Story of the Week

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Jun 8, 2008 18:11:10 GMT Andy Turnbull said:

This is how to add new members of the cast to both sides without having to kill off any pre-existing ones. They've all got a reason to be there and feel like they might add something to future tales.

Very true, in principle. Create a new niche that needs filling and fill it, rather than take niches that are already filled, evict the current occupants and replace them.

Good intros / new niches:

Blaster, Insecticons, Wreckers, etc. - good while they remained on Cybertron
Headmasters - good for as long as the stories remained centred on Nebulos
Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge - good for as long as they remained the most powerful bad guys
Triggerbots - welcome as historical characters in 'The Flames of Boltax', but uninteresting when brought into the present in 'Matrix Quest'

Bad intros / already filled niches:

Special Teams (niche already filled by Constructicons and Omega Supreme)
Monsterbots, Technobots, Terrorcons - superfluous
Pretenders - added nothing to an already full planet
Micromasters - never figured out whether they were that small or not, given that humans could ride inside them in vehicle mode

However, I would disagree about putting the Sparkabots and Firecons in the 'good' category. I'm not convinced they added anything to the saga's cast. The low level grunts with chops had already been done with the Throttlebots, and even they were pretty damn boring.

An exception to the niche rule in my view is 'Rock and Roll Out', because while the Ark crew didn't need replacing by Tracks & co., I loved seeing them being shown around by Bumblebee.

Martin

[Andy Turnbull]

Jun 8, 2008 18:31:56 GMT Grand Moff Muffin said:

However, I would disagree about putting the Sparkabots and Firecons in the 'good' category. I'm not convinced they added anything to the saga's cast. The low level grunts with chops had already been done with the Throttlebots, and even they were pretty damn boring.

An exception to the niche rule in my view is 'Rock and Roll Out', because while the Ark crew didn't need replacing by Tracks & co., I loved seeing them being shown around by Bumblebee.

Martin

I didn't get the feeling the Throttlebots were grunts, they looked to be some semi-autonomous unit. The Sparklers definitely feel like they have a place in the chain of command. The fact they do their jobs and avoid the spectacular works for me. There is the need for the reliable but indistinct cast members in order to allow better contrast for some of the "personalities" for want of a better word.

Shoehorning in all the random wacky character defect brigade just makes for lots of background noise as we can see from the latter era Bob stories.

Rock and Roll Out does raise some questions. If the materials to repair the Autobots were so scarce why build five new bodies for Grapple and co when they could have been used for the others.

That being said Grapple helps design Omega Supreme so perhaps Prime already had one eye on that.

Andy

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Jun 8, 2008 18:38:25 GMT Andy Turnbull said:

I didn't get the feeling the Throttlebots were grunts, they looked to be some semi-autonomous unit. The Sparklers definitely feel like they have a place in the chain of command.

True. I just tend to lump the Throttlebots and Sparkabots together in my mind because they were both teams of small Autobots who made no impression on me whatsoever as having individual characteristics - Rollbar possibly the exception, though he comes across to me as a bit of a Kup type.

The Triggerbots joined this group when brought into the present day in 'Race With the Devil' and 'Matrix Quest' (oh, and 'Cash and Carnage', I've just realised - in which they do mix and match with the Sparkabots). All completely interchangeable and uninteresting story-wise.

Martin

PS I can see you, Mr Invisible! Never share the powers of a god...

[charlesrocketboy]

The Throttlebots and Monsterbots do actually have distinct personalities as seen in their tech specs/TFU entries, it's just the poor buggers never got an in-story chance to show it. I've got a soft spot for the Terrorcons simply due to the nifty monster modes, and I liked Hun-Grr as Soundwave's Number Two in the future.

Interesting idea by Martin of the Triggerbots working when they're in the past. I liked their bit in Matrix Quest and Race With The Devil, but it would be interesting to have a new toy to just be mates from Prime's past, especially if they have a niche already in use. "This was the Bumblebee before Bumblebee worked with Prime!"

The Sparkabots stick out in my mind a lotwhen I think on the UK comic run - I think this is because they got to be in really good stories, rather than them having distinct personalities though.

