Comic Review: Windblade (ongoing)

[i_amtrunks]

So with Combiner Wars heating up, the next ongoing is begun: Windblade.

The series is a collaboration between Mairghread Scott (Windblade) and John Baber (Transformers (formally known as Robots in Disguise), Art duties for the Windblade issues are to be handled by Sarah Stone

Most of the action happens on Caminus or on Cybertron discussing Caminus and follows directly after the events of Transformers 39.

Nice to see Starscream has grand plans that he thinks so clever and infallible, but he is almost immediately put on the back foot by the religious aspect of Camian life. The Hasbro sanctioned toy part of the issues is neatly skirted around and the only weird error in the issue is where Prime reveals the Matrix as a shiny bauble again, something I thought impossible considering earlier events...

[FruitBuyer]

Story was pretty solid. Nothing super special, I think Scott is starting to grow on me.

Stand-out is the art. I absolutely love seeing Stone's divine lines again

[prjkt]

Well on the matrix side of things, he's got back Bumbleebee's half, and you can see that it's only half a sphere glowing in his chest.... So that makes sense there.

Really liking the way this is building up, Starscream's plot to make himself out a hero by solving a problem he created, Swindle realising he's been swindled, and Optimus playing the "God" card... This could get really interesting once Prowlestator gets involved too.

[tinyJazz]

I wish Stone could do environments, or get another layout artist. The style is gorgeous and messy, but it's still talking heads stuff. Everyone just seems to be floating and not placed in an actual setting.

The full page shot of Menasor under attack that had him breaking out of the panel lines was pretty impressive though, very nicely done.

Dialogue was a bit meh. Got pretty cringeworthy at the last few pages.

[GoktimusPrime]

I wish Stone could do environments, or get another layout artist. The style is gorgeous and messy, but it's still talking heads stuff. Everyone just seems to be floating and not placed in an actual setting.
I may be wrong, but I think it's intentional as Stone is creating a "Shojo manga (http://www.kansou-review.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/5DB5F14E.jpg)" style of Transformers art, and Shojo manga (http://ddnavi.com/denshibuOld/uploads/2011/01/c2f75ac486ed2d2e06c50b4fd152318d1.PNG) can be more scant on detailed environments and feature more "floating heads" (http://up.gc-img.net/post_img/2013/09/sYpgaG4J5xgjnnB_YQsmV_426.jpeg), as opposed to Shonen (http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/onecall_dazeee/imgs/b/b/bb91c5f5-s.jpg) manga (http://blog-imgs-32-origin.fc2.com/y/o/u/yousuky/afureko-yousuky216.jpg); and mecha manga (http://blog-imgs-44.fc2.com/h/i/g/higekumatoytoy/TFALL04003.jpg) is typically Shonen. Shojo (http://amnesia-256.img.jugem.jp/20090402_1032455.jpg) is comparatively more visually abstract (http://blog-imgs-43-origin.fc2.com/l/e/o/leodraco/02_20100826102749.jpg) than Shonen (http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/onecall_dazeee/imgs/4/f/4fc495ae.jpg).

I really liked how the issue ended with Optimus Prime being faced with a moral dilemma and acting on it in a way that doesn't directly contradict his core persona. On one hand, if he stood by and did nothing, he would risk Caminus being manipulated by Starscream to their detriment... or he could go to Caminus and allow himself to manipulate the Camini's religious blind faith in defence of their freedom. He's not actively deceiving the Camini by claiming to be a living deity, but he is arguably passively deceiving them by playing along with their beliefs and not at all refuting his godhood. He needs the Camini to believe and worship him as a god if he is to stand a chance to challenge Starscream's influence over Caminus. So he was forced to choose what he believed to be the lesser of two evils -- abuse an entire people's religious faith for the sake of defending those people and their liberty... and in doing so, safeguarding his core belief that freedom is the right of all sentient beings. It was an informed decision and I liked how Windblade didn't want to force Optimus' hand either, even saying that being Starscream's colony wouldn't necessarily be a terrible thing (although clearly not preferable).

