Amazon has recently updated the preorder text for its listing of the Revolutionaries trade paperback volume 2, and sharp-eyed TFW2005 member Hardlurk has noticed a key reference in the line of text toward the end of the description:
Leading in to the next major crossover, Hasbro’s INSURGENCY!
It would seem we have the name of the next crossover following Revolution, and that name is Insurgency. It’s a thematic connection with the earlier crossover, name-wise – an insurgency is defined as an act of revolt or uprising – say, for example, challenging the state of play following a revolution, because there are no shortage of people in the IDW universe right now who are unhappy with the current status quo.
We will share more news as it becomes available. Doubtless over the next few months, IDW’s writers and editors will speak about what is in store – and if nothing else, we’re guaranteed an interesting panel of reveals at SDCC this summer.
Shepard Prime
Okay, I read the prelude and the main five issues (still haven't read the individual issues of the various tie-ins yet)…
Not bad, not bad at all. I don't mind if the details aren't perfect I just ask for a basic mesh where the most obvious stuff fits together, where the inconguities are staring me in the face where I notice it.
One of the biggest things I was worried about was power creep and y'all were right, they pretty much made the Transformers extremely hard to kill. Outside of explosives, they were a nuisance to Prime and co, nothing more. Rom vs Prime was just about right given Rom's power level. Overall, it's a heavily influenced TFs story with guest stars, not the other way around the way I thought it was going to be.
I was surprised by the art because I thought the cover artist (which I realized when I got the books is TRadd Moore) was a bad fit for the series and did the interiors but it's not, it's someone else. I like Tradd Moore, just not for this. The actual interior artist did great.
The story is really fast paced, a callback to old Marvel crossovers where the shit hits the fan from page one and a million things are going on at once, and more shit hits the fan with each proceeding issue. If I had to make one minor gripe it's Scarlett's depiction. I'm not used to her being so uncharacteristically irrational/not listening. I get that the TFs decimated Earth, but at the same time, some of the characters (the way I remember them from older Joe comics) seemed a bit too stubborn.
God Ginrai
There is a reason. The retcon is that the entirety of IDW GI Joe happened in the period where the Transformers had left Earth entirely (between the end of the first ongoing and exRID 28) and by the time the Transformers came back GI Joe had been disbanded and replaced with the EDC.
Danny-Boy
The Revolution Prelude kinda serves that purpose. You have to finagle some things, but on the whole it works.
Shepard Prime
Yknow what? I'm going to try it. Hopefully there will be a reason why theJoes and the TFs have never mentioned each other in their separate continuities before now. But the curiosity of how this all fits together got me. Let's do this.
Danny-Boy
The shared universe has already happened. They actually tie things together pretty well IMO, with Transformers still being very much the centerpiece.
Jalaguy
M.A.S.K.'s vehicles are made by vivisecting Blitzwing, yup.
And there's not really any power creep. G.I. Joe are thoroughly outmatched by the Transformers when they face off at the start of Revolution (literally the only damage they do is knocking off Jazz's arm, which requires an RPG hit and a drone strike). M.A.S.K. do a bit better, but that's only because their vehicles use Cybertronian tech.
Shepard Prime
For me, besides the book I'm actually reading being interrupted, the issue is making sense for the properties involved. I think if they'd announced that M.A.S.K. was crossing over into GiJoe, that would be fine because it's roughly the same ballpark. Adding Transformers to that I guess could work since I'm assuming that the new origin of the MASK tech will be TF-based (if it's not, then shame on IDW because that would be sweet). But when you start adding too many properties, you start to get this weird downplaying of people's abilities. Like, I don't want to see Megatron suddenly not being a badass or weaker just so that the MASK crew or Joes can take him down.
Large
I think it's been pushed back to november, a way to include the movie one shot in it (which is a good move, to be honest).
Get it as soon as it is available, for it is -im my opinion- one of the very finest moments this franchise has had. I'll even get that hardcover, despite having the sigles issues and the trades already.
As for the shared universes and stuff, I don't mind the idea, all I want is great stories, nice comic books. Hélas, I've read Revolution this weekend and quite frankly, that wasn't the case at all. To me. So, there's that. It doesn't mean good stuffs are not possible (editorial staff has to be a strong one on that part aaaand… Well. Let's see), I even quite enjoyed some Revolution ties in and the main event is after all one of those main events we all know about, so joke's on me I guess. Pretty much Herogasm-y in the end.
Jalaguy
Yeah, I know plenty of Transformers fans who really enjoy the shared universe, many of whom (including me!) were very sceptical of it when it was first announced.
I mean, speaking for myself, I was super worried back when we got the original announcement, but here we are 10 months later, and Revolutionaries is pretty much my favourite Transformers series IDW has ever put out.
Danny-Boy
Except I'm not talking about non-TF fans, I'm talking about TF-fans who do like the shared universe. This may shock you, but TFW is not the only place Transformers fandom congregates. I've talked with plenty of fans on other forums, Tumblr, Twitter, my LCS, etc., who like the Hasbro Universe just fine. But if non-TF fans do like Revolution? Boom! Now we have another person who will check out the Transformers comics and become a fan.
