Poor Transformers fiction killing interest in the brand?

[Onslaught Six]

CW, to me, is a pretty great line in terms of how much comes out. If I only really have to worry about 5 waves of toys coming out a year, then that's great for me.

[Dominic]

Still, I think IDW is doing a pretty adequate job with the line considering there's a lot of choices for a lot of different tastes.

IDW has not impressed me for about 2 years. Over the course of "Secret Wars" (when I put my TF reading on hold), my already dwindling interest bottomed out. Binge-reading new stuff has not helped.

More than Meets the Eye: Emo space robots.
Transformers: Bastardization of the above.

Ramondelli one-shots: Readable. Barber seems to be doing better with self-contained comics. But, this is not enough to keep me interested in a property. (If I were not reading non-TF comics, I would be done and out at this point.)

Robots in Disguise: Kiddie crap. "Transformers: Archiebots."

TF/Joe: Tries to pass off lack of skill as "style". One of the least articulate series I have seen in a long time.


But, all this aside, I cannot think of anything more specific than "make it good".

"More than Meets the Eye" is to foo-foo for me. But, it works for enough people. (Good for them.)

But, I want a more solid high-concept, which TF is now lacking. (Change over time? Interoperability between goups/species? High end moral dilemmas, ala Furman? Why is TF not doing those, or similar, things now?) At the very least, I want a ongoing and changing status quo. (Even at its worst, Budiansky's Marvel run did that.)

Right now, the Barber TF series is a generic example of some fo the worst things about comics. And, the low points Barber misses, Scioli makes a point of hitting in the name of "style".


It does not help that there is other stuff out there. Marvel has been doing low-event books *well* this year. Even the "Secret Wars" cross-overs that are not brilliant are still better than TF has been. (I am also more forgiving of those series as they were not ongoing.) And, Marvel is also doing high concept. ("Secret Wars" is failing in terms of coming out on time. But, it is a solid Doom-based arc.)

But, I do not want IDW to "do what Marvel is doing". I want "Transformers" to be the unique series it has been. If I want Marvel (which I do right now), I can read Marvel (which I plan to do Friday when I get paid). I want TF. But, I want good TF.

At this point, I am more curious about what DC is planning than IDW.

[Shockwave]

Well like I said, I'm stilling enjoying just about everything. The comics are still interesting to me. We're getting stories and ideas in both ongoings that we haven't seen before with characters getting used in new and different ways. RID has turned out much better than I thought it would be. Bumblebee and his crew are rounding up the missing criminals from Fixit's crashed ship. But Steeljaw has been rounding up the loose ones into a unified force. Steeljaw later starts communicating with Megatronus and the story ultimately leads up to the final battle between him and the Autobots. Optimus doesn't really show up until the last episode and that was only to fight Megatronus. I've enjoyed seeing new characters and existing characters used differently. Heck, even the humans in this one are interesting. As for the toys, I'm loving CW at the moment and excited for things to come and the recent wave of MP announcements means that there's a lot to look forward to. Then, there's Devastation. Man, this game is pretty. Imagine playing through the G1 cartoon if it was animated better. That's this game. So yeah, as a TF fan, I'm actually loving it at the moment.

[Onslaught Six]

Devastation seems fun enough, but the lack of multiplayer and NO DECEPTICON CAMPAIGN AT ALL make it a serious "wait until it's $15 or less" purchase. I love Platinum games generally, though, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it when I pick it up...but come on, I want to play as Megatron!

[Shockwave]

Devastation seems fun enough, but the lack of multiplayer and NO DECEPTICON CAMPAIGN AT ALL make it a serious "wait until it's $15 or less" purchase. I love Platinum games generally, though, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it when I pick it up...but come on, I want to play as Megatron!

Yeah the lack of a Decepticon campaign is a bit of disappointment, but since I don't play multiplayer the lack of that is irrelevant to me. Still the game is done so well that I'm not even begrudging the lack of Decepticon campaign since they're in it for equal time anyway.

[Onslaught Six]

I don't mind the traditional PVP/deathmatch model not applying (that typically sucks ass anyway) but I would have loved some online or even couch co-op.

[Sparky Prime]

I've seen some people playing Devastation on youtube. I do kinda think it could use a Decepticon campaign and multiplayer like WFC and FOC has, but even with out it, it looks like a fun game. And it's great to see a game in the style of the G1 cartoon. Although not sure how I feel about

Spoiler

Nova Prime being in it

.

[Onslaught Six]

Spoiler

He's in it about as much as Superion and Defensor are. It'd be easy enough to just imply he's from an alternate reality anyway.

[Sparky Prime]

Spoiler

He's in it about as much as Superion and Defensor are. It'd be easy enough to just imply he's from an alternate reality anyway.

Spoiler

The plot of the game revolves around the technology Megatron takes from Nova Prime's ship though. I'd say that makes his appearance a lot more significant than the cameo Superion and Defensor get. Not to mention, the set up for a potential sequel at the end with Nova waking up from stasis. And he's definitely not from an alternate reality, the characters are clear that the Proudstar and Nova Prime is a part of their history from their Cybertron.