James Roberts, Comics Signing - MTMTE
From the slightly (okay, maybe very) nervous look on my face, you can see I was truly in awe at meeting my writing hero, James Roberts. As the creative force helming More Than Meets The Eye - one of the two main IDW Transformers series - his work is a rare blend of humour, satire, and dark social commentary. It is a genuinely fun package set against the high-stakes backdrop of a quest (or three) in space. He recently paid a visit "oop North" to do a signing at the Manchester branch of the Travelling Man comics store.*
Even if you think giant robots aren't typically your thing - this comic is a masterwork. Since subscribing to Marvel Unlimited late last year, I have been spoiled for choice, gorging on a fair amount of comics from the House of Ideas. And you know what? Some of them are... well, pretty awful. A few are fantastic, of course, but it often feels like panning for gold.
For someone who naively assumed every comic would be great, it has been a real learning curve to realise you often have to wade through a lot of mediocrity to find the truly brilliant stuff. Or perhaps I have just been spoiled by a regular, monthly dose of world-class writing and artwork from the MTMTE team?
MTMTE stands tall not just among the "big two" publishers, but against some of the greatest comic runs of all time. If you forced me to play "Desert Island Discs" with my collection, my top three would instantly be Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and MTMTE.
It is also remarkably, beautifully consistent. Credit has to go to the regular artists, most notably Alex Milne, for delivering the goods issue after issue. It is gorgeous work. Just do a quick Google image search; you will immediately see the level of detail and skill involved. (Trust me, just try drawing a robot emoting through a metal faceplate - it is incredibly hard!)
MTMTE is rapidly becoming a high flyer in the global Comixology charts, and it is only growing as more people realise that something genuinely exciting and refreshing is happening within these pages.
Of course, I have a planet-sized inherent bias when it comes to Transformers, but I can offer an informed, critical perspective on why More Than Meets The Eye belongs among the greatest stories I have ever read. The narrative - encompassing what the fandom calls "Season 1" and "Season 2" - reads like a masterpiece of high drama and science fiction. Its scope is, quite literally, more than meets the eye. If you have not read it in a while, or if you are a newcomer, reading it in one long session is a real treat; it reveals the sheer scale of the series and the amazing forward-planning at work.
While there are far more eloquent critics out there who have dissected this series, I set off on this post in order to simply share a photo - and I have ended up waxing lyrical. If I had to summarise why you should give it a go, here is my quick list:
- The scope is huge. A massive mythology is being built here, yet it remains perfectly accessible to both old and new fans alike.
- It offers sharp social commentary. It takes a "kids' toy" concept and transforms it into an exploration of a society where your role, job, and status are dictated from birth by your alt-mode. Sound familiar to current real-world politics? It should.
- It is an emotional roller coaster. It is violent - these robots have been at war for six million years, after all - one moment, and laugh-out-loud funny the next. Then, it is back to the violence. Bots die. A lot. Tears are regularly shed.
- It is high-stakes storytelling. I overheard someone at the signing describe it as, "It is like Game of Thrones. But better. And with robots." That is almost perfect, though I would add the caveat of less nudity (even if, technically, Cybertronians do not exactly wear clothes).
- It is consistent. Every single issue has something to say, something to tease, and something incredible to show.
In short, More Than Meets The Eye and James Roberts’ writing represent the most exciting thing in comics right now. It is absolutely the best investment of your time you could possibly make.
I put my money where my mouth is at the signing, too - I picked up a copy of Last Stand of The Wreckers (co-written by James Roberts and Nick Roche) just to loan to friends who have not yet dipped into IDW’s Transformers universe. I know they will not be disappointed.
So yeah, that explains the odd look on my face in the photo. Meeting the chap who makes you stare menacingly at your letterbox every day waiting for a new issue to arrive will do that to you. Still, it is not as weird as the face I pulled when I met the real-life Enterprise, so I will call this a win.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*(Eagle-eyed fans may remember that we shot a scene from our feature film, Mancattan, in Travelling Man way back in 2007. Here is the scene; my acting looks so natural because I was genuinely distracted, trying to speed-read as many comics as possible before we had to leave.)
