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THE TRANSFORMERS: COMICS, BOOKS AND MANGA

Marvel Comics
(1984-1994)
Japanese
Manga
Other Books
and Titles
Titan Books
(2001-2010)
Club/Con
(2001-2016)
Dreamwave
(2002-2004)
Devil's Due
(2003-2007)
IDW Publishing
(2005-now)
[book cover]
75 "On the Edge of Extinction"
76 "Still Life"
77 "Exodus"
78 "Savage Circle"
79 "The Last Autobot?"
80 "End of the Road"

Marvel US book 14 of 14: End Of The Road

View at Amazon.com  /  View at Amazon.co.uk

Reprinting: The Transformers #75-80 (Marvel US)
Written by: Simon Furman
Pencils by: Geoff Senior [#75] / Andrew Wildman [#76-80]
Inks by: Geoff Senior? [#75] / Stephen Baskerville [#76-80]
Colours by: Nel Yomtov
Letters by: Rick Parker

Which will be worse for the Transformers -- the fight against Unicron or its aftermath? Find out here!


The Stories:

Opening installment "On The Edge Of Extinction" makes you realise how impossible it would have been to fit this climax to the US series into a regular-sized issue. When it was reprinted in the UK, it was split over four. It contains some of my favourite art in the US stories, with no inker being credited; it seems that Geoff Senior handled everything in the art department for this issue, giving us a style with very solid shadows which compliments the subject matter superbly. With this kind of base, Nel Yomtov's preference for block colour (and apparent inability to provide much else) works surprisingly well. Okay... that's the art, what about the story?

You don't need to accept Furman's dramatisation of Unicron as a god. Indeed, we're immediately reminded that this is just a name, a tag "created by small, frightened beings." With the first two-page spread, it becomes credible that a threat the size of a planet could exist. There's no slow transformation sequence as there is in the movie, just the impact as Unicron tastes the 'flesh' of his old foe, Primus. Brainstorm is the first example chosen to highlight the incapacity of logic in the face of such a threat. Unicron treats him as an hors d'oeuvre, dismissing the Transformers ranged against him. Prime and Shockwave too see no hope, whilst the Neo-Knights take stock of their situation and Primus and Galvatron take the fight to Unicron. Things kick off, Autobot and Decepticon united for survival. Prime goes down, prompting Scorponok to rise to the challege with an attack which is suicidal but as effective as any counterstrike yet. Furman's dialogue is impeccable.

The dialogue takes another upwards swing with the arrival of Grimlock, a haunting last four panels between Prime and Scorponok, and the re-insertion of the matrix as a variable. I'm not sure if this extends only to my copy, but a couple of pages seem slightly blurred and faded, something even more noticeable because of the sharp colours everywhere else. I wonder if this has anything to do with storage of the printing plates or digital restoration process, because it's something which occurs with more consistency in other Titan volumes I have.

Unicron begins to feast and Circuit Breaker proves herself more powerful than ever suggested previously. Things come to an expected but no less powerful conclusion, and we're assured that the story is far from told. The even simpler lines and colours of these last two dozen panels and the surety and resolve of Prime's actions... somehow, they exceed all hype. They're up there with a calibre of writing no-one would have imagined possible of the fledgling toy tie-in comic making its debut in 1984. Furman has his weaknesses, and his detractors, but few would begrudge him this moment.

So, where does that leave us? We're about a quarter of the way through the book. The series is on its way towards being cancelled, still paying for itself in sales but Transformers no longer being a major toy earner for Hasbro. These final stories, #76-80, were written to allow either for new arcs or a neat wrap-up. In the event, it turned out to be the latter until G2 was proposed.

We're back to Wildman for the art as Grimlock and Prowl lock heads, the toyline Nucleon storyline intrudes upon events, the Autobot-Decepticon truce unravels, Galvatron comes face-to-face with Megatron, and Ratchet gets righteous on Starscream's ass and makes a sacrifice which is ultimately more principled than useful. It's left to Fort Max to deactivate Galvatron, and we haven't in fact seen the last of Megatron. The final sections (the Autobots catching up with the Decepticons on Klo and the revelation of the Last Autobot) are necessarily rushed. A shame, perhaps, but no less tidy or convenient than the "Rebirth" storyline which underscored the end the US cartoon. I rather like each. There's something to be said for letting things go out on a high note.

The Presentation:

Nothing to get too excited about. The other half of the montage cover which links up with the one on "All Fall Down", featuring Galvatron, Bludgeon, Prowl in car mode, a sketchy Dino-mode Grimlock, half of Unicron's head and the planet Cybertron. Over more star chart and flames... you would have thought that, since Titan have reprint permissions for the UK covers, the cover of #322 with Prime flying towards Unicron's maw with the matrix would have been an obvious choice.

The Verdict:

If you only buy one Titan trade paperback reprint, it should be this one. It benefits from being read with at least the material from "All Fall Down" underpinning the characters and situation, or even the "Primal Scream" and "Matrix Quest" pair before it if you're on a spending spree... but this is, for Transformers in retail comic books, the place the buck rests. Something the leading story of which should appeal even to those who've never heard of Transformers.

 
Reviewed by Denyer


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