Comic Review: Transformers Prime Beast Hunters #3

                You’re going to have to bear with me for a few weeks as the funds are getting tighter than normal around here.  I’m going to have to stick to reviewing comics that I would normally have bought anyway as no comic shops in the area seem willing to pony up a $4 floppy every week in exchange for some free publicity.  Seriously, if you want to see more in depth reviews of different books, just call up the comic shops in the Syracuse area and tell them to loosen up a bit.  That being said, the next few months we’re going to see a lot of Transformers reviews as that is the bulk of my purchases now.  We start it off with the one book that I have yet to review, Transformers Prime Beast Hunters.

Cover:

                All of the covers to this series are produced by Ken Christiansen and they all have a certain feel to them like they are right out of the Transformers Prime television show.  Obviously this is a huge plus as the comic touts its connection to the show from the get-go.  None of the covers to the comics (this one included) seem to have much in common with the story being told, almost as if they gave Christiansen a bunch of characters and told him to go nuts and they would fit the covers in wherever. As far as covers not pertaining to the story go, these are incredibly solid though.  This current cover features three of the Dinobots surrounded by Decepticons that are masked by shadows.  You can tell that they are Decepticons because of the symbol on their chest as well as the fact that they are glowing purple (the popular Decepticon color-scheme). 

                While the lack of holding lines on the artwork itself can lead to some muddled moments in terms of the artwork blending together, there is enough variation using light to make the characters separate ever so slightly from the background.  The movement within the three figures on the cover shows a great design sense as your eye moves fluidly throughout the image.  One would think that with the way that the characters are colored, combined with the blocky nature of Transformers in general that it would be a bit more difficult to achieve that kind of movement but Christiansen does it easily.

8/10 – I have to give it a knock for being a bit generic, but it has its own narrative qualities and a phenomenal design sense. 

Story:

                The general story of this series is that the Dinobots are left on Cybertron after everyone else leaves (which you can see the lead up to in the video game, Transformers War for Cybertron and the aftermath in the Transformers Prime television show) and they are not only trying to hold society together, but also to find out more about themselves as they have been subjected to numerous experiments at the hands of the Decepticon Shockwave.  The first two issues were more along the lines of keeping the peace on Cybertron while this issue starts to deal more with the basic origin of the Dinobots themselves.  While I am intrigued as to where the story will go, there is not much to this issue itself and it turns out to be a pretty quick read. 

Storytellers Mike Johnson and Mairghread Scott (and specifically Mike Johnson who actually wrote the issue) may have something bigger that this is leading up to, but after the last two issues that had a lot going on and felt like they really lived up to the Transformers moniker on the cover in terms of quality, seem to fall a bit flat here.  The big reveal at the end, where Grimlock and Swoop are fighting against actual dinosaurs is probably a bit of fanservice as who doesn’t want to se Grimlock fight an actual T-Rex, but it raises more questions than answers in terms of carbon-based life forms and their ability to exist on Cybertron.  Considering the fact that this brawl happened at the end of the issue, I will give Johnson an issue to work out the details of atmosphere, time (as the Dinobots have been in operation in their current iteration for a little while in the comic universe, so how did the dinosaurs survive, much less know how and when to break out at this convenient moment) and overall luck as Grimlock and Swoop just happen to be patrolling near Shockwave’s lab that spawned the Dinobots.

                Again, I will give Johnson the benefit of the doubt that after the dust settles we will start to receive answers to these questions and that everything won’t seem as “convenient” as it is presented here.  Other than that, the dialogue is good, with the interaction between Grimlock and Swoop staying true to their character and really playing up their own distinct “roles” within the Dinobots.

6/10 – The quality dips a bit in this issue, especially after the very well done first two, but it does set up a lot of questions to add to the mythos and keep us coming back for more.  I just wish it took longer than ten minutes to read.

Art:

                Agustin Padilla provides the art here and while it is miles away from the art we see in other Transformers comics nowadays, it is still very good.  The ability to consistently draw these characters in all their glory, both in robot and their “alt” modes cannot be understated, and while the Dinobots don’t turn into vehicles (which would be the bane of my existence) drawing the robotic dinosaurs is no easy task either.  Padilla handles this admirably and adds his own bit of flair in making the art darker and grittier than his counterparts in the other titles. 

