THE LIFE OF SIDESWIPE! A Junkion machine finally gives long-injured Sideswipe a new lease on life! But when his brother goes missing, Sideswipe and Arcee return to Cybertron—and nothing will be the same between them ever again.
Writing
After a traumatic battle, Sideswipe was put into status. This issue of Optimus Prime is all about him finally waking up and bringing him up to speed with the world. This allows Arcee and Sideswipe to have some time together. Given how Arcee has been pretty much a loner who tries to relies on no one, seeing her and Sideswipe interact allows for some very nice character development. There is also mention of Arcee having a brother. Hopefully this will be expanded upon in later issues.
This issue also offers a surprising emotional moment as events unfold. John Barber really tells an engrossing story and finds a way to keep the story active while at the same time giving the audience a chance to breath a bit before another massive scale alien invasion erupts.
Artwork
The art work by Kei Zama with Josh Burcham on colors helps create a gritty environment which is perfect where it needs to be. It helps to give the audience and Sideswipe the illusion of Cybertron being as bad as Sideswipe remembered. Also, points for the reference back to Transformers: Robots In Disguise as Sideswipe revives in the same way Wheeljack did by landing on his head as he comes out of the restoration tank.
Conclusion
It is really impressive how good this run of Transformers stories has been. More because, for a book named Optimus Prime, it’s the side characters who are stealing the spotlight. Considering what Jazz and now Sideswipe have had to endure, this is not hard but it just feels like the book should be telling stories of this caliber with the titular character. Despite his iconic nature, it’s hard to remember the last time a story featuring Optimus had the same emotional impact. It is possible to pull back the facemask and show him as being more than simply a stalwart character of righteousness. Might help him feel a bit more relatable.
San Diego Comic-Con is nearly here. While we can only speculate as to what Marvel is planning to show, it’s no secret that the company is going to have huge years. Further hyping up the presentation, Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo teased fans on his Twitter.
Marvel Fans… I just saw a preview of what Marvel is showing at Comic-Con. You are about to get your mind blown! Best I've seen yet. Kaboom
What do you think we’ll see from Marvel at SDCC? If I had to guess I’d say we get a new Thor: Ragnarok trailer, an extended look at Black Panther, and even an Infinity War teaser.
SDCC takes place in San Diego, California, from July 20-23.
As Deadly Class approaches thirty issues, the new crop of students are really starting to find their footing. Creators Rick Remender and Wes Craig threw readers in an emotional meat grinder not too long ago by wiping out nearly half of the main cast. They boldly replaced them with new freshman characters who are now stepping up in a major way.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Kings Dominion is full of horny teenage assassins desperate to gain leverage and climb the ladder of school hierarchy. What initially looked like just another wave of 80’s cliches are now blossoming ito fully formed characters. The new class kicks as much ass as the previous one.
With Saya out of commission, in the clutches of her brother, and Marcus and Maria in hiding, the characters closest to our hearts are vulnerable. They’re fragile little eggs that Remender will purposely carry forward with a noticeable wobble. This series has always been able to deliver major gut wrenching drama. Right now, it’s trending towards a read that’ll have readers on edge.At the center of all the Saya deception is Quan, who’s backed himself into a corner. By trying to snake his way into the good graces of not only the school but also Saya’s Yakuza asshole brother, he’s found his balls firmly in the clutches of both he and Viktor.
Zenzele finds herself abandoned by her mentor, Saya, and steps up big time in this issue. White power loving redneck princess Brandy gets served by Zenzele who ditched strong & silent for ready & able. Big Z is quietly becoming a prominent force, poised for a key moment in the near future.
The second half focus of Deadly Class #29 is Helmut as he attempts to shake a certain member of the student council out of a funk. Helmut and Petra debate the future of certain music genres and their sellout potential while terrorizing a random man with a frozen burrito.
The heart and soul of this issue is the night these two shares together. The narrative stars are aligning elsewhere, but this intimate experience between these two is another example of the heart that Deadly Class is capable of at any moment amidst the gruesome chaos.
Deadly Class continues to be one of the most compelling comic books available right now. If you’re not reading and sharing this Image Comics experience, you should reconsider the priorities of your pull list.
Remender and Craig are one of the rare gems of comic book chemistry today, their partnership should be the goal of every creative team. One would not meet the artistic potential they achieve each issue without the other.
If you’re someone who was concerned about the new students coming aboard, fear not. These new kids are fully acclimated and as crucial to this book as those who didn’t make it past the King’s Dominion Freshman Final.
