MTMTE #8 (Spoilers)

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Wed Aug 22, 2012 9:36 pm

Wasn't the big Grimlock-vs-the-DJD brawl that I was expecting, but as usual, James gave us a great twist, although he seems to be relying a little much on the whole "odd implications of being a Transformer bit." I love the Cybertronian carpet-bombing method!

And of course, an interesting twist on Grimlock. His story from the last few years is begging to be told.

Annual on the 29th! Holy ****, there has never been a better time to read these comics. I'm gonna remember the TF comics love of this summer quite fondly.

Mr_Tigg · Post by **Mr_Tigg** » Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:52 am

Did anyone else notice how Misfire mentions that Flywheels obsession with discovering the Necrobot will now go unfulfilled, when in the previous issue it was Misfire himself who was the one hunting for Necrobot! Bit of a balls up there.

I felt slightly disappointed with this issue. It was still good, clean fun with plenty to like but I expected a bit more raw action focused around Grimlock.

Also pretty sure the solicitations mentioned we'd get to learn what Grimlock had been up to since going AWOL from Garrus-9, when really the plot barely focused on him at all.

Hound · Post by **Hound** » Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:58 am

It didn't fizzle like previous issues but it was a great issue still.

I'm really enjoying following the Scavengers. I hope we see more of them in future issues. Misfire is great.

The cliffhanger doesn't paint a positive future for a lot of the Lost Lught crew

Post by **snarl** » Thu Aug 23, 2012 1:19 pm

I found this issue to be one of my faves so far, but reading other opinions
It seems like people are down on it a bit...

Re: feeling a bit short changed because there wasn't the whole down low on Grimlock... y'all just need to chill your instant gratification bones you [composite word including 'f*ck'], it will come!

Realistically, it could never have been Grimlock v the DJD, because although he's tough, they would have killed him... And we don't want that to happen yet do we.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Thu Aug 23, 2012 1:38 pm

I quite like finger-staring Grimlock, he can hang out with Spinister.

Regarding Misfire/Flywheels and the Necrobot, James Roberts posted on IDW that it was a "big mistake" and he'd fix it in the trade.

Post by **Best First** » Thu Aug 23, 2012 3:04 pm

snarl wrote:I found this issue to be one of my faves so far, but reading other opinions
It seems like people are down on it a bit...

I'm with you mate - love it.

Everyone else is clearly a muffin farmer.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 12:42 am

Very good issue again but not quite as good as the last few.

One thing about Roberts that makes reading his stuff so fun is that he is highly unpredictable. You just really don't know what's going to happen, he throws so many curve balls.

Grimlock just wakes up, takes a few swings, and falls flat on his face for a few panels. 'Dinobot Month' indeed. But loving the Grimlock-Decepticon loser scavengers team-up. Very much looking forward to their intergalactic escapades. LOVED the failed bomb attempt by Fulcrum at the end. Best part of the issue and had me rolling.

The DJD are an interesting lot. Have to give kudos to James again for creating the most vile Decepticons I think I've witnessed since I became a TF fan 25+ years ago. I mean, that one guy with the whirling blades housed in his chasis? That's just cold, running Flywheels through himself like that. Can't wait to see the DJD get their asses handed to them on a Cyberstick though.

Disappointed in the art this time around. Coloring seemed rushed.

Give it an "A-". Loving this series. It's weaknesses would be considered the strong points of the stuff we've had in the past.

Post by **snarl** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 8:32 am

Sometimes Yaya, I look at what you write and I wonder if you have a problem with your eyes and / or brain!

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 12:28 pm

Regarding the list at the end, then:

Hound, Chromedome, Dipstick, Drift and Ultra Magnus.

Magnus's name wasn't a surprise but the other four?

Hound - he's been a bit underused lately but I am quite fond of him and it would surely be sad to see him go. It's unclear what could lead to his death at this point since he doesn't seem to be doing anything and I'd hate for him to just be collateral damage.

Chromedome - very interesting. He's got fingers in a few pies (and also a couple of heads) any of which could lead to his demise. I'd wager his investigation into Skids's amnesia will lead to his undoing but hopefully he'll give us some explanations before he croaks.

Dipstick - poor little guy, I really like him. Hopefully he'll get to come out with some Cybertronian swearing ("Clutch-munching piston-licker!") first. Again, I hope he's not just collateral.

Drift - well, this is the big one, isn't it? IDW's very own made-up G1 Autobot car, picked up by Hasbro and available in stores now? I mean sure, everyone hated him when he was first revealed but I think under James "everything Drift says is wrong" Roberts Poochy has had something of a renaissance. I've really enjoyed his double act with Ratchet recently, for example. It'd certainly be a shocker to see him killed off, that's for sure.

Thoughts?

