Out Wednesday December 10 2008.

Yeah, only half-serious there.

I AM however, buying 5 copies of this book.

Not because I particularly like the Dinobots, BUT because I want to show my support for the -Ation continuity. There is a vast difference in tone between AHM and the -Ations, and I know which one I prefer, and which one I want to see going forward.

So, why not check it out at your local comic shop this week?

Maximum Dinobots #1 out this week, December 10.

Story by Simon Furman, Art by Nick Roche, Colours by Josh Burcham

Too bad about the colours credit. I hope it's a good story.

I'm 100% behind that. I like most of the IDW series but AHM is just Dreamwave Lite.

Sorry, I can't afford buying 5 copies of ANY book and I love me my Dinobots!

DINOBOTS NO FOOL AROUND!

What is AHM? What is Ation? I stopped following IDW after the first few issues failed to really capture my attention...

Edit--Wait, I get it now. All Hail Megatron vs Devastation, etc. So AHM was a huge breaking off from the -Ation stories? If I wasn't into the -Ations then I should give AHM and Maximum Dinobots a shot?

Show some tact.

What didn't you like about the -Ation's you read?

The suspect is tactless. I repeat, TACTLESS.


But seriously, I am looking forward to Maximum Dinobots. And AHM is much better now than the first two issues.

So judging by your question, I guess Maximum Dinobots is part of the -Ations and not AHM? (Edit--I guess I should have figured that out from Anonymous X's comment.)

Oh, the human characters kind of turned me off, I guess. I enjoy Furman more when he's just writing for robots, I suppose.

Maximum Dinobots picks up loose plot threads started in the -ations and will attempt to tie them up. Specifically, the Grimlock, Sunstreaker and Scorponok plot threads.

that'd actually be next to impossible to pull off at the comic book store i go to. usually, there are 3 copies of each comic on the shelf when i get there wednesdays at opening because the rest all go to pull list people. hopefully, i never have another spotlight hardhead situation where all of the issues went to pull lists

The humans were only the focus point of, like, the first half of Infiltration. They took up a more supporting role in subsequent issues, and it was thanks to their inclusion that Furman was able to do a gradual reveal of what the Transformers's modus operandi on Earth was this time around.

yeah, humans grew less and less prominent as the story arcs went on until Revelations which had no humans in it at all.

Yeah, Maximum Dinobots is written by Furman and is effectively tying up all (well, most) of his danging plot threads from Infiltration/Stormbringer/Escalation/Devastation/Revelation. Continuity-wise, MD occurs after those but before All Hail Megatron.

AHM's problem is that it seems to effectively be a "soft reboot" - its supposedly in continuity, and there hasn't been anything which actively conflicts with previous material, but it definitely doesn't feel like it fits - characters changing bodies, characters changing voice patterns, random characters popping up again without explanation, etc.

Oh, and AHM also wastes just as much time on the humans as Furman did. The humans in Furman's story didn't even show up again after halfway through Devastation.

If you liked the early Dreamwave stuff, or just want a comic series that is much closer to the G1 cartoon's style and feel, then you might certainly like it more than Furman's stuff.

And the humans in -Ation were more appealing than the ones in AHM.
Well, not really true... Andy Reid at least was shaping up to be interesting.

Which is why Shane killed him, off-screen, after issue 3.

I still think Andy will be back; If I don't see a body or someone being incinerated, I ain't buyin' it. (How long does ANYONE stay dead in comics?)

I personally think that a character we believe to be dead to turn up at the end alive is poor storytelling and an overused cliché.

I hate it when death has no meaning in fictional stories anymore and just an 'inconvenience' to the character who's supposedly died at most.

Example: the boy in The War of the Worlds.

*shakes head* Hoo boy...

I'll only say this much - I liked Max Dinos #1. For those that liked SL Grimlock, you'll probably also enjoy Max Dinos #1.

This.

In TV and comics, even that means nothing!

Is anyone else unable to access the IDW boards?

I keep getting an error message whenever I try to log in or reply.

Does anyone even particularly CARE anymore about Andy now that HIGHLIGHT to view:
Spike's been introduced in AHM?

Oh yeah, MD # 1 was excellent. Roche, you magnificent bastard!

I am soooooooo ready for this series. I have been going thru GoodTransformersStoryWithdrawl for awile now. Screw you AHM!

Moved from TF Discussion.

Lemme say this...

Roche, Burcham, you wonderful b@stards.

Simon as well.

Maximum Dinobots #1: YEEEAH! That's the way ya do it!!

Oh man, I enjoyed this so much. Little character moments, reveals on how Sunstreaker is faring, some insight into these new Headmasters, and 4-5 plot threads all moving forward (I count... Grimlock, Sunstreaker, Hot Rod, Skywatch, and the Machination... so, yeah, 5.) And two separate cliffhangers to keep us comin' back for more. Aw yeah.

The art is a thing of beauty. Love it.

My only question is... how does Sunstreaker not know where his head is? Didn't he and Hunter LEAVE from that very facility? Did the Machination move it off-panel?

Wish they'd had that incentive cover in my shop, 'cause it about sums up my feelings on the matter.

After you "log in", reload http://forum.idwpublishing.com. You should be logged in once you get back there. It's how I got in.

Ah hah!

Thank you!

i believe we now need a box set of all the different colored sunstreakers in the universe line

decent way to start. had kind of a spotlight feel to it, almost like it was just a direct sequel to grimlock's with a little more going on around him. i think the series will prove to be pretty interesting. i read this while i was really stressed out over something that happened at work today, so i can't say i enjoyed it as much as i normally would

I think they were disconnecting Sunstreaker's head at the end of Devastation, so they probably moved it.

