My Old Man’s Drunker Than a Barrel Full of Monkeys and My Old Lady She Don’t Care.
Issue 240: Back From the Dead Part 1/Out to Lunch! 14th October 1989.
I don’ think thish fuele is poisoned, at all. I jush think we’ve had a weenu bit too much of it...
Cometh the hour, Cometh the man. Across the long resignation of Uncle Bob, we’ve talked about the circumstances that led to the baton being passed from Budiansky to Furman. Appropriately enough for this issue via an alcohol fuelled lunch. Furman to all intents and purposes got the gig through apathy—Budiansky wasn’t in any position to “Promote” (as any move from UK to US was seen) him, but no one else wanted the gig and the editor (Don Daley) who didn’t really care and thought he was handling the last few months and welcomed the new scribe aboard with “You’ll get five issues if you’re lucky”.
So over the next few months of American reprints, Furman is having to prove himself on unfamiliar territory again. We’ve seen before he tends to feel his way carefully into new situations rather than go barging in, and he’s also having to cope with learning a new way of writing as American comics at the time were done the Stan Lee Way tm with page descriptions that were then drawn before the dialogue was added. Examples from the storyline are included in the Titan trade collecting them, and though Furman—with his ambitions on America—had almost certainly practised that style, he still has to get into the rhythm of it.
I don’ think thish fuele is poisoned, at all. I jush think we’ve had a weenu bit too much of it...
Cometh the hour, Cometh the man. Across the long resignation of Uncle Bob, we’ve talked about the circumstances that led to the baton being passed from Budiansky to Furman. Appropriately enough for this issue via an alcohol fuelled lunch. Furman to all intents and purposes got the gig through apathy—Budiansky wasn’t in any position to “Promote” (as any move from UK to US was seen) him, but no one else wanted the gig and the editor (Don Daley) who didn’t really care and thought he was handling the last few months and welcomed the new scribe aboard with “You’ll get five issues if you’re lucky”.
So over the next few months of American reprints, Furman is having to prove himself on unfamiliar territory again. We’ve seen before he tends to feel his way carefully into new situations rather than go barging in, and he’s also having to cope with learning a new way of writing as American comics at the time were done the Stan Lee Way tm with page descriptions that were then drawn before the dialogue was added. Examples from the storyline are included in the Titan trade collecting them, and though Furman—with his ambitions on America—had almost certainly practised that style, he still has to get into the rhythm of it.
Blaster is actually less of a dick as a zombie than he was when alive.
So even though he comes to the series with long term goals and one specific Statement of Intent for his opening salvo—though one that’s more significant for the American readers who haven’t seen the relevant returning element in over two years--Back From the Dead is a very careful story that feels of a piece with the best of Budiansky rather than coming in and shaking things up with a mighty roar.
Indeed, for many years there was a persistent rumour this was working from a Budiansky storyline, something that perplexed Furman when I (and some chancer called Ryan Frost) talked to him about it at an AA and which I don’t think had any basis in even made up evidence of the “There’s totally lots of season 4 American episodes in a vault in Japan my mate saw” variety. In one of the aforementioned Titan trades Furman does mention Budiansky was still around doing the profiles and tec specs (another book reprints Bob’s Action Masters pitch, so he was involved for at least another year), but this is all Furman, even if perhaps more muted than usual.
Generally as a result of this, the four stories making up this opening arc are usually seen as the least of Furman’s US work. Not actively hated as such, and with some great moments, but more a slow burner that could probably have been a bit shorter (he was told five issues at best, and seems to have tried hard to make it run that long), a necessary sea change before we get to the good stuff.
It has to be said though, reading right of the back of Micromaster Wrestling, the opening here is much stronger that its reputation might suggest. Furman enjoyed success with zombie Transformers last year in the UK, and perhaps remembering how well that went down visually he introduces himself to the Americans with a splash page of them, as the corpses (and decapitated head!) of Jazz, Blaster, Grimlock, Goldbug and Omega Supreme march on the terrified Ratchet aboard the Ark.
Indeed, for many years there was a persistent rumour this was working from a Budiansky storyline, something that perplexed Furman when I (and some chancer called Ryan Frost) talked to him about it at an AA and which I don’t think had any basis in even made up evidence of the “There’s totally lots of season 4 American episodes in a vault in Japan my mate saw” variety. In one of the aforementioned Titan trades Furman does mention Budiansky was still around doing the profiles and tec specs (another book reprints Bob’s Action Masters pitch, so he was involved for at least another year), but this is all Furman, even if perhaps more muted than usual.
