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by Dave Scrimgeor and Kevin McCluskey    Script- Simon Furman Art- Ron Smith Letters- Richard Starkings Colour- John Burns Editor- Ian Rimmer SYNOPSISThe crack Autobot commando unit, The Wreckers, perform a rehearsal for their role in Operation: Volcano, much to the dismay of their leader, Impactor, who feels that, without Ultra Magnus as back-up, it is a suicide mission, which leads to the team's decision to rescind their services at their debriefing. However, concurrent meeting between Impactor and Emirate Xaaron, as well as a trip to Maccadam's Old Oil House by the rest of the crew, causes an about turn so swift a Conservative government would be proud of it, and results in the battle cry of "Wreck and Rule" scheduled for Volcano once again. Dave So, moving into the next segment, 'Meet The Wreckers,' with a new artist at the helm, and the cover has a different artist as well. It looks like a photo for an album cover. Kev That's a good point, man. The Wreckers are a bit like a band, actually. Phil Gascoine on cover duties this week. I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for it. It’s fun. Pretty iconic splash page as well, as this is the first real appearance of fan favourites The Wreckers, and their catchphrase. Bonus points for me, for that rendition of Topspin, who was one of the toys I had when I was young. Dave Interesting, ‘cause Mike pointed out that he had Twin Twist. Kev Ah, really?!?! My brother had Twin Twist as well. Dave Reading some of the notes related to The Wreckers; they were billed as a crack Autobot commando unit, and Ron Smith originally visualised them. So, I guess this issue was really his baby to work on. Kev It would seem so, yeh. They remind me as a sort-of Transformers Suicide Squad. Dave I also read that Smith used to do art for 2000AD, so that would tie in to the no-nonsense, hard grilled type of characters that he was doing at the time. Kev Definitely. I firmly believe that Transformers UK really benefited from that 2000AD connection/influence. It gave it a shade more sci-fi cred than the American stories had, in my opinion. Dave But yeah, the first splash page is great. It's very visual, and it's straight into the thick of the action, with a great narrative to accompany each of the characters as well.  "Wreck....." Kev Yep. The colour work by John Burns is excellent too. It’s lovely. And I like this little swerve here, with the reveal that this is just a training exercise, and that these are not the real Decepticons, just facsimile constructs of them. Like you said, it’s a very economical way of introducing the individual members of the team by Furman, as well as giving us another recap. Good stuff. I mean, it’s 6 pages, so it’s like half the issue economical, but it’s still quality stuff. Dave True, it's a great intro to a story. A training exercise makes perfect sense for our crack commando unit. I love the bright colours as Shrapnel takes a clean head shot. It's very militarised language that Furman is using here. Plus, Whirl looks like ‘Blue Thunder.’ That’s a cracking panel of him at the bottom of page 2. Kev Right enough, Whirl does look very Blue Thunder-esque, doesn't he? Dave What do you make of Smith’s artwork? ‘Cause we have previously seen Simpson's and Anderson's, and they were very contrasting. Kev I really enjoy it. It sort-of sits somewhere between Anderson's and Simpson's. His style is not as pretty as Anderson's, whilst not being as wild, and at times horror inflected as Simpson's. Dave Yeah, he seems to have elements of both. Not as clean-cut looking as Anderson's, but not as gritty, spaghetti-western-hardened looking as Simpson's.  The Transformers version of that "This is fine" meme, starring Impactor as the dog. Kev No. And maybe it's just the Cybertron setting, and the fact that you mentioned the 2000AD connection, but it seems more sci-fi leaning to me. It's interesting that Impactor refers to the Matrix as the “Creation Matrix,” and it being “housed in the mind” of Optimus Prime, not within his chest. Again, like you’d said before, in a previous review, Furman and co. obviously hadn’t seen the movie yet, and were probably working from an early draft of the script. Dave If you look at the first four pages of this issue, Smith looks like a veteran at creating action set pieces, he does it with so much ease. Plus, the colours are vibrant and really enhance the look of these pages. It's nice to have the story going back to Cybetron, and not have too much focus being on one of the settings of the story. Furman knows how to keep the story going along so well, and there is always a fair bit of narrative to quickly get the reader up to speed, like there is on the fifth page. Kev Yep, we're treated to one of Furman's trademark recaps here. It's a great opening set piece, isn't