Tag Archives: Comics

More than Meets the Eye #31 Recap – The bottle episode

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TF_MTMTE_31_cvrAThe term “bottle episode” refers to an episode limited in the number of characters and its setting, originating with the 1960s Star Trek where the term referred to episodes only shot on the starship Enterprise. More than Meets the Eye shares one thing with that old classic sci-fi series, in that it also takes place in outer space and since Roberts likes to use other TV series terminology, like splitting his issues up in “seasons” and “multiple episode story arcs” it wasn’t surprising when he announced that he was making a “bottle episode”, to be a bit of calm before a greater storm.

 Spoilers ahoy!

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More than Meets the Eye #30 Recap – How do you solve a problem like Megatron?

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TF_MTMTE_30_cvrSUBThere’s a saying…In a lot of different languages that something that’s good is well worth waiting for. With this latest issue of More Than Meets the Eye; I was starting to doubt that. With over a month to wait for the resolution to the cliffhanger and story hooks from last issue, I was going a little loopy. Well, the wait is finally over and here is the promised end to the first mini arc, where we would finally find out how Megatron ended up where he is right now and let me tell you, it’s made me like the character in a way I did not think possible.

Spoilers ahoy!

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WTFMarvel? – Simon Furman & Jose Delbo’s Brute Force Returns!

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Deadpool-Bi-Annual-001-674x1024-2f5c5Comic Book Resources just dropped the news that an upcoming Deadpool special will feature the little-know Marvel characters Brute Force! Why am I posting this on a Transformers site? Because Brute Force, a book that got a whopping four issues out of its initial 4-issue limited series, a toy comic with no actual toy to tie in to, was created (at least in part) by Bob Budiansky, written by Simon Furman, and drawn by Jose Delbo.

In the last days of the 80s, with Transformers and G.I. Joe winding down, Marvel decided they wanted to put some of that talent they’d used to create characters and storylines for Hasbro into making their own “toyetic” IP that they could then license to a toy company. Brute Force was the result.

Back in 2012 I spoke to Furman about the series over on the comic retrospective blog 80 Page Giant (Where I also do a podcast!), and honestly that alone may be the most extensive information on the series you’ll ever find. Go take a look at that, then click over to the CBR article on the Deadpool special and see what plans they have now for the Marvel-owned toyline that never was!

Review: More than Meets the Eye #28 – The one with Megatron on the cover (Spoilers!)

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TF_MTMTE_28_cvrAThis issue comes out on the 30th of April, which is close enough to my birthday (one day, but who’s counting) that I consider it an early birthday present…And it is quite the present!

When I first held an issue of this comic in my hands it was the characters that made me fall in love with it, their relationships and their trials and tribulations with the main plot, the search for the Knights of Cybertron as an excuse to put all these robots together in one confined space. Now that MTMTE is entering its author-named “second season”, 25 issues with one overarching plot line, it is the characters that still jump out and grab me.

Spoilers below the cut!

Continue reading Review: More than Meets the Eye #28 – The one with Megatron on the cover (Spoilers!) →

Review: Windblade #1

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TF_Windblade01_cvrAIt was kind of a given that I’d like Windblade . With Mairghread Scott and Sarah Stone making it the first Transformers comic outside of fanzines and message boards with an all-female creative team, with it introducing a new female Transformer who’s not only pushing IDW to diversify their cast but pushing Hasbro to diversify their toyline as well, it would have taken some epic blunders for me to dislike it.

Despite all it has going for it, Windblade could have still been as mediocre as so many other comics on the shelves today and in the past decade. It could have been a great idea bogged down with a bland story and muddy, unreadable art. It could have failed to hold a candle to the other excellent Transformers comics currently running, More Than Meets The Eye and Robots in Disguise. It could have challenged my desire, my need to like it.

I’m happy to say that’s not at all the case.

Spoilers ahoy!

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One Foot In The Dead Universe: IU Talks to John Barber and James Roberts

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Now that Dark Cybertron is well and underway, we here at Iacon Underground were fortunate enough to get to ask IDW writers John Barber and James Roberts some questions about the series so far and both Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets The Eye going forward!

IU: Thank you both so much for taking the time to talk to us! Now that we’re halfway into the event, what’s your favorite part of DARK CYBERTRON so far? What upcoming part of the series are you looking forward to finally seeing the light of day?

