Comic Review... (belated)

Transformers: Stormbringer #1

Writer: Simon Furman
Artist: Don Figueroa

(Covers by Don Figueroa)


Synopsis: Jetfire and the Technobots investigate Cybertron for energy readings and find something on the surface below. They go to the planet and find a ruined world full of storms and desolation. Scattershot asks Jetfire what it was like back when the "incident" happened and Jetfire recalls it (but they don't reveal what happened). Elsewhere, Optimus Prime ponders things when Searchlight interrupts him and tells him Prowl's group has sent him a message. Prime finds that Earth's Decepticons are moving faster then scheduled and tells Searchlight to monitor things and keep him updated. Prime thinks of some apocalyptic event and how it never ends (tm). Back on Cybertron, Jetfire recalls what happened back when Cybertron was decimated (but again, we only get vague hints). Suddenly, the Autobot team is attacked by invisible enemies and beaten. On their ship in orbit, Nosecone and Afterburner detect several missiles coming their way... they launch a distress buoy and are presumably destroyed along with the ship. Prime flash to a big battle and how Cybertron somehow stopped their great foe's advanced... epilogue: Jetfire awakens in a cavern beneath Cybertron's surface--there, he finds several warriors worshipping Thunderwing!

Comments: Another story set in the Universe of Infiltration/the IDW "Alpha" Universe (although that story bears little relevance here so far). I see a potentially interesting story in this mini-series but unfortunately the opening issue beats around the bush a little too much for my tastes. I like foreshadowing as much as anyone but this issue was a bit annoying. All we get is that:
A) Cybertron was decimated sometime in the past in this continuity.
B) The world is (apparently) slowly regenerating from said-catastrophe.
C) Somehow, Thunderwing is the cause of the original decimation. He was apparently some sort of unstoppable enemy that briefly united the Autobots and Decepticons and was thought to have been destroyed somehow in a final effort on Cybertron's part.
I just wish we could've gotten a little more--like a decent flashback instead of bits and pieces (mostly from Optimus' memory, apparently). Otherwise, the art was good (as usual) and the writing competent. I was worried that Simon Furman might not be able to find a way to sneak his trademark phrases into these new comics but I see that was a misplaced fear. This issue sees the appearance of "It never ends." Now, if he can just find some way to have someone say "It is over. Finished." (I think it must be in his contract to have these sentences continually sneak their way into every TF story he's ever written). A decent story in general. I just hope we get more into the meat of things next issue (and I really, seriously hope that Thunderwing isn't a minion of Unicron! I'm so tired of that old fallback--try something new already, somebody!)

feel the hate?

"Robo Rob" presents...

http://www.robohate.com

Which is, basically, a new TF zine he's doing. Apparently, it will be both webzine and physical zine sometimes too (see his website for more info).


Just thought I'd pass that along in case anyone's interested... :)

Password change

Due to someone posting as me about some sort of ebay scam, I've changed my password to the TransMasters Blog. Hopefully that will keep it from happening again anytime soon. I appologize to you all for being already over a month late with the TM comic #3...I'm working on it with every free moment my job allows right now. I have just 1 more page I want to complete. Issue 3 of the Magazine should then follow quickly on its footsteps with all things going well. (ie..my fingers don't fall off while I write and code it out.) I was able to attend the Sac Anime Con this year so I should have a good article about it and Niel Kaplan since he was there. If you're good bots and cons perhaps I'll get some video of his panel online somewhere for viewing.

Thanks for being patient.

Transformers Comic Review...

Transformers Infiltration #6

Writer: Simon Furman
Artist: E.J. Su

(Covers by E.J. Su, Guido Guidi, Klaus Scherwinski and Nick Roche)


Synopsis: Starscream charges up on the new Energon they'd discovered while his troops worry about facing Megatron. Elsewhere, Ratchet gets the three humans to safety and thanks them for their help--its time for them to step back and let the others deal with matters. Wheeljack, Jazz, Prowl, Sunstreaker and Ironhide travel to the Decepticon's current base while Bumblebee is already there and keeping tabs on what's going on. Megatron materializes and yells Starscream's name. Starscream dispatches Astrotrain, Runamuck, Runabout and Thundercracker to take him on... however, Megatron warns them they risks their lives going against him so they promptly stand down. Starscream emerges, disgusted at his warriors cowardice and attacks Megatron. The two duel while the Autobot team arrives and save Bumblebee when Runabout notices his presence. Megatron finishes off Starscream, blasting a large hole through him and takes his warriors back inside the base. He is informed of the Autobots presence but all he says to them is the words "phase two" before retreating. The Autobot team retreat to their Ark base under Lake Michigan, unaware a covert team of humans is watching them as they do. Below, the strike team talk and Prowl says its time to call in Optimus Prime, unaware he has already arrived...

