TFtember: The Transformers#20

"Showdown!" the Transformers#20 (September 1986) with credits to Bob Budiansky (script), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Ian Aiken/Brian Garvey (inks), Nel Yomtov (colors), Janice Chiang (letters), and Mike Carlin (editor) 

And thus we end the comic reviews, at least for a while. 

We open with a chase scene. Donny has finally managed to escape the Decepticons but Ravage is in hot pursuit. He ditches his old Robot Master costume, which buys him some time, but can he find the Autobots in time?

Meanwhile, Charlene is in a spot. Her car has broken down but thankfully Wendell is giving her a ride as she talks about wanting more adventure in her life. Pulling over to stretch their legs, they find Skids. Figuring, "hey, free car!", they give a call to Wendell's cousin Bob to tow Skids into town. Skids, for his part, figures it might be safer to stay as a car.

Charlene drives out of Bob's garage, but Jake (the jerk from last issue) recognizes the van and road rages ensures, at least until Skids takes over and leaves him in the dust. Of course, Charlene is now freaking out a bit as her van seems to be alive. Skids takes her to the outskirts of town and confesses. He's sorry, but he's tired of fighting and wishes to go back to his pre-war job as an anthropologist. Charlene calms a bit and takes Skids home. They chat and start to bond over her love of the Wild West. 

Before things get too cozy though, Donny finds them. He overheard Jake ranting about a living van and tracked Charlene down. Both her and Skids try to ignore him, but when Ravage shows up all three hightail it out of there. They get to old mining town, but while the humans hide Jake runs up and knocks out Skids with a tire iron. 

Yeah, seems a Transformer's windshield is like their skull?

Skids has a dream sequence in which he stares down Megatron in the Old West but Jake manages to redeem himself somewhat by hitting Ravage with his car. Skids manages to come to and knock Ravage down a mineshaft. Skids leaves with Donny, telling Charlene that as much as he enjoyed himself he can't avoid his responsibility to the Autobots. 

Pretty darn good, even if the car wash sequence seems brings to mind far too many questions. Skids really takes the lead here (more than he ever did in the cartoon) and we carry on the story from the previous issues.