Transformers Comic Artist Sara Pitre-Durocher's Starscream Design Sketches
Wednesday, September 20th, 2017 6:51PM CDT
Category: Comic Book NewsPosted by: WreckerJack Views: 30,024
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Sadly Til All Are One is over but comic fans will be exited to know that Alex Milne is returning to work on Lost Light, check out the details in this article!
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Posted by Sunstar on September 20th, 2017 @ 7:13pm CDT
I am still disappointed the series ended
Posted by Kurona on September 20th, 2017 @ 7:24pm CDT
Sunstar wrote:I saw this when it was posted on twitter, but what I would love to see from her is how she imagines this as his alt-mode.
I am still disappointed the series ended
Given the chest design and general aesthetic, I would imagine it wouldn't be too terribly distant from the WfC/FoC jet -- but in a different direction and, of course, with a lot more wings.
... I never knew until now I wanted an X-wing version of a Seeker. Hasbro, please, god, do that.
Posted by ricemazter on September 20th, 2017 @ 8:14pm CDT
Kurona wrote:Sunstar wrote:I saw this when it was posted on twitter, but what I would love to see from her is how she imagines this as his alt-mode.
I am still disappointed the series ended
Given the chest design and general aesthetic, I would imagine it wouldn't be too terribly distant from the WfC/FoC jet -- but in a different direction and, of course, with a lot more wings.
... I never knew until now I wanted an X-wing version of a Seeker. Hasbro, please, god, do that.
I'm actually kind of disappointed his "true" body turned out to also be a jet. I think it would've been more interesting and fit the theme a bit better if he was originally meant to be a car or something. Although, it's a really good in universe explanation for the seeker body type.
Posted by TF-fan kev777 on September 20th, 2017 @ 8:47pm CDT
Kurona wrote:... I never knew until now I wanted an X-wing version of a Seeker. Hasbro, please, god, do that.
*drooling at the thought*
Posted by WreckerJack on September 20th, 2017 @ 8:49pm CDT
Posted by Kurona on September 20th, 2017 @ 8:52pm CDT
Posted by WreckerJack on September 20th, 2017 @ 9:33pm CDT
Kurona wrote:I think the idea might be that traditionally, Autobots have blue eyes and Decepticons have red -- so in a theoretical Cybertron where the war never broke out and everyone's neutral and at peace, purple makes sense thematically.
That makes sense. But can you explain Ambulon having yellow/orange optics?
Posted by Kurona on September 20th, 2017 @ 9:34pm CDT
WreckerJack wrote:Kurona wrote:I think the idea might be that traditionally, Autobots have blue eyes and Decepticons have red -- so in a theoretical Cybertron where the war never broke out and everyone's neutral and at peace, purple makes sense thematically.
That makes sense. But can you explain Ambulon having yellow/orange optics?
The delicious taste of Sunny D.
Posted by RodimusRex on September 20th, 2017 @ 10:48pm CDT
Posted by Ultra Markus on September 20th, 2017 @ 11:07pm CDT
Posted by Hydrargyrus on September 20th, 2017 @ 11:28pm CDT
Posted by Big Grim on September 21st, 2017 @ 6:59am CDT
Posted by Mugshot on September 21st, 2017 @ 7:24am CDT
Posted by Big Grim on September 21st, 2017 @ 10:48am CDT
Mugshot wrote:I personally think the design takes a lot of inspiration from TransTech Starscream
Whoa, that's kinda hideous!
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on September 21st, 2017 @ 6:19pm CDT
Posted by Sunstar on September 21st, 2017 @ 7:30pm CDT
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Forged-Scream is so sexy. I really liked the design
Smexy indeed :3 Something rather noble and handsome about that design. It seems to capture a lot of Starscream's personality and characteristics while upping his design a lot. Someone somewhere - could have been here, why didn't they keep more of what he looked like. Because that is not the point with this design, it was how he could have been if he had naturally evolved - so he may not have some of the standard Starscream characteristics. However to look at this design you can see elements that are typical to Starscream. I see more Starscream in this concept than I ever did in the Bay movie concepts.
as I have said before, if writing leads to Starscream having this form, I could see it accomplished by him becoming a prime via the matrix of leadership (if going by g1 standard that the matrix causes the body to morph into a larger "cooler" form.
