So that’s the end of My Story, let’s Grab Another Round of Booze, and if Anyone Should Ask You, Just Tell Them I got the St. James Infirmary Blues.
More Than Meets the Eye issue 5: How Ratchet Got His Hands Back. May 23rd, 2012.
I don’t know how Ratchet got the vaccine; he just said it fell into his hands.
The second part of this story is largely a fast-moving bullet with a relatively straightforward plot, which gives James Roberts chance to fill in the gaps with a lot of foreshadowing and worldbuilding for future stories.
Starting immediately as Fortress Maximus picks up right from where the cliffhanger left off, killing the two Decepticon monoformers, but in such an over the top and violently sadistic way (including the second begging him to stop before his head is popped off), Ratchet has to step in and pat him on the shoulder to calm him down and assure him that “That’s enough.”
Tellingly, the first con (in a full page spread that, noticeably in trade when the two pages are opposite each other, mirrors the “Big Damn Hero” spread that ended the previous issue in a darker way) is pulled in two in exactly the same way that Guzzle was by Overlord.
I don’t know how Ratchet got the vaccine; he just said it fell into his hands.
The second part of this story is largely a fast-moving bullet with a relatively straightforward plot, which gives James Roberts chance to fill in the gaps with a lot of foreshadowing and worldbuilding for future stories.
Starting immediately as Fortress Maximus picks up right from where the cliffhanger left off, killing the two Decepticon monoformers, but in such an over the top and violently sadistic way (including the second begging him to stop before his head is popped off), Ratchet has to step in and pat him on the shoulder to calm him down and assure him that “That’s enough.”
Tellingly, the first con (in a full page spread that, noticeably in trade when the two pages are opposite each other, mirrors the “Big Damn Hero” spread that ended the previous issue in a darker way) is pulled in two in exactly the same way that Guzzle was by Overlord.
The foreshadowing for the fall out Maximus is going to experience in the next issue even extends to the two cons being purple and blue, a bit of attention to detail that will become very pleasing in retrospect.
As the dust settles, Drift takes the time to remind Ratchet of how they first met when the doctor saved his life back in Rodion in even more foreshadowing.
But it turns out, Pharma hates Chekov’s Gun, so he pulls an actual gun on Ambulon, claiming that, as a former Decepticon “defector,” he has to be behind all this.
First Aid though, in the first of a few key displays of competence, points out that Pharma is the one who’s lying as the so called “monoformers” both have Transformation Cogs, and Pharma’s wounds he supposedly sustained in his fight with them are clearly self-inflicted by his own scalpels.
Ratchet takes the chain of logic one step further, asking Pharma to transform, and when he refuses, he sadly raises his gun at his supposed friend.
Because the cause of the plague is something very James Roberts, an examination of how Transformers would actually work in a SF setting. Anyone who changes form triggers the illness. First Aid is immune because he has a busted transformation cog (that Ratchet could tell from how he walked), and Ambulon has no useful alt mode. He defected because he’d been part of a failed Decepticon combiner team. He turns into a leg.
“Ambulate,” you see?
As the dust settles, Drift takes the time to remind Ratchet of how they first met when the doctor saved his life back in Rodion in even more foreshadowing.
But it turns out, Pharma hates Chekov’s Gun, so he pulls an actual gun on Ambulon, claiming that, as a former Decepticon “defector,” he has to be behind all this.
First Aid though, in the first of a few key displays of competence, points out that Pharma is the one who’s lying as the so called “monoformers” both have Transformation Cogs, and Pharma’s wounds he supposedly sustained in his fight with them are clearly self-inflicted by his own scalpels.
Ratchet takes the chain of logic one step further, asking Pharma to transform, and when he refuses, he sadly raises his gun at his supposed friend.
Because the cause of the plague is something very James Roberts, an examination of how Transformers would actually work in a SF setting. Anyone who changes form triggers the illness. First Aid is immune because he has a busted transformation cog (that Ratchet could tell from how he walked), and Ambulon has no useful alt mode. He defected because he’d been part of a failed Decepticon combiner team. He turns into a leg.
“Ambulate,” you see?
