Sell me IDW

[Ravage]

Ok, a few people know that im a Dreamwave fan, more so than IDW. Yes the DW art sometimes was questionable, but there was no doubt that the stories were some of the best going. DW always had something to suprise us, or a money shot in every other issue or so, but from what ive read of IDW i havent seen anything like it yet.

So as we know DW went out the door and IDW came in, and everyone got excited, yet i was cynical. Was it because i wanted the DW run to finish.....was i annnoyed to the extent that i wasnt willing to give IDW a chance? Im not sure. Ive read AHM, MO, Max Dinos, and the story with Thunderwing ( ive forgotten its name ) and a few of the 'Ation' series and spotlights.....and i have to say they never....ever got me as excited as DW did......i never made an actual effort to race to my local comic shop to pick up my newest issue along with ALL the variants, giddy as a geek should be, anticipating what could be in store for me.

I guess what im really getting at here is, why should i start from scratch on IDW. The guys who review the IDW comics have said its picking up and getting really good, and from some blurbs ive seen in the latest issues in Forbidden planet have said that the War is coming to and end, an event '4 million years in the making'. Interesting sales pitch....got my attention. However, do i really want to do this....do i want to be dissapointed again?

So come on guys, give me a hand, talk me into this or out of this. One thing i would ask is, no spoliers....if im going to do this, i dont want it spoiled now do i!

[Nemesis Scourge]

I would recommend checking out Last Stand of the Wreckers if you're looking into IDW again. It still ranks as one of the best things they've published to date.

[Duh_Prez]

I'm doing precisely this by way of the large IDW collection volumes, which are printed in an advised reading order rather than print order. I'm enjoying them but I can understand why some people wouldn't.

However, there is no reason on Earth why people should not like Last Stand of the Wreckers. That was my starting point. Yes, I know that it's silly to start with the best, but my thinking is I want to be up to speed on what has gone before, even if it's not great, so I can fully appreciate James Roberts at his best.

[Death's Head]

I don't know if I can sell you IDW. Their lurching, 'where's the fire?' approach to creating interest around Transformers comics in some sort of failed attempt to recreate the success of Dreamwave has resulted in some right old messes. Having said that, Chris Ryall did perhaps give Simon Furman too much free rein. The sterling work set up in Infiltration soon gave way to the turgid 'Dead Universe' and some of the inverting of established mythos came across as crass (poor, poor Arcee). The soft reboot with All Hail Megatron isn't so bad, but the quick tying up of Furman's run comes in a hurried rushed info dump in 'Revelations'. New editor Denton J Tipton makes a complete hash of managing things, with the back half of AHM and its subsequent 'coda' issues being toe curling excerices in trying to marry up the direction taken under Shane McCarthy with Furman's sprawling space epic. IDW really were on a hiding to nothing with that. New broom Andy Schimdt promised much , but just kept the plates spinning , but did give Nick Roche his own series whom drafted in James Roberts - a man whom has the potential to be the greatest writer Transformers could ever have - before his ingraiting with Hasbro paid off and he got a job with them (I'm being cynical here!).

My only hope is that new editor John Barber sees sense and gets Mike Costa off the ongoing and hands it over to Roberts. Costa is a great character writer, but hasn't written very strong ongoing story arcs, leaving you with a comic that has flashes of genius marred by months of limp faffing about.

[Ravage]

I forgot to mention that i have read LSOTW. I found it enjoyable, and the art fairly nice. However, being a 'localised' story, it hasnt done much for me to get into the main run.

I think ill look for the IDW collections that Prez has mentioned at AA, and take it from there......if i cant find any before then that is. I did like what Nick did with Kup, very awesome.....and im not just saying that because i had breakfast with him.

So would you say that IDW's LSOTW's is DW's War and Peace?

[Dynamite]

I had started buying the comics when first came out I got them up to the end of Devastation then had to end my subcription i started to collect them again but in TPB form. I just bought Vol 1 For All Mankind off ebay and know before that it was all hail Megatron but am i missing anymore major stories that link togeather between Devastation and for All Mankind ?

[prime_time]

I had started buying the comics when first came out I got them up to the end of Devastation then had to end my subcription i started to collect them again but in TPB form. I just bought Vol 1 For All Mankind off ebay and know before that it was all hail Megatron but am i missing anymore major stories that link togeather between Devastation and for All Mankind ?

inbetween those is Revelations and Maximum Dinobots, think thats about it thou

[Death's Head]

I think Last Stand Of The Wreckers is one of the best comics ever written, nevermind Transformers. Like Beast Wars, it transcends it's genre. I like that James Roberts is one of those writers who can bring you up to speed on what's going on in the wider universe these characters inhabit with a few simple lines of dialogue. That probably tells you a lot about the ongoing events in IDWs comics too...

I don't know if the upcoming shenanigans surrounding the magical #125 (IDW taking a leaf out of Marvel's 'we'll change the numbering to drive up sales' strategy there) will be up to much, but with the promise of more Roberts, I am hopeful.

IDW: Get this guy on board!!!! Your comics need him!!!!

[Duh_Prez]

I think Last Stand Of The Wreckers is one of the best comics ever written, nevermind Transformers. Like Beast Wars, it transcends it's genre. I like that James Roberts is one of those writers who can bring you up to speed on what's going on in the wider universe these characters inhabit with a few simple lines of dialogue. That probably tells you a lot about the ongoing events in IDWs comics too...

I don't know if the upcoming shenanigans surrounding the magical #125 (IDW taking a leaf out of Marvel's 'we'll change the numbering to drive up sales' strategy there) will be up to much, but with the promise of more Roberts, I am hopeful.

IDW: Get this guy on board!!!! Your comics need him!!!!

You posted this yesterday so I guess you haven't heard mate. Next year there will be two ongoing series called "Robots in Disguise" and "More than Meets the Eye". You'll be pleased to hear Mr Roberts is lead writer for one of those series

For the record, he's also a really nice guy lol

[Death's Head]

Yaaay! thats the bestest news ever!!