it is implied that Prowl has learned that actively protecting the innocent (instead of just watching while they're abused) is the right thing to do.

Comments: A straight forward one-off story that does what spotlights do best. It's not revolutionary by any means but it is effective for what is. EJ Su's first TF comic in some time and I have to say I welcomed back his artwork. He has a bit of a blend of old school Senior and Roche that I can appreciate. Prowl is a fun character and it's about time he got a good story to shine in.

Recommended.

(Cover "B" by EJ Su)

***
Transformers #6

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Don Figueroa

(covers by Don Figueroa)

Summary: Spike's been rescued from last time (when he jumped into a lake to avoid the Stunticons). From the chopper he and his team observe the battle of Menasor vs. the Autobots. He quickly decides they need to go retrieve Optimus Prime and get his help. Elsewhere, Menasor grabs Ultra Magnus to destroy him but his component parts can't decide quite how to do that (Swindle brags how he figured the combiner technology out--but obviously his implementation is less then perfect). Then Optimus falls on him from out of the sky and transforms, engaging Menasor. Long Haul grabs Bumblebee but before he can finish him off, Thundercracker appears and shoots him. Thundercracker tells them he really has gone neutral and then goes off to help Rodimus... Menasor damages/destroys the spacecraft they were building meanwhile (accidentally). Optimus and the others take out Menasor and he falls, leaving Skywatch to come in and mop up the rest. Optimus refuses to re-assert command and defers to Bumblebee. Bumblebee tells them all to stand their ground--he wants to work this out with the humans once and for all. Spike offers Bumblebee safe haven and an alliance so they can all work together to protect Earth from real threats (i.e the Decepticons). Slightly later, Ultra Magnus wants to arrest Rodimus but Bumblebee interjects--he tells Magnus to cool it. He's the leader on Earth now and he won't tolerate this any longer. While they're distracted, Rodimus steals Magnus' ship and flees Earth to everyone's surprise.

Comments: At long last, some real action in this series! Of course, this was probably the end of what will be the TPB so they needed something for the climax, I guess. I hope we don't have to wait five more issues for more to happen while they fill out space. It seems like next issue they'll change things up (Megatron returns? Or at the very least, a turn to what Starscream and company are up to). I noticed how this issue references the Bumblebee mini-series in passing... but if it were excised from the story would that really have made any difference to the main story? It could just as easily have not happened at all and we wouldn't have been any worse off (which further reinforces my feeling that the BB mini was a total waste of time). On a side note, this issue was promised to have a cool "wraparound" cover last issue. So what do we get? A cover split in half between cover "A" and cover "B". If you buy both, you get the whole image... I think they originally intended it to be one cover but decided to do this instead so they could make more money--and I think that's a crappy thing to do, frankly (which is why I only bought the one).

Recommended.

(cover "B" by Don Figueroa)

Quickie review...

2010-04-13T16:12:00.001-07:00

I got the Protectrobots KO set last week and thought I'd share some quick thoughts about it...

- The box is a spot-on replica of the original.

- The toys have no rub signs on them--but they are included as optional stickers. Furthermore, they do work! (Unlike with my KO Shockwave).

- Some of the toys weren't finished/filed down properly and had little bits of plastic on them where there should've been none (extra little gob of plastic on First Aid's leg which I removed. Others had this sort of thing too).

- Blades plastic feels a bit thinner then my original toy does. He's not brittle or anything--but he does feel a little bit thinner to the touch.

- All the toys have metal parts on them (my three originals were all plastic).

- Some of the paint could be better. Hot Spot's eye has a black streak on it because the paint was done cheaply. (It's hard to see but it's there).

A decent effort, all in all. I've seen better and also far worse. As a substitute for the real thing, this is okay (I would still prefer an official reissue though).

Comic Review...

2010-04-09T13:24:00.001-07:00

Transformers #5

Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Don Figueroa

(covers by Don Figueroa and Andrew Wildman)

Summary: Spike and Optimus Prime talk in Prime's prison. Prime tells him how he is lost and how humanity is so much stronger and smarter then his own kind. How he has learned from humanity's adaptability so much more then humanity has learned from his own kind... Spike seems startled by this revelation. Elsewhere, Bumblebee's Autobots are approached by Ultra Magnus who tells them he needs their help to capture Hot Rod's rogues and their Decepticon allies. Spike drives Breakdown and wonders about Prime's words... suddenly he is attacked by Drag Strip and Dead End. He fends them off long enough to escape Breakdown and hide. He watches as Motomaster retrieves their comrade and the Stunticons leave. Later, Hot Rod and his rogues watch as the other Stunticons repair Dead End. Just then, Ultra Magnus and company arrive and attempt to arrest them all (again). Hot Rod tells him to give them a break... Swindle comes up then and tells them the truce is over! The Stunticons combine into Menasor and begin to attack!

