Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Comic Review...

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.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

warlog xmas 2011 issue

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

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Holiday Greetings...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, ONE AND ALL!!! :)



Best wishes in the New Year!


Thunder

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Titan Transformers UK issue 4.3, Januari 2012




"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 ....

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Titan Transformers UK issue 4.2, December 2011.

"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!

Friday, December 09, 2011

Comic Review...

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