Review - Transformers Best of UK: Prey! #1

Having lived in isolation for most of my childhood I was never fortunate enough to have read any of the old Marvel Transformers comics. Now, with Transformers Best of UK: Prey #1, I can finally see what TF fans read back then. This comic was originally published in Marvel UK's the Transformers #96 and #97 in January 1987. Here we go...

Synopsis: Following his return from the limbo dimension, Optimus Prime is disconcerted his Autobots were so lost without him they were forced to join forces with Megatron so they could defeat Galvatron. Optimus decides to test his soldiers, afraid they would be unable to cope if he should die in the future. He plans to convince the Autobots he has died so he can see how they cope without him. Informing only Wheeljack that he has made a fascimile of himself, he then tells the other Autobots that he is going on a reconnaissance mission to the Decepticons' base. He plans to destroy his fascimile and send a distress signal to the others who will discover his "body".

Meanwhile, Megatron is becoming more and more paranoid about Optimus, even attacking Motormaster when he dares to suggest he and the Stunticons could defeat Optimus. Soundwave (acting as double agent for Shockwave in order to depose Megatron) is alarmed by this, and, deciding it is time to remove Megatron permanently, persuades Megs to call in the Predacons from Cybertron to weaken Optimus so Megatron can finally kill him.

Later, while looking for a suitable setting to set up his "death", Prime is attacked by the Predacons. Taken by surprise, he struggles to throw them off. Gradually the Preds wear him down, cornering him. Megatron orders them to finish the job, and they close in for the kill...

Later, concerned that they haven't heard from Optimus, the Autobots (with Wheeljack) set out in a search and discover Prime's body, torn to shreds by the Predacons.

The Good: I like this issue, I really do. Simon Furman did well; the story is as good quality as his modern work, and good dialog as well - I love Prime's internal monologue and his mental conflict. The art, though nothing like today's standard, is pretty good for the era. Andrew Griffith's new cover (pictured above) is really cool, great shot of Predaking about to slag Prime (though he's killed by the Preds in their individual forms). You can see the original covers at TF Wiki by clicking here. But on the subject of the comic itself, all in all a satisfying issue.

The Bad: The quality of the art scanning is terrible (as an illustrious relative pointed out). Whether the comic was originally like that or whether IDW did a half-assed scan of it instead of using the original plates is a mystery that I will likely never find the answer to. Ah well, that is all.

The Ugly: It seems awfully convenient that Prime decided to go out alone at pretty much the exact same time that Megatron came up with a plan that required Prime to be alone. This happens a bit in the 80's - often the writers don't think things through enough, if at all. But hey, it's still a good story - very satisfying for a "hardcore" fan such as I. Oh, and the writing at the bottom has not been changed from the last Best of UK series - it reads "best of uk city of fear".

Verdict: Hugely satisfying all in all. I absolutely loved this issue, and I'm very much looking forward to the next issue (won't ruin it for myself by going on TF Wiki). Real fans should check this one out, it's totally worth it. Rated 8 out of 10.

Posted by Fanbot at 3:44 pm, SUNDAY 16 August

Review - Tales of the Fallen #1: Bumblebee

Just picked this issue up today, and bloody hell is it great. Writer Chris Mowry and new guy Carlos Magno collaborate to form Tales of the Fallen: Bumblebee! I was originally a bit apprehensive of this series, but I just had to have it once I viewed the five-page preview. By the way, this series consists of several one shots focussing on a single character from the TF movieverse. AKA TF movie Spotlights. Sooo cool.

The Good: Wow. That's all I can say when I read this comic. Wow. This is one of the greatest ... no, the greatest movieverse comic I have seen since Reign of Starscream. This "Spotlight" has the internal monologues which are supposed to be standard in Spotlights, but have been driven to extinction by Shane McCarthy. It's a welcome return for me. The story is well-written, and awesome action sequences toward the end. Carlos' art is cool, this guy has promise that could be developed in the future (who's drawing the ROTF sequel Nefarious?). Old hand Chris Mowry does a superb job with his pen. I haven't enjoyed a Transformers movie comic in a long long time. And Alex Milne's cover (I was fortunate enough to get this one) is beautiful, great design, great colors too - Alex, you have to do your own colors now, I'm in love. Sorry Josh Perez, you color great as well.

