It's Been a Long Hot Summer and It's 95 Degrees in the Shade.
Issue 8: Scorpion Sting/Movie Prequel Part 8/Beast Wars: The Gathering Part 8. 31st January 2008.
I guess that’ll do.
Well, it’s certainly been an exciting week in the world of Transformers.
To sum it up simply, the “Valentine’s Day Special” for the Earth Wars game, written by Furman, reopened some old wounds by being a protracted gag where the female human sidekick to the Autobots wrote a fanfic about Prowl and Drift loving each other, whilst the “Real” Transformers totally and firmly said outright they Do Not Have Relationships (You can see a couple of screengrabs HERE, annoyingly I couldn't find the tweet with more extensive screengrabs in I saw earlier).
Which annoyed and upset a lot of fans, especially in conjunction with his previous and wonky attitudes to gender amongst the Cybertronians.
I wasn’t originally going to mention this. Partly because I don’t play Earth Wars or really understand the type of game it is, so I wasn’t sure I was able to talk about the wider content (though absolutely no one involved with or who plays has said that part was a misreading, Furman himself has only talked about how it was most firmly not a dig at James Roberts. And I can believe that not being the intent, even with how it reads, as they are good real-life friends and I’ve seen Furman be complimentary about More Than Meets the Eye in situations where he had no reason to bring it up).
But mainly because I don’t think the world needs another straight white guy’s take on this, when the LGBT part of the fan community has done such a good job of talking about why this has upset them.
However, 50% of my readership (one person. The previously mentioned President of the Rose Tico Fanclub, who has ruined my joke about them by changing their screen name to Bumblebee Stan #1) did say that, as someone who has written so much about Furman’s work, I should at least touch on it.
So, very quickly, and with the above provisos, I certainly don’t personally think Furman is a Matt Moylan foaming at the mouth bigot. And we’ll see again in the following weeks his human female characters can be pretty solid (as can his Arcee when writing under tighter editorial constraints on a toy promotion book that requires him to treat her as a character rather than a soap box for his ideas).
The issue is, if anything, a more insidious one, a writer who has become far too stuck in outdated ideas and is far too keen to double down on them rather than listen to people who are either more up to date or are actually living those lives for real and do know a lot better. That “He” is not a gender neutral pronoun, that love is not related to reproduction, non-binary people are not a weird alien sf idea and so on.
By itself of course, the Earth Wars situation might not seem very much, but as an alienation of younger fans that don’t have a pre-established love for his writing, it concludes a process that really started with his very public argument with Mairghread Scott over her pointing out his female Transformers weren’t great and left no wriggle room for him perhaps regretting some of his previous choices.
I have never seen a guest announcement for TFNation be treated with disappointment before as happened with Furman in the aftermath, and it’s a great shame his handling of these situations has now made some people feel uncomfortable in his presence.
It feels rather like the Terrance Dicks factor. Dicks is a vitally important part of the history of Doctor Who and responsible for the literacy of a generation of British kids. Everyone who has ever worked with him loved him.
But equally, he’s a self-confessed sexist who filled his 90’s Doctor Who novels with rape, the threat of rape and SF analogies for rape. He’d gone long past the point he should have either retired, or been more firmly roped in by editorial (and his last couple of short Who novels, aimed at young fans of the new series, were a far better send-off for a firmer hand on that side), and certainly would not have been a sensible person to give any relaunch of the series to, however much fans who grew up with Pertwee would insist otherwise.
Though Earth Wars is rather a cul-de-sac (you never hear anyone mention it except when Furman has written something contentious for it), it’s a pity Furman has wound up in a place where he’s successfully alienated an entire generation of fans through entirely his own fault.
Which, and this is irrelevant to the real issues and just a personal and ridiculous bit of ego, makes me worry what writing so much about these comics makes me look like, even though I’ve called out these problems in the few times they’ve seeped in during the original run.
It also makes me wonder who’s still going to be reading this, but hey ho...
I guess that’ll do.
Well, it’s certainly been an exciting week in the world of Transformers.
To sum it up simply, the “Valentine’s Day Special” for the Earth Wars game, written by Furman, reopened some old wounds by being a protracted gag where the female human sidekick to the Autobots wrote a fanfic about Prowl and Drift loving each other, whilst the “Real” Transformers totally and firmly said outright they Do Not Have Relationships (You can see a couple of screengrabs HERE, annoyingly I couldn't find the tweet with more extensive screengrabs in I saw earlier).
Which annoyed and upset a lot of fans, especially in conjunction with his previous and wonky attitudes to gender amongst the Cybertronians.
