Transformation 236: Seconds Out.

18/11/2016

This week, we have both metaphorical and literal wrestling.

And then some more wrestling.

First up, Radhandler gets in the ring with a man in green pants.

Then, Optimus must wrestle with his conscious as his troops prove they're no Hulk Hogans.

It's all in my look at issue 236!

6 Comments

Tetsuro

18/11/2016 05:36:26 pm

As a Finn, I can assure you there are enough pale redheads in Finland to not make it implausible for Snowjob to not pass off as such.

I mean, at least they're not using Iceberg instead...

Ryan F

18/11/2016 08:45:41 pm

Random fact: the "Bird Lady of Brooklyn" is, in real life, the name of a statue.

Tim Roll-Pickering link

19/11/2016 09:45:28 am

Ah Bob's final story. As we'll see he seems to be trying to get key pieces into place to make it easier for Simon to get going, but otherwise this is an odd issue to go out on. I guess he might be aiming to show how Transformers just can't easily interact with humans per the cartoon - any attempt by the Autobots to build relations will be torn down by Decepticon actions. Curiously this is exactly the theme of Simon's last regular British story. But also here there's a swipe at the latest toy gimmick, showing why it just can't work in the existing fiction. So maybe Bob is putting in more effort on his last issue than we've hitherto expected.

Deathbringer is even darker than I remember and a big rejoinder to those who claimed the comic was childish & that I was now too old to read it (at the age of 9! - was there any age when readers didn't face this?!). But it's also somewhat awkward when it's not entirely clear as to why the Matrix has recreated a euthaniser (is that the correct term) as a powerful destructive force. Yes I know this is supposed to be a prelude to a big storyline coming up, but having such a thread left unanswered for many months (even without reprints and old limited series we'd have been waiting over six months for Dark Creation to appear here) goes well beyond simple foreshadowing and into the realm of endless waiting.

Turning to Action Force, the line about Outback is sufficiently ambiguous that I think it actually means his cover is "an engineer from a refinery in an Arab country". A lot of westerners used to work in the oil industry and related technological outlets in Saudi Arabia and other countries (my late uncle was one such worker) and it's completely realistic for a refinery to have been represented by a non-Arab member of staff at the time. Today Saudisation has shifted things a lot.

This story is a curiosity as it was originally drawn by Todd McFarlane but his art was deemed unacceptable and so he was replaced by Marshall Rogers. (I guess the previous McFarlane drawn story in issues #225-#229 was commissioned too late in the day to replace but even then there was criticism of what he came up with.) Later in 1994 when Marvel US ended G.I. Joe they went out with one final Special that printed the McFarlane artwork with the same script as the Rogers issue, to capitalise on the fame McFarlane had since gained.

The letters page is becoming increasingly problematic for anyone trying to sort out continuity debates and the whole multiple futures thing is precisely the kind of matter that needs Furman himself answering the questions as otherwise we end up with numerous different takes on what is and isn't in the same timeline. And is it me or is Mountain Man the second most tampered with Combat Colin foe, frequently altered to meet the demands of the story?

Tigerbread

19/11/2016 12:01:07 pm

Bob B gets a lot of criticism for his last few stories, but in his defense he was working with Micromasters, the most useless and overrated characters to ever appear in the book. Easy to dispatch with a hand swipe and obviously not as strong as regular sized TF, despite what a certain Powermaster would claim.
On to Dread Tidings,at this point in time I actually considered offering my services as a surrogate letter answerer about the more taxing questions they received. (A job anyone could have done far better than "Dreadwind") Then I just thought sod them, Grimlock's gone and he ain't coming back.

Ralph Burns

20/11/2016 05:41:51 am

For meat the time the very dramatic Deathbringer story and concept stood out even more when a few months later the UK strip had devolved into 'hilarious' dumbed-down Earthforce bollocks. We're nearing the end of the golden age by this point.

SPECIAL TEAMS!

Ralph Burns

20/11/2016 05:42:36 am

Agh typo! 'Me' not 'meat'!

Transformation 236: Seconds Out.

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