Comic Review: Windblade (ongoing)

[i_amtrunks]

That was underwhelming to me.

Another IDW non-event event.

I quite like the art style but it does not gel with the previous art style. I am by no means suggesting that Livio would have done better or been a better fit (his work in the previous issues was disappointing) but when collected together, it will not mesh.

Story was dull and rushed. After all that Prowl gave up so easily, a very lacklustre finish to what Barber was building to in RiD. A shame as if there was no Hasbro interference I feel we would have been given something far more substantial for these combiners. As it stands, it more or less felt as if the whole event was made up of:
1. Aargh big messy fight.
2. Bots standing near each other got 'macguffined' together
3. big messy fight
4. Prowl Angst
5. Bots standing near each other got 'macguffined' together
6. Bigger messier fight
7. Optimus Maximus angst
8. All back on cybertron.

I'm sure that if this is the way the story was heading (and since RiD was more political thriller I feel it was already heading this way, but the combiners were utilised to make it happen far quicker) that it would have been better served by characters moving the plot forward, not messy fights and Prowl angst.

For now Windblade will be a trade only deal for me unless it picks up substantially in the first few issues. Its a shame as it had such potential and this "event" has done more harm than good to the brand to me.

[Paulbot]

For now Windblade will be a trade only deal for me unless it picks up substantially in the first few issues. Its a shame as it had such potential and this "event" has done more harm than good to the brand to me.

Which is fair enough, but the actual comic hasn't really started. They did this with a recent (Jessica Drew) Spider-Woman comic, the first few issues were all part of the Spider-verse crossover event and then the third or fourth was the actual first issue where the creators could do what they wanted without the mandated crossover. I suspect it will be similar with this series.

On the otherhand, the potential spoilertour of other Transformers series brought into or made concurrent with IDW's G1 is a little boring. There's been a bit of this popping up for a while (the RID comic making it a regular thing) but I just find it unoriginal.

[kup]

This is another 'Dark Cybertron' underwhelming event due to Hasbro meddling. I wish they would stay out, their toys would be incorporated into their stories anyways.

[prjkt]

I'm liking where issue 4 is heading... moving out into the colony worlds, first one being CrematoriaVelocitron. Knock Out is being a d*ck, even more so than his Prime counterpart, but seems to suit and abrasive, speed-obsessed culture.

Now I have to go find a Prime Knockout figure for my shelf....

[philby]

i didn't like the art as much in the latest issue, the regular changing of artists annoys me a bit it seems like a big jarring change in the middle of a story or series.

[CHILENO20]

Now I have to go find a Prime Knockout figure for my shelf....

I can help you out with that if you want

[prjkt]

Heh, the racetrack guards looks to be a stylised version of the Arms Micron Wildrider, to fit the theme of Prime characters/designs for Velocitron. I now can repurpose AM Wildrider now that CW Wildrider took his spot.

On topic though, I find the art, while very good in its own right, a little too cartoony compared to the first Windblade mini-series and other TF comics, but characters are still recognisable and distinct, so I guess that's better than some of Livio's attempts in the past.

Story-wise, I like how the issue of the Titan has been brought up, one track mind so to speak (pun intended) and I'd like to see this explored a little more in the next couple of issues...

[Verno]

Windblade #6.

Anyone that knows anything about me would rightly guess that I've been looking forward to seeing the inside of this Issue for a while now. When the cover first came out, I was really excited to see Tigatron tearing through an Autobot logo.

But then the preview hit the net, and between the use of Manta Ray and the artwork style, I was suddenly not as gushing in my excitement. But nonetheless, I trundled down to pick up a copy of it today.

Spoilers, obviously, as I work my way through the Issue.

Firstly, two of the 3 Covers are magic. The aforementioned Tigatron (subscription) cover is very nice, as is Priscilla's regular cover with the setting sun. The retailer incentive cover, however, is a waste of ink. But the most troubling thing for me is that none of the covers have any relevance to the story held within the 20 pages.

I say 20 pages because the first two pages are wasted with a recap of last month's Issue, as well as a needless roll-call which has no bearing on the story.

Opening on Eukaris, Airazor's (simplified) design is an enjoyable homage to the original. Tigatron's Transmetal-inspired body isn't as welcome. This is the beast-planet after all -- give us some fur. But then there's Animated Blackarachnia, which is just a great disappointment. Where's the original?!

Tigatron's dialogue is a little off for me here. He calls Airazor "my love" and then tells her to "fear not". These lines are more reminiscent of Silverbolt in my mind.

A spider that sees the future doesn't know why Tigatron and Airazor have arrived?

Time jumps around for the first half of the Issue. This is annoying.

The artwork doesn't improve as we stand around in the sun. The inclusion of Sonar is nice, but I don't see why Claw Jaw was overlooked for a piece of cheap McDonald's merchandise. Given the scope of the part during the Issue, it really could have been anyone. Ms. Scott has said the reason for Manta Ray's inclusion was for a larger female contingent in the Issue, to show that females existed in equal number on Eukaris. Personally, I think that was communicated well enough with Airazor, Blackarachnia and Sonar.

And then, on Page 6, Rattrap jumps through a Space Bridge that has the same colour as the sky, as if the thing doesn't need to power-up at all. Hm. Keep an eye out for Cheetor being on Dinobot's far left for two panels, then all of a sudden is directly on his right. Then there's Rattrap on Page 7. So we're not even drawing characters anymore? They're just blobs? And what's with this use of random question marks above characters heads? I'm not a fan.

Then we're back on Cybertron, with a similarly colour-fading backdrop, and being introduced to a new breed of Transformers from Devisiun. This is probably the only time this whole planet will be given in this miniseries. At least we're back into the present in the timeline.

We're back on Eukaris, and then a mountain explodes. It's a Metrotitan in the shape of a giant bird, who apparently brought the beast-bots to Eukaris all those millennia before. But then it attacks for no good reason. Windblade tries to talk to it, then Starscream shoots it in the brain and kills it.

Instead of being outraged that their ancient conveyance and protector has been killed, the bots of Eukaris seem pleased. Um, what?

The End.

So, this was an abomination of a story. Two pages are wasted at the start, then the end is rushed as we kill a giant bot with a single shot (by Starscream no less, who was seen to survive being blown in half by Megatron in Infiltration all those years ago. Consistent).

Airazor and Tigatron are called emissaries instead of delegates. Wink wink. Uh.

Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting from this Issue, but this wasn't it. I'll read some others' thoughts on the whole thing, try to find some positives and get back to you.

[tinyJazz]

Yep, pretty terrible. The story had no substance whatsoever, and the recap pages are a total wast of space. No wonder the windblade series is getting canned. :/

[Paulbot]

Re those recap pages, IDW (like Marvel, DC) have dropped the number of pages of new art per issue on some books (definitely on MTMTE) so it's probably the case on books like Windblade as well.