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As hard as it is to believe, it's December already. Beyond the holiday rush, one thing that means is that many are already looking towards the new year, and in this case the new decade.
That also means that the "recaps" and "best of lists" for 2009 are already out in full force.
In keeping with that theme, Yahoo! has presented their 2009 - Year in Review, which among other things features their top internet searches of the year. Not surprisingly, Transformers and more specifically the blockbuster movie Revenge of the Fallen are well represented. In fact, ROTF actress Megan Fox ranks #4 in Yahoo's overall Top 10 most searched list. Here is what Yahoo! had to say about her ranking.
Like her or not, Megan Fox was one of the biggest stories of 2009. Best known for looking sultry on the red carpet and acting offended when compared to Angelina Jolie, Ms. Fox also made (more) headlines by bashing "Transformers," the film franchise that made her famous.
But then "Jennifer's Body" hit theaters. After the hipster horror flick headlined by Fox tanked at the box office, the oft-ogled starlet changed her tune about the robots in disguise.
Although some question Ms. Fox's ability to sell tickets, nobody can doubt her canny ability to drive searches wild.
In a somewhat related story. even though the US car industry has been struggling at best, the Chevrolet Camaro has been one domestic model that has definitely risen above that. In fact, the 2010 Chevy Camaro actually was the most searched car model on Yahoo this year. Revenge of the Fallen and of course Bumblebee definitely had a lot to do with that.
You can view the Top 10 overall searches here and the Top 10 most popular car models here.
Seibertron.com - The Ultimate Transformers Resource!
Jim Sorenson, genius behind Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac, has once again updated his blog Disciples of Boltax with another page that has been cut from his well known book the Ark Addendum.
For all those who don't know what the Ark Addendum is, it is a book that collects the animation models from the original cartoon "The Transformers" also known as Transformers G1. The animation models come from the original 3 US produced seasons and the later Japanese produced series Scramble City, Headmasters, Super God Masterforce and Victory sometimes known as the Takara series as a whole.
This time round the page comes form the US produced episode "Webworld" from season 3 episode 18 and episode 81 from the whole series as a whole.
Just click the image to see the complete page!
Stay tuned to seibertron.com for all your Transformers related news!
Since hitting the scene back in 1984, Transformers has touched fans of all ages, bringing wonder and excitement to children and adults alike with the amazing idea of being Robots in Disguise. It would seem that that wonder and amazement has no limitations as to how old one can be in order to be a fan.
In a video posted on YouTube.com, Virgil Coffman, a 101 year old man living in Illinois, is reported to have purchased a new 2010 Transformers Bumblebee Edition Chevrolet Camaro.
"Best thing about it is the handling of it."
Mr. Coffman stated that he loved the appearance of the car and new that it was the one he wanted, having owned over 40 cars in his 101 years of life.
I don't know about you Seibertronians, but if I make it to 101 years old, I want to be just like Virgil Coffman.
Seibertron.com, your Ultimate Transformers Resource.
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Masterpiece Transformers news has been on our minds recently. With the new images of the Black Convoy repaint of Masterpiece Prime, and the upcoming release of the Grimlock special edition (comic colors), fans are trying to guess the future of the Masterpiece line.
An interview with the designer of the upcoming Revenge of the Fallen 'Buster Prime', Hirinori Kobayashi, shares some insight into the design process, designers not always being happy with what the company ends up producing, and a possible hint at what the next Masterpiece figure is.
"He (referring to Hirinori) was in charge of all Masterpiece products, except for MP-3. He again hints of the new MP next year 2010, which has a significance to Transformers. ("2010" is s Japanese title for G1 season 3.)"
You can read the rest of the translated interview at Tformers.com, and come on back over to discuss what you think this clue leads to in the 'hunt for the next masterpiece figure'.
My guess...
Make your own predictions below!
Seibertron.com for all of your Transformers news and resource needs.
Hello Seibertronians, First Gen here with another great Q & A for your reading pleasure. This newest installment features the lead Editor of the Transformers storyline for IDW Publishing, Andy Schmidt. Andy, I'd like to thank you again for taking the time to talk to Seibertron.com about Transformers Ongoing. It’s really great to see how well you've presented yourself and IDW to the fandom leading up to the release of Transformers Ongoing #1.
Andy Schmidt: I appreciate that, Steve. It's nice of you to read all that and I hope the fans realize I'm genuinely a big fan of TRANSFORMERS and that while I don't agree with everything they say, we are all at least listening and always trying to improve our game.
First Gen: My first question to you is this: With the monster success that Transformers has been at the Box Office the last couple years, the ridiculous amount of fans that have been drawn back into "Transformermania" and hardcore fans who never left sucking up everything and anything Transformers, how does it feel to be taking on such a huge property with IDW Publishing?
