If she had the old blue mask, I'd have been onboard day one.

So the other day, from the quarter bins I got the first six issues of Image's Void Rivals and one issue of new Transformers series. I don't remember if the former was a stealth TF relaunch, or if it was announced as such: it's basically a longer-form Enemy Mine with a bit of Moonlighting's will-they/won't they. Jetfire appears in the first issue, but only long enough to be "oh crap, how long was I asleep!?" and take off. For a buck an issue? Not bad, but I didn't run to the store for more yet either. Transformers #5 was mid-stream, but interesting: I feel like Optimus taking Megatron's cannon should be a moment like Cap picking up Thor's hammer, but I also kinda feel like Optimus shouldn't be able to transform with that thing on him. (They maybe cheat and it appears as one of Optimus's stacks!) Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of Kirkman or his banner, but like I've said before, I lost most of my Transformers continuity two, three reboots back and would have a hard time getting back in. Which I was kind of expecting to be the case with this issue!

From 2005, Manhunter #11, "Manhunted Part 2: Chasing the Dragon" Written by Marc Andreyko, pencils by Javier Pina and Diego Olmos, inks by Fernando Blanco and Bob Petrecca.

Was this the most recent Manhunter book from DC? It's a title they've trotted out more than once, but this issue maybe goes a ways towards making it more of a legacy than it had been in the past. Well, she was was a legacy too, but that would come out later! The current Manhunter was Kate Spencer, a prosecutor who stole impounded super-tech to use it to murder villains who beat charges. Feels like a few conflicts of interest there, but okay. This issue, her old friend Cameron Chase of the DEO (and her own short-lived series!) was getting involved, since two of the previous four Manhunters had recently been killed: the elderly All-Star Dan Richards, and musician Chase Lawler. Meanwhile, Mark Shaw was driving across Nevada, intent on warning the "new girl" since the other, clone Kirk DePaul of the Power Company, wouldn't take his call. DePaul does get a warning from the DEO, but scoffs at the idea of needing help: he was a professional.

DePaul probably should've listened, though: his girl gets shot as they leave a fancy restaurant, but the shooter lets himself be seen, wanting to be chased. Despite having a full stomach (and probably a few drinks in him) DePaul does give chase, facing Shaw's old foe, Dumas. Dumas gives him his bigass daggers, and does get stabbed, but that was just so he could inject DePaul...not with poison, but an air bubble, to cause a massive stroke. (The odds of hitting a vein just so, in the middle of a fight like that, seem long.) Dumas's mask had been knocked off, and DePaul recognizes him before being decapitated. Two to go, but spoilers after the break! Since this was, crap, twenty years ago! You might already know: this was a retcon, and Shaw was also Dumas, and apparently always had been. He had been shot full of nanites, to give him that ever-popular healing factor, but also to imprint "Dumas" on him as a means of control: Shaw could chase "Dumas" forever, while Dumas was useful for murders and such. I didn't care for this retconning the Ostrander/Rice series I liked, or killing the clone from Power Company: a little too much breaking of other people's toys, but Kate seems cool, and Chase should be in way more books. Read more!

Maybe if I scan this, I can read it without my glasses.

I typically don't have a lot of Christmas shopping: I don't have a huge family, and I give a lot of cash and gift cards and such. I did get a few toys for my grandkids, and then I had to make a Target run for Giant Sorry! Last year, my sister claimed--somewhat aggrievedly--that I used to beat her all the time at that, but she only lost all those games because she couldn't read. I...don't think that's entirely true, but that gets her a new game. It's pretty giant; I guess. Actually, now I want to see life-size Sorry! like human chess on the Prisoner; guys dressed as giant pawns taking runs at each other...

Anyway, I got a few of the World's Smallest blind-boxed figures: Masters of the Universe Orko and Teela, and Arcee from the Transformers. I don't love blind-boxes, but these came with wee little comics as well! The Masters are reprints that came with the figures back in the day, but of course the Transformers #5 was a Marvel book from 1985: I don't think I realized until after he passed, but that cover was from the great M.D. Bright.

Hmm, the paint looked better in hand than that picture; but admittedly my vision could be better. Still, I was glad to get Arcee: I like little Transformers, but they don't always get real deep into the roster. It took a long time for her to even get a figure, surprisingly; but I think early Arcee figures were "shellformers." She strongly resembles the 2020 War for Cybertron: Earthrise figure. 

