CBR Interviews Transformers: RID and MTMTE Writers Barber and Roberts
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 4:57PM CST
Category: Comic Book NewsPosted by: Blurrz Views: 62,621
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CBR News: John and James, after the events of "Chaos," it looks like both series are heading into space, apparently severing ties to Earth. Does this mean we will we see new alt-mode designs for familiar characters, since they no longer need to disguise themselves as human vehicles, etc.?
John Barber: Oh, yeah. They'll be familiar looks, but the Transformers will adopt Cybertronian-leaning designs. Well, most of them. Certain dinosaur-esque Autobots might stay dinosaur-esque. But that's a little way down the road.
With the war between the Autobots and Decepticons seemingly over, will we see any characters shift allegiances?
Barber: A big theme in both "Robots in Disguise" and "More than Meets the Eye" is that it's pretty hard for old animosities will die down. The Autobots and Decepticons have been at war for a very, very long time, and these grudges die hard. But they are definitely forced to deal with each other in ways that we haven't seen before.
And as to whether allegiances will shift -- there will definitely be some unexpected partnerships. We'll be seeing characters forced to work together in ways that are not natural fits, and we'll see Starscream in particular find a niche for himself that nobody really expected.
James Roberts: I think one of the defining elements of Mike Costa's run was his treatment of Thundercracker, who became a sympathetic, multi-faceted character who essentially positioned himself between the Autobots and the Decepticons. After "Chaos" and the events in "The Death of Optimus Prime," the dividing lines between Autobot and Decepticon are more blurred, even if some characters find that easer to accept than others. With the return of Cybertron's civilian population, the two factions at the heart of the civil war are suddenly outnumbered -- and, in a sense, marginalized -- and that adds to the general sense that anything is possible. And John and I are determined to exploit that freedom.
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Posted by Chaoslock on November 8th, 2011 @ 5:14pm CST
Posted by Psychout on November 8th, 2011 @ 5:31pm CST
Posted by Blurrz on November 8th, 2011 @ 5:40pm CST
Psychout wrote:I give it 6 issues before he's back.
An entire half year without Prime? I give it 3 issues!
Posted by stk on November 8th, 2011 @ 6:47pm CST
Please try again with the Rodimus redesign. I don't mind changing things up, but this one is awful.
Posted by Rodimus Prime on November 8th, 2011 @ 8:56pm CST
Posted by Pimpin Hat on November 8th, 2011 @ 9:53pm CST
Posted by Rodimus Prime on November 9th, 2011 @ 5:31am CST
Posted by Sabrblade on November 9th, 2011 @ 8:21am CST
Posted by partholon on November 9th, 2011 @ 8:27am CST
Chaoslock wrote:Is it just me, or the preview indicates that "the death of Optimus Prime" was once again a fleeting moment?
looks like it man yeah.
then again, he could be a "ghost"/dimensionally displaced like the lads in the beastwars comic.
seriously NO ONE expects prime to be dead so it'd make sense as an out.
i wouldve prefered alex to do the art on one of these books but TBH at this stage im so starved for decent storytellin that i can forgive that to see what james and john have in store.
im liking where this civilian population is going.
Posted by Sabrblade on November 9th, 2011 @ 8:36am CST
Well, think about this for a moment. In all the previous times Optimus died, he came back because he had toys to sell. This comic, however, does not promote any accompanying toyline so it does not really look like Optimus is really obligated to come back for this one. I mean, other than selling toys, he always came back for the kid viewers, but this comics is being read by mostly adults instead. So, kids are more likely to miss Optimus than adults would, but that factor isn't really in effect here. The way I see it, if there were ever a series of any kind that Optimus could die in and *not* return in, this one would probably work the best for the that.partholon wrote:Chaoslock wrote:Is it just me, or the preview indicates that "the death of Optimus Prime" was once again a fleeting moment?
looks like it man yeah.
then again, he could be a "ghost"/dimensionally displaced like the lads in the beastwars comic.
seriously NO ONE expects prime to be dead so it'd make sense as an out.