I wasn’t originally going to mention this. Partly because I don’t play Earth Wars or really understand the type of game it is, so I wasn’t sure I was able to talk about the wider content (though absolutely no one involved with or who plays has said that part was a misreading, Furman himself has only talked about how it was most firmly not a dig at James Roberts. And I can believe that not being the intent, even with how it reads, as they are good real-life friends and I’ve seen Furman be complimentary about More Than Meets the Eye in situations where he had no reason to bring it up).
But mainly because I don’t think the world needs another straight white guy’s take on this, when the LGBT part of the fan community has done such a good job of talking about why this has upset them.
However, 50% of my readership (one person. The previously mentioned President of the Rose Tico Fanclub, who has ruined my joke about them by changing their screen name to Bumblebee Stan #1) did say that, as someone who has written so much about Furman’s work, I should at least touch on it.
So, very quickly, and with the above provisos, I certainly don’t personally think Furman is a Matt Moylan foaming at the mouth bigot. And we’ll see again in the following weeks his human female characters can be pretty solid (as can his Arcee when writing under tighter editorial constraints on a toy promotion book that requires him to treat her as a character rather than a soap box for his ideas).
The issue is, if anything, a more insidious one, a writer who has become far too stuck in outdated ideas and is far too keen to double down on them rather than listen to people who are either more up to date or are actually living those lives for real and do know a lot better. That “He” is not a gender neutral pronoun, that love is not related to reproduction, non-binary people are not a weird alien sf idea and so on.
By itself of course, the Earth Wars situation might not seem very much, but as an alienation of younger fans that don’t have a pre-established love for his writing, it concludes a process that really started with his very public argument with Mairghread Scott over her pointing out his female Transformers weren’t great and left no wriggle room for him perhaps regretting some of his previous choices.
I have never seen a guest announcement for TFNation be treated with disappointment before as happened with Furman in the aftermath, and it’s a great shame his handling of these situations has now made some people feel uncomfortable in his presence.
It feels rather like the Terrance Dicks factor. Dicks is a vitally important part of the history of Doctor Who and responsible for the literacy of a generation of British kids. Everyone who has ever worked with him loved him.
But equally, he’s a self-confessed sexist who filled his 90’s Doctor Who novels with rape, the threat of rape and SF analogies for rape. He’d gone long past the point he should have either retired, or been more firmly roped in by editorial (and his last couple of short Who novels, aimed at young fans of the new series, were a far better send-off for a firmer hand on that side), and certainly would not have been a sensible person to give any relaunch of the series to, however much fans who grew up with Pertwee would insist otherwise.
Though Earth Wars is rather a cul-de-sac (you never hear anyone mention it except when Furman has written something contentious for it), it’s a pity Furman has wound up in a place where he’s successfully alienated an entire generation of fans through entirely his own fault.
Which, and this is irrelevant to the real issues and just a personal and ridiculous bit of ego, makes me worry what writing so much about these comics makes me look like, even though I’ve called out these problems in the few times they’ve seeped in during the original run.
It also makes me wonder who’s still going to be reading this, but hey ho...
Back in 2008... and for the full irony, the actual subject of this piece was published at the end January, right before IDW’s Spotlight Arcee became the first modern cementing of all the above problems. Though as there’s no female characters at all in it (despite a good chunk of humans), we can at least avoid the Ironhide in the room for the rest of the piece.
This continues the attempt to do slight follow ups and not to be contradicted by the sequels to the film. Here, Ironhide and a team of soldiers (not including Lennox, who is “Reassigned”, his presence would have actually fitted in fine with his Revenge of the Fallen role) go after the lose end of Scorponok, only for Scorponok to use his parasitic powers to latch onto the Autobot and control him into fighting the humans. Despite Ironhide being immune to the sabot rounds that were so effective in the film, they finally separate the two and totally kill Scorponok forever and ever, honest.
In terms of writing, there’s only one or two areas of interest here. The first is what is by itself quite a nice deft touch—the soldiers firmly think of Scorponok as an “It”, because the idea of living robots is still a strange one to them—but which now shows up part of the wider problem as Ironhide is all “He” this and “Him” that. Though perhaps that’s unfair as the comic will never touch on Furman’s gender agenda, so the use of gendered pronouns for them is not in itself a strange thing.
This continues the attempt to do slight follow ups and not to be contradicted by the sequels to the film. Here, Ironhide and a team of soldiers (not including Lennox, who is “Reassigned”, his presence would have actually fitted in fine with his Revenge of the Fallen role) go after the lose end of Scorponok, only for Scorponok to use his parasitic powers to latch onto the Autobot and control him into fighting the humans. Despite Ironhide being immune to the sabot rounds that were so effective in the film, they finally separate the two and totally kill Scorponok forever and ever, honest.
