by Mark Cerbo
I guess I got blessed to have such good friends and what to say?
Though it took him more than eight months to give it to me, and never broke his promise.
The recent Toy Con PH has passed but still kept his promise, and during those times he never forgets. I've been disappointed at times, but he still kept his word. After so many months he finally gave me a Cruellock, and to think its no longer available in department stores or special toy stores in Greenhills.
Thanks Rainer for that small stuff not to mention getting me WST Soundwave back to my collection. I owe you big time buddy. As my colleague will say --Let's drink to that!
Oh yeah here's a preview...
Un-opened... That was BEFORE.
Back packaging.
Doing the "Godzilla-Fu."
In `bot mode he's more baddy.
ACTung Collection 2004 Preview #003
Transformers G1 # 10 (with spoilers)
Now that Dreamwave has announced that James "Brad Mick" McDonough and Adam Patyk
have left due to serious differences, it has to be said that the remaining
issues of G1 written by the two will certainly take on some kind of sentimental
quality. That's because these two writers brought so much to the Dreamwave TF
universe, the greatest of which, to my mind, remains the G1: More Than Meets The
Eye series. But they also brought a fan's love for the little and big things to
the G1 series, along with a sometimes mysterious but obviously cosmos-spanning
plan to solve the big riddle of where the Transformers fit in the galatic scheme
of things. Though one always wishes the announced arrival of Chris Sarrancini
(his G1 mini-series was dark but good; his Armada not as) on the title well,
McDonough and Patyk will be missed.
And with all honesty, Transformers G1 # 10, "The Route of All Evil," written
by McDonough and Patyk, with art by Don Figueroa, is one of the best issues in
the best Dreamwave series so far. Seriously.
On Earth, Starcsream is trying his best to get the Combaticons to work
together by beating on a power-dampened Sky Lynx when Predaking arrives. A
brutal Bruticus-Predaking duel follows and only one combiner team stands back
up. Starscream escapes to the safe confines of Decepticon HQ. Oops. Megatron is
back, and Starscream, in turns out, has been duped by Megatron's ever-loyal
Soundwave.
A captive Shockwave is also confronted with the fact that previously-hidden
Sunstorm had in fact escaped and perhaps destroyed. Shocky's got some explaining
to do.
Megatron then, recalling a pre-War Withi experience in a mind-bending
sequence for long-time TF fans, explains how the High Council has been deceiving
everyone and how he discovered there was more to the Transformers than anyone
thought by exploring a forbidden cavern that held the tomb of long-dead
Cybertronian ancestors. Not only did he take something valuable from that tomb,
but Megatron survived what he called an assassination attempt by agents of the
Council, which had been infiltrated by the Quintessons. That soon led to his
founding of the Decepticons.
Marrisa Faireborn of the Earth Defense Command is arguing with a superior
about the Autobots when she ordered to reactivate a project that may hold the
key to destroying the Transformers threat on Earth once and for all. But there
seems to be a bit of history unsaid here--the superior officer's nameplate reads
"Witwicky."
Jazz and the Earth-bound Autobots hide the Shuttle Orion at the edge of the
woods and are led by Ratchet through the foliage, all of them ruing the loss of
the Ark and Teletran-1. But upon arriving in the clearing, Prowl and the
recently-arrived Autobots from Cybertron surprise Jazz and company with quite a
sight: Autobots busy working on what is to eventually to become Autobot City.
In the Wastelands, the remains of the Triplechanger Blitzwing, who had
been destroyed by the Predacons last issue after he wouldn't abandon Shockwave,
are found and recovered by a someone we see only in shadow.
In Autobase, Ultra Magnus is assigning posts when Hot Rod is told he is not
qualified for any thing save perimeter guard duty with Wheelie and Gnaw. As he
watches Springer walk away with Arcee, Hot Rod does not realize is is being
watched.
The Quintessons are watching him, and the Transformers' creators are
planning the sending of an extraction team, whose leader had just shown up:
Elita One.
I cannot even begin to say what is not to love about "The Route of All
Evil," which ties in so many disparate elements of TF lore and fandom that it's
hard to know where to begin. Everyone plays a very active part in the story
(save for the still recuperating Optimus Prime but he will be back real soon)
and everyone is characterized on the mark. This issue involves a combiner
throwdown, mysterious arrivals, hope for the Autobots, Decepticons rebuilding
their forces on Earth, the humans designing their own monkey wrench of sorts and
the Quintessons with own devious plan. Some of the parts are a bit talky ( a
rather quaint aspect of McDonough-Patyk issues) but what they talking about more
than makes up for the fact that they just, well, talking. Best issue so far,
period.
And sorry to gush, but Figueroa had quite a job here because he had to
feature so many Transformers from different eras, and he does so with the same
supreme confidence and surehandedness he possesses. Oh and great cover, very
catchy. In particular, his 360-degree view of the fight between the combiners is
a treat. But the most impressive thing this issue is how Figueroa shows us the
Transformers' sizes relative to one another. In the Autobot meeting, the
Dinobots are clearly shown bigger than all the other Bots, save Ultra Magnus.
And in the flashback, see how small Megatron is to the ancient Transformers.
Wow.
If you haven't been reading the G1 series because on continuity concerns of
because you feel left behind, then this is the perfect issue to jump on. It's
just a fantastic piece of work from a team that's been consistent doing great
work.