And yes, I do love this universe. Not all the books of course (M.A.S.K. is an atrocious waste of paper and ink). Maybe its because I come from being both a TF fan and a long time ROM fan, but I went into this with positive expectations, despite not caring at all about Action Man or G.I. Joe. Now, those are some of my favorite books. Was Revolution some groundbreaking piece of comic book work that is going to change the industry? Of course not, but it was a fun book. I can understand a Transformers fan not caring about the other properties, and that's perfectly fine. I understand that not everyone is gonna love Rom the Space Knight as much as I do. But what I do not understand is the hatred and vitrol that the simple idea of a shared universe has seemed to elicit in a lot of folks, simply on the basis of "ermahgerd, things that aren't robits." I am of the opinion that fandom is about celebrating the media we love, and sharing that love with others to create an even bigger fandom.
Verno
He's waiting for his new toy.
Murasame
I didn't even like the amount of human involvement in the Transformers RID book. What I liked was Hunter O'Nyon, Verity and that other guy. But thanks to that one guy who later wrote some .. wait, that was McCarthy, wasn't it? Thanks to him Hunter O'Nyon is now dead. What happened to Scorponok?
Murasame
Titan's Return was totally anti-climatic and Sentinel Prime was like "Hi… bye". Where is he now anyway?
SouthtownKid
Titans Return was better than getting your foot run over by a tow truck. That's about as much as I'm willing to give it. Combiner Wars was not good, but who thought Titans Return was better?! It was NOTHING. A huge waste of time that accomplished nothing and completely wasted the awesome concepts behind what is, imo, one of the greatest TF toylines in the past 17 years. For any misgivings I or others may have with elements in Combiner Wars, Titans Return made it look like Watchmen. Roberts clearly had no interest in doing it and seemed to be going out of his way to punish his employers (and by extension, the reading public) for forcing him to do it. I feel like a gundang IDIOT for wasting my money on those issues.
No offense, but what do I care what people outside of this forum think about Revolution? I'm coming at this from the perspective of a TF and Joe fan. I could not give one fraction of one crap less how Revolution plays to a non-TF fan. How is that going to help my lack of enjoyment any?
I know you love all of these books unconditionally and keep shilling them to anyone who will listen at every opportunity as if you work in IDW's PR department, but not all of us are as onboard as you are. I'll accept that not everyone is going to hate them as much as I have, but come on.
Shepard Prime
^^This. The crossovers constantly cutting into the books I'm buying (half the time the character pulled into the crossover has no real in-story reason for being there and really is there just to boost that title's sales) just killed the Big Two for me outside of a solo title here, solo title there. Waid and Samnee on Daredevil for instance or their current work on Black Widow. And something like Transformers, I specifically read to read about the Transformers. Having them in a shared universe where properties I don't care for show up like uninvited guests is going to annoy the heck out of me.
As it is, it's really starting to annoy me that the TFs own crossovers keep interrupting MtMtE/LL. First it was Dark Cybertron, then COmbiner Wars.
shamanking282
At the end of the day, I am not an 80s child. I'm a 90s kid who got into Transformers. I don't really give two shits about all the dead 80s properties Hasbro is trying to capitalize on by merging them with their most successful property. GIJoe, even though I'm pretty unfamiliar on the whole, gets a bit of a pass because of the history of crossovers between them, but everyone was just written so poorly. If Revolution was supposed to be a sales pitch for these other Hasbro properties, then it was a complete failure for anyone without nostalgia for them.
lordcryotek
Is IDW trying to sabotage themselves? First the TR "Event" that sent all of the stories off the rails, then the dumbass Revolution event that absolutely made no sense, then they took Milne off The Lost Light and put him onto fucking ROM and now another event? Goddamn guys, you ever hear of sticking with what works? This is exactly what's ruining Marvel comics right now, writers and artists need a status quo so a good story can be told, constant "events" and re-branding just confuse the hell out of readers. Please stop, IDW.
Spontificus
I believe that Titans Return is legitimately good, with no qualifiers given to length. It felt like a natural, interesting part of the story in the books it featured in that fit in quite well thematically. It didn't feel like an excuse to plug plot holes or hanging plot threads like Dark Cybertron did, and it didn't feel like it only existed to promote the current toys like Combiner Wars did.
Abrogate
Revolution was admittedly more fun than I thought it would be, but also I regret spending $20 on the 5 issues when I initially planned to skip it anyway, cos once I read the 3 TF books following the end of it, they didnt seem to really reference it at all and so I wouldn\'t have lost anything by not reading it. sure, GI Joe is now part of the Optimus Prime book and they acknowledge the Ore-13 deposits, but both of those would\'ve been there anyway (and that book was already too human heavy so it made little difference), but TAAO and Lost Light are basically the same. so I think from now on I will follow my first impression and just skip it, I need to save the money anyway. wish Hasbro would stop trying to make fetch happen.
SG Roadbuster
I think people liked Titans Return better because it was shorter. only 2 issues of each book were devoted to it instead of 6.
I enjoyed Combiner wars, when Livio Ramondelli wasn't drawing it.