Transformers

The Transformers: The Movie

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Transformers: The Movie
  • IMDb: link

The Transformers: The MovieSet 20 years in the future after the events of the show’s Second Season, 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie is memorable for killing off several major characters, introducing new concepts into the canon, and (despite its flaws) remaining the best theatrical Transformers movie. The strength of the film comes in it’s opening act during the Decepticons’ attack on Autobot City on Earth. Making way for new characters such as the energetic Hot Rod (Judd Nelson) and the crotchety Kup (Lionel Stander), the sequence kills off several original characters including Prowl (Michael Bell), Brawn (Corey Burton), Ratchet, Ironhide (Peter Cullen), and Optimus Prime (Cullen).

The death of Optimus Prime is a seminal moment for those who grew up with the toys, comics, and cartoon series. With the Matrix of leadership passed on to a brand-new character in Ultra Magnus (Robert Stack), the Autobots attempt to survive unaware that an even greater threat in the world-eating Unicron (Orson Welles) is looming. Taking the battered Megatron (Frank Welker) and remaking him into his lieutenant Galvatron (Leonard Nimoy) along with new soldiers, Unicron hopes to crush the Autobots.

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Transformers vs. G.I. JOE #1

/ / Comics

Transformers vs. G.I. JOE #1By any definition Transformers vs. G.I. JOE #1 is a mess – one hell of a god awful mess. Written by Tom Scioli the story (such as it is) is a non-linear attempt to throw in as many characters from both franchises into a single comic without any attempt at all to create plot to tie the various panels together. Jumping wildly from one set of characters to another the comic reads like a giant finger to actual storytelling or some kind of poorly designed logic puzzle the creator actually needs your help to solve. In fact the comic makes so little sense IDW felt the need to include writer’s notes for every single page (taking up far too many pages of a $4 comic book) in an attempt to explain what the hell is going on.

If the story is crap the visuals aren’t that much better. Although I don’t have an issue with John Barber’s nostalgic throwback-style art of some of my favorite characters from both franchisees, I was very much distracted by the attempt to make the comic look like faded newsprint of an 80s comic on glossy current comic stock. The attempt to make the comic feel vintage actually makes it look incredibly cheap and (even more) half-assed. Pass.

[IDW, $3.99]

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