[legios]

I don't have "Second Generation" available at the moment so I am going to have to skip that one. Therefore I shall move swiftly onward to:-

"Enemy Action"

This is one of those stories that I remember not being too fussed about when I first read it, but which I have warmed to over the years. The plot line is in fact incredibly simple - Galvatron turns up outside the Decepticon base and gets into a thumping match with some new toys, whilst up on an island some other new toys have a bit of a fight. Stripped down to its essence it doesn't sound very promising, but where it scores is in the little details of the story.

There are a lot of nice little character touches to be found in these issues. Shockwave's nervous breakdown gathers pace - determined not to have done to him what he once did to Megatron he becomes tighter and tighter wound as the story goes on. The strength of this is the way it builds from the previous characterisation he has had. Shockwave has been presented as clinical, precise and clear-headed so when he overreacts it is far more significant than when other Decepticons do.

Galvatron gets some rather good charater development here too. It helps that he has "flipped" back to the version of Galvatron that I like. I'm not a big fan of the ranty "I SHALL BECOME A LIVING GOD" version of Galvatron with his grandiously ludicrous schemes. But this depiction of Galvatron is much more to my tastes. Intelligent and cunning he is able to analyse the nature of both Shockwave, and of the Decepticons as a whole and use there own natures against them. A kind of socio-psycho-logical jui-jutsu if you like. It adds something to Galvatron for him to have that kind of analytical mind to combine with his enormous physical power. With power he is dangerous certainly, but it is the cunning with which he is able to apply it that makes him lethal.

In essence the actual fight between Galvatron and the Seacons, despite occupying a large chunk of the page count, is an irrelevant side-show. Galvatron wins the physical confrontation but he doesn't even care that much....

In terms of introducing new toys this issue is a bit of a mixed bag - the Seacons don't demonstrate much in the way of real character. Mind you, they do spent most of two issues being thumped by Galvatron, so there isn't much of a chance for them to do so. At least they have an excuse for being there. It isn't a _great_ excuse(Transformers are after all robots - you wouldn't think that coastal waters would be that much of a problem for them to work in.) but it is at least an excuse.

The Sparkler Minibots I will admit to quite liking. They don't get a lot of characterisation in this story, but what there is works for me. They sound, especially in the first part, a lot like a trio of bored squaddies - they know the job is important, but their not sure why they were unlucky enough to be the ones to have to do it. When they do get into a fight of their own, they seem to be somewhat out-classed and improvising with a certain degree of desperation. In comparison to the "best of the best" vibe that has been suggested by other character intros (Magnus, the Wreckers) the Sparklers feel a bit like "everybots".

The Firecons however... yes, well. They aren't very good toys, and they don't really do much to redeem themselves as characters. They get to deliver some stock villianous lines, and then mostly lumber about going "Raaar!" and breathing fire on stuff. They don't make for the most convincing threat either. Suffering from being in the same story as Galvatron thumping the daylights out of six Seacons, the Firecons failure to kill three Autobots makes them seem slightly less threatening than I think was intended.

It is a bit of a mixed bag - the action sequences are a bit samey and - dare I say it - a little bit dull. But where it shines is in the characterisation that it gives to Shockwave and Galvatron, with the Sparkler mini-bots doing what they can to hold up the B-plot (without it has to be said, much assistance from the Firecons). Better than I thought at the time I first read it. By no means a classic, but competent and reasonably entertaining.

Karl

[legios]

Seeing as no-one else has beaten me too it, might I nominate Marvel US#12 "Prime Time" for our consideration?

Karl

[The Doctor]

You may.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Ooh, lovely. Although I said earlier in this thread that I got a greater sense of closure from 'End of the Road' (US #80) than I do from any other TF ending, I would say that the 'Brainstorm'/'Prime Time' 2-parter is the best TF ending in terms of both story and execution.

Apart from the beautiful work in 'Warrior School'/'Repeat Performance', these two issues are probably the best drawn of all the US issues. Very well done, humans, robots, backgrounds, everything, with some cracking splash pages - Buster blowing up Jetfire, Prowl leading the Autobots' last stand.

Optimus Prime's long-awaited return had me and presumably 99% of fans cheering him on, and the final battle with Shockwave was better executed than any of the other showdowns.

If I could tweak one thing in the whole story, I'd throw a lot more Decepticons into the final battle - jets, Constructicons, etc. (dunno how Laserbeak recovered so quickly from getting blasted by Bluestreak). But that really does feel like being picky.

Budiansky at his best.