The Bad: As a Transformers fan, I m easily pleased by what IDW gives me every month. However, when I want to nitpick, I will nitpick mercilessly. Now is that time. Carlos' art was great, but it looked very rough - not hurried-rough, but kinda grainy-rough. It wasn't enough to ruin the experience of reading it, but it nevertheless niggled in the corner of my eye as I perused the issue. Also, the RE cover (fan expo exclusive apparently) is a bit dumb - just a photo of Megan Fox aka Mikaela Banes who isn't even in the comic. I mean, they could at least have put a photo of Bumblebee on it to somehow link it into the story, but no.

The Ugly: I have identified no uglies within the comic itself, but on Carlos Magno's cover B (pictured) the Tales of the Fallen subtitle is wrong. In the publisher solicits it is as above, but when it was actually released the title was set underneath the TRANSFORMERS title, in the same font as the title above it. I'd say "get it right, IDW", but that'd be nitpicky.

Verdict: A solid comic with quality job done all round. This series is a must for all you TF movieverse fans - make sure you get Alex Milne's cover though. Rated 9.5/10.

Posted by Fanbot at 1:36 pm, SUNDAY 16 August

All Hail Megatron #14 preview

Personally, I absolutely LOVE this series - All Hail Megatron Coda, absorbed into the main AHM title. Last issue was amazing, and now a five-page preview for All Hail Megatron #14 is available at Comic Book Resources. Click here to view the preview for yourself. Emiliano Santalucia's art and Josh Burcham's colors are just fricking AWESOME. I love it, can't wait for it to come out on August 19. Here's the publisher solicit from IDW:

"The Betrayer has been revealed as Sunstreaker! But how did this happen to him? Find out in the first of two stories in this special issue. Meanwhile, Galvatron returns! Join Cyclonus as he is reunited with his old friend - but something is not right..."

Make sure you pick this one up (get Trevor Hutchison's RI cover, shown above - the best one by far) as soon as you can. Fanbot has spoken. You can go now.

Posted by Fanbot at 11:39 am, SUNDAY 16 August

Review - TF Timelines: Shattered Glass!

This Transformers comic ain't new, but by Primus, it's a one shot legend. Shattered Glass finally gave the TF fandom an alternate universe with bad versions of good guys (with facial hair!) and good versions of bad guys - a Transformers Earth-3 if you will. Published by Fun Publications in the "Classics" continuity, this comic was, rather unusually, pretty much unanimously loved by fans. Several prose-with-pics sequels have followed, but none of them have compared to the original ("The original and the best" as we say). Read on, scroll down, be amazed.

Synopsis: On Cybertron, a space portal opens, spewing forth Cliffjumper. Disorientated and confused, Cliffjumper tries to get his bearings. Suddenly Triggercon Ruckus (with weird color scheme) appears out of nowhere and crashes into Cliffjumper. Ruckus apologizes and pleads to be let go, when he is suddenly slagged by laser fire. The firer is none other than Rodimus. He jokingly criticizes Jumper being jumped by a 'Con, comments on his "sweet paintjob" and seems to think Jumper was "dead". Cliffjumper looks confused, but stops when he sees Rodimus has a handlebar moustache. Rodimus shows it off, then takes Cliffjumper to Iacon, where they meet Optimus

Prime (who has a purple and black paintjob). Optimus welcomes

'Jumper back, and walks him through a trophy room with slagged Decepticon corpses on display. Cliffjumper is shocked.They arrive at The Smelting Pool, where Cassetticon Rumble is on trial. He is about to be dumped into the pool. Cliffjumper asks what is going on, and Optimus launches into a tirade about 'Jumper loving torturing the 'Cons. Cliffjumper refuses and is blasted unconscious by Optimus, who dumps him in the scrapyards.

