RFC #1 redo: A FANBOY'S REVENGE

I've just finished my new RFC~ webcomic redo. I can't get it onto this blog but you can view it on my deviantart page here.

This isn't really how I feel about Shane, but it was very fun to do. Word on the grapevine is he's doing another Transformers book, and I'd bet my fanboy status that he's writing the Spotlight: Prowl coming out in April (and I'd also bet that Casey Coller's drawing it!). Anyway, enjoy ...

Posted by Fanbot at 6:05 pm, SUNDAY 10 January

Going Backwards - Spotlight: Cliffjumper review

Hi guys, I'm really sorry about the delay on posting but it's nearing Christmas and I'm flat out making  presents for the family. But here you go; a more in-depth review of Transformers Spotlight: Cliffjumper than the last one I did.

TRANSFORMERS: SPOTLIGHT: CLIFFJUMPER

Written by SHANE MCCARTHY

Art by ROBBY MUSSO

Colors by JOANA LAFUENTE

Covers by Musso, DON FIGUEROA, CASEY COLLER

SYNOPSIS: In the darkness, Cliffjumper speaks to an unknown being. Some time earlier, he crash landed on a planet and was attempting to make a transmitter to contact the Autobots when he was greeted by two natives. Kita and her younger brother Coll were orphaned when their parents died and struggle to maintain their family's farm. Others of their kind help out from a nearby settlement. After some introductions, Kita doesn't believe that Cliffjumper would hurt a fly, as hurting others is a great evil in her peoples' eyes. He hurriedly changes the subject and they later head to the farmhouse where Cliffjumper refuels on synthetic energon. He believes he will be there for awhile and suggests he help with Kita's farm. Time passes and the farm is now thriving. While Cliffjumper and Kita discuss flowers, a Decepticon ship flies overhead and lands near the farm where Coll is playing. They rush back to the farm, where the Decepticons are threatening Coll (who mistakes them for "Autosmots"). As they try to pry info out of Kita, Cliffjumper kills three of the landing party. They finally use her as bait to lure out Cliffjumper, and are surprised to learn he is but one Autobot. To humiliate him, they tell Kita that Cliffjumper is a killer who sabotaged a Decepticon ship. She is saddened and wishes to leave.

They let her go but only to shoot her in the back and then toss a bomb toward her and her brother. Cliffjumper uses his body to protect his friends and then rushes them to the barn. In the present, Cliffjumper consoles the dying Kita and tells Coll to stay with the body while he tends to his enemies. The Decepticons had called for backup, who chastises them when he finds out it was but one Autobot. However, when he figures out it is Cliffjumper, he quickly tells the team to arm themselves, but it is too late, as the furious Autobot unleashes on the 'Cons and destroys them all. Cliffjumper later plants a memorial for Kita, banging it down with the head of the 'Con who threatened Kita. He places her favorite flowers on the gravestone and sees to it that Coll is raised by a new family. He then takes off in the Decepticons' ship to rejoin his own family, the Autobots.

THE ART: I'm fairly new to the Transfandom and so have never seen Musso's other work (on Spotlight: Ultra Magnus), but from this issue I can see he is a very talented artist. The art is breathtaking and smooth, with every line looking like he spent an hour on it. The robots' facial expressions are very realistically done, which is something rarely seen in today's Transformers comics. I wasn't so sure about the anime facial styling on the flashlings, but. Joana Lafuente returns to her shiny, soft-light coloring style seen in Spotlight: Blurr and Maximum Dinobots3-5, and she does an excellent job at conveying the serene, anime-style environment of Kita and Coll's planet. I absolutely love the artwork and think the anime flair makes it interesting and different. An instant classic.

THE STORY:  Shane McCarthy again. Hmm. I'm a bit at odd for what to write for this one; sitting at my computer, the little blinking cursor mocks me; "What you gonna put? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Shut up, little cursor. Shane McCarthy has done a reasonable, though in no way perfect, story for us today. The plot is pretty standard -- a lone warrior (who turns out to be not all he seems) comes to a peaceful land to escape his enemies, and in doing so brings his war to the land. Nothing we haven't seen before, but McCarthy has made is unique enough to make the story enjoyable. I am still really annoyed that the awesomely cool internal monologues characteristic of Spotlights have disappeared. CJ only does this on the last page -- literally. The only place you find the int/monos is in Tales of the Fallen, and I don't even read that! The killing off of Kita borders on sentimentalism, and I think McCarthy shouldn't do this again. But I like it, kind of. The story flows well, and I like the idea that CJ is so feared by the Cons that a warlord and his unit are scared of him -- not to mention him slagging them all single-handed! The dialogue isn't very natural or smooth and seems very plot-driven. But I think Coll's rendition of "Autobots" is so cute! ("Autosmot." "Uh, don't touch that.")So, Spotlight: Cliffjumper's results overall:

ART RATING: 9 out of 10

STORY RATING: 7.5 out of 10

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10

FAVE QUOTE: Decepticon 1: Did you say "little red runt"?
Decepticon 2: Yeah, little red-
Decepticon 1: Small?
Decepticon 2: Yeah.
Decepticon 1: About so high?
Decepticon 2: Yeah.
Decepticon 1: Horns?
Decepticon 2: Yeah, but-
Decepticon 1: Arm yourselves! [The Cons slowly realize they are so dead.]

VERDICT: A reasonably-plotted story with purely breathtaking art that blew me away. Robby Musso and Joana Lafuente have really outdone themselves this time. An instant classic worth every cent. It's out in the All Hail Megatron Vol.3 TPB now. Next month: who knows? Stay tuned! Rated 8 out of 10.

Posted 9:53 pm, SATURDAY 19 December

Going Backwards - Spotlight: Blurr review

This Spotlight is a tad old and out of order for my Going Backwards reviews, but I still love it. Casey Coller rocks! And I think he's doing the upcoming Spotlight: Prowl in April. But anyway, onto the review of Transformers Spotlight: Blurr...

TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT: BLURR

Written by SHANE MCCARTHY

Art by CASEY COLLER

Colors by JOANA LAFUENTE

Covers by Coller, TREV HUTCHISON, GUIDO GUIDI

SYNOPSIS: Blurr, the best sportsbot on Cybertron, wins his latest race and sets a new track record. Though he’s barely aware of his assistants like Piston he and competitor Fasttrack are friendly enough to follow up the race by going to the Circle, the most exclusive club on Cybertron.

