All Hail Megatron # 15, Mind the trouser-shards, and watch out for Kup & Percy Options

[M Sipher]

This certainly shows promise... but frankly, I'm more keen on seeing what Roche can do when he ISN'T backing up a dump-truck full of plothole-filler and playing Drastic Continuity Repair.


M "But Yes. This Is Probably The Most Fun G1 Prowl's Ever Been, And It's Right On The Mark Character-Wise" Sipher

[Reload]

I think IDW does appreciate good writing, but more importantly (like any other comic publisher) it places a greater significance on making money/ a significant profit.

I think they were beginning to see sales stagnate, and the return they were getting with the franchise (considering the licence fee, etc) wasn't as great as they would like so they decided to take a creative risk with McCarthy and effectively "reboot" the series (in the sense that Batman and Robin #1 released a few months ago is a soft-reboot of the Batman series) hoping that a different approach would yield greater critical and commercial success.

The result of this risky endeavour was that things remained pretty much the same.

I imagine that if a writer like Roche who appears to be universally loved by fan and critic alike was given an opportunity to shine and create a story which dazzled and impressed existing readers as well as being able to generate new reader interest as a result of this fresh approach...which in turn leads to mo' money, mo' money mo' money...then I'm sure IDW might be inclined to go in that direction is all I'm saying. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif)

This post has been edited by Reload: Sep 12 2009, 08:09 PM

[Jeysie]

I imagine that if a writer like Roche who appears to be universally loved by fan and critic alike was given an opportunity to shine and create a story which dazzled and impressed existing readers as well as being able to generate new reader interest as a result of this fresh approach...which in turn leads to mo' money, mo' money mo' money...then I'm sure IDW might be inclined to go in that direction is all I'm saying. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif)

And I'm skeptical, for various reasons. The whole ridiculousness with AHM, Coda, and the way they run their forums, plus things like Don's art "experiment", along with some other reasons, has made me very dubious about IDW's creative tastes lately. I think Roche is more a matter of IDW lucking out with one of their choices being a good one rather than indicative of IDW being on the ball again.

They had a good thing creatively, went and threw it away instead of trying to back it up with better marketing, and most of the signs so far are that they don't have anything to replace it with for the most part.

This post has been edited by Jeysie: Sep 12 2009, 08:16 PM

[Reload]

I imagine that if a writer like Roche who appears to be universally loved by fan and critic alike was given an opportunity to shine and create a story which dazzled and impressed existing readers as well as being able to generate new reader interest as a result of this fresh approach...which in turn leads to mo' money, mo' money mo' money...then I'm sure IDW might be inclined to go in that direction is all I'm saying. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif)

And I'm skeptical, for various reasons. The whole ridiculousness with AHM, Coda, and the way they run their forums, plus things like Don's art "experiment", along with some other reasons, has made me very dubious about IDW's creative tastes lately. I think Roche is more a matter of IDW lucking out with one of their choices being a good one rather than indicative of IDW being on the ball again.

They had a good thing creatively, went and threw it away instead of trying to back it up with better marketing, and most of the signs so far are that they don't have anything to replace it with for the most part.

We'll see how it all plays out (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif)

Exciting stuff.

[Powered Convoy]

My only problem is Prowl getting socked in the jaw again. I hope that doesn't become a consistent thing, him getting punched in the face. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

Randy

[Total Biscuit]

My only problem is Prowl getting socked in the jaw again. I hope that doesn't become a consistent thing, him getting punched in the face. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

Randy

I hope not, Prowls just not Prowl to me if he's not making someone want to hit him. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif)

And while, bizarrely, I really hope Reload is right, and Roche ends up getting the ongoing at some point down the line (even if it means losing his wonderful art) I just have zero faith in IDW management anymore.

And even if they did let Roche take the reigns, we'd still have the threat of yet another 'soft' reboot hanging over it. It's one of the main things preventing me getting my hopes up about the ongoing certainly, while the more self contained Wreckers mini at least will feel more complete to me after it's 6 issue.

[Database]

My only problem is Prowl getting socked in the jaw again. I hope that doesn't become a consistent thing, him getting punched in the face. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

Randy

I hope it is. A days just not complete untill Prowl makes someone punch him. He's like the Brainy Smurf of Transformers. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

[Powered Convoy]

The things is, as far as Autobots go, in a real fight, Prowl isn't one another Autobot would want to actually mess with (having fairly high stats).

