All Hail Megatron UK style - as you've never seen it before!, Titan sink to a new low! Options

[Korcas]

For the same reason, hamburgers in China really aren't that cheap (but you still feel like a millionaire when you visit, at least outside of the biggest cities).

Not really, I went to Beijing, and still was a millionaire. Taxi ride from one end of the city to the other for 4 bucks? Huge-ass Indian candle light dinner in a fancy restaurant for two people for 35 bucks? China is endlessly cheap for anyone who isn't Chinese. And it's glorious.

Welcome to democracy. Regardless, the more politically charged comments might drag this into the howling wasteland of P&R, so I'll simply add even if we had joined the Euro, Blighty would still get screwed on prices. Always. Under every circumstance.

That's simply not true. Europe prices, at least for things that are commonly available in all European states like games, electronics, toys and whatever are always homogenous. GB would have been better off adapting the Euro, rather than stubbornly sticking to the pound.

[The Ambassador]

So what would stop retailers simply charging more for them, then? I'm genuinely curious, as for the majority of items the simple reason for charging more is generally greed on the part of the retailer - You can add another 25% onto the price of a pair of jeans, say, because the market will bear it.

I fail to see what currency the UK uses changes that. If they'd charge £10 more here, they'd do so no matter what the currency is, because it's not exactly easy to head over the Channel for most of the country. Captive audience, see.

[Korcas]

So what would stop retailers simply charging more for them, then? I'm genuinely curious, as for the majority of items the simple reason for charging more is generally greed on the part of the retailer - You can add another 25% onto the price of a pair of jeans, say, because the market will bear it.

I fail to see what currency the UK uses changes that. If they'd charge £10 more here, they'd do so no matter what the currency is, because it's not exactly easy to head over the Channel for most of the country. Captive audience, see.

You ever hear about the LAW? The Euro is harshly regulated so retailers do NOT do that sort of thing. The Hasbro things in the UK are only so unreasonably expensive because Hasbro DOES exchange the dollar with the pound and euro signs. They ignore the exchange rates and price the item the "same" everywhere, that's a common practice with electronics, too. Having a currency that is very similar to the dollar in its exchange rate leads to prices that are very similar to the dollar prices, ergo, with the Euro, GB would have more humogenous prices, instead of those horrendous ones right now.

Fact is, retailers aren't allowed to overcharge either way. And they usually don't, either, the prices that are demanded for TF in the UK are made by Hasbro, and no one else.

[The Ambassador]

You ever hear about the LAW?

In specifics, or in general terms? Because specific laws regarding Eurozone pricing aren't my area of expertise, hence why I asked. No need to get into a flap about it.

[Detour]

I can't help but wonder if AHM wasn't cut short because of negative reception.

Aren't Titan magazines aimed primarily at kids? I doubt kids would enjoy AHM. It's mostly endless drivel of blablabla that goes absolutely nowhere, with a few poorly-planned action scenes intercut.

[Shockprowl04]

Normally, I'd say "Less AHM is always better", but this is kinda more worthy of a depressed chuckle.

[Boltax]

I can't help but wonder if AHM wasn't cut short because of negative reception.

Aren't Titan magazines aimed primarily at kids? I doubt kids would enjoy AHM. It's mostly endless drivel of blablabla that goes absolutely nowhere, with a few poorly-planned action scenes intercut.

You're assuming Titan cares even slightly about quality.

They reprinted Megatron: Origin in full, as far as I know.

--Boltax.

[Detour]

You're assuming Titan cares even slightly about quality.

They reprinted Megatron: Origin in full, as far as I know.

--Boltax.

Yeah well, as poor a read as Megatron Origin was, from a structural and plot standpoint it's a lot more nicely organized than AHM.
I mean yeah. They both suck. But at least MO is a more structurally coherent piece of suck compared to AHM.

[Moroboshi Ataru]

Visually, though, I would take Guido over Milne; say what we will over the thinness of AHM's plot, but it had a lot of occasions where Guido was doing his best work yet, with great colors...I think that Milne has found his niche with the Movie comics, but Megatron: Origin was not his strongest work by far. (I even prefer his earlier Energon work to it.) AHM was not as well-crafted as M:O storywise (And neither was great), but it was more of a pleasure to read AHM because of the visuals (Which really almost redeem some of the series' stumblings for me....the art at least carries me from the -Ations to the ongoing, where I'm really into the story again, albeit through a bumpy patch in the plot.)

