IDW Publishing's Transformers: Beast Wars Annual 2022!!!

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The Pull Bag. Hello and welcome to The Pull Bag,

which we are crossing over as we unleash the

beast in you on the other show. What's the other

show called? I don't know. All Things Transformers.

Yes, there's that too. The Pull Bag. The Beast

Unleashed podcast. That's right. As we start

on the end of the road for the beasts. No. That's

right, folks. IDW publishing. Okay, no, we can

talk about that. Yes. So IDW Publishing at the

end of 2022 will no longer have the Transformers

and G .I. Joe comic licenses. Apparently Hasbro

has partnered with some new company. They are

not willing to divulge that information of who

the new company is yet, though. as of this recording

and as of probably most likely this publishing.

But yeah, we are here to talk about the 2022

Beast Wars Annual. Oh, by the way, in case you

didn't know, Steve Megatron is here. Hello. Hello.

How are you? Doing well. Yes. that's good so

in the Beast Wars annual we have three stories

with three different creative teams and this

I do not mind because they are three individual

stories written by six different people written

and drawn by six different people so the first

story is scolds no good very bad day written

by Sam bags Art by Lana Sovani. The second story

is Rhinox's Amazing Adventure written by David

Marriott. Art by Philip Johnson. And then the

third story which is, I'm not gonna bury the

lead on this one folks, it's my least favorite

of the three, The Morphlings written by Nick

Marino with art by Andrea Bell. Editor Jasmine

Joiner, assistant editor Riley Farmer, lettered

by Jake M. Wood. Hey, the M is back. He took

out his M for a while. But yeah, B -Store's 2022

annual kicking it off with Skold's no good, very

bad day. Is it bad that I just really hate that

title? Well, it's reference. We've done too many

of those in recent years and I just really, really

can't stand it. Yes, well I'm having a no good

very bad night with these stupid allergies my

nose problems and all that so I can see where

she's coming from What was your and what is your

opinion of scold I Mean I could take her labor

Okay, it was it was kind of an interesting Backstory,

but I kind of felt like the character really

didn't do a whole heck of a lot. I once in the

story I mean other than some key moments of massacre

yeah yeah I mean really where she comes in is

in the battle scenes and she really really performs

well overall as a new character as a character

we've never known as a character that doesn't

need to be beholden to 25 years of continuity

I really dug her I thought she was interesting.

Her and Nyx and some of the other characters

that they brought into this that we had never

seen before. I thought was really, really cool

and basically this is a very, very short story

of how she was having a no good, very, very bad

day. And the art is amazing. I absolutely love

the art of this. I think it's great. Lana Savani

does a great Beast Wars Megatron. In that second

page of her with all the the bots in her head,

you look at that Megatron face and dang. And

what does he say in that panel? Is it the one

with the splintering of glass? Yep. I don't have

time for your foolishness. That's right. Folks,

Steve Megatron doesn't always make the references,

won't he? Does he? At least in this case, he

kind of screwed it up. It's the shattering of

the glass. Come on, man. That's splintering.

You want splinters go over to TMNT. So, yes,

Skoal's no good. Very bad day. And I'm probably

going to keep saying it because I kind of like

it. She basically gets bullied by everybody.

Mm hmm. And this sucks because she's not doing

anything. Like she's just existing. She's living

her life. She's not even like the very first

page. You know, she's got a pterosaur who has

been her chief bully in the entire series to

this point. And he's been the only one to really

do it, I think, if I remember correctly. Eh,

pretty much. But basically, everybody else brings

it... I mean... I don't think Megatron really

has anything to do with it. I mean, like he said...

I don't have time for your foolishness! But everybody

else, and seriously, Waspinator... Really? Waspinator

is gonna get in on the bullying? Really? Eh,

he's an idiot. Well, yes, he's an idiot, but

he's more of an idiot in the next story than

he is in this story. And the fact that they have

lost Maynard in two major roles out of these

three stories in this comic is just crazy to

me, but okay, sure, fine. So, yeah, Skold kinda

gets fed up and she runs into a Maximal prisoner

named Power Hug. Yep. I know this is Sam Maggs

writing, and I'm not sure why she decided if

she was the deciding factor in this character

name. Okay, fine, sure. But Power Hug seems to

do the exact same thing that everyone else has

done to her, but he's a Maximal. And you know

he then after he does all this stuff to her he

spritzes in her eyes and shoves her down and

then he picks her back up and he gives her a

power hug because that's his name and She just

you know, it looks like she's gonna have a new

friend but not really She explains to him You

know Why she feels the way she does he does his

little power hug thing and then You know she

tells him all the things she likes about herself

And the next thing you know she rips his head

off literally. Yeah, she decapitates him. Yep

pretty much She's like hey guess what? I can

rip your head off too And yeah, I am strong.

