May 14

Review: More than Meets the Eye 29 – Story Hooks

TF_MTMTE_29_cvrAOver one year ago I attended a writing class and one of the lecturers brought up the term “story hook”; something, a mystery or an unanswered question that keeps us readers invested in the story and compels us to keep turning the page to see what happens next. With Roberts’ choice to have storylines from both six months ago as well as the past, he has created a pretty good “hook”. We see that Megatron has somehow ended up as the new captain on the Lost Light without any clear answer to how this came to be, so we eagerly follow the proceedings in the past, during the trial to see how on Earth Megatron will dodge the death penalty that everyone seems to clamor for and end up leading the expedition that Rodimus himself started…

Spoilers below!

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Apr 30

Review: More than Meets the Eye #28 – The one with Megatron on the cover (Spoilers!)

TF_MTMTE_28_cvrAThis issue comes out on the 30th of April, which is close enough to my birthday (one day, but who’s counting) that I consider it an early birthday present…And it is quite the present!

When I first held an issue of this comic in my hands it was the characters that made me fall in love with it, their relationships and their trials and tribulations with the main plot, the search for the Knights of Cybertron as an excuse to put all these robots together in one confined space. Now that MTMTE is entering its author-named “second season”, 25 issues with one overarching plot line, it is the characters that still jump out and grab me.

Spoilers below the cut!

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Apr 16

Review: Windblade #1

TF_Windblade01_cvrAIt was kind of a given that I’d like Windblade . With Mairghread Scott and Sarah Stone making it the first Transformers comic outside of fanzines and message boards with an all-female creative team, with it introducing a new female Transformer who’s not only pushing IDW to diversify their cast but pushing Hasbro to diversify their toyline as well, it would have taken some epic blunders for me to dislike it.

Despite all it has going for it, Windblade could have still been as mediocre as so many other comics on the shelves today and in the past decade. It could have been a great idea bogged down with a bland story and muddy, unreadable art. It could have failed to hold a candle to the other excellent Transformers comics currently running, More Than Meets The Eye and Robots in Disguise. It could have challenged my desire, my need to like it.

I’m happy to say that’s not at all the case.

Spoilers ahoy!

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Mar 26

Transformers Dark Cybertron Review: Closing the Book [Spoilers below cut]

DRKCYBRTRN012_cvrAToday marks the end of Dark Cybertron, the first real big event in Transformers comics, spanning many months and 12 issues, including both Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets The Eye. One of my esteemed colleagues on this website has already chimed in with his thoughts on this crossover event and he did not have a lot of good to say about it. I endeavor here to give my own thoughts and perhaps offer a slightly different viewpoint.

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Mar 19

Transformers: Robots in Disguise: Dark Cybertron: Death of a Hero: Is It Over Yet?

TF_RiD27_cvrAIf I went back in time 20 years to tell my young self that in the future Transformers comics would still be around and that my  young self’s favorite character Shockwave would be conquering the entire universe with mad science in in a multiple ongoing  Transformers comic book Event, well little me would be very excited. But then I would have to break it to myself that this Event  is rather dull and making me tired of Shockwave. Little me would just stare at future me in confusion. This is Dark Cybertron. Continue reading

Feb 14

Are You Ready for Toy Fair 2014?

1392401212_windbladeIt’s that time of year again – no, not Valentine’s Day, it’s Toy Fair! This weekend is going to be a non-stop deluge of new toy news, so to make sure you’re on top of it here are a few of the best people to follow and places to check:

Twitter feeds:

Web sites:

  • ASM always has massive galleries of every company present at the show
  • TF Radio Network will be discussing it via live stream on their site!
  • Seibertron.com has already started their coverage
  • TFW2005 has a Toy Fair tag

If you know of other sources, mention them in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

Feb 10

One Foot In The Dead Universe: IU Talks to John Barber and James Roberts

Now that Dark Cybertron is well and underway, we here at Iacon Underground were fortunate enough to get to ask IDW writers John Barber and James Roberts some questions about the series so far and both Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets The Eye going forward!

IU: Thank you both so much for taking the time to talk to us! Now that we’re halfway into the event, what’s your favorite part of DARK CYBERTRON so far? What upcoming part of the series are you looking forward to finally seeing the light of day?

John: Well, we’re a little past halfway, but that’s my fault for not writing this quicker… it’s funny, because of the way this comic came together, that so much of it kinda crushes together in my head… it’s hard to remember what’s out, what’s done but not out, and what’s still in progress… Early on, I think the combination of Phil Jimenez and Andrew Griffith in issue 1 was really exciting to see. I’ve known Phil a little bit for a while, but never actually worked with him or even spent any real time talking to him before we started this comic—and it turned out we grew up really close by each other. And Andrew, I love working with. That first issue coming together was really cool.

As far as looking ahead—I think the last act of the story, the last third is really strong. Issue 9 is really crazy action, and I think James and I found a good rhythm to the writing there. And issue 10 is a lot of fun, there’s sort of a breath to take, before the end comes.

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Feb 07

Jagex Updates With Transformers Universe Trailer

So what do you think? Are you excited to play it as a MOBA? Do you like seeing the Prime aesthetic alive and kicking, or does it feel over now? Are you, like me, still mourning the loss of character creation?

Feb 05

Jagex Provides Transformers Universe Update, Still Not MMORPG

An email went out today to those signed up for beta access to Transformers Universe, the MMO first unveiled as an RPG with character creation at BotCon 2011 but later changed to a MOBA. After the initial limited beta, there was very little said about the game for months. According to Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard:

2013 was a critical year in the evolution of Transformers Universe. It was essential that we just knuckled down and got on with the core gameplay, and that unfortunately meant there was not much news to share for anyone outside of Jagex.

The new projected release timeframe is Summer 2014, with widening beta access between now and then. What will the current version of the game be like?

Autobots versus Decepticons, you’ll team up to play with and against other Commanders around the world in tactical and strategic online battles, competing for supremacy in the global faction war. Legendary Transformers characters will make special appearances – but more on that another time!

Your squad of Bots are a faction-specific collection with their own play styles, weaponry, augment options and specialties. There are countless fighting strategies when battling them and we really believe they will crystallise, embody and capture both what Transformers is all about and your imaginations.

More information can be found over on the official site.

Feb 03

Marvel Retrospective II: “Power Play!”, “Prisoner of War!”, and “The Last Stand”

This is the second in a series of articles re-visiting Marvel’s version of Transformers, covering the 80 issues released in America and the 4-issue miniseries “The Headmasters.” Images are scanned from my personal copies of each comic.

...close enough.

…close enough.

Over the course of the rest of the original 4-issue miniseries, plot points similar to the cartoon’s “More Than Meets the Eye” are carried out: The Autobots establish a human-Cybertronian relationship with Earth in general and the Witwickies in particular; the Decepticons try to get energy; Starscream plots against Megatron; there are a few big battles; the general status quo is set.

But a couple things differ strongly throughout the arc.

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