the vynsane asylum

IDW Needs a New Editor!

Aside from the 'not having any experience in any form whatsoever' I feel we are all qualified to at least throw our hat into the ring. Anarky, I think you'd be perfect for the job.

Okay, Rollo, I've taken your advice. I had a Gold Box deal on TF Vol 3 today, and ordered it (and pre-ordered 4-5, since it's usually cheaper to pre-order than to get them after they come out). I added IDW's TF serieses to my ever-expanding list of shit to get, and found I'm still in quite good shape. I'm only missing Volume 2 (which I might see if I can snag at a Borders if they ever get their "blowout prices" below Amazon's regular prices and if anything's left), New Avengers/Transformers (which was universally hailed as a pile of shit and has some shitty artwork, not to mention is out of print as a collection and going for stupid prices, but I might snag on the off chance I ever find it dirt cheap, just because otherwise the fucking awesome Seeker badass Ramjet only appears in a single issue from IDW and goes out like a bitch), and Infestation Vols 1-2. I'd skip Infestation, since I still think it's a moronic idea, but I understand it ties into the return of Galvatron, what with him essentially being a robot zombie and all. (I may as well get both volumes instead of just the TF tie-ins which are collected in the first volume along with the GIJoe throwaway tie-in, simply because it makes sense to get the full story unless the first volume sucks ass.)

Okay, here's a random question:

The Star Trek tie-ins to Infestation appear to take place in the "original" timeline, prior to whatever hipster shit went down in the movie and replaced all the classic actors with guys from Harold & Kumar. So, since that timeline no longer exists or whatever, does that mean that the Ghostbusters never met Galvatron, or what-the-fuck-ever?

Well, that would just be a goddamn travesty.

If Galvatron never met the Ghostbusters, the whole damn thing falls apart.

Fuck it, I'm quitting comics.

Looks like IDW is now reprinting the Marvel run of Transformers... complete with the Marvel characters like Spider-Man and Circuit Breaker!

FUCK YES!!

Now I can read these old stories without the fear of damaging the originals.

Looks like some of the earlier IDW collections might be going out of print. TF Vol 1 & Last Stand of the Wreckers are unavailable new from Amazon. I've been needing Vol 2 for a while, and it shot up to $19.27 a couple of weeks ago. I went to check just now to see if it dropped, and it's suddenly listed as a "bargain book" for $7.80, with only six copies in stock.

So, yeah, aside from the Avengers crossover (which I'm not too concerned about), I should be caught up on IDW Transformers as of Tuesday.

Two unrelated thoughts:

First, I got an e-mail from Amazon this morning that started with this (and ended with boilerplate):

Hello,

We have received new release date information related to the order you placed on September 06 2011 (Order# [nonayadambizness]). The item(s) listed below will actually ship sooner than we originally expected based on the new release date:

Simon Furman, et al "Transformers Classics: UK Volume 1"
Previous estimated arrival date: January 12 2012
New estimated arrival date: October 27 2011

Now, I know that IDW's release dates aren't exactly the firmest, and expect pre-orders to shift back or forth by a few weeks. But three months? Wow. I'm not going to complain about getting Furman Transformers stories I've never read early (and thought it was a miracle that Vol. 2 was scheduled for February, a much shorter delay between volumes than normal), but this is crazy.

Second, I haven't fully re-read it yet, but Classic Transformers Vol. 1. Holy shit. GIJoe stands the test of time, a few blips aside. Transformers, well, I know it gets much better when Furman comes on board, but, if we weren't kids obsessed with the toys when this came out, I don't think we ever would've read a second issue of this. Budiansky is at the weakest I've seen (and, oddly, the intro mentions he wanted to do TF because the pay on a licensed book was higher, which is the opposite of what I've always heard with GIJoe, though it's possible the pay scale changed in the intervening two years), but he still writes rings around the guy who did the first four.

They're not unreadable, but, man, they're not great. At least I know that the short-lived "Golden Era of Budiansky" is coming up with the ongoing plot about decapitated Optimus Prime and Ratchet's quest to destroy Megatron, but some of this is painful to read.

If I were going to loan this to someone to read, I'd have to caution them that it's a 55-issue, less-than-stellar prologue the the excellent 24 issues at the end.

EDIT: Just looked it up, since I couldn't remember, and there were two guys who wrote the first four: Bill Mantlo and Ralph Macchio. These aren't slouches here. With lackluster writing from them and Budiansky, I can't help but wonder if the mindset was "licensed books pay more, but no one gives a shit how good the story is, so we don't need to either."

I chalk the less than stellar writing to them not having a grasp on the concept at the time.

True that.

Apparently even the great Denny O'Neil's take on Transformers sucked so bad, they only kept one, maybe two, names (Optimus Prime and possibly Prowl--no one seems sure on that one), and used a couple of mothballed names later (Ultra Magnus, Fortress Maximus). Denny O'Neil, man. We're talking the Batman editor during the strongest period of Batman history (aside from possibly when he himself was writing it).