Reports from Vector Sigma:
1) Nice to see all the Combaticons all lined up, clearly visible and with
speaking lines. Previously you caught them only as protoforms, in blakc and
white monitors or together as Bruticus. Swindle's personality is clearly intact.
2) Nice to see Sky Lynx has survived the fall to Earth--with personality intact
as well.
3) The Pentagon scene's full of little nods. First of all, Witwicky is the
surname of Spike (whom we've seen palling around with Bumblebee last issue),
Sparkplug (who died in the Ark II explosion) and Buster (who has yet to be
seen). So as to which Witwicky this is, use your imagination. His line "you
don't know them like I do," might hold the clue.
4) The project that Fairborn is assigned to reactivate, "Project: Centurion" is
a reference to a Transformers UK storyline by Furman involving the Dinobots and
an escaped prototype robot called the Centurion.
5) On Witwicky's screen is a schematic for what he calls an exo-suit. The suit
is clearly referencing the transforming suit Spike and Daniel used in the TF
movie and later in the TV series.
6) The Autobots shown working on the future Autobot City (which should
eventually be Metroplex) include some new arrivals from Cybertron: Grapple,
Hoist, Cosmos and Pipes. And in a nice touch, that's Omega Supreme doing some
literal heavy lifting in the background.
7) Kup getting assigned to work with the Dinobots is a reference to the TF
movie, again.
8) Any guesses who is was who picked up Blitzwing's remains?
9) Flashback time: In the his recollections of his time as pit fighter, Megtaron
clearly has a variation of his War Within mode, but with various markings that
look like components of what would eventually be the Decepticon symbol.The pit
fighter Megatron has just defeated is none other than Gobot Renegade leader
Cy-Kill. The High Council is shown exactly like the same one in the War Within
mini-series.
10) That shiny item in the dead Transformers' hands that Megatron procures? It
looks like yet another golden disk. How many of these things are there?
11) The Quintessons are speaking of an infiltrator within the current Autobot
ranks. Last issue, they gave some clues that their plans involved Hot Rod and
Arcee. But who is the target and who is the infiltrator?
12) This issue marks the first appearance of Elita One in Dreamwave continuity.
Traditional TF lore has Prime and Elita-1 being romantically linked (such as
robots can be), and the TV series has the female Autobots operating against the
Cons on their own (remember Chroma?). But remember how there were female robots
shown guarding the Quintesson throne room in Transformers G1 # 0? Maybe now we
know why. Or do we? Bring on the female Autobots!
13) The best hardcore tribute this issue: The inert "ancestors" that Megatron is
shown looking at are none other than Dai-Atlas and Deathsaurus from the Jap-only
series "Zone" and "Victory," respectively. Bring on the Japanese Transformers!
More! More!
Transformers Energon # 30 (with spoilers)
by: Ruel de Vera
Finally, we get a Transformers Energon story not called "Multiplicity Pt.
something," though events in Simon Furman's "No Exit" tie in directly with the
events of last issue. We begin with a very nifty flashback to a Decepticon
attack being led by Scorponok that Starscream (partly out of truth and partly
out of an attempt to get Megatron's goat) comments on the virtues of Scorponok's
frontline style of leadership. Flashforward to the present, where Scorponok and
Megatron face off in the Yukon territories. Megs has a bone to pick with the
erstwhile Terrorcon leader and what follows is the single most violent, most
graphic throwdown in the entire Energon series. Seriously. It's transformations,
blasting, treachery, hyper-mode--ten total pages of Megatron-versus-Scorponok
carnage. Yikes. It the end of it, however, the biggest baddest Con wins with a
particularly dramatic end for the other. Ouch. Ironhide wakes up in time to
activate the Shielding Tower. Meanwhile, (whew) Jetfire is reporting that
Megatron has returned to a holographic meeting of the Autobot High Council,
adding that Prime is still missing, most likely (according to a tip from Megs)
inside the body of Unicron. Councilor Avalon signs off to discuss things with
his secret ally Alpha Quintesson, and Alpha Q is convinced that there's no way
Prime can survive the inner defenses of the still inert Unicron. Guess Alpha Q
didn't check out the last panel. Cool drawing there--"Ready or not, here I
come!"
This is a solid issue from Furman. The fight scene between Megatron and
Scorponok was quite drawn out but it was vintage Furman--and that's always good
thing. Plus it's definitive, adding the dramatic twists missing from the last
issue. Avalon continues to plot against his own comrades and surely that's going
to come to a head very soon and, as the last panel (you gotta see it for
yourself) indicates, things are heating up. Furman and Dreamwave have already
indicated that Energon will end in six issues to make way for the upcoming
Transformers: Cybertron series and now Furman is obviously preparing for his own
endgame, a storyarc called, fittingly if rather unimaginatively, "Armageddon."
Furman's prep work is more subtle and thorough here than the powerful but
overly, well, kid-friendly end to Armada. This is all a good sign and hopefully
the end of Energon will be better. That being said, if you want to see Furman's
best writing work at the moment, check out War Within, but more on that in
another review.
The big development in Transformers Energon # 30 is the introduction of a
new artist, Marcelo Matere, taking the place of the talented Alex Milne. And
Matere does a slam bang good job. His work is squarely in the almost-animated
category and while this does make for shining, neon robots, it makes for very
dynamic, dramatic battles scenes. Good addition this one.
Well TF fans, Energon is starting to wind up (or down, depending on how you
look at it). The series had its own ups and down--it's currently on an up and
that's a good thing.
