All Hail Megatron Issues 1 to 6 (Vol 1)

[kup]

I wrote a big review for Issue 6 but the server failed during the night (this has been happening the last few nights) and what I wrote was lost

Anyway, here is the brief version of what I wrote:

Personally, I enjoyed this issue for the most part. We actually saw some characterisation on Decepticons who usually don't get much more than background appearances such as Thundercracker and Skywarp arguing with Bombshell. It was also good to see Starscream showing a bit more brain than the cartoon persona and more in line with the Furman IDW stories and maybe the Marvel G1 character.I also enjoyed the first part of the Autobots as they were trying to reorganize themselves into a military force in order to strike back at the Decepticons. It was awesome to get a brief insight on Roadbuster. Overall it was a pretty good issue with a lot of characterization.

BUT

The overall story seems to be heading to a very predictable conclusion and despite it being 6 issues into this series, NOTHING much has happened. The whole series could easily be condensed in just a couple of issues or a single half hour episode if it were a cartoon.

Now Drift..

His first appearance was rather brief particularly since IDW has been pushing this character a fair bit but DAMN! he is every bit as bad as I thought he would be. He is basically the sort of character that a 13 year old would come up with in which he is 'UBBER' powerful, smooth and unbeatable, AKA: 'Awesomely cool'. Hopefully his appearance in AHM will be limited from now but something tells me that he is going to be getting centerstage appearances during the rest of the series.

In my oppinion this Drift character has the potential of ruining the only real strength that AHM has which is the Autobot's side of the story. If that is ruined by Drift then there isn't much of a point to continue reading as the rest of the story is rather mediocre and its not hard to see where its leading.

I have to agree with the TF wiki on this one, Drift is pretty much the Poochy the dog of Transformers.

[Lord_Zed]

I have to agree with the TF wiki on this one, Drift is pretty much the Poochy the dog of Transformers.

So does that mean we'll soon get an issue when he is killed of then, and in the letter collumn there will be a signed statment saying he's dead forever?

[GoktimusPrime]

As a Munchkin Drift would have to die in martyrdom, and not from some completely random even like say how Roadbuster, Misfire, Hardhead and Bomb-Burst died in G1. Cos nobody dies randomly in war! (/sarcasm)

[lcz128]

I never read the Furman comics growing up. I did borrow Matrix Quest from the library at uni a few years ago - I enjoyed it but the art didn't gel with me.

I read most of the DW transformers comics mainly because my bro was buying it. It had its ups and downs.

I wasn't reading Furman's IDW -ation comics as they were coming out because I read the preview for Infiltration and was a bit 'meh' (probably because it was just humans humans humans).

I've since gone back and read Furman's IDW -ation comics and I really enjoyed it.

Now. To the topic at hand:
I really enjoy AHM!
I understand and can appreciate the frustration going around over how it's not continuing Furman's storyline - and I was really looking forward to seeing how the Headmaster thing was going to pan out (having been raised on the Japanese HM/MF/V series' I thought it was great to see some Headmaster action happening) but there's been no resolution for that yet - but point is I'm still enjoying AHM.

Every month that I pick up an issue - I sit, read - and I come out really having enjoyed it. Sure, it's not resolving some of the things I would like to find out about - but then again I'm not that bothered by it - point is for me I suppose is that I've been enjoying every single issue, every step of the way and my real complaint is that I'd like to have them all now. :\ Spoilt by having been able to read all the others in the one go I suppose -

So, while I understand and can appreciate the frustration over the unresolved storyline - I say - be patient, see how this whole thing pans out - and if it actually resolves some of the things I'm looking forward to, great - if it doesn't - whoop dee doo - having been a fan of the Wildstorm Universe and having had titles cancelled from under me has taught me an important lesson: enjoy it in the moment.
Otherwise I'd just be griping and complaining rather than enjoying what it is for what it is

Oh - right - that's the other thing I don't like about this comic - seems to be that if the person draws crazy-awesome bots - they don't do the humans as well most of the time. Personally, it appears to be so here too

[GoktimusPrime]

I did borrow Matrix Quest from the library at uni a few years ago - I enjoyed it but the art didn't gel with me.

