transformers classics, vol. 6 preview

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Original Series Edited by Don Daley & Rob Tokar

Cover Art by Guido GuidiDigitally Re-mastered by Digikore Studios Limited

Collection Edits by Justin Eisinger & Alonzo Simon

Editorial Notes and Assistance by Mark W. Bellomo

Collection Design by Shawn Lee

THE TRANSFORMERS CLASSICS VOL. 6. SEPTEMBER 2013. FIRST PRINTING. HASBRO and its logo, TRANSFORMERS, and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. 2013 Hasbro.Circuit Breaker and all related characters are & Marvel Entertainment LLC and its subsidiaries. The IDW logo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works,LLC. Editorial offices: 508 0 Santa Fe St., San Diego, CA 92109. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of artwork used fo r review purposes, none of the contents of this publicationmay be reprinted without the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Printed in Korea. I DW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited submissions of ideas, stories, or artwork.

Originally published by Marvel Comics as THE TRANSFORMERS Issues #6576.

Ted Adams, CEO & PublisherGreg Goldstein, President & COORobbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic ArtistChris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-ChiefMatthew Ruzicka, CPA, Chief Financial OfficerAlan Payne, VP of SalesDirk Wood, VP of MarketingLorelei Bunjes, VP of Digital Services

IDW founded by Ted Adams, Alex Garner, Kris Oprisko, and Robbie Robbins

ISBN: 978-1-61377-764-0 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4

Special thanks to Hasbros Aaron Archer, Jerry Jivoin, Michael Verret, Ed Lane, Joe Furfaro, Jos Huxley, Andy Schmidt, Heather Hopkins and Michael Kelly for their invaluable assistance.

www.IDWPUBLISHING.com

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I s s u e #65 , A p r I l 1 9 9 0 , "MAt r I x Qu e s t , pA r t 4 o f 5 :

DA r k C r e A t I o n " . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .Page 6

Written by Simon Furman, Art by Geoff Senior, Letters by Jim Massara, Colors by Nel Yomtov

I s s u e #66 , MAy 1 9 9 0 , "MAt r I x Qu e s t , pA r t 5 o f 5 :

Al l fA l l D o w n " . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .Page 28

Written by Simon Furman, Art by Geoff Senior, Letters by Jim Massara, Colors by Nel Yomtov

I s s u e #67 , J u n e 1 9 9 0 , " r h y t h M s o f DA r k n e s s ! " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 50

Written by Simon Furman, Pencils by Jose Delbo, Inks by Danny Bulanadi, Letters by Jim Massara, Colors by Nel Yomtov

I s s u e #68 , J u ly 1 9 9 0 , " t h e h u M A n fA C t o r ! " . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .Page 72

Written by Simon Furman, Art by Dwayne Turner, Letters by Rick Parker, Colors by Nel Yomtov

I s s u e #69 , A u g u s t 1 9 9 0 , " ey e o f t h e s t o r M " . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .Page 95

Written by Simon Furman, Pencils by Andrew Wildman, Inks by Harry Candelario & Bob Lewis, Letters by Rick Parker, Colors by Nel Yomtov

I s s u e #70 , s e p t e M b e r 1 9 9 0 , " t h e p r I C e o f l I f e ! " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 117

Written by Simon Furman, Pencils by Andrew Wildman, Inks by Stephen Baskerville, Letters by Rick Parker, Colors by Nel Yomtov

I s s u e #7 1 , o C t o b e r 1 9 9 0 , " s u r r e n D e r ! " . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 139


I s s u e #72 , n o v e M b e r 1 9 9 0 , " A l l t h I s An D C I v I l wA r 2 " . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 161


I s s u e #73 , D e C e M b e r 1 9 9 0 , " o u t o f t I M e ! " . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .Page 183


I s s u e #74 , JA n u A r y 1 9 9 1 , " t h e vo I D ! " . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. .Page 206


I s s u e #75 , f e b r u A r y 1 9 9 1 , " o n t h e e D g e o f e x t I n C t I o n ! " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 228

Written by Simon Furman, Art by Geoff Senior, Letters by Rick Parker, Colors by Nel Yomtov

I s s u e #76 , MA r C h 1 9 9 1 , " s t I l l l I f e ! " . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. .Page 266



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Let me begin by saying that I recognize that Im a very lucky guy.

Many people consider what I do as an expert in the field of action figures, toys, and popular cultureas envious work. In this case, my job consists of writing lengthy forewords, marking elaboratecharacter notes, and scrawling detailed corrections for comic book trade paperback collectionsthosedefinitive tomes like the one you hold in your hands that assemble the most authoritative tales fromthe hottest toy properties of the 1980s.

I understand the fortunate position I occupy: I really do.

I recognize exactly how blessed I am when Im commissioned by comic book companies to scrutinizeeach page, review every panel, and analyze the allusion-laden narratives existing within theirhallowed comic licenses which have inspired an extraordinary degree of awe and reverence fornearly 30 years after their original publication.