Which gives us a “All the good names are taken” callback, but also forefronts the thirst for combiners as Barber starts down the road to introducing Superion in more author synergy.
It also fuels Roberts love of examining more “silly” aspects of the franchise, including characters having overly appropriate names. So, it’s a three for three.
It is however a sign of how early days this is that Ratchet works out all this from characters not transforming as often as a Transformer normally would, changing modes will become such a relatively rare thing in the series as it goes on, characters will start making jokes about it.
Pharma is too much of a gloriously smug bastard to keep up any pretence and, after he pulls a gun and, as it’s pointed out he can’t take out all the Autobots around him, he cheerfully just shoots the life support system keeping the patients alive and does a runner.
It also fuels Roberts love of examining more “silly” aspects of the franchise, including characters having overly appropriate names. So, it’s a three for three.
It is however a sign of how early days this is that Ratchet works out all this from characters not transforming as often as a Transformer normally would, changing modes will become such a relatively rare thing in the series as it goes on, characters will start making jokes about it.
Pharma is too much of a gloriously smug bastard to keep up any pretence and, after he pulls a gun and, as it’s pointed out he can’t take out all the Autobots around him, he cheerfully just shoots the life support system keeping the patients alive and does a runner.
This gives First Aid his second chance to show his authority and competence as, in a fantastically dramatic panel from Milne of just him pointing, he quickly puts everyone to work saving the patients as Fort Max goes after Pharma.
Said patients includes Drift, who, now the chips are down, pleads that, if this whole thing is a DJD trap of some sort and they come for the base, Ratchet should “Put me out…”
To which Ratchet won’t even let him finish the sentence, and the panel of his grasping Drift’s hand with a “Don’t you dare” is a key moment, as the fandom reaction to this image started to change the entire planned trajectory for the characters.
Backstreet flickering then gives us another defining Ratchet moment. The Doctor has built in reboot coils that would solve the issue but would mean having to transform to load Backstreet into him.
Said patients includes Drift, who, now the chips are down, pleads that, if this whole thing is a DJD trap of some sort and they come for the base, Ratchet should “Put me out…”
To which Ratchet won’t even let him finish the sentence, and the panel of his grasping Drift’s hand with a “Don’t you dare” is a key moment, as the fandom reaction to this image started to change the entire planned trajectory for the characters.
Backstreet flickering then gives us another defining Ratchet moment. The Doctor has built in reboot coils that would solve the issue but would mean having to transform to load Backstreet into him.
Causing Ambulon to give a big, long speech starting with “But…” about how this would infect Ratchet, and the CMO is just too important to risk that for just one patient when there are thousands more he could save down the line.
Which is the correct idea from the military perspective, but it turns out Ratchet has transformed even before Ambulon got past “But…”
This saves the Triggerbot, and with Backstreet back on the safe list and Fortress Maximus having returned because Pharma went into a secret tunnel he couldn’t fit into, Ratchet goes after the mad doctor.
Which is where we get the, not weakest as such because it’s two solid scenes, but perhaps the biggest sign that Roberts is still a novice professional writer at this early stage of the game, and in particular a novice comic writer who tends to think more in TV terms.
Now, it’s not uncommon on TV, especially in shows with large casts, to have B and C plots to make sure everyone gets something to do, because if actors are under contract, they need to be used.
Which is the correct idea from the military perspective, but it turns out Ratchet has transformed even before Ambulon got past “But…”
This saves the Triggerbot, and with Backstreet back on the safe list and Fortress Maximus having returned because Pharma went into a secret tunnel he couldn’t fit into, Ratchet goes after the mad doctor.
Which is where we get the, not weakest as such because it’s two solid scenes, but perhaps the biggest sign that Roberts is still a novice professional writer at this early stage of the game, and in particular a novice comic writer who tends to think more in TV terms.
Now, it’s not uncommon on TV, especially in shows with large casts, to have B and C plots to make sure everyone gets something to do, because if actors are under contract, they need to be used.
Ideally, theses subplots will connect into the A plot in some way, either in how it weaves in and out of the episode or thematically. But the reality of TV production (especially on 90's Star Trek where an episode could have three plots that were brought from three different freelance pitches), you’ll have an episode with three completely unconnected to each other stories going on.
