THE TRANSFORMERS: COMICS, BOOKS AND MANGA

69 "Eye of the Storm"
70 "The Price of Life"
71 "Surrender"
72 "All This and Civil War 2"
73 "Out of Time"
74 "The Void"

Marvel US book 13 of 14: All Fall Down

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Reprinting: The Transformers #69-74 (Marvel US)
Written by: Simon Furman
Pencils by: Andrew Wildman
Inks by: Harry Candelario / Bob Lewis [#69], Stephen Baskerville [#70-74]
Colours by: Nel Yomtov
Letters by: Rick Parker

The penultimate installment of Marvel US 'G1' Transformers.

The Stories:

This was the first Titan trade paperback to appear, something which I think illustrates how difficult things must have been for a newcomer to Transformers comics in the early 90s—it throws you in at the deep end, though there is at least an introduction to bring readers up to speed on Thunderwing and the matrix (along with the awakening of Primus and Ratchet's attempts to take Megatron out of the picture and save the Ark.) Plus, in "Eye of the Storm" we come right in on the Autobots sharing some downtime and more story is recapped within the first few pages as Waverider conveniently explains things to Grimlock.

We then get some genuine insight into Prime's personality as he pulls himself together and considers how to unite the TFs and fight Unicron, although his comment to Nightbeat about Ratchet being his friend subtly suggests that his relationship with the other Autobots under his command may have weakened. Anyway, more recapping as we're reminded of how Megatron and Ratchet are thought to have met their ends. As if this wasn't enough, we have alternate reality Galvatron being read a riot act by Unicron... if I didn't already have the preceding story arc under my belt, I'd be seriously confused by this point.

Lots of important events integral to the ongoing plot happen soon after; Ratchet (and Megatron) are discovered not to be dead, which presents Prime with a dilemma. Grimlock has absconded in search of a miracle cure which might revive the rest of the Dinobots and Autobots. Prime decides to surrender to the Decepticons in a desperate attempt to force Scorponok to take notice of the Unicron threat, but with Shockwave's Decepticons making a bid for power, things don't go smoothly. Galvatron, along with Emirate Xaaron, is trying to fully awaken Primus in order to fight Unicron. We finally get more TF creation backstory in the US title, translated over from the UK comic story arc, "Legacy of Unicron".

Throughout it all, the artwork reminds us that most of the TFs have been fighting for a long time, many without opportunity for repair or rest. Few characters don't carry dents, trailing wires or stains. It can get a little murky at times, but it all adds to the credibility. This is not Transformers pitched at the low end of the audience age range; this is a race of robots at war.

Colouring is functional and enhanced greatly by use of hashing in areas suggested to be shaded. I won't tear apart Nel Yomtov's work because I suspect every other review will already have mentioned that it isn't anything special. A wider palette per page would have helped, but the art is good enough to carry the rest. On a related issue, this volume is testament to how much finding a good inker matters. #69, "Eye of the Storm" is very rough, with little of the aforementioned subtle hashing. The way the two pages are printed makes comparing Ratchet/Megatron at the end of this issue with the one on the first page of #70 straightforward, and the difference is huge.

The Presentation:

Part one of a montage by Andy Wildman which joins up with the next volume, "End of the Road" to form a cohesive, if disinteresting, whole. The combination of bright primary colours on the foregrounded TFs and a background of starcharts, flames and 3D renderings is complex but doesn't mesh particularly well. It should stand out on shop display shelves, though, which is the desired aim. The two halves of the cover don't quite line up on the copies I've seen. Anyway, this cover features PM Prime, the Ratchet/Megatron fused being, Starscream in jet mode, Shockwave as a gun, Unicron in 3D as a planet, and half of his head.

The collected US covers in the back of the book remind just how bad the colouring was, even compared to the colouring inside the actual comics. Most of these designs (#70-74) were reworked and painted for use on the UK comic, to great effect. It's a shame these aren't also included, even if it were only as thumbnail images.

The Verdict:

This may not have been the best jumping-in point for newcomers to the Marvel US stories. However, it did allow Titan to put out the concluding volume quickly after, which does include some of the strongest material from the 80 issue series. Ideally, this volume should be read with the next one also on hand, as otherwise the appearance of Unicron at the end will seem very frustrating. Most of this collection serves to set up events rather than be an entire story in its own right, which is only a criticism if you're the type of reader who can't stand everything not being neatly compartmentalised. The ongoing nature of Transformers comic continuity has always been both its greatest weakness (insofar as attracting new readers is difficult when working with a complex backstory) and its most rewarding feature.

 
Reviewed by Denyer

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