COUNTDOWN: 16 stunning pieces of Geoff Senior art from inside the G1 Transformers comic

If you’ve even a passing knowledge of Transformers comics then chances are you’ve heard the name Geoff Senior. The artist has a long and varied career, but to many, he will always be most well known for his simply outstanding renditions of the robots in disguise, both new & old.

Geoff was a mainstay of the original Marvel Transformers comics back in the 1980s, beginning on the UK-exclusive material before taking on duties for the core US title in 1989. He’s gone on to do more since and still produces tons of sublime custom work today (details of which can be found at www.geoffsenior.com).

For today, we’re taking a look at some of his most memorable interior work for the G1 comic, some of which won’t be surprising, but all will be worth appreciating!

 

#16: The ruins of Iacon

It was actually this example that first inspired me to write this list, as I randomly thought of it recently and had to refresh my memory about just how great it is. UK #98’s …The Harder They Die! storyline sees Optimus Prime first return to a war-torn Cybertron, only to discover that his home city of Iacon has been left desolate as well. It’s a heartbreaking image and especially noteworthy for how much emotion Geoff is able to wring out of one small yellow triangle to convey Optimus’ emotions when in profile.

 

#15: Seen this?

In some ways, this might appear as one of the more simple entries on the list, but it’s one that remains extremely memorable for me. This was Geoff’s second US appearance, as #62’s Bird of Prey! began the overarching Matrix Quest storyline. We’d already seen Nightbeat appear in a B&W back-up UK strip, but it was here that his legendary status was finally cemented.

 

#14: It’s a trap

Geoff did some exceptional work in the earlier days of the UK comic, as evidenced by this panel from Crisis of Command! (UK #43) where you clearly feel the full menace of the Decepticon army (not to mention the peril that Bumblebee has blundered into). Debate the relative scale of the cassette lads all you want, but this is masterful.

 

#13: Victory!

I included this example on the very first Countdown article I wrote for this blog, but it bears repeating what a sensation it is! Kicking off the Victory! story from the 1986 Transformers UK annual, it’s hard not to find your jaw dropping just a little when looking at it even now.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to mention (yet again) the complete nightmare fuel that is the image above from the same storyline… yikes!

 

#12: Don’t talk – hit!

Few Transformers artists can carve such dramatic character beats out of simple moments like this. Grimlock might be tough but even he’s not above feeling insecure about Thunderwing’s taunts, as shown in US #65 with Dark Creation. The last panel absolutely slays me every time.

 

#11: We are Thunderwing!

Then we come to the final page of the same issue when the Decepticon Pretender sneaks onboard an Autobot shuttle and takes Optimus Prime’s troops by surprise, having merged with a twisted form of the Creation Matrix. The comic did wonders for putting some lesser-known characters on the map, and Thunderwing was one of the more obvious examples, no doubt aided by stunning visuals such as this!

 

#10: Shockwave’s death

Another brutal moment that sticks in the memory, this one hails from the future timeline as seen in stories such as UK #147’s The Legacy of Unicron. Here, Death’s Head (first designed by Geoff, of course!) and Shockwave go head-to-head, with the one-eyed Decepticon coming a cropper by the end. The sight of the wires hanging out of his torso isn’t something that you easily forget and the whole thing is so well-paced and kinetic that it’s hard not to get engrossed in this tale.

 

#9: Shut up!

And so we come to the first entry from the ultra-classic Target: 2006 storyline which, I swear, remains one of the single greatest pieces of Transformers fiction to this day. This page comes from UK #84 and sees Jazz being held captive by the future Decepticon leader, Galavtron. Having already clued his hostage in on his status as an updated form of current-day bad guy, Megatron, Galvatron is quick to temper when Jazz starts laughing at the idea of him having to inevitably fight his younger self. Unicron’s herald may be more than a match for most Transformers, but Jazz’s victorious laugh here is a winner every time.

 

#8: And it is Galvatron!

Now let’s move onto one of the showier examples from Target: 2006, this time from the end of UK #86, and one that I’m sure fans of the comic will not be surprised to see on this list! The Ultra Magnus versus Galvatron fight in this issue is worth reading in its entirety, but in many ways, it’s one of the first pages (more on that shortly) and the last panel that stand out most. The feeling of defeat in the way Magnus’ face is obscured is palpable, and the dramatic foreshortening on Galvatron’s triumphant stance really adds to that. Simply wonderful.

 

 

#7: A rage in heaven

The Generation 2 comic was full of awful things happening to our favourite characters, but few of those were quite as wince-inducing as this sequence of Optimus Prime being eaten alive by the Swarm from #12’s A Rage in Heaven. This is still echnically a children’s comic, yes?

 

#6: Rodimus vs Galvatron

As well as doing huge sweeping landscapes and intricately decorated scenes, Geoff is quite adept at using comparatively simple block panel layouts such as the above to maximum effect. The tension created in those first five panels makes the inevitable pay-off of the action all the more satisfying!

Then there’s this second example, also taken from UK #120’s Fire on High!, which really lets you feel every crushing blow that Galvatron inflicts on Rodimus Prime! The G1 Transformers comic was stuffed with action, but rarely did it ever look as good as when Geoff was at the artistic helm. Brutal stuff indeed.

 

#5: No second chances

The On the Edge of Extinction story from US #75 is a highlight of the entire comic run, as the moment everyone feared has finally come to pass – Unicron is here! Geoff makes meaty work of this bumper-packed issue with some outstanding scenes, although it’s the big splash of the Chaos Bringer destroying Primus (in Xaaron’s body) above that remains a strong statement.

Some of the quieter character moments from the tale are worth a mention too, with Scorponok’s final moments going down as one of the best death scenes in any Transformers fiction, in my book.

 

#4: Time?!

This entry from UK #83 may not seem like the most obvious inclusion, particularly when the list is already packed with Target: 2006 moments, but it always sticks in my brain as one of the first times I truly appreciated not only how big Ultra Magnus actually is, but also how much some of the characters varied in terms of size! The size of that head!

 

#3: Primus!

#61 was Geoff’s very first work on the US book and this was the second panel from that storyline, known as The Primal Scream. We had already seen Primus revealed in the previous issue’s last panel as drawn by the equally-excellent José Delbo, but somehow it was Geoff’s sweeping interpretation that really set my imagination on fire. Something about this image captures the grandiose scale of the whole scene, with Grimlock refusing to show even the slightest bit of decorum in front of his creator.

 

#2: Skachow!

Yep, that’s the sight of Optimus Prime having his face punched off (taken from Generation 2 #12’s A Rage in Heaven). Yep, it looks like it hurts. Yep, Geoff Senior rocks. ‘Nuff said.

 

#1: Not enjoying the ride?

And finally, we come to the one I’m sure you were all expecting! Here’s that initial splash page from UK #86 that I hinted at above, and boy, is it a doozy! Definitely one of the most iconic moments from the G1 comic’s entire run and pretty much the first thing most people will think of when it comes to the already legendary Target: 2006, this is an image for the ages. So good that Geoff has even recreated it since, with Galvatron in his classic cartoon colours. Stunning!

 

So, that’s our list! I hope your eyeballs can recover from all that amazement before too long!

TTFN