Transformers: Robots in Disguise Season One #1-22

Comics, cartoons, movies and fan stuff.
Post Reply
User avatar
zigzagger
Posts: 3453
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:40 am

Transformers: Robots in Disguise Season One #1-22

Post by zigzagger »

Follow the likes of Bumblebee, Prowl, Ironhide and Wheeljack as they struggle to maintain control of a revived Cybertron in this new ongoing series.

This is your all purpose Transformers: Robots in Disguise #1 reaction and discussion thread.

Preview @ Comic Book Resources.
User avatar
Red Dave Prime
Posts: 1340
Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:03 pm
Location: Ireland

Post by Red Dave Prime »

Well, well. The Marty Jannetty to Roberts Shawn Michaels, "Robots in Disguise" has a few things going against it. First off, and this is just an opinion, I think they have a much harder brief. Rebuilding a planet and its civilization is a much harder story to tell in an exciting comic compared to a ship blasted to an unknown part of the galaxy on a mission to find long-missing legends. Second, Roberts work has a wonderful zip. Not just in the events that he crams into an issue, but in the way he works dialogue. It's early days but Barbers first few pages feel very much ponderous and feel a bit more simplistic and clear cut.

However...

There are some good points here. The art is quite nice, and the weird designs of the other cybertronians make sense being as they have been so long distanced from the autobots and decepticons.

I also like that cybertron is a hostile living planet. This will certainly help with future storylines as well as giving us something fresh. And it also looks like we will be getting a wider range of characters which is also welcome.

All the best to Barber. I feel that the success of this series may hinge on the portrayal of certain key characters - for me, Prowl will be a key figure to get right. I also feel that Bumblebee may not be the best character to be the focus of. But I'll be happy to be proved wrong.
User avatar
zigzagger
Posts: 3453
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:40 am

Post by zigzagger »

Still reluctant to give this one a chance, though I can see the appeal -- it has a lot of the more familiar characters.

For now, I'm content with just the one book.
User avatar
inflatable dalek
Posts: 24000
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:15 pm
Location: Kidderminster UK

Post by inflatable dalek »

To recap what I said in the Ramjet thread, there's two problems for me with this:

It's the same set up as both the Energon comic and Regeneration One (the later there's no excuse for, considering both books are going to be running alongside each other one should have done something different).

And there's ultimately no way the war won't be up and running again within (at the very, very most) two years. Bumblebee's going to fail.

If the feedback suggests issue 1 is as strong as MTMTE was I might give it a go, but I can't see much future in this.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
User avatar
Red Dave Prime
Posts: 1340
Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:03 pm
Location: Ireland

Post by Red Dave Prime »

Its not as good as MTMTE but its far better than I expected. The art is really nice - distinct from Milne and Roche but not shabby in a any way.

I like the different factions and the uneasy peace. And like MTMTE there is set-up going on more than one front (one thing I hated about costa was that he rarely took on any thing more than the story in hand).

Of course, war is going to break out between the cons and the bots but there is a clear third faction now which adds a bit of friction. We also have the changing and hostile cybertron. Is it possible we'll see a fourth side enter the fray, threatening the nails who then need the war-like Autobots and Decpticons? Yeah, probably.

I also like Barbars writing. It works with the characters and seems in sync with Roberts own style. So potential here. Problems? Sure, the overall set-up is messy and could fall to pieces after 6 issues. There's also the issue raised on other threads that this book lacks a stand-out likeable character. It sure isn't Prowl or Bumblebee. metalhawk comes off as a political do-gooder. Will Wheeljack and ironhide give this book a bit of soul for the reader to latch onto? We'll have to see.

But overall, while its not a five energon cube issue its a good 3.5. Much better than i expected (especailly after I saw the preview pages)
User avatar
Warcry
Posts: 13934
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 4:10 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Post by Warcry »

