You may Have My Number, you can Take My Name, but You’ll Never Have My Heart.
The artwork used throughout is from the Swedish translation, thanks to James on Twitter for pointing me in its direction.
Addendum 11: Bullets. September 2010.
Oh, definitely. I mean, they had a few niggles. Totally minor stuff. But, overall, they really liked it.
Though jumping back and forth through the timeline for the Wreckers extras means it’s not the first I’ve covered, the text story Bullets is the first piece of solo, professional, Transformers fiction by James Roberts. Making this trade-paperback extra unexpectedly important as his writing will go on to be the storefront for IDW’s take on the franchise, the attention-grabbing award-winning digital sales chart-topping series that, whether each individual reader thinks it’s the best of their output or not, will define it for years to come.
He also, as fine a writer as he is, doesn’t necessarily respond to commentary in the best way. Even positive thoughts, if he thinks you’re enjoying the story in the wrong way (as happened to an old Podcast Maximus he live tweeted listening whilst getting increasingly annoyed despite it being a very favourable review overall). Indeed, I know more than one person who does not refer to either him or the comic by name directly by Twitter because of some prior term searching experiences on there.
Which actually makes this a little daunting, because, without spoiling too much, I am going to be overall very positive about his writing and work. But, like poor old Ironfist, every writer has their weak-points and frankly it’ll be exhausting if that winds up getting jumped on.
All in all, a sharp contrast to Furman who, whatever you want to say about his strengths and weaknesses, cheerfully no longer gives a fuck what people think (indeed, he follows me on Twitter, but has never reacted to any of these pieces. Though he may just not understand twitter).
With all that said (and who knows, maybe he himself has chilled out as well over the years since the run ended), let’s answer the real question: How many jokes can I do about the one real role in Transformers for the Action Master Skyfall, two years before that name took on a whole other meaning?
Well, everyone needs a hobby.
Oh, definitely. I mean, they had a few niggles. Totally minor stuff. But, overall, they really liked it.
Though jumping back and forth through the timeline for the Wreckers extras means it’s not the first I’ve covered, the text story Bullets is the first piece of solo, professional, Transformers fiction by James Roberts. Making this trade-paperback extra unexpectedly important as his writing will go on to be the storefront for IDW’s take on the franchise, the attention-grabbing award-winning digital sales chart-topping series that, whether each individual reader thinks it’s the best of their output or not, will define it for years to come.
He also, as fine a writer as he is, doesn’t necessarily respond to commentary in the best way. Even positive thoughts, if he thinks you’re enjoying the story in the wrong way (as happened to an old Podcast Maximus he live tweeted listening whilst getting increasingly annoyed despite it being a very favourable review overall). Indeed, I know more than one person who does not refer to either him or the comic by name directly by Twitter because of some prior term searching experiences on there.
Which actually makes this a little daunting, because, without spoiling too much, I am going to be overall very positive about his writing and work. But, like poor old Ironfist, every writer has their weak-points and frankly it’ll be exhausting if that winds up getting jumped on.
All in all, a sharp contrast to Furman who, whatever you want to say about his strengths and weaknesses, cheerfully no longer gives a fuck what people think (indeed, he follows me on Twitter, but has never reacted to any of these pieces. Though he may just not understand twitter).
With all that said (and who knows, maybe he himself has chilled out as well over the years since the run ended), let’s answer the real question: How many jokes can I do about the one real role in Transformers for the Action Master Skyfall, two years before that name took on a whole other meaning?
Well, everyone needs a hobby.
Though this is Rung's first appearance in fiction, this illustation was done after he was designed and appeared in later stories.
Though it is amusing Ironfist’s death by a bullet slowly moving through the brain is an idea stolen from The World is not Enough.
This quite dense (and don’t forget, it was all written for free to give the trade extra value) short story is basically split into three threads it cuts between.
The first is lore building, for things that, though More Than Meets the Eye was still over a year away when this was first published, shows conversations about what Roberts might do next were already happening and ideas fermenting, meaning we get a lot of things that will get built up and become very important.
How much of this is intentional foreshadowing and how much was meant to be a one-off gag that then grew is hard to tell, but it includes:
First Aid—a doctor posted to Delphi with chief medic Pharma and “skinny limbed” Ambulon—is thought to be eccentric because he keeps investigating Autobot badges.
Rung is a very old psychiatrist with model ships.
The Decepticon Justice Division (only mentioned by name in issue 1) are the guys who hunt down and kill traitors to the Decpticon cause.
One of the DJD, Agent 113, is an Autobot mole who leaves messages for the Wreckers on an encoded bullet that he fires into an Autobot’s badge, to be later dug out by medics Springer has recruited.
