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IDW Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #34 Review

Date: Wednesday, October 29th 2014 4:42am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW, Va'al

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Views: 42,153

Synopsis
THE DILEMMA! On a planet dedicated to Right and Wrong, four damaged AUTOBOTS must make an impossible choice: kill or cure? Whatever they decide, their lives will never be the same.



Story

Last issue was a gigantic piece of everything happening, in quantum manners, with sonic wrenches, parallel timelines, lost loves rekindled, and purple-soaked betrayals. How does one issue later compare
or stand up to all that, with only four members of the main cast facing an impossible choice and maybe, just maybe, more impossible horrors?



Quite cleverly written, James Roberts' script uses the setting of the four Autobots on Ofsted XVII, and Trailcutter's new reading habits, as the frame for his journey into another type of past than Barber's in RID #34 - the origin of Megatron's ideology, body of work and cruelties he had to endure under the mind games of the functionists.



The two stories run quite nicely in parallel to each other, and easily distinguishable with the casts being so different as well as limited. And to keep them as relevant to each other as possible, the Megatron story has some very intriguing snippets from present day Trailcutter's current reading of 'Towards Peace', which somehow reflects onto the bots' situation, and the possibly dying Cybertronian in their care.



What could've simply been a long flashback with some tenuous links to the present turns out to be a much more rounded story in multiple parts, bringing back some old ..er.. friends, from both the distant and the recent past. And thrown in for good measure are politics and some excellent world building, leading into the Days of Deception post-DC phase.


Art

Atilio Rojo takes over from Alex Milne for this issue's setting-up of what's to come in Elegant Chaos. While there are some potential issues with his more rounded style, given the two stories unravelling in the issue, I personally thought it really worked with the more personal themes and touches to Megatron's problematic situation, with some excellent layouts and body language in crucial scenes.



What really helped Rojo's linework, though, was regular Joana Lafuente's amazing use of colours throughout. Not only is the Decepticon purple used very appropriately in the background of key moments for all the cast involved, the contrast between Messatine and Ofsted XVII, with such limited environments to deal with, and what actually happens on them, is really brought out.



Remember I mentioned those 'key, crucial scenes' in this issue? You can imagine they mostly revolve around Megatron - but it's Tom B. Long's lettering wizardry that makes sure they drive home, and firmly lodge into your reading mind. To visually complete the whole ensemble, the two main covers (A by Brendan Cahill, B by Nick Roche and Josh Burcham) shed different lights on the story, while Ken Christiansen's Anniversary variant continues a great streak of homage pieces - see thumbnail.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

Four Autobots relaxing on a planet dedicated to Ethics, and finding more they ever wanted to know about it, with dire consequences for some old friends. A miner struggling against a corrupt senate and segregated control system, and facing the nastiest, most intrusive part of it. What do they have in common? Great writing, one set-up issue, an unsettling last page and, obviously, more horrors ahead.



As I claimed above, the issue is extremely well put together visually too, as we see Megatron's writing taking centre stage, quite literally, as story and art converge into it and use it as source for their progression and layouts. Make sure to pick this one up, as the stage is now wider than ever - just not where you thought they might be.

IDW Transformers: Primacy #3 Review

Date: Thursday, October 23rd 2014 8:36am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW, Va'al

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Views: 43,952

Synopsis
CYBERTRON AT WAR! The giant city-sized Titans, METROPLEX and TRYPTICON, battle on a scale the universe has never seen—and the destruction they leave in their wake leaves CYBERTRON ready for the DECEPTICONS to strike!



Story

Last time we delved in Cybertron's past in Transformers: Primacy, the battle between Trypticon and the Titan Metroplex had only just begun. Issue three of this four-issue mini-series takes us deep into the conflict raging on, above and around the city of Iacon and the entirety of the planet, in a 22-page long series of action sequences.



The book shows off Megatron's attack as the first proper act of full-out war, involving the big beast, the Junkions and Sharkticons he recruited, his Seekers, Combaticons and appearances from the expanded cast of the Decepticon ranks we're all used to, plus Blackwall (very briefly) - and it's a very Megatron centric plot, too, despite the main action taken over by the titans fighting.



While the action is entertaining, Flint Dille and Chris Metzen's plot itself does not really result in much, and can feel a little cramped in some places and too distended in others, yet oddly still have a nice pacing in the single issue. I was, however, pleased to see the Omega/Nova Prime conundrum solved, if a little heavy-handedly.



The dialogue is still very much a Dille/Metzen product, and there's not a lot to expect from characterisation for the different characters other than what we've seen so far. On the other handm though, the ending has an interesting direction to it, and one that I'll be interested to see played out in the final issue of the series and trilogy.


Art

This is the second helping of Livio Ramondelli this week and month, and it's quite hard not to compare his work here to the one in RID #34. The biggest difference? Primacy is a lot darker, and sometimes the contrast doesn't help with the dynamism of the action scenes. The lighting, given by gunfire, acid rain, optics and explosions, though, does wonders on some otherwise fairly dim pages.



One of the visual highlights of this issue, to me, is the fun that Chris Mowry clearly had with the sound effects pervading the battle scenes. All the punches, crunches, booms, kicks, shooms, and especially the TWERGs, look amazing, and really stand out on the background of Ramondelli's colours, adding extra action hues to the mix.



