THE FANTASTIC POUR
Brett welcomes Transformers fan Mark baker-Wright to the Fantasti-Lounge for a new edition of the Fantastic Pour! We talk Ratchet, mix a Coca-Cola cocktail/mocktail, and read Transformers #8. Join us in the Fantasti-Lounge as we discuss: Is Ratchet actually cool? How traumatizing was the 1986 Transformers movie? Was San Diego Comic Con worth it? And much, much more!
Secret Pour-igins: Coca-Cola
Mocktail: Energon Cola
Ingredients (per drink):
- Can/Bottle of Coke
- 2 oz pomegranate juice
- 1/2 lime (quartered)
- 2 sprigs of mint
- 2 orange wheels
- For cocktail version: 2oz light or dark rum
Instructions (per drink)
- Add pomegranate juice, lime wedges, mint, and orange (add rum for cocktail version)
- Muddle gently
- Add a few ice cubes and shake
- Strain into a glass filled with ice
- Top with Coke
- Mint sprig to garnish
Comic: Transformers #8, Marvel Comics, 1985
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Going in, I knew this episode was going to be a bit of grind. Not because of the guest, but because it would be all about the Transformers. My disinterest (to put it mildly) in those characters is well known, and while this episode did nothing to change that, the conversation was lively enough to keep me entertained.
I agree, William Johnson’s art (aided by Kyle Baker as inker, who I am a huge fan of) is pretty good, and the pages you posted have more style than I ever would have assumed ran in an issue of a series like Transformers. That said, all I can picture when looking at them is a series of clanging metal sounds.
I have been to the SDCC three times, and even in the 90s, pre-the MCU, it was so unbelievably crowded. Just getting across the hall was a grind. I had some great times there, and San Diego was lovely, but I have zero desire to go back–unless we can all go as a network AND we can invoice all expenses TO the network.
Great show as always!
Indeed, I appreciate that you took the time to listen, despite your known disdain for the piles of boxes. 😉
I would happily brave another SDCC if there were F&W folks present! (Indeed, that’s one of the highlights of Gallifrey One!) That said, I accept that I live on the opposite side of the country from most of you. One of these days, when finances are more stable, I need to get out to Dragon Con.
Well, this is one of those rare episodes where I was more interested in the beverage of choice than the actual comic book – I’m a big lover of Coca Cola (or really, any cola), even though I don’t indulge as much at this point in my life.
Otherwise, I have zero interest in the Transformers. I was too old to be interested in the toys or cartoons when they became a thing, and so I never had any interest in the comics, either. The only Transformers thing I ever consumed in full was the movie Bumblebee – which I actually rather enjoyed. All that to say that regardless, like Rob above, the quality of your conversation kept me interested in the show regardless. And based on the images on the gallery page, I have to say that I really like the art in the issue you covered.
p.s. as I was listening to your struggles with the word ‘impotency’ I kept wondering why you just didn’t say impotence – according to the dictionaries, it’s actually the preferred term.
Thanks for listening! I knew going in that I was going to be discussing Transformers for a different audience than the Transformers fans I usually interact online with in my non-podcasting life (who are, in fact, unlikely to stumble upon the podcast at all, although I did what I could on my socials to attract attention). I’m glad we found ways of making the conversation interesting (although I suspect that Brett deserves the bulk of the credit for that).
I was a fan of the Transformers cartoon but never read the comic so this was great to hear. I agree the art is slick and I can see Baker’s touch all over the place. Fascinating to hear about the differences between cartoon and comic. And love there are rights issues around Circuit-Breaker, someone I have never heard of!
As for questions –
Top 7 Transformers Team – Wheeljack (my favorite), Optimus and Bumblebee (need the leader and the young hero in awe dynamic), Ratchet (medic), Jazz (love Scatman), Grimlock, and Arcee.
My Transformer – I drink so much coffee that I would want one of those big Espresso/Cappuccino/coffee machines. It would be black matte and gold (even though I hate the Steelers) with pipes and steam … very steampunk Transformer. And his name would be Grinder. But Kup would call him ‘Beans’ …
Thanks for this fun episode! Even the mocktail sounds cool!