Outside a reporter asks him about the current political unrest but Blurr couldn’t care less. That is until a Decepticon terrorist attack destroys the main racing arena, resulting in Zeta Prime shutting down the races for good. An annoyed Blurr finds Piston (one of his race helpers) cleaning out his stuff, the worker having decided to join the Autobots. His efforts to persuade Blurr to join as well fall on deaf ears, as even without the races Blurr still has no shortage of parties to go to.
But the Circle is now deserted, with everyone either hiding or fighting. Without even his adoring crowds anymore Blurr seriously considers plugging into a addictive virtual reality device but is interrupted by the arrival of Starscream, who tries to persuade him to join the Decepticons.
Travelling home with much on his mind Blurr wanders into a firefight, where he finds Piston and Fasttrack -- now on different sides -- have killed one another. A young Autobot commander called Optimus approaches him and explains the group they were fighting were a Decepticon assassination squad out to kill Zeta Prime. Communications are being blocked and no one on Optimus’ team is fast enough to get to Zeta in time to warn him. After an impassioned speech about Blurr’s true nature the speedster decides to help, and races off to beat the Decepticons…

THE ART: Ah, Casey Coller. He was a complete newcomer to many TF fans who didn't read Mosaics. But his clean, simple style makes me feel tingly inside. The panels convey action well and you really get a feel of the moods in the story; the loud, strobe-lit bar looks alive and bustling, but when Blurr comes in during the fighting it feels really, really empty. It sent a little tingle up my spine when I read it. And although the inconsistencies of Cybertronian mode with Screamer and Warp annoy slightly (this issue takes place just after Megatron Origin), the designs for the characters look very cool and have obviously been well planned. Blurr's design in particular is very well done; his sleek body and Hermes-style helmet wings (or is this a pop culture reference to the Flash?) fit his racer personality perfectly. Damn you Figueroa, for making Blurr look like his Animated counterpart. And I love how she put lots of tiny cameos into the race scene; seen in the stands are (very hard to see); Blaster, Optimus, Jazz, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Starscream. Joana Lafuente does a beautiful job on coloring this baby up; her use of soft light and muted tones makes for excellent viewing. I almost hate her for changing her style to a more painted one, but it still retains her soft light look. Great job guys, I love it.

THE STORY: Shane McCarthy. Those two words can turn a room into a riot. His highly controversial and -- frankly -- very clunky writing makes for bad reading. But in this case the story is simple and good quality with interesting plot and great characterisation. I like McCarthy's portrayal of Blurr as an egotistical prick turned cheery good guy, and Ops' natural ability to inspire bots. The way Blurr talks to others and interacts with them makes it very clear what he thinks of them. Very cool. I like this one. So, Spotlight: Blurr's results overall:

ART RATING: 9 out of 10

STORY RATING: 7.5 out of 10

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10

VERDICT: A stunningly done issue that shows the beauty that Casey and Joana bring to the Transformes franchise. A true goldmine of wonderful art. Next review: who knows? Rated 8 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 12:09 pm, MONDAY 14 December

Going Backwards - All Hail Megatron #12 review

And so it ends ... well, at least until Coda and the ongoing series comes up. But for All Hail Megatron, the train stops at 12 issues. And what a wired journey it has been. A wonderful and intriguing strart quickly descended into a chaotic, inconsistent creative team that failed to impress at all. In the words of Christopher Lee; "let's see what the damage is..."

SYNOPSIS: A synopsis of this issue is available here at TF Archive.

THE ART: They've really done it this time. The creeative team really, really sucked in this issue. Guido for once does all the art, but the one man who has made this mess of a series bearable--Josh Burcham himself--has practically disappeared out of the issue. For the first 7 pages or so his awesome colors grace the pages (IDW previewed this to fool us into believing Josh was doing all of it, the deceitful skidplates), but then James Brown has to step in and completely ruin it with his sub-par coloring. He basically just does flat blocks that make Guidi's lines look messy and unprofessional. On top of that he makes loads of coloring errors--see errors section for the full story. So the art is terrible and frankly makes me sick. A despicable end. Good riddance to this issue.

THE STORY: I a rare display of half-decency, Shane doesn't actually do a bad job. Some good plot twists (Thundercracker saves the day!) and a story that feels reasonable. But Spike being a douchebag to the Autobots when they just saved NY from certain annihilation? Spike, you are a disrespectful spawn of a glitch. And Megs not killing Ops but leaving him to die (therefore not being able to confirm Op's death) is kinda creaky. And he killed off Hunter! I loved that guy. He was just starting to become an interesting character too. So for once, Shane McCarthy saves the day with this issue. But his convenient plot devices leave a bad taste in the mouth. Disappointing.

ERRORS:In the description of the Coda issues, #16 has Bumblebee's story as a second "Story 1" rather than "Story 2". Also, Guido Guidi is misspelled as "Guido Guido". When Prime talks to Spike on page 21, he's probably supposed to start with "Your people are free," not "Our people". James Brown continues to demonstrate his coloring fails by coloring the sides of Bumblebee's face yellow in one panel, making Thundercracker's vent-boobs boobs blue (they should be light grey), and Skywarp's vent-boobs dark grey (they should be light grey). Get it right, Brown.

FAVE QUOTE: Devastator: "No! You will not defeat Devastator! You are nothing!"
Omega Supreme: "Wrong. I am Omega Supreme!" [Omega gives his considerably more awsesome version of "I'm Batman."]

VERDICT: So, the damage is -- bad coloring, yucky messy art,  and even more convenient plot devices. Not better than last issue, but somehow more satisfying. But overall a sub-par end to what seemed to be a cool series. Next month: well, now it's on to reviewing all my old issues. See you soon. Rated 6 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 4:17 pm, TUESDAY 24 November

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron review

It's kinda warming to see my stack of posts for this month as I write. With the release of the Transformers #1 imminent I had to finish up my GBR reviews of All Hail Megatron. Here's Fanbot's gospel on the penultimate issue of AHM...

SYNOPSIS: A synopsis of this issue is available here at TF Archive.

THE ART: The art is good in the sense that Guido is finally back to drawing the comic solo, but atrocious with the art quality. On many pages Guido has done a horrible job of drawing. It looks like he did it in under an hour, like a speed drawing. This gets better toward the end, but it makes a good half of the issue an amateurish, simplistic eyesore. And Felix Serrano's awful fuzzy palette further destroys Guido's sub-part pages. Thankfully, his good pages are colored by savior Josh Burcham, who for the umpteenth time has pulled an AHM issue out of the dumps. But overall the art was a deep disappointment from a talented artist. Sad, so very sad.

