Monday, January 21, 2013

Transformers #31



The Decepticons' most evil scheme yet - CLEANLINESS FOR VEHICLES!



83 comments:

Whisky Tango Foxtrot said...

Soundwave has been resold in stores. For instance, there was the 2007 Toys Я Us-exclusive re-release as part of the "Classics" line which was identical to the original version with the exception of the chest being slightly modified so that it could accomidate two casettes instead of just one. This version was also re-released in 2009, but as a SDCC exclusive which was later made available via mail-order from the Hasbro Toy Shop.

If we go beyond the straight-up re-releases of the original toy, he had a figure in the "Titanium" line based on his G1 look, one "Transformers: Cybertron" line inspired by his original design but transforming into a F-117-ish jet instead of a tape player (with Laserbeak as a transforming "bomb" that could store in his chest,) one in the "Transformers: Animated" line that transformed into a van and had a Laserbeak that transformed into an electric guitar, and one based on his "War for Cybertron" appearance that greatly resembled his original look in robot mode but transformed into a Cybertronian vehicle (sadly, no casette-bots on this one.)

The War for Cybertron version was also re-made to go with the release of the new "Fall of Cybertron" game, but in a larger size-class and with transforming "data-discs" based on his original casette-bots. This one is still available in stores as I write this. He's also slated to get another figure based on his G1 look (but with improved engineering) in the Masterpiece line. This one should be out in a few months.

LucasChad said...

I have a feeling this'll be Brad Jones' favorite episode of your show because of the references to Temple of Doom and Crystal Pepsi.

Anonymous said...

Have you ever considered making a linkara movie? I mean, in the vein of the avgn movie, or is that what the tgwtg anniversary specials are, or are those more considered "nostalgia critic the movie?"

Cburrart said...

There actually is a dairy king where I live Lewis, It was a dairy queen that left the franchise

Anonymous said...

Blitzwing wanted to turn the Autobots into sheet metal, before he realized he had some already.

TFA Fans UNITE!

Anonymous said...

You had a perfectly good "Dare to Be Stupid" joke when you brought up Weird Al and you didn't use it. Did you just forget? Don't worry, I made the joke for you during the review.

E. Wilson said...

The Marvel Transformers comics are generally my favorite continuity of the original characters, exactly because of stories like this. You've got a Cassticon leading one faction, Grimlock is leading the others, and there's an evil car wash involved. It's this great combination of unpredictability and cheesy fun that's really enjoyable to read.

When the G1 revival comics came about in the early to mid aughts, my general problem, aside from Pat Lee's shennanigans, was that they took the material so damn seriously, and it really sucked a lot of the fun out of the concept. And while I generally like Simon Furman both as a writer of the mythos and as being a pretty cool guy, (Although I'm in the minority that didn't like the Unicron/Primus stuff), I think he's at his worst when he falls into the same trap. These are alien robot warriors that hide among us as VW Beetles, cassette tapes, dinosaurs and flying ray guns. Have fun with it!

Anonymous said...

"Have you ever considered making a linkara movie? I mean, in the vein of the avgn movie, or is that what the tgwtg anniversary specials are, or are those more considered "nostalgia critic the movie?""

Yeah, a Linkara movie would be awesome, if he had the money to pull it off that is

Also, I would hope that Linkara would actually be in it, unlike To Boldly Flee. I never would've thought in a million years that I would be begging to get Mechakara less screen time. I mean Linkara(the character) was totally robbed in that movie.

Anonymous said...

When will the storylines begin again

Anonymous said...

Which Transformers show do you like the best?

My favorite is Transformers Animated for how much fun it has with itself

Shanethefilmmaker said...

Somewhere in the vast reaches of the internet ItsJustSomeRandomGuy's Spider-Man is kicking himself in the ass. Why? Because of Marvel losing the rights to Transformers.

Anonymous said...

"I mean Linkara(the character) was totally robbed in that movie."