My only critical point to this design is the weapons. I know he has weapons, but do forged transformers have them when they are born? If transformers are not "born to war" (I forget who said that) then why would they have them to start with?
The one thing that I felt with teh comics was how lovingly Windblade cradled his exposed spark. I loved it.
Posted by Sunstar on September 21st, 2017 @ 7:35pm CDT
WreckerJack wrote:Kurona wrote:I think the idea might be that traditionally, Autobots have blue eyes and Decepticons have red -- so in a theoretical Cybertron where the war never broke out and everyone's neutral and at peace, purple makes sense thematically.
That makes sense. But can you explain Ambulon having yellow/orange optics?
maybe something like a transformer version of albinism?
Posted by Sunstar on November 10th, 2017 @ 12:34am CST
Posted by Bounti76 on November 10th, 2017 @ 1:11am CST
Via the Twitter account of David Mariotte at IDW, we have a one-panel tweet featuring everyone's favorite reporting duo, Circuit and Longtooth, though they're about to be interrupted by Windblade.
Also featured is a single panel of the Universe's favorite punching bag, Waspinator, who doesn't look too happy.
Do these images get you excited to have the TAAO team back to wrap up the story? Please discuss below, and be sure to turn to Seibertron.com for all the latest TF news!
Posted by Bounti76 on December 8th, 2017 @ 2:54am CST
While it's not currently known what will happen with all those storylines, thanks to fellow Seibertronian Sunstar pointing us to iTunes, we now have the three page preview for the upcoming Till All Are One Annual! Due out December 20th (good day for Transformers comics!), we'll find answers to some of those plot questions, and be given a chance to say goodbye to a series that had become a fan favorite, due to the creative team of Scott, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Joana Lafuente and Tom B. Long turning out such excellent work over the yearlong run of the series.
Elita One, Windblade, and Starscream fight to gain ultimate control of Cybertron! Dark secrets will be revealed in this series finale!
Stay tuned for a full preview in the next couple of weeks, and come back to the Energon Pub Forums with a frosty glass of engex to discuss this final wrap up for the series once it's released!
Posted by Sunstar on December 8th, 2017 @ 3:15am CST
Posted by Targetmaster Kup on December 8th, 2017 @ 4:13am CST
Posted by Insurgent on December 8th, 2017 @ 5:03am CST
Posted by Bounti76 on December 8th, 2017 @ 5:49am CST
Nik Hero wrote:Could we be seeing the team of Female Autobots minus Elita One coming together as Chromia's team?
Possible (especially with the mention of Firestar), though not likely, methinks. Greenlight and Lancer are loyal to Elita, and Moonracer is Velocitron's council representative. But from the looks of it, at least one fembot will be joining her- Lightbright and Sparkstalker are loading the ship behind Chromia.
Posted by Randomhero on December 8th, 2017 @ 1:16pm CST
Insurgent wrote:They wanted her to do a soft reboot? THAT's why? Ugh. Stupid stupid stupid. Why? Why not let her tell the story she wanted to tell? It was selling well, right? This is why I was against the Hasbroverse when they started it. I knew it was going to interfere with what we had going on. Still, I'm glad they've given her this annual to finish the story. I just hope my comic shop gets it in. He doesn't seem to get annuals.
Because sales continued to drop more and more every month. Look I know it would have been nice to continue but as someone who works in retail and sees stuff the not many see when something doesn’t sell you either rebrand and change it or you cancel it. It’s business. You can’t just continue producing something that won’t turn around no matter how good the content is.
They offered her options and she chose to end the series on her own accord. That’s more respect some some books get. Look at the Scarlett GI joe book. While there’s a lot of controversy there and justifiably so that team was told the series was canceled before issue one even hit. Scott was at least allowed to finish the current story and are nice enough to make this annual. They value her creativity and respect her and her fans enough for that.
