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The wonderful people over at the Transformers Official Facebook page have interviewed Transformers Spotlight: Trailcutter artist Matt Frank! The interview is mirrored below for those of you without Facebook access.
TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT: TRAILCUTTER breaks into comic book stores and digital platforms,thanks to IDW Publishing and Hasbro! Written by TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE scribe James Roberts—and set firmly in that series’ timeline—SPOTLIGHT:TRAILCUTTER delves into the world of an oft-overlooked TRANSFORMERS character… and lays the groundwork for this fall's big TRANSFORMERS event. We sat down with artist Matt Frank to talk about the issue—available today at comic book stores everywhere, and at https://transformers.comixology.com/ or via the Comixology and iBooks apps on your computer or mobile device!
Q: Hi Matt. How was everything for you in 2012?
MATTFRANK: 2012 was a pretty incredible year. No continental shifts or exploding suns, so we’re ahead of the game! I’ve been lucky to have a near-constant flow of work with TRANSFORMERS and other projects.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself. How you got into drawing, were you a comic book fan, who has influenced you in your career.
MATTFRANK: As a kid, drawing seemed to be a natural result of the sort of stuff I was a fan of. Dinosaurs and monsters and robots and all kinds of goodness. I just wanted to recreate the stuff that gave me so much excitement.I’m definitely a pretty big comic fan, although my interests are kind of all over the place (though many still chart a course through the same thematicelements). I’m a big fan of guys like William Stout, Art Adams, Ricardo Delgado (Age of Reptiles!), Dan Brereton, and more recently I’ve discovered the glory of books like Blacksad and Scott Pilgrim. Of course, I’ve always loved the TRANSFORMERS comics, be they G2, Dreamwave or IDW!
Q: Were you a fan of Transformers right from the very beginning?
MATTFRANK: Depends on what “very beginning” is...I’m a ’90s kid, so I wasn’t there for the G1 boom. Eventually I got a hold of TRANSFORMERS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE by Simon Furman, and that definitely opened up a few more doors!
Q: Having done work on MARS ATTACKS THE TRANSFORMERS recently, how did it feel to come back and work with James Roberts in the MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE world on SPOTLIGHT:TRAILCUTTER?
MATTFRANK: Ironically, I made the TRAILCUTTER comic several months BEFORE the crossover! So it actually provided a nice warm-up for when I had to tackle MARS ATTACKS THE TRANSFORMERS in an even SHORTER time frame! But I'm a big fan of James’s work, and it was a real thrill to compliment our respective comedic styles for this book.
Q: Did you have to do much research and catch up with events/characters designs before drawing SPOTLIGHT:TAILCUTTER?
MATT FRANK: My existing issues of MTMTE were scattered around my studio and workspace, each opened to a particular page that proved useful, especially for Trailcutter’s relatively short exposure up to this point. Beyond that, I was pretty familiar with the lore... although I actually got to DESIGN Killmaster, which was wonderful.
Q: Spotlight Tailcutter is part ofthe recent wave of SPOTLIGHTs. How’d you feel knowing that this comic is going to be packaged with a toy, and could be someone’s first ever TRANSFORMERS, or any, comic book?
MATTFRANK: One of the first TRANSFORMERS projects I ever tackled was the pack-in comic, “The Rise of Safeguard,” sold alongside Jetfire and Jetstorm from TRANSFORMERS: ANIMATED. So the feeling is a familiar one!
Q: What advice would you give to someone if they were drawing TRANSFORMERS for the first time?
MATTFRANK: It would definitely be to find your own style... or at least put your unique stamp on the characters you draw. There are so many amazing TRANSFORMERS artists out there, try and make yourself stand out!
Q: What tools of the trade do you use whendrawing the characters? Do you do lots of research before hand?
MATTFRANK: Besides good ol’ pens and paper, I have a ton of reference material, which I cannot stress enough. THE COMPLETE ARK is a godsend (or a [Transformers writer and letterer Chris] Mowry-send!) and I have quite a few of the IDW trades. Beyond that there’s definitely the internet. My own TF collection is somewhat limited (gotta make room for all my Godzilla toys, after all), but they’ll provide good reference in a pinch!
Q: Autobot or Decepticon? Who gets your allegiance?
MATTFRANK: “Me Grimlock no Autobot... Me DINOBOT.” (rips off Con’s arm).
Q: As we head deeper into 2013, whatare your aims for this coming year? Any burning ambitions you would like toturn into reality?
MATTFRANK: I’ve got a few other very exciting TRANSFORMERS projects coming down the pipe. I’m also doing even more Godzilla stuff... and then perhaps a little creator-owned goodness? Maybe something original to spice things up? Stay tuned, kids!
Given the long standing relationship between the two franchises it was only a matter of time before someone asked the producer of both the Transformers and G.I. Joe films, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, if a potential crossover film between the two was in the cards. During a recent interview with Cinema Blend he was asked about the possibility of such a film. He doesn't rule the concept out, but at the moment it doesn't appear to be on the radar. See his quotes below:
Once again, getting back to the evolution of the blockbuster movie franchise, one of the things that we are seeing a lot of right now, and it’s in great deal due to The Avengers and The Expendables is kind of the idea of both continuity explosion, like the idea of creating a larger universe and also just creating a team and I’m just curious, what’s your perspective on that personally and is it something you could see being part of future projects you’re working on?
