(no subject)
As promised, for those of you who might be interested (and those of you who aren't too, I suppose) here's a bit about the comics I've been reading recently, cleverly hidden behind that LJ-cut over there.
WARNING: It's all Transformers. Just in case you hadn't guessed. But if you're into comics at all, it's well worth a look, even if you don't know it as anything but "That 80s cartoon, the one with the robots...". Just ask Flick.
So I've been getting into the current series of Transformers comics by IDW Publishing.
THE HISTORY
Potted history for those not aware: The licence to make comics of the Transformers was first given to Marvel in 1984, and it was released before the cartoon came out. It ran for 332 issues until 199...2 I think, without looking it up, and then finished.
The title was taken on by Dreamwave in 200something, and ran for two six-issue arcs, with a whole slew of other titles alongside. The art was by and large horrible, and the stories uninspired with the exception of the War Within series by Simon Furman (more on him later). The whole thing was horribly mismanaged by Dreamwave's founder, "superstar artist" Pat Lee (yeah, the squatting and reaching for your purse guy). Eventually he filed bankruptcy, and nicked off with a lot of the writers' and artists' money. Yeah, I'm bitter, but he was working on Ghost Rider last I looked so I guess he got his comeuppance.
Thie title passed to IDW publications, a small company producing media licenced comics (CSI, Angel, Silent Hill among others). Their editor in chief, Chris Ryall (top bloke) immediately approached Simon Furman.
You could call him the original TF fanboy. He wrote on the UK comic since its inception in 1984 and just loves what he does, simple as that. If he has a fault as a writer, it's focusing on the characters he's really into, but on the new series I've not really seen any of that. So, when he was approached he jumped at the chance.
THE SERIES
What we have then, with IDW's series, is a complete restart of the Transformers universe. If you know Marvel, think of it as Ultimate Transformers and you won't go far wrong. Basically, Chris Ryall said to Simon to retell the story, for an adult (if geeky) and more culturally savvy age group, with equal focus on the character development and the action, and most importantly to learn from the mistakes of the past. What we got was an intelligent, exciting, sometimes moving (and no, I'm not just saying that) series, with interesting characters and fan favourites, pretty looking art, and a plot that is twisting and turning like a motherfucker. It's plain that Simon has some Grand Plan in all this, and it's great watching it unfold.
So far then, there have been two six-issue arcs, along with last year's four-part summer event, and six one-shot spotlight issues focussing on particular characters. There have been others too, but I'm concentrating on the main 'verse here. I'll talk about the others in another post if people are interested.
THE COMICS: Infiltration
The issues of the main arcs, Infiltration and Escalation, are all written by Simon Furman with art by E.J.Su.
Infiltration details the discovery by three humans of Transformers living in disguise on Earth. Disguise is a prominent aspect of this whole series, which is great as the whole "Robots in Disguise" aspect was lost in some other series. The first two issues (counting the full-length preview issue, known as issue 0) don't actually feature any robots at all until the final panel, but still maintain the excitement through all sorts of combat in vehicle mode and the humans' terror at what's happening to them.
The humans start off a little annoying in this arc, but still leagues ahead of any human characters in any other TF canon - and they only get better as it goes on. The Autobots they actually have contact with often talk to them through holograms of human drivers they generate to look like proper Earth vehicles, and this lends some sympathy to the characters - albeit with a creepy fixed smile for the first few issues until they are told it's freaking people out.
As for the plot, Starscream's band of Decepticons are on Earth undercover, exploiting a unique form of energon, the Transformers' power source. Keeping a very close eye on them is a small team of Autobots, also undercover, under the command of Prowl. When Verity, a young runaway, steals a PDA with information which could expose the Decepticons' operations, they step in to try and get it back. In the midst of them doing this and the Autobots trying to protect the humans without blowing their cover, an old power struggle is taken to the next level.
THE COMICS: Escalation
Escalation does exactly what it says on the tin. With both leaders now on Earth, the planet's strategic value has shot up. Megatron begins the next phase of the operation, exacerbating existing areas of conflict in order that the human population might wipe each other out. Meanwhile, the Autobots call in reinforcements and begin an investigation after one of their number, along with one of the humans, is captured by a secret MiB style organisation known as the Machination.