Generally as a result of this, the four stories making up this opening arc are usually seen as the least of Furman’s US work. Not actively hated as such, and with some great moments, but more a slow burner that could probably have been a bit shorter (he was told five issues at best, and seems to have tried hard to make it run that long), a necessary sea change before we get to the good stuff.
It has to be said though, reading right of the back of Micromaster Wrestling, the opening here is much stronger that its reputation might suggest. Furman enjoyed success with zombie Transformers last year in the UK, and perhaps remembering how well that went down visually he introduces himself to the Americans with a splash page of them, as the corpses (and decapitated head!) of Jazz, Blaster, Grimlock, Goldbug and Omega Supreme march on the terrified Ratchet aboard the Ark.
He IDW Prowl, Marvel Ratchet called. He wants his gimmick back.
Though Delbo is a cleaner artist than Dan Reed (though Reed was actually the first “UKer” the US met as he drew the cover to this issue) it’s a fantastic image, with his tendency to give Transformers dead soulless eyes being an advantage for once, all helped by some fantastic purple prose from Furman in the narration. “For today, the dead walk!”.
Over the page and it turns out to be a dream sequence. Which actually shows up one of the differences between the two authors, Furman may give it a technobabble veneer here but it still anthropomorphises the Cybertronians more than Budiansky would normally do, Bob would never have written a stress related nightmare for his more...well alien isn’t quite the right word as they still do things like become wrestlers, so let’s say...distant take on the Transformers.
The other big thing to note here though is the return of Ratchet. Not seen in a prominent role since Optimus died, this is effectively Budiansky’s original lead character back at the forefront of things. This doesn’t just make for a smoother transition, it isn’t just part of Furman’s plan to move the emphasis back to older and better known characters, it sees him bringing the more realistic look at war we’ve had in the recent UK stories to bare.
Or in other words: Lots and lots of characters have been dying lately and (if you assume First Aid has been shuffled off this mortal coil with many others) the Autobots only have one doctor. Death doesn’t mean DEATH to a Transformer, but how do you cope with that workload as a medic? Especially as Budiansky had recently helpfully established they don’t have enough raw material for easy repairs.
The answer is: He’s not coping, as the worried Prime can see. Ratchet is on the edge of hysteria at not being able to do anything without the latest medical equipment on Cybertron, and he even flips a table in outrage like he’s Prowl in a James Roberts comic. The stress and tension is perfectly conveyed by Furman, who a quarter century early perfectly captures that Jeffrey Combs vibe that has now so come to define the character. Plus we see from the equipment on the flipped table that Transformers have massive nuts.
Over the page and it turns out to be a dream sequence. Which actually shows up one of the differences between the two authors, Furman may give it a technobabble veneer here but it still anthropomorphises the Cybertronians more than Budiansky would normally do, Bob would never have written a stress related nightmare for his more...well alien isn’t quite the right word as they still do things like become wrestlers, so let’s say...distant take on the Transformers.
The other big thing to note here though is the return of Ratchet. Not seen in a prominent role since Optimus died, this is effectively Budiansky’s original lead character back at the forefront of things. This doesn’t just make for a smoother transition, it isn’t just part of Furman’s plan to move the emphasis back to older and better known characters, it sees him bringing the more realistic look at war we’ve had in the recent UK stories to bare.
Or in other words: Lots and lots of characters have been dying lately and (if you assume First Aid has been shuffled off this mortal coil with many others) the Autobots only have one doctor. Death doesn’t mean DEATH to a Transformer, but how do you cope with that workload as a medic? Especially as Budiansky had recently helpfully established they don’t have enough raw material for easy repairs.
The answer is: He’s not coping, as the worried Prime can see. Ratchet is on the edge of hysteria at not being able to do anything without the latest medical equipment on Cybertron, and he even flips a table in outrage like he’s Prowl in a James Roberts comic. The stress and tension is perfectly conveyed by Furman, who a quarter century early perfectly captures that Jeffrey Combs vibe that has now so come to define the character. Plus we see from the equipment on the flipped table that Transformers have massive nuts.
