Transformers Comic Book News

e-Hobby Magnificus Comic Teaser Image

Date: Wednesday, May 8th 2013 12:28pm EDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Toy News
Posted by: El Duque | Credit(s): e-Hobby

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e-Hobby has updated the product page for their upcoming Magnificus exclusive with a teaser from the comic he will come packed with. As you can see in the image mirrored below the comic features Ga'mede and what appears to be the never produced Gorilla Double Pretender.

Transformers: Regeneration One #91 Review

Date: Tuesday, May 7th 2013 1:15pm EDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW Publishing, Va'al

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NOTE: This issue may or may not be available this week. IDW has it scheduled for this Wednesday, but most distributors list the next as its release date. Here at Seibertron.com we receive our information directly from IDW, and follow their release guidelines, which is why the review is available today.


Synopsis

THINGS FALL APART! The very fabric of the TRANSFORMERS’ universe begins to unravel, as huge and ancient cosmic forces take note of CYBERTRON’s (and the CYBERTRONIANS’) descent into chaos and anarchy. As HOT ROD struggles to hold things together, still reeling from his own game-changing wake-up call, competing destructive forces inch closer to a cataclysmic confrontation. The end begins here.



Story

So, Scorponok's gone, Grimlock with him, Megatron's gone, Galvatron's back, Optimus is on Earth worried. Hot Rod is on Cybertron, worried. A lot of bots are also worried, about Hot Rod and Cybertron, but don't worry, there's still ten issues to go.



As usual, there are several plotlines running through, and Hot Rod's this time is the major one: he has to deal with the revelations from the basement, the new angry Cybertronian population, who may not be Decepticons any longer, but have apparently tapped into other emotions. And that is bad (?).



At the same time, Optimus is concerned about having seen Galvatron flying off towards Cybertron (because, other than Nebulos, there are no other planets in the universe apparently), but can't really do much. And elsewhere Soundwave and Bludgeon are up to no good, preparing the usual ultimate machines of final destruction



You may have noticed my tone so far, and I'm not too impressed. It all feels like a big recap, a lot of exposition and setting up what is going to happen. And admittedly, it looks like it's going to be big. Especially with the final pages, which are a massive kick. More about that below.

Art

Wildman and Baskerville work their usual stuff, and there's nothing too off this time, either. Hot Rod is understandably troubled, and his expressions show it perfectly. There are some nice parallels between Bludgeon and Galvatron, and some of the flashbacks with Cybertron are stunningly detailed.



All is made even more pleasing to the eye by Bove's magic colours, once again helped out by Stayte. There's a lot of conversations happening in space and in open spaces, and the skies are gorgeous. Mowry on letters does a good job as always, but nothing particularly exciting.



Overall, this issue looks amazing. I have no problems with the artistic team at all. Some of the wider, planetary shots are excellent, the colouring is brilliant, Bludgeon's face is still pretty cool and the final pages are --not going to spoil it, but they're good.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

As I've said above, the whole issue doesn't do that much to me. It's not bad, at all, it just really feels like a giant recap of all that has happened so far in both the Marvel run(s) and ReGeneration One. BUT. There are so many references to Furman's previous work, that I could not stop giggling.



And the final reveals are just.. Ok, I'll admit it. I squealed with delight. The visual references, the in-story references, the convoluted plot, it's an all-round Furman-fest. I am very intrigued at where this will end up going, although it looks like there'll be a lot of planetary exploding. But then it'll all be over-- finished.

Transformers: Regeneration One #91 Preview

Date: Friday, May 3rd 2013 1:11pm EDT
Category: Comic Book News
Posted by: El Duque | Credit(s): IDW Publishing

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Our friends at IDW Publishing have sent over their preview for next week's Transformers: Regeneration One #91. This issue will be available for purchase and download next Wednesday, but you can enjoy the preview below right now!

Transformers Regeneration One #91
Simon Furman (w) • Andrew Wildman (a) • Wildman, Guido Guidi (c)
THINGS FALL APART! The very fabric of the TRANSFORMERS’ universe begins to unravel, as huge and ancient cosmic forces take note of CYBERTRON’s (and the CYBERTRONIANS’) descent into chaos and anarchy. As HOT ROD struggles to hold things together, still reeling from his own game-changing wake-up call, competing destructive forces inch closer to a cataclysmic confrontation. The end begins here.
*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio

FC • 32 pages • $3.99


Variant Covers:
Geoff Senior variant cover!

Bullet points:
If CYBERTRON falls—can the universe be far behind?
Continuing the story of the original 1980s TRANSFORMERS comic book series!
Non-stop action in the Furman/Wildman manner!

