Drift #4 Review (SPOILERS)

[Yaya]

Maybe I'm just expecting too much out of TF comics these days, but since IDW got the license, I feel like I've been swimming in a sea of mediocrity, with an occassional life vest (Rocherts) passing by that I grab onto to stay afloat.

So, yeah, predictable. Not bad, but not great. Yadda, yadda....

I was hoping for a bit more than the obvious with this conclusion. It was so Dances With Wolves, so The Last Samurai. Bad guy turns good guy and fights against bad guys. Wing becomes the cliche sacrificial lamb that gets Drift going with the proverbial "NOoooooooooooooo!" that results in the big baddies death as Drift goes Rambo on his ass. Not sure what the point of Lockdown was in this whole thing. He came and he went. Could have been any Con for all I care.

Perhaps the only part I enjoyed was the revelation of the mobility of Crystal City with Fortress Maxim.....er, Dai Atlas (predictably) coming to the rescue.

Art was okay. Some nice panels here and there, but still not a fan of Milne's style, really. Just not my cup of tea.

I'm starting to believe that I have reached that age where I'm being forced to pass TF comics by. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with TF comics themselves, per se. Perhaps they are intended to please whom they are aimed at.

But I'm beginning to believe that I'm not the intended target.

Give this issue a "B-", around what I would give the series as a whole.

[Jack Cade]

Yaya - on this at least you're way too capitulating.

What gives fan fiction its bad reputation? The fact that most people writing it have no real interest in, or flare for, storytelling technique but are merely doing the literary equivalent of making a youtube clips video with their favourite choon on top of it. They have a kind of narrative fantasy in their heads, but it's a crude collage of scenes stolen from elsewhere.

This is essentially how McCarthy writes, as far as I can discern. He constructs glib pop culture pastiches that could almost be considered enjoyably rambunctious if there wasn't the over-arcing feeling that he intends it to come across as an original, serious narrative. This whole series was cobbled together out of bits of anime, computer game manuals, 80s sci-fi and old war comics, with odd bits of McCarthy didacticism shoved in every now and then to tick the 'themes' box.

You're not expecting too much. IDW may be hot at the business and production side of things, but as far as Transformers goes, no one in charge seems to have a good head for fiction - with the possible exception of Andy, who seems absolutely hobbled by the fact that he wants to score a hit with fickle teenagers and people with astonishingly bad taste as well as everyone else.

[Yaya]

Yaya - on this at least you're way too capitulating.

I'm not so sure about that, Jack.

Granted, your insight about the flaws in McCarthy's writing are spot on. I don't think the man has an original bone in his body. Everything is rehash. Everything is cliche. Yet, I think he has convinced himself he surprises his readers somehow.

But taking TF out of the equation, I can't shake a general feeling of ennui with most of the comics I read. Maybe it's what I'm reading, but it seems that I have to read fifty comics before I come across one that is worth anything creatively.

I was discussing this with my brother, and we both came to the conclusion that comic books as a creative medium are languishing behind other forms of sci-fi/fantasy entertainment, like movies, TV, and books. Books in particular. Comic books are struggling to strike an imaginative chord in me that books do.

Which got me thinking maybe I have 'outgrown' the comic genre. Maybe I can't find what I'm looking for in them, and have to satiate my hunger for things other-worldly by turning to novels.

Perhaps one reaches this stage inevitably by reading comic books for thirty years.

Which is why I start to feel less inclined to bash writers like McCarthy and more inclined instead to give myself a good hard look in the mirror and ask "Is it me?"

Right now, as I write this, there is probably some geeky 14-year old kid out there who is absolutely loving Drift and AHM. Loving them in a way I loved Warrior School or the Smelting Pit.

Who am I to begrudge them? Whom am I to bash McCarthy when perhaps Budiansky was the same, and I just didn't realize it because of the eyes through which I read it and the virgin-level of imagination by which I perceived it?

[Jack Cade]

But taking TF out of the equation, I can't shake a general feeling of ennui with most of the comics I read. Maybe it's what I'm reading, but it seems that I have to read fifty comics before I come across one that is worth anything creatively.

But isn't the whole industry struggling, possibly as a result? The truth is that as an artform, comics are seriously lacking in genuinely brilliant, boundary-pushing practitioners. Marvel, DC and IDW's response to diminishing returns is desperate - invest in more and more of the same, ramp up the marketing, turn everything up to 11. But original ideas? There are some floating around but there isn't the nerve to put them out there properly.

I mean, for all their immaturity, are kids really buying comics? Outside of manga audiences, I really don't see that much evidence of it. I'd understand what you're saying if we were sharing these forums with a bunch of young teenagers, but the McCarthy apologists are our age.

I share your sense of ennui but what I see is a medium that is failing to grow up or get its claws into a new generation, thus leaving itself in limbo. I think people like you and I are still, embarrassingly, the primary audience, and its inability to cater for our maturing tastes is a real problem.

