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Thanks to regular reviewer and fellow Seibertronian PrimeVsPrime, we have a new video review to bring to you, that of the latest Generations Selects Seacon to be released, Kraken (known as Seawing outside Japan)!
In this review, he takes a look at all five of Kraken's modes (manta ray, robot, arm, leg, and gun), and we get a good look at the unique ways this figure was remolded from Cutthroat (who himself was a heavy remold of Swoop).
This figure is in stock now if you ordered through site sponsor TFSource, and has been delayed until early April if ordered via Hasbro Pulse.
What do you think of this figure, Seibertronians? Are you excited to get it? Don't care for it? Either way, let us know below, and stay tuned to Seibertron for all your Transformers news and reviews!
Fellow Seibertronian Bucky got Masterpiece Lio Convoy and due to a few early breakage reports (as is always the case with MPs the first week of release), he wanted to share his thoughts on the Transformation as well as some tips on how best to handle him. He also added some images to show those areas. This written review goes well with the recent Japanese video review, as an english language companion, which we also posted below.
"So I just spent the last hour transforming him into bot mode. Definitely gonna recommend kid gloves on the transformation. There’s a whoooole lot going on with this toy. Good, and bad.
The engineering on him is pretty top notch, and he’s definitely interesting. Lot of twisting and turning. Lot of hinges and cradle-like structures. But with so much intricate engineering, and with such a thoroughly complicated transformation there’s a lot of areas that could end in breakage. Doesn’t help that there’s some parts of the instructions where it’s intensely difficult to tell what’s going on, but I don’t think that’s anything new. This is especially true with the abdominal section. It’s hard to tell how to move the side panels. The video posted below is recommended.
Just about everything on this toy is tight. Everything slides in and out of slots and cavities very smoothly, and everything tucks away neatly. All of which is cool. But there are some clearance issues. Mostly in regards to his lion claws. The slide right into the legs perfectly, but if you don’t have the leg bend, and instead have it straight like I did, when you go to twist the leg, you can easily snap the tips of the claws off. So be super careful. Luckily I only slightly bent mine on one leg, but I’m the only one who is ever going to notice the slightly imperfection,
I’d also be careful when it comes to transforming the legs. You might not think it at first, but there’s a lot of hinges down there, and a lot of twisting requires to transform them. My thigh swivels are insanely tight, so I had to use a bit more force than I was comfortable with, given the complex knee area.
Some of the cooler parts are that Lio Convoy is fully loaded in terms of weapons, and they all fold away and conceal nicely. His ratchets are good and tight, and have an oddly satisfying little click to them. Although the right elbow on mine appears to somewhat stuck. His colors are bold and beautiful. He doesn’t have ankle tilts, but he does have toe tilts.
Oh, and the ab crunch is great, and was unexpected.
Regarding possible breakage:
I can see how too much forcing could potentially result in breakage at the chest plate area, but mine is just fine. The way the chest compresses, and folds away is pretty amazing.
I thought it might be prudent to also provide some images to better clarify the potential problem areas that I encountered.
Part of the final steps calls for you to twist the lion arm on its swivel. This is fine provided that you have the elbow bent, to allow the claws to clear the cavity that they fold into.
However, as you can see, if it is not bent, and is straight, the claws no longer have the clearance necessary for the twist. I had Lio’s right lion arm straight when I got to this step, and had I not been paying such close attention, I would have snapped the tips of the claws off, instead of just slightly bending them.
I also wanted to point out how if you Lio Convoy has insanely tight thigh swivels, as mine does, this complicated area of the leg can seem fragile. There’s a lot of hinges there, so it doesn’t feel particularly robust. Lio actually has two swivels. One at the hip, and one at his lower thigh. The lower thigh is what’s tight on mine,
There is also a twist on the cradle of the lion head that had me sweating bullets, but after watching the video to confirm that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, I got past it. There is clearance for the twist, but not much. If I were to transform this figure multiple times down the road, I’d be pretty concerned about that mushroom peg.
I do just want to reiterate that I experience NO breakage with mine. All you have to do is take it slow, and use caution for some areas. I do realize that that’s not ideal, but Lio Convoy has some crazy cool engineering, and he looks amazing.