Report from Vector Sigma:
1) In the opening flashback sequence (which obviously dates from Armada,) we see
a whole bunch of Armada Decepticons: Megatron, Starscream, Cyclonus, Demolishop,
Thrust, Wheeljack, Predacon, Thundercracker, Terrorsaur and Skywarp. And of
course, a very nice look at Scoponok is action.
2) In the battle between the two Decepticon leaders, they each use aspects of
the respective toys. Scorponok has his hyper-mode and Megatron uses his
remote-controlled tank drone--which of course, as an Armada homage, is a
miniaturized replica of his Armada alt mode.
3) When Ironhide hears the name "Alpha Quintesson," he takes note but,
considering this Dreamwave continuity is different from the TV series
continuity, he doesn't recognize it. The shileding tower is yet another nod to
TV continuity.
4) While Jetfire is speaking to the High Council--or as the balloon says, the
Amalgamation--it becomes clear that I did confuse two of the council members.
The first councillor to speak up in the series was named Levitacus, obviously a
nod to the old testament book. He has remained the same character all throughout
but grew silent after another councillor emerged--Avalon. Avalon, who can be
distinguished (barely) from Levitacus in that he has what appears to be a horned
crest to Levitacus's straight-up crests on the sides--however, did not look that
way the first time he showed up, which was as a countil member without the
horned crest or facial hair. So apparently, Levitacus and Avalon are
different--but for some reason, Dreamwave changed Avalon's look after one issue.
So for the record, in the Amalgamation scene, Levitacus is to the extreme left
and Avalon is to his right--Avalon being the bad guy in hiding or so it seems.
5) Finally, though still in the Amalgamation scene, the holographic image of the
councillor to the bottom extreme right is noneother that the Japanese Star
Convoy (soon to be seen again in the Robotmasters line of toys).
Transformers Energon # 29 (with spoilers)
by: Ruel de Vera
After a mandated period of time off, the comic book reviews are back
(hopefully welcome such as it is). There's quite a clone army of material to
go through, so we'll get right down to it, beginning with the issues that
came out earlier and working our way back to the more recent stuff.
From the very cover of Transformers Energon # 29, you know that it's
basically the return of Megatron to the title (well, he is on the cover
ripping Terrorcons to shreds). This is, after all, "Multiplicity Pt. 4" from
Simon Furman and Alex Milne. He'd been a ghost for a while now, waiting for
a chance to inhabit his spanking new body hidden inside the husk of Unicron,
when a transplated Optimus Prime gave him just that chance. Now, with the
Autobots seemingly about to be decimated by the Terrorcon hordes on Earth,
Megatron comes screaming in and blasting every Terrorcon in sight. Anywhere.
In Los Angeles. In Tokyo. In Moscow. In Toronto. Everywhere. The Autobots,
running low on Energon, also get a boost from a nifty new invention by Rad,
which powers the TFs up with Energon vapors. Over in Turkey, a revitalized
Kicker jumpstarts the Omnicons and gives Mirage and Slugslinger an electric
sendoff. And finally, in the Yukon, Ironhide is supervising the attachment
of the Shield Tower when Scorponok, hidden from their sensors during
reentry, ambushes the Autobots and knocks them all out. But just when
Scorponok is feeling very good about himself, he turns around and discovers
that Megatron has arrived and isn't very pleased.
Furman is upping the destruction quotient with every issue, and with the
arrival of Megs, he's really putting all the stops out. Truth be told,
"Multiplicity Pt. 4" really is set up issue more than anything else, tying
up the "Multiplicity" storyarc and reintroducing the baddest Decepticon of
them all. So there isn't really a whole lot of drama or twists in this
issue, considering much of it was hinted at in Pt. 3 of the arc.
That said, this is a great issue for Milne. The action scenes in
"Multiplicity Pt. 4" are the best in the series so far and not just for the
scrap content. Milne goes widescreen this issue, like a cinematographer
wiping the camera around, taking in the action from different perspectives.
The interesting is that agbout 90% of those scenes involves Megatron but
readers won't grow tired (well, not too much) of seeing Megatron blast
things because of Milne's solid work. The coloring and inking remains quite
bright, almost animated, but by now, it's become a nice way to
differentiate the series.
Transformers Energon # 29 continues the series' trend of speeding up what
started out as being a highly-plodding, talky story. Though this issue
doesn't have the steeljaw-dropping revelations of the more recent issues, it
gives you the feeling that there is one coming in the next ones.
Reports from Vector Sigma:
1) Furman and Milne deployed almost every single Autobot on Earth to fight
off the Terrorcon horde and here we get a good look at some of the less-seen
ones in action: Hoist, Beachcomber, Tow-Line, Perceptor, Bulkhead,
Downshift, Landquake, and Prowl. There's also a sighting of Armada Blurr.
2) Consistent with his personality, the Decepticon Thrust tries to suck up
to Megatron the astrosecond he catches sight of his former commander.
3) It is consistent as well to see Hotshot's disbelieving expression when he
sees Megatron for the first considering he was part of the group (together
with Armada Red Alert and Scavenger) who ambushed Megatron at the end of
Armada.
4) Another regularly appreciated if somewhat hammy touch to Energon: the
humans are still playing a good part. Kicker kicks 'Con backsides and the
Armada kids fly to the rescue.
