TF Views

As I noted in the Hauls thread, I found a used copy of IDW's Transformers Collection Phase 2 volume 9, IDW's comprehensive "reading order" hardcover books collecting all of their various Transformers series from over the years. I had not bothered to buy any of these volumes in the past because I had all the monthly issues, or most of them, so it would have been fairly expensive double dipping. But I might pick up a few more of these in future, because I like the format, and because I'd honestly like to evaluate some of the material after I quit reading the books and see if time will make me more interested or less put-off in some cases.

The book collects issues in the following order:

Transformers 39: Combiner Wars (Opening Salvo) - First Contact
Windblade v2 1: Combiner Wars - The Sum and Its Parts
Transformers 40: Combiner Wars - The Possible Light
Windblade v2 2: Combiner Wars - Mistakes and Mayhem
Transformers 41: Combiner Wars - You, Me and the Universe
Windblade v2 3: Combiner Wars - All That Remains
Transformers 42: Combiner Wars (Epilogue) - Now and On Earth
MTMTE 41: The sensuous frame
MTMTE 42 : The frail gaze
MTMTE 43: The one where they go to Earth
MTMTE 44: The not knowing
Windblade v2 4: Combiner Wars (Epilogue)
Windblade v2 5: Race against the light
Transformers 43: South of Heaven

So it's easy to read the Combiner Wars crossover with the issues in the volume arranged as they are. And since it's a decent storyline, it's nice to have it in collected form in this format. I do question the placement of the MTMTE issues since First Aid is still with the ship at one point, but he leaves to head back to Cybertron and is part of the Combiner Wars storyline with the other Protectobots. And of course the art style changes every time a chapter does, but that would have been true when reading this in monthly format, so it's neither here nor there. The MTMTE issues keep a two part story together, then a single issue story, then the final one ends on what has to be a continuing storyline, making it an odd break. Windblade 4 and 5 are a two part story, then Transformers 43 gets back to that books ongoing monthly storyline. So for the most part, it keeps issues together that make sense when they're grouped together, though the order could be tweaked a bit.

As for the material itself, Combiner Wars was obviously a tie-in to the toyline at the time, but it's worked fairly well into the ongoing Cybertron politics/Starscream as leader plotlines that were going on. In addition to pre-existing combiners Devastator, Superion and Menasor, the story adds Defensor and a combiner built from Optimus, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Mirage and Prowl as Prowl tries to keep Cybertron isolated to prevent Starscream from building an empire out of the lost colonies. Prowl and Starscream are the villains of the story, and Windblade gets a lot of page time which is annoying for a brand new character. Shades of Drift here, with Hasbro or IDW pushing a character to be a big thing, but at least she's likable (and gets the cover of the collected edition).

The MTMTE issues are a mixed bag. I got tired of that series for being long on characters standing around quipping endlessly and character interpretations that I did not care for, and these issues are just as annoying as I remember them being. There's a two-parter with "personality ticks", alien creatures who latch on to life forms and feed off emotions and personality (so Ultra Magnus is immune... ha ha). Autobot Megatron is present and not quite as undignified as everyone else in the cast, but it's still painful to read. Then we get Swerve holoprojecting a replica of Earth behind the ship for reasons, so he has to be rescued, and then the ship finds the planet of the Nekrobot, probably the best issue from the series, though snarky characters come very close to derailing the drama yet again.

The two Windblade issues detail contact with Velocitron, the racing-obsessed planet, and the art is the cartooniest of the book. Then it's back to Transformers, the former RID, and Soundwave's plan to build a commune in orbit of Jupiter with the help of Blackrock, while Cosmos spies on them.

It's a very mixed collection, quality-wise. I liked the Combiner Wars section a lot, found the MTMTE issues largely annoying with a few enjoyable moments, and the art let down the Velocitron story while the final issue has plots that struggle to hold my interest now as I remember them doing when I first read them. The format for these books is great though. I don't know that I would pay full price for one of these volumes unless you really like the material, but if you can get one for about half, as I did, it's probably worth it.

Now that I have a lot more of these, in just flipping through them I had a couple of observations.