Watching the Camini kneeling at Optimus' feet was an incredibly emotional moving and provocative moment. Fan-bloody-tastic! :D

[prjkt]

Agreed - I love how different the culture of Caminus is, and the way Windblade honestly and matter-of-factory laid out the choices Optimus had, without (much) bias.

Am I alone in thinking a Roberts/Shadowplay style flashback to early Camien history would be awesome? Possibly tyeing in with MTMTE's quest for the Knights of Cybertron and other creation myths?

[philby]

I really liked how the issue ended with Optimus Prime being faced with a moral dilemma and acting on it in a way that doesn't directly contradict his core persona. On one hand, if he stood by and did nothing, he would risk Caminus being manipulated by Starscream to their detriment... or he could go to Caminus and allow himself to manipulate the Camini's religious blind faith in defence of their freedom. He's not actively deceiving the Camini by claiming to be a living deity, but he is arguably passively deceiving them by playing along with their beliefs and not at all refuting his godhood. He needs the Camini to believe and worship him as a god if he is to stand a chance to challenge Starscream's influence over Caminus. So he was forced to choose what he believed to be the lesser of two evils -- abuse an entire people's religious faith for the sake of defending those people and their liberty... and in doing so, safeguarding his core belief that freedom is the right of all sentient beings. It was an informed decision and I liked how Windblade didn't want to force Optimus' hand either, even saying that being Starscream's colony wouldn't necessarily be a terrible thing (although clearly not preferable).



so it was kind of like luke using threepio to scare the ewoks in return of the jedi? :D

[Bidoofdude]

I'm looking to read this on an IDW read through. Is it worth it?

My current list (in order)
-Megatron Origin
-Spotlights
-Drift
-All Hail Megatron
-LSOTW
-TF Ongoing
-Heart of Darkness
-Death of Optimus
-RID Ongoing
-MTMTE Ongoing
-Dark Cybertron
-Windblade

Is there anything else on there I should skip or is not worth reading? I'm wanting to skip the -ation books because they don't seem to be my style.

[prjkt]

The original Windblade series is great, shows an interesting side to Starscream and those left on Cybertron.

I chose to read everything, from the start, as I like to know what's happening. There are hints in the original -ation series to events even as late as Dark Cybertron. Don't forget to read the Maximum Dinobots miniseries as well, that closes off a few loose ends from the -ation series and finishes what Spotlight: Shockwave and Spotlight: Grimlock started.

[Paulbot]

I'm looking to read this on an IDW read through. Is it worth it?

My current list (in order)
-Megatron Origin
-Spotlights
-Drift
-All Hail Megatron
-LSOTW
-TF Ongoing
-Heart of Darkness
-Death of Optimus
-RID Ongoing
-MTMTE Ongoing
-Dark Cybertron
-Windblade

Is there anything else on there I should skip or is not worth reading? I'm wanting to skip the -ation books because they don't seem to be my style.

If you skipped Drift and Heart of Darkness you wouldn't be missing much. Heart of Darkness is so ugly. If you skip the -ation books it'd be a shame, they are great story, although rushed to a climax. Four of the Spotlight comics are the end of the -ation series in fact.

If you do skip the -ation books, you can have my copy of the Transformers Continuum (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Transformers_Continuum) (fairly sure it's still lying about my comic pile somewhere). As TFwiki points out, it's a not a great book and has errors, but it is a summary of everything up to the start of the TF Ongoing.

As for this series, you'll want to read at least the first few issues as they are parts of the Combiner Wars crossover. It's expected that these issues will turn up with wave 3 or wave 4 Combiner War deluxes.

[i_amtrunks]

If you skipped Drift and Heart of Darkness you wouldn't be missing much. Heart of Darkness is so ugly. If you skip the -ation books it'd be a shame, they are great story, although rushed to a climax. Four of the Spotlight comics are the end of the -ation series in fact.

As for this series, you'll want to read at least the first few issues as they are parts of the Combiner Wars crossover. It's expected that these issues will turn up with wave 3 or wave 4 Combiner War deluxes.

