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SilverDragon
1st January 2009, 10:28 AM
I got the first issue a few days ago. It's interesting, despite the fact that I'm not particularly familiar with the IDW G1 universe.

I really liked the designs for the Dinobots' beast modes.

Also, is it just me, or is Grimlock like Wolverine?

GoktimusPrime
1st January 2009, 10:44 AM
How is Grimlock like Wolverine? If you mean in terms of being an anti-hero (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-hero) then it's nothing new - Grimlock's always been an anti-hero since G1, especially in the Marvel Comics.

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/7/71/Biggrim_me_king.jpghttp://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/e/e7/G1_Grimlock_vs_demons.jpg/200px-G1_Grimlock_vs_demons.jpghttp://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/f/fc/Prowlg1exodus.jpg/200px-Prowlg1exodus.jpg (http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/f/fc/Prowlg1exodus.jpg)http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/4/4c/Earthforce.jpg/250px-Earthforce.jpg

And in G2...
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/e/ec/Prowlg2muzzle.jpg/150px-Prowlg2muzzle.jpghttp://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/9/99/Biggrim.jpg/200px-Biggrim.jpg

And Beast Wars...
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/3/3f/GrimlockConvoys.JPG/250px-GrimlockConvoys.JPG

...basically, Grimlock's always been like that. :)

kup
1st January 2009, 11:14 AM
Wolverine always acted as if he prefered to be a loner or work alone. Grimlock on the other hand is not a loner type character as he prefers the Dinobots as company and is very loyal to them.

He is a Team player (even if just his own team) while Wolverine likes to pretend he is a loner (even though most of the time he is not).

SilverDragon
5th January 2009, 07:39 PM
I should have made myself clearer. :o

In my mind, this Grimlock's being like Wolverine in that...oh wait, never mind. I was going to say "he's a badass who gets whole comic series devoted to himself" but that's, like, all Grimlocks. :p

GoktimusPrime
5th January 2009, 08:36 PM
I read somewhere once that Wolverine has appeared on more comic book and magazine covers than any other X-Men character - so he seems to be a big favourite amongst authors and fans. Grimlock would definitely be a fan favourite and Simon Furman himself has openly admitted that he is his favourite Transformer and that he does enjoy writing about Grimlock. :)

FFN
6th January 2009, 02:33 PM
Does anybody want to buy a bunch of Sunstreakers to repaint as Machination Headmasters?

Paulbot
6th January 2009, 02:35 PM
Does anybody want to buy a bunch of Sunstreakers to repaint as Machination Headmasters?

I considered it. The white ones and black/gray ones look kind of cool.

i_amtrunks
7th January 2009, 08:47 AM
So good to get a continuation of something I have read for the past 3 years.

And nice to get something that is easy to read, and has a decent script as opposed to the AHM stuff.
There has obviously been a little time jump post Revelations, but unlike AHM, it doesn't really matter, it's just a natural pick up of where we left off from Spotlight Grimlock and Devastation.

Roche's art is different from what he has given us thus far, but it's still good, his work on Hunter is not great, but who cares about the squishies right? However his Dynobots/Thunder Lizards are fantastic and the colours are perfect for the series thus far.

Bring on #2, which from the 5 page preview looks to be a good blend of story and violence! :D

kup
7th January 2009, 08:53 AM
Yeah I am liking Maximum Dinobots so far. For me, the first issue alone is superior to the first 3 issues of AHM!

I am also glad that its place in continuity with the previous stories is solid unlike AHM.

GoktimusPrime
7th January 2009, 09:20 AM
Does anybody want to buy a bunch of Sunstreakers to repaint as Machination Headmasters?
Maybe if I found a loose lot for cheap... they'd probably be junkers though. :p

bassbot
7th January 2009, 09:21 AM
Loved #1, and Nick is gonna be doing some trouser shattering in #2 - the preview looks awesome. Hot Rod is totally pwned!

Paulbot
7th January 2009, 09:52 AM
Looking at the earlier Grimlock spotlight I did notice that Grimlock's design had changed, but I liked that they threw in a line to explain it (by him reflecting that he had only been able to make cosmetic changes to his form).

roller
7th January 2009, 10:37 AM
got the first issue yesterday

wasn't very impressed, but i know they need to do the whole backstory thing for new readers.

I also dont like how the IDW universe is going far into the future with AHM and then back to the past with Maximum Deenobots and then all over the place with the Spotlight issues

and then for new readers, you must hunt down all the spotlight issues that tie in with Minimum Dynobots, seems a bit silly to Roller

Spoiler warning





Spoiler warning



And whats with Hunter?

I thought he would be inside Sunstreakers vehicle mode, maybe part of the car, it sounds like he is missing-the hologram says something like that

FFN
8th January 2009, 07:15 AM
IDW Headmasters don't disconnect from their bodies when transforming. They stay in head mode while the body is in vehicle mode, and so Hunter needs to be projected as a holoavatar.

Sunstreaker's real head is missing, Machination took it away. In Devastation 4-5, Sunstreaker was so desperate to escape the Machination that he shunted nearly all of his consciousness into Hunter without telling him.

GoktimusPrime
8th January 2009, 08:18 AM
The merging of the two consciousness between Dante and Scorponok appears to have occured far more rapidly than it did in G1 between Zarak and Scorpie. It'll be interesting to see if this merger occurs with Hunter and Sunstreaker as we've never seen a true mind-meld like that between an Autobot and his binary bonded parter since Optimus Prime and Hi-Q... and even then, let's face it, it was pretty much Optimus Prime's personality that took over. Hi-Q's consciousness was effectively smothered when he was merged with Prime. Fortress Maximus and Spike had a symbiotic mental bond, but both consciousnesses remained independent of each other (moreso for Spike though). Hunter and Sunstreaker could become the first proper mind merge between an Autobot and his bonded partner! Hrmmm...

i_amtrunks
8th January 2009, 08:26 AM
IDW Headmasters don't disconnect from their bodies when transforming. They stay in head mode while the body is in vehicle mode, and so Hunter needs to be projected as a holoavatar.

