IDW MTMTE #2 Original Cover Artwork by Alex Milne

You're looking at the original Alex Milne cover artwork used on IDW's Transformers More Than Meets The Eye issue #2 Cover A and Cover RI. This spectacular piece of artwork depicting Rodimus on the cover of just the second issue of the massively popular series has also been signed by the original artist Alex Milne himself and series writer James Roberts with one of my favourite Rodimus quotes from issue 17, "Result". I spent a number of months paying this one off and during that time I regularly questioned the sanity of the purchase considering it was in the significant hundreds. However, every time I re-read these issues from season 1 and seeing this art in the flesh, well those doubts went up in smoke like Hyperion and Polaris.

Original cover art vs published Cover RI

This cover artwork is for the first printing of issue 2, and Cover A features the fully coloured version while the retailer incentive 1:10 variant cover features the black and white of the original piece of work. You can see some of the peripheral details of the piece that had to be cropped off during re-sizing for the production copy. Cover B features Skids drawn by Nick Roche. A Rodimus cover is something I desperately wanted in my collection thanks to my affinity for his MTMTE character, and hearing that Alex still had issue 2 available meant it was a no-brainer. What I didn't realise before speaking to Alex himself was that this is the second iteration of issue 2's cover, originally he had drawn it featuring the earlier TF Ongoing Rodimus design until he had to update the piece to reflect Rodimus's new shape as drawn by Nick Roche in issue 1. If you look at Alex's artwork for issue 1, it still features the older Rodimus design.

Issue 1 gatefold incentive by Alex Milne

Having a piece of art like this in hand, much like the Alternators box artwork I own, only heightens one's appreciation for the work, talent and - basically - magic that goes into the production of these comic masterpieces. MTMTE has been blessed with some tremendous covers by hugely talented artists, like much of IDW's TF artist cast, and I feel this series in particular has some massively iconic pieces. Roche's #1 Cover E, 7B and 19RI, Milne's 2A, 4A, 7A, 10A, 17A, 21A, Coller's 12 RI to name but an embarrassingly short list of what could go on for a few lines.

Rodimus's quote from MTMTE 17, written and signed by James Roberts

Signed by Alex Milne, both at AA

The artwork was picked up in person at Auto Assembly 2014 with the deal having originally being cemented in December 2013. Roberts and Milne were seated next to each other at AA and after getting Alex to sign the piece I promptly asked James to put the quote on which I think he appreciated, but maybe not Alex whispering "Don't f**k it up!" in his ear! The idea is that I will frame this masterpiece alongside the production RI cover pictured with it above, and hang it on the wall. As much as I would love the chance to own other covers from MTMTE, the price is so prohibitive right now that I think I should be happy with what I have, one of my favourite covers from my favourite comic series of all time, signed by the geniuses behind one of my favourite issues with arguably the best cover of the whole series. Thank you Alex, thank you James and also thank you Walter. You know why.

Result.

All the best
Maz