And the Tampa office was apparently deserted in Spotlight: Doubledealer.

Just knowing that we get four more issues of Nick's art gets me all squeal-y...ahem...in a manly, testosterone-y way. The story...the usual, Furmanly stuff. Liked Sunhunter's interaction with...himself (heh) and Grimlock tearing the Clonestreakers apart. Eagerly anticipating him having to fight his buds next issue probably, along with a likely Scorponok-Hot Rod duel as well... (See, another reason to really dislike AHM...at one time, we'd be honestly not sure if Hot Rod would come out of this alive...now...urgh...)

To be fair, Hot Rod in AHM could be a Machination-headed clone.

plausible, but i doubt it. the guy inside hot rod's head would've slipped up by then and kup probably would've been on to him. or maybe he's the traitor........

wait, that gave me an idea. what if sunstreaker's not sunstreaker and that it's a headmaster who sold autobot secrets to megatron through scorponok because they had all the info from the real sunstreaker?!

"Oh frag" is right...

On another note, I'm glad to finally see this released. I've been looking forward to seeing the Machination thread get resolved for ages, especially as it was a lot more interesting than the Dead Universe and far more likely to be tied off quickly than the Transformer presence on Earth. Shame that we won't be seeing a serious Autobot beatdown on all the Clonestreakers...but Grimlock'll do for now.

And if it helps anyone who's against AHM...I bought the last copy of MD #1 from my local shop. So this is definitely selling.

Great to have a return to the storyline that kicked off this universe, as much as I like what's doing right now in the other books. Machination and Dinobots have been important right from the first story arc and set of Spotlights, and Earth-based stories really the core of the title. (All of the 'ations took place on Earth.)

Man, Grimlock was BRUTAL! That fight scene with the "arctic" Sunstreakers* (That's what I'm considering 'em to be ) was a thing of savage beauty. 'Specially love ripping the guy's arm and part of his shoulder off, and then blasting someone else with the gun hand, all in one motion. Damn. The direct approach, indeed.

*I like the reference to Diaclone "Sunstreaker," too, with the red ones. I guess the white could also be considered a nod to the police "Sunstreaker," although it was used in the story in a way that explained its color scheme.

At the end of the day, Furman is my favorite when it comes down to writing TFs (Roche is awesome, too...wanna see him and Mowry do more!). His scripts just have a certain vibe that I love.

I hope Magnus actually shows up at some point...it'd be interesting to see him finish his vendetta with Scorponok...and also if he'd at some point try to apprehend Grimlock, too, that'd be fun, although I'm sure being swarmed by Headmasters might change his point of view. (Wonder what the statue of limitations is on these things...)

Wonder if Hot Rod has ANY idea what he's getting into, there.

Well, he had the Magnificence at his disposal, which is how he found the Machination in the first place, so probably, yes. (love how there's that little subtle bit of continuity. It's not mentioned at all; it's just there.)

...I really need to get my hands on Spotlight Doubledealer (I missed it, and so I'm waiting for the trade.) I feel like I have an info gap regarding what Hot Rod's been up to. Thanks!

i think seeing magnus by the end will have to happen. not only does he need to be involved because of scorponok, but he will probably want to hunt down grimlock as well. and by the end of this story arc, who knows who else will be involved with ahm looming

So... driver-Hunter is a hologram... I wonder if that means he couldn't detach and drive Sunstreaker's car/body? It's weird to think of Hunter cramed up under Sunstreaker's hood.


AWESOME STORY, btw.... I have so missed-me some TF fiction.

Go to their main site and then from their click the link to the forums again.
and got to the fanart section and reply to my thread.

Fantastic story, fantastic art, I absolutely loved it! My only question is this, how many issues of this will there be, six? I'm hoping so, but I've got a bad feeling it's less.

Five issues. Kinda stinks, but it's looking to be action-packed regardless.

This was great.

That was a good issue.

I'm enjoying both this and AHM.

I loved this, it just felt like the IDW series that I fell in love with, which I wouldn't say it's because Simon's writing it, because I loved Spotlight Kup and Ramjet.

I felt bad for Grimlock, asleep for so long because of Shockwave and the Autobots brand him a renegade or deserter, of course Sunstreaker didn't seem too concerned about him.

I wonder where Hunter's tucked away when Sunstreakers in vehicle mode, I missed that he's a holo-avatar the first read, I thought it was him. (and wondered why he had normal arms)

Grimlock taking on all the Machination Sunstreakers was awesome.


Can't wait for the next issue, Grimlock fighting the Dinobots and Hot Rod!

I didn't notice until you said. I really thought it was the actual Hunter reading it the first time.

Hunter is probably in head mode wherever Sunstreaker's head goes when he is in vehicle mode. But why when its more comfortable for him to sit inside him?

From what I've seen in Devastation, it seems Headmasters can only control their "transtectors" when they're in head mode. You'll note the cocky Machination guy couldn't really control his after detaching from it, and Hunter couldn't activate his until after he transformed to head mode.

Pretty good issue. A lot of setup (somewhat restating what happened in Spotlight Grimlock), but at least its nice to know that all the setup will be over and done with in one issue and we still won't be waiting for something to happen after issue 3.

Man, what a bunch of trite dialogue.

Also, Roche screwed up by not drawing Sunstreaker in his Universe body. Hope this get fixed next issue.