[Comic] DW's G1 #1 - Cover to cover review
Anthony "Tonyfitz" Brucale
never care to own review.
There's no plot summary here, that was done finely by Supsy in his review,
if you need the plot info, I suggest reading his post.
Now, on with the review, but first....
C
O
M
I
C
B
O
O
K
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
A
H
E
A
D
!
!
!
The covers
Ok, firs things first, the covers. The art for these have been floating
around for some time now. I'd hate to start this review on a bad note, but I
guess I will. I really, honestly and truly hate DW for using the poor,
market-crashing marketing techniques that ruined comics for many people of
my generation. And with that said, it gets worse....
Variant covers are one thing, the cost for a comic book nowadays is another,
but to charge nearly $6 for the Holofoil cover and not give it all the
posters the other book has is ludicrous. In essence, it really shows that DW
is more interested in what is in your wallet here and now than making you
come in long term for what they put on the page. The very least they could
have done for the price of the Holofoil book was put both posters inside the
book, much like X-Men #1 had all the pin-ups from the backs of the variant
covers in the deluxe edition.
The Art
The covers are fairly impressive; Pat Lee's Autobot shot is well done,
though speckled with odd character choices, such as Sideswipe (who was never
prominent in any canon) taking up most of the back cover. However, the
enormity of Omega Supreme is a nice touch.
Generally and overall, I like Lee's art; mainly in his choice of characters
and choice of designs (toy accurate is always a plus with me); where I
really dislike his work is when it comes to Megatron. Lee's Megatron, though
well structured via the physique; fails to portray the devious evil mind of
the character. Mainly, I fault this to Lee's drawing of Megatron's face;
often it comes off very soft and round, which does little to emote for the
character. Additionally, Lee's drawings of humans is way off as well. Spike
bears little resemblance to his former self (cartoon or comic) and overall,
looks like a lost McFarlane character.
Conversely, the additional art by James Raiz is superb. His portrayal of
Megatron via posters and covers illustrates what why I dislike Lee's
Megatron. Raiz's Megatron has a hard edged face and sharp angles emoting the
character. Raiz makes Megatron come off as a hard, angry, violent type much
more than Lee does.
In addition to raiz's stellar art for the Holofoil book, we are treated to
two more posters by Raiz inset into the comic. The Autobot and Holofoil
comics feature a slick poster of many g1 favorites mixed on the lower half,
in front of Metroplex in city mode who divides the frame for some sweet
Armada art at the top of the page. Interesting choices in the poster are
Rodimus Prime, Kup, toy Ultra Magnus, the Protectobots and Grapple. The
Armada art features a mystery Autobot (Ultra Jetfire perhaps?) in the upper
right side of the picture.
The Decep book features another great Raiz piece of a battle ground similar
to what we used to see on the back of G1 toy boxes. Though Megatron floods
most of the picture, seen in the art are some more interesting appearances,
including Wheeljack, Outback, Skids, Spyglass, Spectro, Viewfinder, all 4
Deluxe Insecticons, Twin Twist, Whirl, and Roadbuster.
The Story part 1: The Script:
I hope Sarracini's strong point is crafting a story, because dialogue he has
no handle on. Much like a B-movie, this comic tends to speak as if its
audience is incredibly dumb. If DW is going to aim for a more mature
audience with this book, they need to write more mature dialogue.
I don't mean swears or anything of that sort. The dialogue in this book
tends to tell and not show, which is a fundamental miscue when it comes to
visual storytelling.
For example, the conversation that starts on the first page is entirely
forced. People do not interact like that. Someone with a full pack of
cigarettes who is out in the woods generally does not need a light. The
conversation would flow 100 times more smoothly if the soldier just lights
up and then gets lambasted by comrade.
Another instance of the utterly poor scripting is seen when Spike and
General Hallo chat at Spike's dinner table. The dialogue in panel 3 and the
dialogue in the same panel say basically the same thing. Top Secret
Government bodies do not introduce themselves as top secret government
bodies, unless they really don't want to remain secret. This whole seen
plays out worse than any Steven Segal flick.
Do top secret government bodies have janitors mopping around the building
during business hours? Senile or not, it constitutes a breach of security.
Bonus points for the mention of Buster Witwicky, though the story still
seems firmly rooted in cartoon continuity.
The Story part 2: The Plot:
Eh, for a first issue, I'm wholly unimpressed. Understandably, a story has
to build, but there was very little to back up the hype of issue on within
its pages. Its kinda sad that the 3H folks can bang out a much more wild
ride once a year than DW has done in its first 22 pages. Granted, the BC
guys have 40 pages books, but they only have one shot at getting it right.
For something that has gotten all the press it has, you'd think there'd be
some more action in the first few pages.
The direction of selling Transformers as weapons to the highest bidder is
somewhat boring to me, since the main appeal of the story has always been
the civil war between the factions. (Let's face it, it is the basis for
every single Transformers series)
Bonus points for the gratuitous inclusion of Hound though, nice touch. Also,
kid Daniel was fun to discover as well. [Insert Nixtr joke here]
Lastly, the end note of the book is, again, trite. The government just
happens to have Prime, go figure. If they could recover Prime, why not the
other Autobots? Its plausible to say that most ended up in the same
location. Hopefully, DW will have a reasonable explanation for this next
issue.
The one interesting piece of foreshadowing I see so far, is the inclusion of
Sparkplug on the Ark II (though the newspaper referring to him as
"Sparkplug" in the article is another example of poor writing and bad
research). I'm starting to think Sparkplug being Armada Prime's Mini-Con is
no coincidence. And hell, this is a comic book, and everyone who reads comic
books knows one thing for sure, "dead" never means dead, it means, we'll
bring him back to life later on.
The Ads:
Botcon 2002: Kickass ad, with great Khanna T-AI art. Am I wrong, or did they
ad a guest in Steve Kramer?
Titan Books: Um, is it wise to advertise that Delbo did the art? ;)
Back Cover: Something really irks me about this ad. The "Bringing the
Transformers back to life" slogan. The self-sanctimonious attitude of that
statement is almost an insult to those of us who have followed TFs through
their ups and downs. Also, it seems to attribute DW with somehow
resurrecting the TF name, which we all know, has never really disappeared
from the public eye since 1984. Yes, I get the pun of it, but nevertheless,
to make such a poorly worded blanket statement further reflects the "There
were TF's after 1986" mentality of Dreamwave.
The Conclusion...
Somehow, TF G1 #1 has left me feeling exactly the same about it as I did
before it came out; indifferent. sure, I'm happy to see TFs in comics again,
since the comic is truly what perpetuated my enjoyment of the line. However,
DW seems to be grossly mishandling it from their 1994-esque marketing
techniques to their poor storytelling techniques.
Perhaps time will prove me wrong from here, I truly hope so. But for now, if
a comic is billing itself as "For mature audiences," then the script needs
to be able to tell me the story without talking down to me.
--Ant
Douglas W. Dlin
line. We'll see if that works...
...and it appears not to have done so, unless it's still delayed in
Brawn's circuits whilst the a.t.t. copy's made it through already. Feh.
Okay, we'll coddle the cranky Brawn and do a separate post just for
rttmod. Apologies to all if this double-posts. Primus knows how Tony
managed the initial crosspost w/o incident...