THE STORY: Once again Shane McCarthy fails to impress with his creaky writing. The dialogue between Screamer and Megs, and Megs and Ops, feels clunky and unnatural. Meg's reasons for creating Devastator and the Cons doesn't seem very plausible. Feels extremely cliched and not real. Overall I'm very unsatisfied with this issue and hope to never see its like again. Though two solitary line in the issue is perhaps the best TF quote--EVER (see below).

ERRORS: Why is the plane (aka Tankor) carrying the nuke a propeller-driven one? Even the EU doesn't use these relics--they went out in the 50's and are little used anywhere. And why does Ops call out Meg's name from behind when he could have shot Megs in the back and be done with it? His "protect life" weakness strikes again? Lastly, when Dropshot reveals himself and starts destroying stuff, Hawke mistakenly gets a word bubble clearly meant for General Daniel Witwicky. ("Where else...")

FAVE QUOTE: Optimus Prime: Freedom is the right of all-"
Megatron: "Oh, SHUT UP."

VERDICT: Another disappointing instalment in what has become a half-assed, eyesore of a maxi series. Next month: Megs gets one hell of a headache, and the Autobots are saved by a broody Con. Rated 7 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 4:07 pm, FRIDAY 20 November

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #10 review

A shocking thing occurs in this issue--something actually happens! After five or so issues of pissing around doing bugger-all, Shane McCarthy finally gets the Autobots off Cybertron and the Cons fighting with each other in a poor attempt to tie up the series with what little time he has left. Read on, fans, for Fanbot's review of All Hail Megatron #10...

SYNOPSIS: A synopsis of this comic is available here at TF Archive. Sorry, it's just too much to fit into one review and let's face it, you don't really want to read that much, do you?

THE ART: I'm in two minds about this issue. For the first thirteen and last four pages the art are great--Guido is back with Emil and their art styles don't clash at all. The fact that Emil did sequences on a totally different location makes the creative team slip less blatantly obvious (a la issue 9). And because Josh Burcham colors both artist's lines, the transition is almost seamless. But for pages 14-19, TF Ongoing colorist James Brown (whose colors leave something to be desired) has to step in and screw it up with his fluro, badly-Fotoshopped background colors. The art looks terrible and ruins the issue for me. But wait, there's more!

THE STORY: Shane has outdone himself this time. The story is perhaps the worst seen in this franchise . Once again Shane gives an extremely convenient plot device--Omega Supreme, a thousand times bigger than in Spotlight: Optimus Prime, swoops in and slags the Swarm. WTF??? And the dialogue between Screamer and Megs on Earth is clunky and unrealistic. The good thing about comics is that the character are always good actors, but these two sound like they're improvising like in those cartoons where the goodies try to trap the baddies by speaking very unconvincingly. This is a big disappointment Shane, you have let the fans down with this one.

ERRORS: On the inner cover, "grisly" is misspelled "grizzly". On page 10, Scavenger's chinplate is purple like the rest of his face when it should be silver. In All Hail Megatron issue 8, the point of Sunstreaker's bridge-detonating sacrifice was that it destroyed "the only way to and from" the Autobots' bunker. Yet now Kup says that the Insecticons have "found their way around as expected." Worse, Emiliano Santalucia accidentally drew the Swarm crossing... a bridge. Doesn't that kinda make Sunstreaker's sacrifice for absolutely nothing?! What the hell?

FAVE QUOTE: Wheeljack: "[This gun] was never designed to be removed from the Trion so the power relay is bound to fry in seconds. You'll only have a few shots, so make them count."
Roadbuster: "Do you think we should give it a name? I think we should give it a name..." [Roadbuster reminds us of his mad love of blowing slag up.]

VERDICT: Even worse than last issue, which is saying a lot. James Brown ruined it with his amateur colors. Next month: Next stop, Earth! Rated 6.5 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 4:09 pm, THURSDAY 19 November

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #9 review

I really liked this series when it started off. Good art, great colors and a reasonable story that made me want more. With this issue, however (though Trev Hutchison's cover, shown left, is pretty awesome) the cool professional creative team is flushed down the crapper. Read on for Fanbot's views on the decidedly sub-par All Hail Megatron #9 ...

Synopsis: A synopsis of this issue is viewable here at TF Archive.com. I'm sorry but there's just too much info to fit into one article. Maybe next time.

THE ART: This issue is a very big disappointment and shows the lack of organisation that the creative team has. Intstead of Guido, we get Emiliano Santalucia and Robert Deas. Now I have no objection to Emil--his art is well-drawn and, though smoother than Guidi's, still serves the purpose very well. But for the sequences on Earth, I feel extremely let down. Robert Deas is really bad at drawing Transformers. His computer generated look completely jars with anything we've seen before and he could use some work on his figure drawing skills. And he frankly just SUCKS at drawing Transformers. I'm an amateur who's been drawing TFs for two years, and I can do better!

THE STORY: Once again, this is where the writing standard goes seriously downhill. The story is very clunky and feels like a badly edited video. A human-sized gun capable of taking out a Transformer? Goodbye reasonable plot, hello TF pwnage! I know that they got it from Shockwave, and the barrel is the right size but the power pack is piddly and wouldn't be able to power it. And Optimus Prime is back, fully revitalised. I'm glad this has happened but really? Ratchet got him back in an issue when he's just spent the past half of the series standing around. Here's where Shane uses his convenient plot devices to the extreme. Disappointing.

FAVE QUOTE: Spike: "You know what I hate? Button flies. I swear I could SEW a whole pair ... in the time it takes me to do these up." [Spike discusses his crotch problems with two complete strangers (one a girl!)]

VERDICT: A disappointing issue that fails to impress. I'm depressed. Next month: Something finally happens! And Omega Supreme turns up. Rated 7.5 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 4:11 pm, WEDNESDAY 18 October

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #8 review

I'm kinda eating my web words right now. I declared, at the start of Going Backwards Reviews, that I'f have AHM wrapped up and fully reviewed by the time Transformers #1 came out. It comes out tomorrow! Slag, it's gone fast ain't it? One minute we're passing the halfway point on AHM, and all of a sudden Transfans are sitting on the cusp of a new era! But anyway, onto the review of All Hail Megatron #8...

