Transformer Roll-Out: Blown Away by 'Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye' #15

Julian Titus is a writer/editor for PixlBit.com and the host of the Nerds Without Pants podcast. He's also the biggest Transformers fan I've ever met and will be covering IDW's Transformers comics right here on a regular basis. This week, he's reviewing the latest issue of Transformers: Regeneration One...​

To say that I was blown away with Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #15 would be an understatement. This comic book continues to surprise and impress me each and every month. In my review last month I talked about how the crew of the Lost Light remind me of the cast for a Joss Whedon show, and to be specific I was referencing Firefly. With this issue, that feeling is only cemented as powerful and impactful events are combined with the humor I’ve come to expect from this book.

​Variant cover to Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #15, art by Nick Roche. Hasbro/IDW Publishing.

It’s Overlord running amok this month, as the newly freed Decepticon Phase Sixer reminds us just how deadly he can be. I really loved how the story was told with disjointed chronology - replaying the scant few minutes of the Decepticon’s brutal attack from multiple perspectives simultaneously. After the super-serious mindgame between Chromedome and Overlord last issue, it was nice to check in with the rest of the crew, however briefly it might have been. The joke with Brainstorm and Swerve may be my new favorite thing to come out of More Than Meets the Eye so far.

That humor balances out what is probably the most emotional and shocking issue of the book so far. Even though the crew of the Lost Light has a common goal—finding the Knights of Cybertron—they are far from an effective battle unit, seemingly tossed together at random. That’s brought into perfect focus as they try hopelessly to battle Overlord, or at least contain the damage. Things will never be the same after this issue, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

(Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #15 hits stands on Wednesday, March 20.)​

Transformer Roll-Out: Scorponok Spells Trouble in 'Transformers: Regeneration One' #89

Julian Titus is a writer/editor for PixlBit.com and the host of the Nerds Without Pants podcast. He's also the biggest Transformers fan I've ever met and will be covering IDW's Transformers comics right here on a regular basis. This week, he's reviewing the latest issue of Transformers: Regeneration One...

It’s becoming clear to me that Transformers: Regeneration One is going to be a slow burn of a book. That’s fine with me, and it certainly is something to be expected from the way Simon Furman crafts his Transformers stories. With issue #89 we get a lot of developments with the Dinobots, but Furman is clearly keeping the more interesting threads for later on down the road.

​Cover to Transformers: Regeneration One #89, art by Andrew Wildman. Hasbro/IDW Publishing.

By now, Scorponok has all but claimed Cybertron as his own. The “warrior gene” has been unlocked in nearly every Autobot on the planet, with only the Dinobots and a handful of holdouts standing between Scorponok and a new Decepticon golden age.

Getting the Dinobots to fall in line under Grimlock is going to take some effort though, as Grimlock’s former squad knows what he’s done and wants to restore the damage that’s been done to their name. It’s some intense Dinobot action as the rough and tumble Autobot faction works through some deep-seated issues with their commander.

Once again, the most intriguing bits of Regeneration One are frustratingly shunted to the background. Hot Rod has to make a choice when it comes to the relics of Primus. There’s some more of the origins of the Transformers race here, and though I’ve never been quite fond of Furman’s version of their creation it’s still rather interesting. There’s a little bit of what’s happened to Shockwave back on Earth, and Optimus Prime sets out on a quest for redemption. Soundwave and Bludgeon are nowhere to be found, adding to the glacial pace of the Regeneration One storyline.

I’m fully expecting some of those threads to not come together until an arc or two down the line. That works for me, but I want to see the action on Cybertron building to something larger than an evil scheme of Scorponok’s that gets thwarted in the nick of time. Stay tuned next month and I’ll let you know if things heat up.

Transformer Roll-Out: 'More Than Meets the Eye' #14 and Bumblebee Goes Solo

Julian Titus is a writer for PixlBit.com and the host of the Nerds Without Pants podcast. He's also the biggest Transformers fan I've ever met and will be covering IDW's Transformers comics right here on a regular basis. This week, he's got an advance look at the latest issue of More Than Meets the Eye ​and an all-new Bumblebee solo special...​

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #14

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye is one of the comic books I most look forward to each month. That’s in large part due to the snappy dialogue and quirky characters that seem like they’d be more at home in a Joss Whedon television show than a war between Autobot and Decepticon. Issue #14 takes things in a much more serious tone, especially after the madcap adventure the crew of the Lost Light went on last month.