                While Padilla does draw everything well, robots and actual dinosaurs alike, my main problem is the utilization of space on the page.  There are many times where Padilla will leave a lot of space around the figures, almost as if he is expecting a lot of dialogue to be added and he was making room for it.  When that dialogue is not added it just looks like poor pacing on his part as the panel could have usually been shrunk while others were expanded.  Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a background in nearly every panel, so even though there is a big space, it is not necessarily devoid of something, however looking at a large metal wall that has no bearing on the story is not really useful in any way.  I am not sure if this is the fault of Padilla or Johnson, the writer just not filing the space (I don’t know the scripting method used so can’t make that determination with any certainty).

7/10 – The art is a nice change of pace from the clean lines and open figures of most of the other Transformers titles.  Padilla does a great job of breaking up the different surfaces with a variety of textures as well. 

Overall: 8/10 – While this isn’t the best issue in the series, if you have even a passing interest in the franchise or the Dinobots, you should be reading this series.  It’s easy to see how Transformers stories have been told for nearly thirty years now.

Video Game Review: Transformers Prime

            My son’s love of all things Transformers is well documented on this site.  It therefore absolutely made his day when he received the Transformers Prime video game just after Christmas (thank God for post-Christmas deals at Gamestop).  Transformers Prime comes in four versions; DS, 3DS, WiiU and Wii.  I cannot use the Wii controls because of my hand condition and Goose is not particularly adept at the Wii controls aside from Mario Kart, so that one was out (as was the WiiU because we do not own the system).  The choice came down to DS or 3DS.  Since I don’t let him use the 3D function on the 3DS as it hurts his eyes, the logical (and more cost effective choice) was to go for the DS version.  While I do not have anything to compare it to in terms of the other versions, I am sure that this was the worst of the four. 

            First, let’s talk about graphics.  When you are used to seeing the characters come to life in the excellent 3D animation from the cartoon, you expect a bit more quality than what was delivered here.  I know that they will not be exact in terms of how they look compared to the cartoon, but damn.  The characters here are incredibly flat, looking like sprites from early Mega Man games instead of characters in more modern games, much less the fully realized 3D models from the cartoon itself. 

            The fact that the camera cannot be controlled and you are left up to the whim of the game in terms of camera movement is terrible.  In an age where independent camera movement, or at least the ability for a camera to follow you better, seems pretty standard, taking such a step backward is sad to see. 

            The gameplay itself is relatively boring.  Walk forward.  Shoot until you defeat all the enemies and a door opens.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  There are a couple driving sequences and one or two instances where you have to beat the clock to get somewhere, but the gameplay is neither challenging nor rewarding in any way.  The replayability for anyone used to playing modern videogames is nonexistent.  I have beaten the game and have no desire to touch it again. 

            There is one part of one level that is challenging, and that has more to do with the mechanics of the game itself than anything else.  Other than that, the game is very easy.  It is also incredibly short.  I was surprised that it ended when it did, and only part of my surprise was derived from the fact that the final boss was not Megatron.  Really?  You have a Transformers game and you don’t fight Megatron in the end, regardless of the fact that you match off with him a couple times throughout. 

            That being said, Goose likes it.  It features his favorite characters in his favorite iteration of said characters in a game that he can play.  Hell, we were on the same level for a while and at this point he is up to the final boss already.  He is five years old and he has basically mastered this game.  Sure, he may go back and play it again after he is done, and for what I paid for it, it’s not terrible, especially if it brings him so much joy.  If you do not have kids, or you are just expecting a quality video game experience, stick to the High Moon Transformers titles or even the Transformers Animated game for the DS that came out a few years ago.

Comic Review - Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots #1

            Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots is being marketed as a four part mini-series that bridges the gap from the Fall of Cybertron videogame (a review can be found here) and the Transformers Prime television show that recently wrapped up its second season (and that Goose is madly in love with).  It, like all other Transformers comics is an IDW publication and is written by Mike Johnson and Mairghread Scott, with art by Agustin Padilla.

Cover:

            There was only one cover available for this title, unless you count retailer incentives which is hard to do in such a small market like Syracuse (not to mention the fact that most retailers keep those covers and sell them for elevated prices after the fact).  The regular cover by Ken Christiansen is the best of the bunch anyway.  The Dinobots are in the costumes and color schemes that coincide with their video game characters, as well as a heightened level of detail that is much more interesting than their initial, cartoon designs.  Unfortunately the Dinobots mostly consist of a red, yellow and grey color scheme, which tends to get muddled when you put a group of them together.  This lack of separation leads to a bit of a mess, especially as it is a painted cover and therefore devoid of lineart.  The painted quality is nice, don’t get me wrong, and Christiansen is great at what he does, but I have to think that a holding line or two would have helped the characters separate a bit.  The overall design of the cover is well done, and the character placement in the image is spot on in terms of who should be where (Grimlock is the central figure, Sludge and Snarl are the base while Slag-who is called Slug in this-is Grimlock’s right hand.  Swoop hangs over them taking up the rear.  The symbolism, whether intentional or not, is not lost on this fan.