No actual spoilers in the response, so no need for the space--just in
case the moderators are wondering. :-)
On Apr. 5, 2002, Anthony \"Tonyfitz\" Brucale wrote:
>
> The very least they could have done for the price of the Holofoil book
> was put both posters inside the book, much like X-Men #1 had all the
> pin-ups from the backs of the variant covers in the deluxe edition.
While I can agree in general terms, comics are printed in 8-page
increments, owing to the size of the sheets involved and how they're
folded for trimming, and including both posters would only have added
FOUR pages to the regular page count (since the holofoil issue already
includes one poster). Now, I imagine it'd have been possible to
gang-print extra copies of the other poster with something else--perhaps
even itself--to make enough to include in all the holofoil editions
while still filling all eight pages of the standard printing sheet, but
it would've complicated the sorting process of the trimmed sheets to do
so. Stuff like that's usually only done with covers, if at all.
And while I can't vouch for the exact profit-margin level of this
edition, I'd imagine the holofoil cover paper ain't that cheap to use.
Remember, if Dreamwave's distributor discount is anything like ours (and
I believe it doesn't really get any lower), they only get 35% of cover
price, so retail price of gimmick covers like this have to go up proportionate->
<-ly.
Doug Dlin
ap...@hotmail.com
Chris McFeely
Haven't got the comic yet (freakin' late UK shipping schedules!), but I've
seen this ad on the 'Net:
> Botcon 2002: Kickass ad, with great Khanna T-AI art. Am I wrong, or did
they
> ad a guest in Steve Kramer?
Well, Kramer's name was always on that image from when I first saw it.
Also, does anyone else think that Dick Gautier is sort of the "piggy in the
middle" in this guest line up? The rest of them are all RiD actors and
writers, and he's the only G1 guy there, except Michael McConnohie, but I
don't recall Cosmos and Rodimus sharing many scenes. /:)
Chris... oh, and I thought that rendering of T-Ai was awful, but maybe
that's just me...
M Sipher
news:a8ljo7$lpd$1-...@slb3.atl.mindspring.net...
> There's no plot summary here,
Well, considering how much plot there was in the comic itself...
But... old is KEWL!
> Variant covers are one thing,
I can live with the even mix of Autobot/Decepticon covers, really. I like
having that choice. I mean, I personally don't really like the Decep cover
for #1. Partially because it has practically no characters I give a crap
about. I think Hook is probably one of the few year-one-cartoon-character
Deceps I like, and he's mixed inside Devastator. Mnd, I think I'm gonna go
with the Autobot covers for all of the ones revealed so far, just because
there's more character variety going on with them.
> The Art
>
> The covers are fairly impressive; Pat Lee's Autobot shot is well done,
> though speckled with odd character choices, such as Sideswipe (who was
never
> prominent in any canon) taking up most of the back cover. However, the
> enormity of Omega Supreme is a nice touch.
I want to reiterate my loathing for the EXTREEEEEEEEEME PERSPECTIVE
DOOOOOOOD so common in DW's pin-ups and covers. I hate it, I really do.
> Generally and overall, I like Lee's art; mainly in his choice of
characters
> and choice of designs (toy accurate is always a plus with me);
I don't mind the mix, though I do wish the mix were a little more EVEN.
Like, give Windcharger and Bumblebee wheels on their arms and shit.
On that note... Windcharger has midget arms. LOOK at them!
Oh. And one thing that really annoys me.... ALL the faction sigils are quite
clearly pasted on AFTER the art is done. It looks bad. I mean, yeah, we're
spared horribly-rendered sigils, but still. To me it stands out far too
much. Especially on the back cover with Sideswipe, Tracks and Sunstreaker...
there's these bright reflective glare-lines on their chests that STOP when
they get to the sigils. Plus Windcharger's is WAY off-center, and Megatron's
in the interior just seems so dinky (and sometimes off-center).
Plus, and this is just me, I don't like the lack of silver outlining on the
sigils. Yeah, I know that's purely because of the way the decals were
printed, but still. It makes them look more... PROUD. More insignia-y. they
stand out a lot better.
> Mainly, I fault this to Lee's drawing of Megatron's face;
> often it comes off very soft and round, which does little to emote for the
> character.
I love the "enhanced satellite photo" of Megatron. Lookit his expression.
"DURRRR I LIKE MITTENS!"
Actually, that's not too far off...
> Additionally, Lee's drawings of humans is way off as well. Spike
> bears little resemblance to his former self (cartoon or comic) and
overall,
> looks like a lost McFarlane character.
Gods dammit, SOMEONE better have a facial expression other than "Dull
Suprise" in issue 2. These people make Ben Stein look like Jim Carrey.
> In addition to raiz's stellar art for the Holofoil book, we are treated to
> two more posters by Raiz inset into the comic. The Autobot and Holofoil
> comics feature a slick poster of many g1 favorites mixed on the lower
half,
> in front of Metroplex in city mode who divides the frame for some sweet
> Armada art at the top of the page.
My only complaint with this is the VERY amateurish cut-line on Metroplex's
horizon. So pixely. You can also see it on Scavenger's skull (the dude
behind Optimus... yes, that's Scavenger! DW said so!).
> The Decep book features another great Raiz piece of a battle ground
similar
> to what we used to see on the back of G1 toy boxes. Though Megatron floods
> most of the picture, seen in the art are some more interesting
appearances,
> including Wheeljack, Outback, Skids, Spyglass, Spectro, Viewfinder, all 4
> Deluxe Insecticons, Twin Twist, Whirl, and Roadbuster.
Dammit, I want that one. DELUXES!
> The Story part 1: The Script:
>
> I hope Sarracini's strong point is crafting a story, because dialogue he
has
> no handle on. Much like a B-movie, this comic tends to speak as if its
> audience is incredibly dumb. If DW is going to aim for a more mature
> audience with this book, they need to write more mature dialogue.
>
> I don't mean swears or anything of that sort.
Yeah. The last thing I want is a TF book written like the Spawn HBO series.
"Look at what WE can say/do because we're on HBO! Oooooh, aren't we naughty
and groundbreaking! Not like Ralph Bakshi and a few hundred Japanese guys
haven't done this years ago or anything!"
> Another instance of the utterly poor scripting is seen when Spike and
> General Hallo chat at Spike's dinner table. The dialogue in panel 3 and
the
> dialogue in the same panel say basically the same thing. Top Secret
> Government bodies do not introduce themselves as top secret government
> bodies, unless they really don't want to remain secret. This whole seen
> plays out worse than any Steven Segal flick.
Remember, always introduce yourself as a top secret government body in front
of a five-year old. Because we all know how good they are at keeping
secrets.
> Do top secret government bodies have janitors mopping around the building
> during business hours? Senile or not, it constitutes a breach of security.
He's there to warn them if there's teenage werewolves on the prowl.
> The Story part 2: The Plot:
>
> For something that has gotten all the press it has, you'd think there'd be
> some more action in the first few pages.
This isn't an issue #1. It's an issue #0.
I mean... how much more did this have that the six-page preview a few months
back didn't? Christ on a Tilt-A-Whirl, they all but REPEAT the "Lazarus
waxes philosophical over the Transformers for a prospective client then we
reveal he's selling recovered Transformers" scene.
(And for the millionth time I'm going to say how much I HATE that we've got
a guy named "Lazarus" as a central character to the book. Cliche away! Hell,
couldn't they have even TRIED a pun-name like Dr. Archeville had? A pun so
great I never ever noticed it until years later... Actually, let's bring Dr.