As was Spoony for that matter. Especially since we had characters there who were basically used for only jokes like Paw, Joe, and Mickey. Their characters were the ones who truely robbed Linkara and Spoony of having decent parts in that movie.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

As the guy who WAS there I can assure you that neither of us feel like we were "robbed." Those other contributers deserved to be there just as much as we were. Many more deserved to be there but weren't.

While Linkara and Spoony, as characters themselves, were not major presences, we still played important parts and were in lots of scenes. We got to act alongside our friends and fellows and we enjoyed the hell out of it.

And if that's not satisfying enough, just remember this: Linkara rode in on Comicron One and saved everyone's asses.

RatherOddRanger said...

I think this should be quickly pointed out. Here in the UK, Titan books who used to print trades of the Marvel run of TF comics lost the rights nearly 2 years ago.
So if you live in the UK I HIGHLY recommend you check out your nearest Forbidden Planet store as they're in the sales.
heck I managed to complete my collection because several of the books (such as the one Linakra is holding) are now lower then £3.99.

My only complaint about the Titan trades is the bizzare coverart for the hardbacks. The regular ones have awesome artwork whilst the hardbacks ... not so much ...

Rabbi Joe said...

Ah, Octane (whom I owned in '85, along with Soundwave) and the Triple-Changers. I never got that. My car doesn't transform at all; is it a single changer? And I can see how the regular Transformers might be double changers--robot to vehicle, vehicle to robot--but by that logic, simple math dictates that Triple-Changers would be Sextuple-Changers. Or Sex-changers for short. Oh, now I see the problem.

Kyle said...

This had 80's Dan crossover written all over it.

Phantom Roxas said...

Pretty sure the logo was written just to give it the sense of looking metallic, but the "Barbershop of Doom" was worth a laugh.

Indiana Jones text? Kind of ominous, considering how Shia Labeouf would later be in both series.

I actually liked Armada, although whenever I do read up on it, I realize that it does not hold up very well. The Beast Era and the Unicron Trilogy are my preferred continuities, but I guess a Michael Bay joke just would have been too easy.

TheWalky said...

All the G1 Soundwave reissues you could possibly want: http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Soundwave_(G1)/toys#Classics

Silbmaerto said...

What was so bad about Transformers Armada? I remember really liking it when I first saw it (although I was like 7 or 8 at the time).

Nevermore said...

Linkara said on Twitter he is specifically talking about a mass release (non-exclusive) reissue of the G1 Soundwave toy.

Well, that ain't gonna happen, man. Aside from Toys'R'Us, no other store is interested in selling re-releases of toys that are nearly 30 years old. Sad but true.

Anonymous said...

I love how when that Buster kid was fighting Ratbat, the comic kept referring to his crowbar as a tire iron.

RatherOddRanger said...

I'd like to imagine that forming the Neo-Knights did more damage to Blackrock's company then his plans for the car wash.

Anonymous said...

Transformers Spring Brake...
you know, seeing the direction the franchise is going recently, it wouldn't really surprise me that much

I'm actually not used to seeing RatBat being sentient to begin with
the last two shows, Transformers Animated and Transformers Prime, had him (and the other "tapes") being more like Sound Wave's tools rather than actual characters

finally, wouldn't it be cheaper just to remove the mind-control devices from the car-washes?
they seemed to be perfectly normal aside from the hypnotic blinking lights at the end

Red Spearow said...

The virtual boy joke was gold, great work Linkara. However I have to ask, what's wrong with Transformers: Armada? I enjoyed it a lot.

Jillian Hermes said...

First off, Mr. I-got-to-drive-a-DeLorean, at the end of the first movie the time circuits didn't run on plutonium it had Mr. Fusion. They should have been taking that. Second, the nuclear elements of the car were added by Doc Brown because the car itself ran on regular gasoline. Third the car’s gas tank was in the wrong place because you fill up a DeLorean from the behind the license plate…yes I’m just being bitter because you drove the car from my FAVORITE movie and realize that it was just a joke. Still bitter.
Also the reason you can’t find that toy at re-sell shops? No one’s selling them to resell shops. They’re keeping them for themselves.

ackbarfan5556 said...