Interior scan from "The Fastest Draw in the Universe!" Written by Steven Grant, pencils by Mike Vosburg, inks by Greg Brooks. Originally that came with the Rio Blast action figure, but World's Smallest includes it with Orko.

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This isn't really a horror comic--oh, quit that!

From 1987, the Transformers #31, "Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom" Written by Bob Budiansky, breakdowns by Don Perlin, finishes by Jim Fern.

If you watch a bunch of old Transformers cartoons in one sitting, most of the episodes in the first two seasons seem to revolve around the Decepticons trying to get some new fuel source: it might seem repetitive, but if you landed on some weird new world, you'd probably spend a lot of time foraging for food too. And that's the start of this issue as well, as the Decepticons hijack an oil tanker. The mission goes smoothly, despite--or perhaps because--of the absence of Megatron and Starscream: the Decepticons were currently under the logic-based command of Shockwave, but he seemed to have to answer to Ratbat. Ratbat might have been a mere cassette, but he was also...an accountant? "Chief Decepticon fuel auditor of Cybertron"--yeah, he's totally an accountant. And Shockwave's leadership was proving as inefficent and wasteful as Megatron's, maybe worse: the tanker had been hijacked, after it had been emptied! Ratbat berates Shockwave, to maybe think outside the box, like exploiting the natives...and if Ratbat doesn't have a British accent, that's totally what I hear for him now. 

Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon; business was booming at Sparkplug Witwicky's garage, since the addition of a new automated car wash. It's more like a combination car wash/drive-in relaxation spa, and weirdly popular. This was leaving his son, Buster, swamped with work; so much so that he can barely get away when his friend Jessie comes by. He complains about the work and the boredom, but still, Buster had decided he couldn't have adventures with the Autobots anymore, since his dad had had a heart attack and didn't need the stress.

Downtown, tech mogul G.B. Blackrock has a press conference, hyping the massive success of his automated car washes--like Sparkplug's--and presents a new and improved version. Look, there wasn't internet back then, but there had to be something better to do; a super-popular car wash chain should be suspicious as hell. Sure enough, Blackrock is under the control of Ratbat. That night at Sparkplug's, Jessie swings back by, and asks Buster to go through the car wash with her. Buster is being a thick-headed sourpuss until Jessie throws herself at him, but then she suddenly stops, seemingly mesmerized by the flashing lights in the car wash. She tells Buster she has to go, and he decides to follow in his truck. She drives to a Blackrock refinery, seemingly to fill up. Buster flashes his lights at her, to get her attention, breaking the hypnosis; but he's then stopped by Laserbeak! Buster was worried Laserbeak recognized him, but no, it had just been getting him in line. Buster realizes, the cars weren't being gassed up there, they were having their tanks siphoned. And tons of other cars and drivers were in line for the same, including Sparkplug!

As Jessie and Buster watch from a distance, G.B. Blackrock and Ratbat give a presentation, to a hypnotized crowd: look, it's mostly to get the exposition out for our benefit, okay? Ratbat had hypnotized Blackrock, then given him the first "Wash and Roll" unit. Blackrock's corporation then made and distributed more, which hypnotized drivers into delivering their tanks to the Decepticons. But, the hypnosis wore off too quickly; hence, enter the new and improved model! Then those pesky humans would stay hypnotized. Sparkplug's about to be the first victim, so Buster has stop him with his pickup, but is then chased into the car wash by Ratbat. Ratbat sucks the fuel out of Buster's truck, then encourages him to not waste energy struggling, just give up already! Buster fights Ratbat off with a tire iron while avoiding getting hypnotized, until Jessie can save him by coming through the other end of the car wash and backing into Ratbat.

Buster can't gamble on getting Autobot help in time, so he smashes a neon sign with his trusty tire iron, creating a flash that breaks the spell on everyone else. The crowd starts throwing things at Ratbat and Laserbeak, who were far from the biggest Transformers, but I'm still pretty sure they could've murdered everyone there. Still, that would hardly be fuel efficient, so they take off. Freed, G.B. Blackrock makes plans to make amends for the trouble caused--which feels like the least realistic turn of events in this entire comic--and Sparkplug thinks his son could do better than pumping gas. Buster and Jessie have a kiss in the end, which I doubt would've flown on the cartoon, so good for them.

