The originals... ok, not exactly, but the original named "The TransFormers" anyway. Take THAT, Diaclone! Generation 1, Generation 2 - Removable fists? Check. Unlicensed vehicle modes? Check. Kickass tape deck robot with transforming cassette minions? DOUBLE CHECK!!!
Gomess wrote:Grimlock was notoriously cheeky regarding the US comics and the cartoon, describing them as "ripoff kids' stories" compared to the "REAL WAR ACCOUNTS" being told in the UK strips. And Soundwave would always spit(?) after mentioning anything to do with Autobots. And Blaster... had some seriously weird taste in music. Dreadwind was my favourite, constantly insulting the fans, with Hi-Test chiming in now and then with his own text colour.
One of my favourite free gifts was a transfer (y'know, temporary tattoo) that made it look like your skin had been torn away to reveal mechanics underneath. The cover was even tailored to it, showing a human teen proudly displaying his inner workings while.. Iguanus and Bomb-Burst, I think..? stand beside him like "Yeahhhh this our boyeeee!"
PUTTUP!
Soundwave was asked about that several times each issue and it was finally revealed that it's supposed to be the spelling of the what someone spitting sounds like.
I always loved the UK letters pages. One of my favorites was during the Soundwave run when he "was away training the Constructicons" when they had a one shot "Rat-Chat" hosted by Ratchet. And Grim Grams was awesome as well. I have the original UK Collected comics 3 which reprinted "Man of Iron". "Shooting Star" was the Budiansky written tale of the gangster that used Megatron as his gun for a while.
I read the introduction for volume II of IDW's reprint series last night.
Roberts kicks off the introduction by listing a number of toys that were not available in the UK. I was personally suprised to see that the UK never got the 1986 tapes. Besides the fact that the tapes were recognizable and small (meaning "sellable") toys, they showed up more in the UK than they did in the US.
Still, when you look at it objectively, as inexplicable as the decision was (and is), Hasbro not releasing certain toys in the UK (while wasting shelf-space on red Tracks and such), was not as bad as it may have seemed. How many kids in the US got "everything", or even "most of everything". Trypticon was not sold in the UK. But, getting Trypticon was not a practical option for many kids in the US.
And, as Roberts pointed out, the UK got more (and we can likely agree, better) comics than the US. The different publishing schedule in the two countries gave the UK plenty of room to fit in extra story arcs. Yeah, kids like Roberts may have had to deal with the sting of seeting US product catalogues packaged with their toys and having to see pictures of toys they would never have a chance to buy. But, there were plenty of us in the US who read "Man of Iron", and just knew that there were better comics coming out in the UK.
Dom
-thinks we all know who got the better end of that deal....
I picked up volume 4 of IDW's "Transformers Classics UK":
The bulk of volume 4 looks to be "Head Masters" era content. Oddly, there is more of this than I expected, despite the fact that I have read (and owned original copies of) a significant amount of it as well as reprints of some other chapters. (This is the first time that I have seen all of it in one place though.) Relative to "new" content, this volume might be a worse deal for me than the last volume. The only thing, aside from the notes by Roberts, that I am sure I have not read are the text stories.
Of course, given that I have yet to read volume one, it is unlikely that I will be reading this any time soon.
Had my comic shop had Vol. 4 when I went there today, I likely would have bought it. But they didn't, so I didn't. I've got Vol. 3 coming in the mail from Amazon anyway. You really should read these, Dom. I steamrolled through Vols. 1 and 2, and they're some of my favorite things ever, though I'm admittedly a huge whore for the material they cover (The Marvel UK stuff easily ranks as my favorite G1-based fiction).
In the spirit of the season, I am going to post about the UK Christmas stories. I have yet to start reading IDW's "UK Classics" volumes. But, all of the Christmas stories were reprinted by Titan about a decade or so ago. (I just checked the wiki. Apparently, there are other Christmas stories. Odd.)