I think this might be an evil base.
Elsewhere though the dialogue is surprisingly clunky, presumably as a result of trying to adapt to the new system of writing. Optimus especially feels more formal and ridged than Furman usually writes him, especially with his odd set up line of “Though my old adversary, Megatron, is long dead, the legacy of his evil lives on”, which considering it’s the first time an American story has mentioned Megs in two years outside of his one flashback appearance should have given the game away to the more attentive readers.
This is also a sign of how the continuity between the UK and US stories is about to fall apart spectacularly despite them now having the same writer. A year or two ago, Furman as editor would have tweaked this line to deal with the fact Megatron has been all over the comic from almost the moment Budiansky killed him. Even replacing the word “Long” with “Recently” (as the British story that’s going to try and fix this does end with a Megatron body dead on the floor that could have been used to make everyone think he’s passed on again) would have helped. But this is only going to get worse over the next few weeks...
Meanwhile, in a minor example of Furman’s knack for good scene transitions, as Ratchet bemoans needing stuff from Cybertron we cut there to see a Mystery Someone (who could it be?) giving orders to the Micromaster Sports Car Patrol. There’s more clunky dialogue here as the new Decepticons awkwardly self-introduce themselves with at least a couple of the bubbles the wrong way round, but it is fun seeing those flip symbols again as they switch from Decepticon to Autobot. You know, of the sort that were used to trick Megatron that time when the Predacons were set on him. Who could have picked up that trick?
Mr Mystery then calls Earth, leading to a slightly weak Air Strike Patrol based cliffhanger as they repeat their banter from Aspects of Evil with most of the team squabbling as Whisper thinks he’s the best.
Hey, remember how they were working for Megatron in that glimpse of the early 90’s Decepticon Civil War?
This is actually a much stronger way of introducing Furman to Americans than I remembered, and certainly than I thought at the time where I really didn’t spot the difference in authors. The fact it feels like a better Budiansky story is a compliment, not an insult. However, its success is entirely dependent on the dark and serious Ratchet scene, which really makes you feel for a character not focused on for far too long. The rest is more pedestrian, but certainly not awful.
Delbo also gets some highlights here, as well as a good zombie scene I like how the Autobots medical bay is set up like a garage, with bits of robots hanging from winches like your car when it goes in for a MOT. It has a degree of sense to it whilst still being creepy. He also gives the mystery villain a fantastic spiky Secret Headquarters.
This is also a sign of how the continuity between the UK and US stories is about to fall apart spectacularly despite them now having the same writer. A year or two ago, Furman as editor would have tweaked this line to deal with the fact Megatron has been all over the comic from almost the moment Budiansky killed him. Even replacing the word “Long” with “Recently” (as the British story that’s going to try and fix this does end with a Megatron body dead on the floor that could have been used to make everyone think he’s passed on again) would have helped. But this is only going to get worse over the next few weeks...
Meanwhile, in a minor example of Furman’s knack for good scene transitions, as Ratchet bemoans needing stuff from Cybertron we cut there to see a Mystery Someone (who could it be?) giving orders to the Micromaster Sports Car Patrol. There’s more clunky dialogue here as the new Decepticons awkwardly self-introduce themselves with at least a couple of the bubbles the wrong way round, but it is fun seeing those flip symbols again as they switch from Decepticon to Autobot. You know, of the sort that were used to trick Megatron that time when the Predacons were set on him. Who could have picked up that trick?
Mr Mystery then calls Earth, leading to a slightly weak Air Strike Patrol based cliffhanger as they repeat their banter from Aspects of Evil with most of the team squabbling as Whisper thinks he’s the best.
Hey, remember how they were working for Megatron in that glimpse of the early 90’s Decepticon Civil War?
This is actually a much stronger way of introducing Furman to Americans than I remembered, and certainly than I thought at the time where I really didn’t spot the difference in authors. The fact it feels like a better Budiansky story is a compliment, not an insult. However, its success is entirely dependent on the dark and serious Ratchet scene, which really makes you feel for a character not focused on for far too long. The rest is more pedestrian, but certainly not awful.
Delbo also gets some highlights here, as well as a good zombie scene I like how the Autobots medical bay is set up like a garage, with bits of robots hanging from winches like your car when it goes in for a MOT. It has a degree of sense to it whilst still being creepy. He also gives the mystery villain a fantastic spiky Secret Headquarters.
