IDW Transformers ongoing [spoilers]

[Gutsman Heavy]

I like the ongoing, but #8 was the worst POS I've read.

To paraphrse Dr. Ian Malcolm:

Now eventually you might have dinosaurs Transformers on your, on your dinosaur tour Transformers comic, right?

[SilverDragon]

Read #8. Look, when your comic's titled TRANSFORMERS, you expect to see the titular robots early on. In this issue, they're first mentioned on page 10, and ONE actually appears on page 17, gets trapped in two pages, and is monologued to death by Spike for three. This comic has 22 pages. So an actual Transformer only appears for five pages of a 22 page comic titled TRANSFORMERS. What the hell, Costa?

I understand the concept behind this issue-develop the main human character-but he's such an unlikable jerk by the end of #8 that the overall quality of the comic would increase drastically if Omega Supreme stepped on him.

The only highlight for me was page 8. Those soldiers look very eager to be 'horsing around'. Henderson seems positively jubilant at the prospect of being grabbed roughly by a brawny young man. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it just seems funny in an issue about how ultra-masculine Spike is.

[Oilspill]

I just read issue 8 of Ongoing and I am disgusted by it. I have never read such a horrifyingly bad issue, not even the worse AHM issue or the 'I am transformed' issue of the first volume of ongoing compares.

The issue is all about showing us what a hard ass Spike is and how he can take a Decepticon single handedly with no weapons with a bare chest. As I was reading I was like WTF?? every second page that just focused on how cool Spike is. What dribble.

I am so glad that I am no longer paying to read this s**t and it's becoming even less acceptable to read even for free due to how horribly written it is and themes it follows.

I am saddened by this comic - What happened to Transformers comics?? How is this crap acceptable as a professional work is beyond me, it's just crap. It feels more as if they got some school kid with a hard on for Spike to write it.

Enough ranting but Drift is becoming much more palpable than Spike, specially after this issue.

Where does IDW pick up it's writers?

Quoted for truth.

Just read number 8 and it is an absolute pile of crap. They've had some pretty average issues already, but issues like this are going to kill the Ongoing all together.

For starters the art is absolutely terrible in this issue. The artist clearly can't draw humans well, and this issue is practically nothing but humans. And Spike doesn't even look like Spike from AHM or previous issues of the ongoing.

The writing is terrible. "Hey I'm Spike, I can take out a 30ft, technologically advanced giant robot who's fought in wars for millenia, with no technology, no backup, some chemicals I mixed up in my kitchen and no shirt." Awesome way to completely destroy the Decepticons as any kind of credible threat.

The stupid thing was the intent of the issue is to build Spike up as a bad-ass human hero of the ongoing story, who can hold his own against a Cybertronian. But with the whole "I'm too cool for school, I didn't pay attention and just got in fights" backstory, it just succeeds in making him look like an arsehole.

I've been a pretty big fan of IDWs stuff. Love Nick Roche. Simon Furman's earlier stuff was great. Spotlights have been 90% excellent. I even somewhat enjoyed the much maligned (particularly on these boards ) AHM.
But, that's it for ongoing for me.

I was only getting it for the iPhone anyway, as it wasn't worth the price for a hard copy before this. But with this kind of writing it's not even worth the $2.50 for the download.

[Tommy K]

i have the slightest feeling people didnt like no 8

well all i can say is now that we got the (insert one of the tasteful words kups used here) out of the last issue, bring on no 9!

[GoktimusPrime]

#9's already out dude. I picked my copy up yesterday. Glad to see Guidi's art... though a shame he's drawing Bumblebee in his "pimped out Commander" form (I'm assuming on IDW's behest).

[Tommy K]

#9's already out dude. I picked my copy up yesterday. Glad to see Guidi's art... though a shame he's drawing Bumblebee in his "pimped out Commander" form (I'm assuming on IDW's behest).

yeah i got it today

i loved : our special guestkim jon ill or whatever hsis name is
the fact that optimus prime still is helping out in the comic even though he still is a little bit depressed

i disliked spike, quite frankly im not sure who he is right now, is he the guy that drove lockdown or whatever after capturing him in issue one, or does he hate robots or was he the guy that caught beach comber?

overall i rate this issue a 7/10 due to the fact that there was some action, some story, the talking is starting to bother me though, as a younger tf fan i expect more KABOOM then talking about whatever

for instance

it took almost 2 pages for the president to say that he didnt want transformers working with any one, COME ON! all that could have been taken up with some driving off into the sunset or something more awesome. im all for story, but when the story is slowed down to they way it was this issue, well yeah *endrant*

[SharkyMcShark]

I wish they'd stop drawing Spike differently. The actual Transformers themselves I'm not that bugged by, but every issue Spike looks like a completely different person, and that's annoying.

I did like the whole any nation caught colaborating with Transformers will be deemed to be in possession of WMDs - nice little real world reference and sets up a tricky situation for Skywatch

Though with that said I hope that the resolution isn't just like "oh look the TFS SAEVD THE KREA! THEY MUST BE GOOD!

At this point the whole ALL TRANSFORMERS ARE THE BADS thing is dragging a bit. I understood it like immediately post AHM (the Autobots only turned up for like what was the last hours of the Decepticon occupation so really most of the planet only knew the bad guys), but seriously you'd think they'd have got the message by now.

[GoktimusPrime]

As an older fan I also wanna see more KABOOM! per issue! That's something folks have been griping about with IDW comics for some time now... too many issues filled with 'yada yada yada blah blah blah' and not enough giant effing robot rumbling!

Like yeah sure, have your story arcs, political intrigue and what not... but there should be Transformers action happening alongside it. Just like with the G1 comics and Beast Wars. Guh... there just isn't as much bang for your buck with TF comics these days compared to what Marvel used to give us. And technically IDW have a LOT more creative liberty than Marvel did because they're not under pressure from Hasbro to sell toys! (hence they're not directed to remove or introduce bunch of characters at inconvenient intervals)

Well, there's some influence from Hasbro, particularly with the movie comics which use several non-film toy characters like Dirtboss etc., but it's nothing like the kind of pressures that Marvel had. e.g. introducing several sub-groups of Transformers in a single issue where they spend a whole page just talking to each other blatantly announcing their names to introduce themselves to readers! "You're right Razorclaw! But I, Divebomb, will blah blah blah." "Perhaps so, but I, Tantrum, yada yada yada..."

[heroic_decepticon]

I read the Bumblebee TPB. This was actually pretty good. The Skywatch badges looked a little goofy, but I was all excited when Bumblebee was handed one which I thought looked like a rub-sign. That'd be so cool.

One of the more enjoyable TF comics I've read in recent time. I'm quite eagerly awaiting the LSOTW tpb.

[STL]

Okay, I lie. I just read #7 and while not the strongest of issues, it involved some very good work. For once, some of the diallogue worked quite well. The Decepticons being reeduced to what they are was very fascinating. I do feel that Starscream went backwards a bit. In the early Furman books and across AHM, he was portrayed as offering something more. A real alternative. I still fondly recall, Blitzwing and Astrotrain (?) reviving him b/c of Megatron seeming to be too obsessive.

The humans were okay. Tolerable at best. Personally I think the human element has been a fail at IDW. Verity and co = suckage. Spike = suckage. The last time I cared for beings and TFs was Budinsky's run with Galen/Spike as Fort Max. That said, 1 average win from 7 is hardly a great strike rate. The book's still been dropped. I just had to pick up #7-9 last week as courtesy to my retailer who I have a standing order with.