Two Constructicons pick him up just as he goes into stasis lock...

Cliffjumper wakes up in a medical room of some sort, and tries to escape, pushing two Constructicons (in medical color scheme). While running, he crashes into ... Megatron, who asks if Cliffjumper is OK. Sideswipe is nearby and takes Cliffjumper aside. He discerns that

 Cliffjumper is not the "real" Cliffjumper. He shows 'Jumper that is made of different stuff than the others, and is obviously from another universe. He tells Cliffjumper how Optimus was originally a scheming backstabber who preached advancement through conflict, and who

upgraded himself and his followers for combat. He attacked and killed many 'bots, but met resistance from a small resistance movement and Megatron, who invented tranformation. Optimus managed to copy this, and the two sides reached a stalemate. After this talk, Cliffjumper agrees to stay with the Cons.

Elsewhere, Optimus is informed by Blurr of the new developments on their ship The Ark as he slags the training 'bots he is fighting with.

Back in the Cons' headquarters, Megatron gives Cliffjumper the lowdown on their plan of attack for attacking The Ark, and says that they are outgunned. Starscream suddenly comes up with an idea  - use Cliffjumper's glass gas (obviously SG Cliffjumper had this stuff as well) to break The Ark's launching platform, destroying The Ark itself. Megatron praises Screamer for this genius (Shock horror - Megs praising Screamer!).

Later, the Predacons quickly incapacitate/decapitate the launch site guards, and the glass gas bombs are dropped on the platform. Battle ensues. Cliffjumper is confused, fighting with his

"enemies" against his "friends". Optimus, enraged at Jumper for betrayal, blasts at him, but Megatron takes the laser blast. Cliffjumper, aiming to finish the battle, uses his glass gas on the platform which finally crumbles. Optimus swears revenge, but is blasted into silence.

 Retreating, Megatron asks  'Jumper to join the Decepticon forces. Cliffjumper agrees.

The Good: Don Figueroa's art for this was absolutely amazing. I loved the re-interpretations of the characters, the dialog, pretty much everything. Highlight was Starscream - heroic, selfless and obedient, a complete antithesis of his normal incarnation. Loved it.

The Bad: This is only a small gripe, but I must bring it up nonetheless. This issue is very wordy - loads of dialog absoloutely crammed into the panels. Nothing else, it's a one-shot so I won't gripe any further.

The Ugly: one solitary ugly - in the flashback sequence when Optimus attacks with his Autobots, his left (our right) antenna and audio receptor is missing. That is all.

Overall, I'm rating Transformers Timelines: Shattered Glass at 9/10. I consider this issue a great addition to my collection of TF comics. A bit wordy, but nonetheless a very well-written comic. A gem. And also included within this issue is the three page fake preview of Shattered Glass that has come to be called Shattered Expectations. Here are links to two of them, in all their glory (art in style of Derek Yaniger of G2, with 90's era flat colors). Click here for page 1 and here for page 2

Posted by Fanbot at 7:30 pm, THURSDAY 13 August

Transformers releases for August 12 (that's today)

Released today are two great Transformers titles from IDW - Best of the UK: Prey #1 and Tales of the Fallen: Bumblebee! If you haven't bought these yet you can view a five page preview of each at comixology.com. Just cause I'm nice, I'll include a link so you don't have to search ... Enjoy, and get off your lazy butts and go get these! Go go go! Stop reading this blog and go already! The links are for Best of the UK: Prey and Tales of the Fallen respectively.

http://www.comixology.com/previews/JUN090939/0/

http://www.comixology.com/previews/JUN090933/0/

Posted by Fanbot at 4:40 pm, WEDNESDAY 12 August

Review - Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder #2

At the risk of repeating myself, I have never read a page of Hellboy. Never had a taste for that kind of stuff, horror stuff gave me nightmares you see. But with this series, which I won the first issue of in a comic store comp, has struck something within me I cannot and will not explain. The fact that a Kiwi like myself - artist Ben Stenbeck - is drawing Witchfinder may have something to do with it. The creative team certainly has. Mike Mignola, Hellboy writer and artist of old. And the superstar flat colorist Dave Stewart (always liked this style because I can do nothing else with Photoshop). But is this enough to make it a good issue?

