IDW Transformer Crossover Comics (non-GI Joe)

Reviews of the IDW Transformer Crossover Comics.



New Avengers/Transformers
Somewhat lacklustre for a concept that had true potential. The one thing was that it showcased was The Transformers being superior to Earths mightiest heroes and villains in most every way. Hell, it took two seconds for a 3rd tier grunt like Runabout to take out Spiderman and then even being attacked by Iron Man & Wolverine couldn’t take the Battlecharger down for good! Humans are lame! Set in the main continuity, the only thing it contributed to the cannon was setting up the idea that Ramjet had plans to take out Megatron (which he then failed at spectacularly in his Spotlight). Pretty much it was Autobots vs Decepticons with a bunch of super humans getting in the way. Go back and read the adventures of Gears and Spiderman from the 80’s if you want something marginally better.




Infestation
Vampire Zombies from another dimension turn up and attack the Transformers in Las Vegas. Let me repeat that:

Vampire Zombies from another dimension attack the Transformers in Las Vegas.

That line alone should get people interested! Set in the main continuity and the writers made a real effort to incorporate storylines such as Galvatron trying to recruit an army and Kup’s repressed memories. I liked how a few expendable Sweeps also got turned into zombies but losing Kup at the end was a disappointing way to end such a memorable character. Having the Transformers all remember a non-existent Decepticon was a good way to introduce the main antagonist. Overall very good, after reading them I even went and got the Ghostbusters Infestation comics as well.




Infestation 2
Set in the ‘Hearts of Steel’ Transformers continuity. The revival of that continuity was about the only positive thing to say about these comics, except that Ironhide transforming from a gun turret was very cool. A very lacklustre crossover – the Transformers were all very one dimensional, the tentacle monster bad guys were boring and they missed out on a great opportunity to have the Seacons make an appearance. Took me ages to track down these comics, wish I hadn’t bothered.




Mars Attacks The Transformers
Set in the 1984 cartoon universe. Very short, very kitch and very funny! A shrunken Megatron attacking Starscream’s face while Starscream runs about screaming “Get him off me!” was hilarious and they even managed to work Spike’s choice of footwear into the plot! Certainly not a read for your overly serious Transformers fan, but very fun and great to see Cosmos’ alt-mode serve a ‘robots in disguise’ purpose. Just wish it had been longer but still one I will reread now and then for a quick chuckle.

Just got done reading the issue of the X-Files/Transformers Crossover.

So if you haven't read it yet - WARNING! SPOILERS!!!



First off, as part of an ongoing series (issue 4 of 6), the X-Files side of the story is not simply contained within this comic, but however the comic is readable on it's own. You do get a short blurb about what's come before.

Only the 3 Transformers are shown: Optimus, Bumblebee and Ratchet. The weird thing is, it seems to be G1 Optimus, IDW Bumblebee and Prime Ratchet. Very odd, you think they would have picked one genre and stuck with it. Ratchet in particular looked very out of place. Also the humans seem to get mildly surprised when they meet the Transformers, but get over it very quickly and don't actually seem that interested in the fact they are giant alien robots from outer space. You think for 'Mulder-wannabes' they would be a bit more curious ;)

A plus for me was that mid-story Bumblebee scanned a military vehicle and changed his alt mode in order to infiltrate a base. This is a power of the Transformers that we see used to the full extent very rarely. Sorta reminiscent of the first live action flick. What was kinda shocking was that Bumblebee totally massacres a bunch of paramilitary types to save his new human friends - sure he is killing bad humans, but he is still killing humans (not that I have a real problem with that - just seems out of character).

The artwork is... okay, considering the genre it is a crossover with it seems to be appropriate. The storyline is fine though not riveting, but ties into the other X-files comics and there is a brief reference to the previous TF Infestation comics. All in all I'd say pick it up this issue for it's novelty value.

Just got finished reading the collection book of Transformers Angry Birds comics.

I was actually impressed with all the subtle and not-so-subtle humor contained within this. Despite a lot of the characters from the Game/Comic being from other continuities they were certainly given a G1 spin, such as AoE Galvatron Pig having voices in his head and the inevitable betrayl and grab for power of Starscream Pig. There are lots of in-jokes aimed at both franchises such as King Pigs gluttony and the silence of Big Red, to Optimus Primes speeches losing their effectiveness as they lose power and Drift using the same platitudes about honor over and over.

