Transformers - ongoing series

[Sydew]

Three panels or a page with Ratchet telling the humans all six phases no little details just the phases, that would've been all we needed know. That wouldn't slow the pace and it would give more information on Decepticon protocols. I think Furman is just another writer that might be loosing his touch more than anything else.

[Sparky Prime]

I don't really see it being necessary to describe every phase of the protocol. I mean, we got enough details about it to know it starts out by establishing a base of operations while covertly observing the local inhabitants and planting facsimiles, progressing in phase 2 to covertly ignite hostilities in order to get inhabitants to fight each other, eventually ending with calling in a Decepticon of mass destruction to finish the job in phase 6 (or sometimes a bit early with phase 5 according to Sixshot). Knowing that much, it's not hard to imagine how things progress in phases 3-5 with the Decepticons continuing to covertly agitate local hostilities before it finally gets to the point they break cover to conquer the planet for themselves.

[andersonh1]

I don't really see it being necessary to describe every phase of the protocol. I mean, we got enough details about it to know it starts out by establishing a base of operations while covertly observing the local inhabitants and planting facsimiles, progressing in phase 2 to covertly ignite hostilities in order to get inhabitants to fight each other, eventually ending with calling in a Decepticon of mass destruction to finish the job in phase 6 (or sometimes a bit early with phase 5 according to Sixshot). Knowing that much, it's not hard to imagine how things progress in phases 3-5 with the Decepticons continuing to covertly agitate local hostilities before it finally gets to the point they break cover to conquer the planet for themselves.

I agree. The point of the story wasn't to show step by step how the Decepticons destabilized planets so much as it was to show how they were departing from the standard procedure when it came to Earth, and that there were consequences to that for the characters. We only needed to know that there was a plan and that first Starscream and then Megatron had abandoned it.

[Dominic]

The fact that Furman could not make a creeping invasion by alien robots from outer space interesing kind of proves my point.

He work product for the last 10 years has run on the lower side of average. (He has had some good moments. But, he has written far more that has been terrible.)


Dom
-happy Furman is off the main book.

[Sparky Prime]

The fact that Furman could not make a creeping invasion by alien robots from outer space interesing kind of proves my point.

Again as O6 pointed out, I don't think Furman ever intended to keep it as a creeping invasion, that Megatron would abandon it at some point. Making it interesting is moot if that wasn't the direction the story was going to stay on in the first place.

[Shockwave]

And besides, no one here said that the -ation books weren't interesting, just that it wouldn't be if we'd seen the whole process.

[BWprowl]

And besides, no one here said that the -ation books weren't interesting

*raises hand* Actually, that's exactly what I said.

[Sydew]

Can I say then that the "-ations" were averagely good but not that great? If so then I don't get why is there a portion of the fandom using it as the rule by which the ongoing should be measured. Personally I still need to read Devastation and Revelation but I've already have read the other minis and Spotlights Furman wrote in IDW during that time. Throughout the layout of the story I found some very interesting -even refreshing- concepts, but then there are parts where I just wanted to drop the comic altogether. Costa's work on the ongoing is far superior. Just the way I see it.

[BWprowl]

Can I say then that the "-ations" were averagely good but not that great? If so then I don't get why is there a portion of the fandom using it as the rule by which the ongoing should be measured.

Hey, me neither. But apparently there were quite a few people who liked it so much that when Furman's plans got pulled out from under him, they held it against IDW and used it as an excuse to hate any other IDW G1 stuff. All Hail Megatron got the brunt of this, but like you said, we're seeing it hit the ongoing as well.

[Onslaught Six]

And then there's still people wishing for DW to come back. Yes, really.