Transformers 2019 (IDW comic series) discussion

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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Ursus mellifera
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Re: Transformers 2019 (IDW comic series) discussion

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andersonh1 wrote: Wed Mar 02, 2022 5:21 am Given that everyone who wanted to evacuate went to Darkmount, I wonder if this series will end with the Autobots evacuating Cybertron in the one remaining Ark, leaving an open-ended, ongoing war but with a note of hope that Cybertron can be retaken?
Honestly, this is what I'm assuming will happen. The book will end with the Ark leaving Cybertron, and possibly even crashing on prehistoric Earth, with the assumption that everyone reading knows where it's going from there.
Check it out, a honey bear! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkajou
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issue 41

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Transformers #41:

This issue picks up threads from previous issues and "War's End".

As is the case with most origin stories, the inevitable end sets up for a status quo that is largely familiar (particularly the origin is published after the status quo has been established).

The nuance of previous issues is gone, and even new readers would have no question about which side individual characters have chosen. (Wheeljack, shown to be influenced by Termagax in early issues, is openly critical of Decepticon philosophy in this issue.) Cybertron is the ruined hell-hole of a world familiar to fans of previous iterations of "Transformers". And, the Autobots are backfooted, which is where most TF comics start.

The art is not great, but it has been worse.
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Re: Transformers 2019 (IDW comic series) discussion

Post by andersonh1 »

It's a good issue, as always with this series, though it's one of those "middle chapters" with very little plot resolution. I like that Strika is not intimidated by the Titan, but evaluates the situation before deciding whether to retreat or not, and ultimately thinks there's still a chance. I had wondered if Optimus would end up evacuating the planet, and now that seems like exactly how this series will end. I can't help but think events are playing out faster than they would have if Ruckley had more time and more issues, so as Dom notes, we're probably getting a truncated ending. But at least it's an ending, not an abrupt stop like Dreamwave, since IDW know the end is coming and have time to wrap things up.

I'll miss it when it's over.

Good things about this issue:
- the Apeface/Blitzwing rivalry continues. "Hey look, Blitzwing, I'm fighting and everything!"
- Obsidian gets a good hit on Computron, who accounts for himself well during the fight
- Optimus gets through to Strika, who is well written in this series. She's picked a side, but she's no fool.
- the insecticon horde has not been forgotten, it's been attacking Darkmount non-stop
- The Autobots really have been written into a no-win situation here, I don't see any other ending for the series other than evacuating. It's like that first episode of the G1 cartoon, they're on the "verge of extinction".
- "If we continue tearing at one another, the victor will inherit dust and rubble. Or death at Exarchon's hands."
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War's End #2

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War's End #2:

Aside from a panel or 2 that give specific time-reference to the main series (specifically the arrival of the lost titan and Megatron's side of the negotiation with Prime), this could simply have been another issue of the main series. (Honestly, I would be hard-pressed to see why this is a separate mini-series).

The scene with the Decepticon techs asking Megatron how badly he wants a titan is likely setting up for Megatron's going all the way to being the bad guy we recall him being. (Even if there were not a Titan or two it could be used for, I would not expect Megatron to sacrifice a potential weapon, even if it meant saving his world).)

If IDW were not losing the license by the end of summer, I would recommend it to more people.
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Re: Transformers 2019 (IDW comic series) discussion

Post by andersonh1 »

Escape was exactly the same. It could easily have been part of the main series. My guess is that IDW wanted to publish two books a month, and running a mini-series alongside the main series is how they're doing it.

I liked the second issue better than the first. It feels like more happened and we got some answers about Exarchon. Specifically his goal to reach the Allspark and become Cybertron is fairly ominous, and he may well be able to do it.

Some of Team Stream express the view that this isn't the war they signed up for, showing that not all Decepticons are 100% on board with Megatron. Speaking of which, his frustration that the universe will not simply yield to his will is amusing. He doesn't take resistance well. If nothing else, we get confirmation that his seeming agreement to a truce with Prime was just a ploy. I'm not surprised.
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Re: Transformers 2019 (IDW comic series) discussion

Post by andersonh1 »

Any idea what the last issue will be? I doubt we'll get to #50, which would be a nice round number.
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Re: Transformers 2019 (IDW comic series) discussion

Post by Dominic »

I think that the main book has 2 issues left, plus the one-shot to tie it all off.
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Transformers #42 and War's End #3

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Transformers #42 and War's End #3:

These issues dove-tail nicely, and are set more or less simultaneiously. ("War's End" works a little better if read first, but the differences are minor.)