it? You're right, it's so slick and smooth, it seems almost effortless to Furman and Smith. Dave And it's much needed, as there is a lot to cover in such a short period of time. Kev Furman is excellent in his use of this 11 page format. I also really like how he continues to show the fractures within the Autobot ranks. He’s already shown it with the Dinobots on earth, and here he is showing it again here with The Wreckers on Cybertron, who openly question authority, and are, in this instance, self-serving. Twin Twist’s, “And that means it’s not our fight anymore” being a prime example of this. Dave Yeah, this is constant, with the internal squabbling and differences of opinion showing that there are real cracks in the ranks. It works so well, as it adds to the tension of the Autobots fighting for survival, not only against the threat of the Decepticons, but also from the threat of each other if they're not working as a unit. Which they need to do to win this war. Kev Especially with the impending Operation: Volcano. Dave From the offset, for a visually, action, orientated story, it has so much narrative, as there is a lot of story to cover. But it really is a showcase piece for The Wreckers in this issue, giving us, the reader, a chance to get familiar with each of these characters. Kev Yeh, this is a cracking introduction to them. This is the first time I've read this issue in a while, and it's easy to see why they've had the longevity that they've had, and why they've become such firm fan favourites. Dave I like that, at the top of page 7, Furman goes with the much used, and easy, way to show a jump in time with, "A short while later..." I think the artwork has been great and the colours work so well. They’re really helping to keep the look of this issue visually interesting.  Turns out everywhere has a pub called Maccadam's. Even Cybertron. Kev Yeh, I've always liked those little indications of the passage of time as well. Do you prefer the switching up of the artists every issue or so, or do you think it would've worked better with just a single artist, and therefore a more consistent visual style? Dave I think it has worked well, very well in fact, as so far each artist has brought their own look to it, and it hasn’t hampered the story in any way. It shows you the talent that Marvel had working for them at the time, that they could change around artists and not be concerned about a drop in readers or sales. Plus, shows the standard of, and the amount of creators they had in their talent pool. What do you think? Kev Yeh, they had a pretty deep bench at this point, that's for sure. It certainly hasn't hampered the story, or the storytelling, no. And, like you said, it helps to keep things interesting, visually. I do like the characterisation of The Wreckers as this tough, elite, hard drinking, outlier squad. And Furman’s world-building of Cybertron here, with the black market, MacCadam’s, and the neutral elements in the war is superb. Dave Yeah man. "C'mon I've seen Decepticon badges that looked cheerier than you two.” It’s the dialogue of a tight team who have clearly been together through some tough scrapes. Kev Totally. It's classic, hard boiled, tough guy dialogue, isn't it? Kind-of puts me in mind of Dutch's crew in 'Predator.' Dave Yeah, like the helicopter scene before they go into the jungle. Class. Kev Exactly. "Sexual Tyrannosaurus." And, of course, we get the very quick return of the idea of it not being their fight, as well as the guilt, and the responsibility to do the right thing, that comes along with that idea. Dave "That dirty Decepticon scum.” Furman is really a dab hand at these hard boiled characters’ dialogue. And you can tell, at the bottom panel on page 8, that Twin Twist has no intentions of letting this go, just by the expression on his face. Excellent artwork by Smith. "This isn't our fight." I think not  The Hurt Business. Kev Yeh, you're right. The "acting" that Smith manages to impart on the characters he draws is really impressive. Dave The shifts in this story are great as, on page 9, it quickly jumps from location to location. Kev Yeh, Furman is cleverly utilising the changes of location to keep the pace up. I also like that Xaaron plays Impactor like a fiddle, and we get Impactor referring to his leader as a “.....wily old buzzard.” Ah, this is just making my heart sing. It's pure nostalgia, mainlined right into my veins. Dave Haha, you were always the biggest fan of Transformers out of the three of us, me, you, and Mike, so go ahead and be as nostalgic as you want. Then, we’re back to sub-level 6 on page 10, and it was obvious this was coming, the battle cry of "Wreck and Rule," as Twin Twist just makes a total mess of this Decepticon. Smith must have been in his element drawing this type of hard hitting action. It’s actually quite brutal. Something he cut his teeth on in 2000AD no doubt. Kev Yeh, I like how the Jumpstarter gimmick is incorporated into Twin Twist’s fighting style against Fang here. This is also a nice little bit of business, that the rest of his team, and Impactor himself, come to the realisation that they're back in to the fight, independently of each other. And we get that look of mutual respect between him and Twin Twist.  