Brainstorm has a mysterious briefcase.
Kimia is a super weapons research facility that is also very leaky when it comes to Decepticon infiltration.
There are a few things that don’t quite fit—The DJD being a larger police force style group rather than just five guys; Trailbreaker as a senior authority figure and Bluestreak as Rung’s most long-standing patient (something that will later be more Red Alert’s thing)—but how much is sown that actually gets reaped later is incredibly impressive.
The second major thread is about the mystery of the Shimmer, the mysterious green ghost that, whenever an Autobot sees it, is a portent of their death (something shown graphically by Flattop, one of Rung’s patients, who dies as Rung explains the myth isn’t real).
We see Pyro (acting like Optimus Prime, in a ham-fisted way), Rotorstorm (being a cocky so and so, and indeed talking far more like Whirl will later that he did in the main series. Interestingly considering who his abusive instructor will turn out to be) and Guzzle (who has almost found a sort of peace with himself after most of his prior team were killed by Kup) all be visited by the Shimmer.
Which turns out to have just been Springer using his hologram to come offer them Wreckers membership. Which is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, even if Flattop’s death is actually down to his prior exposure to Gideon’s Glue…
The third, and most key strand, is Ironfist. Feeling like he’s living on a knife-edge on Kimia after the aforementioned lethal Gideon’s Glue wound up inexplicably into Decepticon hands and was used against Autobots. Plus, his cerebral shells gun has been declared illegal (by a committee headed by Eremite Xaaron) and must be destroyed. Even if he “accidentally” takes the last case of ammo with him when he goes to the Wreckers.
This quite dense (and don’t forget, it was all written for free to give the trade extra value) short story is basically split into three threads it cuts between.
The first is lore building, for things that, though More Than Meets the Eye was still over a year away when this was first published, shows conversations about what Roberts might do next were already happening and ideas fermenting, meaning we get a lot of things that will get built up and become very important.
How much of this is intentional foreshadowing and how much was meant to be a one-off gag that then grew is hard to tell, but it includes:
First Aid—a doctor posted to Delphi with chief medic Pharma and “skinny limbed” Ambulon—is thought to be eccentric because he keeps investigating Autobot badges.
Rung is a very old psychiatrist with model ships.
The Decepticon Justice Division (only mentioned by name in issue 1) are the guys who hunt down and kill traitors to the Decpticon cause.
One of the DJD, Agent 113, is an Autobot mole who leaves messages for the Wreckers on an encoded bullet that he fires into an Autobot’s badge, to be later dug out by medics Springer has recruited.
Brainstorm has a mysterious briefcase.
Kimia is a super weapons research facility that is also very leaky when it comes to Decepticon infiltration.
There are a few things that don’t quite fit—The DJD being a larger police force style group rather than just five guys; Trailbreaker as a senior authority figure and Bluestreak as Rung’s most long-standing patient (something that will later be more Red Alert’s thing)—but how much is sown that actually gets reaped later is incredibly impressive.
The second major thread is about the mystery of the Shimmer, the mysterious green ghost that, whenever an Autobot sees it, is a portent of their death (something shown graphically by Flattop, one of Rung’s patients, who dies as Rung explains the myth isn’t real).
We see Pyro (acting like Optimus Prime, in a ham-fisted way), Rotorstorm (being a cocky so and so, and indeed talking far more like Whirl will later that he did in the main series. Interestingly considering who his abusive instructor will turn out to be) and Guzzle (who has almost found a sort of peace with himself after most of his prior team were killed by Kup) all be visited by the Shimmer.
Which turns out to have just been Springer using his hologram to come offer them Wreckers membership. Which is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, even if Flattop’s death is actually down to his prior exposure to Gideon’s Glue…
The third, and most key strand, is Ironfist. Feeling like he’s living on a knife-edge on Kimia after the aforementioned lethal Gideon’s Glue wound up inexplicably into Decepticon hands and was used against Autobots. Plus, his cerebral shells gun has been declared illegal (by a committee headed by Eremite Xaaron) and must be destroyed. Even if he “accidentally” takes the last case of ammo with him when he goes to the Wreckers.
Curiously, the only appearance of Ironfist in the illustrations.
Luckily, he has his really good friend Skyfall. How do you describe a man like that? Well, he’s playful with his old buddy, cheerfully telling him what everyone else doesn’t like in Fisitron’s writing (including overdoing the joke about Furmanisms being in them), “Accidentally” took credit for building Optimus Prime’s gun from Ironfist, but is always there to support and help his buddy. Even if that means pointing out things he won’t like.
