So about the whole "grimdark fetish..."

[superboyprime]

Four pages from this week's TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE #13...

Also: So some Transformers fans have been complaining that the MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE series uses too much humor. Some time back in a Q & A session, the writer of the series, James Roberts, addressed this complaint, sharing his views on "the grimdark fetish" and the role of humor in stories. I think his words are well worth repeating:

I could write a lot about this. Let’s just start typing and see where we go…

How do I feel about humor? I think it’s part of life, I think everyone makes jokes and laughs at jokes, and I think there’s wit and laughter to be found in the grimmest situations. I think we use humor as a coping mechanism. I think that in a story, when it’s used properly – and I’m trying to use it properly – humor can add pathos and heart and weight to the most dramatic situation. It can even make a serious situation more serious.

In saying what I’m about to say, I want to make it clear that I’m not thinking specifically of anyone on this forum, or on TF sites generally, but having lived through the late 80s and 90s I’ve been exposed to the whole Grimdark fetish, when the only way in which a story could be ‘respectable’ or adult was if no‐one ever smiled and everyone was filled with angst. Sound and fury signifying nothing, yeah? Well stuff that, because the real world is full of light and shade, and people like you and me can have good days and bad days. You can have humorless characters, sure, but it helps to surround them with a colorful/absurd cast (see Judge Dredd).

Yes, I try to make MTMTE a fun book, and I enjoy conveying character through dialog, and I like the thought of people laughing (or at least smiling) when they read an issue. I don’t know if there are that many outright jokes of the set up/punchline variety, but I am drawn to situations where a character’s reaction to something, or approach to something, is funny and – crucially – true to who that character is. My favorite comedies aren’t packed with one‐liners; the humor flows from the interaction between the characters.

I also want MTMTE to be an unusual book – not ‘kooky’ – heaven forbid – but a bit off‐beam and absurd. And it’s easier to tell off‐the‐wall stories (Rodimus & Co travelling into Ultra Magnus’ body, for example, or what you’re going to see in issue 13) if you have a sort of bedrock of gentle humor. And all the aspects of modern day fiction that interest me – the use of irony; non‐linear storytelling; meta‐narratives; and so on – seem less jarring, I think, if explored against a vaguely humorous, or at least non‐po‐faced, backdrop.

But the bottom line is this: if you laugh along with the characters, you’ll care about them all the more. And in the end, that’s what matters more than anything.

Anyway, on to issue 13...



Yesterday:



Many parts of Hedonia are designed for organic lifeforms so, in order to blend in, the visiting Lost Light crew members make use of solid holographic avatars. And they're Super-Intuitive Avatars to boot, which automatically base their appearance on the user's psyche.



Heh. Rung's pseudonym is of course a reference to the fact that he's the only member of the cast who's an original creation of the author's rather than a pre-existing character. Skids' blank ID reflects his status as an amnesiac, but I think it might also be a DOCTOR WHO reference, given his avatar's resemblance to Matt Smith's Doctor. That resemblance itself would presumably be a nod to both of them being risk-taking action scientists with a rebellious streak.

Later, after everyone's ditched the holomatter avatars and shown up in person...



Later still...

Comments

[icon_uk]

Whatever Roberts calls it, he should keep doing it, because I ADORE this title, and there are few titles I can say that about these days, alas.

[spacebetween]

Unfortunately the big two for a majority of their titles think that being dark and gritty is the way to tell stories. So it is great to see this stories like this

[bizarrohulk]

The only part of Roberts' comments I'd take issue with is his description of Judge Dredd as "humourless". Dredd's sense of humour is as dry as Antarctica (and has about as much warmth), but it's there. He's what TV Tropes would describe as a Deadpan Snarker (no link, because I'm sure some of you have stuff that you want to do today).

[icon_uk]

There is indeed a very wide streak of humour in Judge Dredd, the ultimate straight man in a city full of gag-men and absurdist plotpoints.

[cainofdreaming]

".... but I think it might also be a DOCTOR WHO reference ...."

Psychic paper!

[mrosa]

I subscribe to most of his views.

[icon_uk]

Not sure I see it as a Doctor Who reference, more a general academic college professor "vibe". He looks as much like Rupert Giles as he does the Eleventh Doctor.

[spacebetween]

I can see the Matt Smith Doctor resemblence to him and it is what sprang to mind when I saw the panel.

[kamino_neko]

I'm with superboyprime and spacebetween - 'the Doctor' was exactly the first thing that sprang to mind when I saw Skids, even before reading his dialogue and getting the Psychic Paper vibe.

[icon_uk]

Fair enough, I just can't see this as looking like Matt Smith. He looks too old, he's wearing a sweater under his jacket and he just looks more like any number of generic academics that I DO know.

