All Hail Megatron UK style - as you've never seen it before!, Titan sink to a new low! Options

[Blueshift]

I don't usually pick up the Titan Transformers magazine since it is reprints of comics I already own and original comics of Skids and Mudflap. But my attention was piqued when I was told that issue 8 finished off the reprinting of All Hail Megatron.

(IMG:http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i127/blueshift2k5/ahm002.jpg)

I thought this was strange since after 8 months they'd only reprinted up to issue 5. It turns out that Titan have completely cut, mangled and CHANGED the plot of AHM to bring it to a screeching halt in just 24 pages. The magazine's editorial promises us an "epic, power-punching ending [as it] rushes head long towards its stunning conclusion".

So uh, what did they DO? Being horribly anal, I have documented the changes below!


Page 1-2 (AHM 6 p 1-2)
Kup and Jazz have a chinwag

Page 3-4 (AHM 6 p 3-4)
Starscream and Megatron have a chinwag

(We now miss out the fight between Skywarp and Bombshell)


page 5-7 (AHM 6 p10-12)
Kup and Jazz continue to chinwag

(We miss the conversation between Ironhide and Roadbuster, the sighting of the Swarm and Perceptor being scary)


Page 8-10 (AHM 6 p18-20)
Megatron and Starscream keep arguing

(We miss the decision to bomb New York and the insecticon creation flashback)


Page 11-17 (AHM 7 p5-11)
Jazz's flashback up until the splash of Megatron taking the Matrix from Prime

(We miss Sideswipe talking to Sunstreaker)


Page 18-20 (AHM 7 p15-17)
Jazz continues his flashback telling of how Prime sacrificed himself to save everyone else.
(We miss Ironhide fighting Mirage. We then miss ALL of issue 8, including Sunstreaker's death! From issue 9 we then miss the humans on Earth chatting to Spike)


Page 21 (AHM 9 p9 (panels 4&7) p15 (panel 2) p 16 (panels 4-6)
In an astonishingly bad piece of editing, Titan have MERGED some of AHMs pages, so that Ratchet enters, tells everyone Prime is about to die, Sideswipe gets angry (with changed dialogue, so that references to Sunstreaker are changed to Prime). Sideswipe now seems to be angry that Prime is definately dead, and makes it sound like Prime committed suicide due to the baffling name changes.

(IMG:http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i127/blueshift2k5/th_ahm005.jpg)
Terrible photo of the terrible new page (I couldn't get it without the lens flare, sorry)

page 22-24 (AHM 9 19-21)
Sideswipe's page of monologuing. Hilariously he talks about Sunstreaker's death here, so we have to assume he died off-panel somewhere.

And then the double-page splash of Optimus Prime returning. Ratchet's diagnosis 2 pages prior seemed a bit pessimistic then.

Then it says THE END!

(IMG:http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i127/blueshift2k5/ahm012.jpg)

Oh dear. Oh dear. Titan. What are you playing at? I can kinda see that they might have wanted to rush through the story, or perhaps relaunch the second half as a 'new' story, but then a little box tells us that if we want to read the rest, we need to go to Forbidden Planet and buy the trades.

I used to like Titan as a company, but this is a flabbergastingly bad piece of hack work. The WORST part is, that the Transformers mag, as one sold in supermarkets and newsagents, gets a ridiculously high distribution rate, in the tens of thousands. This is going to be how most people will read this tale!

But hey, free disk launcher!

This post has been edited by Blueshift: Dec 31 2009, 01:59 PM

[Bass X0]

wow. just when we believed AHM's pacing and story-telling was as bad as it could get, someone goes out of their way to prove us wrong.

I'm glad I don't get the Titan comics.

[Walky]

Hahahahaha. "Prime's dead because he wanted OUT."

[Blueshift]

Now I'm wondering where on earth this will go on the wiki!

[Moroboshi Ataru]

It's the return of Suicidal Marvel Prime! "Prime's DEAD. He's dead because he lost that video game."

This post has been edited by Moroboshi Ataru: Dec 31 2009, 02:35 PM

[Bass X0]

It puts Sideswipe switching off Hunter's life support machine in a new perspective now.

[Sprocket]

Oh man. Thank you for this, Blueshift. It is through the terrible that we can all find mirth.

I seriously Bwahaha'd at this. Good stuff.

This post has been edited by Sprocket: Dec 31 2009, 03:08 PM

[Blueshift]

Oh man. Thank you for this, Blueshift. It is through the terrible that we can all find mirth.

I seriously Bwahaha'd at this.

