iBooks has put up a new three-page preview for Optimus Prime #2, due for release on January 4th. After the first issue’s cliffhanger, a certain group of characters that debuted in 1986’s Transformers: The Movie make their entrance… but are they friend or foe? Check out the preview after the break!
SMOG
Same here. The art itself is quite nice, but the narrative flow needs work.
And yeah, as for the "gender" of the artwork, the manga element could be one part of it… but not the only part of it. It's hard to put my finger on it… the boldness of the lines and the heavy darks. The dense detailing. The postures of the characters. It all has the self-aware "awesome!" flair that I associate with adolescent machismo. Haha! I realize that this is grossly generalizing. I'm not proposing a hierarchy at all, and obviously, this is not to say girls shouldn't be drawing awesome robots and heavy machinery or whatever – I personally know female gearheads artists – just that this style is atypical of female comic/genre artists, due to whatever gendered social conditioning tends to influence our taste and our ways of expressing ourselves. I'm in favour of shaking up norms though.
zmog
jackgaughan
Yeah Optimus Prime would never be so out of character and say "Uh".
…Uh…
SparkPlug24
About time Wreck-Gar had another appearance in fiction.
Right now the voice I use in my head to read his lines alternates between Eric Idle and Weird Al.
Focksbot
I get what you mean. Is it just because the only female artists who've been very well publicised or given official work to do are the ones that tend to draw in a more manga-influenced style?
I really like Zama's work panel by panel, but I confess I also find it a little difficult to follow.
YoungPrime
Same difference. But relax, I'm still buying it. I mean it's not "Bayformers" bad….
SMOG
Whoops, my bad. Serves me right for assuming.
But, what's interesting is that, subconsciously, I recognize Zama's work as being a "masculine" style… like, I didn't even think to check on her gender, because the art looked like "male" art. Obviously I was wrong, but the artwork itself still feels like it has a "masculine" vibe to it. I know that makes no sense, except to say that male and female Transformers artists often seem to gravitate in slightly different stylistic directions, and Zama seems to buck that trend, which is cool, just for its own sake.
zmog
Autovolt 127
Loving these new Junkion designs.
Sockie
Zama's a lady, FYI.
SMOG
Hm… who's this Kei Zama. I guess I've had my head down for a little while. At first I thought it might be Milne introducing a new style. There are little touches of Milne in the way the robots are drawn (not a bad thing) but definitely with a whole think of his own. Reminds me a bit of the old G2 Japanese comics, with those strong shadows.
I knew the colours were Burcham immediately, of course… even with the old dot-printing overlay. No mistaking that palette.
I like the art, though it's a bit compressed and chaotic. Maybe if Zama expanded his panels larger on the page, it would read better… but then, these days everbody reads digitally anyway, so I guess that doesn't matter anymore. In any case, it has a definite flair. It almost makes me want to slog through Barber's tired dialogue.
zmog
General Tekno
Yeah. I personally am really digging the art/color combination, but I get not everyone will.
The me of 10 years ago might not have dug this, for that matter.
misfire19d
Some will love it no matter what and some will hate it no matter what.
Sockie
And here I thought it was a "different people have different tastes" vibe.
YoungPrime
Exactly.
Thought it was just me but reading these comments sends me an "Emperor has no clothes" vibe. this art work and coloring is annoying at best.
WoundSave
Wreck gar just said
"Nonpartisan practical alternatives to violence. We're slathered in the stuff.
Now who toom speaking. .."
I would said uh? too
As close a quote as I could remember without checking, wreck gar talks weirdness, and is sort of awkward when someone shouts how nonviolent they are as part of their introduction.
I think it was actually a really nice touch by Barber, his writing has been excellent recently
Optimax Prime
he's just thinking what everyone else who isn't a Junkion in the preview is thinking UP "the frag is wrong with them?" or "iiiiiii (or weeeee in Victorion and the Torchbearer's case) got a bad feeling about this" or maybe "this is gonna end badly, I just know it will end in blood (or Energon) shed"
Dramatic Spoon
It took me a couple of tries to get the pun behind Rum-Maj's name.
…Oy.
Hell yeah.
primalxconvoy
I like the different, junk-parts used to create patchwork style Junkions, but the overall art looks too dirty and obscure. I client really understand what was going on. Mind you, that seems to be the norm in IDW comics that I\'ve read.
Zylly103
Looks like Barber's pulling his usual magic of weaving the stuff we'd rather forget into a forward moving part of the narrative.
I approve.
lambi
I\'m really liking the artwork so far. Sometimes there\'s too much show, but I love the colours.