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Dawn of the Autobots started on Wednesday. Megatron has joined the Autobots, and is now captain of the Lost Light in More than Meets the Eye.
Windblade just started. The lead character is apparently a descendant of Cybertron.
Robots in Disguise, written by John Barber and art by Andrew Griffith, is set back on Earth and stars Optimus Prime, Jazz and Sideswipe (among others). The planet is probably not going to have a welcoming reaction to the return of Optimus Prime and the Autobots.
In More than Meets the Eye, written by James Roberts and art by Alex Milne, Megatron is now leading the Lost Light. The book was called "Really crazy, really lot of fun."
Windblade, the four-issue mini series written by Mairghread Scott and art by Sarah Stone, is billed as new reader friendly. Windblade comes into conflict with Starscream. Really fun and Mairghread believes it's an "expressive, hopeful book."
We were reminded that Windblade is the result of a series of polls taken by the fans. She recently made debut in the Dark Cybertron event, along with Nautica and Chromia.
The new book was announced! Primacy, written by Flint Dille and Chris Metzen, and art by Livio Ramondelli. This will be the last part of the trilogy starting with Autocracy and Monstrosity. Dille described it as a war book and "carnage fest." This is the moment where we see the characters become what we're familiar with. Dille teased that Sharkticons and Quintessons might show up.
They mentioned Transformers vs GI Joe, written by John barber and Tom Scioli, and art by Scioli too. Barber says it's probably the craziest book he's worked on. Things get nuts.
As GI Joe corners Cobra Commander, Starscream purses Bumblebee and the story takes off from there. It's pure comics. Guzman said that he had no idea how Tom was going to draw some of the story elements until he sees the pages that get turned in.
GI Joe: The Real American Hero #200 was just released and the series is still going strong. The slideshow showed issue #201 will have a Liefeld cover. Guzman joked that the series probably going to make it to #300.
IDW Publishing is working on a deluxe hardcover anniversary edition of GI Joe #21, The Silent Interlude. IDW is going back and reshooting original art as well as recoloring it.. and adding even more extra material and commentaries.
IDW teased Fall of GI Joe for September 2014. They're not ready to make announcement just yet. Barber claimed it will please a lot of fans.
As for the background on the decision on making Megatron an Autobot, it goes back to September 2011. James Roberts, Phil Jimenez, and John Barber broke down Dark Cybertron at Hasbro. Barber seems to remember Mark Weber (Global Brand Development Manager for Hasbro) suggested Megatron being an Autobot and was shocked Hasbro allowed it.
As for who's leading the Decepticons.. They have lost the war. Lots of Decepticons might defect to Autobot side. Some believe Megatron sold out. Galvatron gathers and forms new Decepticon group on Cybertron with new agenda. Soundwave and Galvatron will lead group, for now.
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It’s actually a Transformer who is neither Autobot or Decepticon, a bounty hunter named Lockdown, whose alternate form is a Lamborghini Aventador.
“Lockdown is an interesting character. He travels the galaxy, he works for somebody else. And he’s here for one person, one alien, and then he’s out of here,” Bay says. “So he doesn’t really want to take sides. The cause and balance of the galaxy is kind of messed up when different species play with different species. And that opens up a whole other gigantic world for Transformers.”
[...]
“Lockdown’s ship has a lot of meaning that can go into other movies. There’s a lot of backstory about that ship that’s not laid out here,” he says. “You’re going to see a few things where you’re like ‘What is that? And what is that?’ And you’re going to see a couple shots like, ‘Wait a minute, who are they?’ But we don’t answer those questions.”
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Bay: "It's kind of like a new Transformers. We had three, the first trilogy, and this is going to be the next. ...It's the first of a new trilogy. I'm not necessarily sure that I'm doing [the others], but that's what it's meant for."
Bay: "{Shia LaBeouf]'s a good guy, but three movies, the same guy, it's time. You know what I'm saying? It's always good to freshen it up and change the story."
