Re-Generation One (IDW retro G1)

[Shockwave]

Yeah, but even Ratchet couldn't resurrect the dead nor was he known for lobotomizing other TFs. Yeah, it is the simplest explaination but that's a HUGE cop-out even for Furman. And again, the in context dialogue really just screams something else. Almost literally.

[Dominic]

Ratchet and Megatron's minds were shown to be linked. And, Megatron had a pretty good source of resources and reference materal aboard the Ark.

Yeah, but even Ratchet couldn't resurrect the dead nor was he known for lobotomizing other TFs.

Ratchect would not lobotomize a patient, but Megatron (given the tools and knowledge base) would have no issue with it. It is not a question of Megatron taking Ratchet's personality so much as it is a question of Megatron getting some of Ratchet's technical know-how.

And, Ratchet spent most of his time in the original series resurrecting patients. As early as the infamous third issue of the series, death was canonically established to work differently for Cybertronians that for most any other species (real or fictional). Death was often more a degree (or two) of injury than a permanent state.

Just about every member of the Ark's crew, and the boarding party that attacked it, was killed in the first 2 years of the comic. And, most of them were rebuilt. (Prime's death and being launched in to space are problematic in this regard. But, the comic was going down-hill at that point anyway.)

Immediately after issue 50, Budiansky began a sub-plot about reviving the guys killed by Starscream. Before that, Ratchet was often shown working on one or more "dead" Autobots.

In the UK comics, Death's Head ensured that Shockwave was staying dead by rummaging through the Shockwave's remains/debris and finding the latter's brain in order to *break* it. Of course, given that TFs were known to make and use copies of their minds in order to work around death, even having one's brain destroyed would not necessarily be the end of things....


Dom
-actually liking this comic.

[andersonh1]

I'm enjoying the book, but unlike the free comic book day issue, the issues since really don't feel like they're going in a direction that the series would have gone if it had continued back in 1990. For what it is, it's fine and I enjoy the way we get bits of continuity that are unique to Marvel G1, but it really doesn't feel like the return to that universe that I had hoped it would be.

[Onslaught Six]

I'm enjoying the book, but unlike the free comic book day issue, the issues since really don't feel like they're going in a direction that the series would have gone if it had continued back in 1990. For what it is, it's fine and I enjoy the way we get bits of continuity that are unique to Marvel G1, but it really doesn't feel like the return to that universe that I had hoped it would be.

I keep seeing this (mostly on ATT) and I have to wonder what people were expecting. It's been 20 years, you think that Furman's been writing new stories for this universe in a vacuum since then? Even that X-Men spinoff where Claremont picked up the plot threads he left behind some 20 years ago had changes made to it, and why wouldn't it? Furman's not even the same 'person' he was then. His abilities, and his ideas, are different now.

[Dominic]

Would Furman even still have his old notes? And, how comprehensive would they have been?

I would guess that Furman exhausted his original notes with "Another Time and Place", G2 and some of the out of context UK stories. There are hints that Furman was going to get some real mileage out of "Actioin Masters", complete with multiples of some characters co-existing. (We will likely end up talking about some of this in the UK comics thread....whenever one of us gets around to reading the stories.)


I admit to liking this book more than I thought I would. Furman is giving us a logical extension of the original series, and something that we would normally only see in an alternate future that nobody would think of as every happening in a main book.


Dom
-still not sure what to make of "3 ongoings and some other stuff" though....

[andersonh1]

I'm enjoying the book, but unlike the free comic book day issue, the issues since really don't feel like they're going in a direction that the series would have gone if it had continued back in 1990. For what it is, it's fine and I enjoy the way we get bits of continuity that are unique to Marvel G1, but it really doesn't feel like the return to that universe that I had hoped it would be.

I keep seeing this (mostly on ATT) and I have to wonder what people were expecting. It's been 20 years, you think that Furman's been writing new stories for this universe in a vacuum since then? Even that X-Men spinoff where Claremont picked up the plot threads he left behind some 20 years ago had changes made to it, and why wouldn't it? Furman's not even the same 'person' he was then. His abilities, and his ideas, are different now.

