It's the 15th of the month, and you know what that means!

THE TRANSFORMERS issue #42 features the long-awaited reintroduction of Optimus Prime, who spent a couple of years dead for tax reasons, as well as the rest of the Powemasters.  

This issue is entitled "People Power!" and was printed on March 22, 1988 with a cover date of July 1988.  Written by Bob Budiansky, it includes pencils by José Delbo, inks by Dave Hunt and Don Hudson, lettering by Bill Oakley, and colors by Nel Yomtov.  The front cover, by José Delbo and Dave Hunt, features "OPTIMUS PRIME—POWERMASTER!" and showcases Prime, in his combined robot form, in a firefight with the two Decepticon Powermasters.  A miscolored Joyride (green and blue) and Slapdash (orange and blue) also appear in the background.  By this point, fans had been writing to the editor for many months, asking for Optimus Prime to come back, and with this issue, they finally got their wish.  

So, I don't always recall with perfect clarity which vintage G1 toys were released during which times of the year.  But, I do remember March 1988 vividly.  It was my 12th birthday, and the first new toy I got for that year was Hosehead.  He came with an outdated 1987 product catalog (it seems like the boxed toys didn't get updated with the new catalogs until about midway through the product year), but the back of his box featured an incredible battle scene with Pretenders like Skullgrin and Landmine, and what appeared to be an all-new Optimus Prime toy.  At the time, I had assumed he was a Headmaster, judging by the way a little man appeared to be leaping off the truck mode and, as Prime transformed, becoming some part of the robot configuration.  It wasn't until a fair bit later (probably when my friend bought this issue and let me read it) that I realized my guess was completely off the mark.  Suffice to say, the Powermaster toys were introduced in the comics well ahead of the toys' release in stores.  

The story opens with two Decepticons named Darkwing and Dreadwind (now THERE are a couple of names that are super easy to mix up), in their combined super-jet form as Dreadwing, attacking a restaurant on Nebulos.  They came from Cybertron, but their individual jet forms are rather obviously Earth designs (Dreadwind is am F-16, like the Aerialbot named Skydive, while Darkwing is the somewhat less commonly-seen Panavia Tornado).  By this point in the story, the Decepticons have already become Powermasters, so they separate into their individual forms, and the engine components pop off to which each Decepticon has been intrinsically entwined.  The morose Darkwing and the depressed Dreadwind exchange banter while their Nebulan partners, Hi-Test (blonde crew cut) and Throttle (orange hair), transform into their humanoid exo-suited forms.  (The toy versions of Hi-Test and Throttle seemed to be designed to look like monstrous creatures, almost like Battle Beasts, with Hi-Test having a hawk's head and Throttle looking like some kind of fish monster.  The artwork for this issue gets around this by making those creature heads into stylized masks worn by otherwise normal-looking dudes from Nebulos.)  Hi-Test and Throttle demand twenty meals from the restaurant, for reasons that will become a bit more apparent later.

Elsewhere, Goldbug's team from issue #41 arrives on Nebulos and disembarks Steelhaven aboard a shuttle.  They head for an industrial complex run by Hi Q, the Nebulan who, they hope, can help them rebuild Optimus Prime.  (As with the Decepticons in this issue, the Autobots are quite obviously in Earth vehicle modes despite never having been to Earth.  You could make the argument that Slapdash is somewhat Cybertronic in nature, since he doesn't quite conform to normal F1 race cars, and Joyride's dune buggy mode to a lesser extent, but Getaway is quite obviously a Toyota MR2.)  

Inside, a couple of technicians named Lube (blonde) and Hotwire (shaggy black hair) are working on some equipment while Kari gently chides them.  (This represents a shift in the naming conventions for Nebulan characters, since most of them up to this point have had alien-sounding names with Latin roots, like Duros or Arcana.  It's implied that the Targetmaster partners like Haywire or Peacemaker use code-names because they were outcasts from society.)  The Autobots introduce themselves and ask to see Hi Q, a chubby-looking bald guy who wears a flamboyant cloak and translucent visor.  (His name is parsed as Hi-Q in the Hasbro toy biography and instructions, but Marvel consistently parses it as Hi Q.)  As a former associate and friend of Galen, the Autobots explain that they're hoping he will be willing to construct a new body for Optimus Prime, whose mind is still contained on a computer disk.