[arbre_rieur]

Lending credence to the theory is that Skids's avatar on the cover (http://markerguru.deviantart.com/art/TF-MTMTE-13-cover-lineart-351688067), which was presumably drawn before the interiors given the discrepancies, looks kind of Tenth Doctor-ish. Not very much so, but between a Tenth Doctor-ish look on the cover and a Matt Smith-ish look inside, I have to think there's something deliberate here.

[insolent_one]

Am I correct in assuming that Whirl's avatar is the girl with pigtails and an eyepatch? Because that... is... perfect.

[kamino_neko]

Yes, that is Whirl.

[q99]

Yea, and she had a great into!

Also missing: Baby Tailgate being carried by Cyclonus.

[kamino_neko]

Tailgate was being carried by Swerve. We don't see Cyclonus's avatar, assuming he had one.

[q99]

Ah, I visually misread that. Too bad ^^

Anyway, Whirl was the best of the lot.

(Also kinda disappointed none of them were black. Skids struck me as black...)

[the_phantom]

Skids struck me as black

In what way did he do that?

[q99]

Maybe the Blue?

And he worked for Senator Shockwave, who was pretty much a civil rights type, so it'd make sense for some of the bots working with him to be black.

[the_phantom]

He didn't really work for him, in fact i think he only meet him once. And I do see what your saying and you do make a good point, I guess James just wanted to be careful of Stereotypes.

[q99]

Though I don't think Theoretician is a black stereotype (Hm, though on the other hand, Neil DeGrasse Tyson's a pretty famous scientist)

[the_phantom]

Yep and that says a lot about Whirls psyche.

[q99]

Hm, does this mean we have two psycho female bots...?

[kamino_neko]

Ah, man, you didn't show Magnus in his avatar.

It delighted me that he went with Verity's original look instead of the LSotW one. (I'm sure Verity will be if she ever finds out about it, too. 'That look was a mistake, I am so glad you didn't spread it to worlds I've never been to...')

Also, Whirl's avatar and the fact that Skids is basically the Doctor make up for the fact that 'Mary Sue' isn't half as cool looking as the version on the cover.

[stolisomancer]

I always thought Verity's Last Stand of the Wreckers outfit was kind of a "I'm surrounded by life forms that don't really recognize what human sexuality is, so I'ma wear whatever I want" sort of thing.

Particularly since the hallways in the ship were so large that she had to roller-skate everywhere.

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Ya know, this issue was funny as hell, but I don't think those scans are the best to highlight the writer's ability to weave a full story. He has humor, he has sadness, it's a well rounded issue and series, with characters with interesting contradictions.

Best example really in this series yet is a simple sentence by Swerve "You're wrong. People don't like me, they just laugh at my jokes. There's a difference."

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Definitely in agreement with Roberts on this one.

This is fantastic stuff.

Also, I'm digging Ultra Magnus's alt-mode; had it been shown prior to now? In this body, I mean?

[punchdrunkard]

I think UM's alt-mode was part of Milne's MTMTE redesigns/concept art for the cast. There's an interview or comment about it floating around, for some reason I can't find it right now, but iirc he designed UM specifically to carry other vehicles (as seen in the first story arc), except Roche ended up going with another design by that point? Or something.

But you can see the sketch here!

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Nice, thanks! =)

[curlyjo1]

Too much humor? Are they nuts? It's one of the few fun books out right now! RiD has enough darkness, MTMTE is needed to balance it out.

[arrogantcur.livejournal.com]

You know how some wrongheaded people mistakenly think that Scans Daily is bad for business?

If not for this site and this post, I wouldn't even know about the title and wouldn't be planning RIGHT NOW to hunt down and buy a trade of Roberts' run on it, as well as possibly checking out some of his other work.

[kamino_neko]

He hasn't done a lot of professional work. MTMtE is his first solo project. (He co-wrote some earlier Transformers stuff.)

[beyondthefringe]

Seconded. I started picking up both MTMTE and RiD because the posts here made me realize how awesome both titles are.

I haven't enjoyed Transformers this much in ages...and I grew up with the original Generation One stuff in the '80s!

[quatoria]

That's also how I got hooked on MTMtE. I'm going to need to start buying it digitally or something, though, now that I've moved away from my local comics shop. Sigh.

[icon_uk]

I concur with this statement, s_d got me hooked on MTMTE and I haven't bought a Transformers based comic series since.... ummm.... Transformers Weekly UK I think (I got some of the one shots, like the Botcon Beast Wars Prequel, which is kind of fun)

[abates]

I'm amused by the fact that Roberts keeps naming drinks after TVTropes articles. Mood Whiplash in this one and Nightmare Fuel in an earlier issue.

[curlyjo1]

Tropes that apply SO well to this title, too!

[bradygirl_12]

An existential gun that shoots ennui? AWESOME!!! ;)

[icon_uk]

Meh, I've been shot by better....

[bradygirl_12]

*thumbs up* ;)