Marvel US comic marathon

[spiderfrommars]

With The Resurrection Gambit the signs are that this new arc is turning into a bit of an epic. Megatron's scheme is revealed, Scorponok's Decepticons enter the fray, Starscream returns and we find out just what the ex-Decepticon leader has been up to for all these years.

And it's here where Simon really excels. When a character comes back from the dead it's easy for it to be a cheat but Megatron's story is completely plausible. Nice to see references to Lord Straxus and the Dead End too - US readers would've seen that the new writer definitely knew his TF history.

I like the way Ratchet stands up to Megatron. "Pull the other one Decepticon!" etc. Brings back good memories of Warrior School.

And this is the first time we really see Optimus Prime lose his temper. It's a new side to him as he starts trashing Decepticons and endangering humans in the process.

Some other thoughts:

Last issue Ratchet says Goldbug, Grimlock and Jazz's bodies aren't teleporting with them, and yet here they are in Megatron's base.

It's pretty handy that there just so happens to be a spare three Pretender shells isn't it? And what made Megs think that Starscream would look good in yellow? (Simon is now getting a taste of what Bob constantly had to do - thinking of realistic plots to introduce new toys)

Iguanus is up and running again after falling off the Empire State Building. Tough 'con.

Funny how the sight of the Autobot insignia snaps Megatron back to reality. It's the exact same thing that stirs the clone that think it is Megatron in Ancient Relics.

In a piece of excellent timing the UK story Two Megatrons went out at the same time as The Resurrection Gambit. There Furman managed to write a trippy and entertaining story that was basically a retcon, and put the US story in perspective for us.

In another nice interlinking of comics, the backstory of how Dreadwind and Darkwing recovered Starscream's body was also told in a UK story.

This issue has the first ever mention of Primus in the US comic! Did you guys wonder who this was or did you see it as a throwaway?

It was 18 pages because they started filling the back of the comic with the new Universe profiles Budiansky (or someone) had written in anticipation of a news TF: Universe series that had been kiboshed by Marvel.

Ah, cool. We eventually got to see some of these profiles near the very end of the UK run. So when the page count went up to 20 afterwards I suppose you had less profiles?

[Legion]

Funny how the sight of the Autobot insignia snaps Megatron back to reality. It's the exact same thing that stirs the clone that think it is Megatron in Ancient Relics.

Oh wow, I never realised that connection! That really underlines the strength of Megatron's hatred of the Autobots.

[Best First]

For the recotrd i didn't mind the Micro's - altho as with Spence i think quite bit of that was the joy of 4 toys on one card.

Pretty good in terms of sculpts, articulation and variety too.

[spiderfrommars]

All the Familiar Faces has an awful cover. Delbo doesn't draw the most dynamic and exciting of teasers does he?

But there's plenty to like inside as we get some good Prime stuff. We see both Prime the fighter and Prime the peacemaker. And this issue he manages both to outmanoeuvre Megatron (sending the Autobots back to the Ark) and persuade Scorponok to a cease fire.

But while it's brilliant to see Grimlock, Jazz and Bumblebee back on their feet in the issue's closing moments you could see it coming a mile away.

Good to see Kup and Hot Rod get hero moments. Furman is picking his favourites from the cast available and making them his own. Also, apart from Zarak, there's no more sign of those pesky Nebulans which is fine by me. It's the Transformers we're interested in, not their fleshy counterparts (The understanding that's developing between Zarak/Scorponok and Prime here will last until the climactic issue 75).

There's a cameo for the Meccanibals (the not-as-funny-as-it-thought-it-was UK story Out to Lunch explains why) and Pretenders are now splitting their sides instead of through the front.

But my feeling is that the art just isn't matching the script for excitement levels right now. Can't wait for Geoff to butt in.

[spiderfrommars]

Skin Deep!

It's all going on in this one. We get a repeat performance of Repeat Performance as Megatron duffs up a reactivated Grimlock. We have Starscream taking on the combined ranks of the Autobots and Decepticons and Megatron vs Ratchet. And Ratchet's a bit of a legend in this issue. It's the second time he's defeated Megatron singlehandedly. What a guy.

But why is Starscream so powerful? He hasn't got the Underbase anymore and yet there's heaps of Transformers at his feet! "I fear this Starscream may be more than a match for all of us!" Prime says. Why? Still, it means some nice character moments for Zarak, who has a bit of a cowardly side but eventually takes Starscream down.