BotCon 2013 Artist Alley Announcement: Livio Ramondelli and Casey Coller

Date: Thursday, May 2nd 2013 5:00pm EDT
Categories: Collector's Club News, Comic Book News, Event News, People News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): BotCon.com

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The BotCon site has been updated, revealing the first two names for the Artist Alley: Livio Ramondelli and Casey Coller! Check out their bio notes below.

Today we kick off our Artist Alley announcements, with the first being that BotCon 2013 will in fact feature its largest Artist Alley ever! With so many amazing artists scheduled to attend BotCon 2013, this is one show you will not want to miss! And with that, we are thrilled to announce two of the artists attending BotCon In San Diego this June: Livio Ramondelli and Casey Coller!

LIVIO RAMONDELLI is the artist of various Transformers projects for IDW Publishing. His credits include Autocracy, Monstrosity, Chaos, Robots in Disguise and various covers for Spotlights and other series. He will also be doing upcoming Star Wars covers for Dark Horse Comics. He previously worked as a concept artist for DC Universe Online at WildStorm Productions.

CASEY COLLER is a professional illustrator best known for his work on various Transformers comic books from IDW Publishing. He's done covers and/or interior art for various titles, including: Transformers: Ironhide, All Hail Megatron, Robots in Disguise, Spotlights Drift, Blurr and Cliffjumper, More Than Meets The Eye, Transformers Ongoing, and Heart of Darkness. He has also done artwork for Hasbro, the Transformers Collector's Club Magazine and BotCon. Casey lives in Western Massachusetts with his wife Grace, daughter Rose, as well as a cat, two guinea pigs and four chickens.

Death's Head is Back, Full-Size, in Marvel Comics IRON MAN #9

Date: Thursday, May 2nd 2013 11:35am EDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Rumors, Toy News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Va'al, Burn, Marvel NOW!

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Do you remember Death's Head? The 30-foot tall robotic bounty hunter was created by Transformers godfather Simon Furman during his run in the Marvel UK series, and Geoff Senior's artistic touch. He was soon promoted to more than a one-off character and even got his own series in the late 80s, though reduced to a human-sized robot.

With Furman's blessing, writer Kieron Gillen brought the multi-dimensional mercenary back to Marvel comics, although always as a secondary character. Well, after showing up in the background of Marvel comics for the past year, Death's Head makes his full-on return in Gillen and Dale Eaglesham's latest Iron Man comic, issue 9, and he's in his full size!

Back in 2012, Seibertron.com reported from the Toy Fair that a new Marvel Universe figure of Death's Head had been announced by Hasbro - is this a good sign for its release?



Leave your opinion and discuss this below!

Transformers Spotlight: Hoist - Creator Commentary

Date: Wednesday, May 1st 2013 2:44pm EDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Interviews, People News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Transformers Facebook, James Roberts

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Like every comic book Wednesday, the Official Transformers Facebook page has interviewed one of the creators of this week's IDW release: Spotlight: Hoist. We've mirrored both the interview with writer James Roberts and the images from the first five pages below!

TRANSFORMERS SPOTLIGHT: HOIST rises to the top of this week’s new comic book releases, courtesy IDW Publishing and Hasbro! Written by TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE scribe James Roberts—and set firmly in that series’ timeline—and drawn by rising TRANSFORMERS superstar Agustin Padilla (TRANSFORMERS PRIME: RAGE OF THE DINOBOTS and TF:MTMTE #16), this one-shot comic book story delves into the personality of one of the longest-running TRANSFORMERS characters. We sat down with writer James Roberts to talk about the issue—available today at comic book stores everywhere, and at https://transformers.comixology.com/ or via the Comixology and iBooks apps on your computer or mobile device!

PAGE 1: What was it that stood out about Hoist as a character that would allow you to tell this story about him and all that he is?

JAMES ROBERTS: Truthfully? What stood out for me, going back and re-reading previous stories that he’s been in (and there aren’t many, and I’m afraid I didn’t seek out the G1 TV episodes), is that nothing much stands out! He’s the archetypal “background ’bot”–competent, pleasant, hardworking, straightforward. But that’s not a bad thing when you’re settling down to write a SPOTLIGHT about someone. It gives you more of a canvas. Having said that, I sort of made his vanilla-ness a plot point in itself. I deliberately put him with three characters (excluding Bob [the Insecticon] for a moment–sorry, Bob) who are larger-than-life, and let the story play out from there. If I’ve done by job properly, Hoist will be a more fully-rounded character by Page 22.

PAGE 2: How was the collaborative process for you with artist Agustin Padilla? Was there a lot of give and take on how the pages turned out?

