New Drift TPB

[138 Scourge]

Like I said, it is not that the character is dead. It is that the character was killed off as part of an oh-so-clever in-joke in a mainline book.

Yeah, but that kind of shit goes on all the time in these things. And maybe Tipton could have put it better, but people insisting on everything having a big meaning in the overall story, even if it's just a background gag, well, that does lend itself to dumb controversies like this one.

[Dominic]

I am less concerned with the book being consistent, (as there are larger burps than this), than I am about self0-indulgent writers or artists holding court. This does not rise to the level of Peter David's tantrums in the mid 90s, but damn if I want to be paying $4 to see who IDW is razzing any given month. (Mind you, the same goes for any other company.)

[andersonh1]

All right, issue #3... hopefully with no controversial background characters being offed. I didn't check to see.

This issue shows the turning point for Drift. And it’s interesting that he basically makes the right choice based on selfish reasons. His choice is, on one level, to go along with the aliens and with Lockdown in order to avoid being killed. But on another level, Drift’s choice is between Megatron’s personal choice and approval of him, and the chance to get the kind of life he’s always wanted. He says later on that helping to defend the third faction’s hidden city is simply the right thing to do, but Drift has done a lot of terrible things because he previously believed those were the right thing to do, so "right" doesn't always mean "moral" when it comes to how Drift makes his choices. However, his moral compass is in the process of being realigned here, but it’s not as abrupt and clean-cut a change as it might seem on first glance. He’s taking some steps on the journey to being a more moral individual, but he’s not there yet.

Part of his change of direction also stems from his friendship with Wing. It will be interesting to see if Thundercracker’s interaction with Bumblebee and the Autobots in the ongoing series has a similar effect. It’s one thing for Drift to shoot down nameless Autobots from across a battlefield, particularly when they’re shooting back. It’s another to lead an entire city and a friend to the slaughter to save his own neck. Would he have done that earlier, while he was still Turmoil’s second in command? Possibly so, if he thought it would help win the war. It's hard to say. But things have certainly changed. I don't think Wing's approach would work with very many Decepticon characters, so the justification for Drift's creation becomes more evident.

What we’re seeing in this mini-series is something I enjoy quite a bit, and that’s a story of redemption. Drift took a very dark path under Megatron’s leadership, and did some terrible things for what he considered a laudable goal. But now he’s seen that there’s another way and slowly but surely he’s turning aside from what he was.

The art is still a little confusing to me, mainly because so many of the characters look so similar. Everything is well-drawn, but some more distinctive character models would have been helpful. There are a lot of nice touches in the issue, with the inclusion of Lockdown being a particular highlight.

[Sydew]

I enjoyed this issue but I don't see Drift as enlightened as I saw him in AHM, maybe is something addressed in ish 4. I find the slavers very interesting, the idea of the upgrading towards the technological has potential who knows into what this race has upgraded to in the present day.

[andersonh1]

I enjoyed this issue but I don't see Drift as enlightened as I saw him in AHM, maybe is something addressed in ish 4.

We don't really know how much time passed between the events of this series and Drift's spotlight or All Hail Megatron. So there's room for the character to grow, even if we don't see it happen in issue 4.

That was part of my point with discussing Drift's motivations in this issue. I think it makes sense that he doesn't instantly pivot from treason and murder and violence to trying to help save lives because it's the right thing to do. His motivation at this point is that he doesn't want to lose the potential better life that he sees with the third faction, and possibly friendship with Wing figures into the equation as well. He's moving from doing the wrong thing (ending the war) for possibly laudable reasons to doing the right thing for selfish reasons. This change is gradual, and I honestly think it would be less believable if we saw a more sudden move towards selflessness in issue 4. But we'll see what McCarthy has in mind.

I find the slavers very interesting, the idea of the upgrading towards the technological has potential who knows into what this race has upgraded to in the present day.

Agreed. And it makes sense out of their interest in the Transformers and Drift.

[Dominic]

Drift #3:
I certainly wrote enough about this series last week. Somewhere, a fan is howling about McCarthy ruining Lockdown. But, nobody cares about that fan's impotent rage. This issue shows Drift's final face-turn. The title character seems to be very susceptible to outside influences, which I would imagine goes a long way to explaining his name. The last page more or less resolves any questions the reader might have about Drift's plans. But, given that this is an origin series, (and thus has a pre-set ending), there is really not much of a suprise to ruin.
Grade: B


Dom
-notes that the aliens have Lockdown's upgrade fetish.

[Sydew]

We don't really know how much time passed between the events of this series and Drift's spotlight or All Hail Megatron. So there's room for the character to grow, even if we don't see it happen in issue 4.

That was part of my point with discussing Drift's motivations in this issue. I think it makes sense that he doesn't instantly pivot from treason and murder and violence to trying to help save lives because it's the right thing to do. His motivation at this point is that he doesn't want to lose the potential better life that he sees with the third faction, and possibly friendship with Wing figures into the equation as well. He's moving from doing the wrong thing (ending the war) for possibly laudable reasons to doing the right thing for selfish reasons. This change is gradual, and I honestly think it would be less believable if we saw a more sudden move towards selflessness in issue 4. But we'll see what McCarthy has in mind.

I didn't meant that he should change instantly, as you said it wouldn't make sense. What I'm trying to mean is the groundwork for his change of heart is laid here but in order for him to build up on his philosophies as a character he must stay with the third faction (even more, to some extent I think his presence there would help move forward the third faction in a positive direction as a society) but I don't feel that's what's going to happen, of course I could be wrong and he does stay which would be fine by me, that's why I said it might be addressed in issue 4.

[andersonh1]

I didn't meant that he should change instantly, as you said it wouldn't make sense. What I'm trying to mean is the groundwork for his change of heart is laid here but in order for him to build up on his philosophies as a character he must stay with the third faction (even more, to some extent I think his presence there would help move forward the third faction in a positive direction as a society)

Ok, I understand where you were going. I agree with what you're saying.

but I don't feel that's what's going to happen, of course I could be wrong and he does stay which would be fine by me, that's why I said it might be addressed in issue 4.

I wonder if issue 4 won't finish off the current storyline and end with Drift remaining with the third faction for the forseeable future? That would make the most sense.

[Shockwave]

On the other hand, if you're a Transformers fan like me who doesn't get into "fan politics" as it were, it's all much ado about nothing. Who cares why Milne drew what he drew, or whether or not Willis is bothered by it? Why does any of that matter? I don't see that it does.

This. Ignorance is bliss. I don't give a toss who Willis is (or Milne even for that matter), I care only about the story and the art being good. If it is, I'm a happy camper and I don't really care who wrote it, who drew it, or which asshole fan has to be a loudmouth about what he thinks of it. Even the fact that Willis has been outspoken enough lately for me to even know who he is, is such a HUGE irritation to me. He's a fan. Period. He's no higher up the food chain that I am and as it is, I barely give a fuck what I think.

In the case of a cannon fodder shot like the one here, it's a bit like Star Trek. They're red shirts. They're nobodys. No writer in his right mind is going to have a splash page consisting of a bunch of main characters getting killed, so who gives a damn who's pictured? If anything, it sounds like Milne got lazy and didn't want to just do the usual trick of designing a few generic nobodys for the shot so he took suggestions for existing characters to put in.

For some reason I do feel the need to clarify that when I say "asshole loudmouth fan spouting what he thinks" I'm not referring to anyone here, nor the reviews. You guys are definately not loudmouths nor assholes. At least not to me. And also for the record I often find the reviews to be quite useful.

[138 Scourge]

...and as it is, I barely give a fuck what I think.

Your whole post summed it up well, but this just entertains me to no end.