Posted by cannonfodder4000 on November 9th, 2011 @ 10:18am CST
Pimpin Hat wrote:That first picture of rodimus is bad ass he look like he is about to kick some ass or he already did
If he already did then that must mean he's the one who killed all those Autobots.
Posted by stk on November 9th, 2011 @ 6:15pm CST
The problem with that line of reasoning is that you're ignoring the fact that even if the current audience is older than the bunch of crying children that protested Prime's death in the animated movie, he is still the favorite character of a LOT of fans. Removing Optimus from the comics permanently is about as unlikely (and would be as stupid and self-destructive a move on IDW's part) as it would be for Marvel to permanently kill off one of their most popular characters, like Wolverine. Would it make a compelling story? Sure, it could. Would it ever happen? No chance in hell.Sabrblade wrote:Well, think about this for a moment. In all the previous times Optimus died, he came back because he had toys to sell. This comic, however, does not promote any accompanying toyline so it does not really look like Optimus is really obligated to come back for this one.
Posted by Sabrblade on November 9th, 2011 @ 6:36pm CST
At SDCC, when IDW announced the Death of Optimus Prime, the audience reaction was a great amount of groanings of boredom and indifference to hear of yet another Optimus Prime death. Since it's been done to death, no one was really outraged or mad at all. They were just... bored.stk wrote:The problem with that line of reasoning is that you're ignoring the fact that even if the current audience is older than the bunch of crying children that protested Prime's death in the animated movie, he is still the favorite character of a LOT of fans.Sabrblade wrote:Well, think about this for a moment. In all the previous times Optimus died, he came back because he had toys to sell. This comic, however, does not promote any accompanying toyline so it does not really look like Optimus is really obligated to come back for this one.
Marvel killed off Ultimate Peter Parker.stk wrote:Removing Optimus from the comics permanently is about as unlikely (and would be as stupid and self-destructive a move on IDW's part) as it would be for Marvel to permanently kill off one of their most popular characters, like Wolverine. Would it make a compelling story? Sure, it could. Would it ever happen? No chance in hell.
Posted by Chaoslock on November 10th, 2011 @ 4:42am CST
Sabrblade wrote:Marvel killed off Ultimate Peter Parker.stk wrote:Removing Optimus from the comics permanently is about as unlikely (and would be as stupid and self-destructive a move on IDW's part) as it would be for Marvel to permanently kill off one of their most popular characters, like Wolverine. Would it make a compelling story? Sure, it could. Would it ever happen? No chance in hell.
Isn't about 99% of the popular Ultimate Heroes dead (including Wolverine)?
Posted by primezimm on December 21st, 2011 @ 3:50pm CST
Now my beef about these two new series is this: One takes place on Cybertron, the other is intergalactic. Transformers is about robots in disguise. The basic story is about robots who crash on earth and disguise themselves for recon, to be unseen from the native populace, and basic survival from their enemies. What made it coo was the realistic and recognizable earth forms. In my opinion, this is what killed the toyline near the end of the 80's and brought the critics out for the unicron triology. An airplane, a gun, a truck, a sportscar that turn into a fighting robot? Awsome! Now we are back on Cybertron, no need for earth modes. Alt modes are more for convenience or transportation, rather than disguise. Tne there is the other story. Ok, visits to other planets will permit modes of disguise. Of course then there is the transportation aspect as well. But where is the real connection here? Vehicle modes are only limited by imagination, and whatever character limits exist. I think often the reader and the writers get lost on the imagination after time. Eventually the reader loses interest as stories become more "out there". Writers get to a point where they run out of new and interesting ideas. I think this has been the downfall of many science fiction, fantasy, and animated shows, as well as the written word. Not to mention what thrills me about the transformers has always been the complexity of the character design. To take them off Earth, would seem to remove limits to the character design (how this robot becomes a police car, that robot becomes a tank) making future designs too easy to come up with, to explain away the mode and transformation. Might as well make them grow and shrink at will, add and remove extra appendages at any given time and develop any kind of weaaponry needed at anytime. Limitations and relation to earth kept the story real and grounded. I'm concerned that these stories are going to fizzle out and lose interest. On that note, as a collector and a fan, I'm going to give it a chance and hopefully I'll be pleasntly surprised.