He Looks At This World And Wants It All.
Issue 21: Raiders of the Last Ark Part 4. 29th June 1985.
At last! I thought I'd never get this useless lump off me...
Happy global James Bond Day! At the time of writing it's exactly 50 years since Dr. No made its début, creating a genre of action cinema that leads straight to Michael Bay. So that's who you've got to blame. This weeks has also seen the 50th anniversary of The Saint (does Sir Roger Moore get twice as much cake?) and the 25th of Star Trek: The Next Generation. With it only being a few weeks since the 28th anniversary of the Transformers cartoon first airing, it's enough to make a man feel old.
Still, a mere 27 years ago the final half-part of Raider of the Last Ark sees our very own Bond villain, Megatron, start to channel the energy of a black hole that he'll use to blow up Auntie.
Now, this is often held up as complete and utter scientific nonsense. But, much like Soundwave and Megatron's abilities to shrink (which some fans have wept tears of blood trying to rationalise) this never bothers me very much. It's a fairly typical SF conceit and frankly isn't much more ludicrous than half the other stuff going on in the issue.
What is interesting is that when Auntie is defeated (Ravage jumps through her face... somehow. Don't ask me and frankly it's the least interesting thing in the issue) Megatron just shrugs and decides to unleash the power of a black hole anyway even though it'll blow up the whole volcano. This is the first real sign of the full on loon Megatron who will gradually lose all his remaining marbles over the next seven years in order to go completely loco. The Megatron who could effectively converse with Ravage in a smart and resourceful way in The Enemy Within ends here.
At last! I thought I'd never get this useless lump off me...
Happy global James Bond Day! At the time of writing it's exactly 50 years since Dr. No made its début, creating a genre of action cinema that leads straight to Michael Bay. So that's who you've got to blame. This weeks has also seen the 50th anniversary of The Saint (does Sir Roger Moore get twice as much cake?) and the 25th of Star Trek: The Next Generation. With it only being a few weeks since the 28th anniversary of the Transformers cartoon first airing, it's enough to make a man feel old.
Still, a mere 27 years ago the final half-part of Raider of the Last Ark sees our very own Bond villain, Megatron, start to channel the energy of a black hole that he'll use to blow up Auntie.
Now, this is often held up as complete and utter scientific nonsense. But, much like Soundwave and Megatron's abilities to shrink (which some fans have wept tears of blood trying to rationalise) this never bothers me very much. It's a fairly typical SF conceit and frankly isn't much more ludicrous than half the other stuff going on in the issue.
What is interesting is that when Auntie is defeated (Ravage jumps through her face... somehow. Don't ask me and frankly it's the least interesting thing in the issue) Megatron just shrugs and decides to unleash the power of a black hole anyway even though it'll blow up the whole volcano. This is the first real sign of the full on loon Megatron who will gradually lose all his remaining marbles over the next seven years in order to go completely loco. The Megatron who could effectively converse with Ravage in a smart and resourceful way in The Enemy Within ends here.
Bloody Hell.
But the real memorable thing about this issue, is Windcharger. I've alluded a couple of times to the insanely over the top nature of his magnetic powers and this is their great moment to shine. After defeating Guardian (blue here rather than the more fetching yellow he'll be later on. And this alone is an impressive feat as next time he'll cause all five Dinobots a hard time) Windcharger blasts Megatron all the way out of the volcano and sends him hurtling off into the sky.
And is only stopped from throwing him into space by a burn out, with the implication being if not for spending energy on Guardian Windcharger could have finished off the Decepticon leader forever.
So a character who in all other ways is a complete non-entity, who will only do one other thing outside this story (where he'll save Prime's life with his powers in another show of super awesome) is the single greatest asset the Autobots have. And he'll be lucky to fill out the back of panels as an extra from now on. Insane.