Sunstreaker's real head is missing, Machination took it away. In Devastation 4-5, Sunstreaker was so desperate to escape the Machination that he shunted nearly all of his consciousness into Hunter without telling him.

What's more is that the Machination seem to need Sunstreaker's head to help control/utilise all the Sunstreaker clones.

I assume that if/when Streaker gets his head back the Machination will have no way to use their Streaker clones anymore.

FFN
8th January 2009, 08:43 AM
I assume it's because the Machination Sunstreakers are like Transtectors - sparkless bodies. No idea what happened to Sunstreaker's real body, as it would contain his spark casing.


The merging of the two consciousness between Dante and Scorponok appears to have occured far more rapidly than it did in G1 between Zarak and Scorpie. It'll be interesting to see if this merger occurs with Hunter and Sunstreaker as we've never seen a true mind-meld like that between an Autobot and his binary bonded parter since Optimus Prime and Hi-Q... and even then, let's face it, it was pretty much Optimus Prime's personality that took over. Hi-Q's consciousness was effectively smothered when he was merged with Prime. Fortress Maximus and Spike had a symbiotic mental bond, but both consciousnesses remained independent of each other (moreso for Spike though). Hunter and Sunstreaker could become the first proper mind merge between an Autobot and his bonded partner! Hrmmm... I SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY doubt they'll have Sunstreaker and Hunter truly merge now. Hail and Farewell was Simon Furman's glimpse into his future storylines (at the time he didn't know All Hail Megatron had already canceled his plans), and we saw Hunter and Sunstreaker merged together, in that Hunter's family are now Sunstreaker's family.

Considering the stuff Furman had to drop, I think we'll see the Hunter plotline over-FINISHED by the end of Maximum Dinobots so Sunstreaker can go hang out with Sideswipe in AHM :rolleyes:

IDW doesn't like complex storylines anymore.

Paulbot
8th January 2009, 08:50 AM
I assume it's because the Machination Sunstreakers are like Transtectors - sparkless bodies. No idea what happened to Sunstreaker's real body, as it would contain his spark casing.

I assumed that Hunter merged with Sunstreaker's actual body when he escaped the Machination, but need to reread to be sure.

Meanwhile i_amtrunks I like the term "Streakers" for the clones. About time there was an Autobot equivalent term for "Seekers" :)

i_amtrunks
8th January 2009, 09:26 AM
I assumed that Hunter merged with Sunstreaker's actual body when he escaped the Machination, but need to reread to be sure.

I think Hunter only merged with the head suit, much like Dante has with Scorponoks head, I think that if needed, Hunter could leave the head suit as well.


Meanwhile i_amtrunks I like the term "Streakers" for the clones. About time there was an Autobot equivalent term for "Seekers" :)

But the clones technically are not Autobots... :p
I think if we call the Sunstreaker clones "the Streakers" it would benefit us all, if we dare call them "the Clones" we may get the ire of the Star Wars fans! :D

Paulbot
8th January 2009, 09:54 AM
I think Hunter only merged with the head suit, much like Dante has with Scorponoks head, I think that if needed, Hunter could leave the head suit as well.
Oh, no I meant that I thought the body Hunter combined with was the original Sunstreaker body, but it could have been a "streaker". I don't recall exactly what happened in those final issues of Devastation.

i_amtrunks
8th January 2009, 10:03 AM
Oh, no I meant that I thought the body Hunter combined with was the original Sunstreaker body, but it could have been a "streaker". I don't recall exactly what happened in those final issues of Devastation.

I think Hunter combined with the original Sunstreaker body too, but I am also unsure if that was the case or not. I don't think the machination would have harmed Sunstreaker too much in their capture of him, can't damage the merchandise.

Didn't Hunter find the disembodied Sunstreaker head though, so why didnt they try and take it then???

GoktimusPrime
8th January 2009, 10:07 AM
I assume it's because the Machination Sunstreakers are like Transtectors - sparkless bodies.
Less than Transtectors - Transtectors are still living Transformers, but their consciousnesses are not online.


But the clones technically are not Autobots...
I think if we call the Sunstreaker clones "the Streakers" it would benefit us all, if we dare call them "the Clones" we may get the ire of the Star Wars fans!
Henceforth we shall call them: DI-A-CLONNNNNNNEs! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4frjPXJL0s) ;) :D

kup
8th January 2009, 10:18 AM
Less than Transtectors - Transtectors are still living Transformers, but their consciousnesses are not online.


That depends on the continuity or time period of said continuity.

For example, in Headmasters the transtector was completely lifeless as they were 'driven' by the heads which were the true consciousness. The Transtectors basically served a purpose similar to big mech suits as the populace from the Master planet were micromaster in size.

When we reach Masterforce, that's when the 'dormant consciousness' thing in transtectors begins to apply.

GoktimusPrime
8th January 2009, 10:23 AM
Yeah true, I was thinking of Masterforce. :p

Paulbot
8th January 2009, 10:36 AM
I think Hunter combined with the original Sunstreaker body too, but I am also unsure if that was the case or not. I don't think the machination would have harmed Sunstreaker too much in their capture of him, can't damage the merchandise.

Didn't Hunter find the disembodied Sunstreaker head though, so why didnt they try and take it then???

