Transformers: More than Meets the Eye season two discussion

[Death's Head]

Ah, Happy New Year guys! Sniff. Something in my eye, there.

Mind you, I do hope James' wife doesn't come across that DNA comment. All innocent, I swear!

Actually, going back to what you were saying before, Aunty Slag, about the geniuses that are drawing that our current TF books - I basically had to give up drawing Transformers because of all the bloody straight lines! Absolutely do my head in. It's not just their bodies nowadays, either - look at the hands and the fingers! Long gone are the days when you could get away with drawing some angry-looking chap wearing a set of strategically placed boxes.

Oh, and ID: Any time I'm feeling down about being single I just talk to one of my mates who's in a relationship. Cheers me right up!

(Then I go home alone. Sniff!)

[Warcry]

So it's going to take one of my favourite things to cheer me up, arguing with Warcry!

Always glad to help!

A fine example of the need for plot to trump everything, IIRC Roberts has said he never used to like facial hair on Transformers until he needed some visual way to make the Ambus twins instantly identical despite their different colours schemes (and presumably something that would avoid looking like they'd had a Shockwave done to them, or that Magnus might have a tiny Optimus Prime lookalike in him).

Well, facial hair on Transformers is pretty stupid, so he's got good taste at least. I mean, as an affectation in a weirdo like Wreck-Gar it has its place, but on characters that we're supposed to take seriously it's a little odd.

Oh we complained, but we're still here (and I don't think we ever jumped on IDW Arcee as hard as she was jumped on a year ago, at least never enough to get the author to come out and make a defence of the character).

Furman was definitely getting a lot more benefit of the doubt back in those days, but our reaction thread for Spotlight: Arcee does feature several "this is a terrible idea"-type comments and I'd imagine it was the same elsewhere. Of course, none of us are fellow IDW employees, so it would be pretty hard for us to stir up a hornet's nest like what happened last year.

Even when only compared to its contemporaries, Transformers is an almost total failure in its treatment of female characters.

Only if you're restricting yourself to looking at the Transformers themselves. If you're looking at the cast of the comics/cartoon in general, there are quite a few female characters, from Carly and Marissa Fairborne in the cartoon to Jesse and Circuit Breaker in the comics (not to mention a bevy of female guest stars like Cecilia Santiago, Rachel Becker and Joy Meadows). Some of them weren't exactly portrayed in an enlightened way, but there are a lot of female characters even in the old Transformers stories. Not as many as there are males, but I suspect the ratio is a lot closer to its contemporaries once the humans are counted.

What that says to me is that even in the 80s, the writers realized that it was problematic to have an all-male cast even when Hasbro had a strict no-girls policy for the toyline.

[Skyquake87]

I was in a shop today and saw an old comic with Death's Head II on the cover fighting a bloke called Liger. I can't remember the title of the comic, other than it started with a 'W'. Something like Wasters or Wilders... something with two syllables. Anyone know the one I mean? Is it rare and worth millions?

That's Warheads*. Like all the Marvel UK titles, its pretty worthless. The issue you describe is likely one of # 5 -7 which featured Death' Head II in the lead up to the launch of his own ongoing series in a terrible load of arse that introduced the Sapphire Lotus. If its not one of them, might be the Mys-Tech Wars crossover issue.

If 2014's Revolutionary War had sold truckloads, it'd be a different story...


I have finally got #36 this week and read it. I liked that this was a little lighter on the plot and had loads of really, really great character moments, but still feeds into the larger story. Whirl with his claws, Roller not feeling 'special' (I still hold out hope that he isn't Tarn). The handshake with Trailbreaker and the lovely telephone conversation with Pax and Megatron. MTMTE is so dense, I do like it when it takes its foot off the pedal and there's a bit of space to just take it all in.

*A group of mercenaries whom were sent through wormholes across time and space to retrieve any technology likely to be of worth to Mys-Tech, a shadowy corporate entity whom would use this to free themselves from their contract with Mephisto. Anything that didn't further this aim was recycled into military and consumer goods. The series focused on Warheads Kether Troop, lead by Colonel Tigon Liger.

[Auntie Slag]

Yeah, Pax & Megatron in that sequence would have fit perfectly into BT's 'Its Good to Talk' advertising from donkey's years ago.

There must still be plenty of opportunity for Roller not to be Tarn, but how do you advance Shadowplay further than what they did to Senator Shockwave? Perhaps by trying to combine personalities?

Blend Roller's psyche in with some dastardly Deception like Killmaster or Heretech. True, Whirl killed Killmaster, but whose to say the Institute hadn't already done a number on KM and left his body in the bed?

[Terome]

There must still be plenty of opportunity for Roller not to be Tarn, but how do you advance Shadowplay further than what they did to Senator Shockwave? Perhaps by trying to combine personalities?

That's really the thing isn't it - How do you top Shadowplay? Any kind of revelation about Tarn isn't going to be a patch on learning about Shockwave, who had a lot more meat on his bones but not so much that you couldn't do a convincing past-life reveal. If Roberts is as good as he obviously is then he'd know that should avoid such diminishing returns and pitch something out of left-field. I reckon Tarn will the product of time shenannigans but not of the type we saw in this issue.