A.S.: Well, to be fair, I'm only a part of a larger team that includes several people at IDW like Denton Tipton who has been working on TRANSFORMERS longer than I have and Chris Ryall, our editor-in-chief. But more importantly, the many creators who have contributed to IDW's wide-ranging projects with TRANSFORMERS and the creators currently work on them. Also, let's not forget that Hasbro is an integral part of the team too. I just seem to be the guy doing the most public interviews. So, since I'm surrounded by so many people whose hard work makes me look good, I feel pretty darn awesome about being involved with TRANSFORMERS right now!
FG: Indeed, I've enjoyed many of the works produced by Chris and the crew at IDW Publishing immensely. Some of the works that were produced, like Transformers Stormbringer and the -Tion series really "raised the bar" on how to tell the story of our beloved Robots in Disguise. Knowing the groundwork that has been laid prior to your arrival and the cult like following some of the writers and artists have, does it ever get intimidating to you?
A.S.: Short answer: Yes. Long answer: You have no idea! Yes. Yes. And yes. It's extremely intimidating. It's funny, when I was coming on board at IDW, I told Chris I didn't want to edit TRANSFORMERS because I was such a big fan that I was afraid I wouldn't have enough distance from my inner fan to do the franchise justice, to really be a leader with the creative teams. I really liked G.I. JOE when I was a kid, too, but I LOVED TRANSFORMERS. So, it is extremely intimidating and, honestly, I've had a much harder time getting my head around how to do TRANSFORMERS comics. But fortunately, there are some great people at Hasbro that have been very encouraging and the creators have really stepped up so I feel like it's all starting to come together finally. But yeah, intimidating is an understatement.
FG: Great. Let me go ahead and make your job a little harder *wink*. Transformers Continuum has been out for a little over a week, helping refresh the memories of Transformers comic fans and giving those newcomers a solid foundation to start on, and Transformers Ongoing #1 is currently flying off newsstands. USA Today posts a feature stating "Optimus Prime Quits", quite possibly the most capturing statement in Transformers HISTORY! It’s issue one and you make die hard "geewunners", like myself, relive the pain of an unexpected death ala the 1986 animated movie, and we find out that Spike Witwicky is the enemy! What is going through your head right now? Is it a state of euphoria; are you scared out of your mind? What does the lead editor of the Transformers brand think when a much anticipated story arc hits the scene in a major way?
A.S.: Well, any time you are shooting for a jumping on point (and that's really what this is, not a reboot as some people have called it), there's a lot of angst. One of the things that's been troubling to me as a fan and now professionally, was how little coverage TRANSFORMERS comics had been getting the last couple of years. There was a big splash when IDW started with them, and then again when ALL HAIL MEGATRON started, but not much since then. So, with this issue, it was really important to us (IDW and Hasbro) that we get the word out in a big way--hence the push with USA Today and the CBR spoiler article. I wanted people to HAVE to notice what we were doing. The fact that we had to do a spoiler on IRONHIDE's death was unfortunate, but it really got a lot of people talking, wondering if it was real, if it was just a stunt to grab attention, or if it actually served a purpose in the greater story. The point is, it got people talking in a way that they hadn't been recently. So, to get back to your question, sometimes these jumping on issues work, and sometimes they don't. It's too early to tell for sure, but if what I saw yesterday (the day #1 came out) is any indication, it looks like we've got some readers coming back. The first issue sold out at Diamond (the comic’s distributor) yesterday, so it seems that the demand for the book is there. Now we see if folks hang on. Yeah, I'm nervous, but I'm always nervous about a starting point like this. I mean, we've got long-term plans and if this doesn’t pan out as we had hoped, all of that planning gets thrown out, which would be a huge bummer for us because we’re really excited about this story. But, again, it looks like a hit right now which is exceptionally rewarding. Aside from all that nervousness, my primary emotion is excitement. I think we're finally moving in the right direction (or, at least, a good direction. I don't mean to imply it's the only direction that would be good). I look forward to the reaction of the fans.
FG: Well, I can tell you from a personal standpoint, that in order for me to read a comic it has to grab my interest. And if you're anywhere near being a Transformers fan, thinking that Optimus Prime resigned as leader of the Autobots should have you all over that comic. Also, I'm glad that you clarified that this is a jump and not a reboot, I think it’s important for the fans and readers to know that Ongoing isn't going to leave you lost in the sauce over past IDW issues.
Now let me ask you THE question: based on discussions been held on the forums here at Seibertron.com, it seems that fans are thinking of this as a reboot purely based on the change in art style for the Transformers. I know you've read the responses and that some of us either love it, hate it or still can't decide. What influenced the change to the representation of our comic book heroes?
