Marvel US comic marathon

[Metal Vendetta]

And it all nicely ties in to Soundwave sending that message out in an older issue. Nice to see Bob pick up these things.

Aha, not quite. When Soundwave sent the message, Prime was a captive head and Megatron was missing, presumed dead. Seems odd that he would have said that both were up and running and in charge of their respective forces...

[spiderfrommars]

Command Performances.

Perlin's art takes a step up from here. Megatron and Shockwave look pretty good especially.

The Dinobots practically turn up from nowhere. And as for the Constructicons... where have they been hiding all this time?

Cool to see the Autobots take the offensive for a change. An action packed issue actually, and Omega Supreme's decimation of the Decepticons is something to behold.

But it highlights another completely underused character... Starscream. In the US comic he had a couple of moments in the first 4 issues, and then in the Circuit Breaker one, and now he's dead. Seems it's the cartoon that really lifted the character above the rank and file.

Heh, also that injury Prime picked up is retconned later in the UK comic to have happened in Limbo. Crafty.

So whose side were you on? Megatron's or Shockwave's?

Aha, not quite. When Soundwave sent the message, Prime was a captive head and Megatron was missing, presumed dead. Seems odd that he would have said that both were up and running and in charge of their respective forces...

I can let that slide. The jist of the message is that Megs was leading the Decepticons when it crashed on Earth and that their opponents were Optimus Prime and the Autobots.

Anyone who received the message could then go "Optimus Prime? I remember him! WTF!"

[inflatable dalek]

I guess with the Starscream thing, Bob decided that with him and Shockwave both having characters that allow them the potential to fill the "treacherous git" role to focus firmly on the later, with the cartoon doing the reverse.

I think that actually helps comic Starscream be more credible, he has a couple of moments in the UK stuff but for the most part Dark Star is his first real big push to seize power and it almost succeeds. Then when he's brought back he's only allowed to live by Scorponok because of their severe staff shortage, is hated and mistrusted by the other Decepticons and has a brief crisis of faith before being offered another chance in teaming up with Shockwave, that again would have worked if not for outside constraints.

I find that much better than the TV versions half arsed "I now lead the Decepticons!" moment every episode that instantly gets forgotten about.

[spiderfrommars]

Also... why did the soldiers not go investigate when a van was involved in a presumably fatal crash down a cliff?

And why couldn't Prime send someone back to retrieve Skids once the dust had settled?

Besides, don't most armies operate a policy of "leave no man behind"?

I find that much better than the TV versions half arsed "I now lead the Decepticons!" moment every episode that instantly gets forgotten about.

Admit it though, it was Chris Latta's voice inside your head whenever comic Starscream was doing something suitably pesky...

[inflatable dalek]

Admit it though, it was Chris Latta's voice inside your head whenever comic Starscream was doing something suitably pesky...

At his best written I tend to think of him as Rowan Atkinson in full on Blackadder mode more than anything. Even thinking of Latta's high pitched sequel would likely shatter every window in the flat. You should see how the cat screams in pain when he comes on whilst I'm watching the cartoon.

[spiderfrommars]

It's amazing how much the cartoon voiceovers had an affect on me. Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, Shockwave, Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Magnus, Hot Rod, Unicron, Kup, Grimlock... could go on... all pretty definitive for me, even in the cases when their comic counterpart's personalities were completely different.

That said, Blaster, Galvatron, Bumblebee, not so much.

Talking of Grimlock, in Command Performances he's suddenly dropped a load of IQ points.

[spiderfrommars]

Can I just say, the collision with Skids was all the Lamborghini guy's fault. Look again.

Ravage is badass in Showdown. And then he gets killed off. No one is safe from Bob's pen at the moment.

The best bit of the issue is the dream, when Megatron blows Skids to smithereens.

Clearly not the best bit of the issue is when Skids is getting a wash, though I enjoyed its vaguely pornographic undertones. "How would you like a wax and buff job?" Indeed.

"Hold it right there lady. Admit it, that's an Autobot you're sudsing!" Best quote is from Donny again. Never, ever will a line anything like that ever appear in a comic again.

