Transformers: Ironhide #1-4 / TPB

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zigzagger
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Transformers: Ironhide #1-4 / TPB

Post by zigzagger »

A four issue mini-series starring Optimus Prime's best buddy in the whole wide universe. Written by Mike Costa (Transformers, G.I Joe: Cobra) and art by Casey Coller.

This is your all purpose Transformers: Ironhide #1 reaction and discussion thread.

Out May 12th.

Preview @ Comic Book Resources.

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Commander Shockwav
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Post by Commander Shockwav »

Awesome.

This is one of those issues that I think Marvel fans, DW fans, IDW fans, Figueroa fans, Guido fans, U.S. fans. U.K. fans, Furman fans, McCarthy fans, Costa fans, etc will all come to a very similar conclusion about. This was one damn good read. There's something here to like for everyone.

Costa does an excellent job with this spearhead issue featuring a character I simply have had no interest in in the past. I have found Ironhide to be quite the yawn-inducing bore, and when this was first announced, I yawned yet again. But after this issue, I'm stoked about this mini.

Coller knocks this out of the park. I mean, if you like classic TF, it doesn't get any cleaner than this. Casey channels Guido with some Fig and even a little Pat Lee thrown in. And it works very nicely (despite the Lee part). LaFuente's colors complement Coller's style so well, this issue was nigh flawless. I don't think I have seen such a beautiful classic Prime in a long time. There are some mind-blowing panels. Particularly loved the one with Soundwave standing over Prime. Got chills up my spine with that. Those who were fond of Dreamwave's house coloring style (me) will enjoy the visuals here even more.

And speaking of Prime, Costa has given him his mojo back. It's refreshing to see kick-ass Prime again, as opposed to the passive bot we have in the ongoing.

Costa gives a very humorous nod to the Ramjet spotlight in this one which had me laughing out loud. Nice to see Blurr looking as he did in his spotlight. A UK nod with Maccadams. And Windcharger! Finally, some Windcharger!

Interestingly, Costa's best work has been on the peripherals (AHM Starscream story, Prowl Spotlight, and now this). I think it's only a matter of time, as things unfold, that Costa gets his A-game going with the main title.

If there is a real flaw in this, it's that it read quite fast.

Give it an "A". I had low expectations of this, and perhaps this contributes to the high marks I give it. But I really enjoyed this.
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Commander Shockwav wrote:Awesome.

This is one of those issues that I think Marvel fans, DW fans, IDW fans, Figueroa fans, Guido fans, U.S. fans. U.K. fans, Furman fans, McCarthy fans, Costa fans, etc will all come to a very similar conclusion about. This was one damn good read. There's something here to like for everyone.

That bad eh?
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Red Dave Prime
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Post by Red Dave Prime »

Oh Behave!
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Post by Red Dave Prime »

Not so bad here. Some inherient IDW sillyness (Ramjet being grounded) but theres a nice flow to the issue and the cliffhanger is interesting if nothing else. Artwork is very nice but once again, its another artist ignoring the design style of the ongoing - so why bother?
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Mediocre tot. Some good bits, but then it turns out the first, what, 2/3s, 3/4s of the comic are about establishing that Ironhide likes Prime. Then the plot kicks in and the issue ends. Some abysmal dialogue (how many times does Prime say some variation of "hold the line"? This is meant to show him being inspiring?). Characterisation isn't too bad, but that should be a given for this sort of thing.
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Post by Warcry »

Yeah, I'm not sure why Shockwav is wetting himself with glee over this. It's better than Costa's work on the ongoing, by virtue of just being cartoonish and silly (as opposed to self-indulgent and 'artistic') but it's still got a long way to go before I could call it good.

I wasn't impressed by the art at all. The battle at the beginning of the issue is very poorly done, with both sides clumping together in easily-killable groups like a scene from the Napoleonic Wars. Also, in the first splash page of the fight Prowl is very clearly trying to gun down Blurr, and while I can sympathize with the sentiment I don't think that's what the artist was trying to convey. Collier is pretty good at rendering individual robots, but actually assembling them into scenes is something he needs a lot of work at.