Wahlberg: "[The government] basically want to wipe out all Transformers, all the Autobots. Optimus has lost all faith in humankind, and I'm trying to convince him there is still good in the world and we need to work together."
Reynor: "The first day I'm acting opposite a giant robot that's not there so that was something that took me out of my comfort zone. Probably the most outrageous thing we did was run through an incredible explosion. You can see it in the trailer. Everything around us blew up. Absolutely terrifying. But you don't really think of the terror until afterward. It's one of those things where you just run and all of your basic instincts as a human kick in. You get out on the other side of it and you feel like a different person, really."
"150 feet long from the tail to the nostrils, 63.5 feet tall from the ground to the top of his horns, and weigh 850 tons."
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ComicsAlliance: Tell me about Windblade. What sort of story are you and Sarah telling?
Mairghread Scott: Transformers: Windblade is a four-issue miniseries designed to introduce longtime fans to a brand new character and new readers to the current Transformers world. So we really wanted to tell an honestly hopeful, fun story that showcased how human Transformers really are.
We also wanted to really show off the unique things we love most about Transformers as a brand. We have fight sequences that are not even possible in other stories. We have a dazzling array of character designs and relationships, and the world itself is just too lush not to explore. Our characters reside in a living city. They can turn into jets and they fight with axes. They live for thousands of years and have only recently stopped a civil war that almost killed them all. There are some amazing stories to be had in a place like this, and Sarah and I intend to exploit every angle we can to bring fans something that will really take their breath away.
CA: How did each of you come to this book?
MS: Like most comics work that I’ve been part of, it involved a unique dance of asking/begging, worrying, pitching, worrying and then actually doing it. I first heard about Windblade’s creation as a character and toy at a convention with my editor John Barber and I immediately asked to be involved if she got a comic. Of course it took a few months to get the timing right, but John did let me pitch on Windblade — which meant explaining who I thought she was, her backstory and what a miniseries would like like — and he liked it. The rest, as they say, is history.
Sarah Stone: I have Mairghread to thank for the opportunity. She found me through some of my fan art online, and then we started talking more once we met at a comic con. She was kind enough to involve me in a personal comic project she wanted to create a pitch for, and thats when she asked if I would be interested in having my name thrown in as an artist for a Transformers project. I couldn’t say “YES” fast enough!
[...]
CA: You’re also telling the story of a female Transformer, though not the first. As the Transformers are all robots, can you talk a little bit about what gender means in this fictional universe and how it’s represented?
MS Yes. IDW’s continuity has never had an “originally female” Transformer in it (the only female transformer in the line, Arcee, was made female against her will) so it was important to us that Windblade’s comic present a positive view of Lady Bots without having the characters beat everyone over the head with their gender.
The beauty of Transformers is that, by their very nature, they’re a very inclusive race. Some Bots turn into jets, or cars, or flying sharks. They can be as small as trash cans or as big as whole cities. So while Windblade and [fellow Transformer] Chromia’s gender makes them “different” to other Cybertronians, it’s a much bigger deal to our readers than it is to the characters in the book.
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Wesley Burt is a concept artist who has worked on prestigious film and game projects like the Transformers films, Skyrim, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Lord Of The Rings: Online, Magic: The Gathering trading cards and Thor. In his 13 years of professional work, Wes has created some amazing art.
Burt has done some amazing work for big-name movies and triple-A gaming titles; his portfolio stretches from Dishonored to Silent Hill to League of Legends to Borderlands to the GI Joe films. A Cleveland Institute of Art alumni, he’s multi-talented, also working on graphite works and oil paintings in his spare time.
He’s presenting at the Melbourne International Design Week festival next week, at the Look Upstairs forum on April 2-4 on design, advertising, 3D and creativity alongside 40 other design professionals from 20 countries. Wes spoke to Gizmodo about his history and inspiration as a graphic artist, and about some of the amazing properties he’s worked on.
