Catching up on IDW

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Shrapnel
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Catching up on IDW

Post by Shrapnel »

Hi All,

I got years behind on the IDW runs (last was MTMTE/RID #28) and have been bringing myself up to scratch by following this reading list:

http://www.howtolovecomics.com/2016/10/ ... ing-order/

I've just finished "Til All Are One" #8 and have purchased the TPBs of "Optimus Prime" Vol1 and "Lost Light" Vol 1, but have yet to get started on those.

My question is: What is the deal with the "Revolution", and subsequent "Revolutionaries"cross overs?

I hate cross-overs, and would ideally skip them. I avoided all the previous TF Vs GI Joe stuff from IDW on the understanding that it was a separate continuity, but how much will I miss out on by skipping this stuff? And how much of what I miss will matter?

Thanks in advance.

Kindest regards,

Shrapnel
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Auntie Slag
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Post by Auntie Slag »

I skipped all the Revolutionary’s issues except for MTMTE Revolutions. In that one the author felt the same as you and used it as a pisstake of everything that silly about desperate crossovers. I liked it a lot. :)
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Post by Shrapnel »

Auntie Slag wrote:I skipped all the Revolutionary’s issues except for MTMTE Revolutions. In that one the author felt the same as you and used it as a pisstake of everything that silly about desperate crossovers. I liked it a lot. :)
Thanks, I've picked up that one issue of it, and made a start on the Optimus Prime series. No great gaps other than Blackrock being missing now somehow, I'll find a recap of what happened in Revolution somewhere.

I must say on the whole, doing an intensive read up from issue #28 does reflect to me how much more I enjoy the MTMTE series. I quite enjoyed the political side of RID but felt a bit ground down by the combiner wars and then subsequent Titan's Return as it all started to feel a bit like and endless routine of bigger and bigger characters.

Meanwhile MTMTE explored its characters in more depth and used humour well. I'm hoping "Lost Light" keeps that going.
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Post by Auntie Slag »

Yeah, I felt much the same. Humble Bundle were giving away digital TPB's of RID a while ago (one of those 'pay what you want' deals). It was all a bit too erstwhile and po-faced for me. I know that sounds a bit stupid after reading years of Marvel G1 and G2, but I was more able to handle it back then.

I got fed up with Super Awesome Prowl and Mega-Ninja Arcee, Bumblebee's fraught expression, a one-dimensional Ironhide and Dinobots blah blah blah. If I'd have read it as a kid I would probably have thought it was deep and brilliant. But it came out at the same time as MTMTE.

I think MTMTE/Lost Light is still good... It doesn't feel as essential to me as a few years ago. Back then we would rabidly discuss every little facet of an issue on these boards upon an issue's release. These days it seems few are interested to talk any more. That takes some of the enjoyment out of it, and because I'm a superficial arse I really didn't take well to Jack Lawrence replacing Alex Milne on art. I kinda liked the Lennon & McCartney pairing of Roberts and Milne (and Josh Burcham as George on colours, apologies to Joanna).

Anyway, Lost Light is still worth it. Unless something really stupid happens I'll stay with it to the end, which isn't far away now *tear*. This book and all Bay's wacky films have made this a pretty golden time for Transformerers.
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Post by Skyquake87 »

I'd join in more on the comic threads, but I end up reading waaay behind you guys and then can't think of anything to say beyond "I liked that".

The bits of RID I've read through the Hachette partwork have moments of brilliance mired with awful guff - WHAT IS THE POINT OF RATTRAP?!!! WHAT DOES HE DO?!!! AND HE LOOKS LIKE ...LIKE ...SOMETHING OFF BAND AID!!! GIVE HIM A PIE. OR A CHARITY FESTIVAL OR SOMETHING.

And then there's Ghost 'bee or something. Which is a conceit I hate when it shows up in soaps, let alone robot comics.

Much of the time, there just feels like there's no consequence to whatever's going on in RID. Always feels like building to something...but no, just back to Starscream being a slippery sod whilst Rattrap mouths off. Boooo.
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Post by Auntie Slag »

It annoys me that all I can see are a bunch of characters who are either too heroic, or too dark. There was a few hints of interesting things in RID; I liked the fact that Needlenose and Horri-bull were in a relationship, that Tracks and Needlenose were brothers, Dirge getting beaten all the time... I really liked a throwaway comment from Astrotrain, which went something like:

”I can’t see very well, don’t tell Megatron”

... maybe that was about it.