Art in both issues is superb. E.J. Su, new to illustrating Transformers comics, has done a very good job of re-imagining familiar characters into new but recognisable forms - for example, Jazz is no longer a 1982 Porsche 935 Turbo, instead becoming a 2006 Porsche 911 while still staying very recognisable. The characters are detailed, with feasible transformations and plenty of tech detail, but not so much as it obscures what's going on as the art in the Dreamwave days did.
Amongst all this in both arcs are so very many seeds of plots to come, little throwaway comments which link into the other comics or hint at potential future arcs. They don't get in the way and theydon't make you feel like you're missing out on something - instead, they do what they're supposed to and draw you into the world and make you wonder what is going to happen with such-and-such's troubled past - because seeing how Simon's plotted this universe so far, we most assuredly will find out at some point.
THE COMICS: Stormbringer and Spotlights
One of the most appealing things about IDW's series is how they've handled the other titles surrounding the main arcs. While Dreamwave tried to put out title after title of work, often churned out at a pretty low standard (Furman's series The War Within is an exception, being a well written and well drawn story of conflict in the early days of the war, millions of years before the Autobots and Decepticons came to Earth), IDW have chosen to put out smaller numbers of issues, which tie in with the main plotline while being completely standalone (and leaving the main arcs completely readable without them). They have so far taken the form of the Spotlights series, and the summer events.
The Spotlight series is a run of seven (so far, with two more in production) standalone issues, each a self-contained story focusing on a specific character. So far they have covered Shockwave, Nightbeat, Sixshot, Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, Soundwave and Kup, with issues covering Galvatron and Optimus Prime currently in the works. These tell an episode in the life of the character in question, over the course of a single issue. Their stories can be read alone, but their real strength comes when they are combined with the stories in the main titles. Hinting at things to come or shedding light on events passed, they enrich the universe in which the events are set in a very pleasing way. Some, such as Hot Rod's, occasionally come over as slightly superficial, but one has to take special mention.
Spotlight: Kup has to be one of the finest, if not the outright best single issue of any comic I've read. It tells the story of the grizzled, cynical, crotchety old veteran Kup stranded on a planet full of bizarre crystals. Attacked nightly by dark creatures, his sanity erodes as they start batttering away at his shelter and he begins having ghostly visitations. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that the story is poignant, heartbreakingly tragic in places, and finishes with a climax which although it ties up the story, opens the door to all sorts of new possibilities. Kup is a fan favourite character, but even to new readers the cracking dialogue is captivating, and the emotion as Kup's dignity is stripped away as his sanity leaves him is palpable - he visibly turns from a hardened veteran into a weak, pathetic old man. All of this is perfectly illustrated in a dark and scratchy style by Nick Roche, who also takes writing credit for the only story so far in this universe that's not been written by Simon Furman.
The other titles IDW have done in this universe have been the summer events. Bridging the gaps between the releases of the two arcs of the main story, Stormbringer was released last summer, detailing the events taking place on the Transformers' home planet of Cybertron during the events of Infiltration. It tells the story of a dark horror from Cybertron's past, and an insane cult determined to resurrect it. With excellent dialogue and action scenes, and beautiful art from Don Figueroa, an artist discovered during the Dreamwave era and also responsible for the first arc of The War Within, it's got a survival horror theme with a dark, watercoloured visual that makes for a great action story. With Escalation just finished, IDW's summer solicitation for this year is a four-issue mini series focusing on the origins of the Decepticon leader, Megatron, and his rise to power. This should bridge the gap nicely until the autumn release of the third arc of the main continuity, Devastation.
RELEASES
The main downside to the IDW series recently has been its availability. I go to Forbidden Planet in Sheffield every Thursday, the day their comics stock is delivered, and they're often sold out by the time I get in at lunchtime. Also, at a cover price of £2.85, it can be a little steep for the casual collector. Trade paperbacks of Infiltration and Stormbringer have just been released, so they should become easier to get hold of, and there's always eBay, where I picked up the ones I've been missing at about the same price when you take into account shipping. Of course, people can always poke me to get a borrow of them too.
At any rate, that's my two penn'orth on the comic series that's taking up my pocket money these days. Like I said, I'd recommend at least a try, because for those people who like their comics and have a soft spot for that cartoon they saw on Saturday mornings - this ain't your daddy's Transformers. It's something altogether better.