We definitetly saw Sunstreaker's head ("Kill me")... We need to reread those comics :)

FFN
8th January 2009, 11:44 AM
Sunstreaker's original body is not seen again after Escalation issue 1. In Devastation 2, Hunter encountered his real head, who begged the human to put him out of his misery lest he bring more harm to the Autobots.

Hunter asked to become a Headmaster, Sunstreaker warned him the process would hurt. Afterwards, Sunstreaker's real head was slack-jawed and non-responsive. At roughly the same time, the Sunstreaker clones fighting Hot Rod suddenly lose control and are easily defeated.

(My interpretation is Sunstreaker put nearly all of his conciousness into Hunter so he could get the hell out of there.)

Sunstreaker's reflexes take over when they are discovered, and they steal one of the many fabricated Sunstreaker bodies to make their escape. It should be noted that when Hunter transforms, he turns into Sunstreaker's normal head, not the more mechanical-looking red-eyed Machination head. Obviously this was done so you could easily tell who was the real Sunstreaker.

STL
20th January 2009, 12:10 AM
Not as good as I’d hoped but still very serviceable by issue #2’s end.

The biggest flaw in my mind about Maximum Dinobots that is really hurting my enjoyment of it comes from the art side. I cannot stand the new designs for the Dinobots or if you’d prefer “Dynobots”. It’s just plain fugly with the exception of Grimlock’s robot mode. All of the alt modes of the Dinobots and the robot modes are just such a major departure from G1. If you look at the other Autobots/Decepticons, most of them are modernised versions of their G1 selves. Their key features are preserved such as their chests, arms and armour. These Dinobots lose way too much of that in alt mode and robot mode for me to even identify them. Swoop has massive beady eyes and the others are just not even close. I’m all for new but this reinterpretation steers just too far from their original look for me to get completely into the book.

That issue aside, the rest of the first two issues are very decent. #1 is the mixed bag. It doesn’t get off the ground running but catches us up to speed with where Furman left off. Even though I read both issues consecutively, #1 still reads particularly slow.

On the art side of things, Nick Roche is an artist that is strange to me. I like him at times whereas others I just want to cry. This time, he’s going for a less sketchy style and more solid buff version and I really don’t mind his art. His art though did get extremely messy in that fight between Grimlock and the Dinobots in #2. I could barely follow the fight.

On the writing side of things, I can’t help but feel that Furman’s been helped by having only one basket to play in. When he had multiple limited series and the spotlights, he tried to hard and left things all over the place, making it way too hard to follow even to the committed. But he’s nicely settled into this and I really prefer it over his last Revelations and Devastation arcs for that reason. Everything that needs to happen, happens inside this comic. I liked how he’s given us that affection that Grimlock has for the Dinobots. It made the confrontation more dramatic yet gave Scorponok an opportunity to up the ante by actually letting the Dinobots stand off with their commander without having to orchestrate it all

I particularly love the way Grimlock talks about their past. It gives us a sense of history to the Dinobots which we really haven’t had before, about their bonds and so on. The way Grimlock uses it to undermine Slag though shows how torn he is as on one hand he is holding onto those memories yet on the other side he’s maintaining a steely exterior. All the while, in the background, there’s the tension of just when Scorponok will flick the switch again and turn the Dinobots into his mindless beasts again.

Meanwhile the Hunter/Sunstreaker duo are okay but what I found to be really annoying was Sunstreaker apologising to Hunter for making how much he didn’t like sharing a body with Hunter. Sunstreaker has always struck me as pretty obnoxious and stern. It just didn’t feel right to me especially given his earlier appearance in the Infiltration series.

Who are the guys on the ship? I suspect it’s the Predacons which makes me quite expectant. This would be a tussle of the titans for sure.

Some of my beef with the plot though is there is no fight between Hot Rod and Scorponok. Scorponok goes from the end of #1 to the start of #2 to just kicking Hot Rod’s butt. Its way too jarring a transition to me and I can’t help but feel that a writer as longstanding as Furman could drop the ball like that.

The Decepticons are still on Earth. This irks me b/c its just on the edge of my mind but #1 brings that back to the fore. I can’t help but question then how and when will this plot get resolved? I suspect we might not even see them given that AHM is in progress. And that to me makes it hard to enjoy as I feel with AHM, we’ve moved passed that and forgotten about a convoluted past but now its still there and unresolved. With AHM its quite easy to ignore b/c I can feel its standalone but here this is where it really hurts b/c it is Furman’s story and I just can’t see Megatron seeing Grimlock and turning a blind eye. I think this might be resolved after AHM is concluded in Furman’s next mini but this might continue to hurt my enjoyment if its constantly in the background.

I thought that apart from Grimlock, none of the other characters have had much spotlight. Maybe Scorponok but the others to this date haven’t had that much of an impact or chance to shine. To me, it could almost be written as “Grimlock: the limited series”. That's particularly poor for a writer whose supposed to have had so much experience. Scorponok hardly built on any of his previous appearances while Hot Rod seemed to regress backwards and could've really been Autobot01 for all anybody cares. Pathetically poor use of characters to date. Hopefully we’ll get more as the purple one makes his return, the Predacons might even show up and so on.

Great Moments
- Is that the Predacons?
- The opening sequence of the Dinobots on Cybertron – the Dinobots as they should look
- Grimlock rising from the ice to effortlessly crush the Hunstreakers.
- The Hunstreaker Armadas - it almost makes me want to go out there and grab a few of them to form another Armada!
- Grimlock and the Dinobots mouth off against one another

Cringe Moments
- Hunter/Sunstreaker conversations - can they be anymore lame?
- The introduction of the other 4 Dinobots in #1, just fugly. It was supposed to be impressive but the messy art and the fugly Dinobots = hate material
- Hot Rod gets beaten to pulp. This fight never even started... poorly written. It reeked of "Oh look, I am Scorponok and I'm so great so I can effortlessly slap u around". No tension built up around it, just happened.
- The US military guys are pretty darned incompetent. In AHM at least, they show some backbone.

