RID #8

Mr_Tigg · Post by **Mr_Tigg** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:42 pm

Got it. Read it.

A better issue altogether and worthy of your time. Particularly enjoyed the twist at the end, plus all the references to cybertron history, plus Prowl not acting like a giant dcikhead for once.

Will need to re-read it and gather my thoughts for full feedback.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:34 am

It's okay, but still not really 'feeling it'. Characters just don't seem to be themselves somehow, and that continues to be a jarring aspect to this series for me. I find Bumblebee, Prowl, Ironhide, Metalhawk, heck, even Starscream very annoying. Screamer just ain't the same guy. When all the cast just gets on your nerves, somethings not being done right.

It's almost akin to when we were kids and playing with our Transformers. We would line them all up and the ones we wanted to play with we would, and the other guys would just still be standing there in the background. That's what we get here. Two characters are interacting, and the typical goofy Metalhawk stands there in the background like a toy in the same pose like he's some kind of statue. Then, when Barber wants to use him, Starscream is in the background just kind of doing nothing. The character interactions are very static.

I will say the Dinobots and Sky Lynx were acceptable and seemed like themselves more so than the other characters. Swindle and Shockers were in character as well.

Glad to finally get away from, well, wherever most of the Transformers are crammed. I didn't quite understand what happened there at the end. Is Swoop a traitor? Or is he just under the influence of someone else? Maybe that's the point, to create questions.

Really hated them giving Shockers his War for Cybertron body instead of his classic self. Shockwave just shouldn't be changed. Anyway, thought that Shockwave's absence this whole time amounted to him planning something all the while. Turns out he was just sitting around doing nothing but letting things unfold. Might as well have been switched off and stashed in a closet. It goes back to the same problem I mention above. Things are just static, like only a few interactions or events can occur at a single moment and everything and everyone else just freezes until it's there moment. Barber has failed to create that hustling, bustling planet one would expect with so many Transformers returning to their home planet and growing by the day.

The art was better this issue than previous issues I thought. Bumbletoad didn't look so much like a frogbot.

Give it a "C+". Some positives like the change of scenery and better art, but usual problems remain in the characterization and story flow departments.

Mr_Tigg · Post by **Mr_Tigg** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 9:35 am

Yaya wrote:It's okay, but still not really 'feeling it'. Characters just don't seem to be themselves somehow, and that continues to be a jarring aspect to this series for me. I find Bumblebee, Prowl, Ironhide, Metalhawk, heck, even Starscream very annoying. Screamer just ain't the same guy. When all the cast just gets on your nerves, somethings not being done right.

It's almost akin to when we were kids and playing with our Transformers. We would line them all up and the ones we wanted to play with we would, and the other guys would just still be standing there in the background. That's what we get here. Two characters are interacting, and the typical goofy Metalhawk stands there in the background like a toy in the same pose like he's some kind of statue. Then, when Barber wants to use him, Starscream is in the background just kind of doing nothing. The character interactions are very static.

I will say the Dinobots and Sky Lynx were acceptable and seemed like themselves more so than the other characters. Swindle and Shockers were in character as well.

Glad to finally get away from, well, wherever most of the Transformers are crammed. I didn't quite understand what happened there at the end. Is Swoop a traitor? Or is he just under the influence of someone else? Maybe that's the point, to create questions.

Really hated them giving Shockers his War for Cybertron body instead of his classic self. Shockwave just shouldn't be changed. Anyway, thought that Shockwave's absence this whole time amounted to him planning something all the while. Turns out he was just sitting around doing nothing but letting things unfold. Might as well have been switched off and stashed in a closet. It goes back to the same problem I mention above. Things are just static, like only a few interactions or events can occur at a single moment and everything and everyone else just freezes until it's there moment. Barber has failed to create that hustling, bustling planet one would expect with so many Transformers returning to their home planet and growing by the day.

The art was better this issue than previous issues I thought. Bumbletoad didn't look so much like a frogbot.

Give it a "C+". Some positives like the change of scenery and better art, but usual problems remain in the characterization and story flow departments.

Elements of your thoughts I agree with, other's I don't.

I do concur that it feels refreshing to get out of the claustrophobic ghetto city environment. To be honest I didn't mind any of the characters barring Bumblebee, who forever comes across as unfit to lead and prone to whiney outbursts.

