We Didn't Start the Fire, It Was Always Burning Since the World's Been Turning.
Issue 168: Meltdown! Part 2. 28th May 1988.
Don't worry, nothing's gonna' stop me now--except maybe that!
Well this is exciting; the long awaited book version of the blog is all ready to go! The sales page can be found HERE. It's something I'm very proud of, and if I may ask a small favour of the regular readers it would be great if you could spread the word on Facebook/Twitter/Transformers sites I don't post on/whatever the kids are down with these days. It'd be hugely appreciated even if you're unable to buy a copy yourself.
I will also be taking some to Auto Assembly and selling them for the cheaper bonus price of £10, if you're attending and would like a copy get in contact either via the comments or my own twitter.
Oh that was shameless wasn't it? But I've got a smart way of segwaying from talking about my book to talking about the comic that will really impress and amaze you. Are you ready? Here we go...
Speaking of books (blimey, I'm basically going to have to rewrite all of this section for volume 2), let's talk about John Gardner and his first James Bond novel from 1981, Licence Renewed. This book sees formerly renowned atomic scientist Anton Murik seek to prove that the "safe" nuclear reactor he's developed that the Atomic Energy Commission considered to be insanely dangerous and kicked him out in disgrace over does in fact work. Twisted by anger and delusions of persecution he brings the world to the brink of nuclear destruction in order to have his revenge. Scenes of Bond as a prisoner trying to convince Murik his plan (in this case having terrorists take over six reactors and threatening a China Syndrome so as to get money for his Murik Reactor) is doomed to end in catastrophe are almost an exact mirror of Xaaron attempting the same with Flame.
This may well yet be the most tenuous link I've yet made between Furman and Bond (though of the continuation novels he's certainly read Colonel Sun as "Robert Markham" gets a nod in Spotlight Soundwave, plus as easy as it is to forget considering what happened afterwards--and by the time of Scorpius in 1988 Gardner was well into his decline--the return of Bond novels at the start of the decade was a huge thing), but for me the clincher is that the well publicised working title for Licence Renewed was... Meltdown. Interestingly, Murik is described as moving in a strange, bird like fashion. Considering Flame's odd body language continues here despite the change in artist it may well have been a scripted nod from Furman.
Also, Licence Renewed has a hilariously inaccurate literal interpretation of “China Syndrome” (“All the way down Mr. Bond... all the way to China!”) that makes all the bad science in Transformers seem forgiveable.
It's good to be happy in your work.
Either way Flame certainly knows how to act like a super villain, cheerfully monologing at great length as the issue opens. Technically he's talking to his computer, but let's just say the machine doesn't have much chance to get a word in edgeways once he gets going. Despite the entertainingly camp nature of this sequence it actually serves a very specific plot function.
As last week's issue was a bottle show, the computer status update is designed to move to move plot along rapidly and with no fuss so as to get everything into place for the final. For some key moments to be conveyed with a voiceover--most notably the escape of the Wreckers and the no doubt intense conversation that followed before Xaaron was allowed to go off alone to try and talk sense into Flame one last time--should in theory be very annoying. However the previous instalment was so well written that if the price of a stationary character piece is a skip and and a jump through some of what follows, then I think it's a price worth paying.
The plot then splits neatly into three strands. The simplest of these sees the Wreckers attacked by zombies and forced to fight their way to Flame’s armoury (it’s not really clear how Broadside knows what’s behind the unmarked door, at first I thought they’d fought their way up to Autobase but later dialogue makes it clear this isn’t the case) before slaughtering the lot of them. It’s probably a case of diminishing returns but this isn’t quite as exciting as previous zombie fights despite some nice solid art. There is however a panel of a zombie cheerfully chomping on the top of Broadside’s head that is just brilliant in every possible way.
This is followed by Broadside getting what may well be his most significant moment in a Marvel issue as Impactor saves him (and the panel of the zombie getting a harpoon through the head is also brilliant) and demands to know who did this to him, with Broadside sending him off after Flame but not being entirely sure if it was the right thing to do. Don’t worry Broadside, just bask in the glow of having contributed.