In terms of writing, there’s only one or two areas of interest here. The first is what is by itself quite a nice deft touch—the soldiers firmly think of Scorponok as an “It”, because the idea of living robots is still a strange one to them—but which now shows up part of the wider problem as Ironhide is all “He” this and “Him” that. Though perhaps that’s unfair as the comic will never touch on Furman’s gender agenda, so the use of gendered pronouns for them is not in itself a strange thing.
The other is that at least a couple of the soldiers are killed by the controlled Ironhide. The Lennox replacement is careful to say the tank they’re in that gets crushed is tough enough for them to survive, but as the numbers are two less when everyone is standing around at the end, this seems a very careful sop to younger readers rather than a fact.
Thirdly, though it’s not as extensive as last issue, the timeline is again played with as it opens in the Marvel UK tradition of a quick flash-forward (to Ironhide attacking the troops) to let things start with action before cutting to the setup.
With the plot slight, we again depend on the art. Luckily, unlike last issue, we get some quality work as Staz becomes the latest (and I believe last) Marvel UK stalwart to make a return.
According to colourist Kris Carter, making his first professional work, this had to be drawn at very much the last second, with Staz not even having time to ink his pencils before handing them over to be coloured. The impressive thing is, you can’t tell. Now a twenty year veteran, he knocks some dark and detailed looking material out of the park that feels very much in the British war comic tradition. This is a great and unique looking issue that means the visuals nicely carry the story.
However, it’s clear things aren’t quite clicking with this direction, so it’s perhaps lucky the comic is about to take its boldest step yet.
Thirdly, though it’s not as extensive as last issue, the timeline is again played with as it opens in the Marvel UK tradition of a quick flash-forward (to Ironhide attacking the troops) to let things start with action before cutting to the setup.
With the plot slight, we again depend on the art. Luckily, unlike last issue, we get some quality work as Staz becomes the latest (and I believe last) Marvel UK stalwart to make a return.
According to colourist Kris Carter, making his first professional work, this had to be drawn at very much the last second, with Staz not even having time to ink his pencils before handing them over to be coloured. The impressive thing is, you can’t tell. Now a twenty year veteran, he knocks some dark and detailed looking material out of the park that feels very much in the British war comic tradition. This is a great and unique looking issue that means the visuals nicely carry the story.
However, it’s clear things aren’t quite clicking with this direction, so it’s perhaps lucky the comic is about to take its boldest step yet.
The Prequel continues to be mainly about telling you things you don’t really need to know. Starting with Bumblebee first arriving on Earth and being pursued by Sector 7 agents... in 2003.
Though as Bumblebee is *ROLLS DICE* a reboot this week, that may not be the problem it once was.
The middle chunk is then given over to the exciting adventure of Sam Witwicky being given Archibald’s glasses in complete boredom and Sector 7 having a meeting that establishes, in the true spirit of the sequels, Transformers technology is responsible for everything from nuclear bombs to the Moon landing to making Steve Guttenberg a star. Before we end on a very serious and professional looking Agent Simmons arriving.
More interesting than the story is the art. First because we have a roadway scene as Bumblebee takes on his Camaro alternate mode and—as with every road scene in every non-G1 comic ever—there are original Transformers driving along as Easter Eggs. Including Optimus Prime.
Hey, maybe that ties in with Bumblebee!
Secondly, it’s really clear now they’re showing up in number, that IDW did not pay for the likeness rights to a single actor from the film.
Though as Bumblebee is *ROLLS DICE* a reboot this week, that may not be the problem it once was.
The middle chunk is then given over to the exciting adventure of Sam Witwicky being given Archibald’s glasses in complete boredom and Sector 7 having a meeting that establishes, in the true spirit of the sequels, Transformers technology is responsible for everything from nuclear bombs to the Moon landing to making Steve Guttenberg a star. Before we end on a very serious and professional looking Agent Simmons arriving.
More interesting than the story is the art. First because we have a roadway scene as Bumblebee takes on his Camaro alternate mode and—as with every road scene in every non-G1 comic ever—there are original Transformers driving along as Easter Eggs. Including Optimus Prime.
Hey, maybe that ties in with Bumblebee!
Secondly, it’s really clear now they’re showing up in number, that IDW did not pay for the likeness rights to a single actor from the film.
Beast Wars has some plot device stuff going on in the Ark as Razorbeast and company work on sending the message they need whilst using a probe (that apparently won’t be missed. So much for not mucking up the timeline) to keep an eye on Magmatron.