JAMES ROBERTS: This was the first time I’d worked with Agustin (we collaborated again on MTMTE #16), and while he and I would communicate very little (English is his second language and he works with—I don’t know what the word would be? An intermediary?—who passes his pages back and forth.

Anyway, Agustin would submit the rough page breakdowns and then respond to any feedback, and in the art itself he’d make choices that improve on how I saw things play out in my head. I love what he’s done—the art has a real Geoff Senior vibe about it—all those heavy blacks, all those close ups, all that weight—so I was a happy little scribbler.

And the first three pages of this SPOTLIGHT are uncharted territory for me: pages without dialog. But Agustin makes them look so beautiful and kinetic and alive (that shot of Hoist in midair on Page 1!)… it’s enough to make me wonder why I don’t go for the silent treatment more often.

Special mention, also, to Joana Lafuente’s scrumptious color work. Together, Agustin and Joana create pages that invite close scrutiny and then slap you in the face—in a good way.

PAGE 3: This issue is set between issues of TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEET THE EYE. Is it hard to find a gap for the story to slot seamlessly into?

JAMES ROBERTS: So far, there are two big gaps in MTMTE where you can squeeze any number of “lost” stories: the gap between issues #5 and #6, which is where the Hoist and Trailcutter SPOTLIGHTS take place, and the gap between issues #12 and #13. So for any fanfic writers out there: go fill those gaps! I didn’t deliberately create those gaps, incidentally, but I’m glad they exist.

PAGE 4: Swerve and Sunstreaker are revealed inside of Hoist’s craft. Sunstreaker hasn’t had a lot of page time in MTMTE—why bring him along for this trip with Swerve and Hoist?

JAMES ROBERTS: I think you’ve answered your own question! The fact that Sunstreaker doesn’t get much page time was a big reason for making him one of the crew. And I know that he has a lot of fans out there, and people had been clamoring to see more of him, and Bob, so I thought that doing this would people happy. Same with Perceptor, to be honest. I almost put Hound in there too, but it would have been too crowded. I do want to write a little off-shoot story featuring the likes of Hound, Huffer, Gears and so on—all the classic G1 characters that we only see in the background of MTMTE. Maybe one day.

PAGE 5: This comic is going to be included with a toy—do you feel a sense or pride this could be someone’s introduction to Transformers through your work? What would the boy inside you say?

JAMES ROBERTS: The fact that this will be someone’s first TF comic—and maybe their first introduction to any TF continuity—was a little daunting. I wanted to write something that would appeal to the uninitiated and to regular readers. I didn’t want the former to feel left out or the latter to feel they were reading something that didn’t complement the style of story they’re used to.

Of course, my most fervent wish is that a boy or girl buys Hoist, reads the comic, and dives headlong into the IDW books, old and new. Hoist as an entry point into Everything Else. I like that!

Sneak Peek - Transformers: ReGeneration One #91

Date: Wednesday, May 1st 2013 12:15pm EDT
Category: Comic Book News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): iTunes Bookstore

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And we're back to iTunes' teeny tiny screenshots, this time for next week's ReGeneration One #91! Images mirrored below, and we can at least figure out which characters show upAnd we're back to iTunes' teeny tiny screenshots, this time for next week's ReGeneration One #91! Images mirrored below, and we can at least figure out which characters show up.
UPDATE: Added better sized and resolution images.

THINGS FALL APART! The very fabric of the TRANSFORMERS’ universe begins to unravel, as huge and ancient cosmic forces take note of CYBERTRON’s (and the CYBERTRONIANS’) descent into chaos and anarchy. As HOT ROD struggles to hold things together, still reeling from his own game-changing wake-up call, competing destructive forces inch closer to a cataclysmic confrontation. The end begins here.

Sneak Peek - Transformers: Robots in Disguise #17

Date: Wednesday, May 1st 2013 5:23am EDT
Category: Comic Book News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): iTunes Bookstore

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As per usual, the iTunes Bookstore has uploaded a three-page preview of the upcoming Robots in Disguise issue 17! The images, a little larger than usual, are mirrored below, and show a Shockwave-tastic beginning to the story: Dark Cybertron - Prelude.

SHOCKWAVES! The fate of Cybertron is sealed—but what is the DECEPTICON scientist called SHOCKWAVE planning? After the stunning revelations in MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE, learn the origin of the one-eyed, gun-handed master of machinations… and the countdown begins for the biggest TRANSFORMERS event in comic book history.