Archeville back in this book! Yeah! why the hell not?)
Pretty much all the new "important" info we get comes from the two-page
newspaper spread in the back. Otherwise, all we get is a soldier pissing and
Spike being mildly annoyed that General Creepy McSinister has intruded on
his life.
> The direction of selling Transformers as weapons to the highest bidder is
> somewhat boring to me, since the main appeal of the story has always been
> the civil war between the factions. (Let's face it, it is the basis for
> every single Transformers series)
Hasn't this also been DONE before? Like, in "Only Human"?
> Lastly, the end note of the book is, again, trite. The government just
> happens to have Prime, go figure.
As others have noted in discussions about the book... Bumblebee would have
been a far more satisfying choice in every category except for "kewlness". I
mean... weakest Autobot up against all the others. The one that Spike was
the closest to. And, most importantly (to me), the one who was NOT
COMPLETELY DAMN PREDICTABLE.
> Its plausible to say that most ended up in the same
> location. Hopefully, DW will have a reasonable explanation for this next
> issue.
Well, Soundwave ended up somewhere very cold, so who knows.
> The one interesting piece of foreshadowing I see so far, is the inclusion
of
> Sparkplug on the Ark II (though the newspaper referring to him as
> "Sparkplug" in the article is another example of poor writing and bad
> research). I'm starting to think Sparkplug being Armada Prime's Mini-Con
is
> no coincidence. And hell, this is a comic book, and everyone who reads
comic
> books knows one thing for sure, "dead" never means dead, it means, we'll
> bring him back to life later on.
Bleh. I really hope Aramda isn't tied directly to G1. One of RiD's (few)
strengths was that it was free to do pretty much whatever it wanted to
storywise because it wasn't anchored to an already weighted-down timeline.
> The Ads:
>
> Botcon 2002: Kickass ad, with great Khanna T-AI art.
I dunno. Frankly, I think she looks like she was drawn by someone very
unfamiliar with drawing "cute" anime faces... it looks too forced to me.
Nothing against Dan on this one... I mean, has he ever done animeish
character art before? If it's not his strong suit (or even anything he's
done before), then hey. It's certainly a good attempt (better than I've seen
from a lot of other "official" items, like, say, any of Toy Biz's figures of
Capcom's female/cute characters).
I personally wouldn't have minded seeing a more "realistic" interpretation
of T-AI, but that's me, that loopy guy who seems to like new artistic
interpretations from artists.
(One of the strengths of the Japanese fan-art galleries, I find. Oddly
enough, there seems to be far more variance in style THERE that you get in
your average American ones. Then again, perhaps that's because a lot of
American fan-artists are trying to be "anime", while Japanese fan-artists
have already bee nthere and are trying new looks inside the form. I dunno.)
> Back Cover: Something really irks me about this ad. The "Bringing the
> Transformers back to life" slogan. The self-sanctimonious attitude of that
> statement is almost an insult to those of us who have followed TFs through
> their ups and downs. Also, it seems to attribute DW with somehow
> resurrecting the TF name, which we all know, has never really disappeared
> from the public eye since 1984. Yes, I get the pun of it, but
nevertheless,
> to make such a poorly worded blanket statement further reflects the "There
> were TF's after 1986" mentality of Dreamwave.
"were no", I think you mean.
And I cannot agree more. I read that and just sat there, awash with the
masturbatory tone. So, G2 and BW and RiD had nothing to do with it. Being a
consistantly-top-ten-selling boys' toyline for what, six years or so now had
nothing to do with it.
No, it took Lee and his EXTREEEEEEEME PERSPECTIVE DOOOOOD posters.
Gnnn.
> The Conclusion...
>
> Somehow, TF G1 #1 has left me feeling exactly the same about it as I did
> before it came out; indifferent.
Well, having an issue with almost ZERO story progression and minimal actual
Transformers content will do that.
Not to mention zero Transformers characters. I'm waiting to see if
Sarraccninicnicnicninarrranirnaini can write CHARACTERS. Not much on this
score so far.
> However,
> DW seems to be grossly mishandling it from their 1994-esque marketing
> techniques to their poor storytelling techniques.
On the other hand... this book really DOES seemed aimed more to snare the
"fringies", the people who remember TFs from when they were kids and are
looking back on their childhoods on a Hot-Topic-esque rebellious way, not
those who've been with the line through all the ups and downs and are ready
to nitpick details thanks to their photographic memory of a kids' toy line
and its associated advertisements. (Never for one moment try and convince me
that any of the old media is not just an overblown toy commercial.)
And that group far outnumbers us.
Which certainly makes the BotCon ad interesting. Wonder how many more
pre-regs 3H have gotten in the past couple days... well, okay, WILL get in
the next couple days, allowing for paychecks to come in and the postal
service to deliver.
> Perhaps time will prove me wrong from here, I truly hope so. But for now,
if
> a comic is billing itself as "For mature audiences," then the script needs
> to be able to tell me the story without talking down to me.
Frankly, I'm just waiting for "Armada" to hit. From just the uncolored
preview pictures we've seen, this one looks far more exciting, entertaining,
and suprising than DWG1 is so far.
M "And Dammit, Someone Let Guido Do An Entire Book. His Art ROCKS" Sipher
--
King Weasel Productions - home of the productions of King Weasel!
Transformers, RockMan, original art, the solutions to all life's problems
and other crap!
http://members.fortunecity.com/msipher
Home of That Big Transformers Variations List and MegaMan/RockMan Toy &
Merchandise Archive!
Joona I Palaste
M Sipher <msi...@mindspring.com> scribbled the following
on rec.toys.transformers.moderated:
>> Additionally, Lee's drawings of humans is way off as well. Spike
>> bears little resemblance to his former self (cartoon or comic) and
> overall,
>> looks like a lost McFarlane character.
> Gods dammit, SOMEONE better have a facial expression other than "Dull
> Suprise" in issue 2. These people make Ben Stein look like Jim Carrey.
I know who Jim Carrey is but I do not know who Ben Stein is. Who is he?
If people told me then I would actually be able to understand this
analogy and everything...
--
/-- Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) ---------------------------\
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" G++ FR FW+ M- #108 D+ ADA N+++|
| http://www.helsinki.fi/~palaste W++ B OP+ |
\----------------------------------------- Finland rules! ------------/
"Ice cream sales somehow cause drownings: both happen in summer."
- Antti Voipio & Arto Wikla
David Willis
> If people told me then I would actually be able to understand this
> analogy and everything...
Ben Stein was originally one of President Nixon's people. He got a few
roles a decade ago as a over-the-top monotonously speaking boring
teacher, most notably in The Wonder Years. About five years ago,
Comedy Central gave him his own game show, "Win Ben Stein's
Money," where the world found out that Ben Stein actually TALKS
like he did in the movies, and it wasn't just an act. He is a Republican.
--David
www.itswalky.com
TheTIckBR3
>roles a decade ago as a over-the-top monotonously speaking boring
>teacher, most notably in The Wonder Years. About five years ago,
>Comedy Central gave him his own game show, "Win Ben Stein's
>Money," where the world found out that Ben Stein actually TALKS
>like he did in the movies, and it wasn't just an act. He is a Republican.
>
He also had roles in Feris Beuler's Day Off, and he's been doing Visene
comercials for I don't know how long.
