Transformers News

IDW Solicitations for October

Date: Wednesday, July 18th 2007 6:21pm EDT
Category: Comic Book News
Posted by: Hotrod | Credit(s): clrobe and Comics Continuum

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Our own clrobe as informed us that IDW solicitations for October have been released at Comics Continuum. Here is the list of Transformers titles that will be coming out in September:

TRANSFORMERS: BEAST WARS: THE ASCENDING #3

Written by Simon Furman, art by Don Figueroa, covers by Figueroa and Nick Roche.

With the crisis on Cybertron escalating to fever pitch, it falls to The Pack and the earthbound Maximals and Predacons to prevent its descent into chaos and, ultimately, its utter destruction. Too bad then that Razorbeast, now infected with the Angolmois corruption, is Hell-bent on killing them all! The action explodes on two worlds as "the nemesis" makes his presence felt... in world-shattering style.

THE TRANSFORMERS: BEAST WARS: SOURCEBOOK #2

Written and art by Simon Furman and Ben Yee, art by various, cover by Don Figueroa.

An all-encompassing, unifying resource book highlighting the characters, worlds and technology from all generations and incarnations of Beast Wars with the second volume of this informative collection. From Air Hammer to Wolfang and beyond, and featuring all-new art from a host of the greatest Transformers artists like Don Figueroa, Robby Musso, Nick Roche, Rob Ruffolo, and many more, this is the series that explains everything you need to know about the world of the Beast Wars!


THE TRANSFORMERS: UK HITS: DINOBOTS #2

Written by Simon Furman, art by Will Simpson, cover by Nick Roche.

The Dinobot hunt begins here! The Dinobots are unleashed and out of control. Optimus Prime must rally the Autobots in order contain the likes of Grimlock, Swoop, Slag, Snarl and Sludge before it is too late and innocent lives are endangered. Nick Roche once again provides an all-new cover re-creating a classic scene from the issue!


THE TRANSFORMERS: DEVASTATION #2

Written by Simon Furman, art by E.J. Su, covers by Su and Nick Roche.

Hold on tight and strap yourself in. For the beleaguered Earthbound Autobot Tactical Response Unit, the ride is about to get bumpy. Big time! With Decepticon super-weapon Sixshot meting out the punishment, they're all looking distinctly like an endangered species. And it's not much better for Hot Rod and Wheeljack... who must face the Machination's Headmasters! Seriously.


THE TRANSFORMERS MAGAZINE #3

Written by Simon Furman and Chris Sarracini, art by José Delbo, Don Figueroa and James Raiz, cover by Robby Musso.

Continuing with three tales that span The Transformers 20-plus year reign, this special full-color, 8-1/2" x 11" magazine format collection contains an early Marvel story (issue #56, "Back From The Dead"), the continuing Dreamwave run (Armada #3), and the latest contribution to Transformers lore from IDW (Stormbringer #3). Artist Robby Musso provides a new cover.


THE TRANSFORMERS PREMIERE EDITION, VOL. 1 HC

Written by Simon Furman, art by E.J. Su, Don Figueroa, Nick Roche, MD Bright, Rob Ruffolo and Robby Musso and a cover by Figueroa.

To get the full story to date of the Transformers' "IDW-verse," look no further than The Transformers: Premiere Edition. At just over 500 pages of non-stop Œbot action, if you only buy one Transformers book ever, this is the one you need! Journey from Cybertron to Earth and back as the Transformers' legendary war spans the galaxy in a quest to return peace to their home planet, and restore harmony between all mechanoids. But while the noble Autobots seek their freedom, the Decepticons await with treacherous plans of their own. Including Infiltration, Stormbringer, a collection of Spotlights (Shockwave, Nightbeat, Hot Rod, Sixshot, Ultra Magnus), and the latest chapter, Escalation. Each book comes with a tip-in plate signed by Furman, Su and Figueroa.

For the rest of IDW's listings check out Comics Continuum. To keep up with all the Transformers comics news check out the Seibertron.com Comics Section.

BOTCON: LIVE FROM HASBRO'S SUNDAY PANEL

Date: Sunday, July 1st 2007 10:30am EDT
Categories: Event News, Toy News
Posted by: Seibertron

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I WILL BE UPDATING THIS THREAD THROUGHOUT THEIR PRESENTATION. PLEASE KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR MORE INFORMATION

WE COULDN'T TAKE PICS OF THEIR PRESENTATION.