Thanks for your kind words. Your coffee machine Transformer, Beans, would certainly appeal to my wife…. There have been a couple of attempts (both real and fan-made) to make vending machine Transformers (based on a promotion associated with the 2007 life-action movie), but those were for soda, rather than coffee (and, obviously, not the precise kind of machine you’re talking about). That said, I bet the stickers made by Toyhax (very much the go-to site for reproduction stickers, not just for Transformers, but for other toylines of the 1980s) for “Dispensor” (still available at their site, although the toy to put them on is probably a bit harder to locate these days) might be adapted to resemble a coffee dispenser with little difficulty. (You can also search for “Dispensor” on my own blog if you want to see more images of the resulting toy.)
I talked about my Transformers history when I covered “The Ultimate Doom” 3-parter on Saturday Morning Fever one or two years ago. The basics: Transformers was my first fandom, as I was born in 1981 and was (barely) old enough to get the toys when they first launched. First Autobot and Decepticon were Prowl and Thundercracker respectively. But by 1985 G.I. Joe had claimed my heart, and I was less interested in Transformers toys and cartoons, especially after the movie killed my favorites. I didn’t start collecting comics until 1988-1989, and it never even occurred to me to look at the Transformers comics. I did finally start reading Transformers comics when IDW published them, and then went back to read the original Marvel run, but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten past issue #20 or so.
About a decade ago, I participated in a Transformers tabletop roleplaying game. The character I created was an Autobot who turned into a mint green El Camino. His name was Ghettobot. As for a non-vehicle, everyday-usage Transformer… I would be a backyard grill named Charbroiler.
For the seven-member Autobot squad. This was so tough. For the purposes of this exercise, I’m saying that Optimus Prime sent these guys on a mission, so he’s not part of the seven. Beyond that, though, and not having a story in mind, like if this team is for reconnaissance, rescue, or all-out assault, I just went with my seven favorites: Brawn, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Hound, Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet.
Great episode, as usual!
Thank you! And thanks for sharing your history with the franchise! My first Transformer was Prowl, too! It didn’t last long… the babysitter accidentally snapped the hood off! (My family actually still has it, but it looks pretty sad after all these years)
It’s funny I came in to transformer in the beast wars and beast machines era .
So these transformers who mentioned but only rarely seen . Later I have become a fan of Grimlock I even have book of transformers the best of grimlock I think he was smarter in U.k comics then in American comics . Ratchet I’ve seen but never thought much of till now . My favorites are still Grimlock , Rattrap, bummblebee , and jazz , and Dino bot .
Who are your favorites from any era ?
The story of Grimlock’s intelligence in the comics is a strange one.
As we discussed on the podcast, the Dinobots don’t actually get to SAY all that much in this issue, but what they do say tends to be reasonably articulate (in stark contrast to the dim-witted Dinobots of the contemporary cartoon). While they disappeared from the American comics almost immediately after this issue, the British comics (specifically written by Simon Furman to fill in gaps between US reprints in the UK comic) took the opportunity to use the Dinobots at once, and followed suit by considering them just as articulate as any other Autobot. Even when the US comic showed them again (briefly) in issue #19, they continued to sound more or less normal, if perhaps a bit belligerent (to walk them off the stage until they returned in issue #27). After a pretty decent showing in their return issue, they seemed to become imbeciles almost immediately upon Grimlock’s assumption of command of the Autobots in issue #28. But even then, ONLY Grimlock was given the cartoon’s distinctive speech pattern (and that, inconsistently).
As I already said, all the UK appearances were written by Simon Furman, who didn’t take over the US strip until issue #56. Most of the US issues before then were written by Bob Budiansky. When Furman took over, one of the very first things he did was revive Grimlock. By this time, he felt the need to retain the dumb-sounding speech, but he wrote Grimlock as much more intelligent despite that verbal tic (this was made explicit in behind-the-scenes pieces about Furman’s time on the comic, which I note because the verbal tic does make him SEEM less intelligent despite the change in behavior).
