Action Force Monthly #1

Jun 1988; Cover price 50p.
32 pages. Full colour.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Edited by John Tomlinson.

Cover by Dougie Braithwaite.

Free Battle Ribbons.

Contents:

.2 Mission Control Introduction text by John Tomlinson. / Contents / Indicia

.3 Double Bluff w: Ford Alan; p: Dougie Braithwaite, i: Cam Smith, lettering by Annie H., colouring by Stuart Place.

15 Action Force Skystriker Strikes Back toy advertisement.

16 Mini-Poster r. cover art by Dougie Braithwaite.

18 Earth, 8162. Not a nice place to live... in-house advertisement for Dragon's Teeth.

22 Double Cross w: Ian Rimmer; p: Dougie Braithwaite, i: Cam Smith, lettering by Bryan Hitch, colouring by Stuart Place.

27 Ancient Relics!, part one, w: Simon Furman; p: Geoff Senior, i: Dave Harwood, lettering by Annie H., colouring by Steve White.

r: Transformers (Marvel Comics Ltd.) #125 (08 Aug 1987).

Decreasing the page size in order to appear more American might have made some commercial sense, but it makes Action Force Monthly appear to offer less value for money. Braithwaite's cover (featuring Roadblock, Flint, Footloose, Lady Jaye, Leatherneck and Sci-Fi) has the right amount of celebratory joy to herald the return of the characters to print, though it also, unfortunately, makes this appear to be aimed at a younger audience. A great mini-poster, despite my reservations.

Double Bluff opens with Cobra's Crimson Guard holding an ambassador hostage in his embassy, interrupted in their evil machinations by Roadblock, kicks the door in and reminds readers to watch the last few episodes of Call My Bluff's twenty-fourth series. Or maybe not. Still, this fun little story continues with Sci-Fi executing a Crimson Guard holding the ambassador hostage, before Roadblock guns down the rest of their number. Xamot and Tomax are taking notes, and figure that using Battle Android Troopers will be less trouble than hiring replacements for dead Crimson Guards.

Or Battle Android Troopers were on sale at all good toy stores, and they really needed to be highlighted in the title.

Action Force are debriefed by Trent, who tells Footloose that he needs a holiday. He doesn't say, but I would like to think he's booked a room in Bomont, Oklahoma. It is, naturally, a bluff, and he is soon accosted by Troopers. Sci-Fi explains to the others that a Cobra Location Tracker is broadcasting their location, which (for reasons which remain unexplained) was part of the plan, and they prepare for an imminent attack on their base. Xamot and Tomax arrive with Footloose (using him to gain access), and bring a bunch of Troopers with them.

Every time I have to write Xamot and Tomax I am reminded of how much their names make me think of pharmaceuticals.

Internal defences are activated, destroying the Troopers, but the brothers escape mysteriously before they can be apprehended. In fleeing for their lives, they manage to snag a photograph of Trent with his daughter, and announce that they will kidnap her - because bugging them, with technology available to Action Force, wasn't even a remote possibility. If any two characters deserve to take a head-shot it is this pair.

A few pages feel rather empty, with backgrounds sketched in - it feels rushed and half-hearted rather than a stylistic choice, but the story moves so quickly that these shortcuts doesn't detract from the energy. There are also issues with likenesses in some places, with an extremely off-model Lady Jaye being the most noticeable. This is a good start, but an important franchise really needs an excellent start.

Shipwreck observes a German WWII bomber being raised from the depths, utilizing a new balloon-based system of deep-sea retrieval system, in Double Cross. If it can minimise damage to old or delicate structures, then it can be employed to raise any Action Force vehicle lost at sea. The test is interrupted by Cobra forces led by Thornton, whose father shot the plane down - and when Shipwreck takes refuge in the plane he finds the reason for their interest: crates of gold bars.

A very brief five pages, with some interesting art choices. It's better than Double Bluff, mainly for the ending, and really cements the violent streak of the title. The bleak ending feels much more mature than anything preceding it, and it is almost a shame that such a fun tale as Ancient Relics! is placed after it. There's nothing to dislike in the crossover with Transformers, which bravely pits the Autobots against each other as a threat surfaces deep beneath the streets of London.