How did you get into concept art and design? What drew you to Massive Black?
I became really interested in concept art when I was an early teenager, seeing the Art of Star Wars books and other movie pre-production books. I started making my own drawings and designs of characters from my head and from books I was reading at the time.
[...]
What’s the largest, or most exciting, or your favourite project that you’ve worked on?
Working on the Transformers films was really fun and exciting — having a really direct input on what things could end up looking like, and working with the director and production designers who’ve worked on so many different films. I ended doing a whole lot of the preliminary work for the Dinobots in the new film, so it will be really cool to see that come to life!
I also really enjoy working on games that are more in the historical or fantasy realm — so designing factions and costuming for Lord of The Rings Online, and also a lesser-known title called Gods & Heroes, was right up my alley. I like researching different cultures, their way of dress and types of armor and all that, so that’s always fun for me
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Everyone, please welcome Mairghread Scott to Robots With Coffee!
You are part of the first all-female team to produce a Transformers comic book...unless you and artist Sarah Stone were ghosting for Pat Lee at Dreamwave and haven't been paid yet. But this isn't your first TF comic. How did you get involved with IDW, and did you choose Sarah to be your artist?
I got involved with IDW through an elaborate series of heists perpetrated by myself and Mike Johnson when we...I mean...when we co-wrote Rage of the Dinobots together.
As far as Sarah is concerned, I have to be serious. There are certain things I really wanted in an artist on Transformers Windblade: vibrant color, a sense of movement, diverse and identifiable body designs, and an emphasis on facial expressions. Sarah hit the nail on the head in each of these areas and they all combine to make (what I think is) a dynamic, emotive and easy to follow book perfect for old-school fans and new readers alike.
Windblade was a 'fan created' character, in that the fans got online and voted for what kind of figure it would be. What did you bring to the character once the fan voting had been tallied?
Quite a bit actually. Dark Cybertron was still being written when I came aboard and outside of the knowledge that she could speak to Metroplex, everything else was kind of free reign.
The most important thing for me was to make sure that even though Windblade was a fan-made character, she didn't feel like a composite or generic person. Windblade has a very clear character in my mind: hopeful, determined, empathetic, a little naive and in way over her head. If she was human she'd be the girl that puts on fancy eye shadow for a date and then keep forgetting she has it on and touching her eyes...
…and that's probably the first make-up to Transformer comparison ever made in a professional interview so...milestone?
Your series addresses the gender issue in the IDW TF comics continuity, beyond there originally being no gender (perceived to be "he") and Arcee being the lone female by forced transgender surgery. Was this something that IDW wanted to change, or something you were happy to grab the reigns and 'retcon'?
Argh! Don’t say the ‘r’ word! IDW definitely wanted to do a Windblade book and that obviously required a bit of a think to get Lady Bots back in continuity (outside of Arcee’s unique situation, as you mentioned), but 'retcon-ing' (actually saying something didn’t happen that’s already been established) is something I think of as a weapon of last resort. I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve besides that and, while new information will be revealed, retcon-ing is not happening in Transformers Windblade.
[...]
I know Windblade is going to be a mini but, hey, if it does well enough, there's a possibility of a NAUTICA ongoing? How awesomely true is this? #nauticafanclub #ftw!
So awesomely true that I have no idea if it will happen/control if it does happen/information on the subject. Although I will take this moment to say that Windblade and Nautica fans should not be snipping at each other online. There's room for everyone in the pool, kids. Mom's watching.
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CBR News: John and Tom, aside from the obvious implications of the title, what exactly is "Transformers vs. G.I. Joe" all about?
Tom Scioli: We're pretty close to figuring that out ourselves. So far it looks like each issue is going to be a complete "Transformers vs. G.I. Joe" epic that, when taken together, will add up to a multi-chapter mega epic. We've got a really good plot going. Figuring out the tone is the next big challenge. How serious, how funny, how topical.