In terms of Joe or just in...
Well, in terms of Joe, for example like G.I. Joe and Transformers both happen to be Hasbro, Paramount and you.
I guess it’s possible. I don’t know. I think I probably at this moment, I resist it. I don’t know necessarily why, but I just think there’s so much that’s so rich in the mythologies that I don’t think they need to draw from the other. I think, I didn’t rule it out for me and I think those things have somehow for me, sort of in the past, they made me feel like a little bit cynical exercises in just drawing money out of something. It’s not to say you couldn’t do it well, but both these properties have such rich mythologies with so many characters, that you could go a lot of movies before you start running out of ideas of what to do. But it’s not to say, if we found the right… I’d hate to set out to do that, but if I heard a story where we went, “Oh my God…,” I could see a story right now about machination, machination of war and that could lead you sort of intrinsically to a Transformer. I think in general, Marvel is doing it within their own universe, right? And so it doesn’t feel gimmicky in that way. I think that’s what I would really try to resist.
MTV Geek has posted an interview with the legendary voice of Optimus Prime Peter Cullen. Cullen discusses voicing the iconic character over the years and the current season of Transformers Prime Beast Hunters. We've mirrored a few excerpts below, the full interview can be found by clicking here.
Geek: If this is the third and final season of “Transformers: Prime,” does this then mean that we’re going to see future seasons of “Transformers: Beast Hunters”? Is this going to be a reboot that will continue into a new series?
Cullen: I just say “Transformers: Prime” is a title, and it could be the title of one episode, or it could be the title of 65. But Transformers, I’m sure, is gonna continue, and Beast Hunters, I would just look at it as another chapter … every show is a spin-off from the last one. We’re always looking forward to doing more. It doesn’t seem to be a finality from anything that I’ve seen.
Geek: Since you’ve worked with so many, what differentiates this voice cast from others?
Cullen: This is probably one of the great casts that I’ve ever worked with, and one of the most fun times of any show I’ve ever done … I think it’s just an excellent selection of talent. There’s just, from the creative team, to the cast itself, it’s just people that really care for each other and really get along well. And the talent in the room at any given time: I’m used to working with Frank Welker and Steve Blum and people like that. But the introduction of so many other people into this new season … The guest stars, for example, have always been fantastic, and it’s such a great respect that everybody has for each other and that doesn’t interfere with the fun.
Geek: Is there any direction you’d like to take Prime that we haven’t seen before?
Cullen: Nothing that would contradict his character: the way it’s been received, respected, and the loyalty that has been shown. I don’t think you should mess with anything that works with so many generations. I mean, the new kids coming up today feel the same way that the kids did back in the early ’80s, so if something’s working right, I think that’s a phenomenon and it should be respected and continued. I’m just so grateful to be at the helm of it right now, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to change it or disappoint anybody.
Seibertron.com podcaster and voice actor jON3.0 recently had the opportunity to interview the legendary Garry Chalk. Garry Chalk has appeared in a multitude of roles both on-camera and off as a voice actor, which include Optimus Primal and Optimus Prime. Enjoy the interview in the embedded video below.
On this Microphone Monday, I interview the incredibly talented, amazing and down-to-Earth Garry Chalk - voice of Optimus Primal, Optimus Prime in Transformers Armada, Energon and Cybertron, Sky Marshall Wade in Voltron Force, Slash in Reboot and countless other characters in cartoons such as Exosquad, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, He-Man and The Masters of the Universe, GI JOE and many others. He has also portrayed dozens of characters ON-camera in movies and TV shows like The Fly II and Stargate SG-1.
IGN has posted a new interview with Transformers Prime executive producer Jeff Kline. In the interview Kline discuses the upcoming final chapter in the Transformers Prime saga, Beast Hunters, and touches on the next iteration of the franchise, which he says will be driven by the Prime group of characters. Click here to read the full interview.
IGN: Can you talk about the introduction of the Predacons?
Kline: Well, actually, we had started working on Season 3 and writing Season 3 before we got permission from brand to use the beasts. And then that kind of came through and we did a little rejiggering, but not a lot. It actually ended up being a fantastic thing for us, because we’re always talking about, ‘How do we keep shifting allegiances? How do we keep the sides out of balance?’ Especially having the Autobots be at a disadvantage, in comparison to the Decepticons - and bringing in the Predacons really let us do that. It really let us upset the apple cart in a way that I think we benefited from and hopefully we take it to a place that surprises and satisfies.
IGN: We’ve gotten hints at another iteration of a Transformers animated series coming in the next year or so. Will you be involved with that?
Kline: Yeah, at the moment it seems like both Hasbro and The Hub would like this group that did Prime to be involved in the next iteration, which I, of course, appreciate and we would love to do. We’re kind of in the earliest stages of development and character work and conceptual stuff, but if all goes according to plan, yes, there will be a new iteration of Transformers and the Prime group will be the group driving it.
