McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

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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Re: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

Post by Onslaught Six »

andersonh1 wrote:
JediTricks wrote:On a limited miniseries that's only 4 issues, I don't understand the desire to wait for the trade. What's the benefit? Saving a few bucks, a paltry extra feature? Or is it story impatience?
It's not financial, no, not for a miniseries. But since I didn't feel like picking up the the first issue when it was out, I'd end up buying multiple issues now to get caught up, and at this point I may as well just wait and get the trade. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Kinda this; plus, if you aren't really able to get to a comic shop reliably (like me; I'm never guaranteed to have a good opportunity during the week to get out to mine in town when it's open) then it's better to wait for the trade.
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: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

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Okie doke, I guess that makes sense. Kinda sad though, floppies are cool.


So I read issue 3 last night and I have to wonder why Shane McCarthy bothers writing for Transformers since this issue has one long hatefest on Transformers and how they're pointless. He even describes them as not creating anything, this despite MTMTE showing art and literature and creation a'plenty. Shane is just out of touch with the current face of the brand. Also, these characters are no longer DOING much of anything, we're watching a lot of thumb-twiddling in this issue. And once again, the art doesn't live up to the pricetag on the book.
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Re: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

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In the long run, is Roberts' take (as seen in MtMtE likely to stick, or will it be the "Transformers have a stiff learning curve" angle that was inherent to the brand since the beginning?
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Re: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

Post by BWprowl »

Dominic wrote:In the long run, is Roberts' take (as seen in MtMtE likely to stick, or will it be the "Transformers have a stiff learning curve" angle that was inherent to the brand since the beginning?
Roberts said in some tweets that he and IDW were 'super excited for the G1 Universe and where it's heading', and his book is doing gangbusters and handily becoming the 'face' of IDW's TF, so I think his horrible plans for the line are the ones that are going to last in the long run.

I'm presuming that 'where it's heading' is some event to finally excise transformation from all the characters, or something to that effect.
JediTricks wrote:So I read issue 3 last night and I have to wonder why Shane McCarthy bothers writing for Transformers since this issue has one long hatefest on Transformers and how they're pointless. He even describes them as not creating anything, this despite MTMTE showing art and literature and creation a'plenty. Shane is just out of touch with the current face of the brand. Also, these characters are no longer DOING much of anything, we're watching a lot of thumb-twiddling in this issue. And once again, the art doesn't live up to the pricetag on the book.
How is this any different from Roberts' continuous diatribes on hating transformation in TFs and how it's evil and fascist?

This issue (which I liked more than the previous two, btw) had a lot in common with Costa's run, calling the 'endless war' aspect of TF into question (and to be fair, it's a good question). It's less of a 'hatefest' on TF itself and more on the long-running aspects of it (which admittedly, have fallen by the wayside in 'current' IDW TF). TFs can still keep bein' TFs, but they would do well to move onto doing different things than War. I felt there was plenty of action and stuff happenin' here, anyway. Loyalties shifted, other characters got revealed as to what was going on, hell there was even a decent amount of transformation (Vanquish still turns into half a jet! Awesome!). It was an enjoyable read.
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Re: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

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Dominic wrote:In the long run, is Roberts' take (as seen in MtMtE likely to stick, or will it be the "Transformers have a stiff learning curve" angle that was inherent to the brand since the beginning?
Tragically, with the brand changing management over and over every few years, I doubt we'll ever really keep that richer world where these characters are defined as much by who they are as they are by what they can do, and that's the sort of thing that's always held Transformers back. But it could stick, the brand could recognize the value in creating characters that exist beyond the simplistic play patterns they started out as, it could try to grow the legacy into real lore worthy of true attention... AHAHAHAHAHA! No, I jest, this is a line destined to suffer being a kiddie toy line forever, Hasbro has not a clue how to let real story develop into something that breaches the small number of fans it currently has. It will ebb and flow with the generations of kid buyers who come and go, but no, it's stuck in the storytelling mode that it started out as. Between the kids who don't participate in the higher storytelling going on here, and the fans who reject it because it has new ideas that build off the past rather than stick rigidly to that past, there's no hope of it lasting the test of time. Ironic, no? The very definition of what the Functionalists of Cybertron are doing in MTMTE is the fate of the brand.
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Re: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

Post by andersonh1 »

JediTricks wrote:Okie doke, I guess that makes sense. Kinda sad though, floppies are cool.
Agreed, and I hardly ever skip them in favor of the trade. This has just turned out to be one of those rare exceptions to the rule.
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Re: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

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Compilations display better (and can still be stored in Silver Age bags) and generally have back-matter that single issues lack. They make more sense.