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 1:33 pm

snarl wrote:Sometimes Yaya, I look at what you write and I wonder if you have a problem with your eyes and / or brain!

How much do I have to praise this to pass Snarlz 'sanity test'?

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 1:39 pm

Metal Vendetta wrote:Magnus's name wasn't a surprise but the other four?

Thoughts?

Are we sure this is the necrobot and that the list is a 'death list'? It's presented that way, but knowing Roberts, it's just another curveball and this dude ain't no Necrobot.

Regarding Magnus, I would love to see him go all out in displaying why he's one of the Autobot bigwigs. He's been the butt of many a joke, but in the end, he is a badass after all, and would love for James to just take the 'enough with the jokes, let's kick some ass' route with him so that he can salvage whatever dignity he has left.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 1:58 pm

Yaya wrote:Are we sure this is the necrobot and that the list is a 'death list'? It's presented that way, but knowing Roberts, it's just another curveball and this dude ain't no Necrobot.

Well yeah, it is presented that way quite heavily and of course there's always the possibility that there's more than meets the eye here...but the shadow falling across the corpse and his knowing Flywheels's name just from what's left of his legs? Eh...I'd say it's not looking good for the Lost Light crew.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 4:38 pm

Metal Vendetta wrote:and of course there's always the possibility that there's more than meets the eye here...

EH? EH? EHHHH?

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Aug 24, 2012 7:07 pm

So, in the end only RID actually felt like a proper Dinobot story with the other two comics feeling more "Oh, ffs OK, here's Grimlock as a contractual obligation, now go away". In the event any floating buyers did pick up this or Reg specifically because of the heavy Dinobot promotion chances are they'll be cheesed off enough at the false advertising not to bother coming back.

Bad points about the issue first:

As with last month, the virtual ignoring of the lead characters and ongoing plots in order to incorporate a side show worries me in the long term. Effectively everything that matters in terms of the balls already in the air across both issues could have been covered in about six pages (Rung and Red Alert, Chromedome and Skids, the DJD finding Overlord and maybe the OMINOUS DEATH FORESHADOWING).

With IDW's history with long running plots I'd much rather the book focus on finishing old business before starting new. Especially as it looks as if Krok's Crew (that's what we should call them and I'm going to keep doing it till you all do) are heading off to RID (at least long enough to bring all the Dinobots back together) and won't have much more bearing on the events of MTMTE.

The DJD were fairly useless, against a bunch of useless nobodies they have far, far too much trouble. Overlord will make a toast rack from their bones in about three minutes.

There was also a recurrance of that Furman oddity of "Well, I've like totally won this fight and could kill you right here right now and it would only take seconds but there's this... thing I've got to go do. So I won't. Even though it's taking me about the same amount of time to deliver my Next Time Gadget! speech as it would to actually just kill you". See Trypticon in War Within 2 and Sixshot in Devastation.

The Misfire/Flywheels/Necrobot FUBAR was annoying as well. [According to the Wiki Roberts has said an error in this two parter will be fixed for the trade... Considering for the irony to work it should be the seeker the Necrobot finds will Flywheels be redrawn into that role in issue 7?]

The good:

All of Krok's crew were well written and hugely likeable and basically carried a fairly light plot.

Alex Milne continues to come along in leaps and bounds, he's really on top of his game now and seems a million light years away from the chap who did work so muddled and messy he deserved to be repeatedly tricked by Pat Lee into not getting paid for it.

The Necrobot amused me as I like to think it took 18 months for him to get around to Flywheels because Prowl has been keeping him busy by killing everyone on Cybertron.

EDIT: Oh, and it turns out Skids is the John Simm version of the Master, with all that music going on in his head. Not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Post by **Kaylee** » Sat Aug 25, 2012 8:46 am

That was very good. The DJD are an excellent addition to TF lore, I think. I do, in honesty, find them quite horrific. They're such horrible sadists and, even though they're only attacking minor characters introduced last issue, I found their punishment of the Scavengers quite appalling.

Grimmers is looking worse for wear- do we know what happened to him or is it all to be revealed?

I really like the development of the Decepticons here. They really do range the gamut from 'I just think Megatron is right' to out-and-out lunatics and psychopaths. Organisations like the DJD exist to keep the masses in line, even if they fall out of love with their Dear Leader when they recognise he may have had a point once but is now a tyrant.

Not a lot of development on the Lost Light, though. I wonder how much of this story is being developed en route and how much is actually planned out?

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 7:36 am

Karl wrote:Grimmers is looking worse for wear- do we know what happened to him or is it all to be revealed?

According to the solicits, we were supposed to find out this issue...except we didn't. I imagine that it'll come up at some point, though.

Karl wrote:Not a lot of development on the Lost Light, though. I wonder how much of this story is being developed en route and how much is actually planned out?