Red Dave Prime wrote:There's also the issue raised on other threads that this book lacks a stand-out likeable character. It sure isn't Prowl or Bumblebee. metalhawk comes off as a political do-gooder. Will Wheeljack and ironhide give this book a bit of soul for the reader to latch onto? We'll have to see.
This is my biggest problem, too. Prowl has crossed the line from doing bad things for good reasons into outright villainy, and Bumblebee has lost all the friendly, nice guy appeal that got him elected leader in the first place. The Autobots in general have gone back to being the same jackbooted dictators that caused the Decepticons to rise up in the first place...and when I read the book I find myself wondering, "what for?" What do Bumblebee and Prowl hope to accomplish? The Cybertron they called home is destroyed, and it's not coming back. The world they're on now is hostile to Transformer life, and the population is hostile to Autobots. Are they just clinging onto power because it's the only tangible thing they have to show for four million years of pointless war?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I was an Autobot I would've joined Hot Rod's crew and gotten as far away from this mess as I could. And right now I'm finding it very hard to sympathize with, or even understand, those that didn't. I can see where Ratbat and Metalhawk are coming from, and they make for good antagonists. But until I can feel the same about the 'good guys' I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to fully enjoy the world that Barber is creating.
User avatar
Summerhayes
Posts: 1384
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 9:50 pm
Location: Nagano, Japan

Post by Summerhayes »

The art looks real nice, and I've said before I'll probably pick this up just because its a good jumping-on point.
I like bears.
User avatar
Terome
Posts: 1431
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:16 pm
Location: Brighton

Post by Terome »

Hey I read this too! It was okay. I'm interested to see where it goes, but I'm not expecting great things out of a subplot that involves a figure shrouded in shadow saying ominous things.

Other than that, there's not much to fault it - it's solidly structured and written, very nicely drawn, checks off all our main points of focus for the series, but doesn't do anything spectacular.

I'm not too fussed, myself, about the characters being jerks or not. I think Metalhawk has the most sympathetic point of view even before he personally saw Bumblebee do a Darth Vader on one of his own henchmen.

Does anyone think that Prowl's implication in blowing up the Lost Light was not a feint? I'm guessing his cargo and his plan was something a lot more interesting.
User avatar
inflatable dalek
Posts: 24000
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:15 pm
Location: Kidderminster UK

Post by inflatable dalek »

Terome wrote: Does anyone think that Prowl's implication in blowing up the Lost Light was not a feint? I'm guessing his cargo and his plan was something a lot more interesting.
I'd say that's a certainty, but it might be a double bluff...

As with Red Man Prime, this turned out to be much better than expected. You could argue that Bumblebee goes to the limit very quickly (or at least, as there's been at least some time since DoOP we're not properly shown it), but I'll take a slightly breakneck pace over the languid style IDW have previously employed where this would have been the end of issue 10. And Bumblebee genuinely feels like a bot on the edge of a breakdown which actually makes him more sympathetic, plus, he only does what he does to Horri-Bull when the later refuses to stop beating the NAIL to death.

Prowl also regains some ground by playing his cards close to his chest, it leaves a sense he's got more going on than being a complete bastard. I do hope his friend who can turn blacker than the shadows he's standing in turns out to be Headmasters Sixshot*. No, not IDW Sixshot, specifically the Decepticons Ninja consultant, complete with Star TV vocalisations. Hell, if Ironhide can suddenly** start talking in phonetic hick...

It's not as out and out fun as MTMTE was, but it's got a lot of potential if done right, and it's nice that IDW are trying to make sure both books do have a different feel. The problem is though, it's also the easiest one to screw up. And Metalhawk is even more of a wanker than he was in the previous issue, he might as well be holding up a sign saying "I'm manipulating the situation in an unsubtle way!".



*Though Scorponok did that trick in Headmasters as well, and this guy does have a Headmastery looking backpack to him....


** This may have started since I stopped reading the comics, but it's really silly. Why would Wheeljack send the resident moonshine guzzling Dukes of Hazard fan on an important scientific mission of exploration? Expendable?
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
User avatar
Terome
Posts: 1431
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:16 pm
Location: Brighton

Post by Terome »

And Metalhawk is even more of a wanker than he was in the previous issue, he might as well be holding up a sign saying "I'm manipulating the situation in an unsubtle way!".
I don't know about that. My take on it is that he's a reactive character rather than a schemer. I suppose there is that bit where he tells Bumblebee that he doesn't personally think that the little guy is all that bad, but then is interrupted by Horri-bull and Bumblebee's demonstration of just how messed up the Autobots are after their great big war.

He seems to want to have his own way and is keen to take the moral high ground. He's duplicitous, but he's plainly duplicitous. That does make him a wanker but he's not a villain.

