I’ve Been Around For a Long, Long Year, Stole Many a Man’s Soul to Waste.
Issue 246: All the Familiar Faces! Part 1/Demons! 25th November 1989.
Facets of revenge!
Literally just as I was about to post this to the website, it was announced that Bob Budiansky will be at TFNation this year. More information to follow in the coming weeks no doubt... LINK
Stewart Johnson gives us an interesting cover this week, clearly he wasn’t given any reference material beyond “It’s about devils that are a bit Transformer-ish”, resulting in a big jawed beast man in a red space suit, complete with helmet. No wonder he looks a bit puzzled and the net result is adorable rather than terrifying.
It is also, at least as far as I can recall, the only cover in the series without a Transformer anywhere in evidence. I wonder if the lack of obvious connection between the cover and the title put off any occasional buyers?
EDIT: AHHHHHHHHAAAAAA.....Yes, I know. I don't normally edit these posts to correct errors (I generally acknowledge them the next week), but as Dave has pointed out in the comments, I've been completely misreading this cover for 28 years. That's not a demon in a red spacesuit lurking in a door, it's a demon accurately based on the ones within reflected in Seawatch's eye. probably my most epic fail of the project to date...
The lead strip has a “See Issue” box that referring to Ratchet’s original kidnapping that hasn’t been changed by the UK team, but my first reaction upon seeing it was that it felt entirely reasonable that this storyline has been going since issue 56.
Facets of revenge!
Literally just as I was about to post this to the website, it was announced that Bob Budiansky will be at TFNation this year. More information to follow in the coming weeks no doubt... LINK
Stewart Johnson gives us an interesting cover this week, clearly he wasn’t given any reference material beyond “It’s about devils that are a bit Transformer-ish”, resulting in a big jawed beast man in a red space suit, complete with helmet. No wonder he looks a bit puzzled and the net result is adorable rather than terrifying.
It is also, at least as far as I can recall, the only cover in the series without a Transformer anywhere in evidence. I wonder if the lack of obvious connection between the cover and the title put off any occasional buyers?
EDIT: AHHHHHHHHAAAAAA.....Yes, I know. I don't normally edit these posts to correct errors (I generally acknowledge them the next week), but as Dave has pointed out in the comments, I've been completely misreading this cover for 28 years. That's not a demon in a red spacesuit lurking in a door, it's a demon accurately based on the ones within reflected in Seawatch's eye. probably my most epic fail of the project to date...
The lead strip has a “See Issue” box that referring to Ratchet’s original kidnapping that hasn’t been changed by the UK team, but my first reaction upon seeing it was that it felt entirely reasonable that this storyline has been going since issue 56.
The two faces of Ratchet.
All the Familiar Faces! does open in a rather fun way though as Ratchet plugs Starscream into his new Pretender shell and gets caught up in the sheer joy of doing medicine with advanced equipment and is gleefully describing just how awesome the whole thing is, complete with a cheery “Say hi to Starscream!”.
An attitude that is immediately shot down when Megatron joins in the good cheer and starts excitedly babbling about how this is really fab and will let him have his revenge and he’s really done some clever evil plotting this time hasn’t he? Which results in a crushing fall to Earth for Ratchet as he his predicament hits home again. It’s an excellent piece of characterisation and light comedy that is probably the most memorable part of the issue.
After that though, the only real movement on the Ratchet plot is Megatron telling him to use the time the shell will need to fix Starscream to clean up the lab. Which is a bit unfair of him, but when Megs knocks Grimlock’s head off in irritation it gives Ratchet an idea. With the three spare shells behind him in the panel to really hammer home what’s coming.
Other than that though, we get some mild bickering between Megatron’s troops that ends in a permanent job offer for Dreadwind and Darkwing that is just sheer padding because it won’t go anywhere. We then get a Mechannibals on Cybertron sight gag that is nice and sets up Out to Lunch! (shame we’ve already seen it), but the one line about them last issue did the job just as well.
On the Ark we get an incredibly awkward line of dialogue from Blackjack (talking to himself no less): “Though I enjoy spinning subtle webs of deceit and trickery, I must admit wholesale destruction is so much more satisfying!”, which doesn’t sound like something anyone, let alone this dim thug would come out with. I would be willing to bet that Blackjack’s character profile has the line “He enjoys spinning subtle webs of deceit and trickery” in it somewhere and Furman just dropped it in wholesale.