The double-length annual looks like it'll concentrate squarely on the Lost Light, so hopefully their plotlines will get moved along some. From the preview image of Magnus that I linked above, not to mention the message from the future at the end of issue #1 I'd say James has things pretty much nailed down. All together now:

Don't open the coffin. Don't let them take Skids. Don't go to Delphi. And do not — I repeat do not — look in the basement. And for the sake of the Cybertronian race itself, please don'tkzzzzzzzk

Post by **Kaylee** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 10:35 am

nom nom nom

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 2:51 pm

Any guesses on who's saying this? Can't be Skids, we know that. Likely someone who is directly involved with the subject of those warnings.

I'm going to say either Red Alert, though he wasn't directly involved with Delphi. If not him, then going with Ratchet.

If I'm not mistaken, BeeFster said there's a prize for the person who guesses right. And I'm never mistaken.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 4:07 pm

Yaya wrote:And I'm never mistaken.

Yaya, circa 2009 wrote:But the Costa story featuring Starscream? Fantastic! This guy is "The One", I just know it, just from these few pages.

The dialogue was very clever, the best from IDW yet. Starscream's monologue was excellent, as was his interaction with Soundwave. Loved the swipe at the animated movie when Starscream muses "if I throw Megatron out the airlock, something tells me he'd just come back more powerful than ever." Loved that.

And the art on that Starscream story? I'd say it's the best since E.J.'s painted Sideswipe story. If these guys were on the ongoing, I don't think I could be any happier.

If this is what we have in store for us, I'm stoked. Give it an "A+".

Please IDW, let Costa try the ongoing.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:26 pm

bumblemusprime wrote:
Yaya wrote:And I'm never mistaken.

Yaya, circa 2009 wrote:But the Costa story featuring Starscream? Fantastic! This guy is "The One", I just know it, just from these few pages.

The dialogue was very clever, the best from IDW yet. Starscream's monologue was excellent, as was his interaction with Soundwave. Loved the swipe at the animated movie when Starscream muses "if I throw Megatron out the airlock, something tells me he'd just come back more powerful than ever." Loved that.

And the art on that Starscream story? I'd say it's the best since E.J.'s painted Sideswipe story. If these guys were on the ongoing, I don't think I could be any happier.

If this is what we have in store for us, I'm stoked. Give it an "A+".

Please IDW, let Costa try the ongoing.

LOL

I was hoping none would ever dig this comment up. Thought it might be MV or Smooth or BeeFsteak who would. And it would end up as their sig.

Et tu Bumblebeemus? Then fall Yaya!

I still don't believe it was Costa who wrote that. As a punishment, it will be displayed as my own sig. So that all who cross my path may know the fate of those who speaketh out of their arseth.

Post by **Best First** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:47 pm

In...nnnn....fairness...I...I...yarrrrgh...think..mrrrrost...of...of...nrrrr...
us...ohgodohgod...thoughtthatatthetime

RARGH.

There. I did it.

Damnit.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sun Aug 26, 2012 9:47 pm

BeeFsteak! Thou has free'th me from thine prison!

Post by **Best First** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:04 am

Yeah but you are immediately reincarcerated for thinking that BeeFsteak is in any way an amusing play in words.

Sucks to be you JaJa, sucks to be you.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:20 pm

Thanks, BestFriend!

This is listed for release next week on IDW message boards:
September 5
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye Annual 2012
Transformers: Regeneration One #83
Transformers: Robots in Disguise #9

Sweetest week yet?

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:39 pm

Looking pretty sweet - I've been trading in duplicate toys at the comic shop and I've just found three more at the back of a cupboard, so I get to pick these bad boys up and emerge with a profit on my tab as well

Have to say you've already ordered them according to my anticipation of reading them too - really can't wait for the MTMTE annual

Impactor returns 2.0 · Post by **Impactor returns 2.0** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:44 pm

My first Annual buy since, oh I dunno... the one where Magnus and Galvy are on the front cover!!! thats going back a bit...

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 7:56 am

Slightly spoily link below, Ronseal:
http://demitri12jim.deviantart.com/art/ ... -321808445

Mr_Tigg · Post by **Mr_Tigg** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 2:23 pm

Yaya wrote:Thanks, BestFriend!

This is listed for release next week on IDW message boards:
September 5
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye Annual 2012
Transformers: Regeneration One #83
Transformers: Robots in Disguise #9

Sweetest week yet?

What's the annual? I'm confused! How does it link to the monthly issues?

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 2:29 pm

Mr_Tigg wrote:What's the annual? I'm confused! How does it link to the monthly issues?

Double-length issue that apparently happens between #7 and #8. Out this week, it seems. Metroplex is on the cover.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:48 pm

Talk about a dangling plot thread. Metroplex has been AWOL for like two years now, it seems.

If he's in the annual, I take it Alpha Trion will be there too?