5) Finally, doesn't Milne just draw an amazing Megatron? Not just his basty
robot form, but that sleek, deadly gunship alt mode of him? While we've seen
really impressive scans of the upcoming Cybertron/Galaxy Force Megatron
(very impressive, love those Unicron shoulderpads), Energon Megatron, in my
mind, has been the best Megatrong iteration since the original Galvatron and
here, Mline does his justice--and then some. "Ten years!"
The Great AUCTION Heroes
Name: The Great AUCTION HEREOES: An event to slaughter all other events!
Date: November 26-28, 2004
Battle Site: South Court (in front of Fully Booked), The Powerplant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City
Bounty: Extreme figurines, rare comics and graphic novel editions of the most notorious villains, noblest heroes and the
deadliest femme fatales of the universe
Options: Choose to participate in a Silent or a Live Auction or BOTH!
FIGHT TO POSSESS THEM ALL
Viewing and Pre-registration on November 26-27
Friday-Saturday, 12nn-8pm
Silent and Live Bidding on November 28 (sunday) 2pm-8pm
*For more information, contact the Fully Booked Marketing Department at 751-0381 to 83.
click photo below to view flyer postcard.
Transformers Micromasters # 4
by: Ruel De Vera
Porky Pig is most known for the saying:
"That's all folks!"
"Beep! Beep!"
"I tawt I saw a putty tat!"
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
Right off the Ratbat, let me say that I really, really wanted to like
Transformers Micromasters. The writing team of James McDonough and Adam
Patyk are the best Dreamwave have to offer, the Micromasters have always
been among my favorite TF ideas, Rob Ruffolo's art fit the bill and it's
nice when Dreamwave does something TF-related that's off the beaten track.
All that now out of the way, it's fair to say that, as a whole, the
four-issue Micromasters mini-series has had its moments but, as it is
wrapped up, has also been underwhelming. After a rousing first two issues, the mini slowed down considerably with the notably delayed third issue and, while events do pick up quite some velocity in the writers' attempt to wrap everything up, just goes off at a bizarre tangent with the concluding fourth issue.
"Victims of the Revolution" was meant to tie up the seemingly disparate
events that had been saved up by the end of last issue's "Recipe for Hate" story. Thanks to a wily plan by the returned Skystalker, Shockwave is out of commission and the guzzler Decepticons are set to make an all-out attack on the Autobots. Skystalker had captured some Micros with the reluctant acquiescence of Barricade and crew. Meanwhile, the Hot Rod Patrol have divined what may be happening and, rebuffed by the Battle Patrol at Autobase, have instead gone to see the enigmatic Countdown.
With "Victims," it becomes clear that the full-size Decepticons are being
sent in to die so that Skystalker could take over without their
interference.
The Autobots, faced with no other choice but to try and liberate the captive Micros, set out to meet the Cons, unaware that their foes are on the way as well. Countdown and the Hot Rod Patrol slip into Decepticon Headquarters and are soon engaged in a busy firefight. The true nature of everyone's plans are revealed on all fronts and, after a lot of combat, it is safe to say that thing son Cybertron will never be the same.
All this continues to be filtered pretty much through the optic sensors of Big Daddy, who is admittedly a very sympathetic if somewhat cillating protagonist. It's interesting to see how Big Daddy is juxtaposed to the likes of the secretive yet charismatic Countdown, the brash and determined Groundshaker, the cynical Fortress Maximus and the dutiful Ultra Magnus. In the end, Micromasters is really about the Hot Rod Patrol.
All told, McDonough and Patyk succeed in setting down the groundwork of
what they spoke of in the G1 More Than Meets The Eyes series and the G1
ongoing. The characters are very true to their MTMTE entries. The only
problem is that "Victims" has a hurried, cramped feel to it, almost as if
the writers were desperate trying to cram all the unused material into the final issue. Not only is this last issue dialogue-heavy, but the plotting is noticeably confusing. Kudos to the pair for the ingenious premises and the little hints here and there, but the ending is far from satisfying-aside from hinting a possible continuation somewhere else, a welcome development-and there's just ay too much exposition instead of storytelling.
The hurrying is obvious in Ruffolo's art as well. What had been a nice
point in the last few issues-the variety of mecha being presented-just
completely goes wild here. There are so many characters here that even
Ruffolo, despite his best efforts, seems overwhelmed by it all. Aside from the suddenly similar Micros, the Deluxe Insecticons are downright ugly and the level of detail inconsistent-some scenes brimming with really OC battle damage, others without any at all. It's a shame too considering that one gets the feeling that Ruffolo (and inker Eric Sander) may have just needed more time to give the artwork a better finish.
Micromasters has been a very diverting if at times confusing read. Ruffolo succeeds in introducing a whole bucketload of new characters and the writers get to play around with some really interesting ideas. There are, however, a bit too many loose threads at the end of this mini (What really happens to the Golden Disc? Where did everyone else go off to) that one hopes there better be a sequel to the mini. Transformers Micromasters provides some jolts of excitement and fanboy fun, but by series end, comes off as being quite uneven and leave way too many unanswered questions even for a four-issue mini-series.
Reports from Vector Sigma:
1) Pat Lee's cover (featuring the neon Hubs) not only features the cover
from # 2, but flyers for the skateboard maker Dreamwave's tied up with.
There are two nice touches: snapshots, it seems, of the Micros from happier times tacked to the wall not unlike those photos found on the inside of high school locker doors, and bumper stickers with the logo of Scramble City. And yes that is the infamous Golden Disc is Hubs' manipulators.