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Over? No, we're just getting started...unless it's over.

Optimus Prime wears a ratty looking old cloak on the cover of this one; which is a look I've seen various Transformers pull more than once, and I'm not sure where they would have gotten cloth, or why they would need a cloak anyway. Are his shoulders cold? OK, here it's probably to symbolize OP leading his people into the wilderness, but spoiler alert: it doesn't matter. From 2022, Transformers: Fate of Cybertron, written by Brian Ruckley; art by Andrew Griffith, Winston Chan, Alex Milne, Ed Pirrie, and Angel Hernandez.

With the rust worms, the Insecticlones, and Exarchon defeated; there was now nothing standing between Megatron and total domination of Cybertron. Not even Optimus Prime: to prevent yet another devastating war, Optimus is willing to concede the planet to Megs, and those who wish to leave will do so. That doesn't quite placate Megatron, who knows damn well if Optimus leaves, he would be back: instead, he wants his old foe to stay, be ruled, submit. Starting with, give up the Matrix of Leadership. That is also a non-starter, but the fight doesn't go the distance; as rookie Jumpstream out-teleports Decepticon teleporter Skywarp, taking an imploder bomb out of play. Megatron is forced to let Optimus and his forces leave, at least while he yells at Shockwave, to get the Constructicons and Devastator into the fight. (Megatron seemed to have his oftimes unreliable allies squarely under his command here! That never lasts long, but still.)

The Autobots are still trying to get everyone that wants out aboard Darkmount, and have to hold out long enough to launch; while the Decepticons throw everything at them. Scattershot rallies nine other volunteers into a Combiner-form, to face Devastator (who seemed to be far mightier than most Combiners) but is eventually outgunned and falls apart. Still, they lasted long enough, for everyone else to escape. A furious Megatron orders his prisoners to jail, but they're all grins: they know they won. Optimus also knows, while Megatron might be able to force Cybertron to submit, or to obey; he would never be able to force it to love him. And on one of the moons of Cybertron, Cosmos and Blast-Off prepare for some company...

Just a few years ago, there was an era of Megatron Was Right, as we found out the cruelty and brutality that led him to rebel against a society that had oppressed and betrayed (and needless to say, deceived) him and thousands of others. This is just Megatron that wants to be ruler, by the Primus-given right of being Megatron. Anyone not onboard with that can line up to get shot in the face...Of course, we've mentioned before: this would be the last issue of IDW's Transformers run. They'd had the license for like 17 years! Image/Skybound has Transformers now; I think #9 is out last week as I write this. And it's maybe selling well for them; but I lost my continuity a couple back with the end of Lost Light; no thanks. Read more!

Bite my shiny metal--ah! Oh, no!

I thought this was before Transformers: the Movie (it's not, but maybe in continuity?) so there probably wasn't a lot of contingency plans for Optimus Prime dying. Not saying it's old hat now, but the Autobots are going to be a bit more prepared. From 1987, the Transformers #27, "King of the Hill" Written by Bob Budiansky, pencils by Don Perlin, inks by Ian Akin and Brian Garvey.

Paleontology student Rachel Becker is excited to find dinosaur footprints in the Oregon forests, but they're quickly debunked as fakes: the edges were too smooth, obviously mechanically-made. They don't have a good explanation for the pterodactyl they see, though: it's Swoop, on a meal run for the Dinobots! He swipes a tanker trailer and brings it back for his crew, who were currently estranged from the Autobots: they didn't understand why the Autobots cared about humans, and thought they should go all-out against the Decepticons regardless of any people in their way. Still, word had reached them of Optimus Prime's death a few issues prior, and Grimlock thought it was time for them to return to the fold...and for him to be the new leader of the Autobots!

The Decepticons also had a new leader, with the coolly logical Shockwave now in charge; but he was getting pushback from Cybertron: fuel auditor Ratbat had crunched the numbers, and the mission on earth was a fuel suck. Shockwave argues, that was under the old boss, his regime would be more efficient; and Ratbat agrees to a final expenditure: sending the deadliest Decepticon, for a surprise attack on the Autobots' base, the Ark. (At scenic Mount St. Hilary, which I had to check if it was real or not!) It was a full house in the Ark, as the Autobot leadership on earth had gathered to try and decide who their new leader should be. While they debate what they're kind of looking for in a leader, Grimlock crashes in, to tell them the only characteristic that matters is strength! Max that out, forget about compassion or charisma!

