Romeo and Juliet, Never Hurt This Much I Bet.
Issue 62: Devastation Derby! Part 2. 17th May 1986.
Get your paws away from him bucket head! Can't you see he's sick!
Right off the bat this week we get a good clear sign that the creative team aren't as invested as they might normally be, because as you can see above the title is missing the part number (despite last week having one. Though amusingly those of you who saw that page before I edited it will know I still got it wrong). It's a tiny, tiddly detail that is the sort of thing that's very easy to overlook, but equally this is a comic that usually thrives on getting the tiny tiddly details right.
The slightly disjointed feeling from last week continues as Furman cheerfully treads water until he can get to the appointed time for the start of the toy tie-in proper. The opening of two kids peeping over the fence of the derby for a cheap look-see, only to get nearly swatted by a thrown car is actually a rather sweet little sequence, but still shows up the amount of padding we're going to get as it has nothing to do with the rest of the story but still fills up a page.
The continuing fight against Devastator that follows is also rather lacklustre in execution. Most notably I have absolutely no idea what the hell Smokescreen does as a "Diversion" that makes Devastator fall over. He drives round him a bit? Runs into his leg? So amazes the combiner with his (false) claim he's carrying Buster old Green needs to sit down for a bit? Considering Will Simpson normally has no problem at all with visual storytelling it once again feels like something done in a rush.
There are a couple of nice bits in this sequence however. First is Brawn (yay!) getting frustrated as his attempts to find Buster falter because all the humans are panicking at the sight of him. Though that's kind of understandable considering his past form on the whole horribly painful human murder thing. It's a fun couple of panels that deserves to be in a better story, as indeed it will do when Furman does something similar in Wrecking Havoc two years from now.
Get your paws away from him bucket head! Can't you see he's sick!
Right off the bat this week we get a good clear sign that the creative team aren't as invested as they might normally be, because as you can see above the title is missing the part number (despite last week having one. Though amusingly those of you who saw that page before I edited it will know I still got it wrong). It's a tiny, tiddly detail that is the sort of thing that's very easy to overlook, but equally this is a comic that usually thrives on getting the tiny tiddly details right.
The slightly disjointed feeling from last week continues as Furman cheerfully treads water until he can get to the appointed time for the start of the toy tie-in proper. The opening of two kids peeping over the fence of the derby for a cheap look-see, only to get nearly swatted by a thrown car is actually a rather sweet little sequence, but still shows up the amount of padding we're going to get as it has nothing to do with the rest of the story but still fills up a page.
The continuing fight against Devastator that follows is also rather lacklustre in execution. Most notably I have absolutely no idea what the hell Smokescreen does as a "Diversion" that makes Devastator fall over. He drives round him a bit? Runs into his leg? So amazes the combiner with his (false) claim he's carrying Buster old Green needs to sit down for a bit? Considering Will Simpson normally has no problem at all with visual storytelling it once again feels like something done in a rush.
There are a couple of nice bits in this sequence however. First is Brawn (yay!) getting frustrated as his attempts to find Buster falter because all the humans are panicking at the sight of him. Though that's kind of understandable considering his past form on the whole horribly painful human murder thing. It's a fun couple of panels that deserves to be in a better story, as indeed it will do when Furman does something similar in Wrecking Havoc two years from now.
Don't run! I only ever killed one human!
The other good bit, is when Ironhide's plan to take down Devastator goes tits up because Smokescreen decides getting to Buster is more important that following orders (and yet again, this is something that the next Christmas story will present as un-Autobot behaviour in Jetfire). The result being Ironhide getting a giant fist in the face. To then add to the good day Smokescreen is having, if Soundwave hadn't noticed Brawn was sneaking up behind him having the rally car shout this out really loudly certainly would have tipped him off.
Both the cover (which amazingly, considering her few appearances, is one of two she'll get during the run. Compared to none for G.B. Blackrock) and the Transformation page make a big deal of Jessie's presence, making it seem as if the centrepiece of the issue is going to be a confrontation between her and Soundwave over her one true love. This is slightly right as she is present as Soundwave moves in on Buster, but her attempt at heroic banter makes the scene between Megatron and Carly in Dark of the Moon seem like Die Hard in comparison. Soundwave also has no time for her whatsoever, and she's completely irrelevant to the resolution of the story. It could have been Sparkplug, or O, or Buster's beloved pet walrus for all the impact she has.
However, once again, Soundwave saves the day with the best sequence of the issue as his mind reading skills (one of those things that only the UK comic would remember) tell him... Something and he calls of the entire attack, politely apologising to the Autobots over the whole misunderstanding and sheepishly leaving (though he can't hold off on one last melodramatic threat for the future). It's both hilarious and genuinely intriguing as the question is raised: What's in Buster's head that could possibly be that interesting?
Both the cover (which amazingly, considering her few appearances, is one of two she'll get during the run. Compared to none for G.B. Blackrock) and the Transformation page make a big deal of Jessie's presence, making it seem as if the centrepiece of the issue is going to be a confrontation between her and Soundwave over her one true love. This is slightly right as she is present as Soundwave moves in on Buster, but her attempt at heroic banter makes the scene between Megatron and Carly in Dark of the Moon seem like Die Hard in comparison. Soundwave also has no time for her whatsoever, and she's completely irrelevant to the resolution of the story. It could have been Sparkplug, or O, or Buster's beloved pet walrus for all the impact she has.