Posted by ricemazter on December 8th, 2017 @ 5:31pm CST
Randomhero wrote:Insurgent wrote:They wanted her to do a soft reboot? THAT's why? Ugh. Stupid stupid stupid. Why? Why not let her tell the story she wanted to tell? It was selling well, right? This is why I was against the Hasbroverse when they started it. I knew it was going to interfere with what we had going on. Still, I'm glad they've given her this annual to finish the story. I just hope my comic shop gets it in. He doesn't seem to get annuals.
Because sales continued to drop more and more every month. Look I know it would have been nice to counter but as someone who works in retail and sees stuff the not many see when something doesn’t sell you either rebrand and change it or you cancel it. It’s business. You can’t just continue producing something that won’t turn around no matter how good the content is.
They offered her options and she chose to end the series on her own accord. That’s more respect some some books get. Look at the Scarlett GI joe book. While there’s a lot of controversy there and justifiably so that team was told the series was canceled before issue one even hit. Scott was at least allowed to finish the current story and are nice enough to make this annual. They value her creativity and respect her and her fans enough for that.
It's probably for the best. What would a soft reboot even look like for this series? This way it at least ended with some dignity.
Posted by Daniel Adkins on December 8th, 2017 @ 6:18pm CST
Insurgent wrote:I just hope my comic shop gets it in. He doesn't seem to get annuals.
Well, make sure you're store has it down to pull TAAO for your pullbox. And if you don't have a pullbox, get one, it helps both you and the store.
Posted by Randomhero on December 8th, 2017 @ 10:32pm CST
Daniel Adkins wrote:Insurgent wrote:I just hope my comic shop gets it in. He doesn't seem to get annuals.
Well, make sure you're store has it down to pull TAAO for your pullbox. And if you don't have a pullbox, get one, it helps both you and the store.
Or just go digital. I haven’t bought a physical comic book in 4 years now. I had over a few thousand and finally said I can’t do this anymore. It’s taking up too much space so I sold my collection and now everything is eithe on iBooks or comiXology. I feel bad not supporting my local shops anymore but it’s not like comics are their primary thing anymore. It’s all about the gaming stuff now. Magic, Pokémon, you-gi oh, D&D heroclix warhammer. That’s the money makers for comics and collectible shops.
Posted by Randomhero on December 8th, 2017 @ 10:35pm CST
ricemazter wrote:Randomhero wrote:Insurgent wrote:They wanted her to do a soft reboot? THAT's why? Ugh. Stupid stupid stupid. Why? Why not let her tell the story she wanted to tell? It was selling well, right? This is why I was against the Hasbroverse when they started it. I knew it was going to interfere with what we had going on. Still, I'm glad they've given her this annual to finish the story. I just hope my comic shop gets it in. He doesn't seem to get annuals.
Because sales continued to drop more and more every month. Look I know it would have been nice to counter but as someone who works in retail and sees stuff the not many see when something doesn’t sell you either rebrand and change it or you cancel it. It’s business. You can’t just continue producing something that won’t turn around no matter how good the content is.
They offered her options and she chose to end the series on her own accord. That’s more respect some some books get. Look at the Scarlett GI joe book. While there’s a lot of controversy there and justifiably so that team was told the series was canceled before issue one even hit. Scott was at least allowed to finish the current story and are nice enough to make this annual. They value her creativity and respect her and her fans enough for that.
It's probably for the best. What would a soft reboot even look like for this series? This way it at least ended with some dignity.
Probably would have just given a more focused direction, introducing new characters to interact with Cybertron. Who knows but honestly, transformers has been softly rebooted about four times in IDW. Good writing can make it work. We saw it happen in 2012 with RID and MTMTE
Posted by Sunstar on December 9th, 2017 @ 12:37am CST
Insurgent wrote: I just hope my comic shop gets it in. He doesn't seem to get annuals.
I preordered mine, you could try that even.
