Once a month for five months, God finds time to bless our planet with his holy ejaculate. This is month four, and so today the latest issue of Last Stand of the Wreckers is now splashed warmly across our faces.
Sure, the immediate highlight of the issue is a single panel (spoilers) that packs more fanwankery into itself than should be physically possible. But something more subtle I’d like to bring up, nospoilery-like, is this: Transformers are robots. They lose arms, they lose heads, they suffer all sorts of damage. I’m kinda numb to the idea. But, man, in Last Stand of the Wreckers, when physical damage happens, I wince. It’s gross. It looks painful. It takes an emotional toll.
This is probably due to both the writing and the art. I think of the characters as real beings, not only due to the strong characterization, but also in the way in which they are drawn. They don’t look like a pile of boxes being maneuvered around by the artist like a marionette. They’re singular entities. And, man, if they get an ouchie, you can tell by the look on their faces.
I really like that.
And, man, Last Stand of the Wreckers really is an orgy of violence. It’s crude and dark and terrible. Many Transformers stories attempt this, but most feel hollow. This does not. That’s a feat in itself, above and beyond the easy geeky cameos.
Hey, start posting to your RSS feed with comics highlighted like you used to. People don’t all care about your posts, just the funny (though that has been missing recently).
You…. DO realize that the RSS feed updates automatically with a link to the new strip every night at update time, right?
http://www.shortpacked.com/feed <— I mean, the night’s new strip is linked (nay, inlined!) right there!
Perhaps you could point people at http://shortpacked.com/category/comic/feed/ if long passages of text offend them.
It used to have a specific link to the strip, now all posts (strip or not) just say
“Originally published at Shortpacked!. Please leave any comments there.”
Upgrading to the new LJ feed I gave would have taken waaaaaay less time than coming here to yell at me for not doing it the old way that I’d said I’d abandoned.
So, do that.
I care about the news posts.
Just sayin’.
Being a fan of the stip since the infamous “Pulling of the Drama Tag” I can honestly say that the daily news posts into the various toy related comings and goings have been a welcome and much needed break from my own Real Life issues. Dave…as a fan and an ersatz friend who would KILL to have the toys you own…pay no heed to the rabble that complain about you news posts. They are epic, made of win, and wrapped in bacon.
All the headshots help. I’ve always wondered why more TF authors didn’t acknowledge and utilize the fact that destroying a robot’s brain is the only real way to kill him. Furman did that ONCE (when Death’s Head killed the future Shockwave), but I don’t think it’s ever happened since. And now, suddenly, this series has not only gone out if its way to give us a slew of true deaths, but even brain-seeking projectiles. Holy crap!
I wasn’t really down with Wreckers the way everyone else was at first, but something about #4 really clicked with me. Art, story, character, it was all there. I like the idea of Aequitus and the mystery of whatever Ironfist has learned from it, I like Overlord’s unique-for-a-TF-big-bad personality and motivation, I like the way the crises have brought out the new characters’ personalities, and I think the art has gotten sturdier and easier to follow with each issue.
Oh, and you didn’t mention it, but Spotlight: Prowl also came out today, and I’m very happy to see Su – who’s already my favorite artist in the IDW TF stable – becoming practically Mignola-esque. The story was all right – the best parts were the took-your-sweet-time-didn’t-you explanations (like why there are suddenly a bunch more Autobots on Earth, and a little more insight into what Prime was thinking before he surrendered).
Sadly, all of that just makes the ongoing series look even worse. I’m glad that at least we have some Guidi coming our way in a few issues, but it feels to me like the main arc is really getting stretched for the trade. The philosophical overtones are neat – what DOES happen when the war is over? – but the execution is a pretty mixed bag. Thundercracker’s musings were interesting (another question I’ve long wondered – how have the TFs been fighting the same war for millions of years, and how would they react to humanity’s relatively rapid-fire changes in wars and culture?), but the latest plot twist – you don’t ally with Decepticons BECAUSE THEY’RE EVIL AND WILL KILL YOU – was disappointing and just plain boring. Even Don’s art is getting outshined by Roche/Guidi and Su; compare the Stunticon road-duel with similar scenes from Infiltration. The underwhelming waste of space that was the two-page spread was, for me, emblematic of what’s wrong with Don’s style, decompressed storytelling, America, and the world today.
Anyway. Yay Wreckers! Headshots.
Not just upcoming Guido, but also upcoming JAVIER SALTARES: http://saltares.deviantart.com/art/TEMPLATE-HELL-154501989
Who I didn’t know existed until this news, since I did not read Ghost Rider in the 1990s, but I am very glad he does, and that he’s drawing Transformers.
Oo! I was also unaware of him, but those pencils look really nice, and a quick Google image-search gives me the impression that he’s pretty solid. I don’t know if IDW is planning on bringing Su back for realsies, but I think their styles could get along well.
(Oh, another thing I forgot to mention that I really dug about Wreckers #4: “Play makes you free.”)
YOU DIE IN THE GAME YOU DIE FOR REAL
Either I’m way out of touch with the world, or Drew is (purposefully?) a poor example of nerdery.
Does a single bookshelf of nerdy collections (DVDs, toys, games, etc.) really count? Because if that’s the case, I’m like at least 6 nerds even before I start digging through closets.
I’m suddenly very frightened. I-I’m just really concerned that I passed into super-nerd without even realizing it.
I’m saying nerd a lot.
Aww, Squadron X doesn’t have Octus, though. And doesn’t IDW even have the license for doing Doctor Who comic stories in America? We might actually be able to see him legally transform!
I want my Dalek Transformer, dangit!
Yeah, but Octus and his pals are specifically leader-types. Putting them Squadron X would have made as much sense as Jhiaxus or Straxus. They’re not disposable nobodies, they’re political figures. (who were disposable)