Of the two covers, I could only stomach Nick Roche’s one for #1. Loved the way the viciousness and anger of Grimlock comes to the fore. For #2, I went the other way and preferred the other artists cover. The close up looks quite full of energy and life.

In all, it’s a decent start and could score higher. #1 I’d give 6/10 b/c its just too slow before it even starts to motor along. I’m constantly bugged in #2 by the fugly alt and robot modes of the rest of the Dinobots and that to me is huge downer on a series that rests on the G1 Dinobots being fan favourites so that’s why I’d give #2 a 6.5/10. Both would be higher perhaps if it wasn’t for the designs which is immensely disappointing as I really wanted to like this a lot more but keep finding myself too often, too easily being pulled out of the story by the fugliness of those reinterpretations.

Paulbot
20th January 2009, 12:41 PM
I've read a suggestion it's not the Predacons (like I thought too) but actually spoiler! the Monsterbots! ... I didn't go back to look at the comic again yet though but it makes sense.

Tommy K
20th January 2009, 06:44 PM
can i ask what maximum dynobots is ment to be about?

GoktimusPrime
20th January 2009, 06:54 PM
It continues from the events of Revelations and Spotlight: Shockwave but seems to be before AHM.

Lord_Zed
20th January 2009, 08:01 PM
The biggest flaw in my mind about Maximum Dinobots that is really hurting my enjoyment of it comes from the art side. I cannot stand the new designs for the Dinobots or if you’d prefer “Dynobots”. It’s just plain fugly with the exception of Grimlock’s robot mode. All of the alt modes of the Dinobots and the robot modes are just such a major departure from G1. If you look at the other Autobots/Decepticons, most of them are modernised versions of their G1 selves. Their key features are preserved such as their chests, arms and armour. These Dinobots lose way too much of that in alt mode and robot mode for me to even identify them. Swoop has massive beady eyes and the others are just not even close. I’m all for new but this reinterpretation steers just too far from their original look for me to get completely into the book.

The Decepticons are still on Earth. This irks me b/c its just on the edge of my mind but #1 brings that back to the fore. I can’t help but question then how and when will this plot get resolved? I suspect we might not even see them given that AHM is in progress. And that to me makes it hard to enjoy as I feel with AHM, we’ve moved passed that and forgotten about a convoluted past but now its still there and unresolved. With AHM its quite easy to ignore b/c I can feel its standalone but here this is where it really hurts b/c it is Furman’s story and I just can’t see Megatron seeing Grimlock and turning a blind eye. I think this might be resolved after AHM is concluded in Furman’s next mini but this might continue to hurt my enjoyment if its constantly in the background
.

I have to agree with you on those points. The Dinobot designs are tragic, what are these Animated Dinobots V2??? The Same with the massive continuity holes forming in the IDW universe, they started of as tiny black holes and then grew and grew, soo I fear the whole universe will collapse in on itself and be sucked into.. um the dead universe I guess. I really wish they had run this before AHM, or cut of AHM as a seperate universe my enjoyment of both books is signficantly dampened by this continuity schisim.

As for Furmans writting personaly I much prefer the galxy spanning multiple thread stories of the previous years, felt like there was always something to grab my intereset granted It got a bit out of control but it had nice epic feeling.


Some of my beef with the plot though is there is no fight between Hot Rod and Scorponok. Scorponok goes from the end of #1 to the start of #2 to just kicking Hot Rod’s butt. Its way too jarring a transition to me and I can’t help but feel that a writer as longstanding as Furman could drop the ball like that.

Really? I liked that it started with Hotrod all messed up, it instantly grabbed my attention and propelled me back into the story. Also I feel thats what should happen when one goes up against somone as mighty as Scorponok and I'm happy to let my immagination fill in the blanks. Besides any fight with Hotrod is an anticlimax because we know Hotrod survives.

Overall though it's pretty average so far, this may be the 25th Anniversary of the Transfomers but IDW's books are not currently grabbing me.

Paulbot
20th January 2009, 08:07 PM
can i ask what maximum dynobots is ment to be about?

Briefly: Grimlock tracking down the missing Dinobots, Sunstreaker tracking down his missing head, and Scorponok attempting to rise to power with his Headmaster army.

FFN
21st January 2009, 11:24 PM
Maximum Dinobots is set immediately after Spotlight: Grimlock, and occurs concurrently with Revelation. This is all set one year before AHM allegedly occurs.



Meanwhile the Hunter/Sunstreaker duo are okay but what I found to be really annoying was Sunstreaker apologising to Hunter for making how much he didn’t like sharing a body with Hunter. Sunstreaker has always struck me as pretty obnoxious and stern. It just didn’t feel right to me especially given his earlier appearance in the Infiltration series. If this is their conversation in issue 1, then I believe you've read it wrong. Sunstreaker was being snarky.


And I love Nick Roche. He's a talented artist and writer.

SilverDragon
28th January 2009, 09:10 PM
I got #2 yesterday. I mainly spent the time reading it mentally screaming about how awesome and kickass it was.

Although I like the Dinobot's designs, especially since they appear to be able to really transform and not be all cheaty like BW Dinobot's animation model, I'm not liking Swoop. It's like Animated Swoop had a retard baby. HE DOES NOT FIT.