Transformers Animated

ALLSPARK POWER
Incinerator - Osprey, Voyager
Landmine - Sector Seven looking buggy
Stockade - Sector Seven GMC Envoy, Decepticon
Desert Attack Brawl (Leader Class) with X-ed out Autobot lgos
Nightwatch Prime
New Robot Heroes - Galvatron, BW Megatron, BW Cheetor

Transformers Animated stuff
------------------------------
Going to give us a sneak peak
Better timeslot for TV show than with Energon and Cybertron
Hasbro thinks that we shouldn't be worrying about things as much as we are.
Worked very closely with Cartoon Network.
People working on cartoon are big fans ... I got the impression that they are moreso than the folks at Hasbro
Wanted to diversify, freshen things up.
It's our new Cartoon series for 2008
Production has been brought back to US

Writing Style
------------------------
Return to character development and story telling similar to BW.
Action driven show - very fluid.
Episodic but ties into an overall Seasonal Arc
Smaller cast of Bots with signifciant character development for each individual character.
Action driven with a dose of Humor.
Major fcosu on personality and abilities
Rich action sequences
Familiar and New characters
Human super-villains and Decepticon villains.

Artistic Style
----------------------------
Highly stylized and fluid animation
More energetic and expressive bots.
Major focus on personality and abilities
Grow from Mechanical to Emotive designs
Familiar and New characters
Realistic and Stylized transformations.
1 transformation is tasmanian devil styled.
Will not be anime cut transformations.
You will really see them transform


Summary
----------------------

Set on Earth in the near future in Detroit, the alien Transformers are thrust into a world populated by humans and automatons. As visitors to Earth, the Transformers -- Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Prowl, Bulkhead and Ratchet -- work in the human world interacting with the 'natives' in exciting and humorous ways. Transformers Animated has been created to showcase the heroic Autobots working together to battle the evil Decepticons and save Earth with kid-relatable plot lines filled with humor, distinctive characters persaonalities and dynamic action.

AUTOBOTS
----------------------------
Ratchet - season Autobot, legitimate combat, cybertronian version of the military, like the guy from Full Metal Jacket
Ironhide will be like the Fantastic Four's Thing.
Prowl is like a ninja.
Grimlock is a T-REX!!! HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE!!!
THERE WILL BE TWO OTHER DINOBOTS IN THE SHOW.
They are 3 crazy dude.
Grimlock looks awesome

DECEPTICONS
-------------------
Megatron is a gun in his Cybertronian mode.
Starscream kind of resembles Cyclonus in jet mode.
Has kind of like a Chris Latta voice
Voiced by Tom Kenny
We will be seeing most of the Transformers in their Cybertronian modes at the beginning of the series.
Blitzwing is a triplechanger (tank, jet, robot) - looks f'in awesome!!!
Kind of a new spin on his character, fun personality quirk: has a split personality
Spinning face gimmick on the toy
Lugnut (similar in body style to Bulkhead)
If Bulkhead is like the Thing, then Lugnut is like the Incredible Hulk.
Lugnut has missiles for hands,
Jet of some sort
BLACKARACHNIA!!! HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE
Different origin story for BA than in BW.
Starts out as a different character entirely, flashbacks, one of the more complicated Decepticons, you'll care more about her.

HUMANS CHARACTERS
------------
Cpt. Fanzone - Police Chief
Sari (girl) and her father Isaac Sumdac
Sari's interaction with the Autobots is unlike her interaction in the past shows. It works out better. Not the typical human sidekick.
Sari is an outcast. Looks to the Autobots for friendship.
Human villians - "Angry Archer" (applause), NOT your typical run-of-the-mill Dr. Archeville character. Super villains ...

OTHER STUFF
-----------------------
The Autobots WILL have their Ark. It looks like a stylized G1 Ark. Crowd: Will there be a toy? No response from Hasbro.
The Decepticons WILL have the Nemesis.
Nemesis dwarfs the Ark. It's GIGANTIC.
The Ark is about the size of one of the spikes on the Nemesis.
Nemesis has a purple lighting and black interior.
Ark had warm colors, circular, multi-level
Showed us some shots of what Detroit looks like.
Showed us a shot of the Sumdac Tower's interior.