​Cover art to Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #14, art by Alex Milne. Hasbro/IDW Publishing.

I’ll take the TV show analogy a little further and say that Overlord is to More Than Meets the Eye what the mysterious hatch was to the first season of Lost. Why would a notorious “Phase Sixer” (elite Decepticon warriors tasked with single-handedly subjugating entire planets) be doing imprisoned in the holds of an exploratory vessel?

A lot of those answers come via Chromedome, who utilizes his skills as a mnemosurgeon (literally interfacing directly with another ‘bot’s brain) to suss out the secret origins of Overlord. This is a uniquely interesting character study which is a huge change in tone for this book, and I really dug it. A lot of questions about Chromedome’s frustratingly checkered past are answered, but in their place a whole new set of questions are asked. Then there’s the ongoing conflict between Rewind and Chromedome, who has begged the mnemosurgeon to stop brain jacking, and the repercussions of this issue will surely reverberate in the arc to come.

It’s just about time for More Than Meets the Eye to get serious again. Things have been pretty laid back since the story arc with Ratchet and Pharma. While I’m looking forward to seeing where things go with Chromedome and Overlord, I’ll be happy when we get back to the crew kicking back at Swerve’s bar and making fun of Ultra Magnus.

Transformers Spotlight: Bumblebee

I really don’t understand what IDW is doing with the Transformers Spotlight books these days. When they kicked off they added a lot of depth to important (and not so important) characters in the current plotline. Lately, however, the spotlights have been random stories that occur at random moments in the IDW timeline. Such is the case with Transformers Spotlight: Bumblebee, a comic that I’m hard pressed to care about.

Variant cover for Transformers Spotlight: Bumblebee, art by Clayton Crain. Hasbro/IDW Publishing.​

That’s because it takes place so far back that the point of the story doesn’t even hold any weight. This is a tale that takes place back on Earth, not too long after Optimus nominated Bumblebee to lead the Autobots in his stead. I feel like we’ve already had multiple arcs that focus on “The ‘Bee” coming to grips with the mantle of leadership, as well as gaining respect from the tougher Autobots. Heck, that’s pretty much what the first 12 issues of Robots in Disguise have been about.

I don’t have much to say on this one. Bumblebee can’t get Prowl on the same page, and the Autobots tend to follow their security chief over their appointed leader. Bumblebee has a hunch that leads him face to face with an entire group of Decepticons. Oh, and this takes place after his assassination attempt, so he’s still walking around with that stupid cane. Poor art and a story that treads on now familiar ground make Transformers Spotlight: Bumblebee a book I would avoid unless you’re a completist.​

Transformer Roll-Out: 'Transformers: Robots In Disguise' #14 Advance Review

Julian Titus is a writer for PixlBit.com and the host of the Nerds Without Pants podcast. He's also the biggest Transformers fan I've ever met and will be covering IDW's Transformers comics right here on a regular basis. This week, he's got an advance look at the latest issue of Transformers: Robots in Disguise...

Finally.

That was my reaction to Robots in Disguise #14. This has been my least favorite Transformers comic since possibly Marvel’s Transformers Generation 2. The plodding pace of the bleak story with few likeable characters has never gelled with me, and it’s a book that I’ve read only because it takes place in the current IDW version of the universe.

That changes now, and as Good Ol’ J.R. would say, “business has just picked up.”

It feels like the previous 13 issues have been a slow boil for what ‘s to come, and issue 14 is the beginning of that. All of Starscream’s politicking has been for naught, because Megatron is back, and the time for free elections and debate is over. As always, Megatron has a plan, and this issue cements just how devious and strategic the Decepticon leader can be.

I honestly don’t want to say much more than that. Robots in Disguise #14 is filled with shocking moments and revelations. I get that writer John Barber has been going for a political and military drama with this book, kind of like the modern Battlestar Galactica TV show, but up until now, Robots in Disguise has been woefully lacking in action. I enjoy a tense character drama as much as the next guy, but the Transformers have already been humanized to the point of absurdity, and they’re at their best when there’s an enemy to fight.

It took me 13 issues to care about what goes on in this book, but I can honestly say that if this issue is a taste of things to come then I’m in it for the long haul.

