We Are The Dead.
Issue 22: The New Order Part 1. 13th July 1985.
Remind me to thank you when I get down from here, Shockwave.
The first thing to note about this issue is of course the cover. Easily the best remembered from across all Transformers comics it's absolutely stunning, even if this UK version is a bit more cluttered than the original American printing, meaning it's not quite as stark and has a bit less power as an image as a result.
And when you turn the page you get the first indication of the new order in charge of the book as the two page Openers has been replaced by the thing which gives this part of the blog its name; Transformation. The contents and general information being slimmed down to just the one page is a pointer of what we'll be seeing happen over the next handful of issues. Everything is going to be streamlined and the fat cut off. The editorial promises great improvements, of which this is just the first step.
What's perhaps surprising is that- though the design will change over the years- the layout of the page is pretty much exactly the same as it'll be fore the rest of the book's run. A main text introduction to the issue on the left and a narrow column on the right with additional useful information in it (in this case pumping readers for the forthcoming arrival of the Dinobots).
As part of the mini-relaunch, and in order to deal with the continuity issues of the recent stories, this is then followed by the first Robot War! recap of the story so far. A simple two pages here it provides new readers with the information they need, refreshes the memory of those who may not exactly recall what happened seven months previously and finally tells us exactly when the last 13 issues happened (though for the most part just about everyone ignores this when coming up with their own theories).
This feature will only appear twice more in the comic itself, but a variant on it will become a standard of the Annuals and it actually works very well, both as a recap and a means of giving the book a real sense of history despite still being less than a year old. Though despite the good intentions there is an inadvertent problem with this summary being placed with this story we'll talk about shortly.
The New Order itself is the first time the writer who'll be handling virtually every American story for over 200 issues has his name on a strip, Bob Budiansky. I've already spoken about his hugely important role in helping to create the franchise, but his stories are often not terribly well liked in comparison to Furman's.
To a certain extent this is due to the different approach the two authors look, Uncle Bob has admitted he was mainly writing a comic for small children whilst Furman would gradually move more towards the teen market (effectively 2000 AD readers), meaning his stories tend to stand up better through adult eyes.
Remind me to thank you when I get down from here, Shockwave.
The first thing to note about this issue is of course the cover. Easily the best remembered from across all Transformers comics it's absolutely stunning, even if this UK version is a bit more cluttered than the original American printing, meaning it's not quite as stark and has a bit less power as an image as a result.
And when you turn the page you get the first indication of the new order in charge of the book as the two page Openers has been replaced by the thing which gives this part of the blog its name; Transformation. The contents and general information being slimmed down to just the one page is a pointer of what we'll be seeing happen over the next handful of issues. Everything is going to be streamlined and the fat cut off. The editorial promises great improvements, of which this is just the first step.
What's perhaps surprising is that- though the design will change over the years- the layout of the page is pretty much exactly the same as it'll be fore the rest of the book's run. A main text introduction to the issue on the left and a narrow column on the right with additional useful information in it (in this case pumping readers for the forthcoming arrival of the Dinobots).
As part of the mini-relaunch, and in order to deal with the continuity issues of the recent stories, this is then followed by the first Robot War! recap of the story so far. A simple two pages here it provides new readers with the information they need, refreshes the memory of those who may not exactly recall what happened seven months previously and finally tells us exactly when the last 13 issues happened (though for the most part just about everyone ignores this when coming up with their own theories).
This feature will only appear twice more in the comic itself, but a variant on it will become a standard of the Annuals and it actually works very well, both as a recap and a means of giving the book a real sense of history despite still being less than a year old. Though despite the good intentions there is an inadvertent problem with this summary being placed with this story we'll talk about shortly.
The New Order itself is the first time the writer who'll be handling virtually every American story for over 200 issues has his name on a strip, Bob Budiansky. I've already spoken about his hugely important role in helping to create the franchise, but his stories are often not terribly well liked in comparison to Furman's.
To a certain extent this is due to the different approach the two authors look, Uncle Bob has admitted he was mainly writing a comic for small children whilst Furman would gradually move more towards the teen market (effectively 2000 AD readers), meaning his stories tend to stand up better through adult eyes.
V Page one...
Though Budiansky will certainly have his off moments and wind up with extreme burn out towards the end, this is somewhat unfair. Though the bulk of his stories will be more kiddified, there's still going to be a lot to enjoy if you approach them in the right spirit.