Comments: First off, let me say I was shocked upon my first reading of this comic--something actually happens in it! Shocking! At long last, the Decepticons reveal they're up to no good. It's kind of a mixed blessing though. We all knew they'd do this sooner or later--why couldn't they have been honestly pursuing peace for once? This just demonstrates that the Transformers (and the Decepticons in particular) are total imbeciles with an inability to think beyond "destroy and conquer". Interestingly, even Costa is addressing this in the story with Thundercracker last issue and Prime this one. That after millenia of war neither side is capable of stopping it for good and living amicably. It will be interesting to see where he goes with this (if anywhere). As for the action quotient, I'm glad something has finally happened. I hope we get a lot more action ASAP and don't have to wait another five issues for the story to move along. I hope everyone leaves Earth soon frankly... All in all, a good issue.

Recommended.

(cover "B" by Andrew Wildman).

quick site update...

2010-04-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone know, the TM website now has almost all of the Transmasters Magazine and Transmasters Comics from a couple of years ago (many thanks to Peter Phelps for his help on this). We now have issues 1, 3-5 of the magazine and issues 0, 1, 3-5, Xmas 97 for the comic. Issue 2 (of both series) is the only thing we don't have--Peter sent me some files for those too but some graphic files are missing from the comic issue and the magazine is missing many html files unfortunately (so I opted to leave them both off until/unless we can get them set-up right). Currently, they're all on the Magazine section of the site:

www.transmasters.org/magazine.html

Also, the forthcoming issue #6 should be out in May on schedule (still working on the comic strip but everything else is ready).

Thunder

Comic Review...

2010-03-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

Cover "A" by Nick Roche

Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #3 (of 5)

Writers: Nick Roche and James Roberts
Artists: Nick Roche and Guido Guidi

(covers by Nick Roche and Trevor Hutchison)

Summary: Two years ago, Shockwave is repaired on Garrus-9. Overlord allows him to leave if he will give him access to the anti-virus for the Achilles virus Megatron had him implant (whatever that is and was meant to do). In the present, the Wreckers fight for their lives against a legion of Decepticons. Nearby, in the Pit, Overlord confronts the other team of Wreckers... Rotorstorm makes a joke and is promptly shot in the head by Overlord. They attack Overlord but it is futile because he's so bad-ass and invincible. Elsewhere, Springer's team kill Treadshot and escape their pursuers for the moment. They also find Kick Off's body there...as they discuss it, they're trapped and stunned unconscious. Guzzle, Pyro and others head through the prison and eventually locate Aequitas. On the way there, Ironfist freaks out, man--he didn't sign on for this! He wanted adventures and fun--not life and death! Not horrific death like Rotorstorm's--Top Spin tells him to buck up, man! People die stupid deaths all the time! They open Aequitas' prison and enter it's cell--we are not privy to what they see however. Elsewhere, Twin Twist is tortured by Stalker, while his team lay deactivated all around him in the Spark Extraction Chamber...

Comments: Some fans seem to love this series (for some reason). For me, it's a mixed bag. The pacing isn't bad--things are actually happening, which is more then I can say for many of IDW's previous efforts. The artwork is reasonably good--but I wish Nick could draw all of it. I like his art style but when it gets mixed in with Guidi or somebody else's it ends up not being it's best. Another thing that is really getting on my nerves is the killing of characters I like... I think I know how they arrived at this. They figured they could take European exclusive characters that Americans have never seen--thus giving them a spotlight of sorts--and make them expendable too (since we don't know about nor care about them anyway). But they're not really European exclusive--they came out in Japan first and also came out in Canada. I do know these characters and do like at least some of them. So far the writers have killed off Skyquake (anyone who's read BOP knows he got put in the stories on the Decepticon ship as much as possible), Rotorstorm and also Treadshot (I'm kind of indifferent about Kick Off). I also realize they can't please everyone all the time but they (IDW) have managed to kill (then unkill) Sunstreaker, Ironhide and Thundercracker thus far. If people can play favorites with them then why not with these guys too? I also think the way Rotorstorm was dispensed with was stupid...at least give him a decent death. Why not have killed Guzzle off--he sucks anyway! :) I knew the whole Ironfist thing was coming--the whole "I can't deal with this!" and someone snapping back about life and death and how serious things are in a war (as if Ironfist wouldn't already know that! They've been at war for millennia for goodness sake!) Just who or what is "Aequitas"--and why should we care? I think a better ending would've been a full page reveal of Aequitas then get to the torture stuff next issue (it's a more dynamic ending, imo. Unless, of course, there's nothing exciting about this character--in which case they couldn't do that). I also like that Shockwave is apparently free to cause havoc once more (what was the point of the virus thing? Just an excuse to get him in the story?) A mixed bag...