As last week's issue was a bottle show, the computer status update is designed to move to move plot along rapidly and with no fuss so as to get everything into place for the final. For some key moments to be conveyed with a voiceover--most notably the escape of the Wreckers and the no doubt intense conversation that followed before Xaaron was allowed to go off alone to try and talk sense into Flame one last time--should in theory be very annoying. However the previous instalment was so well written that if the price of a stationary character piece is a skip and and a jump through some of what follows, then I think it's a price worth paying.
The plot then splits neatly into three strands. The simplest of these sees the Wreckers attacked by zombies and forced to fight their way to Flame’s armoury (it’s not really clear how Broadside knows what’s behind the unmarked door, at first I thought they’d fought their way up to Autobase but later dialogue makes it clear this isn’t the case) before slaughtering the lot of them. It’s probably a case of diminishing returns but this isn’t quite as exciting as previous zombie fights despite some nice solid art. There is however a panel of a zombie cheerfully chomping on the top of Broadside’s head that is just brilliant in every possible way.
This is followed by Broadside getting what may well be his most significant moment in a Marvel issue as Impactor saves him (and the panel of the zombie getting a harpoon through the head is also brilliant) and demands to know who did this to him, with Broadside sending him off after Flame but not being entirely sure if it was the right thing to do. Don’t worry Broadside, just bask in the glow of having contributed.
"Your vehicular mode is rubbish!"
The second thread follows up on Ultra Magnus and the (still not in vehicular mode) Sparkler Mini-Bots as they meet up with Springer. The argument between Sizzle and Magnus over whether sending Flywheels for reinforcement—plus Springer’s own uncertainty over how he’d have handled the situation—adds a nice moral dilemma to the issue and gives a bit of weight to proceedings that could otherwise be quite lightweight, even camp, action adventure.
It’s also here that it becomes obvious why Flywheel’s actual toy gimmick is completely ignored by the comic. If he had to leave half his body behind every time he transformed and flew off then there would be no drama here, Magnus could just hold the tank half of his body hostage as a means of guaranteeing help. Indeed, with no way for the tank to get out of Kalis he wouldn’t even have to do that. By writing Flywheels as a triple changer it means Furman can avoid any complications and keep the drama lean and mean.
Magnus and the others then rush to help the Wreckers... and find they’ve already killed all the zombies. Remember how three weeks ago Magnus was so determined not to risk killing Autobot zombies he even pulled a gun on Flywheels to make him follow the order? Well obviously as he’s so determined to preserve the lives of his troops no matter how beyond rescue they may appear, the minute he’s confronted by the Wreckers having slaughtered so many his immediate reaction is to...
Go “Ah...couldn’t you have saved a few for us?” Maybe the Flywheels thing is weighing on his mind, but this drastic change in character is just the latest sign of how oddly written he is in this story.
The meat of the issue though is between Xaaron and Flame. Flame knows his old friend is coming (and yes, gets the Bond villain “I’ve been expecting you” in) and gleefully doesn’t care about Xaaron’s desperate pleas to not destroy the planet. At this point Xaaron has had enough and is prepared to use force, but has forgotten that Flame turns into a (rather snazzy, assuming his design was by Jeff Anderson that’s another winner from the man behind Impactor) tank.
It’s also here that it becomes obvious why Flywheel’s actual toy gimmick is completely ignored by the comic. If he had to leave half his body behind every time he transformed and flew off then there would be no drama here, Magnus could just hold the tank half of his body hostage as a means of guaranteeing help. Indeed, with no way for the tank to get out of Kalis he wouldn’t even have to do that. By writing Flywheels as a triple changer it means Furman can avoid any complications and keep the drama lean and mean.
Magnus and the others then rush to help the Wreckers... and find they’ve already killed all the zombies. Remember how three weeks ago Magnus was so determined not to risk killing Autobot zombies he even pulled a gun on Flywheels to make him follow the order? Well obviously as he’s so determined to preserve the lives of his troops no matter how beyond rescue they may appear, the minute he’s confronted by the Wreckers having slaughtered so many his immediate reaction is to...
