Five Page Preview of IDW Beast Wars #9
Tuesday, October 26th, 2021 2:36PM CDT
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You'll be singing "Hakuna Matata" on your way to the comic shop tomorrow, as the release of Transformers: Beast Wars #9 is upon us and, based one of the variant covers, it's time for Razorbeast to make his mark in the story. The five page preview below won't get around to that part, but hey, IDW Publishing shares these to help sell the books after all.
(W) Erik Burnham (A/CA) Josh Burcham
"Thicker Skin". The Predacons begin their hunt for other fallen protoform pods, containing potential reinforcements in their quest to crush the Maximals. But Skold, the Predacon powerhouse, is left behind because she'll slow the mission down, at least according to Terrorsaur. When Skold encounters a pod on her own, it'll be up to her to bring it to the Predacon's side... or put it down for good.
Check out the preview below and be sure to pick this issue up tomorrow at your local comic shop, through a licensed digital comics retailer, or via the Seibertron.com eBay store.
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Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 2:44pm CDT
Speaking of which, after last issue, I really need to stop reading the letters page. Someone comparing the dialogue of Dinobot in this to Code of Hero. Which there isn't even a subjective comparison to be made. It just reads as "tell us you're a shill, without telling us you're a shill".
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 2:51pm CDT
To be fair, the characters in the show called Megatron's plan "madness" too.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That dialogue almost seems to be mocking the plot of The Agenda. It isn't really a good idea to poke fun at something of higher quality.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 2:55pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:To be fair, the characters in the show called Megatron's plan "madness" too.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That dialogue almost seems to be mocking the plot of The Agenda. It isn't really a good idea to poke fun at something of higher quality.
True. But Megs himself rationalised it as: 'The ultimate risk... for the ultimate prize!' He knew what was at stake. But the benefits outweighed the potential drawbacks.
Always lamented the backtrack on that cliffhanger. Season 3 could have been so much more interesting. Set within a dystopian, alternate future
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:07pm CDT
I don't mind them poking fun at it. Might mean they're making more changes then we think.
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:08pm CDT
Yet, he admitted to himself the enormity of what it entailed and, in his hesitance, held off going through with it until all of his other options were exhausted.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Sabrblade wrote:To be fair, the characters in the show called Megatron's plan "madness" too.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That dialogue almost seems to be mocking the plot of The Agenda. It isn't really a good idea to poke fun at something of higher quality.
True. But Megs himself rationalised it as: 'The ultimate risk... for the ultimate prize!' He knew what was at stake. But the benefits outweighed the potential drawbacks.
We got that dystopian future. It was called Beast Machines.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Always lamented the backtrack on that cliffhanger. Season 3 could have been so much more interesting. Set within a dystopian, alternate future
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:14pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:Yet, he admitted to himself the enormity of what it entailed and, in his hesitance, held off going through with it until all of his other options were exhausted.
If not for Blackarachnia, it might have paid off too.
Sabrblade wrote:We got that dystopian future. It was called Beast Machines.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Always lamented the backtrack on that cliffhanger. Season 3 could have been so much more interesting. Set within a dystopian, alternate future
Touché
ZeroWolf wrote:Would have been hard to sell the toys that were already in production at that point though
To be fair, looking at how different the TM 2 line was. It wouldn't have been too far a leap to assume that was the "alternate" cast of Season 3. There was no Primal in that line, after all.
ZeroWolf wrote:I don't mind them poking fun at it. Might mean they're making more changes then we think.
Cynically, I'd say that is a nod to the fans. With a realisation this series won't last long enough to reach that point.
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:23pm CDT
Posted by primalxconvoy on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:36pm CDT
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:39pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:44pm CDT
He would have been better off not going through with it. The future without the timestorm ever happening at all would have yielded him a better conquest of Cybertron, this time with Predacons instead of Vehicons, and which would have lasted for years with Predacons hunting down and executing hapless Maximals before they'd finally give a more concerted fightback years after Megatron took over. Megatron's timestorm in the past changed all that and resulted in the Vehicon-takeover and Spark War instead.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Sabrblade wrote:Yet, he admitted to himself the enormity of what it entailed and, in his hesitance, held off going through with it until all of his other options were exhausted.