Mildly recommended.

Transformers on YouTube

2010-03-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

More videos of Transformers on YouTube. Embedded at 400 X 200 px.

Back and ready for action!

2010-03-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

Just a bit of an update...

I've done some more work on the Transmasters website and we now have several more things up:

- The "Archives" section has several pics of old fanzines up now, including TransAction, Auto-Update, BOP, Conquest, Teletran, etc. and a small blurb about the various publications. I might add more with time but this is at least a start. I also did a little blurb about Peter's TM CD, which is a very useful resource (it helped me get pics of TransAction and some stuff I don't have).

- The "Comics" section has pics added to it now from every company (not of every comic--that would be a lot of work!) I have a few sample covers from Marvel, Marvel UK, DW, IDW and some BotCon comic covers too. The idea being to introduce newcomers/be a quick reference guide for a fan.

- There is now a "News" section with the RSS feed from Tformers.com (like Peter used to have on his old site). While I would love to have the resources to do my own news it just isn't feasible at this time so this will have to do for now.

- The "Magazine" section now has links to some previous issues. I have TM Comic #0, #1 (on the actual site) as well as links to issues #4 and #5 (external site). I also have TM Mag #1 (on site) and #4 and #5 (external site).

www.transmasters.org

That's all for now. Til all are one!

Thunder

Comic Review...

2010-03-13T12:41:00.001-08:00

Transformers: Bumblebee #4

Writer: Xander Cannon
Artist: Chee

(covers by Chee and Guido Guidi)

Summary: As Bumblebee races down the highway we learn his mission last issue was, in fact, a success (which is good, since the last issue didn't make that clear one way or the other). BB detects another Cybertronian lifesign and the Autobots (who are texting with him/monitoring remotely) determine it's Skywarp! BB turns around and races back there to try and save the Serena (little girl) and Sanjay (father). Elsewhere, Skywatch discovers that the Autobots have scammed them (due to Cliffjumper and the others yelling at Bumblebee verbally instead of texting to him). They also realize Klonowski has gone somewhere armed... Back at the house, Sanjay and his daughter leave with Bumblebee...Sanjay quickly goes on about how evil Bumblebee is--he's just like all the others to which the daughter contests that he's a good robot. Skywarp corners BB and he is forced to transform and flee Skywarp. Skywarp gives chase, telling him how that board could be the greatest weapon against the Autobots yet--the Decepticons can use them as pets when they eventually return and they'll have Skywarp to thank for it all! Sanjay overhears it all and considers using the board to short Skywarp and BB out right then and there--but Serena gets all teary-eyed and convinces him not to. The Autobots text BB that they're on their way, ETA ten minutes. Just then, Klonowski shows up with a bazooka type weapon and BB thinks he's about to get it--but instead Skywarp gets shot. Skywarp corners BB again and BB decides to use the board to short them both out, knowing the other Autobots will reactivate him later. Later on, Ratchet and Klonowski talk about Bumblebee. He's being upgraded and Klonowski tells them basically, all's well and end's well (he took the heat off Colonel Horiochi and got severance money deposited into his account--but Skywatch considers him a traitor now). He leaves and Bumblebee emerges in his new upgraded car form (which seems to suggest he's a camaro now).

Comments: An okay ending for the story. The Skywarp thing almost felt contrived though--yes, he was in the rest of the story but the whole sudden "I know about the control board" thing was abrupt and not foreshadowed really (or not well, anyway). I also would've liked to have known why Skywarp was even still on Earth--AHM made it seem like he'd gone off into space with the rest of the Decepticons (and more and more it seems like just about every Decepticon got left behind on Earth). I also would've liked Klonowski to at least explain why he did what he did--even a simple "it just felt like the right thing to do" would've sufficed. Instead we get nothing. BB's new form--it's okay for the most part but I hate those feet! They look like boxes on his feet (what ever were they thinking with that?) Sanjay and Serena don't look east Indian as their names suggest, they look white (I know it's hard to get coloring in comics right but no one even tried here). The same goes for Colonel Horiochi, who's last name implies he was of Japanese descent (minor nitpicking here, I admit, but still!) Also, the overall story failed to really resolve the whole stranded-on-Earth thing instead settling for a pointless side-story. So, with the exception of BB's new form nothing really got done--we're just back to square one after all is said and done (kinda like watching an episode of Star Trek).

This issue: Recommended.
The entire mini-series: Pass. Nothing more then a side tale that wastes four issues to ultimately do nothing to move the overall story along.

(cover "B" by Chee)

The State of Things...

