Transformers: Devastation #1-6/TPB

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zigzagger
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Transformers: Devastation #1-6/TPB

Post by zigzagger »

It's coming folks.
After four months of waiting, Devastation #1 is upon us. This is your all purpose Devastation thread for you to rejoice or mourn in (hopefully the former).

As far as IDW is concerned it is set for release September 19th. Still no word from diamond comics to confirm this.
http://idwpublishing.com/newreleases-upcoming.shtml

Preview pages:
http://tfarchive.com/comics/idw/preview ... evastation
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Nevermore
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Post by Nevermore »

Looking forward to this one. :)
Looking for a complete Energon Sky Shadow (from Superion Maximus).
Offering: Binaltech Hound, Swindle, Ravage (Corvette), Skids.
Can buy in stores: Robot Heroes Tigatron/Inferno, Ricochet/Predaking.
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Philister
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Post by Philister »

The short preview we saw in the Optimus Prime spotlight really got me hyped about this one. The Autobots finally getting proactive on Earth instead of simply standing around and reacting while their people are picked off one by one.
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zigzagger
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Post by zigzagger »

Not to crush anyone's hopes, but this still has not been listed/confirmed to ship this week according to diamond comics' shipping schedule, or anyone else (mostly) for that matter other than IDW.
IDW dates more often than not are generally tentative and are sometimes off a week or two (look how long the two Beast Wars titles have been delayed).
This may mean nothing, though it's looking as if this won't see release this week....and possibly next week as well (diamond does not have it listed for the following week either, though this is subject to change of course, with updates made every Monday).
But, once again, this could mean nothing.
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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

Originally posted by zigzagger
diamond does not have it listed for the following week either
Diamond's "week ahead" listings are pretty much worthless.

For reasons best known only to Diamond, CNI usually have a more up-to-date copy of the "this week" Diamond shipping lists online than Diamond's site. It's not there, so unless it's been confirmed to retailers (rare, but sometimes happens) it isn't shipping this week.

Based on the couple of months I wasn't looking, reckon we should continue to report the IDW site-listed dates, or is the number of times they're off too likely to mislead and have people going to comic shops fruitlessly?
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AskShockwave
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Post by AskShockwave »

Rather, rather excited about this one. Like it's a very small christmas. I think it might be over-exposure to TFvsThe Avengers, mind. Here's hoping the Reapers keep out of it.
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Unicron
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Post by Unicron »

According to IDW's Upcoming Releases list, Devastation #1 is now coming out on October 3rd, along with Beast Wars: The Ascending #1 and Beast Wars Sourcebook #1.

And Devastation #2 is set for October 10th.
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Still, on the plus side it gives me a bit more leeway to get up to date with the reviews. Horah!
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
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Post by zigzagger »

Originally posted by Unicron
And Devastation #2 is set for October 10th.
Hmmm, I doubt that, it just hasn't been updated yet (remember kids: IDW's dates are generally tentative and, dare I say it, at times unreliable). Chances are that it will be pushed to the last week of October or the first week of November.
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AskShockwave
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Post by AskShockwave »

Anyone have any idea what's happening to the series post-Devastation? It seems to work quite well coming in six part sub-arcs, and it'd be good to see Su and Furman continue. Mind you, I'm not really sure how well Transformers is doing for IDW in terms of sales, though I guess with the new raft of spolights there's the insinuation that the continuity will continue in some way.
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Post by Denyer »

The next arc is titled Revelation, IIRC.
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Post by Aardvark »

Which, in turn, will be followed by Expansion.

[Insert "I wonder if Erector will be in it LOL" joke here]
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Big Daddy surely.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
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zigzagger
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Finally....