Comments: So Infiltration ends and we await the direct continuation in Escalation #1. I'm not sure why IDW is taking this type of strategy, where one story is a series and then the next story starts back at issue one again. I would think that would be more confusing to the casual reader then to just continue on with issue seven. Oh well... As for the story itself, it was both what I was expecting as the pay off and simultaneously a bit of a letdown. Starscream gets his butt kicked which was cool but we know he will survive his damage and come back to scheme another day. In considering the entire six issues, I think there could've been more story although this still wasn't a bad tale overall--at least some stuff happened (unlike back during the Dreamwave days when we could go an entire series and have nothing at all happen!) I liked the human characters, who weren't annoying, and hope they continue to be in the story despite the fans who hate humans. I liked some of the gradual revealing of many of the story aspects as well. The artwork was consistent and fairly good all around. I also don't think the story was anything truly revolutionary but at least it was entertaining... in the future, I hope we get more Transformer and human characterization as well as some unexpected story twists.

Highly recommended.

Transformers Comic Review...

Transformers: Evolutions #1
Hearts of Steel, part one

Writer: Chuck Dixon
Artist: Guido Guidi

(Covers by Guido Guidi)

Synopsis: The story begins with two Transformers fighting on a distant world while their world begins to suffer severe weather. As they fight, native flora and fauna begin to die, going extinct from the cold. Eventually, over time, a group of the mechanoids retreat to the subterranean depths of their world and shut down, awaiting a time when surface conditions improve and they can once again return. Centuries pass then millennia then epochs... finally, one is awaken by a hammering sound far above him. It turns out the Transformer is Bumblebee and he decides to investigate before awakening Optimus Prime and the others. He emerges on the surface to find a forest and realizes they've been there a long time. Below him, he finds men working on a rail track for a locomotive. A large man, John Henry Irons, drives rail spikes into the new metal. Elsewhere, Mark Twain, Jules Verne and a ship's Captain watch the sea looking for something... just then, a man named Mr. Muldoon arrives in a large submersible vessel he calls a "submarine". The men are astonished by Muldoon's invention until it abruptly sinks into the ocean. The wreckage sinks to the ocean's floor and uncovers another mechanoid (possibly Skywarp). Muldoon is on the ship now and says he sunk all his money into his invention--he'll return home broke. Twain tells him Verne is quite taken with his idea--perhaps he will be able to help in some way. Verne looks thoughtful and agrees. Irons and his coworkers eat dinner and discuss life unaware that they are being observed by Bumblebee and others of his kind. They discuss this new creature, man, and his inventions--non-living machines! Bumblebee tells him he believes they've been down there a long time. Prowl says they should go dormant again, await a time until humankind has advanced more technologically. Ratchet says they should allow Optimus to remain offline and Prowl agrees, saying they'll wait another hundred years or so. However, Bumblebee has different ideas and has already moved closer to investigate. He's nearly seen but quickly transforms, becoming a likeness of a locomotive. Irons and his associate are baffled by the fact this locomotive appeared out of nowhere and has no driver's cab. Elsewhere, Muldoon dines with one of his investors and tells him what became of his submarine. He can't even pay for dinner anymore and has to wash dishes for the investor (who owns the hotel they're at). Later on, Muldoon walks among the docks and thinks aloud about what a failure he is. He is confronted by an inanimate voice around him and then Shockwave reveals himself, telling him he is there to reshape the future of Earth.

Comments: The first issue of IDW's new "Elseworlds" style series, written by comic book legend Chuck Dixon. An interesting tale and a good start, I think. I was surprised to see that Cybertron and Earth are one and the same in this story but it was a good twist--this time, the Transformers can't go back to their homeworld--the humans world is their world. I like the bizarre mechanical beast versions of the TFs in this story. Like Beast Wars in a way but more mechanical and sharp--almost like a line of dino knock-off toys. One strike against this tale is the formulaic need to include historical figures to somehow validate the era. Did this tale really need John Henry Irons, Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens or Jules Verne? I think not... we could just as easily have had some generic figures and still have the story work. The art is good as usual, Guidi delivers the goods. I look forward to reading more of this tale and hope it goes some unusual and interesting directions for the duration.