Thanks! Makes it worthwhile that I went out especially in the cold to procure this at a king's ransom of 2.99. That is like, 5 of your colonial dollars!

This post has been edited by Blueshift: Dec 31 2009, 03:07 PM

[Bug-Saw]

I always thought the Titan Magazine was kind of a dumb way to drum up interest for TF's in the UK when there are plenty of more practical solutions, like properly converting the prices of the toys instead of just swapping out the dollar sign for a pound sign, for example.

[Bass X0]

I always thought the Titan Magazine was kind of a dumb way to drum up interest for TF's in the UK when there are plenty of more practical solutions, like properly converting the prices of the toys instead of just swapping out the dollar sign for a pound sign, for example.

that would be like blaming IDW for poor distribution of the toys and cancelling the Animated TV show.

[Professor]

there are plenty of more practical solutions, like properly converting the prices of the toys instead of just swapping out the dollar sign for a pound sign, for example.

You realise that different prices for the same item in different parts of the world has to do with a lot more than simple exchange rates, right? Do you think that Burger King or Apple "swaps out the dollar sign for a pound sign" just because they feel like making a bunch more profit?

[Blueshift]

there are plenty of more practical solutions, like properly converting the prices of the toys instead of just swapping out the dollar sign for a pound sign, for example.

You realise that different prices for the same item in different parts of the world has to do with a lot more than simple exchange rates, right? Do you think that Burger King or Apple "swaps out the dollar sign for a pound sign" just because they feel like making a bunch more profit?

While I don't want to turn this thread into one about the horrors of Hasbro UK, I'd just like to point out that while some products like ipods ARE more expensive over here, they are not THAT much more expensive, and certainly don't just 'swap the dollar signs for pounds'. Go check on amazon.

Meanwhile Hasbro's new deluxe price over here is around 22.5 dollars.It would be cheaper to import them from America, which would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.

[Bass X0]

i'm on a budget so i may have to import...

[Bug-Saw]

that would be like blaming IDW for poor distribution of the toys and cancelling the Animated TV show.

I'm not blaming them for anything, I just think it was dumb of Hasbro UK to put out a Titan Magazine in an attempt to drum up interest in TF's. How many other toylines have an entire magazine dedicated to them?

[Razorsaw]

now, question.

Is this worse than "GET IN THE SHIP" or just about equal?

[Blueshift]

that would be like blaming IDW for poor distribution of the toys and cancelling the Animated TV show.

I'm not blaming them for anything, I just think it was dumb of Hasbro UK to put out a Titan Magazine in an attempt to drum up interest in TF's. How many other toylines have an entire magazine dedicated to them?

Titan put out the magazine. They pay Hasbro money to be able to make it.

And obviously there's enough interest since it has been going for nearly 3 years now!

[Boltax]

there are plenty of more practical solutions, like properly converting the prices of the toys instead of just swapping out the dollar sign for a pound sign, for example.

You realise that different prices for the same item in different parts of the world has to do with a lot more than simple exchange rates, right? Do you think that Burger King or Apple "swaps out the dollar sign for a pound sign" just because they feel like making a bunch more profit?

While I don't want to turn this thread into one about the horrors of Hasbro UK, I'd just like to point out that while some products like ipods ARE more expensive over here, they are not THAT much more expensive, and certainly don't just 'swap the dollar signs for pounds'. Go check on amazon.

Meanwhile Hasbro's new deluxe price over here is around 22.5 dollars.It would be cheaper to import them from America, which would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.

WAH WAH WAH! LOOK AT ME! I'M FROM THE UK AND I THINK PRICES ARE TOO HIGH! WAAAAAAH!!

Get over yourselves, boys.


Now... about this edit. Wow. That's a pretty titanic edit. I've never heard of anything like it. Transformers has had some comic edits over the years that have changed the meaning of things. There's an Australian TPB that re-edits the first four issues of the Marvel comics to completely remove Shockwave and the Dinobots and end on Optimus Prime's victory speech -- and a similar UK edit which actually has new art.

But this... wow. That's like the ULTIMATE studio cut. I wonder if Shane McCarthy knows about this.

Also: Does this mean they TOTALLY destroyed his, "Headmasters are bad!!" thesis?

--Boltax.
(I'm an Aussie, so I have a god-given right to call Brits on their freakin' whining.)

This post has been edited by Boltax: Dec 31 2009, 04:58 PM

[Blueshift]

(I'm an Aussie, so I have a god-given right to call Brits on their freakin' whining.)

Yes, that is true, you don't even have real Marmite (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-screamer.gif)

[Confuzor]

"chinwag"?

[Walky]

Yappin' the mouth but nothing important comes out.