The Power Rangers mythology is about to embark on a new chapter by introducing a new team of Rangers. Or you could say an old team, as an upcoming story line in the October issue (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #20) of the running series by Kyle Higgins will feature a story about a group of rangers in 1969. Given the time period of this story line, it will be no doubt focus on the Moon Landing and making sure Rita Repulsa isn’t released from her lunar prison. The official synopsis is:
An eye-opening new piece of Power Rangers history is revealed! Well before Jason, Zack, Kimberly, Billy, and Trini became Power Rangers, Zordon was forced to recruit Rangers to battle a foe who’s downright…psycho.
This is not the first time a Power Rangers story has focused on a group of rangers appearing in the past. An episode in the second season of the original Power Rangers TV series featured Kimberly being transported back in time to the Wild West era. There she got assistance from ancestors of her friends and had them transform into Cowboy Power Rangers. A clip of it can be found below.
Given how entertaining the stories have been from the Boom! Studios series, this will no doubt help to weave a greater tapestry of the history surrounding the Power Rangers. Also, considering how entertaining the first arc of Kyle Higgins’ run on the series has been, he has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to telling stories in the Power Rangers universe. Expect a full review of this issue from Monkeys Fighting Robots when its released in October.
—
Are you excited for more Power Rangers through history? Or do you feel like the series should go in a different direction? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Welcome to the fourth episode of the Comic Show by Monkeys Fighting Robots! Anthony and Matt have a lot to discuss with you today: Gary Moloney covered Small Press Day in Dublin over the weekend, Black Bolt is a series that’s making waves over at Marvel, Batman gets closer to METAL, and Violent Love is our must-read of the week.
Attack on Titan is an anime with a huge fan following. The series follows Eren Yeager, a soldier fighting against the horrifying creatures known as Titans. After nearly four years, the second season recently aired. The new season came with some great action, and astonishing twists. But one element of the season was noticeably lacking – the presence of Eren Yeager. While the season is strong, there wasn’t nearly enough of the show’s lead character.
Season two shifts a lot of focus away from Eren. The majority of the plot revolves around side characters, like Ymir or Conny. Eren has very little to do with the season’s progression. There are many interesting plot points explored in the new season. However, the focus on the backstory means that Eren is sidelined. He doesn’t get much to do throughout the season. The majority of the action and reveals happen with other characters. The progression of season two leaves Eren out of the real action.
Eren functions primarily as a hostage, rather than a hero. He gets one cool fight with the Armored Titan, which is extended over two episodes. But until that fight happens, Eren is barely visible. From that point on, Eren watches helplessly as Ymir talks with the other undercover Titans. It’s interesting to explore how other soldiers can also turn into Titans. Especially coming off of Annie becoming a Titan in S1, it’s a solid plot point. But Eren’s only role in this arc is to listen as other people argue. It makes Eren feel like an unnecessary character, not a protagonist.
Eren has a clear plot set up in the season. His anger with Reiner and Bertholdt is explored in a couple episodes. The reveal of Eren’s status as “The Coordinate” is also an astonishing twist. But in a 12-episode season, these storylines are only explored in a few. There are many plot points where Eren could have prominence throughout the season. But for some reason, Eren is sidelined in favor of side characters, most notably with Ymir. As cool as Ymir is, she shouldn’t take precedence over Eren. Eren’s arc is incredibly weak this season, as all the interesting storylines are given to other characters.
Eren isn’t the only character wasted this season. Mikasa and Armin, Eren’s best friends, vanish along with him. The two characters are so wrapped up in Eren’s life, they don’t get much action without Eren. Because Eren is getting less screen time, his two friends get even less. Levi and Hange, other prominent S1 characters, are also barely visible. Even with Hange’s new research on Annie and the Wall, she gets minimal screen time. All the central characters
Focusing on side characters isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Ymir and Krista certainly have interesting pasts. Reiner and Bertholdt being the Armored & Colossal Titans is quite the twist. The problem with these storylines is they overpower the characters that should be front and center. There are ways to explore all of these stories and still keep a clear focus on Eren. It’s not as if there’s no way to incorporate Eren into Ymir protecting Krista, or Reiner’s crisis of faith. The side characters are given too much credence this season, and it dilutes the interesting characters of the show.
Consider how other side characters were explored in this season. Conny and Sasha are two side characters who got their own specific storylines. The reason they worked well is because they weren’t given an overabundance of screen time. Sasha was given a singular episode to flesh out her backstory and character development. Conny was given a side plot that mostly serves as a building block for next season. Their stories are true side stories, told without distracting the audience too much.