- there are a LOT of Spotlight issues in those early volumes, more than I realized. I'd rather have Infiltration, Stormbringer, Escalation and Devastation in one book, but they're actually spread out among the first three volumes, given all the Spotlights that need to be included
- there is a Transformers/Avengers crossover. Who knew? It's apparently set during the same timeframe as Escalation, wtih the Decepticons working to destabilize countries.
- all of All Hail Megatron and all of Dark Cybertron are each contained in a single volume. That's a nice thing for AHM, but it's really convenient with Dark Cybertron since that story crosses over with three different books. Not that DC is the best story, but still... any crossover is more convenient to read when contained in a single volume.
- various mini-series are also in these books, including several that I never read. Autocracy, Empire of Stone and Sins of the Wreckers are three that come to mind.

So yeah, I like these comprehensive collections. The downside is issues I don't like in the same book with issues that I do, but nothing forces me to read them.

"Dark Cybertron" was a generic event, but with Transformers instead of capes. It did its job. I just wish that IDW did not take TF in that direction (even if it made financial sense).

Dominic wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:34 am "Dark Cybertron" was a generic event, but with Transformers instead of capes. It did its job. I just wish that IDW did not take TF in that direction (even if it made financial sense).

Did it make financial sense, though? Wouldn't people who want big supers events just buy the supers books?

If nothing else, Dark Cybertron did mark a permanent change in Megatron. I don't think his switch in allegiance to the Autobots was ever undone. Did Shockwave ever come back after he was written out? I can't remember everything that happened as a result of that story, but it did change a few things that stayed changed, which isn't always the case with a big crossover.

At any rate, I'll be re-reading all of this down the line since I've bought the books, and some reevaluation may be in order. I might enjoy some story beats that I did not enjoy before, and the reverse might be true. I still tend to think of the "phase 1" IDW as my favorite era. I like Furman's storylines, and I generally enjoy AHM, and Costa's run was pretty good. Early RID and MTMTE were pretty strong, though I soured on MTMTE as it went on, so I'll be curious how I react to it this time around. RID just got dull after a while. I never read the Hasbro universe crossover series so I can't comment on those.

andersonh1 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:13 pmShockwave ever come back after he was written out? I can't remember everything that happened as a result of that story, but it did change a few things that stayed changed, which isn't always the case with a big crossover.

Yeah, he comes back, just before the Unicron story arc that wrapped up this iteration of IDW's TF comics.

Sparky Prime wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:04 pm

andersonh1 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:13 pmShockwave ever come back after he was written out? I can't remember everything that happened as a result of that story, but it did change a few things that stayed changed, which isn't always the case with a big crossover.

Yeah, he comes back, just before the Unicron story arc that wrapped up this iteration of IDW's TF comics.

That's useful to know, and I'll bet there's discussion about it on the boards somewhere.

In the spirit of reevaluation, I went back and read "Remain in Light" from MTMTE, to see if I disliked it and it's ideas as strongly as I did the first time. Not entirely, and I got more enjoyment out of some of the character interactions this time around. I still don't care for the Ultra Magnus revelations, and Star Saber being turned into a murderous religious fanatic is still galling, given how much I liked the character in Victory and would have preferred a more heroic characterization here. I tire of one-dimensional negative depictions of religion in fiction, and I can see some attempt at balance with how Cyclonus is depicted compared with Star Saber and Tyrest, but it's not as strong a rebuttal as I would like. Some of the ideas presented in the story are quite interesting in scope, the moon with all the sparks waiting to be born, and the revelations about how the Matrix was used to create new life are interesting concepts. I liked the interaction between Cyclonus and Whirl, and the fact that because he did not kill Whirl, Whirl was able to suggest to Cyclonus a way to save Tailgate from dying long enough for the cure to his disease to be applied. Letting go of a vendetta saved two lives in this case, and that's a satisfying turn of events.

I've seen before how going back to re-read or re-watch something years later can often result in me getting something different out of it. In this case, some of my earlier opinions stand, but I'm able to find more things that I enjoy as well. I found that I have not done a 180 on this story, but can appreciate some aspects of it that I did not when I originally read it. That's a good thing. I quit reading MTMTE not too long after Megatron was added to the cast, and RID sometime in the mid-40s, and I'm honestly looking forward to getting to that point and trying again.