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The Bridge to Nowhere!

2008-02-09T05:39:18Z

75.69.176.225: /* Items of note */

[[Image:MarvelUS-18.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"I just want to axe you a question!"]]

'''While the Cybertronian Decepticons build a device that will allow travel between Cybertron and Earth, the Autobots make a desperate attempt to stop them.'''

{{comicnav | Generation 1 (Marvel Comics) | 18 | seriesname= | prev=The Smelting Pool! | next=Command Performances!}}

=Marvel US issue #18=
''(Story also appears in: Marvel UK issues #68-69, IDW Transformers: Generations #6)''

'''Script:''' [[Bob Budiansky]] <br>
'''Pencils:''' [[Don Perlin]]<br>
'''Inks:''' [[Keith Williams]] & [[Vince Colletta]]<br>
'''Lettering:''' [[Janice Chiang]]<br>
'''Colors:''' [[Nelson Yomtov]]<br>
'''Editor:''' [[Michael Carlin]]<br>

*''Major characters (in order of appearance):'' [[Straxus]], [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]], [[Bombshell]], [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]], [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]], [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]], [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], [[Donny Finkleberg]], [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], [[Spanner]]
*''Originally published:'' July, 1986

==Synopsis==
The Decepticons construct a space bridge to enable travel to Earth, but it is still not perfected. The Autobots attempt to sabotage the bridge, but Blaster hesitates to set all the necessary explosives when he discovers that the neutral scientist Spanner, who had been kidnapped by the Decepticons, has actually been reconfigured into the space bridge itself. The Decepticons discover Blaster, and stop his sabotage efforts. In the process, the bridge is activated, and Straxus' body is destroyed while battling Blaster. Blaster and his Autobot teammates travel to the other side of the space bridge to arrive on Earth, but the bridge disappears behind them, and they are trapped on a strange new world.

In a "meanwhile on Earth" subplot, Megatron, Soundwave, and Donny Finkleberg (all last seen in "[[I, Robot-Master!]]") are hanging around a coal mine. Finkleberg is still making broadcasts in his "Robot-Master" role, trying to convince humans that the Autobots are hostile. He complains about his working conditions (e.g., all [[Ravage]] brings him for food is a snack machine full of candy). Megatron is barely tolerant of this. Then, Shockwave shows up with [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]. He and Megatron argue about who leads the Decepticons, until they receive a message from Straxus, declaring that he is about to open the space bridge. Given this development, the two leaders agree to a truce. Finkleberg decides he needs to find a way to warn the Autobots.

==Errors==
*Straxus' colors change extensively by comparison to the previous issue.

==Items of note==
* When Shockwave shows up to confront Megatron with Laserbeak and Buzzsaw, Megatron comments that he had sent the two bird-mode mini-cassettes to retrieve Starscream and the other Seekers, not Shockwave. This raises questions about Laserbeak and Buzzsaw's loyalties. Along with Soundwave and Ravage, they rescue Megatron from his immobility in "I, Robot-Master!" (#15 of the US series). Presumably Megatron sends them to collect the Seekers shortly after the end of that issue. In #16, "[[Plight of the Bumblebee!]]", the two bird-cassettes are working for Shockwave, and go along with him on his mission to capture Bumblebee. They do not appear in #17, then show up in this issue with Shockwave in tow, clearly to Megatron's dismay. On the face of it, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are only loyal to whatever leader is closest at the time. The real-world explanation is likely that "Plight" was written by Len Kaminski, not Budiansky, and thus this is a continuity error. On the third hand, a whacked-out [[fanon]] explanation could hinge on the fact that Laserbeak's name is misspelled "Lazerbeak" in "Plight" (and Buzzsaw is not explictly named), and thus might not actually be the same character . . .
* ''References to other Transformers continuities/issues:'' Donny Finkleberg was captured by the Decepticons in [[I, Robot-Master!]].''
* The full title of the previous issue was given as ''Return to Cybertron Part 1: The Smelting Pool!.'' Ostensibly, this would make ''The Bridge To Nowhere!'' Return to Cybertron Part 2, although it is not explicitly named as such.
* This issue introduces the concept of the [[Space Bridge]], and it is radically different to how it appears in the cartoon.
* This issue was reprinted as issue 6 of [[IDW Publishing]]'s [[Generations (comic reprints)|Generations]] series.
* The Letters to the Editors section of the Marvel US publication of this issue includes the first mention of [[Shingo]].