But its a lot of damned work. When Im tasked to review these comicsor any comic book collection,for that matter, Im not engaged in pleasure reading: Im reading for content. Whether or not Ireceive enjoyment from what Im perusing is utterly meaningless to me while Im immersed in myworkand its nearly impossible to achieve while I scrutinize these books. Of course, it is the criticsjob to analyze; the essence of functioning as a critic is to examine an artifact or object (or in thiscase, graphic literature), and through careful study, arrive at a conclusion that is in no waypreordained.

However unfortunately, when you are asked to use your critical lens and faculties repeatedly,existing over-and-over in a position of evaluation, youll find yourself frequently caught in aloveless, bloodless trap; an unsympathetic path all but drained of mirth and enjoyment. Withoutbalancing your life as a critic with more fictional, creative pursuits, theres a chance you maybecome zombified by this soulless, plodding, draining work. Work that may wedge a distancebetween you and the magnificent product youre tasked to review.

For instance, many art critics consider the Mona Lisato be one of the greatest paintings ever created.A few years back, I had the opportunity to visit the Muse du Louvre where she was kept, and I

spent one entire day viewing this masterpiece.In the early morning, I was initially struck by the paintings subject, Lisa Gherardini, and herpastoral beauty. At the end of the a.m., I was moved to notice the wonderful ambiguity of herexpression. By noontime, I had formed an appreciation of the deft hand that DaVinci used whencapturing her flesh tones. During the afternoon, I had begun to distance myself from the portrait abit and was noting its revolutionary contribution toward the history of portraiture. Later in theafternoon, it occurred to me that the background of the painting appeared just a bit too busy andimaginative for such a portrait. And during the early evening I noticed that in fact, the panting ispretty darned small in sizeits tiny, really. About a half hour before the museum closed, I began to

ask myself For what reason was everybody crowding around this darned thing? Its JUST apainting Ive heard mention of people who plan their entire trip to Parisheck, I myself hadwasted an entire daybased upon viewing this simple painting. Years later, I suspected I was wrong.

Perhaps Aesops claim that familiarity breeds contempt has a ring of truth?

I n t r o D u C t I o n


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Its absurd that I originally got into this business because I sincerely adore these toy properties. Yet

more often than notthe overly clinical process that I practice when working on these collectionsactually sucks the life out of the pleasure I once received from reading my dog-eared, tatteredcopies of these comic books all those decades ago. For it was this profound pleasure that triggeredmy writing career in the first place; it had been a while since Id experienced this sensation.

However, when confronted with the subject matter contained within this collection, I shook off thetorpor of my passivity (a practiced, distanced stance I frequently take when working on theseprojects), and my sensibilities were revitalized and most importantly, my critical faculties wereshaken to their foundations. Thanks to these issues, myjoie de vivrereturned, and I began to (ifyoull permit me the liberty) enjoy reading comic books once again. The intricate storylines instantly

hooked menot just the overt plots, but the way characters were rendered, whether Autobot orDecepticon, human or alienall of these characters were dynamic and three-dimensional. Inaddition, the magical artwork accompanying these tales was chock full of clean, detailed lines. Thepencils and inks were entrancing, and this style expertly captured the Cybertronian techno-organicform, focusing on sharp edges, slick chrome, and clever compositionwhile also gifting these giantrobots some very human qualities.

So then, the issues collected in Volume Six of Transformers Classicsshows a writer top of his game.When putting together the notes and corrections for issues #65-76, I was shocked to find that SimonFurman didnt simply ignore what came before himhe built upon it. Having already establishedhimself a sterling reputation working on Marvel U.K.s sister Transformerstitle (among others),Furman crossed the pond andlike most British scribes imported to the U.S. at the timebrought hisserious, obvious talents to America, bearing all the might of his ample gifts down upon a licensedproperty sadly near the end of its run. Yet Furman never once mailed it in; he never oncesomnambulated through a script. The characters were apparently far too important to him.

And so the brilliant writer fully explored the peculiar, mythological aspects of the Transformersaffording readers ingenious tales of the Creation Matrix and Unicron and Primus and Grimlock andOptimus Prime and Megatron/Ratchet and Galvatron II and Scorponok and Nucleon and thecontinuing struggles of the Autobots and Decepticons. Whether he was partnered with Geoff Senioror Andy Wildman, the tales delivered in this collection managed to bring me back to the halcyondays of my childhood, when Id visit my local drugstore, buy a small Dr. Pepper fountain soda, alemon Hostess Fruit Pie, and grab the latest copy of Simon Furmans Transformersoff of theirspinning comic book racks for a buck.

I hope these issues do the same for you.

Mark W. Bellomo

For the past fifteen years, Mark W. Bellomo has written hundreds of articles and a number of bestselling books on the topic of action figures,

where he has cemented his reputation as one of the worlds foremost experts. Most recently, Bellomo provided forewords to IDW PublishingsTransformers: Classics(the latest volume of which youre holding in your hands) and G.I. Joe: Special Missionstrades, and he is currently presidingover the fifteen-volume hardcover project, G.I. Joe: The Complete Collection. Readers may view him as the subject of the 18-part YouTubedocumentary The Collectable Spectacle, or witness the fruits of his labors as a consultant for Syfys Collection Intervention. His latest books,IDWs The Art of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, and Krause Publications Toys & Prices: The Worlds Best Toys Price Guide, are available at finebookstores everywhere.


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transformers classics, vol. 6 preview

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