Martin

[charlesrocketboy]

I like the story but think they erred a bit by having "OPTIMUS PRIME - AUTOBOT KILLER!" on the cover giving the twist away.

[The Doctor]

Yeah. I was disappointed that he didn't actually kill any. The cover lied to me. Damn you, Editorial.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Well, they already had form, given that #5's cover said "The Transformers are all dead".

Martin

[The Doctor]

I will write to my MSP!

-Ralph

[legios]

"Prime Time" has a lot riding on it - the first actual "big finish" issue after the surprise ending of the original mini-series, it needs to bring to a conclusion story elements that have been building for two-thirds of a year. Fortunately it does a very good job of it.

Re-reading this I am struck by just how much actually goes on in this issue. In the modern era you would probably get a four to six issue miniseries out of these events, but here they are packed into a single issue which moves with a terrific pace. There is a lot going on here - from an opening action sequence between Jetfire and some human aeroplaces, to a desperate stand by the Autobots against a Decepticon ambush that nearly sends them all to the great scrapheap in the sky. The stakes are raised page by page - first Buster falls into the hands of Shockwave, then he is threatened with trephination by alien machinery, and in the meantime the Autobots are falling into a trap that is designed to take advantage of their own natures. Things escalate page by page until everything is on the table by the time Optimus Prime and Shockwave confront each other in personal combat. It all adds weight to a confrontation that has been built up for the past seven issues, giving it a much greater import than a simple fist-fight. It is a short fight, but it doesn't feel it when you read it - mostly because it has been given a sense of narrative weight to it which makes it feel like the fulcrum on which the conflict pivots. The resolution is thematically appropriate too - with Prime choosing to save an innocent rather than kill his enemy. In many ways, it is this story that crystalises what the Autobots are meant to stand for.

I mentioned that there was a lot packed in to this issue - as well as the climactic battles of this story-arc we also have room for some solid characterisation. Frenzy is revealed to be the spineless bully we all suspected that he was - afraid of Shockwave (and rightly so), he also quails when the balance of power even threatens to turn towards the human slaves. His "But there were so many of them...they swarmed around me like mechno-gnats" is a wonderfully telling bit of dialogue. Buster, too, is well served by this issue. He gets to complete his journey from bystander to hero with his bold, daring and reasonably intelligent plan for getting in to the Decepticon base. It is a good plan, and one that should have worked. The fact that the unforseeable derailed it does nothing to diminish him as a character. In many ways this serves as the swansong of this version of the character we have known as Buster, and it serves him well.

The last stand of the Autobots is quite evocative, and surprisingly effective considering it mostly takes place "off panel". We see enough to make us understand what is going on, but not so much that we get bogged down and pulled away from the other plot-threads. The panel of the battered Prowl, still on his feet and firing as his troops fall around him is particularly effective in selling the situation.

The art in general is some of the best stuff in the early run. The staging of it is wonderful - Jetfire's dogfight takes a handful of panels, but is deftly done so that the rest of the engagement reconstructs itself in the readers head, and the Shockwave/Optimus fight is economically but effectively conveyed. Everyone seems to be on-model (which has been a thing that the title has had issues with sometimes) and there isn't anything that leaps out as being bad.

"Prime Time" is one of those issues where everything comes together properly. It works wonderfully as an ending to the story that has been on-going since #5 - it ties up all the plot-lines that need to be tied up, and does so by bringing them all together into a single narrative. (Rather than running about turning off plots one at a time that so often happens in on-going serials). It really has a sense of ending an era, such is the sense of closure that it has. I'd have to say that this is one of my favourite "endings" in Transformers comics, there is so much done right here. One of the great moments of the Budiansky run - heck, one of the great moments of "The Transformers".

Karl

[The Doctor]

Firing up the story randomiser, let's move on to...

DINOBOT HUNT

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

If we're including 'The Icarus Theory' as part of the 6-part 'Dinobot Hunt', then this is possibly my favourite UK story. Apart from the fact that it showcased the Ark crew members like no other UK story, four out of six parts are drawn by my life-long favourite UK TF artist, Barry Kitson.

I would happily ditch all the other UK artists if I could have the whole run drawn by this chap. It took him a couple of issues before he got all the background Autobots figured out, but otherwise it's pretty flawless.