If not for Blackarachnia, it might have paid off too.
There is no way Mainframe would have taken the existing cast they spent two seasons developing and discarded them for all-new people. Especially since that would have required creating completely brand new CG models for everyone when they were trying to save every buck they could when making the ones they already had (Tigatron and Blackarachnia being modified from Cheetor and Tarantulas, Ravage being modified from TM Cheetor w/ Tigatron's head, etc.).AllNewSuperRobot wrote:To be fair, looking at how different the TM 2 line was. It wouldn't have been too far a leap to assume that was the "alternate" cast of Season 3. There was no Primal in that line, after all.
In that interview I mentioned Burnham saying that Razorbeast was originally gonna be someone else that Hasbro vetoed, Burnham also revealed that the Ark and its occupants are currently "not on the table" for this series.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Cynically, I'd say that is a nod to the fans. With a realisation this series won't last long enough to reach that point.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:52pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote: Megatron's timestorm in the past changed all that and resulted in the Vehicon-takeover and Spark War instead.
Which he would have won, if had just killed Primal & co outright. When he first took control of Cybertron.
Sabrblade wrote:There is no way Mainframe would have taken the existing cast they spent two seasons developing and discarded them for all-new people. Especially since that would have required creating completely brand new CG models for everyone when they were trying to save every buck they could when making the ones they already had (Tigatron and Blackarachnia being modified from Cheetor and Tarantulas, Ravage being modified from TM Cheetor w/ Tigatron's head, etc.).
The eternal noose around the show's neck - the budget. Hence no Coneheads for the Nemesis finale.
Sabrblade wrote:Burnham also revealed that the Ark and its occupants are currently "not on the table" for this series.
That would lead me to believe this series has a predefined length of time attached to it, assigned by Hasbro. Given the Beast Wars show narrative pivoted entirely in that direction for Season Two.
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 3:57pm CDT
Twelve issues is the current plan, with more to come should the series do well enough.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:That would lead me to believe this series has a predefined length of time attached to it, assigned by Hasbro. Given the Beast Wars show narrative pivoted entirely in that direction for Season Two.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:00pm CDT
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:14pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:18pm CDT
No clue. Burnham wasn't allowed to say who it was nor what their beast mode was since that would have given away its identity.ZeroWolf wrote:Was there any clues to who the vetoed character was?
The only BW character that comes to mind that I could see Hasbro putting their foot down on is BW Grimlock, but it's fun to wonder if it could have been someone without any ties to G1.
I guess we'll have to see what kind of role Razorbeast plays. If he emerges from his pod a newly born Maximal, that'll make it harder to figure out who he replaced. But if he emerges as a preexisting person from Cybertron who was put into stasis, that might make it easier.
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:29pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:39pm CDT
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 26th, 2021 @ 4:42pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:We did get Magnaboss Ironhide in the first issue.
I did mean more of the ongoing cast.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on October 26th, 2021 @ 6:47pm CDT
I'm hoping the 1st TPB comes out soon. I am eager to actually read the whole first arc proper
Posted by Sabrblade on October 26th, 2021 @ 7:11pm CDT
In fact, now that I think about it, if one were to jump immediately from watching "The Agenda (Part III)" to "The Reformatting" and "Master of the House", that would kinda feel like history was rewritten, with only Blackarachnia being chummy with the Maximals and Megatron's dragon mode unexplained but which be written off as part of the history rewrite.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Sabrblade wrote:We got that dystopian future. It was called Beast Machines.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Always lamented the backtrack on that cliffhanger. Season 3 could have been so much more interesting. Set within a dystopian, alternate future
pic
Touché
Of course, later episodes directly calling back to BW season 3 ruin this, but still.
Posted by Triggerdick Megatron on October 26th, 2021 @ 9:36pm CDT
I thought the change to the much better style was permanent?
Posted by IHaveQuestions on October 26th, 2021 @ 10:43pm CDT
Triggerdick Megatron wrote:I see they went back to the horrible art.
I thought the change to the much better style was permanent?
I personally love Burcham's style. It brings something different to the table and adds dynamicism to the characters' movements. It lends the book its own identity. Plus, Burcham draws the best faces. They're so expressive and fun!