Agree with all of this. Skipping the -ations is a shame, but understandable, but make sure you go back to everything pre AHM at some point!

[Bidoofdude]

The reason I don't think I'd like the -ation books is because of the art style, at least what I can see from the outside. Does the continuum cover most of the important stuff?

I was a fan of Dark Cybertron, and what from what I understand, Windblade starts somewhere in there. I'll give the first few issues a go. :)

Megatron Origin looks really cool as well. I'm always into his development as a character.

[Paulbot]

I got issue one, but have only flicked through it so far. The crossover doesn't particularly grab me and starting a new series with the second chapter of another story seems wrong to me.


The reason I don't think I'd like the -ation books is because of the art style, at least what I can see from the outside. Does the continuum cover most of the important stuff?

I was a fan of Dark Cybertron, and what from what I understand, Windblade starts somewhere in there. I'll give the first few issues a go. :)

Megatron Origin looks really cool as well. I'm always into his development as a character.

The Continuum book covers all the main plot points broadly, and gets some a little wrong, but is a good cheat sheet if you're going to skip those comics. The Windblade miniseries takes place after the Dark Cybertron crossover. The ongoing Windblade series occurs now in the Combiner Wars crossover.

[i_amtrunks]

Megatron Origin looks really cool as well. I'm always into his development as a character.

Then don't read Megatron Origins. It was a complete cluster.... Of a series that contradicted much of the then current IDW history and required massive retcons and re workings to now fit. Art was nice.

Shame you aren't a fan of EJ Su's art, I always found his work on the -ations books to be some of my favourite, and was one of the many reasons I started reading them to begin with. Sure beat the previously decent Figueora art we got in the ongoing!

If you plan on rewarding the spotlights, read the -ations, it's less than 30 issues and will help a lot with the spotlights which weave in and out of them, plus they all tie back into Dark Cybertron anyway.

[Bidoofdude]

Then don't read Megatron Origins. It was a complete cluster.... Of a series that contradicted much of the then current IDW history and required massive retcons and re workings to now fit. Art was nice.

Shame you aren't a fan of EJ Su's art, I always found his work on the -ations books to be some of my favourite, and was one of the many reasons I started reading them to begin with. Sure beat the previously decent Figueora art we got in the ongoing!

If you plan on rewarding the spotlights, read the -ations, it's less than 30 issues and will help a lot with the spotlights which weave in and out of them, plus they all tie back into Dark Cybertron anyway.

If I ever see them I might give them a flick through. The only art I've actually seen is covers and a few TFwiki pictures.

[philby]

Then don't read Megatron Origins. It was a complete cluster.... Of a series that contradicted much of the then current IDW history and required massive retcons and re workings to now fit. Art was nice.

Shame you aren't a fan of EJ Su's art, I always found his work on the -ations books to be some of my favourite, and was one of the many reasons I started reading them to begin with. Sure beat the previously decent Figueora art we got in the ongoing!

If you plan on rewarding the spotlights, read the -ations, it's less than 30 issues and will help a lot with the spotlights which weave in and out of them, plus they all tie back into Dark Cybertron anyway.

what's wrong with megatron origins? usually the tfwiki has some snarky sarcastic comments about things that were crap or silly but I didn't notice any.

I bought MTMTE vol 1 trade paperback as pretty much my first TF comic and after that started buying the hardcover IDW collections which start with megatron origins. so i don't know what's been messed up :p (i also don't seem to absorb as much so i may have just missed it...)

[i_amtrunks]

At the time it was originally released it contradicted pretty much everything of what had been mentioned about Cybertrons history. It suffered from showing characters that had died/ didn't exist or were not meant to be there. It also had fembots, who at that point did not exist outside of Arcee.

A lot of the errors were fixed in subsequent trades, or retconned later by Barber, but if was a real jumbled mess that was made at a time when the fledging tf fiction was in a really cohesive place.

[i_amtrunks]

Issue 2 is out, and while I am usually either a fan of, or don't mind Livio's art, he has not done a very good job on this one.

He has character models all mixed up (although he was sent the wrong models to work from) and it is nigh impossible at times to tell what is going on.