Hi Q explains to Goldbug and the others how things have changed significantly on Nebulos.  After the escapades of the Headmasters and Targetmasters did so much damage, the Council of Peers arranged to prevent Nebulos from being so hospitable to these warring robot factions.  (In a flashback scene, Hardhead and Skullcruncher make a cameo appearance, as well as two vehicle-mode Fasttracks.)  Hi Q explains how he and his assistant, Hi-Test, were charged with the task of poisoning the fuel on the planet so that it would be lethal to any robots who tried to ingest it.  Hi-Test was envious of Hi Q's success in this arena, and eventually stormed off.  

Eventually, Darkwing and Dreadwind arrived on Nebulos and addressed the Council of Peers, demanding to know what had become of Scorponok's group of Decepticons.  (What, Scorponok didn't even send a letter back home to let everyone know where he had gone?  How rude!)  Hi Q warned them they would suffer an unpleasant fate if they remained, but they didn't listen.  After refueling, their systems began to deteriorate and their jet modes broke down.  (There's a panel that is reused a few times where Darkwing is tipped over onto his nosecone, and Dreadwing's wings are sagging as if they were melting.  It's honestly kind of tragic.)

We learn how the embittered Hi-Test recruited a low-life named Throttle and stole Hi Q's experimental fuel conversion technology, called the Powermaster process.  Hi-Test ended up using the technology to bio-engineer both himself and Throttle, converting them in a similar manner to the Headmasters and Targetmasters.  They propositioned Darkwing and Dreadwind with a partnership, and the delapidated Decepticons were in no position to argue.  Possessing the new ability to transform into portable power plants, or "engines," they linked up to the Decepticons, freeing them from the need to refuel on poisoned Nebulos energy sources.  The Decepticons once again began terrorizing Nebulos, and often the reason for their attacks was to feed their Nebulan partners, who now consumed ten times as much food as before.  

The interesting thing about this partnership is that the Decepticons didn't require any physical modifications in order to accept their new Powermaster engines.  The bio-engineering made to Hi-Test and Throttle was essentially plug and play.  I suppose this means that they could theoretically link up to any Transformers and turn them into Powermasters, whether or not they required it to survive or not!  (It reminds me a bit of those stupid pack-in comic books that came with the early Armada toys, whereby the Mini-Cons plugging into larger Transformers activated abilities they were entirely unaware of.  "Wow, I never knew I had these driving claws!")

So, with Hi Q's story concluded, Goldbug and the Autobots realize they need to stop the Decepticon Powermasters and their rampage.  The problem is, the Autobots can't refuel using Nebulos energy sources or else it will condemn them to death.  Joyride wants to return to the ship and guzzle some energon cubes, but Goldbug is steadfast in his mission to rebuild Optimus Prime, insisting that what happens to the rest of them is unimportant.  Hi Q agrees to help build a new body for Optimus Prime.  (There's a scene on page 11 where the Autobots are helping to construct what looks like a metal framework which is in the outline of Optimus Prime's new body..  It strikes me as weird that they would build an framework, as if Prime were a skyscraper.)

Rev finally makes an appearance (with a black bowl cut, looking a bit like Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame) and reports on another Decepticon attack.  Goldbug leads the others to mount a response.  Darkwing and Dreadwing are still harassing the Council of Peers, demanding to know what became of Scorponok and his crew.  Peer Sorzia and Peer Sorgen make an appearance, unafraid of their posturing.  The Autobots arrive, but they are woefully ineffective against the Decepticons.  Part of it is because of the Powermaster process augmenting the Decepticon abilities, but part of the problem is that the Autobots haven't refueled in a while and are running on empty.  

Historically, the artists of Marvel Comics always relied on the cartoon show to supply them with model sheets in order to draw the characters.  Obviously, this was no longer the case with the cartoon show now off the air..  However, animation was still being produced for the toy commercials, so I suspect that Marvel was using the same character designs created for the toy commercial animation.  They're relatively accurate representations of the Hasbro toys, though it's worth mentioning that Joyride, Getaway, and Slapdash all have radically different helmet and face designs in the comic book than their Hasbro toys.

Also, there's an oddity with the design for Dreadwind.  When the 1988 toy transformed from jet to robot, the main jet wings ended up on his back, a trait shared with plenty of other Decepticons like Starscream, Slugslinger, etc.  The toy had missiles mounted to the tips of the wings, which were reproduced for his character design.  However, when José Delbo draws him in this issue, he misinterprets the tips of the wings (which are visible in the 3/4 view poking out from behind Dreadwind's arms) as being directly connected to his arms.  In illustrations where we see Dreadwind from behind (like on page 13 when he's blasting Goldbug), there are missiles hanging from struts that are erroneously connected directly to the backs of his elbows.  This irrationally bothers me a lot!