Thinking of which, I think the main reason that the Dinobots look so different in comparison with the other characters is that they've had to change more to keep up with the march of science in regards to how dinosaurs looked. Cars and trucks have generally kept a same shape-dinosaurs haven't. Also, their origin as scanning extinct animals means that they HAD to look like real dinosaurs and not stylised mecha-dinosaurs like in G1.

lcz128
30th January 2009, 04:01 PM
Ahhh~ I've bought and read these :D
I came in really late in the game for TF comics - by the time I started reading til ...I think... most of devastation was out!

I was intrigued by the whole headmaster thing - which I really like (thanks to me growing up on the japanese cartoons) - so I was really happy to see the continuation here :D So yeah - enjoying the series, and I like that it's going to be played out fully(ish) here :)


Does anybody want to buy a bunch of Sunstreakers to repaint as Machination Headmasters?
yes? :D Anyone have them for sale cheap? :D

GoktimusPrime
30th January 2009, 04:26 PM
I was intrigued by the whole headmaster thing - which I really like (thanks to me growing up on the japanese cartoons) - so I was really happy to see the continuation here
Actually their Headmaster concept is much more like what we saw in the Anglophone continuity rather than Japanese continuity. *nods* (^_^)



Does anybody want to buy a bunch of Sunstreakers to repaint as Machination Headmasters?
yes? :D Anyone have them for sale cheap? :D
Perhaps you guys could grab some Universe Sunstreakers at a sale or something. *shrug*

blackie
30th January 2009, 05:14 PM
Ahhh~ I've bought and read these :D
I came in really late in the game for TF comics - by the time I started reading til ...I think... most of devastation was out!

yes? :D Anyone have them for sale cheap? :D

i win at coming in late :P
i think at least AHM 1 was published before i got into any tf comics :P

and im already on the lookout for cheap sunstreakers on sale :P
im going to make at least 1 of each, eventually..

i_amtrunks
2nd February 2009, 09:55 AM
More done in two issues of Max Dino's than in 6 of AHM. And best of all, it fits with what preceded it.

I am most interested in Hot Rod at this point, and how he connects with Kup and company while Sunstreaker seems to be back with the main Autobot force, I'm not sure whether to expect to make sense and tie into AHM, or if it's just going to be another unexplained mistake between AHM and the main storyline...

lcz128
2nd February 2009, 12:43 PM
i win at coming in late :P
i think at least AHM 1 was published before i got into any tf comics :P

and im already on the lookout for cheap sunstreakers on sale :P
im going to make at least 1 of each, eventually..

That's actually excellent - Between the two of us - we'll have a formidable force to take on STL's Seeker army.

Oh. Wait. I think we'd still get pwnd :b

STL
2nd February 2009, 09:58 PM
Oh. Wait. I think we'd still get pwnd :b

Darn straight, Sherlock.

blackie
2nd February 2009, 10:13 PM
Darn straight, Sherlock.

ahh just you wait
not only do i have to save for all the figures now, i also have to save for all the paint im going to need :P

My headmaster army will be a formidable adversary my friend

STL
2nd February 2009, 10:17 PM
ahh just you wait
not only do i have to save for all the figures now, i also have to save for all the paint im going to need :P

My headmaster army will be a formidable adversary my friend

All talk, Jennifer. All talk.

roller
18th February 2009, 08:48 PM
i maximum dare one of you customerisers to repaint Beast cybertron or 10th Anniversary Megatron into Maximum Dinobots Grimlock

the toy looks like the IDW grimlock to me

Paulbot
27th February 2009, 06:30 PM
The latest issue looked like it has some Purple Sunstreaker (Dia)Clones. :)

Pretty good issue too and the best fiction version of the characters Grimlock called for help I've ever seen. I found the sixth Eureka robot's final comment to Skywatch very funny.

But I was also shocked by the violence in this. See what Grimlock does to one Clone! :eek: I've never seen an Autobot do something like that to a human (outside of the mind control in Dreamwave's first series which doesn't really count). Woah! Hardcore!

SilverDragon
27th February 2009, 08:27 PM
I just got #3 today, and I have to say that I am loving this series. Grimlock's 'reinforcements' were totally off-the-wall in their choice, and I think that is awesome.

i_amtrunks
27th February 2009, 09:27 PM
I just got #3 today, and I have to say that I am loving this series. Grimlock's 'reinforcements' were totally off-the-wall in their choice, and I think that is awesome.

Could not agree more, those three never got much love in any previous media, and they were not whom I was expecting!

The art by Roche is getting better and better, his work on HR in particular really rook me back to the G2 in terms of damage shown to the robots, great stuff.

Story didnt move heaps, but it did something not yet seen in AHM, some character development, these Dynobots are not Cardboard cut-outs.

And nice to get some closure on other characters who I assume would have had bigger roles had not AHM come along.

SilverDragon
2nd March 2009, 06:43 PM
I did a bit of re-reading today, and I'm finding the gags (all two of them) regarding Grimlock's speech pattern in the cartoon to be quite funny. It's good that they're not overdone-that keeps them from getting stale.

This has gotten me interested in reading more of the IDWverse comics (not AHM, since that apparently drops the stealth aspect of the other comics-which is what interests me-to have the 'cons blow stuff up). Where would I be able to find the trade paperbacks?

Oilspill
3rd March 2009, 02:50 AM
TFAW is where I get my comics from. In US dollars but it ends up being much cheaper than the local stores (although maybe not so much now that the aussie dollar is so crap).

Anyway, they seem to have all the TPBs still. Infiltration, Stormbringer, Escalation, Devastation, Revelation, the 3 Spotlights and AHM.

http://www.tfaw.com/Search/_results_limit_search=30/_results_order_search=title/_results_sstring_search=transformers%2Btpb/_results_start_at_search=30

i_amtrunks
3rd March 2009, 08:18 AM
Failing TFAW, you can try Amazon, whose prices are reasonable, and even though the $AU is down the gurgler after shipping prices are still competitive.