A.S.: I'm glad you asked THE question. I'll address a couple of things that I've seen on the boards and whatnot. First, there was no decision to make the G1 guys look more like movie universe characters. If I thought the movie books would out sell G1, I'd just make more movie books. Isn't that the simple solution if that were the case? And honestly, while I can appreciate the argument, I don't see the new character art as reflecting movie styling. They're all in their original color schemes and retain the key elements that make them identifiable; this is a new, updated style for this contemporary series. I think the art is amazing and I've been really happy to see that a lot of posts on the boards now that the issue has come out have shown that people are starting to dig it. Not everyone, mind you, but it looks like some of the jets are cooling a bit. We'll see. The thing to keep in mind is that Don is still figuring them out too. He's testing here and there.
Interesting point about why folks think it's a reboot. The characters aren't redesigned. What I mean is that we're not asking anyone else to follow Don's take on the characters. Hasbro and IDW have decided to allow for artistic interpretation of the characters. Don's is probably the most extreme I've seen so far, but Chee's version look a lot like the original toy designs, Guido's and Casey's look more similar to the original cartoon, and Nick's look closer to the more recent Animated show here and there. So, there's room, as far as I'm concerned, for artist license with how they look.
If you feel that they can't change how they look, hey, that's cool. Then for you, just realize they have a lot of control over how they look, and they can change form and modify between issues--problem solved!
So, to get to the heart of your question, the influence was actually Don himself. When I called him months ago he asked what version I wanted and I told him I wanted the coolest version ever. So, he asked if he could do something different. He'd drawn all the different version already and wanted to try something a little different. I told him as long as the characters were recognizable, I'd back him up. And Hasbro went for it. They're pretty keen on the idea of the different interpretations.
FG: Thank you again for the clarification on that. Don Figueroa has always managed to take Transformers designs to new heights, never seeming to be satisfied with the status quo, and if I can use the War Within series as being a testament, I'm sure we'll see some subtle changes to the Autobots and Decepticons as the story progresses. With that in mind, and with the different artist having creative freedom, to a point, with the Ongoing series, are you more focused on developing the story at this point, or would you say that the art and story are neck and neck for you in continuing the newest story arc?
A.S.: Well, to be honest, I don't really separate the two. You have a story that the writer and artist tell together. I think they need to be in synch with one another and that may mean changing styles a bit for both players in that equation. Don's an organic artist and he's always changing things and evolving which is cool. And, Mike is getting more and more comfortable with each script. He really starts playing to his strengths in the second arc. That's where I think it will really start clicking for readers who are on the fence. And you know, that's just a natural progression. There's a lot to get comfortable with in the TRANSFORMERS universe. Getting the characters down pat, the situation, dealing with the fact that they are giant robots, keeping the alternate modes relevant, all that stuff is a lot to get wrap your mind around at one time. I've seen this on all the books I've worked on from Avengers to Fantastic Four to X-Men, writers and artists both need sometimes three or six or even more issues to finally get really comfortable.
I went off on a tangent there, but yeah, I don't really separate the two. It's all about the story for me.
FG: I'm glad that you compared Transformers Ongoing to other works such as the Fantastic Four or the Avengers. In an exclusive interview we did with Mike Costa, he also fielded some questions regarding the story and how he was writing them. He likened it to such storylines as Marvel's Amazing Spiderman in which Brian Bendis is considered the lead writer and other writers, who use the Spiderman character in other titles such as the New Avengers, may cause some confusion within the overall continuity of Spiderman's story. For the sake of the casual fan that may not know this, we know that most scripts for story arcs are done months in advance and this can create issues with writers staying on track, therefore creating "plotholes" that later need to be filled it. How do you plan to minimize the continuity gaps with Transformers Ongoing? Will Mike be the exclusive writer or are there plans to create an "Ongoing Team"?
A.S.: Mike's the guy for now at least. He seems really into it and has big, big plans. Hasbro is really happy that we're going to new places with it, so that's really great to have their support. In order to minimize plot holes, I've got all the writers initially in contact with each other. But let me be honest, we ran into several problems in our initial arcs with the three books. This happens when they're being built simultaneously. Currently, there are nine story arcs for the G1 TRANSFORMERS being written at the same time. They're planned out, but sometimes you get into a script and you realize you need a certain character but, wait, we actually need him over here, or whatever happens. And one huge problem for me is crowd scenes. I like to give the creators freedom to put their favorites in the crowd scenes but then in the case of this first story arc, that caused a problem too. The good news is, 9 times out of 10, Denton and I are catching them, or the artists or writers are catching them. It's much easier to see it as a reader than as it's being created, but the best way to minimize it is by having everyone working on the universe in touch with one another. That way we can all stay on the same page, at least.