The Good: as always, Ben's art for this is top-notch. I enjoy his shadowy, semi-realistic art, and it complements Dave's flat coloring as well. And Ben's put in a little allusion to his nationality; one of the thugs eyeing Sir Edward up in a dark street is a Maori, with big lips and green moko tattoos. Mike's dialog for this is detailed and realistic, and sounds like it could actually sound plausible in real life. Letterer Clem Robins has a lettering style I like a lot - his long tails, clear letters,which look hand-rendered rather than computer-generated. All round, for art, it is an amazing issue.

The Bad: I'm pretty pleased with this issue as a whole, but the story itself seems to be what those in the profession call an expository - where a long talk between characters reveals a large or not-so-large amount of info to the reader. That's what this issue feels like. There's not so much blood and gore as #1; no sign of the monster until the last page - I have been getting into this, so I kind of expected some gore. But never mind. Oh, and one more thing; the spirit guide Zora calls Sir Edward "poor man" in every speech bubble. That's kinda annoying.

The Ugly: no uglies have been identified in this comic. From my experience, this is usually a sign the creative team knows what they're doing. But of course I already knew that - it's Mike Mignola, for crying out loud!

Overall, Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder #2 comes in for me at 8/10. The story wasn't as great as I thought it would be, but for what it was, I enjoyed it. The art cheers me up from any screw-ups as usual, so I put the comic down happy. Go figure.

Posted by Fanbot at 8:01 am, SUNDAY 9 August

Review - Phantom: Ghost Who Walks #4!

Haven't mentioned the Phantom on big small comix since ages ago. This comic is in keeping with my smaller press theme, but the Phantom himself is a big, big icon. Possibly the first hero to wear the skintight costume that all supers wear today. The Phantom is older than Batman or Superman, and has great similarity with the former of the two. He has no special powers, untold wealth, and is regarded by evildoers as something of a dark legend - his other titles include "The man who cannot die" and "The Ghost who Walks". Small-time publisher Moonstone Books have picked up the license for Phantom, and are currently releasing two titles - the ongoing title (which will be reviewed here) and a prose-with-pictures maxi-series called Generations, chronicling the adventures of the first twenty Phantoms. But anyway, onto the review...

Synopsis: the issue kicks off with a dishevelled man running through the jungle, fleeing from some unknown pursuer. He has stolen something valuable from some local village, and flashbacks to the act of stealing it. While lamenting his position, a shadowy figure continues to pursue him, seemingly disregarding the six bullets that the crook has fired at him.
The chase continues, with the crook constantly seeming to lose his pursuer, only for him to pop up again from life-threatening situations. Finally, after jumping off a moving train, the crook elopes in a jeep that has been provided by his employer. The Phantom continues to pursue him on horseback, and signals surrounding tribesmen to fire their arrows at the jeep. The arrows damage the jeep heavily, but the crook is unscathed. He tosses a grenade behind him, blowing up a nearby tree.
Much later, the crook arrives at a harbor, where he gets on a pre-arranged ship bound for Portugal. He goes down into the hold, and calls his employer. He is told his employer is unavailable, and ends the call in anger. Suddenly he hears a sound, but dismisses it as nothing. Then the sound is heard again, a clank. several times the clank sounds, with the crook becoming more and more panicky. The Phantom's shadowy figure emerges, demanding the crook hand over the stolen goods. He tries to fire on the Phantom, but he has already disappeared. Then he reappears behind the crook, knocking the gun out of his hand and punching him unconscious. The Phantom retrieves a glowing gold idol from the crook's bag, and drags him outside, dangling the crook off the side of the ship. Threatened with being fed to the sharks, the crook reveals that he was assigned to get something called "the eastern dark", and didn't know what it was. The Phantom drops him onto the deck, and disappears. The crook's satellite phone rings as the issue ends.