Grimlock gets booed out of the room, but claims he'll take leadership, he doesn't have to wait for them to give it to him. Nearby, Rachel witnesses the arrival of the massive Trypticon, one of the largest of all Transformers. Rachel initially panics, but realizes it didn't seem to care about her, but she lost her flashlight and would have to wait until morning to get back to her camp. Trypticon takes his battle station mode and lays siege to the Ark, and starts wrecking the Autobots. Grimlock had been coming back to the Autobots, to kick their asses until they made him leader, if necessary; but is dismayed to see them getting hurt. The other Dinobots don't much care, watching the fight and laughing. Grimlock steps away to think, and is observed by Rachel, who works through her fear quickly to try and study him, which Grimlock finds impressive--more impressive than he had expected from humans. But Rachel is then captured and brought before Trypticon, and Grimlock finally leaps into action, even though he was many times smaller than his foe. His Dinobots won't let him fight alone, though; and they manage to fight Trypticon to a stand-still, until Ratbat recalls him to Cybertron for going over-budget.

While Rachel is left to ponder what she had seen, Grimlock returns to the Ark, but did not feel he deserved to be leader. The other Autobots disagree, and Grimlock is elected by acclaim. While his heart was...occasionally in the right place, Grimlock was also dumber than a box of rocks, so I'm not sure his reign went that great--in fact, he might've had himself a crown made like Starscream. That's not a good sign... Read more!

Even though I jumped off when Lost Light ended and the continuity rebooted, I still kind of need to get a copy of Fate of Cybertron, the last issue of IDW's Transformers publishing, which ran various series from 2005 to 2022. I think that's the last one, maybe: as so often happens, the numbering gets a bit iffy after a while. Today's book was from very close to that end, though: From 2022, Transformers: War's End #1, written by Brian Ruckley, art by Jack Lawrence, inks by Matt Froese. 

As occasionally happens, since they had reams of characters to choose from, this one opens with a small band of Autobots not particularly familiar to me; which always feels like the opening of a horror movie that ends badly. Despite a number of other things going on, they've been tasked with investigating Cybertron's Sonic Canyons, watching out for the return of Exarchon. He was a relatively new character, but felt like he was taking the role Shockwave might've before: a new party entering the field, as a possible spoiler. And Exarchon has Shockwave on his side, by promising him all the science; while his other potential recruit Skywarp decides he's heard that sales pitch before, and bails. 

I kinda think the previous continuity took a more nuanced approach to Megatron, whereas he was more just the bad guy again here; but by this point in the series he was really close to taking all of Cybertron. For what that was worth, since the planet was crawling with rust worms and Insecticons; but he was so close and not about to let Exarchon step on his moment. Old soldier Cyclonus warns the Decepticons, largely because he doesn't think he can kill Exarchon himself, since he had the ability to impose his "spark" over others and taking them over. Soundwave and Starscream are forced to agree they might need to do something there; with Starscream framing it as a politically savvy move: be the noble leader that stopped the foreign threat of Exarchon, whether or not it actually existed... 

Meanwhile, the Autobot crew--which includes the obscure yet distinctive Zetar, a guy with a drill on his head--had been chased all over the place, but could now be cornered by Deathsaurus. Which is a terrible name, feels like that should be "Deathasaurus."

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OK, you could probably save all of my personality on a floppy disk, but I'm kind of dull.

I'm also not thousands of years old, and my voice isn't quite as cool as his...honestly, Optimus may sound more human than I do; I get accused of being a machine all the time. Anyway, from 2006, IDW's Transformers: Generations #7, reprinting Marvel's 1987 Transformers #24, "Afterdeath!" Written by Bob Budiansky, pencils by Don Perlin, inks by Ian Akin and Brian Garvey. Reprint cover by Nick Roche; and the controller on it is far too modern; but I'm not sure any of the computer stuff in the original story was drawn with any references, either; both computers and video games may as well be sorcery at this point...

