Racing on from the previous issue’s “The Void”, Kup is up against the clock to learn the identity of the Autobot ship’s saboteur.

Ironically, despite the claustrophobic nature of the story, five strip pages just doesn’t give “Edge of Impact” enough room to breathe.

A good mystery needs time and space to unravel, but Simon Furman’s taut script only shows flashes of the plot. It becomes apparent, very quickly, who the mysterious saboteur is, but that’s only the half of it.

Like the best well-cooked thrillers the real villain isn’t revealed quite so readily.

As last issue Stewart Johnson’s artwork suits the tone of the story and the visuals almost drown out the pacing problems.

All things being equal, the desire to tell such a story in such limited space is admirable.

With “Edge of Impact”, Simon Furman weaves a literary sleight of hand and the plot twist/cliffhanger, with its deserved splash page, certainly makes an impact.

“Edge of Impact” (5 pp) was originally published by Marvel UK in The Transformers #252 (January 1990)

Category: Marvel UK
Tags: Simon Furman | Stewart Johnson

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