Yeah but how would you feel if you'd read Matrix Quest in 1990 when it came out? I don't know about you but it absolutely blew me the frell away! It was the Matrix Quest that convinced me to abandon buying TF comics from newsagents and go into a comic shop and establish a standing order where I could pre-order my TF comics - that standing order that I set up in 19 years ago is the same standing order which I use to get my IDW TF comics today!

[lcz128]

Yeah but how would you feel if you'd read Matrix Quest in 1990 when it came out?

Haha gok!
Funny you say that - but I was even more picky with art styles back then! So I don't think I would have even picked it up back then :b
Over the years I've come to appreciate different styles - but still the art style and colouring of Matrix Quest didn't and still doesn't appeal to me

[GoktimusPrime]

I think the art style of Matrix Quest was very good by 1990 standards. The colouring sucks though... friggin' Nel "colour-blind" Yomtov... (-_-)

[STL]

Over the years I've come to appreciate different styles - but still the art style and colouring of Matrix Quest didn't and still doesn't appeal to me

that's a really good point actually. Broadly speaking, it's true for a lot of my comics. I love Invincible but the art's miles apart from Criminal which is miles apart from Green Lantern which is even more miles away from Power Pack. In the past, I would've been a Lee/Liefeld/Silvestri type guy only. Everything else sucked like no tmrw.

Anyways, my thoughts:

Issue #4 to Issue #6

I should preface my comments as saying that I’ve easily detached AHM from the rest of IDW’s stuff hence why it has no bearing at all on me.

Just got through them today after picking up my comics (darn it’d been awhile), and I can’t say enough how much I enjoy All Hail Megatron. I should mention I had the advantage of reading them all in one sitting as opposed to waiting between months for them so that would’ve been a different reading experience to others who followed it monthly.

Covers… I grabbed all of them. I prefer the Hutchinson one’s over the Guido one’s generally. Very atmospheric and they make u think before you even read the book as you study the visual elements that make it up.

The art I think is the biggest disappointment. Not in a sense that it’s terrible but in the sense that its not the best Guido can produce. Certainly, it still is exceptionally good but this is still far from Guido’s best I feel. I look at his Spotlights and at his previous cover work and whatnot and this feels just that bit rushed. This though most likely comes down to the fact this is a monthly, a tough schedule for even the best to keep in this modern day of comics. That said, his 85% here still is head and shoulders above Roche or Milne who I also both like. Guido’s comparatively a brilliant storyteller with a sense of atmosphere and drama and resonates all that personality without sacrificing the angular robot modes of our favourite TFs. There’s just so much to like about Guido and his contribution here is immense as where McCarthy is quiet without dialogue balloons, he’s depending on Guido to capture the atmosphere and tension in this story and Guido does that wonderfully.

And onto the writing. Initially, I didn’t think this was very special at all and didn’t really expect a great deal. I mentioned pages back that this probably just a simpler take than what i_amtrunks posted. I was wrong. This is stand out. I haven’t been captivated by this for a long time by a TF comic. Beast Wars: the Ascending was the most recent thing I liked but even then it was more so not b/c of the way characters were developed but more just the bringing together of a lot of virtually unknown characters and melding together. This goes one step further. It takes characters we know and love, combines them with characters that had less limelight and propels them into a situation that they’ve not been in before.

I was initially disappointed by the slow pace of the 1st three issues but having read the latest #3 issues I understand why. The purpose of it was twofold. Firstly, it was to focus on the Decepticons, to make us question where exactly the Autobots were. The second was to beg the question, what exactly are the Decepticons doing here. They’ve won, right? Why not a full scale invasion? Where are the Predacons? Where are their other big hitters? All reasonable questions that have been raised at some point by fans. And that’s exactly why it was slow. B/c by the time #4 comes around, we are exposed to the severity of the situation. This isn’t where the Autobots are just recuperating momentarily before a quick recovery – they are down and out. Their backs are to the wall like they’ve never been and unlike the G2 comics, they’re not in the middle of chaos. They’re stuck in its muddy waters and living that reality every day. So the slow pace was intended to augment our frustrations, to force us to ask some very big questions, to ask us to see for once what it really means to lose and, conversely, to win. Life is very slow afterwards – even when you are conquering and have it all gift wrap. And that’s what we see with the Decepticons. Life on Cybertron is equally slow too as the Autobots hold on by the thinnest of sparks. And that’s why I find the construction of AHM to be wonderful. It’s incredibly well thought out and as I have mentioned elsewhere, a good comic makes you care about the characters and the plot. It makes u angry, it makes u happy, it makes u curious. AHM has that in spades.