This may have been about when I fell off buying Transformers as a kid: young energy researcher Ethan Zachary unwinds after work by using the massive screen and supercomputer to play games, but when Megatron and Optimus confront each other over the energy plant, his game becomes a battlefield. Captured, Ethan had overheard Optimus suggest that Megatron wouldn't want to risk destroying the plant before getting whatever it was he was after, so Ethan proposes they fight it out in the game. I would've been 100% onboard if this meant Megs and Optimus were going to settle things with a match of Super Smash Brothers or whatever, just to see them with tiny controllers in their hands...wait, what head-to-head fighting games were there in 1987? Karate Champ? Or the first Street Fighter.

Instead, Optimus and the Protectobots and Megatron and his Combaticons are loaded into the game. (This was well before the concept of the Transformers' "sparks," so they were basically considered programs here?) Megatron had also proposed raising the stakes: for him and Optimus, if they died in the game, they died in real life, and both are rigged to self-destruct at the press of a button. The Protectobots give a good showing of themselves, making allies within the game to help them beat their opponents. But, when Megatron cheats to reappear after falling to his death, Optimus is forced to cheat himself, "sacrificing" innocent bystanders to defeat him, something he could never have done in real life. He tells Ethan to press the button and destroy him, and he does!

The victorious Decepticons help themselves to the research center's work; while the Protectobots solemnly return Optimus Prime's body to the Ark. But, Ethan still had Optimus saved...on a 5¼-inch floppy disk!? That is insulting. Standard floppy was about 1.44 MB, assuming Ethan had the higher end 2.8 MB, which would get you what, maybe not even 30 seconds of Transformers: the Movie? In lowest-possible def. Optimus was also killed in that, just the year prior; so the continuity was already getting iffy, but would continue merrily along it's own path for years to come. Read more!

I totally get why it's done, but I always find it weird when another comics company reprints an old Marvel book. I have a lot of Dark Horse's Star Wars and Conan collections, but less of IDW's Transformers classics. From 2006, Transformers: Generations #5, reprinting Transformers #17 from 1986, "Return to Cybertron, part 1: The Smelting Pool!" Written by Bob Budiansky, pencils by Don Perlin, inks by Keith Williams. There were like three covers for this thing, including a "variant retro-art" one with interior art; but mine was by Ashley Wood, who seems like a get for this.

To introduce some new toys--er, characters--this issue returns to Cybertron, homeworld of the Transformers, Autobots and Decepticons alike. Somewhat troublingly, it seemed to be a rogue planet, not in orbit around a star, but just careening through space like the moon in Space: 1999. Cybertron also looked like a shiny Christmas ball from a distance, "But a closer look reveals it to be a pock-marked mechanical wasteland, a misery-ridden monument to millions of years of war and oppression." The Decepticons control at least this little corner of the planet, and were harvesting the lower class (and smaller) Transformers for fuel and raw materials. Blaster intervenes on behalf of a little robo-peasant, although he doesn't seem to think much of the potential victim; he was waiting to rendevous with Scrounge, who he also doesn't think much of, describing him as a "malfunctioning foul-up." Even Scrounge doesn't think much of himself, but using his special remote camera/boom mike arm to spy on the Decepticons, he copies some data they were pretty excited about. Transforming into a little wheel, Scrounge calls Blaster and tells him he's really got something big this time, but is then captured by one of the Insecticons. (Named later, it's Shrapnel. The Insecticons and the "conehead" seeker jets Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust make their first comic appearances here; even if most of the baddies in the fights are generic.)

The other Autobots of Blaster's cell--it's led by Perceptor, but already feels like Blaster's in charge--write Scrounge off as probably lying and probably dead, which seemingly drives Blaster to find him more than any concern of his well-being, just to be contrary. Scrounge is taken before somewhat beefy Decepticon governor Straxus, who tears off Scrounge's gimmicked arm, then orders him thrown into the smelting pit. Blaster disobeys orders and goes after Scrounge, is promptly captured, taken before the ranting Straxus, and is also sent to the pit: being bigger and tougher, Blaster is able to get to a ledge and make his way to the already partially-melted Scrounge, who seems to know he's done for, and gives him the information. The other Autobots came after Blaster, and Powerglide rescues him, although Blaster stops to turn the pipes of molten metal back on their Decepticon pursuers in a furious act of vengeance.