Randy

[Xed51]

Nick Roche is the future of this franchise

Uh, why?
Don't get me wrong, I'd love for Roche to be the future of the franchise. I just can't see this turning into reality since IDW doesen't seem to do nothing but banking on other parts of the franchise or on the current most famous subculture.
(McCarthy's emo bulljive, G1 cartoon nostalgia, movie franchise inspired designs for the ongoing, etc.)
Roche writing is way to innovative & intelligent to ever be mainstreamized.
I mean look at that preview. 5 pages without explosions, angst or sex jokes.

Good writing + critical acclaim + fan love =money.

ROTF grossed 100 million dollars. It was not well written and it was bashed both by the critic and by the fans.
And hey, also furman comics were well written and acclaimed. But guess what, IDW preferred to piss on all his work to make an emo version of G1.
Nah I can't really belive this equation to be true. If well written fan acclaimed comics were a commercial success then most of the comicbook editors are crazy, because it happens all the time that a fan acclaimed run is dropped for something more nostalgic & generic. (Spider-man's brand new day, ultimates 3, etc.)

Reload: If IDW had any taste in appreciating writing, Furman would still be in the game and we wouldn't have gotten derailed with AHM in the first place. And we'd have a Spotlight: Cosmos. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif)

Didn't mowry drop Spotlight: Cosmos because he was pissed off about all the negative feedback that AHM was recieving?
I remember him complaining about the fans bashing all the G1 stuff just for the sake of it.

"in all honesty, the reaction to things as of late with G1-related stories really has me not interested in doing this at all."

This post has been edited by Xed51: Sep 13 2009, 10:51 AM

[Reload]

Nick Roche is the future of this franchise

Uh, why?
Don't get me wrong, I'd love for Roche to be the future of the franchise. I just can't see this turning into reality since IDW doesen't seem to do nothing but banking on other parts of the franchise or on the current most famous subculture.
(McCarthy's emo bulljive, G1 cartoon nostalgia, movie franchise inspired designs for the ongoing, etc.)
Roche writing is way to innovative & intelligent to ever be mainstreamized.
I mean look at that preview. 5 pages without explosions, angst or sex jokes.

Good writing + critical acclaim + fan love =money.

ROTF grossed 100 million dollars. It was not well written and it was bashed both by the critic and by the fans.
And hey, also furman comics were well written and acclaimed. But guess what, IDW preferred to piss on all his work to make an emo version of G1.
Nah I can't really belive this equation to be true. If well written fan acclaimed comics were a commercial success then most of the comicbook editors are crazy, because it happens all the time that a fan acclaimed run is dropped for something more nostalgic & generic. (Spider-man's brand new day, ultimates 3, etc.)

Oy vey.

I'm sure money has many recipes. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif)

The Sopranos = Money
Jackass = Money
Scrooge McDuck = Money

In this instance, if IDW realises that Roche is indeed a fan and critic darling who happens to write very good stories which generate an increase in revenue, then damn right he's gonna be handed the reigns to the ongoing.

As I already mentioned Furman's run was probably cut short because he was unfortunately not reaching the targets IDW hoped to be achieving in the years since its acquisition of the licence.

Concerning Ultimates 3, say what you will of Loeb (and I say that since the unfortunate death of his son his writing ability has diminished significantly), but he does still bring in the big bucks for some insane reason...which is probably why Marvel thought it would be a good idea to stick him with the Ultimate universe - a decision I can't condemn enough...at least Millar's back on Ultimate Avengers.

If a title really has fan love and support, it will obviously sell. The good writing and critical acclaim variables aren't as important, but they do help propel the title higher up in the best sellers comics list.

This post has been edited by Reload: Sep 13 2009, 11:07 AM

[Jeysie]

Didn't mowry drop Spotlight: Cosmos because he was pissed off about all the negative feedback that AHM was recieving?
I remember him complaining about the fans bashing all the G1 stuff just for the sake of it.

No, he doesn't feel that way any longer. He and Griffith both want to do it. Too bad IDW dropped the spotlights entirely...

In this instance, if IDW realises that Roche is indeed a fan and critic darling who happens to write very good stories which generate an increase in revenue, then damn right he's gonna be handed the reigns to the ongoing.

