The originals... ok, not exactly, but the original named "The TransFormers" anyway. Take THAT, Diaclone! Generation 1, Generation 2 - Removable fists? Check. Unlicensed vehicle modes? Check. Kickass tape deck robot with transforming cassette minions? DOUBLE CHECK!!!
Then Universe came along, undid ALL of that, mashed it together with all the other continuities somehow, stapled it into the so-bad-it-was-good 'Balancing Act' comic, and then finally just left it to die on dwindling life support. And I didn't even read the end of 'Wreckers'. Oh, and they just had to add insult to injury by grafting 'The Gathering' and 'The Ascending' on into the middle there. God DAMN but I hate Furman these days. Here's hoping they don't let that guy anywhere near Animated...
All those comics you just mentioned are complete trash.
And I hate to say it, but Furman is slated to write an issue of Animated all about the Dinobots. Yes, the Dinobots.
Then Universe came along, undid ALL of that, mashed it together with all the other continuities somehow, stapled it into the so-bad-it-was-good 'Balancing Act' comic, and then finally just left it to die on dwindling life support. And I didn't even read the end of 'Wreckers'. Oh, and they just had to add insult to injury by grafting 'The Gathering' and 'The Ascending' on into the middle there. God DAMN but I hate Furman these days. Here's hoping they don't let that guy anywhere near Animated...
All those comics you just mentioned are complete trash.
That was my point, yes. I do, however, maintain that 'Balancing Act' was a delight to read, if for all the wrong reasons.
And I hate to say it, but Furman is slated to write an issue of Animated all about the Dinobots. Yes, the Dinobots.
Well just great. Simon Furman applying his special touch to the most bland and uninteresting band of Dinobots we've had in years. I can't fuckin' wait. At least there's that Bob 'n' Larry-written episode to counteract it. Hopefully.
Dark Knight Strikes Again looked very unfortunate, I was glad to avoid the crap out of it.
Transformers is an interesting situation, originally it was OUR look at their millions-year-old war, it was only once they came to Earth that shit started to matter. A planet that was originally supposed to be just another used-up resource ends up being much more, despite its inhabitants being little fleshy fragile nothings. And that was a game-changer eventually, to the point where the Autobots would make the Decepticons a lesser class for eons, and then after The Great Upgrade, the war remained over except for a new Megatron's little terrorist group. So Beast Machines really does punctuate the whole saga with its ending. That's why everything afterwards has had to be its own separate alternate universe.
See, that one's a camcorder, that one's a camera, that one's a phone, and they're doing "Speak no evil, See no evil, Hear no evil", get it?
Mako Crab wrote:All those comics you just mentioned are complete trash
Personally, I really liked "The Gathering". I've always felt there were a few things I'd like to have seen wrapped up in the space between BW and BM and that comic showed a lot of promise in doing just that. Then "The Ascending" came along and train wrecked the nice set up "The Gathering" had started...
Universe/Wreckers I felt had some interesting ideas in it, but I thought they just went way over the top with that whole story...
BWprowl wrote:
That was my point, yes. I do, however, maintain that 'Balancing Act' was a delight to read, if for all the wrong reasons.
You should read "Countdown: Arena". That has all the virtues of "Balancing Act", in much greater quantity.
Furman on "Animated" may not be too bad, as "Animated" might have stricter editorial controls to curb Furman's worse excesses.
I did not see any ideas in "Universe/Wreckers" beyond, "hey look , TFs everywhere". Hallit read a bunch of old comic cross-overs and thought they would be better with TFs. All he managed to do was create something that made the hype of early 90s Marvel or DC look good. (I should never be nostalgic for "Armageddon 2001" and "Invasion".)
The original idea for the TFs being on Earth is that they were stranded. Later, it became a question of controlling resources. Both factions wanted to acquire, or at least deny their enemies, they resources on the planet. This all falls apart in season 3 of course, when both factions expended tremendous resources on one planet. In theory, Earth could have been the meat-grinder the Decepticons fell into, ala Stalingrad for the Germans. That would reconcile BW, but (obviously) the season 3 story editors were not thinking this.
...except those comics never 'did' anything with the concept. In fact, as I remember it, it was very much, "Oh yeah, Primus is in cartoon continuity now. Enjoy that."
Nevermind the fact that the fandom had been mixing Primus and Vector Sigma together for 'years' prior.
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
Well given 3H Productions died in the middle of the story, they didn't exactly have much of the chance to do anything with the concept. And it was still the first official context to use the idea.
3H had 4 years to do something. The comics started off promisingly in '01 and went south fast in '02. (I guess Hallit was too busy slipping the Harman boys a Micky to write or plan anything.)
Editing and tweaking are not ideas, they are just editing and tweaking. I would not say "Universe" was a good comic any more than I would say "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a good comic for its writing. The plot in CoIE is tedious, incoherent in places, and exists purely to make stuff happen to move stuff around. A child could do that. (Hell, I used to do that all the time when I was a kid. So did most everyone here I imagine.) CoIE had the virtue of moving stuff around with a plan. DC was not trying to tell a story with CoIE, they were editing, and using some of the ideas from editing sessions to produce an event book. CoIE is more interesting for what it did to the industry than what it did in its own pages. (It actually contradicts itself in places, and DC ignored large chunks of it as early as 1987. But, the core principle stayed intact.)
Hallit, Lee, Khanna, Gerbracht and the others had no plan. They did not even have a vague direction beyond using a bunch of recolors in a badly written crown scene comic.
Borrowing ideas from the fandom is nothing special. Furman has done so more than once. Hallit and co linking Vector Sigma and Primus is hardly a brilliant idea. It smacks of the kind of retcon Marvel would just append in one of their sourcebooks, not being worth an entry of its own.
Okay, now for the fun part: What writers or artists do we want to see on TF?
My votes:
Grant Morrison: In controlled circumstances, Grant Morrison is brilliant. "All Star Superman" is the best current example. Morrison is not a team player. But, the decentralized nature of TF means that some of Morrison's worst habits would not be an issue. Imagine the sense of wonder a depth we get in "All Star Superman" in a TF story. As it is, we see that in some of the Mosaic entries, but imagine a regular series like that.
Chuck Dixon: His poor showing with "Hearts of Steel" aside, Dixon is usually good for a readable book. And, I am sure he could use the work.
Dan Abnett: His career started with "GI Joe" in the UK (aka "Action Force"), and he has written TF before. More importantly, Abnett has grown as a writer since then. He can write "team" books and solo books, and do them well.
Bob Budiansky: Because Mark Gruenwald is dead. Joking aside, Budiansky built the franchise in America. As a writer, he is known for losing focus after a year or so. But, he would be a good editor for a franchise, and would no doubt turn out some fantastic back-ups.
Geoff Johns: I complain mightily about some of his more high profile projects. But, many of the problems with those can reasonably be pinned on DC editorial, rather than any flaw with John's writing. ("Green Lantern" as a title has been on the wrong track for several years now. But, that book, along with "Infinite Crisis", shows John's ability to write bad ideas well.
David Michelinie: Had he been writing "Iron Man" a few more years into the 90s, and the creator rights era, he would probably be better known. As it is, Michelinie's run on that book still influenced the recent movie and defined the character for long after he left the title. Back in the day, "iron Man" may as well have been called "Tony Stark", and it was a damned good book.
Tom DeFalco: He is the only consistently good writer Marvel has left. There is no reason for him to end his career there, especially with the company going down-hill so fast. He can write accessible stories, something TF as a franchise is in dire need of.