2) Man those Triplechangers get around, don't they? It must be a testament to the popularity and usefulness of Blitzwing, Octane and Astrotrain that they make appearances in the Micromasters series as well as War Within and the G1 ongoing. Same thing goes from Dirge and Thrust. Take note in the battle scenes: the seekers still retain their Cybertronian alt modes.
3) Nice funny scene with Shockwave's head. Also some inside jokes can be
found in Skystalker's impersonation of the one-eyed guy.
4) Very interesting flashback to when the Micros were training with the
by-the-numbers Ultra Magnus. Not only do we see other Micros like Roughstuff but we can see that Barricade used to called Runner.
5) Weirdly enough, there seems to be a lack of Autobots available for this series. Aside from Magnus and Maximus, we only get a clear glimpse of a few others such as Roadbuster and Kup.
6) Maximus and Magnus are portrayed very accurately in this last issue, also pointing perhaps to where they consequently wound up after this little tussle. Along those lines, it's hard not to like just how ambiguous a character Countdown turned out to be, or how disenchanted Big Daddy wound up. It all makes one want to find out where all of them are heading off to.
Optimus Prime Costumes & Cosplays
check out this photo of a costume player Optimus Prime, last seen in San Diego Comic Convention. its the state of the art costume, nice materials and paint job, with blinking lights and it can transform!
But check out the local version of this Optimus Prime costume, last summer here at the recent 25th anniversary event of Filbars in Glorietta.
TFPH boys Martin, MC, & Azrael strike a pose with the leader of the Autobots
October 2004 TFPH Meet Up
Here are some photos from last Sunday's TransFans Philippines MEET-UP held at our Kamias venue.
Click the link to advance view of the photo coverage
The TFPH gang is back!
One Day visit in a toy shop
click here to view all pics
Transformers Energon # 28
by: Ruel de Vera
And so the "Mutiplicity" storyarc goes on. After the shocking events of last issue, "Multiplicity Pt. 3" picks up a whole slew of events happening simultaneously. As Thurst leaves Cybertron to travel with the Cybertronian contingent to Earth, Demolishor is sent to investigative ghostly events at an Energon ore processing plant when he is attacked by an invisible assailant. Meanwhile, the Terrorcon clone army continues its ruthless assault on the Earth cities as the outnumbered Autobots (and Thrust) make a brave stand against hopeless odds. In Canada, three Autobots stands guard while a mysterious object falls from the sky--bearing Scorponok.
Inside Unicron, Megatron awaits impatiently while Optimus Prime, trapped
by Unicron's interior defenses, must decide whether or not to revive his
age-old arch-rival. In Turkey, only Strongarm is still standing after the
ambush by Mirage, Slugslinger and Sharkticon. But they may have overlooked the fact that a human named Kicker can take care of himself. Alpha Quintesson and Avalon excitedly and nervously await the fulfillment of their long-laid plans.
Just when the Autobots on Earth are about to be overrun, a mysterious
figure emerges from hyperspace, and comes out firing--it's Megatron! And
appearing from behind a fallen Demolishor, shimmering into solidity, is the resurrected Starscream.Keeping in step with the great plotting found in the "Multiplicity" storyarc, scribe Simon Furman keeps a whole cauldron of oil boiling this issue, with conflict on every front. Furman's writing is getting better with every issue, the plot getting more complex and busier, all welcome developments in what had been a lollygagging Dreamwave title. Now things are really hopping--and things look like they're only going to get better.
Alex Milne's art is uneven this issue, more inconsistent than in issues
past. His robots are still fantastic, but the coloring seems a little off. Even in the heat of battle, the bots look like they have all received a new coat of Wreck-Gar's wax. The proportions are all mixed up. And the humans looks worse now. Not only do they all look alike, they all look yucky.
But Milne gets great mileage out of the first action appearances of
Energon Megatron (what a pinup) and Energon Starscream, as well as a
continuing gallery of Autobots of varying looks. Art quibbles aside, "Multiplicity Pt. 3" is a busy, rousing read that promises even more shockers in the future. Bring it on.
Reports from Vector Sigma:
1) With this appearance of Starscream, only Demolishor remains in his old
Decepticon form, though after this issue, that remains to be seen.
2) Looks like Furman and Milne have decided to stick with this look of
Councilor Avalon, despite the visual contradiction from early issue of
Energon. Just one question: If this is Avalon, what does Levitacus look likenow?
3) We get a very good look at a whole buncha Energon Autobots in a midst of a fight: Landquake, Perceptor, Cliffjumper, Jetfire, Bulkhead, Rodimus, Be achcomber, Hotshot--plus a good old Armada helping of Red Alert, Hoist and Decepticon Thrust.
4) A curious little note: Guarding Base Site I are three Autobots: Energon Ironhide, Armada Overload and--Dropshot. Yes, the Triplechanger (BWTF's Ben Yee said it first: he's based on a Takara G1 prototype that turns into a horse and a jet--you can see him in the Japanese Generations book) who was cut in half by G1 Bludgeon in the Armada "Worlds Collide" storyline, apparently survived that encounter (coincidentally, Overload with with him when that happened as well). It's always nice to see these quirky characters survive--though let's see if he survives this encounter. Tha fanboy in me actually wishes Takara would do a limited run of this guy, even if he's kinda dorky, because he's so square he's cool.
5) This issue works on something that has become more pronounced in Furman's writing--that the humans should stand up for themselves. Kicker does it and apparently Rad is ready to do just that.
More Takara Reissue Rumors!