What will the toys look like?
Toys developed at the same time as the animation designs.
Animation style allows us to show more personality with each character.
90% animation/toy accuracy.
Takara has really helped out with these designs.
New sculpting style.
No more full line gimmicks!!! WOO HOO! Big round of applause ...
Transformation is the feature.
Signature weapons and poses - attitude and stance.
Range of motion is great!
Allows for the characterization to stand out more.
There are some things they won't be able to do because of joints and stuff.
Accessories will transform?
Convey a greater range of style with these characters.
Wow ... just showed us what deluxe and Voyager Optimus Primes. Look awesome. The stylistic sculpting is there ... match up extremely well with the animated versions. Wow. Just wow! I wish you guys could see this.
Deluxe Bumblebee and Voyager class Bulkhead - really staying faithful to animated look.
Archer: can't thank Takara enough for their help with this line.
Really paid off by working daily with Takara and Cartoon Network.
Deluxe Prowl and Deluxe Ratchet
All figures have great articulation.
Artist rendition (3-D model) of Voyager Grimlock.
Voyager Megatron and Starscream: Megatron is a vertical take off Cybertronian vehicle in this image. I'm confused with the gun mode drawing of him from earlier. Maybe the gun mode Megatron is his earth mode.
Deluxe Blackarachnia looks great!
Lugnut and Blitzwing pics ...

The future
-------------------------
Working on season 2 already.
More familiar and new characters.
Possibility of season 3 and 4.
Desire to create brand new characters ... with cameos by G1 favorites.
Toys will have a "matte" finish like Batman Animated.

Marty Isenberg is on clip they show us.
AllSpark looks like a Matrix/
Optimus has an axe.
Megatron has a sword.
The animation is really slick looking. Everyone is going to love this.
Optimus Prime doese have a mouth and a face shield.
The transforrmation of Optimus Prime looked really cool.
My opinion has officially changed
Optimus says: "transform and roll out."
Opening audio is very cool: hip hop, rock type style.
No transformation audio yet.
The Optimus Prime axe is awesome.
Showed us a space scene.
Optimus pole-vaulted with an extended version of his axe.
HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE.

FALL 2008 ... CLASSICS??????????????????
CLASSICS 2.0
Showed us Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.
Want to continue realistic look with Classics.
"Transformers Universe" in G1 styled font.
Deluxe scale.
Will not be licensed vehicles
In early development.
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe will not have the same chest, head or design. They look just as different in robot mode as their G1 selves.
Showed us Octane (triple changer): military tanker vehicle and looks like the gun ship from TF Movie that took out Scorponok.
Looking to add an ultra scale to Transformers Universe.
They are planning on doing a new Galvatron figure that is not a repaint of Megatron.

2 segments for fall 2008: Transformers Animated and Transformers Universe (Classics 2.0). I have the impression that the G1 styled font "Transformers Universe" is the official name for Classics 2.0. The fans shouted ... Hasbro heard.

------------------------------

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Why not a cartoon based on the movie? The movie is it's own Universe.
Robot Heroes: wanted to see how well it did before they committed to more figures.
They are a big hit.
Will make a decision in a few months on how to expand the line.
Any chance for an Ultra Magnus that isn't a Prime repaint? YES!
No mentions of Alternators or Titaniums - had to make some choices based ... $2 million dollars invested in Alternators and die-cast in Titaniums ... Hasbro wasn't getting a return on their investment with those lines so they decided to focus on Classics 2.0.
Larger scales for Classics.
Similar number of figures as wave 1 in last fall's Classics line.
Animated Optimus Prime has a detachable trailer.
Classics Jazz or Arcee? Jazz is likely as a Classic. Not sure about an Arcee yet.
Getting more and more difficult to make just a trailer without a feature.
Probably will not do a character in Animated and Classics at the same time.
Probably won't see the Dinobots in the upcoming Classics line.
Grimlock performed really well in the Classics line.
Fan: please make Arcee a real car and not a bike.
There will be an upcoming Combiner. Not sure if they meant Classics or Animated.
The unproduced Titanium molds (Bumblebee, Cosmos, Shockwave and Arcee) could be used for other lines.
Will not be a vending machine Transformer (in reference to the Mountain Dew vending machine Transformer).
Skywarp and Thundercracker might turn up in Animated. Still working with Cartoon Network on this.
Cosmos could end up somewhere. Hasbro said they will keep trying to get us that figure/character.
Titanium will end with WW Prowl and WW Grimlock.
One of the problems with the Titanium and Alternators is that the momentum is hard to keep up. Sounds like those lines just weren't selling.
There will be redecos in the Universe line.
Prowl in the Classics line as a police car?
Said something about Ironhide as well but I didn't catch it.
Susan Blu is the voice director for Transformers Animated.
Hasbro has little to do with voice casting (which translates to they really don't have anything to do with it).
Weird Al will be voicing a character in the Animated series.
The BotCon exclusives will NOT be released at retail. Hasbro will never release a convention exclusive at retail.
It was unknown at the time when the BotCon exclusives were decided if the Classics line would continue later down the road.
Toy trademarking only lasts for a few years which is why they keep reusing the names. It's kind of a "use it or lose it" type of thing.
Could possibly be more female Transformers in later episodes of Animated.
Takara apparently claims they can't find the Dinobot molds.
Might be a garbage truck or school bus type vehicle mode Transformer in Animated.
Fans keep bringing up Arcee to Hasbro. They just want one down right.
Working internally at Hasbro to figure out how to do the cross-over lines with Star Wars or G.I.Joe.
Grimlock will have his familiar talk in the Animated series.
Reaction to Animated and Movie ... let's wait to react until we actually see this stuff. Hasbro: just trust us. Seibertron: they're 100% correct. We spend a lot of time bitching about stuff that we just need to see more visuals of.
Looking to do more than just the G1 season 1 and 2 core characters in the Classics 2.0 line.
Elita-One from comic: Hasbro hasn't discussed it with anyone yet. Lots of people from convention are hoping it will released as a club exclusive.
Leader class Movie Bonecrusher hasn't been decided yet.
Brawl/Devastator error in Movie is just a continuity error. It is supposed to be Brawl.
Archer's favorite character is Lockdown, a Boba Fett-like character.
Classics Decepticons: GALVATRON that is not a redeco of Megatron (Hasbro forgot to mention it earlier).