And if you hadn't had enough of big page spreads on battles between Metroplex and Trypticon, the variant cover in the thumbnail, by Sarah Stone, gives you a little more of that. Because why not. The third part of the interlocking Ramondelli covers shows off the beginning of the Decepticon faction, and Ken Christiansen gives us another stunning 30th Anniversary collage from the Autobot side. Make sure to check them all out.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

As I said above, do not expect too much from the plot of this issue of Primacy, despite some interesting developments towards the end. However, if you're into big blown full-on fighting with virtually all the cast of all the old Transformers characters, with curb-stomping, impaling, slicing, limb-ripping and one-liners - this is the book for you.



As the Autobot resistance takes a bit of a paler shade in their lack of preparation against the Decepticon uprising, I'm hoping we'll see more of an escalation next issue, with the conclusion veering the path of Primacy back onto the main IDW track, tying up some of the sub-plots ran so far, and some extra TWERG TWERG TWERG.

IDW Transformers: Robots in Disguise #34 Review

Date: Wednesday, October 22nd 2014 3:06am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW, Va'al

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Views: 45,507

Synopsis
THE ENIGMA! At last… the secret origins of CYBERTRON’s golden age are revealed to OPTIMUS PRIME—and what he learns changes everything about the AUTOBOTS’ mission on Earth!



Story

After a month's pause to take a look at Cybertron and whatever mess is taking place over there, we return to Earth's orbit to check in with Alpha Trion, Optimus Prime and whatever mess is about to go down here - by looking at what happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away... if you're new to the Transformers, that is. Though there is plenty for veteran fans, too. Read on!



The frame of the issue is the conversation between Alpha Trion and Optimus, as they take a wander over the dark side of the moon (oh-ho), to discuss important things of importance, without anyone listening in - and we finally find out the role that Trion has played since forever in the shape of Cybertron and its lineage.



Which leads us nicely into a long flashback of the early days of Cybertron, with Galvatron running around chopping people to bits and decapitating others, stabbing, slashing and generally being his usual killing machine self. The 'twist' however, is that he has a perfectly good reason to do so, and we discover just how far the Enigma teased in the synopsis goes, and what it has to do with Earth and some old frie-- ene-- frenemies.



John Barber's dialogue and characterisation in this issue are great: from Skylynx' wonderful quips, to characters calling out each other's pompous formalities, to seeds of deception and scheming planted in some key players of the past, to the roundedness of Galvatron and the deceitfulness of Alpha Trion, and that's without considering the source material being drawn upon for the flashback's plot, and really setting the stage for Combiner Wars.


Art

In addition to all of that, Livio Ramondelli is really on top form with the artwork: there's a lighter, cleaner feel even to some of the busier battle scenes (though some make Galvatron look a bit too powerhouse-y, but that's writer's choice), there is a nice use of reference material again, in both toy form and pre-existing fiction, and some great body language deployed.



Also, the lighting and colour used for the contrast between the past and present is switched compared to usual, with dark used for Trion and Optimus' conversation on the Moon, and a lot of light shining over Galvatron's battles. Combine that with some great panel layouts, a cinematographic style of composition, angles and shots, and you have a visually pleasing issue indeed.



Tom B. Long returns on lettering, choosing some very well placed addition contrast in caption boxes and dialogue bubbles, with a smattering of great sound effects throughout the book. All serves to further identify the separation and similarity of the different stages, and it all works perfectly. The two main covers by Andrew Griffith and Josh Perez, and Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente also do a great job of hyping up the Galvatron element, and it is a great part of the issue - but don't miss out on the stunning Ken Christiansen 30th anniversary variant (thumbnail).


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

I have tried hard to not give away any of the major plot points, names of key characters, storylines or references, as I think this issue needs to be enjoyed as a new exploration of Cybertron's past in the comfort of personal reading. But I also believe fans of different Transformers continuities will really enjoy the various parts of fiction that are touched upon, and how Barber brings them all under the one issue.



Ramondelli's art does some great things with Barber's writing, too, and accomplishes some nice visual clarity and dynamism needed for the warrior 'king' Galvatron. It also gets closer in its shading and hues as the past and present become darker and darker as they converge, with a great final sting tying us back to the running thread of RID so far. As we get ever closer to the beginning of Combiner Wars, this issue does great things to actually make me look forwards to it. Well played.

Rovio Angry Birds Transformers - Now Available on iOS Devices

Date: Thursday, October 16th 2014 1:17pm CDT
Categories: Site Articles, Game News, Digital Media News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Rovio Mobile, jON3.0

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Views: 57,744

Courtesy of Seibertron.com resident voice actor jON3.0, we get a quick look at the now available Rovio Angry Birds Transformers, with screenshots from and a brief thought about the game. If you have a mobile device running on Android, you will have to wait until the 30th of this month to join in the fun, but you can still watch the trailer, the gameplay and listen to the soundtrack in the meantime!

Angry Birds Transformers is a 2D/3D animated sidescroller. The opening animation is so G1 it's nostalgic. The levels consist of running along while blasting laser at targets to destroy enemies. It's just not the challenge and strategy the original game was. It's cute and kids will love it but hardcore fans will quickly be bored with it although since it's free it's worth downloading just for the intro.
Autobirds, roll out!