Now, comics don’t have to worry about not using actors they’re paying for, but with a large cast, you can see why Roberts would find this approach appealing, especially in these early still establishing things days. So, cutting back to some scenes on the Lost Light, just as with last issue, makes perfect sense, even if you’d have to reach to find any link between them and the main story beyond perhaps some irony on the difference between Ultra Magnus’ idealised Autobot and what Pharma has become.
But what usually happens with subplots on TV is they’ll be spread out across the episode, Roberts just dumps his here in the middle of the issue all in one go, which takes us away from Delphi for a little bit too long. Each diversion would have balanced out a little better with some distance between them.
Both are basically comedy bits designed to set up a lot of details for forthcoming stories without it feeling too heavy in doing so.
Now, comics don’t have to worry about not using actors they’re paying for, but with a large cast, you can see why Roberts would find this approach appealing, especially in these early still establishing things days. So, cutting back to some scenes on the Lost Light, just as with last issue, makes perfect sense, even if you’d have to reach to find any link between them and the main story beyond perhaps some irony on the difference between Ultra Magnus’ idealised Autobot and what Pharma has become.
But what usually happens with subplots on TV is they’ll be spread out across the episode, Roberts just dumps his here in the middle of the issue all in one go, which takes us away from Delphi for a little bit too long. Each diversion would have balanced out a little better with some distance between them.
Both are basically comedy bits designed to set up a lot of details for forthcoming stories without it feeling too heavy in doing so.
The first is a follow up from last issue that I’d actually forgotten about (which is nice as it means my failing brain will let me still have some surprises as we go along), with Tailgate formally wanting to be an Autobot. Something Duly Imported Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord (it’s wonderful how this is an exceedingly long sign on his desk) Ultra Magnus is understandably doubtful of after his previous desire to be a Decepticon.
But he’s impressed by Tailgate’s Autopedia page and his in-person boasting of things like advising Nova Prime to expand to space; being a champion kickboxer; coordinating the search for Luna-One and studying metaphysics under Omega Supreme.
Roberts is smart here, having the things Tailgate actually says he’s done sound reasonably plausible, but having the Wiki ones clearly made up by someone, probably Tailgate himself editing his own page. Planting a seed for the future, but still giving credibility his backstory.
Magnus therefore agrees to talk him through all 2000 pages of the Autobot code, with a nice us of repeated panels as the enforcer goes on at length about what makes the perfect Autobot whilst Tailgate can only repeat “2000 pages” in shocked horror.
Still, Magnus insists that it will absolutely be this word he can’t quite say without help… fun.
The man needs therapy, but in our C plot, Rung is already busy talking to Red Alert.
But he’s impressed by Tailgate’s Autopedia page and his in-person boasting of things like advising Nova Prime to expand to space; being a champion kickboxer; coordinating the search for Luna-One and studying metaphysics under Omega Supreme.
Roberts is smart here, having the things Tailgate actually says he’s done sound reasonably plausible, but having the Wiki ones clearly made up by someone, probably Tailgate himself editing his own page. Planting a seed for the future, but still giving credibility his backstory.
Magnus therefore agrees to talk him through all 2000 pages of the Autobot code, with a nice us of repeated panels as the enforcer goes on at length about what makes the perfect Autobot whilst Tailgate can only repeat “2000 pages” in shocked horror.
Still, Magnus insists that it will absolutely be this word he can’t quite say without help… fun.
The man needs therapy, but in our C plot, Rung is already busy talking to Red Alert.
From the recap of their patient/doctor history, Red Alert has been under him since before the war, they’ve had over 332 sessions (the ones mentioned all being key Marvel UK issue numbers), where it took till the 288th to even get his real name out of him.
The humour here is to again disguise the dropping of some important lore, in particular to set up the coming Orion Pax story, with them having first met by Sherma Bridge and Red Alert’s issues having come from things he had done when working for something called “The Institute.”