Posted by Insurgent on December 9th, 2017 @ 2:05am CST
I prefer physical items for my comics. Yes they take up space but digital ones just don't feel right. I don't enjoy them as much as physical ones. I'm going to pick up my LL today, I'll make sure to order it.
Posted by Va'al on December 9th, 2017 @ 8:14am CST
Insurgent wrote:Sales were dropping? Didn't know that. Guess i was just frustrated this series ended as i was enjoying it the most of the three series at the time. And RL stuff has me very frustrated and on edge constantly too so I'm prone to over reactions.
I prefer physical items for my comics. Yes they take up space but digital ones just don't feel right. I don't enjoy them as much as physical ones. I'm going to pick up my LL today, I'll make sure to order it.
The issue with sales is that: people counting sales don't tend to include digital, domestic, international, trade vs single issues as the same number. If pre-orders are not done via the absolutely idiotic DM system (Diamond, essentially) it counts as 'it's not selling'. Never mind how well that same title may be doing in the total amount of actual all copies of it being sold across a period of time.
It's a very stupid, monopoly-based system that leads to all sorts of narrow marketing decisions.
ALSO - IDW, as most comics publishers, do not know how to actually fully push any title. Creators should not be the ones bearing the brunt of the marketing.
(Slightly OT message, but wanted to get it off my chest.)
Looking forward to the Annual!
Posted by Sunstar on December 9th, 2017 @ 9:54am CST
Insurgent wrote:I prefer physical items for my comics. Yes they take up space but digital ones just don't feel right. I don't enjoy them as much as physical ones. I'm going to pick up my LL today, I'll make sure to order it.
I have a room where I sit back and enjoy my comics. And I leave the newest copies on the table until I put them onto their shelves, so I identify with you.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on December 11th, 2017 @ 9:33am CST
Sunstar wrote:Insurgent wrote:I prefer physical items for my comics. Yes they take up space but digital ones just don't feel right. I don't enjoy them as much as physical ones. I'm going to pick up my LL today, I'll make sure to order it.
I have a room where I sit back and enjoy my comics. And I leave the newest copies on the table until I put them onto their shelves, so I identify with you.
I feel about the same. I do not like reading digital copies of books, it actually hurts. And I like having my comic shelf where I can just grab one at any time.
As for the story, I'm glad we're getting the annual. I did really like the series, and I'm hoping the annual gives the end of it justice
Posted by Sunstar on December 11th, 2017 @ 10:47am CST
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Sunstar wrote:Insurgent wrote:I prefer physical items for my comics. Yes they take up space but digital ones just don't feel right. I don't enjoy them as much as physical ones. I'm going to pick up my LL today, I'll make sure to order it.
I have a room where I sit back and enjoy my comics. And I leave the newest copies on the table until I put them onto their shelves, so I identify with you.
I feel about the same. I do not like reading digital copies of books, it actually hurts. And I like having my comic shelf where I can just grab one at any time.
As for the story, I'm glad we're getting the annual. I did really like the series, and I'm hoping the annual gives the end of it justice
I am just hoping they allow him to remain leader... I love his struggles. I do have a pile of digital copies I got from humble bundle, which was how I got back into the stories.
Posted by Bounti76 on December 18th, 2017 @ 11:57pm CST
Transformers: Till All Are One Annual 2017
Mairghread Scott (w) • Sara Pitre-Durocher (a & c)
Elita One, Windblade, and Starscream fight to gain ultimate control of Cybertron! Dark secrets will be revealed in this series finale!
FC • 48 pages • $7.99
Bullet points:
· The shocking finale to the epic Cybertronian saga from Mairghread Scott and Sara Pitre-Durocher!
· A happy ending! For some…
Reactions? Thoughts? Feelings? Come back to the Energon Pub forums on Wednesday to discuss, and in the meantime, share your feelings about this preview and the Till All Are One series below!
Posted by Bounti76 on December 19th, 2017 @ 1:27am CST
Posted by Va'al on December 19th, 2017 @ 2:43am CST
The review is SO almost ready, too!