Apart from 'The Icarus Theory' Parts 1 and 2 and 'Dinobot Hunt' Parts 2 and 4, I believe the only other things he drew for TF were 'The Wrath of Guardian/Grimlock', the Special Teams poster comic, 'Robot Buster' Parts 1 and 2, and 'Second Generation' Part 2.

And thanks to Andu, his final page of original TF artwork, a shiny metallic close-up of Megatron's face saying "I believe the moment has arrived for Shockwave to learn of my return - first hand!" adorns my bedroom wall.

Like Jetfire, the Dinobots are at their most impressive when portrayed as mindless, non-transforming threats, forces of nature rather than the moody rebels they later became.

Plus, who gets to take down Dinobot Leader Grimlock?

Prowl.

By crashing a shuttlecraft into him.

High point of the entire TF saga.

Martin

[Deleted]

The Dinobot Hunt issues were pretty much the first TF Spotlight comics ever made and they all work quite well despite the idea of them never being done before.

[Shockprowl]

Dinobot Hunt was where I came in into the TF comic. Blew my great hairy ones right off. And seeing Prowl in the thick of it had me hooked from the start. Jazz was my brother's fave back then, so when Slag slagged him, he was none too pleased!

[legios]

The "Dinobot Hunt" is on then is it?

"Dinobot Hunt" is a story that is quite dear to my heart, coming as it does during a run of stories that I feel represent perhaps the height of the UK originated strips - "Crisis of Command", "Icarus Theory" and "Dinobot Hunt" represent a run of genuinely strong output and are perhaps the UK stories that have stuck with me best over the years since I first read them.

The premise of "Dinobot Hunt" is fairly straightforward, with the Autobots forced to divide their forces in order to capture the Dinobots, both for their own good and to prevent them from becoming a threat to humans. This need to divide forces acts as a nice pretext to split up the Autobots and allow some of the second-string characters to shine for once, with excellent results. Characters like Ironhide and Cliffjumper get almost more characterisation each in a single issue of "Dinobot Hunt" than they had got up to then, and it also allows Jetfire - appearing as a sapient character for the first time to establish his quick-thinking but sometimes overly reactive personality through actions. Prowl and Optimus Prime don't demonstrate any new sides to their personality, but Prime's tenacity and self-sacrifice and Prowl's cool professionalism are very effectively spotlighted.

The story is actually rather kind to the Dinobots as well. You might think that it wouldn't really benefit them - seeing as they are reduced to the level of prehistoric monsters for the entirety of the story. Far from it, the Dinobots come across in this story as titanicly destructive creatures, beyond the ability of humans to tackle - and indeed, seemingly more than a match for the Autobots. Snarl's unstoppable juggernaut like progress through the US Army stands out as a bit of a highlight here, along with Grimlock and Sludge's rampage through an Alaskan town. The latter is in the best traditions of giant monster movies, and the artwork does a good job of selling the force and violence being unleashed. Whilst they may not transform, or have any dialogue, the Dinobots have never before or since seemed to be possessed of such raw destructive power - each victory and defeat along the Hunt feels like it is genuinely hard won.

With all of this going on you could be forgiven for thinking that the Decepticons would take a few weeks off whilst the Autobots are distracted. In fact "Dinobot Hunt" demonstrates exactly why Soundwave made such an effective Decepticon leader in the UK comic. Soundwave's plan, to use the rampaging Dinobots against the Autobots is both opportunistic and rather elegant. It shows him as a very different Decepticon leader to Megatron - one with perhaps more patience and caution. I rather like the fact that the Decepticons win this story by default, by the expedient of making sure that both Dinobots and Autobots end up suffering a higher cost than they otherwise might have. It goes a long way to reestablishing the Decepticons as a credible threat after their comprehensive defeat at the end of the preceeding US story arc.

Actually, re-reading this story in preparation for this post I was reminded by something about this story - and that is the implied violence and body-count. Not the toll taken on the Autobots, but that inflicted on the human bystanders. The second part of the story alludes to the Decepticons cutting a swathe through the Everglades, and the art and narration seems to imply torturing and killing humans unfortunate enough to fall into their grasp as they methodically search for their real prey. (The juxtaposition of some of that narration with the panels of the Autobot search party's progress is a nice narrative touch as well). The final issue too, sees Grimlock and Sludge tear apart an Alaskan community, and the Decepticons launch an off-panel raid on an oil storage depot - with, the artwork of the aftermath implies, considerable violence. The story carefully walks the line of what is acceptable in a children's comic - never outright showing or confirming the deaths and injuries that are being left in their wake, but even as a youngster I recall realising that this was one a very different scale to the relatively bloodless take-over of the Blackrock aerospace plant issues before. (It almost makes me wonder whether Prowl didn't have a point back in "Crisis of Command" - a cadre of Autobot supersoldiers to apply massive force to wipe out the Decepticons on Earth, accept a risk of some collateral damage in the short-term to reduce it in the long-term....)