However, once again, Soundwave saves the day with the best sequence of the issue as his mind reading skills (one of those things that only the UK comic would remember) tell him... Something and he calls of the entire attack, politely apologising to the Autobots over the whole misunderstanding and sheepishly leaving (though he can't hold off on one last melodramatic threat for the future). It's both hilarious and genuinely intriguing as the question is raised: What's in Buster's head that could possibly be that interesting?
My bad.
Meanwhile, the Autobots go back to the Ark with Buster and Sparkplug. This week Sparkplug is *Rolls Dice* hating all Autobots and so has to be tricked into getting into Ratchet and bitches and moans all the way back to base about how his son needs a proper doctor, despite the fact even Jessie can see not many proper doctor's can cure a SPACE breakdown. What a contrary fellow he is.
We're back to the good stuff on the last page though, as we get a fantastic stand-off between the two 'Waves back at the (still not firmly located) Decepticon base. Soundwave calmly faces down the barrel of Shockwave's gun arm as he explains why his disobeyed orders and let the Autobots take the boy. It shows him to be as cool as a cucumber, and Shockwave's visible anger is yet another sign he's fraying at the edges.
The big thing though, is what Soundwave saw in Buster's mind. A VISION OF THE FUTURE OF THE TRANSFORMERS RACE. Blimey, sounds exciting, right? Time will tell.
There's probably about four pages at most here that are really essential to the plot (Soundwave reading Buster; the Autobots taking him to the Ark and Soundwave reporting to Shockwave), the rest is all over the place and just adds more to the feeling of a storyline in need of a damn good pruning.
Over on Soundwaves we get a small piece of continuity repair work as Edz H (the future Steps singer?) of Aberdeen asks about Red Alert having been in Enemy Within! Soundwave clarifies that everyone's third favourite Autobot security chief was badly damaged by the end of issue 8 and is still off-line. Of course, this doesn't quite gel with the idea there was only one Autobot Ratchet couldn't repair, but I suppose they never absolutely said it was Sunstreaker.
We're back to the good stuff on the last page though, as we get a fantastic stand-off between the two 'Waves back at the (still not firmly located) Decepticon base. Soundwave calmly faces down the barrel of Shockwave's gun arm as he explains why his disobeyed orders and let the Autobots take the boy. It shows him to be as cool as a cucumber, and Shockwave's visible anger is yet another sign he's fraying at the edges.
The big thing though, is what Soundwave saw in Buster's mind. A VISION OF THE FUTURE OF THE TRANSFORMERS RACE. Blimey, sounds exciting, right? Time will tell.
There's probably about four pages at most here that are really essential to the plot (Soundwave reading Buster; the Autobots taking him to the Ark and Soundwave reporting to Shockwave), the rest is all over the place and just adds more to the feeling of a storyline in need of a damn good pruning.
Over on Soundwaves we get a small piece of continuity repair work as Edz H (the future Steps singer?) of Aberdeen asks about Red Alert having been in Enemy Within! Soundwave clarifies that everyone's third favourite Autobot security chief was badly damaged by the end of issue 8 and is still off-line. Of course, this doesn't quite gel with the idea there was only one Autobot Ratchet couldn't repair, but I suppose they never absolutely said it was Sunstreaker.
I have no idea what The Get Along Gang was.
We also get a "Books From Marvel" advert pushing not only the first Complete Works book (which, like the specials I'll cover come the end of 1986) but two other, presumably also annual format, tones devoted to Care Bares and the Get Along Gang. Interestingly (or not as the case may be) these are presented as "Best of" collections rather than an attempt to reprint each series in their entirety. They also have Marvel Treasury branding which the Transformers book doesn't.
Rocket Raccoon enters the third issue of his mini-series and once again his ship's name has changed to the Rakk'N'Ruin. Though as it's destroyed here this will be the last time this poses a problem.
Meanwhile Biggles’ 1896 friend has to dress as a nun with hilarious consequences. And yes, the story continues on for yet another week, for those looking, the strip itself is in the COMMENTS link, I thought the book ad would be more interesting to non-Biggles obsessed people.
As a sign of the BIG THINGS to come the NEXT WEEK promo takes up a full page, and a sign of how well those things will be pulled off we get an advance look at one of the most horrid covers of the entire run (though this does mean no Matt and the Cat, huzzah!). We're promised this will be the Transformers event of the year. That's a year with the return to Cybertron; Target: 2006 and a certain theatrical film all vying for that honour. This must be a pretty amazing story, right? Come back next week to find out.
Rocket Raccoon enters the third issue of his mini-series and once again his ship's name has changed to the Rakk'N'Ruin. Though as it's destroyed here this will be the last time this poses a problem.
Meanwhile Biggles’ 1896 friend has to dress as a nun with hilarious consequences. And yes, the story continues on for yet another week, for those looking, the strip itself is in the COMMENTS link, I thought the book ad would be more interesting to non-Biggles obsessed people.
As a sign of the BIG THINGS to come the NEXT WEEK promo takes up a full page, and a sign of how well those things will be pulled off we get an advance look at one of the most horrid covers of the entire run (though this does mean no Matt and the Cat, huzzah!). We're promised this will be the Transformers event of the year. That's a year with the return to Cybertron; Target: 2006 and a certain theatrical film all vying for that honour. This must be a pretty amazing story, right? Come back next week to find out.