Prowl I think was perfectly acceptable here, less police brutality, more rational thought, which is what I expect of him. And I actually like the way Barber approaches Ironhide - considering every writer has written him differently (Furman - quiet / stoic, McCarthy - emotional, thuggish, Costa - dumb, tough), I think this is one of his better incarnations. A bit of intelligence behind the silly hick accent.

Not sure why you're bringing up the hate for Shockers WFC body now - it was like that in issue #1 - though I agree it's not a great update. His gun arm looks daft as hell. I don't buy into this "I've been watching things unfold", I reckon that's a red herring to throw us off, which is exactly what Swindle implies!

I thought the ending was deliberately ambiguous myself. They complain throughout the issue about 'interference' and a 'signal' and I don't see why Slag & Swoop would turn on and (presumably kill?) their fellow dinobots as well as Ironhide without some good explanation. I'm a little worried Barber's reasons won't be particularly satisfying considering the obvious weaknesses in his writing, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that their will be a good explanation next issue.

I do agree with you on the whole that the city feels dead. I can't place my finger on exactly what it is, but it does both feel claustrophobic and devoid of life and it's been one of the great weaknesses of the series.

I think that may be why this issue works for me - getting away from the city environment helps give the dialogue room to breath a little more.

Overall, if you were to exclude the incredible DJD scene from the last issue of MTMTE, this is easily on a par with the rest of that particular issue in terms of quality.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:55 pm

Mr_Tigg wrote: Overall, if you were to exclude the incredible DJD scene from the last issue of MTMTE, this is easily on a par with the rest of that particular issue in terms of quality.

Disagree. Take out the DJD scene, and that issue of MTMTE is still better than this. The characterization is just so much better. Sure, Roberts overdoes the comedy, but I'll take that over pure banality any day.

Not trying to be overly harsh, though I think I'm coming off as such. I think this issue was actually better than the last few, for the reasons you mention (getting away from Bot City, some better moments with Sky Lynx, Dinobots, Swindle, Shockwave). But it still leaves more to be desired. So much more should be unfolding on Cybertron. I don't think even Simon would have had the story still at this point eight months later, and he's a slow burner kind of guy (Infiltration).

Roberts=dynamic
Barber=static

But hey, Costa=****, so I'm still buying.

Post by **Best First** » Fri Aug 10, 2012 8:33 am

I'm finding these constant internal monologues pretty draining - if Roberts maybe does a bit too much comedy all of Barber's monologues are ponderous with overly serioous self importance.

Good to get out of wherever it is everyone is supposed to be (this series would really have benefitted from some maps in issue 1) and therefore stop having to see the same 3 nails in background scenes.

And the story felt like it had a bit more momentum.

But...

Take out the DJD and MTMTE is still streets ahead of this.

The key problem for me is, regardless of how good or average (generally the latter) the individual stories are, the set up continues to feel flawed'; Bee isn't credible in his role, Prowl isn't credible to his past, the set up of Cybertron feels wrong - these things suck life out of each issue.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Aug 10, 2012 5:15 pm

As much as I love him I've never liked Roche's Dinobot designs (and it's odd they're using that name for themselves now, translation conversion? It's not as if they ever met Hunter...), I've especially never liked Swoop's anorexic Rocketeer look.

Though with some of them being bashed up here I guess new FoC bodies are on the cards.

Another generally solid issue if unspectacular. Everyone thinking Ironhide is nuts and not caring about his vision is nice, as is Prowl's reason for actually wanting elections.

The hunt outside is a tad overdrawn (we don't learn anything about the Dinobots we didn't already know other than their speech patterns are threatening to go all TV on us at any second) but Ironhide's fear of Megatron- and his attempt to overcome it- was nicely done.

I'm expecting the cliffhanger resolution to be a complete cop out thought, Swoop will have stabbed Ironhide for some practical-if unlikely- good guy reason (as clichéd as to get someone standing right behind Ironhide?).

The whole Prowl's misdemeanours thing really needs to get a move on as well, it feels like ages since Bombshell died. Shockwave seems as bored of that plot as the rest of us.

I think the problem with RID at the moment is that it's been steady. And, as Mr. Garibaldi would say, steady aint sexy. It needs a big OOOMPH moment to kick it into a higher gear.

EDIT: Until I double checked after reading the synopsis on the wiki I didn't spot Snarl taking Ironhide from behind as Swoop stabs (probably more a thing with the size of my phone than the art though). So I'm probably wrong there.

Post by **snarl** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 11:43 am

All too clunky for me, the characters aren't congruent / twats.