Seibertron.com Interviews Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster - IDW Transformers: Legacy, Complete Allspark Almanac

Date: Tuesday, October 7th 2014 5:18am CDT
Categories: Site Articles, People News, Interviews, Book News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Jim Sorenson, Bill Forster, IDW

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Views: 149,552

Good morrow, fellow Transformers fans! Here at Seibertron.com we strive to bring you interesting, enthusiastic original content as well as the best news and toy galleries in the fandom. To that end, we went and checked in with the authors of this week's IDW Publishing release of Transformers: Legacy - The Art of Transformers Packaging: Bill Forster and Jim 'Lockwind' Sorenson! We had a chat with Sorenson already during the Twincast Podcast #100, but read on below for more juicy information about this incredible book, clocking in at 300 pages and for the measly price of $49.99. And we also happen to chat about the upcoming release of the Complete AllSpark Almanac, so make sure to read all the way!




Va'al – Bill, Jim, it is an incredible pleasure to be talking to both of you. The book looks incredible. Truly. I was a late collector, and grew up in Europe, so some of this is vaguely new to me! But incredible, still. And congratulations on seeing this project all the way through to publication, it must've taken years (and your Acknowledgements section confirms it). How long did it take?


Bill Forster – Thank you! I can share some of the feeling: Jim was the one finding the images and sending them over, it was really exciting for me too. The idea for the book was something that came to our minds since the Ark books. So the answer would probably be...

Jim Sorenson – Probably officially in 2006. But we pitched the idea before the second ark book, and we were talking to some Hasbro guys at the tour during BotCon 2007, only to find out they didn't really have any artwork available.

Then Andrew Hall (aka Hydra), who helped with the Ark 2, went to work for Part One, Takara's design firm, and dug into their archives. He discovered they had a ton of the material, so we thought the time had come to resubmitted the idea to IDW. We had good 40% of the material from Part One.

We also worked with Rik Alvarez at Hasbro, who found some more pieces, maybe another 10%, including some of the more unusual, unreleased paintings that show up in the book. But the biggest source of material were fans themselves, who came to help after a good beating of the drums on my part.

In fact, the initial intention was to have a smattering of pieces across the toy lines, rather than something more comprehensive, but what we've eventually achieved is almost the entirety for what was in scope. That's G1 and G2 in the US, and G1 for Japan. The Japanese G2 art we shied away from, as it was CG and the style didn't really mesh, but you can get a hint of that style because we used a Japanese CG mural as the chapter header for the G2 chapter. That choice was because they never made an airbrushed one. But still, for the eras we covered, we have maybe 90-95% of the art.





Va'al – That is really an impressive feat! And how did you go about dividing up the book into its chapters? Had you considered something by theme, before moving to series?

Bill – Well, we didn't want the same sort of background running through, we wanted to show how it changes, show the visual differences from one line to the next. So we decided to go for the different periods and toy gimmicks, and adding the purple and red backgrounds for the two Autobot and Decepticon factions.

Jim – We really wanted to impart a sense of momentum as you read the books. The Ark books work as reference, but didn't have a sense of progression. It's great for hardcore transformers fans, especially if you want to use it as a visual reference. If you look, you can see that we structued the book that way. We even have a by-character index in the back. However, for a more casual reader, we've seen them go through it and usually they spend a lot of time on the first few images but then accellerate as they go, so that they're just skimming over the last 100 pages or so looking for something different! The Almanacs already improved on that, and I think Bill has done a great job here with Legacy at giving a sense of dynamic progression, pulling the reader through the art.


Va'al – I would agree, I tried to just dip in, but ended up going from start to finish! So how did you divide the work between the two of you, what were your roles for the book?

Bill – Generally, Jim handles the writing, I do the art direction. But we both dabble in each other's worlds, and we get to do different things. In this one though, Jim was definitely the curator, and I the art director: he'd get the thematic display and progression where he wanted them, I'd then lay them out and show them off accordingly.

Jim – Yes, I find the pieces and organize them. Say, for example, with the Stunticons: I wanted them all in one section, or maybe the guys on one page and Menasor on another. It was then up to Bill to arrange them how they looked best, with that basic structurein mind. And he did so much work. We had great quality images, but Bill still had to do a gigantic amount of work cleaning them and cutting them out of their backgrounds.

Bill – I actually got nerve damage from the work, I had to use a mouse rather than a tablet and it messed up my hand quite bad!


Va'al - Whoah! That makes it even more impressive, sorry to hear about it though!

Bill - Another factor was that Jim had moved to Albuquerque, so it made sense to divide up the work.

Jim – But also, Legacy was much more difficult than other books we've worked on, and we each had to work on our own strengths. Bill's is visual, the flow, the backgrounds. I've gone from awful to professionally competent in that area, but Bill is beyond competent, he's exceptional. I bring a strong sense of context and a network of contacts to the job. I flew over to Japan, to different US cities to collect material. Not that he couldn't! He did it once or twice.

Bill – Yeah, with Action Master Shockwave. But Jim is the driving force, getting on planes, contacting people. I sit at a table and put it all painstakingly together.

Jim – Bill's name is first on this one, in the credits, and it really is reflective of the work that went into the project. This is an art book, a beautiful art book. It's playing to his strengths.

Bill – I thought it was alphabetical! Just kidding. I think it was really important to deliver something that would really visually strike the readers and fans.