Intro video to Transformers Game now On-line!

Date: Monday, June 18th 2007 3:29am EDT
Categories: Game News, Movie News
Posted by: Fender Bender | Credit(s): TransformersGame.com

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Transformers Game.com has been updated once again with new content.

Firstly, new images from actual gameplay have been uploaded in the gallery on the site.

Secondly, the opening sequence for the game has been posted!

To view the opening sequence, go to Transformers Game.com and click "Video" from the menu on the top of the page.

The new video will automatically be selected and will start playing.

Here is a brief synopsis of what you can expect by viewing the video:

The video starts off on planet Cybertron and shows thousands of Transformers laying dead from a battle. We then see Frenzy digging through piles of bodies, looking for the Allspark. Then we see Megatron flying around Cybertron in vehicle mode.

Next we see the Allspark falling to Earth. Various scenes from around a city are shown, including a construction site where Blackout does a fly bye in vehicle mode.

We then see Optimus Prime crusing down a road and the camera moves away, just far enough that all we see is his shadow as he transforms.

After this, we get to see Brawl transform from vehicle mode to robot mode. Of note, his barrel retracts into his turret telescopically when changing.

After this, it's non-stop action. Battle scenes featuring all the Autobots are rapidly played. The one that stands out most is when Bumblebee clubs Starscream and sends him flying into a building. A scene with a wrecking ball is also entertaining.

Lastly, we see the battle of all battles. Optimus Prime vs. Megatron. It starts out with Megatron flying around a city and Optimus Prime hunting him down by leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Prime eventually leaps and lands on Megatron (who is in jet mode).

The scene changes, then both leaders are on a rooftop, and the brawl begins.

TF:TM Ultimate Edition DVD Review

Date: Monday, June 4th 2007 10:19pm EDT
Categories: Cartoon News, Movie News, Reviews, Site Articles
Posted by: Hotrod | Credit(s): Chris McFeely

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Our own Chris McFeely has stopped by. He has posted a review of Metrodome's THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE – ULTIMATE EDITION DVD. Here is his review:

THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE – ULTIMATE EDITION
Dir: Nelson Shin
Cert: PG
Starring: Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, Lionel Stander, Eric Idle, Orson Welles, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker

FEATURE

Yeah. It’s the movie. You know it, I know it. That’s not what we’re here for. Let’s move on.

VIDEO

THIS is what we’re here for.

This is Metrodome’s second shot at properly releasing the movie – leaving aside cheapie budget versions that have nothing about them worth speaking of, their previous effort was “Transformers: The Movie – Reconstructed,” which aimed to show every millimetre of footage that was animated by peeling aside the edges of the screen to reveal it. This resulted in a rather misjudged “curtained” image which was fine for widescreen-television owners, but shafted those with regular-size sets. Additionally, the image was taken from the original negative, but was inadvertently converted to NTSC before being converted to PAL, resulting in a badly interlaced image. The colour balance of the thing was all over the place, and the picture was very soft – I recall speaking fairly well of it when it came out, but time has opened my eyes to its flaws.

This “Ultimate Edition” of the film takes it cue from Sony’s 20th Anniversary release last year, which featured a newly-remastered widescreen version of the film, to replicate its original theatrical presentation. This time, Metrodome have succeeded in making a PAL transfer directly from the negative, resulting in smooth video (which, due to PAL speedup, runs a few minutes faster than viewers will be used to, and while the faster speed is not noticeable to my eyes or ears, the quality it brings with it is) that is sharper in Sony’s, with colours that I would describe as... “cooler,” but for the most part, more “correct” to my eyes. Most notably, of course, Hot Rod is no longer the bubblegum-pink of Sony’s version.