Agreed, but the series has been sold as "the continuation of Marvel G1 continuity", to the point where it even picks up numbering where the old series left off. I wish it felt more like a continuation rather than so disjointed.

But as I said, that's a minor complaint. I still enjoy what we're getting, it just doesn't quite feel like what it's billed as being.

[Onslaught Six]

-still not sure what to make of "3 ongoings and some other stuff" though....

It's not any more than they had during, say, the movie stuff! All Hail Megs plus Reign of Starscream plus Maximum Dinos.

[Dominic]

Yes, but this is 3 on-going books. At every other time, IDW would have a neo-G1 themed ongoing, sporadic one-shots and or a mini-series along with some movie stuff.

Right now, IDW is producing 2 on-goings, a series with a sunset provision so distant that it is likely to outlast other "on-going" titles (such as several failed New 52 titles) that you could name, annuals for the two "indefinite on-going" books and an upcoming media tie-in for "Prime".

(Oddly, there are also 3 Joe books on the shelves, which is pretty good for a franchise that has been on life-support for 20+ years.)


Oh yeah, "ReGeneration One" #84:

This book has been much better than I expected it to be. I am man enough to admit to being wrong. "ReGeneration One" is a solid book. On the "stuff what happens" side, Furman is making a point of pushing the series in to new territory. Despite being a continuation of an old series by an old creative team, this book has change. And, this most recent issue shows the Furman can, (somewhat to my suprise), sprinkle ideas in to a series without an editor telling him to. In this case, the big idea is free-will and power. (Aside: "What kept you?" is fast becoming a new Furmanism.)

Contrary to early billing, this book does not follow strictly from the Marvel G1 series. Along with the previously shown "robot-buster" suits, the Guardian drones from the UK comic make a prominent appearance this issue.

Wildman's art seems to be fairing better inside the book than on the covers. The Guidi cover variant looks more like Wildman's art than Wildman's variant cover did. (I did not even realize that I picked the Guidi variant until reading the issue last night, many hours after purchasing the book.)

Grade: A/B


Dom
-went to the store primarily for this book.....

[Shockwave]

Indeed, this issue really did a lot to cement it for me as well. I'm very intrigued to see where Furman goes with this. It'll be interesting to see if

Spoiler

Starscream can fully regain his free will and his comment to Kup seems to imply what Dom had suggested earlier about there being a mental connection between Megatron and Ratchet. This could also explain why Megatron kept Ratchet alive rather than killing him, because killing Ratchet might somehow also kill Megatron.

[Dominic]

Much of what Shockwave says above is played out in....

Issue 85:
Holy crap.

This is not the Furman I remember. The Furman I remember did best with contraints, be it the guidance of Tokar or the reality of having to fit in with the pre-exising US comics. This is Furman with none of those things, and he is doing a damned good job. Aside from a mention of "zero space" at the beginning (which, to be fair, may well tie in with a larger arc Furman is planning) and a really badly drawn shot of Megatron, this is a solid issue.

The first primary arc wraps up in a way that sensibly progresses from the original series, calls back to the beginning of the last major story arc from the original series and resolves a few dangling plot threads. Furman exploits the "anything can happen and nobody is safe" potential of this series by proving "the threat is real" and then having another equally terrible threat disarmed.

When Fun Publications published "Invasion" ostensibly to clear the way for Furman to play around "post G1", I wrote it off as trading one set of bad comics for a set of (at best) mediocre comics. Now, I am looking at "no more bad 'Classics' comics" as icing on the cake. (Of course, we still have "Shattered Glass" and the rest of Fun Publications output. But, life is far from perfect.)

Big ideas and linear story-telling? We need more comics like this.

Grade: A

I plan to get the first compilation and look forward to the remaining 15 issues.



Dom
-a dramatic, almost Furmanesque lead-in to the review.