Helpful link: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Stein,+Ben
TheTickBR3
Anthony "Tonyfitz" Brucale
"M Sipher" <msi...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:a8os6g$70n$3-...@slb0.atl.mindspring.net...
> Anthony "Tonyfitz" Brucale <tony...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:a8ljo7$lpd$1-...@slb3.atl.mindspring.net...
> > Variant covers are one thing,
>
> I can live with the even mix of Autobot/Decepticon covers, really. I like
> having that choice. I mean, I personally don't really like the Decep cover
> for #1. Partially because it has practically no characters I give a crap
> about. I think Hook is probably one of the few year-one-cartoon-character
> Deceps I like, and he's mixed inside Devastator. Mnd, I think I'm gonna go
> with the Autobot covers for all of the ones revealed so far, just because
> there's more character variety going on with them.
Actually, I'm surprised at the lack of Decepticons in the various DW artwork
I've seen. Moreover, it surprises me that DW continually has art of the
Protectobots and Aerialbots, but none of the Stunticons or Combaticons.
As far as I can tell, if they want to go formulaic with the whole thing, the
matchups of the "big guys" tend be the following:
Omega Supreme vs. Devastator
Superion vs. Menasor
Defensor vs. Bruticus
Computron vs. Abominus (which I doubt would apply to a DW book)
Sky Lynx vs. Predaking
Metroplex vs. Trypticon
> > The Art
[snip]
> I don't mind the mix, though I do wish the mix were a little more EVEN.
> Like, give Windcharger and Bumblebee wheels on their arms and shit.
Yeah, or give Ratchet his repair bay ala MTMTE.
> On that note... Windcharger has midget arms. LOOK at them!
Well, perhaps DW subscribes to my theory on entertaining media: *Everything*
is better with midgets.
> Oh. And one thing that really annoys me.... ALL the faction sigils are
quite
> clearly pasted on AFTER the art is done. It looks bad. I mean, yeah, we're
> spared horribly-rendered sigils, but still. To me it stands out far too
> much. Especially on the back cover with Sideswipe, Tracks and
Sunstreaker...
> there's these bright reflective glare-lines on their chests that STOP when
> they get to the sigils. Plus Windcharger's is WAY off-center, and
Megatron's
> in the interior just seems so dinky (and sometimes off-center).
Wow, I didn't notice that. But now that you mention it, DW did take the time
to fade out the center of Megs' sigil on th Decepticon cover.
> > Mainly, I fault this to Lee's drawing of Megatron's face;
> > often it comes off very soft and round, which does little to emote for
the
> > character.
>
> I love the "enhanced satellite photo" of Megatron. Lookit his expression.
>
> "DURRRR I LIKE MITTENS!"
>
> Actually, that's not too far off...
It's more like, "DURRRR WHERE'D THIS FIRE COME FROM?"
> > Additionally, Lee's drawings of humans is way off as well. Spike
> > bears little resemblance to his former self (cartoon or comic) and
> overall,
> > looks like a lost McFarlane character.
>
> Gods dammit, SOMEONE better have a facial expression other than "Dull
> Suprise" in issue 2. These people make Ben Stein look like Jim Carrey.
Maybe Pat Lee has itchy, watery eyes?
[snip]
> > The Story part 1: The Script:
[snip]
> > I don't mean swears or anything of that sort.
>
> Yeah. The last thing I want is a TF book written like the Spawn HBO
series.
> "Look at what WE can say/do because we're on HBO! Oooooh, aren't we
naughty
> and groundbreaking! Not like Ralph Bakshi and a few hundred Japanese guys
> haven't done this years ago or anything!"
Well, the guy taking a leak on the first page seems like a bad omen to me,
like Spike is going to say something along the lines of, "Oh shit, whatta we
do now?!"
> > The Story part 2: The Plot:
> >
> > For something that has gotten all the press it has, you'd think there'd
be
> > some more action in the first few pages.
>
> This isn't an issue #1. It's an issue #0.
Really, and not much of one at that. Give me X-O Manowar #0 any day! It's
sad that there are 16 more Transformers in the James Raiz Autobot poster
than there are panels that include a Transformers body part in the book.
> I mean... how much more did this have that the six-page preview a few
months
> back didn't? Christ on a Tilt-A-Whirl, they all but REPEAT the "Lazarus
> waxes philosophical over the Transformers for a prospective client then we
> reveal he's selling recovered Transformers" scene.
Opening with some sort of auction scene or with the controlled Transforemrs
doing a job would have been a better approach. Laz R Us could have collected
the money thereafter and you get the same point across with 4 pages more
action and lots more cameos.
> (And for the millionth time I'm going to say how much I HATE that we've
got
> a guy named "Lazarus" as a central character to the book. Cliche away!
Hell,
> couldn't they have even TRIED a pun-name like Dr. Archeville had? A pun so
> great I never ever noticed it until years later... Actually, let's bring
Dr.
> Archeville back in this book! Yeah! why the hell not?)
Hell, Archeville would have been a great choice for the same functional
role.
> Pretty much all the new "important" info we get comes from the two-page
> newspaper spread in the back. Otherwise, all we get is a soldier pissing
and
> Spike being mildly annoyed that General Creepy McSinister has intruded on
> his life.
And its not really new info, since DW announced most of this already.
> > The direction of selling Transformers as weapons to the highest bidder
is
> > somewhat boring to me, since the main appeal of the story has always
been
> > the civil war between the factions. (Let's face it, it is the basis for
> > every single Transformers series)
>
> Hasn't this also been DONE before? Like, in "Only Human"?
That's the Cobra Commander episode, yes? I vaguely rememebr it. There are
many variants on the theme though, such as Autobot attacking the humans
under Megatron's control in "Attack of the Autobots" and a human
masquerading control of the Decepticons in the comic in the "Robot Master"
plotline.
Maybe DW will build Megatron a Weather Dominator while they are at it.
> > Lastly, the end note of the book is, again, trite. The government just
> > happens to have Prime, go figure.
>
> As others have noted in discussions about the book... Bumblebee would have
> been a far more satisfying choice in every category except for "kewlness".
I
> mean... weakest Autobot up against all the others. The one that Spike was
> the closest to. And, most importantly (to me), the one who was NOT
> COMPLETELY DAMN PREDICTABLE.
There's a lot of the Season 1-2 cast that would be a more interesting fit
than Prime. As you said, Bumblebee is probably the best choice overall, but
a few others make for interesting posibilities. Any one of the Dinobots
would be great, due to their limited intelligence and unpredictibility.
Huffer, simply because he's a whiney, snivling bitch. Ratchet going up
against big odds always makes for fun reading. First Aid would be a cool
choice because of his pacifism.
Prime is a boring choice because he know how he can kick everyones' asses
all at once. Except Laserbeak. Poor Prime, always being taken down by the
birdies.
> > The one interesting piece of foreshadowing I see so far, is the
inclusion
> of
> > Sparkplug on the Ark II (though the newspaper referring to him as
> > "Sparkplug" in the article is another example of poor writing and bad
> > research). I'm starting to think Sparkplug being Armada Prime's Mini-Con
> is
> > no coincidence. And hell, this is a comic book, and everyone who reads
> comic
> > books knows one thing for sure, "dead" never means dead, it means, we'll
> > bring him back to life later on.
>
> Bleh. I really hope Aramda isn't tied directly to G1. One of RiD's (few)
> strengths was that it was free to do pretty much whatever it wanted to
> storywise because it wasn't anchored to an already weighted-down timeline.