It's a disappointment that Megatron's return was limited to just a 4 issue run though, and a showdown with Prime could've been epic. But giving that honour to Ratchet is poetic justice.

Furman writes Blurr like cartoon Blurr (I'monly4millionyearsold, I'mtooyoungtodie! = good line) and gives Grimlock his cartoon speech patterns (though it'll become clear later that he's a whole lot smarter).

And this grovelling Starscream owes a bit to his cartoon version too. "Take me back!" he says to Scorpy. Only he was never with him - he worked for Ratbat.

Ratchet telling Bumblebee why he's not Goldbug anymore ("I always preferred your original form") in the middle of a fight has to be one of Furman's clumsiest dialogue exchanges ever.

Hydrus Four gets a mention. That'll become important later when Grimlock searches for Nucleon.

I find it disconcerting when Delbo gives Prime eyeballs. No way José!

[bumblemusprime]

I was rather disappointed that Megs was gone in four issues. Simon's initial arc, when you look at it, had a lot of problems. He was still dealing with the "toy commercial" requirement in much the same way Bob had been. He was soon to dispense with any fanfare and just have characters like the Mayhem Attack Squadron show up.

Nonetheless, for sheer dramatic power, character development, stakes and simple balls-out action, this arc was miles ahead of anything we had seen in years, barring two issues of the Underbase. Ratchet's character got more attention than anyone had since Bob's Blaster. He was a doctor forced into a difficult situation who managed to save the lives of his patients and stop a murdering tyrant. It was stunning.

Eight-year-old Spencie had a weird sort of taste, because he liked the books for the character development. I'm serious. I used those very words.

[Best First]

he's going to wee his 8 year old pants by the time he gets to US #75 then.

Or will he be 9 at that point?

Eh, I guess, given he never changes his pants, it's kinda moot.

[bumblemusprime]

he's going to wee his 8 year old pants by the time he gets to US #75 then.

Or will he be 9 at that point?

Eh, I guess, given he never changes his pants, it's kinda moot.

His mom let him watch the animated movie as soon as it came out on video, though.

[Best First]

His mom let him watch the animated movie, in his own feculence, as soon as it came out on video, though.

[spiderfrommars]

It's nice to see things move on in Yesterday's Heroes. I was getting a bit bored with events at Macdill Airforce Base.

And this is Optimus Prime's issue, and it's unmistakeably Furman's Prime, all self-doubt, as opposed to the cartoon's John Wayne Prime and Budiansky's George Washington Prime.

We've not seen a character death mourned in this fashion since Prime's own demise, and it does a whole lot more in realising the losses felt in war than, say, the Underbase saga. But why is it Ratchet's death in particular that leads to Prime's breakdown?

Essentially Prime 'quitting' feels like a bit of false jeopardy but we get some great moments out of it: Hot Rod has his arm sliced off and Prime gets to act the hero.

The Classic Pretenders are also pretty gutted about Ratchet but there's some lovely character development for the new, butch Bumblebee, now seen as a leader of 'bots. Those new pretender shells would've looked more at home in He-Man though.

Thunderwing makes his debut. It's clear he's going to be awesome. Bludgeon's Mayhem Attack Squad also appear for the first time. They too will be awesome though that's less obvious as they look crap.

And it's an issue with Guardian droids, Emirate Xaaron and Primus as Furman pilfers characters left, right and centre from the UK strip.

In fact the gratuitous mention of the Transformers' "legendary progenitor" sticks out like a sore thumb until he turns up in person only a few pages later. It could have done with more foreshadowing, no?

Eight-year-old Spencie had a weird sort of taste, because he liked the books for the character development.

So what did eight-year-old Spencie make of Primus showing up like that? Wasn't it a bit WTF?

[bumblemusprime]

Simon's run was so gloriously ambitious and full of genuine character development--especially older characters, like Ratchet--that eight-year-old Spencie took crappy stuff with stride. And Primus meant Unicron. One issue after the Primus teaser, we got the Unicron teaser and I was sooooold.

Prime giving up was rather contrived, though we got the nice moment where his eyes tighten and he makes a badass fist.

[Best First]

AND THEN KICKS SOME MAJOR ASS! WOO HOO

[spiderfrommars]

Primal Scream!

From the first splash page everything feels different somehow. The keeper is almost pointing out the page at the reader, addressing us in a ferocious monologue as trespassers and defilers. The text promises the honest to gosh origin of the Transformers. And of course Geoff Senior's art takes things to a whole new level. Throughout it is instinctive, alive, beautiful. It's weird seeing his stuff subjected to US colouring but even Nel Yomtov raises his game.