Some of the chain book stores like Borders and Angus and Robertson will order them in for you, but their prices are steep.

Kings Comics in Sydney also do nationwide shipping, but stock from those guys can be iffy, and prices are similar to Borders and co.

kup
8th March 2009, 11:12 AM
I have read Maximum Dinobots up to issue 3.

I am very much enjoying this series a lot more than AHM and I_amtrunks is absolutely right, there is a lot more story in these few issues than the whole run of AHM so far. This is the sort of Transformer comic I want to read, something that has an intriguing story, good action and unexpected appeareances from G1 characters beyond 84-86.

I do agree with people who don't like the Dinobots' new designs. I like Grimlock's but Snarl's and Swoop's are pretty shocking. They could have modernized the Dinosaur Altmode without impacting the robot mode as much, they did it for Grimlock so its possible.

When it comes to the story, I actually thought Swoop had left since traditionally he is the more 'emo' of the bunch and it showed here. The Dinobots received a lot more character development in these few issues than the 19 years since the end of Marvel G1.

The Monsterbots appearance blew me away and shows that Furman is still willing to give obscure or lesser known characters the spotlight without always dwelling on the 84-86 bunch. It is also good to see that as far as 'what came before' is concerned, this book has a good hold in continuity and does not appear to be breaking from it anytime soon.

I have a feeling that Furman is following his own story continuity with Maximum Dinobots and may not end up connecting it with AHM at all making the said comic series within a continuity Bubble of its own as it should have been from the start.

I expected Maximum Dinobots to start off with 'continuity damage control' but instead its gone to tell its own story following the previous 'Furman' continuity.

To me, it seems that AHM is in continuity with I/S/D/MD only because IDW as a business says so not because there is actual narrative in the books making it so unless something is radically forced in a single issue. So far there is nothing concrete in the narrative telling us that there is a conscious effort to amend these two 'continuities' into one and we are already late in the game.

GoktimusPrime
8th March 2009, 12:09 PM
It's like G1's Earthforce saga all over again! :D :)

Visually the main thing that bugs me about the Dynobots' design is Grimlock's red hands. What's with that?! Perhaps the Dynobots could be transported back to Cybertron if Grimlock claps his hands three times and says, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home..." That crazy Wizard! ;)

i_amtrunks
9th March 2009, 09:06 AM
I have a feeling that Furman is following his own story continuity with Maximum Dinobots and may not end up connecting it with AHM at all making the said comic series within a continuity Bubble of its own as it should have been from the start.


I expected Maximum Dinobots to start off with 'continuity damage control' but instead its gone to tell its own story following the previous 'Furman' continuity

As did I.

I have an inkling that Max Dino's was all but completed storywise before IDW went and pulled the rug out from under Furman's feet, meaning that it ties into his own "-tion" stories perfectly without trying to lower itself to the level of AHM.

I truly want to see what is going to happen in Max Dino's, I have ideas and theories but I am still intrigued by it.
With AHM I find myself not caring what happens, as it all seems so irrelevant, as it's obvious as to whats going to happen regarding Prime and the Witwicky kid, and all the other plot points that have been brought up will be ignored.

SilverDragon
12th March 2009, 07:41 PM
To me, it seems that AHM is in continuity with I/S/D/MD only because IDW as a business says so not because there is actual narrative in the books making it so unless something is radically forced in a single issue. So far there is nothing concrete in the narrative telling us that there is a conscious effort to amend these two 'continuities' into one and we are already late in the game.

From a lot of comments regarding AHM and how it shows disregard for the established IDWverse in favour of having the Deceptions blow stuff up and the cast all from 84-86 (sans Drift), I think the only real way it can fit is through being a micro-continuaty of its own, rather than tying into everything else.

blackie
26th March 2009, 07:59 PM
any idea when the next dinobots is coming out?

i_amtrunks
27th March 2009, 08:12 AM
any idea when the next dinobots is coming out?

Next week.

There is a 4 page preview (they forgot to add a page) at Comics Continuum (http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0903/26/idwfirsts.htm).

Loving the Repugnus cover.

SilverDragon
27th March 2009, 07:31 PM
Those are both really nice covers, although the Repugnus-riding-Sludge cover does it for me simply because IT IS AWESOME.

Lord_Zed
28th March 2009, 12:42 AM
Despite my dislike of the Dinobot designs, Maximum Dinos does seem to be the most rewarding of IDW's comics of late. Those Monsterbots were an awesome suprise.

Its kinda a shame it will all end soon to tie in with AHM cause I really like the idea of Scorpinoks Machination its nice to see Humans working with a Decepticon for a change rather than the more common sterotypes of hapless inoccents caught in the war. Reminds me a lot of RAAT. Despite his somewhat questionable writting I did rather like Budianskys perchant for using human characters who were shades of grey.

Zahhak
29th March 2009, 03:02 PM
I can't help but always wonder where the monsterbots get their alternative forms. (Same with the Terrorcons for that matter but I can think of plenty of theorys that make alot sence for them)

GoktimusPrime
29th March 2009, 05:21 PM
From inside their closets (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvOQeozL4S0). ;)

SilverDragon
29th March 2009, 09:03 PM
I can't help but always wonder where the monsterbots get their alternative forms. (Same with the Terrorcons for that matter but I can think of plenty of theorys that make alot sence for them)

Maybe they picked up Earth television broadcasts of old sword and sandal movies and though "Hey! Cool!" at the creatures, so they reformatted their alternate modes to appear like the monsters.

