Process for IDW Transformers Unicron James Raiz Variant Covers

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Interesting, I don't think I see anyone associated with the Lost Light series.

Stormshot_Prime wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Interesting, I don't think I see anyone associated with the Lost Light series.

Huh! I don’t even notice that at first, I was like “Yeah that’s everyone!”

It can mean one of two things: LL is so separated from the main narrative now that they didn’t bother adding them, because the ending won’t have any impact on the main universe. OR they all live somehow and the writers aren’t total jackasses and remember that LL is just as important as OP.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Stormshot_Prime wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Interesting, I don't think I see anyone associated with the Lost Light series.

Huh! I don’t even notice that at first, I was like “Yeah that’s everyone!”

It can mean one of two things: LL is so separated from the main narrative now that they didn’t bother adding them, because the ending won’t have any impact on the main universe. OR they all live somehow and the writers aren’t total jackasses and remember that LL is just as important as OP.

Or, they somehow all get killed off before Unicron comes.

ZeroWolf wrote:Though saying that, I would be up for a series set on a post apocalyptic earth where it's littered with dead transformers and bits of unicron, and it follows a group of humans trying to survive. A lot could be done with that setting

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
A handful of random characters have been removed from the series via portals and alternate dimensions. Too many to be coincidence, so I think those are going to be the only survivors of this reality. Nothing wrong with that either.

SynchroBunny wrote:Wasn't there that G.I.Joe guy whose name escapes me, from the Scavengers issue? I recall him ending up going through a portal at the end.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Sins of The Wreckers (spoiler free) gave us two more. The Lost Light crew are a bit of a grey area at the moment but they too could also count. There is someone else I'm forgetting that had an ambiguous disappearing "death" but the name escapes me right now.

Vince Brusio: The cover page for IDW’s section in the May PREVIEWS touts how Transformers: Unicron “marks the end of the Transformers universe as we know it.” That’s a bold statement. The history behind Transformers at IDW is considerable. New characters like Windblade have been introduced. Countless stories have been collected in trade paperback. And now we’re told it can all get wiped out? Can you give us some details on how Unicron is going to live up to such hype?

John Barber: This is going to be the conclusion to the story — and the universe — that IDW launched back with Transformers: Infiltration #0 in 2005. IDW and Hasbro still have plenty more to say with Transformers — don’t misunderstand that! — but for this particular history, it’s all over. Now — whether that history gets wiped out or gets a nice happy ending for everybody? That’s the part that is playing out in the Unicron event.

I’m incredibly proud of the work that’s been done on this universe. Simon Furman and EJ Su started it, and I’ve had a hand in it for over six years, working alongside Transformers greats like James Roberts, Mairghread Scott, Kei Zama, Jack Lawrence, Andrew Griffith, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Livio Ramondelli, Priscilla Tramontano, Brendan Cahill, Guido Guidi, Shane McCarthy, Nick Roche, and so many more. For me, I started writing Transformers: Robots in Disguise back in 2012. I’ve written more Transformers comics than I ever thought possible, and I loved every minute of it. Working on the same set of characters, the same universe, for so long has been the most rewarding creative experience of my life, and one I really doubt that I’ll ever be able to duplicate.

So, for me — and for Unicron artist Alex Milne, who’s been with Transformers longer than me — we both feel that if we’re going to do an ending for this, we’d best make the greatest ending we can.

[...]

Vince Brusio: An unlettered preview page is featured just below the cover of issue #1 in the May PREVIEWS solicitation. Tell us what we’re seeing on this page. How is it a window into understanding the consequences of this storyline?

John Barber: That’s page one from issue #1. In it, we see the legendary history of the great creator, Primus, and his opposite — Unicron, the Chaos-Bringer. These are characters that run deep in Transformers history — back to the original runs of the comic books and animated series. Over the years, in different media, Primus and Unicron have usually been portrayed as primal cosmic beings locked in an endless struggle. So, here, on this page, we’re seeing the legend — the story Cybertronians have passed down for millions and millions of years.

The thing is, now that Unicron is here, the facts don’t match the legend... so Optimus, Windblade, and Starscream are all asking the question, “How much of this is true and how much was just a bedtime story?"

[...]

John Barber: Ooooh, we did a lot of drafts. When we settled on doing Unicron, I got on the phone with James Roberts, Mairghread Scott, Nick Roche, and then-Transformers Editor (and still-good friend) Carlos Guzman, and we talked at length about the possibilities of the story. We had a lot of really good ideas, some of which worked, and some didn’t. We all wanted this to have meaning, and to have this even actually be about something — not just be empty spectacle. If you know the IDW Transformers comics, you know they’re about character first and foremost. We like to tackle big themes and big emotions, and it was important to all of us to keep that foregrounded. Which is a long way of saying that there’ve been a lot of drafts.