In Aerialbots Over America Bombshell gets a human to lick his feet. Majorly sadist, nice work Bomb. If only Megatron knew that in an alternate universe he was actually a prisoner underneath Hoover Dam.

One of Bob's biggest continuity cock ups is in this issue. Jetfire remembers playing Basketrek on Cybertron. Er, really?

The UK was prone to gaffs too though. This story is set on July the 4th and two issues later was the UK Christmas story. Oops.

[inflatable dalek]

Not to mention the time machine in Target:2006 was set for (IIRC) some time in August. Why they didn't just change the dialogue for Thanksgiving I've no idea. Perhaps Galvatron's time jump screwed up the chronology?

[spiderfrommars]

Heavy Traffic is definitely my favourite of the RAAT arc. Skids and Donny are a good double act and the Stunticons were always my favourite Special Team. But Circuit Breaker and RAAT's sheer stupidity never fails to amaze me. Convenient for the plot I suppose.

By now the format of these US issues is pretty clear. Loads of talky expositiony stuff in the first half, lots of PG friendly action in the second.

Donny's Judas moment at the end is a great cliffhanger.

But why can't Bombshell control Prime? It's never explained.

Not to mention the time machine in Target:2006 was set for (IIRC) some time in August. Why they didn't just change the dialogue for Thanksgiving I've no idea. Perhaps Galvatron's time jump screwed up the chronology?

I'd never noticed that before! Nice to know I can still learn a thing or two on these boards.

[inflatable dalek]

I'd never noticed that before! Nice to know I can still learn a thing or two on these boards.

Yep, without digging out the trade I can't recall exactly but when you see Hot Rod use the machine it's set for both around when the issue was published but after 4th July as well. And not only according to our calender but in the British dating convention as well. Which suggests that not only was the machine made by Humans but British ones as well. That's how awesome we are.

[spiderfrommars]

I've never had a lot of love for Decepticon Graffiti but it has some things going for it. 'HUMANS ARE WIMPS' written on the Statue of Liberty. The idea of Decepticons that don't particularly want to conquer, and are just happy to doss around. And some nice stuff with Donny, particularly his guilt at what he did to Skids and the last scene.

In fact with the end of the Robot Master arc it feels like the end of an era for the US comic, especially when you think what happens in the next issue.

Now..... Afterdeath.

Afterdeath, Afterdeath, Afterdeath.

First of all, has anyone thought of a good reason why Prime decides to commit suicide here? Other than saying the writing's crap I mean.

He's willing to die for his principles? Certainly Prime shouldn't have cheated in the computer game. No one likes a cheat. So is the problem with the writing that he killed himself or that he cheated in the first place?

I remember reading this for the first time back in the day. It seemed a run of the mill Budiansky story and then... that ending. That picture. Prime blows up. I must have reread the last three pages about a million times.

Other things. Where did the Protectobots and Combaticons come from? Are we to assume they were brought to life under similar circumstances to the Stunticons and Aerialbots?

Multi-world seems to be World of Cybertronian-Warcraft to me.

[inflatable dalek]

I can see a Transformer regarding computer game characters as "real" after all, as electronic life they're probably closer to what a Transformer is than we are. The attitude displayed by Prime isn't any dafter than real life people who will do anything to protect the lives of animals, remember that woman with two young kids who killed herself throwing herself in front of a veal truck? It's the same mentality.

Completely wrong for Prime of course, but I can sort of see what Bob was thinking there.

[Best First]

Don't forget ol Ethan Zachery!

He has Megs wired up to explode and then is dumb enough to do what Op tells him.

[spiderfrommars]

Upon picking up the Titan TPB 'Breakdown' I notice they've somehow smudged the dot matrix colouring into a blockier style. I suppose it's an improvement, so why don't I like it?

Gone But Not Forgotten is one of my fave Bob stories and some of my fave Perlin art. Megs ranting and raving, taking on the Predacons, the mega violent scene with Brawl getting his head crushed (!), Shockwave being all Machiavellian and some nice grisly action (Megs gets his half his face ripped off 100 UK issues before the same thing happens to Galvatron).

Sad to see Megatron go at the end of the story. Did Bob feel he had to take Megatron and Prime out to better reflect cartoon continuity?