7/10 – I like it, but the central part of the cover is just a jumbled grey mess that could use some deeper shadows or holding lines.

Story:

            I love that the mythos of the video game is being expanded upon as it was a captivating story to begin with.  Combine that with the appeal of the Dinobots and you would have a sure hit on your hands. 

            I like the idea of having Grimlock be a sort of “narrator” for this as he is the leader of the group profiled in the book.  The problem I have is that he is inherently an unintelligent sounding character, which is only partially used in the story itself.  It is wildly inconsistent, not only from his narration to his actual speech, but also within the word balloons themselves.  I am fine with changing up his speech pattern a bit to make him sound unintelligent, it would fit his character, but it has to be done across the board to be successful. 

            Another discrepancy I noticed was that, in the videogame that this was supposed to follow, Sludge is nowhere to be found, and is assumed to be deceased.  To the best of my knowledge (and it’s been a while since I played so I apologize if I am incorrect) he never returned; so why is he here now?  Sure, it’s possible that that will be explained by the end of issue four, but such a big change should probably be addressed right away.  I understand that you want to have the whole Dinobot crew together for a book that focuses on them, I get it, but the fact that he was assumed dead prior to this is not addressed at all.

            I also don’t like the fact that they had to change Slag’s name to Slug because a group somewhere found it to be a racially insensitive term.  First of all, it’s too close to Sludge in terms of the way it sounds; second, it was created in the mid-eighties and was just recently revised.  Shouldn’t things like this be grandfathered in to our public lexicon, especially since (according to dictionary.com) it is a British derogatory term for an abusive woman?  That’s right, we are apparently rewriting childhood memories to avoid offending the abusers!  

            Sorry, got off on a bit of a tangent there.

5/10 – The writing could have done with a little more backstory and a little less “show me three pages of Grimlock fighting something.  If I wanted mindless fight scenes with no real value or backstory I would have invested my time in Avengers vs. X-Men over the summer.

Art:

            I have just started drawing Transformers for Goose, a lot; and I can tell you that it is no easy feat.  I am drawing mine for a five year old, mind you and not for pay, so I can only imagine the kind of internal pressure that Padilla must feel to get things right.  That being said, he does an admirable job with the Transformers themselves, they all look great.  Where he fails to measure up is through the storytelling itself.  While I am not sure if he is designing the contents of the panels himself or whether he has direction from the writers (the old Marvel vs. DC style) I am often perplexed by the page layouts.  Much of it feels like bad pacing on the part of the writers but I am not 100% sure who’s fault it is.

            Another thing that bothers me is the fact that a lot of the panels in the book focus too much on just lineups of characters.  This gets very static and boring after awhile.  While this may be passable normally, because this is a bridge between an incredibly well done videogame and an equally impressive cartoon, the flaws are magnified.

I get that we are in the midst of introducing characters here, but why not change up the panel designs a bit, especially since the color schemes on the Dinobots are all so similar. 

For all the negative things I have said about Padilla's art, I love the layout of this page.  It pulls your eye through in a masterful way.

Not sure why these two panels needed a full page, especially the big panel that is just the face of Ultra Magnus.  Seems like a lot of wasted space to me.

 

This two page spread just makes no sense to me.  Regardless of the differing corners on the panel borders, it doesn't do enough to tell me that that is a flashback or dream sequence, and I don't understand where they are, and what the spiky things signify. 

5/10 – For a “fight book” the art is okay and the characters are incredibly well done (especially considering the increase in detail that drawing the video game characters entails), but the overall lack of storytelling ability shown by Padilla hurts the final output.

Overall:  5/10 – The premise was great but the book fails to deliver (for now at least).  There is obviously still time for it to redeem itself, and hopefully Padilla becomes more comfortable with drawing the characters and can focus on good storytelling, but I rarely hold out hope for a series that starts out flat like this.  Luckily it is only four issues and won’t be a huge money sink by the time it’s done.