Depends on how deep that anchor is. BW was rooted in G1, but it definitely
roamed free as much as it could.
> > The Ads:
[snip]
> > Back Cover: Something really irks me about this ad. The "Bringing the
> > Transformers back to life" slogan. The self-sanctimonious attitude of
that
> > statement is almost an insult to those of us who have followed TFs
through
> > their ups and downs. Also, it seems to attribute DW with somehow
> > resurrecting the TF name, which we all know, has never really
disappeared
> > from the public eye since 1984. Yes, I get the pun of it, but
> nevertheless,
> > to make such a poorly worded blanket statement further reflects the
"There
> > were TF's after 1986" mentality of Dreamwave.
>
> "were no", I think you mean.
Yes, exactly. :)
> And I cannot agree more. I read that and just sat there, awash with the
> masturbatory tone. So, G2 and BW and RiD had nothing to do with it. Being
a
> consistantly-top-ten-selling boys' toyline for what, six years or so now
had
> nothing to do with it.
Subject 6, kneel before Dreamwave.
Seriously, Dreamwave needs to check their self-worshipping tone and remember
just who their audience is. If it were not for the fans that followed those
lines and were it not for those other lines being so successful, there would
be no market for DW to sell this comic to, nor no stge for them to dance
like a TRUKK.
> No, it took Lee and his EXTREEEEEEEME PERSPECTIVE DOOOOOD posters.
A classic movie trick, low angles make everything look more powerful.
> > The Conclusion...
> >
> > Somehow, TF G1 #1 has left me feeling exactly the same about it as I did
> > before it came out; indifferent.
>
> Well, having an issue with almost ZERO story progression and minimal
actual
> Transformers content will do that.
>
> Not to mention zero Transformers characters. I'm waiting to see if
> Sarraccninicnicnicninarrranirnaini can write CHARACTERS. Not much on this
> score so far.
I hope he writes characters better than he writes conversation.
> On the other hand... this book really DOES seemed aimed more to snare the
> "fringies", the people who remember TFs from when they were kids and are
> looking back on their childhoods on a Hot-Topic-esque rebellious way, not
> those who've been with the line through all the ups and downs and are
ready
> to nitpick details thanks to their photographic memory of a kids' toy line
> and its associated advertisements. (Never for one moment try and convince
me
> that any of the old media is not just an overblown toy commercial.)
>
> And that group far outnumbers us.
Be that as it may, then let DW back up the hype with the story, which sadly,
this comic lacks in abundance. I'd happily waive off all the negatives if
there was more there than a few cameo shots of Transformers and
poorly-written dialogue or at the very least, some characterization.
Take RiD for instance; it had a stretched out story arc and trite plots, but
the reason many of us kept coming back was to enjoy the characters. I think
the quirkiness of Wedge, Sky-Byte, Skid-Z, Tow-Line, and Side Burn will be
indelebly marked as some of the most fun we've had with TF characters in all
of its history.
> Which certainly makes the BotCon ad interesting. Wonder how many more
> pre-regs 3H have gotten in the past couple days... well, okay, WILL get in
> the next couple days, allowing for paychecks to come in and the postal
> service to deliver.
We'll see; I still haven't pre-reg'd yet. Once I can, I imagine my number
will be through the roof. Luckily, higher number pre-regs get the shorter
line on BC Friday. :)
> Frankly, I'm just waiting for "Armada" to hit. From just the uncolored
> preview pictures we've seen, this one looks far more exciting,
entertaining,
> and suprising than DWG1 is so far.
As am I, but is Sweet'N'Low Saccarini writing it?
> M "And Dammit, Someone Let Guido Do An Entire Book. His Art ROCKS" Sipher
Yeah, Guido rocks! And with a name like Guido, it has to be slick.
--Ant
M Sipher
news:Ojgs8.15674$A%3.1256...@ord-read.news.verio.net...
> > I know who Jim Carrey is but I do not know who Ben Stein is. Who is he?
> > If people told me then I would actually be able to understand this
> > analogy and everything...
>
> Ben Stein was originally one of President Nixon's people. He got a few
> roles a decade ago as a over-the-top monotonously speaking boring
> teacher, most notably in The Wonder Years.
Actually, he's most famous for being the teacher going "Bueller? Bueller?
Anyone? Anyone?" In FERRIS BEULLER'S DAY OFF.
He also does a lot of Clear-Eyes eyedrops commercials.
And, interestingly enough, he had a role in the Jim Carrey vehicle THE MASK
(and a spot in the spinoff cartoon as well).
> About five years ago,
> Comedy Central gave him his own game show, "Win Ben Stein's
> Money," where the world found out that Ben Stein actually TALKS
> like he did in the movies, and it wasn't just an act.
Well, he's got SOME life to him. He does normally talk in a semi-monotone,
but his back-and-forth with co-host Jimmy Kimmel was damn PRICELESS comedy.
And Ben double-flipping-off the audience was fun too.
> He is a Republican.
And yet somehow he manages to be cool.
M "Who'd-A Thunk It?" Sipher
BW Sidecutter
Duckman :)
>> Ben Stein was originally one of President Nixon's people. He got a few
>> roles a decade ago as a over-the-top monotonously speaking boring
>> teacher, most notably in The Wonder Years.
>
>Actually, he's most famous for being the teacher going "Bueller? Bueller?
>Anyone? Anyone?" In FERRIS BEULLER'S DAY OFF.
>
>He also does a lot of Clear-Eyes eyedrops commercials.
>
>And, interestingly enough, he had a role in the Jim Carrey vehicle THE MASK
>(and a spot in the spinoff cartoon as well).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sidecutter
Http://connect.to/DSNPort91881
Captured Prey - Http://www.capturedprey.com/
SC Scourge - Best TF of the 1st 1/2 2002
Cryotek - Best TF of 2001
mpa...@netwalk.com
"David Willis" <wii...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<Ojgs8.15674$A%3.1256...@ord-read.news.verio.net>...
> > I know who Jim Carrey is but I do not know who Ben Stein is. Who is he?
> > analogy and everything...
>
I think that was a given after you pointed out that he worked for
Nixon. I'm not sure that it is important, nor in any way helpful in
pointing out to someone half a planet away who he is, however. Joona,
if you have ever watched the movie "Ferris Beuller's Day Off", Ben
Stein was Ferris' teacher. He was the one with the line 'Beuller.
Beuller. Beuller.' during the morning roll call.
Oh, David, the slow monotone speech IS an act. I saw him on Hardball
using a very normal voice, debating abortion with some lesbian
comedian whose name escapes me at this time. (Tho for the life of me I
still can't figure out why a lesbian would ever have to worry about
being pregnant let alone aborting her child. But that's neither here
nor there.)
M Sipher
> Actually, I'm surprised at the lack of Decepticons in the various DW
artwork
> I've seen.
Well, the pre-Movie Deceps really ARE kinda outnumbered.
> Moreover, it surprises me that DW continually has art of the
> Protectobots and Aerialbots, but none of the Stunticons or Combaticons.
... Hey. You're right. Never noticed that. Weird. Maybe DW didn't get those
off ebay?
> > > The Art
> [snip]
>
> > I don't mind the mix, though I do wish the mix were a little more EVEN.
> > Like, give Windcharger and Bumblebee wheels on their arms and shit.
