The Energon Pub

News Credits: 402 · by **Mkall** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:21 am

I don't have the depth of knowledge, nor the time to fully explore if this is accurate or not, but apparently the first ever appearance of Transformers on the Internet was a text-only review of Marvel's The TRANSFORMERS #1:

Google's cached page

Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP

Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site usceast.UUCP

Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!akgua!mcnc!ncsu!ncrcae!usceast!ted

From: ted@usceast.UUCP (Ted Nolan)

Newsgroups: net.comics

Subject: year's worst?

Message-ID: <2052@usceast.UUCP>

Date: Tue, 22-May-84 02:07:22 EDT

Article-I.D.: usceast.2052

Posted: Tue May 22 02:07:22 1984

Date-Received: Wed, 23-May-84 19:02:40 EDT

Organization: Csci Dept, U of S. Carolina, Columbia

Lines: 43

<what's the use, eat me>
My vote for worst comic of the year would have to go to Marvel's
TRANSFORMERS #1. Has anyone out there seen it? I'm still trying
to figure out why I wanted to spend $.75 on it in the first place,
but any reason I may have had was inadequate.

The premise is that two groups of 'robots' evolve on a faraway planet
and start an eons long war for control of same. This knocks the planet
from its orbit and sends it spinning through our solar system (!)
The goodguy robots send an expedition out to punch a path through the
asteroid belt, where they are ambushed by the badguy robots and all end up
crashing into Earth and being suspended for ages in a volcano. Then they
wake up and start the battle again.

I had thought I had seen bad comic writing at its peak during Marv Wolfman's
tenure on MACHINE MAN (MM 10-13 in particular are classically bad comics
and can be savored as such), but I think Ralph Macchio has topped even this.
The following is typical :

--The AUTOBOTS. Whereas life elsewhere in the cosmos usually evolved
through carbon-bonding, here it was the interaction of naturally
occurring gears levers and pulleys that miraculously brought forth
sentient beings.

In addition, both sides go through incredibly bad sequences to establish
the identity of each robot in the worst 'of course you know..' manner,
and there are gaping holes in even elementary plot logic.

First has been accusing Marvel of what ammounts to dumping. I cannot
think of any other reason for this comic to exist,and admit to being
mystified about its intended audience (esp given the price).

On a more pleasant note, many thanks to y'all out there for
plugging Swamp Thing and Summerset (sp?) Holmes. I am enjoying them.

Clear Ether
Ted Nolan ..usceast!ted
--
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Ted Nolan usceast!ted
6536 Brookside Circle
Columbia, SC 29206 (feather the rast!)
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News Credits: 7 · by **Noideaforaname** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 1:59 pm

Figures it'd be a complaint, though I suppose it's somewhat a reprieve that it doesn't sound like he was a Transformers fan anyways.

News Credits: 6188 · by **Va'al** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 2:09 pm

Fitting, on the 25th anniversary of the internet, and 30th of the franchise.

Website · by **RK_Striker_JK_5** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 2:31 pm

I... actually agree with that review. It IS just a lot of 'infodumping' and trying to shill the toys in the worst possible manner.

News Credits: 767 · by **Dead Metal** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 2:31 pm

Don't know if I would call this an internet post, it's from the Internet's predecessor and actually predates the Internet.
But yea I saw this once before, I think it was on TFwiki.

Noideaforaname wrote:Figures it'd be a complaint, though I suppose it's somewhat a reprieve that it doesn't sound like he was a Transformers fan anyways.

Well, it would be weird if he was a Transformers fan, since this is about the first ever issue of the original G1 comic, as in the first ever TF related fiction. It would be odd if he had been a fan before he picked it up.

This post also amuses me to no end, since we keep seeing people posting who claim the original series to be some of the best comic writing ever, and here we have a post by a comic critic who's enjoying one of the greatest comics of the time (Saga of the Swamp-Thing), and has a similar opinion about the series as I do.
love it.

News Credits: 15 · by **PrymeStriker** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:09 pm

If he thought that was bad, I wonder what happened when/if he saw the cartoon. :lol:

by **snavej** » Thu Nov 23, 2023 7:25 pm

To be fair, the first issues were written in a great rush because (a) the toys were already on sale and (b) the first draft (Transformers created on Earth by humans) was scrapped as being unfeasible (humans were not advanced enough).

Anyway, the franchise only taps into existing enthusiasm for science fiction, robots, adventure, war stories, plot twists, power fantasies, intrigue, etc. Selling toys and other merchandise is the fortunate money spinner that injects great impetus to the franchise.