Anyhow, Transformers Volume 2 arrived today. (As an aside, Amazon's normally not the best place to get comics if you're concerned about condition, but the remaindered books appear to be in even worse shape. But, hey, about 70% off, I can live with some creases.) You were absolutely right; the book gets remarkably better in this volume. This is shaping up to be a totally new take on the franchise, and it's enjoyable again. (I didn't even think Last Stand of the Wreckers was all that great, to be honest, but this is back in the saddle. Even with your recommendation, I'm a bit surprised; Volume 1 was one of the worst comics I've ever read.)

My only gripe, and it's relatively minor since everything works as a whole, are some "off" characterizations. Onslaught was particularly off; he's supposed to be the Combaticon leader and a genius tactician, and here he's sort of Brawl 2... and he and Brawl are both complaining that Swindle isn't around to lead them. Swindle, IIRC, wasn't connected to the team the other time we saw him in the IDW-verse (Spotlight Magnus?), but "just" a Decepticon war criminal. Also seemed a bit odd to see both the Predacons and Combaticons working as partial teams. And Brawn, since when did he become a mishmash of the worst attributes of Huffer and Cliffjumper?

And which Constructicon was killed by Spike? I thought Long Haul based entirely on the smokestacks and tires, as well as the head shape, but one of the covers looks more like Scrapper (which is what the Wikia says). We never see him in vehicle mode. (And, if it's Scrapper, him being stupid is another grossly out-of-character bit; Long Haul and Bonecrusher were the only Combaticons who weren't very smart.) It's not like I don't know all these characters. I did a silent cheer when Pounce appeared over Dreadwind, and even recognized fucking Quake from the first shot. (Okay, admittedly, I was one of the few people who had Pounce, Dreadwind, and Quake, but I had all the Constructicons but Long Haul and Mixmaster too, dammit, and was quite familiar with those two since I had friends who had them.)

Anyway, I don't mean to sound gripey. Seriously, this is the best new Transformers story I've read since probably Stormbringer. Now when the fuck is Grimlock coming back, since some of the advance art I've seen for future issues make it appear that Thunderwing isn't quite as dead as thought, so that fucking metal dinosaur better be showing up soon.

BTW, it's explicitly stated there are four confirmed Cybertronians in North Korea, with energon facilities sufficient to sustain five. But we only see Brawl, Onslaught, and Vortex. Are we supposed to assume Blast Off is the fourth? And, if there are five, who's that, since it's pretty clear it's not Swindle?

Jesus, Rollo! I read Vol. 3 last night. Well, that was my intention. I wound up staying up late and tearing through 3-5, only stopping because that's all the collections they've published so far.

HOW THE HELL DID A BOOK THAT WAS SO BAD IN THE BEGINNING GET SO GOOD?

This is on par with Furman's work. Not his IDW run, or G2, but the last 24 issues of the Marvel run. Fucking amazing. The setup with Galvatron not only not being Megatron, but trying to save the universe is unexpected (sure, they were already two separate characters, but this is like completely different Galvatron), and the Prime/Megatron is like nothing ever seen in a TF comic--entirely true to both characters, but complex and fresh.

Thank you, Rollo Tomassi, from the bottom of my heart. Had you, some whose opinion I respect, not recommended that I give the title another shot after the neverending dullness of All Hail Megatron and the unspeakably shitty first arc of the ongoing, I would be missing out on all of this.

I'm as shocked as you are. That Megatron/Prime flashback 2 parter is probably the best TF comic story I've ever read. They could do an entire ongoing series set in the past and I'd be hooked.

And I can't wait for you to read 'Chaos' when it hits in TPB. After you're done you'll be 'Furman who?'

It was Volume 6, with "Police Action" being Volume 7. But they switched them. I think both are due out in February. But it's IDW, so who knows.

Lookee what IDW is offering on FCBD in 2012. Squeeee!!!


IDW Publishing
Transformers #80.5
Simon Furman (w); Andrew Wildman (p), Stephen Baskerville (i); Wildman (c)
The wait is over--after a 20-year hiatus, IDW proudly returns to the original TRANSFORMERS comic book universe, picking up right where 1991's TRANSFORMERS #80 left off! Optimus Prime, Grimlock, Kup, Hot Rod and all your favorite Generation One TRANSFORMERS characters charge into the future as fan-favorite writer Simon Furman and legendary Transformers artist Andrew Wildman present TRANSFORMERS #80.5! Reflecting back on the dizzying highs and the terrifying lows of the original run of Transformers comics, Optimus Prime watches over a Cybertron that hasn't faced Megatron for decades. But that peace shudders to an end, as we dive headlong into July's TRANSFORMERS #81!
Because the Fans demanded it! Thousands of TRANSFORMERS fans signed petitions urging us to make this book--and IDW listened!

Cool as it sounds, you realize this means there will be three distinct continuations of Transformers by Simon Furman....

Given that #80 sort of wrapped up, but G2 #12 ended on a cliffhanger, I'd honestly rather have G2 #13 with Wildman art.

But, hey, I ain't complainin' at all.

Since it says OP is on Cybertron decades later, I'm guessing it happens Post-G2, but continues with the original numbering. G2 could retroactively be considered a Limited Maxi Series.
At any rate, I'm stoked.