There's mentions to the Gi-Joe crossover in this. God was that the dullest thing ever.

Don't forget ol Ethan Zachery!

He has Megs wired up to explode and then is dumb enough to do what Op tells him.

How embarrasing would it have been if he hadn't though?

ETHAN: Actually I'm not very comfortable doing that Optimus.

PRIME: Press it Ethan Zachary. End my life.

ETHAN: Seriously Optimus, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that at all.

Pause

PRIME: Um, ok.

Pause

PRIME: I suppose we'll be going now.

Pause

PRIME: Let's not bring this up again, k?

Pause

MEGS: Prick.

[inflatable dalek]

Ethan's awesome, he had a button in his hand he could have completely killed Megatron with forever, but didn't use it. He's like the biggest bastard in the entire comic's run.

[Best First]

Yeah, that's my point - it's not the killing Op, it's the fact he should have just detonated Megs the moment he was stupid enought to wire himself up.

[spiderfrommars]

Funeral for A Friend seems like half of a good story. Ratchet's mourning for Prime and the funeral scene are sensitively written.

But then we have The Mechanic, a human character it's vertually impossible to give a damn about. It's hard to find a villain threatening when in his very first scene he wets his pants at the sight of the cops. It would have been far more interesting not to shoehorn a token villain into this issue, but there you go. "I am The Mechanic, Master of Machines!" Who talks like that anyway?

Interesting to see Perceptor take charge more or less. Surely he would've been a more appropriate leader to take over than Grimlock. Also we see that Prowl got trashed at some point and is now a wreck in the medical bay. It's a bit hard to trace when exactly that happened.

As for the rest of the Autobots, the cast of characters watching Ratchet in the operation theatre provides a definitive who's who of which 'bots are still up and running in US continuity, and Ratchet and Wheeljack are the only members of the original crew left!

Which brings me onto Skids who was ingeniously airbrushed out of the UK version of this issue as if he was no better than one of Stalin's purged party members. It makes you realise Furman struck pretty lucky choosing to send Skids to Limbo. I dunno how he could have predicted Budiansky would completely lose interest in the character overnight.

Yeah, that's my point - it's not the killing Op, it's the fact he should have just detonated Megs the moment he was stupid enought to wire himself up.

Well killing Megs straight away would've been murder! Plus then Ethan couldn't have played his little game, and he had his heart set on it bless him. Like a rather overeager Warhammer gamesmaster.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

Gone But Not Forgotten is one of my fave Bob stories and some of my fave Perlin art. Megs ranting and raving, taking on the Predacons, the mega violent scene with Brawl getting his head crushed (!), Shockwave being all Machiavellian and some nice grisly action (Megs gets his half his face ripped off 100 UK issues before the same thing happens to Galvatron).

Brawl getting his head crushed, I think I kept reading that page over and over. And I even drew/copied the artwork... had some sort of impact ony my young brain.

What can you say about afterdeath that hasnt already been said?

I loved the artwork, OP death was ace, but utterly stupid... I always enjoyed the idea that Defensors shield was enough to withstand Megatrons fusion cannon!?... Then I thought, what would fail first. Can Megs keep firing before Defensors Sheild fails?

Do the Dinobots fight the Preadacons in the US story line? I always liked Razorclaw...

[Metal Vendetta]

After Prime's brutal demise, Gone But Not Forgotten is such a fond farewell to Megatron it's a bit unsettling. You get the idea Bob liked him a lot more.

[Legion]

After Prime's brutal demise, Gone But Not Forgotten is such a fond farewell to Megatron it's a bit unsettling. You get the idea Bob liked him a lot more.

Who could blame him?

[spiderfrommars]

Starting King of the Hill it's dawned on me that not only are Bob's stories largely human-centric, they almost always begin with a dialogue scene between humans. It really isn't the most exciting way to lead you into a story.

This is the third issue in a row dealing with the fall out from Prime's death. It feels like the right thing to do, his demise has far reaching implications.