Um... from what I can see looking at the fandom, Furman's about as much of a fan darling who writes good stories (dunno about critic darling), but that obviously didn't make IDW happy.

Basically, I think that when you look at IDW's track record, you are being way, way too optimistic. Tipton at least hasn't given me any reason to think he's anything other than an idiot lately.

This post has been edited by Jeysie: Sep 13 2009, 12:45 PM

[Reload]

In this instance, if IDW realises that Roche is indeed a fan and critic darling who happens to write very good stories which generate an increase in revenue, then damn right he's gonna be handed the reigns to the ongoing.

Um... from what I can see looking at the fandom, Furman's about as much of a fan darling who writes good stories (dunno about critic darling), but that obviously didn't make IDW happy.

Basically, I think that when you look at IDW's track record, you are being way, way too optimistic. Tipton at least hasn't given me any reason to think he's anything other than an idiot lately.

He generally received praising reviews, never anything overwhelmingly negative at any rate, and although Furman is beloved by many...there are those within the fandom who don't really dig his stuff. Whereas Roche appears to be universally loved across the board (there's an exception to everything of course).

So yeh, Furman probably got 2 out 3 in IDW's eyes (failing to achieve specific sales figures after a certain amount of time probably being his only fault...perhaps IDW was being unrealistic...who knows).

Am I being foolishly optimistic? Maybe. I ended up being wrong about the Spotlights eh? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-arcee.gif) That's why I said I look forward to seeing how it all plays out (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif) I'm not trying to impose my view on these proceedings on anyone else, my apologies if I came across in that way,

This post has been edited by Reload: Sep 13 2009, 01:20 PM

[Jeysie]

Whereas Roche appears to be universally loved across the board (there's an exception to everything of course).

I have in fact seen TF fans who don't like Roche's stuff. (They are of course insane, but they exist nonetheless. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-arcee.gif) )

So yeh, Furman probably got 2 out 3 in IDW's eyes (failing to achieve specific sales figures after a certain amount of time probably being his only fault...perhaps IDW was being unrealistic...who knows).

I think that the poor sales were mostly a problem of marketing. There was a lot of confusion at times regards what order everything should go in, long delays between arcs, confusion about which issues were a part of the main storyline and which weren't, the daffy choice to make Revelation 4 spotlights, lack of hyping up the series in general, etc.

And then there was distribution problems... I remember a lot of people who wanted to read Maximum Dinobots but ended up giving up on the series instead because the first couple issues weren't even available in many areas, and the high-ups and some fans got bitchy on the IDW forums whenever folks tried to ask what was going on.

In contrast, All Hail Megatron was heavily hyped and branded, and since it was a 12 issue maxi it was easy to keep track of. And in spite of all that, it still did barely better than the -ations did, which means that either there's pretty much a fixed range of audience that will buy any TF comic regularly (in which case changing from the -ations was pointless), or the quality of the story turned off a lot of people who would have otherwise stuck with it or been brought in by the marketing (in which case giving the -ations the same marketing push might have produced better sales anyway).

This post has been edited by Jeysie: Sep 13 2009, 01:44 PM

[Reload]

Whereas Roche appears to be universally loved across the board (there's an exception to everything of course).

I have in fact seen TF fans who don't like Roche's stuff. (They are of course insane, but they exist nonetheless. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-arcee.gif) )

So yeh, Furman probably got 2 out 3 in IDW's eyes (failing to achieve specific sales figures after a certain amount of time probably being his only fault...perhaps IDW was being unrealistic...who knows).

I think that the poor sales were mostly a problem of marketing. There was a lot of confusion at times regards what order everything should go in, long delays between arcs, confusion about which issues were a part of the main storyline and which weren't, the daffy choice to make Revelation 4 spotlights, lack of hyping up the series in general, etc.

And then there was distribution problems... I remember a lot of people who wanted to read Maximum Dinobots but ended up giving up on the series instead because the first couple issues weren't even available in many areas, and the high-ups and some fans got bitchy on the IDW forums whenever folks tried to ask what was going on.

In contrast, All Hail Megatron was heavily hyped and branded, and since it was a 12 issue maxi it was easy to keep track of. And in spite of all that, it still did barely better than the -ations did, which means that either there's pretty much a fixed range of audience that will buy any TF comic regularly (in which case changing from the -ations was pointless), or the quality of the story turned off a lot of people who would have otherwise stuck with it or been brought in by the marketing (in which case giving the -ations the same marketing push might have produced better sales anyway).