Another quick fight, another combiner and Prowl looks like he may the centre point for this mini series. He has the best into on the who's who page.

[Sharky]

i have a feeling that end of this prowl will be dead

[i_amtrunks]

i have a feeling that end of this prowl will be dead

I have similar sentiments, but I feel that the Table flipping Prowl we all know and love will have turned out to be dead from the moment he placed himself as the Head of Prowlestator.

I know comic charaterisation changes at the drop of a hat but he has been too different since his chipping.

On an unrelated note, I was interested to see Sunstreaker back on Cybertron, I thought he was a better fit on the Lost Light. He must be forming a limb on the Prime Combiner or something to be back and showed off so definitively on Cybertron this issue.

[Paulbot]

On an unrelated note, I was interested to see Sunstreaker back on Cybertron, I thought he was a better fit on the Lost Light. He must be forming a limb on the Prime Combiner or something to be back and showed off so definitively on Cybertron this issue.

Was just talking to Jinto about that. I couldn't recalled seeing Sunstreaker on the Lost Light since Dark Cybertron

[Sharky]

Was just talking to Jinto about that. I couldn't recalled seeing Sunstreaker on the Lost Light since Dark Cybertron

I will need to flip through all my books but I don't even think he has popped up anywhere since DC

[prjkt]

He has the best into on the who's who page.
Prowl
Prowl

I laughed when I saw that, as if it's the only description required.

I have a feeling that ever since Bombshell got a hold of him something "snapped" in there. (maybe as far back as Chromedome's quick and dirty probe)

Now this is all speculation, but....

His constant references to Scrapper, and the scene in an early release (can't remember which)that has him screaming, "Get out of my head" makes me think there's something, or someone else in there - maybe, way back in the "Chaos" event when Devastator literally had a dead leg (in Scrapper's body) some essence of his was transferred through to the other five, and when Prowl was integrated, that essence ended up in him (through the opening Chromedome left.)

To go further left-field with my speculation, I wonder if Scoop will play a part here... that essence being moved along to him, given a new paint job, and voila! Scrapper's back. Just in time for CW Devastator to be released...

(I knew I picked up TAV Roadblock for a reason....)

[GoktimusPrime]

so it was kind of like luke using threepio to scare the ewoks in return of the jedi? :D
"Tigaloo carbon!" ;)

In the latest issue of Combiner Wars, Optimus Prime does explain his actions in terms of <spoiler> acknowledging that Starscream is the rightful ruler of Cybertron, but also pointing out that he cannot be given free reign. </spoiler>

[philby]

Issue 2 is out, and while I am usually either a fan of, or don't mind Livio's art, he has not done a very good job on this one.

He has character models all mixed up (although he was sent the wrong models to work from) and it is nigh impossible at times to tell what is going on.

Another quick fight, another combiner and Prowl looks like he may the centre point for this mini series. He has the best into on the who's who page.


yeah i was fairly disappointed in this issue surprisingly. i find hard to work out wtf is going with this art style more than others. also in terms of writing, i though that defensor's intro or appearance was really bad.

:(

[prjkt]

yeah i was fairly disappointed in this issue surprisingly. i find hard to work out wtf is going with this art style more than others. also in terms of writing, i though that defensor's intro or appearance was really bad.

:(

yeah that was seriously rushed. And Rook's intro? Just two frames where he's a head in the background. Hopefully he gets a better intro in the next issue.

[BigTransformerTrev]

yeah i was fairly disappointed in this issue surprisingly. i find hard to work out wtf is going with this art style more than others. also in terms of writing, i though that defensor's intro or appearance was really bad.

:(


yeah that was seriously rushed. And Rook's intro? Just two frames where he's a head in the background. Hopefully he gets a better intro in the next issue.

Yeah I didn't even notice Rook until my second reading. Considering the massive backstory/buildup all the other combiners have gotten in IDW (Mons, Dev, Men & Sup) for Defensor to turn up as a matter of convenience felt too easy and rushed.

