Review: The Transformers Classics, Vol. 3 by Bob Budiansky, Don Perlin, et al.

Comic PDF eBook, 308 pages
Published 2012 (contents: 1987-88)
Acquired August 2014
Read April 2016

The Transformers Classics, Vol. 3

Written by Bob Budiansky, Steve Parkhouse
Pencils by Don Perlin, John Ridgway, Mike Collins, Jose Delbo
Inks by Brett Breeding, Ian Akin & Brian Garvey, Jim Fern, John Ridgway, Mike Collins, Dave Hunt
Letters by Janice Chiang, Rick Parker, Pat Brosseau, Richard Starkings, Jack Morelli, Diana Albers, Bill Oakley
Colors by Nel Yomtov, Gina Hart & Josie Fermin

Previously I claimed that every volume of Bob Budiansky's run on The Transformers had one real standout story that made it worthwhile. This is sort of true of vol. 3 of The Transformers Classics: "Man of Iron" is probably the best story of the Marvel Transformers series full stop... but it's not by Bob Budiansky. The UK creative team of Steve Parkhouse, John Ridgway, and Mike Collins (all familiar to me thanks to their work on Doctor Who Magazine) step in for a two-part story that is just incredible. Written almost entirely from the perspective of the human characters (the Autobots are investigating information about a ship beneath a castle in the UK), the story is entirely unlike any other Transformers story I've ever read: moody and frightening. The Transformers are inscrutable alien robots, even when in scenes written from their perspective.

I like the idea that the Transformers' names are codenames because their names are unpronounceable by humans. As far as I know, this has never been used anywhere else. (Though Tom Scioli's Transformers vs. G.I. Joe has them communicating in indecipherable electronic codes.)
from The Transformers #33 (script by Steve Parkhouse, art by John Ridgway)

The story is told from the point-of-view of a child for large chunks, something often pooh-poohed by Transformers fans (including myself), but in the hands of these master craftsmen, that only makes the story even more frightening:

I don't think I would want to wake up to this outside my bedroom window.
from The Transformers #33 (script by Steve Parkhouse, art by John Ridgway)

The end of the first issue is even a terrifying kidnapping scene, as Jazz drives off with an unwilling Sammy while all his mother can do it watch. The second issue explains the Transformers a little bit more, but makes them cold and ruthless-- the Decepticons never speak, and the whole thing ends with a big blow-'em-up battle that is utterly-uncartoonish, and the death of two faithful Autobots who'd been waiting for the Ark for a thousand years.

Deadly and silent-- the worst the Marvel Decepticons have ever been.
from The Transformers #34 (script by Steve Parkhouse, art by Mike Collins)

It's a triumph of tone, and the best Transformers comic I'd read up to this point.

The rest of the book is... not as great. Grimlock becomes the leader of the Autobots, which should be hilarious and awesome, but just makes the Autobots look like indecisive incompetents who'll bow to anyone with a mildly strong will. The book does introduce my favorite Decepticon leader, Ratbat, a fuel auditor. From his base on Cybertron, he audits the Decepticon operation and determines it's wasting too much resources for too little profit, and assumes control by cutting off supplies if the Decepticons don't run things his way. On the other hand, his plan to mind-control America's greatest manufacturer of gasoline into building car washes that hypnotize their users into driving at night to a Decepticon base and siphon off their excess fuel isn't exactly an elegant plan itself.

I was also a little annoyed to discover that though the Headmasters spin-off series has a major impact on the events of the parent book, it's collected in The Transformers Classics, Vol. 7. Its issues really ought to have been woven into this one, in a sort of "meanwhile, elsewhere..." fashion like the original readers would have experienced it. As it is, a ton of new characters from Headmasters pop up out of nowhere and have a major influence on the plot.

Next Week: Bob Budiansky plots the climax to his run on The Transformers, in Classics, Vol. 4!

Ongoing Comics I've Been Reading: L.E.G.I.O.N.

This is the time period Lobo becomes popular, so he's on the cover a lot. But I feel like the interiors are always making fun of him!