"Dinobot Hunt" is also fortunate in being well-served by its art as well as its story. With Will Simpson and Barry Kitson onboard the story fires on all cylinders visually, offering up both solid storytelling and some wonderful spectacle. They are different artists, so the join between stands out a bit when the story is read in one sitting - but they are both good artists in their own right who bring something to the story. One of my favourite sequences in the whole story being the pages where a Cowboy takes on Slag armed only with a lariat and a gun. It has shades of "Valley of the Gwangi" about it, and Kitson's artwork really sells the scene. The cover of the last issue - Grimlock and Sludge locked in tooth and claw conflict is one of my favourite covers of the entire UK run.

"Dinobot Hunt" is, all told, one of the finest stories of the UK comic - indeed, one of the finest stories of the UK run. If I had to pick one Transformers comic story to take with me onto a desert Island then this would be a strong contendor. If you haven't read it, then I would urge you to. If you have read it, then there isn't any harm in reading it again - it is one of those stories that improves with age.......


Karl

[The Doctor]

And done in only 44 pages too.

-Ralph

[grahamthomson]

They don't make 'em like this any more!

[charlesrocketboy]

I just really love Soundwave here - this, Earthforce and Space Pirates confirm him as one of my fave leader 'Cons. He's brilliant!

[Shockprowl]

Bloody good write up there Karlos, what a way with words you have.

[The Doctor]

As it has recently been reprinted, let's have a look at:

SPACE PIRATES!

-Ralph

[Deleted]

Part 2 ended with a close up of Arcee's arse - something that probably sits up there in kids minds with the girl from Battle of the Planets doing sommersaults and backflips.

[The Doctor]

I have to admit that Arcee's arse did little for me. The ludicrousness of a female Transformer blinded me to this.

I did not see Battle of the Planets until adulthood. I was most pleased by Princess's flashing of underwear though.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

'Space Pirates' had its good and bad bits. The Quintessons made a great alien threat to the TFs, I loved their spaceships, and the Metroplex-kicks-ass issue was great fun. However, the stuff on Cybertron was weak (after the epic battle in 'The Legacy of Unicron', Soundwave's roll call of classic Decepticons here made me wonder if this was the same army that Cyclonus and Scourge led to war at Unicron's command), and so was Rodimus Prime, as usual. Hot Rod showed far more competence and intelligence than his more 'mature' alter ego, whose sole contribution was to cold-bloodedly murder General Ghyrik when he was no longer a threat.

The Wheelie/Wreck Gar stuff was also a big yawn for me, and the Autobot Cassettes hardly awe-inspiring. Steeljaw and Ramhorn deserved better.

Martin

[Mark_Stevenson]

Space Pirates is rollicking good fun, and (IMHO) gave us one of the finest TFUK covers - Metroplex's BLOODY GREAT FIST punching through the surface of Autobot City. Not sure if it really features any piracy, though. Still, I dare say 'Space Invaders' is subject to some pretty heavy copyright...

[Deleted]

I didn't like the Quintessons being shoehorned into the comic universe. As far as I was concerned the Quints were cartoon universe characters and not comic book ones. I know they had appeared previously in the epilogue part of The Big Broadcast of 2006 in the UK comic but I just pretty much discarded that story from the comic book universe anyway.

[Andy Turnbull]

I enjoyed Space Pirates back in the day, as Mark says there are some damned good visuals in there, and of course we get the return of Hot Rod, who without the matrix appears to be a damn sight more use than sporting it as Rodimus Prime.

Some good covers as we get our first look at Andy Wildman's take on Transformers on a couple of them.

It's a bit of a shame that Geoff Senior was too busy with Dragon's Claws to contribute some art to this and Time Wars as I don't think Dougie Braithwaite's art is quite up to scratch yet.

Andy

[Mark_Stevenson]

This is true, but Lee Sullivan OWNS this story imho.