One thing that hadn't really occurred to me before reading the comic in this way, is that, from the UK perspective, Budiansky appears on the book after Furman. Following four and a half months straight of Furman's work on the title he must have seemed the established hand to readers with the spell check infuriating America as a Johnny Come Latey newcomer. Arguably right from the off British readers were subconsciously and unintentionally encouraged to see Budiansky as the second choice writer.
The story itself actually contradicts my earlier assertion about Bob aiming his stuff more at youngsters, though we're going to be quickly introduced to comedy human characters as we go along (await with baited breath Bomber Bill) his original “Shockwave/Prime's head” arc is generally much darker and more serious than a lot of what's to come.
It's also the longest straight storyline he did, lasting from US#5 to #12. Though they'll be other long running plots and a mini-epic in the Underbase saga this is the biggest run of direct “TO BE CONTINUED” issues in his run. And of course, the couple of additional UK stories we're going to get along the way will make it even longer. Effectively the rest of 1985 is going to be the year of Optimus Prime's Head.
However, the opening two pages don't really suggest this dark epic. They consist of Shockwave watching TV to learn Earth culture. For an issue with a lot of work to do this series of piss takes of American television is somewhat indulgent and overdone.
The UK changes save it somewhat, in what is the first real big instance of the British team editing an American issue beyond putting the extra letter in the odd word to spell it properly. The American version opens with Shockwave watching The Honeymooners. No, me neither. And even if it was ever broadcast in Britain it's a fair bet absolutely none of the target audience would have gotten the reference.
So the Brits (presumably new editor Ian Rimmer) stuck a big picture of V over the Honeymooners drawing. The surprise TV hit of the Summer before when it was ITV's alternative to the Olympics this is a perfect choice as it is of course about aliens in disguise. The comedy speech bubbles stuck over the top are the icing on the cake.
This is also a huge, huge copyright infringement. Marvel may well have had the rights to V as well (though I think it's more likely they just borrowed a picture from the Starburst office that seemed appropriate) but they'll almost certainly never have gotten permission to use it here. As this version will likely never be reprinted and the Wiki only has a close up of the first V section, I've included both pages to feature Marc Singer in their full rubber faced glory.
One thing that hadn't really occurred to me before reading the comic in this way, is that, from the UK perspective, Budiansky appears on the book after Furman. Following four and a half months straight of Furman's work on the title he must have seemed the established hand to readers with the spell check infuriating America as a Johnny Come Latey newcomer. Arguably right from the off British readers were subconsciously and unintentionally encouraged to see Budiansky as the second choice writer.
The story itself actually contradicts my earlier assertion about Bob aiming his stuff more at youngsters, though we're going to be quickly introduced to comedy human characters as we go along (await with baited breath Bomber Bill) his original “Shockwave/Prime's head” arc is generally much darker and more serious than a lot of what's to come.
It's also the longest straight storyline he did, lasting from US#5 to #12. Though they'll be other long running plots and a mini-epic in the Underbase saga this is the biggest run of direct “TO BE CONTINUED” issues in his run. And of course, the couple of additional UK stories we're going to get along the way will make it even longer. Effectively the rest of 1985 is going to be the year of Optimus Prime's Head.
However, the opening two pages don't really suggest this dark epic. They consist of Shockwave watching TV to learn Earth culture. For an issue with a lot of work to do this series of piss takes of American television is somewhat indulgent and overdone.
The UK changes save it somewhat, in what is the first real big instance of the British team editing an American issue beyond putting the extra letter in the odd word to spell it properly. The American version opens with Shockwave watching The Honeymooners. No, me neither. And even if it was ever broadcast in Britain it's a fair bet absolutely none of the target audience would have gotten the reference.
So the Brits (presumably new editor Ian Rimmer) stuck a big picture of V over the Honeymooners drawing. The surprise TV hit of the Summer before when it was ITV's alternative to the Olympics this is a perfect choice as it is of course about aliens in disguise. The comedy speech bubbles stuck over the top are the icing on the cake.
This is also a huge, huge copyright infringement. Marvel may well have had the rights to V as well (though I think it's more likely they just borrowed a picture from the Starburst office that seemed appropriate) but they'll almost certainly never have gotten permission to use it here. As this version will likely never be reprinted and the Wiki only has a close up of the first V section, I've included both pages to feature Marc Singer in their full rubber faced glory.