That Armada joke is kind of a double-edged sword. While it was the most different, seeing how it was more animeish than western animation, it was that series that introduced me to the Transformers.

Jeez, missed a perfect chance to do 3 Brad Jones jokes.
1. Temple of Doom
2. Crystal Pepsi
3. A good chance to bash Michael Bay for the sequels. And people say that George Lucas was bad, at least he was trying people! Heck, he donated his 4 Billion from the Disney buyout to charity! MB just made the sequels not to tie up plot holes but not just for money but for a s**t load of money (Spaceballs joke there)

Unknown said...

I couldn't help but notice how you looked at the cover, even though you were reading from a trade. That's unlike you.

PopCultureOtaku said...

Armada and second part of Unicron trilogy wasn't bad. Third part was all over the place due to english trying to force plot line into show that wasn't there originally.
G1 comic was good but times scratch my head. Like ratbat and grimlock being leader.
Yeah there have been re releases of G1 in different forms. They even re released with Soundblaster (Repaint version for Headmasters Anime) part so he can hold two cassettes. I have that myself. Though I wish I had gotten the 2009 one since it included four cassettes.

Comics, Old Time Radio and Other Cool Stuff said...

Great review. The voices you do are always great, but I particularly liked the voice you used for Ratbat.

I always enjoyed the original comic run and the original G1 cartoon, despite the fact that the plots were often poorly constructed. Bad plotting usually annoys me, but the G1 Transformers really did represent goofy fun. As other a few other comments have pointed out, a series about robots that transform into vehicles and/or huge animals should never be taken too seriously.

Anonymous said...

There's actually a restaurant named "Dairy King" in my hometown. Wonder if they knew about this.

The Illusive One said...

1: Yea, this comic isn't nearly as bad as some people made it out to be and I'd honestly be surprised if you didn't catch a lot of flak for not tearing it a new one. Still good episode all around.

2: Screw you for bashing Transformers: Armada! That series was awesome!

thorondragon said...

thought laserbeak was not the same as the otehr transformers though. like he was more animal than sapient creature.

anyway awesome review, and this comic.... actually a lot better than the usual fair. the characters more or less acted relatively intelligent, at least for a time of comic cheese. sparky wanting to avoid any more trouble with the transformers, a logical thought to have all thigns considered. buster's reactions when he quickly realizes something is wrong. the only reason he even stayed any longer was becuase he was concerned about his dad, and understandable response.

i actually found ratbat's leadership surprisingly plausible. he is not asserting authority as a military leader, but as a financial and resource manager. both of which is needed even with giant robot shapeshifters. he gives the numbers and caculations and was intelligent, aside for said craziness of the whole plan.

soundwave is definetly one of my fav bots. however comparing versions, i prefer the animated series, transformers prime, version. his monotone is replaced instead by silence, a stoic, imposing, voiceless creature, total in his loyalty to megatron and his silence, his mind always at work behind a visor that shows only what statistics he is currently working on. he does not even use his own words, but mimics the words of others, though you hear the hint of his tone in these recordings.
he might not be a casset tape player, but he is a military drone in his shape. it gives his robot form an intriguign, almsot bat like asthetic, making him more mysteriuos and imposing. not only that, he is a fucking badass too, able to hold his own agaisnt his foes with both direct combat and subterfuge at the same time. he is so badass that his version of laserbeak is powerful enough to shoot down autbot class space travel vehicles.

Falcovsleon20 said...