>
> Yeah, or give Ratchet his repair bay ala MTMTE.
Yeah, that'd be great. Though for Ratchet & Ironhide, I'd say add SOME of
their toy-details, like the wheels and bumper bits on their limbs. And their
hipplates.
> > On that note... Windcharger has midget arms. LOOK at them!
>
> Well, perhaps DW subscribes to my theory on entertaining media:
*Everything*
> is better with midgets.
Well, midget-tossing would be a lot less entertaining without them, for
sure.
> > Oh. And one thing that really annoys me.... ALL the faction sigils are
> quite
> > clearly pasted on AFTER the art is done.
>
> Wow, I didn't notice that. But now that you mention it, DW did take the
time
> to fade out the center of Megs' sigil on th Decepticon cover.
Well, that's the one I don't have, and the downloaded-from-DW files aren't r
eally large enough to notice that kind of crap. But... that's me. I look at
where the shortcuts are being taken. I don't MIND shortcuts being taken, so
long as the end result doesn't scream HEY LOOK, WE'RE TAKING A SHORTCUT!!!
> > Gods dammit, SOMEONE better have a facial expression other than "Dull
> > Suprise" in issue 2. These people make Ben Stein look like Jim Carrey.
>
> Maybe Pat Lee has itchy, watery eyes?
Wow.
> > > The Story part 1: The Script:
>
> > Yeah. The last thing I want is a TF book written like the Spawn HBO
> series.
> > "Look at what WE can say/do because we're on HBO! Oooooh, aren't we
> naughty
> > and groundbreaking! Not like Ralph Bakshi and a few hundred Japanese
guys
> > haven't done this years ago or anything!"
>
> Well, the guy taking a leak on the first page seems like a bad omen to me,
So do the violent not-quite-gory deaths, frankly. Though how Manny ended up
in the position he was in when being crushed inside Megatron's fist, I
dunno. Did he suddenly decide to do a handstand?
And Smokey Fullbladder must have REALLY LOUD URINE to not hear Manny being
crushed to death. Or Megatron ripping up all those trees in order to get to
them, for that matter.
And REALLY LOUD URINE would be a great band name. Opening for Jungin' Rob
Fuck.
> > > The Story part 2: The Plot:
>
> > I mean... how much more did this have that the six-page preview a few
> months
> > back didn't? Christ on a Tilt-A-Whirl, they all but REPEAT the "Lazarus
> > waxes philosophical over the Transformers for a prospective client then
we
> > reveal he's selling recovered Transformers" scene.
>
> Opening with some sort of auction scene or with the controlled
Transforemrs
> doing a job would have been a better approach.
Yes. I would have loved to have seen Megatron systematically wiping out that
entire installation. That would have been far more entertaining than the
"Manny And Smokey Fullbladder Show".
> > (And for the millionth time I'm going to say how much I HATE that we've
> got
> > a guy named "Lazarus" as a central character to the book. Cliche away!
> Hell,
> > couldn't they have even TRIED a pun-name like Dr. Archeville had? A pun
so
> > great I never ever noticed it until years later... Actually, let's bring
> Dr.
> > Archeville back in this book! Yeah! why the hell not?)
>
> Hell, Archeville would have been a great choice for the same functional
> role.
More Archeville! Back from Cybertron, and VERY PISSED OFF!
> > Hasn't this also been DONE before? Like, in "Only Human"?
>
> That's the Cobra Commander episode, yes? I vaguely rememebr it.
Snake could also kick Lazzy's sorry ass.
> There are
> many variants on the theme though, such as Autobot attacking the humans
> under Megatron's control in "Attack of the Autobots" and a human
> masquerading control of the Decepticons in the comic in the "Robot Master"
> plotline.
Well, there was also the issue where Megatron went comatose and was under
the control of some two-bit punk mobster.
> Maybe DW will build Megatron a Weather Dominator while they are at it.
That's his new sinister plot they talk about in the preview for #3.
> > As others have noted in discussions about the book... Bumblebee would
have
> > been a far more satisfying choice in every category except for
"kewlness".
> I
> > mean... weakest Autobot up against all the others. The one that Spike
was
> > the closest to. And, most importantly (to me), the one who was NOT
> > COMPLETELY DAMN PREDICTABLE.
>
> There's a lot of the Season 1-2 cast that would be a more interesting fit
> than Prime. As you said, Bumblebee is probably the best choice overall,
but
> a few others make for interesting posibilities. Any one of the Dinobots
> would be great, due to their limited intelligence and unpredictibility.
And they're the fucking DINOBOTS. Dinobots make everything better.
> Ratchet going up
> against big odds always makes for fun reading. First Aid would be a cool
> choice because of his pacifism.
Oooh, nice ones.
Why not Mirage, the unsure Autobot? Gears, the complainer? Bluestreak, the
guy who hates war?
> > Bleh. I really hope Aramda isn't tied directly to G1. One of RiD's (few)
> > strengths was that it was free to do pretty much whatever it wanted to
> > storywise because it wasn't anchored to an already weighted-down
timeline.
>
> Depends on how deep that anchor is. BW was rooted in G1, but it definitely
> roamed free as much as it could.
True, true. But the potential Sparkplug thing worries me. And BW had that
nice 300+ year buffer zone.
> > > The Ads:
["Bringing the Transformers back to life" and why that phrase SUCKS]
>
> > And I cannot agree more. I read that and just sat there, awash with the
> > masturbatory tone. So, G2 and BW and RiD had nothing to do with it.
Being
> a
> > consistantly-top-ten-selling boys' toyline for what, six years or so now
> had
> > nothing to do with it.
>
> Subject 6, kneel before Dreamwave.
Snerk.
> Seriously, Dreamwave needs to check their self-worshipping tone and
remember
> just who their audience is. If it were not for the fans that followed
those
> lines and were it not for those other lines being so successful, there
would
> be no market for DW to sell this comic to, nor no stge for them to dance
> like a TRUKK.
No reason for Hasbro to ALLOW the damn book to be made in the first place.
> > No, it took Lee and his EXTREEEEEEEME PERSPECTIVE DOOOOOD posters.
>
> A classic movie trick, low angles make everything look more powerful.
Yes, but how do you explain their crotches being in a different area code
than their limbs?
> > > The Conclusion...
>
> > I'm waiting to see if
> > Sarraccninicnicnicninarrranirnaini can write CHARACTERS. Not much on
this
> > score so far.
>
> I hope he writes characters better than he writes conversation.
Oooooh. The real problem is that conversation really DOES make up for most
of the characterization. Dialogue and body motion. Not much on either score
so far.
> > On the other hand... this book really DOES seemed aimed more to snare
the
> > "fringies", the people who remember TFs from when they were kids and are
> > looking back on their childhoods on a Hot-Topic-esque rebellious way,
not
> > those who've been with the line through all the ups and downs and are
> ready
> > to nitpick details thanks to their photographic memory of a kids' toy
line
> > and its associated advertisements. (Never for one moment try and
convince
> me
> > that any of the old media is not just an overblown toy commercial.)
> >
> > And that group far outnumbers us.
>
> Be that as it may, then let DW back up the hype with the story, which
sadly,
> this comic lacks in abundance.
Will not argue that. Give me a STORY with some meat to it.
> I'd happily waive off all the negatives if
> there was more there than a few cameo shots of Transformers and
> poorly-written dialogue or at the very least, some characterization.