And you have to admire Furman's gumption. Six issues in and he's rewriting the TF mythos to his vision. His is a tale of gods and monsters.

This might just be the moment where his love affair with Grimlock began too. The Dinobot leader is awesome in this issue. He refuses to bow down to his god, makes the keeper tell the creation story and headbutts Octopunch, breaking the glass of his helmet. In fact Primus awakens because Grimlock's so badass - it's a deflected shot from his armour plating that he barely feels!

Some brilliant dialogue: "Prattling fool! Your warrior heart is tainted by an idiot's tongue! Perhaps I shall remove both for you!" And the scene where Bumblebee pleads with Primus is filled with drama, and it's followed by a fun sequence where Bludgeon, Octopunch and Stranglehold are taken out in quick succession.

It's a stroke of genius having Unicron and Primus turn into the most famous planets of the mythos. And now we know what the matrix actually is! But this is where Furman trashes movie continuity for good, as Unicron comes into play 15 years before the events of the movie.

And just when you think it can't get more epic after Primus' almighty scream, Unicron enters the fray, all "chaos and fury given form." My jaw hit the floor when I originally turned to the last page. It was one of my most exciting experiences of reading a comic ever.

So what's an omniversal matrix? Who were the gods of light and darkness? Is it possible, as with most creation myths, that the keeper is making some of this stuff up?

It's interesting how Mindwipe turns against Scorponok. He (and Vorath) were amongst his most loyal followers. But the scene of Scorpy quelling his rebellion is lovely, especially as we see Soundwave is back on his feet and Starscream is up to his old tricks.

It's also funny seeing Bumblebee call Grimlock old buddy. Back when he was Goldbug he was on Grim's Most Wanted list.

[bumblemusprime]

But this is where Furman trashes movie continuity for good, as Unicron comes into play 15 years before the events of the movie.

This actually makes for an interesting debate since, as someone rightly pointed out to me, there's no reason why Transformers the Movie couldn't be some kind of Second Coming of Unicron. After all, he returned in Aspects of Evil--though curiously person-sized.

However, I believe that Rob Tokar, at one point in the letters page, dealt with the issue of the movie by saying that the comic had now spiraled off into a different continuity. I'll have to find it.

It's also funny seeing Bumblebee call Grimlock old buddy. Back when he was Goldbug he was on Grim's Most Wanted list.

I guess that cute little horned face makes up for many flaws...

[Legion]

But this is where Furman trashes movie continuity for good, as Unicron comes into play 15 years before the events of the movie.

This actually makes for an interesting debate since, as someone rightly pointed out to me, there's no reason why Transformers the Movie couldn't be some kind of Second Coming of Unicron. After all, he returned in Aspects of Evil--though curiously person-sized.

Not much of a second-coming if no one remembers the first - or indeed who it is that is coming again...

However, I believe that Rob Tokar, at one point in the letters page, dealt with the issue of the movie by saying that the comic had now spiraled off into a different continuity. I'll have to find it.

It's timeline B. TF:TM (comic adaptation) takes place in timeline A - the divergence point is, if i recall correctly, T:2006.*

*Word of Legion.

[bumblemusprime]

Chapter and verse?

[Guest]

After all, he returned in Aspects of Evil--though curiously person-sized.

The Matrix altered Hot Rod to become Rodimus Prime. No reason a Unicron-possessed Matrix couldn't alter Rodimus Prime to a diminutive version of Unicron's form. Probably be a bit pushing it to make a planet-sized Unicron, though. It's not as though he had a whole planetoid to sculpt from.

[spiderfrommars]

But this is where Furman trashes movie continuity for good, as Unicron comes into play 15 years before the events of the movie.

This actually makes for an interesting debate since, as someone rightly pointed out to me, there's no reason why Transformers the Movie couldn't be some kind of Second Coming of Unicron.

Well at the time I kind of thought something along those lines. It wasn't until he turned up in Edge of Extinction and was utterly destroyed that I decided it was an alternative continuity created by Galvatron's meddling.

Truth is, the movie continuity was starting to look more and more remote from the comic since the introduction of the various 'master and Pretender toylines. In fact I wrote a letter asking about the discrepency of a non-PM Prime in the movie but wasn't left any the wiser! http://transfans.co.uk/popup.php?id=2156

[Best First]

http://transfans.co.uk/popup.php?id=2156

"enough of this gay banter" - not the most Decep like of phrases.