But yes, Mike's book is THE book, as it were. If you're only reading one, this is the one to read. But I think most fans will want to read the others. And that's another way that some fans feel we're inconsistent--different books have different tones and are intended for different parts of the TRANSFORMERS audience. LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS, for example, is intended for the core die-hard fans. Obscure characters, weird off-world setting, that's for the die-hards specifically. But it has a different tone, and I think that sometimes because we make series or one-shots that are so different in tone and intended audience that there are perceived mistakes, that aren't really there. It's a bit concept--TRANSFORMERS--with lots of room for all kinds of stories. But yeah, definitely trying to keep it all down to a minimum in terms of continuity gaffs.
Sorry, rambling again! This is just one of those hot-button topics so I'm trying to explain fully. And this is an explanation, not an excuse. Although a big challenge, we're doing everything we can to make sure there aren't problems within the continuity . I'm impressed, looking at the continuity from the editor's side at how few gaffs there are currently given the number of creators, concurrent titles that have been published and the switching over of editorial, what, four or five times in nearly four years? Yes, there are glitches, but not as many as I would expect given how many comics have been published with such a large number of people involved along the way. Of course, I'm going to get publicly flogged for saying that... but it's true.
FG: I tell you Andy, I know Transformers fans, and if you keep up these short, beat around the bush answers, they're gonna eat you alive *wink*.
Well, news has officially broke that Transformers Ongoing #1's first printing has SOLD OUT! Congratulations. I'm gonna wrap this up with a BIG thank you for taking the time to talk to Seibertron.com and give us the inside scoop. We really appreciate it and wish you and the rest of the IDW Publishing Team all the success possible. If there's anything you want to say to the fans, feel free to use this as your forum.
A.S.: Thanks, Steve and the Seibertron.com crew for the opportunity to speak with you and with the fans. It's much appreciated. I never know what to say directly to the fans, but I'd guess I'd say this. The current creators and editors are all fans too. We have different favorite incarnations of the TRANSFORMERS and different favorite characters and different stories from Simon and Shane's runs (as well as others) on the IDW books. So we'll be getting to a lot of things that you like and we are all working doubly-hard to keep it all straight. You may not love everything we do in the coming months and years, but it won't be because we don't care or we don't respect the material. The flip side of this is that we're all very hopeful that you will enjoy the various books and takes on the characters and that you'll grow to love the books with us. We're committed to making TRANSFORMERS comics great, and we're sure we'll get there given the time and your support.
Thanks for supporting us, the future looks bright for all of us.
Thanks again, guys.
Andy
Seibertron.com would like to that Andy Schmidt, Mike Costa, Chris Ryall, all the fine folks at IDW Publishing and the HASBRO Transformers Team for making this interview possible.
Keep your optics locked right here at Seibertron.com, your Ultimate Transformers Resource.
There has been a lot of recent bad press in the media lately indicating a possible rift between live action Transformers franchise director Michael Bay and actress Megan Fox. Here at Seiberton.com we have chosen not to report on most of that, because it is often hard to distinquish the gossip from the reality.
However, couresty of USA TODAY's entertainment blog, we have comments from Michael Bay himself who recently came to Megan's defense at of all things, a Victoria's Secret show. As you may remember, Bay has been directing Victoria's Secret commercials.
There are many things one can expect at a Victoria’s Secret show (mobs of press, crazy futuristic neon wings, bras covered in diamonds, a Black Eyed Pea, or three) but what we did not expect was a candid takedown of the press’ treatment of Megan Fox by none other than Transformers director, Michael Bay. (You may remember the outspoken actress has referred to him as a “nightmare,” and “Hitler” in recent interviews).
But it turns out, Bay couldn’t care less. Really. “I love her,” the man responsible for the blockbuster franchise told USA TODAY's Andrea Mandell. “It’s just, she’s young. Everyone’s got to give her a break, she only…23? It’s just hard. I’ve traveled around the world with her and she’s just like this world symbol now, you know?”
So he brushes her diatribes under the carpet? “Absolutely,” he said. “She called me (after the Hitler comment) and goes, ‘It’s all bullsh—t, Mike.’ The press, they just like to prey, and stalk, and pounce and find a good little juicy thing. But she’s always wanted to do these crazy comments. That’s just her. She’s great.”
He also said, “She’s got a great part in Transformers 3,” and he said he’s currently working on the script. So Bay’s not planning on getting revenge by, say, killing her off? “No, no. no,” he said, dismissing it. “She gets enough of that already.”
