TF Views

I couldn't help myself, even though I've got a whole day of stuff to do I couldn't get this article out of my head, so I got up early and turned the notes into sentences that became an article, just for you guys:

http://www.tfviews.com/news/main/1929

Lots of great stuff, and the 3rd-to-last question was something I asked of Barber in person on Saturday for our own Dominic, and Barber lit up when he gave me a similar answer before asking me to ask the question again during the panel, which I did. As you can see, this is something Barber and Roberts had a lot to say about, it was the longest answer given on the dais.

Speaking of conversation I had with Barber in person on Saturday, I got him to sign the FCBD TF v GI Joe book, and he asked me if I liked it, to which I honestly told him "no" before going on to discuss it with him briefly, and he suggested I hang in there for issue 2 - something else he ends up mentioning during the panel a day later. He's a really cool comics guy and I look forward to having another discussion with him at SDCC next month, hopefully I'll also get to talk with Roberts and Scott (they were at their own booths signing autographs and doing paid stuff, I didn't want to bother them but I did tip my hat to both - literally).

Lots of great stuff, and the 3rd-to-last question was something I asked of Barber in person on Saturday for our own Dominic, and Barber lit up when he gave me a similar answer before asking me to ask the question again during the panel, which I did.

Barber lit up huh? Surprised that Brian Savage allowed that sort of thing.

Speaking of conversation I had with Barber in person on Saturday, I got him to sign the FCBD TF v GI Joe book, and he asked me if I liked it, to which I honestly told him "no" before going on to discuss it with him briefly, and he suggested I hang in there for issue 2 - something else he ends up mentioning during the panel a day later.

Not sure how that book can get better unless it is some kind of longitudinal riff, and that it will eventually touch on every phase of the two properties. (And, even then, it can only be so good.)

MTMTE #30 concludes the trilogy of Megatron’s trial, so #31 first page shows the star of the episode, Drift, and this is a “bottle episode” in TV lingo, it’s set in one place in real time page to page. Issue 33 shows thought-to-be-dead Rewind, all beat up but looking alive.

I am a little more willing to give a pass on TFs coming back because the precedent was deliberately set as early as Marvel issue 3. But, execution still matters. Still, I will give this a shot.

(Aside: If Megatron's trial is a trilogy, I am guessing that "Dawn of the Autobots" will be compiled together before RiD and MtMtE start being compiled again.)

The titular character might be behind bars and blood.

Wut now?

Primacy is a new digital-first series.....

Sounds like an easy skip. Dille and co just do not impress. Ramondelli's art is good. (Seriously, I would buy an art book of his city and battle-scapes.) But, I gave "Autocracy" a shot, and it was barely more than anemic.

TF: Punishment, available now, is an original...

Creative team?

I am likely going to skip this (down with digital).

Drift: Empire of Stone, written by Shane McCarthy and art by Guido Guidi

I am in.

Are movie comics not happening anymore? Probably the case, the mainline books are doing really well, they’re having a great time doing them, makes more sense to invest more time into these books than the movie.

Scuttlebutt has it that IDW was also tired of constantly adjusting to the movie's shifting and dominating tone/direction. ("Alliance" is a good example of the problems that IDW had, as an entire 4 issue series was spent moving pieces around to keep things consistent.)

How did if feel to beat out Batman in digital sales that one day (digital sales on iTunes for Windblade #1 outsold Batman)? “I’m going to have it written on my tombstone” – Scott

Ah, the sweet scent of legitimacy. (Joking aside, kudos to Stone for beating the Bat.)

More TF crossovers comics? Yes, more, an announcement will be fairly soon.

*cringe*

Why wasn’t TF/Justice League done after such amazing initial art? Roundabout way it leads to DC Comics, in the original talks they flew them out to Rhode Island and sat in with the Hasbro brand team and designers. Times weren’t right for things to fit together. It was really striking and cool, but DC was going through their New 52 shifts, not everything works out.

IDW also seems to have a good relationship with Marvel. Might not want to jeapordize that.

We will see some old human friends soon. RID #33 and 34 are stand-alone issues. #33 is a Wheeljack issue, Sarah Stone on art. #34 is another solo, more backstory of Galvatron the Barbarian. #35 old human friends but not saying which, just that they “are aware of Verity”.

Verity needs to be about 30 or so at this point.

I am hoping for Spike.

Wheeljack goes in the same category as Rewind. (I will assume that both were planned raisings though.)

