o.supreme wrote:ok , so I have to super careful with this, as I am not really a fan of IDW. I purchased and read every single issue of the 13 year run, most of them are forgettable, but it wasn't until I purged myself of nearly all my comic-book collection in early 2020, that I could finally put it all behind me.
That being said, naturally a "worst" list would be too long to count, but a "best" list I'm not sure if I could even come up with 5 titles or mini-series to fill that conversation.
I do take exception to All Hail Megatron being on this list though, just my opinion, it was the single best thing about IDW in it's entire 13 year run. It was The only series that held any real interest for me, and I eagerly looked forward to each month (Issues 1-12 btw, furmans useless coda was not needed). But I get it. I'm a fan of AHM, because it was different from the dull-as-dishwater stories furman had churned out up to that point, and the closest thing to the classic animated series we would ever get. *Stormbringer I seem to recall was relatively decent also, but I digress... Also while AHM obviously has a large contingent of fans that don't care for it, it is nice to see some actual support for it in the comments I've seen so far.
Combiner Wars was a missed opportunity. I envisioned it being written similar to how DW wrote the Micromasters 4 part series (basically an entire series dedicated to the various Combiner Teams), unfortunately they were just blunt instruments used by the main characters, and a shameless way to promote Windblade and Victorion. Hopefully someday the Combiners will get their due (The toys were great, but decent portrayals in modern fiction are still to be written).
All that being said, despite the shady behind-the-scenes goings on at DW, that world-building had the best foundation for Transformers in Comics I've ever read, and it is a true shame it didn't last. Of course, it died the hero, and IDW lives on to be the villain.
Great post, Omega, I really love it. I'll admit, I too find most of the IDW stuff simply not memorable prior to Death of Optimus Prime (which itself is also not memorable). It just feels like a slog. I did like the Roberts stuff though. I jut liked the way the story was told, emphasis on dialogue rather than narration. And Alex Milne's art is awesome.
But back to the prior stuff, I did find it forgettable and jut boring. Which is why I don't find Heart of Darkness to be such a bad offender. I remember the bad art (someone wrote about that too, I agree), but it just melted with the rest of the blandness before and after. So while I didn't write this list, I can see where Kurona may have been coming from.
And I definitely get what she meant with All Hail Megatron. And what's funny is we all like it and hate it for the same reason. Your reason for liking it is the same reason Kurona doesn't like it. It boils down to being just another episode of the 80s show. And I agree. The bad guys are bad and the good guys come in at the end to save the day. And there isn't much more to it. I really disliked it for this same reason and it's all due to the hype it was given, at least for me. This seemed like a big event, something worth reading. So I did. And the first issue makes it seem like all is truly lost. Optimus is not only destroyed but the matrix is gone too.
But by the end, the stakes which seemed huge at first are the same stakes of any G1 episode. Optimus is fine just in time and just owns the bad guys. And the matrix being gone? Big woop, just like the big woop ass this decepticons are getting.
It just felt so childish and low stakes afterall, like a G1 episode.
So that's my criticism of that event.