August/September Fan Club newsletter

[Dominic]

I have not read it yet, (give me a week or 2 to borrow a friend's copy), but I will get to it in full.


Apparently, they went out of their way to make using Nightracer a chance to shit on Raksha.

Yup, they are going after somebody who, in practical terms, has not been a fan for 10 years now.

Yeah, Raksha was a twit. Yes, her response to this on FaceBook had a degree of petulance about the franchise and hobby as a whole (even if she did handle this specific incident well enough).

But, really, is there any need for the Fan Club Newsletter to turn in to a place to air the fandom's dirty laundry?


Dom
-and why does this fandom have a bad reputation as a whole? Oh, yeah...shit like this.

[Shockwave]

How so? What specifically are they doing that referrences Raksha? I'm wondering if this is legitimate or if you're assuming it's one of those situations where "they're doing something horrible to character X and so and so really liked character X so this must be some slight towards them". Official sources can do what they want with the characters without it having anything to do with the fans, either past or present. In fact, didn't you assume a few years ago that an image of a dead Hot Shot was somehow a slight agains Willis simply because Hot Shot is a fave of Willis' even though everyone from the artist to Willis himself said it was no big deal? Seriously Dom, you really do need to separate the fandom from the hobby. The hobby and it's state is not dictated by the fandom. Nor is the quality of what's produced dictated by the fandom. I really just have a hard time believing that Brian Savage and Ben Yee would have nothing better to do with their time than flame an obnoxious fan that hasn't been heard from on over a decade.

Shockwave
-Hobby =/= fandom and fandom =/= hobby.

[Dominic]

Back in the pre 3H days, Raksha organized a BotCon, and the exclusive toy was based on one of her characters. Raksha is quoted as arguing that the character was owned by her because of procedural details. But, that is iffy. Either way, the character has been referenced in official context a few times, and officially showed up in full in the June/July newsletter's comic.

This issue includes a character profile that portrays Nightracer as being a pretty blatant parody of Raksha's personality (as demonstrated by her pold posts).

Raksha is one of the first toyhacks. And, yeah, she was a twerp, (still is if recent comments by her on FaceBook are anything to go by). Raksha was in business for herself. Yes, Raksha was one of the first fans who claimed to know more about TFs than Hasbro.

But, none of that is good reason for an official newsletter to be shitting on a former fan who bailed about a decade ago.

In fact, didn't you assume a few years ago that an image of a dead Hot Shot was somehow a slight agains Willis simply because Hot Shot is a fave of Willis' even though everyone from the artist to Willis himself said it was no big deal?

Actually....here is how it went down.

The issue was published and people noticed the panel in question. Willis had long been a vocal critic of Milne and IDW.

Willis said that he liked the attention.

After the fact, Milne claimed that it was just coincidence that two dead TFs that looked exactly like Hotshot and Glit/SG Ravage appeared on an opening page of a comic that Willis was likely to complain about. (It was part of the Drift series.) Milne even said that his friend suggested it, but claimed to have no idea why. (C'mon...you know what is going on here....)

IDW hand-waved it after the fact, with comments by Milne and (editor) Schmidt.

Brian Savage and Ben Yee would have nothing better to do with their time than flame an obnoxious fan that hasn't been heard from on over a decade.

Shit like this makes the hobby, the property and the fans look bad.

it was likely not Yee. In fact, I would bet it was not him. (I do not like the guy's writing. But, the man himself is 100% a class act.)

Savage generally stays away from content control. If he knows about this at all, he only found out in the last 24 hours or so.

But, Sipher or Willis? Oh yeah. They are both over-grown kids who are happy to be the biggest kids in the schoolyard, (probably after years of being on the wrong side of that equation). They both spent time on UseNet when Raksha was active. (And, again, I am not defending her actions or attitudes. But, for fuck's sake, it has been over a decade since she left UseNet.) Trent Troop was also there, but I cannot speak to his character.


Dom
-notes the irony of Raksha of all being being shat on by fans who are in business for themselves.