Good to see the Dinobots given something to do. And as characters they're not black or white. They'll happily steal fuel just like the Decepticons. Grimlock even says he's happy that Prime is dead. What a bastard. The Dinobots are used as a bit of comedy relief as well, sometimes well, sometimes not so much.

Why didn't Omega Supreme take on Trypticon? Scaredy cat.

Ratbat makes his debut. He's a cool character, a pint-sized Decepticon accountant who calls the shots and is already taking the piss out of Shockwave.

I like the way Grimlock respected the human for standing her ground. In contrast he treats his fellow Autobots like they're a bunch of dithering idiots (which isn't far off the mark). Practically everyone who sings Prime's praises in the meeting would have made an adequate successor.

So on the evidence of this issue alone, was Grimlock the right choice to take over? He saved the day and showed humility in the end. It's only after this issue that things start to go downhill very quickly and he becomes King Grimlock the Idiot Tyrant.

Brawl getting his head crushed, I think I kept reading that page over and over. And I even drew/copied the artwork... had some sort of impact ony my young brain.

I think I had a mate that did the same! To kids ultra violent scenes like that are seductive! You couldn't get away with this in another childrens comic, but because Brawl is a robot they can depict his head being squashed and all the insides spill out. Awesome.

[Legion]

So on the evidence of this issue alone, was Grimlock the right choice to take over? He saved the day and showed humility in the end. It's only after this issue that things start to go downhill very quickly and he becomes King Grimlock the Idiot Tyrant.

On this issue alone? No, he wasn't the right choice.
Yes, he was the hero of the hour and saved the day, that doesn't mean he's automatically leadership material.

Let's not forget that up to this point (at least as far as the US comics are concerned) Grimlock and the Dinobots have done what exactly? Pretty much bugger all... got themselves buried in a tar pit for four million years, revived by ratchet, beaten snotless by Megatron and then sulked around (off panel) in the Ark for ages before wandering off in a tantrum.

Later issues actually show that despite this, he does manage to get a lot of things done that the autobots had previously failed to do; 1. get the Ark flying again and 2. Having all the autobots repaired and operational again - even Sunstreaker who Ratchet had pretty much condemned as unrepairable previously. He's a selfish, arrogant, bully, but he does get things done.

[spiderfrommars]

I think Budiansky wrote Mechanical Difficulties on autopilot. It's just very run of the mill and unremarkable. And The Mechanic is back, surely not by popular demand.

What the story has got going for it is the Blaster/Goldbug partnership. It's just a shame Goldbug turns up out of nowhere. It would've been nice to have a flashback or even a one-panel explanation outlining what happened to Bumblebee in the G.I.Joe crossover.

"Grimlock's got the cerebro chips of a rusty nail!" says Blaster. Only last issue was he singing his praises! By the end of this issue he and Goldbug have gone AWOL. Talk about fickle.

The Mechanic escapes at the end. Whatever happened to him?

Later issues actually show that despite this, he does manage to get a lot of things done that the autobots had previously failed to do; 1. get the Ark flying again and 2. Having all the autobots repaired and operational again - even Sunstreaker who Ratchet had pretty much condemned as unrepairable previously. He's a selfish, arrogant, bully, but he does get things done.

Very good point! But I suppose his accomplishments were at the expense of the humans. Optimus would never have abandoned Earth - he did feel personally responsible after all.

[Legion]

Only last issue was he singing his praises! By the end of this issue he and Goldbug have gone AWOL. Talk about fickle.

I know what you mean, at the time i thought maybe we'd skipped a US story when it was printed in the UK comic - it just felt a bit disjointed. Similarly later on when Prime returns to the Autobot ranks and resumes command, we don't get to see it - after all the fuss that was made at his funeral and about the state of the Autobot leadership, it's just brushed over.
Not Bob's finest hour(s) IMHO.

Very good point! But I suppose his accomplishments were at the expense of the humans. Optimus would never have abandoned Earth - he did feel personally responsible after all.

Well, to be fair, there wasn't much Decepticon activity on Earth at the time, if there had of been, i'm sure old Grimlock would have been leading the charge against them with his crown balanced on his Dino-mode head...