Posted by primalxconvoy on October 26th, 2021 @ 10:55pm CDT
IHaveQuestions wrote:Triggerdick Megatron wrote:I see they went back to the horrible art.
I thought the change to the much better style was permanent?
I personally love the inane scribblings of three year-olds. They bring something different to the table and add dynamicism to the characters' movements. They lend the book its own identity. Plus, little kids draw the best faces with thick, unwieldy pastels. They're so expressive and fun!
Fixed it for you.
Posted by IHaveQuestions on October 26th, 2021 @ 11:04pm CDT
primalxconvoy wrote:IHaveQuestions wrote:Triggerdick Megatron wrote:I see they went back to the horrible art.
I thought the change to the much better style was permanent?
I personally love the inane scribblings of three year-olds. They bring something different to the table and add dynamicism to the characters' movements. They lend the book its own identity. Plus, little kids draw the best faces with thick, unwieldy pastels. They're so expressive and fun!
Fixed it for you.
There's no accounting for taste, I suppose.
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 27th, 2021 @ 4:43am CDT
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 27th, 2021 @ 9:09am CDT
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 27th, 2021 @ 10:15am CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Indeed. While at the same time, just because you like something, doesn't mean it's good. Especially when it comes to this art on an objective level.
Even then I doubt you'll get consensus. I mean, look at modern art, or something I recently learned about in the NFT thread, invisible art. You may not care for this style but it doesn't make it bad. It just means it doesn't do anything for you. The ultimate decider on the art will be when IDW look at sales data, which will be very soon.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 27th, 2021 @ 10:24am CDT
ZeroWolf wrote:You may not care for this style but it doesn't make it bad.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Indeed. While at the same time, just because you like something, doesn't mean it's good. Especially when it comes to this art on an objective level.
As I said, objectively, this art is bad. In terms of panelling, composition, anatomy, scaling, perspective etc IE All the important arty-farty bits a professional should be trained in. Even genuinely stylised comic book art at least follows the basics.
Posted by ZeroWolf on October 27th, 2021 @ 11:16am CDT
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 27th, 2021 @ 11:31am CDT
Posted by bluecatcinema on October 27th, 2021 @ 2:02pm CDT
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 27th, 2021 @ 2:10pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on October 27th, 2021 @ 2:54pm CDT
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on October 27th, 2021 @ 2:57pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:This art aint got nothing on John Romita Jr
Given their output since IDWverse 2.0, ironically I imagine even JRJR and Rob Liefeld are likely out of IDW's price range
Posted by Sabrblade on October 27th, 2021 @ 5:55pm CDT
Jar Jar?AllNewSuperRobot wrote:JRJR
Posted by Sabrblade on October 29th, 2021 @ 2:18pm CDT
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on November 4th, 2021 @ 1:45pm CDT
I assume Razorbeast was part of the BW2/Neo series. But I only previously knew of him in media from The Gathering/Ascending (wherein he seemed a bit too generic).
If this series does end in 12 issues, however. The main positive for me would be that Skold and Nyx are cast into obscurity, toyless, where they belong.
Once more, on the art front...
It is so sad we go from this sublime cover art by Alex Milne :
To, perhaps the worst Beast Mode so far...
Perspective? Hello?
Posted by Sabrblade on November 4th, 2021 @ 1:57pm CDT
He was a Wave 1 Hasbro toy.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I assume Razorbeast was part of the BW2/Neo series.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on November 4th, 2021 @ 2:00pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:He was a Wave 1 Hasbro toy.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I assume Razorbeast was part of the BW2/Neo series.
I assumed he was part of the BW2/Neo series, based on his prevalence and importance in The Gathering/Ascending. I had the original figure.
Posted by Sabrblade on November 4th, 2021 @ 2:10pm CDT
His importance in those comics was purely Furman picking some non-show character and making them important, like what he did for Thunderwing and Bludgeon back in Marvel G1. It's a thing that Furman was known for doing.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Sabrblade wrote:He was a Wave 1 Hasbro toy.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I assume Razorbeast was part of the BW2/Neo series.
I assumed he was part of the BW2/Neo series, based on his prevalence and importance in The Gathering/Ascending. I had the original figure.