Over the years I have gone from sometimes "upgrading" to compilations to buying single issues to kill time between compilations and now simply waiting for said compilations in some cases.
No, I jest, this is a line destined to suffer being a kiddie toy line forever, Hasbro has not a clue how to let real story develop into something that breaches the small number of fans it currently has.
Not sure it is fair to blame Hasbro. Are they really holding the content back, or are they neglecting it? (I tend to think it is the latter.)

Tragically, with the brand changing management over and over every few years, I doubt we'll ever really keep that richer world where these characters are defined as much by who they are as they are by what they can do, and that's the sort of thing that's always held Transformers back
It is also perception among non-fans. There are still plenty of people (comic fans and otherwise) who will shit on TF comics/fans for being....TF. I can understand the stigma. Saying "TF had a linear story for the course of years when many comics were falling in to static patterns" is a tough sell.


Part of the "legacy and lore" that I always liked was that TFs had that mental block. They were depicted as hugely powerful alien space robots. But, they had no idea where they came from (not unlike humans in a sense). And, they had a slow learning curve. This idea goes back to the G1 cartoon. ("Five Faces of Darkness" is not well animated executed. But, I always liked that concept for the TF origin better than any others.) It showed up in G2, Dreamwave, Bayformers and has been teased in IDW.

Being an enormous space robot is an advantage. But, when they encounter a highly adaptable species (humans), that advantage is diminished. (Many of the big "upgrades" in the old Marvel series involved TFs using non-Cybertronian tech/species.) That still learning curve accented the "changes over time", particularly in Costa's run. (3 years after AHM, the Transformers were still flailing around like headless chickens while humans had been developing tech to kill Cybertronians and rebuilding cities/institutions that Cybertronians were arguably unable to have build in the first place.)

The irony is that Roberts is introducing the idea of Cybertronians being dynamic and flexible at exactly the time that the comics are becoming more generic. "Dark Cybertron" was a generic comic event. (Hasbro may have mandated character appearances. But, I doubt they mandated the generic event as a whole.) After Dark Cyberton, several dead characters were raised. And, Optimus has returned to fight Decepticons....on Earth. (And, Thundercracker is with them.)

The presence of characters like Megatronn and Ravage in "More than Meets the Eye" means that any changes in that book are less likely to stick. I hope that Megatron and Ravage stay in space. I hope that Starscream does not go back to the Decepticons. I want BB and Shockwave to stay dead. But, the more I look at the comics, the more I doubt those things will happen.

Between the kids who don't participate in the higher storytelling going on here, and the fans who reject it because it has new ideas that build off the past rather than stick rigidly to that past, there's no hope of it lasting the test of time.
This is not unique to Transfans. It happens with comics in general.

There are plenty of kids and backwards adults who do not like change.

Many of the new/younger readers who have gotten in to comics with "New 52" DC or Marvel's movies are falling for tricks that guys like me just shake our heads at. (I spotted "Axis" for being crap when it came out. But, somewhere, somebody thinks that it is awesome and legitimately going to matter in a year or so.) There are fans who were annoyed by Slott's run on "Spider-Man" because it was not Peter Parker fighing a member of the Sinister 6 in yet another predictable punch-fest.

That is not much different from the people who complain about Megatron leading a ship full of Autobots or who are offended at the idea of Starscream running Cybertron. (I know a GeeWunner who actually sees that as a great wrong that must be righted.)


Meanwhile, I stick with "More than Meets the Eye" partly out of habit, dreading a return to stasis-quo that will be masked by yet another temporary "big change". (I want to be wrong about the return to stasis-quo. But, I do not expect to be.)
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Re: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

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Dominic wrote:There are fans who were annoyed by Slott's run on "Spider-Man" because it was not Peter Parker fighing a member of the Sinister 6 in yet another predictable punch-fest.
Or the ridiculously over the top body switching we all knew wouldn't last to begin with. I'd agree comics need some changes that stick, but not every status quo change is good.
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Re: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

Post by JediTricks »