The colourist needs some more practice too, because the brightly-glowing eyes and gunshots are both really distracting.

There's not much to say about the story, because like most Costa books very little actually happens here. At the end I was left thinking "Wait, that's it? Really?" which is never a good thing for a comic book. The dialogue is sub-Furman, and it really takes me out of the story when I read something as hackish as Ironhide's "I love him" line, or the ham-handed callback to Ramjet's awful Spotlight.

I'll also say that Axer's 'disguise' is one of the silliest things to ever work its way into a Transformers comic, and felt like something out of Megatron: Origins.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

I also found the pissed-up laddish Autobots to be a human behaviour too far - it's as bad as some of the transferred dog behaviour in the films. I mean, obviously Transformers have chill-out time and there's no reason they shouldn't have vices too, but the way the whole thing was handled didn't gel at all.

My main overriding thought of the almost feature-length flashback or dream or whatever was "What makes this Transformers?". The whole issue could be transferred to anything with minimal changes - it could be about Duke saving Hawk from a Cobra attack and rounding up a convoy before waking up in a deserted Pit, especially as what I mistook for characterisation on first read comes across as lazy archetypes the second time around.

It's a difficult business creating an Awesome Paragon character like the Prime this is trying to convey. Michael Bay manages it with Optimus Prime (probably because cinema allows him to convey it without people going "Wow, Prime's so awesome!" after he does something awesome), and Furman managed it on occasion with Grimlock, but here... It's a bit Drift, isn't it? Prime does something moderately impressive, and we've got characters swooning over him because the deed just doesn't really stand up well by itself.

Plus am I the only one who thought Prime was a little bit of a... show-off there at the start? He's doing all the macho crap in front of the troops just to send Prowl into a tizzy, while all the time knowing he'll have Ironhide to back him up. You reckon that was intentional?

Re: the Ramjet reference - I actually love the Spotlight because it's a UK black-and-white gone rogue, it's silly and it actually shows Megatron cleaning house for once. But the nod was leaden stuff.
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Post by Heinrad »

I liked it. I don't think the art is super-wonderful(Collier's got the body designs down, but the faces aren't so hot), and I have to wonder how Ironhide managed to sneak up on Soundwave(or Ravage, given the alleyway's orientation).

I admit it. If Ironhide wasn't the main focal point, I probably would have ignored it.
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Post by Blackjack »

Average issue. Nowhere as messy as the ongoing, and not as boring as Bumblebee. The art is okay, with some excellent shading and mood colouring. However, most of it is just establishing the situation on Cybertron. Nothing too spectacular about that... well drawn, but doesn't have much meat in it.

Costa still can't write Optimus Prime.
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Post by Heinrad »

I think I understand why Costa has Prime being much more caustic in this than in the ongoing. He's presumably just been named Prime. Admitting to Ironhide and Kup, with no one else around, that he was uncomfortable making a big, grandiose speech was a nice touch. He's still growing into the role as leader.

Unfortunately, tying that together with giving commands in the big battle with a tone seeming to say "I'm in charge here whether you like it or not, SO LISTEN TO ME, PRIMUS-DARNIT!!!!!", followed by a party where all the other Autobots are in awe of him for telling Octane that he'll gladly vaporize a large chunk of the city and himself if it means stopping the Decepticon fuel convoy.

That's the other thing. I could see the big grandiose celebration as a result of breaking the back of the Decepticon advance, and stopping the convoy would have slowed it down, certainly. But unless the Decepticons were going to set up shop in the center of the city and give away the energon if the inhabitants would join them, all stopping the convoy did was delay what's probably going to be a major battle.