And that’s all in the pacing, I haven’t even gotten to the characters yet!

The characters, where to start?

Kup? The old stager. One thing I was disappointed by that I should get out of the way first was the Kup/Ironhide camaraderie first seen in War Within. I dug that a lot and missed it here as I felt Ironhide was more just one of the foot soldiers. Onto Kup, he’s not just a gruff old whiner as he was in G1. Here, he’s a thinker and a respected ‘Bot. Sure, he’s got a rough demeanour but that’s the veteran in him and I like how he holds it together.

Prowl. Among my favourite characters, I always felt he was shortchanged in G1. He got a bit in War Within but that was about it. 12 issues isn’t very much. Here, he’s under the pump from the outset and struggling to hold it all together. I like that very much. He has a secret he needs to keep and its killing him and I totally love how that messes him up. He’s not the confident logical self that he wants to be. This has thrown him into the big blue sea. Not to mention the interaction between him and Jazz. Good buds, love that.

Megatron. That speech in #4 seemed out of place b/c it didn’t hit all the right notes and it rightfully was. Once we reach #6, we know precisely why and McCarthy’s excelled once again b/c he’s planted that seed of doubt/that question mark in our minds and then progressed to expose it all. The artwork helps a lot too b/c the way Megatron is portrayed, he is far more mindful. He doesn’t always speak his mind as he did in G1. He’s learning and growing and that’s something new. He’s not so sure of himself despite the fact that he’s beaten the antithesis to all that he is and represents. There’s merit in this and it all makes for a very juicy Prime v. Megatron confrontation as all of it culminates in Megatron re-engaging in that one eternal battle he always wanted to win.

Don’t get me started on Jazz. There’s so much here. I could keep on going with Perceptor’s new approach, Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker, Blitzwing, Bumblebee, Wheeljack and so on but I’m not going to b/c there’s other story elements I want to get into..

The Swarm. This came out of nowhere but it’s a great build up on a new concept. I never like the originally concept much (tho the art didn’t help) but this new concept intrigues me. Their appearance look creepy but very nasty. And there’s one of the few problems I have with this. If he’s so tough, why was he so easily disposed of? For a moment, he’s so dreaded yet the next he’s dispatched so easily by Drift and Perceptor?

And that leads me to Drift. Is he really as bad as people make him out? To me, it was the whole combination of Drift and Perceptor that disposed of the Swarm creature. It wasn’t meant to be just how cool Drift was. The whole sequence spoke volumes about three characters, Kup – who knows his troops, Drift, who can handle a sword stealthily, and Perceptor who is a very new aggressive sharp shooter. Would anyone have complained if it was Grimlock who sliced the head followed by Swoop shooting it over Grimlock’s shoulder? I think not. The whole outcry amidst the fandom seems to be concentrated on just one character when to me, it was the whole scene that was out of place. Drift’s a new character, cut him a break. It’s all a matter of perspective and too many people are dwelling on one little thing in 6 issues of so much more. That’s what’s disappointing.

The use of the Matrix. I hate the All Spark. Its now a crucial part of TF lore but to me, it’s just an oversized cube with a lot of power. The matrix to me always had an allure, it always meant something more than that. In G1 it was simply what the Autobot leader possessed. In the Marvel and UK comics, it’s some sort of creation gobbydigook. Here it’s more than that. It’s something that binds the Autobots together – not just to their leader but to their cause. It’s something gives them faith, that makes them believe. That is why Prowl and Jazz have such a heavy burden to bear. The secret means so much and if it were knowledge, it would shatter the fragile unity they still have. Even Kup realises the gravity of this.