Focusing back on TF, there's no way McCarthy isn't writing this for people his own age. He's unsubtle enough that you could tell a mile off if he was writing for a young audience - it would reek of condescension.

[Yaya]

But isn't the whole industry struggling, possibly as a result? The truth is that as an artform, comics are seriously lacking in genuinely brilliant, boundary-pushing practitioners. Marvel, DC and IDW's response to diminishing returns is desperate - invest in more and more of the same, ramp up the marketing, turn everything up to 11. But original ideas?

I absolutely agree, comic companies are afraid to move away from what's worked before. In this day and age, it's not going to be enough. Enthusiasm will peter out.

I think original ideas are few and far between in general, in all of fiction. Now, it's more about the presentation of those ideas.

Are digital comics going to be the answer? As I said, it's hard to find new ideas, but maybe the key lies in a new way of presenting them. Will it 'fill the seats'? I guess the jury's still out. But Marvel and DC have to recognize, guys in spandex with claws coming out of there hands ain't going to cut it for long.

That 'next step' is happening in the movie industry. Everyone here knows how much of a 3-D buff I am. I think it's revolutionizing cinema. Would I have enjoyed, for example, How to Train Your Dragon ten years ago? Mildly, perhaps. But the presentation in 3-D was so fantastic and beautiful, I found it quite the experience.

It will be hard for comic books to survive, I think. Like movies, they are a visual media, and suffer from their inherent nature of constraining the imagination of the reader. Novels will always be a success because the imagination is free to run wild, to fill in gaps, and allows the reader to shape tje world in whatever way they want to see it. Comics don't have that luxury.

I mean, for all their immaturity, are kids really buying comics? Outside of manga audiences, I really don't see that much evidence of it

.

I think one of the reasons for this is because manga offers just about everything comics do, and then some, for half the price.

In many ways, manga (which I only recently dove into) is superior to comics. For one, the Japanese are not afraid to take chances. There's a manga out there for everyone. There's one about almost every sport, one about cooking, etc. Talk about taking chances, they take them. Sometimes they are ridiculous, but sometimes they are actually quite good.

In fact, the better stories I have read in the past two years have been from manga writers. Naoki Urasawa's Monster and Pluto were excellent. Jack, you should give these two a try, I think you would enjoy them.

I'd understand what you're saying if we were sharing these forums with a bunch of young teenagers, but the McCarthy apologists are our age.

Really? That's disappointing.

I share your sense of ennui but what I see is a medium that is failing to grow up or get its claws into a new generation, thus leaving itself in limbo. I think people like you and I are still, embarrassingly, the primary audience, and its inability to cater for our maturing tastes is a real problem.

I'm starting to sense IDW is growing weary of trying to cater to our tastes and demands, and will likely settle for mediocrity in the hopes that it will at least appeal to the younger crowd.

[Jack Cade]

In many ways, manga (which I only recently dove into) is superior to comics. For one, the Japanese are not afraid to take chances. There's a manga out there for everyone. There's one about almost every sport, one about cooking, etc. Talk about taking chances, they take them. Sometimes they are ridiculous, but sometimes they are actually quite good.

In fact, the better stories I have read in the past two years have been from manga writers. Naoki Urasawa's Monster and Pluto were excellent. Jack, you should give these two a try, I think you would enjoy them.

I'll look out for them on my visit to FP today!

I think the major difference is that the Japanese treat comics/manga as what it is - a medium. There are numerous genres within that medium, aimed at different demographics. Western comics creators treat it as all one genre, with a few 'weird' subgenres. A genre is much more easily pigeon-holed, derided and given up completely than a medium. Over here, if you say you like 'comics', people immediately have an idea of what you read, replete with prejudgments. But if you say you like 'music', 'movies' or 'books', people are liable to ask: "What kind of music/movies/books?"

I'm starting to sense IDW is growing weary of trying to cater to our tastes and demands, and will likely settle for mediocrity in the hopes that it will at least appeal to the younger crowd.

I think they've only ever given us lip service, really. Otherwise why switch away from Furman, who was going down well enough? Why not commission a constant stream of Roche/Roberts stuff to keep us safely occupied? Their eyes are really on the sales figures, and on their competitors - making sure they stay in line with what remains of the market.

And I'm not sure it's catering to our 'tastes and demands' that's lacking so much as seriously thinking in terms of good fiction. It's not as if we've seen much in the way of a spirited defence of McCarthy or Costa - just a weak "different strokes" kind of stance. I'd say that aside from a few meetings where they check that the writer's new outline sounds 'exciting' (ie. sellable) there's not any scrutiny going on at all. No one is poring over a script asking themselves: "But does this actually hold up to much criticism? Is this high quality science fiction?"

Again, maybe Andy thinks about it a bit, but it seems like the actual priorities are elsewhere.

[Professor Smooth]

Let me suggest what the answer ISN'T: Individual digital downloads at prices near the print versions. I pay less than 2 bucks for a song that I'll listen to dozens or hundreds of times. Why would I pay 3 bucks for a digital comic book that I'll read once? Hell, if it's an IDW book, it probably takes less time to read than a song takes to listen to.

