The Transformers (IDW, formerly "Robots in Disguise")

[andersonh1]

]Life is a journey. They've seen and dealt with missiles before.

Ask the soldier who's been shot at hundreds of times when he stops taking that seriously. I doubt it ever happens.

But that's fine, the characters will continue to be yukking it up through one crisis after another while I"m thinking "this is a farce" and stop reading. Which may happen sooner rather than later unless the plot gets more interesting and we get some drama instead of stupid banter.

Ask the soldier who's lived millions of years, been shot a ton of times, and has seen proof that death isn't even likely for redshirts when he stops taking it seriously, it'll probably be a million years ago or so.

And what about gallows-humor? All life is comedy and drama depending on perspective. I mean, these are COMIC books after all.

The irony here is we're approaching this book from opposite needs and both finding it near drop-worthy.

That is funny. Eh, I'll give it a few more issues and see what happens. I hate to drop more comics, especially Transformers. My pull list is getting pretty thin as it is.

Am I the only one who is really hoping that "Robots in Disguise" does not become "Autobots and Decepticons fighting on Earth"?

Too late, it already has.

[Dominic]

Why keep a dedicated "Transformers" spot at all though?

My pull-list is also getting thin. I kicked off this year with 7-9 books on my pull-file (not counting books I read casually).

A combination of books being cancelled and publishers basically telling me to not bother with their product has halved my pull-list.


In the last 2 or 3 years, I stopped being a transfan and became a comics fan who happened to read "Transformers" comics along with other stuff.

"Transformers" kept a spot by not being like the big two. But, now with "Reboots in Disguise" doing the sort of thing that the big two was doing 15 years ago, I am less interested. (If IDW is going to run the game like the big two, then I am going to treat it like the big two.)

And, aside from "Re-Generation One", TF has not topped my reading list for at least a year.

To me, if there isn't good news at Botcon or Comic-Con about this, I'm out, so July for me.

If things do not improve, the news will have to be exceptional to keep me interested in "Reboots in Disguise" past August. I mean like "Kieron Gillen teams up with Nicola Scott" level exceptional.

[Dominic]

Issue #29:
A mixed bag. This book still has potential. But, I am more dubious of that potential being delivered on.

There is some follow-up with Prowl and the Contructicons. And, Prowl acknowledges that the fact nobody noticed he was under Bombshell's control probably says more about him than it does anybody else. But, on the real side of things, Barber is screwing up.

Putting aside the fact that "Thundercracker as a stunted fanboy" is wearing thin (especially following on all of the development that Costa gave the character), Barber blunders in this issue. For whatever reason, Barber applies a Marvel-style "time slide" that effectively placed "All Hail Megatron" in Q4 2011 (3 years after "All Hail Megatron" was initially published).

Besides the fact that the time slide obviously indicates that Barber is discarding "real time:page time", Barber also specifies that "All Hail Megatron" started not long after the "Occupy" movement took root in NY. In other words, Barber applied a time-slide (just like Marvel) and managed to reference a time specific event....which defeats the purpose of a timeslide. That is exactly the kind of mistake that a competent editor should avoid making.

Grade: F


I am dropping at least one book in August (to make room for "Multiversity", which was officially solicited this week). As of right now, "Transformers: Reboots in Disguise" is the one most likely to get dropped, even allowing for the fact that Gillen is leaving "Iron Man" this summer.

Barber might be setting up for a "nobody can trust anybody angle". (There is plenty in this issue to indicate that.) But, that is not going to be enough to keep me unless this book impresses the hell out of me by the end of Q3.

[Onslaught Six]

Besides the fact that the time slide obviously indicates that Barber is discarding "real time:page time", Barber also specifies that "All Hail Megatron" started not long after the "Occupy" movement took root in NY. In other words, Barber applied a time-slide (just like Marvel) and managed to reference a time specific event....which defeats the purpose of a timeslide. That is exactly the kind of mistake that a competent editor should avoid making.

This hurts. This is a beginner mistake. God damn it.

[JediTricks]

Read this issue last night, pretty disappointing. Making Marissa Faireborn part of the Occupy movement just to get her into the AHM storyline felt pretty clunky. I could buy that the TF universe had its Occupy movement come 3 years earlier, but it's a real strain to think that in a few short years she'd go from dipshit activist to director of the EDC simply because she survived the Decepticon assault on Manhattan. And the justification for getting the EDC aligned with the Decepticons simply didn't hold enough water: "they told us that their leader left them and joined you, so now we hate you instead and love them" -- COME ON. But worst of all, nothing happens here whatsoever, this is maybe 15 minutes of storyline stretched out across a whole book, flashbacks included, 17 minutes if you count what's going on in space.