The artwork really suits the comic, with the art at the start and the end using the actual Transformers looking like that from Autocracy, whilst the art on Piggy Island looking very cartoony and kiddy as it should do.

Overall this is actually quite a fun little read with a nice amount of humor and a fun little story. References both continuities and the game very well. Good for kids and adults alike and you can get the book that has all the comics combined for under $20 online. :)

Just finished reading the Star Trek crossover comics


An interesting 5-parter and I've been wanting to see a Star Trek/Transformers crossover for many, many years so was looking forward to this. Especially as it was set in the somewhat obscure Animated Star Trek universe.

Esentially it ends up being Autobots & Starfleet vs Decepticons & Klingon, which I am sure we all saw coming. While interesting there were no real surprises and even all the doublecrosses were predictable. There isn't a lot to go into plot wise so I'll just list some of my personal pros & cons.

Pro's:
*Teaming up 80's Animated Transformers with 70's Animated Star Trek was a good call. Would have been a lot less appealing if both casts were based on the 21st Century movies.
*Interesting concepts such as Fort Max and Trypticon adopting Starship alt-modes.
*Kirk acting as a sorta Headmaster for For Max instead of Spike.
*All characters are pretty true to their personalities, albiet none are particularly fleshed out
*Megatron and Soundwave being transported around in their shrunken G1 alt-modes in Seeker cockpits
*A good bit of Star Trek history popped in like WW3 and First Contact.
*Interesting enough to keep you reading

Cons:
*Arachnid was the only non-G1 character included and I think it was simply so they could put in a joke with Kirk going 'Thanks but you're not my type". If they wanted to do a joke like that they should have put in Greenlight since she is a G1 character and a running joke in ST has always been that Kirk has a thing for Green-skinned Alien Females.
*For Max and Trypticon are way bigger than the original Enterprise and the Klingon D-12 Battle Cruiser so they must have really shrunk to take on those alt-modes.
*Trypticon completely changing his colour scheme whenever he transforms doesnt really make sense. Nor does Fort Max having a Transformer-sized alt-mode bridge, yet the rest of the starship is the same size as the regular Enterprise.
*The Federation not knowing the Transformers is explained away that humanity 'forgot' about the Autobots as they became consumed with WW3. Doesn't make a whole lotta sense.
*Starscream betraying everyone was super predictable and not particularly cleverly done.


Besides all these little fanboy quibbles, its a decent crossover and hope it sets up the future to one day hold some Star Trek/Transformer crossover toys :)

This came out a while ago but forgot to write a quick blurb about it. The announcement of the MLP/Transformer crossover comic reminded me that last year we had the Ghostbusters one.

I found this to be a quite well done 5-part series. The art was very G1 cartoon reminiscent, yet strangely the art for the Ghostbusters themselves was not very reminiscent of the Ghostbusters cartoon. The Ghostbusters themselves all had these large jaws and upper lips which made them look a little dopey/goofy - it seemed only Janiene that was immune to this treatment. That said, the fire house, the vehicles and everything else was very indicative of what has come before.

The personalities were done just right, for both the Transformers and the Ghostbusters. There were no characters that acted out of character, though Soundwave's final line before getting trapped didn't ring quite true for me. The interactions between Venkhman and Starscream were particularly entertaining.

There were some very nice inclusions from both franchises. Cybertron being destroyed, however this time it was Gozer instead of the never ending war. The use of the mood-slime from GB2 in order to force Megatrons spirit out, and indeed having Starscream as a ghost has been done many times in Transformers lore. Ectotron fitted in very well to the storyline as someone who felt a bit out of place on the Ark and then felt similar on Earth, but through his new friends found a new confidence in himself. The plot moves along at a decent pace, giving a lot of panel time to the interactions between the characters with a nice bit of action included here and there.

Yeah, these comics were in part to try and sell the Ectotron and the Ghostbusters-themed Prime toys, but who cares eh? In the end this was a really great crossover comic and for me, as someone who is not a big GI Joe fan, the best that we've had so far. It will be interesting to see if the MLP one coming out in three months can reach this standard.