"You know what I want for Christmas? Bananarama"
In the black and white section we get a nice example of how the three story format can be used well. As the first story is dark and serious, for Out to Lunch! we get a strong contrast as Furman gives us what may be his biggest out and out comedy yet.
Of course, this nicely balanced structure to the issue is seemingly unintentional as it’s a sequel to the American story that has just started, even if that’s not going to be apparent for a few weeks. Presumably the reprints knocked things out of sync and it was impossible to hold it back. Or Euan Peters hadn’t noticed/didn’t care. Either way, it’s amusing to see Dreadwind and Darkwing out and out saying they were working for Megatron when the opening tries so hard to create a sense of mystery over who is behind everything.
All of this is somewhat obscured though by just how pissed the two characters are. With their most recent job having ended in disaster (though that’s still in our future), the two Powermasters head on a massive pub crawl which ends up (accompanied by singing of Show Me the Way to Go Home) in Maccadam’s Old Oil House.
What follows is glorious, the two of them get even more bladdered and discuss their mutually miserable lives, complete with panel layouts that turns them into Smith and Jones. Not only is it funny, it’s actually makes them feel like real people, bemoaning their lot after a bad day at work as we all do. The highlight being Darkwing getting confused over the events of People Power! and saying he doesn’t think their current fuel is poisoned, they’ve just had too much.
During all this, they’re completely oblivious to the destruction going on around them, as the Mechannibals who have been following them turn up with with a fever in their eyes over a planet of food. With a cheery “Greetings morsels, it’s dinner time!” they smash their way in past the bouncer Rocky (“A bit on the tough side...but tasty!”) and start chomping down. Including biting a Decepticon on the bottom. I never said it was highbrow humour.
Of course, this nicely balanced structure to the issue is seemingly unintentional as it’s a sequel to the American story that has just started, even if that’s not going to be apparent for a few weeks. Presumably the reprints knocked things out of sync and it was impossible to hold it back. Or Euan Peters hadn’t noticed/didn’t care. Either way, it’s amusing to see Dreadwind and Darkwing out and out saying they were working for Megatron when the opening tries so hard to create a sense of mystery over who is behind everything.
All of this is somewhat obscured though by just how pissed the two characters are. With their most recent job having ended in disaster (though that’s still in our future), the two Powermasters head on a massive pub crawl which ends up (accompanied by singing of Show Me the Way to Go Home) in Maccadam’s Old Oil House.
What follows is glorious, the two of them get even more bladdered and discuss their mutually miserable lives, complete with panel layouts that turns them into Smith and Jones. Not only is it funny, it’s actually makes them feel like real people, bemoaning their lot after a bad day at work as we all do. The highlight being Darkwing getting confused over the events of People Power! and saying he doesn’t think their current fuel is poisoned, they’ve just had too much.
During all this, they’re completely oblivious to the destruction going on around them, as the Mechannibals who have been following them turn up with with a fever in their eyes over a planet of food. With a cheery “Greetings morsels, it’s dinner time!” they smash their way in past the bouncer Rocky (“A bit on the tough side...but tasty!”) and start chomping down. Including biting a Decepticon on the bottom. I never said it was highbrow humour.
Buttock clinchingly good.
Amidst all this, star of the last Ladybird book Quickswitch gets a little lost as the straight man. There is an interesting bit of politics in the revelation that since he’s taken over as Decepticon leader, Thunderwing has stopped Maccadam’s being a neutral watering hole and made it ‘Con only. So the Autobot—cunningly hidden in a cloak—is there to meet a secret contact and has to take on the Mechannibals when they go for the Transforming between meal snack that will ruin your appetite.
It was pointed out by Tim Roll-Pickering in the comments last week that there’s been a lot of promotion for neglected 1988 toys in the British stories lately, as if Hasbro were keen for a final push on them as they still sat on shelves before Christmas. Certainly Quickswitch is mainly here to show of as many of his alternate modes as he can, but he can’t make much of an impression as he is really only there to provide funny background moments as the two stars drink themselves into a stupor. They don’t even notice when the pub collapses around them. The closing highlight being the revelation that the two buried Mechannibals are just as unhappy with their lot as the Powermasters, only they cope with eating to get over one wondering why nothing goes right for them.