Sub-level sixth year common room in 1995 whenever you put on anything that wasn't landfill Britpop. Dave I like the design of Fang, he really does look like a nasty piece of work. Or rather he was, until that point. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh. He's spiky alright. Dave Good point about resolutions starting to occur at this point in the story. That's what it takes though, a battle hardened military unit, to bring out the fight in others. "Let's do it!" I do like the last page of this story, as Impactor asks for volunteers, and all hands go up at once. A little comedy touch there, especially with the internal thought bubble to illustrate his surprise. Very nice.  When you ask someone to cover your shift.  Yeah, right! Kev It's certainly a rousing speech by Twin Twist. And yeh, once again, I do like the circular nature of Furman’s writing. Sure, I’ve heard people say that it’s a bit of an obvious, well-worn technique, but I think it works. And as a 9 year old reading these issues for the first time, it felt like a complete reading experience, even as a smaller chapter in a much bigger story, so it was extremely effective on me. Dave Also, I like how the final panel of the story is similar to the opening panel, only this time it's not a training exercise, it's the real thing. That's a clever way to end the story. You would have been hooked on this story back then, not that you're not still hooked on it now. It starts with the battle cry, "Wreck and Rule,” "and finishes with the battle cry "Wreck and Rule!"  ".....Rule!" Kev Yep. It's very neat. I think this issue was one I was a bit later in having delivered at the time. If my failing memory serves me right, I actually got this on a Saturday evening, and it was the one time I went to altar boy class, which was also on a Saturday evening, so I had to wait to read it until I returned from said class. Now, bearing in mind that this must’ve taken less than a couple of hours from home, to church, and back, but it felt like an eternity to me when I was 9 years old, and it may very well have contributed to the fact that I never went back to those classes. That, and the fact that it was boring. Dave Haha. So, final thoughts on this issue and the series so far? Kev I have to admit that, at the time, this issue felt like an inconvenience to me. I really wasn’t THAT interested in the Cybertronian/Operation: Volcano stuff. Well, to be fair to it, I was just a lot MORE interested the earth-based future Decepticon stuff. That was the problem. So I just wanted to get through this issue as quickly as possible, and get back to Earth and Galvatron and co. Obviously, reading this as an apparent grown-up, and with the benefit of 35 years worth of hindsight, I can see how so much of this influenced what was to come with Transformers, even decades later. If this detour in 'Target: 2006' was edited out, or never written, do we get Nick Roche’s ‘Wreckers’ trilogy over two decades later? Probably not. Does James Roberts still write Swerve's onto the Lost Light? Maybe, because he was such a fan of ‘Cheers,’ but hey, maybe not. And most of the recent Transformers comics do not take place on earth, they take place on Cybertron. Furman is helping establish Cybertron as an environment beyond some vague, generic, “home planet” here, and that influence has long been felt too. This kind-of feels like the half-time break of 'Target: 2006,' and I'm looking forward to doing the rest of it, because in many ways the best is yet to come. Dave In keeping with what you mentioned earlier, about switching around artist, you are in for a real treat next issue, as I have noticed the artist is none other than Geoff Senior. So you have the Furman /Senior combo again. Kev Oh yes! Not only my favourite Transformers creative team, but one of my favourite creative teams in comics, period. What about yourself? How did you find this issue? And how are you finding 'Target: 2006' as a whole, so far? Dave Yeah, it's been a really good series so far, and I, like yourself, looking at this through adult eyes, am appreciating a lot more than I could have as a child. The complexities of storytelling, coupled with the action pieces really make it work. And like you said, it does seem like a break in the story, like it's reloading for the next stage, and then will be firing on all cylinders. (D) & (K) Next: 'The Devil You Know...' 
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