Funny bit of trivia regarding Ratbat: He's one of TFA character designer Derreck Wyatt's favorite Transformers. Which would explain why he's not only in TFA w/ Lazerbeak but as a sweet keytar for Animated Soundwave. (Seriously, Animated has in my opinion the best incarnation of Soundwave ever. Glory to robots with weaponized rock guitars!)

Wishes to remain Unknown said...

Kali MAHTRON!Shakti deallspark!

Wishes to remain Unknown said...

Blackrock was speaking(and obviously wasn't surprised) so no "Dull surprise" in this comic

Sethery said...

I was a bit surprised at your Shockwave voice (I was expecting the Sark voice from the show) but hey, Wheeljack didn't sound Brooklyn-ish in your Dreamwave review and I dealt with that, so whatever.

Also: thank you for not doing the tired old "lol michal bay sucks lol" joke, though I suggest you read up on the atrocity known as Transformers: Energon, the horrendous follow-up to Armada.

Also also: there is one thing that you didn't mention in you previous TF reviews as well as this one - the fact that IDW currently holds the license to TF comics.

Also also also: Transylvanian Ratbat FTW.

Patrick Carlock said...

6:55 You think Armada's bad? You should see Energon. My goodness, that sucked. Still, at least there are better shows. Have you seen Animated or Prime? They're pretty good. Better than this comic.

Anonymous said...

If you ever feel like tackling Marvel's Transformers again I'd recommend issue #55, in which an Autobot takes up professional wrestling.

Anonymous said...

Problem with the butt and chest posture statement about the cover. The artist at least gave us a reason for the uncomfortable posture. Rat Bat had gotten him by the torso and grabbed the leg for the opposing side as he was trying to flail. So not quite going for that showing off your chest and rump thing.

This comic didn't even appear to have a speaking flashback cameo of the title characters.

We got to see Jazz and Bumblebee?

So many mind controlled people and the ability to enslave more in multiple locations... SO MUCH WASTED POTENTIAL

So where is Megatron while RatBat is in charge? Did he retire with Prime out of the picture or something?

Unknown said...

Ah, my #1 reviewer is reviewing something near and dear to my heart: Transformers. It's a shame you don't think you'll be doing more of Transformers, I love seeing a fav franchise of mine being reviewed, good or bad. In that line of thought, are there any comics of Warhammer 40,000? I actually have both the G1 Soundwave (minus the gun and shoulder speaking-gun thingie since it was a gift a family member found in a garage sale), and the War for Cybertron Soundwave (who I just take his gun and speaker and stick on the G1 figure). If I ever do a review show of my own, he's going to be the Poyyo of the group. (skip to rambel for more) Ratbat was in the cartoon, but I think he was just in the Japan-only aired episode that was meant to be the last one before the animated movie: Scramble City. (19:30), I don't know, China's looking good right around (that) time.
(begin rambling) I have also had the idea to have two time-displaced veterans, of which wars I keep changing, and a Dalek. Who episode Dalek. Like I said, its an idea, not a fully fleshed-out concept, and I have no money to pay for ANYTHING to put this kind of show (compared to AT4W) together.

Leor said...

Excellent review Linkara!

I remember when Transformers #31 came out, way back in 1986 (or was it already 1987? Who can remember?), and while it was a pretty goofy story, it is in no way the goofiest storyline from the Marvel Transformers Comics. (I nominate Transformers: Headmasters #3 for goofiest story of the G1 series. After two issues set either on Cybertron or another planet very reminiscent of Forbidden Planet or Flash Gordon, Scorponok and Mindwipe decide to use a giant bubble making machine against the Autobots' humanoid allies. That's right, it goes from togas and crystal spires to "Robot Monster" in less than three pages.)

The major issue I have with Transformers #31, as well as the preceding two issues, is that Ratbat decided to ship the Car Wash of Doom to Earth with a non-Aligned Cybertronian cargo hauler. The cargo freighter became infested with robotic parasites and crashed on Earth, infecting Goldbug, Blaster and the Decepticon Triple Changers. After Goldbug defeats the robotic parasites, Astrotrain hypnotizes Blackrock, leading to the wackiness of today's feature presentation.

