Transformation 98: The Literal Head of State.

27/3/2014

This week, Megatron gets to have a nice relaxed vacation- even if his host isn't greeting him with open arms- whilst Optimus Prime meets his biggest fan and a Dragon's Claws reject gets the point.

All in my look at: ...The Harder They Die!

17 Comments

Tim Roll-Pickering link

27/3/2014 01:15:37 pm

Quite a dark and focused issue that really emphasises the despair of Prime's grief and lonelieness.

And you've got it in one about the Next Issue box using the original cover. It can be see on Joepedia at: http://gijoe.wikia.com/wiki/Improvisation_on_a_Theme

I guess there's a LOT that can be said about where Marvel UK's Action Force failed to become the next Transformers and no doubt theories will fly around here over the next few years. At this point the Bitish toyline had been going for about five years and had been transformed from a spin-off of Action Man into an import of G.I. Joe in all but name. There had been a popular comic strip in IPC's "Battle" that had dominated the title and managed the toyline changeover quite well. Then at the end of 1986 IPC lost the licence and Marvel picked it up. There's more detail at http://gijoe.wikia.com/wiki/Action_Force I suspect not many of the IPC readership made it over to Marvel and the tone approach was very different, more an adventure series than a war comic, so a new readership had to be assembled almost from scratch for a longstanding toyline. And then came problems with the series itself...

Stuart

27/3/2014 01:37:10 pm

Aye, I know the basics of the Action Man/Force/Joe development, and did think of doing an Addendum covering the pre-Marvel history before next week's one, but it really would be very basic so summing it up in the main piece with a link to one of the more detailed websites will probably be my lot. It is hands down the most convoluted development of a toy franchise ever though.

SpifeLark

27/3/2014 02:43:09 pm

If I recall correctly, the blacked out words in Spitfire were "that's a plus". There was a whole extra page that was dropped that listed the minuses.

For some reason I was very taken with Spitfire and the Troubleshooters, and made the jump from UK comics to US ones just to carry on reading it. Poor old Troubleshooters didn't get a happy ending...

Stuart

27/3/2014 02:57:18 pm

That would fit the space, what a weird thing to blank out as it would have worked as a final line even with the last page. Thanks for the info!

Harry

28/3/2014 04:02:10 am

Homoerotic? Dr. Mindbender reminds me more of Tony Levin, of King Crimson fame.

Chris Chapman

28/3/2014 04:51:09 am

For my money, 'The Harder They Die' is Senior's best work on the comic (alongside 'Victory' for the Annuals) - it's a beautiful issue. I know it's not as frenetic as his Target 2006, but I like this more controlled and moody Senior.

Did he also do the first page of the next issue? It looks VERY much like his style...

Ralph Burns link

29/3/2014 07:57:00 am

Jeff Anderson drew all of next issue. I actually own the original art for the first page (Outback in vehicle mode) and it's definitely Anderson.

The foam backed badge was very exciting back in the day. I bet today's kids don't get as excited about foam backed badges, if they still get made!

Chris Chapman

29/3/2014 10:22:57 am

I'm very jealous of your original artwork!

Ralph Burns link

29/3/2014 10:56:18 am

Cost me a tenner. This was back before the live action movies and a limited amount of these takes back in the print. TF comic artwork was worth very little, usually between £10-30 a page. Pages now go for funny money. Glad I managed to get a few when they were cheap.

The opening page of art for #99 is very nice. Loads of detail that was obscured by the printing of the day.

Stuart

29/3/2014 01:03:28 pm

Well, not to show off, but my little art collection (Space Pirates, Enemy Action and More Than Meets the Eye 6):

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151706720899219&l=e8505e479c

Cost me more than a tenner each though.

chris chapman

30/3/2014 05:51:48 am

So where is the best place to spend lots of money on original TF pages these days? ME WANT.

Ralph Burns link

30/3/2014 05:54:33 am

Well when I used to buy them Ebay was the place to get them cheap. Pages still pop up there but can be pricey. Andy Wildman used to sell pages from his website. I got a couple from him there.

Other pages came direct from artists at conventions.

Nick Roche occassionally does commissions.

Ralph Burns

30/3/2014 05:56:24 am

Forgot link to Wildman's site.

http://www.andrewwildmanart.com/shop.html

chris chapman

30/3/2014 11:55:33 am

Thanks Ralph!

Stuart

30/3/2014 01:29:08 pm

Stewart Johnson was selling Marvel UK art at the AA he attended as well, some lovely B&W era stuff I wish I'd picked up now (but then, I'm running out of wall space so this might be a good thing).

I believe Geoff Senior sold on all his Marvel stuff years ago (and now regrets it) but you very infrequently see someone move a piece on.

Simon Hall

3/4/2014 11:00:49 pm

I remember this story in its attendant Collected Comics issue was my first exposure to Senior's work (I'd missed CC7 with Crisis Of Command) and I remember thinking it was such a contrast to the 'clean' linework of Kitson and Anderson that I wasn't actually sure I liked it! It was a bit like when I first laid eyes on Kev O'Neil's artwork - it seemed quite ugly and abrasive. The more I studied it, the more I appreciated the angles and dynamism in Senior's work. I love how you the pages seem alive as he's very good at conveying movement in a static art form - something very few comic book artists are actually any good at.

It really stands out against the more sunnier Earth based part of this story which helps really sell the mess Cybertron is in. This chapter also feels like a bit of a 'break' from the Prey storyline in an odd way. Despite filling in how Optimus and Megatron ended up on Cybertron it feels like a completely separate story altogether - like we've somehow missed something.

Reminds me of when Beast Wars Season 3 got released on VHS but without the opening episode 'The Optimal Situation' (I wasn't aware TRU had released this as an exclusive until reading an article in a toy magazine a few months later, by which time that ship had long since sailed) and it seemed like there was a load of stuff I'd missed between the end of Season 2 and 'Deep Metal'.

All that from just a different artist.

Stuart

4/4/2014 10:45:12 am

I had a similar "Out of Order" first exposure to part of this storyline as well, which I'll be talking about in just a short while...

Transformation 98: The Literal Head of State.

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