This post has been edited by Moroboshi Ataru: Jan 4 2010, 01:36 AM

[Detour]

Visually, though, I would take Guido over Milne; say what we will over the thinness of AHM's plot, but it had a lot of occasions where Guido was doing his best work yet, with great colors...I think that Milne has found his niche with the Movie comics, but Megatron: Origin was not his strongest work by far. (I even prefer his earlier Energon work to it.) AHM was not as well-crafted as M:O storywise, but it was more of a pleasure to read because of the visuals (Which really almost redeem some of the series' failings for me....it at least carries me from the -Ations to the ongoing, where I'm really into the story again.)

Oh yeah, there's no arguing that Guido's art is superior, but at least Milne's art isn't a complete put-off like SOMEONE and his sneerformers...

And Megatron Origin, at least, doesn't piss and stomp all over what Furman had written prior, save for a handful of people crying out "Primus!" while Furman said there'd be no Primus/Unicron in IDW's universe. I mean it's bad enough AHM is a complete mess in terms of structure and plot but that it went and either disregarded or just undid what Furman established is pretty much the final nail in the coffin.

[Copper Bezel]

So are UK TFs exclusively marketed at the tiny collector market, then? I mean, I don't get who else would pay those kinds of prices, even if the cost of living is higher in general.

In any case, at least the comic came with a blurb hinting at its incompleteness. That's something, and it keeps the whole thing from seeming shady or something. It also reminds me of this new thing with anime, where a series is cut down into an OAV "compilation" - 8 hours of series cut into an hour and a half or two hours.

The results are incoherent, but portable, which seems to be the goal here as well - and I end up asking the same question: who is going to enjoy the story at the full length after experiencing a joyless summary? Alternately, how can one be content with just the short version? So the effect would seem to be to generate a sense of deep need to buy the full version and then never watch or read it.

Marketing is evil.

[The Ambassador]

So are UK TFs exclusively marketed at the tiny collector market, then?

Last I had heard the boys toy market is shrinking at an obscene rate, but I have no hard figures so I can't really back that up.

[Anonymous X]

So are UK TFs exclusively marketed at the tiny collector market, then?

No, as normal toys, normal retail items. The sort that you would buy in the toy aisle section of a supermarket, or Argos, or at a Toys R Us if you happen to have one nearby.

There are some remaining comic/nerd stores scattered around the UK, like the Forbidden Planet chain, where Transformers are sold as collectors' items at jacked-up prices, but those are in the minority.

I personally get all my store-bought Transformers from supermarkets and similar retailers.

[windsweeper]

I could live with the edit if this were like the UK G2 comics from the nineties where they again cut the US material with the idea of starting their own continuity around it. However that was short lived.

What I'd really like if they did that, was if they intended to continue on from the Marvel UK comics that a lot of us grew up on. The only conflicting material between those comics and the G1 stuff the current comics have shown are the combiners in Megatron:Origin. But that could easily be retconned I think in suggesting the old comics had them rebuilt rather than created on Earth. I suppose because the current UK mag has some of the original crew working on it that has me entertaining such an idea.

But then Vol 1 did create it's own Movieverse so perhaps not so farfetched?

[Dinogrrl]

What's odd about this is that they ran the first five issues, the slowest and most boring of the set, in full, before cutting out pretty much all the actual action in the story! I wonder if they intended to butcher it in this fashion all along or changed tack mid-stream in order to fit something else in as the backup strip?

[Magnusblitz]

Yeah, I'm sure you COULD cut AHM down, but most of the condenseable stuff is in the first few issues, which they apparently ran unchanged. Strange.

But man, Prime coming back in what, 2 pages instead of 9? Man, the only thing that could make that better is him walking back in on the very same page. "I'm not dead! I'm feeling better!"

[Esser-Z]

And Megatron Origin, at least, doesn't piss and stomp all over what Furman had written prior, save for a handful of people crying out "Primus!" while Furman said there'd be no Primus/Unicron in IDW's universe.

What if there IS no Primus, still? Could be a religion that's not true. OR the word Primus could simply be an expletive in IDW!

[Spark]

Bad story that wastes 12 issues.

Bad story that wastes 1 issue.

I think Titan's version is quite convenient.

Yep. I enjoy this one for the added comedy value of the re-edited pages.

[Walky]

"Prime's DEAD, and I think it's because he wanted OUT" is seriously the best thing to ever come out of AHM.

[Esser-Z]

Haha, amazing.