It’s ironic, and a sign of how fast things can move in comics, that the last issue had a flashback to what Roberts originally planned to Zeta Prime, whilst here he puts the pieces in place for a story that wasn’t even part of the original plan when he wrote issue 1 that will work round some of the changes wrought by Autocracy.
It’s also about showing Rung at work in preparation for the next issue and, more prosaically, establishing the layout and geography of his office now he’s properly moved in. With how everything is placed in relation to the windows soon to be very important.
In the now, Rung is worried that Red Alert is relapsing as he talks about all the things his special hearing can make out (including Skids asking Brainstorm about music and Rewind worrying where those giant CDs have gone, again with the foreshadowing), but more importantly, he can hear the mysterious noise coming from a crack in the floor of the room the Sparkeater was locked in.
The humour here is to again disguise the dropping of some important lore, in particular to set up the coming Orion Pax story, with them having first met by Sherma Bridge and Red Alert’s issues having come from things he had done when working for something called “The Institute.”
It’s ironic, and a sign of how fast things can move in comics, that the last issue had a flashback to what Roberts originally planned to Zeta Prime, whilst here he puts the pieces in place for a story that wasn’t even part of the original plan when he wrote issue 1 that will work round some of the changes wrought by Autocracy.
It’s also about showing Rung at work in preparation for the next issue and, more prosaically, establishing the layout and geography of his office now he’s properly moved in. With how everything is placed in relation to the windows soon to be very important.
In the now, Rung is worried that Red Alert is relapsing as he talks about all the things his special hearing can make out (including Skids asking Brainstorm about music and Rewind worrying where those giant CDs have gone, again with the foreshadowing), but more importantly, he can hear the mysterious noise coming from a crack in the floor of the room the Sparkeater was locked in.
Which makes Rung worry as he has to point out there’s nothing actually under that deck of the Lost Light, it’s the bottom level of the ship.
Red Alert does have an ace up his sleeve though, a recording of the noise, which Rung realises is a voice, slowed down. And when sped up, it’s someone saying “Me kill, me kill, me kill…” over and over.
Which is of course, Roberts taking advantage of the fact that the original cartoon is so buried into the minds of fans that, even though the IDW version hasn’t spoken like this except as an interrupted gag, everyone reading would assume this meant Grimlock. A sneaky trick that worked.
Back at the Tailgate and Magnus session, the little wannabe Autobot has so gone out of his mind from the long hours of clause and subclauses that he winds up tormenting the actual Autobot over first graffiti (“Ultra Magnus is an OCD control freak who uses learning to hurt people”) and then dust on his desk.
His ears do perk up at the idea there’s a section 19, paragraph 80, sub clause 4 of the Tyrest accord because of what the 1984 bots said (“1984”, if you’ve forgotten), but Magnus assures him this was something now abandoned because the threat it was anticipating never happened: Thought warfare.
Red Alert does have an ace up his sleeve though, a recording of the noise, which Rung realises is a voice, slowed down. And when sped up, it’s someone saying “Me kill, me kill, me kill…” over and over.
Which is of course, Roberts taking advantage of the fact that the original cartoon is so buried into the minds of fans that, even though the IDW version hasn’t spoken like this except as an interrupted gag, everyone reading would assume this meant Grimlock. A sneaky trick that worked.
Back at the Tailgate and Magnus session, the little wannabe Autobot has so gone out of his mind from the long hours of clause and subclauses that he winds up tormenting the actual Autobot over first graffiti (“Ultra Magnus is an OCD control freak who uses learning to hurt people”) and then dust on his desk.
His ears do perk up at the idea there’s a section 19, paragraph 80, sub clause 4 of the Tyrest accord because of what the 1984 bots said (“1984”, if you’ve forgotten), but Magnus assures him this was something now abandoned because the threat it was anticipating never happened: Thought warfare.
This last page at least should at least have been later in the issue because it does create an odd timing issue of, because Magnus has been talking long enough to bore Tailgate (and because there’s no indication scenes are happening out of sequence), that it must have taken quite a long time for Ratchet to climb up a ladder after Pharma. Something Pharma himself lampshades as he cheerfully says he was only going to wait for Ratchet to catch up to him for another couple of minutes before having to make his dramatic escape without witnesses.