What it means to be a Seeker. That’s what the whole Skywarp thing boils down to. I love that. In the past, there’s always been this unjustified respect for the term “Seeker” as referring to the G1 Decepticon jets. But here, we see it means more than just that. It’s something that binds them together, gives them purpose and they fear losing that. McCarthy has once again outdone himself here. It’s just one of the many layers to this conflict that’s unfolding.

The traitor? I love how its set up. It all points to Mirage but I can’t help but feel its someone else and it really kills me who it could be. I love a lot of those characters right there and the only one I’d want to see as a traitor would be BB b/c I hate that gold pile of pee. Unfortunately, it’s going to be someone else and I just wonder who it is b/c the answer I fear might just tear at me. And that’s a good thing. Sure, I’ll be angry but again, that’s more of a sign that I care about the book and where its going rather than being angry at a silly, poorly constructed decision.

The themes are great too. I love where we’re left with Megatron. There’s a real contrast between the said and the unsaid which I find to be stellar. It’s that that gives Megatron and the story so much depth and layers. Megatron says so little and everything he says runs counterpoint to what must be going on inside. And that builds great tension and gives us great insight into the character about what it means to win and lose.

Great Moments
- Jazz is no slouch – I look forward to his Spotlight!
- Prowl/Jazz’s camaraderie: in G1 too often we had everyone rally behind Prime. It was a thrill to see the two second in commands so cozy.
- Ironhide: I haven’t read enough of his rugged self
- Ironhide smacking Prowl in the face; there’s a lovely bit of tension we’d never seen in G1
- #4 Jazz staring to the heavens on a single page splash with a desolate Cybertron around him
- Ratbat – just evil and downright frightening
- The Matrix has meaning once more!
- Megatron walking to his citadel and picking up the matrix – there’s just an uncanny atmosphere about it – not a sense of delight but a sense of pride mixed with uncertainty
- Starscream/Megatron conversation
- It means something to be Seeker!

Nice Moments
- A TF is actually bonded to their Ark, a very nice touch.
- The Colonel sending his own son. Unlike in AHM, I actually feel for these characters as they struggle through and this gave them real life

Cringe Moments
- Kup with a cigar? It felt weird even if it does fit the persona well.
- The mighty and fearsome Swarm so easily disposed of?

I think after a slow start, the first 3 issues being far too decompressed, AHM is starting to shine. It has a wide variety of flavour and nuance that gives you a bit of everything. It takes both the Decepticons and Autobots into a new direction and adds layers to certain favourites that haven’t had the chance to shine as much before.

Individually…
#4: Very good. 8.5/10. Found myself questioning why Hot Rod would be in the shadows for so long when he clearly should’ve recognised them. But strong progress in the right direction.
#5: Rock solid. 10/10. All the right notes with its focus on the Autobots and leaves that mystery in the air. I for the life of me was on the edge of my seat by the end of this. New characters, old characters, plot twists – it had it all.
#6: 9/10: Other than the contentious bit with the Swarm, it’s a great way to end the first half of the arc and the 1st TPB. All the threads will merge, you know they will, and the fun is in how and when it will all come together.

As a whole I’d give the three issues a 9.5/10. I haven’t enjoyed TF comics like this in a long time and a tip of that hat to McCarthy for turning it around so much and taking Transformers in an all new direction. It’s welcomed and I for once honestly cannot wait for the next issue.

[Sam]

Now Drift..

His first appearance was rather brief particularly since IDW has been pushing this character a fair bit but DAMN! he is every bit as bad as I thought he would be. He is basically the sort of character that a 13 year old would come up with in which he is 'UBBER' powerful, smooth and unbeatable, AKA: 'Awesomely cool'. Hopefully his appearance in AHM will be limited from now but something tells me that he is going to be getting centerstage appearances during the rest of the series.

In my oppinion this Drift character has the potential of ruining the only real strength that AHM has which is the Autobot's side of the story. If that is ruined by Drift then there isn't much of a point to continue reading as the rest of the story is rather mediocre and its not hard to see where its leading.

I have to agree with the TF wiki on this one, Drift is pretty much the Poochy the dog of Transformers.

I am still trying to keep an open mind that Drift may not ruin it, but I too feel disappointed in the way he has been introduced. His character "style" is just too typical and seems to lack originality. On top of this there are many TF characters that they could have used instead of coming up with a new one.