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on December 19th, 2017 @ 10:09am CST
Posted by Va'al on December 19th, 2017 @ 1:54pm CST
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:I'm wondering, since Onyx Prime returns next month and it is implied that the Liege is with him, what will happen with the Chromia search team
So many stories start in this book. So many.
Posted by LE0KING on December 19th, 2017 @ 2:39pm CST
She seems too squat and thick.
Posted by Sunstar on December 19th, 2017 @ 4:57pm CST
Posted by Va'al on December 20th, 2017 @ 12:59am CST
(Spoiler free-ish)
Synopsis
Elita One, Windblade, and Starscream fight to gain ultimate control of Cybertron! Dark secrets will be revealed in this series finale!
Story
I gushed a lot of my appreciation for a story and a series like Till All Are One once already, in my final review of the ongoing series a couple of months back - you can read that review here, if so inclined, but I want to quote myself to make a major point about this annual:
Till All Are One #12 gave us the best story it could probably and possibly ever deliver; it gave us a resolution between Starscream and Windblade that is not a conclusion; it brought elements together that no other book had really done so far; it redeemed characters without offering them salvation.
In my original conclusion to that line of thought, I said that I wished we'd had more time to appreciate, encounter, and explore what lies ahead of all of them much sooner than we actually would. And in that respect, the Annual delivers on changing my mind entirely, just as it revolutionises the stage and status quo of the series' setting - I actually want to see it even more, now.
As it is an issue that I think is best experienced in its entirety and lack of information, I do not want to go into any detail about the plot or the characters here, but I will say that there is a culmination of an incredible number of plots - from the very start of the series way back when it was just Windblade - and one of the best developments in the Hasbro shared universe, as a consequence of First Strike's effect on Cybertron and Cybertronians.
I can't really speak of a 'happy ending', not in the strictest sense of the term, and there are some very heartfelt joyful moments, but (and I'm pretty sure I'm tapping into my thoughts of other media that has come out this month) this long, utterly enjoyable and satisfying read has gone from the 'best ending' TAAO could've had (issue #12) to A Good Ending. A good ground to build a much positive, much wider, much better universe.
Art
There was no other way to conclude the story without artist Sara Pitre-Durocher, who has been involved in the franchise for so long people tend to forget just how much material she's covered in her work, be it comics or packaging art. And what we have here is a testimony to that proximity, with nods to the first Windblade series in opening sequences, revisitations of the glorious Starscream of issue #12, and perhaps the happiest, tiredest, positively relieved Windblade, but also several Cybertronians that have populated the stage this far.
And the feeling of light, the legeresse and relief that come with some of the aspects that are not to be understated - can never be underestimated - throughout the story, among the different inhabitants of the story and the city, could not be possible without the amazing lighting work that Joana Lafuente brings in her colours. The symbolism of dawns and dusks is one that runs all through the TFverse, but we see it here as a full revolution - and you may take that however you want.
In Scott's letter in the backmatter of the issue, the writer acknowledges Tom B. Long's excellent contribution to the issue and the work on the series as a whole, something I was glad to see as a fan of the letterer's work across the board - no less in this annual, where some of the more poignant moments are silent, and handled with extreme masterful care. There is only one variant cover - by artist JN Wiedle - to the main Pitre-Durocher one (which is so full of callbacks that I cannot even), and I've used it to spotlight the thumbnail. Both are glorious. Both deserve visibility. Look at them, and enjoy.
Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead
This is a story of leadership. We have three potential leaders, all of whom are actually, surprisingly, fitting possibilities for this new Cybertron. All three are potential stories to be told about a city, a planet, a civilisation - and by extent, an entire universe that involves more than just the Transformers. One of these is the winner, one of these is the loser, one of these wins something else entirely, and we have the immense pleasure and privilege of being along for the ride with at least two out of three. Pay attention to the dialogue. Pay attention to the words, including the author's letter in the back of the issue. It's all there, all along.