An attitude that is immediately shot down when Megatron joins in the good cheer and starts excitedly babbling about how this is really fab and will let him have his revenge and he’s really done some clever evil plotting this time hasn’t he? Which results in a crushing fall to Earth for Ratchet as he his predicament hits home again. It’s an excellent piece of characterisation and light comedy that is probably the most memorable part of the issue.
After that though, the only real movement on the Ratchet plot is Megatron telling him to use the time the shell will need to fix Starscream to clean up the lab. Which is a bit unfair of him, but when Megs knocks Grimlock’s head off in irritation it gives Ratchet an idea. With the three spare shells behind him in the panel to really hammer home what’s coming.
Other than that though, we get some mild bickering between Megatron’s troops that ends in a permanent job offer for Dreadwind and Darkwing that is just sheer padding because it won’t go anywhere. We then get a Mechannibals on Cybertron sight gag that is nice and sets up Out to Lunch! (shame we’ve already seen it), but the one line about them last issue did the job just as well.
On the Ark we get an incredibly awkward line of dialogue from Blackjack (talking to himself no less): “Though I enjoy spinning subtle webs of deceit and trickery, I must admit wholesale destruction is so much more satisfying!”, which doesn’t sound like something anyone, let alone this dim thug would come out with. I would be willing to bet that Blackjack’s character profile has the line “He enjoys spinning subtle webs of deceit and trickery” in it somewhere and Furman just dropped it in wholesale.
Start of Scorponok's journey under Furman.
The main purpose here (allowing for the fact it was always obvious Megatron was going to have the Ark blown up regardless) is Kup—who has now replaced the giant Targetmaster on the bridge, though that star reappears earlier in the issue in a flashback copied from the original panel—waking up and reaching for his gun, Just reaching mind, everything has to go along at a glacial pace.
The issue ends on what at first seems to be some genuine momentum: On Earth Prime orders his troops to board the shuttle and return to the Ark to deal with whatever threat they’ve been distracted away from. I say “Seems”, because of course in reality it’s the characters within the story admitting this entire sub-plot has been an irrelevant sideshow from the real story. It is however, typically bold of Prime to stay behind alone to talk to Scorponok, and we see the real beginning of Furman’s work on Lord Zarak as he ponders that Optimus is neither fool or coward. Though for now he decides the simplest option to avoid the risk of the Autobots running for a secret weapon on the shuttle is to destroy it...
Effective fax-cliffhanger aside, this is a meandering instalment that is only really worth reading for the fun opening. And possibly for Hot Rod’s completely out of character but entertaining comparison of the Decepticon hoard to the Red Cross.
On art, for some reason Delbo is putting a lot more effort than usual into facial expressions. Normally they can verge on vacant dull surprise (which is handy for out of their tree characters), but here Megatron looks tremendously jolly when talking about how great he is and Ratchet switches between vomiting in disgust when behind Megs’ back to a placid smile when in view. Even Darkwing has an ironic smile at one point. I’m not sure what induced the change, but it makes for some of his most effective art.
The issue ends on what at first seems to be some genuine momentum: On Earth Prime orders his troops to board the shuttle and return to the Ark to deal with whatever threat they’ve been distracted away from. I say “Seems”, because of course in reality it’s the characters within the story admitting this entire sub-plot has been an irrelevant sideshow from the real story. It is however, typically bold of Prime to stay behind alone to talk to Scorponok, and we see the real beginning of Furman’s work on Lord Zarak as he ponders that Optimus is neither fool or coward. Though for now he decides the simplest option to avoid the risk of the Autobots running for a secret weapon on the shuttle is to destroy it...
Effective fax-cliffhanger aside, this is a meandering instalment that is only really worth reading for the fun opening. And possibly for Hot Rod’s completely out of character but entertaining comparison of the Decepticon hoard to the Red Cross.
On art, for some reason Delbo is putting a lot more effort than usual into facial expressions. Normally they can verge on vacant dull surprise (which is handy for out of their tree characters), but here Megatron looks tremendously jolly when talking about how great he is and Ratchet switches between vomiting in disgust when behind Megs’ back to a placid smile when in view. Even Darkwing has an ironic smile at one point. I’m not sure what induced the change, but it makes for some of his most effective art.
Watch out Seawatch!
Speaking of artists trying something different from the norm, Jeff Anderson draws the second part of the UK’s new “Mini-Epic”, and though it’s not quite as dark and heavily inked as last week it’s still not business as usual for him.
Demons! Is effectively a bridging issue, but one with some fantastic moments. Starting with Micromaster Rescue Patrol member Seawatch (remember what I said about Micromasters last week? Forget it, the Air Strike Patrol will be showing up again, and again) being cornered by some bigger Decepticon bullies. To a certain extent this is a rerun with the encounter with the guard in A Small War!, but in a good way in that it emphasises the disdain with which Micromasters are viewed.
