To The Death!

As many of you will remember, Simon Furman and Geoff Senior were a team supreme when they worked together on Marvel UK's Transformers comic in the 1980s. Now they're back together again, producing their brand new creator-owned comic To the Death!

It's a gritty, fast-paced tale of future war with tough dialogue and suitably dynamic battle scenes. The main protagonist, Aleksy Dryagin, returns from war in space to settle back into a family life, - but it becomes impossible when he's marked for death between Tri-Corp and an organisation called White Noise. But Aleksy isn't going down without a fight..

Geoff Senior's art style is a lot looser here than it was 30 years ago, but the colours play a bigger part in the finished product. It gives the comic a distinctive look and conveys the story well.

Issue 1 ends on an explosive cliffhanger, but the comic is scheduled to be monthly so 4 or 5 weeks isn't long to wait! I understand it's a 10 issue mini-series, so it'll be quite an epic!

To the Death No.1, 52 pages, full colour, is £4.99 and you can buy it, and also subscribe, at https://getmycomics.com/ToTheDeath

THE VIGILANT, - spoiler free review

In shops this coming Wednesday (15th August) is the long-awaited issue of The Vigilant, Rebellion's one-off special that teams up several classic characters from past UK comics in an all-new story. The title echoes the type of classic comic of the 1960s (Victor, Valiant, etc) and also works as the name of the team. Good choice! The comic will be available in comic shops, - and newsagents too I believe. 

Although the story in this issue is self-contained, it's evident that it could lead in to a sequel, or perhaps even on ongoing title. (Or at the very least, maybe as a new series in 2000AD.) Simon Furman's story is dynamic and moves along at a fast pace but I do wonder if there are perhaps too many characters introduced at once for readers to adjust to and care about. It's a busy comic with a lot going on! Might it have been better to start off focusing on one or two heroes instead of presenting readers with a whole team and their adversaries? Audience reaction will tell soon enough. 

Most of the characters have been updated, such as Pete from Pete's Pocket Army and The Leopard From Lime Street , - now wearing a coat for some reason (wouldn't that get in the way of his gymnastic-type abilities?). The new Thunderbolt the Avenger is a woman, which may annoy misogynists (good!) and there's a new character, Yao. 

It was great to see Adam Eterno back in action; one of my favourite characters on the 1970s. I was less enamoured to see the Steel Commando included (who I always found dull and tedious back when he was in Thunder comic) BUT the way he was handled here was superb and made me appreciate the character for the first time. There are a few unannounced old characters who appear too, but I'll avoid spoiling those surprises. 

Simon Coleby's art has a good edge to it that suits this modernisation of the classic characters. It looks both contemporary and traditional, so a good choice to illustrate this saga. 

I was expecting this comic to only feature a full-length story so it was a nice surprise that there are also back up stories that focus on three of the team members. Each story ties into the main feature. 

I really wish The Vigilant well, and hope that we'll see it return as another special, mini-series, or ongoing title. 

Here's a few preview pages and the PR...

• UK and DIGITAL: 15th August 2018 £2.75
• NORTH AMERICA: 15th September 2018 $6.75
• DIAMOND: JUN181951
• COVER: SIMON COLEBY

The Vigilant: Maelstrom
When the evil forces of Von Hoffman and Dr Mesmer team up and pluck the immortal Adam Eterno from the winds of time, all of reality is under threat! Only The Vigilant; a mighty team composed of super-beings, warlocks, warriors and monsters stand between us and total chaos! Join The Leopard from Lime Street, Steel Commando, Dr. Sin, Pete’s Pocket Army, Blake Edmonds, Yāo and Thunderbolt the Avenger on their premiere adventure. The Rebellion-verse Begins here!

YAO:The Demon Touched "Home"?
Following the death of her parents at the hands of demons, Yao searches the shadows, hunting creatures of the night and hoping to find those responsible. An injury she sustained during that terrible event has embued her with the power to pluck a vast array of unworldy weapons from another dimension, known as 'The Other Place.

Death Wish: Kids Rule!
Once upon a time Blake Edmonds had it all – fame, money, looks... and then the world-famous F1 driver suffered a terrible accident which left him hideously disfigured. After fashioning a mask to hide his terrible visage, Edmonds became a daredevil stuntman, flirting with death on a regular basis.

Steel Commando:In Between Wars

Developed by British scientists in WW2, the Steel Commando became a thorn in the side of the Axis powers. Due to a programming glitch he would only take orders from a lazy private named Ernie Bates. Now he follows the orders of Doctor Sin, who recently reactivated him for The Vigilant.

THE VIGILANT: MAELSTROM by Simon Furman (w) Simon Coleby (a) Simon Bowland (l)
YAO: THE DEMON TOUCHED "HOME"? by Bruce Leslie (w) DaNi (a) John Charles (c) Sam G (l)
DEATH WISH: KIDS RULE! by Karl Stock (w) Henrik Sahlstrom (a) Simon Bowland (l)
STEEL COMMANDO: IN BETWEEN WARS by Aaron Stack (w) Warwick Fraser-Coombes, Staz Johnson (a) John Charles (c) Simon Bowland (l)



Available in print from: book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond

Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop, 2000 AD iPad app, 2000 AD Android app, 2000 AD Windows 10 app

Hachette launch Transformers comics partwork in UK newsagents

Marvel UK's The Transformers comic was good to me, or, to be more accurate, its editors were. Shiela Cranna accepted my Robo-Capers strip (starting in issue 15 I think) and then other editors such as Richard Starkings, Simon Furman, etc kept me busy producing more Robo-Capers and Combat Colin strips for the comic so that I was in almost every issue of its 300 plus run. However, the main draw of course was the title strip itself, reprinting the U.S. Transformers strip but also producing brand-new material for the UK market featuring the robots in disguise. 

At its peak, The Transformers was selling over 200,000 copies an issue to readers in Britain during the 1980s. It helped establish Marvel UK as a major publisher in the British comics industry and gave work to many creators at the time. Now, Hachette has just released the first edition in a new partwork series of hardback books; Transformers The Definitive G1 Collection, setting out to reprint the entire run of Generation One Tranformers stories from the UK and USA. It will not only include the old Marvel stories but also the more recent ones that were published by IDW. 

The first book, in newsagents now, is at the special price of £1.99. Issue 2 will be £6.99, and then the series settles at a regular price of £9.99, which is still a good price for a hardback graphic novel. 

The first book reprints Target:2006 from UK Transformers Nos.78 to 88, written by Simon Furman with art by Jeff Anderson, Geoff Senior, Ron Smith, and Will Simpson. 

The book also reprints stories from the U.S. Transformers Nos.21 to 23, written by Bob Budiansky and drawn by Don Perlin. Unfortunately, for some reason, the reproduction of the linework isn't too good on these American strips and the finer lines have dropped out (see photo below). I hope things like this can be rectified in future issues.

As with other Hachette graphic novels, the volumes aren't being released in chronological order. The first one is volume 6, the second will be volume 35, the third volume 16. They probably think it's better to start off with strong stories but it must be a bit frustrating to readers wanting to follow the continuity. Nevertheless, Transformers The Definitive G1 Collection is bound to be a popular series amongst the many fans young and old alike who either remember the classic stories or are discovering them for the first time. 

You can subscribe to the series at the Hachette website (which also shows the TV ad for the books):
http://www.transformerscollection.com