That said, it was an interesting last panel where you had Starascream looking pleased as punch with Defensor and Superion standing behind him, ready to do his bidding :)

[prjkt]

I wonder if Rook will get a flashback back story, similar to Blackjack's explaining, or try to, his presence at the space bridge when Defensor was formed.

[prjkt]

Well, that was interesting.

Pretty cool to see the joining of minds work, and the cameo's at the end are quite interesting. Elita 1's got an interesting throne.

EDIT: TAV Roadblock might end up as my CW version of Scoop for a while

[CHILENO20]

Well, that was interesting.

Pretty cool to see the joining of minds work, and the cameo's at the end are quite interesting. Elita 1's got an interesting throne.

EDIT: TAV Roadblock might end up as my CW version of Scoop for a while

Just read it, very cool mind meld

[i_amtrunks]

That was underwhelming to me.

Another IDW non-event event.

I quite like the art style but it does not gel with the previous art style. I am by no means suggesting that Livio would have done better or been a better fit (his work in the previous issues was disappointing) but when collected together, it will not mesh.

Story was dull and rushed. After all that Prowl gave up so easily, a very lacklustre finish to what Barber was building to in RiD. A shame as if there was no Hasbro interference I feel we would have been given something far more substantial for these combiners. As it stands, it more or less felt as if the whole event was made up of:
1. Aargh big messy fight.
2. Bots standing near each other got 'macguffined' together
3. big messy fight
4. Prowl Angst
5. Bots standing near each other got 'macguffined' together
6. Bigger messier fight
7. Optimus Maximus angst
8. All back on cybertron.

I'm sure that if this is the way the story was heading (and since RiD was more political thriller I feel it was already heading this way, but the combiners were utilised to make it happen far quicker) that it would have been better served by characters moving the plot forward, not messy fights and Prowl angst.

For now Windblade will be a trade only deal for me unless it picks up substantially in the first few issues. Its a shame as it had such potential and this "event" has done more harm than good to the brand to me.

[Paulbot]

For now Windblade will be a trade only deal for me unless it picks up substantially in the first few issues. Its a shame as it had such potential and this "event" has done more harm than good to the brand to me.

Which is fair enough, but the actual comic hasn't really started. They did this with a recent (Jessica Drew) Spider-Woman comic, the first few issues were all part of the Spider-verse crossover event and then the third or fourth was the actual first issue where the creators could do what they wanted without the mandated crossover. I suspect it will be similar with this series.

On the otherhand, the potential spoilertour of other Transformers series brought into or made concurrent with IDW's G1 is a little boring. There's been a bit of this popping up for a while (the RID comic making it a regular thing) but I just find it unoriginal.

[kup]

This is another 'Dark Cybertron' underwhelming event due to Hasbro meddling. I wish they would stay out, their toys would be incorporated into their stories anyways.

[prjkt]

I'm liking where issue 4 is heading... moving out into the colony worlds, first one being CrematoriaVelocitron. Knock Out is being a d*ck, even more so than his Prime counterpart, but seems to suit and abrasive, speed-obsessed culture.

Now I have to go find a Prime Knockout figure for my shelf....

[philby]

i didn't like the art as much in the latest issue, the regular changing of artists annoys me a bit it seems like a big jarring change in the middle of a story or series.

[CHILENO20]

Now I have to go find a Prime Knockout figure for my shelf....

I can help you out with that if you want :)

[prjkt]

Heh, the racetrack guards looks to be a stylised version of the Arms Micron Wildrider, to fit the theme of Prime characters/designs for Velocitron. I now can repurpose AM Wildrider now that CW Wildrider took his spot.

On topic though, I find the art, while very good in its own right, a little too cartoony compared to the first Windblade mini-series and other TF comics, but characters are still recognisable and distinct, so I guess that's better than some of Livio's attempts in the past.

Story-wise, I like how the issue of the Titan has been brought up, one track mind so to speak (pun intended) and I'd like to see this explored a little more in the next couple of issues...

[Verno]

Windblade #6.

Anyone that knows anything about me would rightly guess that I've been looking forward to seeing the inside of this Issue for a while now. When the cover first came out, I was really excited to see Tigatron tearing through an Autobot logo.