[spiderfrommars]

Crater Critters is probably one of Budiansky's best stories. From the dramatic opening as a mysterious meteor crashes to earth to the action packed battle between Blaster and the Triple Changers. There's a welcome return for G B Blackrock (probably the only non-annoying human ally) and the sheer nastiness of the scraplets disease itself. That poor pilot has his head fall off! And seeing characters that we love get slowly eaten away is kinda heartbreaking. Blaster's anger when he thinks Goldbug's betrayed him is something to behold and it's got one of the best cliffhangers ever. And Scrounge gets a cameo - yay.

If I had one complaint it would be the way the Scraplets are a bit cute and cuddly up close.

After Crater Critters, The Cure is a bit of a let down. I can't decide whether making water the answer is very inspired or very stupid. Combining Scraplets ends their effectiveness and Rollbar was just a little too keen to kill off a fellow Autobot.

On the plus side, we get our first extended Cybertron scenes since Bridge to Nowhere. Blaster continues to be a complete badass. He'd rather death by acid than let the Decepticons be cured.

Essentially, Budiansky Blaster > Cartoon Blaster/Furman Blaster

Well, to be fair, there wasn't much Decepticon activity on Earth at the time, if there had of been, i'm sure old Grimlock would have been leading the charge against them with his crown balanced on his Dino-mode head...

Weren't Ratbat and Shockwave still around causing trouble though?

Thinking about it, it was pretty mad that Bob made Grimlock Autobot leader and put Ratbat in charge of the Decepticons. Completely out of left field. I like that.

I don't actually remember liking Ratbat but looking at him afresh I do now. It's just nuts that this tiny little bean-counting Decepticon bat hangs upside down whilst barking orders at bigger and meaner 'cons. It's ridiculous in a good way.

[Guest]

I know it's a little way off, but will you be re-reading the Headmasters mini-series between Toy Soldiers and Trial by Fire, or interspersing the 4 issues with the main series?

[spiderfrommars]

Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom's title is written in the style of the Indiana Jones logo. But any similarities begin and end with the name. (Unless we include hypnotism which is also seen in Temple of Doom?)

First of all I'll mention the art. The only way I can describe Jim Fern's inking to Perlin's breakdowns is by calling it sabotage. But the cover by Bob is quite nice.

So the beginning of the story has the Decepticons steal an oil tanker. But why not kill the humans? Presumably these are all new friendly and considerate Decepticons who will happily stick all the humans onto lifeboats.

Ratbat is on Earth now and all of a sudden the writing is making the previously logical Shockwave look like an innefficient twit. The start of Bob's plan to eventually replace him with Ratbat is underway now.

We haven't seen Buster, Jessie and Sparkplug (the latter who's name has since changed from William to Irving) since issue 12! Things have not moved on much. Buster hasn't aged a day and is still unwillingly working for his father.

Ratbat's plan isn't bad. It's an ingenious way to get the humans to steal all the fuel for him. Ratbat's schemes seem to rely on infiltration, subtefuge and expending as little fuel as possible. Interesting that no Decepticon leaders ever settle on invasion instead.

It's a pretty silly story really. But kudos to Buster for saving the Earth singlehandedly from the menace of the Decepticons. Next!

I know it's a little way off, but will you be re-reading the Headmasters mini-series between Toy Soldiers and Trial by Fire, or interspersing the 4 issues with the main series?

If memory serves me correctly, the Headmaster saga was incorporated into the Titan TPBs chronologically.

Though I can't remember if they included The Big Broadcast of 2006 as well.

[Best First]

Don't have access to a lot of these issues at the mo but am really enjoying this topic. Nice one Dave

[spiderfrommars]

Don't have access to a lot of these issues at the mo but am really enjoying this topic. Nice one Dave

Don't have access? Don't have access?! Have you gone all grown up Paulie?

I remember when I thought if my house ever caught fire the first thing I would rush in and get would be my stash of TF comics.

These days I'd probably grab the cats first.

I should probably think about getting a steady girlfriend.

[Legion]

I remember when I thought if my house ever caught fire the first thing I would rush in and get would be my stash of TF comics.

These days I'd probably grab the cats first.

I should probably think about getting a steady girlfriend.

Yeah, then she can save the cats whilst you save the comics!