Who has used a blank stasis pod to revive Ravage (in his repaint of Transmetal II Cheetor toy form) to carry on their secret mission whilst he carries out the actual assignment from the Tri-Predacus council of capturing Megatron.
Which, once they realise that’s where he’s going, gets a horrified reaction from the Maximals, even though removing Megatron from the game would be a good thing for all involved.
The ensuing fight (with Magmatron coming back to normal phase, showing how easy it can be done) is great fun though, with Megatron getting some nice barbs in before a surprise knock-out blow from the rear takes him out. It’s extremely well done, even if it does make you realise how much you’ve been missing the actual cast.
Who has used a blank stasis pod to revive Ravage (in his repaint of Transmetal II Cheetor toy form) to carry on their secret mission whilst he carries out the actual assignment from the Tri-Predacus council of capturing Megatron.
Which, once they realise that’s where he’s going, gets a horrified reaction from the Maximals, even though removing Megatron from the game would be a good thing for all involved.
The ensuing fight (with Magmatron coming back to normal phase, showing how easy it can be done) is great fun though, with Megatron getting some nice barbs in before a surprise knock-out blow from the rear takes him out. It’s extremely well done, even if it does make you realise how much you’ve been missing the actual cast.
The free gift this month is appropriate for the desert location of the story, a sweat band. Plus some temporary tattoos. More excitingly though, the cover is now original art! Possibly not drawn with the text heavy layout in mind as the later ones will be, as it breaths much better on the poster.
The comic has used up all the pre-existing profiles from the Movie Guide book, and so instead writes an entirely new one (with art from issue 6) for Bonecrusher. Who is frankly an absolute dude I wish we’d seen more of.
How to Draw Bumblebee is as unhelpful as previous entries, with one direction suggesting you “add line details to Bumblebee’s damaged voice processor” making it look like that is kept in his ears.
Top Gear looks at and has competitions for Transformers hats; Beast Machines Season 1 and the Devil’s Due G.I. Joe Vs Transformers omnibus that expects you to know the name of Snake Eyes arch-rival.
Star Screams gets into its stride this month. Starting with the good news that Paul Treacy (who we’re firmly told is 30, don’t try this at home kids) has raised £300 for Bristol Children’s hospital by getting Autobot and Decepticon (real) tattoos.
Oddly Stascream doesn’t actually seem to have read last issue’s strip as he tells the surname-less James that it shows what he did before the events of the film. But then, he also tells Callum James Day that he really hated the movie for cutting out all his best scenes, so maybe he has no time for the spin-offs as well.
The comic has used up all the pre-existing profiles from the Movie Guide book, and so instead writes an entirely new one (with art from issue 6) for Bonecrusher. Who is frankly an absolute dude I wish we’d seen more of.
How to Draw Bumblebee is as unhelpful as previous entries, with one direction suggesting you “add line details to Bumblebee’s damaged voice processor” making it look like that is kept in his ears.
Top Gear looks at and has competitions for Transformers hats; Beast Machines Season 1 and the Devil’s Due G.I. Joe Vs Transformers omnibus that expects you to know the name of Snake Eyes arch-rival.
Star Screams gets into its stride this month. Starting with the good news that Paul Treacy (who we’re firmly told is 30, don’t try this at home kids) has raised £300 for Bristol Children’s hospital by getting Autobot and Decepticon (real) tattoos.
Oddly Stascream doesn’t actually seem to have read last issue’s strip as he tells the surname-less James that it shows what he did before the events of the film. But then, he also tells Callum James Day that he really hated the movie for cutting out all his best scenes, so maybe he has no time for the spin-offs as well.
Steve Mapes becomes, I believe, the first person to have had letters published in both the Titan and Marvel books.
The last word though goes to Mandy Templeton, who writes in to say he husband forced... I mean made an Optimus Prime Halloween costume for their six year old son Scott. Which, as a giant cardboard box with his little legs sticking out the bottom, looks like either a death trap or the box Steve McQueen gets thrown into in The Great Escape. That’s probably child cruelty.
Next week, we hit the iconic and best remembered run of the entire series as a bold new direction starts. Oh say can you see...
ISSUE 7
2008
COMMENT
KO-FI
The last word though goes to Mandy Templeton, who writes in to say he husband forced... I mean made an Optimus Prime Halloween costume for their six year old son Scott. Which, as a giant cardboard box with his little legs sticking out the bottom, looks like either a death trap or the box Steve McQueen gets thrown into in The Great Escape. That’s probably child cruelty.
Next week, we hit the iconic and best remembered run of the entire series as a bold new direction starts. Oh say can you see...
ISSUE 7
2008
COMMENT
KO-FI