Because it turns out Pharma is indeed a gloriously full-on panto villain, desperate for attention. Which is why he takes great delight in telling his “Friend” he’s crying, letting Ratchet have the lovely, gross, line “I wondered why I could taste the back of my eyes in my mouth.”
Despite Ratchet succumbing, Pharma still wants to gloat and explain his evil plot. And with Ratchet himself very much in the Animated/Prime style, it’s very easy to hear his evil counterpart as Jeffrey Combs in full on Dr. West mode.
He asks if Ratchet has ever wondered why the DJD have left this vulnerable medical facility on their doorstep alone, to which Ratchet has, but also whilst wondering how to beat the smug smile off Pharma’s face.
It turns out, the as yet unnamed leader of the DJD (though we do see his big, intimidating shadow in the flashback montage, giving us our first glimpse of a character design that will spawn a lot of theories), is addicted to transforming. So much, he burns through transformation cogs at an insane level. So, Pharma provides him with new ones. At first from patients that were going to die anyway, then from borderline cases he may have helped along and then full on would have recovered fine patients if he hadn’t done the Cybertronian equivalent of smothering them with a pillow.
Because it turns out Pharma is indeed a gloriously full-on panto villain, desperate for attention. Which is why he takes great delight in telling his “Friend” he’s crying, letting Ratchet have the lovely, gross, line “I wondered why I could taste the back of my eyes in my mouth.”
Despite Ratchet succumbing, Pharma still wants to gloat and explain his evil plot. And with Ratchet himself very much in the Animated/Prime style, it’s very easy to hear his evil counterpart as Jeffrey Combs in full on Dr. West mode.
He asks if Ratchet has ever wondered why the DJD have left this vulnerable medical facility on their doorstep alone, to which Ratchet has, but also whilst wondering how to beat the smug smile off Pharma’s face.
It turns out, the as yet unnamed leader of the DJD (though we do see his big, intimidating shadow in the flashback montage, giving us our first glimpse of a character design that will spawn a lot of theories), is addicted to transforming. So much, he burns through transformation cogs at an insane level. So, Pharma provides him with new ones. At first from patients that were going to die anyway, then from borderline cases he may have helped along and then full on would have recovered fine patients if he hadn’t done the Cybertronian equivalent of smothering them with a pillow.
Effectively, Roberts has created the Transformers Harold Shipman here. There’s potentially a more serious story about what drives some medical people to kill their patients, but the focus with Pharma is very much on that camp villainy first and foremost, so what actually would drive him to do something like this when he didn’t really have to (as Ratchet points out, he could have just closed Delphi and moved) will never really be addressed.
It's also amusing to have the leader of the DJD described as “Addicted to transforming”, because I didn’t remember this really every coming up when we see him, but, as people on Twitter pointed out, this basically manifests itself as him transforming slightly more than is usual for a character in a James Roberts comic.
With demand starting to outstrip supply, Pharma decided the way out is to get rid of Delphi in a way that won’t bring in suspicion to him… So he pays the duo combiners Sonic and Boom (with a nice detail that there’s no amount of money that’d be enough to make them use their skills on the DJD) to “surrender”, and, when in their cells, to turn into a sonic bomb that, because Transformers are vulnerable to frequencies at the right volume, effectively released a sound virus into the base that everyone except the conveniently in soundproof quarantine Pharma was exposed to.
But the far too smart for his own good Ratchet arriving ruined all this, meaning he had to ask Sonic and Boom to kill everyone. Which Ratchet should take as a compliment.
Ratchet correctly points out that Pharma’s plan was nonsense and full of holes, but that doesn’t matter, because his inability to avoid playing to the cheap seats has given Ratchet time to fight back.
It's also amusing to have the leader of the DJD described as “Addicted to transforming”, because I didn’t remember this really every coming up when we see him, but, as people on Twitter pointed out, this basically manifests itself as him transforming slightly more than is usual for a character in a James Roberts comic.