Posted by Professor Smooth at Seibertron.com
RUMORS: From the people who brought you the "Takara to Reissue more
Gestalts" rumor comes "More Takara Reissue Rumors." I've heard from
more than one person that Takara's Special Edition reissue of
Predaking will lead to more reissues outside of the Transformers
Collection line. The gestalts may find there way into the line, but
so may other fan favorites. On the short list of figures Takara
might be looking to throw at fans are the City Formers, Metroplex
(Metrotitan), Trypticon, and the Maximus family (Fortress and
Grand).
The odds of a Fort/Grand Maximus reissue seem rather slim at the
moment. Takara's not doing to hot financially, and (believe it or
not) two foot robot toys are not exactly cheap to manufacture.
However, they have recently busted out the Maximus mold to produce
the Robotmasters' Lucky Draw Brave Maximus, so the possibility is
there.
Would the same fans who are turned of by the 150 dollar asking price
of Predaking be willing to drop 200 dollars (or more) for Fortress
Maximus? How about Grand Maximus?
Preview: Transformers Galaxy Force
The latest issue of Newtype and Animage the official next series of Transformers has been revealed, Transformers Galaxy Force. With animation by GONZO studio, an animation studio that has brought you anime titles such as Vandread, Gravion, Hellsing & Final Fantasy: Unlimited.The new series is in mecha 3DCG, This series is expected to air from January 2005. Shown as follows are some character design of the 2 major characters in the series.
Galaxy Force Convoy
Galaxy Force Convoy and Galaxy Force Megatron
Transformers G1 # 8
by: Ruel de Vera
The odd thing about "Infestation" (last month's issue) and this issue's
"Extermination" story is that they represent a departure in Dreamwave
techniques. The creative team of James McDonough, Adam Patyk and Don Figueroa had previously distinguished themselves by crafting somewhat complex storyarcs of four issue or more, usually with some subplots included that would continue into the next storyarc.
But with its compact, close-ended nature, "Infestation/Extermination"
instead resembles the structure of an 1980s Sunbow/Marvel Transformers TV
episode. In fact, aside from one scene depicting possible changes in the life of fan favorite Bumblebee, virtually the entire issue is focused on the weird events in San Desto, California. When last we saw them, Bumper had been captured by the emerging Insecticons, and the sibling team of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker seemed to be at the verge of the same. At another part of town, Jazz and Earth Defense Command's Commander Marissa Faireborn were similarly surrounded by an Insecticon clone army.
Now, the Autobots, through their own means, try to fight and survive. They discover that the Insecticons are building a hive and are controlling the townspeople using Bombshell's cerebro-shells. Through a vintage TV effort, the Autobots manage to turn the tables of the Insecticons and survive the buggy experience. While there are a few twist and turns, "Inesftation/Extermination" is by far one of the weakest arcs so far in terms of writing. Everything is so linear and predictable that's is actually a surprise just how predictable the issues are.
One gets the feeling like these two issues were just traditional "fillers" between big stories, a breath between deep dives.
While it was nice seeing the Insecticons back (who doesn't like these creepy crawlies, after all), there's only so much of them we can take. This arc might be a breather after the tumultuous events of the last Jetfire/Sunstorm epic, but perhaps we expected more from this talented team.
That being said, I do like the fact that this storyarc was chockful of
little winks to TF continuity and fandom. And well, it was admittedly a funthrowback.But the real action seems to be reserved for next issue, as Shockwave and (see that familiar outline) a certain Decepticon leader seems to be back.
Reports from Vector Sigma (formerly Hardcore TF tidbits):
1) Jazz's comment, "I've never seen Decepticons that have a chewy center" seemslike a funny reference to how easy it was to dispatch the Insecticon clones, a phenomenon that happened even back in the Sunbow cartoon.
2) There's something weird going on with the word balloons for Faireborn. In some panels, they're translucent, almost to the point of being unreadable.
3) The scene where Fairebon and Jazz have a conversation while Jazz is in his alt mode is another reference to cartoon continuity. Jazz talks to Marissa through a pop-up screen that shows Jazz's robot face, something we've seen as lately as RID. Later on, we have a scene where Bumblebee talks to Spike while in alt mode, but this time he doesn't have a pop-up screen, just a glowing orb, just like in the Sunbow cartoon.
4) In yet another reference to traditional G1 trivia, Sunstreaker deploys his shoulder missles while Sideswipe uses his alternative hand weapons. Similarly, the two tone down the machomecha banter and get to business with characteristic grimness, something the two warriors do when under fire.
5) Again, in classic TF tradition, the Insecticons are spot on. Shrapnel uses his electrical powers and speaks in that "sibilant" repeating manner. Bombshell uses the infamous cerebro-shells and even has a conversation with Shockwave reminiscent of Bombshell's prickly dealings with Decepticon leadership. It actually reminded me more of Beast Wars Tarantulas dismissively talking to Megatron. Also, aside from the clone army, the Insecticons (the originals) are shown rising from eggs after recharging or something. That, and the scene with the hive, is "Alien"-cool. The ribbing Sharpnel gets about seemingly handing control over to Bombshell is obviously something that will be revisted later on.
6) By the way, I think it's nice seeing Jazz drawn consistently with this
shoulder-mounted weapon, something that was missing in past comic appearances. He even gets to use it this ish.
7) Bumper the heroic Autobot. Pretty cool for a figure who gained fame for being a production oversight. Bumblejumper's one of the big boys now.