Go “Ah...couldn’t you have saved a few for us?” Maybe the Flywheels thing is weighing on his mind, but this drastic change in character is just the latest sign of how oddly written he is in this story.
The meat of the issue though is between Xaaron and Flame. Flame knows his old friend is coming (and yes, gets the Bond villain “I’ve been expecting you” in) and gleefully doesn’t care about Xaaron’s desperate pleas to not destroy the planet. At this point Xaaron has had enough and is prepared to use force, but has forgotten that Flame turns into a (rather snazzy, assuming his design was by Jeff Anderson that’s another winner from the man behind Impactor) tank.
"Yes, I am the fourth Sparkler Mini-Bot! How I wish someone would hurry up and invent the term "Alt mode".
This leads to what I suspect is the second best remembered moment in the story behind the zombies. It’s been almost exactly two years since Xaaron—who finally gets to be on a cover—first appeared in the weekly and not far off three since the first Annual. In all that time there’s been not even the slightest indication of what he turns into, with even his robot mode not giving any suggestions beyond a couple of visual steals from Megatron’s toy. This must have been a source of fascination for readers who were hooked by the whole transforming gimmick, especially considering he’s by far the longest serving character to not have transformed (despite the late in the day return of Impactor). Even though, oddly as I know there’s a couple on the subject later in the book’s life, I don’t think a letter has yet been published asking what he turns into I would be willing to bet it was a regular question.
So what follows is the most overt sign yet (odd “Puttup” moment aside) of Furman playing to the crowd and being somewhat meta. In order to fight Flame Xaaron will have to transform into “Vehicular (Christ, is he a secret Sparkler Mini-Bot?!) Combat Mode”. But as he hasn’t transformed in centuries the shock to his system may well kill him. This is the writer having fun with the expectations of the readership and—considering it’s obvious Xaaron can’t possibly turn into much of a combat mode—even winking ever so slightly at them. This sort of self-referential humour could be annoyingly indulgent, but here it works brilliantly and it’s almost a shame Furman doesn’t quite have the bravery to make the cliff-hanger “Will Xaaron transform?!?!?!”
The actual cliff-hanger though is still a good one. Flame’s computer keeps the Wreckers out of his laboratory by simply shutting the door. What a machine. This makes Springer and Broadside rush to the surface to get cutting equipment from Autobase, but just as Springer declares his doubts are behind him and nothing will stop him now... they run into Trypticon. It’s a fantastically leftfield ending, even if it’s fairly easy to guess what the out will be next week.
This continues the strong run the story is on, with the right balance of humour and action and even a little bit of seriousness thrown in as well. Flame continues to be a fantastic villain and his back and forth with Xaaron is extremely well done. On art Robin Smith—in the first interior work we’ve seen from him even if he’s already worked on this year’s Annual—does some lovely solid work that feels like a nice meshing of the styles of Anderson and Hitch with some fantastically happy zombies. He leaves Flame’s Autobrand off in a few panels, which the Wiki suggests might be the result of wanting to downplay his EVIL Autobot nature. However, there’s just as many with it present and pretty much every line of dialogue he has points out he’s a pissed off Autobot, so it seems more likely to me Smith just forgot to add it in afterwards to his art.
So what follows is the most overt sign yet (odd “Puttup” moment aside) of Furman playing to the crowd and being somewhat meta. In order to fight Flame Xaaron will have to transform into “Vehicular (Christ, is he a secret Sparkler Mini-Bot?!) Combat Mode”. But as he hasn’t transformed in centuries the shock to his system may well kill him. This is the writer having fun with the expectations of the readership and—considering it’s obvious Xaaron can’t possibly turn into much of a combat mode—even winking ever so slightly at them. This sort of self-referential humour could be annoyingly indulgent, but here it works brilliantly and it’s almost a shame Furman doesn’t quite have the bravery to make the cliff-hanger “Will Xaaron transform?!?!?!”