But then the preview hit the net, and between the use of Manta Ray and the artwork style, I was suddenly not as gushing in my excitement. But nonetheless, I trundled down to pick up a copy of it today.

Spoilers, obviously, as I work my way through the Issue.

Firstly, two of the 3 Covers are magic. The aforementioned Tigatron (subscription) cover is very nice, as is Priscilla's regular cover with the setting sun. The retailer incentive cover, however, is a waste of ink. But the most troubling thing for me is that none of the covers have any relevance to the story held within the 20 pages.

I say 20 pages because the first two pages are wasted with a recap of last month's Issue, as well as a needless roll-call which has no bearing on the story.

Opening on Eukaris, Airazor's (simplified) design is an enjoyable homage to the original. Tigatron's Transmetal-inspired body isn't as welcome. This is the beast-planet after all -- give us some fur. But then there's Animated Blackarachnia, which is just a great disappointment. Where's the original?!

Tigatron's dialogue is a little off for me here. He calls Airazor "my love" and then tells her to "fear not". These lines are more reminiscent of Silverbolt in my mind.

A spider that sees the future doesn't know why Tigatron and Airazor have arrived?

Time jumps around for the first half of the Issue. This is annoying.

The artwork doesn't improve as we stand around in the sun. The inclusion of Sonar is nice, but I don't see why Claw Jaw was overlooked for a piece of cheap McDonald's merchandise. Given the scope of the part during the Issue, it really could have been anyone. Ms. Scott has said the reason for Manta Ray's inclusion was for a larger female contingent in the Issue, to show that females existed in equal number on Eukaris. Personally, I think that was communicated well enough with Airazor, Blackarachnia and Sonar.

And then, on Page 6, Rattrap jumps through a Space Bridge that has the same colour as the sky, as if the thing doesn't need to power-up at all. Hm. Keep an eye out for Cheetor being on Dinobot's far left for two panels, then all of a sudden is directly on his right. Then there's Rattrap on Page 7. So we're not even drawing characters anymore? They're just blobs? And what's with this use of random question marks above characters heads? I'm not a fan.

Then we're back on Cybertron, with a similarly colour-fading backdrop, and being introduced to a new breed of Transformers from Devisiun. This is probably the only time this whole planet will be given in this miniseries. At least we're back into the present in the timeline.

We're back on Eukaris, and then a mountain explodes. It's a Metrotitan in the shape of a giant bird, who apparently brought the beast-bots to Eukaris all those millennia before. But then it attacks for no good reason. Windblade tries to talk to it, then Starscream shoots it in the brain and kills it.

Instead of being outraged that their ancient conveyance and protector has been killed, the bots of Eukaris seem pleased. Um, what?

The End.

So, this was an abomination of a story. Two pages are wasted at the start, then the end is rushed as we kill a giant bot with a single shot (by Starscream no less, who was seen to survive being blown in half by Megatron in Infiltration all those years ago. Consistent).

Airazor and Tigatron are called emissaries instead of delegates. Wink wink. Uh.

Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting from this Issue, but this wasn't it. I'll read some others' thoughts on the whole thing, try to find some positives and get back to you.

[tinyJazz]

Yep, pretty terrible. The story had no substance whatsoever, and the recap pages are a total wast of space. No wonder the windblade series is getting canned. :/

[Paulbot]

Re those recap pages, IDW (like Marvel, DC) have dropped the number of pages of new art per issue on some books (definitely on MTMTE) so it's probably the case on books like Windblade as well.

[BigTransformerTrev]

For some reason I had thought Fireshot was one of the Cons in the last Drift mini-series so was surprised to see him here.

Shouldn't have all the (BW) Beastformers been a lot smaller than the (G1) Cybertronians?

[Paulbot]

Shouldn't have all the (BW) Beastformers been a lot smaller than the (G1) Cybertronians?

Not in this contiunity. There's been no post-war Great War downsizing for 'Maximals' or 'Predacons' and none of the Beast Wars characters that have been introduced turn in to Earth animals (but plenty look like animals that look like earth animals though).