Rating: Recommended.

Transformers Comic Review...

Transformers Infiltration #5

Writer: Simon Furman
Artist: EJ Su


(Covers by EJ Su, Andrew Wildman, Guido Guidi and Nick Roche)


Synopsis: Bumblebee asks Ratchet if he's alright (he was run over by Blitzwing last issue). Ratchet gets up and the two watch as the Decepticons continue bombing their former base. Bumblebee says they have to get the humans out before the base becomes their tomb! Inside the base, Jimmy's gotten to the cable they came down while Hunter is still on his way. Hunter hopes Verity is safe, wherever she is. Verity, meanwhile, has found Megatron in another chamber. He looks at her and she at him. He seems to turn back to what he is doing and she gets a shot of him on her camera (not sure if he doesn't see her or if he does but doesn't consider her a threat). Then, the chamber starts falling in on them and she runs away. Jimmy gets to the surface and convinces Hunter to come up as well--in case Verity needs to get up there in a hurry, he won't slow her down. Elsewhere, Astrotrain switches on a drilling machine of some sort while Starscream waits impatiently. Astrotrain tells him there's much more yield of ore here--all they need to do is take it. Starscream is gleeful--he can't wait for his medicine. In Nebraska, the Autobots show up and get the humans out as the base begins to collapse in on itself. Verity comes back just in time and they save her from being buried along with it all. Above them, Skywarp and Blitzwing watch the base collapse with satisfaction and as they start to withdraw, Megatron bursts up out of the ground. He takes out Skywarp in one shot. Ratchet, Bumblebee and the humans stop as they realize he is there on Earth. Blitzwing attacks Megatron but is also quickly subdued by him. Megatron hisses "Starscream" and moves off. Ratchet tells Bumblebee to return to base and he'll transmit all their collected data to Prowl and the others. Afterward, Ratchet transmits to Prowl and Ironhide, telling them that it appears the Decepticons found some kind of new super Energon/unclassified ore and moved to the new base in order to get more of it. In doing so, they engaged "siege mode" which broke protocol and Ironhide comments that Megatron's here to put his house in order. The trouble is, there's no telling how powerful his infiltration unit is and the Autobots are stuck in the middle.

Comments: Another excellent issue of Infiltration with one more issue still remaining of this arc (before it turns into Escalation). The story and art are consistently good. This issue revealed precisely what Starscream was up to and why he was defying Megatron openly... the picture comes clearly into focus now. From what I've seen, Prime should come along next issue... One minor complaint--no Raiz cover this issue (which sucks! I was buying all his covers and really liked them). Instead, I went with Su's Megatron cover (which part one of a split cover with next issue's).

Highly Recommended.

Transformers Comic Review... (belated)

Transformers Beast Wars #4
The Gathering


Format: Limited Series (part four of four)

Writer: Simon Furman
Artist: Don Figueroa

(Covers by James Raiz, Guido Guidi, Nick Roche and Don Figueroa)


Synopsis: Grimlock and Magmatron fight it out while the Maximals prepare to try and signal Cybertron elsewhere. Magmatron bests Grimlock, who falls to the ground offline. He plans to send the unconscious Megatron back to the future when Razorbeast reveals himself and challenges him. Elsewhere, Wolfang, B'Boom and the others are found and attacked by Ravage and his Predacon force. Wolfang tells the others to get out of the cave and keep the Predacons busy while he completes sending the message off. Razorbeast uses his chronal armband to phase in and out of time sync around Magmatron and keep him off-balance. Meanwhile, Ravage's Predacons herd the Maximals together and plan to finish them off when a bunch of Maximal reinforcements show up in the nick of time and attack them. As Magmatron is busy, Optimus Minor steals the time transponder thingy off Megatron, effectively removing him from being able to return to the future with Magmatron. Razorbeast knocks Magmatron into the time machine platform and he is sent back to the future and Cybertron alone. Elsewhere, the surviving Predacons retreat and the various Maximals compare notes. The transwarp signal was successfully sent but they don't know if it got through or not--and even if it did, how long it will take for them to be found. Two weeks go by and Razorbeast thinks how he could've removed Megatron as a threat permanently but chose not to. Prowl tells him he did the right thing ultimately...