Effectively, it’s a dry run for how Roberts would later write Getaway and Tailgate.
He’s even very sad when Ironfist has his brain gun accident, and supportive when he gets picked for the Wreckers (over, as it turns out, Skyfall himself, thanks to Prowl), though a little eager to get Ironfist’s office.
Then, months later (we also get a new scene just before we saw the new Wreckers in the main series of them meeting for the first time and quickly bonding over violence), as Skyfall is being harassed by a new Gideon’s Glue inquiry thanks to Flattop’s death, he receives a message from the later Ironfist, one that’s taken some time to get there. It was set to transmit upon his death…
Which he now knows was caused by Skyfall, who set up the gun to go off. Either out of jealousy, or because he’s actually a Decepticon spy who gave them Gideon’s Glue.
Skyfall is initially smug the dead fool can’t do anything now… till Ironfist mentions this is also a Fistron’s Wreckers Declassified that’s gone to all his subscribers and everyone now knows. Oh, and hey Skyfall, I did find one last vial of Gideon’s Glue he’s placed in my Wreckers memorabilia in a handy, drinkable, container.
As the knock comes on the door, and being too scared of prison, Skyfall makes his choice. He takes the bloody shot.
This section is the heart of the story, and is incredibly well done, with humour and tension and a satisfying payoff as Ironfist declares “It’s over, finished.”
The story isn’t quite perfect, you can tell it’s a first-time professional writer from how overdone the use of the “113” gag is for a start (An agent, a room, the Pova log…). There’s also an early sign of the over fetishism of continuity that will consume the Barber and Roberts eras (and lead directly to Jimmy Pink coming back for no reason) as several paragraphs are devoted to explaining Skyfall’s previous non-speaking background appearances as a Garrus-9 guard in the Furman era.
It's also perhaps a little over-stuffed, so to an extent it’s probably lucky that things like First Aid will go on to play a key role, because, in isolation, the story doesn’t really need them.
Still, it’s smart, it’s funny, it’s thoughtful, and it’s dark. That equal temper of heroic hearts may have aspects made weaker by time and fate, but we can still see how the best of his later work will be strong in will to strive, to seek, to find. And not to yield.
Bit tenuous?
Well, next week we’re back to the last two rats with Costa issue 7.
LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS ISSUE 5
2010
COMMENT
KO-FI
Effectively, it’s a dry run for how Roberts would later write Getaway and Tailgate.
He’s even very sad when Ironfist has his brain gun accident, and supportive when he gets picked for the Wreckers (over, as it turns out, Skyfall himself, thanks to Prowl), though a little eager to get Ironfist’s office.
Then, months later (we also get a new scene just before we saw the new Wreckers in the main series of them meeting for the first time and quickly bonding over violence), as Skyfall is being harassed by a new Gideon’s Glue inquiry thanks to Flattop’s death, he receives a message from the later Ironfist, one that’s taken some time to get there. It was set to transmit upon his death…
Which he now knows was caused by Skyfall, who set up the gun to go off. Either out of jealousy, or because he’s actually a Decepticon spy who gave them Gideon’s Glue.
Skyfall is initially smug the dead fool can’t do anything now… till Ironfist mentions this is also a Fistron’s Wreckers Declassified that’s gone to all his subscribers and everyone now knows. Oh, and hey Skyfall, I did find one last vial of Gideon’s Glue he’s placed in my Wreckers memorabilia in a handy, drinkable, container.
As the knock comes on the door, and being too scared of prison, Skyfall makes his choice. He takes the bloody shot.
This section is the heart of the story, and is incredibly well done, with humour and tension and a satisfying payoff as Ironfist declares “It’s over, finished.”
The story isn’t quite perfect, you can tell it’s a first-time professional writer from how overdone the use of the “113” gag is for a start (An agent, a room, the Pova log…). There’s also an early sign of the over fetishism of continuity that will consume the Barber and Roberts eras (and lead directly to Jimmy Pink coming back for no reason) as several paragraphs are devoted to explaining Skyfall’s previous non-speaking background appearances as a Garrus-9 guard in the Furman era.
It's also perhaps a little over-stuffed, so to an extent it’s probably lucky that things like First Aid will go on to play a key role, because, in isolation, the story doesn’t really need them.
Still, it’s smart, it’s funny, it’s thoughtful, and it’s dark. That equal temper of heroic hearts may have aspects made weaker by time and fate, but we can still see how the best of his later work will be strong in will to strive, to seek, to find. And not to yield.
Bit tenuous?
Well, next week we’re back to the last two rats with Costa issue 7.
LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS ISSUE 5
2010
COMMENT
KO-FI