I've been wondering why such monsters were branded Autobots in the first place. Did Hasbro see all the monster Pretenders and Headmasters (who were nearly all Decepticons) shelfwarming and wonder how well monster Transformers would sell if they were Autobots?

roller
29th March 2009, 09:57 PM
they got there monster modes after visiting a planet that had creatures like that, hence they look like monsters to the people of earth and Hasbro marketing

Zahhak
30th March 2009, 02:29 AM
they got there monster modes after visiting a planet that had creatures like that, hence they look like monsters to the people of earth and Hasbro marketing

That would make the most sence I guess.
I always reasoned the Terrorcons were used as fear inducing troops hence their alt modes but it never made as much sence for the monsterbots..but then again They are renegades.
Repugnus old info said he was kicked out of the autobots more then once....speaking of which, In spotlight Arcee isin't he locked away in a spark prison?

kup
30th March 2009, 10:31 AM
That would make the most sence I guess.
I always reasoned the Terrorcons were used as fear inducing troops hence their alt modes but it never made as much sence for the monsterbots..but then again They are renegades.
Repugnus old info said he was kicked out of the autobots more then once....speaking of which, In spotlight Arcee isin't he locked away in a spark prison?

Maybe they broke him out. At this point it doesn't directly contradict Furman canon as time has passed since then but it also smells like a continuity error as in 'I forgot'.

i_amtrunks
30th March 2009, 11:29 AM
Maybe they broke him out. At this point it doesn't directly contradict Furman canon as time has passed since then but it also smells like a continuity error as in 'I forgot'.

They could have escaped when Garrus-9 was overrun, the holding facility did sustain large amounts of damage.

SilverDragon
31st March 2009, 07:15 PM
I think they might answer that in the next issue. After all, Repugnus did say that the Monsterbots were outcasts-which could imply that they're escaped prisoners in this continuaty.

Incidentally, looking back at the issue when Grimlock sends out the message to the Monsterbots, there was a clue to their appearence in the form of three of the symbols on the screen being insignia-like renditions of their monster mode heads.

i_amtrunks
7th April 2009, 09:37 AM
These arent your G1 Cartoon Dinobots.

These Dinobots are smarter, they know Grimlock has been less than truthful with them about a number of things, yet they also know they prefer to be with the big lug than not, so they still follow him, even if it is to their deaths.

Not much of the Monsterbots in this issue, but we do get a cameo from someone who will be playing a much larger part in issue #5.

Scorponok is a pretty sneaky guy, and intelligent too. Would have made a decent main villain had Max Dino's been given an ongoing series.

Max Dino's 5 has alot of ground to cover to wrap things up nicely (personally I think it will be too much ground), not only do you have the Headmaster angle, but also the Grimlock/Shockwave story, Soundwave's story and some continuation from another spotlight (same fellow as the cameo mention above).

So like Revelations, Max Dino's may have been much better had AHM not been released.

kup
7th April 2009, 10:27 AM
These arent your G1 Cartoon Dinobots.

These Dinobots are smarter, they know Grimlock has been less than truthful with them about a number of things, yet they also know they prefer to be with the big lug than not, so they still follow him, even if it is to their deaths.

Not much of the Monsterbots in this issue, but we do get a cameo from someone who will be playing a much larger part in issue #5.

Scorponok is a pretty sneaky guy, and intelligent too. Would have made a decent main villain had Max Dino's been given an ongoing series.

Max Dino's 5 has alot of ground to cover to wrap things up nicely (personally I think it will be too much ground), not only do you have the Headmaster angle, but also the Grimlock/Shockwave story, Soundwave's story and some continuation from another spotlight (same fellow as the cameo mention above).

So like Revelations, Max Dino's may have been much better had AHM not been released.

I agree overall Max Dinos has given us much more in 4 issues than the 9 issues of AHM, only in the past 3 issues has AHM begun to get somewhere. Max Dino's overall story is also much more interesting as we don't know where its going specifically even if Sunstreaker's fate is now revealed while AHM appears to be on rails.

I will be sad to see it end as its a nice mini-series.

GoktimusPrime
7th April 2009, 11:11 AM
It was also interesting seeing James Raiz make a return to doing TF art... kinda strange seeing Neo-G1 characters drawn in a style that I personally associated with Transformers Armada. I was almost waiting for Mini-Cons to appear! :)

Lord_Zed
7th April 2009, 07:11 PM
It was also interesting seeing James Raiz make a return to doing TF art... kinda strange seeing Neo-G1 characters drawn in a style that I personally associated with Transformers Armada. I was almost waiting for Mini-Cons to appear! :)


Seemed a little darker than his old Armada art, I really liked it actualy it reminded me of some of the old UK artists and made Swoop look less dumb.

Ravage and Laserbeak are sort of Mini-cons, though Rumble is 3 stories high for some reason.

roller
7th April 2009, 08:51 PM
anyone got an issue 2 they dont want anymore?

cant find it anywhere and the shops dont want to order it in

STL
7th April 2009, 10:08 PM
anyone got an issue 2 they dont want anymore?

cant find it anywhere and the shops dont want to order it in

Issue #2 was ordered in very very low numbers so your best bet is to order it in I'll have a look for u but if I post from Melb, it'll cost u at least $10-$12 to get their safely.

kup
8th April 2009, 09:08 PM
http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/dinobots.jpg

roller
9th April 2009, 08:15 AM
Issue #2 was ordered in very very low numbers so your best bet is to order it in I'll have a look for u but if I post from Melb, it'll cost u at least $10-$12 to get their safely.

great

thanks

Sky Shadow
9th April 2009, 08:23 AM
http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/dinobots.jpg

LOL! Thoze toiz look nothink like the charactuz frum Maximom Dinobotz. What iz Hasbor thinkink?

:p

SilverDragon
9th April 2009, 08:16 PM
The different artists clashed a bit for me. While I liked the scene in which Ravage and Laserbeak stole Soundwave, it just fell apart somewhat with continued sequences flipping from one art style to the other.

