Hasbro Celebrates TRANSFORMERS 40th Anniversary with Products, Entertainment and More

40 YEARS. ONE LEGACY.

HASBRO CELEBRATES TRANSFORMERS 40th ANNIVERSARY WITH MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE PRODUCTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND MORE

For 40 years, the TRANSFORMERS franchise has continuously adapted and redefined itself, culminating in one legacy across generations through innovative products, captivating entertainment, inspiring licensed partnerships, and engaging publishing projects

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Skybound Comics at SDCC 2023

Thanks to Twitter user @articulatedpts for the summary of the Skybound Entertainment Energon Universe comic panel by Skybound Entertainment at San Diego Comic Con 2023.  Panelists include Joshua Williamson, Daniel Warren Johnson, Sean Mackiewicz, and Robert Kirkman.

Comments include the following:

  • Will Quintessons and Nebulons appear? “We’ll just have to see.” – Kirkman
  • There’s a lot of huge building blocks that Kirkman has put into place to build off that Johnson can work off.
  • What goes into picking the team? “These are my personal favorites” – Johnson
  • This is a starting point. Things will be expanding as time go on. Humans will play a large role in at least the first two arcs.
  • “I really wanted to start at the beginning” – Joshua Williamson on wanting to start the series before Joe and Cobra formed
  • How can GI Joe kill a Transformer? You’re gonna find out!
  • Autobots are trying to navigate an organic world for the first time.
  • Will Skybound reprint older comics (IDW, etc)? Definitely have plans to republish older comics, like Marvel and IDW
  • For Transformers, are we limited to 84-85 cast? Kirkman is going to make it his mission to get Bulkhead in the comics. Not limited to those years

Hasbro’s VP of Global Publishing on Future of Transformers and G.I. Joe Comic Books

During San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Michael Kelly, the vice president of global publishing at Hasbro, talked about the future of the Transformers license once it expires for IDW at the end of the year.

“Actually, we’re in a bit of a transition at the moment, as you might have heard,” Kelly tells Nerd Reactor. “So we’ve been with IDW on the comic book front, with Transformers and Joe, and that’s going to be ending at the end of this year. We’re not ready yet to announce who our new partner is, but we’ve already begun some creative discussions.”

With a new partner, Kelly is excited to see a new direction with Transformers and G.I. Joe in the comic book space.

“Certainly there’ll be plenty of things that they’ll be familiar with,” Kelly continued. “Because again, we’re not going to completely reinvent the brands, but I think what they’ll find is a fresh take on the storytelling and the characters. Probably develop a little bit more slowly to try and bring some new fans in as well as by starting out focusing on two or three main characters and really giving them a lot of depth and a lot of personalities and then building out the team of characters as we go along. So yeah, that’s usually what we do.”

Read the rest of the interview here.

IDW to Lose ‘G.I. Joe,’ ‘Transformers’ License at End of 2022

The rumors are true. IDW will lose the Transformers license at the end of the year.

IDW is losing the publishing licenses to G.I. Joe and Transformers, the San Diego-based comic book publisher has announced.

The moves comes in the wake of The Hollywood Reporter reporting in December that Skybound, the imprint run by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, was in talks to pick up the license from Hasbro, the Rhode Island-based toy and media corporation.

“At the end of 2022, IDW will bid a fond farewell to the publication of G.I. Joe and Transformers comic books and graphic novels,” the company said in a statement provided to THR. “We’re exceedingly proud of our stewardship of these titles – 17 years with the Robots in Disguise and 14 years with A Real American Hero – and thank the legion of fans for their unwavering support, month in and month out. We’re also eternally grateful to every one of the talented creators who helped bring these characters to four-color life through our comics.”

Follow the link to read the rest of the story. A number of Transformers projects remain to be published between now and the end of 2022.

New Interview with Erik Burnham, Beast Wars writer

Not all familiar faces

From the Dynamic Forces website comes a new intereview with Erik Burnham, writer on the upcoming IDW Beast Wars title, in which he discusses the 25th anniversary of Beast Wars, a look back at the television show, and a look forward at the new series. It will start at a familiar place, but expect changes going forward.

The Predacons steal an artifact called the Golden Disk, hop in a time travel-capable ship, and flee to work on their plans. They’re pursued by a Maximal ship, followed to another time, and after a little bit of a fight… crash on a primitive planet. This is how the show opens; this is also how the comic opens (more or less). We’re starting at a place familiar to the longtime fans, but every little change we make diverges from the original storyline.

Follow the link for the full interview. Beast Wars #1 is due in stores on February 3rd.

Preview for Transformers #27

Tfw2005.com has posted the Itunes preview for the upcoming Transformers #27, which takes the story back to the Winged Moon, adrift in space. This book is due in stores on January 20th.

War World: Moon”. Cybertron’s winged moon, untethered from the planet and adrift in space, is in peril-from its slow descent towards the solar system’s star to new visitors who have their own plans for what to do with the moon. Can the remaining scientists and engineers hold their own until back-up arrives from Cybertron?

Creator credits: Brian Ruckley (Author), Anna Malkova (Artist), Livio Ramondelli (Cover Artist), Red Powell (Cover Artist), Nicole Goux (Cover Artist)