More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

The modern comics universe has had such a different take on G1, one that's significantly represented by the Generations toys, so they share a forum. A modern take on a Real Cybertronian Hero. Currently starring Generations toys, IDW "The Transformers" comics, MTMTE, TF vs GI Joe, and Windblade. Oh wait, and now Skybound, wheee!
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JediTricks
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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I just read the issue last night, and it really made me smile. Sparky gave the basics to plotpoints, but the joy wasn't merely in what was going on but why and how and everything everyone said, and Rodimus scrabble-tiling Ultra Magnus' nameplate, and Tailgate on the Back to the Future hoverboard flying about, Ratchet learning how to communicate with his friends, the questioning of equal justice. The writing here is able to get the reader invested in turning the page and even going back a few times without any action scenes at all, and the art is refreshing and fun after 2 issues of Livio in combiner wars. The crew seems to buy Brainstorm's claims, I'm not so sure though. Ten was great.

The only sticking point for me was Ratchet's freakout about Drift's mistreatment of justice, when he was already informed that Drift fell on his sword to take the fall for much larger choices made by higher-ups.


This issue takes place just before Drift Empire of Stone but also before Combiner Wars #2.
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See, that one's a camcorder, that one's a camera, that one's a phone, and they're doing "Speak no evil, See no evil, Hear no evil", get it?
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Read issue 40 last night.

It very much epitomizes one of the main traits of this series. Most of the characters are reprehensible. They are the sort of individuals no sensible person would want in their lives and are mostly defined by the habits and traits we try to limit in ourselves. But, they are fun to read about.

Brainstorm's trial nicely illustrates that point. Most of the crew are irresponsible and feckless. Rodimus has caused more problems than most any other character in IDW TF, and is not even trying to make things right so much as he hopes that the problems go away. Many of the ships problems, including those that arguably mitigated Brainstorm's and Rewind's actions, could have been avoided had the crew been more sensible and mature to start with.

"More than Meets the Eye" still tends to be a little too "feelsy-weelsy". But, it is generally readable. It is not the best thing on my pull-file. But, it is not the weakest book either.

Grade: C
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Dominic wrote:It very much epitomizes one of the main traits of this series. Most of the characters are reprehensible. They are the sort of individuals no sensible person would want in their lives and are mostly defined by the habits and traits we try to limit in ourselves. But, they are fun to read about.
I forget where I read about it (or even listened to it) recently but someone put out the possibility that maybe the Lost Light crew are getting more "morally reprehensible" because god damn Megatron is leading their ship, and that eventually that may come to a head. It'd be interesting to see a lot of the crew have to fess up to some of the things they've been up to and really confront if they were "that bad all along" or if they were "corrupted by Megatron."
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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"Megatron made them do it" does not cover any of the characters from the first two years worth of that comic.

If anything, one of the "squirmier" elements of post "Dark Cybertron" "More than Meets the Eye" is that Megatron is one of the better adjusted and morally stable crew members. (This is partly a testament to Megatron, and more an indictment of the major characters.) I am not saying that this is a problem for the book itself. But, it is an example of "characters that are worth reading about are not necessarily the sorts of people one might want in their own life".


Hoist: The Hoist "Spotlight" specifies that Hoise stands out among the crew for being relatively well-adjusted and professional.

Rodimus: Self aggrandizing asshole who cannot imagine how somebody under his command might have a mental disorder. As pointed out in a recent issue (by Megatron), Rodimus set up a reward system based on his own face in response to a crisis in morale brought about by his own ineptitude. The guy also designed a submarine to look like himself. Rodimus' bungling was part of the reason that Optimus came out of retirement. Allowed a subordinate (Drift) to take the fall for his failings. Gleefully lead the crew on a raid that was more focused on torturing Decepticons rather than any specific tactical goal. (The fact that most of the crew went along with this plan is not a point in their favour.)

Red Alert: Paranoid lunatic who most people suspected of being suicidal. (The fact that he was chief of security is an indictment of the ship's command staff.)

Ultra Magnus: Nice enough guy. But, severe OCD.

Trailbreaker: A drunkard who would probably have issues holding a real job.

Drift: As written by Roberts, a directionless tool who ghost wrote speeches for his inept leaders. (In this context, it is hard to feel bad about him being booted off the ship.)

Brainstorm: Wreckelss and depraved scientist who puts others at risk for the sake of his own carreer.

Chromedome: How about that time he let Overlord out after deciding to screw with the monster's brain, just for kicks? There is a solid and dependable guy for you.

