The Transformers (IDW, formerly "Robots in Disguise")

[Shockwave]

Actually, his description makes them sound more like limbs of a larger more complex organism. He certainly doesn't seem to regard them as sentient to any degree.

[Onslaught Six]

Okay, your last word makes more sense...but why does it matter? Because it came out of Ironhide's mouth specifically? Would any other character (Wheeljack, for example) change your mind? Because Ironhide saying it might have been a question of Barber (or someone else) saying "Wheeljack has said too much fucking shit lately," and giving the line to Ironhide instead. (Believe it or not, these are actual concerns for writers. I remember in high school rewriting an entire paragraph because I didn't like the way the words lined up on the page.)

I think in this case it's safe to assume that Ironhide is saying Word Of God stuff until Barber (or someone else) has another character saying otherwise. That's usually what I do in any given case. (For example, if Prowl says, "Kickback is dead," we have no real reason to think Kickback might be alive unless we're shown conflicting evidence, such as another character saying Kickback is alive.)

[Shockwave]

Dom brought it up. Personally, I'm with you, I don't really think it does matter and that was really my whole point. But Dom seemed to think it implied some deeper commentary on animal rights or something.

[Onslaught Six]

I know we're on the same side--I meant to quote Dom but forgot to.

[Dominic]

Ironhide's comment as a "word of god" would arguably contradict "More than Meets the Eye", when the crew of that ship (the name of which I forget and cannot be bothered to look up) was feeding turbo-foxes to a critter called a "spark eater", which would imply that turbo-foxes have sparks. (And, sparks at this point are apparently assumed to be "there" in TF, rather than an abstract.)

This raises the question of what a spark is and why it is important, if we take Ironhide's comment at face value.

Are turbo-foxes like foxes, or more like sharks (little more than automated machines that operate in a way so fundamentally alien that one could argue how "alive" they truly are).


Dom
-would be happier if "sparks" had never become a thing in the franchise.

[Dominic]

Issue 9:
Very well paced outing. Barber maintains the idea of conflict without having both factions just shooting at each other, though it looks like that is coming up. BB is shown to be both unhappy as a leader, but is also shown to be clinging to power more jealously. (This really is the most interesting take on BB in the history of the franchise.) While BB's idle hopes for exploiting one McGuffin are more or less shattered, Ironhide deals with the (still unexplained) problem of the week. Barber clearly has a thing for writing Wheeljack. If there is one problem with this issue, (and probably the next few), it is that RiD has a few too many plot-points in common with "ReGeneration 1".
Grade: B

Dom
-looking forward to the annual.

[Dominic]

Issue 10:
The focus shifts to the adventures of Orion Pax (aka Optimus Prime) in space with Wheelie and that alien guy. Barber's narrative is deliberately disjointed as a way to show time-distortiions. The McGuffin here is the time machine from a few issues back. This arc feels like a way to reconcile Reflector's contrary appearances in AHM and "Spotlight: Wheelie". Aside from polishing over a minor issue that could have been hand-waved with a few lines of dialogue, (maybe about there being two Reflector teams), this issue does not add much to the series. (There may be more of a pay-off later. But, so far, there is not much.) Some people are speculating that a Unicron appearance is inevitable. But, the mysterious "other planet" and other odd occurences could be explained by the "McGuffin of the day" time machine.

Ramondelli's art, as ever, is competently stylized. It seems to me that IDW wants to use Ramondelli for something, but is having trouble finding an appropriate book to put him on. His art lends itself more to broad strokes and large scale narratives than it does to small scale stories focusing on fewer characters. There stories themselves can be short, but they should involved large scale settings and battles. On the right book, Ramondelli could shine. The problems with his art thus far are less a question of him lacking talent and more a question of him not being on the right book.

Grade: C


Dom
-would like to see Ramondelli tackle a WH40K style story or an art book.

[Dominic]

Preview for issue 11:

http://www.fullmetalhero.com/content/tr ... view-5294/

Oh my..... Oh.......my.........



Dom
-really wants to get to the comic shop tomorrow.

[Dominic]

Am I the only one reading this book? Really?


Issue 11:
And.....wow. Back in 2002, the UT portrayed Starscream as more than a simple back-stabber. Starscream was presented as having complex motivations and a degree of inner conflict. I admit to being one of the people who was not entirely happy with this, (even if Thrust served well enough in the role of schemer during "Armada"). At around the same time, Dreamwave gave Starscream the same treatment in the first (and only completed) arc of McDonough's G1 comic. Barber continues to run with that ball in this issue. Starscream's motivations in Barber's run are best summarized as "doing the right thing for at least partially the right reason". Barber does a good job of handling the irony of Starscream being at the top of his game and on the verge of victory while trying not to be thwarted by the schemes of those around him. And, while it is a safe bet that Dirge is not going to survive to the end of this book, it is likely to be the first time that his death is going to matter as anything more than a meme ("lol, Dirge dye hahahahahahahahaha").
Grade: A


Dom
-oh, and

Spoiler

Megatron comes back.

[Mako Crab]

Am I the only one reading this book? Really?

I haven't touched a TF comic since Costa ran me off. I'm thinking of buying the TPBs of MTMTE and RID, based on the amount of positive feedback I'm hearing.

-oh, and

Spoiler

Megatron comes back.

I'll be interested to see if they take the

Spoiler

Megatron/Starscream

relationship/dynamic and do anything interesting with it. If they fall back into the same old routine, I'll be very disappointed. Do something new and different with them for once, please!