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Post by grahamthomson on Oct 24, 2008 13:58:32 GMT
What with Hallowe'en next week, I can imagine Sunbow Fanboys (Or Sunboys, if you will) performing a ritual to bring back many of the Cartoon creators/voice actors to recreate the old days.
It'll be like Wankenstein's Monster.
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KoshNaranek
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Friends with the Zog Folk
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Post by KoshNaranek on Oct 24, 2008 16:09:50 GMT
Heh, Sunboys! I like that one!  - Tony |
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 24, 2008 19:58:24 GMT
Also, anyone yet figured out why everyone suddenly had to be unaware of the Transformers in #1 for the plot to work?
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 24, 2008 20:07:09 GMT
Sausages!
-Ralph
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Oct 24, 2008 20:08:48 GMT
You look for logic and sense in such a bad story Charles. A fools quest mark my words.
Andy
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 25, 2008 10:07:00 GMT
My copy turned up today.
That big "kick into gear!" that everyone was raving about turns out to be... Autobots are in it. And talk.
And that's it.
Plotwise, we learn the Autobots are beaten and morose - we knew that already! What else have you got?! Okay, Mirage is suspected as a traitor; Prowl and Jazz are hiding something; Hot Rod's around. Fine, good, but there's little done bar raising them.
In the plus column, nice character moment for Ironhide with Jazz, Hot Rod's "you've come to help!" is hilarious, and Cliffjumper's character is sold within seconds.
In the minus column:
* Megatron's three pages of speech was FUCKING POINTLESS and makes no sense because we haven't seen that he has taken the world. He's PARTIALLY taken ONE COUNTRY, and nothing we've yet seen suggests it can't still fight.
* The Insecticons haven't done shit, why are they here?
* Cybertron is supposed to be a radiation swamped hell that you need special shielding to walk around in. None of the Autobots have those shields, mention those shields nor should (in their state) have those shields... and comfortably walk and drive around. What?!
* Why's Sideswipe hanging with Sunstreaker? He doesn't like him! (In fairness that's an editor error, since Shane wouldn't have known that when writing)
* The Autobots are stuck in their current forms, but Hot Rod found time to change? When?
* Hot Rod WANTS to make contact with Autobots. So why's he hiding in the shadows when he can easily see "oh hey, Autobots"?
* Sarah beating some sense into Bridge - I'm sorry, but has that EVER REALLY HAPPENED? And it makes no sense - we NEVER saw them follow Bridge, we saw them following Andy while Bridge was standing around but that's it! There's no sign Bridge CAN keep them together, look how easily Andy lost control just last issue! In fact, if it's a matter of being tough, why doesn't Sarah take charge? She can smack everyone who's arguing and tell them to man up. If it works for Bridge...
And after all that, we come to the letter's page.
Now. I realise IDW is not going to print masses of negative mail/posts about this series and it was unlikely they'd print any. That's fine, that's business as usual.
But beyond the frankly inane reasons the letters give for why AHM doesn't suck balls, we've got three of them slagging off IDW's previous stuff. You're not just printing pro-AHM stuff, you're deliberately printing anti-Furman stuff - a writer you will be using again! - in an attempt to... what? Make AHM look better?
And some of those criticisms are wank - "Soundwave is talking like in the show again, that means he's Soundwave again!", for fuck's sake.
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 25, 2008 10:20:35 GMT
Jack Cade on the IDW board makes a good point on characterisation VS character development:
And he doesn't like the Bridge/Sarah bit either, rock.