I am capable. I can do whatever I set my mind

to. And yeah, she just leaves it on the floor.

Yep, she did. And the story ends with Pterosaur's

shocked face, huh? All the other Predacons have

really, really worried looks on their faces.

I love how they show Blackarachnia there. I'm

like, she looks like she's the most worried out

of them all. Well, I also was mentioning the

fact that she shouldn't technically be there.

That's true. If they're watching Skold, you know,

arrested because they're on Earth. Well, no,

yes, they're on Earth, but Blackarachnia has

been here the whole time. I know, but she technically

was a converted protoform. That's true, but it

doesn't make sense for any of this to happen.

That's yeah, that is very true. continuity wise

like it's yeah Yeah, it's a very much a one -off

scold Centric story and you're right. It doesn't

make any sense for her, but I Just that look

on her face, man. Wow She looks like she's the

most scared out of them all Overall, what'd you

think of this first story? Not bad. I ultimately

like didn't really care. I mean, it also seemed

like there was some different meshing of different

art styles. Yeah, and it is just one artist on

this, but I think they were. Yeah. But yeah,

I mean I just I don't know I didn't really care

for the story If this is I mean I know this isn't

because we still have next week with the final

two issues or no in a couple of weeks the final

two issues because next week is transformers

marks the future, but Yeah, if this was Scholes

last Thing it's not it's kind of weak It's more

so what I was getting at like I was expecting

something more Yeah, I don't know what I was

expecting but it wasn't this Yeah, yeah, I think

this adds to her character It adds to her backstory

kind of but it really kind of like the rest of

it kind of just throws me out of it Yeah Like

I wish that and I know Sam Maggs is not Eric

Burnham who was the overall writer on the main

part of the series but I wish that somehow in

this series Skuld could have maybe been the instead

of having Black Arachnia be who Black Arachnia

is and I know technically they were going for

season one Beast Wars but if you're introducing

new characters like Nyx and like Skuld Maybe

have Skuld be the Predacon that switches sides?

I mean, Skuld is immensely loyal, and she just

wants to live her Predacon life, which is fine,

but... If this issue is any indication of how

the Predacons think of her... The other Predacons,

anyway, like, that's just ridiculous, and it's

crazy, and it's weird. I don't know. And Pterosaurum.

all people to be a bull - I mean I know pterosaur

has always been a vain kind of bot, but come

on. Oh god. Yeah, I... Zero to five, I'd probably

give this a three and a half at best. Maybe.

I'll give it a two. Okay. I, yeah, just didn't

do anything for me. Yep. Moving on to Rhinox's

amazing adventure. I do like the art style here,

but I was really hoping he was gonna chomp on

some bean vines there for a couple of minutes

in this opening panel with him walking through

the jungle aspect of it. I was like, wait a minute,

he's missing some bean vines there. Wild bean

vines, good lord. So he gets trapped in a trap.

Like a rat. In a trap. And he has to find his

way out and he hears a voice in the darkness,

even though he gets shocked all to hell from

one of the other traps with a trap within a trap.

So he. He wants to play Marco Polo with this

other person who is trapped down here with him

and they use optimus and prime and I you should

have clearly known what this who are at least

who this other person was because boring Autobot,

but okay like Even I didn't know who this was

going to be, but obviously it makes sense once

Rhinox reaches... Wospinator. And the rest of

the story is them getting out of this trap. I

like the art. I think the colors are nice. I

think that the whole... why universe hate waspinator

kind of thing obviously they kept that aspect

that's very cool but this one just i don't know

i get that these are supposed to be vignettes

and they're not supposed to be like full story

arc type things these first two anyway and i

don't know i almost like this less than this

gold one Kind of like this one more just because

like waspinator in the art kind of going on Although

some of it is kind of abstract II and cheap looking

in places. Yeah But I like the fact that they're

both stuck in a maze Yeah, I Like the art I think

the arts great I think the art looks really cool.

I Think both of them look really good. We have

at least one scene of Rhinox doing chain guns

of doom But it's just them trying to get out

of this trap. That's that's it and And Rhinox

doesn't even get out Like that's so anti -climactic

like he helped waspinator when he didn't have

to even though he's a maximal and he should always

help people but I mean, this is an enemy after

all, and we all know that Waspinator would double

-cross anybody anyway, but, like, seriously,

Waspinator? You couldn't put your differences

aside for once after he helped you? After everyone

in the whole known universe is always against

you, and he actually helped you, and you couldn't,

like, no, this is why I don't like this. Like,

if I was just rating this story on the art alone,

it would probably get a four, but... the story

because he leaves him there? It seems in character.

It seems in character, but like we don't like

like Rhinox came in with falling into the trap.

