Revisitation 172: Return of the Pax.

4/1/2025

As promised... I've returned!

So, no more preamble, (apart from to point out the new dedicated Bluesky for Revisitation again), I'm diving right into my look at Shadowplay Part 2!

6 Comments

Llama God

5/1/2025 11:18:29 pm

Hurrah! You're back! We're back!

Er.

Remind me again, what is this place..? Is this something to do with Grandstand's "Convertors"..?

Of course, I say all that in jest, but I also got confused and read 11 in anticipation of this blog re-starting. Luckily I also re-read 10 as "background", so we're good to go. (Look, it's been a long Christmas.)

And there are certainly worse issues to come back on. I think we've already been over how good the Shadowplay arc is, and... well, it's good, innit?

I like the slowly revealed mystery in this, and how the whole plot is really tied into the history and politics of the world that Roberts has created. What's depressing really is how the registration act was written to be a pretty obvious bad thing couched as a good thing, but not the kind of thing that anyone would try and get away with in 2012... and yet here, in the future space year of 2025 it somehow seems like that's exactly the kind of thing one of our pre-eminent politicians would try and pull. And it'd work, too... Luckily, that depressing fact is also very nicely balanced out by the whole "The Matrix is a bomb!" reveal, which is just pure comic book, and which stops things from getting too serious.

If there was any complaint I was to have about this issue it's that we actually get to meet Roller. It's not that I have an issue with how he's drawn or written, just that I think it would've been funnier if we'd never actually met him, and we were always left to wonder what the guy who inspired Prime's drone was like. If that was indeed a different guy...

Along with the well done tale telling, there's also room for a little character development along the way, as we learn things about some of the cast involved, and that's nice to see, too - it's not just talking heads telling us about past events, it's going to inform the present day story, too.

I think I'd disagree with the criticism of Red Alert's attempted suicide - at least inasmuch as it muddies things with respect to Rung. I think the means of damage that both suffered were at very different levels of severity. Rung got his head blown up, whereas Red neatly removed his own - that makes it much more believable (inasmuch as anyone can believe anything about these giant alien robots) that he could come back with the right and prompt surgery, and still makes Rung's recovery seem miraculous.

So, without risk of repeating myself, this is another good issue, in a series which is very much in its stride. Looking forward to the next one.

And I'm also looking forward to the next entry in the blogs too - it's good to have you book, and to be able to continue on this journey. *looks wistfully into the middle distance as the picture fades to black*

Med

10/1/2025 12:12:36 pm

“This, as we’ve talked about before, is the fundamental conflict at the heart of Coptimus Prime. It’s an idea that’s uncomfortable and has aged badly”

What’s the conflict and the idea? Didnt seem to be stated here. Him jumping on the flier didn’t feel like a conflict but…

gary

10/1/2025 04:28:41 pm

Welcome back Stuart you have been missed another great review

Gareth

12/1/2025 12:24:33 am

Welcome back, Stuart. Great review as always!

Med

18/1/2025 08:24:11 am

“At his panel at TFN’24 though, Milne firmly said he knew Tarn was (spoilers for a character who shows up later in the issue) Glitch at the point he was drawing this issue. Something backed up by a prefers to remain anonymous former podcaster who was friendly with him, who told me Milne had revealed that to them not long after this story concluded.”

Wow. I hope this isn’t true, because if it is that’s a total dick move by Milne.

Gamera

18/1/2025 01:09:08 pm

Nothing wrong with Coptimus Prime. Not all cops are bad.

And the reveal that Tarns was Glitch was lame as ****, even if planned from the start.

Revisitation 172: Return of the Pax.

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