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Post by legios on Oct 25, 2008 10:42:44 GMT
* Megatron's three pages of speech was FUCKING POINTLESS and makes no sense because we haven't seen that he has taken the world. He's PARTIALLY taken ONE COUNTRY, and nothing we've yet seen suggests it can't still fight. T'is likely the usual Amero-centric outlook you often get in comics - "The villian has defeated the American military, therefore there is no force on the planet that can stop him". Forgetting that by that definition the Vietnamese now rule the entire planet, except for the parts ruled by the Taliban by virtue of their scoring a draw. It tends to miss the fact that defeating the US still leaves you with the two largest armed forces in the world still to deal with, as well as the third string military powers like the UK, France, Japan, Israel.... They have to appear-ar because they were in the cartoon-oon. McCarthy probably isn't aware of any of that because it wasn't mentioned in any episodes. But those are the folk who "All Hail Megatron" seems to be aimed at. Folk who know for certain that all Transformers must be like the cartoon they remember from when they were children, anything that deviates from that is wrong and that McCarthy is a more betterer writer because he writes Transformers properly and not like Furman who gets things wrong. It just confirms me in my view that "All Hail Megatron" is not aimed at folk like me, so I have voted with my wallet. I'm already skipping the floppies and I'm not going to bother with the trade. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in the "IDW must get Furman back because only he can write Transformers" camp either. I'm happy to see other writers on the property, but only if they can do something other than serve up reheated left-overs of the Sunbow 'toon. Karl |
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 25, 2008 11:34:11 GMT
T'is likely the usual Amero-centric outlook you often get in comics I could buy that except the writer's Australian! And the solicit for ish 3 says "what will it mean to the world when America is brought to its knees?" and ish 4's said "as the world systematically falls before the might of the DECEPTICON army". We don't see any of that, you lying gits! True. Pity the sales don't seem really that different to previous -ations then, eh? Personally, I thought this series would be aimed at folks like me - people who want to see the Decepticons causing massive destruction and conquering things, with lots of desperate human counterstrikes. Well, I bloody haven't seen it and I'm pissed. |
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Post by legios on Oct 25, 2008 13:52:22 GMT
T'is likely the usual Amero-centric outlook you often get in comics I could buy that except the writer's Australian! Doesn't mean he can't be writing what he thinks the fans demand. Solicitations , marvellous things aren't they? It is a good job there is no such thing as "truth in advertising" otherwise they would be hard pressed to find stuff to put in solicits. Aye, I think as Ralph has speculated previously we are now at saturation point for "Transformers" as a direct market comics property. Anyone who is likely to pick stuff up is already doing so. Everyone else is either "normal folk" - who don't buy direct market comics - or just not interested. Well, there is always the option of voting with your feet. Other "Transformers" comics are available and all that. Karl |
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 25, 2008 15:24:49 GMT
Well, there is always the option of voting with your feet. Done and DONE. (Wish I'd done it earlier!) |
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 25, 2008 15:46:17 GMT
And the heroic Mr Cade has pointed out Hot Rod isn't acting like he should be, considering he's a daredevil unit-commander-ranking soldier who's been in horrible situations and kept focused before. Now, however, he acts green and desperate in the face of being stranded with a group and then running into Autobots he outranks.
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 25, 2008 15:48:46 GMT
And ANOTHER thing - we now know nothing too bad will happen to Hot Rod in Maximum Dinobots because he's perfectly fine in AHM! (And Sunstreaker may end up being not-a-Headmaster, maybe)
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Post by legios on Oct 25, 2008 15:57:19 GMT
Done and DONE. (Wish I'd done it earlier!) And the heroic Mr Cade has pointed out Hot Rod isn't acting like he should be, considering he's a daredevil unit-commander-ranking soldier who's been in horrible situations and kept focused before. Now, however, he acts green and desperate in the face of being stranded with a group and then running into Autobots he outranks. I was out after the previews, they made me suspect that this was going to be heavily cartoon-influenced and that isn't my thing at all. To give McCarthy the benefit of the doubt - bearing in mind I haven't actually seen the issue, it maybe that Hot Rod has somehow cracked under the strain of whatever has happened to the Autobot forces. (I suspect I am being to generous here though) I do take your point that it leaches all the tension out of an upcoming mini-series when you know that some of its characters have Plot Invulnerability. Karl |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2008 9:10:16 GMT
Don't like the shabby treatment of Simon Furman, both through the clumsey dismantling of the universe he created over the last three years, and the selection of those letters, which was disgraceful.