While yes, his toy was released in Japan redecoed in gold as the Beast Wars Neo character Randy (one of the most notorious, self-destructive victims of GPS ever), but he was only ever a single-episode guest star and very one-dimensional. 99% of the Western fandom hadn't even seen Randy's episode (let alone the majority of either JBW cartoon) back when The Gathering/Ascending came out. Nobody gives a hoot about Randy as a character.
Posted by william-james88 on November 4th, 2021 @ 2:10pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:He was a Wave 1 Hasbro toy.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I assume Razorbeast was part of the BW2/Neo series.
I thought the op was referring to the fictional appearance of th character, not the toy
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on November 4th, 2021 @ 2:24pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:His importance in those comics was purely Furman picking some non-show character and making them important, like what he did for Thunderwing and Bludgeon back in Marvel G1. It's a thing that Furman was known for doing.
While yes, his toy was released in Japan redecoed in gold as the Beast Wars Neo character Randy (one of the most notorious, self-destructive victims of GPS ever), but he was only ever a single-episode guest star and very one-dimensional. 99% of the Western fandom hadn't even seen Randy's episode (let alone the majority of either JBW cartoon) back when The Gathering/Ascending came out. Nobody gives a hoot about Randy as a character.
All these years and I assumed Razorbeast featured because he meant something to the Japanese series. Furman's character choices for The Gathering/Ascending continue to be infuriating...
Posted by Sabrblade on November 4th, 2021 @ 2:32pm CDT
Japan mainly only cares about Lio Convoy when it comes to the JBW-original characters.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:All these years and I assumed Razorbeast featured because he meant something to the Japanese series. Furman's character choices for The Gathering/Ascending continue to be infuriating...
As for Furman, it's just what he did in Transformers fiction. Take nobodies and try to turn them into somebodies.
Well, that, and give spotlight to Grimlock. He loves Grimlock (crafty comics Grimlock, not dumb caveman cartoon Grimlock).
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on November 4th, 2021 @ 2:37pm CDT
As per The Gathering/Ascending, there were so many (relegated to visual cameos) that would have been more interesting to use than a Warthog... Sigh
Posted by ZeroWolf on November 21st, 2021 @ 10:52am CST
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on November 21st, 2021 @ 10:55am CST
Posted by ZeroWolf on November 21st, 2021 @ 12:40pm CST
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on November 22nd, 2021 @ 9:20am CST
ZeroWolf wrote:Nope, same team. IDW probably don't see a reason to mix up the staff if sales are strong
Assuming that is mutually exclusive. Transformers as a franchise has often fell foul of people buying into anything, just to cater to their nostalgia.
Sales don't equate quality, just how many buy it.
I recently thinned out my single issue collection. Among the cull, was IDW's awful Unicron mini series and, aptly, this entire series to date. I read them through once, when they arrive and that's it. As I see no value in them, I dropped them off at a local charity shop.
Posted by Sabrblade on November 26th, 2021 @ 12:33am CST
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Sabrblade wrote:His importance in those comics was purely Furman picking some non-show character and making them important, like what he did for Thunderwing and Bludgeon back in Marvel G1. It's a thing that Furman was known for doing.
While yes, his toy was released in Japan redecoed in gold as the Beast Wars Neo character Randy (one of the most notorious, self-destructive victims of GPS ever), but he was only ever a single-episode guest star and very one-dimensional. 99% of the Western fandom hadn't even seen Randy's episode (let alone the majority of either JBW cartoon) back when The Gathering/Ascending came out. Nobody gives a hoot about Randy as a character.
All these years and I assumed Razorbeast featured because he meant something to the Japanese series. Furman's character choices for The Gathering/Ascending continue to be infuriating...
This is why Furman chose Razorbeast:
He liked the name, without ever knowing what he looked like beforehand.Razorbeast was more of a handy blank slate, onto which I could write a character. I already had the idea for ‘The Pack,’ a sort of covert Maximal Mission Impossible team, so it was matter of finding a suitable ‘agent.’ Razorbeast’s name (and the fact that he was one of the first BW toy releases in the US) kind of stood out for me, though I’m glad I didn’t actually see the toy (physically) until later. It might have put me off him.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on November 26th, 2021 @ 10:32am CST
...
I thought "The Pack" was a BW2 thing too... Dammit, Furman