[inflatable dalek]

This actually makes for an interesting debate since, as someone rightly pointed out to me, there's no reason why Transformers the Movie couldn't be some kind of Second Coming of Unicron. After all, he returned in Aspects of Evil--though curiously person-sized.

But in the Movie nonoe of the Autobots or Decepticons have heard of Unicron, and in Legacy Rodimus is as surprised as anyone by the Primus backstory.

The opening narration of Aspects of Evil: Galvatron actually spells it out fairly explicitly, the events of Time Wars created a new time line, basically like in the last Star Trek film.

This is actually implied as early as the Galvatron Makes a Volcano story where Future Ultra Magnus clearly has no memory of what happened back in 1987 as he tries to persuade Rodimus not to time jump (the presence of Bumblebee in the future segments of the same story where his 1987 self is killed is probably meant to show this as well, Furman wouldn't have known at the time he was coming back a couple of years later).

[spiderfrommars]

I know Matrix Quest has its detractors, but I adore Bird of Prey. A lot of this is down to Senior, who brings the planet of Pz-zazz (great name by the way) alive. He's in his element drawing these quirky aliens and the devil is in the detail: look out for tentacles coming out of drains, evil eyes peering out of cracks in the road, a basket full of tribble-like aliens, drunk aliens, card playing aliens... how did eight year old Spence not love this artwork?

Visually it's the kind of world you can imagine Death's Head wandering into, carrying out a bounty or two and then leaving with chaos in his wake.

And I love the new blurb... "They were the dream..." It's epic, like everything else in the comic these days. "Nothing will ever be the same for the Transformers," Xaaron says, and you believe it.

This issue is a brilliant debut for Nightbeat. The private detective Autobot goes straight on the favourite characters list. The double act with him and Siren is often hilarious.

And in this issue the penny drops - Optimus Prime doesn't have the Matrix anymore! It seems pretty obvious now considering his old body was launched into space, but we were thrown off the scent when comic continuity previously suggested it was a program in Prime's mind. However, it also means than from here on in the Matrix will be something of an overused plot device.

I like Miss Fatale and was sad we didn't see more of her after this. Hottest alien in Transformers ever?

It's a lovely feel good moment when the bird is put back in its rightful place, and Nightbeat's dilemma is nicely played out.

And the shock climax when Thunderwing turns up is very exciting and one of those oh-no-you-can't-end-it-there! moments. (And UK readers had to wait an age to see what happened next - we had to sit through the never ending US Gi-Joe crossover first).

However, the ending does also draw attention to the fact that Furman is ripping off his own UK work for US audiences. Matrix Quest is essentially Dinobot Hunt, with four groups of three Autobots sent out to different locations on an important search, whilst the current Decepticon leader crashes the party.

Contact with Cybertron is very easy for the Earth-based Autobots these days isn't it? I do like the way in which Xaaron orders Prime about - it would appear Optimus is lower down the pecking order.

And we've got more Headmasters in the Autobot ranks. But who's volunteering to be binary bonded with them?

What did Gutt win an Oscar for? I love the all-red panel when he loses his temper. You can feel the rage dripping off the page.

Who would've thought Peter Lorre would get a mention in a TF comic? Nightbeat must be a fan of his Mr Moto detective movies.

Out of interest, who drew the cover?

This is actually implied as early as the Galvatron Makes a Volcano story where Future Ultra Magnus clearly has no memory of what happened back in 1987 as he tries to persuade Rodimus not to time jump (the presence of Bumblebee in the future segments of the same story where his 1987 self is killed is probably meant to show this as well, Furman wouldn't have known at the time he was coming back a couple of years later).

Nice point. I've always liked that scene.

[bumblemusprime]

I know Matrix Quest has its detractors, but I adore Bird of Prey. A lot of this is down to Senior, who brings the planet of Pz-zazz (great name by the way) alive. He's in his element drawing these quirky aliens and the devil is in the detail: look out for tentacles coming out of drains, evil eyes peering out of cracks in the road, a basket full of tribble-like aliens, drunk aliens, card playing aliens... how did eight year old Spence not love this artwork?

No excuse for the little bugger... actually, by the time I was ten or so I came around. At the time I thought it looked dirty and murky, but that may have been a function of the lousy printing. The pages were only one step above newprint. They literally had little rips on every page by the time they got to me by subscription. Ink sometimes had partially transferred over to the next page or had splotched.

(And UK readers had to wait an age to see what happened next - we had to sit through the never ending US Gi-Joe crossover first).