Now I have talked myself into believing that Tarn might be someone on board the Lost Light.

[Auntie Slag]

Oooh, that last line just fried my tiny mind there!

And the guessing underlines how effortlessly brilliant this comic is. Shocks aplenty with totally memorable sequences & scenes that'll live in my memory long after most other Transformer imagery has gone:

- A one-armed Chromedome lying foetal on the floor.
- Ratchet firing a shot off Overlord's chin.
- That epic picture of Skids facing a horde of Legislators rising from the oil.
- Most scenes involving Whirl (especially when he's angry or smiling).
- Film night.
- The double-page peril of Overlord causing carnage on the Lost Light, being slightly worried to turn the page in case he's killed one of your favourites.
- Misfire with a serious expression saying "Emergency huddle".
- Tarn whispering to Black Shadow, or nearly saying F*** to Fulcrum.
- Whirl standing over Fort Max, whom he's just pierced through the throat.
- Swerve's face blown off (utterly shocking when viewing the preview that stops right there!)
- Overlord grinning evilly at Chromedome before the unlock sequence to the slow cell is revealed. I really felt my heart sink for Chromedome at that moment!
- Megatron & Pax.
- Rung & Megatron.
- Ratchets fondness for Drift concealed as grumpiness.
- The Shockwave reveal (hey, I was shocked!)
- Hoping to god with every panel that Fort Max could hold off Overlord before he fully came to his senses.
- Most of Overlord's lines being just brilliant: "Amazing, you talk only in names".

And so many more!

[Skyquake87]

What if Roller becomes Tarn... without Shaodwplay? He seems like he has something to prove and feels frustrated within Pax's group of Outliers. His friendship - whilst valued (I think) doesn't seem to stop Roller feeling inadequate and that he is capable of doing more. Although there's only a few scenes, Pax doesn't seem to be aware that Roller almost resents being held back. Easy to see all that being turned into something more extreme...

[Auntie Slag]

I struggled to see what was holding him back. He says he needs the drink to keep up with the others, but he is a 0.1 percenter Heavyweight class which I'm guessing makes him one of the toughest of the tough.

Do you think that puts him on a par with Overlord minus the Ununtrium?

Regardless of the others, Pax doesn't have any special skills other than being determined. Unless he feels somewhat dim compared to Pax (and maybe that's reasonable what with everyone being so incredibly impressed by Pax's ingenuity).

But yes, I really like the idea of Roller becoming Tarn because he wants to.I was wondering about the 'transformation' process, because in Shadowplay he comes across as quite gentle, but in the latest issue he's crushing a skull in his hand. I hope there's enough panel space to make the change believable.

It makes good sense what you say; forcing him to become Tarn makes him an unfortunate victim. To do it by choice makes him the total Tarn-y bastard he needs to be!

[Summerhayes]

Well I came to this issue even later than I normally do. It wasn't quite the gut punch the previous one was but it was a quality read and i'm keen to get onto the next one!
I'll give it another read later, along with a perusal of the thread, then I'll give my full thoughts.

[Auntie Slag]

Is there any word on when MTMTE 37 will be out? I had a quick search and a site called Comic Pull has an 'estimated' Wednesday 28th January, but its been so quiet here... not even a preview! None of the murmurings I'd expect to suggest the next issue is inbound!

[inflatable dalek]

Delayed till next Wednesday IIRC.

[Auntie Slag]

I'm sorry, I don't use IIRC or MSN or any of that chatroom stuff you freaky kids are into.

[Death's Head]

More Than Meets the Eye? I remember that. Pretty good comic, as I recall. You mean they're making more?

[Auntie Slag]

I'll jump off once they finish the arc with Leader-1 and Alexis Colby.

Then its back to T'pau and a nice bourbon for me, maybe two!

[Death's Head]

James Roberts made me drink.

[Skyquake87]

I've re-read #1 - 22 whilst we've been waiting. Pipes sad little death still gets me. Its the broken internal dialgoue that accompanies him as he struggles to the alarm Beautifully written and drawn.

[Terome]

Yeah, that Pipes page is the best one in the run so far.

[Auntie Slag]

Ooh, there's so many good panels, how would it be possible to pick a best one? Or best sequence? They're all so varied. It would make a decent thread, though. Love this one though, because its nice to know there are people out there whose thoughts Pipes will jump into from time to time.

Brilliant panel for me would be (repeating myself) Chromedome on the floor utterly broken after blowing up the slow cell.

And Whirl's pose from the first issue, getting up after he and Cyclonus had slammed into the ground. He looked so brilliantly savage and bizarre, and nothing like any other Transformer.

[inflatable dalek]

The two pages I owned the original art to are the best.

[zigzagger]

Transformer: More than Meets the Eye #37 preview is up @ Comics Continuum.

It's out tomorrow, folks!