I Hate You so Much Right Now.
Autocracy Chapter 1: Law and Disorder. January 18th 2012.
I hope I’ve made my point.
With two big and trying very different things series launching at the same time, one of the smarter choices editorial made was to use the third slot (and there will be pretty much consistently 3 titles on the go at the same time) to throw the fanbase something more traditional as a balm if the new new new direction didn’t work out.
And if you want to make older fans happy, bringing Flint Dille aboard is a very smart move. As well as the script editor on the third season of the cartoon, he’d been claiming, largely unchallenged until Ron Friedman started doing interviews, to be the real writer of the 86 film for years (the first draft script surfacing effectively shows this claim was… an exaggeration and Friedman at least did the basic structure and even final dialogue). Meaning, he and his work are extremely well loved by just about everyone.
Of course, there is another credited writer, and indeed, credited first, in Chris Metzen, a colleague of Dille’s in computer game writer who is a self-proclaimed fan of Transformers in general and IDW in particular. Which would normally make me think he did all the writing here, if not for the fact that nothing about this opening issue feels like it’s been written by someone who has ever read an IDW comic before.
There is at least one bold choice here, the obvious thing to do when you’ve got Dille aboard would have been to lean into that nostalgia with a comic set in the cartoon continuity (something, surprisingly, IDW would never do despite trying it with things like G.I. Joe), alongside an artist like Guido Guidi, someone who can really capture than Sunbow look.
I hope I’ve made my point.
With two big and trying very different things series launching at the same time, one of the smarter choices editorial made was to use the third slot (and there will be pretty much consistently 3 titles on the go at the same time) to throw the fanbase something more traditional as a balm if the new new new direction didn’t work out.
And if you want to make older fans happy, bringing Flint Dille aboard is a very smart move. As well as the script editor on the third season of the cartoon, he’d been claiming, largely unchallenged until Ron Friedman started doing interviews, to be the real writer of the 86 film for years (the first draft script surfacing effectively shows this claim was… an exaggeration and Friedman at least did the basic structure and even final dialogue). Meaning, he and his work are extremely well loved by just about everyone.
Of course, there is another credited writer, and indeed, credited first, in Chris Metzen, a colleague of Dille’s in computer game writer who is a self-proclaimed fan of Transformers in general and IDW in particular. Which would normally make me think he did all the writing here, if not for the fact that nothing about this opening issue feels like it’s been written by someone who has ever read an IDW comic before.
There is at least one bold choice here, the obvious thing to do when you’ve got Dille aboard would have been to lean into that nostalgia with a comic set in the cartoon continuity (something, surprisingly, IDW would never do despite trying it with things like G.I. Joe), alongside an artist like Guido Guidi, someone who can really capture than Sunbow look.
"I sure have read Chaos Theory!"
Instead, it is, in theory anyway, firmly in continuity with the other IDW books, and the artist is Livio Ramondelli, whose work is as far from the look of a 1986 cartoon as you can get.
The not committing to the obvious is also in how the series was originally released. Rather than 4 22-page issues, it’s 12 8 page digitally released “chapters”.
I’ve said already that the explosion of digital comic reading would be of great benefit to More Than Meets the Eye, so this could be considered an idea whose time has come. But either it was slightly to early to be trying this or people who know who Flint Dille is were late adopters, as not only would it get a physical release in issues, the two sequels would downplay the digital aspect as they went along.
The first chapter opens with a full page setting up that this is a direct sequel to Chaos Theory, with cop Orion Pax musing on the literal (because they put a big Matrix shaped hole in his chest) and metaphorical emptiness within himself since he was rebuilt at the end of that story.
Which is a good way of tricking the reader into thinking this is going to be a closely tied into continuity story, but as nothing else about the issue really fits neatly with anything we’ve seen so far, this just feels like an idea from editorial.
The not committing to the obvious is also in how the series was originally released. Rather than 4 22-page issues, it’s 12 8 page digitally released “chapters”.
I’ve said already that the explosion of digital comic reading would be of great benefit to More Than Meets the Eye, so this could be considered an idea whose time has come. But either it was slightly to early to be trying this or people who know who Flint Dille is were late adopters, as not only would it get a physical release in issues, the two sequels would downplay the digital aspect as they went along.
