More than Meets the Eye (IDW ongoing comic)

[Dominic]

The Functionalists were finally destroyed when they captured a new Transformer named Goatsetron. They forced him to transform. And discovered his altmode, to their regret. The last known message from the Functionalists was "Christ, what an asshole!"

One of the guys from the old "Cult of the Fist" PhotoShopped a "Goatsecron" once.

[JediTricks]

Read issue 38 last night, and loved it. I laughed out loud a number of times, I enjoyed the deeper story, it was a great comic book and a good culmination to a lot of things. I don't generally agree with the premise of predestination - requiring that time travelers must have always caused something in the past to happen for it to happen now - but the book had such a good time with it that I didn't mind here. And it looked great doing it. Hooray for this book!


Rung turns into Unicron's toothpick. There, problem solved.

[Dominic]

Read issue 39....

Did not like it. I do not mind nuanced bad guys. But, Roberts writing the Decepticon Justice Division as a bunch of stone killers who live in fear of their matron is just....ugh. It is too doofy. There, I said it. "More than Meets the Eye" has its moments. But, it also spends too much time on inane bullshit. This issue is definitely an example of the latter.

This book is currently on the bottom of my pull-list. Not sure it will make it through the summer. (Given that both Marvel and DC are likely to be launching new books in August/September, and that I am trying to cut back to no more than 5 books, TF get crowded out.)

[JediTricks]

You are wrong, good day.

They aren't in fear of Nickel, she's just strict as she tries to keep them operational. I liked this issue, it was an interesting look at the DJD as they deal with the aftermath of Megatron's change of heart. It was a page-turner, I didn't know what it was going to do next, and it wasn't predictable but it also wasn't outlandish. Tarn's monologue on why he wears the mask was interesting, although if he turns out to be

Spoiler

Roller

it will be a little too obvious. And unlike Galvatron's New Decepticons, I actually think what Tarn and Deathsaurus are doing could be an interesting new threat.

Issue 39 was good, interesting, twisty without being too much, and a brief respite from the insanity of the last arc. I certainly didn't feel its 2-page-shorter length, that's for sure.

[Dominic]

They aren't in fear of Nickel, she's just strict as she tries to keep them operational.

It had a derpy sort of "Awe Ma...." vibe to it. It is out of place in a book about big space robots, to say nothing of being kind of stupid to begin with.


As for Tarn,

Spoiler

Gotta be Roller. After all the hype, including a panel in this issue, he has to be Roller. Roberts might be able to get away with backing out, because he is Roberts. But, in narrative sense, it makes too much sense for Tarn to be Roller.

[BWprowl]

I liked Nickel. Showing her and how she and the DJD interact 'at home' helped to personify them and save them from being the stoic badass collection of DevArt designs that's all they've been up until now. It was nice to see how they regarded their 'job' and how everyone had elements that contributed to stages of it, rather than just the parts involving murdering people. Plus, hey, she's super-adorable.

I am curious about what she turns into though, since I'm a horrible fascist bastard who makes Roberts cry.

Also appreciated that the DJD members cared and worried about what happened to their comrades. If these guys have to be needless Original Generation that people don't hate the way they hated Drift, for some reason, then at least they can become well-rounded if we're spending whole issues with them.

Deathsaurus annoyed me almost solely because of his name. I thought we disproved that spelling/translation a long time ago? Otherwise, he was fine, and I liked his motivations and how he played off Tarn (also like the dichotomy where his old nemesis, Star Saber, is a rather monsterous, unsavory Autobot in this continuity, while he's a decent, likable Decepticon). And hey, I gotta appreciate all them Victory cameos.

Overall, I liked this issue, it serves as good setup for whatever comes next.

Spoiler

Gotta be Roller. After all the hype, including a panel in this issue, he has to be Roller. Roberts might be able to get away with backing out, because he is Roberts. But, in narrative sense, it makes too much sense for Tarn to be Roller.

You understand this is how red herrings and plot twists work, right? Remember the episode of 'Animated' that made it overtly look like Wasp was totally a spy and how the whole plot had led up to that? Which in-turn made it obvious narratively that it WASN'T Wasp and was clearly Longarm, the only non-suspicious, actually-helpful one in the bunch? Roberts has pointed too many neon signs at Roller that if it does turn out to be him, it'd actually be a disappointment because the answer to this big hyped-up mystery was so OBVIOUS.

[JediTricks]

They aren't in fear of Nickel, she's just strict as she tries to keep them operational.

It had a derpy sort of "Awe Ma...." vibe to it. It is out of place in a book about big space robots, to say nothing of being kind of stupid to begin with.

Yeah, but even big space robots need to be looked after, someone has to care about them. At least they didn't turn her into Ma Barker or a sex slave or something really out there.

As for Tarn,

Spoiler

Gotta be Roller. After all the hype, including a panel in this issue, he has to be Roller. Roberts might be able to get away with backing out, because he is Roberts. But, in narrative sense, it makes too much sense for Tarn to be Roller.

The panel in this issue being the one with

Spoiler

Skids

?

I am curious about what she turns into though, since I'm a horrible fascist bastard who makes Roberts cry.

No, you're just entirely wrong about Roberts' motivations and exceptionally loud about your wrongness.

It looks to me like Nickel turns into a gas pump or a vending machine, something wheeled with pipes and a gauge.

[Dominic]

Colour me corrected about

Spoiler

Roller

. I did not recognize that panel as being

Spoiler

Skids.

[Dominic]

Has anyone read this week's issue? It is sitting in my pull-file. (Not buying any more comics until I catch up on the last few week's worth of comics and finish reading Jenkins/Lee "the Sentry".)

[Sparky Prime]

It was an alright issue, seemed to be mostly dealing with some loose ends. Brainstorm faces the "Lost Light Internal Legal Affairs Committee" to answer for his recent actions, and explains why he was a Decepticon. Ten is revealed to have a hobby making dioramas of the crew, and is a fan of Ultra Magnus in-particular. And all of this leads to Ratchet's decision to leave the Lost Light in order to find Drift, which we see the result of in the "Empire of Stone" miniseries. Oh, and all the time travel briefcases are destroyed save for one that Ravage stole for Megatron.