Va'al – The visual element certainly does jump out! You mention throughout that a lot of the art shows off the 'transforming' nature of the characters, the movement. Take the Triggerbots and Triggercons for example.. you actually see the spring loaded weapons.

Jim – Oh yeah, remember those? They were a pain.

Bill – Yeah. I had no idea what to do about the background, how to show the motion lines.. I winged it in the end. I replicated the images, trying to figure out how to drop a background. It took forever to reconstruct them over the originals. I was sitting there for a day and a half for each image. At least there weren't too many of them!

With the Pretenders, who also have some motion, they also had a half fade from black to white in the backgrounds. I was originally going to do a grid background, but then the images didn't pop right. In the end, I just went for black background to show off the artwork.

Jim – It's probably what the original package makers had to do, the same as Bill, but with an exacto knife! We left a few of the original backgrounds in tact; Grand from Grand Maximus, Metalhawk, Roadblock, Skyhammer. We couldn't do it with everyone though, unless each Pretender got a full page, and that was too much. They just didn't look as good if not on pure black.



Bill – I remembered how I did it, actually. I work in InDesign among other programs, and I remember having to put motion lines on the actual page background, and make a solid image out of them or the transparency would not work. When I sent them to Jim, he was not allowed to move anything, because they were part of the background!

Jim – I never touched anything in this book! Normally we both tweak a lot images, even if just by millimeters. It may seem trivial, but it was crucial to us. This one I didn't touch anything

Bill – And you really see that with the yellow boxes containing the names – doing it just right, avoiding the lines in the background, gives it that little more visual dynamic. IDW had to make a few changes in a few places, but I always had to go over their work to make it visually consistent. And I would know what Jim might have a problem with, and we both avoid doing things that the other will have issues with. We're good at it by now.

Va'al – I have to say, it does read like a labour of love, there's a lot of passion gone into this book. It's something that looks and feels like a true celebration of an unsung aspect of the Transformers toys. But as we were talking about names: Why were individual Targetmaster names pointed out, but not the Headmasters? For instance, there's Targetmaster Cyclonus with Nightstick, but it doesn't say Headmaster Brainstorm with Arcana, just Brainstorm. Was that a choice?



Bill – I don't like words. Ever. So I'd rather avoid them. But for Targetmasters it became a style choice, using the words to balance the page. Titles, names, descriptions, I can use them to my advantage. Jim might add something in revisions, but that was what made sense to me visually.

Jim – The book came to me with some of the Targetmasters named, and for the sake of consistency, we decided to label all of them. And in the artwork itself, the guns are really prominent. Whereas the Headmasters, it doesn't feel like they're as important, not overly proportioned. It doesn't feel like Chromedome with Stylor. Same with Powermasters. Other than Prime's engine, you can't really see them. So yes, definitely a conscious choice, if only in retrospect. Or maybe I'm rationalizing.

Va'al – That sounds like a reasonable one, too. And what about those three unreleased G2 Gobot names, are they the official ones?

Jim – Well, they were the names written on the artwork. Maybe they wouldn't be named like that on the box, except for Hound maybe. But we had to name them somehow, and those were the names we had. I'm actually about 95% sure that the police car would have been named Prowl, but I didn't have any documentation to support that and I didn't want to make that declaration. This wasn't like the Almanacs, where we were working collaboratively with the creators. This one felt more like archaeology, documenting the history of the brand as we unearthed it.

Bill – I was tempted to label Hound Hulk, actually, because of a comment made by my girlfriend..

Jim – Jillian. She helped work on the book.

Bill – Yeah, as I was working on him she asked if it was a Hulk Transformer. It's the purple pants.



Va'al – Hah! Yes, I can see that. But speaking of unreleased goodies, what about the pitched US Multiforce releases, do you know if they were planned for G1 or G2?

Jim – Definitely G1. I realize the book structure might not make it clear, as it's a lot of G2 unused artwork, but they would've been G1, probably with new original names. Same for the three Decepticon jets, Quickswitch, Monstructor. A lot of the unused section was drawn from G2 because there were many more unreleased G2 toys than unreleased G1 toys.


Va'al – So what is missing? What about more of the European releases, did you use of all of the material you collected?

Jim - We included everything we had that we were legally able to reproduce. We're missing some Action Masters. But that is also due to the lack of interest in the community, I feel, about them. Since so much of the book came from fans, I think that the distributed collective effort just wasn't as strong for finding Action Master art. The other gaps are at the tail end of G2, but I can mostly live with that, because that's where digital coloring is coming into play. Like, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywaryp, all repaints but because it's paintings they just made 3 different images. It's basically the same level of effort to make a new image as to recolor an old one. By G2, digital recoloring was feasible so they didn't bother to make a new painting for ATB Megatron and Starscream, they just recolored Dreadwing and Smokescreen.

The one mold we are missing from G2 is Roadblock. That was frustrating, because Hasbro did have it in 2007, when we started thinking about the book, but by the time we pitched in 2011-12, they didn't have it any more.

Bill – It probably disappeared after that Hasbro tour! We even asked fans who were there if they had any high quality digital photos of it, because we might have been able to use it, but no dice.

Jim – We also would've loved to include more European releases, but no one had that artwork. There is a bit, but not that much. In fact, some of those images in the book actually came from Hasbro US rather than UK, like Pyro and Clench.