Back at their base, the Autobots watch the message, transmitted from the Decepticons on earth, which also mentions that Optimus Prime was still alive. Blaster acknowledges that Scrounge died giving them hope, but seriously: Optimus and his crew (and Megatron and his) had been gone, presumed dead, for nearly "50,000 vorns," about 4,150,000 years! Would either side still be missing their leader after that long? It's also a ridiculous amount of time to spend fighting, although I suppose there would be a big offense or siege every so often, then extended periods of retrenching and regrouping. Also, most of them were not great shots. We do see Blaster make a few with his "electro-scrambler" rifle; on the toy packaging everybody had their own style of weapon, which was instead a pew-pew laser 99% of the time. 

There's a lot to chew on here, even if this plot could easily be repurposed for Sgt. Fury or any other war comic: a failure struggles to redeem himself to the hero, and dies trying. But this may be the first appearance of what later IDW comics would call neutrals, or "Nails," Transformers not aligned with the Autobots or Decepticons. Theirs does not appear to be a happy lot, as Blaster here does not seem to be particularly invested in their plight, but after millions of years of war he might feel like it's time to pick a side already, even if they did not appear to be warriors. Resources were also dwindling, which seemed to be often be the case; but the Decepticons here seem to be using it as an excuse for what could almost be considered ethnic cleansing. And although he doesn't seem to feel it as pain, there is a lot of body horror in Scrounge's dismemberment and melting death. TF continuity being what it is, he has made appearances in other versions; and got a figure in 2016! That Scrounge is a repaint of Cosmos, who co-incidentally makes his first comics appearance here. 

Although I consider myself only a casual TF fan, I had this issue as a kid; since I had been reading the mini-series which was then continued! Come to think of it, I may have had this in a digest as well, so I've bought this issue three times? What the hell, "casual" fan.

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Can you just claim a found car like that? I've been paying for them like a chump!

We last saw the Autobot Skids like five years back, and I don't think he fared well all the way through Lost Light, so maybe today will do better for him. Except he's now a van, which seems like a downgrade. From 1986, the Transformers #20, "Showdown!" Written by Bob Budiansky, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Ian Akin and Brian Garvey.

Ravage is trailing Donny Finkleberg, unemployed comic-book writer and Robot-Master. Huh, we actually blogged the previous issue like ten years ago, and while I remember Omega Supreme, I have no recollection of Donny; who got caught up in some kind of scam, presenting himself as "the weirdo, super-terrorist behind the Transformers." (Takara?) Donny ditches his costume, which Ravage later attacks, but realizes he hasn't destroyed the meaty bits. Donny passes and Ravage doesn't seem to notice the injured, overturned Skids; but when the passing Charlene sees him, he plays his radio to convince her he wasn't a wreck. And Charlene did need a new car; so...

Charlene's co-worker Wendell is obviously into her, and has Skids brought to town and patched up at his cousin's garage. Skids opts to play-act as Charlene's car for a while, figuring it to be safer than getting shot at by Decepticons all day; but he hadn't counted on a road-rage driver still holding a grudge from the previous issue, which I also don't recall! This blog's supposed to be a hedge against senility, not a reminder of it! Taking evasive action to save them both, Skids has to reveal himself to Charlene...but it doesn't seem to be a dealbreaker. They settle into a pleasant domestic routine; but while Charlene watches a western, Skids wonders if he's being a coward. Still, he does enjoy seeing earth's sights with her, as well as...um...

Their idyll is interrupted by first Donny, then Ravage, then the road-rager! The latter does the most damage, taking a tire iron to Skids, who then has a seeming concussion and resulting nightmare about getting gunned down by Megatron! Still, Ravage is the real threat here; and it takes all of them to trick him into falling down a mineshaft. A downfallen Skids knows he has to go back to the Autobots and his war, sadly suggesting that Charlene might give Wendell a call. (It seems obvious that Skids can't bear the thought of Charlene getting hurt.) Charlene does have to admit, Skids came out better than her last car, which she junked!

I think this plot was used in the animated series as well; and possibly more than once? Autobots that were burnt out after four million years of war and wanted out; then are almost immediately sucked back in. And girls that like Transformers. I don't know if Hasbro or Marvel thought there were female Transformers fans, but I wonder.
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OK, pretty good toy haul Friday and Saturday! Starting with the new (She-)Hulk and Shang-Chi!