As interesting as some of the season is, there isn’t enough focus on Eren Yeager. The protagonist should always be the driving force of action in a show. Eren is supposed to be our hero, and as such, we want to see him be heroic. Attack on Titan’s second season had Eren do almost nothing at all. For the show to feel properly centered, it needs to re-establish who its main character is. Eren Yeager needs to be better utilized for Attack on Titan to become as strong as it could be.
Feel free to read our reviews of the second season, starting here! Let us know in the comments whether you agree or disagree that Eren was wasted!
In a recent podcast appearance, The Batman director Matt Reeves has confirmed that he has scrapped all that was completed of the original script.
When asked if he’d be going off of Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns’ script, Reeves replied:
“No. It’s a new story. It’s just starting again. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be really cool.”
All the talk we heard of Joe Manganiello playing Deathstroke and Arkham Asylum being a prominent setting is now down the drain, unless Reeves decides to bring it back in some way.
How do you feel about Reeves directing The Batman? Sound off in the comments below.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis’ highly anticipated sequel to Spider-Men began this week. Issue one sees the two 616 web-slingers teamed up again for a story that promises to answer a five year old question. Who is the other Miles Morales? Beyond that, Spider-Men II may also provide a much needed course correction for the younger Spider-Man.
***SOME SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Spider-Men II issue one reunites the two most important Spider people (now that there are 1,000 of them) as they’re thrust into dangerous mystery involving (Ultimate?) Taskmaster, a door into another world, a girl catching Miles’ eye, and of course the other Miles. This is a fast paced and fun first chapter that doesn’t give much away but definitely draws interest in reading the next installment.
This book is a chance for Bendis to reel in Miles fans again. His solo series, Spider-Man, has had trouble finding its footing since the character has joined the 616 universe. When the Morales family found itself in the main Marvel continuity, it did so by erasing all the compelling drama that made Ultimate Spider-Man such a compelling read. Even with the character’s creator (Bendis) still writing the character, the series has felt stale and uninspired.
The first issue of Spider-Men II provides an immediately noticeable change in Miles. Right out of the gate, he feels a bit more like himself and not the angry and dull teen we’ve been dealing with the last few months. Hopefully Bendis recognizes when his character needs a shake-up and this story will be able to provide just that.
Having Peter Parker involved certainly helps and Bendis reminds readers right away that he has the voice for Pete down. From the Lethal Weapon style opening, to the two heroes recapping the events of Spider-Men, this book has the potential for major fun by tapping into the dynamic Peter and Miles provide together.
Spider-Men II may also be the unexpected clarification Marvel fans are clamoring for concerning the Ultimate universe. Earth-1610 no longer exists following Secret Wars, with Miles being the main leftover. In recent months, various Ultimate universe characters have been showing up (read X-Men: Blue), only creating more questions. Even this very issue we see Taskmaster appearing way more like the 1610 version than the 616.
There’s a lot of potential weight to Spider-Men II, for both the characters and universe. For Brian Michael Bendis, there’s also some added pressure in getting his beloved Miles back on track. Whether the book lives up to the hype and expectation of its predecessor, the first issue is a promising sign.
An utterly bewildering horror film that left audiences wondering in disbelief (and not in a good way). How is it possible that they could get so much wrong in one film? A terrible storyline, haphazard casting, and a monster that elicits more snickers than screams. Some might feel that Transformers deserves the top spot but at least their casting kind of made sense. Here’s my review. Check out the trailer
2017 Spring had a lot of big name titles making their return. Whether it was Jump bringing in the second season of Boku no Hero Academia or Boruto Next Generation. Possibly Shingeki no Kyojin’s would take the cake with its fated comeback. Beyond all the hype that was stored up however, Tsuki ga Kirei took first place in my book.
Tsuki ga Hontou ni Kirei/The Moon Truly is Beautiful
I am sure the immediate question is why it placed above the aforementioned titles. When I address the best title for Spring, I look at what I received during this time. Boku no Hero still has another 12/13 episodes before it finishes. Boruto is just starting and I have already addressed my position on Shingeki no Kyojin.Tsuki ga Kirei instead delivers a full one season long story that fulfills you by the end. While it differs immensely from the Shonen titles mentioned, the romance behind it is great. With the use of LINE (the top messaging App in Japan), it shows how two worlds can be connected despite being divided. Whether this divide is social groups or distance, it makes you feel that the two characters are closer than ever.
Romance Might be Making its Comeback
It is a bit early to say, but Tsuki ga Kirei was a legitimate romance title without the comedic interfaces that may keep it from shining. With Koi to Uso having begun with summer’s anime cycle, romance feels as if it is picking up. It may need a few more seasons of solid titles being produced. Despite this, Tsuki ga Kirei may have been the catalyst needed.