We’re about halfway through as I type this, so we’re pretty deep in. We’re double-shipping for the start of the event, but we’re back to regular schedule for the end, in something of an effort to not kill Alex, who is doing the work of his career here. And that is saying a lot!

Va'al wrote:And it's done in such a way that will allow several readers to really want to get into the main story come July, while not relying on senseless shock value twists or carnage for its own sake (yes, we all know what I'm referring to here).

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

SynchroBunny wrote:Wasn't there that G.I.Joe guy whose name escapes me, from the Scavengers issue? I recall him ending up going through a portal at the end.

If you mean MP3, actually, I think it was the opposite, the Scavengers ditched him and went through the portal (If I remember correctly).

william-james88 wrote:

Va'al wrote:And it's done in such a way that will allow several readers to really want to get into the main story come July, while not relying on senseless shock value twists or carnage for its own sake (yes, we all know what I'm referring to here).

I am in the dark here, what is Va'al referring to?

Also, why does no one know unicron? I unerstand them not believing he exists but I thought he was still part of the lore and mythos.

ZeroWolf wrote:Va'al is referring to tf vs visionaries and possibly lost light. There's also conflicting tales of the tf creation story in idw, neither of them featured unicron but given that he was awoken by a signal sent by cybertron, I think the normal story is going to be turned on its head.

Quint wrote:Riffing on the Marvel #1 cover for a final issue is becoming something of a cliché.

BumbleDouche wrote:Meh... What's going on with that right arm/shoulder? Come to think of it, the left isn't that great either... For starters. From my lofty position as a talentless hack, I think this cover seems rather sloppy, by modern standards.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Can't say I'm a fan. Then again, I didn't like the original either. Considering this is Unicron's story he is barely noticeable as more than background colouring.

YOU'VE GOT THE TOUCH! We're excited to announce our next Stadium Exclusive Variant for TRANSFORMERS: UNICRON #1 by series artist Alex Milne, paying tribute to the poster art of the 1986 Transformers movie! Only 500 of these will be printed and pre-orders start at 11am eastern time June 13th at https://

ZeroWolf wrote:I always find it funny when looking at the 1986 movie poster that the only glimpse of hot rod you get is in his rodimus prime winabago alt. Surprised no one then complained of bait and switch

Rodimus Knight wrote:I'd like to get this cover, but I'm guessing it will be a costly pain in the butt to get.
I also like that Arcee is the only character duplicated in the same position.

Randomhero wrote:

Rodimus Knight wrote:I'd like to get this cover, but I'm guessing it will be a costly pain in the butt to get.
I also like that Arcee is the only character duplicated in the same position.

You’ll find it easy on eBay. It won’t be very expensive.

This ain’t Dreamwave 2002 where certain covers were worth hundreds until the went under and now are pennies.

This is IDW. You’ll be able to find them on eBay for maybe $10-20 and that’s being extreme saying $20

ZeroWolf wrote:I always find it funny when looking at the 1986 movie poster that the only glimpse of hot rod you get is in his rodimus prime winabago alt. Surprised no one then complained of bait and switch

ZeroWolf wrote:They probably thought kids would take better if the new leader was a truck like prime (may also be why Ultra Magnus was a sub leader/second in command as he was also a truck like alt mode...it was a car carrier yes but how many other truck alt modes do the bots have like that?)

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:They probably thought kids would take better if the new leader was a truck like prime (may also be why Ultra Magnus was a sub leader/second in command as he was also a truck like alt mode...it was a car carrier yes but how many other truck alt modes do the bots have like that?)

I mean I had all three back then, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime. The Hot Rod toy looks so much better than Rodimus. Not to mention Ultra Magnus was probably the best G1 truck toy, even if he was a brick, as he was massive. I can only assume a "Sports truck" design was one of Floro Dery's. What he was on that day, who can say

Not a whimper, nor a bang-the end comes with a squall of entropy shrieking from the ravenous maw of death itself. The message is clear: Unicron has arrived. The Transformers lock into a desperate bid to save Rom's homeworld from the world-killer - but why has Unicron chosen this world on his path to Cybertron... and Earth? The biggest story in the history of Transformers starts now: for Unicron's arrival can mean nothing less than the end of a universe.

ScottyP wrote:Good book, glad it's out there more readily for folks that missed it on FCBD!