Comments: A satisfactory ending to this mini-series. Honestly, I kind of wish we could've had a more engaging story with more on the line. This story was okay and a good introduction to IDW's Beast Wars continuity but not terribly satisfying on its own. The characterization was enjoyable as was the wonderful artwork. I hope the inevitable future stories will make some more interesting plots as they come. (I bought the Guidi cover, btw).

This issue is mildly recommended.
This series on a whole is mildly recommended.

TransMasters Magazine Issue 2 Done

I know you've all been waiting on the edge of your keyboards just to see what
we've come up with in this issue. I hope you all enjoy and forgive any spelling/
grammar errors I might have made. It's all good fun anyway.

Check outIssue 2 NOW!

This issue includes two great stories, two good KO Korner entries and more.
(Let me know if that background on the front page is too much, I tried to
tone it down quite a bit from the original.)

Now if I can just get Issue 3 of the comic done on time....

Optimus time!

Found this via a post on ATT...

A guy did some cgi of Optimus Prime. Check it out here:


http://www.3dblasphemy.com/OPTIMUS/OPTIMUS.html

(there's a little video short too).

Transformers Comic Review...

Amazing Fantasy #20
"Death's Head 3.0 - Unnatural Selection" (Part six of five)

Format: Ongoing (multi-issue story arc)

Writer: Simon Furman
Artist: James Raiz

(Cover Art by Lucio Parrillo)

Synopsis: In Geneva, GEIST watches as the delegates report in for the AIM/UN conference. They hope everything will run smoothly--little do they know that Death's Head is already there and has just killed a perimeter guard. Meanwhile, in France, Raymond Hidalgo is now not dead and has to speak to Agent Braccia urgently, despite his injuries. He tells her via videoscreen that Death's Head impaled him but also used its sub-conscious to somehow re-animate him. He tells her he briefly touched DH's thoughts and discovered all about the Uni-power and its desire to serve and "empower the disempowered". He tells her he has to get to Geneva--only he can stop Death's Head! In the AIM Euro-Hub, Goddard holds Breski and Heinkel against their wills and tells them they are watching history in the making--her evil plan is coming to fruitition! In Geneva, Death's Head fights the guards at the conference atop the roof of the auditorium. He breaks through the dome and goes after his target but Hidalgo gets there and shuts him down before he can carry it out. Later on, Braccia and Hidalgo speak... she asks how he knew how to disable Death's Head and he explains that DH showed him how when they were briefly linked earlier. Goddard escaped to parts unknown and allowed Breski and Heinkel to be released safely. She also tells him Death's Head will remain deactivated, despite having Goddard's programming stripped away--it's best this way. In the epilogue, we find out the truth--that DH is actually very much alive and now operating as a covert operative for GEIST (doing the wetworks which they can deny their involvement in).

Comments: This issue refers to part five as part six, so I wonder if I missed a part somewhere... apparently the Hulk has the DH droids in its Hulkworld storyline right now. Not sure if part five was published there or what but it felt like some information was missing. How did Goddard get Braccia/Heinkel and why? The whole "DH saved Hidalgo" thing came out of nowhere as well. That something happened was obvious but it seemed like a bit of a stretch to toss all that in there casually in this part. If they did publish another segment in another comic somewhere then I am disappointed and annoyed--I hate b.s. like that and it only serves to annoy people who invested the time and effort in buying all these comics. Apparently AF #20 is also the last issue of this comic series--I guess the series wasn't selling well enough (no big loss from what I can tell). Raiz returned to do this part's artwork and I am glad he did since I didn't care for the previous issue's artist. Hidalgo's post-DH encounter had him with one eye either missing or injured--making him a good, mirror version "father" to Goddard's evil "mother" one (interesting idea for the story). As to the story itself... it was an adequate ending but not the greatest one. This whole story felt rushed in places--like Furman either didn't get enough time to work on it or simply didn't care enough to do a good job. The format of AF wasn't conducive to the story either. Short abrupt chunks here and there as opposed to either a real limited series or better yet a graphic novel format. I also disliked that there was no real resolution to Goddard's fate--like Furman wanted to keep things open in case a series was green-lit later on. I would've rather seen her die/something rather then abruptly vanish off-camera.

All in all, a tepid effort. This part is mildly recommended.

The entire story is a pass, in my opinion.