John: Well, we’re a little past halfway, but that’s my fault for not writing this quicker… it’s funny, because of the way this comic came together, that so much of it kinda crushes together in my head… it’s hard to remember what’s out, what’s done but not out, and what’s still in progress… Early on, I think the combination of Phil Jimenez and Andrew Griffith in issue 1 was really exciting to see. I’ve known Phil a little bit for a while, but never actually worked with him or even spent any real time talking to him before we started this comic—and it turned out we grew up really close by each other. And Andrew, I love working with. That first issue coming together was really cool.

As far as looking ahead—I think the last act of the story, the last third is really strong. Issue 9 is really crazy action, and I think James and I found a good rhythm to the writing there. And issue 10 is a lot of fun, there’s sort of a breath to take, before the end comes.

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Marvel Retrospective II: “Power Play!”, “Prisoner of War!”, and “The Last Stand”

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This is the second in a series of articles re-visiting Marvel’s version of Transformers, covering the 80 issues released in America and the 4-issue miniseries “The Headmasters.” Images are scanned from my personal copies of each comic.

...close enough.
…close enough.

Over the course of the rest of the original 4-issue miniseries, plot points similar to the cartoon’s “More Than Meets the Eye” are carried out: The Autobots establish a human-Cybertronian relationship with Earth in general and the Witwickies in particular; the Decepticons try to get energy; Starscream plots against Megatron; there are a few big battles; the general status quo is set.

But a couple things differ strongly throughout the arc.

Continue reading Marvel Retrospective II: “Power Play!”, “Prisoner of War!”, and “The Last Stand” →

Marvel Retrospective I: “The Transformers”

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This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of articles re-visiting Marvel’s version of Transformers, covering the 80 issues released in America and the 4-issue miniseries “The Headmasters.” Images are scanned from my personal copies of each comic.

Here we go again for the first time...
Here we go again for the first time…

It was a world transformed.

In 1984, Marvel comics began a series of comics that would be the very first representation of Transformers in fiction, edited – and soon written – by Bob Budiansky, the same man who named most of the early characters and wrote the bios printed on the toy packaging.

Though I feel the animated cartoon that soon followed became, for most folks, the definitive version of the G1 story, the comic rumbled along far longer than the ‘toon lasted and morphed into its own totally unique version of the mythos.

I was a kid in the early 1990s, when Transformers was in decline, and my first introduction to the property was by way of an old Marvel comic I found at my local library. I spent much of my childhood scavenging yard sales, book stores, and flea markets for signs that Transformers once existed, and it oftentimes paid off in the odd issue of the Marvel comic, usually far distant in the chronology from any other that I owned. So I pieced this story together in my mind and it became just as cherished as the cartoon that I also adored.

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IDW “After The Dark…” Teaser Images Reveal HUGE Twist

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AfterTheDarkOptimus AfterTheDarkWindbladeAfterTheDarkMegatron

 

Over on their Tumblr, IDW’s been tossing out teaser images for what comes after Dark Cybertron with the “After The Dark…” tagline. The first one, with Optimus Prime (or possibly still Orion Pax?) over a planet that looks suspiciously like Earth, was a bit of a surprise after IDW swore off Earth-based stories a couple years back. The second, with Windblade and Cybertron, surprised no one (but was nice to see!).

It’s the third one that’s the real shocker, not so much for the character it features – Megatron – but for the details. Yep, that’s an Autobot symbol on Megatron’s chest, and his associated setting? The Lost Light.

Things just got a whole lot more interesting.

 

Windblade Comic Announced – With Women on Words and Art!

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Let’s be honest: In geek media, women are usually done either really well or really poorly, with little in between. So when the results of Hasbro’s Fans’ Choice poll earlier this year got us a female character who we were promised was going to make it into the mainstream of IDW’s G1-based comics, there were concerns. Though it’s hardly the fault of the current creative staff, IDW’s Arcee was handled less than ideally, especially compared to other contemporary characters of the same name. With heteronormativity already tossed to the wind how would they approach another female Transformer?

But it looks like the lady will be in good hands. An early preview has now confirmed that Windblade will be introduced in her own comic (though whether a one-shot or a miniseries is as yet unknown) written by Transformers Prime writer Mairghread Scott with art by Sarah Stone. In addition to her female-character-friendly work on Transformers Prime, both the show and IDW’s Beast Hunters comic, Mairghread has been enthusiastic about encouraging the female side of the fandom. Sarah has previously done work for Hasbro-owned Wizards of the Coast as well as some very female-gaze-friendly Transformers fanart.

There are still no details about where Windblade comes from in a race that’s been Word-of-God-ed into definite genderlessness, but it looks like whatever the story, it’ll be told by people who have at least one very important thing in common with our new robo-lady.