[Shockwave]

Back in the pre 3H days, Raksha organized a BotCon, and the exclusive toy was based on one of her characters. Raksha is quoted as arguing that the character was owned by her because of procedural details. But, that is iffy. Either way, the character has been referenced in official context a few times, and officially showed up in full in the June/July newsletter's comic.

This issue includes a character profile that portrays Nightracer as being a pretty blatant parody of Raksha's personality (as demonstrated by her pold posts).

Raksha is one of the first toyhacks. And, yeah, she was a twerp, (still is if recent comments by her on FaceBook are anything to go by). Raksha was in business for herself. Yes, Raksha was one of the first fans who claimed to know more about TFs than Hasbro.

But, none of that is good reason for an official newsletter to be shitting on a former fan who bailed about a decade ago.

That's all well and fine, but I still seriously doubt they were "going after Raksha" by bringing in Nightracer. Nightracer is a part of Botcon history and it stands to reason that the company running it is going to referrence that character on occasion. And they should be able to do so without fans assuming that they are shitting on former fans for doing so. Unless someone specifically comes out and states such a milicious intent, I'm going to assume other intentions. After all, there's nothing to be gained by that except for looking like an obnoxious twerp.

In fact, didn't you assume a few years ago that an image of a dead Hot Shot was somehow a slight agains Willis simply because Hot Shot is a fave of Willis' even though everyone from the artist to Willis himself said it was no big deal?

Milne even said that his friend suggested it, but claimed to have no idea why. (C'mon...you know what is going on here....)

I know no such thing. Again, comics can include and referrence characters without it having anything to do with fans, either past or present. If anything, this situation proves my point. Characters were pictured and an obnoxious and particularly vocal fan didn't like. Guess what? Fuck him. Hard. He doesn't have to like everything that is produced and I could give a fuck if he does or not. But his obnoxiousness isn't going to cause me to assume that the official producers (be it artists, writers, editors, what have you) have specifically targeted said fan because of it. One obnoxious fan doesn't have as much influence at IDW as you seem to like to think they do.

Brian Savage and Ben Yee would have nothing better to do with their time than flame an obnoxious fan that hasn't been heard from on over a decade.

Shit like this makes the hobby, the property and the fans look bad.

Fans yes, Hobby or property, no. Seriously, the hobby is not defined by the fandom.

Savage generally stays away from content control. If he knows about this at all, he only found out in the last 24 hours or so.

He's the editor so he definitely does have some influence on content control (as implied by the job title of editor). It might be minimal, but it's there nonetheless.

But, Sipher or Willis? Oh yeah. They are both over-grown kids who are happy to be the biggest kids in the schoolyard, (probably after years of being on the wrong side of that equation). They both spent time on UseNet when Raksha was active. (And, again, I am not defending her actions or attitudes. But, for fuck's sake, it has been over a decade since she left UseNet.) Trent Troop was also there, but I cannot speak to his character.

They're contributors, but they don't write the main articles/comics/character entries. In fact, to the best of my knowledge the only thing either of them contributes is Willis' crappy and ignorable "Recordicons" strip.

Dom
-notes the irony of Raksha of all being being shat on by fans who are in business for themselves.

Shockwave
-Is still not convince this is actually what happened.

[Onslaught Six]

There is absolutely no reason to use Nightracer in any context other than to comment on the figure's origins, which involve Raksha regardless of any opinions.

In other words, merely using Nightracer at all brings up the question of Raksha. It's like, you can't bring up the Joker in the Dark Knight series of movies without commenting on Heath Ledger's untimely death. You can't because the two things are so intrinsically linked together.

Using Nightracer to take potshots at Raksha ten years after the fact is low; but not doing so brings the question of why they would bother using Nightracer at all. (Answer: They wouldn't.)

[Dominic]

O6 nailed it on the Raksha question.