It also gives us some entertainingly thuggish Decepticons, with no grander plans than to just throw the little Autobot about and torment him, complete with jokes blaming it on their depraved upbringing (translation conversion? First hint of budding?). Something then proceeds to attack and eat the Decepticons whilst Seawatch...well, watches with shock.
Across the black and white era to date Furman has enjoyed bringing a darker, more real world attitude to politics and to the Cybertronian war, an approach that probably reaches its apotheosis here. At Autobase Fixit has diagnosed Seawatch with extreme PTSD, to the point that any attempt to break through his catatonic state could kill him. Xaaron however knows that three dead Decepticons with no explanations with only lead to reprisals and they must find out the truth no matter what, so he orders Fixit to bring his fellow Micromaster round.
So in two pages we get a realistic look at both the trauma war has on soldiers, and the tough decisions commanding officers must make in difficult times. Not to mention an analogy to Nazi retaliatory behaviour in their occupied territory (which, with the Cybertron Autobots being literally an underground resistance makes perfect sense). Xaaron is a character who could so easily only serve the purpose of exposition, but Furman has always been careful to give the bulk of his appearances some bite, a trend which continues to pay dividends here, with it being very easy to see why he’ll very shortly be making the switch to the American stories.
Demons! Is effectively a bridging issue, but one with some fantastic moments. Starting with Micromaster Rescue Patrol member Seawatch (remember what I said about Micromasters last week? Forget it, the Air Strike Patrol will be showing up again, and again) being cornered by some bigger Decepticon bullies. To a certain extent this is a rerun with the encounter with the guard in A Small War!, but in a good way in that it emphasises the disdain with which Micromasters are viewed.
It also gives us some entertainingly thuggish Decepticons, with no grander plans than to just throw the little Autobot about and torment him, complete with jokes blaming it on their depraved upbringing (translation conversion? First hint of budding?). Something then proceeds to attack and eat the Decepticons whilst Seawatch...well, watches with shock.
Across the black and white era to date Furman has enjoyed bringing a darker, more real world attitude to politics and to the Cybertronian war, an approach that probably reaches its apotheosis here. At Autobase Fixit has diagnosed Seawatch with extreme PTSD, to the point that any attempt to break through his catatonic state could kill him. Xaaron however knows that three dead Decepticons with no explanations with only lead to reprisals and they must find out the truth no matter what, so he orders Fixit to bring his fellow Micromaster round.
So in two pages we get a realistic look at both the trauma war has on soldiers, and the tough decisions commanding officers must make in difficult times. Not to mention an analogy to Nazi retaliatory behaviour in their occupied territory (which, with the Cybertron Autobots being literally an underground resistance makes perfect sense). Xaaron is a character who could so easily only serve the purpose of exposition, but Furman has always been careful to give the bulk of his appearances some bite, a trend which continues to pay dividends here, with it being very easy to see why he’ll very shortly be making the switch to the American stories.
"We need to know exactly how large the inauguration crowd was!"
The end of the issue can only seem a comedown after this, though it does give the action scene younger readers would probably be more interested in. It also gives another chronology headache as we cut to...Grimlock, Jazz and Bumblebee walking about on Cybertron. Their forthcoming resurrection has been heavily foreshadowed by the American book (though not Goldbug’s reversion) so this doesn’t ruin a surprise as such, but it does mean the timeline continues to be slightly messed up.
Otherwise though, this is actually quite a light sequence of them debating what the Decepticon reprisals might be, with Jazz confidently saying they’re too smart to jump to the obvious conclusion just as a bunch of Decepticons (oddly roughly the same Triggercons/Firecons combination Thuderwing commandeered a few weeks ago) start to attack them having jumped to the obvious conclusion. The issue ends with Bumblebee bemoaning that they need to find the real culprits...as the monsters what did it are standing behind him. Which is funny, but an odd mood switch from the opening. No wonder next week’s cover does a Monty Python joke.
Despite the stylistic switch, the strength of the Seawatch scene makes this a very strong issue with some great work on Xaaron. If only it had come out in something approaching the right order...
Otherwise though, this is actually quite a light sequence of them debating what the Decepticon reprisals might be, with Jazz confidently saying they’re too smart to jump to the obvious conclusion just as a bunch of Decepticons (oddly roughly the same Triggercons/Firecons combination Thuderwing commandeered a few weeks ago) start to attack them having jumped to the obvious conclusion. The issue ends with Bumblebee bemoaning that they need to find the real culprits...as the monsters what did it are standing behind him. Which is funny, but an odd mood switch from the opening. No wonder next week’s cover does a Monty Python joke.