All of this begs the question: given how concern Ratbat was with the Decepticons not wasting energon on costly schemes, why would he ship the physical Car Wash to Earth? Why not just transmit the blueprints for the Car Wash to Shockwave's base, and have the Constructicons build the prototype? There was nothing in the Car Wash that couldn't be built by Blackrock's own workers, so why not build it on Earth? The only possible explanation I can think of (besides lazy writing by the otherwise clever Bob Budiansky) is that the 'Cons were worried about the Autobots intercepting their transmissions and interfering in their plans.

Lewis, here are some other Marvel G1 Transformers comics you might be interested in reviewing: Transformers #3 (Guest starring the Amazing Spider-Man!); Transformers #14 (Guest starring the Amazing Bruce Springsteen Expy!); G.I. Joe v. the Transformers #1 (G.I. Joe murders Bumblebee!); Transformers: Headmasters #3 (the aforementioned giant space bubbles); Transformers #37 (Goldbug and the other Throttlebots are "executed" by the U.S. Armed forces, only to have their brains put into toy cars at the last minute!); Transformers #44 (the Cosmic Carnival, aka Optimus Prime joins the circus!); Transformers #45 (the Decepticon Skullgrin just wants to be in pictures!); Transformers #55 (Transformers join the pro wrestling circuit! Also the last issue written by long time Marvel G1 writer Bob Budiansky). Just in case you think I'm picking on Bob Budiansky, here are some of Simon Furman's goofier issues of the US Marvel G1 comic: Transformers #62 (the Autobots become pulp detectives); Transformers #63 (Autobots and Decepticons have a gun fight at high noon on Westworld); Transformers #64 (Furman revisits Moby Dick); and both Transformers #68 and #73 (a group of X-Men wannabes try, and fail, to take on the Decepticons).

BlackoutCreature said...

I agree with Linkara. I never understood why this issue is so notoriously vilified among Transformers fans. Yeah, the concepts goofy as all hell and there were some continuity problems (notably Sparkplug's real name), but it was pretty well written for a children's series that was basically a toy commercial. It isn't even close to being the worst issue of the series, issue 55 where a few of the smaller Transformers become pro wrestlers was much much worse.

By the way, Transformers Armada, while having a very rocky start, turned into a really good story as it went. If nothing else the final few episodes were actually quite epic.

As for a Soundwave re-issue, well as others have said, he has had some over the years. Why hasn't the original design gotten something bigger or more high profile? Probably because the average Transformers-playing-age child nowadays would have no idea what a cassette player/walkman is.

ShadowWing Tronix said...

Thank you for somewhat defending this comic. Outside of the title I've never understood the hate this comic gets. Mind-washing car wash makes more sense than a mind-washing disco. Or most of TV Megatron's schemes, really.

Adam said...

"I'd like to imagine that forming the Neo-Knights did more damage to Blackrock's company then his plans for the car wash."

Ah, the N-K health plan... where Blackrock pushes you beyond insanity simply to distract Unicron.

"If you ever feel like tackling Marvel's Transformers again I'd recommend issue #55, in which an Autobot takes up professional wrestling."

To be fair, that was a Micro-Master...

I can't remember half the people from my 4th Grade class, but I can remember the Neo-Knights and Road-Handler... ah well?

Mitchell said...

Hey try living in a small town and trying to get any good Transformers. I'm trying to save up for Soundwave's new Master Piece mold. Also Linkara I am very upset you never worked in Bender's Bot Wash song from season one of Futurama. Still I have got to find these comics they would be a blast to read!

Doug Puthoff said...

Linkara, I respectively disagree with you. THIS COMIC SUCKS! The artwork is cruddy, the plot has holes big enough to drive Optimus Prime through. It's sticking camp. I have the feeling that the creative team on this comic said, "Why bother putting effort into this? It's just a kiddie comic. A thrid-grader could draw this, and it will still sell.