Would be great to have a place to try out new people on a low-risk thing that doesn’t derail a whole series, so it is something they’re toying with, but there’s also a whole world of readers who are scared of anthologies.

I can see both sides of this. There are old series that could be drawn on, or single use ideas that would not fit with the ongoing books. But, the "hit and miss" nature of an anthology series is a problem. DC gave it an honest try with "Legends of the Dark Knight". And, Marvel had a similarly organized "Daredevil" book. But, readers are understandably reluctant to sign on for a series that is going to vary in tone and content.

Does Simon Furman have a future with IDW? He doesn’t NOT have a future, there’s not any ill will or a split up. There’s nothing right away but they wouldn’t rule that out in the future.

After "Re-Generation One", I would give a Furman book a chance.

Roberts added that he’d say it’s a different universe and billions didn’t die on this planet, so it’s also a comic time thing where that universe’s Occupy could have taken place in a different era. Several issues of MTMTE take place in a very short time and they worked out that it wouldn’t doesn’t line up with RID without “comic book timing”, so it’s fun to play with the idea, sorta Marvel time, fun to work with since TF characters don’t age.

Yay, sloppy comic book time.

"We moved Occupy back three years because......" Yeah, why exactly? Why include Occupy at all?

Dominic wrote:

Speaking of conversation I had with Barber in person on Saturday, I got him to sign the FCBD TF v GI Joe book, and he asked me if I liked it, to which I honestly told him "no" before going on to discuss it with him briefly, and he suggested I hang in there for issue 2 - something else he ends up mentioning during the panel a day later.

Not sure how that book can get better unless it is some kind of longitudinal riff, and that it will eventually touch on every phase of the two properties. (And, even then, it can only be so good.)

Barber has earned my trust enough to extend out a couple more issues, and it wasn't an unconditional "it's going to get better" statement, just that there is a focus shift which I may appreciate.

MTMTE #30 concludes the trilogy of Megatron’s trial, so #31 first page shows the star of the episode, Drift, and this is a “bottle episode” in TV lingo, it’s set in one place in real time page to page. Issue 33 shows thought-to-be-dead Rewind, all beat up but looking alive.

I am a little more willing to give a pass on TFs coming back because the precedent was deliberately set as early as Marvel issue 3. But, execution still matters. Still, I will give this a shot.

Really? You were losing your shit not too long ago on this matter.

The titular character might be behind bars and blood.

Wut now?

Windblade battered and jailed, I believe was the thrust of her statement.

Primacy is a new digital-first series.....

Sounds like an easy skip. Dille and co just do not impress. Ramondelli's art is good. (Seriously, I would buy an art book of his city and battle-scapes.) But, I gave "Autocracy" a shot, and it was barely more than anemic.

I've avoided the series so far.

TF: Punishment, available now, is an original...

Creative team?

I am likely going to skip this (down with digital).

He didn't mention at the time, but the first issue is Barber and Ramondelli. I'll let you know if it's worth picking up when it hits print once I'm done with the 5th issue.

Drift: Empire of Stone, written by Shane McCarthy and art by Guido Guidi

I am in.

HA! Finally news someone can use.

Why wasn’t TF/Justice League done after such amazing initial art? Roundabout way it leads to DC Comics, in the original talks they flew them out to Rhode Island and sat in with the Hasbro brand team and designers. Times weren’t right for things to fit together. It was really striking and cool, but DC was going through their New 52 shifts, not everything works out.

IDW also seems to have a good relationship with Marvel. Might not want to jeapordize that.

This was nearly a done deal, so I doubt that was really a factor.

I can see both sides of this. There are old series that could be drawn on, or single use ideas that would not fit with the ongoing books. But, the "hit and miss" nature of an anthology series is a problem. DC gave it an honest try with "Legends of the Dark Knight". And, Marvel had a similarly organized "Daredevil" book. But, readers are understandably reluctant to sign on for a series that is going to vary in tone and content.

I think a quarterly anthology with 4 stories would be acceptable, or perhaps an annual with even more. Something you don't have to stick with month to month.

Does Simon Furman have a future with IDW? He doesn’t NOT have a future, there’s not any ill will or a split up. There’s nothing right away but they wouldn’t rule that out in the future.

After "Re-Generation One", I would give a Furman book a chance.

Roberts added that he’d say it’s a different universe and billions didn’t die on this planet, so it’s also a comic time thing where that universe’s Occupy could have taken place in a different era. Several issues of MTMTE take place in a very short time and they worked out that it wouldn’t doesn’t line up with RID without “comic book timing”, so it’s fun to play with the idea, sorta Marvel time, fun to work with since TF characters don’t age.