Va'al – I will not comment on Hasbro UK, here. I think my question at this point, though, is : what about the artists of the original artwork? Did you find out who they were?

Jim – They're all in the Acknowledgements section, we did contact them but not everyone remembered what they actually worked on. We didn't think it made sense to do attributions if we only knew about 40% of the total. But they are there, and they did help with the book.

Va'al – So the credit is where it's due, excellent news! Of course, Legacy is not the only project you're working on at the moment, especially with its imminent release – what is the status of the Complete Allspark Almanac?

Jim – We'll say as much as we can, but a lot of it is still in the air. The two Almanacs are probably our most popular books, going for really high prices on the secondary market – we're really pleased that IDW are doing a collected volume. We're hoping it will also include the material we produced for the Club, the editors are definitely on board with the idea, but we're still looking at practical aspects like cost, clearances and whatnot, so we have yet to receive confirmation on that.

As far as I know, the combined version – a whopping 472 pages - is ready, sitting in the IDW servers. Maybe it's not what goes to press, but that is my ideal of the book. The chapters from the two volumes are integrated, to combine the separate chapters in the two books.



Bill – Jim loves order. Loves it.

Jim – And now I had the chance to correct some oversights from the first two volumes, like getting Starscream next to Megatron, though he's not next to all his clones as a result. So there are tradeoffs. But each chapter is bigger, even the ones that didn't have an analog in each book. We shifted things around, little things like moving the Tigatron stadium from 'Settings' to the 'Detroit' chapter. All the Elite Guard guys are together. Ironhide is now with the rest of Rodimus' team. Etc.

Bill – What we can definitely say is that the cover is amazing. Once we have Hasbro's approval, IDW will show it.

Jim – Yeah, we were both spitballing ideas with the artist, and then he comes up with something that blew our minds. He sketched ours, and they were perfectly fine, but his was better.

Va'al – Intriguing... can you say who it is?

Jim – Not really, but you can probably guess.

Va'al – A teaser! And apart from the Club stuff, is there any additional extra material?

Jim – Maybe a teeny tiny bit, but that's really not the focus of the book.

Va'al – I see. Bill, what sbout your role this time round? Any major changes?

Bill – I was mostly recovering from Legacy, and Jim, a lovable control freak, took the lead on this one, including designs. Which he then ran past me, and we've become so attuned to one another that he did exactly what I would've done!

Jim – Derrick J. Wyatt had a lot do say about the Complete version, too. But Bill did a lot of writing work in the Almanac the first time round, especially volume two. So it is definitely both of us working on it. Then it goes to Marty Isenberg and Derrick, then IDW, then Hasbro – but it all feels pretty good, and not stretched out thin.

Bill – Yeah, and we both like submitting stuff to Marty and Derrick. We work in their world rather than trying to fit in our own.

Jim – Before we were talking about arguments, and knowing what the other person will like or not like. We were working on the logo for the Complete Allspark Almanac – we wanted something so you could see at a glance what it is, but also not visually dominate the artwork, it needs a balance. But Bill wanted something.. you tell the story, Bill.

Bill – I sent Jim two versions of the logo and told him: One's correct, one's not incorrect. He obviously chose the 'wrong' one. I had made one specifically for him, I wanted the other, and of course he chose that one!

Jim – Usually I'm the one that wants more time on the words, and Bill wants bigger images. But we always strive for a balance between image and picture.

Bill – And sometimes it can be a question of three words, for me.

Jim – Which could be the difference between eight or nine lines! But I think the audience is the winner in the end. It's funny, when I look back on books I see the flaws, but I don't even see the arguments now.

Bill – That's because Jim usually wins! I only remember the arguments when they're really stupid, to be honest. I think we spent two hours arguing over a line by Cliffjumper, which was too 'organic' for the Animated universe, and it made sense not to have it in the end. But two hours, over 'cruising for a bruising'!

Va'al – I may side with Bill on that one, this time. But I also think it's time to bring this chat to an end – so thank you both for taking some time to talk to us, and we'll be showering you with more compliments about the book as soon as more readers get their hands on them!

Jim – Thank you!

Bill – No problem at all!



Make sure to pick up a copy of Transformers Legacy from IDW Publishing, then, and let us know what you think of it! Keep your optics on Seibertron.com and thanks for reading.

Creative Roundup, October 5th, 2014

Date: Sunday, October 5th 2014 8:02am CDT
Categories: Site Articles, Transtopia
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Transtopia

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Views: 90,163

It's been almost exactly a month, Seibertron.com, but we've been able to finally put together the amazing creative work happening in our Transtopia forums. Check out below of the amazing Transformers creations, from plastic to paper to ink to photos and words, paint, more plastic - you name it, it's there. Make sure to comment, too, if you like what you see!

THE HELP DESK

Seibertronian 1PrimePRoductions is looking for help with Flip'N'Change Lockdown's head!

