Last Stand of the Wreckers #1-5 / TPB

[Red Dave Prime]

these blokes making comics know what you, the punter wants to see, and they go full-on to deliver the goods.

Yeah, reading the notes to all the littles touches and the process that they went through to arrive at the finished product so how much love these guys put into their work.

Great Stuff.

[Auntie Slag]

One interesting thing that came up in the video interview I forgot to mention is that the increased interest in it caused by this comic means Roberts and some others are looking into ways of celebrating the tenth anniversary of Eugenesis, possibly with a new actual print copy. Which would be nice as the difficulty I have in reading on a computer screen in depth prose is the main reason I've never bothered with the PDF version on this very site.

What sordid acts of utter filth would you have to do to get this to happen Mr. Dalek? because a proper 10th Anniversary copy of Eugenesis would be heaven on a sticky bun.

Just like the day I picked up my copy of the Jurassic Park novel from Smiths, all specially reserved like.. for me... months before the film hit.

And a black n' white photo of James Roche in the back posing Sidney Poitier style with the scrawl: to Slag with love.

Yeah, screw you Grisham!

Can you do it? YoucandoityoucandoitIknowyoucandoitransform!

[Edit]As an ever-so-slight criticism; I wanted a more poingnant death for Ironfist, you know, for proper blubbing rights. I wanted a panel of him in mid flow, telling a story to Verity and then fading away just like Impactor's "wily.. old... buzzard" line. I know its retreading ground, but its probably because I kind of want to love Ironfist in a 'Wall-E' way. They've certainly succeeded in making a big, blocky character so cute. I guess i was just hoping for a full on Toy Story 2 man-cry where Jessie the Cowgirl is reminiscing about being abandoned by her original owner with that really sad song playing over the top.

Christ.

Anyway, that's pretty much what they did. It just felt like the significance of his death could've been a bit more... significant. It was almost a panel you rush over because of the Magnus/Prowl banter.

See, I watched Toy Story 3 the other night, fully expecting to lose it completely... and it left me a bit cold and uninvolved. By contrast when I read of Ironfists death on a messageboard thread I was welling up at the mere thought of it, the whole dying whilst telling a story bit. Obviously not crying outwardly because I'm hard as f***... but, inside I was an emotional turmoil.

Ideally I would now like an Ironfist soft toy to be issued. And Guzzle as well, he's great, and so I can re-enact Overlords scene with him.

Sweet.

[inflatable dalek]

What sordid acts of utter filth would you have to do to get this to happen Mr. Dalek?

If what I've already done doesn't cover it I dread to think what will.

[snavej]

Impactor was knowledgeable about Earth: he understood what a 'buzzard' was.

[Halfshell]

Well he clearly didn't, as he seemed to think the term was applicable to a giant talking robot.

Do you reckon he also knew what a sandstorm was?

[Auntie Slag]

When impactor and Co. speak, do you hear them talking with English accents? I don't hear anything at all, but I know they're written by British chaps and it wouldn't surprise me if the Wreckers celebrated with some equivalent of tea on the lawn following a good mash up.

Or is it all undone because everything we read is automatically translated from Cybertron into best-fit English? This could explain 'buzzard' when in proper cybertronian Impactor meant a giant Euronics plug that spurts purple goo as it glides faultlessly through the air.

Maybe WE are the one's at fault, eh? EH?

Fancy saying Impactor's at fault. What nonsense.

Likewise the closest translation of 'Sandstorm' in Cybertronian is a plant that splits itself in many ways at the behest of someone else with a massive laser cannon on their right arm.

The Gary Larson deer.

I'm killing time...

[Rack 'n Ruin]

I'm killing time...

Au contraire, old chap. Time is killing you.

[Auntie Slag]

Not when you live your life in a little napsack hanging precariously off one side of the Space Bridge it's not.

Just me, Spanner and Richey from the Manics.

[snavej]

I guess that any planet with wind and sand could have a sandstorm. The recent discovery of a rocky, Earth-type planet around the star Gliese 581 (which is only about 20 light years from Earth) shows that rocky planets are probably quite common in the universe. Many of those would have sandstorms. Earth and Mars also have sandstorms. I reckon that sandstorms are more common than buzzards over the entire universe and are hence better known.

Laserbeak and Buzzsaw slightly resemble Earth buzzards.

Humans compare each other to buzzards sometimes, though we are not technically that similar. Buzzards aren't 'kings of the sky' but they are wily and successful opportunists. Impactor understood that concept, at least, and applied it to Xaaron. I guess it was also a translation thing. He was probably referring to a Cybertronian creature or machine.

[Cliffjumper]

So now you're answering your own stupid points?

[Auntie Slag]

Love the new sig CJ, but please could you include The Balowski family next to Cherednik? Feels somehow incomplete otherwise

[Cliffjumper]

Love the new sig CJ, but please could you include The Balowski family next to Cherednik? Feels somehow incomplete otherwise

Afraid it's purely a place-holder as the rest of my sigs are on the other computer, it'll be replaced by something pretentious and indecipherable soon enough...

[Auntie Slag]

zey are all enjoyable und give mi much pleasure.

Oh, and stuff about robots... so this isn't a pointless post. I'd like to see Skater in the next Wreckers, even if it is obvious as hell. And Skids, why not?

[Halfshell]

Laserbeak and Buzzsaw slightly resemble Earth buzzards.

Ravage resembles a dog.

[inflatable dalek]

And Ratbat a bat.

[Halfshell]

Ratbat actually is meant to be a bat though.

[inflatable dalek]

Ratbat actually is meant to be a bat though.

To Earth eyes he may look like a bat, but he's actually based exactly on the ancient Cybertronian lifeform the Wileyoldbuzzard. Which is of course what Impactor was talkin' bout.

[snavej]

Some months before Operation: Volcano, Cybertron received data from Earth via the Space Bridge, so Impactor could have known many Earth idioms.

[inflatable dalek]

Looking through the trade again I think I'm missing something obvious with the dating. Issue 1 opens "Three Years Ago", then when we see Ironfist and company come aboard Ultra Magnus' ship it's "Eight Months Ago". Then a flashback to Garus 9 "Two Years Ago", then back to Magnus' ship, then the Kick Off scene set "One Month Ago". Then we get the end of the issue, and after the "Long time Ago" flashback issue 2 jumps to Magnus' ship with the claim it's "Now".

That seems confused to me, all the action with the Wreckers seems consecutive (they board the ship, Ironfist passes out for the first time, Springer and Kup chat and get called to the bridge, Impactor appears) so there's little chance of an 8 month gap. Alright, perhaps for the second issue they decided to simply treat the main action as current, but that still leaves the "One Month Ago" thing in issue 1 as at least a mistake in relation to the other on page dating. It presumably means one month before the Wreckers set off, but because all the other dating talks in relation to the then current ongoing it means it instead comes across as 7 months later. Which makes no sense.

Or am I missing something very obvious?

[Blackjack]

The first two are in relation to the ongoing. So AHM is 'three years ago' from the first ongoing issue, and the Wrecker action happens 'eight months ago' from the ongoing.

I think the 'two years ago' and 'one month ago' is in relation to the Wreckers arriving on Garrus-9. Or the Kick-Off bit is supposed to be 'one year ago' from the ongoing, leaving a four-month gap between Kick-Off's death and the Wreckers coming to Garrus.