Synopsis: Sunstreaker was been separated from Hunter, but was clearly traumatised and refused Ratchet’s request to see the human. The present: On Cybertron, Kup chews out Ironhide for attacking Mirage, but also explains the frustration he feels about not seeing this betrayal coming. As they finish, the group is suddenly attacked by the Swarm and flee once more.
On Earth, the Reflector robots have fun dissecting some humans as Starscream approaches the Insecticons to both apologise for the behaviour of the other Seekers and sound them out about the potential of moving against Megatron.
On Cybertron, Kup has set up explosives along the route they’re following that Perceptor detonates to destroy a bridge they are crossing and slow the pursuit down. The place where Kup’s team had set up their base is accessible by only one bridge, so doing the same trick there will give them a degree of breathing space. But after the Swarm injures Perceptor they are left with no one with a gun capable of detonating the explosives. As they debate this Ironhide suddenly notices Sunstreaker is gone…
On Earth, Starscream talks to a mysterious stranger about how his plans are ready to be set in motion.
Back on Cybertron, Ironhide finds Sunstreaker has gone to the explosives on the bridge and is preparing to detonate them. He explains that it was him all along that betrayed the Autobots. He did a deal with Starscream where the Autobots would ambush Megatron alone and kill him in exchange for the Autobots letting the Decepticons have Earth, and thus doing what Sunstreaker wants most, killing all the humans. Ironhide is shocked but can’t react further as the Swarm attack them. Drift appears and saves Ironhide, leaving Sunstreaker to detonate the bombs, blowing up himself, the bridge and the Swarm in range. As Ironhide recovers in a medical bay, Drift points out to him Sunstreaker couldn’t have given the Decepticons the codes they used to defeat the Autobots. They must have had more help.
On Earth, Bombshell watches over his captive, Hunter O’Nion, plugged right into the Decepticon computer…

THE ART: Guido Guidi kicks his art quality up three of four notches with this issue. The lines (partially inked by John Wycough) are simple and elegant, the extra grittiness adding the mood of disarray on Cybertron. The death scene of Sunstreaker and his flashbacks with Screamer are extremely well done, and it reads like a well-shot movie. Very good. Josh Burcham does his usual amazing job on the colors, putting lots more grit and flecks into the art which looks plain cool. The sole art disappointment is Kris Carter.  I have nothing against him, and I love his colors, but he just shouldn't be here. His coloring style totally uglifies Guidi's work and the tones do not suit the comic's mood at all. Big annoyance for me.

THE STORY: This is probably the last issue where Shane actually does a very decent job. The story has good pace and flows pretty well. it doesn't feel clunky or unrealistic and the events/ dialogue make it very clear (though in a subtle way) that the Decepticons are getting ... well, bored of winning. Reflector tears some humans up but gets little satisfaction. Starscream finally starts his usual plotting against Megs, with the Insecticons of all bots. There's a movie-esque car chase scene, and Sunstreaker being the traitor seems to fit. His reasons were not evil; I'd do the same thing if all it would cost is one world (Yes, Earth included).  So a misguided traitor. Good job ShaneI applaud you ... for perhaps the last time on this blog. For the rest of AHM, it's all downhill.

ERRORS: The speech letters on the first page are a size or two too small, which is kinda weird. No veritable explanation is forthcoming from IDW.

FAVE QUOTE: Ironhide: "You tryin' to get yourself killed?!"
Sunstreaker: "Yes." [It was a rhetorical question, Sunstreaker!]

VERDICT: A well-crafted and excellently written issue. Unfortunatley, it won't last very long. Next month: the creative team falls apart! Guido leaves and is replaced with Emiliano Santalucia and a guy who just can't draw Transformers. Rated 8.5 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 4:03 pm, TUESDAY 17 November

Going Backwards - Spotlight: Drift review

Hello again, my nonexistent fans. Fanbot will not piss around here. Let's get straight into Fanbot's dissection of Spotlight: Drift...

SYNOPSIS: In a bar on an alien planet, a clocked figure buys access to the local spaceship-docking platform on the black market. The seller warns him the ship he wants is Cybertronian and they’re a species best avoided, but is then shocked when she touches the buyer’s arm, realising that it’s metal and that he must be a Transformer as well.
The disguised Transformer is Drift, and the ship a Decepticon one carrying prisoners. Using the access codes and his own ninja skill, he manages to get onboard unseen. Such subtlety is wasted however when the Wreckers, led by Kup, just blast their way in through the side.
On the bridge, Commander Turmoil is alerted to the breech and instantly knows it can only be Kup. Below decks, Drift fights alongside the Wreckers, with Perceptor being incredibly impressed by his recently upgraded body. Drift tells Kup he has also come to rescue the Autobot prisoners, and leads them straight to the cells where the captives, a mixture of Wreckers and regular Autobots are held.
Perceptor keeps the Decepticons out by scrambling their locking system, but Turmoil simply blasts through both the door and Perceptor. Drift rushes Turmoil in an attempt to retrieve the fallen Autobot, but only succeeds in being recognised as the former Decepticon Deadlock. Turmoil then blasts through the floor with such force that both Drift and Kup are knocked to the floor below. After recovering from their fall, Kup reveals he knows Deadlock by reputation, and that he killed a lot of Autobots. He then adds that in the early days of the war there was a third faction who refused to take sides and left Cybertron never to be heard from again. The design of Drift’s sword suggests he found them. Drift agrees and explains that the consequence of that meeting led to him leaving the Decepticons and changing his outlook on life. Kup acknowledges the importance of second chances, and Drift offers to help him blow up the ship. He knows how as he used to be Turmoil’s second in command.
Soon they have reached the engine room and rigged it to explode, but are interrupted by an angry Turmoil. Drift pushes Kup out of the ship to safety, and the two former colleagues fight. Drift soon succeeds in pinning Turmoil to the wall and gives him a lecture on how much both sides have degraded each other. He then proves how much of a better person he is than Turmoil by not killing him personally, instead leaving him to die in a massive explosion instead. Before the detonation, Drift rescues Perceptor and gets out just in time. As the Wreckers head back to the Trion, Kup offers Drift both Autobot membership and the chance to join a new team he’s putting together, despite Springer’s misgivings. Drift accepts.

THE ART: The art. Hmm. Where does Fanbot start in his review of the art? I know, I'll start at the beginning, with Casey Coller's lineart The art is simple and serves the purpose well, albeit Coller could do with some facial lessons. Not quite dull surprise (that would be downright insulting), but not very expressive either. The panels flow well and he draws the 'bots very well, but there's virtually no different tier angles than 90 degrees. The fight scenes don't look very dynamic and this kinda makes them seem dull, which is a pity since Casey did a very good job of Drift fighting Turmoil. New girl Joana Lafuente uses a new, flatter, softer coloring style than her previous shiny glowy one used on the AHM covers. Personally Fanbot thinks it fits in with the comic's brooding, almost Alien-ish feel to it. So all in all the art is reasonably well done. Feedback to Coller: be more expressive and put more dynamics into your fight scenes. That is all. You have done very well overall.