Nothing really happened with the NAILS, and Starscream as you say carried on with his Dr. Smith from Lost in Space style deviousness and it disappeared right up its own arse because everything was a conspiracy within a conspiracy. And that’s fine as long as its interesting.

But nothing really opened up. Remember reading The Smelting Pool saga in the Marvel G1 comics? That really felt like a whole other world opened up in two or three issues. They should have given RID over to Budiansky.
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Post by Shrapnel »

I felt like RID was always building up to some big insurrection of Starscream and part of me is glad that what I expected to happen didn't (though at this stage I am only up to TAAO #8, OP #6 and LL #1).... Maybe I should actually finish catching up before saying this stuff....

I find my relationship with these comics odd though, I am not a young man anymore by any means and so I often read TF comics thinking that it isn't really aimed at me. I went, what, about 3 or 4 years without reading any issues because my tablet just got lost under my bed, and if it wasn't for digital I wouldn't have read any of the IDW stuff.

It sometimes feels like something I shouldn't be doing "at my age" but then I offset that by actually enjoying it. I tell myself that TF comics don't have the emotional resonance to me that they used to have but then I find a solitary tear rolling down my old man cheek when Ravage dies.

Funny old game.
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Post by Auntie Slag »

Interesting. To me it feels like they’re aimed directly at us (which I know is nuts, as you point out we’re not the target market if they want to make money. But it still feels like (and I’m pointing directly at MTMTE/Lost Light) that its for us the fans that have been following Transformers since the 80’s comics.

I remember first going into a comic shop a few years ago, after having bought the first and second MTMTE TPB’s on Amazon. I felt a bit shifty at first, asking them to reserve me a copy every month. Today I went in the shop and picked up Lost Light #17 and all the other customers were my age or older.

And now I’m just getting into digital comics. Inflatable Dalek posted a pic of an RID cover on his tablet one day, and I was so impressed by the crisp clarity of the image, the bold colours. Everything about it looked perfect, and no (potential) embarrassment at shuffling into a shop for it either! I just bought my first ever tablet last week and, yep, reading comics on this thing is pretty awesome. Even with my paper copy next to me, I do understand why the digital version is such a good idea.

So yeah, I’ve massively enjoyed all these TF comics, tech and films. The only downside is getting older! :smokin:
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Post by Skyquake87 »

...I cracked and bought an Amazon Fire so I could read LL as my comic shop struggles to keep it in stock and paying £5 + postage for a physical copy online is just...well, half a trade paperback, so no thanks. I have Prime so downloaded a bunch of Marvel TPBs that were free* on that, as well as the last 3 issues of LL.

Agree that comics are getting to be an old person's game. I don't see many kids in comic shops, except on Free Comic Book Day.

(*included in Prime membership. so not 'free', but i can kid myself)
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Post by Auntie Slag »

Ooh, ComiXology are doing some good deals on Transformers comics at the moment. I got the Dinobot trilogy (Punishment, something something and Redemption) for £2.99. It’s the stories all drawn by Livio Rimondelli, so as long as you don’t mind your TF’s all Rothko’d up with tiny eyes & funky proportions you’ll be alright.

Also, I you’re into DC; they’re doing the complete run of The New 52 for a combined total of £7.98. That’s about 1200 pages of superhero stuff. If you see these books in physical form they’re monster tomes!
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Post by Skyquake87 »

Oooh. Well, I'm still only halfway through Christopher Priest's first 18 issues of Black Panther (bloody ace, the way) and have a Jason Aaron Thor thing and World War Hulk to get through.
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Post by Shrapnel »

Auntie Slag wrote:Interesting. To me it feels like they’re aimed directly at us (which I know is nuts, as you point out we’re not the target market if they want to make money. But it still feels like (and I’m pointing directly at MTMTE/Lost Light) that its for us the fans that have been following Transformers since the 80’s comics.
I guess you're right on MTMTE/LL - Less so with RID. What is the state of play now? I gather TAAO has finished, and didn't you say LL was coming to an end? Doesn't that just leave the OP book?
Auntie Slag wrote:So yeah, I’ve massively enjoyed all these TF comics, tech and films. The only downside is getting older! :smokin:
MTMTE I may have enjoyed more than any other TF comic book over time. Much as I loved all the golden oldies in Furman's UK run, it was never as character driven.

The films.... They bring me deep sadness.
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