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Post by Pinwig on May 14, 2020 12:43:13 GMT
30 Years Ago This Week: Issue #270 GI Joe and the Transformers: Power Struggle - Part 2: The Joes discuss recent events before General Hawk decides to try his luck with Senator Larkin. Meanwhile, Shockwave ponders his plans as Megatron watches the power station on a screen, but on Cobra Island, Dr Mindbender is also watching the station. It begins to taxi on the runway and Shockwave is elated that Bombshell's control is working, proclaiming himself to be rightful Decepticon leader. However, Mindbender dons his electronic helmet and causes the power station to divert in mid-flight. The Joes prepare to intercept. The Bad Guy's Ball: The Earth-based Decepticons call on an ancient Cybertronian rite - The Enclave - to meet and resolve their differences before they erupt into a civil war. Watching this in secret, Jazz, Sunstreaker, Ironhide and Bumblebee decide to use this as an opportunity to divide the Decepticons further. They cause diversions that lead Megatron and Shockwave's forces to attack each other. Later, in the aftermath, the Autobots enjoy the Decepticons' left over oil and energon. Elsewhere, Transformation warns readers to look out for the resolution of Carnivac's story in issue 272; On the letters' page Dreadwind reveals that although Rodimus was originally Hot Rod, Optimus has always been Optimus; the second of the Indiana Jones tokens turns up two weeks earlier than scheduled; and on the back page, Hasbro announce the arrival of the new Micromaster Combiner squads and teams - they've got Double The Power! NB - the incorrect apostrophe in the second strip's title is as presented in the story.
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Post by Pinwig on May 14, 2020 13:18:18 GMT
I see we're on 'amusing' on the Moff Martin scale here.
Hmm. I think if this series is viewed as its own continuity it has a certain charm, but it's complete bollocks if viewed as part of the wider universe. I need Furman on a TFN panel again. Has he been asked what his thinking was behind this run? It's so far removed from his usual storytelling it's untrue.
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Post by The Huff on May 14, 2020 13:59:05 GMT
Never understood the irresponsible behaviour of the Autobots escalating a civil war between the Decepticons which could pretty much lead to unimaginable destruction to our planet as they fight it out.
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Post by Shockprowl on May 14, 2020 16:27:09 GMT
No memory of this one. I think this is where I departed...
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on May 14, 2020 16:43:35 GMT
Even if the story's silly, you gotta love poring over a well-drawn TF crowd scene.
Martin
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Post by Pinwig on May 14, 2020 17:33:54 GMT
Yes, very true.
Even if they are all holding cocktail glasses. This is one of the newer artists inking isn't it, it shows in the style. Very heavy outlines.
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Post by The Huff on May 14, 2020 18:16:26 GMT
The Autobots are arseholes in this story, plain and simple. Ruining the Decepticons little party.
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Post by The Doctor on May 14, 2020 18:24:05 GMT
I do remember THE BAD GUY'S BALL as having some of the most gorgeous art of the B&W era, making up for the dumbed down story.
-Ralph
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Post by greebtron on May 14, 2020 18:45:10 GMT
I don't know. If it was done five years earlier, it would have been super-dumb. But it was 1990 and the franchise was on it's way out (so far as anyone knew), so why not just have some fun while it still lasts.
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Post by Benn on May 14, 2020 23:56:36 GMT
I dunno, in its way it’s a neat bit of storytelling. Sets up that the Decepticons are splintered, but are trying to not be, and the Autobots realise them coming together again would be bad for them. Finds a neat way to resolve the situation in the good guys favour, sets up the status quo of the Earthforce series going forward with a quite interesting Decepticon Civil War running throughout the rest of the black and white run, and gives us a couple of fun visual gags. In five pages.
I’m not saying these were the high point of Marvel UK, but taken on its own merits, I think the Earthforce splinter timeline is pretty interesting.
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on May 15, 2020 5:10:00 GMT
The Autobots are arseholes in this story, plain and simple. Ruining the Decepticons little party. The Decepticons were pretty stupid, though. I mean, what would the logic be of Shockwave ordering a lone Predacon to try to assassinate Megatron, when (a) it takes more firepower than that to hurt Megatron, and (b) all the Decepticons present were carrying their guns? If Shockwave intended to shoot Megatron, why not just use his own gun at close range? Or get all his Decepticons to shoot him at the same time? That might work. So the Autobots' plan relied on Megatron not thinking things through. I don't know. If it was done five years earlier, it would have been super-dumb. It wasn't really any sillier than having Megatron and Shockwave fight for the leadership in a coal mine while Robot-Master provides commentary for the live TV broadcast of the fight, until Soundwave intervenes and makes them realise they should really be working together. Or Optimus ordering Wheeljack to create a duplicate body so he could fake his own death to his own followers. Martin
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Post by The Huff on May 15, 2020 7:36:58 GMT
This issue did make me realise that the Decepticons pretty much had their entire 84-86 toy catalogue as an army whereas the Autobot Earthforce was confined to only having characters that had Classic toys released (plus Swoop and Slag). They didn't even get Sideswipe, the remainder of the Throttlebots or Prorectobots.
They got the Springer later though, plus the other wrong Triple Changer.
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on May 15, 2020 7:49:54 GMT
It's annoying that the Predacons and Decepticon Triple Changers are running around without any explanation of how they recovered from being destroyed by Starscream (like the Seacons), but there is no sign anywhere of the Combaticons, who never got deactivated and so should still be around.
