THE TRANSFORMERS: COMICS, BOOKS AND MANGA

01 "War Without End"
02 "All or Nothing"
03 "Primal Fear"
03 "Old Evils"
04 "Devices and Desires"
04 "Tales of Earth" (Part 1)
05 "The Power and the Glory"
05 "Tales of Earth" (Part 2)
06 "Tales of Earth" (Part 3)
06 "The Gathering Darkness"

Marvel US G2 book 1 of 2: Dark Designs

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Reprinting: Transformers Generation 2, 1-6 (Marvel US)
Written by: Simon Furman
Pencils by: Manny Galan [2 pages 8-10, 12-13, 15, 3, 4 pages 1-17, 5, 6 pages 7-22], Derek Yaniger [1, 2 pages 1-7, 4 pages 18-22, 6 pages 1-6], Andrew Wildman [2 pages 11, 14, 16]
Inks by: Jim Amash [2 pages 1-4, 8-10, 12-13, 15, 3 (with Marie Severin), 4 pages 1-17 (with Marie Severin), 5, 6 pages 7-22], Derek Yaniger [1, 4 pages 18-22, 6 pages 1-6], Marie Severin [2 pages 5-7, 3 (with Jim Amash), 4 pages 1-17 (with Jim Amash)], Stephen Baskerville [2 pages 11, 14-15]
Colours by: Sarra Mossoff [1-4, 5 pages 18-22, 6], Chia-Chi Wang [5 pages 1-17]
Letters by: Richard Starkings with John Gaushell
Editor: Rob Tokar

The Autobots discover that there are still large threats in the universe, prompting Optimus to seek a dangerous alliance with the Decepticons.

The Stories:

Generation Two. It's responsible for a lot of things... not least of which is dooming everything which came before it to being colloquially referred to as "Generation One", especially since Takara and Dreamwave ratified the label on official products in recent years. It's also responsible for shifting the focus of Transformers for most fans to the comics, since the G2 cartoon was just a few selected 'G1' episodes cut with some disorienting CGI for scene changes and the G2 toys were largely repaints, garishly coloured or both. The G2 comics by Marvel US offered something new and fresh in a lean period.

It's also where things get a little complicated with releases. The 'G1' Marvel comic released in the UK included the Marvel US 'G1' material, but the Marvel UK attempt at G2 was a poor imitation and was cancelled after just five issues. Marvel US G2 ran for only twelve, but two were giant-sized, and there was a several-part crossover story in the regular G. I. Joe title to reintroduce the Transformers. As this was aimed at an older (and US) audience it was dropped from the Marvel UK G2, causing it to undergo significant rewrites which had a deleterious effect on the quality of the UK product.

(All of which is helpfully explained in the really rather interesting summaries at the start of this trade paperback, incidentally. The biggest failure of the UK comic was that the art and text for the replaced stories was mediocre, bordering on rubbish.)

Within the thirty-six pages of issue one, everything we knew about the universe the Transformers inhabit from 'G1' was turned on its head. It's hard for me to describe what an impact that first issue had the first time I read it, several years after it was first published because the only place I knew at the time which stocked US import comics was John Menzies. Right from the beginning the art and action are dark and gritty, and the Autobots... the Autobots are borderline homicidal: from Broadside's "Oh. Yes. The building -- and occupants -- are toast! Maximum points!" to Snarl's "...it's not like we enjoy this or anything!" as he cleaves through a Decepticon tank, we're left with no illusions that they mean anything less than business. As the original cover (with a closeup of Prime's face disfigured by unexploded shells and a smoking gun) suggested, "This is NOT your father's Autobot."

Theoretically, Marvel were still working to the Comics Code. However, it had never really applied to Transformers, only violence involving humans or aliens which looked convincingly human. Still, to gain the impression from Marvel US 'G1' that the Transformers were involved in a protracted and vicious war without end was more the exception than the rule. This is what G2 changed. Pencilled initially by Derek Yaniger, the characters were rounded off by custom speech balloons and fonts designed by Richard Starkings for the title. These were consistently edged with squares for Autobots, triangles for Decepticons, and (subtly) something somewhere in-between for Dinobots... all in the personal colours of the TF speaking.

The plot of these first six issues deals with the Autobots learning of the huge and sprawling Cybertronian Empire... an offshoot strain of Decepticons which initially left Cybertron as a small group, and spread and multiplied to cyberform (think 'terraform') whole planets and solar systems—driving the existing life on those worlds to extinction, of course. We're introduced to Jhiaxus (named by Furman to phonetically spell out "gee, axe us!" as Marvel titles at the time included many books which where commissioned with initial enthusiasm and never renewed) who leads a large number of Empire Decepticons. Meanwhile, Megatron is back in action, refitted into a new body by G. I. Joe's terrorist foes, Cobra, and takes the leadership of the Decepticons we're familiar with from 'G1' from Bludgeon in a very final manner. The Autobots go on a big raid against the Empire and lose quite badly. Optimus gambles with his life to enlist Megatron's aid in fighting Jhiaxus and to distract the 'G1' Decepticons from doing any further damage to Earth.

Along the way, there are shocking revelations about the origin of the new Empire troops, foreshadowing events in the second half of the G2 run. Gestalt technology has effectively disappeared, since many members of individual teams are dead. Bludgeon—before his little conflict of personalities with Megatron—succeeded in creating a huge mobile spaceship referred to as a warworld. Characters have particularly angular designs, especially Optimus: in the frames his optics are in shadow, at times reminding of Batman at his most vengeful. G2, then, is an escalation. Wider scale, more violent and best of all Unicron is a footnote: Transformers are entirely centre-stage here.

There are a few down-sides. For all the nice additions of recaps and interviews, the layout of the book has some peculiarities. The covers for 1,2,3 are sown randomly throughout the first issue worth of material, whilst 4,5,6 are grouped together at the back. There's a page from what would be issue 6 which has been incorrectly colour-separated prior to printing; Optimus is purple and orange in this shot. Finally, there's the omission of something readers being introduced to this story for the first time won't even realise is gone... "Ghosts". Originally produced as a Halloween release preview to be distributed at toy stores, "Ghosts" is a seven-page one shot that sits outside the main G2 continuity. It was later printed as a backup strip in G2 #2 because Derek Yaniger was struggling with the art schedule. It remains to be seen whether "Ghosts" or any of the GI Joe crossover which directly preceded G2 will be collected together or reprinted at a future date.

I'll deal with a general discussion of the art styles in G2 in the following review for "Rage in Heaven".

The Presentation:

Decent enough cover by Andy Wildman featuring G2 Megatron, Bludgeon's severed head, the warworld, Swoop and some explosions. The volume includes forewords "Eating my words" (by Simon Furman), "Prophetic words" (Richard Starkings), three pages of summary for Marvel 'G1', the G. I. Joe crossover from 139-142, and the UK G2 comics. There are also covers for issues 1-6, and a short overview of the creative team's other works.

The Verdict:

Well worth reading, from its explosive opening to a conclusion which sets up the latter half of the story arc. There's strong writing for a bevy of lead characters, including Optimus, Grimlock, Megatron, Jhiaxus, and dialogue interplay with a wide variety of others such as the Dinobots, Blades, Hot Rod, the Seekers. It's refreshing to see so many early characters still alive and in the thick of the action. Very slick, often quite dark in tone, G2 reflects what I'd like to have seemed the case in more Marvel comics: that the Transformers are at war.

 
Reviewed by Denyer
With thanks to Osku for typing up the production credits.

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