THE STORY: For once, I have nothing bad to say against Shane McCarthy's writing. The story is credible enough with no annoying convenient events that prop the story up. The plot flows like a well-made action movie and is satisfying to read. That's right, I positively loved it! Very good, Mr McCarthy, very good indeed. The Aussie done well!

FAVE QUOTE: Kup: "Deadlock."
Drift: "I don’t go by that name anymore."
Kup: "That’s helpful, considering Deadlock happened to have slaughtered quite a lot of Autobots." [Drift changes his name and presto! He's an Autobot.]

VERDICT: Shane McCarthy does a good comic. Not an oxymoron apparently. In all areas a great comic that's worth buying. Rated 9 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 4:17 pm, MONDAY 16 November

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #7 review

Welcome back! I'm feeling slightly depressed as of now - virtually no-one has found this site and my follower Shadow has dropped off the face of the Earth. So here's my review of All Hail Megatron #7, even though no-one's reading... (BTW Trev's cover is just so cool I just had to make it exta big).

SYNOPSIS: Before: On Cybertron, scientist Deluge has created the Swarm, nearly three thousand twisted deformed Decepticons, in the hope of producing the perfect breeding ground for evil genius. Though Thundercracker is unhappy at the treatment of fellow Decepticons it has produced one notable success, in Bombshell. Megatron takes the new Transformer to meet someone … Now: On Cybertron, the Autobots race to find a more secure base before the Swarm find them. As they travel, Jazz explains how they came to their current predicament. Having both Prime and Megatron on Earth had resulted in a stalemate, with the Decepticons eventually vanishing from sight. Eventually the Autobots received word via Mirage that Starscream had made a power play resulting in a broken split force. Preparing a raid on what they expected to be a small group of ‘Cons, Optimus lead his troops into a textbook ambush by the full Decepticon force. Despite this, they managed to hold their own until Devastator tipped the balance, resulting in everyone falling and Megatron taking the Matrix.
Kup interrupts the story to order a brief rest, allowing Sideswipe to get Sunstreaker alone. He tries to persuade his teammate that he and Ironhide need to leave Mirage alone as it’s ripping the team apart. He then tries to talk to him about his terrible experience as a Headmaster, but Sunstreaker  brushes him off.

Jazz continues recounting to Kup, explaining that after they were defeated Megatron gloatingly told them that the Autobots had been betrayed by a traitor within their own ranks. After breaking them with this news, the Autobots were forced into a Space Bridge to Cybertron with the intent of them being fed to the Swarm, but last man in Prime did something that destroyed the Bridge but badly damaged him as he was thrown through. This effectively left the Autobots trapped on Cybertron.
As this conversation continues, Sunstreaker angrily tells Ironhide how Sideswipe has told them to back off. This so outrages the security chief that he goes off to where Mirage is standing alone and starts arguing with him. Though Mirage protests he’d reported the information in good faith, Ironhide refuses to believe him and beats him to the ground.

THE ART: Guido Guidi does his usual great job on the art, and captures the tense mood of Ironhide beating the crap out of Mirage (nice reference to the G1 cartoon with the "blame Mirage" affair). But the absolute star of this issue (sorry Burcham, it was close) was prolific E J Su. His flashback scenes are just beautiful. I've never thought about it before but I miss his complex, lots-of-hatching style. The shot of Megs ripping the Matrix from Prime's chest is just fraggin' exquisite! Kinda reminiscent of his shot of Megs standing over Prime in Escalation. Josh Burcham, I love you. Your colors are amazing, and take Guidi's and Su's lineart to a higher level of existence. Well done all around. I'm extremely satisfied with this issue and would have paid more than what I got for it happily ... OK, maybe not.

THE STORY: Shane's story is good enough--any writer who puts an obscure G2 character like Deluge (pictured left) knows something about what he's doing. But there are a lot of little details that make the story a bit incredible. Jazz says the storms on Cybertron are getting better and they can walk around normally, albeit in pain (remember Cybertron is a metal wasteland with electrical storms abundant). This is highly convenient for the Autobots as they arrive on Cybertron just as the storms stop. This one I'm prepared to take, but all the earth-bound Autobots going into a steep, enclosed canyon is just nuts! I mean come on, Shane McCarthy, do you actually think us Transfans are that stupid? It's like something out of the G1 cartoon. Not good. But if you ignore these, and you can with reasonable and surprising ease, then the story is very well done and makes me want more. But Fanbot is easy to please, as regular viewers will know.

ERRORS: Josh Burcham mixes up Skywarp and Thundercracker's colors in panel 1 of page 2. TC's on the left in panel 1 but in the rest of the page he's on the right. Honest mistake. In Su's flashbacks, Cliffjumper is missing his chequerboard patterns that go on the sides of his forearms.

FAVE QUOTE: Skywarp: "Hey. [Megatron] knows what he's doing."
Thundercracker: "That's what bothers me." [It's taken TC how long to figure out he's on the wrong side?]

VERDICT: a well-executed though slightly clumsy exposition of how the Autobots got the crap beaten out of them. E J Su's return is a definite win for AHM. Next month: Sunstreaker dies! And Bombshell begins to doubt his creator. Rated 8 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 3:37 pm, MONDAY 16 November

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #6 review

Welcome back to Going Backwards reviews, and the illustrious Fanbot apologizes to you, his viewers, for not posting a GBR review in such a long time. For those of you who have just joined us, we're up to issue 6 of the controversial All Hail Megatron. Let's dive in without further ado, shall we?

