Transformers Comic issue 6



Transformers #6 was published by Titan Magazines in December 2007.

Magazine Credits
Editor: Steve White Designer: Danny Preston Deputy Editors: Andrew James & Den Patrick Publishing Manager: Darryl Curtis

Lost In Space Part 4: Jazz

 * Script: Simon Furman
 * Art: Marcelo Matere
 * Colors: Liam Shalloo
 * Lettering: Jimmy Betancourt/Comicraft

Jazz is ignoring Ratchet's emergency homing beacon - he's landed on a planet he calls the Information Highway, a constantly-morphing world with "the accumulated knowledge of countless alien cultures, condensed into some kind of sensory precipitation". He's decided he's done with the war and he's going to remain here - he's overwhelmed by all the data, the new ways of thinking, "of being!".

He merrily decides to examine new, mushroom-like towers that have appeared on the planet surface - and upon touching that, he's covered in a swarm of green balls of light. Whereas before the planet has given him information, now it starts to take...

''It plays back a memory from Jazz's past. Having externalized his Spark Core forcefield to keep his bodywork "buff", his Spark was almost ripped out by Bonecrusher - he deliberately wanted to crippled, destroy and eventually kill Jazz for looking nice "when I look like this!". Fellow Autobot Clocker had saved him and was trying to get him to safety. When Bonecrusher caught up, Clocker had to order Jazz to run away to get help while he fought the Decepticon - Jazz was too injured to be anything but a hindrance. By the time help arrived, "there wasn't much left of Clocker to salvage"...''

Jazz emerhed from this memory to find he was being absorbed into the planet's surface - and so much of his system capacity was focused on data storage, he had no power to resist. Everything about his mind being stripped and invaded, and his last action was to launch a warning buoy into orbit so others would know to stay away. Time passed and in brief periods of lucidity, Jazz realised the planet was alive and all that data had come from countless other victims...

Eventually Ratchet and Ironhide arrived, having picked up the signal from the buoy. Ratchet quickly realised the planet was alive - and Ironhide started shooting at it to make it give Jazz back. He was rescued and, having found out where Cybertron was, they went home.

Articles & features

 * Character Profile: Starscream
 * Short interviews with Shia La Beouf and Megan Fox about their experiences on the movie.
 * Top Gear — Advertising Transformers: The Best of Don Figueroa, and a chance to win a Transformers: The Best of Simon Furman trade, an Autobot logo watch, Autobot & Decepticon logo throw cushions and a Cyberstompin' Bumblebee toy.
 * Competition to win the movie's DVD.
 * Advert for an online Transformers shopm, with a competition to win store vouchers worth £20.
 * Mech Mail - Letters and art from readers

Free Gift

 * "Free! Target Game!"/"Tactical Target Shooter" - a small plastic ball, which you throw at cardboard cutouts of the Transformers (which come with stands).

Reprints
Reprinted stories are only a portion of their respective issues.
 * Transformers: Movie Prequel, part 2c (7 pages)
 * Beast Wars: The Gathering, part 2c (7 pages)

Items of note

 * More and more small children are sending in their own Transformers fan-characters - the next generation of fanfic writers are coming up.
 * The question for the Best of Furman competition is which "bounty hunter" he created. While Death's Head trade paperbacks have been released into UK bookstores in 2007, it is likely only the older fans would know this; this could be the first time Titan has done a competition specifically for the older readers. (The "wrong" answers to choose from were Rick Deckard and Durham Red, from Blade Runner and Britain's 2000AD comic respectively)