THE TRANSFORMERS issue #36 was printed on September 22, 1987, with a pull date of January 1988.  The issue is entitled "Spacehikers!"  Bob Budiansky wrote the story, newcomer José Delbo was the pencil artist with Ian Akin and Brian Garvey inking the pencils.  Diana Albers was brought into do lettering for this issue (she also did TRANSFORMERS #11 and HEADMASTERS #1) but it's evident that she also had some uncredited help.  Nel Yomtov colored the art.  

The front cover (penciled by Frank Springer, inked by Akin & Garvey) depicts the four kids from last issue walking the plank, as it were, only in space.  Two of the Dinobots (Slag and Snarl) are on hand, flanking the proceedings. and it's not immediately obvious from the illustration whether they're trying to save the kids or are the ones executing them.  Sky Lynx is also featured prominently, apparently swooping down on the kids, but it's not readily evident whether he's attacking them or trying to save them.  Uncertainty and mystery on the front cover is a great way to sell a comic book, and they've certainly done a good job of setting up a ton of questions.  A Marvel-style text blurb might have helped push it even further over the edge, something like "SENTENCED TO DEATH... BY THE AUTOBOTS?!" or some such nonsense.  But, even though such a blurb is highly typical for this comic, they didn't add one this time.  

Our story begins with a full splash page of Sky Lynx in shuttle mode, dramatically warping from hyperspace into regular space.  He's missing a lot of surface detail, like the panel lines and Autobot symbols on his wings, the cargo hatch on his back, etc.  This is our first taste of José Delbo's artwork, an artist from Argentia whose art style would become strongly associated with the TRANSFORMERS title during the mid-to-late era, perhaps moreso than any other single artist up to this point.  And, the longer he worked on the comic, the more recognizable and distinctive his style would become, especially when his artwork was inked by Dave Hunt.  But, we'll talk about that a bit later.

So, it seems that Wheeljack and Sky Lynx are old pals, and Wheeljack has asked Sky Lynx to come to Earth due to Grimlock's erratic leadership style. The Autobots need all the help they can get, honestly.  We get a flashback showing how Sky Lynx had been battling Decepticons on Cybertron up to this point, even though the characters firing on him (Bombshell, Razorclaw, and Breakdown) wouldn't have been on Cybertron.  This is the first of many artwork mistakes in this issue.  Sky Lynx plans to intercept the downed Ark, but to his surprise, the Ark comes flying away from Earth and into space.  (Sky Lynx also makes sure to tell us via narrative windows that he departed for Earth "quicker than you can say 'roll out,'" even though he is a spacefaring craft, not a rolling vehicle.)  

On board the Ark, with Grimlock in command, the Dinobots and Wheeljack are searching for Blaster's signal in order to capture him.  Wheeljack seems to be deliberately stalling for time, but Grimlock won't hear of it—clutching poor Wheeljack by the throat and demanding results.  All the more reason for Wheeljack to have summoned Sky Lynx, one supposes.  He could really use somebody on his side right now. Out in space, the kids from issue #35 are still enjoying their joyride aboard Blast Off, who is being controlled by the mode-lock meant to imprison Blaster.  (A close-up of the mode lock reveals it to be box-shaped, nothing like the round disc attached to Blaster in the previous issue.)

For the first time, Blaster actually voices a plan to force Grimlock to step down as commander of the Autobots. Up to this point, he's been a vocal deserter, but hasn't said anything about taking command for himself.  He also warns the kids not to touch the airlock, since they'll be sucked into space.  When the Ark shows up and begins firing on Blast Off, Blaster realizes he can't outrun the Ark.  He plans to surrender.  However, the kids toss him out of the airlock, moments before Blast Off is captured by the Ark.  (How do the kids avoid also being sucked out into space as soon as the airlock is opened?  Um, because of reasons.)

Inside the Ark's cargo bay, a team of Autobots trains their guns on the immobile Blast Off, including Slag, Sludge, and Cosmos and Skids.  This is additional confirmation that the Autobots who were captured and dismantled by Circuit Breaker, and susequently released at the end of issue #23, have been rebuilt and restored (we also saw Cosmos and Beachcomber working on the variable voltage harness last issue).  It's a little surprising that Grimlock would make the restoration of the Autobots a priority.  Maybe he just figured he needed all hands on deck to help repair the Ark and get it spaceborne.  (Or maybe Wheeljack did it behind his back. That seems like something he would do.)  The kids disembark with their hands in the air—even Daisy the teddy bear.