With demand starting to outstrip supply, Pharma decided the way out is to get rid of Delphi in a way that won’t bring in suspicion to him… So he pays the duo combiners Sonic and Boom (with a nice detail that there’s no amount of money that’d be enough to make them use their skills on the DJD) to “surrender”, and, when in their cells, to turn into a sonic bomb that, because Transformers are vulnerable to frequencies at the right volume, effectively released a sound virus into the base that everyone except the conveniently in soundproof quarantine Pharma was exposed to.
But the far too smart for his own good Ratchet arriving ruined all this, meaning he had to ask Sonic and Boom to kill everyone. Which Ratchet should take as a compliment.
Ratchet correctly points out that Pharma’s plan was nonsense and full of holes, but that doesn’t matter, because his inability to avoid playing to the cheap seats has given Ratchet time to fight back.
Because Pharma is now standing in the rust that has leaked out from Ratchet’s feet.
Of course, if Pharma wasn’t actually infected until now, he could have transformed when Ratchet asked him too earlier. But we’ve already seen, logical thinking can be a struggle for him.
This gives us a great panel of Ratchet delivering an uppercut blow and grabbing Pharma’s gun, and, when Pharma points out that he’ll just take the vaccine he’s designed for his virus, Ratchet has to actually spell out that was what he’s counting on.
But Pharma retaliates by saying Ratchet would never be able to shoot an unarmed combatant… But it actually turns out his hands are so gone he can’t pull the trigger. Letting Pharma regain the upper hand (a-ha) with his very Armada Starscream shoulder canons, making sure to put the boot in as he leaves that Ratchet was never that good a doctor anyway.
What a bitch.
Ratchet has one more trick up his sleeve though (see, I’m good for hand jokes), his holo-avatar is waiting for Pharma on the roof. Complete with an explanation as to why no one uses them anymore (too power consumptive and they never looked very realistic) that’s quite funny in retrospect considering Roberts will react to the positive response to this callback by making the avatars a key part of the series going forward.
Which provides a chance for Ratchet to jump the distracted Pharma, creating fight that seems to chuck the antidote off the edge of the room and, after he inadvertently pulls one of Ratchet’s rotting arms off and falls backwards with it, leaves Pharma hanging by his hands over a very big drop.
Of course, if Pharma wasn’t actually infected until now, he could have transformed when Ratchet asked him too earlier. But we’ve already seen, logical thinking can be a struggle for him.
This gives us a great panel of Ratchet delivering an uppercut blow and grabbing Pharma’s gun, and, when Pharma points out that he’ll just take the vaccine he’s designed for his virus, Ratchet has to actually spell out that was what he’s counting on.
But Pharma retaliates by saying Ratchet would never be able to shoot an unarmed combatant… But it actually turns out his hands are so gone he can’t pull the trigger. Letting Pharma regain the upper hand (a-ha) with his very Armada Starscream shoulder canons, making sure to put the boot in as he leaves that Ratchet was never that good a doctor anyway.
What a bitch.
Ratchet has one more trick up his sleeve though (see, I’m good for hand jokes), his holo-avatar is waiting for Pharma on the roof. Complete with an explanation as to why no one uses them anymore (too power consumptive and they never looked very realistic) that’s quite funny in retrospect considering Roberts will react to the positive response to this callback by making the avatars a key part of the series going forward.
Which provides a chance for Ratchet to jump the distracted Pharma, creating fight that seems to chuck the antidote off the edge of the room and, after he inadvertently pulls one of Ratchet’s rotting arms off and falls backwards with it, leaves Pharma hanging by his hands over a very big drop.
Making Ratchet give his “Friend” (who he regards now as having died a long time ago) a choice. Fall and maybe survive the impact, or transform to fly off, terminally infected.
As Ratchet turns to leave, Pharma goes for option C: Shoot Ratchet in the back with his shoulder canons, but, in a nice payoff reminiscent of Duggan in City of Death saving the day with a punch after being repeatedly told not to keep punching things, Drift dives in and chops his arms off, leaving them dangling as Pharma falls.
Which is again another moment where the fan reaction would see the plan for these two characters change from what was intended. Especially when Ratchet very quietly goes “Drift…” afterwards.