CUSTOMIZATIONS

kawabata - AOE Toxitron




Jones - AoE Hound Paint Overhaul




Mr O - Voyager Lockdown




Skyfire77 - TFP Smokescreen and Shockwave




Hip-Hoptimus Rime - AoE Optimus Prime




autobotx23 - Generations Impactor




chonosmoon - G1 Cybertronian Skywarp | MP G1/IDW Lockdown






NeonPrime - BW Neo Galvatron




Susha - FoC Ultra Magnus




Klejpull - MTMTE Ratchet Replica




BUILDING BOTS

alanyap - Lego G1 Inferno




Hip-Hoptimus Rime - Kreo Guns




zodconvoy - Kreopaloosa




SHAPEWAYS STUFF

Tresob - Skids Miniature




GlauG - Shapeways Thread




multihawk - Custom SMGs




FAN ART

amurowes - Dinoking




Foxfire13795 - Fox Art




M3Gr1ml0ck - Wrath of the Ages #5 | Untold Marvels





FAN FICTION

Mellow Gadget - Circuit and Longtooth: Reporters Extraordinaire


Apollo-XL5 - Prime Effect 4


Henry921 - MTMTE: False Flags


RotorstormNZ - R&M A Movieverse Fanfic


PHOTO BLITZ

Madeus Prime - Flipside




Susha - Nightwalking: Toilet wars




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Seibertron.com Editorial - The Other Truly Thrilling 30: Sunbow's Transformers Cartoon Series

Date: Wednesday, September 17th 2014 4:09pm CDT
Categories: Cartoon News, Site Articles, Editorials
Posted by: ScottyP | Credit(s): ScottyP

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Views: 103,079

The day is Monday, September 17th, 1984. The 18th Prime Minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney was sworn in, and Reggie Jackson of the California Angels hit his 500th major league home run, becoming only the 13th person at that time to have done so. Not a very exciting day for most, but for some, this would be a day forever remembered.

You're going to see and be able to read a lot of articles today on the internet, specifically in the Transformers Fans' corner of it, and these will be about a certain birthday happening today. This is one of those articles. You're going to read about perspectives from people that were, with a fairly good chance of likelihood, about 5 to 7 years old on that date, who were captured by the premiere of a new cartoon series for the fall season called "The Transformers" on a Monday morning or afternoon. They'll talk very factually and sequentially about the history of the show and where it came from. They'll write well and give good reference for history down the road. This is not entirely one of those articles.

First, some of that base history but not too much, just to give some background. Marvel Comics' run of Transformers books had started in May, 1984, and had seen two published issues with a third to be shortly on the way in October. This was, of course, one channel through which to support the newly imported, rebranded toyline of the same name. The other was a joint production between Marvel Productions and Griffin Bacal's Sunbow Productions, a cartoon series designed to capture the attention of the children in Reagan's America with lots of action, little plot or continuity, and over the top, fun characterizations of the toys they could go have their parents buy on the local store shelves.



It was a simpler, peaceful time, when children ran through quiet streets with gumdrop smiles and wealth trickled down to the middle class and, and, um, wait a minute. I wasn't born yet. What the hell am I writing about?

This is not your typical retrospective, because it can't be. I wasn't born until almost a year after this cartoon premiered. I can't pretend to know what it was like when it came out. Suffice it to say, by the time I was aware of what a Transformer was and could follow along with any sort of cartoon or comic, the show was meandering the random scheduling of syndication and the toyline's only fictional support was in the form of the latter quarter of the Marvel comic run. So how on earth would someone that only hit the rough target age for "The Transformers" in 1990 fall in love with the franchise on a level so deep that close to his own 30th birthday, he still spends countless hours collecting toys, absorbing fiction, and writing long form articles about the brand? How could this happen when things like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were new, hip, and vying for attention? The answer's quite simple: home video.



Through the magic of FHE's home video releases, over and over again even children like me born well in the middle of the heyday of The Transformers' success could relive the spectacle of 24 minute long toy advertisements. Given the rushed production schedule, the efforts of now legendary (within our hobby, at least) names such as Flint Dille, David Wise, Wally Burr, George Bloom, Floro Dery, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, and countless other voice actors and production crew will never be forgotten by, well, probably anyone reading this site and almost definitely anyone bothering to read this article!



The first season enjoyed by so many through either broadcast or VHS gave us some of the most memorable and joyful characterizations of fan favorites such as Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Soundwave, Grimlock, the Constructicons, and so many others. For a very young child like what I was at the time, with undeveloped reading skills, these characterizations from the original animated cartoon will always stand out as the original and archetypical examples of those characters within my memory and subconscious.



Of course, the show went on for a good while and eventually would come the event that changed everything, at least at the time. This event is also a fond VHS memory, and yes, it's the first Transformers Movie released in 1986.



Having a copy of this amazing work only brought my interest in Transformers to a fever pitch, as between it, VHS copies of nearly all of season one, the continuing toy line, and the comic I had just begun to be able to understand, a fan for life was born. Regardless of your path, or what kind of fan you may be today, some significance can be found by tracing back to 30 years ago today.

Transformers, of course, has continued on persistently in some new animated form ever since, barring the time from 1988 through the start of Beast Wars in 1996 where only repackaged episodes of the original show were still used for various purposes. Even these new evolutions of the brand borrow heavily in spirit from the original show, with characters reusing lines, traits, and sometimes even actual voice actors.



Even now if we look ahead, 2015 will bring us yet another cartoon series and the second one to be titled "Robots in Disguise", and this will surely be the crux of the franchise's focus next year. Transformers has taken many branching paths and become a multimedia force in Hasbro's brand stable, with never ending toy releases, ongoing comics, frequent video game releases, and of course live action movies. Despite all that, the brand persists on as big and as well as it does because of the cartoons and their influence. Television is a powerful medium, and it's unlikely that The Transformers will ever divorce itself from that medium for very long every again.