I also didn't like the art for the main storyline, there were a few scale issues but it was just the pencils that felt sloppy in the details, there's a page early on where the "camera" closes in on Prime's face, and his cheeks get progressively bigger as his eyes get progressively smaller and narrower. The inking on Arcee was terrible both in the roll call and in her cameo towards the end. The little things can take down the big ones.

Why book, why? I wouldn't give it an F the way Dom did, but I'd give it a C- at least.

[andersonh1]

I had some of the same problems that JT did with this issue, but on the other hand, despite dreading a return to Autobots vs. Decepticons on Earth, I found that I enjoyed a "back to basics" issue. The return to Earth does seem forced though. How and why would Alpha Trion be there? Did I miss an explanation somewhere?

And there is no way I'm buying humanity trusting Decepticons after what they did. Like MTMTE, I'm having trouble buying the basic premise of the storyline, even as I'm enjoying bits and pieces of it. Prowl's comments about no one noticing when he was mind controlled was a nice character moment, provided you can believe that he genuinely means it. The callbacks to Prowl leading the first mission to Earth and Jazz's accidental killing of a human are nicely done as well.

I liked more about the issue than I didn't, but a C- grade seems very fair to me.

[JediTricks]

I had some of the same problems that JT did with this issue, but on the other hand, despite dreading a return to Autobots vs. Decepticons on Earth, I found that I enjoyed a "back to basics" issue.

I'd agree with that, there was something appealing about the "robots in disguise" aspect of Robots in Disguise here. And then Prowl comes in and ruins that.


I can't believe they changed the character model on Thundercracker and Optimus so much between issues.

[Dominic]

And there is no way I'm buying humanity trusting Decepticons after what they did.

The whole theme of this are looks to be "treachery and back-stabbery". It is a safe bet that Barber will reveal (by part 4 likely, part 6 at the latest) that the humans were only playing along to get something from Galvatron and his crew. The humans cannot trust the Transformers, and the Transformers (likely including Thundercracker) cannot trust the humans.

I'd agree with that, there was something appealing about the "robots in disguise" aspect of Robots in Disguise here. And then Prowl comes in and ruins that

Considering that Prowl is engaging in what is basically a false-flag attack, he is technically still in disguise. (Aside from a few faction switcher characters, "false-flag" tactics are suprisingly rare in "Transformers" over-all, especially given that their whole gimmick is trickery and disguise.)

How and why would Alpha Trion be there? Did I miss an explanation somewhere?

Nope. Trion was last seen getting a (well-earned) punch in the face from Ironhide during the "Ironhide" mini-series.

Trion is most likely on Earth because Barber is doing some house-cleaning. He is as much, if not more, an editor as he is a writer (which is what makes that the sloppy time-slide all the more botherome).

[Sparky Prime]

How and why would Alpha Trion be there? Did I miss an explanation somewhere?

Nope. Trion was last seen getting a (well-earned) punch in the face from Ironhide during the "Ironhide" mini-series.

Trion is most likely on Earth because Barber is doing some house-cleaning. He is as much, if not more, an editor as he is a writer (which is what makes that the sloppy time-slide all the more botherome).

I remember when the crew of the Lost Light found Windblade, Nautica and Chromia during Dark Cybertron, they mentioned Alpha Trion. Something about him being close to finding some sort of holy grail artifact, which is why he wasn't able to go help Metroplex himself.

[andersonh1]

How and why would Alpha Trion be there? Did I miss an explanation somewhere?

Nope. Trion was last seen getting a (well-earned) punch in the face from Ironhide during the "Ironhide" mini-series.

Trion is most likely on Earth because Barber is doing some house-cleaning. He is as much, if not more, an editor as he is a writer (which is what makes that the sloppy time-slide all the more botherome).

I remember when the crew of the Lost Light found Windblade, Nautica and Chromia during Dark Cybertron, they mentioned Alpha Trion. Something about him being close to finding some sort of holy grail artifact, which is why he wasn't able to go help Metroplex himself.

So this artifact is, of course, on Earth? We already had one Macguffin there in the form of ore-13, and Earth wasn't unique in being seeded by Shockwave's ores. Two is pushing it a bit. But I suppose it depends on what it is and why it's there.