All in all, Lio Convoy is a gorgeous looking toy, and he’s very cool. Personally I don’t know that I’ll be transforming him into lion mode again, but that’s okay. He looks amazing in bot mode anyway. "
Fellow Seibertronian Chuckdawg1999 has some new reviews for us. Below you will see a video review of the new Cyberverse Wrarrior Starscream and Hammerbyte.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Hasbro must have heard the cries from the masses since these new mold Warrior Class figures feature articulation that's comparable with Deluxe Class figures. Both Starscream and Hammerbyte feature an action gimmick that's the signature of the Warrior Class line but they really don't get in the way of the basic movements of the figures. Unfortunately, the gimmicks are still a little fiddly, not as bad as before, but enough to make you pause for a moment of reflection. Ultimately these are good, not great figures.
Fellow Seibertronian Cobotron has informed us that there is a video review of Takara's Transformers Masterpiece MP 48 Lio Convoy. While it is in Japanese, you can see the Transformation and just how exactly the cartoon lion head becomes a robotic lion head on his shoulder in robot mode.
Hey all. Just stumbled across this on youtube. Just uploaded today.
Thanks to Seibertronian Bacem, we have news that a video review has hit the internet for the highly anticipated Cyberverse Ultra Class Rack n' Ruin!
Rack n' Ruin is a very unique character to Transformers, and one whom took a long time to finally get his first toy. Rack n' Ruin debuted as a set of conjoined Autobots who were members of the Wreckers back in the original Marvel Comics, though much like their leader Impactor, it took time for them to break away from the comic world and into other media.
Transformers Cyberverse introduced Rack n' Ruin in Season 1 of the show, and he has been a regular background character for Season 2 and 3, even showing up as the Captain of one of the Arks in the Season 2 finale! And with Impactor finally getting some mainline toy love and Whirl getting some cartoon love (finally), it seems it is Rack n' Ruins turn to join them in toy form.
The new toy is part of the Ultra Class assortment, and will be around $20 USD. He has the armor up gimmick that Clobber has, and much like her, he has some decent articulation and a pretty neat transformation.
Check out the video review below, courtesy of Rodimus Minor, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!
Fellow Seibertronian Chuckdawg1999 has done a review of the upcoming Transformers Cyberverse deluxe Hot Rod. This is one of the remaining 4 figures needed to complete Maccadam.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Continuing the Deluxe Class subline of Cyberverse, Hot Rod is a solid figure that's a great representation of the animated design. Transformation is smooth but satisfying, although there are some details missing like Hot Rod's trademark yellow spoiler. The blast effects are a nice addition but I feel a handheld weapon would've been a nice addition. Definitely worth a pick up for your Cyberverse collection.
Fellow Seibertronian TheSwipe95 has done a review of the upcoming Transformers Cyberverse deluxe Grimlock.
TheSwipe95 wrote:For anyone interested, I have a review up on Youtube for Cyberverse Deluxe Grimlock.
“Perhaps Titans were -are- the ultimate expression of Cybertron, of us. Wondrous, vast, infinitely, capable.” Vigilem quoting Codexa,‘The Way We Were, By One Who Saw It.’
The Change in Your Nature - Part Five - A late review without too many spoilers, even though the issue came out last Wednesday.
Written by Brian Ruckley with Art by Anna Malkova and Bethany McGuire, colors by Joana LaFuente and John-Paul Bove, with letters by Jake M. Wood and Neil Uyetake. Edited by David Mariotte and Tom Waltz.
The Rise is pushing even more boundaries and their next step is in motion. Skystalker has awoken Vigilem… What is the next step for Cybertron’s many factions? Vigiliem’s awakening cannot mean good things can it? The fact that the rise want to awaken him, based on their prior motivations does not seem like a positive step for the planet. But, many readers will be relying on their previous experience with the very large, very powerful, and very dangerous Titan (see 'Til All Are One') to better inform their prediction for what the outcome most likely involves.
Vigilem is the focus this issue, which as you can imagine, is not a small thing.
The first few pages take us right back where the last issue left off and speaking of not small things, check out Astrotrain's size in the image below. Our glorious gaggle of Risers is itching for more trouble, especially the XXXL-sized train bot. History will mark their deeds and judge what they have done as being right, wrong…or possibly something even more defining.
I choo-choo choose...WAR!
Cyclonus is physically healed up, but is also still dealing with his mental illness which might be PTSD or something else entirely, and is now growing angry with a new inner fire being sparked because of the Rise's destruction of one of his favorite places. Is there a reason for us to care about Cyclonus’ backstory right now? What bigger role will he and his memories play?