I'd be remiss to not also remember some of the fantastic voice contributors to the original cartoon that we've lost over the years, here on a day where we learned the sad news that Buster Jones, the iconic voice of Blaster, is no longer with us. Here's to also remembering the good times brought to us all by such amazing artists as Chris Latta, Scatman Crothers, Casey Kasem, Orson Welles, and others that I may have forgotten.

The legacy of the first Transformers cartoon is undeniable. Hopefully in another 30 years, I'll be back to write another one of these as a crotchety old man, still surrounded by rotting 60 year old plastic toys.

Tell your story in the comment thread below. Why did you, and why do you still, enjoy the original cartoon? Maybe you hate it, that's ok too. Either way, there's no denying the impact it has had, which must have been so unimaginable 30 years ago to the day.

IDW Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #33 Review

Date: Tuesday, September 16th 2014 6:09am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW Publishing, Va'al

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Views: 52,001

Synopsis
REVELATIONS! The fate of an entire planet hangs in the balance as MEGATRON races to solve the dark riddle of Sector 113. As unseen forces move in for the kill and old friends reveal their true colors, the AUTOBOTS realize that everything—everything—is a lie. All this...and an open briefcase.



Story

Death death death death lunch death death afternoon tea death. Pretty much sums up issue 32, the beginning of the Slaughterhouse chapter in More than Meets the Eye, as the DJD are shown - or rather, their aftermath - to make their way through a slightly different Lost Light. With one single, tiny survivor.



Be ready for some explanations that, while making sense even in the non-text world, might take some time to get around in James Roberts' enjoyment of them and the sci-fi genre. At the same time, Nightbeat and, especially, Nautica are still the mouthpieces for exposition, with some nice chemistry between them and with the reader's projection in Getaway and Riptide.



What is also very good to see is a healthy dose of self-criticism, too, as Roberts appears to be aware of potential criticisms from the readership. Mostly humorous, but not only, and scattered throughout the book. And to top it all, we get one of possibly the biggest twists in this series' run so far - and it's pulled off twice!



So far, one of my favourite MTMTE resolutions, after the issues I had with the Overlord and Remain in Light sagas - though I still have some concern for the denouement reserved to the Rewind plotline, and I do hope it gets addressed again before we get lost in Elegant Chaos. As something else seems to be set in motion, very briefly, in the epilogues, too..

Art

Alex Milne's might alone was not enough for this issue, as two inkers join the lineart team to provide some delineation to different scenes - and both Brian Shearer and John Wycough work wonderfully with Milne's pencils, giving some particularly amusing facial expressions, some of which yet unseen in Milne's work alone. Especially Riptide.



What is definitely not unseen, however, is Joana Lafuente's (still) astonishingly good colouring work: from fading to quantum foam, to space, to interiors, different lights, flashbacks, mood settings, the colours really aid the reader in setting further the tone to the scene, if the lines and er.. lines were not enough already.



The letters are once more by Tom B. Long, in a style that I have really come to enjoy, and even though there isn't much in terms of sound effects this time round, the title page and the uses of translucency for certain scenes is just part of the trademark visual quality of this series. Something proven by the variant covers too, from Sarah Stone's to Casey Coller and JP Bove, via the main Milne and Josh Perez haunting Rewind and Nick Roche and Josh Burcham (thumbnail) doing justice to the DJD.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

This is a James Roberts Transformers comic script, no doubt about it. There is a lot of unpacking to be done once you read through (and even as you are reading, for that matter), and I'd be curious to see the wordcount for the script before and after the visual rendition - because there are a lot of words in this issue. A lot. And yet some of the better scenes can be completely silent. Especially the sweeter, and the more horrific ones. Be warned.



And that's where the art team come in, from Milne and Lafuente to Wycough and Shearer and cover artists, making everything flow so smoothly you almost forget about the atrocities, quantum mechanics, heart-wrenching tales of survival and general twistedness. Are we back on track, though, if the issue's conclusion is anything to go by? Or are we to face even more horrors on the Lost Light?

IDW Transformers: Primacy #2 Review

Date: Thursday, September 11th 2014 11:23am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW

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Views: 38,690

Synopsis
DECEPTICONS ASSEMBLE! The war for CYBERTRON begins in earnest! MEGATRON brings together the deadliest of his troops for an unbelievable assault on the AUTOBOTS—and the TRANSFORMERS’ world is shaken to the core!



Story

So here we are again, in the time before time on Cybertron (and other worlds in the post-Expansion mess-up), effectively a second before the ignition of the the great war that will shape the history of the Transformers as we have pretty much always known them. As envisioned by Chris Metzen and Flint Dille, with input from artist Livio Ramondelli too - issue #2.



The biggest thing to take away from the previous issue, as you might remember, was the slight inconsistencies wit hthe established IDW universe, particularly in the role played by newly rediscovered Omega Supreme. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case once again, as not only is Omega's tale cemented and bolted down to the streets of Iacon, but we also get a look at some peculiar takes on pre-Earth stories, as the Decepticon upper echelon round-up their army, preparing for battle.