And if the main villian WASN'T NAMED LAZARUS ARGH ARGH ARGH...
> Take RiD for instance; it had a stretched out story arc and trite plots,
but
> the reason many of us kept coming back was to enjoy the characters. I
think
> the quirkiness of Wedge, Sky-Byte, Skid-Z, Tow-Line, and Side Burn will be
> indelebly marked as some of the most fun we've had with TF characters in
all
> of its history.
Errr... drop Wedge and Tow-Line from that list, add Gas Skunk, Dark Scream,
Slapper and Midnight Express (with a little Rapid Run thrown in for good
measure) and I'd agree wholeheartedly.
RiD's stories and "action" bored me. What kept me coming back were the fun
CHARACTERS and dialogue. The banter between the Autobot Bros or Sky-Byte and
the Stooges. T-AI clearly being the smartest of all the Autobots (or at
least the least insane).
(And I love Gas Skunk's penchant for misusing words and total
non-sequitors.)
> > Which certainly makes the BotCon ad interesting. Wonder how many more
> > pre-regs 3H have gotten in the past couple days... well, okay, WILL get
in
> > the next couple days, allowing for paychecks to come in and the postal
> > service to deliver.
>
> We'll see; I still haven't pre-reg'd yet. Once I can, I imagine my number
> will be through the roof. Luckily, higher number pre-regs get the shorter
> line on BC Friday. :)
I thought it was divvied up by last name, alphabetically.
> > Frankly, I'm just waiting for "Armada" to hit. From just the uncolored
> > preview pictures we've seen, this one looks far more exciting,
> entertaining,
> > and suprising than DWG1 is so far.
>
> As am I, but is Sweet'N'Low Saccarini writing it?
Er... I dunno. Though it should be interesting to see DW try and write a
more kid-oreinted book.
> > M "And Dammit, Someone Let Guido Do An Entire Book. His Art ROCKS"
Sipher
>
> Yeah, Guido rocks! And with a name like Guido, it has to be slick.
I can't tell you how tempted I am by the Predaking litho... and I was never
overly fond of the Predacons. Ah well.
M "Still, DW Has Not Given Us Any Year-Four-Or-Beyond Characters Yet. That
Disappoints And Worries Me" Sipher
Anthony "Tonyfitz" Brucale
>
> Anthony "Tonyfitz" Brucale <tony...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:a8sue4$hic$1-...@slb0.atl.mindspring.net...
Yes, they are, though given the true size of the SkyRaiders' plane modes,
they really wouldn't have been. Still, they were not nearly as outnumbered
as the RiD Deceps/Preds.
> > Moreover, it surprises me that DW continually has art of the
> > Protectobots and Aerialbots, but none of the Stunticons or Combaticons.
>
> ... Hey. You're right. Never noticed that. Weird. Maybe DW didn't get
those
> off ebay?
Maybe. I'm surprised Hasbro didn't mandate something be done with the
Combaticons, seeing that they could reissue them in a heartbeat using the
Ruination molds.
> > > > The Art
> > Yeah, or give Ratchet his repair bay ala MTMTE.
>
> Yeah, that'd be great. Though for Ratchet & Ironhide, I'd say add SOME of
> their toy-details, like the wheels and bumper bits on their limbs. And
their
> hipplates.
True. Diecast construction, it's a lost art. ;)
> > > On that note... Windcharger has midget arms. LOOK at them!
> >
> > Well, perhaps DW subscribes to my theory on entertaining media:
> *Everything*
> > is better with midgets.
>
> Well, midget-tossing would be a lot less entertaining without them, for
> sure.
Nor would The Jerry Springer Show, Diff'rent Strokes, or Webster. And that
show that runs after ST:Enterprise has the midget from Seinfeld; if only to
further exemplify the campy humor.
> Well, that's the one I don't have, and the downloaded-from-DW files aren't
r
> eally large enough to notice that kind of crap. But... that's me. I look
at
> where the shortcuts are being taken. I don't MIND shortcuts being taken,
so
> long as the end result doesn't scream HEY LOOK, WE'RE TAKING A
>SHORTCUT!!!
Sadly, most of their "research" into TF canon/history seems to scream the
same end result.
> > > Gods dammit, SOMEONE better have a facial expression other than "Dull
> > > Suprise" in issue 2. These people make Ben Stein look like Jim Carrey.
> >
> > Maybe Pat Lee has itchy, watery eyes?
>
> Wow.
This reminds me of a funny anequdote.
This past summer, I was working freelance doing some video production. One
of my coworkers at that company was named Ben Stein. As it turns out, this
Ben Stein had appeared on an all Ben Stein episode of "Win Ben Stein's
Money" wherein all the contestants were named Ben Stein.
>From what he told me, he had made it into the second round, where the
celebrity Ben Stein plays against the contestants. Well, Ben, the one I was
working with, was getting seriously thrashed in this round and knew he was
mathematically out of it, so he kept ringing in on all the questions and
answering with, "Bueler? Bueler? Bueler?" Before the end of the show, the
celebrity Stein called him a wiseass.
> > > > The Story part 1: The Script:
> > Well, the guy taking a leak on the first page seems like a bad omen to
me,
>
> So do the violent not-quite-gory deaths, frankly. Though how Manny ended
up
> in the position he was in when being crushed inside Megatron's fist, I
> dunno. Did he suddenly decide to do a handstand?
Maybe Megatron likes to see how posable the toys he gets from Laz R Us are.
>
> And Smokey Fullbladder must have REALLY LOUD URINE to not hear Manny being
> crushed to death. Or Megatron ripping up all those trees in order to get
to
> them, for that matter.
Actually, urinating in the woods is one of the quietest things you can do,
compared to urinating at home, where the sound is echoed and amplified by
the shape of the toilet.
> And REALLY LOUD URINE would be a great band name. Opening for Jungin' Rob
> Fuck.
With Special Guests: TRUKK NOT MUNKY, playing tunes from their hit album,
"Prepare for ASS KICKEN!"
> > > > The Story part 2: The Plot:
> Yes. I would have loved to have seen Megatron systematically wiping out
that
> entire installation. That would have been far more entertaining than the
> "Manny And Smokey Fullbladder Show".
Yes, but if Smokey Fullbladder was a midget, that whole scene works! :)
> More Archeville! Back from Cybertron, and VERY PISSED OFF!
...and pissed off that he has to do a death dedication after an upbeat song.
Ponderous, fucking ponderous. ;)
[snip]
> > There's a lot of the Season 1-2 cast that would be a more interesting
fit
> > than Prime. As you said, Bumblebee is probably the best choice overall,
> but
> > a few others make for interesting posibilities. Any one of the Dinobots
> > would be great, due to their limited intelligence and unpredictibility.
>
> And they're the fucking DINOBOTS. Dinobots make everything better.
That gives me an idea....MIDGET DINOBOTS!
> Why not Mirage, the unsure Autobot? Gears, the complainer? Bluestreak, the
> guy who hates war?
Good choices as well. Or if DW really wanted to come out of left field, use
the Jumpstarters, Roadbuster and Whirl to come in to help the people pf
Earth.
[snip]
> > > > The Ads:
>
> ["Bringing the Transformers back to life" and why that phrase SUCKS]
> > Seriously, Dreamwave needs to check their self-worshipping tone and
> remember
> > just who their audience is. If it were not for the fans that followed
> those
> > lines and were it not for those other lines being so successful, there
> would
> > be no market for DW to sell this comic to, nor no stage for them to
dance
> > like a TRUKK.