Transformer Roll-Out: 'Transformers: Prime' #4 Advance Review

Julian Titus is a writer for PixlBit.com and the host of the Nerds Without Pants podcast. He's also the biggest Transformers fan I've ever met and will be covering IDW's Transformers comics right here on a regular basis. This week, he's got an advance look at the latest issue of Transformers Prime...

I didn’t know what to expect from Transformers: Prime. I haven’t seen any of the animated series beyond the original miniseries, and I expected issue 4 to be so far into an arc that it might be hard to follow. Thankfully, I’ve followed the Transformers across multiple iterations since the beginning, and it’s cool to find out that the comic adaptation of Prime actually has a lot of its roots in the recent video games from High Moon Studios - War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron.

Variant cover for Transformers: Prime #4, art by High Moon Studios. Hasbro/IDW Publishing.

Transformers: Prime #4 is focused on the Dinobots. Actually, make that the DINOBOTS, considering the somewhat annoying lettering in this issue anytime they’re mentioned. Grimlock and company have rescued Ultra Magnus, but now they find themselves face to face with Shockwave. Fans of those aforementioned games will remember that it was Shockwave that transformed the former Autobot elite squad into massively powerful creatures based on lifeforms found on a remote planet which we call Earth. If you didn’t know, don’t worry - Shockwave explains it in great detail, as he’s known to do.

This is what I would call a “bridge” issue. There really isn’t a lot of action here, and most of the book fleshes out the origins of the Dinobots in this version of the Transformers universe, and sets up Shockwave as a perfect foil for the somewhat slow-witted Autobot team. Really, this issue (and I assume the previous three issues) is nothing more than a launching point for Transformers: Prime: Beast Hunters, yet another ongoing series that focuses on the Dinobots.

As my intro to the Prime comic universe, issue 4 wasn’t a bad jumping-on point, especially since it was a refresher course on the video game backstory. I’m not too sure about Beast Hunters, as I’ve only ever loved Grimlock when he’s written by Simon Furman. I also have concerns about IDW overextending themselves, as this will mark the 5th ongoing Transformers book in their stable. It will take me a few more issues to see how much I dig Prime, but you can be sure to check back each week for more Transformers goodness.

Transformer Roll-Out: 'Transformers Regeneration One' #88 Advance Review

Julian Titus is a writer for PixlBit.com and the host of the Nerds Without Pants podcast. He's also the biggest Transformers fan I've ever met and will be covering IDW's Transformers comics right here on a regular basis. This week, he's got an advance look at the latest issue of Transformers Regeneration One...

So far, the prime directive of Transformers Regeneration One has seemingly been Simon Furman doing away with all the characters and gimmicks he was forced to introduce into the original series 20 years ago. Clearing out the Head Masters, Action Masters, and the like, the series has felt more like a purge than a continuation of a licensed comic book that was far better than it had any right to be. Now that he’s finished culling the Transformers universe, it seems like Furman is finally building to something that moves the Regeneration timeline forward.

Covert art for Transformers Regeneration One #88, art by Andrew Wildman. Hasbro/IDW Publishing.

Scorponok continues to make his power play for the Decepticon leadership, bolstered by his newly recruited Autobots (made aggressive thanks to unlocking the “warrior gene” within) and the conflicted Grimlock. I find it odd that the altered Autobots immediately turn on their comrades, implying that every Transformer is just one line of code away from being a killing machine. It makes for a bleak version of the Autobots that’s very close in tone to the current Robots in Disguise series, which I’m not a fan of. Hopefully, some of the converted Autobots will turn that newly found aggression on their enemies, which would certainly be a more interesting development than the good guys simply becoming bad guys.

Far more interesting are the secondary stories in this issue. Hot Rod is still deep in the bowels of Cybertron, hoping to commune with Primus, the Transformer god. He runs afoul of some familiar creatures that long time readers will recognize, and what he finds has tantalizing implications for the future of the series. Soundwave gets a hint of Bludgeon’s grand plan, and back on Earth, Galvatron finds something that could help him return to power.

The first 7 issues of Regeneration One were all about cleaning the slate. Now, the stage is set to change the Transformers universe in big ways. Between Hot Rod searching for legends and relics and the potential for a three-way Decepticon civil war, the future of Regeneration may be bleak, but it’s also quite interesting.

(Transformers Regeneration One #88 hits stands Wednesday, February 13.)