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Wreckers: Tread and Circuits (2021)

Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:52 pm
by Dominic
Tread and Circuits #1:

When IDW rebooted the TF license in 2019, it was inevitable that there would be a new Wreckers series.

The Wreckers first appeared in 1986, in "Target: 2006". And, while "Target: 2006" may be unduly praised, the Wreckers were a significant contribution to the intellectual property of "Transformers", outlasting the changes that "Target: 2006 allowed at the editorial level at Marvel UK.


The relaunch of the Wreckers at BotCon 2001 seemed to capture the spirit and tone of the original team. Rather than being a cleanly regimented team that looked like a product assortment, the Wreckers were messy, consisting of obscure characters that the creative team could use because nobody else was. In other words, the Wreckers looked like they were fished out of most kids' toy boxes. (How many kids had a complete gestalt team or more than a few of the cars that anybody gave a damn about? Not as many as kids who had a Jumpstarter or 2, and maybe a TripleChanger.) And, no kid could ever get the whole team, because some long-standing members were never made as toys. (Hasbro has still never released proper figures of Xarron and Rack'nRuin.)

The BotCon relaunch was derailed in 2002, when Glen Hallit (remember him?) used the idea that nobody was safe to kill off any characters that were not made as convention exclusive toys.

In 2008, IDW relaunched the Wreckers, keeping the randomly assembled characters and properly employing the idea that nobody was safe, and applied that to a comic that forced all but the most stubborn to show that Transformers had grown beyong nostalgia-based longevity. Editorial fecklessness at IDW let to a lackluster conclusion. But, the 2008 "Last Stand of the Wreckers" is a masterpiece.

Fun Publications attempted a Wreckers series in 2015, which was mercifully curtailed by Fun Publications losing the TF license shortly after.


"Tread and Circuits" appears to be an attempt at splitting the difference between the original Wreckers and the Fun Publications Wreckers. The team looks like a shelf of random figures that a collector would have (because the comics have not been consistently aimed at kids for 15+ years), with a member or 2 that nobody is going to have without customizing. And, it attempts the "zany" banter of the Fun Publications series (itself a failed attempt at mimicking the tone of "Last Stand").

It is better than Fun Publications' offering, but (thus far) not even approaching what "Last Stand" was. And, at this point, it is impossible to recapture what the Wreckers were in "Target: 2006".

If this were an ongoing, I would probably not bother. But, I am willing to give a limited series more of a chance.

Re: Wreckers: Tread and Circuits (2021)

Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 5:44 am
by andersonh1
I'll probably give this a try. Who's writing it? How does it compare to the Wreckers from the previous IDW continuity?

Re: Wreckers: Tread and Circuits (2021)

Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 11:32 am
by Dominic
I forget the writer's name. But, it is the same guy who wrote that TF/Terminator cross-over, and has many of the same problems. (They are over-reliant on banter and bloated dialogue.)

Thus far, this is not even close to "Last Stand".

Re: Wreckers: Tread and Circuits (2021)

Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 10:08 am
by Ursus mellifera
Dominic wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 11:32 am I forget the writer's name. But, it is the same guy who wrote that TF/Terminator cross-over, and has many of the same problems. (They are over-reliant on banter and bloated dialogue.)

Thus far, this is not even close to "Last Stand".
Oh no! It's the TF/Terminator guy?! But... that series was terrible!

This one ties into the main book and everything...

Well, shoot.

Re: Wreckers: Tread and Circuits (2021)

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 10:43 am
by andersonh1
I thought issue #1 was thankfully quite different than what we got in the previous IDW continuity. No point in rebooting if there's not going to be major changes. No Springer, no Impactor, just a group of second and third stringers that appear to have become stunt performers and publicity hounds since the war. I'm not familiar with some of the members of the group, but I did recognize Thunderclash and Richochet/Stepper. Nice to see Octopunch as a villain, and I presume the "Mayhem" is a reference to the old Mayhem Attack squad. It was a light read, but entertaining enough, and it's nice to see lesser-known (to me) characters get some page time.

Re: Wreckers: Tread and Circuits (2021)

Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2021 11:03 am
by Dominic
I thought issue #1 was thankfully quite different than what we got in the previous IDW continuity.
Thankfully?

I disagreed with much of what Roche and Roberts had to say with their Wreckers trilogy. But, it was well written.

I am hoping that this series surprises me. (I am willing to give the writer another chance, as a TF/Terminator cross-over was such a dumb idea that it is easy to understand how it could be done badly.

Re: Wreckers: Tread and Circuits (2021)

Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2021 12:39 pm
by andersonh1
Dominic wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 11:03 am
I thought issue #1 was thankfully quite different than what we got in the previous IDW continuity.
Thankfully?

I disagreed with much of what Roche and Roberts had to say with their Wreckers trilogy. But, it was well written.

I am hoping that this series surprises me. (I am willing to give the writer another chance, as a TF/Terminator cross-over was such a dumb idea that it is easy to understand how it could be done badly.
"Thankfully" just because I don't want more of the same with this new continuity. I enjoyed the previous Wreckers quite a bit, I just want something different this time around.

issue 2

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2021 11:35 am
by Dominic
Tread and Circuits #2

This issue moves the plot along, despite spending a little too much time on banter.

One thing that I am not clear on: How is it that a top secret ops team is recognizable enough for gamblers to be betting on?


I would give an ongoing 1 more issue. Likely going to read through the series, against my better judgement.

Re: Wreckers: Tread and Circuits (2021)

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 4:47 pm
by Shockwave
I'm enjoying it. I also like seeing the line up changed from what we're used to, especially if it gives lesser characters a chance to shine. The concept of a covert team having public personas is not anything new. Gargoyles did that back in the 90's with The Pack.

Re: Wreckers: Tread and Circuits (2021)

Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 10:47 am
by andersonh1
Issue 2 - I like the "public persona conceals covert ops" idea, though it makes the Wreckers spies rather than hardcore commandos with a tendency to have a large body count. In fact we're told in this issue that the injury is the first one for the team in a long, long time. So I enjoyed the various members doing some recon, trying to get the lay of the land before the race begins. This all still feels like setup, but hopefully we're done with that and on to the action as of the end of the issue. I'm enjoying it.