The first chapter opens with a full page setting up that this is a direct sequel to Chaos Theory, with cop Orion Pax musing on the literal (because they put a big Matrix shaped hole in his chest) and metaphorical emptiness within himself since he was rebuilt at the end of that story.
Which is a good way of tricking the reader into thinking this is going to be a closely tied into continuity story, but as nothing else about the issue really fits neatly with anything we’ve seen so far, this just feels like an idea from editorial.
Men refuse to make new friends after the age of 25.
At the same time as this, Roberts would have been plotting out his own immediate Chaos Theory sequel, and he’s clearly salty about what was done here as it would completely ignore all of this, with John Barber having to do some excessive massaging of plots later on to try and make everything line up (helped by the fact that, even though Pax talks like Chaos Theory only just happened, Megatron Origin needs to have occurred in-between as the Decepticons are a thing and Zeta Prime is in power, how big a gap that was will only get bigger).
Turns out Pax is not only still a cop, but now his team is all the same people he’ll be working with 4 million years later, as he leads Bumblebee, Hound, Prowl and Ironhide on a covert mission into Nyon, a once great city now on hard times because of the Senate and Autobot oppression.
They’re there to stop Swindle selling arms to the Decepticons, which they succeed at (including Bumblebee as a long range assassin, which is odd for an issue where he otherwise talks with his cartoon voice) and, as Swindle gloats about the rising power of the Decepticon cause and that the Autobots’ actions are only recruiting more locals to it, Pax looses his cool and beats the suspect, even being prepared to execute him, because he hates Decepticons and Megatron so much.
Guess Flint Dille had a different view of Tony Benn.
Deadly assassin Bumblebee holds him back, and an explosion let Swindle escape, meaning Pax sulks off back to base, as Laserbeak watches…
Turns out Pax is not only still a cop, but now his team is all the same people he’ll be working with 4 million years later, as he leads Bumblebee, Hound, Prowl and Ironhide on a covert mission into Nyon, a once great city now on hard times because of the Senate and Autobot oppression.
They’re there to stop Swindle selling arms to the Decepticons, which they succeed at (including Bumblebee as a long range assassin, which is odd for an issue where he otherwise talks with his cartoon voice) and, as Swindle gloats about the rising power of the Decepticon cause and that the Autobots’ actions are only recruiting more locals to it, Pax looses his cool and beats the suspect, even being prepared to execute him, because he hates Decepticons and Megatron so much.
Guess Flint Dille had a different view of Tony Benn.
Deadly assassin Bumblebee holds him back, and an explosion let Swindle escape, meaning Pax sulks off back to base, as Laserbeak watches…
Imagine getting owned by Swindle.
It’s such a shame this opens with such a clear link to previous stories, because everyone just sounds wrong here, bar Ironhide, who is apparently the same across all continuities. The writers clearly have no idea what, say, IDW Swindle talks like, with him being a card-carrying supporter of Megatron’s ideology being especially ludicrous. And that disconnect is only going to grow as the series goes on.
It's also not a terribly exciting opening, with it not really being clear why Pax is in such a strop and the raid on the arms deal not being very exciting.
Livio’s art is at least fairly strong (though his generic Cybertronians aren’t up to much), though for a digital exclusive comic, he probably wasn’t the best choice of artist as his work will depend on you reading it on a comic sized tablet. Anything smaller, or even a phone, and it doesn’t flow very well at all.
So, it’s not a promising start, despite the pedigree of one of the writers, and we’re not even into any of the stranger stuff for which this series is remembered yet.
Next week, for real this time, it’s Robots in Disguise issue 1 as Metalhawks and doves circle around peaceful Cybertron.
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE ISSUE 1
2012
COMMENT
KO-FI
It's also not a terribly exciting opening, with it not really being clear why Pax is in such a strop and the raid on the arms deal not being very exciting.
Livio’s art is at least fairly strong (though his generic Cybertronians aren’t up to much), though for a digital exclusive comic, he probably wasn’t the best choice of artist as his work will depend on you reading it on a comic sized tablet. Anything smaller, or even a phone, and it doesn’t flow very well at all.
So, it’s not a promising start, despite the pedigree of one of the writers, and we’re not even into any of the stranger stuff for which this series is remembered yet.
Next week, for real this time, it’s Robots in Disguise issue 1 as Metalhawks and doves circle around peaceful Cybertron.
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE ISSUE 1
2012
COMMENT
KO-FI