1986
"The Gift" (Hill/Griffiths)
Shortly before Christmas, Jetfire shows up on Buster's front lawn seeking advice. The long and short is that Jetfire is conflicted because he feels more obligated towards people and Earth than to the Autobots and Cybertron. Buster points out that this makes sense because Jetfire (in the US/UK comics) was built on Earth, and Jetfire takes some comfort in this. .
This is one of the few times (if not the only time) that I can think of early G1 comics really making a distinction between "native" Cybertronians and guys who were built on Earth. (The cartoon touched on it once in "Desertion of the Dinobots". But, that is another topic.) Fun Publications tried to use the same concept years later in "G2: Redux". But, despite having 20+ years to build on, that effort fell far short of "The Gift". The art is most simplistic than modern TF stories, but it serves well enough for a Christmas story published in the mid-80s. As an American, it is odd to read Buster (a kid from America's Pacific Northwest) using UK turns of phrase. It is not excessive, and UK readers likely did not (nor would they now) catch it. But, on this side of the pond, it sounds strange. (On the other hand, I am sure that UK comic readers could point to any number of allegedly British characters in England talking like Americans.)
Grade: B
1987:
"Stargazing" (Furman/Rimmer/Anderson)
Starscream is homesick and blunders across a human who teaches him the real meaning of Christmas. Streetwise shows up, and is made to look like a punk.
Maybe it is because I have read this more than the other TF Christmas stories (actually having found an original copy in the late 90s), but this is the least interesting of those I have recently read. "Bad guy does something nice on Christmas" is arguably a cliche of a cliche.
Grade: C
1988:
"Cold Comfort and Joy" (Furman/Rimmer/Wildman)
Optimus Prime is feeling disillusioned about his time on Earth (this being Powermaster Prime, which raises all sorts of "true self" questions). Meanwhile, several Autobots inadvertantly ruin Christmas for a small town (while not doing the town's infrastructure much good either). Events come together, and Optimus finds renewed, guilt-driven,purpose.
Oh, my, this is a down-beat Christmas story. In 1986, Buster offers some level of comfort to Jetfire, who finds some peace with what he is and the circumstances of his birth. In 1987, Starscream stopped being an asshole for all of 5 minutes, and a random human was at least able to *think* he did something good for somebody else. Here? A town is wrecked. Three Autobots feel (rightly) guilty *and* Optimus Prime finds renewed purpose when he realizes that the town getting trashed (as well as other damage suffered by Earth and its population) is most directly his fault. Merry Christmas kids!
Joking aside, this is not a bad story. But, damn... The art is gorgeous. Like most reviewers, I typically do not pay much attention to colorists and inkers. But, I will call out Baskerville and Peters for kudos here. There was so much to go visually wrong with this story, but their efforts really held it together.
Grade: A
1989:
"The Greatest Gift of All" (Furman/Staz)
This was a black and white story. I read it some time ago, but do not recall much of it. The high concept is that Optimus has a fragment of Matrix energy that he can use to revive a single Autobot. Prime is agonizing over which defunt Autobot should be revived, and eventually decides to use the fragment to repair damage to the planet that the Decepticons have done.
The high concept is strong (if not apparently very festive). But, as I have not read this story for some time, I really cannot say much more about it.
1990:
"Dreadwind's X-Mas"
I just found out about this one all of 10 minutes ago. I will likely blunder across it when I start reading IDW's "Transformers UK Classics" volumes straight through. It is apparently a text story.
2010:
"Nightmare Bee-4 Christmas"
This is a UK movie setting story. Ain't read it. And, unless it is reprinted in the US, I ain't likely to.
That is harsh. I have not read "Breaker", so I cannot comment. (Now that you mention it, I recall knowing about it. But, I have no memory of having read it.)
But, damn, what is your issue with Circuit Breaker? (Issue 9 of the US comic is a favourite of mine. And, the concept of Circuit Breaker is good.)
