“Blast it, I’m not a Skrull! We aren’t even part of the Marvel Universe yet!”
Prime #4
Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (September, 1993)
“Heroes”
WRITERS: Gerald Jones & Len Strazewski
ARTIST: Norm Breyfogle
COLORIST: Keith Conroy
LETTERER: Tim Eldred
EDITOR: Chris Ulm
Catch more of Transformers: The Basics on Chris McFeely‘s YouTube channel
Slight alteration because this has been a sore spot for me and one of the reasons I don’t like Furman’s takes on Transformers: The Creation Matrix started out as simply a computer program that gave Transformers life, implanted in the Autobot leader at the time, the last of which being Optimus Prime. Before the Spark was invented in fiction the Transformers were living machines thanks to what’s essentially a computer code that programmed them with emotions and personalities the Transformer itself would form over time. Furman retconned it into a physical object because for him the Movie adaptation was canon to the comic universe, for a bunch of reasons, and the Creation Matrix was the same as the Autobot Matrix Of Leadership seen in the movie. So that’s a different pre-Spark explanation for Cybertronian life, just one that was retconned out of continuity.
I don’t care what your opinion is on non-binary Morph in X-Men ’97, this is a stupid defense.
Deciding all shapeshifters are non-binary goo puddles goes against the long history of shapeshifters in science fiction and fantasy…not that they care. They also won’t watch the show but will still celebrate how “diverse it is” and then move on. It’s just another example of surface level viewing of things they don’t care about, which includes real people as much as it does fake ones. As far as Morph now going non-binary, the reason for this stupid “defense”, I don’t care. The show isn’t going to be made for today’s kids but the nostalgic who were kids when the show came out. Morph was supposed to die in the first episode in the Fox Kids days. Fox wasn’t happy so the creators told them “don’t worry, we’re totally going to bring him back”. They had no plan to bring Morph back. He only returned because someone at Fox remembered, long after the audience forgot him mind you, and called their bluff. I never liked him and couldn’t care less what they do with him…but why does he look like the 90s Spider-Man version of The Chameleon now?
Yes, that’s what he looks like in the comics now (like Marvel Studios cares about Marvel Comics) but it wasn’t what he looked like in the show then. Everyone else got to look like the show version through a “modern” design lens and trying to ape another animation studio’s older style, but Morph gets his comic look? At least we have the yellow spandex.
Over at The Clutter Reports this week I go over my cluttered “work” schedule and how circumstances are giving me a chance to fix it. For “Yesterday’s” Comic, Star Power runs out this week, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the next few weeks since I did all the IDW comics I had when they came out in Today’s Comic, and my Drive Thru library won’t hold out. That leaves the continuing look at Blue Beetle, Sonic/Knuckles, and the Ultraverse as having any real length before I get caught up with Sonic and Knuckles’ Archie adventures that came out before BW Media Spotlight started. It’s going to lead to some needed changes to free time up for me to do other things, like all those comic projects I want to do.
This week should be normal, though. The next installment in our Chapter By Chapter review of The Vulcan Academy Murders, saying farewell to MatPat on the Theorist Channels (though oddly I have to take his last Film Theory to task), and whatever else comes up.
Finally, I send my condolences to the family and friends of Dragon Ball’s Akira Toriyama, a manga creator and video game designer who has worked on many projects and earned a huge international fanbase. He passed at 68 due to a blood clot in his brain. He died on March 1st but it wasn’t made public until a few days ago, which is the right thing to do. Let his loved ones mourn in peace before the fans. While he loved his fans, his family and friends should be more important. The man is a legend and inspired many people in many countries to take up art and storytelling, and the introduction of anime and manga to a lot of people outside of Japan. He’s a creator who earned his legacy. Thank you for spending time in this dimension and making the world a better place.
Have a great week, everyone!
