TRANSFORMERS ARMADA #6
Cover Date: December 2002
Story: Simon Furman
Pencils: Pat Lee
Inks: Rob Armstrong
Lettering: Dreamer Design
Setting: Earth - Silver Ridge Abandoned Mining Town. Lincoln, South Dakota - The Black Hills. Rapid City, South Dakota Outskirts. Autobase - Lincon Outskirts.

Plot Summary:
At the new Decepticon base, Megatron attempts to gain more strength from Leader-1, but is unsuccessful. Leader-1 says that the combined powers of the Mini-Cons have limits, to which Megatron replies that he will just have to capture more Mini-Cons. The kids, meanwhile, are hanging out in the park when Optimus shows up to announce their departure. At a abandoned meat processing plant, the Air Defense Team is discussing what to do when Megatron rips the roof off. Sonar sends off a distress signal, which is intercepted by Sparkplug. Sparkplug proposes a plan to rescue them, but Optimus refuses, citing the possible capture and turning of them as an unacceptable risk. Sparkplug, Jolt and Longarm go anyway, leaving a device with Rad that will signal for help should they run into trouble. The three Mini-Cons infiltrate the base, but are seen by Starscream, who tries to capture them, but fails to do so. Nearby, Megatron holds up his newest weapon – The Star Saber!

Transformers/Humans Featured (in rough order of appearance):
Megatron, Leader-1, Carlos, Alexis, Rad, Optimus Pime Sparkplug, Jetstorm, Runway, Sonar, Cyclonus, Starscream, Demolishor, Grindor, High Wire, Sureshock, Jolt, Longarm

Other Notes:
Several plot points left unresolved by the previous issue are either ignored or handled differently that one would have expected. For example, in the last issue, Optimus says that that the Autobots will get vehicle downloads and set up a base on Earth. So why then do the Autobots already have their vehicle forms, a base set up, and yet are preparing to leave? Also, Smokescreen, Scavenger, Liftor, and Rollbar have all disappeared following the events of the last issue. Sparkplug gains a third character model. (That looks nothing like either his toy or cartoon appearance.) Demolishor is missing his shoulder cannons. The “every flying camera for himself” is obviously a reference to Laserbeak. Starscream has little lasers on his arms.

Review: The phrase “For Every Good, There Is A Bad” certainly applies to this issue. The good, of course is that Simon Furman, the most popular writer in the Transformers fandom, originally signed on to write this two issue story arc, would later be brought on to take the writers reigns for the Armada comic. Anyone who has read his UK stories, along with the later US line and G2 stories, will know how good he is at writing a Transformers story. Unfortunately, the bad comes in the form of Pat “I-Can’t-Draw-Worth-S*it” Lee, whose best known as the guy who made the G1 mini-series the worst comic ever made. Not to mean that this issue is a total crapfest when it comes to the art. He does manage to do the impossible, and make the kids not look like lumpless bags of flesh, and several shots of both the Autobot Mini-Cons and the Air Defense Team look pretty spiffy. On the whole, however, the art really drags down the story. One such shot occurs very early on. When Optimus arrives, Hot Shot is seen beside him. Yet later, we see Sparkplug their instead, and any indication that Hot Shot was ever there disappears. This was one of the major things I found annoying about this issue. To sum it up, this issue, despite having a major art problem, was a great delight to read.

Review by Bombshell