Next, the Walgreens exclusive Marvel Legends Stepford Cuckoo! I don't think I realized she was out yet; so yay! Three heads and a Cerebro helmet with her. I don't know if I have any plans for her character, but it keeps my string of Walgreens figures going.

Also that haul: this mini-Megatron! Someone had posted notice of these on Twitter, but so far he's the only one I found; and even that was a stroke of luck: his package was alone, on the back corner of a shelf. Very pleased to have him; I love miniature Transformers. Still tempted to buy a full case, though. The Dollar Stores also came through with multiple DC Animated DVDs, like Justice League Action and Batman vs. Robin; and a little Toy Story 4 Forky, because my son finds "Forky Asks a Question" hysterical. I don't know!

Saturday, we hit the next town over, for Doctor Doom! Doom's two per case, but moved pretty quickly here; yet I still feel like he should be more available later. That completes the Super-Skrull, although a warning: his legs were really tough to peg in! Out of the Spider-Man Demogoblin figures, I nearly picked up White Rabbit but haven't yet; and didn't see a single Vulture.

In case all that wasn't enough: I got the most recent Crisis 100-pager, a good stack of dollar comics, a Legion flight ring, a Hot Wheels Batwing, an Iron Man novel I hadn't seen before: that's a haul that's going to be tough to beat!


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Sometimes, I seem to find comics in waves; or like hitting a vein of gold or platinum. Maybe chromium in this case. Anyway, I keep running across Marvel UK books of late: we saw Battletide a bit ago, and Death's Head II #1, Dark Guard #1, and Death3 earlier. Those books ranged from "meh" to "okay," but today's book is the best, yes? From 1988, Death's Head #1, "Death's Head Revisited" Writen by Simon Furman, pencils by Bryan Hitch, inks by Mark Farmer.

In 8162, the repaired Death's Head android remains inert; seemingly refusing to reactivate. In DH's head, we see three short stories about his bounty hunter code; as he "orders his thoughts," before declaring himself open for business again. It's not the deepest story ever, but enough to get the series started. This was after his appearances in Transformers UK, Doctor Who, and Dragon's Claws; but the fact that he had been much, much larger at one point is glossed over here.

For good measure, here are the house ads from that issue for Dragon's Claws and Transformers.


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I swear, that exchange does make sense in context.

We're opening with Destro and the Baroness here, but the big star of this particular issue of G.I. Joe is...Megatron? From 1993, G.I. Joe #139, "Realignments" Written by Larry Hama, pencils by Chris Batista, inks by Stephen Baskerville, Chi Williams, Don Hudson, and Chip Wallace. (I don't know who inked what, but the art is noticeably stronger some pages than others.)

Megatron is currently blasting the hell out of Destro's shape-changing castle, since the Decepticon believes he was lured there on false pretenses, thinking the castle was a Transformer. Said castle is currently occupied by Cobra Commander and his forces, and the former used-car salesman is mentally scrambling to come up with a deal to get him out of this one. Meanwhile, Cobra ninja Slice is suspiciously overseeing the medical treatment of his "ally," Scarlett; after she was stabbed by Snake-Eyes last issue. Slice still isn't buying her heel-turn, and since Snake-Eyes's cut was so precise it looked far worse than it actually was, he may be right.

Cobra scientist (and possible double-agent) Dr. Biggles-Jones isn't impressed with the energy-inefficient Megatron's tech, and takes a potshot at him with her own "hyper-velocity rail gun." Megatron actually is impressed by that one, and Cobra Commander has his angle: a deal is struck, a trade of Cybertronian technology for upgrades to Megatron. Elsewhere, Destro, the Baroness, and Hawk arrive at Cobra Island; and meet with "Cobra Commander," actually, a disguised Zartan. Destro and the Baroness don't recognize the revealed Zartan until he takes his old form; he had upgraded to a new design with his 1993 figure, which I don't think is as popular as his more traditional look. Zartan tells them Cobra Commander took the late Dr. Mindbender's cloning vat, which would be useless without said doctor, unless mmmmmmaybe he left a disk behind to revive himself...