On the YouTube channel PlayFrame, Dan Floyd just completed a playthrough of the original Final Fantasy VII game (for those of you as bad at Roman Numerals as I am, that’s Final Fantasy 7 and we won’t get into this franchise’s numbering history in the West) and is preparing for the next installment of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which he already started on the first part of and the Yuffie side story as of this writing. This is how I know Yuffie is love.
So when YouTube then recommended Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children from its TV & Movies channel (an official coordination with rights holders), I decided to check it out, and with the remake strong on people’s minds as it’s already out and being played (I’m waiting for Dan’s continuation starting on Monday) I figured it would work as a Saturday Night Showcase. For the record, the comments maintains this isn’t the “Complete” version as the video’s title claims. The full version is in 1080p and has some more story parts to it, but while the higher rez might have been nice visually I’m okay with this version…and it’s the one we’ve got so there’s not really any choice in the matter, is it?
It’s been two years since the events of the original game. There’s a new “virus” called the Stigma that is infecting members of the populace, including children. Not helping matters is the arrival of three remnants of Sephiroth, wanting to bring their “mother”, Jenova, back into existence to finish off the planet. Cloud meanwhile is still trying to find redemption in himself for his past and is isolated from his friends…and a victim of the Stigma himself. In order to stop the remnants, he’ll need the strength of his friends, to forgive himself, and maybe a little help from a couple of old friends. It’s in English, not Japanese, so sorry if you prefer the original language. I usually like to post both when I have the opportunity, but in this case I don’t, and the English cast is quite good. Enjoy.
The real fate of Geico’s short-lived “Kash” mascot.
The Blue Beetle #51
Fox Feature Syndicate (December, 1947)
Comic Book Plus, where I get these public domain comics to review, is currently missing a whole bunch of issues. Thus we jump from #47 to #51. Three stories all involving the Blue Beetle but no Joan Mason solo story this issue. Not sure what else to add, so let’s get started.
Before Dreamwave was shut down due to not paying its creators so Pat Lee could buy fancy cars for his parents, they did manage to put out minicomics for the then-current Transformers toyline. They only got as far as Transformers: Energon, never completing the Unicron Trilogy in mini or full size comics. Mine are currently packed away with the regular Transformers comics, so rather than do wor…I mean to make things easier on myself, and I was going to link you to it anyway, I sought out the minicomic online. Transformers fansite In Space, No One Can Hear Starscream (not only a reference to the first Alien but a gag from a fan-produced MST3K style riff of Transformers: The Movie) has us covered. Read along here.
“No, I don’t want a hug!”
This is when I drop the credits, but I don’t have them available. According to the Transformers Wiki, nobody’s sure who worked on them, though some of the Dreamwave minis would feature credits somewhere in the comic. This one doesn’t and they didn’t keep track who did what. Simon Furman doesn’t remember writing this, though the Transformers wiki speculates it might be Chris Sarracini, who did work on the early Armada comics as well as other Transformers comics for Dreamwave. Aaron Archer, who was the toy designer on this series, thought Marcelo Matere might have been the artist, but he doesn’t remember working on it, and again the Wiki seems to think the design is closer to Don Figueroa. That’s the best we’ve got.
This is still the time when Hasbro had their packaging in all three languages of North America: English, French, and Spanish. That’s the order the word balloons are in for this un-subtitled comic if you go to read it. It doesn’t leave much room for dialog, but Hasbro didn’t think of that. They just wanted to their own bit of lazyne…make their job easier and cheaper. It does hurt the speaking parts of the story, but it is still somehow a good read?
“Will you stop asking if this is my fantasy? What kind of person do you think I am?”
Star Power #28
(February, 2020)
“The Life Smugglers” part 3
WRITER: Michael Terracciano
ARTIST: Garth Graham
The Clutter Reports (my other site) Atop The Fourth Wall Crisis On Earth Prime Lean Into Artcast Bully Says “Comics Oughta Be Fun” Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery
Cartoon Hero’s Lair SF Debris Four Million Years Later
