Comic Review: Transformers Regeneration One

[kup]

Has issue 2 come out locally yet?

[Sharky]

Has issue 2 come out locally yet?

it hits this week when ever your local comic shop gets them (late wednesday/thursday or friday)

[i_amtrunks]

It should be in Australian stores tonight.

I think the new release schedule is: MtMtE, Regen, RiD, week off.

Or maybe Regen is the first release of the month, doesn't get any earlier than the first!

[Paulbot]

It is out this week, but don't rush.

Issue 82 is disappointing. I'm trying to think of something good about it but it's hard. Some loose ends from the original series are touched on. One I expected (from the #83 cover preview), one I didn't.

I feel like if this comic had come out in 1992 (or 2002) I'd like it more, but compared to the other TFs comics on the market at the moment it's just not holding it's weight.

Spoilers follow

Last week in one issue of MTMTE, Roberts introduced 6 Decepticons and gave them all unique identifiable personality characteristics. In this comic Furman has the chance to introduce us properly to the Wreckers we glimpsed in #81 but didn't. What makes Sandstorm different to Leadfoot and Broadside or Roadbuster? Why should I care about these 'bots?

Worse, Furman resurrects the Decepticons Starscream deactivated in the Underbase Saga as 'zombies'. Ratbat, Octane, Razorclaw - any of whom were established in previous US and UK stories and could hold a story - are reduced to mindless drones. Why not just give Megatron an army of Vehicons and be done with it? Or better yet, block colour them in 80s colouring style since who they are/were no longer matters.

The story feels really drawn out over the two issues so far and the art bothers me a bit too. Nebulos and Earth barely look any different. Hopefully there's some explanation coming in the third issue, and the small cameo appearance might be the answer (I'd laugh if my old fanfic idea came to be). I found Trailbreaker (or should that be random black and red exposition-messenger-bot) out of place too in my mind.

I hope they stop drawing things out so slowly.

On a positive note to end, it does amuse me that Megatron has an Action Master vehicle to ride around on.

[Sky Shadow]

On a positive note to end, it does amuse me that Megatron has an Action Master vehicle to ride around on.

Just a shame it's not toy-accurate.

I agree that this was a disappointment - for me, only Grimlock's storyline and Magnus's frustration were of interest. I don't care about anyone else, and that's terrible because twenty years ago, these incarnations of the Transformers meant everything to me. You're exactly right about More Than Meets The Eye #7 and again that sucks because those characters - Krok, Spinister, Crankcase, Flywheels and Misfire - are the exact 'fringe' Decepticons who Furman used to write so well. I think Wildfur would actually benefit from having Roberts as a proofreader to suggest small easter eggs and 'improvements'.

That said, the Wreckers being at the forefront of a comic called Transformers #82 was - deliberately or not - a nice bit of nostalgia. After all, this is an inverted story where Magnus stays on Cybertron while the Wreckers go to Earth. Although Trailbreaker should have been Hound so at least the Magnus scene could have been an explicitly ironic homage to UK #83:

[Sharky]

so far what all is saying is very true to the issue, it was a bland read, not enough focus on grimlocks plot, too much on earth, and for some reason the whole Circuit smasher thing frustrates me already....is he also going to be the key to grimlocks data slug he was watching...

the zombified decepticons makes sense but then doesnt at the same time...and what they have done to ratchet is not nice at all..i do think they need to fill in a few more holes in the past like what happened on earth galvatron for max etc etc..

and for dinobot month there really was not much about dinobots.


time will tell i hope. but MTMTE is still No#1 and RID#8 hits next week and then the MTMTE Annual somtime this month...

[kup]

Just finished reading #82. I didn't mind it, it was decent but again not really much there to captivate. Afterwards I read half of MTMTE #7 and enjoyed that a lot more.

Aside from the art, it doesn't really feel like the old Marvel run either so I am not sure what to make of it.

Like #81, the story wasn't great, just ok but there are a some 'turn of events' that I don't like too much unless Furman is looking to do something interesting with them. The whole 'Earth is apocalyptically destroyed' angle rubs me the wrong way a bit and seems like if it narrows down possibilities of an interesting plot progression like Marvel G1 Transformers in the 21st century which I would have loved to see. We are now basically in 'Mad Max' world which is difficult to relate to (there isn't much) and fills uninspired and constrained.

We are now two issues down and we have more questions than answers without captivation in the narrative and that is not really good.

Still early days but I do fear that Furman has lost his edge as a writer. Nothing really creative or interesting about this, but it isn't broken like Costa's ongoing so there is still hope. Time will tell I guess.

[GoktimusPrime]

I enjoyed this issue. Having the humans being unable to tell the difference between Autobots and Decepticons was interesting - reminiscent of earlier G1 issues, only in a post-apocalyptic setting. The "Lazarus" project seems pretty interesting. Circuit Smasher can't be that powerful... otherwise surely he'd have destroyed all the Decepti-Zombies by now (unless his powers have only recently manifested or something).

My gripe about this issue would be this:

and for dinobot month there really was not much about dinobots.

+1 Sure, Grimlock was pretty decent in this issue, I like how he was presented with a moral dilemma when attacked by Nebulans, but otherwise... okay. I dunno... when I hear "Dinobot Month" I think there's going to be Dinobots -- just like when Discovery Channel does Shark Week, you expect to see lots of sharks. But we just get to see Grimlock -- one Dinobot. Why not just call it Grimlock Month?

[i_amtrunks]

Agree that this issue was not to the standards of Roberts writing in MtMtE.

It feels like Furman is going to take half of his 20 issue run to setup and remind everyone of the loose ends from the US run, then finally address them in the last 10.

Issues 81 and 82 could have been pushed into one issue easily enough. I'm amazed there hasnt really been any fallout from 80.5 and that the focus really is only on the wreckers and now a few pages on grimmers.

It's not a bad issue, but is feeling more like AHM/Costa than the "-tion" stories.

[Sharky]

I Jumped onto comixology last night and i noticed that they have not reduced the price for regeneration #81 like they always do with previous issues.. it has remained at the full digital price, i wonder if this will stay that way, which woud be a little disapointing...

i wonder when idw will introduce the free digital code with purchase like marvel and dc are doing now... they were talking about it almost 12 months or more ago..i do buy alot of comic from them so its about time we got fre digital codes!!