The Winged Moon, a consistent hangout of Wheeljack and his mentee Gears, is our main setting though...and space. Gears follows through with his difficulties with 0 gravity mentioned by Cosmos in the Transformers Valentine’s Day Special. More importantly, we learn of Vigiliem’s target…
Cue the alarms and the 2nd part of the Rise’s plan. Big bad rockin’ communicator bot and his communication friends not named Steeljaw, Ramhorn, Eject, Rewind, Raindance, or Grand Slam, work very hard to try to undo the virus that has taken down the Titan network. This is a bad thing, of course, because apparently there is no response to be had to re-route Vigilem by communication or by force (apparently).
BUT WAIT! Old friend Lightbright is ready to intervene with Titan Lodestar, results to be determined (and not spoiled entirely)…
Artwork duties are once again shared by Anna Malkova and Bethany McGuire. Both are adept at showing action and expression in their work. This issue has plenty of both to go around. There are some really large almost splash pages (you can imagine with showing characters the scale of Titans with regular bots). I’m not particularly fond of Vigilem’s ship-mode design, but that’s a small gripe, right? I feel like being the large scale that he is, there could be more detail in trying to show that MONSTROUS scale. But the artwork certainly helps tell our story, and certainly has some amazing shining moments of expression; especially AWE and FEAR…
Coloring duties fall to the duo of LaFuente and Bove, two worthy and capable individuals with plenty of Transformers and other comic experience to bring. The color work with Lightbright in Lodestar is a nice bit of work using Lodestar’s palette as inspiration for other interiors on the Titan.
I was most impressed by the art team’s panel below. This immediately caught my eye and I smiled to myself as I thought, ‘Wow, they nailed that shot…I really love it.’ The potential for even more is there.
And there are a few cover options, Livio's standard, Brendan Cahill, and Marcelo Matere in the thumbnail.
The story moves along well, with a lot of action- broken up with some moments of levity and build up for another part of the plot to pay off later via Cyclonus. There's a lot of history that is being introduced and some somewhat assumed for the reader, but not much built on yet.
All-in-all, I thought this was a good issue, and I look forward to the follow up -that ending-. Lots of IDW Transformers version 2 Titan lore came out, as well as, more information as to how Titans function, and are supported, some we were mostly aware of from prior experience, some brand new. We have mentions of knights, and plenty of Titan names that we have no idea who or what they fully did. And we get much of this from the memories of a Titan who has read works by Codexa (or downloaded them) and uses her words to express his/the mood. I did miss the Titan voice ballon work that we have seen in the past (and even in this issue). I think it helps to set apart the Titan's from the 'regular' bot and I'd love to see it consistently used again.
I thought that there were some possible missed opportunities with some somewhat bland panels of spaceship flying in space at many different angles, it does allow for Vigilem's exposition to be broken up, but otherwise, a solid issue with some new Cybertronian faces showing up to the party and many panels of pretty amazing artwork.
“Titans built our colonies, they fought for us, they WERE us.”
84% Spoiler Free-ish Who did you call inferior when they were writing the October solicitations?
84 days have passed since Transformers: Galaxies #3 was released. Revolutionaries had a 63 day gap between issues 3 and 4 back in 2017 and Lost Light had some rough gaps in between on a few occasions but 84 feels unprecedented and alarming. I'll stop short of saying that IDW (not the book's individual creators) owes any sort of explanation, but will say that this is the kind of thing that kills series and you don't have to take my word for it - ask a comics retailer.
With that out of the way the rest of the review can follow without another mention of it, but it was the elephant in the room here that had to be addressed. If you're reading this review and haven't read Galaxies #4 yet, know that it's a good read that's worthy of your time and the $3.99 (plus tax for many) cover price but do yourself a favor and read issues 1 through 3 again first. You won't regret it!
Tell that to IDW!
The issue's events pick up with the Constructicons and the Insecticons ready to execute their plans. The pieces set forth in the preceding issues coalesce here in more-or-less the way you'd expect, which may sound like it's detrimental but this issue is primarily about the action. Each group of Decepticons (yes, they're not technically that yet but c'mon) is doing what they feel they must to survive and break the cycle of control that's caught their lives and suppressed their means to achieve freedom. This issue invites the reader to witness how destruction can be used as a means to an otherwise empathetic end, and while there's some dialogue to catch-up a lapsed or forgetful reader it does bear repeating that the full impact of what Galaxies #4 does is greatly bolstered by recent memories of the trio of issues before it.