Above all, the presence of the Predacons on Canis Tor, in their pre-Earth, pre-Stormbringer - but apparently not pre-beast modes. As much as this is a fairly serious continuity blip, it does seem to me that the explanation is simply to feed in to the Combiner Wars stories in which Predaking may or may not feature. A 'recent' continuity if you will, for newer readers. But still.



Nonetheless, the comic is not a bad read! The narrative choice of a big set up run across the universe beyond Cybertron is a nice touch, and it's plenty of fun to take a look at a number of eventually gestalt teams in their daily life before the war hit. It's a fun romp, with a definite G1 feel to it - but you do need to suspend a bit more than disbelief.

Art

Even with the Predacon glitch, Livio Ramondelli's work on the different planets and environments in which the Decepticons find themselves is plenty of fun, and well variegated. From the light, warm jungle of Canis Tor to the grungy, sulphuric Magmara Nine, Ramondelli paints an enjoyably diverse universe populated by the Cybertronians.



And he does so without losing the darkness of tones over at Autobot command (and in the Presidium, for that matter), both in layouts and colouring, with Optimus realising what decisions he must and must not make in order to ensure the survival and defence of what he cares for. And the brooding begins.



Chris Mowry's lettering, is extremely enjoyable, with some very well placed translucency, and colours mimicking or complementing the artwork beneath and around it. And it's fun, even shrouded in the dangerous terrain of the issue's plot. We've seen most of the covers already (Sarah Stone's variants are here and here), so the thumbnail includes a convention exclusive this time!


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

I grinned, almost uncontrollably, throughout the entire first part. Yes, it's silly, yes, it doesn't really do much, and yes, it doesn't fit any more in the IDW continuity, there's plenty of name-dropping and some inconsistencies that don't really hold up to the wider universe, and to the story itself (even within the single issue). But I was grinning so hard it didn't really jar on the first read.



If you can get past that, the issue is an enjoyable read, preparing us for a very very big conflict about to burst at the seams, and we get some very nice double-page spreads to help us position the scale of all this. A very difficult issue to place, as, by itself, is perfectly fine, and only encounters big issues once it's placed on the bigger picture - but as I said, it's grin-worthy, with no doubt.

IDW Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #2 Review

Date: Thursday, August 28th 2014 3:40am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW Publishing, Va'al

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Views: 44,463

Synopsis
BOOTS ON THE GROUND! The war has begun—and no bars will be held! SCARLETT’s forces go head-to-head with MEGATRON’s hordes—and the most off-beat adventure in comic book history hits a new level of dangerous alliances, deadly invasions, and devastating betrayals!



Story

The introduction to Tom Scioli's world of G.I. Joe and Transformers has really been like nothing else so far, in issues #0 and #1, even with John Barber's vigilant watch. And issue #2 continues the streak of whatever-it-is this comic is doing, with its anachronistically retro style and feeling, toy advertising without the products and general action-packed whimsicalness.



We headed with Scarlett's team to Cybertron at the end of last issue, and this is where we find ourselves straight away, as the Joe team brings the war begun by the Decepticons to their own turf - and it sets up the rest of the universe, as Autobots are subjugated by the Kirby-esque merciless godhead figure of Megatron, and his minions.



Though the big bad gun is a slow build-up, Scioli does not hold back on the even bigger, if not the brighter, guns: Trypticon and Devastator, all still through the (I guess) military eyes of Scarlett and the other humans, searching for targets in true Earthican foreign policy: stamp on, blow up, then investigate the remains.



There are some amusing references to the nature of all the characters and their plastic counterparts, though as I said, without the toys existing. The dialogue is still completely over the top, and is still not for everyone, along with the thread being very very thin, though a little tighter than last month. But it's also extremely enjoyable if you can buy into the whole premise.

Art

And I suppose, the artwork. Tom Scioli perseveres in his Silver Age style of dotted galaxies, peculiar proportions, referential work (with Flash Gordon also featuring in some scene set-ups, as the commentary expands upon), mirroring what is already present in the dialogue and set-up with the visual style that some readers still consider a hurdle.



Personally, however, I find that not only does the style really work with the aim of the series, it allows Scioli as both writer and artist to place all of his toys across the drawing board, and just go wild with the colours, interactions and the stupidly fun lettering touches, from the titles to the ID cards to explosions and EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.



I applauded the production of the book last issue as well, but it is nice to see Chris Mowry's work still shaping the final product. I am not a gigantic fan of the exclusive Liefeld and Tyndale covers, but the Ed Piskor Cobra heavy one and the two Scioli versions are perfectly in keep with the tone and content of the book (thumbnail: Retail Incentive cover by Scioli).


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

If you're not on board with Transformers vs G.I. Joe by now, I'd recommend to stop trying. This comic is clearly not for you, and by no fault of the readership. It is doing what it does unapologetically, and received warm-heartedly by many for very good reasons, and it's little to do with the actual lore of the franchises involved in the crossover, if only maybe as reference material and gags. And Scioli and Barber are clearly having barrels of fun with it.



What is particularly enjoyable, is that after the rollercoaster up a snake with wings in its nose that is the story, the two creators give themselves almost the same amount of space to talk about what went into the creation of the issue, page by page, panel by panel, deconstructing the whole frame and proving just how not seriously this is to be taken - but also how to, if so one wished. I will stop warning readers about this by next issue, but enjoy some green mean killing machines in #2 for now.