...and page 2.
There is a slight attempt at plot foreshadowing at the end of Shockwave's TV watch as he sees G.B. Blackrock on the news promoting his new super oil rig and showing off his amazing computer technician, the bubbly big eyed Josie Beller. Both these people and their rig are going to be very important later on.
But then we get the money shot, the two pages that justify the entire cover price. Shockwave coldly walking though a room where the battered and smashed Autobot corpses are hanging from the ceiling.
This was a stroke of genius by Bob. We'd seen the Autobots dead and defeated at the end of The Last Stand (and of course they've been battered and blown up all over the place in the UK stories since), repeating that image wouldn't have had the same effect as the casual brutalisation of their bodies we see here. It keeps the shock value up and raises the stakes, whilst at the same time making Shockwave himself seem effortlessly cool.
This is however, the first time Nel Yomtov's colours really hurt the book. The impact of this brilliant visceral image is largely undone by virtually every character being coloured like Gears for no readily apparent reason. Very poor form.
It's a sign of how packed the story is that the title card doesn't come up until we're three pages before the end. This comes over a shot of Megatron hung up from the ceiling looking rather petulant. They even find time to fit in the first mention of the Creation Matrix, which will be very important to this storyline. And indeed, many others.
The interaction between the former and current Decepticon leaders here is lovely, with Shockwave pointing out every failing of Megatron's leadership and Megatron- realising he's dependant on Shockwave to get him back up to full strength- being deeply sarcastic in his acceptance of Shockwave's command.
Shockwave is the first new character to get more than a cameo, and these eleven pages build upon his dramatic first appearance to make him one of the best and most rounded Transformers we've yet seen. Logical but sarcastic and with a ruthless streak this is the beginning of a very long run of awesome that will wind up seeing Shockwave being being pretty much everything to happen in modern Transformers comics. Him casually ripping an Autobot to pieces in order to show Megatron he means buisness is awesome as well (though again, it's a colouring fail. It seems to be generally assumed this is supposed to be Sunstreaker though).
The end of the issue however, is what suffers from the inclusion of Robot War!. As this was also a relaunch after a gap in America Bob also included a detailed recap of events so far for readers. Rather than being separate though this is included in the story itself, with Megatron telling Shockwave everything that's happened.
But then we get the money shot, the two pages that justify the entire cover price. Shockwave coldly walking though a room where the battered and smashed Autobot corpses are hanging from the ceiling.
This was a stroke of genius by Bob. We'd seen the Autobots dead and defeated at the end of The Last Stand (and of course they've been battered and blown up all over the place in the UK stories since), repeating that image wouldn't have had the same effect as the casual brutalisation of their bodies we see here. It keeps the shock value up and raises the stakes, whilst at the same time making Shockwave himself seem effortlessly cool.
This is however, the first time Nel Yomtov's colours really hurt the book. The impact of this brilliant visceral image is largely undone by virtually every character being coloured like Gears for no readily apparent reason. Very poor form.
It's a sign of how packed the story is that the title card doesn't come up until we're three pages before the end. This comes over a shot of Megatron hung up from the ceiling looking rather petulant. They even find time to fit in the first mention of the Creation Matrix, which will be very important to this storyline. And indeed, many others.
The interaction between the former and current Decepticon leaders here is lovely, with Shockwave pointing out every failing of Megatron's leadership and Megatron- realising he's dependant on Shockwave to get him back up to full strength- being deeply sarcastic in his acceptance of Shockwave's command.
Shockwave is the first new character to get more than a cameo, and these eleven pages build upon his dramatic first appearance to make him one of the best and most rounded Transformers we've yet seen. Logical but sarcastic and with a ruthless streak this is the beginning of a very long run of awesome that will wind up seeing Shockwave being being pretty much everything to happen in modern Transformers comics. Him casually ripping an Autobot to pieces in order to show Megatron he means buisness is awesome as well (though again, it's a colouring fail. It seems to be generally assumed this is supposed to be Sunstreaker though).
The end of the issue however, is what suffers from the inclusion of Robot War!. As this was also a relaunch after a gap in America Bob also included a detailed recap of events so far for readers. Rather than being separate though this is included in the story itself, with Megatron telling Shockwave everything that's happened.
Sunstreaker?