You can be forgiven for not thinking much about Ratchet. Even in the G1 era, he wasn’t really much of a *character* in the cartoon (few Autobots were), so if you missed this era of the comic, he simply wasn’t memorable, and indeed seldom showed up in fiction at all until IDW came around in 2005 (and that Ratchet was, in many ways, a different character).
As to my favorites, I’m decidedly G1-focused, and I’ve already made clear that Marvel Comics Ratchet is my favorite. I’m also extremely fond of the Headmaster, Brainstorm, who was my introduction to that toyline, as well as their leader, Fortress Maximus. I do also have a rather warm space in my heart for G2 (I did host that short-run podcast advertised during this episode of FP, after all), and Skram (a small blue Autobot car) is one I perhaps inexplicably attached to. Among the Decepticons, Soundwave deserves a strong mention. I did watch Beast Wars when it came out, excited over the fact that there were Transformers being done ago after G2 fizzled out, but it was never the same for me. I actually sold all of my original-era Beast Wars toys when I was a young adult in need of money, although I’ve picked many Beast characters up in later versions. Of those characters, I’m a fan of Rattrap, as well, and especially enjoy several of the convention-exclusive characters of the era, such as CatSCAN (a reuse of a later Cheetor toy).
Great episode! I listened while driving down to Baltimore Comic Con. As I confessed to Brett over lunch, I skipped over most of the Transformer talk, having never been a fan either. But it was great to hear Mark on the network, and I enjoyed the Coca Cola talk and Fantasti-Questions!
Mark looking forward to having you on DCSC in 2027 to talk Huntress!
Me too! So excited that you got to talk to Joe Staton!
As a UK Transformers Fan I got the UK Transformers Comic – which for those of you who aren’t Mark Baker-Wright might not know was a mix between US reprints and UK created content – with two … divergent I guess .. time lines. However I do remember clearly the introduction of the Dinobots and this Ratchet Vs Megatron battle. I Also remember that we couldn’t buy a Transformers branded Shockwave in the UK so having him leading the Decepticons was cool and exotic to the likes of me – until I found a brown coloured off brand Shockwave in a store called Tandy which was the Radio Shack of the UK….. Anyway I’m rambling again….
Anyway it was great to hear Mark talk Transformers and all things Ratchet. I had forgotten how good the art was in this issue and Mark’s mention of Andy Wildman got me thinking if this was the closest in style that the US Comic got to Wildman’s era of Transformers Art. So many of the great Transformers artists I can think of are from the UK. Barry Kitson, the afore mentioned Wildman, Will Simpson and of course everyone else’s favourite Geoff Senior – who I like but not on my Mount St Hillary-more of TF artists. Of all of them Wildman remains my favourite Transformers artist but Kitson my favourite artist.
This story does seem to be one shining moment for Ratchet as he is often ignored in the rest of the run that I remember. I Suspect this was because of all of the Toys he was the one that looked least like the Cartoon and Comic depiction – well him and Ironhide. Any kid who wanted to get the Ratchet they saw on TV was going to have a LONG Wait. Don’t get me wrong BRawn , Bumblebee and others look different – but at least their Heads are in the right place.
I was surprised how much I remembered from this comic considering it’s over 40 years old now, I guess that shows the lasting power of the tale of a Medic taking on the worst of the worst and using brains over brawn or I loved the ideas of Robot Dinosaurs … Who knows why. But Mark did a great service to discuss this tale as it is often overlooked because of the silly Cartoon version of the Dinobots creation- where they don’t have any brains. One wonders if the Dinobots had come out AFTER Jurrasic Park if they would be the smartest of all . But this story might introduce the Dinobots but it’s a Ratchet Story all the way and he is the star and hero of the tale.
As for the Drink – I’m all for mocktails as you know Brett so I’ll be giving this a shot sometime. I did giggle a little when you mentioned that Coke is the most popular soft drink in the world… that’s true but there’s a couple of nations it’s not….. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before.