WARNING: It's all Transformers. Just in case you hadn't guessed. But if you're into comics at all, it's well worth a look, even if you don't know it as anything but "That 80s cartoon, the one with the robots...". Just ask Flick.
So I've been getting into the current series of Transformers comics by IDW Publishing.
THE HISTORY
Potted history for those not aware: The licence to make comics of the Transformers was first given to Marvel in 1984, and it was released before the cartoon came out. It ran for 332 issues until 199...2 I think, without looking it up, and then finished.
The title was taken on by Dreamwave in 200something, and ran for two six-issue arcs, with a whole slew of other titles alongside. The art was by and large horrible, and the stories uninspired with the exception of the War Within series by Simon Furman (more on him later). The whole thing was horribly mismanaged by Dreamwave's founder, "superstar artist" Pat Lee (yeah, the squatting and reaching for your purse guy). Eventually he filed bankruptcy, and nicked off with a lot of the writers' and artists' money. Yeah, I'm bitter, but he was working on Ghost Rider last I looked so I guess he got his comeuppance.
Thie title passed to IDW publications, a small company producing media licenced comics (CSI, Angel, Silent Hill among others). Their editor in chief, Chris Ryall (top bloke) immediately approached Simon Furman.
You could call him the original TF fanboy. He wrote on the UK comic since its inception in 1984 and just loves what he does, simple as that. If he has a fault as a writer, it's focusing on the characters he's really into, but on the new series I've not really seen any of that. So, when he was approached he jumped at the chance.
THE SERIES
What we have then, with IDW's series, is a complete restart of the Transformers universe. If you know Marvel, think of it as Ultimate Transformers and you won't go far wrong. Basically, Chris Ryall said to Simon to retell the story, for an adult (if geeky) and more culturally savvy age group, with equal focus on the character development and the action, and most importantly to learn from the mistakes of the past. What we got was an intelligent, exciting, sometimes moving (and no, I'm not just saying that) series, with interesting characters and fan favourites, pretty looking art, and a plot that is twisting and turning like a motherfucker. It's plain that Simon has some Grand Plan in all this, and it's great watching it unfold.
So far then, there have been two six-issue arcs, along with last year's four-part summer event, and six one-shot spotlight issues focussing on particular characters. There have been others too, but I'm concentrating on the main 'verse here. I'll talk about the others in another post if people are interested.
THE COMICS: Infiltration
The issues of the main arcs, Infiltration and Escalation, are all written by Simon Furman with art by E.J.Su.
Infiltration details the discovery by three humans of Transformers living in disguise on Earth. Disguise is a prominent aspect of this whole series, which is great as the whole "Robots in Disguise" aspect was lost in some other series. The first two issues (counting the full-length preview issue, known as issue 0) don't actually feature any robots at all until the final panel, but still maintain the excitement through all sorts of combat in vehicle mode and the humans' terror at what's happening to them.
The humans start off a little annoying in this arc, but still leagues ahead of any human characters in any other TF canon - and they only get better as it goes on. The Autobots they actually have contact with often talk to them through holograms of human drivers they generate to look like proper Earth vehicles, and this lends some sympathy to the characters - albeit with a creepy fixed smile for the first few issues until they are told it's freaking people out.
As for the plot, Starscream's band of Decepticons are on Earth undercover, exploiting a unique form of energon, the Transformers' power source. Keeping a very close eye on them is a small team of Autobots, also undercover, under the command of Prowl. When Verity, a young runaway, steals a PDA with information which could expose the Decepticons' operations, they step in to try and get it back. In the midst of them doing this and the Autobots trying to protect the humans without blowing their cover, an old power struggle is taken to the next level.
THE COMICS: Escalation
Escalation does exactly what it says on the tin. With both leaders now on Earth, the planet's strategic value has shot up. Megatron begins the next phase of the operation, exacerbating existing areas of conflict in order that the human population might wipe each other out. Meanwhile, the Autobots call in reinforcements and begin an investigation after one of their number, along with one of the humans, is captured by a secret MiB style organisation known as the Machination.