Since sometime in June, I think, I've been reading the DC Comics series L.E.G.I.O.N. (Or, rather, succession of series, technically. There's L.E.G.I.O.N. '89, which has issues #1-10, L.E.G.I.O.N. '90, which has issues #11-22, and so on. I don't know why they decided to do this, except that I guess it makes it clear that unlike its famous cousin Legion of Super-Heroes, this does not take place in the future.) L.E.G.I.O.N. is about an interstellar police force-for-hire founded by Vril Dox, the son of Brainiac. His team initially consists of a group of characters he was imprisoned with in Invasion!, and the initial plot of the book is them, post-escape, trying to return to their homes. But Dox is a crafty fellow, and he soon uses them to take over both the criminal operations and the police forces of the world of Cairn, reforming them all into the Licensed Extra-Governmental Interstellar Operatives Network, which offers police protection to planets that can't protect themselves (except Earth, because everyone in space hates Earth).

The core team is soon supplemented by an army of cops, and there are also a number of characters who come and go, giving the book a rather sprawling cast. They're a rather diverse lot, with different reasons for doing what they do, and different perspectives on how it ought to be done. Subplots weave in and out of the book over time, as different aspects rise and fall in prominence gradually.

Lobo, Lyrissa Mallor, Stealth, Garryn Bek, Strata, and Vril Dox. Three of the six core members are women, which was a bit surprising, especially as Strata is not traditionally feminine.

So, of course I loved it. Ensemble casts of disparate personalities are my ideal form of ongoing story, especially when as well-balanced as they are here. Some periods of the series are better than others-- with 70 monthly issues, plus 5 annuals, and a couple crossovers, there's a lot of variation, and the creative teams shift gradually over time. But of course, that level of variation is part of what makes ongoing comics so enjoyable to me as a medium; I love the way in which things change gradually, in which concepts are slowly retooled, sometimes for good (as in L.E.G.I.O.N.), sometimes for bad (Alpha Flight), the ways in which you see the same concept refracted through the creative vision of a number of different creators.

And L.E.G.I.O.N.'s transition of creators in more interesting than most. Leaving out fill-ins, you have a number of distinct creative eras: [there's rarely consistent inkers, so I've omitted them here]

1. #1-12: Keith Giffen (plots and breakdowns), Alan Grant (scripts), Barry Kitson (pencils)
2. #13-18: Alan Grant (plots and scripts), Barry Kitson (plot and pencils)
3. #19-24: Alan Grant (plots and scripts), Jim Fern (pencils)
4. #25-39: Alan Grant (plots and scripts), Barry Kitson (plots and pencils)
5. #40-48: Barry Kitson (plots, scripts, and pencils)
6. #49-60: Barry Kitson (plots and pencils), Mark Waid (scripts)
7. #61-70: Tom "Tennessee" Peyer (plots and scripts), Arnie Jorgensen (pencils)

The best part about this fight is that Captain Marvel is so gosh-darn nice that he turns out to be nearly impossible for even Lobo to provoke.

As you can see, the comic transforms gradually over time. It starts out driven by Keith Giffen, but Barry Kitson goes from penciling according to Giffen's breakdowns, to co-plotting the series with Alan Grant, to writing and drawing it. Some artist-turned-writer transformations in comics can be nightmares, but this one is excellent. I don't think Kitson had drawn any monthly book before L.E.G.I.O.N., but eventually he was doing almost all the work!

And indeed, the real peak of the book is the second Grant/Kitson period and the Kitson solo period (issues #25-48), where it the book "grows the beard." This is where they finally nail all the characters, and where they learn to balance subplots against the overarching plots. (In the first eighteen issues, it felt like each issue often saw eight different subplots advance in a minuscule fashion.) In these issues, Lobo fights Captain Marvel, a set of R.E.C.R.U.I.T.S. is introduced, a new villain starts to dismantle L.E.G.I.O.N. from the inside, the core team has to go on the run from their own troops, the L.E.G.I.O.N. discovers it's propping up a genocidal regime on one of its client worlds, and Green Lantern gets in a fight with Lobo.