I agree.

[Xed51]

Didn't mowry drop Spotlight: Cosmos because he was pissed off about all the negative feedback that AHM was recieving?
I remember him complaining about the fans bashing all the G1 stuff just for the sake of it.

No, he doesn't feel that way any longer. He and Griffith both want to do it. Too bad IDW dropped the spotlights entirely...

Well I hope the ideas he had for spotlight: Cosmos will eventually see light in another comic.

Whereas Roche appears to be universally loved across the board (there's an exception to everything of course).

I have in fact seen TF fans who don't like Roche's stuff. (They are of course insane, but they exist nonetheless. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-arcee.gif) )

It wouldn't have mattered some time ago. Roche coul'dve written the TF main comic line without anybody complaining about it.
The best thing about the TF franchise used to be the fact that there was something for everybody.
The cartoon (animated at the time), the comic (Furman series at the time), the movieverse, everyone of them had an identity of its own.
Now it looks like everything is trying to mimic the movie and the 85 cartoon.
I even heard rumors about a new cartoon series set in the movieverse.
(It's probably just bulljive, but it's not that implausible)

[Dinogrrl]

Finally got time to read the preview. HUG YES. That first page is a total doozy. I love Roche's Prowl - he's a prick, but usually a correct prick, which just makes him all the more of a prick.

Nick's Springer makes me start to look forward to the Wreckers' mini too, seeing as he's meant to be the focus of it.

Kind of a shame that these five pages show us essentially half the story already - bugger the Snipeceptor story, they coulda dropped that for 22 pages of this instead!

I gotta decide though - should I read the Dumbceptor story first, then the almost undoubtedly better Roche piece second, or just read it in print order? Hmm, do I want to be mad or happy when I finish reading? Denton might yet surprise me and prove to be good at writing, but I find it hard to believe that it'd come close to Nick. Gotta feel a little sorry for him actually, hard bloody act to follow, what!

*nods* I will read Crapceptor first. Then if it makes me mad, I can get up and chase the cats around for five minutes and then sit down and read Nicks'. And then be happy.

[Optimus Prime 23]

The things is, as far as Autobots go, in a real fight, Prowl isn't one another Autobot would want to actually mess with (having fairly high stats).

Randy

Bingo. I wish writers would show that.

Bad enough Prowl got the shaft in the original cartoon series, where he should have been Prime's main 'bot, but him getting punched by Springer (who I've never been a fan of) kinda sets me off.

Can you tell I'm a fan of Prowl's? LOL. When Transformers first came out in 1984, Prowl was my favorite Autobot. Hell, I didn't even really like Optimus Prime (who now is my favorite Transformer) until right before they offed him in the movie. But Prowl is right behind Prime on my list of faves.

[Dinogrrl]

Prowl's an old fav of mine from way back too, but what I've always liked about the character is his intelligence and planning, not whether he could throw down in a fist fight. This preview is Prowl at his planning, dare I even say sneaky best. He's pulling a swifty here with the whole Kup thing. Now it makes more sense for Perceptor to have tagged along on the other mission to keep an eye on Kup.

Pretender indeed.

The more I think about it, the more I like this story, and I've only read half of it. Nice to feel so happy about TF comics again, even if for half an issue!

[Rosicrucian]

Springer is pretty much the Anti-Prowl in this continuity, so if I could see anyone just hauling off and slugging him, it would be Prowl.

If anything, it was less in-character for Ironhide to do it in AHM.

[chiasaur11]

The things is, as far as Autobots go, in a real fight, Prowl isn't one another Autobot would want to actually mess with (having fairly high stats).

Randy

Bingo. I wish writers would show that.

Bad enough Prowl got the shaft in the original cartoon series, where he should have been Prime's main 'bot, but him getting punched by Springer (who I've never been a fan of) kinda sets me off.

Can you tell I'm a fan of Prowl's? LOL. When Transformers first came out in 1984, Prowl was my favorite Autobot. Hell, I didn't even really like Optimus Prime (who now is my favorite Transformer) until right before they offed him in the movie. But Prowl is right behind Prime on my list of faves.

Wait.

Him being clever, rational, and able to totally see the punch coming and just not caring isn't good enough for you?

He's given a better showing here than usual by far.