Trekker4747 said...

Honestly, I wish you had done the Optimus Prime Video Game comic as a regular episode. It's such a laughably bad comic that I've been wanting to see you do for such a long time that I think deserved it. The live show "episode" was good but the format doesn't "do it for me" due to sound issues, poor video on the "pages"/insert. Not seeing your facial expressions, audience noise (including whomever was very near or operating the camera.) Wish it had been a regular episode.

FugueforFrog said...

You know if Ratbat was worried about union rebellion, he should just go down south where there are no unions. At least they'll just keep working and not complain about workers rights or anything if the plan fails.

Weirdly this wasn't as silly as the live show of Optimus killing himself for screwing up a video game but it was silly regardless. And as you said: no dull surprise faces, so no problems there. Sort of also expected to hear a bit of Jim Croce's "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" but Rose Royce has the car wash song scheme monopolized so it's understandable in the choice of song. (though heavy metal at a disco...maybe with the terrible set up the song should have used "Boogie Fever")

Duke of Luns said...

Now that you've reviewed both issues #24 and #31, can I request you review the Marvel G.I. Joe vs. Transformers crossover?

It's pretty bad, with boring action scenes and very few interactions between the Transformers and G.I. Joe. It came out around the same time as Transformers #24, thus there's some leader shuffling that makes for a mess of a stand alone mini-series.

Also, it has a remote controlled flying nuclear reactor. During the Cold War. That has to be fertile ground for jokes.

Jesse said...

This is better than I thought it would be. I also thought it would have the Decepticons trying to destroy the Autobots with an evil car wash somehow.

I'm going to tract this down for fun.

Shanethefilmmaker said...

"Kali MAHTRON!Shakti deallspark!"

Om Namah ShiPrimus Om Namah ShiPrimus Om Namah ShiPrimus!!!!!

Unknown said...

Okay this comic was not what I was expecting and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. This comic made me think of Brute Force, a level of goofy, sure but Rat Bat (forgive if I got the name wrong) is actually pretty cool and yes, I totally want to find the Marvel issues to know how the hell that happened.

Seeing Rat Bat also made me very much want to go hunting for our Beast Wars DVDs.

Fun, really enjoyable review and I think the comic from the live show is WAY worse (not the review the comic) in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

I eagerly anticipate your fans making a .gif out of that dance you did.


It is a pity you were not able to make TFCon 2012. We had Bob Budiansky, who didn't do "Car Wash of Doom" but did a lot of the TF comics of the 80s.

Ian Yoxon said...

For the cover. I guess you can say that the artist for the cover was probably a big fan for the Hawkeye Initiative When he drew the guy.

Brian Henegar said...

You mentioned the "Mystery Mine" ride...does that mean you've been to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge?

Lizard-Man said...

I'd like to just say that IDW's current ongoing Transformers comics capture a lot of the old Marvel spirit. Its not as goofy but its clear the writers love the franchise and want to have as much fun as they can with it. Check out "More than Meets the Eye" specifically. Hot Rod is leading a group of Autobot misfits across the universe and getting into awesome adventures. Its kinda like star Trek... but with robots!

Nevermore said...

ames cousins said...

"Ratbat was in the cartoon, but I think he was just in the Japan-only aired episode that was meant to be the last one before the animated movie: Scramble City."

"Scramble City" was not "meant to be the last one before the animated movie". It was an OVA (original video animation) intended to sell toys. Much more blatantly so than the standard US episodes. It wasn't an "unaired episode". There's barely any plot or characterization (and I say that fully knowing that the G1 cartoon had some weak plots and one-dimensional characters). Scramble City was really just "The Decepticons send robots to attack the Autobots, so the Autobots send new robots in, so the Decepticons send more robots, so the Autobots send more robots" and so on.