To top it all off, Kitson is just a great artist, especially when paired with a good inker (Mark McKenna, on issues #4-18, was probably my favorite): he does excellent facial expressions, which aids immeasurably in making the characters come to life, and his storytelling is always clear.

Ouch.

The last ten issues I'm a little skeptical of. Tom Peyer doesn't quite "get" some of the characters, reducing some of the complicated relationship dynamics into melodrama. There's a twist I'm unsure about-- but we'll see, as issue #70 was not the end in a conventional sense. Rather, it leads straight into a successor series, R.E.B.E.L.S., so the story he began isn't over yet. If it all works out, I'm on board, but I can also imagine ways it could go horribly wrong!

Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Crisis!, Part XVI: Prelude to Infinite Crisis

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2005 (contents: 2004-05)
Borrowed from the library
Read February 2014

Prelude to Infinite Crisis

Writers: Judd Winick, Jeph Loeb, Geoff Johns, Jeremy Johns, Greg Rucka, Bill Willingham, Marc Andreyko, John Arcudi, Bob Harras, Gail Simone, Andy Diggle

Artists: Ian Churchill, Norm Rapmund, Alé Garza, Trevor Scott, Marlo Alquiza, Lary Stucker, Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, Matthew Clark, Nelson DeCastro, Andy Lanning, Mike McKone, Don Kramer, Keith Champagne, Damion Scott, Sandra Hope, Rags Morales, John Dell, Carlos D'Anda, Shawn Moll, Kevin Conrad, Jesus Saiz, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justiniano, Livesay, Walden Wong, Ray Snyder, Drew Johnson, Patrick Gleason, Christian Alamy, Marcos Martin, Alvaro Lopez, Ed Benes, Mark Propst, Ethan Van Sciver, Prentis Rollins, Pascal Ferry
Colorists: Beth Sotelo, Jeromy Cox, Dave Stewart, Richard & Tanya Horie, John Kalisz, Guy Major, Steve Buccello, James Sinclair, Nathan Eyring, Javier Rodriguez, Moose Baumann, Dave McCaig
Letterers: Richard Starkings, K. L. Fletcher, Nick J. Napolitano, Pat Brosseau, Phil Balsman, Rob Leigh, Todd Klein, Jared K. Fletcher, Clem Robins

What's amazing isn't that DC Comics eventually did yet another "Crisis," but that it took them so long to do it. There's a ten-year gap between Zero Hour and Identity Crisis. I won't be covering Identity Crisis on this blog, though, as I've already reviewed it, and so we're on to Infinite Crisis. What's markedly different about crossover events now that we're in the 2000s is the ridiculous scale of them: there are at least ten, if not more, trade paperbacks cover-branded with "Infinite Crisis," and I'm here to review all of them.

The first is a weird one. Designed to catch readers up, I guess, before they plunge into all the various "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" collections, Prelude to Infinite Crisis contains significant panels from a multitude of DC comics, ranging from Teen Titans to Birds of Prey. These context-less snippets are rarely illuminating, even with the cursory captions: why do I care that Donna Troy died (and came back to life?), or that "Optitron is actually a subsidiary of Wayne Industries. Wayne Industries is owned by Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne is Batman." Whoa, whoa, whoa-- really?

There are two complete stories included here. The first, "Suicide Watch," shows us how tough it is for Pete Ross to be President of the United States with all these secret government organizations in his way. It's not very interesting except as it seems to join some continuity dots. The second, "Truth or Dare," sees Wonder Woman and the Flash teaming up when Cheetah and Zoom do. What are these villains up to? Why are they teaming up? It's all just spooky foreshadowing! I also don't know why Wonder Woman is blind.

The best of all the whole book is a snippet where Mr. Mxyzptlk makes fun of the whole deal. In response to Superman asking what terrible thing is coming, he answers, "Hush! The Zero Hour approaches! There will be a crisis on Earth! Time will need ritalin, it's gonna be so hyper! And a war, ohhh there will be a war, so secret that years will pass before it concludes! A dark age is coming my friend, that shall cast you into a no man's land of despair! I mean, really dark, talking like, an obsidian age here. Honest." Which I think just about sums this whole mess up.