Agree with Yaya in that they all just seem to be standing there doing nothing, in one room whilst 2 talk.

The art is "abysmal"

The dialogue... I don't like it. Everybody sounds like they think they're a lot more clever than they are - that self important thing noted by BF. They sound like Teenagers. It's like ******* Grange Hill.

When they're talking, I find myself reminded of the "I'll put a jihad on you too" scene in Team America...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTKqv8h6f1k

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 12:45 pm

It's interesting to compare to Roberts approach, I know he's been accused of being a bit verbose but I think I prefer how he's handling getting the characters inner thoughts over- by talking to each other at length- than Barber's conveying everything through the inner monologue box. It feels a bit more dramatic and keeps things moving more.

Post by **Kaylee** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:16 am

This was much better, I thought. Still not as good as the other ongoing but it didn't feel anywhere near as dull/slow to me.

Am I the only one who desperately wants Starscream, as we know he will, not only doublecross everybody but also stab Metalhawk in his holier-than-thou, self-important face?

Post by **snarl** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:43 am

Metalhawk is a ****

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 3:53 pm

Do you think they doubt the ability of the readers to handle a singularly focused storyline of the Bee/Hawk/Scream politics? I just think this is too scatterbrained. All of a sudden RID is the Ironhide show for a couple issues, and it seems like they feel like they need to constantly force explosions and character reveals to keep people entertained instead of focusing on characterization and sustained plot development.

This issue is entertaining sure, but there's no evidence that the problems plaguing this book are ending.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 7:13 pm

Shanti418 wrote:Do you think they doubt the ability of the readers to handle a singularly focused storyline of the Bee/Hawk/Scream politics?

I'm actually wondering if they've got the slightest clue where that is going and the reason it's being drawn out is Barber is winging it.

I hope he isn't as Starscream has been a highlight of the book for (though it's perhaps to the books detriment that he's more likeable and sensible than the good guys) and it'll be a shame if that turns into a car wreak after all the build up, but it's feeling more and more likely.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 9:43 pm

I think Barber suffers a bit from McCarthy/Costa syndrome, in that the conclusions for most of the subplots aren't anywhere near as exciting as he thinks they are. He did okay with the Ratbat/Arcee shocker, and I thought we were in for some big surprises at that point, but since then the endings have fallen much flatter than I think he's envisioned.

You can see he follows the right format, the typical 'intro/build-up/climax' format that most comic book writers (writers in general, actually) are trained to do. It's the last bit, the climax, where he's been the weakest. The whole Wheeljack/Turmoil/Metalhawk ending. The whole Wheeljack saves the planet in some contrived way ending.

When you spend an entire issue writing about something that doesn't move the overall plot forward a single iota, the 'spotlight' issue better have one darn good ending. These don't. They're lacking, and what's more, the overall major arc thread is suffering for it.

Someone, I think it was snarlz, summed it up best in another thread. The whole thing feels like a Mosaic.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Tue Aug 14, 2012 8:36 am

I have to agree that the plot here is a bit glacial - someone needs to tell Barber that a week is a long time in politics. That said, I think Starscream is playing an absolute blinder and I'm loving his "new" persona. The other thing that bothers me is that we've had two Ironhide issues and two Wheeljack issues now - there are a lots of other characters on Cybertron that I'm interested in but we never really get to spend time with them. Hopefully the re-emergence of Shockwave and the moving forward of the "Prowl's gone mental" plot will change that, I want to see what Soundwave's been up to this whole time for example.

Hot Shot · Post by **Hot Shot** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 1:15 am

I wouldn't be surprised if that "buzzing" is some external source driving the Dinobots nuts.

And I get the sneaking suspicion it'll be an excuse to bring back the toon-talk speech patterns.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Wed Aug 22, 2012 9:49 pm

Got this.

I like it better than previous issues, mostly because I think that Barber handles Ironhide and the Dinobots well. The D-Bots' total silence versus Sky Lynx's loquaciousness = nice characterization.

However. Barber is, for me, focusing entirely on the wrong people, and the Bumblebee scenes just died on the page. Really. Bumbletoad would get elected. Never mind that we've established that 1) Autobot police be crazy and 2) Metalhawk basically represents the majority of the population, who were never crazy about this war.

Starscream and Metalhawk are the most interesting characters in the political landscape here. They are the ones Barber won't focus on to save his life.

But overall, a good issue with a great hanger of an ending.