) as well as their independent stories. Glad to see they got the Circuit Breaker issues straightened out.IDW's original works are sort of a mixed bag. They have several large arcs and most of the stories are designed to tie into the grand scheme in some way, which can be a drawback because it means you have to read (and buy) more issues to understand some things. Some aspects of the continuity are original, i.e. they don't match things more common in other Transformers continuity. The IDW Galvatron has no apparent relation to Megatron, whereas he is normally a Megatron who was heavily altered into a new form by Unicron or an outside power. Same with IDW's Goldbug, who is apparently not a rebuilt/improved Bumblebee in this continuity.
In some respects, that originality is really good. One of the better Spotlight issues (imo) was Wheelie's, explaining how he got his distinctive rhyming tone (which normally is considered irritating by fans, but which makes more sense in the IDWverse). I also liked some of the concepts introduced in the original arc, that the Decepticons had a distinctive infiltration system designed primarily to disrupt planetary governments from within, and thereby make it potentially easier to conquer said planets. The Reapers were also a nice (if somewhat brief) addition, a race of living weapons whose goal is to to eliminate war by eliminating all things worth fighting over. After all, without war, what function does such a weapon serve?
On the flip side, probably the biggest issue (and one not entirely on IDW's shoulders) is the art. The art in most issues is really nice, but it doesn't help when most of the characters constantly shift character models based either on a current toy incarnation or on their original G1 era forms, and often undergo these sorts of changes within the space of a few issues. It happens so frequently that it tends to be jarring, and sometimes causes continuity issues.
And read 