This does create a bit of a changed premise, though. Previously, we saw that Ratchet wanted to bring most of the Autobots back to full function, but he was stymied by a lack of available parts. That's the reason characters like Prowl and Brawn have been out of service for so long. But, somehow the Autobots had the resources to rebuild the Autobots who came with Blaster from Cybertron?

Out in space, Blaster now needs a way to get back to the Ark and rescue the kids from Grimlock.  He hitches a ride aboard a TV satellite, using his radio-control capability on its little thrusters.  There's a cute moment where we cut to a random family in Parsippany, New Jersey, reacting as their favorite television program cuts out completely.  (The character on the screen is Sledge Hammer, whose catch phrase was "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."  Not coincidentally, Marvel Comics had the licensing rights to the real-life Sledge Hammer! television program.)  It's a perfectly nuclear family with a mom, dad, two-point-five kids and a dog.  Everybody goes crazy when the TV goes on the blink.  Dad's glasses fly off his face as he drops his newspaper in shock.  Mom is eating a bag of chips, but her Ruffles end up everywhere when the program is interrupted.  Even the little dog gets angry when Sledge Hammer goes off the air and starts yapping away at the TV.  It's a silly little moment, and one that has nothing to do with the Transformers, but it's kind of funny.  I think they could have taken it even further since it was just a throwaway gag—like, the dolly the little girl is playing with should have had a horrified expression on her face, too.  

On board the Ark, Wheeljack is giving the kids the grand tour.  They trusted Blaster, but they're a bit more hesitant around the other Autobots (and honestly who can blame them, after that initial greeting with guns trained on them).  There's a moment when Wheeljack introduces himself, but the words "call me Wheeljack" were not done by this issue's letterer, Diana Albers, but rather by Pat Brosseau.  It was probably to correct a mistake—perhaps Wheeljack was originally misidentified in dialogue, or his name was misspelled.  Anyway, Wheeljack gets the kids to step into a machine, which determines their biological requirements and creates space suits for all of them (yes, including the teddy bear).  Slag shows up and tells them that Grimlock has requested their presence.  The kids balk at the mention of Grimlock's name—they've heard Blaster's stories about his tyrrany!

The kids appear before Grimlock in what Snarl describes as "Autobot multi-circuit court."  It's worth mentioning that Twin Twist is visible among the Autobots present, a character who has received no introduction whatsoever up to this point in the U.S. comics.  It's likely artist José Delbo simply grabbed the character's model sheet and used it to populate the background, as Twin Twist had recently been included in TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE so his art model was likely floating around the Marvel offices.  But, it's rare and unusual for a character to simply pop up with zero explanation—sort of like when Red Alert spontaneously appeared during the G.I. JOE AND THE TRANSFORMERS crossover. The comic is usually very good about explaining where new characters came from. Random background appearances was more of the Sunbow cartoon's thing!

Allan, Jed, and Sammy all had some dialogue replaced when explaining where Blaster is.  They take turns explaining, in part, how Blaster saved their lives, so he let them go for a joyride inside Blast Off, but that they chucked him out of the airlock to prevent his capture.  All three kids have dialogue balloons that seem much too small to convey all this information in Diana Albers' comparatively wide-spaced handwriting, but the Pat Brosseau lettering has much narrower kerning.  I kind of wonder what the original dialogue was supposed to be.  Only Robin's dialogue remains unchanged—"Can we go home now, Mr. Grimlock?"

There's a moment where Grimlock declares that the kids are traitors for helping Blaster, and that they are not only guilty as charged, but must be executed immediately.  We get reaction shots from the kids, and Wheeljack, and the other Autobots.  Everyone is suitably horrified, but nobody dares to speak against Grimlock.  It's finally Snarl, one of his own Dinboots, who pulls him aside and quietly questions the validity of this decision.  Presumably, Grimlock won't grab Snarl by the throat and scream at him like he did with Wheeljack.  Indeed, Grimlock reveals it's a ruse—he has no intention of executing the kids, but it's his hope that putting on a dog and pony show will draw Blaster out of hiding.