Thanks for Mark explaining how utter insanity it is to get to SDCC And get everything you hoped out of the show, I have often wanted to go to SDCC but honestly I think the only way I would be okay with it would be as a guest on a panel, sorry, symposium – I don’t know if there is much demand for a Scotsman to come on a panel and talk about comics, toys, growing up in Scotland collecting Comics and Toys but I’m more than willing, but my stipulation would be DC Dave can’t come because he has already been to SDCC more than the rest of us put together. Everything else about SDCC just screams “all of your choices will be wrong” and I would begrudge paying to fly half way around the world to stand in a line only to miss out on Hall H, exclusives and signatures etc. I can do all of that from home or even in the Fantasti-Lounge for free!
Who would my top seven Autobots be? It’s a tough call as some Toys are better than others, but some characters are written and drawn much better than the toy was. I won’t pick a Op Prime as feel that’s a cop out.
So I’m going to go with my favourite figure as a kid – Hotspot
My first Transformer – Huffer
My favourite vehicle mode – Bluestreak
My coolest Comic Character – Springer
My favourite Movie Character – Kup
My Biggest Titan – Omega Supreme
The last slot comes down to my favourite Flying Autobot and while that should be Macross Fighter Jet Fire … I’m going to go with the closest to MASK vehicle there is… Tracks
Finally my non transporting Transformer… I’m going back to the days of the 80s and something we all coveted but only saw in bars very expensive bars… a Giant Projector TV. He would transform into a usable TV / computer type thing for the Autobots to see plans or in Robot mode cast Holograms – a very common power amongst the Transformers. We’d just call him Projector and he’d have the personality of someone always projects their emotions on other robots instead of admitting they are his… I can imagine him in the background at Autobot City Earth as Prime’s paint all fades (what was with that anyway if your engine dies on your car the paint doesn’t suddenly turn grey) breaking the 4th wall to the theatre saying “I’m not crying you are crying”….
I’ll look out more on Mark’s Transformers Podcast and coverage as I feel I’ve been missing out on my Love of the Transformers!
Thanks both for a great episode, once again when it comes to mixing Drinks and Comics clear Brett, you’ve got the touch.,,,,,
Thanks for listening. You clearly know your stuff! For the benefit of those reading who don’t know the history so well, I should point out that Andrew Wildman DID contribute to the US comic, as well as the UK one, and that in fact Wildman was the primary artist for the last arc of the series. I understand the he and (also British) author Simon Furman have worked together often.
As to SDCC, the main takeaway that I hope people get from our discussion is that there is SO much to do, and so many people who want to do all the things, you have to make choices. I’m sure that folks who are more extroverted than I am would not only make different choices, but would be actively engaged doing things that would have been much more stressful for me. I do not suggest that SDCC do things differently, as a whole (although I DID wish that *Hasbro* had brought more of their exclusives TO the convention so that everyone who made the effort to go could have gotten first crack at them, before offering them online to those who didn’t go… but Hasbro’s done it this way for several years now, and I’m fully aware that there’s a large portion of the fandom who argue that there shouldn’t be any venue-specific exclusives *at all,* so there’s really no pleasing everybody). All in all, I’m amazed at how well-oiled a machine it is, given the sheer number of moving parts!
I tended to like the movies and cartoons for Transformers better than the comics. They always seemed to be afterthoughts. Didn’t know it was possible to talk about the movies that long without mentioning Megan Fox. Ratchet’s OK but I liked Bumblebee better.
I went to SDCC years ago and loved it. If it were actually possible to get both the convention tickets and a decent hotel room fairly close to it
Since I’m vocally not a fan of the live-action movies, I’m sure my opinion isn’t one you need worry about, but in our defense, while we didn’t mention Megan Fox by name, you’ll notice that I DID point out that Shia LaBeouf dated TWO supermodels! 😉
Thanks for listening. SDCC is clearly VERY popular, as evidenced by the fact that hundreds of thousands of people DO go every year. I hope no one who wants to go is put off by my own experiences. And while both convention tickets and the decent hotel rooms ARE subject to the lottery system (which, given the crowds, I actually think is a pretty darn fair way to handle things), there clearly are a lucky few who manage to snag both. As the well-known series puts it, “May the odds be ever in your favor!”