I did a couple of passes, color thumbnail comics in a style similar to [Scioli's creator-owned series] "Satan's Soldier." In those tests, the tone ended up being in the neighborhood of [Scioli's other creator-owned series] "American Barbarian" and "Satan's Soldier." John is bringing a 21st century version of Classic '60s Marvel tone. I think we'll really nail it down when we find a tone that isn't "AmBarb," isn't '60s Marvel, isn't Alan Moore, isn't Frank Miller, but a tone that is "Transformers vs. G.I. Joe" -- a tone that is unique and specific to the demands of this particular story.
What's it about? Change or die. It's about a big universe where people build crazy, wild, awesome things and use them to kill each other. I'd like to shepherd the characters to a place where they don't want to kill each other anymore, but I don't know if they'll ever get there or not.
So far, the script for this first issue, which we're close to finishing, is the best thing I've ever worked on. I've spent more hours per page on this than anything I've done before, and the results are better than I could've imagined.
John Barber: Yeah, what Tom said. I came into this with a certain idea of where we were heading, and we've wound up somewhere way, way, way better.
The basic idea of the series is that the G.I. Joe team has been fighting COBRA for some time, but just when they think they've defeated their foe, everything blows up to the next level -- and the Cybertronians arrive.
We'll see the origins of our heroes; we'll see first meetings and secret pasts. This is the ground floor of an astounding new reality, here.
[...]
Tom, your style is very cosmic and Kirby-esque in nature, so is it safe to assume "Transformers vs. G.I. Joe" will be on a grand, cosmic scale?
Scioli: "Transformers" is a grand, cosmic thing to begin with. "G.I. Joe" is a heightened, sci-fi, 20 minutes into the future version of military adventure. Today's military technology is sci-fi by any reasonable definition, so it does kind of push things in that direction.
Early drafts were extremely serious, hard sci-fi, with absurdist touches and pitch black dark humor. John's brought a little more of a sense of adventure and fun to it. We're folding all of that stuff together and hammering it into what feels like a real, breathing universe from which we can pluck any story we need.
Barber: I think it's fair to say "grand and cosmic" yeah -- maybe "expanding" is another good word.
Merging two major properties like these is something IDW is clearly not taking lightly. How did this idea get started, and how long has it been in development?
Scioli: Months, it seems. When John first floated the idea, I started getting the wheels turning, even before it was confirmed as a thing. I can't help it. I used to fight that urge. Don't work on that, there's no point. I decided not to fight it. If your imagination goes somewhere you'd rather it not, don't fight it, let it happen and see where it goes. So I didn't fight it.
To make this as good as it needs to be, I couldn't wait to get the final okay before I start working. Doing this story one issue at a time just wasn't going to work, so even though I wouldn't advise working on a job you don't yet have, I don't think I'd have gotten the results I wanted if I figured the story out in issue-long chunks, one bit at a time. I knew from past experience, for best results I had to envision what I wanted my entire run to be and then figure out the story as a whole, before I even started work on Issue #1. It's foolishness, but the kind of foolishness you need to create great art.
Barber: At IDW, we'd been interested in doing a "Transformers"/"G.I. Joe" crossover series for a while, but it had to be the right thing. It had to be something really unique and interesting, not just some sort of a cash-grab. 2014 is the 30th Anniversary of "Transformers" and the 50th Anniversary of the original "G.I. Joe" line, so it seemed like we had to do something. But we've got existing comics universes that are pretty clearly not set in the same world. We were trying to figure out what would work and not just feel, well, inessential.
Then Tom emailed in out of the blue, and I'm a big fan of Tom. We started talking about another thing, about Tom doing a cover for another series -- and one day I just thought of Tom doing "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe." So I emailed him, and he was interested -- and I kinda inserted myself into the proceedings as co-writer, which is me kinda staying out of the way and then trying to steal the glory later
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