IDW's Bumblebee comic reviews.

[Paulbot]

Pretty sure it is set after the ongoing #1....

Bought this issue today. Yes you are correct. The Bumblebee series is set after issue #2 of the ongoing and you should read the ongoing issue first. Interestig this seem like a parallel series rather than a limited series set separate to the ongoing. I might start a review thread later.

[i_amtrunks]

I might start a review thread later.

Looking forward to it. I'm refusing to buy the main ongoing or Bumblebee mini in single issues after All Hail.

[Sky Shadow]

This was a really beautiful story. Despite some (welcome) blink-and-you'll-miss-them cameos by late-eighties Decepticons, this looks and feels like an early Transformers picture book or the first couple of years of UK comic stories. It's a gorgeously naïve tale in which Bumblebee and the Geewun cast work for a fairly generic human army in order to hunt down Decepticons. The badges that the Autobots wear on their 'lapels' to communicate with the human military are hilarious. And it's a nice kiddy-friendly story - the humes aren't coming to work after one-night-stands with cheap sluts. (Or if they are, the book doesn't waste our time and an entire page to tell us about it.) It's densely packed too - we get real dialogue and sometimes up to nine panels a page. It feels like an early Bumblebee story and - unlike All Hail Megatron - it's not Geewunning us with a stupid overblown sequential art action movie, it's good old down-to-Earth old school storytelling. This is one time when I didn't feel like I wasted my money on a Transformers one-shot or limited series (or main series, for that matter). IDW's 'Bumblebee' is Transformers as it should be - it's like G1 was before anyone ever called it G1. I look forward to issue #2.

[i_amtrunks]

But when does the inevitable betrayal commence???

[SMHFConvoy]

But when does the inevitable betrayal commence???

Pretty much in the 1st issue.

I agree Sky Shadow the story and characters are being handled respectfully. I like the fact that this story is running concurrent with the ongoing and is a story that is important enough to published as a mini series.

[Paulbot]

It doesn't read like a miniseries about Bumblebee in particular. To me (from this first issue at least) it reads more like a second parallel monthly Transformers comic. There's some minor continuity issues (unless Bluestreak and Silverstreak are different characters in IDW-verse) but otherwise it's quite a nice first issue.

I totally agree with Sky Shadow's comments that the book "looks and feels like an early Transformers picture book" and it's one of the aspects of the art style that really appeals to me.


Mods, I wonder if this thread could be made the IDW Bumblebee review and comments thread and moved to the Review area?

[kup]

I'll post here since the thread is due to be made into the Review thread.

I agree, this was a fine little story. Unlike the crap we have been reading of late, this comic was pushing on all the right buttons by telling us a proper story in which significant things happened within the context of the issue without bloating everything to so called 'epic' and showing us (even if briefly) that they are acknowledging none Geewun characters. The story wasn't forcefully trying to be epic and 'hip' with swinging human characters and other such crap nor several pages of pointless 'action'. It simply focused on telling a fine and cooled down, interesting story even if we all knew where it was leading at the end and that's why it kind of worked, since it makes you feel for Bumblebee due to his naivity and desperation as current leader.

Since they are now making Wheeljack a bit of a jerk towards Bumblebee, he kind of reminded me of Dr Smoov's Wheeljack but only when he was being 'disrespectful' to Bumblebee at the start.

This was very good and as Sky Shadow mentioned, it was very reminiscent of Marvel UK stories even down to the art. I look forward to more issues.

[GoktimusPrime]

I enjoyed this story. I prefer it over the Ongoing G1 series, and I agree that it's one of the nicest stories to come from IDW in a long time.

[roller]

Where did ultramagnus disappear to?

[kup]

Where did ultramagnus disappear to?

He couldn't deal with Bumblebee.