Dark Cybertron Part 5

[Best First]

Ooooh. That was a right old mess.

having your art go kablooey for you big "draw fans in" cross over is not a great move.

Same for your plot.

I kind of enjoyed Ironhide repeatedly punching Nova Prime in the face, but the rest - Yeesh.

we could have had 3 more issues of MTMTE goodness by now. bah.

[Metal Vendetta]

Yeah, this was just a bit of a mess generally. I had to go and read McFeely's summary over at the wiki to make sense of what I just read, and even then I was confused. The panels where Ironhide is fighting Nemesis Prime suffer from being tiny and indistinct - apparently Ironhide punches him back through Megatron into the Dead Universe? But then somehow Galvatron gets through and rips Megatron in half? I really couldn't follow this at all.

Good bits - well, there's some decent banter between the 'Bots and 'Cons though the Lost Light reference felt forced and unnecessary (and as far as those Autobots are concerned don't they still think everyone on board died in the explosion?) I quite liked Nightbeat playing Sherlock Holmes though Cyclonus's reaction felt wrong - he should be a bit past "I'll kill you all!" by now. Bumblebee saying "crap" was vaguely amusing too.

[Metal Vendetta]

we could have had 3 more issues of MTMTE goodness by now. bah.

As they said in the comic shop today, it'll all be over by March. Though they also mentioned that Hasbro are keen to do this sort of thing every year now. Argh.

[Best First]

Also the scene with Glvatron and Nove Prime coming out of Megs was really, really wierd looking.

[snarl]

Hmm... I quite liked the new art, and didn't mind the story either. As far as RiD issues go, I read it and thought "not great, but erm... not terrible"

[Computron]

My desire to collect every issue involving MTMTE characters is waging war with my desire not to be exposed to pants on head writing. I want to support TF comics, but argh, why do they make it so hard? Do I need to buy this issue or will the wiki summary make do?

[Jack Cade]

The whole portal in Megatron's body business is just ludicrous. Even one of you would struggle to get through a hole in someone's chest/abdomen, but two at the same time? And Nova needed help getting out to the extent that Ironhide was able to punch him back down, like some kind of whack-a-rat game? Except Galvatron somehow manages to get through in the confusion?

I did like the banter between the different characters, and Nightbeat's detective workout. But that's about it, unfortunately.

Metalhawk irrational as ever. "You let this happen!" What a hypocrite.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

Err um what?
I have no idea what was going on there.

Nightbeat was fun but the stuff with nova prime being knocked back to the other universe?
Didn't follow that at all.

Very strange, in a bad way.

[bumblemusprime]

Kieron Gillen's Marvel exclusive is up in March or April.

I vote Barber off the boat.

[Best First]

"Metalhawk is my favourite character"

[Impactor returns 2.0]

"Metalhawk is my favourite character"

hes so dull ....

[Mr_Tigg]

Sadly I agree with the consensus that this was a terrible mess of an issue.

Someone said in a previous thread (think it was Yaya) something along the lines of "events in Barber's narrative seem to happen in a vacuum" - this issue captures the spirit of that comment like nothing else.

Why can Shockwave suddenly swap arms with Waspinator and control a titan? When did Metalhawk get his arm back? Why does he hate everyone? How did Galvatron get out the portal with no one noticing? Why does Skywarp's teleportation go haywire?

Contrary to other people, I found Nightbeat's Sherlock Holmes moment awfully cheesy and lame too.

And don't get me started on the art! It did not help the confusing dialogue one bit. In fact it made it harder to figure out what was going on. Both the artists in this issue to my mind aren't bad pinup artists, but jeez they don't half lack on instinct for sequential image making.

[Yaya]

Mess? It was a total cluster-[composite word including 'f*ck'].

Cue circus music.

Random nonsensical things just happen. I mean, what was the deal with Skywarp not being able to control himself? Sheesh, I mean the guys just walking around in the background like a ghost the whole time with his teeth chattering while Ironhide is punching Nova Prime in the face repeatedly like a whack-a-mole (and successfully. So much for Nova being a force to be reckoned with) and Soundwave is mudwrestling with Shockers. Galvatron appears out of nowhere and proceeds to rip Megatron in half. I'll give Barber this. He's totally unpredictable. In a very, very bad sort of way.

And Shockwave! Or is it Slimwave? That may have been the worst looking Shockwave I have ever seen.

Didn't think Metalhawk could get more annoying. I was wrong.

Again, the only parts that are palatable are the Roberts written parts.

Goes from "meh" to "blah".

[bumblemusprime]

I really like the style of Robert Gill's art, and a few of his panels--mostly the big reveals, like Metalhawk and Metroplex--are stellar. But man his sense of composition is really hurting this story.