To read the original USA TODAY blog, please click here.
Seibertron.com - The Ultimate Transformers Resource!
All week over at his "Disciples of Boltax" blog, Jim Sorenson has been treating everyone to an extensive series of sketches inspired by the G1 Transformers episode entitled "Webworld."
Jim has just posted Part 5, which finishes out the therapy portion of the backgrounds. We have excerpted a small image below for your convenience.
Also of note is a special milestone that Jim is celebrating in regards to his blog. We'll let him tell you in his own words.
Finally, this post is something of a milestone. My very first post was a year ago today. That makes today the one year anniversary of this blog. Looking back, there were exactly 300 posts in the first year (this is #301 for all time), an average of over 300 visitors per day and over 100,000 pageviews. In that time I've published two books, gotten married and seen blog contributors come and go. I like to think that we'll have as much to be proud of next year.
Congratulations, Jim! If you have never visited his blog, now would be a great time to do so. Simply go to boltax.blogspot.com or click here.
Seibertron.com - The Ultimate Transformers Resource!
A few days ago, our good friend Jim Sorenson dropped us a line to let us know that all this week he would be posting sketches featuring a very popular episode of the G1 Transformers series entitled "Webworld."
It was our intent to keep you updated on these postings but unfortunately we were having some server issues.
However, Jim is now up to Part 4. We'll let him describe it in his own words.
Webworld continues! The fourth set of models are two rooms inside the advanced facility. Originally I was going to combine these models with the ones on the previous page, but they're just so detailed that I couldn't bear to shrink them.
The top drawing is just a corridor, and yet look how elaborate it is. The bottom drawing is the room where Galvatron's 'art therapy' takes place.
Once again, a big shout-out to Monzo for providing these beauties.
We have excerpted part of the sketch to give you a special sneak peak.
Be sure to visit Jim's blog to view not only the rest of part 4, but parts 1-3 (and many other sketches) if you have missed them!
Seibertron.com - The Ultimate Transformers resource!
Jim Sorensen has updated his blog 'Disciples of Boltax' with another page out of the Ark Addendum. This time around it's one of his favourite episodes from Generation One Season 3 - 'Webworld'. Check out part of the sketch (the rest can be seen on his blog) and what he has to say below.
It's time for more of The Ark Addendum. All this week, and for a little while yet to come, I bring you Webworld. Webworld was a third season episode and one of my favorites. It probably was the most Decepticon-centric episode of the series, with only a brief Autobot/Decepticon scuffle in the beginning of the episode. After that, it was all-Galvatron, all the time. It lampoons the mental health system, examines how the Decepticons would chafe under an insane leader, and manages to be very funny to boot. It's also one of the few episodes where I have virtually every model. I decided to to package all of them together, so the next few days will be all-Webworld, all the time. I hope you enjoy.
This is a good time to introduce the newest Disciple of Boltax - Monzo. For those of you who don't know, Monzo is what I'd call an über-fan. Named for the Headmaster, he has devoted a good fraction of his energies to obscure facts, merchandise and characters from Transformers. Check out his website if you have a moment. He's generously agreed to share some of his findings here, so I look forward to seeing what treasures he will unearth. You can thank him for most of the background images from Webworld that I'll be displaying, including the lovely shot of the planet itself.
Keep it at Seibertron.com for the fastest Transformers news on the net!
Mike Costa, writer of the new Transformers on going series set to debut this week is answering a few of the questions posed by Seibertron.com staffers i_amtrunks, Darth Bombshell, and tigertracks 24. Mike also contributed to the recently completed IDW title, G.I. Joe: Cobra, a book that surprised many fans with its seriousness, and more mature handling of this particular portion of the joe-verse.
Mr. Costa is living the dream that so many folks in our community would love to get to do...get paid to be creative with Transformers and have your work officially effect the Transformers mythos, effectively carving out your own little niche in our beloved franchise.
Speaking of your own little niche, Mr. Costa, here are some questions relating to your work with the upcoming Transformers ongoing series...
-- What direction are the Costa written Tf stories going to take? Will we be heading back to a universal scope of war ala what Furman was working up to, or will we be getting an Earth-centric style story? Will the ongoing feature one large, over-arching plot with several ongoing subplots set up along the way?
All great questions. I'll try to give them great answers.
Here's the thing - Shane literally blew up the world in his last storyline. That is a really, really tough act to follow. I mean, I can't really blow up the world again. So rather than try to top that with spectacle - I guess I'd have to blow up the galaxy or something - I'm going to start small again, and then gradually expand the canvas. That's not to say that there won't be big events - there will be. They'll just be big character-events at first. No less status-quo changing, but we're staying Earth-centric in the beginning. You're going to find out why Earth is such an important place for the Transformers - and it's probably not the reason you think it is.
