First issue impressions (and it goes without saying that there are spoilers):
Rather than spoiler tag all of it, I"ll just leave some space. Don't read if you don't want to know things ahead of time. One or two things are tagged.
- the current Transformers logo is pretty bland. That's not IDW's fault, I know.
- I was expecting a first issue to cost more, but the book is $3.99 thankfully. Glad to be wrong about the price.
- The art is not hyper-detailed, and I think that works to the issue's advantage.
- We get six characters, five pre-existing ones and one new, as far as I know. And for the most part, there are no surprises in the character choices: Optimus (here named Orion Pax), Megatron, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Windblade and Rubble.
- And technically a seventh with
Brainstorm's corpse (?) ... if he's actually dea
d.
- I feel the same way about Windblade that some fans felt about Drift when he was introduced: I just don't think she's as awesome as she's been made out to be. I could care less about the character. I'd rather less-developed G1 characters get some page time and growth rather than giving those things to new characters. But it's not a deal-breaker.
- Despite the restart, some concepts from previous IDW continuity have carried over, including "forged" Transformers and Titans.
- with so many existing characters, did we need a new one (Rubble) as our POV character?
- Do we really need to go back to Optimus being named Orion Pax?
- I prefer Optimus and Megatron as strangers when they first meet during the war, not old friends, but that's just a storytelling preference of mine. IDW have gone the "old friends" route here, and it's done about as well as can be expected
- there are humanoid aliens on Cybertron, but very little explanation is given. Bumblebee and Windblade are familiar with them.
- The dialogue has some moments of light humor, but is mercifully free of the quipping and snark that had come to characterize MTMTE/Lost Light, and which had made those books impossible to read.
- There are protests in the streets, and Megatron is involved, so the peaceful utopia is already in some societal turmoil.
- continued in two weeks... I like bi-weekly comics. I"ll be back for part two.
Overall: Nothing refreshingly new, nothing horribly bad. It's a Transformers comic, free of the increasingly convoluted and unworkable corner IDW had written themselves into with the post-war comics. I won't miss those books at all. I can't say I was enthused about this issue, but I did enjoy it, and will give it some more time to see how things play out before committing to a regular monthly purchase. I like the back to basics approach, and though they could and should have been more innovative, it's not a bad start.