Synopsis: On Cybertron, Kup and Jazz discuss both the loss of the Matrix and the way the Decepticons broke their computer codes to bring their systems down. However, Kup’s attempt to take leadership of the group and exert his authority over Jazz creates a rift between them.
In Israel, Megatron surveys the devastation and recalls a conversation he had with Starscream where the Air Commander gloatingly points out that winning is the worst thing the Decepticons could have done as they now have no purpose and have beaten the only worthy foes they are ever likely to have. He points out the entire attack on Earth is little more than a distraction to keep the troops busy.
This seems to be born out in Beijing, where an argument erupts between Skywarp and Bombshell that nearly turns into a full fight between the Insecticons and the Seekers. Even after the Insecticons have been driven off, Skywarp and Thundercracker argue over the latter’s lack of interest in carnage.
Back on Cybertron, Kup decides not to tell the others about the Matrix as they need the unity of faith in it brings. He also decides to use the Energon left over from the Trion to fix Prime. Outside their base, Ironhide is about to broach the idea of dealing with Mirage to Roadbuster when they are disturbed by a member of the Swarm – part of a vast army of Insecticon clones that had been dumped on Cybertron as a failed experiment that only produced three useful Transformers. Perceptor and Drift take care of it before it can bring others, but Kup decides they’re too exposed and prepares everyone to move.
In France, a meeting of representatives of the major world governments leads to the decision to destroy New York.

THE ART: Well, the art is still very well done. I'm pleasantly satisfied with Guidi's lines. The action is well-set out with good pace, and the picture in picture device of Megs beating the slag out of Israeli military (so much for the greatest army in the world) looks almost weird next to the cold and quiet flashbacks of Megs and Screamer talking. Very well done. I especially like the scene with Skywarp (love that guy) and the Insecticons, the art is probably the best there. Josh Burcham, as always, is just truly awesome at his coloring duties. The moods are conveyed to perfection; Earth's bleached, sun-drenched chaos and Cybertron's gritty, grey disarray. Exquisitely done.

THE STORY: Shane, being the unpredictable Aussie that he is, actually does quite a good job with this issue. The pace starts to pick up--not much, but enough--and the story flows well with good use of sequence and panels. Woah, I actually find myself thanking him for this issue (cue ripping of the fabric of universe).

ERRORS: This first error is kinda weird. The flashback sequences of Megs are extremely inconsistent: Meg's helmet is drawn in some panels in the normal, G1 way, but in others it is drawn in Guidi's more bevelled, less smooth style. Why? On page 8, Shrapnel is to Kickback's left at first, but on the next panel he is suddenly to Kickback's right. On page 12, the word "feuds" is misspelled "fueds" twice. Page 12 also sees a tense error: the feud is meant to be in the possible future, yet 'gave' is used rather than 'give'.

VERDICT: very well done, a well-crafted issue. The Megs' helmet thing niggles and annoys though. Good job all round. Rated 8.5 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 6:34 pm, THURSDAY 12 November

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #5 review

Hi everybody, we're back with another instalment of your favorite show article: Going Backwards reviews! This week, your host Fanbot brings you thoughts on IDW's Transformers: All Hail Megatron #5. No messing around now, let's just get straight into the review...

Synopsis: ot Rod is brought back to the others and explains to Jazz how his team, lead by Kup on the Starship Trion, followed a Decepticon battle cruiser into a trap in orbit of Cybertron and were shot down when the Decepticons were able to penetrate their ship's systems. Once they crashed they expected to be followed or for the Swarm to turn up and so they hid, trying their best to conserve Energon whilst Hot Rod rigged a distress signal. His story finished, Kup and the other crew members arrive.
Outside New York, Colonel Witwicky’s son Spike arrives at the army camp. His father explains that the Decepticons are beginning to attack the rest of the country and the United Nations are getting nervous so America needs to solve this problem before the world starts to take extreme measures that could cost millions of lives. By studying Decepticon broadcasts they know Megatron is the leader and his death would leave the others directionless. Spike is to lead a team into New York and use a new weapon that was stored in the City to try to kill Megatron.
On Cybertron, Kup is unconvinced by Jazz’s leadership, but the head of Special Ops proves his worth as a rational leader by beating up Springer and Blurr. He then takes Kup to Prime.
Spike and his team try to cross the river into New York but barely get halfway before Ratbat seemingly kills all of them, leaving the Colonel broken.
Jazz explains to Kup that Prime was wounded by Devastator and is dying. Kup is able to guess what Jazz and Prowl have been keeping from the others; Megatron has the Matrix.
On Earth, Megatron gloats over his prize amongst the newly constructed buildings in New York, whilst by the river Spike has somehow survived and made it to the other side.

The Good: ART: Guido Guidi, you are slagging awesome (Casey looked good for his four pages too, but you can't beat the Gui.). The thick, bold lines, blocks of shadow, and gritty texture convey the, well, gritty, mood of the story. In contrast, sequences on Earth seem slightly smoother, as some order (of the Decepticon kind) is present. Josh's toned-down, expressive color palette enhances the artwork to new levels of beauty. COVER: Shown above, Trevor Hutchison's variant cover for the issue is pretty damn awesome, with the standoffish-looking Jazz and Kup standing as if from either sides of a duelling field. Notice that Jazz is black and Kup is white. This alludes to their (G1 cartoon) personalities. Very clever on all levels. STORY: Shane's plot is adequately believable and relatively straightforward. Shane, was going awesome up till now. See below...

The Bad: Here is where the story's reasoning goes a bit downhill. The super-weapon that just happened to be in NY and conveniently didn't get damaged in the Decepticons' totall pwning of the city? A little too convenient for it to be realistic. But then there's a whole lot of these when we read McCarthy's work. Also, the Autobots on the shuttle feel any damage inflicted on the ship as pain through their plug-in piloting system. That’s a tad daft dontcha think? An even though Megatron claimed to have conquered the entire Earth last issue. Colonel Witwicky here talks in terms of a solely American invasion, with the other world powers all ready to nuke America.

The Ugly: See above for all the uglies.

Verdict: The story starts to go downhill from here, but i still relatively believable and the art, as usual, is awesome. A well-executed issue, worth my money. Rated 8.5 out 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 4:28 pm, WEDNESDAY 14 October

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #4 review

All Hail Megatron #4. Even though this is Going Backwards reviews, we actually get somewhere with issue 4! Two pages of Megs giving a (load of crap) propaganda speech, and then a whole issue of dejected Cybertron-marooned Autobots hiding from something, ending with another Autobot party joining with theirs. Let's jump into the review, and see what lies beneath.

Synopsis:Megatron has not only successfully conquered Earth, but Decepticon teams throughout the Galaxy have finally defeated the Autobot resistance.

On Cybertron, a petulant Ironhide is arguing with Prowl over there being a traitor in their midst, and even winds up punching his superior. Though Jazz calms the situation down, he and Prowl know that without more Energon, Optimus will soon die and that will be the end for them all.