2010-03-09T02:04:00.000-08:00

As you may know, the Transmasters website used to be on Geocities.com. In the fall, Yahoo! decided to shut it all down (I guess hosting sites for free wasn't making them money). Anyway, I (Thunder) moved the website and most of its files over to Angelfire.com instead. It sat there for a few months, pretty similar to the previous incarnation that Peter Phelps set up.
Recently, I had the idea to try and jazz it up a bit--to make it more informative, adding information to act as a "Transformers 101" for the newcomer to the concept/quick reference for people who don't want to wade through pages and pages of Wiki (not that there's anything wrong with the Wiki--but let's be honest, it is very extensive and that can be intimidating to some). The site as it exists now is still bit rough around the edges (I intend to add more pictures to some of it for one thing).

www.transmasters.org

You will also notice the lack of those annoying banner ads on the website--I chose to go pay and get rid of them (at least for the immediate future anyway). I also figure we deserve a nice website and seven hundred ads clogging it up don't really help that cause.

I also plan to do a new issue of the Transmasters Magazine in May. Unfortunately, we lost some of the previous issues Peter did (#1 to #3) and only #4 and #5 exist anymore. I do have a fair amount of content done up for this new issue already but new stuff is welcome (even if it doesn't make the spring issue we'll still need stuff for the following issues).

There's never been a better time to throw in with the club and make your voice heard! We're not the Official TF club, but that's good in many respects. It gives us the chance to go further and fly higher, unencumbered by red tape. Let's make Transmasters the best damn TF site on the web!

Comic Review...

2010-03-09T01:35:00.000-08:00

(Note: This issue was short-shipped to my city and I got it a week late finally, hence the delay in the review).

Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers #2

Writers: Nick Roche and James Roberts
Artist: Nick Roche (pencils), John Wycough (inks)

(covers by Nick Roche and Trevor Hutchison)

Summary: We open with a prologue set in the past where Overlord fights Autobots on the battlefield. He transforms and leaves to attend a battlefield meeting with Megatron and two others via holo. Megatron explains his new six phase strategy... Overlord dislikes it and Megatron tells him he can either fall in-line or be dismembered--the choice is his. Now: the Wreckers continue onward to Garras-9. The new recruits discuss Impactor and wonder what the real story is behind him ending up on the prison world is. Nearby, Perceptor inspects Impactor while Springer and Impactor speak. Springer asks him how he escaped and we're treated to a flashback where Snare springs Impactor to go for help. In the present, Impactor and Springer have words about whatever it was he did and Impactor storms off (while Verity overhears the exchange). Ultra Magnus says he and Verity will be returning to Earth while the Wreckers continue to the prison world--to which Verity whispers that she "doesn't think so". The Wreckers gather later and discuss the fact Overlord is on G-9 now. Kup explains to Verity who Overlord is (since she asks). Kup says Overlord had them dead to rights on that planet (from the prologue) before he turned and skipped out on the war, deciding on "option two" instead (i.e. he doesn't do as Megatron says and waits for him to come find him). Apparently Kup's retelling is horrific since Verity looks utterly stunned (or maybe the art just went really wrong in that panel?) The Wreckers instigate their plan and Ultra Magnus leaves (apparently he's too dim to see if Verity is actually with him or not). Verity stows away with the Wreckers in body armor reminiscent of Arcee's design. The Wreckers crash land in two drop pods where the Decepticons are waiting for them and Overlord looms large over them (ooh! Scary!)

Comments: Well, this issue had better pacing for a certainty. Additionally, the story is moving reasonably quick--which is not like most of IDW's output thus far. The art is decent to good (although Roche can't seem to get Verity quite right. Thus far, only EJ Su has managed to successfully make her look right. Roche keeps making her too kiddie-cute for my tastes). I'm surprised Verity has survived five years (in real time) and we still don't know anything at all about her (this isn't Roche's fault, though. I blame the previous writers for never getting around to exploring her past). I also enjoyed Megatron threatening Overlord in the flashback--although I am getting sick of everyone freaking out when they hear Overlord's name. All right, he's a bad-ass. We get it. Yeesh! I did find the reference to Operation: Volcano a bit fan-wanky too... All in all, a decent issue.

Recommended.

(Cover "B" by Trevor Hutchison is displayed with this review).

CNBC Highlights of Toy Fair 2010

2010-03-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

Bumble Ape! No, this is actually called, Prime-8 from Bossa Nova. This link leads you to CNBC highlights of Toy Fair 2010. Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/35441788?slide=19

Firefox 3.6 + Transformers

2010-03-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

The new Mozilla Firefox 3.6 has adapted themes to dress up your web browsers, which includes a number of TRANSFORMERS themes. So far, not perfect. Well, I can't be too picky, I got a TRANSFORMERS blanket!