This is a brilliantly daft story, that has something to make you laugh in every panel. Andrew Wildman really gets to show off, with his moustached barkeeper being especially delicious. All in all, an incredibly strong issue, probably the biggest overall hitter since the new format was introduced.
It was pointed out by Tim Roll-Pickering in the comments last week that there’s been a lot of promotion for neglected 1988 toys in the British stories lately, as if Hasbro were keen for a final push on them as they still sat on shelves before Christmas. Certainly Quickswitch is mainly here to show of as many of his alternate modes as he can, but he can’t make much of an impression as he is really only there to provide funny background moments as the two stars drink themselves into a stupor. They don’t even notice when the pub collapses around them. The closing highlight being the revelation that the two buried Mechannibals are just as unhappy with their lot as the Powermasters, only they cope with eating to get over one wondering why nothing goes right for them.
This is a brilliantly daft story, that has something to make you laugh in every panel. Andrew Wildman really gets to show off, with his moustached barkeeper being especially delicious. All in all, an incredibly strong issue, probably the biggest overall hitter since the new format was introduced.
After the sheer contempt shown for Uncle Bob’s last few weeks, Transformation is much more favourable to the new writer, with a more even balance given between promoting the two stories than we’ve had in months. The sidebar—though mostly given over to talking Classic Pretenders—also bigs up the fact Furman is now writing the American story. Bizarrely it puts one final boot into Budiansky with a “Here’s to continuity at last!” comment. Even though the UK/US continuity has been mostly fine to date and this is the issue where it starts to go wrong, it even acknowledges that with mention of a "Split personality" story coming up that will rewrite "Transformers history"!
Though considering how they’ve treated Budiansky lately, you have to wonder if by “Continuity” Euan Peters meant “Quality”.
Sadly Dreadwind is present this week, shame no one thought this would have been the perfect issue for him to take time off to recover. We get not one, but two letters in praise of the black and white format. The first from the amazingly named Ian Killminster (who I hope is a grizzled private detective now) even talks about how he likes colouring in the comic himself. There’s also a letter from “Anon” written to Jazz of all characters.
Things get serious in Combat Colin as the Gunge destroys his Combat Hat. Taking a chunk of his hair with it. Realising this must be their fault as the creature is clearly nuclear, Colin decides the only way to stop it is with a volcano. Luckily he has the Combat Drill with him to aim at the Earth’s core...
Over in Action Force, this story finally finishes, a good two weeks after the last appearance of the interesting Cobra Commander plot. It ends on a cliffhanger though, as everyone except Snow Job (who as the only uninjured party is ordered to run by Stalker) is captured and everyone back at the Pit is shocked when the government won’t authorise a rescue, even though it was made very clear at the offset that this was a plausible deniability mission. Some potentially interesting commentary from Hama on the abandonment of soldiers after Vietnam gets rather lost when it can’t compete with the death of the lead villain.
Next week, a Decepticon leader returns from the dead!
ISSUE 239
1989
COMMENT
Though considering how they’ve treated Budiansky lately, you have to wonder if by “Continuity” Euan Peters meant “Quality”.
Sadly Dreadwind is present this week, shame no one thought this would have been the perfect issue for him to take time off to recover. We get not one, but two letters in praise of the black and white format. The first from the amazingly named Ian Killminster (who I hope is a grizzled private detective now) even talks about how he likes colouring in the comic himself. There’s also a letter from “Anon” written to Jazz of all characters.
Things get serious in Combat Colin as the Gunge destroys his Combat Hat. Taking a chunk of his hair with it. Realising this must be their fault as the creature is clearly nuclear, Colin decides the only way to stop it is with a volcano. Luckily he has the Combat Drill with him to aim at the Earth’s core...
Over in Action Force, this story finally finishes, a good two weeks after the last appearance of the interesting Cobra Commander plot. It ends on a cliffhanger though, as everyone except Snow Job (who as the only uninjured party is ordered to run by Stalker) is captured and everyone back at the Pit is shocked when the government won’t authorise a rescue, even though it was made very clear at the offset that this was a plausible deniability mission. Some potentially interesting commentary from Hama on the abandonment of soldiers after Vietnam gets rather lost when it can’t compete with the death of the lead villain.
Next week, a Decepticon leader returns from the dead!
ISSUE 239
1989
COMMENT