Costa does have an out with that one, though. Ironhide could simply have missed the big battle royale due to blocking Axer's intended Prime-killing shot. Or it was simply a dream made up of elements of things that happened around that time.
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Post by Commander Shockwav »

I really fancied the art in this, in particular the coloring. I think that's one of the reasons I enjoyed this so much. It's quite vibrant. Granted, I was a fan of DW's coloring style, so maybe that's why it caught my fancy.
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Post by Savannahtron »

Meh. Not overly impressed. Found it funny Kup was still an old fart in this one as well. Was he just created as dodgy old codger?
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Post by Red Dave Prime »

he he, yeah, found myself thinking that as well. Whenever we get flashbacks prime is either just in the job or worse without the face plate and verrrrrry fresh faced. Meanwhile Kup and Ironhide (and everyone else for that matter) dont change a bit.
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zigzagger
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Transformers: Ironhide #2

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This your all purpose Transformers: Ironhide #2 reaction and discussion thread.

Out today.

Preview @ Comics Continuum.
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Post by Commander Shockwav »

A quick read, but what's there is first class.

Really intrigued by the mysteries this mini introduces, and based on the ending, it's certainly tied in to the overall story arc. Recognized that black bot the second I saw him.

I'm enjoying the way Costa is presenting this tale, with flashbacks interspersed with confused dream sequences that really make things, thankfully, hard to predict. It would appear that Ironhide's internal musings are a fusion of things past and present. Really can't decipher where things are headed which will likely make the payoff at the end that much more rewarding.

Outback! He's, uh...back out!

Again, nice use of prior continuity by Costa, showcasing the races for which Blurr is well known and the underclass miners from which Megatron arises. Not sure, but I think one of those miners is Megatron.

Dialogue is very good. Did not find it annoying in the least, which I can say is where Mike has been most consistently good.

I can almost sense things moving more towards an expanded TF universe with multiple plot strands unfolding. Almost. Not quite as extensive as I'd like to see it by this point in time, but getting there.

And the art, of course, is fantastic. The visuals continue to be amongst some of the most impressive I've seen out of IDW. Good show.

Really, the only real flaw I find in this is how quick it reads. Can't wait for the next issue.

Give it an "A-".
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Post by Heinrad »

I'm liking this. We're halfway through Ironhide's trip through Hell's Wonderland, and I'm looking forward to what happens next.

And it's good to see Outback again. Even if he's only half the mech he used to be.
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Post by Warcry »

I liked this. The flashback was an interesting window into pre-war Cybertron, and Ironhide's reaction to seeing the planet in the state that it's in was very realistic. Nothing much really happens in the present until the last couple pages, though, and that's got me worried that it's really nothing but a framing device for the flashbacks. I'm really hoping for some payoff on Metroplex now, but at the same time I'm worried that it'll just be another layer of setup for something that's not going to happen for another four years.

Costa seems to have a great handle on Ironhide as a character, which is something that I can't say for his main cast in the Ongoing. This is the best issue he's written so far by a country mile, and the first one that I would classify as actually good. I'm hoping he'll be able to keep it up.

Collier's art is a lot better here, too. Although it might just be the lack of big battles in this issue, everything seemed a bit more fluid and less cluttered than the previous issue.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Mmm, quite liked that. Flashback was nothing new (how many of the Autobots is that now who didn't give a toss about the war for ages?), but not exactly bad, and Ironhide's pretty engaging here. The art's good, but I would say Cybertron just looks a bit... bright and clean for somewhere so desolate. Even the damage and piles of rubbish just have a clean look to them, y'know?
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Post by zigzagger »

Hmm, a little on the light side, but it seems to be approaching something decent.

Umm, yeah, there's not really much else I can add here, but I do like the element of mystery and I always appreciate glimpses into Cybertron's pre-war past. I'm curious to see where it goes.

Oh, and I had to chuckle when Prowl appeared in that, umm, nightmare-ish sequence thingy. Even in dreams, Prowl is still a prick.

I love Prowl :)
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