To borrow a phrase, well, that's just prime.

He ends it on, well, that's just prime. And it's

like, come on, you could go your separate ways

after you both get out. Like, even Optimus and

Megatron had a truce for a time. I mean, it didn't

last very... Hell, even Optimus and Galvatron

had a truce for a time. It never lasted very

long, but at least they... What are you going

to rate this one? I'll probably give it a four.

I didn't mind it as much. It seemed very in character

and like something that would happen to them.

But it's too cliffhanger, at least have Cheetor

come whizzing by on his jets or something. I

gotta give it a two and a half. I can't. On writing

alone, I can't give it anything higher than a

two and a half. And then we get to the continuity

-based story. So this, the Morphlings, takes

place between issues 15, which we did last episode,

and issue 16, which we will do in two weeks.

So, uh, yeah, I don't like the Vox. I just don't.

I don't mind the Vox. I just don't like the art

for this one, period. Yeah. Don't even think

it's a it's a mishmash of styles. It's just a

bad style Well, and they're mixing part of beast

machines into this Yeah, which is not what they

should have done. It's basically beast machines

Yeah, that's no with the drones Megatron hooked

up to the Central computer mega savage it's like

noble and savage Yep, Mega Savage. Wired up,

Megatron just bigger, better. Yep. And is that

Botanica? Mm -hmm. Okay, I just had to make sure.

I saw the plants and I was like, wait a minute.

No, because they get down to a panel on page

26 of it, it says only three remained. Night

Shriek, Night Scream, Botanica, Botanicus, Silver

Claws, Overbolt. Yeah, okay, I see. Yeah. Yeah,

I, this is not... And I was just like, why? This

is too bright for beast machines. This is just

weird in general. Yeah, very, very weird. And

what I don't understand is, is why... It ends

on the panel that it ends on with supposedly

Rhinox and Rattrap are there, and then Cheetor

is at the end. Come on, it's only a story, Megawit.

Megawit couldn't mess things up that - oh, he's

talking about Megatron, duh. Uh, yeah. Cheetor,

as much as I love you, dude, you're way too damn

naive at this point. to like you haven't gone

through your great transformation yet. For me

the coolest thing to come out of this annual

is the cover the retail incentive cover done

by Lada who did the art in the first story of

Megatron, Rhinox, and Skuld. That's the best

thing that I got for the 2022 Beast Wars annual.

Yeah, I like the cover mostly. Yep. I will say

that we do get, at the back of this book, we

get more character designs done by Josh Birch.

I love Armadillo because I had the original toy.

Very cool. Back in the day, I don't have them

anymore. If they ever reissue them, I'll probably

splurge, but I would like to see them updated,

honestly. Yeah, because it kind of reminds me

of iron hide. Oh, yeah. In the face. And then

the rest of them kind of reminds me of like almost

a wheel jack or a ratchet or something. And then

you have, you know, whatever that mutant thing

is, and then you have the, you know, polar cloth,

the children of the VOC. Yep, yep, so Yep, but

yeah, that's Beast Wars annual that's our third

to last issue of this series I'm pretty sad that

the Beast Wars line is almost done for comics

Yeah, well It's been done for a while. I mean,

I know we're getting to these things late because

of of life and everything else but but yeah,

I If IDW has the license until the end of the

year, the only, and I don't know why that they're

not continuing on at least until maybe October.

I know solicits usually come out a few months

ahead of time, but I know there's also supply

chain issues and everything else, but I don't

get it with them losing the license, why they

wouldn't want. I'm going to say Eric and Josh

because they are the two main people on the actual

main ongoing. Why they wouldn't let or want them

to be let have them have their full on whatever

their vision was to go past where we ended up.

I, I don't understand it. And, uh, I don't know.

Yep. Yeah. It's just, it's just crazy. And we're

going to talk about this more in two weeks. because

it's just the way it is since we're recording

these episodes back to back tonight. So yeah,

I expect more. We don't really understand why

not and whatever, as far as them not continuing

on with this because they were going at a pretty

good clip there. And I guess between trade paperbacks,

they've got Enough for three volumes, which is

great and I'd be interested to see how Like when

this is collected what kind of additional like

we've seen since the beginning of the series

All of the character designs that Josh has done

for various characters and things like that and

almost every issue And it's gonna be really cool

to be able to have those in trade so who knows

I don't know You got anything else you want to

say before I close it out there, sir? No. All

right. Where can people find you online? On the

Twitter at scp21. I'm at TF2 and Mike. You can

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we're gonna be Traveling back in time with the

Transformers as we cross over with Back to the

future because next Saturday night you're gonna

see some serious shit Here inside the pull bag

only on all things transformers I wish to speak

to my lawyer.