Martin
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Post by The Huff on May 15, 2020 9:24:59 GMT
...And had Classics toys.
I wonder why I never thought that this could have meant we'd get Classic Predacons back in 1990. That would have been amazing back then.
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Jim
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Post by Jim on May 15, 2020 12:36:38 GMT
I have fond memories of this story, liked it a lot at the time and the cover has always stuck in my head. Part of it was that even back in 1990 I had nostalgia for earlier Earth-based stories and the rivalry between Shockwave and Megatron.
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Post by Pinwig on May 19, 2020 18:27:42 GMT
30 Years Ago This Week: Issue #271 GI Joe and the Transformers: Power Struggle - Part 3: Anthony Duranti plays idly with his Bumblebee toy, still under the control of Bombshell. Cobra escort the airborne Power Station Alpha but are attacked by the Joes. Somewhere below on a luxury yacht, GB Blackrock talks to women in bikinis. The Joes see the ship and disengage so the women in bikinis aren't harmed. An ejecting Cobra pilot crash lands on the deck of the ship upsetting some of the women. I'm sure last week there were robots in this story. The Living Night Lights: Wheeljack and Snarl investigate the warehouse of a new night light, the Sleepfast, which can be turned on and off by thought. Wheeljack is concerned because the light appears to use sentient Cybertronian technology and could be used to control human minds. They are confronted by Mindwipe, who has been kicked out of the Decepticons for trying to enthrall Scorponok and is now intent on using his lights to take over the world using a human slave army. Wheeljack and Snarl 'think' all of the lights in the warehouse on and overload Mindwipe's cerebral circuits with the glare. Elsewhere, Transformation brings news that Jazz has recently been sighted in Staines, meeting winners of a competition arranged with a local opticians; Colin defeats Doctor Doom, leaving the super villain wondering if he should be taking on Thomas the Tank Engine instead; Sky Dive and Sky Lynx feature in the A-Z; and on the letters' page, Stephen McCartney of County Down asks why if all five Dinobots couldn't beat Shockwave back in the Savage Land that Grimlock can do it by himself now.
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Post by The Doctor on May 19, 2020 18:32:32 GMT
The UK strip would have fitted in fine for the type of thing done in THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS comic but it's a long fall from the likes of TARGET: 2006 to this.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on May 19, 2020 18:32:37 GMT
I see Martin has this one in its own category: Madness. I don't think it's quite as left-field as Desert Island Risks, but... good lord.
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Post by The Doctor on May 19, 2020 18:34:03 GMT
30 Years Ago This Week: Issue #271 Elsewhere, Transformation brings news that Jazz has recently been sighted in Staines, meeting winners of a competition arranged with a local opticians; I think we need to discuss this further. -Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on May 19, 2020 18:53:54 GMT
I do find it a little disturbing that the strap line on this cover is a quote from A Nightmare on Elm Street. It's used in the editorial too.
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Post by Pinwig on May 19, 2020 18:58:22 GMT
I think we need to discuss this further. Quick scan for more details:
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on May 19, 2020 19:28:27 GMT
'Desert Island Risks' and 'The Living Nightlights' are too perfect as titles to have been thought up after the stories had been plotted, and the stories are so crap they can only be explained by their having been contrived solely to accommodate the titles. Not the best way to produce fiction.
Martin
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 19, 2020 19:44:24 GMT
It's a well worn method of making comics, DC in particular used to do that all the time.
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Post by Pinwig on May 19, 2020 20:31:19 GMT
Do we have any evidence of a Jazz costume being used for promotions? I can only remember the Hot Rod one.
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Post by Pinwig on May 19, 2020 20:40:52 GMT
I don't think Living Nightlights was ever going anywhere as a title, but Desert Island Risks has endless possibilities that would be better than how it was used. The Constructicons set quiz questions as defensive traps while they rebuild Devastator as a separate robot? Surely Furman has been asked about what was going through the mind with these at some point in the past.
This one is confusing because the cover implies a totally different story to the one inside.
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on May 19, 2020 20:54:14 GMT
Yeah, well, the cover a couple of weeks earlier suggested Snaptrap/Megatron stood a chance against Prowl in robot mode.
Martin
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on May 19, 2020 20:56:23 GMT
Ooh, next week's is a good one. Martin
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Post by Pinwig on May 19, 2020 21:00:29 GMT
I'm hoping so if it's a three part continuation of the Carnivac story. Something's got to help the main strip out.
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Post by Benn on May 19, 2020 21:08:40 GMT
Aw, guys... I was just happy to see my good boi Dinobot get a bit of time in the spotlight. Nightlight.
I guess I just took things at face value as a kid. I didn't need super serious epics every week. Doofy fun little stories were just fine for me. Looking back as an (alleged) adult, yeah, stuff like Desert Island Risks has aged horribly, but at the time? They were fine.
I do seem to remember being confused more than anything by the Joe crossover story, it was too long and full of characters that I had no knowledge or interest in. I never wanted to stop getting the comic, it was a rare bright spot to the week, but I didn't understand why the crossover was there.
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Jim
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Post by Jim on May 20, 2020 9:22:00 GMT
Same. I liked getting these fun little one-offs, even at the time everything being part of some grand mythological, bloodthirsty, time travel epic was a bit wearying. Having this kind of thing running in parallel with the Furman US stuff was great (though yeah, not so much the GI Joe story...).
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