IDW Ongoing #8 preview

[i_amtrunks]

Well the preview for issue #8 is up.

Not good for those who are not fans of Spike, once again there are at least 3 entire pages wasted on him that could have been reduced down to maybe a panel or two. Looks like another snoozefest from Costa

[SharkyMcShark]

As I understand it the entire thing is about him.

[Sky Shadow]

once again there are at least 3 entire pages wasted on him that could have been reduced down to maybe a panel or two.

Panel 1: Here is Spike, the most clichéd human male character we could imagine.
Panel 2: Here he is again.

[SharkyMcShark]

Jesus Christ is that spike in the first two preview panels? (I didn't bother reading the text)

[loophole]

yaaaaawn!!

[Sharky]

i can see this issue quickly getting placed on the "i cant be assed reading this" pile that i have latley..

the preview if anything has made me not want to read it

all the promise all the talent

what happened IDW......your ongoing bores me.

[Tommy K]

hey, they are introducing biff tannen into the transformers comic lol

i hope we get to see plenty of

WRONG McPRIME!

now make it like a tree and get out of here

[Seraphim Prime]

I just got the TPB last week and finished reading it over the weekend.

I kinda like Spike, and think his progression from distrust to trying to make the best of things was kinda interesting in the first 6 issues. The preview makes me a little disappointed to see that he is kinda going back to the "robots are bad" mentality he had early on, and not really progressing from his moment of revelation that he had in issues 5 & 6.

When read as a group of 6, the story is kind interesting, and I enjoy it, and enjoy seeing the character dynamics.

But I suppose these same things are the comic's weakness. An ongoing shouldn't be stuck to six-issue phases - that's what a mini-series is for. A good example of an ongoing story arch would be Goki's Matrix Quest example from the original Marvel run - individual issues that each told a complete story, but when put together told an even bigger story. Maybe that's what Costa is trying with this next lot of 6, and I suppose we need to give it a bit of time in order to see the big picture, but that seems a little unfulfilling.

As for Spike, I don't hate him, but i don't love him either. I find him interesting, but not compelling. If he's supposed to be carrying the weight of certain plot points then I need more reason to care about him, because currently I'm very "meh" and anything that happens to him won't carry any emotional weight. I think people have raised this on the IDW boards, but you can love a character, and you can hate a character, and either feeling is a sign of good story telling, a passion for the character, as it indicates some sort of emotional connection. What most people are saying though is they hate Spike's presence completely, not because they hate Spike, but because they nothing him, and that is even worse than hate because any page featuring Spike will be wasted space that won't further a story.

Hopefully the rest of the issue gives us a reason to feel somthing, anything, towards Spike, but unfortunately the reviews don't seem to indicate this.