By itself it's a bit clumsy (Megatron feels the need to tell the entire history of their species rather than just the stuff Shockwave missed) but feels completely redundant coming after the separate summary that tops the issue. As a result it means things end on a somewhat underwhelming moment, even if the cliffhanger created from splitting the original issue in two (Megatron clenching his fist as he thinks of revenge on Shockwave) is surprisingly good.
This is also the first time we get the classic “Next” box at the end of a story, which will be used right up to the penultimate issue. Though because of the way the strips are broken up Planet Terry is actually the first place we see it. Later on when used on the back ups the logo used will be made specific to the story, but here both Terry and Machine Man use the Autobot symbol, which feels a bit odd. But it's still a great little bit of design.
Yet another big first is the arrival of the dedicated letters page hosted by Soundwave (mostly written by Simon Furman, though Ian Rimmer will handle some as well). Without any forewarning for readers and with “Soundwave's” answerer character not fully developed yet it's a fairly normal start, but things are going to get delightfully bonkers as we go along.
One letter is also the first indication in the comic of the cartoon having arrived in the UK and having been seen by readers. But, as a sign of how the style hasn't settled down yet, there's no mockery from Soundwave for the animated show as they'll be in later years.
Phew. With the new stuff out of the way, lets have a look at the old favourites. Machine Man sees him face off against a Halloween costume themed villain with a flying hover-board who is in no way like Green Goblin. Jack O'Lantern probably didn't go down as they greatest new addition to the Marvel roster of baddies.
Meanwhile, Planet Terry, Matt and the Cat and The Chromobots protect us from being overloaded by newness by keeping as shite as they ever were. On the plus side, Robot Round Up appears to have been very quietly dropped down a deep dark hole.
This is also the first time we get the classic “Next” box at the end of a story, which will be used right up to the penultimate issue. Though because of the way the strips are broken up Planet Terry is actually the first place we see it. Later on when used on the back ups the logo used will be made specific to the story, but here both Terry and Machine Man use the Autobot symbol, which feels a bit odd. But it's still a great little bit of design.
Yet another big first is the arrival of the dedicated letters page hosted by Soundwave (mostly written by Simon Furman, though Ian Rimmer will handle some as well). Without any forewarning for readers and with “Soundwave's” answerer character not fully developed yet it's a fairly normal start, but things are going to get delightfully bonkers as we go along.
One letter is also the first indication in the comic of the cartoon having arrived in the UK and having been seen by readers. But, as a sign of how the style hasn't settled down yet, there's no mockery from Soundwave for the animated show as they'll be in later years.
Phew. With the new stuff out of the way, lets have a look at the old favourites. Machine Man sees him face off against a Halloween costume themed villain with a flying hover-board who is in no way like Green Goblin. Jack O'Lantern probably didn't go down as they greatest new addition to the Marvel roster of baddies.
Meanwhile, Planet Terry, Matt and the Cat and The Chromobots protect us from being overloaded by newness by keeping as shite as they ever were. On the plus side, Robot Round Up appears to have been very quietly dropped down a deep dark hole.
Work out which jet is which.
There's also a competion for the Ladybird book mentioned last issue, which on the face of it is simple- You just have to identify the which robot parts belong to which Transformer. But it's in black and white and contains two Seekers. So how are you supposed to know which is which?
The other thing of special note in the issue is the advert for the 1985 Marvel Summer Specials, including the first Transformers Collected Comics, though that name won't be used yet. I'll be talking more about this and the other special released this year in a separate entry when I reach the end of 1985, but it's worth noting that these reprints will quickly become the main way new readers like me kept up with the history of the book. It also rather cheekily gets promoted in the text of the Robot War! feature.
That was certainly a jam packed issue, join me in a week as we find out who The Last Autobot (hey, that'd make a snazzy title) is.
Issue 21
1985
COMMENT
The other thing of special note in the issue is the advert for the 1985 Marvel Summer Specials, including the first Transformers Collected Comics, though that name won't be used yet. I'll be talking more about this and the other special released this year in a separate entry when I reach the end of 1985, but it's worth noting that these reprints will quickly become the main way new readers like me kept up with the history of the book. It also rather cheekily gets promoted in the text of the Robot War! feature.
That was certainly a jam packed issue, join me in a week as we find out who The Last Autobot (hey, that'd make a snazzy title) is.
Issue 21
1985
COMMENT