They could have just used Night Racer in the background or something, (as Night Racer is technically a G2 character). But, they went out of their way to write a character profile that makes Night Racer in to a "Raksha is a crazy bitch" joke.

know no such thing. Again, comics can include and referrence characters without it having anything to do with fans, either past or present.

The Milne/Willis thing is pretty obvious. What are the odds of an artist just getting a random suggestion from his friend to draw two characters that are closely associated with, (one a favourite of, the other created by), one of his most vocal critics in a book that critic was likely to be complaining about to begin with?

C'mon dude. Really? We are going to play a sophist game on this?

Fans yes, Hobby or property, no. Seriously, the hobby is not defined by the fandom.

But, certain hobbies, including comics/action figures, are closely associated with (and defined in the public eye) by their fandoms. When people think of "Star Trek" fans, they think,..., well you know what they think. That is why William Shatner's appearance on SNL all those years ago was so damaging in the eyes of so many fans, the joke had too much truth for many of them.

He's the editor so he definitely does have some influence on content control (as implied by the job title of editor). It might be minimal, but it's there nonetheless.

Savage is the publisher on paper. But, operationally (by all accounts), he gives editors/writers free reign. Savage's main concern is making sure that the convention happens and that toys are shipped. He could veto/mandate content. But, everything that I have heard (on and off the record) implies that he would be unlikely to do either.

They're contributors, but they don't write the main articles/comics/character entries. In fact, to the best of my knowledge the only thing either of them contributes is Willis' crappy and ignorable "Recordicons" strip.

Sipher has co-written volumes of stuff. He has written at least 2 convention comics, several text stories, more than one character profile.....

He has definitely written more than Willis.


Dom
-telling like it is.

[Shockwave]

Well apparently my brain works differently then because I have no problem separating those things from each other. I am perfectly capable or discussing the Joker in The Dark Knight without even referring to Heath Ledger. Yes, his death, while tragic, is a completely unrelated event to the movie. I can see why people would need to make a connection, but strictly speaking, while Ledger played the Joker, he himself was not the Joker. And this concept goes for Nightracer as well. Sure, the character may have been created by Raksha, but once a character is created, it can be taken different directions from there (especially if official sources are going to be producing new info on said character). And as for the Milne/Willis thing, I just find it hard to believe that the artist for the comic would give that much of a shit about a fan (even a vocal one) to do something like that deliberately.

Trekkies made their own bed and generally can lie in it (and I say this as a Trekkie myself). But, as far as I know, there is no standard for Transfans. And these situations are largely unknown outsitde of fandom itself.

[Onslaught Six]

Willis is, if nothing else, one of the more vocal and noticable TF fans, especially to those not in the fandom. He has regularly been acknowledged by Aaron Archer (former brand manager and now Big Time Hasbro IP Guy) and Derrick Wyatt (character designer for Animated who was VERY active online during the show's airing).

Raksha's involvement with Nightracer is the entire reason the character went unused in the last 20 years, the same way Ledger's Joker was not re-cast in DKR. For some characters, sure, who had a hand in creating them isn't very important. You say Batman to most people, and Bob Kane isn't the first name to come to mind. Say "Nightracer," and people want to know why you want to talk about Raksha.

[Shockwave]

especially to those not in the fandom.

I get what you're saying, but I'm still going to debate this particular point. I really don't think either Willis or Raksha is recognizable to anyone outside the fandom. Hell, I would actually argue that since Raksha hasn't been seen or heard from in over a decade that she isn't even to the fandom. And really, if not for these forums right here, I would have no fucking clue who either one of them is. And, I knew about Nightracer YEARS before I even knew what a Raksha was.

[Dominic]

Sinclair went on to FaceBook (along with Wittenrich, who wrote the profile) and said that it was not intended to be a jab at Raksha. So, that is that.

Willis is a published author. He made enough money on the first volume of his book to justify a second (and possibly third) book, as well as as second printing of the first.

Raksha is not well known. But, anybody in the fandom who knows about Night Racer probably knows about Raksha.


Dom
-the newsletter content is still shit though.