Perceptor: Not quite as wreckless as Brainstorm. But, he was all too willing to mess with, and destroy, a fragile time machine without considering the consequences. (His tinkering with the briefcase fundamentally altered the workings of the universe. He later casually destroyed the same briefcase.

Swerve: Runs a low grade bar that serves watered down booze. Is inattentive enough that somebody was able to poison the inventory, and takes under-handed steps against legitimate competition. Willing to play games with a corrupt/inept leader for political and commercial benefit. (Swerve is a favourite character of mine. But, he is not admirable by any stretch.)

Tailgate: Neurotic little twit who lies about his professional credentials ("bomb disposal"), yet is incapable of standing on his own (as evidenced by his co-dependence with Cyclonus).

Cyclonus: Oh, where to begin.....

Whirl: Started the war by....beating a prisoner. Made decisions with global (and galactic consenquences) for the sake of personal grudges. Uses the body parts of fallen enemies to have private puppet shows (as seen in issue 1).

Nautica: Her interactions with Ravage could be read either as bullying for fun or as legitimate bigotry.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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#41 was a very strange issue, "The Sensuous Frame". It started out not with roll call or with Swerve catching us up or any of that nonsense, but instead with a piece of a Tennyson poem and then a page of dawning stars with a statement about the interesting people the crew has met. Then we get dragged into a lot of light interpersonal material that isn't given much weight, and the inclusion of Mirage places this issue also before Combiner Wars. This was the first MTMTE I felt like it was decompressed too far, and self-indulgent. I found the robot dance floor fun, but a bit childish and filler. And the stuff with Nautica and the other fembots felt uncomfortably close to "girl" stereotype writing. It was a dense book and it did have a motivation for all of this, lots to read and look at, but not much story and it felt like the end could have easily been the midpoint of an issue without the excesses.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Ain't read it yet. (Still catching up on recently bought comics. But, honestly, tone of the things keeping "More than Meets the Eye" and the Hama Joe book on my pull-list is to keep the list from being all Marvel event through August.)

we get dragged into a lot of light interpersonal material that isn't given much weight,
Roberts plays a long game. There is likely to be pay-off later, maybe during year 5. But, there there is likely to be pay-off of some kind.

Roberts might also be a taking an issue to catch his breath and take stock.

I found the robot dance floor fun, but a bit childish and filler.
Does not sound much different from the "movie night" stuff in the early issues, Swerve's bar....

And the stuff with Nautica and the other fembots felt uncomfortably close to "girl" stereotype writing.
Maybe a stylistic riff?



Some of the the above is stuff that I would complain about. But, none of it (save possibly for the Nautica stuff) sounds unusual for this book.

Either way, I am going to make a decision about this and Hama Joe in August, depending on what Marvel and DC are doing at that point.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Making excuses for a book you haven't read yet, that's a good one.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Chromedome: How about that time he let Overlord out after deciding to screw with the monsters brain, just for kicks? There is a solid and dependable guy for you.
I just reread this not too long ago. Weren't they trying to figure something else out, but Chromedome got too overzealous?
Tailgate: Neurotic little twit who lies about his professional credentials ("bomb disposal"), yet is incapable of standing on his own (as evidenced by his co-dependence with Cyclonus).
Aw, c'mon. Tailgate only lied to fit in, not out of malice. Isn't that the overall theme anyway? "We're all human, after all?" Except for, uh, robots. I think they say "people." "We're all people, right?" Whatever. You get my point.

(Actually, that was always my selling point to TF as a mythos to the uninitiated. This actually turned my father around on the franchise at some point or another. Despite being gigantic alien space robots, they are locked in an eternal war because of their inability to understand each other. It's not the human condition. It's the living condition.)
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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Making excuses for a book you haven't read yet, that's a good one.
My point is that pretty much everything you said sounds like "another issue of MtMtE". The crew is being all friendly and acting way too human? Extended conversation scenes that show Roberts' skill with dialogue and show off the character dynamics, with the possibility of pay-off later?

Yeah, sounds like "More than Meets the Eye".

I just reread this not too long ago. Weren't they trying to figure something else out, but Chromedome got too overzealous?

He was playing around and got several of his crewmates killed, regardless of pretext.

Aw, c'mon. Tailgate only lied to fit in, not out of malice. Isn't that the overall theme anyway?
My point is that the crew of the Lost Light consists of miscreants and idiots. Tailgate is one among many. Having reprehensible characters is fine. But, they are reprehensible.
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Re: More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

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#42:
Ain't even picked up issue 41 yet. Still trying to catch up on "Secret Wars". My current "too read" pile at home is more than my "to buy" file at the shop.

Gonna be a while.
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