The other few pages are basically concerned with housekeeping. We're given a list of Autobot casualties by Gears (hey, remember Gears? He used to be Spider-Man's mate? This is one of the last bits of love he gets); all of whom we didn't see fall during the initial American issues. And as Optimus ponders that it isn't all over yet, we see the Decepticons have scrawled “We'll be back” on the wall. So after 13 issues we've come full circle and back to the end of issue #8. Or rather at some point before that as this leads into The Last Stand.
And is only stopped from throwing him into space by a burn out, with the implication being if not for spending energy on Guardian Windcharger could have finished off the Decepticon leader forever.
So a character who in all other ways is a complete non-entity, who will only do one other thing outside this story (where he'll save Prime's life with his powers in another show of super awesome) is the single greatest asset the Autobots have. And he'll be lucky to fill out the back of panels as an extra from now on. Insane.
The other few pages are basically concerned with housekeeping. We're given a list of Autobot casualties by Gears (hey, remember Gears? He used to be Spider-Man's mate? This is one of the last bits of love he gets); all of whom we didn't see fall during the initial American issues. And as Optimus ponders that it isn't all over yet, we see the Decepticons have scrawled “We'll be back” on the wall. So after 13 issues we've come full circle and back to the end of issue #8. Or rather at some point before that as this leads into The Last Stand.
Deja vu.
Exactly where is a bit fuzzy, but this again shows Furman's skill as an editor, he didn't start this side diversion but he's worked hard to try and make it all fit together. And just about manages it, helped by the fact that for kids at the time it had been over six months since Shockwave descended and the exact details were likely to be just as fuzzy for them.
The graffiti on the wall is also a little cheeky, being inspired/ripped off from the “Are All Dead” cover to issue #5 of the American series. Or the cover that will be used on the very next issue. For any young readers unaware of the transatlantic divide (which is all of them) the flow of inspiration would look as if it were running the other way, with the cover being taken from this.
It's the first of a few times the UK comic will sneakily pre-empt the American series by taking something from an upcoming story and presenting it first that will run right through to the ending of Time Wars having the exact same “Today we fought side by side but next time we meet it will be as enemies!” dialogue as Dark Star, which the UK wouldn't see for a few more weeks. Amazingly this ends after Furman takes over the American book as well.
With the end of the first run of home-grown stories this is unsurprisingly a transitional issue. Even more so because it's Sheila Cranna's last as editor. Next issue Ian Rimmer takes over and we'll almost instantly start to see changes that will gradually build up to the big format revamp in #27.
Other than Furman, the editors on the book don't tend to get very much credit. Because he seems to have been given a mostly free reign and edited the book directly for around a third of its life the people who did the job either side of him are often overlooked.
Cranna's contribution as the person who kicked off the whole thing is huge, and the two story format she initially run with is roughly what we'll be sticking with for the bulk of the series, even if the last handful have abandoned it out of necessity.
However, it's hard not to feel the book is in need of a refresh. Other than some very much of the time typefaces the comic doesn't actually feel very '80's at this point. The format and layout could almost come from the '70's, the cover especially is very like those of Mighty World of Marvel from that time. Rimmer will almost immediately begin to drag the comic into the '80's, with very nearly half of it left to go.
The rest of the comic has a lot packed into it as well, so much that Machine Man has to take a fortnight off, left wandering around crying into his melted face.
Openers appears for the final time, and features the first letter to actually be addressed to a Transformer, which will soon become standard. In this case both Optimus Prime and Megatron, from someone who hates The Chromobots but loves Planet Terry. Simon Keeling from Derby, you're one crazy guy.
The graffiti on the wall is also a little cheeky, being inspired/ripped off from the “Are All Dead” cover to issue #5 of the American series. Or the cover that will be used on the very next issue. For any young readers unaware of the transatlantic divide (which is all of them) the flow of inspiration would look as if it were running the other way, with the cover being taken from this.
It's the first of a few times the UK comic will sneakily pre-empt the American series by taking something from an upcoming story and presenting it first that will run right through to the ending of Time Wars having the exact same “Today we fought side by side but next time we meet it will be as enemies!” dialogue as Dark Star, which the UK wouldn't see for a few more weeks. Amazingly this ends after Furman takes over the American book as well.