See, that's why you prepare for devastation.
Said destruction is very well executed thanks in part to both Livio Ramondelli's art, with its stellar as usual sense of scale, as well as writer Tyler Bleszinski's choice to make sure that by the end of the arc Devastator isn't some mindless behemoth. There was a process taken to get him there, to be sure, but it was laid out convincingly without a huge over-reliance on the earlier introduced Enigma of Combination. Devastator is fully aware of himself as the seventh, shared consciousness of six other sentient beings and while it would have been nice to see him kill at least one character of real consequence, a symbolic panel featuring a representation of such will have to do for now.
And not just for food
The Insecticons have been used sparingly so far but they very nearly steal the show here. While their backstories are almost pitiful, the full brunt of their sociopathic nature is presented and while gruesome isn't a term I'd use to describe it, disturbing might fit the bill here instead. G1 fans will be happy to see some of their signature verbal tics persist along with their general appetite for energon. These feel like the original Insecticons just taken up to 11 and made more brutal, so here's hoping the main book picks them up soon.
Where it all ends up is quite open ended, which is good in one sense as it means the door's left open to more of this story. On the other hand, given the pace of events in the other ongoing there's likely no continuation coming anytime soon making this a great meal that doesn't quite fill you up all the way. That's almost definitely on purpose given an eleventh hour tease of some other characters yet there's still a sense of finality lacking for me, but your mileage may vary.
Clicking and clacking, really?
The quality art continues for this installment, with Ramondelli not only bringing wonderful scale in the line work but also smart colors to distinguish the time of day, giving perspective to the length of time the issue's story takes. The lighting doesn't stand up to close scrutiny in from panel to panel on every occasion, but when it looks so effectively dramatic I struggle to find much detriment in that. One thing I've noticed over time is that Ramondelli's art looks best to me on a bright phone or tablet, then on paper, then on a conventional computer monitor and writing this review on multiple decices throughout the day confirms this for me once again. The lettering from Jake M. Wood has balloons that jump back and forth swiftly at times but the dialogue remains easy to follow. I do have to offer some criticism to the onomatopoeia insert shown above. While it gets the idea across, associating an un-combining gestalt with a computer keyboard sound is certainly less than familiar.
Livio Ramondelli provides the "A" cover as has been the case for this series so far and this is the cover you can find in this review's news post thumbnail. Sara Pitre-Durocher provides a clean looking Devastator with slick coloring effects for the "B" cover while a pixel-art Shockwave and Devastator grace the ten-copy retailer incentive cover from newcomer (to Transformers, at least) Christina Neofotistou. As always, you can also find all the cover images, full credits for the issue and a list of all the characters that appear in the book through our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers: Galaxies #4.
Verdict Just kidding you don't have to sit down for this
Transformers: Galaxies #4 is a worthy finish to a first arc featuring these characters that left me wanting to see more of their journey. The Constructicons managed to introduce some much needed action in a setting and series somewhat devoid of it or even, as it feels at times, the potential for it. A clear plan with careful plotting is evident in this four issue run, further evidenced to me by how it only introduces one really notable element of lore that isn't thoroughly followed-up on by the end of this fourth issue. While a product of happenstance, there's even some nice synergy with Transformers #17 and what's seen from one of its featured characters.
I can't bring myself to call this one perfect but I almost did. It could be the delay's fault, it could be the extremely open-ended nature of its resolution, or you could just know that despite some minor, Scotty-being-picky quibbles Transformers: Galaxies #4 finishes up a four issue arc that on the whole is easily the best Transformers comic output of the past year. Don't forget about this one, show it some support so more Constructicon stories can be made in the future.
Greetings Seibertronians! Thanks to the efforts of fellow Seibertron user, Turned Agent, we have discovered two new video reviews of the first wave of Earthrise Voyagers! These are of course Earth Mode Starscream and Grapple. These are slowly making their way into general release, with some already into eager buyers hands.
These video reviews are done by YouTuber, JCM45. We have embedded the videos for your convenience below.
