Comic Review: Transformers Regeneration One

[i_amtrunks]

Aft grabbing the disc, it looks as though Hotrod does have the sword as well...

[GoktimusPrime]

So what was the point of that whole "weapon or knowledge?" indecision scene then?

[kup]

does it feel like REGEN has lost its way? it really doesnt feel like the old marvel run when you read it at the moment...

To me this doesn't feel like the old Marvel run at all. It's lacking the balance of telling an epic story with character development and much needed comic relief that was once there. As it is now these issues are readable but rather bland and stale.

I can re-read the Matrix Quest and much of the Furman run of Marvel G1 and still enjoy it while I can't say the same for Re-Gen.

Yeah Furman does seem to have lost his way when it comes to TF storytelling

[Sharky]

So what was the point of that whole "weapon or knowledge?" indecision scene then?

Through Knowledge it was determined he was to finish the job of primus.

the scene i imagine was to build suspense......which is extremeley lacking.

to me regen feels like an excuse to kill everyone off and at titles end everyone will be reborn to a new golden age of cybertron for the cycle to start all fresh...

brainstorms head annoys the absolute crap outta me too...

[Wheelie]

I'm liking the series, it's got good and bad points, but overall it's a good continuation of the original series. It's also what got me back into collecting.

[griffin]

Just read Volume 1 on the flight from Adelaide...

Good...
- Story was good enough to keep me reading the entire thing without feeling the need to put it down.
- I was a fan of Wildman's art in the last few issues, so really loved the look of this, at it really felt like I'd just picked up an old issue from the 80s. I didn't have to "adjust/interpret" the completely different visual style of different artists, like I have to do in recent IDW comic series.
- I liked how Furman was able to incorporate a number of UK comic concepts within the plot, without forcing them too much. And his solution to the Circuit Breaker legality issue (preventing them from using her without paying Marvel for it... cheap bastards), was creative and plausible. But since it wasn't necessary (the character didn't need it, and wasn't very powerful) it felt more like a cheap imitation, than a homage to Circuit Breaker.
- I think the compilation had most of the various covers, which was a welcome bonus, as I liked *some* of the Geoff Senior covers, but would never buy all those extra expensive copies just for one piece of artwork. I was also thankful that the compilation had the #80.5 Free Comic Book Day issue as well, as it saved me the hassle of finding it (comic shops are few and difficult to get to Brisbane).

Bad...
- The Optimus philosophy rambles. After a few of them I just started skipping past those big bubbles and just read what other characters were saying, to get the basic idea of what he was going on about.
- Ignoring the events in the Gen2 comic was necessary, but the story direction doesn't feel right, as it doesn't feel like it was where the original Gen1 comic was heading in the issues before #80. I would have preferred to see the story pick up from where #80 left off, with no 21 year gap. The way this series has been set out, it feels more like Dreamwave's follow-on Gen1 series, but I guess that was considered strategically necessary, to capture new readers who don't know anything about the original 80 issues.
- Not a fan of ret-conning the Headmasters story, by claiming that the heads were copied, not used as the bio-suits. It now means we could have duplicates of all the Headmasters, not just the ones that were dead. I guess Furman loved Scorponok too much to let him stay dead.
- I didn't like the idea of lobotomising all of the Decepticons, as most were loyal to Megatron... and I won't like it if they are fully restored very easily, as a lobotomy shouldn't just be something simple like unplugging a wire. I didn't see Shockwave anywhere though, and he was in the Ark with all the other "resurrected" Decepticons. I can't imagine Furman would have forgotten him... he's likely to be somewhere pivotal for a future story arc.
- I found it very difficult to believe that the Autobots would have left Earth unattended or unobserved during that entire time, or even leaving all of their "trash" behind. I know it was a good plot device to use the left-over junk and characters on Earth, but the end of #80 suggested that the Autobots were keen to clean up the mess of the Decepticons and their war, and then return to Cybertron.
- It was sad to see Ratchet being reduced to just a disposable head for Megatron's usage... and just as sad to see him being terminated, as he was a key character since the first issues, right through to the end of the original series. Very few other characters held that record. He was like Rhinox in Beast Wars, and similarly got the shaft too cheaply.
- The thought of having the series ending in 20 (and a half) issues time makes me sad though, but if he can give it a good ending, it might be worth the 20+ year wait. Then again, I didn't mind how the original series ended.

[Sam]

Okay I have a question about issue 90...

-SPOILER-
The panel where the Decepticon gives the password in Japanese, which I think is: 10-9-8-14-20-10-4

is there any significance to this string of numbers and/or the fact that it's apparently in Japanese?
- END SPOILER -

[Paulbot]

"Arc 2" is complete and Regeneration One halfway over. And I'm not disappointed by that fact. This is not the comic I was waiting 20 years for.

I don't know Japanese but Sam those numbers look like close enough to 1984 and 2010 that I'd guess that's what they were going for.

Can't wait for Guido Guidi to take over the art. They should have done that from the start.

I'm not sure what IDW was thinking have two comics come out on the same day that both feature Grimlock fighting Scorponok.

If you ever have to choose a 5-issue comic book story written by Simon Furman where the Dinobots dislike Grimlock and Scorponok is plotting and Shockwave is lurking in the background and Hot Rod is on a quest: choose Maximum Dinobots. It's worlds better.

[i_amtrunks]

If you ever have to choose a 5-issue comic book story written by Simon Furman where the Dinobots dislike Grimlock and Scorponok is plotting and Shockwave is lurking in the background and Hot Rod is on a quest: choose Maximum Dinobots. It's worlds better.

Agree with all of what you wrote Paulbot, but thought this hit the nail with the hammer best. This whole run has felt "samey" like we are reading a shadow of previous stories. Hopefully the next ten issues are a big step up, but I don't really like it.

I think I am also less enthused for the next few issues knowing at some point Grimlock and Scorpy will have a big return fighting off the big bad together. Furman will never let Grimlock just disappear. (Plus we know he lives in Beast Wars).

[griffin]

I think Transformers comic writers, after 30 years, are stuck with "damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation.
If they keep reusing the classic Gen1 character traits, character "relationships", and concepts, it can get boring, lazy, and even confusing if there are month/year gaps between reading issues/arcs.
But, if they don't use the classic Gen1 elements that we know and are used to (or expect), it looks and feels too wrong for the fans to accept, and it becomes a vocalised hatred/complaint of that series... prompting future writers to not risk it. (I remember how Armada Starscream was rejected by fans because he wasn't a traitorous backstabber... he was a loyal Decepticon, who then sided with the Autobots because he was too honourably loyal for the Decepticons)