The actual cliff-hanger though is still a good one. Flame’s computer keeps the Wreckers out of his laboratory by simply shutting the door. What a machine. This makes Springer and Broadside rush to the surface to get cutting equipment from Autobase, but just as Springer declares his doubts are behind him and nothing will stop him now... they run into Trypticon. It’s a fantastically leftfield ending, even if it’s fairly easy to guess what the out will be next week.
This continues the strong run the story is on, with the right balance of humour and action and even a little bit of seriousness thrown in as well. Flame continues to be a fantastic villain and his back and forth with Xaaron is extremely well done. On art Robin Smith—in the first interior work we’ve seen from him even if he’s already worked on this year’s Annual—does some lovely solid work that feels like a nice meshing of the styles of Anderson and Hitch with some fantastically happy zombies. He leaves Flame’s Autobrand off in a few panels, which the Wiki suggests might be the result of wanting to downplay his EVIL Autobot nature. However, there’s just as many with it present and pretty much every line of dialogue he has points out he’s a pissed off Autobot, so it seems more likely to me Smith just forgot to add it in afterwards to his art.
He looks terrifying.
The transition between spring and summer in 1988 seems to have been a bumper one for Marvel UK as Transformation sees the promotion of the launch of another new title. Unlike Dragon’s Claws and Action Force Monthly the adventures of the Galaxy Rangers are contained with a format more similar to how Transformers launched, 24 pages released fortnightly. The package comes complete with Galaxy Rangers stickers that will make you the envy of every true fan.
Grimlock gets a letter from across the Atlantic as Adam Covalsky from Elburn USA writes in to both say how good the British comic is (interestingly there’s no mention of the American this time) and ask about Centurion. Grimlock has to admit he doesn’t know if we’ll ever see Professor Morris again (we won’t) or if Centurion will ever be reactivated (he won’t).
In Action Force the third part of Thunder Machine is a straightforward action scene as A.F. try, and fail, to stop the Zartan family from escaping across the bayou in a sequence that really needs Sherriff J.W. Pepper. We do get a neat faux-cliff-hanger though as the Thunder Machine plays chicken with the H.A.V.O.C. on a narrow road surrounded by deep water. As an unexpectedly well thought out tie in to this, a full page advert for the H.A.V.O.C (and Rattler) is run in the middle of the issue.
Combat Colin defeats the Loch Ness Monster by blowing up the remote control of the man operating it and causing Nessie to crash into a rock. The punch-line however is that the monster was an approved tourist attraction, meaning Colin and Steve are now forced to row about the Loch wearing the remains of the robot so as to keep fat Americans happy. The panel of Colin rowing with Steve sat on his head and the monster head on top is just lovely to look at.
Next week: Can even Trypticon stop me advertising my book at every turn like some sort of book advertising whore?
ISSUE 167
1988
COMMENT
Grimlock gets a letter from across the Atlantic as Adam Covalsky from Elburn USA writes in to both say how good the British comic is (interestingly there’s no mention of the American this time) and ask about Centurion. Grimlock has to admit he doesn’t know if we’ll ever see Professor Morris again (we won’t) or if Centurion will ever be reactivated (he won’t).
In Action Force the third part of Thunder Machine is a straightforward action scene as A.F. try, and fail, to stop the Zartan family from escaping across the bayou in a sequence that really needs Sherriff J.W. Pepper. We do get a neat faux-cliff-hanger though as the Thunder Machine plays chicken with the H.A.V.O.C. on a narrow road surrounded by deep water. As an unexpectedly well thought out tie in to this, a full page advert for the H.A.V.O.C (and Rattler) is run in the middle of the issue.
Combat Colin defeats the Loch Ness Monster by blowing up the remote control of the man operating it and causing Nessie to crash into a rock. The punch-line however is that the monster was an approved tourist attraction, meaning Colin and Steve are now forced to row about the Loch wearing the remains of the robot so as to keep fat Americans happy. The panel of Colin rowing with Steve sat on his head and the monster head on top is just lovely to look at.
Next week: Can even Trypticon stop me advertising my book at every turn like some sort of book advertising whore?
ISSUE 167
1988
COMMENT