I've had comments on the pacing of the book, that it feels a little rushed in parts - and while I can recognise that, I do not think it detrimental to the story, at all. If anything, it heightens the sense of frenzied anticipation for the events taking place, the urgency of it all, and the buzz of a build-up with finally a resolution that can lead to a different future from the pasts and presents we have known in the stories of Transformers so far. And for that, I have to thank the writer, the artists, the colourists, the letterers, the editors.
So thank you, again.
Posted by Bounti76 on December 20th, 2017 @ 2:59am CST
Thank you, Mairghread, Sara, Joana, and Tom, for a book I couldn't WAIT to enjoy every month. It was a pleasure to appreciate your work.
Posted by ScottyP on December 20th, 2017 @ 7:31am CST
To echo the others - to the creative team, thank you!
Posted by Sunstar on December 20th, 2017 @ 10:52am CST
I bawled my eyes out.. I actually bawled my eyes out.
Posted by night18mare on December 20th, 2017 @ 6:20pm CST
Some people's opinion I agree with, some I disagree with, and some I don't think will be able to understand their opinion, but I don't say my piece because my opinion is unnecessary and unneeded.
I say this because whatever I say about IDW transformers, it won't change anything, I won't wake up tomorrow and see all the things that I find personally distasteful and/or wrong about the comic changed into something different and interesting, my opinion won't stop it from continuing.
However, I feel a great desire to share with this board my feelings towards this comic annual.
I love it.
I flip-flop-pity, hop-tactically love it.
I love it because it brought a hope inside me since things began to fall apart when RID became EX-RID, but my irritations started after that, Windblade 1-4 was my starting point in IDW, never read primacy, autocracy, monstrosity, chaos theory, Dark Cybertron or any other comics before Windblade.
Never even heard of IDW Transformers comics until after dark cybertron.
Now your might be wondering, why did I get into IDW, well one word really or one name exactly.
Windblade.
When I was in High school browsing pinterest in my spare time looking up concept art, I found pictures of windblade in a art style that was just so beautiful, the work of Sarash Stone (man I miss her work) I had to find more, and I did, I found a website that uploaded comics and Read windblade 1-4 and after reading it, I thought to myself, Your to good for this world windblade, I wish your were the leader of cybertron, someone with no history would help a lot, and then I thought, WHY IN THE FLYING BAGEL ROLL ON SWISH CHEESE IS STARSCREAM LEADER OF CYBERTRON AND HOW?!
So I looked up more Transformers comics on the site, I read for days, in and out of high school, I read until it was all I could think about, I researched the tfwiki to understood parts and pieces I could find, how the order of the story went, how things worked.
When I did finally catch up, I toke a break to process everything.
My first thoughts about IDW was this is awesome finally a dark and interesting transformers story, then me and my brother started to talk about it, and love doing so, but then the bliss started to fade rereading some of the comics, then it started to stared to become boring, then annoying, then infuriating, then heartbreaking and finally bad.
By that time I realized somethings, IDW is all over the place, the art is all over the place,the writers, the characters, the story, the concepts, the ideas, the universe, the crossovers, the world, the universe, but why.
Maybe because of Hasbro, Maybe it's IDW themselves, both or some other third thing, I don't know, but what I do know is it was pushing me and my brother away and it did.
Then we started to looking at other people perspective and realized, IDW transformers universe is dark and fucked up, and not in a good way.
Even thou we check in every now and again we keep our standers low.
So now today's another day checking in on IDW, and I was happy as a bat on Halloween night, when I read this, I was jumping with joy when windblade won the election, for so long I was hurt and sad to see what windblade had to go through with...well everything and still want do good for a hopeless cybertron and now shes leader of cybertron.
I hope to see more of this in the future and I wish windblade all my luck.
Sorry for the long post and thanks for listening to my feelings, have a nice night.
Posted by Targetmaster Kup on December 20th, 2017 @ 9:06pm CST
*Not My President!*
Posted by Sunstar on December 20th, 2017 @ 9:14pm CST
Posted by ebonyleopard on December 20th, 2017 @ 9:33pm CST