Dominic wrote:
No, I jest, this is a line destined to suffer being a kiddie toy line forever, Hasbro has not a clue how to let real story develop into something that breaches the small number of fans it currently has.
Not sure it is fair to blame Hasbro. Are they really holding the content back, or are they neglecting it? (I tend to think it is the latter.)
Hasbro keeps a hand in everything that happens, and insisted upon Dark Cybertron which derailed 2 fantastic books and left one broken and the other scrambling to rebuild. That doesn't sound like neglect, that sounds like meddling.
Tragically, with the brand changing management over and over every few years, I doubt we'll ever really keep that richer world where these characters are defined as much by who they are as they are by what they can do, and that's the sort of thing that's always held Transformers back
It is also perception among non-fans. There are still plenty of people (comic fans and otherwise) who will shit on TF comics/fans for being....TF. I can understand the stigma. Saying "TF had a linear story for the course of years when many comics were falling in to static patterns" is a tough sell.
That's a chicken and the egg problem though, is the brand suffering in the eyes of non-fans because it can't tell stories since it's only a toy line for kids? Or is the brand stuck telling stories that come off as selling toys to kids because the stigma keeps Hasbro from entertaining the idea of growing the brand?

2 years ago TF:RID and MTMTE had real, honest-to-goodness buzz in my comic shop, customers and employees alike, and unfortunately now the titles don't enjoy any buzz. People who had left the brand, people who had never been part of the brand, they were starting to hear about how good the twin storytelling elements of RID and MTMTE were and it was building positive response. Now it's eroded.
Between the kids who don't participate in the higher storytelling going on here, and the fans who reject it because it has new ideas that build off the past rather than stick rigidly to that past, there's no hope of it lasting the test of time.
This is not unique to Transfans. It happens with comics in general.

There are plenty of kids and backwards adults who do not like change.

Many of the new/younger readers who have gotten in to comics with "New 52" DC or Marvel's movies are falling for tricks that guys like me just shake our heads at. (I spotted "Axis" for being crap when it came out. But, somewhere, somebody thinks that it is awesome and legitimately going to matter in a year or so.) There are fans who were annoyed by Slott's run on "Spider-Man" because it was not Peter Parker fighing a member of the Sinister 6 in yet another predictable punch-fest.
This isn't just about comics though, this is about the heart of the brand's storytelling across all media, even the toys. The storytelling days of RID and MTMTE and even War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron, to say nothing of TF: Animated, are in our past. The brand is looking more like GI Joe every day - losing grip with fans and kids at the same time that corporate is choking the life out of it. Those games, comics, and even shows were the results of strong visions rather than Hasbro groupthink. The fans need to be led to the new through quality work, not pandered to and stuck in a downward spiral.
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Re: McCarthy's new Drift book has Gigatron in it

Post by Dominic »

Hasbro keeps a hand in everything that happens, and insisted upon Dark Cybertron which derailed 2 fantastic books and left one broken and the other scrambling to rebuild. That doesn't sound like neglect, that sounds like meddling.

Did Hasbro insist on the use of certain characters, or the stupid event? (I honestly do not recall.)

2 years ago TF:RID and MTMTE had real, honest-to-goodness buzz in my comic shop, customers and employees alike, and unfortunately now the titles don't enjoy any buzz. People who had left the brand, people who had never been part of the brand, they were starting to hear about how good the twin storytelling elements of RID and MTMTE were and it was building positive response. Now it's eroded.

Well, that is comics. If a book goes bad (stigma or corporate mandates be damned), it loses fans.

And, the stigma is alive and well at my comic shop. There is also the fact that there are other comics, some of which are better.


The brand is looking more like GI Joe every day - losing grip with fans and kids at the same time that corporate is choking the life out of it. Those games, comics, and even shows were the results of strong visions rather than Hasbro groupthink.

That goes far beyond comics, you are correct. The toys have cheaper designs. The toys are not well distributed. But, what is to be done about that?

But, this gets to something Costa said a few years ago. Do you want comics/toys/cartoons, or do you want *Transformers* comics/toys/cartoons. Personally, I am in for comics. If the TF comics go bad, there are plenty of other options.

The fans need to be led to the new through quality work, not pandered to and stuck in a downward spiral.


Not quite. *New* fans need to be led in. But, many older fans want to be pandered to.



As for the comics...

Empire of Stone #4:
Not bad as a simple adventure story. McCarthy tried to add some subtext. (Gigatron being destroyed by his schemes, Hellbat being a fallen Drift.) But, the end result was the sort of thing that would have been better as a back-up or a one-shot. (Stylistically, that is probalby what McCarthy was going for. But, it does not work as well in a 4 issue series.)
Grade: B/C
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