Transformers Spotlight: Hoist Review

Date: Tuesday, April 30th 2013 8:44am EDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): IDW Publishing, Va'al

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With this issue, the Spotlight series seems to have concluded as far as we know. So we decided to go back and make sure all the issues have been reviewed! Read the ones we've already covered: Orion Pax, Megatron and Trailcutter. Check again later this week for Thundercracker and Bumblebee.
But now, on with what you came for – Spotlight: Hoist!

Synopsis

FACE OFF! HOIST has always managed to fade into the background: until now. Trapped on an alien planet with a narcissist, half a scientist and a creature that may or may not turn into a catapult, the Lost Light's mild-mannered maintenance engineer must confront the five most dangerous DECEPTICONS ever.



Story

In quite the departure from the usual Roberts style, the issue opens with some very 'silent' pages. But it works, it's a nice action scene, it feels right, and Hoist gets to explain what is going on pretty soon. And we get to see Sunstreaker, Swerve, Perceptor and Bob (!).



We get to see a lot of them, actually. Perceptor is unexpected, if anything, and admittedly, doesn't do much except provide plot-advancement and dialogue. Unsurprisingly, it's Swerve who provides the social glue between the shipmates. And we get another glimpse into his own personal story, which really isn't what he makes it out to be.



Sunstreaker (and Bob!) is a nice return, and Roberts looks at some of his threads left over from previous series, including Bob (!). The main character, Hoist, does not have that much more page time, but still goes through a lot, especially towards the end. He's resourceful, quick, clever and just a really nice guy, actually.



The twists in this story are nice, but a little predictable to the attentive reader. Most of the plot can be figured out from the very first page if you look at it carefully. Still, Roberts makes a nice bottle episode out of it, and does nice things with the characters. Shame about the wasted Metrotitan plot.

Art

Agustin Padilla, of Rage of the Dinobots fame, provides the artwork, and does a really nice job with it! The scenery looks brilliant, and Swerve and Hoist are really good; Sunstreaker is a different take on the character and I can't disagree with artistic licence. But where is Perceptor's scope-eye? Hm? Hm?



Joana Lafuente is absolutely astonishing on colours. Seriously, this thing just looks gorgeous. The characters' eyes are constanstly glowing, and not in a tacky way, whereas the softer tones really show off the artwork and help convey the loneliness of the fallen ship and its crew.



Shawn Lee on letters does some nice stuff too, as there's a lot of silence to fill in, and quite a bit of anguish as well. Overall, a better Padilla result than More Than Meets the Eye 16, I believe, with pencils and inks done by the same artist, and an excellent team altogether! The visual storytelling is absolutely amazing, too.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

I do have some minor gripes about this issue, especially in terms of linking it to the Metrotitan plot (even less than Spotlight: Bumblebee!). And some of the art for the characters' faces leaves me a bit unsure. But overall, this is a very nice, very clean, spot-on issue. And it has two of my new favourite jokes about the IDW series.



For various reasons, I am placing this below Spotlight: Trailcutter and on par with Spotlight: Orion Pax. They are very very different comics, with different agendas and entirely different tones. But the character development in this one is excellent, and it's really self contained, and it just works. But it could have done much much more.

Livio Ramondelli Interview - Monstrosity and Robots in Disguise

Date: Monday, April 29th 2013 7:00am EDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Interviews, People News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): ultramagnus1 from IDW Boards

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One of the users over on the IDW discussion boards has been able to chat to Transformers artist Livio Ramondelli. They talked mostly about the current digital-first Monstrosity series, sequel to Autocracy, but there are some tidbits about the upcoming Robots in Disguise issue 17 too!

You can read the whole interview here. Warning: there are some minor spoilers about both series!

We are in the middle of Monstrosity. For those unfamilar with the story what's the basic premise of it?

Monstrosity deals with a few parallel stories running and eventually colliding into one another. Most centrally, you have Optimus Prime attempting to unify a very divided world. You have Megatron being betrayed and marooned on a dangerous world and seeking to reclaim his throne. You have the Dinobots on the run, attempting to leave the planet under mysterious reasons. And lastly, you have the self proclaimed Decepticon leader Scorponok proving to be a very dangerous and unpredictable threat to all the other factions.

[...]

How far into the series are you? Do you know how it ends?

I'd prefer not to say how far I'm at exactly, except to say I'm on the last 4 issues of it. And yep, I've known how it ended since before we even started it. Flint, Chris and I plotted it all out in pretty good detail when Autocracy finished.

You are involved with an upcoming RiD issue involving Shockwave. Do you enjoy drawing him?

Yeah, Shockwave is one of my absolute favorites to draw. And RID 17 has Shockwave on essentially every single page (in one form or another!), so it's been a real blast.