Art in both issues is superb. E.J. Su, new to illustrating Transformers comics, has done a very good job of re-imagining familiar characters into new but recognisable forms - for example, Jazz is no longer a 1982 Porsche 935 Turbo, instead becoming a 2006 Porsche 911 while still staying very recognisable. The characters are detailed, with feasible transformations and plenty of tech detail, but not so much as it obscures what's going on as the art in the Dreamwave days did.
Amongst all this in both arcs are so very many seeds of plots to come, little throwaway comments which link into the other comics or hint at potential future arcs. They don't get in the way and theydon't make you feel like you're missing out on something - instead, they do what they're supposed to and draw you into the world and make you wonder what is going to happen with such-and-such's troubled past - because seeing how Simon's plotted this universe so far, we most assuredly will find out at some point.
THE COMICS: Stormbringer and Spotlights
One of the most appealing things about IDW's series is how they've handled the other titles surrounding the main arcs. While Dreamwave tried to put out title after title of work, often churned out at a pretty low standard (Furman's series The War Within is an exception, being a well written and well drawn story of conflict in the early days of the war, millions of years before the Autobots and Decepticons came to Earth), IDW have chosen to put out smaller numbers of issues, which tie in with the main plotline while being completely standalone (and leaving the main arcs completely readable without them). They have so far taken the form of the Spotlights series, and the summer events.
The Spotlight series is a run of seven (so far, with two more in production) standalone issues, each a self-contained story focusing on a specific character. So far they have covered Shockwave, Nightbeat, Sixshot, Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, Soundwave and Kup, with issues covering Galvatron and Optimus Prime currently in the works. These tell an episode in the life of the character in question, over the course of a single issue. Their stories can be read alone, but their real strength comes when they are combined with the stories in the main titles. Hinting at things to come or shedding light on events passed, they enrich the universe in which the events are set in a very pleasing way. Some, such as Hot Rod's, occasionally come over as slightly superficial, but one has to take special mention.
Spotlight: Kup has to be one of the finest, if not the outright best single issue of any comic I've read. It tells the story of the grizzled, cynical, crotchety old veteran Kup stranded on a planet full of bizarre crystals. Attacked nightly by dark creatures, his sanity erodes as they start batttering away at his shelter and he begins having ghostly visitations. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say that the story is poignant, heartbreakingly tragic in places, and finishes with a climax which although it ties up the story, opens the door to all sorts of new possibilities. Kup is a fan favourite character, but even to new readers the cracking dialogue is captivating, and the emotion as Kup's dignity is stripped away as his sanity leaves him is palpable - he visibly turns from a hardened veteran into a weak, pathetic old man. All of this is perfectly illustrated in a dark and scratchy style by Nick Roche, who also takes writing credit for the only story so far in this universe that's not been written by Simon Furman.
The other titles IDW have done in this universe have been the summer events. Bridging the gaps between the releases of the two arcs of the main story, Stormbringer was released last summer, detailing the events taking place on the Transformers' home planet of Cybertron during the events of Infiltration. It tells the story of a dark horror from Cybertron's past, and an insane cult determined to resurrect it. With excellent dialogue and action scenes, and beautiful art from Don Figueroa, an artist discovered during the Dreamwave era and also responsible for the first arc of The War Within, it's got a survival horror theme with a dark, watercoloured visual that makes for a great action story. With Escalation just finished, IDW's summer solicitation for this year is a four-issue mini series focusing on the origins of the Decepticon leader, Megatron, and his rise to power. This should bridge the gap nicely until the autumn release of the third arc of the main continuity, Devastation.
RELEASES
The main downside to the IDW series recently has been its availability. I go to Forbidden Planet in Sheffield every Thursday, the day their comics stock is delivered, and they're often sold out by the time I get in at lunchtime. Also, at a cover price of £2.85, it can be a little steep for the casual collector. Trade paperbacks of Infiltration and Stormbringer have just been released, so they should become easier to get hold of, and there's always eBay, where I picked up the ones I've been missing at about the same price when you take into account shipping. Of course, people can always poke me to get a borrow of them too.
At any rate, that's my two penn'orth on the comic series that's taking up my pocket money these days. Like I said, I'd recommend at least a try, because for those people who like their comics and have a soft spot for that cartoon they saw on Saturday mornings - this ain't your daddy's Transformers. It's something altogether better.