It was really just one giant all-out brawl. Were it not for the fact that this episode was released in Japan only (because it was created specifically for the Japanese market), it would widely be considered the most lackluster G1 episode.* Instead, it has this weird cult following that reveres it as "That one episode Hasbro never bothered to bring to US shores even though it features all of the combiners".

Contrary to popular belief, it was also never meant to "bridge the gap" between season 2 and 1986's The Transformers: The Movie. It was just meant to spotlight the combiner toys plus Metroplex and Trypticon, and Ultra Magnus, too. He isn't really introduced as a "character" here, it's just "Here's Ultra Magnus, he's in charge of stuff [buy his toy]".

*Not the worst one; "B.O.T." wins that one easily.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"You mentioned the "Mystery Mine" ride...does that mean you've been to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge?"

Nope, but I've been to the "Mystery Mine Ride" at Camp Snoopy.

Ricochet said...

15:58 always cracks me up. It is subtle, but effective. Good Job!

Unknown said...

Nevermoresaid: "Scramble City" was not "meant to be the last one before the animated movie". It was an OVA (original video animation) intended to sell toys...

Thanks for the correction. :)

Tracey said...

After you mentioned the "Transformers Spring-Break" I just had to look it up




It's out there 0_0


Non shall escape Rule 34
(carwash naughtiness included)

PopCultureOtaku said...

Scramble City was also suppose to bridge the gap between season 2 and 3 because Japanese never got the movie till after season 3. Of course that is what I hear from historians including on Movie 20th anniversary dvd. They could be wrong.

Unknown said...

Aww. This reminds me of my love for Marvel's Star Wars comics that came out at around the same time.

Goofy? Some of them yes, definitely! There's a giant green rabbit character in some of the early ones who's not taken very seriously, and small pink psychic rabbit characters later on which are. And the ending is so rushed, and the artist for that last issue inexplicably draws Luke Skywalker like a Nineties character - huge muscles, constantly shirtless, long haired, carrying a giant gun he never actually uses.

But there's a lot of earnestness too, and genuine cleverness in a lot of the plotting, and it's adventurous and optimistic in a way I really miss.

Unknown said...

You're reminding me of why I love Marvel's Star Wars comics from around the same time. Fandom tends to overplay the goofiness there, too - and parts are goofy, but there's an earnest effort in so much of it, and it's a fun, adventurous series full of twists and turns and sometimes dark moments.

Plus sometimes I honestly think it's more progressive about portraying women than modern comics. More side characters and background ones are female, there are more female villains, very few are drawn with an eye to fanservice...

WillPhanto1 said...

Hell of a coincidence that the day after you do a review of a book that takes place at a car wash. Stan Lee posts a rant about car washes on youtube.

Anonymous said...

*sigh* So many things to do based on your jab at Armada... point out how Armada gets better around the second half, call you a GEEWUNer based on your desire to have a toy with 5 points of proper articulation as opposed to one that can do the same thing with 18 and your comments towards the live-action movies, there's always the ever popular "burnt at the stake" line I'm so popular for...

Yeah, I think I'm gonna call you a GEEWUNer because no one else has. To which I say: watch Transformers Prime and especially Transformers Animated.

Ming said...

Wow that was cheesy. However, I don't think this will ever be as stupid as the one where Optimus destroys himself over a video game!

Great review of this cheesy comic. Incidentally, have you read a book called Transformers Exodus?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna call you a GEEWUNer because no one else has. To which I say: watch Transformers Prime and especially Transformers Animated."

Actually, I'm a Beast Wars and Beast Machines snob. I just like Soundwave and the cassette Transformers.

SynjoDeonecros said...

"Actually, I'm a Beast Wars and Beast Machines snob. I just like Soundwave and the cassette Transformers."

Beast Wars, I agree is awesome and deserves all the praise it's gotten, despite its flaws seeping through, over the years.