He got a microscopic cameo in this issue but I'd really like to see a sensible take on Buzzsaw. Now that people aren't shooting at each other quite so often, a quick sketch of what this ancient and diverse society considers to be artistic would be nice. It's a pity Slog is in the Anti-Character bin that is a gestalt team.
User avatar
inflatable dalek
Posts: 24000
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:15 pm
Location: Kidderminster UK

Post by inflatable dalek »

I suspect Buzzsaw is a bit of a Jo Ng when it comes to artistic skill.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
User avatar
Terome
Posts: 1431
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:16 pm
Location: Brighton

:(

Post by Terome »

Poor Buzzsaw.

Alternatively, if Joe Ng drew Age of Wrath with his beak, I'll upgrade my opinion of him considerably.

Here's another little detail that opens up a can of worms for me - Ratbat said that Skywarp's ability to teleport were 'a blessing from fate' or some such. So when baby Skywarp was born, was he already a teleporter? And no one thought to maybe poke around in his gizzards and find out why that is?

Skywarp is problematic no matter which way you slice it, really. If he can do it, why can't anyone else?
User avatar
inflatable dalek
Posts: 24000
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:15 pm
Location: Kidderminster UK

Post by inflatable dalek »

It was actually Alex Milne who used to draw with a pencil in his mouth after Pat Lee convinced him it's OK to put your hands in a working blender. He's all better now though, hence his art on Chaos Theory being at a level where you could actually tell what was going on. Though considering his big flaw remains adding far, far too much detail I dread to think how he'll handle a regular gig working with master of shoving lots of detail in his scripts Roberts.

I wouldn't put it past Ratbat to be talking poetic bollocks. I actually found him a bit disappointing. They're obviously trying to evoke Marvel Ratbat, but have missed what made him so awesome, he was a bottom line administrator guy. The slightly flowery politician isn't as much fun, especially in a comic where half the cast seem to be slightly flowery politicians.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
User avatar
Terome
Posts: 1431
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:16 pm
Location: Brighton

Post by Terome »

I wouldn't put it past Ratbat to be talking poetic bollocks. I actually found him a bit disappointing. They're obviously trying to evoke Marvel Ratbat, but have missed what made him so awesome, he was a bottom line administrator guy. The slightly flowery politician isn't as much fun, especially in a comic where half the cast seem to be slightly flowery politicians.
Yeah, I felt the same way. I was bringing a lot of Marvel baggage to my expectation of him. The dynamics of Marvel Ratbat would be off in this situation though - Marvel Ratbat was part of a firmly established order and the spark of the Decepticon movement had long since gone out. This Ratbat is starting from the absolute bottom so it wouldn't make a lick of sense for him to fretting about budgets and whatnot. And you're right - between Metalhawk, Rodimus and Ratbat, there have been a lot of characters yakkin' it up like a petrol driven yakkin' machine.

Which is fine by me, I like the yakkin', but it does iron out the cast a bit too much. Ratbat would have better used as a Number Two to someone like, I don't know, Bombshell? Maybe that's what will happen anyway.

Soundwave's really redundant in there with Shockwave about, isn't he? Would have been nice to have him killed off and to spare him the severe schizophrenia the writers have subjected him to. (He's back to Sunbow-talk in Autocracy, by the way, and appears to turn into a small, useless object that Starscream carries around with him most conspicuously. ((and what, they can replace his entire body but can't fix his faceplate?)) )

Those are some thoughts I had.
User avatar
inflatable dalek
Posts: 24000
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:15 pm
Location: Kidderminster UK

Post by inflatable dalek »

Not having followed (or frankly, cared) about any of the Costa bobbins I've no idea where Sound and Shock are in the IDW Universe (except possibly as the stars of a wacky sit-com, My Two Waves), but I did think it was kind of strange to see the later reduced to a silent background extra when he'd be the obvious guy to jump in and try and take charge. He'd probably have more respect than Ratbat from his fellow Cons as well, as he's actually done things in the last four million years (hell, he's managed to be more proactive than Ratbat despite spending a chunk of that time in a tar pit).

I'm trying to remember how Ratbat was written back in Megatron: Origin, but can't recall more than him being an idiot. "I make money from sales of SpaceVHS of these gladiatorial fights... so lets invest lots of money in the one team so that they win everything, making for duller fights and ultimately an end to the games as everyone else will be dead, leaving what's basically a small heavily armed militia with nothing to do. What can go wrong?".