Yay, sloppy comic book time.

"We moved Occupy back three years because......" Yeah, why exactly? Why include Occupy at all?[/quote]So you're going to ignore the fact that the current books take place in 2016 just because he threw out the point that not everything happens at the same time in fiction, that there can be some level of artistic license? I can see several fictional uses for Occupy taking place during AHM, not the least of which is the fact that the Occupy movement would be an ironic counterpoint to the Decepticons occupying New York City.

Barber has earned my trust enough to extend out a couple more issues, and it wasn't an unconditional "it's going to get better" statement, just that there is a focus shift which I may appreciate.

He might have thought you were making the typical "not enuff transfowmers" complaint. The chance of focus would be "showing more Transformers".

Really? You were losing your shit not too long ago on this matter.

It is a general peeve of mine in comics.

Wheeljack I am especially curious about, because Wheeljack "looked dead", and the context of him getting his head shot off would have implied a more permanent death. (I would also like for all of the Wreckers who died to stay killified.)

He didn't mention at the time, but the first issue is Barber and Ramondelli. I'll let you know if it's worth picking up when it hits print once I'm done with the 5th issue.

Thanks for taking the lead on this. (You read it so I might not have.)

I think a quarterly anthology with 4 stories would be acceptable, or perhaps an annual with even more. Something you don't have to stick with month to month.

Quarterly books, even for top flight properties, typically fail.

And, a quarterly book is going to be about twice as expensive as a regular book (to hold the pages). That is a greater single purchase price for something of unpredictable quality.

So you're going to ignore the fact that the current books take place in 2016 just because he threw out the point that not everything happens at the same time in fiction, that there can be some level of artistic license? I can see several fictional uses for Occupy taking place during AHM, not the least of which is the fact that the Occupy movement would be an ironic counterpoint to the Decepticons occupying New York City.

There are levels of artistic license. Moving a real event around...especially in a book like TF which is hardly grounded (and arguably less in need of being tied to a real event) is.....iffy.

"Ironic counterpoint" is a very thin reason to do that. (In some cases, it is best to throw an idea away if it cannot be done well.)

Dominic wrote:

Barber has earned my trust enough to extend out a couple more issues, and it wasn't an unconditional "it's going to get better" statement, just that there is a focus shift which I may appreciate.

He might have thought you were making the typical "not enuff transfowmers" complaint. The chance of focus would be "showing more Transformers".

To a degree, that is definitely a point he was making, you called that right, but we did get a little deeper than that. The gimmicks and tricks and over-the-top hipsterness ain't going away of course.

He didn't mention at the time, but the first issue is Barber and Ramondelli. I'll let you know if it's worth picking up when it hits print once I'm done with the 5th issue.

Thanks for taking the lead on this. (You read it so I might not have.)

Sure thing. I just finished it and posted my thoughts in another thread, it's all the same team because it's only 2 issues-worth of pages, 44 total. You'll almost certainly end up buying the print version, since it's doing what RID currently ain't.

I think a quarterly anthology with 4 stories would be acceptable, or perhaps an annual with even more. Something you don't have to stick with month to month.

Quarterly books, even for top flight properties, typically fail.

And, a quarterly book is going to be about twice as expensive as a regular book (to hold the pages). That is a greater single purchase price for something of unpredictable quality.

The models are currently changing, if you put a Barber/Roberts story in, a quarterly TF book will sell no matter what. But you could go digital and bi-weekly too, that's starting to work. I don't think a regular monthly title will work for this license right now, but a special would.

So you're going to ignore the fact that the current books take place in 2016 just because he threw out the point that not everything happens at the same time in fiction, that there can be some level of artistic license? I can see several fictional uses for Occupy taking place during AHM, not the least of which is the fact that the Occupy movement would be an ironic counterpoint to the Decepticons occupying New York City.

There are levels of artistic license. Moving a real event around...especially in a book like TF which is hardly grounded (and arguably less in need of being tied to a real event) is.....iffy.

"Ironic counterpoint" is a very thin reason to do that. (In some cases, it is best to throw an idea away if it cannot be done well.)

You're saying you can't see a world where the economic collapse happened a bit earlier and the people got lathered up slightly more quickly? It's not like moving the atomic bomb to 1942, I think you are obsessing in that way that only comic book guys do, refusing to see the the trees in the forest over a single tree stump.

I like the counterpoint to the Occupy movement being the alien boot of AHM.