David Kaye Voices His Latest Work
Media contact: Holly Carinci, HollyWords Publicity Inc
TV series, DVDs, and a Feature Film all on the slate
VANCOUVER August 30, 2004 One of the busiest actors in North America, David Kaye has recently added a Feature Film, two new anime series, three new award-winning games, a Guest Starring role on a television show, and another reprisal of his famous "Megatron" character to his daily schedule that includes voice imaging radio stations and television networks in over 120 markets around the world. One of the busiest, most sought-after voice-over artists in North America, Kaye is represented by some of the best agents talent can get Kaye"s reps at William Morris out of both New York and Los Angeles keep him plane-hopping weekly, but the Canadian-born actor still does most of his work from the studio he had built into his home by industry specialists.
Kaye became well-known for his animated character "Megatron" in the last three Transformer series, Transformers-Beastwars, Transformers: Beast Machines and Transformers Armada. His character has been reprised for the newest installment, Transformers Energon. A great line that Megs has in this newest Transformer series is "Join me and I will send you to battle. Defy me and I will send you to oblivion",laughs Kaye. That's my Megs! Kaye is also the voice behind Megatron in the Atari game Transformers for PlayStation 2 that went gold earlier this year and was released worldwide on May 11th. Reviewers of the game wrote: Graphically, Transformers is one of the most impressive PS2 games I have seen to date." - PSE2; "Transformers is a damn fine videogame." - Official PlayStation Magazine; "Transformers is looking like one of the PS2"s most exciting new action titles. Plus it has freakin" Transformers in it! - Game Informer.
David Kaye"s character "Clank" in Ratchet & Clank, is the popular, diminutive robot that can interface with any computer or droid. Insomniac Games developed both Ratchet & Clank (2002) and Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (2003) for PlayStation 2, and both have garnered seven PlayStation 2 "Game of the Year" awards and 12 "Best in Genre" awards from media. These accolades do not include the "Readers"/Editors" Choice" awards, recognition from leading industry organizations and additional media accolades for outstanding technical achievements. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, the third installment to the Ratchet & Clank series, will launch in November 2004.
And then there"s the sequel to Splinter Cell titled Pandora Tomorrow which went gold for XBox and PC earlier this year. In the game David Kaye plays the main bad-guy, "Suhadi Sadono", the leader of Anti-US guerrilla militia acting with the unofficial support of major corrupt factions of the Indonesian government.
Kaye"s first feature film work in his career has arrived in the form of a Universal Studio production, Ant Bully in which he plays the entertaining character "Fugax". So far I"ve just laid what"s called the scratch track, says Kaye. I can only pray they don"t cast Brad Pitt or someone in the role before they release it! Ant Bully is currently in production with no set release date as-of-yet.
Kaye was also just cast in two new anime television series, Human Crossing and Tokyo Underground. In the latter of his newest series, Kaye plays the main bad guy (I"m getting type-cast, he jokes) "Pairon". Throughout the series, his character pursues the three protagonists, "Rumina Asagi", "Chelsea Rorec" and "Ruri Sarasa" in-and-around a forgotten, sealed world where they have escaped to, deep under the ground in Tokyo.
With all of this voice work, Kaye was surprised when he recently landed an on-camera Guest Starring role on the popular USA Cable Entertainment/SCI-FI Channel Battlestar Galactica. Playing the character "James McManus" in the episode Colonial Day, he is still a voice to be reckoned with, however. A blowhard host of a broadcast news show, Kaye"s character is adrenaline-charged and speaks his mind with machine-gun rapidity. He"s all fired up and makes it clear about who his alliances lie with, until a guest appears and takes the wind out of his sails. Says Kaye about the on-camera role: Well, I"m kinda tired at the moment.but it"s a fun tired. It"s nice to be back on set and be involved in something I grew up with. Now if you"ll excuse me, I"ve got to get back to outer space.
TransFormers Live Action Movie News
info forward by: anakinskywalker
Last time I had checked, New Line and Dreamworks - and last I'd heard... it was pretty vicious, with both companies really really wanting it. So I decided to check back in with some sources that will talk.
Word has it that New Line lost out to Dreamworks, which intends to further develop and make a live-action TRANSFORMER's movie. The word behind the scenes is that Hasbro was leaning towards New Line, till Dreamworks' 2 Billion Dollar Gorilla, Steven Spielberg got in a plane and flew out to Rhode Island to personally meet with Hasbro's team and to dangle the, if we have this, I may direct it, golden carrot. After which Hasbro agreed to Dreamworks getting the project.
Transformers Energon # 25
review by: Ruel S. De Vera
I begin with Transformers Energon # 25, simply because it's the simplest and most conventional of the new releases. It's nice to see Energon/Armada reach the 25 milestone and despite its relative weaknesses compared to the other series (especially the new/upcoming ones) it should continue to thrive.
That's because it still has the solid creative team of Simon Furman and Joe Ng. But "Omni-Potent," this issue's story, seems to be a somewhat safe standalone issue. In fact, save for a few key moments, it can even be considered inconsequential.
The whole point of "Omni-Potent" is to show how the newly-activated
Omnicons, new to the planet Earth, seem to sow chaos wherever they go. To prevent any more incidents, Prime basically dumps Signal Flare, Arcee, Skyblast and Strongarm to Base One, off in some polar region to keep them away from trouble. But the moment they arrive, they accidentally start to tear apart Ironhide's contraption. In a fit of frustration, unit leader Hot Shot tells them literally to get lost--and they do just that!