I'm not as anti AHM as most folk here and really what to know who the 'traitor' is an what happened, but the lack of respect for Simon is shocking and troubling.
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 26, 2008 11:11:27 GMT
Everyone thinks it's Mirage, so I presume the traitor will be anyone BUT Mirage.
Unless they're doing a cunning double-bluff.
(I'd be amused if it was the most obscure Autobot you could ever think of, like Push-Button, and everyone on Cybertron's reaction is "wait, who?".)
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chrisl
Empty
I still think its the 1990s - when I joined TMUK
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Post by chrisl on Oct 26, 2008 13:07:39 GMT
There is no traitor - Jazz and Prowl are hiding the fact that Prime tried to top himself so he wouldn't have to appear in the turgid bollocks that is AHM.
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 26, 2008 17:02:13 GMT
Also, I'm getting very narked at the "it's twelve issues, it can take its time with the story!" defence.
Surely the point of a 12-issue run would be to have MORE story?
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 26, 2008 18:18:41 GMT
One would think so. Or each issue should cost less for less content!
Mirage as the traitor would make little sense: he's barely been in the IDW TF run. It would only make sense if it was Sunbow Mirage!
-Ralph
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Oct 26, 2008 18:26:07 GMT
Hmmm seems to me I was wise when I opted to skip this. Not liking what I've heard about it. Sounds a right mess.
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Post by KnightBeat on Oct 26, 2008 18:51:13 GMT
It isn't too bad. It's simply that the previous issues have been inconsequential.
I quite enjoyed reading #4, though there are the obvious inconsistencies with previous issues. I've mentally moved it from the IDW continuity into the Dreamwave G1 series. It reads like a cross between War and Peace (the 2nd Dreamwave G1 mini-series) and the Arrival from Cybertron cartoon.
Apologies to Jaymz if I seemed unconversational when I bought this comic. It wasn't intentional. I'm bunged up with a cold and felt like my brain was wrapped in wool and my eyes were going to scratch themselves out my head at the time.
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 26, 2008 19:01:21 GMT
I just saw someone complain the -ations had too much story.
Too much story.
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 26, 2008 19:09:20 GMT
Hmmm seems to me I was wise when I opted to skip this. Not liking what I've heard about it. Sounds a right mess. Feel free to try it if you want to, and come to your opinion. After all some folk on this board have posted how they've enjoyed it. It all comes down to personal taste. -Ralph |
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 26, 2008 19:14:59 GMT
I just found the ultimate quote on the idea that the TFs were covered up post-Dev:
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Oct 27, 2008 11:20:59 GMT
Originally my plan was to wait for the trade but what I read/heard about it made me doubt if I'd bother. I'll have a flick through when I'm out on Friday to judge the quality but I doubt I'll be converted. Maybe I'll be surprised though.
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 27, 2008 23:55:23 GMT
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Oct 28, 2008 0:23:02 GMT
The writer did not do his research properly.
Misleading - that only stopped being the primary focus in Relevations Devastation was primarily Earth focused, and Maximum Dinobots will be Earth focused.
Incorrect - most of the -ations and several Spotlights had been entirely Earth-bound battles, and the Transformers had made a large-scale coming out under Furman.
Incorrect - Jhiaxus got a toy in 2003.
-
Annoyingly, McCarthy's description of the upcoming plot - huge problems for Megatron now there's no war to distract his bloodthirsty murdering army with - sounds really interesting. Yet I get the impression it won't be in practice (and if it is, too late, I've dropped it).
More annoying, he's said he was deliberately slow with the first few issues to wrongfoot us. Er... why?
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Oct 28, 2008 7:37:51 GMT
Shakes head in disbelief....
Andy
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Post by grahamthomson on Oct 28, 2008 8:40:54 GMT
There, there, Charles. At least you gave it a try. In fact, you lasted longer than some of the rest of us!
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 28, 2008 10:58:47 GMT
All Hail Charles!
-Ralph
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