In The Deserted City, Wheeljack and Bumblebee are searching for new Energon sources, but with no luck. They soon realise they are being watched, and use Wheeljack's new distress signal to get around the communication interference on the planet to call for help. Back at their base, Ironhide and Cliffjumper set out, leaving a reluctant Sunstreaker behind to keep an eye on the Autobot he believes betrayed them.

Within their new hiding home on Earth, the late Andy's group of survivors are falling apart without leadership. Sarah confront Bridge and makes him realise he needs to assume the leadership role.

On Cybertron, Ironhide and Cliffjumper take down the watching observer, only to find it's Hot Rod. He and some others were shot down over Cybertron some time ago and have been awaiting rescue - he's so glad someone has received their distress call and come looking for them...

The Good: Art: once again Guido has done an exquisit job on the artwork. The lines are clear with strong bold shapes giving emphasis. His shadowy style complements the grim, despairing tone of the Autobots' situation. Josh uses his coloring prowess to great effect, the gritty, sometimes colorful sometimes dull colors enhancing the comic's mood. His sequence with Wheeljack and Bumblebee on patrol looks awesome. Story: Shane is still going strong with the plot, though a couple discrepancies mar the plot as usual. The storytelling is well-executed. Good job guys.

The Bad: Guido's art has slipped ever so slightly since issue 3. The lines are more grainy and thick, though this only happens in patches. Sunstreaker's head chevrons are the wrong shape, and although they're changed in a coupla issues, they didn't have them like that on the Universe toy. What the slag (Should this go under "The Ugly"?)? uh, nothing else to report.

The Ugly: How come the Autobots are walking around Cybertron as happy as can be when, as of Thunderwing's assault, Cybertron is uninhabitable due to electrical storms that cause stasis lock, and gravity six G's below normal? As of AHM issue 7 it's explained that the planet is all better, but Jetfire said in Stormbringer that Cybertron was healing, "albeit on a cosmic timescale". Kinda convenient that it's all better now. But anyway ... also, in the Autobot group shot on page 8, Mirage and Trailbreaker have a funny perspective thing going on: Mirage's upper body is behind Trailbreaker's, but his feet are in front, and neither of them are turning or twisting any part of themselves to accommodate such positioning.

Verdict: An exquisitely executed issue on all accounts, Guido and Josh being the stars of the team. Second best of the series so far. Rated 9 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 12:42 pm, SATURDAY 10 October

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #3 review

By Primus! Three issues into AHM and we've only just started October. This is, as you will no doubt know if you've been paying attention, is the last month before IDW kicks off its ongoing TF series. So I have to shift my arse
or we'll still be halfway through Going Backwards reviews when issue 1 comes out! So read on, for the gospel of Fanbot on All Hail Megatron #3 (BTW: Trev's cover is awesome! Starscream's silhouette looks pretty cool doncha think?).

Synopsis: Within days of the first attack, New York is now completely under the control of the Decepticons. Human survivors huddle in subway stations, but Astrotrain is making his way through them killing all he finds.
Outside the attack area, Colonel Witwicky is told the attacks are spreading to other parts of the country. With the Navy also taken out, he is already desperate when he learns that Air Force One has been shot down in Washington.
This act was carried out by Starscream, who upon returning to the Decepticons base in the ruins of New York, earns some rare praise from Megatron. The two gloat over the fact that the defeat of the Autobot resistance was achieved by a traitor they hadn't expected. Meanwhile, Hook begins planning the rebuilding of New York into a new base.
Andy and Bridge are also hiding with people in a subway, but Andy's Air Force training means they're much better supplied and defended than the others. This means when Astrotrain arrives most of the refugees are able to flee, but Andy himself seemingly falls to a killer blow from the Decepticon...

The Good: Guidi's and Josh collaboration on the artwork seems to reach a peak with this issue. Lines are well-executed and convey action very well - first scene of the despairing refugees getting slagged by Astrotrain is very well done; rough shadowy lines combine with gritty colors to make the despair horrible clear. Good explosions by Josh as well. Best art of the series so far. Shane actually made Guido do this so I guess he's done all right. Brave thing killing off Andy like that, but far from surprising. Why the slag do all you fans hate the humans? I find their characters interesting, and if nothing else they give some sense of scale to the Bots. But anyway. Shane has done good - for now anyway...

The Bad: Why kill off Andy? Why kill him off when he's apparently looking out for the late DJ's girl Meg? I mean Shane spends a page telling us all this and then kills the damn guy off. What the slag? Um, nothing else really, the issue was pretty well done, as I said before.

The Ugly: Dan Witwicky is named as a commander in this issue but as a general in previous issues. This was later changed back to general, making commander an error. The subways are awfully well lit for a place in a town without power. Finally, Andy mistakes Ravage for a mechanical dog. I know Ravage's body is a bit generic in terms of shape, but anybody with even basic animal knowledge could see Ravage was some kind of cat! Stupid Andy.

Verdict: Very well done in terms of art, colors, story; well done on everything really. Coupla discrepancies but nothing major. Best issue so far. Rated 9.75 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 10:07 am, FRIDAY 9 October

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #2 review

Transformers: All Hail Megatron #2 goes under the Fanbot microscope today, courtesy of Going Backwards reviews. First off, Trev Hutchison's cover, shown left. Trev is a masterful cover artist with great symbolic talent. Not exactly sure of the exact symbolism for this one, but Megs looks very important and dominant while the humans are all out en force but are still puny compared to him. Anyway, it looks awesome. On to the review...

Synposis: At a house party being thrown by his wife, Colonel Danny Witwicky is startled by the arrival of a helicopter with orders to take him to New York and take command of an emergency there. Within the City, Andy Reid has survived the crash of his F-22 and is being chased by Ravage. Teaming up with a woman named Sarah and a man called Bridge, they manage to escape the Decepticon with the aid of a Molotov cocktail and a sturdy door.
As Colonel Witwicky arrives at the field headquarters he learns the robots are assembled in Central Park and orders the assembled nearby troops to attack whilst he is briefed on the situation. The troops think the four visible robots will be easy to deal with, until Megatron sends just Frenzy to attack them with his ultra sonic frequencies. As the Colonel finishes learning that the robots who caused so much trouble last year were aliens rather than terrorists, he is informed that all the soldiers have been killed.

Andy and company try their best to get out of New York, but the tunnels and bridges are blocked. This turns out to be a good thing for them as the Seekers destroy the bridges whilst Laserbeak relays the images to the world. Then the Constructicons form Devastator, who wades into the Hudson River and delivers a punch that destroys the tunnels, with thousands of fleeing people in them...

