Transformers questions by newbies, and not-so-newbies

[liegeprime]

Oh thanks! Ill go try it out now, no wonder I cant pin it to any figure - its a pretender's , inner bot at that.

[ComicGuy89]

Hi guys, I'm new to collecting in Australia, so I'm curious as to how much cheaper figures released at mass retail (which take a longer time than places like Toyworld, I've observed), are compared to those released at Toyworld?

So far the only ones I've observed are the Power Core Combiners and I was guessing that my Big W was having a fluke because the differences in price were crazy! Yet, the ROTF deluxes were only slightly cheaper. Thanks!

[1AZRAEL1]

Well I haven't been to toyworld in a while, but from what I can tell, the new generations figures were being sold for $29.99, Big W have them for $25.99 I think. Bit of a saving. Can't judge on other stuff because I haven't been interested in much else.

[griffin]

Hi guys, I'm new to collecting in Australia, so I'm curious as to how much cheaper figures released at mass retail (which take a longer time than places like Toyworld, I've observed), are compared to those released at Toyworld?

So far the only ones I've observed are the Power Core Combiners and I was guessing that my Big W was having a fluke because the differences in price were crazy! Yet, the ROTF deluxes were only slightly cheaper. Thanks!

A new list will be done up as more store chains get the new stock, but this was a price comparison list for last year's Movie toys:
http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=4534

If you really want to keep track of the prices and availability of the new items, just take a little time to peruse the various sightings topics in the sightings section.

[ComicGuy89]

Thank you very much. I've been looking into the WA sightings everyday, and it's really useful.

[ITZTRU]

Ok. I haven't read any IDW comics so I've been meaning to ask a question about Drift. Why am I always reading so much smack about him? What is it about him that everyone dislikes?

[Sky Shadow]

Ok. I haven't read any IDW comics so I've been meaning to ask a question about Drift. Why am I always reading so much smack about him? What is it about him that everyone dislikes?

Because he's an unnecessary, clichéd, Poochie-esque, former-Decepticon-come-kewl-taciturn-Autobot non-character with three swords, created by someone who doesn't know much or care about Transformers, who invented Drift for no discernibly valid reason and then inserted him into the IDW Transformers universe despite the fact that a real G1 Transformer like Star Saber or Carnivac could have fulfilled the same role, only better.

[SharkyMcShark]

Ok. I haven't read any IDW comics so I've been meaning to ask a question about Drift. Why am I always reading so much smack about him? What is it about him that everyone dislikes?

He was a character created by Shane McCarthy, who wrote and drew All Hail Megatron (Spotlight: Blurr, Drift and Cliffjumper).

He's a former Decepticon (who was called Deadlock), who was notoriously brutal towards Autobots. At some point he decided to become a pacifist and joined the mysterious third faction that had nothing to do with the war. Then he made himself some pretty sweet swords and started going by the name of Drift, doing what he could to help out the Autobots anonymously without actually becoming one or having any contact with them (this is the gist of the upcoming Drift series - we know all this because he essentially says so in his Spotlight).

Then on one such mission he bumps into Kup rescuing a bunch of bots (his faux Wreckers crew he hung around with in AHM), helps Kup out, saves Perceptor's life, and Kup accepts him into his team.

Then he turned up at the beginning of issue 5 on Cybertron with the rest of the marooned characters (this was his first appearance chronologically, Spotlight: Drift was released after this). He hangs around Cybtertron, repels the Swam, and ostensibly goes to Earth on Omega Supreme to fight the Decepticons in New York (although I don't actually remember him being in any fight scenes on Earth before Thundercracker volunteers to dispose of the nuclear bomb). He tries to welcome TC to the Autobots but TC tells him to go do one.

Then we see him fleetingly in the first issue of the Ongoing just sort of standing around. Likewise in the Bumblebee mini.


To be honest the fan ire isn't entirely unwarranted although it is hilariously over the top at times (there's this one guy on TFW2005 that ABSOLUTELY hates Drift mainly because he wasn't suspected of being the traitor in AHM but his precious Mirage was) (or you could just look at the post above). It mainly has to be with him being a 'Mary Sue' - essentially a fan insertion character that could be from a hackneyed and cliched fanfic. And that is true to some extent - he always has this smug smirk on his face, he's never ever phased by anything, only uses swords, hangs around with the big bots in the Autobot hierarchy, overpontificiates, is generally a bad ass, etc. That and the attention and overexposure he was immediately given (got his own Spotlight a year after creation, his own toy, characters in AHM would ask where he was if he was ever off panel for a while).

I don't mind it so much really - creation of new characters is what drives the line forward - McCarthy justified his creation reasonably (he does something that no other character in the IDW verse offers - remember that Jetfire was never originally a Decepticon in IDW's G1 continuity). To be honest he could have done without instantly becoming a central character but otherwise I'm not really fussed personally. While Sky Shadow points out that there are other G1 characters who offer a similar themes, Carnivac was from the later lines in Transformers G1 and AHM had a preference for pre 1986 movie characters (Hot Rod and Kup being the exceptions there). Also Carnivac had already been shown to be a standard Decepticon grunt at this point (Stormbringer).

I suppose at this point I'll get accused of being Shane McCarthy like happens often on TFW2005 because of my screen name and location

[Sky Shadow]

He was a character created by Shane McCarthy, who wrote and drew All Hail Megatron (Spotlight: Blurr, Drift and Cliffjumper).

He just wrote it, Sharky. But the rest of what you say is valid.

While Sky Shadow points out that there are other G1 characters who offer a similar themes, Carnivac was from the later lines in Transformers G1 and AHM had a preference for pre 1986 movie characters (Hot Rod and Kup being the exceptions there). Also Carnivac had already been shown to be a standard Decepticon grunt at this point (Stormbringer).

A Decepticon grunt who actually worked alongside the Wreckers at one point, though. Although yes, Carnivac would have required McCarthy to read beyond the end of the 1986 Transformers Universe.

I suppose at this point I'll get accused of being Shane McCarthy like happens often on TFW2005 because of my screen name and location

Is accusing people of being Shane McCarthy without real evidence the modern-day equivalent of McCarthysim?

[SharkyMcShark]

He just wrote it, Sharky. But the rest of what you say is valid.

I'm so sure he was on drawing duty as well...

No, a quick reference to my comic drawer tells me that it was Guido.

Is accusing people of being Shane McCarthy without real evidence the modern-day equivalent of McCarthysim?

http://instantrimshot.com/