[[Category:Marvel US issues|Bridge to Nowhere]]
[[Category:Marvel UK issues|Bridge to Nowhere]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

Shingo

2008-02-09T05:29:24Z

75.69.176.225: Added a link to the issue with the first mention of Shingo

'''Shingo''' was an eight year-old reader of the original [[Generation 1 (Marvel comic)|Marvel Generation 1 comic]] in the 1980s.

In a letter to the editors in [[The Bridge to Nowhere!]], John Kamatani, a 23 year-old reader, mentioned that his eight year-old cousin, Shingo, thought ''Transformers'' was cool. The letters column ran with this, eventually wondering why Shingo himself didn't write in. No letter was immediately forthcoming, and Shingo became a running joke among the comic's readers and editors. Fans would occasionally sign letters with names such as "Shingo XVII", or end letters with statements like "By the way, I spoke with Shingo a while back and he says Transformers are cool." In [[Totaled!|Issue #41]], the editors went so far as to hold a contest called [[Spot the Shingo]], in which the object was to find Shingo's name hidden in the artwork of various panels.

Shingo eventually did write in a year or so later, but was sharply critical of the story direction the book had taken by that point. In particular he noted the harsh contrast between the often higher-quality UK stories as compared to the US stories -- at a time when most readers would likely not have even known of the existence of the UK book.

{{stub}}

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[[Category:Generation 1]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

Talk:Shingo

2008-02-09T05:24:29Z

75.69.176.225: /* what issue does the original shingo letter appear? */

I'm certain this article is inaccurate... for example, the initial letter wasn't written by Shingo, but by some relative of his. And the real Shingo DID eventually write in, which was where he criticized the series. But I don't feel like digging out my old comics to scour the letters pages right now. Does anybody feel like fixing it? As well as the accuracy problems, the article should really cite exact issues for the letters and the contest rather than vaguely describing that they happened at some point. I will probably eventually fix this myself if nobody else is motivated enough to do it first. --[[User:Steve-o|Steve-o]] 00:08, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

*To be honest, I only had a vague idea of who Shingo was until now, since I didn't start reading the comic until #24, and the original Shingo letters were apparently printed sometime before that. --[[User:TVsGrady|TVsGrady]] 00:51, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

== what issue does the original shingo letter appear? ==

I think that would go well with the article...

*Shingo's cousin writes in in Issue #18. Issue #19 mentions they're still waiting for Shingo to write. Issue 20 has an "outburst" that Shingo has not written in. Issue 34 has someone admitting that they're not Shingo. --[[User:75.69.176.225|75.69.176.225]] 05:19, 9 February 2008 (UTC)<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

Talk:Shingo

2008-02-09T05:19:34Z

75.69.176.225:

I'm certain this article is inaccurate... for example, the initial letter wasn't written by Shingo, but by some relative of his. And the real Shingo DID eventually write in, which was where he criticized the series. But I don't feel like digging out my old comics to scour the letters pages right now. Does anybody feel like fixing it? As well as the accuracy problems, the article should really cite exact issues for the letters and the contest rather than vaguely describing that they happened at some point. I will probably eventually fix this myself if nobody else is motivated enough to do it first. --[[User:Steve-o|Steve-o]] 00:08, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

*To be honest, I only had a vague idea of who Shingo was until now, since I didn't start reading the comic until #24, and the original Shingo letters were apparently printed sometime before that. --[[User:TVsGrady|TVsGrady]] 00:51, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

== what issue does the original shingo letter appear? ==

I think that would go well with the article...

*Issue 34 has someone admitting that they're not Shingo. --[[User:75.69.176.225|75.69.176.225]] 05:19, 9 February 2008 (UTC)<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>