Transformers More than Meets The Eye and Robots In Disguise Comics (January 2012)

[Hursticon]

Courtesy of TFW2005.com (http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/comics-16/transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-and-robots-in-disguise-comics-coming-in-jan-2012-173600/), who were lucky enough to sit in on an Online Press Conference with IDW yesterday with regards to the upcoming ongoing Comics: Transformers: More than Meets The Eye and Robots in Disguise.

Quick details directly quoted from TFW2005:


In More Than Meets The Eye, Rodimus will lead at least the following bots - Ultra Magnus, Drift, Ratchet (they are seen on the multi cover images). We will follow them and whomever goes with them in space as they search for the "Knights of Cybertron" a legendary band of bots. They are not even sure if they are real. They supposedly have the power to return Cybertron to the "Golden Age" before the war. This group will run into remnants of the Great War on planets and locations that aren't yet aware it is over, as well as other conflicts. So even though the war is over, it is still an action book.


Robots In Disguise will focus on Bumblebee and his attempts to rebuild Cybertron's society. Bots staying with 'Bee will include at least Ironhide, Prowl and Wheeljack. Thousands of neutral Transformers are returning home knowing the war is over. Cybertronians that fled the planet eons ago without choosing sides. Left over Decepticons are also present and need to be dealt with, re-integrated. Bumblebee doesn't want to return to the past; rather, he wants to forge a new future for their race. Here and now, moving forward. Managing all these factions and points of view is hard and we will follow his journey through that.

Read on here (http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/comics-16/transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-and-robots-in-disguise-comics-coming-in-jan-2012-173600/) for a full breakdown of the new series, images for the covers, and QnA info.

Pics Mirrored from TFW2005.com:


MTMTE _-_ RID
http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a409/Darkone666au/Webpics/MTMTE-1-A_1319077336.jpg http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a409/Darkone666au/Webpics/RID-1-A_1319077336.jpg

[i_amtrunks]

Interesting new direction for the comics, and with the two 'new' leaders.

Looks like a good split of teams too, obviously Ratchet going on the team going to warzones makes sense, wonder if that means we'll see more first aid in the Cybertronian set run?

[SharkyMcShark]

Really digging the More Than Meets the Eye art there.

Seriously though, another soft reboot already? That's now like 3 in the last 3 and a half years (AHM, Ongoing, then this)

[griffin]

Damn, for a second there, the topic title had me thinking it was news on #81... :(

[i_amtrunks]

Really digging the More Than Meets the Eye art there.

Seriously though, another soft reboot already? That's now like 3 in the last 3 and a half years (AHM, Ongoing, then this)

Not sure if this can be considered a reboot? It's more of an evolution/split derived from the events (yet to occur) in the ongoing. Not a comic terminology person, so it is very likely I am grossly wrong here.

Unless it more or less ignores the previous comic events/storyline (Which seems unlikely from the known blurbs) like AHM , then I think it can certainly be defined as a reboot.

Time will tell I suppose.

[griffin]

Some more info and cover images here (http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/idw-transformers-january-2012-solicitations/23061/)... showing that these ongoing comic series means the end of the ongoing numbering.
It also means that comic fans now have two ongoing TFs comics to purchase every month.

I wonder if it will last long, as they would have decided this 2-per-month structure before they started doing it with the current ongoing comic... and I don't think that improved sales or interest. Then again, if they are able to make money from a smaller print run now (subsidised by their TPB sales and digital versions), they can produce a lot more stories now.


Are they ever going to get a significant issue number happening, or is that not a good thing in the comic industry anymore? Are people that put off by a later issue comic just because the concept of stand-alone issues just doesn't happen anymore? Too many resets and #1s to encourage people to have another look perhaps. Too much dragging out of plots that take 6+ issues to complete may well force some people to have to come back to see what happens next, but so is a good single-issue story format like our 80s comics had.

[SharkyMcShark]

All I got from that link is that they're making new 30 days of night comics. Hurrah

[griffin]

And what is with Bumblebee now looking like the one from WFC game... I know we've seen like 8 different versions of Bumblebee in the IDW-verse, but this seems really out of place. Almost like Hasbro wants the WFC/FoC continuity to be touched on or used to promote the upcoming game (and expected toys), or someone at IDW liked that Generations toy. Neither of which fit within the IDW-verse continuity.

