This week's reading is the Nick Roche Spotlight Megatron!

Probably the most overlooked bit of Roche work, it tends to be remembered in terms of Don Figuroa's complaint that Hasbro had no more legal right to turns Bomber Megatron into a toy than IDW had to use it in the comic in the first place.

Whirl is the iconic one though, you used to see this cosplay at non-TF cons pretty regularly.

Doing this week's reading early because I've got a busy social Friday and there's a text story to do as well.

It's the pub crawl breather issue, notable for giving everyone their easily cosplayable at Auto Assembly holoavatars.

Very cheeky to be talking about Mary Sues and drawing Rewind Robertsy.

This week's reading is the solid meat and potatoes Spotlight Thundercracker, most memorable for Boss Bludgeon.

Right, back into it!

Let's see how appealing to Megatron's better nature goes for Starscream.

In readiness for the return of Revisitation this coming weekend, done what is my favourite part of the project because of the sense of progress, and created the 2013 page.

Writing with Columbo on in the background, and I'm not at an age I have Dick Van Dyke style envy.

This week's reading...

One of my favourite silly gags (even if it's another cheat on the head wounds are fatal thing).

Also, every time I think we've passed the last insistence of the "Drift as Getaway" idea, we get another moment of Drift acting like Getaway.

I probably said this back when I covered Megatron: Origin, but this being the cover to Hachette's Megatron: Origin book will never not be hilarious.

(Yes, I know Spotlight Blurr is in it as well as the Pax one, but come on Hachette's graphic designer, you had one job)

These Spotlights were setting up the 30th anniversary (starting a year in advance!), so a lot of things that might seem like Roberts indulging himself on an indifferent assignment are actually seeding things (Nightbeat, Bludgeon).

The secret origin of Rack'N'Ruin definitely is an indulgence though.

This week's reading is probably the most basic (if perfectly fine) thing Roberts ever wrote. A toy pack-in more interesting for being set in the immediate aftermath of a huge story IDW never got round to telling: Pax helping Zeta come to power in a way that completely wrecked his regular body.

This week's reading, and I think Megatron has taken his diet too far.

(I don't remember if this issue is the last time we see Bomber Megs, but it's certainly one of the last times we get a Megatron who's not at least vaguely "Evergreen")

This week's reading... giving us one of the most famous last page reveals in all of Transformers comics, let alone IDW.

A (mostly) smart one because the characters in the story all know it, it's only a surprise to the reader.

This week's reading, and the first piece that'll be written entirely from scratch since my break.

So, expect some hot takes.

My writing is pretty niche (oddly, more so for IDW than it was for Marvel), so it's never been untold 1000s reading, but I am hugely pleased to see a big boost on my return. That's about 150 more people than had been to the site on Saturday, and 300 more than I was getting when I was doing Costa.

And the work is done!

Only need to activate the links tomorrow. Starting as I mean to go on...

For two weeks, at least.

Writing is a go, accompanied by the new Blake's 7 documentary.

I'd actually written about half this piece back in August. Which means any attempt at a stylistic relaunch will have to wake till next week, but also saves me a lot of work.

Revisitation returns this Sunday, so have reread the relevant issue... it's a cracker.

Oh, and speaking of art, the Revisitation logo I'm currently using as a header is by actual proper Transformers letterer Tom B. Long, and the Solar Pool three Megatrons banner on the site is by actually proper Transformers artist @jamesotron.bsky.social. Icons both.