I also found everyone having new alt modes when there's no longer a desperate need for them, resources being scarce and Wheeljack having better things to do a bit odd. War/Fall For Cybertron toy plugging at Hasbro's insistence?
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
User avatar
Terome
Posts: 1431
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:16 pm
Location: Brighton

Post by Terome »

I'm trying to remember how Ratbat was written back in Megatron: Origin, but can't recall more than him being an idiot. "I make money from sales of SpaceVHS of these gladiatorial fights... so lets invest lots of money in the one team so that they win everything, making for duller fights and ultimately an end to the games as everyone else will be dead, leaving what's basically a small heavily armed militia with nothing to do. What can go wrong?".
That was the point though, surely? He was a stock evil politician who was too greedy and near-sighted and so fell afoul of the mess he made. Though instead of 'falling afoul,' he got turned into a bra by his secretary, which is probably the kinkiest thing which has happened in a Transformers comic.
I also found everyone having new alt modes when there's no longer a desperate need for them, resources being scarce and Wheeljack having better things to do a bit odd. War/Fall For Cybertron toy plugging at Hasbro's insistence?
These days, I don't think the creatives even need to be told. They just see some new designs around and reckon that is what expected of them.
Not having followed (or frankly, cared) about any of the Costa bobbins I've no idea where Sound and Shock are in the IDW Universe
Like every other character, they have done absolutely nothing of consequence. The only slightly notable thing that has happened to either of them is that Soundwave got shot in the head a while ago but got better. That's why he's got a sailor's mug in these comics, although that doesn't make any sense.
but I did think it was kind of strange to see the later reduced to a silent background extra when he'd be the obvious guy to jump in and try and take charge.
Shockwave hasn't been a take-charge guy in the IDW stuff, even going back to his Spotlight. He's a deeply autistic fellow who just wants to be left alone so he can do his tinkerings. Occasionally, he might need to pick a side or divert the course of a war or kill a bunch of dudes so that he can do so, but once he's taken care of those distractions he'll pop off again.
User avatar
inflatable dalek
Posts: 24000
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:15 pm
Location: Kidderminster UK

Post by inflatable dalek »

Terome wrote:That was the point though, surely? He was a stock evil politician who was too greedy and near-sighted and so fell afoul of the mess he made. Though instead of 'falling afoul,' he got turned into a bra by his secretary, which is probably the kinkiest thing which has happened in a Transformers comic.
Circuit Breaker?


These days, I don't think the creatives even need to be told. They just see some new designs around and reckon that is what expected of them.
I can almost see the point when they did it with All Hail Megatron as there was no supporting media for those Classics toys. Even if it were both completely cock handed (changing Bluestreak's already established name on the assumption that people would be too stupid to work out this Silverstreak guy was supposed to be him?) and mostly pointless as the comic was pretty much entirely brought by people into the toys anyway so it was preaching to the converted.

The WoC toys though, had a hugely succesful computer game behind them that's likely been played by bugger loads more people than will ever read an IDW comic. Do we really need slightly forced plugging once again?

Plus side, it means Bumblebee's deeply silly Camero look has been retired.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
User avatar
Hennessy
Protoform
Posts: 67
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:43 am

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #2

Post by Hennessy »

Image

7 page preview at comicscontinuum
User avatar
Denyer
Posts: 33033
Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2000 4:00 am
Location: Perfidious Albion
Contact:

Post by Denyer »

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/ ... bots25.htm

Forced perspective doesn't quite work. Having said that, the rest of the art's better.

"Doesn't quite work" sums up the title, though. There doesn't seem to be anything new or exciting in this book. Maybe that's the point, a slow by-the-numbers stroll through stock situations for people who bought the previous ongoing.
User avatar
zigzagger
Posts: 3453
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:40 am

Post by zigzagger »

The colorist was taking some liberties, I see. Fourth page, there's a cone-headed generic decked out like Fitor. A heavily Cybertronianized Fitor, anyway.

Mmm, there's some intriguing things happening here, I'll admit, but I'm still not sure if I really want to commit to a second Transformers book. So many times bitten, as I've said elsewhere.
Post Reply