So while Kicker and Hot Shot search for them, the Ominicons accidentally fall into the clutches of the Decepticon Snow Cat. Snow Cat then tries to brainwash them, but the Ominicons (with Mini-con Over-run making a cameo) use their collective consciousness to break free. But Snow Cat is in his environment and it'll take more than just brain power to beat this polar
feline. But just as that little sortie is resolved, Furman throws in a pretty interesting cliff-hanger of an ending, something more exciting than anything else in the entire issue.
All in all, "Omni-Potent" remains pretty typical of the Energon storylines, meaning they're basically linear and still somewhat cartoony. But Furman is still trying to beef up the narrative--good luck. When the TV series is actually still more compelling than the comic series, you know you've still got problems. But art-wise, Ng continues to evolve and here, he adds a whole new dimension of detail to the machines, made much more noticeable amid a starkly white backdrop. This boy can draw! In particular, I like how the Omincons looks formidable instead of wimpy (check out his "Metropolitan"-like take on Arcee and the badass Strongarm), but most of all check out how menacing the monochromatic Snow Cat looks in Ng's hands.
All in all, the issue is just all right, but it continues to underperform, and, amid the invasion of quality Dreamwave material this week, "Omni-Potent" is just not potent enough to keep up with the pack.
Harcore TF tidbits:
1) On the second page, check out how Optimus 4, the submarine, gets some face time. It's been a running joke in TF continuity that the water-based TFs get no love, so this is kinda cute.
2) In an unmistakable nod to the G.I. Joe vehicle of the same name, Snow Cat makes a cool, hehe, debut. But there is nothing mentioned here of his origin--that Snow Cat is actually the new form of the former Decepticon Cyclonus. Whatever happened to that?
3) This isn't exactly a hardcore tidbit, but I want to point out that, of all the comics, it is Energon that always gets the colors right--and here, colorists Jong-Im Lee and Josh Perez actually make the characters looks just as brightly colored as their toy counterparts.
4) And the killer detail this issue (SPOILER!): it's back to Armada! Yes, even though Megatron, as we know from # 22, already has a new form, that is indeed Armada Megatron's head in the middle of the last panel. And in the corner--fresh from his nameless appearance in Armada's Worlds Collide arc--it's G1 Scourge! Hmmm.
Transformers G1 # 6
Review by Ruel S. De Vera
I'm sorry, Dreamwave, I know I complained that Sunssome of the characters were getting way too much face time, but did you really have to go on and do that? Anyway, just read this issue to find out exactly what I'm talking about.
After a delay, Transformers Generation 1's most protracted storyarc
concludes this issue with "Atonement." Incidentally, the writer previously known as Brad Mick (G1, MTMTE) now appears under his full name of James McDonough. Adam Patyk is still Adam Patyk and the incredibly talented Don Figueroa is, thankfully, still present and himself.
After the events of last issue, Prowl meets with the Autobots for a possible return of their forces to Earth following their discovery of Sunstorm's flight to Earth. Prowl wants to set up more of their forces on the planet. Meanwhile, Warpath and Bumper, together with the inert bodies of Jazz and company, remain in the custody of the Earth Defense Force, presumably in the same underground base where the remains of the Constructicons are being
studied.
But the big bash is the final throwdown between Sunstorm, Jetfire, Bumblebee and the ever-deceitful Starscream underground. Here, where more TF secrets are set to be uncovered, two characters will emerge somewhat functional and two others will not. It is, by all measure, a mighty surprise and a rabbit punch by the writers. After all the robotic violence of the last few issues, the violence and detsurction actually is ratcheted up in this one. The last few panels, a quiet reqiuem for a fallen warrior, will stay in your heads for a long time.
I know I complained about how long this arc was going but damn what an ending. Take a bow guys. But did you really have to... Aw, well. Pay homage to the fall of G1 gladiators with "Atonement," a great issue from a great creative team.
Hardcore TF tidbits:
1) In the fourth page is a whole buncha TF winks. In the first panel, you can clearly see Cybertron's two moons, yes, yet to be devoured by Unicron as per movie continuity (which of course, is no longer applicable, but still it's a fun fact).
2) Same page, second panel. On the tower in the middle of the panel can be reconigzed (in the pseudo-English Cybertronian sigils favored by War Within) the fan-favorite Tf website named "TFW2005,"
3) Same page, same panel: Inside the room with a view on the right, two G2 Autobots can be seen at the table, Volt and Electro. I'm not sure but I surmise that the red and black 'bot to the the left is Gunrunner, the Japanese Roadhandler repaint which came with the Takara Groundshaker tank. Anyone have a clue who the two bots to the right are?
4) In the meeting between the Autobots, once again we see the traditional characterization brought back itno focus: Bluestreak is brash but wants to return to Earth. Gears and Huffer don't want to, and Mirage is depicted pretty much as a prissy aristocrat--which he is.
5) Just my little preference, but I love the conversation between
Cliffjumper and Omega Supreme. I mean, they actually wind up agreeing--and I've often wondered what a conversation with OS would be like. I guess this is as good as it gets.
6) The constant side-switching done by Starscream may be confusing, but it is certainly true to character. And his act of doing something he clearly doesn't want to do but does anyway (saving somebody) reminds me of those scenes in the TV series where he would whine but comply anyway.
7) Just have to say. That last page. Four panels. Two words. "The end." Wow.