Earth Mode Starscream
Grapple
What do you think of these reviews? Does it wet your appetite for these Voyagers? Are you holding out for a different Seeker recolour? Let us know in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews!
Just in time for a bizarre holiday comes an offbeat entry into the newest Transformers comic book continuity in the form of this week's Transformers Valentine's Day Special. Historical lovebirds Glyph and Tap-Out make their first impressions in almost two decades while Cosmos and Blast-Off provide a back-up story to round out the issue, with love definitely in the air for the former and Gears definitely in the air for the latter pairing.
Still unsure if he's training at 10x gravity
Patrick Ehlers writes the first story within this one-shot special, with art by Jack Lawrence and colors by one or both of Josh Burcham and Sara Pitre-Durocher. It's a pretty compressed read that manages to linger for a page or so too long on its exposition, but for a continuity that's been a little light on explaining itself in meaningful ways this could be a welcome adjustment. The setup works pretty well, though this is a romance story and a bit more flirtation in the early dialogue would have been a welcome sight.
Oh yes, the battle mask comes out
While true for every review to some extent, the romance element present for this Special makes this one a bit more difficult to phrase objectively. Romance is a fickle emotion and anyone that's ever felt it towards someone else can tell you what clicks for some doesn't click for others. Speaking for myself and at least one other staff member, we found the execution here bland with scripting that couldn't quite live up to Lawrence's visual storytelling through body language. A little too much punching and kicking is called for though part of the story is trying to get a point across that communication comes in many different forms, so in that regard it succeeds to a degree. While your mileage may vary on how romantic you feel after this one but I can at least say the overall structure of the short narrative here is on fine footing, conveying its message simply but effectively.
Yeah the review's late but no one pressured me to finish it faster!
A short back-up story rounds out the issue's content, with longtime Transformers comic book artist Sara Pitre-Durocher making her writing debut as well as still handling (presumably, the credits aren't broken up) all of the art duties for a four-page montage featuring Cosmos and Blast-Off. This worked better for me on the romance angle, perhaps because she captures the early, extra exciting and new phase of getting to know someone very well. There's an element of expectation established and just enough content to keep you guessing on exactly what could happen later. Want to ship these ships? Go for it. Want it to all end in tears? You've probably got an argument there as well, but that might just be me thinking about how things went the last time Blast-Off was "romantically" involved with another character in the previous continuity.
So he did land on Planet Namek after training or...?
As previously mentioned, Jack Lawrence makes a triumphant return to Transformers comic books in this issue and puts on a show with smart action sequences as bookends to subtler moments where body language tells quite the tale. He creates quite the swoon-worthy rendition of Tap-Out in one panel as well, at least I think he might have as someone that doesn't swoon over robots in that way. Josh Burcham handles the colors for this section, probably, and chooses distinctive palettes for each setting that help give them more character and definition. The block-colored background bots in the opening pages were almost definitely an artistic choice, but they didn't quite work to hook me in - wouldn't Apeface have been that way as well if it's for why I think it was? Pitre-Durocher's output makes the most of its space with sequential work that helps convey the jumping around of a montage scene, aided in part by the lettering work of Jake M. Wood. The editorial group of David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and Riley Farmer round out the interior credits for the issue and I would like to humbly ask them to split the credits for the main and back-up stories in the future.
Jack Lawrence and Priscilla Tramontano deliver the "A" cover for this one that you've probably seen several times by now but it always deserves some repeat use, such as in this review's news story thumbnail. If your local retailer bought 10 copies or more, you may have the option to buy a retailer incentive cover featuring Cosmos, with its art by Sara Pitre-Durocher. As always, you can also find all the cover images, full credits for the issue and a list of all the characters that appear in the book through our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers: Valentine's Day Special, but do note a great deal of those character appearances are one-panel cameos!
Verdict That's precisely why we're here!
It's tough to be too harsh on this comic because it has a purposefully limited scope and does its job pretty well within the confines of it. While some of the dialogue between Tap-Out and Glyph felt a little stiff, there's still a tidy story to be found with plenty of excellent artwork. Cosmos and Blast-Off steal the show here in four pages that ooze with charm and despite the length it's probably worth picking this up just for the back-up strip itself. Transformers can be used to tell all kinds of stories so more like this would be plenty welcome to me.
* Price and quantities subject to change. Shipping costs, taxes and other fees not included in cost shown. Refer to listing for current price and availability.
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