That's awful. The single most awful thing in TF history thus far, and they gave it to you on a break from awesome. Not that I pity you. You still got far, far more cool stories than we could dream of.

However, the ending does also draw attention to the fact that Furman is ripping off his own UK work for US audiences. Matrix Quest is essentially Dinobot Hunt, with four groups of three Autobots sent out to different locations on an important search, whilst the current Decepticon leader crashes the party.

Sounds more like a common storytelling device to me... Furman doesn't really seem to repeat himself in the Edge of Extinction saga until Rhythms of Darkness Galvatron shows up and perpetrates the same madness his 2006 counterpart did.

And we've got more Headmasters in the Autobot ranks. But who's volunteering to be binary bonded with them?

Did they ever say that Nightbeat and Siren and co were Headmasters here? Really? I need to go back and take a look. I thought that Simon always ignored Nightbeat's Headmaster profile.

Presumably some Autobots wandered over to Nebulos or Earth to try and add some tactical advantage through binary-bonding. And they ripped off their own heads.

Out of interest, who drew the cover?

Rodney Ramos and Eliot Brown, says the wiki.

[inflatable dalek]

Did they ever say that Nightbeat and Siren and co were Headmasters here? Really? I need to go back and take a look. I thought that Simon always ignored Nightbeat's Headmaster profile.

Lug appears with Nightbeat in The Big Shutdown, where he also gets to wear a dead Autobots head in a freakishly morbid yet awesome way. Can't recall if Siren and Hosehead's Headmaster status is acknowledged or not.

[Best First]

You get to see Hosehead's lil dude when Siren and Nightbeat show up i think in The Big Shutdown.

Bit gutted to be reminded of that GI Joe x-over. Like you say it seemed to go on forever. It was all bad news after Ancient Relics wasn't it?

[inflatable dalek]

HATED HATED HATED the crossover and it lasting three months (which I know is less time that it took to publish in America, but at least there you could read each issue in five minutes).

Thank God for Combat Colin keeping the quality up. I've a feeling the rather wonderful Prisoner spoof was around that time wasn't it? Though it was a shame they were clearly worried that kids wouldn't have a clue what the hell The Prisoner was and put a note in the Trans Formation page explaining the joke. Even as a child with only the vaguest idea of the show it was spoofing it was still bloody good.

[spiderfrommars]

It's a shame Geoff Senior couldn't have become a regular artist. I'm assuming he wasn't fast enough, but I wonder if Kings of the Wild Frontier would be a better story if he had drawn it, or if it's just a turkey. In any case Delbo is back which I'm sure was reason for rejoicing for eight year old Spence.

A good thing about Matrix Quest is that it means extra characterisation for some lesser used Autobots. Are three of them really enough to search a planet though?

It's a very predictable story from the off. It's obvious from the first scene that all is not as it seems with this family and the visual hints that follow are delivered with all the subtlety of a particle cannon. I like that there's an evil baby though!

The scenes with Thunderwing are much, much better. His evil bastard nature is really coming to the fore (as are his pointy teeth!). He's much nastier than, say, Scorponok, his men are **** scared of him and he subjects the Autobots to horrible torture. (I like the way that it's Nightbeat's mind that seems weakest when you would expect it to be Siren's.)

The scene with Optimus Prime at the altar is just odd. I'm sure there could've been a better sequence to encapsulate Prime's fears/premonitions about a tainted Creation Matrix.

The rather dark ending leaves us with the old don't-judge-by-appearances adage and an almost tense scene where Dogfight is stalked by the Vrobian daddy. The whole family get killed (including evil baby!) and the Autobots are left feeling pretty **** about it. It even leaves them questioning whether war is ever justified. Deep, but just not exciting.

The way Delbo makes Dogfight's faceplate look like a mouth is weird. And his alien family look like 60s Star Trek rejects, though he does better when realising their squid-like vampire forms. I like the creepy moment when the silhouette of one peers through a window. The story could've done with more scary moments like this instead of milking the wild west thing.

Did they ever say that Nightbeat and Siren and co were Headmasters here? Really?

As mentioned above, it's made clear in The Big Shutdown that they're Headmasters. But I don't remember it being specifically mentioned in the US comics. It doesn't feel right thinking of them as anything other than Headmasters, although the Double Targetmasters don't look like they're packing Nebulan hardware and yet I'm fine with that.

Rodney Ramos and Eliot Brown, says the wiki.

They seem to be shaking things up with the covers at this point. Good to see Don Perlin come back for one. As for Dan Reed - happy to hand him back.