Ruckley is possibly my favorite TF writer. As much as I like guys like Costa or Saracinni, Ruckley is damned good. Unlike IDW's first round with the license, the second (Ruckley-penned) run manages to hold closer to the original series, while still doing something new.

The scene that really highlighted this was when Blackjack and his team joined up with Six Shot and Pyra's team (as they fought Exarchon's contingent). Blackjack is really good at reading odds and making decisions. He is siding with the "safer" team, and is smart enough to know that some of his team are not trustworthy, which calls back to his old character profile.

In addition to some other nice character moments (Geomotus and Landmine in the cave, or Magnus' offhand comments about Sky Lynx), both issues fit together very well. They are a good example of how to do a seamless cross-over between two concurrent issues of a comic (with characters in each issuereferencing events and such in the other).

-late edit: Exarchon mentions a third party that he is working for, which I assume is the Quintessons.


And, after heaping all that praise on the comics, I feel the need to point out that the series is ending this summer.
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Re: Transformers #42 and War's End #3

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Dominic wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 4:39 pm Transformers #42 and War's End #3:

These issues dove-tail nicely, and are set more or less simultaneiously. ("War's End" works a little better if read first, but the differences are minor.)

Ruckley is possibly my favorite TF writer. As much as I like guys like Costa or Saracinni, Ruckley is damned good. Unlike IDW's first round with the license, the second (Ruckley-penned) run manages to hold closer to the original series, while still doing something new.

The scene that really highlighted this was when Blackjack and his team joined up with Six Shot and Pyra's team (as they fought Exarchon's contingent). Blackjack is really good at reading odds and making decisions. He is siding with the "safer" team, and is smart enough to know that some of his team are not trustworthy, which calls back to his old character profile.

In addition to some other nice character moments (Geomotus and Landmine in the cave, or Magnus' offhand comments about Sky Lynx), both issues fit together very well. They are a good example of how to do a seamless cross-over between two concurrent issues of a comic (with characters in each issuereferencing events and such in the other).

-late edit: Exarchon mentions a third party that he is working for, which I assume is the Quintessons.


And, after heaping all that praise on the comics, I feel the need to point out that the series is ending this summer.
One of the things I particularly enjoyed in issue 42 was Optimus Prime's strongly held intention to preserve what he can of Cybertron, and his belief that at the end of the day, Cybertron, the Autobots and the Decepticons are all connected parts of a whole. He'll fight if he must, but he's not hateful, he's not vengeful, and he's not in "kill them all" mode. This is how I often picture Optimus Prime, because he needs to be the moral center of the Autobot cause if we're to believe that most of them look up to him and follow him. He's flawed and fallible, certainly, but he should also embody an ideal that inspires the others. I feel like Ruckley is capturing the character very well.

I also enjoyed the illustration that both Strika and Sixshot are more pragmatic and in some ways honorable than many of the other Decepticons. Optimus theorizes that Strika was recalled because she wouldn't have broken the truce in the way that Jhiaxus does, and Sixshot is more than willing to band with the Autobots to fight Exarchon, who is a much bigger threat.

The Quintessence can't help but make me think of the Quintessons, and Ruckley has referred back to the old animated series at other times, so it may well be them who changed Exarchon.

I've said it before, but I will be sorry to see this series and this continuity end. It's my favorite Transformers continuity in a long time.
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Re: Transformers 2019 (IDW comic series) discussion

Post by Dominic »

Transformers #43:

This issue is mostly focused on tying off plot-threads before the end of the series. By the standards of this series, this issue is rushed (with 2 problems neatly resolving each other). It otherwise reads like a generic set-up for a series that will never be. It is not Ruckley's fault. But, if somebody is not reading the series now, there is little reason for them to start.

2 more issues left, "War's End #4" and "Fate of Cybertron". I am not sure why IDW is ending their run with "Transformers" with a random one-shot (that people with subscriptions are likely to miss). But, they are losing the license, so they probably do not care.
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