Megatron is upgraded to his "Generation 2" tank form here. (I have one, from a yard sale, deep in this crowd shot from a decade back!) Per the GCD link, this was the first part of a four-part crossover, even though it doesn't have a big cover blurb for it like you would expect. (Snake-Eyes gets big billing, although he only appears briefly in this one to give Destro the stink-eye, as it were.) I couldn't say if the crossover was Hama's idea, but as usual, he's able to take it and keep the regular plotlines running. Also, if you came to this issue cold (as I mostly did!) you might be curious why Destro and Zartan seem to be working with Hawk and G.I. Joe here; but this was well over ten years into the book's run, and many of the traditional alignments may have been altered by then. More than likely because Cobra Commander was a double-crossing backbiter; you can bet his partnership with Megatron wasn't going to last.
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OK, This Week's Comics:

Picked up four comics this week: two are first issues, one is the middle of an ongoing storyline, and another a side-story in a lengthy serial. Two were hugely disappointing, but which ones? Let's see:

First up, Extraordinary X-Men #1, written by Jeff Lemire, pencils by Humberto Ramos, inks by Victor Olazaba. This features the X-Men, and mutantkind's, new status quo after Secret Wars, after the Inhumans' Terrigen Mists have poisoned earth for mutants...and, it's implied, Cyclops may have done as much himself. And...this issue did just about nothing for me, sorry. Partly, I freely admit, because I'm a Nightcrawler fan more than an X-Men fan, and don't really give a crap about past Jean Grey or future Logan. Or Magik, or Storm, or Iceman, or Colossus...That, and the set-up seems both defeatist and artificial. "No more mutants," again. Dropped, unless an all-Nightcrawler issue comes down the line.

Next, another new #1, another new Deadpool #1. (Written by Gerry Duggan, pencils by Mike Hawthorne, inks by Terry Pallot.) Post-Secret Wars...actually, just typing that, I don't think we're ever gonna really be post-Secret Wars, but moving on: Deadpool is the most popular super-hero on earth. He's so popular, he's been forced to take the Krusty the Clown route of licensing out impersonators, from simple performers for kids' parties, to substitute heroes. (Among the subs I recognized, Solo, Terror, Madcap, Slapstick, Foolkiller, and Stingray; there may even be other faux Pools...) Although acting a clown and funding the Avengers (!) Deadpool's making some enemies, neglecting his possibly estranged wife, and planning to get his revenge on the murderer of his parents...which was actually him while mind-controlled, but who's going to tell him that?

This one's...enh. I didn't read the whole last series of Deadpool, but I thought Duggan usually had slapstick issues, with maybe one or two serious bits, intermingled with almost grimdark issues, with a bit of Deadpool snark. Here it seems like both are going the same time (there's a lot of jokey nonsense for jokey nonsense's sake) and it doesn't sit right for me. And whatever Pool did to gain his unparalleled popularity is unclear: a news report mentions him taking down the terrorist organization ULTIMATUM, but it can't just be that. I'm hoping he punched out Cyclops. I wasn't planning on picking up the next issue right away, but after flipping through it again I may keep my ears open.

The third issue of Atomic Robo and the Ring of Fire is more like...shoot, maybe the twenty-some or so issue in the series? And it is more a part of the series than just the third of a miniseries; since it builds off of Robo getting trapped in the past in the Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur and mostly destroyed there in Knights of the Golden Circle. The giant biomega monsters attacking earth are also from a previous issue, I think. Or Pacific Rim. (Not really!) It's a good issue, but it's setting up the next chapter, as Robo rebuilds a new body and a plan to save the world and defeat the shadowy Task Force Ultra, which hijacked Robo's company seemingly years ago. (Written by Brian Clevinger, art by Scott Wegener.)

Lastly, we've got Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #46, "Animals." Written by James Roberts, pencils by Alex Milne, inks by Milne, Brian Shearer, John Livesay, and John Wycough. This is the second of two issues catching up with the former Decepticons known as the Scavengers; who run into the new sheriff in town, Fortress Maximus. Those are not household names by any means, we're pretty deep down the roster here. But Roberts does so much great character work that even if you don't know a Spinister from a hole in the ground, by the end of the issue you know these guys. Thickly layered and charming, this is probably my favorite ongoing book right now.

Both the Marvel books were five bucks, IDW's Atomic Robo and MTMTE were four. The Marvel books also feature a "bonus digital edition," but a bonus copy of a crappy book is nothing...
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