Friday 2 March 2012

1984: THE TRANSFORMERS ARRIVE IN MARVEL AGE


Buried away inside MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE issue 17 was this three-page feature announcing the arrival of THE TRANSFORMERS.  Clearly no one at the House of Ideas knew this little four-issue mini-series based on an unproven toy line would become a smash.

The article makes interesting reading: some of the character names (Blow-out and Spin-out) were changed before the comic, toys and animated series appeared.  The reference to Aunty ("the Autobots' intelligent spaceship") is not only wrong but also owes much more to the animated series (Aunty did appear in the Marvel UK comic... maybe the creative team in Redan Place were working from the same brief?).

SPIDER-MAN's black costume (because Hasbro were worried that an appearance in his traditional costume would inadvertently bolster sales of Mattel's rival MARVEL SUPER HERO SECRET WARS action figures) cameo in issue three doesn't even warrant a mention. 



MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE
ISSUE 17
August 1984

THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN were the main attraction.

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