TF Views

Never did post any thoughts on issue 3. Hmmm... on to issue 4, which I picked up today. They didn't put a copy in my pull list, but I got the last copy from the shelf.

Tread & Circuits #4 - a decent wrap-up that reveals pretty much everything that was going on and leaves some loose ends for future iterations of this particular Wreckers team. I like that they did something different with the Wreckers concept, and that there are enough characters in the Transformers universe that this little side story of the lead-up to the war could be told with a bunch of b and c-listers we don't see much of. Nice to see Octopunch used as a villain after I don't recall him appearing at all in the previous IDW continuity.

I think that Octopunch showed up late in the "-ation" run. Maybe in "Stormbringer". (He was not used in any significant way, but I think he was used.)


Issue 4:
"Tread and Circuits" was a good effort. The plan was clearly to borrow and build on ideas from the last "Wreckers" series. Mariotte (the writer) tried to write a coherent story that could be read with or without the Easter Eggs. (The Easter Eggs would have carried more value if the art had been better. But, IDW's second run with TF has been defined by weak art.)

There were legitimately good moments, and use of gimmicks. (The use of the Pretender shells highlights how under-used the idea has been in older comics.) And, Mariotte deserves full credit for making Knockout a bad guy, rather than the Tumblr friendly icon that the character had been reduced to. (The depraved scientist idea would not have worked in this case. But, smooth-talking demagogue worked in this case.)

But, "Tread and Circuits" lacked the inner conflict of the previous "Wreckers".

Similar to "Escape", the end is meant to set up for additional comics. Unfortunately, with IDW losing the license, the follow-up is unlikely happen. (Maybe IDW can release a scripts and drafts book before losing the license?)