The Good: the art for this issue is way better than what I saw in the first 3 issues. Every shot is well set out and heightens the suspense. Favourite panel is the blood spewing from the crook's mouth as the Phantom punches him, so cool. The sequence where the Phantom seems to disappear is very effectively done. In terms of art, an awesome issue.

The Bad: the story seems to be a bit of a filler, not really connected. The story itself is pretty good, but nothing special. Bad story, but told well. Its only saving grace is the mention of the "eastern dark" which could be a hint of things to come. But it is a disappointment for me, and I'm left seriously underwhelmed.

The Ugly: I'm not really sure if this is an error, but page is repeated on page seven. it doesn't look out of place or anything, but I can't help but wonder. Nothing else. Moonstone are pretty good at ironing out the kinks from my experience.

Overall, Phantom: Ghost Who Walks #4 is rated by me at 7.5/10. Great art, and the story is told very well for what it is, but it feels like just an issue filler and a serious disappointment. But the art was something that I wanted rectified, and it has been, so I won't complain.

Posted by Fanbot at 5:37 pm, SATURDAY 8 August

Reflections on new Transformers covers

IDW editor-in-chief Chris Ryall has updated his blog RyallTime (ryalltime.blogspot.com) with cover art for upcoming Transformers titles. Starting in November is the much-anticipated ongoing title, written by Mike Costa with art by Don Figueroa; and the Bumblebee miniseries, written by Zander Cannon and art by Chee. And in January next year, Nick Roche goes solo in his miniseries Last Stand of the Wreckers. Also included are my opinions and things spotted on the covers. Feel free to comment and agree with me or verbally abuse my opinions. Well, what are you waiting for? Scroll down already, for Primus' sake!

Below is the wraparound cover A for The Transformers #1 (art by Don Figueroa, colors by James Brown):

The second cover for this issue is a b/w version of the one I showed earlier in the month, along with a preview page of the ongoing series. Now, Don's new artwork style has met extreme controversy with the TF fandom. IDW's forums are buzzing with discussion on the topic, and the general opinion seems to be that the new movie-esque style is a bad idea. Personally, I quite like the new style, save for two little annoying things. The grille-like constructs inside the 'bots' mouths make them look like they're always gritting their teeth, and the pupilled eyes are just wrong. But other than that, Don, great work. I always welcome a wraparound cover. Oh, and take note; Bumblebee has doors behind his shoulders, like in the movie. One word, Don: WHY?

The next cover is for the Bumblebee mini (art by Chee, colors by Moose Baumann):

I am quite intrigued by this artist. His art style is shadowy, with realistic, humanistic faces that echo the art of Andrew Wildman. Moose's colors are great, I've seen them in AHM #13, so no complaints here. Great cover.

And finally, the cover for the all-Nick Roche miniseries Last Stand of the Wreckers (art by Nick Roche, colors by Josh Burcham):

This cover is fricking awesome. I have always loved Nick's style, and this cover is no exception. The lineart is exceptional, and Josh Burcham's colors always went nicely with Nick's art - see Maximum Dinobots for the lowdown. Now, about the art itself; Nick's style is a bit more stylized than usual, as seen in his older fanzine art and covers for the Generations reprints. Still looks awesome though. And Josh's colors seem to be halfway between his style for AHM and Maximum Dinobots. Cooooooooolllll!!!

Posted by Fanbot at 8:08 pm, FRIDAY 7 August

Review - Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder #1

Branching out into the ever-growing range of comics I review, I present to you Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder #1! Sir Ed was originally a fairly minor character from the pages of Dark Horse title Hellboy, and now the brass in DH have granted him his own separate comic title. I personally have never read a page of Hellboy or any DH title for that matter, but I saw both Hellboy movies, so that's got to count for something. Anyway...