Speaking of poor continuity within IDW, Bumblebee is completely different on two of the different covers... as are most of the other characters. Its like there is no Editor in charge at IDW to have these visual contradictions - which is just as bad as story contradictions.

[SMHFConvoy]

Not sure if this can be considered a reboot? It's more of an evolution/split derived from the events (yet to occur) in the ongoing. Not a comic terminology person, so it is very likely I am grossly wrong here.

Unless it more or less ignores the previous comic events/storyline (Which seems unlikely from the known blurbs) like AHM , then I think it can certainly be defined as a reboot.

Time will tell I suppose.

It's no where near a reboot or any sort of boot :). I'll get it but through comixology.

[griffin]

It's definitely not a reboot... just from reading the TFW article. Not only are the two stories existing because of events in the Ongoing comic, but there are now so many characters killed off that will never should never appear in the new series. It's not a reboot when plot and cast are being restricted by events of a previous story it claims not to have anything/much to do with.
"A good time" to jump in? Not if you want to be seeing certain favourite characters or not have to worry why certain things are happening.



All I got from that link is that they're making new 30 days of night comics. Hurrah

I just changed the link to the Seibertron article, as it weeds out all the non-TFs info and pics (I didn't realise IDW had grown so much in the last year or two... last time I looked at a monthly release listing of theirs, it had like 5-10 comics, with TFs being 2 or 3 of them).

[Hursticon]

Damn, for a second there, the topic title had me thinking it was news on #81... :(

Sorry man, they have been a little quiet on that front as of late though huh? :o

[Paulbot]

Bumbleebee and his inner circle have their recent Earth modes on the four covers. The cover with them all together suggests that they are getting new Cybertronian modes (which makes sense given the storyline of their book). Bumblebee still has a cane though.. shame that getting a new body can't fix the problem with your leg!

We are buying two Transformers comics a month now anyway, and I don't find it a bad thing... I just look forward to the Chaos issue more than the Last story on Earth issue. It's also similar to the early IDW days where there were are couple of series at a time.

Comic companies assume that large numbers are "off-putting" to new readers and know that speculators/'investors'/somewhat interested people are likely to try out a new issue 1. DC just renumbered every single superhero book they produce and, even though some where approaching the 700s. Marvel has restarted the numbering on every long running comic they produce, but often then reset the numbers back to 'original' numbering (Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Fantastic Four have all done this). And now they are adding .1 to some book numbers to suggest it's like an issue 1 as it's the start of a new story/status quo. It does makes things very confusing.

[i_amtrunks]

With the focus in one series being on Cybertron, it makes sense for Bee and his cohorts (Prowl, Wheeljack and Ironhide) to sport cybertronian based designs. Using WFC as a starting point is a good idea, they have some fantastic visuals to use.
Hopefully we wont get teaked/different body designs every issue like we did in the ongoing, as well as each miniseries, it as jarring trying to figure out who was who week in and week out.

IDW sure has grown as a company, I think the business (and $$$) from acquiring the Buffy, TF, GIJoe and Star Trek licenses as well as having some fantastic titles not associated with other lines (Locke and Key) has helped them to expand so quickly and try to cement down #4 in the comic industry. I know that they have had some excellent series of late while TF went downhill thanks to poor editing, and I am hearing good things about their newer license purchases like TMNT too.

I guess the two tf titles a month may be working alright (they have done more than two titles every time a movie has come out, with the main book, movie title/s and mini series!), and I would much prefer to have two distinctly titled books focusing on two distinctly different teams and storylines, than have the mish mash we have in the ongoing currently! That way if one starts circling the drain storywise, hopefully the other will still be worth tracking down.

Lets just wait and see if dead means dead...

[Hursticon]

I'm looking forward to these myself as I am one of the newbies who are looking to jump onto the IDW bandwagon but have been prevented from doing so in the past. :o

Mainly because, from an outsiders perspective :p, it has been so utterly confusing as to where to begin with the IDWverse; at present the only stuff I've read of theirs is the Beast Wars (TPB) and Last Stand of The Wreckers (TPB), mainly because they're more or less self contained. :D

[griffin]

Images of the covers in their combined form (http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-mtmte-and-rid-cover-art/23065/) (each of the two series has 5 covers - 4 that join up and one that is a different group shot).

(that's like 10 issues to be bought in one month, plus any incentive covers)