The BotCon Twitter feed has revealed that the creative team behind this year's convention comic will be Jesse Wittenrich and Josh Burcham!
The comic's title, as the exclusive figure boxset, will be Machine Wars: Termination. They also mentioned a preview soon to come.
BotCon wrote:The creative team behind this years BotCon comic "MACHINE WARS: TERMINATION" is @RID_NightViper and @jcburcham. Look for excl preview soon!
We have a couple of interviews with iconic Transformers voice actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker from the recent Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Premiere Event. The first is short video interview with Frank Welker posted by ComicsOnline. The second from IGN features Peter Cullen as he discusses Transformers Prime Beast Hunters and Transformers 4.
Click here to visit ComicsOnline and view the brief Frank Welker video interview.
Click here to visit IGN for the full Peter Cullen interview.
IGN: When last we saw Optimus on Transformers Prime, things weren’t going so well for him, to say the least.
Cullen: Yeah, he had a rough go last season, but I think he gets up on his feet… You wouldn’t have a Season 3 without Prime getting on his feet! But it was a surprise to me too, because I’ve been through that once before in my life many, many years ago. I croaked and didn’t come back for 20-odd years, but that’s not the case with our Season 3 and Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters.
IGN: We know the next feature film is coming. Have you had any conversations about that and Optimus’ role?
Cullen: I just know that I’m going to be part of it and I’m very happy about that and I’m looking forward to getting into production. I think that is sometime in the late spring and for a 2013 premiere. So Michael Bay has an awful lot of time to do his magic.
Ulises Farinas, artist on IDW's Transformers: Heart of Darkness, is selling some of his inked pages via his personal website, in order raise money to pay for medical expenses.
Some of the artwork for sale is shown below, but there is lots more on the website, also including non-Transformers work!
Our friends for TFExpo dropped by with an official press release to announce this year's specials guests Gregg Berger and Flint Dille. Registration is now now live, click here to visit their website.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2013
GREGG BERGER AND FLINT DILLE TO APPEAR AT TFEXPO 2013 IN WICHITA, KANSAS!
Following last year’s success, TFExpo returns to Holiday Inn at Kellogg & Rock Road in Wichita on August 3rd, 2013 with two brand new guests!
Fans will no doubt remember Gregg Berger’s iconic performance as Grimlock not only in the G1 Transformers cartoon, but also last year’s immensely popular video game “Transformers: The Fall of Cybertron”! Gregg also contributed several other voices to Transformers, including Skyfire, Outback, and Long Haul. With a career spanning more than four decades, Gregg has lent his talents to many other programs as well, including G.I.Joe, Garfield and Friends, Duckman, and many, many more! Gregg will be making appearances and signing autographs throughout the day.
As a story editor and writer for both Transformers and G.I.Joe, Flint Dille was instrumental in crafting the stories of the characters we’ve loved for most of our lives. A writer and designer of video games and interactive novels, Flint recently returned to the world of the Transformers as co-writer of IDW’s digital comic “Autocracy”, as well as its current sequel, “Monstrosity”! Flint will be hosting a Writers Workshop at TFExpo 2013, as well as speaking and making appearances throughout the day.
This year, TFExpo is pleased to announce its very first EXCLUSIVE TOY UPGRADE SET! When a shuttle emerges from the far reaches of the galaxy, a new hero is born! NEBULA STARSHIP is ready to take the fight into the depths of space! This toy upgrade set includes a new head and wings to attach to your existing toy. This set will be given to everyone pre-registering with the TFEXPO ALLIANCE at the Ultra and Premium Levels. (PLEASE NOTE: The TFExpo Exclusive Toy Upgrade Set is an aftermarket accessory, intended to enhance the enjoyment of your toy. It is neither created nor endorsed by Hasbro, Inc. or Takara Tomy.)
Visitors to TFExpo 2013 will enjoy not only our guests and toy upgrade set, they’ll be able to shop in our Dealer’s Room, and enjoy presentations in our Panel Room throughout the day! Other daytime events will be announced as we draw closer to the show.
Following up last year’s dinner party, TFExpo is pleased to host the 2013 Dinner and Script Reading Event! Choose from plated entrées including Prime Rib, Chicken, and Vegetarian options. Dinner entertainment will include an exclusive script reading by our Guest of Honor, Gregg Berger! Live music will follow. And each guest will take home SURPRISE souvenirs! Stay tuned to www.tf-expo.com for further announcements about this event. Seating is limited and you WON’T want to miss out!
REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW—JOIN THE TFEXPO ALLIANCE TODAY! Visit www.tf-expo.com to register, and keep checking back for updates as we get closer to the show! Also don’t forget to “Like” TFExpo on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Our friend Ken Christiansen has confirmed that he be will participating in this year's BotCon 2013 Artist Alley. Among Ken's many contributions to the franchise are the recent covers for the Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots miniseries. Be sure to drop by Ken's table and say hello! Visit Ken's blog and facebook page at the following links:
* Price and quantities subject to change. Shipping costs, taxes and other fees not included in cost shown. Refer to listing for current price and availability.
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