We'll definitely be building to events that, currently, are pretty far-off in the future. But the template I'm trying to follow is the one set by Bill Willingham in his Vertigo book FABLES. What that book does so well is juggle big storylines with smaller one, two or three-issue vingettes in between. With a cast as vast as Transformers, I feel like that's the best way to give as many characters the opportunity to shine as possible. But every issue will build on the next, even if it doesn't seem to at first. There's no guarantee how long I'll be on the book, of course (so... please, tell everyone to buy it and write glowing reviews online!) but hopefully I'll get to do all the things I have planned. That'll take quite a while.
-- Will the series be easy to get into for those who may have only become fans due to the live action movies?
I hope so. But the fact is, it's not a total reboot, like GI Joe was. These are still the same characters in the same continuity we've been seeing at IDW, so obviously there are many differences from the movie. I think we've struck a good balance though, between honoring previous continuity and being new-reader friendly. It would be great if fans of the movie jumped on. I think they'd really like what they'd see.
-- How much work have you had to do to correct errors of AHM, or has the CODA done this job for you?
AHM was planned quite a while before we consolidated our ideas for this new ongoing, so rather than start monkeying with Shane's story and forcing him to change his ending to better dovetail into our series, we created the CODA series to tie up the loose ends that the ongoing wouldn't have time to get to in the first few issues, and to work as a bridge between the two series'. Obviously all the issues are out now, so you guys can tell us how successful we've been in doing that.
We all have certain characters we want to see, but overall, we really know we want good characterization of whomever is in the story. The next set of questions revolve mainly around characters in your new series.
-- Will there be any lesser known personal favorite characters that you plan to bring to the fore in the ongoing series? Will you be able to use more of the obscure generation one characters, or even characters that were previously known only to the Japanese G1 universe (such as Victory Saber, Overlord, or Dai Atlas)? Are we following the same characters as were used in AHM? Will the cast start out small and then expand? Will the cast focus on a small group of characters or will we be moving all over the place and get to see different perspectives from different groups of characters?
The cast will definitely have it's core characters whom the major storylines follow, but we will break away from them occasionally to focus on other characters in the universe. Also, the core cast will definitely be evolving, expanding and contracting. It's not going to be "Optimus Prime and the Same Five Other Autobots" every month, but you'll definitely be able to tell who the important characters are by the end of the first arc.
Most of those "core" characters will come as no surprise to Transformers fans, but I'm definitely throwing some curve-balls in there as well. One of the major characters of my run will be someone I've had my eye on for quite a while. Shane in particular gave him some really interesting development in AHM. His inclusion in my cast will be the logical extension of what happened to him there.
As for the Japanese characters. Hm. Not a bad idea...
-- Can you please kill Drift ASAP? (Note this is a question submitted that not everyone agrees with.) Along these lines, will we see any more new IDW and creator originated characters in the near future, or will you be pulling from only currently existing Generation One Transformers?
I have no plans to kill Drift. But... I have no plans to use him right away either. So, everybody wins. Also, I can't speak for Zander or Nick, who are both doing auxiliary books, my intention is to exclusively use currently existing G1 Transformers. Of course I'll be creating supporting cast members, but the core cast will be recognizable faces for the time being.
-- What kind of Starscream are we going to get in the series, the Starscream of Infiltration, the Starscream of late AHM, or AHM #13 Starscream? They all were a bit different, there seemed to be no consistancy, or it was not explained well enough why he suddenly changes.
Every writer is going to have his or her own interpenetration of a character, and now you've seen mine of Starscream. I can tell you guys he's my favorite character, and that's why I was very excited to make him the star of my first-ever Transformers story in CODA #1. (Clever readers with an eye for pretentious writer-gags might even have noticed that I made sure his name was the first word written on the first page.) I'll agree there are some differences in how the character has been portrayed, but in a hugely collaborative medium like comics, those core character attributes are all you really need for a character. Brian Bendis doesn't write exactly the same Spider-Man as Stan Lee, or Gerry Conway, or David Michelinie. But he'll always be smart, guilt-ridden, wise-cracking and heroic. And Starscream's core attributes are always the same - he's ambitious, treacherous, manipulative and often cowardly. Anything after that is just an artifact of the medium.
And now Mike, we would like to know a bit more about you, and your feelings about the titles you have been involved with. Answer as honestly as you want (or at least as honestly as you feel you can to these questions).
-- Who is your personal favorite TF artist of all time? And what is your favorite previous TF story arc (from any series, comic or show)?