Post by zigzagger »

You need confirmation, or something close enough?! I got some right here;
http://comicnewsi.com/article.php?catid ... emid=10452
Transformers: Beast Wars – The Ascending #1-$3.99
Transformers: Beast Wars Sourcebook #1 (Of 3)-$6.99
Transformers: Devastation #1-$3.99
October 3rd it is.
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zigzagger
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Post by zigzagger »

First things first....
Devastation #1 was a bit of a cameo/first-appearance-in-the-main arc-palooza. Well, sort of. I suppose it could be interpreted as both a good and/or bad thing. Certainly nothing like the gratuitous and idiotic appearances in Megatron: Origin #3, simply due to the fact that Ravage, Ratbat, Starscream, Hound, Sideswipe, and Sixshot appearances are actually relevant to the plot rather than fan-wanking over the pages. So, yeah, it didn't bother me in the slightest. With that said, it seems that the Autobot forces on Earth has steadily increased (with Ironhide and Sunstreaker MIA), for very obvious reasons. In the same note, this concerns me. Will the newly introduced and/ or older characters serve as cannon fodder in order to whittle the roster down to size? Too soon to say. It's a personal concern of mine of course, I'm just hoping Furman and co. won't resort to this comicbook cliche so soon in the game.

Then there's Megatron, who apparently is still smarting after the encounter in Brasnya. Not so much as a gripe but more so a pity. I was getting use to the Megatron that Prime described as once being "measured, calm,and controlled" back in Escalation #5, but instead we get the other half of that same conversation, a "raging braggart seemingly hell-bent, yadda, yadda, yadda." Though it hasn't been explictly described, is it safe to assume that his exposure to Ore-13 has caused this behavioral shift? It certainly has the members of the Decepticon Infiltration unit concerned enough to stir Starscream from stasis lock. Sixshot's brief pause followed by "Okay" in response to Megatron's orders is a telling statement of this as well. Given the circumstances, Starscream's return could be a whole lot of fun, actually. A brief shake-up of the Decepticon status quo would be amusing. We didn't get much Screamer development back in Infiltration, so I, surprisingly, am looking forward to seeing him in action again.

Meanwhile, on the Autobot side of things; gradually, I have grown quite fond of Nightbeat. His powers of deduction (etc) are similar to that of his Marvel counterpart, which, personally, I feel is not a bad thing at all. His encounter on Gorlam Prime and his possible betrayal during Escalation #6 simply make this Marvel-esque Nightbeat all the more richer - and in all honestly, I thought the Marvel Nightbeat was a lot of fun...minus the fedora and a trench coat. Optimus is still the impartial type that we've come to expect in this continuity, which is lovely. Though, his seemingly lack of concern that Thunderwing's body had been stolen by a certain zombified, purple, and grey mechanoid was a bit strange, considering that Prime has stated his fear of Thunderwing in the past - "Oh, don't worry about it, guys. Come on down to Earth now, Jetfire will sort it out!".

Was it worth the wait? Eh, sure, I guess so. The issue is fast passed, which should please a lot of folks who didn't care for the drawn-out/unfolding exposition of Infiltration. It's not bad, really. I suppose this is nice place to kick things off. Though, personally, going by all cliffhangers and newly surfacing developments (the Ark 19 being shot down by Sixshot, the 6 Decepticons conspiring against Megatron, etc), Devastation #1 almost felt like the conclusion for Escalation that we should of have (a sort of inside joke, never you mind - ziggy) ended up with. Of course, that would completely bypass Spotlight: Optimus Prime and Spotlight: Galvatron, so nevermind. True, we essentially got the standard villain shaking his fist to the air while screaming "I'll get them next time" sort of ending in Escalation #6...but Devastation #1 just felt so much more satisfying to me (now there's an innuendo if I ever heard one - ba-doom, tsss!).
After a long summer of Transformers hit-or-misses, I'm satisfied for now.
3.9 out of 5
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Post by Commander Shockwav »

Strong issue, really enjoyed it.

I would say of the Infiltration/Escalation/Devestation series, it's probably one of my favorite thus far, mainly because the story seems to be moving forward now.