HATED HATED HATED the crossover and it lasting three months.

More than 3 months surely... It was 4 issues serialised in 4 part chunks (though I think the last issue ran to 5 parts).

Definitely a low point, especially as a lot of the 5 page Earthforce strips at the time were jokey and throwaway

[bumblemusprime]

The letters pages for #65 and #66 (Matrix Quest parts 4 & 5) had a lot of feedback for Senior, most of it quite good, with a few detractors. Oddly enough, in #66, Tokar says "Geoff will do one issue, and Jose will do one issue, and so on. Sheesh! The things we do to keep everyone happy!"

Makes you wonder what was really going on there. Transfans needs to find Rob Tokar and interview the guy. Were they trying to replace Jose? He might have just been exhausted. This is a hard comic to draw every month. An enormous cast of ever-shifting robots fighting each other. He also drew Brute Force around this time.

Jose's art is actually quite interesting in Matrix Quest 3 & 4 and Rhythms of Darkness. There's a lot more detail and dynamism, methinks because he had more time to spend on it. He makes the Vrobians genuinely scary.

But when I reread it, I'm pretty relieved to see Geoff return. I think it was the letters page for Rhythms, or possibly The Human Factor, when they introduced Andy with much fanfare - "We are proud to announce the coming of the young, the talented, the English ANDY WILDMAN!"

[DJ_Convoy]

I had forgot that Dan Reed inked the Longtooth issue over Delbo when I was looking at Matrix Quest the other day. Gave it a dark, illustrative quality.

[spiderfrommars]

So Deadly Obsession is Furman ripping off both Moby Dick and Jaws. I'm being unfair, it's a homage, like each Matrix Quest issue is, and he recognises the story's orgins with throwaway gags. 'Pequod' is the name of the whaler in Moby Dick, 'Gottlieb' is the name of the screenwriter of Jaws. Then we have scenes stolen wholesale, like Longtooth's leg being bitten off (Moby) and the old "this was no boating accident" schtick (Jaws).

It's better than last issue and is filled with gothic dialogue as the mad Longtooth recounts his adventure. It's got an interesting structure too. It starts in the present, switches to a flashback and then another flashback in a flashback (and another brief one in that!). Longtooth's memories also give the thing a dreamy quality.

Thunderwing is getting more and more off his rocker which is fun to see and it becomes clear the Deadly Obsession of the title refers to him and not Longtooth. He punches out Ruckus! He can mindlink! He has an affinity with the Matrix! It's a bombshell as the true scale of the threat is revealed. The revelation that the dying Klud ate a Matrix-affected scientist is very exciting, leading to the eureka moment when Thunderwing discovers the whearabouts of the Matrix on VsQs.

Reed's inking really changes the mood of Delbo's pencils. Thunderwing looks like Dracula in a Pretender shell. At some points he gives the art extra punch, at others it's just murkier. Delbo himself loses points for drawing the Klud like a humpback whale, which really isn't going to bite anyones leg off - a sperm whale would've been more appropriate. More should have been made visually of the duel between whale and Pretender too, but the splash page of it leaping out of the water is nicely rendered.

But was pink the best colour for the sea? Bad move Yomtov, it makes the entire issue hurt the eyes.

Xaaron is chief exposition spouter these days. US readers - was it not weird having him turn up out of the blue and start to run things?

Does Doubleheader have two personalities? And when outside his Pretender shell do these become one?

Needlenose is mutinous and nasty, unlike his cowardly UK persona. Both are written by the same man of course.

A planet called Cameron... named after a certain director of Avatar perhaps? As for VsQs... um, Vasquez? (lady with big gun in Aliens)

The letters pages for #65 and #66 (Matrix Quest parts 4 & 5) had a lot of feedback for Senior, most of it quite good, with a few detractors. Oddly enough, in #66, Tokar says "Geoff will do one issue, and Jose will do one issue, and so on. Sheesh! The things we do to keep everyone happy!"

Makes you wonder what was really going on there. Transfans needs to find Rob Tokar and interview the guy.

I'd love to read the US letters pages. Are there scans available anywhere?

Talking of Tokar, spare a thought for Don Daley. He's still editor on Matrix Quest and has been ever since issue 22! (the Stunticons debut).

[Guest]

A planet called Cameron... named after a certain director of Avatar perhaps? As for VsQs... um, Vasquez? (lady with big gun in Aliens)

Best leave the Alien(s) stuff for the Alien(s) homage review.

Otherwise you might leave yourself lacking things to write.