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

Generation 1 (G1) Toys Unleashed for Transformers 40th Anniversary

The Transformers 40th Anniversary is coming in 2024, and Hasbro has revealed the Generation 1 (G1) toys will be unleashed to their licensing partners. The company will be giving them 3D model files of the classic action figures to reissue original licensed products. The initiative, driven by original artwork, will be focused on classic and reimagined products. Casey Collins, President of Licensed Consumer Products at Hasbro, shared the following with Toy Book recently:

We will start the year by celebrating the landmark 40th anniversary of Transformers by providing our licensees with 3D files of the original G1 toys for the first time ever,” Collins says. “With this, our partners will be able to reissue original licensed products and reimagined innovations leveraging the authentic vintage artwork from the G1 toy line and Marvel comics. ​Pulling it all together, we’re digitally releasing the ‘80s animated TV series soundtrack with an exciting bonus track that taps into nostalgia and re-creates the excitement, tone, and pop culture moments of 1984.

See the rest of the story here, and further information at Toybook.com.

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.