Following a time-skip (where at least one of the subplot scenes should have gone), we get a coda page where everyone is indeed going to recover, because Ratchet’s holoavatar caught the vaccine as it fell.
There’s also a slightly awkward attempt to explain why they don’t go check if Pharma is dead by saying they were too busy saving everyone, but, considering he’s not a doctor, I’m not sure why thy didn’t just send Fort Max out the front door to check if there was a body in the snow.
And, as everyone goes back to the Lost Light, Ratchet offers First Aid the CMO position based on how well he did on the ground and that he was obviously the one who snuck the hidden message into Wreckers Declassified because he’s not been able to stop talking like Ironfist.
As Ratchet turns to leave, Pharma goes for option C: Shoot Ratchet in the back with his shoulder canons, but, in a nice payoff reminiscent of Duggan in City of Death saving the day with a punch after being repeatedly told not to keep punching things, Drift dives in and chops his arms off, leaving them dangling as Pharma falls.
Which is again another moment where the fan reaction would see the plan for these two characters change from what was intended. Especially when Ratchet very quietly goes “Drift…” afterwards.
Following a time-skip (where at least one of the subplot scenes should have gone), we get a coda page where everyone is indeed going to recover, because Ratchet’s holoavatar caught the vaccine as it fell.
There’s also a slightly awkward attempt to explain why they don’t go check if Pharma is dead by saying they were too busy saving everyone, but, considering he’s not a doctor, I’m not sure why thy didn’t just send Fort Max out the front door to check if there was a body in the snow.
And, as everyone goes back to the Lost Light, Ratchet offers First Aid the CMO position based on how well he did on the ground and that he was obviously the one who snuck the hidden message into Wreckers Declassified because he’s not been able to stop talking like Ironfist.
Leading a slightly odd beat of them talking about they both think about how they’d have been able to save Ironfist, but the issue ends of a belter of a “Wah wah wah” gag as, when Ratchet admits he will genuinely miss the great doctor Pharma was, First Aid suggests remembering him at his best, to always carry a part of Pharma with him…
Leading to the comic equivalent of a pullback (and the reveal of the title of the issue), showing Ratchet now has Pharma’s hands in place of his own, and the closing line of “Two parts of him actually.”
Despite the structure being a little off, this really is an outstanding issue that delivers a lot of setups amidst its very simple plot, but in a way that never feels like you’re being beaten over the head with it, and which is always fun.
And again, I think we forget that, because he was so active in fan fic, this is still very early days for Roberts as a professional writer, especially compared to Barber who had worked in comics, and in particular how to navigate licenced comics, for much longer. The verve and passion at this early stage makes for a much stronger comic than it has any right to be when he’s still learning on the job.
It's perhaps a shame the zombie plotline gets kind of lost here, but it’s not as if we don’t have a lot more body horror to come, and Alex Milne still gets plenty of chances to excel, clearly having an absolute blast drawing all the dramatic pointing and jumping.
All in all, good for what ails you.
Next week, we see how Prime’s cure for being left for dead goes.
AUTOCRACY ISSUE 9
2012
COMMENT
KO-FI
Leading to the comic equivalent of a pullback (and the reveal of the title of the issue), showing Ratchet now has Pharma’s hands in place of his own, and the closing line of “Two parts of him actually.”
Despite the structure being a little off, this really is an outstanding issue that delivers a lot of setups amidst its very simple plot, but in a way that never feels like you’re being beaten over the head with it, and which is always fun.
And again, I think we forget that, because he was so active in fan fic, this is still very early days for Roberts as a professional writer, especially compared to Barber who had worked in comics, and in particular how to navigate licenced comics, for much longer. The verve and passion at this early stage makes for a much stronger comic than it has any right to be when he’s still learning on the job.
It's perhaps a shame the zombie plotline gets kind of lost here, but it’s not as if we don’t have a lot more body horror to come, and Alex Milne still gets plenty of chances to excel, clearly having an absolute blast drawing all the dramatic pointing and jumping.
All in all, good for what ails you.
Next week, we see how Prime’s cure for being left for dead goes.
AUTOCRACY ISSUE 9
2012
COMMENT
KO-FI