Holy crap, 5 is going to be one hell of a read.

SMHFConvoy
9th April 2009, 10:04 PM
The different artists clashed a bit for me. While I liked the scene in which Ravage and Laserbeak stole Soundwave, it just fell apart somewhat with continued sequences flipping from one art style to the other.

Holy crap, 5 is going to be one hell of a read.
I liked that at least an attempt was made to keep the line work close so that the styles wern't too jarring. That said James Raiz has come a long way since his Armada days.

Two thumbs waay up :)

SilverDragon
10th April 2009, 08:15 PM
http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/dinobots.jpg

Worst. Comic-accuracy. Ever. :p

kup
10th April 2009, 09:52 PM
Worst. Comic-accuracy. Ever. :p

Grimlock's overall 'engineering' remains identical even if 'kibble' has been changed to represent the corrected T-Rex shape.

Snarl is pretty much 'What the hell?' as he is completly redone from scratch which I find it odd as he didn't really have to be.

The same goes for Swoop and Slag (although to a lesser degree than Swoop).

When it comes to Sludge, its hard to see him properly but it seems that he like Grimlock, may have kept his general 'engineering' without major change (although robot mode detailing is way different) and despite his G1 alt mode becoming obsolete, he still passes as an Apatosaurus as the general shape of the dinosaur remains the same.

When it comes to my pic, Despite their differences in look and design, they are still Dinobots and identifiable. I am basically tributing a comic which focuses on the 5 characters that in comic form, have more or less remained the same as a group and individual characters particularly when it comes to Grimlock and Swoop.

Paulbot
17th April 2009, 10:45 PM
Read issues 4 and 5 today. I think the story was let down by very sudden shifts in art style in both issues, almost page to page at times. The conclusion still makes me think that despite the events in AHM, spoiler Sunstreaker will live on, just like in the Furman Mosaic, as Hunter's just repressed the Sunstreaker part of his mind.

One thing I didn't expect was the spoiler appearance of Ultra Magnus. I liked the way this story gave closure to story elements from several Spotlights and the ongoing series.

i_amtrunks
18th April 2009, 09:53 PM
#5 was one of the best written comics I have read in a long time.

The revelations comics suffered from their condensed nature, and I don't think even the die hard AHM fans (if they exist) could say that AHM has solid writing.

Wrapping up the character arcs for not only the title characters (and who they made their IDW debut with too) but another near half a dozen characters who have all recieved a decent amount of page time over the length of the IDW Furmanverse. The surprise addition of Hunter and Verity was nice, and somewhat needed since the truncated "-tions" series saw them removed altogether.

Will miss the scope and vastness of Furmans writing, especially when he signs off with such a strong issue.

kup
21st April 2009, 09:46 AM
Wow, they sure tied up a good amount of loose ends in that issue. However I am not sure what to make of it, I liked the issue but I was expecting some grandiose ending but I guess that's just me.

Overall I enjoyed it and I really felt sad at the start when Sludge was 'confirmed' as dead. I have always liked Sludge for some reason as despite him being the arguably strongest and biggest of the Dinobots, he was also the 'softy' and good natured one of the gang and I always found that cool. However although I was relieved when I saw Sludge brought back to life, I am a bit unsure of what happened, it looked as if Grimlock punched his chest like a form of 'CPR' or something and that did it.

Another strange thing is that nobody really died in this story which was odd but since many of the characters are likely to be reused or are bing used in AHM, it is understandable but kind of artificial as its more plot managing than a natural progression.

Overall I enjoyed it but for some reason I expected more.

SilverDragon
21st April 2009, 05:35 PM
While I wish it was more grandiose, #5 was really quite good. Nice to see particular characters again after Devastation left their fates as a cliffhanger.

I just wish that this was tying into something that wasn't AHM, since there's more that needs to be said besides Megatron and the Decepticons blowing stuff up.

roller
22nd April 2009, 10:44 PM
bought this and issue 10 of aHM

I dont know how to do the invisible posts so, SPOILER WARNING



SPOILER WARNING







SPOILER WARNING FOR ISSUE 5 OF MINIMUM DEENOBOTS


Whats with Verity and jimmy???!!! they look nothing like they did before in Devastation!

Also, how is it that Optimus and ratchets ARK show up??? At the end of DEVASTATION im sure they had LEFT Earth to go somewhere

It was an okay ending i mean, we all know from AHM that things have to be tied up. from issue 9 of AHM i thought that Shockwave would die

i_amtrunks
23rd April 2009, 07:57 AM
Whats with Verity and jimmy???!!! they look nothing like they did before in Devastation!

Roche draws his humans very differently to Su... What threw me off were the Autobot spacesuits they were wearing.


Also, how is it that Optimus and ratchets ARK show up??? At the end of DEVASTATION im sure they had LEFT Earth to go somewhere

I think that maybe something we will see mentioned in the CODA series, we know that Prime's Autobots head back to Earth between revelations and AHM.

GoktimusPrime
23rd April 2009, 09:21 AM
Verity looks a lot cuter/hotter now. ;)

roller
23rd April 2009, 10:31 AM
All Hail Megatron spoilers ahoy






I haven't read revelations yet

so in AHM we see Sunstreaker meeting with starscream, discussing how they are going to wipe out a certain leader and planet. Does this meeting take place in Revelations or hasn't been shown in any story yet?

Paulbot
23rd April 2009, 11:04 AM
so in AHM we see Sunstreaker meeting with starscream, discussing how they are going to wipe out a certain leader and planet. Does this meeting take place in Revelations or hasn't been shown in any story yet?
That flashback was brand new events.