Guys... that first question isn't fair. I'm going to be working with a lot of great artists on this title (and I have already in CODA) and I can't make that call. I will, however, say that working with Don on my first stroyline is like getting Spider-Man and having John Romita draw it. And the man does not disappoint. When I saw the art he turned in for the first issue, my mind was blown. I'd really never seen anything like it on a book I've written. I couldn't be more thrilled about it.
As for my favorite Transformers storyline... that's hard. Recently, I really did like AHM a lot. It had a lot of really great, fan-pleasing bring-the-house down moments. From the older, original marvel run, it's probably issue #13, written by the legendary Bob Budiansky, where Megatron temporarily loses his memory and is found by a criminal who uses him on a crime spree. That was over 20 years ago but the story - and the cover image - have stayed with me even though I was probably 7 when I first read it.
And from the original cartoon - not counting the movie, which is actually the first movie I ever saw in theaters - it was probably The Return of Optimus Prime. That Hate Plague really scared me as a kid.
-- What's your personal opinion on the Transformers stories IDW has written thus far? Good, fair, poor, lame... How do they stack up to what has been done in the past by previous companies Marvel, and Dreamwave?
Here's the thing: There are two legends in the Transformers comic book canon. One is Bob Budiansky. The other is Simon Furman. For the past five years, Furman has basically been the driving force behind IDW's Transformers universe (not counting Shane's AHM of course.) I think anything he did for us here is pretty equal to what he did for Marvel back in the day.
--- If given the opportunity to write for the Movie-verse, would you take it? What kind of story would you like to do?
At the risk of bouncing myself out of later work opportunities, I'm going to be honest and say that, though I actually do think some of the ideas underpinning the Movie-verse are good ones, I much prefer the continuity I'm in. More characters to play with, really. And I like our Spike better than Sam (sorry Shia!)
--- Having written a GI Joe tale (GI Joe: Cobra), which franchise can you say you enjoy writing more?
This is a lame answer, but I enjoy them both in different ways. COBRA is a really dark espionage tale that I get a certain kind of evil satisfaction from. Writing about the bad guys is not only fun, but cathartic. They do stuff the good guys would never do, and finding motivations for chaos and mahem is a really rewarding challenge. But Transformers was always my first love, and the satisfaction I get from that is on a totally different level.
Back when I was in college, Wizard broke the news that Dreamwave had gotten the license for Transformers after Marvel lost it. I sat down at my job at the college library, and over two days I typed up a full pitch for a new ongoing Transformers series, planned up until about issue 60. It was the first comic book proposal I'd ever written. Of course, I never heard anything back about it. Obviously they already had their plans made before the announcement, even if I wasn't some totally unknown 19-year-old punk.
But to think that now, less than ten years alter I am actually writing a Transformers ongoing, starting at issue 1... well, that couldn't be more of a dream-come-true type situation.
--- GI JOE: Cobra was a very gritty, mature tale. Can we expect Transformers to start heading into a similar direction? In other words, you aren’t going to pull any punches with these robots, right. Humans will get squished, Robots will get atomized and not return, etc.
Humans will be getting squished and robots definitely get atomized, but this is not going to turn into a dark, gritty book like COBRA. COBRA is a very specific tone for a very specific book - if I was given the chance to write the G.I. JOE ongoing, I wouldn't use COBRA's tone there either. That tone works in that franchise specifically because we're only looking at a small corner of it, and the main book exists to give it context. Now I'm handling the flagship of Transformers, and my job is to keep that ship steady so creators like Zander, Chee, and Nick Roche can party below decks if they want.
I'm very lucky to have spent the last year watching how Chuck Dixon handles those kind of flagship responsibilities on G.I. JOE, and I have learned a lot from him - specifically how generous he is to creators like me, who handle the smaller books. I hope I can do as good a job as he does of both writing the main book, and staying involved with the smaller ones.
--- Should the next Transformers cartoon have a similar style to the very popular G.I.Joe Resolute cartoon that saw airtime recently?
As long as they don't make me look bad by being better than the comic, they can do whatever they want.
(But seriously, I think it would be great if they aimed at a slightly younger audience than Resolute did. I discovered the Transformers cartoon at age 6. It would be nice to have something that could be enjoyed for people that age again, now that the previous series is over.)
--- Can you comment on your feeling of the use of humans in Transformers storylines? At times, the stories seemed to forget that we buy Transformers because they are books about huge sentient robots that have the same faults, and strengths that humans do, not to see how humans react to said robots upon interaction.
It's a difficult line to walk. Sure, the hard-core fans want to see robot action, but for your average reader, they're going to pick up the book and say "who cares about all these robots? I have no idea what's going on." In my opinion, having human characters is a way of grounding the story in a familiar world, and having an instantly relatable character.