Faster than a DC Bullet: Birds of Prey, Part VI: Between Dark & Dawn

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2006 (contents: 2004)
Borrowed from the library
Read January 2013

Birds of Prey: Between Dark & Dawn

Writer: Gail Simone
Pencillers: Ed Benes, Ron Adrian, Jim Fern, Eduardo Barreto, Eric Battle
Inkers: Ed Benes, Rob Lea, Steve Bird, Andrew Pepoy, Rodney Ramos
Letterers: Jared K. Fletcher, Ken Lopez

This time, the Huntress is the agent of the Oracle out in the field doing crazy things, and it's a nice contrast to what Dinah is normally tasked with; we get to dig into the head of the Gotham vigilante too hardcore for even Batman. Meanwhile, Dinah has to stop Barbara from snapping. There's even a Superman cameo, though it perhaps raises too many questions in the long run. Oracle is given an opponent worthy of her skill, and there's some disturbing visions within her own mind.  On the whole a competent storyline, though perhaps the least interesting one since Simone took over the Birds of Prey title.

A couple single-issue stories finish out the volume. The first features Black Canary and the Huntress beating up some henchmen, and then Black Canary laying the smackdown on Savant, who tortured her back in Of Like Minds; this was an okay story, let down by stiff and difficult artwork.

The last story is just confusing. All of a sudden, Barbara's clocktower and the Birds' base has been blown up! I guess this happening in a Batman story running at the same time, but it seems off that an event of such importance to Birds of Prey would happen in a completely different title, and with us barely getting a glimpse of it. What would bring Barbara to do this? I'll never know, or at least not for a while. This paves the way for a new setup, with Lady Blackhawk joining the team as they move to a mobile aerial base. I was really surprised by this, as it means that the ostensibly classic setup of Simone writing (and Benes usually drawing) Black Canary, Oracle, and Huntress on the team while in Gotham lasts a mere three collections. Given what an impact the series had in this form, I had expected it to last longer.

Faster than a DC Bullet: The Sandman Spin-Offs, Part XXIII: JSA: Mixed Signals

Comic trade paperback, 136 pages
Published 2006 (contents: 2005-06)
Borrowed from the library
Read October 2012

JSA: Mixed Signals

Writers: Geoff Johns, Keith Champagne

Pencillers: Don Kramer, Dale Eaglesham, Jim Fern, David Lopez
Inkers: Keith Champagne, Art Thibert, Mick Gray, Fernando Blanco

Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Rob Leigh

This is the last JSA collection with a Sandman connection, taking place amidst the chaos of the Infinite Crisis. Apparently, in the previous volume (Black Vengeance, which I skipped) my favorites Hector and Lyta Hall, parents of the second Dream of the Endless, were transported into Hell for defying Nabu, the Lord of Order.

I didn't understand much of what was happening in this book; heroes and locations are thrown at you like mad, and no one takes the time to explain who they are. Hal Jordan and Alan Scott chase Air Wave (a superhero who is apparently Hal's cousin), being driven mad by strange transmissions, into space, and end up at the source of the signals. "New Cronus," exclaims Air Wave upon seeing a planet, as though it explains everything. But what's New Cronus? Then Wonder Girl appears, and takes Air Wave with her. Why? Much of the book is just as confusing.

But since I was there for just Hector and Lyta, that was all right: they had no more idea what was going on than I did. Every chapter of Mixed Signals gives a couple more pages to them, as they travel through a desolate mountain range, under assault by demons for reasons they don't understand. In the end, Lyta has a dream that she's talked to their son, and they travel through a portal into the Dreaming, finally safe.

Awww. It's a great moment, and a great ending for these long-suffering characters, though to my knowledge they don't pop up in the Dreaming in any later stories. Their corpses lie on the ground after they travel through the portal-- was it all just a dream of Lyta's? But even if it was, would that matter in the Dreaming? From the Silver Scarab to Brute and Glob to the Furies to Nabu, Hector and Lyta have always lost control of their lives to supernatural entities, and it's fantastic for them to finally get some peace. Thanks, Keith Champagne.