Despite the stylistic switch, the strength of the Seawatch scene makes this a very strong issue with some great work on Xaaron. If only it had come out in something approaching the right order...
Scarily a few hours after reading this I bruised my finger the same way No. 6 does in The Schizoid Man...
Something Transformation seems to agree with as—after explaining when Out to Lunch! occurs in relation to the Mechannibals cameo with a resigned air—it breaks down with a scream of “Continuity, what continuity?!”. More cheerfully, the sidebar starts the build up to both Christmas and the “Never-before-seen” event of the 250th issue. Though it’s also very clear this won’t quite be the landmark of the last three 50 issue milestones as it’s incredibly vague as to what the special story will actually be about.
Combat Colin sees The Prisoner homage turned up to eleven (or six of one, half a dozen of the other) as Colin first attempts to escape on a penny farthing before winding up on a beach at sunset where we get the following exchange between him and Mountain Man: “Countless numbers have tried [to escape] and failed!”, “I am not a number...I’m Combat Colin!”. It’s contrived but still as funny as hell.
And just when you think the jokes can’t get any more fannish, Mountain Man declares that “It’s your funeral!” whilst blasting Colin. Prisoner spoofs are ten a weather balloon, but how many make jokes about episode titles?
For some reason Action Force (which in an example of poor coordination hasn’t been rebranded on the cover or strip itself, despite last week’s mini-comic) starts a reprint of an old two part Action Force Weekly story, Law of the Jungle! I’m not sure why, the most likely explanation is the next American reprint hadn’t arrived yet, but considering the material being used isn’t bang up to date that seems a bit sloppy. Unless it got lost in transit?
Whatever the reason, this Mike Collins written and drawn strip is clearly very much influenced by the famous “Silent” issue of G.I. Joe. Though it’s considerably less effective as there’s actual dialogue to start with as there’s a lot of gumph about Cobra and the Forcies being after a crashed satellite before you get to the mute duel in the jungle between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow that culminates in a tiger attack on the former. There’s also far more narration boxes than its predecessor used, which all adds up to a less novel take on the idea, which is a shame as the art itself is more than good enough to carry the story on the visuals alone. It feels like Collins read Silent Interlude, thought I’ll have a crack at that!” and then some editorial compromises came into play.
There’s no letters page this week, but as the Fiendish Feet were clearly well remembered based on the comments about the prior competition, it’s probably also worth mentioning there’s a nice full page advert for them on the back of the comic as well.
Next week, what have the demons ever done for us?
ISSUE 245
1989
COMMENT
Combat Colin sees The Prisoner homage turned up to eleven (or six of one, half a dozen of the other) as Colin first attempts to escape on a penny farthing before winding up on a beach at sunset where we get the following exchange between him and Mountain Man: “Countless numbers have tried [to escape] and failed!”, “I am not a number...I’m Combat Colin!”. It’s contrived but still as funny as hell.
And just when you think the jokes can’t get any more fannish, Mountain Man declares that “It’s your funeral!” whilst blasting Colin. Prisoner spoofs are ten a weather balloon, but how many make jokes about episode titles?
For some reason Action Force (which in an example of poor coordination hasn’t been rebranded on the cover or strip itself, despite last week’s mini-comic) starts a reprint of an old two part Action Force Weekly story, Law of the Jungle! I’m not sure why, the most likely explanation is the next American reprint hadn’t arrived yet, but considering the material being used isn’t bang up to date that seems a bit sloppy. Unless it got lost in transit?
Whatever the reason, this Mike Collins written and drawn strip is clearly very much influenced by the famous “Silent” issue of G.I. Joe. Though it’s considerably less effective as there’s actual dialogue to start with as there’s a lot of gumph about Cobra and the Forcies being after a crashed satellite before you get to the mute duel in the jungle between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow that culminates in a tiger attack on the former. There’s also far more narration boxes than its predecessor used, which all adds up to a less novel take on the idea, which is a shame as the art itself is more than good enough to carry the story on the visuals alone. It feels like Collins read Silent Interlude, thought I’ll have a crack at that!” and then some editorial compromises came into play.
There’s no letters page this week, but as the Fiendish Feet were clearly well remembered based on the comments about the prior competition, it’s probably also worth mentioning there’s a nice full page advert for them on the back of the comic as well.
Next week, what have the demons ever done for us?
ISSUE 245
1989
COMMENT