That's why the Transformers movies make sure they have a major plot line involving Sam Witwicky trying to get with the hottest girl on Earth - because that's a lot more relatable to audiences than an interstellar war between talking cars. Whether you think those subplots are brilliant or terrible, I can guarantee you those movies would not have been as successful worldwide if they didn't have a kid, his car, and his girlfriend along with Optimus and Megatron.
That said, my stories are definitely going to err on the side of more robots rather than more humans. But humans are definitely major characters, on par with the Autobots, and we will definitely be seeing some stories through their eyes. Just not as many.
--- Simon Furman started this whole IDW Transformers generation of comics and wrote many beloved issues for Marvel, Marvel UK, and Dreamwave as well. How do you feel about what Simon has written in the past for Transformers? Do you think he really deserves all the credit that he gets for what people expect in a Transformers story? Do you love Grimlock as much as Simon does? Any pressure trying to follow up this force in the world of TF lore?
I have not met a die-hard fan that doesn't credit Simon as having written some classic storyline that established these characters in comics for them. He is a living legend, and he really did set a template for how to write Transformers comics, the way that Chris Claremont defined X-Men comics for a generation. The pressure to follow that is huge, certainly. I really hope I don't blow it.
--- Who is your favorite Autobot? ...Favorite Decepticon? Do your favorites change when you have to consider writing them in stories? For example, HASBRO may tell you, you can’t write your favorite bot that way, so you strategically decide not to include him/her in the comic book.
My favorite Autobot is Blurr, and I make sure I gave him at least one scene in the first storyarc. My favorite Decepticon, as I mentioned above, is Starscream, all the way. And though Starscream and most of the other big Decepticons are going to be benched for a little while, they will be back in a big way.
But this is the way the story is working out. I don't want to shoehorn in tons of scenes with Blurr or Starscream just because I like them. I don't even think about it, really. When they're needed, they'll show up. And luckily, Hasbro has not questioned this at all. So far, they're happy with what I've been doing, and have been very supportive and helpful.
--- Who are your favorite GI Joe and Cobra characters?
To write, it's Tomax, Xamot and Hawk. As a fan, it's Flint. Back in the old cartoons, I was always wondering why he wasn't kicking Duke's butt.
--- ‘Rise of Cobra’, or ‘Transformers Revenge of the Fallen’, which movie is better?
You guys are just intent on getting me in some kind of trouble. The honest answer is, I have not yet seen GI JOE, so I can't say. But a friend of mine just got it (and REVENGE OF THE FALLEN) for me on Blu Ray, so definitely own both.
--- GI JOE and Transformers crossover, are you interested in writing/planning one especially now that IDW has both licenses?
If the right idea struck me, I’m definitely interested. But even though (or maybe because) I write for both sets of characters, their universes feel totally different to me. It would be like crossing Mickey Mouse over into the JLA. I'm not a good enough writer to make that work. We definitely have people out there who are though, so I suppose it is always a possibility.
--- Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, or Megan Fox?
I never kiss and tell. I'm a gentleman of the old school
--- Does gender exist in Transformers? Can you share where you stand on the whole fembot issue?
Gender definitely does exist. And where I stand on the fembot issue is this: A Cybertronian robot should have the right to marry anyone he or she desires, provided that they are consensual beings.
--- Who would be your ultimate Transformers comic book production crew? Artist, Writer (I would assume you would write it), inks, etc.? What might this ultimate story be about? Who would be featured?
Other than the book I'm working on (duh)... I'm going to say that the ultimate Transformers comic book would be anything that Nick Roche is working on. I first met him at BotCon this year, and I have learned so much from him, not just about who these characters are, but how to tell stories with them. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there is no writer/artist double-threat working right now who knows and cares as much about Transformers as Nick. I will follow that guy anywhere. I am really, really lucky to have him as support on this book.
And finally, what can you tell us about Supreme Convoy that members of our community should know about him? He talks about you guys ‘geeking out’ together, what exactly does this involve?
I've known Supreme Convoy for probably two years now. He's a cool guy and part of the very cool circle of the writer/comic book fan friends I've made since moving out here to the Los Angeles. As for what our "geeking out" entails... once again, a gentleman never tells.
Seibertron.com would like to say thank you to Mike Costa for answering our questions about the new Transformers ongoing series, and our questions about Transformers comics in general.
Be sure to check out Mike’s work in the new Transformers ongoing series, starting this November!!!
*TF Ongoing is set to be released this Wednesday, you can pick yours up at your local shop. Not sure if you want to or not, check out First Gen's review here, or the 8 page preview here.
Seibertron.com for all of your Transformers news and resource needs.
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