Beast Machines, however... I won't criticize you for liking it (and if you do, I would love to hear your reasons), but yeesh, it was a train wreck of blasphemy for me. Between the shoddily preachy writing, the character derailments, the plot holes (why would the Oracle insist the Beast Warriors help "evolve" the planet into a technorganic paradise if they were already on that route, with the beast modes and DNA scanners built into them?), and the crap animation (lava lamp explosions? Seriously?), as well as the cheap feel of at least the Maximal figures, it's no wonder to me that most Beast Wars fans don't like it.

LoneWolf said...

There is a restaurant in St. Francis, a tiny northwest Kansas town, that is called Dairy King. I've never eaten there.

Unknown said...

Sorry to post a comment without being a member of this site, but I felt that I had to ask this question to you. I’ve been an average view of your show for a little over a year now and have been wondering if you have ever heard of the franchise ‘Warhammer 40k’ and if so, have you ever read any of the comics that they’ve made. I know for a fact that they have made comics and I was wondering if you would see if they were any good. I hope my spelling isn’t to off in this small paragraph that I’ve wrote, as I’m not the best at sentence configuration. By E-mail is bobcrafty@gmail.com. Thank you for your time good sir.

Anonymous said...

I personally think Beast Wars is overrated.

TheRolesWePlay said...

There is a Dairy King franchise, but the only one I know of is in New Jersey, but their shop is in Portland, which by Speculative Jump Theory means...In the Transformers universe New Jersey takes up half the country. *legasp*

Or they didn't want too get sued...well whatever.

Bekah said...

Great review as always, Sir Linkara!

Just curious, but are you thinking of doing a review on the Megatron Origins comics? I've only read two of the four, including the one with Megatron's "hair", and I liked them just fine but they were disliked by a lot of readers. I'm still fairly new to comics though.

Anonymous said...

"I personally think Beast Wars is overrated."

Only if you judge it by today's standards

Maybe if they went with classic 2D instead of CGI, the show would have had aged more gracefully than it ultimately did

Unknown said...

I thought the funny thing about the Indy font is that it's the name "Buster Witwicky" when Sam Witwicky is played by Shia LaBeouf, who is Mutt in Indiana Jones.

Josh said...

I loved beast wars, especially the latter two seasons. It helped get me into transformers. Beast machines had a lot of hiccups, but one thing I loved about it was cheetor's growth into a leader. If they had given hot rod at least a season of buildup before the movie, he might have been better received as the new prime.

Movie-Brat said...

You know, perfect timing you uploaded this considering the recent Mars Attacks/Transformers crossover from IDW that's being published.

Anonymous said...

"You had a perfectly good "Dare to Be Stupid" joke when you brought up Weird Al and you didn't use it."

Yeah!
Did you just forget? Don't worry, I made the joke for you during the review.

Blogger E. Wilson said...
"they took the material so damn seriously, and it really sucked a lot of the fun out of the concept."

I have that same problem with sooo much stuff lately. Not just comics, but movies and TV shows too.

Like the way Linkara keeps saying 'it's goofy BUT it's good'; I'd probably say (if I'd read it, which I haven't) 'it's goofy AND it's good'.

Do you see the distinction?

Jackie Wilson said...
"I'm in love when you smile."

~ Mik

pqcomics said...

i wish you'd talk about the idw transformers comics, though they're pretty much awesome. They have a transformers political thriller comic going on, and its awesome. i'd the idw comics recommend to any transformers fan.

Arianne said...

The only animated series that I watched about the Transformers was Beastmachines and and Beastwars . With that being said I agree with Linkara's opinion on the quality of the comic.

Jetstream said...

You joke about the hot Transformers action, but I've seen literal Transformers porno.

The internet is a strange, strange place, Linkara.

Unknown said...

To be fair without Transformers Armada we wouldn't have gotten the video game adaptation which was a million times better (if a lot harder than you'd expect) and the only good Transformers game until War for Cybertron came out