The Good: Guido's art is clear and simplistically realistic, with large shadowy areas adding realism to the panels. His new, kibble-free rendition of Devastator is extremely awesome, and Jish Burcham's washed out, warm color paletter enhances and complements Guidi's art very well. Shane's writing seems to be going well, the action sequences and shock technique of Devastator smashing the water is cool.  Well done team, things are going well. Too bad the rest of the series went downhill.

The Bad: On several pages, Guidi's inks look very poorly scannes, grainy and yuck. Not sure if this is his own fault or the fault of the printers, but it is a bit of a disappointment. Once again with Shane, the story has little substance, other than "Cons smash stuff up and kill people". Many said that issues 1-3 could have been squeezed into one issue, and I have to agree. This is nothing new for those of us who have read to whole series.

The Ugly: Hook doesn't know who Frenzy is, despite having met him back in Megatron Origin and both of them being two of the earliest Decepticons. That is all.

Verdict: Awesomely done artwork from Guido and Josh, as usual. Sub-par story from Shane, as usual. But much better than last issue. Rated 8.5 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 1:49 pm, SUNDAY 4 October

Going Backwards - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #1 review

And so it begins ... welcome back to Going Backwards reviews, where those of you too slagging lazy to dig out your old issues to go over past events. This week I present to you my gospel on All Hail Megatron #1. This issue divided the fandom in half, some loving, some hating. I loved it. It amazed and shocked me. And by the way, I'm doing these more often than once a week as it's getting very close to November and I need to review everything before the ongoing kicks off in about six weeks. So read on.

Synopsis: One year after the events of Devastation, a quiet day in New York is interrupted by the arrival of the Constructicons. The locals assume a movie is being filmed, until the Constructicons start blasting people.They are soon joined by Starscream and the Seekers who add to the destruction. Starscream's gloating over his superiority to Megatron is disturbed by the arrival of his leader, who shows how hardcore he is by destroying a skyscraper.
At a nearby USAF base a squadron of pilots is launched, though they don't believe in the reports of giant alien robots until they see them with their own eyes. Megatron and the other Decepticons make fast work of them.
On Cybertron a depressed and battered group of Autobots watch over a badly wounded Optimus Prime.

The Good:  Well, let's start with the art. Guido Guidi on lines with Josh Burcham coloring. Guidi's simplistic yet well-drawn style collaborates with Josh's amazing bright though washed out colors to convey the shocking, almost surreal mood. Shane McCarthy's writing talent (or lack of, some might say) is shocking and intrigues the reader to read more. The silent sequence of the Autobots watching over their battered leader needs no words. There is a distinct sense of despair and tension in the panels. Very well done. The Megs-Screamer dialogue is very funny and evocative of each character - Starscream sucking up to Megs while subtly mocking him, Megs answering coldly and blowing lots of stuff up. Very cool.

The Bad: Not much bad stuff here. But the issue doesn't have a lot of stuff. Looks more like a preview than an actual issue. Kinda like Infiltration #0. All it does is show us what will happen for the next 11 issues. Not very exciting. Shane says the first issue was meant to "ask questions, not answer them. Hmmm...

The Ugly: In the flashback panel on page 1, Jazz is missing his car doors on his forearms. It doesn't appear to be battle damage, and he has them later on in the present. Remember those big public Transformers battles and that giant dinosaur robot stomping around in broad daylight? Well, the people of America don't. The Air Force squadron say they thought the Decepticons were a hoax, though whether they meant the Decepticons in general—whom the Air Force have seen and bombed—or this specific attack is unclear. Neither makes much sense. Next issue reveals that the Transformers were public knowledge, but everyone believes they were tools for a terrorist group, which means the Air Force thinking they were a hoax and the people of NYC not recognizing them with fear makes even less sense. In the real world continuity family, there is no such rank as "commander" in the United States Air Force. Shane McCarthy is Australian, and their national air force has a "wing commander" rank, so that might be a real-life explanation for the existence of the rank in this continuity. This is not the first time this has happened. DJ has a "soul patch" beard, which, in the real world continuity family, is not allowed for U.S. military pilots.

Verdict: Very interesting, but the overall story has little substance to it which doesn't satisfy. The art makes up for this though - Guidi's silent ending sequence is totally awesome. Rated 8 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 9:33 pm, FRIDAY 2 October

The return of SHANE McCARTHY!

For the first time in about two months, AHM writer Shane McCarthy has updated his blog, saying he is currently working on a miniseries for IDW "of the Transformer kind". This no doubt will cause a great stir in the fandom. Will he do better than last time, what with the continuity errors, inconsistencies and unexplained events that made up All Hail Megatron?

Stay tuned to Big Small Comix.com for more on this as it comes. This fan will certainly be watching Shane to see if he can do better.  And also, after Saturday there may be a slight delay on posts. If I don't post in a week, wait a couple more and I'll soon be back up and posting like there's no tomorrow. See you soon.

Posted by Fanbot at 4:53 pm, WEDNESDAY 24 September

And so it ends - Transformers: All Hail Megatron #12 review

This series has received the widest spectrum of reviews from Tformers fans. The writer - Aussie Shane McCarthy - said himself, "I knew from day one this was going to piss some people off." This is the last one in the series until AHM Coda, the fill-in to patch up te glaringly broken continuity, comes in. It's certainly been a bumpy ride. This issue is probably the most shocking yet. Secrets are revealed, alleigances are tested and stereotypes broken. The Autobots and the Decepticons battle it out head to head in the ruins of New York.
the art for this is probably the best yet. Guido Guidi's rough yet clear lines combine with Josh Burcham's and James Brown's great colours to form a beautiful 22 pages that's great to look at.
As for plot; well, I'm in two minds about the penmanship of Shane McCarthy. On one hand, I'm gripped by the storyline and eager to see what happens next. The characterisation is something that Shane has really worked on - the dark reasons for Megatron's evil, the unususal show of loyalty to Megs from Starscream - whoah, it is all so cool. Good work on that front, Shane. But, on the other hand, Shane has dug himself several deep holes with this series. There's loads of little subplots frm previous arcs that are left unexplained, and the reasoning behind some of the decisions made by the Autobots and Decepticons is ambiguous to say the least. We can only hope that these holes are patched up soon.

Overall, All Hail Megatron #12 comes in at 9/10. There'sa few nitpicky little things I'm pissed off about, but all in all the guys at IDW have done an awesome job.

Posted by Fantom at 3:31 pm, SUNDAY 28 June