>
> No reason for Hasbro to ALLOW the damn book to be made in the first place.
True, though understandable, Hasbro is one to focus on the here and now.
> > > No, it took Lee and his EXTREEEEEEEME PERSPECTIVE DOOOOOD posters.
> >
> > A classic movie trick, low angles make everything look more powerful.
>
> Yes, but how do you explain their crotches being in a different area code
> than their limbs?
Dunno, ask Ron Jeremy. :)
> > I hope he writes characters better than he writes conversation.
>
> Oooooh. The real problem is that conversation really DOES make up for most
> of the characterization. Dialogue and body motion. Not much on either
score
> so far.
True. I guess we may be stuck with a lot of dumbfounded TFs without much to
say.
> > I'd happily waive off all the negatives if
> > there was more there than a few cameo shots of Transformers and
> > poorly-written dialogue or at the very least, some characterization.
>
> And if the main villian WASN'T NAMED LAZARUS ARGH ARGH ARGH...
What is he was named LAZARBEAK?
> > Take RiD for instance; it had a stretched out story arc and trite plots,
> but
> > the reason many of us kept coming back was to enjoy the characters. I
> think
> > the quirkiness of Wedge, Sky-Byte, Skid-Z, Tow-Line, and Side Burn will
be
> > indelebly marked as some of the most fun we've had with TF characters in
> all
> > of its history.
>
> Errr... drop Wedge and Tow-Line from that list, add Gas Skunk, Dark
Scream,
> Slapper and Midnight Express (with a little Rapid Run thrown in for good
> measure) and I'd agree wholeheartedly.
Well, forgot about the Stooges and Rapid Run, so add them in as well.
Personally, I love Tow-Line intro ep, and its nice to see an inherently dumb
good guy in TFs, much like Mongo from Heathcliff.
As for Wedge, I don't see why so many people don't like him. His personality
traits, like many in RiD, are a direct correlation to his alt mode. A
bulldozer, much like Wedge, is destined to push forward against the grain
and struggle against those who stand in its way. It's fairly poetic for a
kids' show.
> > We'll see; I still haven't pre-reg'd yet. Once I can, I imagine my
number
> > will be through the roof. Luckily, higher number pre-regs get the
shorter
> > line on BC Friday. :)
>
> I thought it was divvied up by last name, alphabetically.
Nope, it wass by registration number last year, in groups of 400 IIRC. And
the last batch line, which was 1201 and up (again, IIRC) was the shortest,
quickest line going.
--Ant
Chris R Leazer
>
> "M Sipher" <msi...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:a8u8mm$pct$1-...@slb1.atl.mindspring.net...
> > > > > O
> > > > > M
> > > > > I
> > > > > C
> > > > >
> > > > > B
> > > > > O
> > > > > O
> > > > > K
> > > > >
> > > > > S
> > > > > P
> > > > > O
> > > > > I
> > > > > L
> > > > > E
> > > > > R
> > > > > S
> > > Protectobots and Aerialbots, but none of the Stunticons or
Combaticons.
> >
> > ... Hey. You're right. Never noticed that. Weird. Maybe DW didn't get
> those
> > off ebay?
>
> Maybe. I'm surprised Hasbro didn't mandate something be done with the
> Combaticons, seeing that they could reissue them in a heartbeat using the
> Ruination molds.
You know, I never thought of that, but maybe Hasbro asked DW not
to use the Combaticons BECAUSE they were in RID.
They already have a cartoon to sell the toys, and maybe they
were afraid of confusing the kids by showing the same
fellas in the G1 comic, so they asked DW not to use them.
or, maybe they'll be in Issue #2..... :)
-cleazer
ShadowWing
M Sipher wrote
>
>Oh. And one thing that really annoys me.... ALL the faction sigils are
>yeah, we're spared horribly-rendered sigils, but still. To me it stands
>out far too much. Especially on the back cover with Sideswipe, Tracks and
>Sunstreaker... there's these bright reflective glare-lines on their
>chests that STOP when they get to the sigils. Plus Windcharger's is WAY
>off-center, and Megatron's in the interior just seems so dinky (and
>sometimes off-center).
Thank you, M. I was worried I was the only one to notice that. You can
tell in the satellite footage that they actually drew it, but the others
look pasted afterward, as if they got their hands on a wingding and just
put
it in along with computer colors. It's very distracting. They're also drawn
in to the Autobot miniposter, but I'm not sure about the newsphoto. I hope
this was a case of the artist forgetting something (that will hopefully be
remembered next issue) and making a last minute correction, or an
experiment
that they realise failed.
______________________________________________
| HEROIC AUTOBOT ^ ^ {ShadowWing} |
| AMONG MAXIMALS |()| { transfan} |
| [CYBERTRON] \/ ｯ||ｯ||ｯ||ｯｯ |
|ｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯ ｯ ｯ ｯｯｯｯｯｯ|
|Function: /\ /\ str: 7.0|
|Guardian / \ ()/ \ int: 8.5|
|Motto:"One's true / /\ o[]o/\ \ spd: 9.0|
|form lies within." / 覧o夕]熔覧 \ end: 7.0|
|Survivor of every / / / 00 \ \ \rnk: 6.0|
|Transformer war. 00 cor:10.0|
|More information on line ^^ fire:5.4|
|Visit THE TRANSFORMATION ZONE skl: 9.2|
|http://pages.cthome.net/ShadowWing |
|last updated on 4/1/2001 AD |
ｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯｯ
M Sipher
news:p86t8.12015$d57.33710...@newssvr10.news.prodigy.com...
> M Sipher wrote
> >
> >Oh. And one thing that really annoys me.... ALL the faction sigils are
> >quite clearly pasted on AFTER the art is done. It looks bad. I mean,
> >yeah, we're spared horribly-rendered sigils, but still. To me it stands
> >out far too much. Especially on the back cover with Sideswipe, Tracks and
> >Sunstreaker... there's these bright reflective glare-lines on their
> >chests that STOP when they get to the sigils. Plus Windcharger's is WAY
> >off-center, and Megatron's in the interior just seems so dinky (and
> >sometimes off-center).
>
> Thank you, M. I was worried I was the only one to notice that.
Funnily enough, so was I.
> You can
> tell in the satellite footage that they actually drew it, but the others
> look pasted afterward, as if they got their hands on a wingding and just
> put
> it in along with computer colors.
Bingo. Strikes me as an over-relaince on computer geegaws and trickery. I
mean, all the new tech certainly makes for some pretty visuals (like the
morning sunlight through the windows of Spike's home), but sometimes it
leads to... THIS.
> I hope
> this was a case of the artist forgetting something (that will hopefully be
> remembered next issue) and making a last minute correction, or an
> experiment
> that they realise failed.
Judging by the Dinobot poster, no, they're gonna keep on doing that. And
it's looking just as lousy as before.
And speaking of... is it just me, or is Slag wholly two-dimensional in that
picture? As in, the way he's standing, if he were a 3-D object, shouldn't
Snarl be phasing through parts of him?
Makes me wonder if the Dinos were drawn as individuals then pasted together.
M "And Yes, Grimlock's Torso Is Really Weird. It's... A Profile? With
Detailing Found On Neither The Animation Model Or The Toy?" Sipher