The Good: This comic is great. The shadowy art is abso-fricking-lutely awesome. New Zealander Ben Stenbeck and Hellboy writer legend Mike Mignola collaborate in one hell of a team. The story is fairly stock gothic/horror/mystery stuff, nothing I ain't seen before, but this is first issue, so it's early days yet. And you may have heard me say that action in a first issue will really hook readers in. Well, this has plenty of action in it, and a fair  amount of gore - the remains of a man splattered all around his house, a fluid-drained corpse - makes me shudder all over just thinking about it. but of course you should come to expect this from a dark title like Witchfinder or anything from Mike Mignola. And Ben's art is just right. I love it. 'Nuff said.

The Bad: Umm ... umm, well ... actually I can't find anything that is particularly wrong with this one. The slight "nothing-I-haven't-seen-before" feeling comes to me when I read this. Maybe as the story develops we'll see some juicy plot twists. Watch this space.

The Ugly: There have been no uglies identified within this comic so scroll down and don't ask awkward questions! Go, go!!

Overall, I'm rating Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder #1 at 7/10. The art's great, but the story is kinda underwhelming for me. I'm left disappointed as to what might have been. But I cannot judge yet, since as I pointed out before, this is the first issue and you have to get the next one to really get a feel for the title. So that's exactly what I'm gonna do. Goodbye my besotted fans, see you next time. Oh, and now my username has changed. Fantom is no more. Behold ... FANBOT!!! Mwahahahahaaaa!!!

Posted by Fanbot at 5:20 pm, THURSDAY 6 August

Transformers ongoing update! Preview page + cover of issue 1

Big, big news for all youse Transformers fans out there! Seibertron.com has just received a preview page (page 5) of issue 1 of the new TF ongoing series, written by Mike Costa with art by returning legend Don Figueroa. This new series starts in November and I just cannot wait until it hits the stores. Looking forward to it. But can anyone tell me who the blue bot on page one is? I have no idea, but his form seems to be based around that of Sideswipe and the late Sunstreaker. Any ideas as to his identity? And maybe who the colorist for the page is? Me, I've got my eyes on James Brown. He's colored Don's work before, in AHM #13.

Posted by Fantom at 12:55 pm, SUNDAY 2 August

Blastosaurus: Slugs (Part 3) review

And so it ends ... well, at least until American Original have finished releasing the first 13 issues of Blastosaurus. This issue is the last published independently by Richard Fairgray's Square Planet comics company (of Square Planet Films). This one'll be the last for a while, but as soon as the first issues start comig out I'll have reviews up here for all youse to peruse (lol ryhming).

The Good: I think this is the greatest issue of Blasto so far. The art seems to have stepped up yet another notch, and the story grips you and makes you want for more. There's quite few plot points that I just did not see coming - this is a good thing as comics should keep you guessing. And Fairgray's cover is pain awesome - references to GI Joe, Transformers, tacky A Team ripoffs and a blue Blasto beign held by Richard that looks uncannily like the blue guy ("Smurf") from Alan Moore's Watchmen. This is something I would expect from Richard though; Blastosaurus is a tribute to the indie culture of the nineties, and this cover just seems to fit the bill (even though I know bugger-all about indie stuff).

The Bad: Honestly, there is nothing worth mentioning that I think is wrong with this issue. I just love it soo much, I can't think of any downsides (now if only life could be like this...). Woohoo!

The Ugly: This issue is perhaps the most mistake-riddled of all 13 issues, though that ain't saying much in the context. Page 1, panel one - "people" is misspelled "peopl". Page 3, panel one - "guys" is misspelled "guy". And finallty; page 7, top - the labels for the page are showing (Blastosaurus 13 07 RF). See? All the mistakes for this issue are insignificant typos and errors. Woohoo for Fairgray!

Overall, Blastosaurus #13 comes in at 9/10. This issue is abso-fricking-lutley awsome. I'm a tad pissed off that I'm gonna have to wait 13 months for the next new arc (called HARDCORE) to come out. Bummer. But never mind. And look out for Blastosaurus #1, coming to a comic store near you in the near future. I don't know exactly when. Check out http://www.blastosaurus.com/ for more info.

Posted by Fantom at 7:28 pm, SATURDAY 1 August