So, what can be done?

Digital subscription packages? There was a time when I bought every variant cover for every issue of every Transformers series. Instead of doing that, how about letting me pay a fixed price for a certain number of IDW titles every month? Say $25 a month for 10 or 15 IDW titles? Lock me into a yearly contract. That makes it more difficult to drop titles and (most importantly) turns readers into a captive audience. "I already paid for this, I might as well read it. Oh, look, it's getting good again. I guess I'll renew my subscription."

Don't want a subscription to a whole bunch of titles? Individual books at $1.50. Make all issue #1s either free or .25 after a month or so, just to build interest.

As far as print goes, you've still got the individual issues for sale at 3.99 for us OCD collectors who have to have the book in our long boxes. You've got the trade paperbacks and hardcovers for the "bookshelf" fans. Maybe even go a step farther and sell JUST the covers in packs. All the covers for TF:Infiltration for 5 or 10 bucks. We can stick 'em in those mylar bags and ease the transition to paying for digital content. Sell ads on the backs of those covers.

The digital downloads sold well? The trade did pretty good? Go a step farther. Motion comic. THOSE people won't have a problem paying a few bucks each for. And if those turn out to be popular? DVD/Netflix/full download release. THAT turns out to be popular? 3-D motion comic.

IDW can sell EVERY ISSUE of their comics MULTIPLE TIMES in MULTIPLE FORMATS, to a WIDE audience. And some of us will STILL buy every cover of every issue, the trade, the hardcover collection, download the motion comic, and buy the blu-ray 3-D release because it's WHAT WE DO!

But the quality of stories needs to improve. Come on. You know what I'm talking about here. Don't sell us what you think we want to read. Don't try to increase buys by shocking us (The main character, Optimus Prime, has been dying regularly since 1986.). Don't do cliched, "everything you thought you knew was WRONG," type thing (it's been 26 years. We're not wrong.) And, for the love of who or whatever, don't do another Drift! Tell stories that you think are worth telling.

I want to give IDW my money. Why do they make it hard?

[Yaya]

Right now, as I write this, there is probably some geeky 14-year old kid out there who is absolutely loving Drift and AHM. Loving them in a way I loved Warrior School or the Smelting Pit.

Who am I to begrudge them? Whom am I to bash McCarthy when perhaps Budiansky was the same, and I just didn't realize it because of the eyes through which I read it and the virgin-level of imagination by which I perceived it?

A fan on the IDW board wrote: Just finished the last issue. This series became one of the best comics of all for me, because of the journey they took this character on. Maybe this kind of tale has been told before, but not in transformers. This epic even had a moral, one beyond any faction or defining of bot or con: helping another is the highest calling. And that battle felt big and dangerous. Shane has got 2 of his stories in my all time fav list now.

See, my instinct is to insult this chap, to tell him he has very poor taste. But then, it goes back to what I was alluding to. The problem isn't him. He enjoyed it, loved it in fact, and maybe that's who IDW and McCarthy are aiming at when they write. And when I consider that, I suddenly feel like the old fart who needs to just waft away somewhere so as to not stink up the place.

There are two who have potential problems here. Myself and IDW.

Myself because perhaps I expect too much.

But moreso, IDW for not being specific about who these comics are aimed at. Somewhere, BF posed this question to Andy, and IIRC, the answer was vague regarding who would most enjoy reading this comic.

"There's something here for everyone" is not something I want to hear, as ultimately, this is just another way of saying it's primarily for the younger audience who don't expect too much.

[Jack Cade]

See, my instinct is to insult this chap, to tell him he has very poor taste. But then, it goes back to what I was alluding to. The problem isn't him. He enjoyed it, loved it in fact, and maybe that's who IDW and McCarthy are aiming at when they write. And when I consider that, I suddenly feel like the old fart who needs to just waft away somewhere so as to not stink up the place.

My instinct is that you can take the suckiest piece of fiction imaginable and you'll find someone who will pipe up with similar praise. If you ask me, the person in question could be younger, older or the same age as us - what matters is that they obviously haven't read many Transformers comics before, and what's happening, I think, is that they're experiencing that feeling you get when something that you thought was just colourful nonsense makes a fist (whether a decent fist or not) of being 'serious'.

What it reminds me of mostly is my early days in University when lots of people were rewatching cartoons they'd seen as a child and given up as a teenager and realising that even the trashiest of them made some attempt to tackle adult themes, eg. the Thundercats losing their home and most of their race to some kind of cosmic event, Bravestarr being a sci-fi reimagining of the problems facing frontier towns in the Wild West.

So in a way, yes, it's to do with the audience they're aiming for. But the audience they're hitting is a combination of the easily impressed, the genre addict and those who like things to be simplistic. It's not necessarily to do with age.

[Metal Vendetta]

Every time I look at IDW's TF output I'm reminded of Sturgeon's Law.