After thirteen issues, it is absolutely critical that things really pick up and subplots get concluded. So I was pleased to see the Ark-19 take off, and I anticipate the story itself is about to too.

One of the benefits of sticking with something this long is we get some character development that can't happen in just a few issues. Characters like Prowl, Ratchet, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, etc. have been given ample time to develop, which allows Simon more room to grow the cast somewhat. Looks like Sideswipe and Hound's group will be joining the fray, and I'm okay with that because Simon was given ample opportunity to flesh out the original bots in these past two series.

What I didn't like? Well, I still don't like Simon's portrayal of Sixshot, a bot I always felt should have been the silent, deadly type. Here, he's talkative, like most of Furman's characters. Even classically quiet abrupt bots like Omega Supreme and Soundwave have been given verbose characterization in this continuity thus far. I feel this "cookie-cutter" dialogue trap detracts from individualization.

Ratbat was a surprise. Here's to hoping his current persona jives with Holmes' from the Megatron Origin.

Artwise, I was a bit disappointed with the faces. They are tending to look somewhat two dimensional.

Overall, a solid "A-" issue for me. Looking forward to the next issue, which thankfully isn't but two weeks away!

*nice review, by the way, zigzagger
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Unlike the BW books I was impressed enough with this to wait till I got some sleep before posting on it...

It might be the lack luster Summer we've had (nothing came over average, and a lot of titles were cack) making this seem better than it perhaps is- But I liked it a lot. Though I can't decide if giving two pages over to Nightbeat explaining the story so far to people that already know it was a good concesion for new readers or completely pointless considering there's a "Previously on" page.

Oh, and considering Sixshot's supposed to have enough power to destroy hole planets no one should surrvive that explosion.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
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Post by Halfshell »

Have we established that one blast is enough to destroy whole planets??? He trashes worlds by virtue of being an unstoppable tour de force of carnage, he's not Dark Phoenix...
Originally posted by Commander Shockwav
Ratbat was a surprise. Here's to hoping his current persona jives with Holmes' from the Megatron Origin.


Let's hope it doesn't. The more I can ignore of Origin, the better.

Anywho. Really really enjoyed the issue. Things happen! Lots of things happen! And one of the most dramatic cliffhangers in recent TF comic memory.

Though I'm not quite sure why Ravage is howling like a dog, now...
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Originally posted by Halfshell
Have we established that one blast is enough to destroy whole planets??? He trashes worlds by virtue of being an unstoppable tour de force of carnage, he's not Dark Phoenix...
Nope, but if he's got the power to trash planets in just a few days single handedly (six wasn't it?) one blast should be more than enough to take out a ickle little shuttle I would have thought.




Though I'm not quite sure why Ravage is howling like a dog, now...


Has Ravage actually shown any capacity for speech in his prior IDW appearences?
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
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Post by Red Dave Prime »

Rat Bat doesnt look like he'll link up at all with the megatron origins version.

Art work did feel a little flat at points didnt it? Cant quite put my finger on why (altough I loved the early morning colouring)

Megatron looks to be a little unhinged. Certainly compared to the stormbringer & infiltration performance.

The human characters are useless. Really dont know what purpose they serve at this point. They've had no development and seem like a-typical kid characters from superhero cartoons. I thought the humans were to give the sense of scale to the mechs, not moan at them.

On an overall point to IDWs take on transformers, how does the power structure work (not who's in command but who is the most powerful)? Sixshot seems reverred as the ultimate weapon, but he wasn't even considered to take on thunderwing. Megatron was displayed as a super mech in infiltration but despite being consumed with rage he lets Sixshot do the damage. Shockwave was able to take down the dinobots (seemingly twice), Galvatron looks immune to damage and can take down an autobot squad easy enough. And then theres thunderwing. And what do the autobots have?

Optimus (of course). Omega's either a bit of a coward or a bit tired. At the moment, he's also a wreck. And thats it.

I'd say Optimus is praying for Fortress Maximus to appear quicker then in the next 3 spotlights...
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