With the end of the first run of home-grown stories this is unsurprisingly a transitional issue. Even more so because it's Sheila Cranna's last as editor. Next issue Ian Rimmer takes over and we'll almost instantly start to see changes that will gradually build up to the big format revamp in #27.
Other than Furman, the editors on the book don't tend to get very much credit. Because he seems to have been given a mostly free reign and edited the book directly for around a third of its life the people who did the job either side of him are often overlooked.
Cranna's contribution as the person who kicked off the whole thing is huge, and the two story format she initially run with is roughly what we'll be sticking with for the bulk of the series, even if the last handful have abandoned it out of necessity.
However, it's hard not to feel the book is in need of a refresh. Other than some very much of the time typefaces the comic doesn't actually feel very '80's at this point. The format and layout could almost come from the '70's, the cover especially is very like those of Mighty World of Marvel from that time. Rimmer will almost immediately begin to drag the comic into the '80's, with very nearly half of it left to go.
The rest of the comic has a lot packed into it as well, so much that Machine Man has to take a fortnight off, left wandering around crying into his melted face.
Openers appears for the final time, and features the first letter to actually be addressed to a Transformer, which will soon become standard. In this case both Optimus Prime and Megatron, from someone who hates The Chromobots but loves Planet Terry. Simon Keeling from Derby, you're one crazy guy.
Turn the Page.
The Chromobots introduces a girl one, who in a foreshadowing of Arcee is only good enough to be a space receptionist and is all tits and ass. Planet Terry continues to drain the life of the comic and the latest (and final, yay!) From the Fact Files covers Erik the Red.
We also get the second half of the latest toy check-list, covering the Decepticons. In which Soundwave is merely called Cassette Man. Which is frankly awesome, but will actually be paid off in the letters page very shortly in a way that's an important indicator of the book's future direction.
The Ladybird Tell-A-Tale books get advertised and promoted in Openers as well. This series is what Mike Collins will contribute to the franchise after this issue, and is insanely well remembered by UK fans. “When you hear this sound, turn the page”.
I've not actually talked about the monthly calendar before, but it's a nice touch even if Sunstreaker's drawing here is a bit gangly. It all adds up to the feeling of it being much more than just a comic and more a collection of everything-you-need-in-one-place.
And finally, the concluding page of issue #8 is reprinted. Because as fun as much of what we've had in 1985 has been fun, it's been hard for it to escape the looming shadow of that cliffhanger. If the last three stories have been a side step, in a weeks time I look at the main event. Join me for an issue for which they'll be a huge amount to talk about as Shockwave and 11 page stories return and a whole load of new features début. The New Order is coming, and things are really going to kick off.
ISSUE 20
1985
COMMENT
We also get the second half of the latest toy check-list, covering the Decepticons. In which Soundwave is merely called Cassette Man. Which is frankly awesome, but will actually be paid off in the letters page very shortly in a way that's an important indicator of the book's future direction.
The Ladybird Tell-A-Tale books get advertised and promoted in Openers as well. This series is what Mike Collins will contribute to the franchise after this issue, and is insanely well remembered by UK fans. “When you hear this sound, turn the page”.
I've not actually talked about the monthly calendar before, but it's a nice touch even if Sunstreaker's drawing here is a bit gangly. It all adds up to the feeling of it being much more than just a comic and more a collection of everything-you-need-in-one-place.
And finally, the concluding page of issue #8 is reprinted. Because as fun as much of what we've had in 1985 has been fun, it's been hard for it to escape the looming shadow of that cliffhanger. If the last three stories have been a side step, in a weeks time I look at the main event. Join me for an issue for which they'll be a huge amount to talk about as Shockwave and 11 page stories return and a whole load of new features début. The New Order is coming, and things are really going to kick off.
ISSUE 20
1985
COMMENT