All I can do is echo the sentiments of all the other professional reviews that have compared the two, and say that this is the best that the movie has ever looked on DVD.

AUDIO

The audio for the Reconstructed DVD was also a bodge-job, thanks to Magno Sound, who were responsible for adding all those extra noises to the series DVD boxsets (from both Rhino and Metrodome), and did it again for the movie – on both the 5.1 and 2.0 audio tracks. For the Ultimate Edition, the Reconstructed audio was dissected with a fine-toothed comb, and while not every sound could be removed (otherwise it, uh, wouldn’t be 5.1), the most offensive, inappropriate offenders have been ganked the hell out of there. This includes, but is not limited to, those insufferable, overbearing “sizzling whipcracks” that were all over the place in the series, and the pop-gun banging of Prime’s gun. It’s still not QUITE perfect, mind you, because the levels seem not to have been modified following the removal of these sounds – consequently, the actual sound of Prime’s gun is very low.

There is, however, a completely unmolested 2.0 track to enjoy, with nary an extra zip or zap in sight. That’s how I’ll be watching it!

PACKAGING AND PACK-INS

The movie is available in both a single-disc and a two-disc version.

The single disc is packaged in a standard DVD case, with a rather artsy cover image that’s a paintbrushed version of the image of Optimus Prime that Andrew Wildman drew for the Season 1 box set. This version – I don’t have it, so I’m not 100% on this – does not have any extra features beyond the remastered picture and the two audio tracks. It is simply labelled as a “special edition.”

The two-disc set is the “Ultimate Edition.” It consists of a metal case, decorated with the above-mentioned illustration, which opens to reveal a standard DVD case with a different sleeve, bearing the original UK movie poster artwork. This is awesome. It’s nothing against Don Figueroa, but when I look at the Sony set, or the Australian release that he also provided a cover for, it just looks *wrong* to me to have this stylized, modern artwork appearing on the cover of a release of a twenty-year-old film. I’ve always preferred the use of the original poster artwork, be it US or UK, for releases of the movie, and this tin-and-case combo balances new and classic art in just the right way to keep me merry.

Depending on where you buy the two-disc set, there could be one of several different bonuses in store for you when you open the case. Buying it from Play.Com will net you a set of three postcards commemorating the different movie artwork – one displays the US poster, the second the UK poster, and the third the Ultimate Edition cover art. Snag it from HMV, and you’ll find that the sleeve is reversible, with the US artwork on the other side. Pick it up from Virgin, and there’s a set of art cards waiting for you, displaying various images from the film. Woolworths and Toys R US include posters with their versions, but I’ve not seen these, so I don’t know what they’re of.

The set comes with a sixteen-page booklet written by me (I assume this isn’t included with the single-disc version). It serves as an overview of the movie and the DVD, beginning with a personal introduction, then a discussion of the remastering of the video and audio, and a four page “essay” on the making of the movie, discussing the production, writing, animation, actors, soundtrack and distribution. After this, there’s a section on where the movie falls in the chronology of the series, summarising each of the seasons, ending with an explanation of what Scramble City is (it’s included as an extra feature), and thanks from me and Metrodome to various good chaps. In general, as with the commentary discussed below, my aim with the booklet was to put the information across in a clear and descriptive manner and without “familiarity,” if you know what I mean, so that newbies and nostalgics inspired to buy by the live-action movie can read it and understand it without being baffled by terminology or the tendency to take certain things as read, as hardcore fans do, while at the same time, discussing topics and trivia that not even regular online contributors may be aware of.

I also wrote a large selection of actor biographies/filmographies, but there wasn’t room in the booklet for them. I’m told they might appear on the website – www.transformersdvd.com – at some point.

MENUS

After the copyright stuff at the start of the disc, the traditional Metrodome logo has been replaced with a Transformers logo, rendered like the live-action movie logo, as if it were tarnished metal (the same effect is employed on the DVD cover), which then “transforms”, like the logo in the LAM trailer, into the word “Metrodome.” This is cute. I like it. :)

The menus themselves are fairly simply affairs with clips of the movie running in the centre, and a lot of geometric shapes for buttons that are not *entirely* intuitive. They’re not stunningly attractive, but they are functional, and while not as intricate or impressive and Sony’s shifting design, I’ll take actual footage of the movie over Sony’s use of purse-grabbing Dreamwave art for reasons very similar to those discussed above over the cover.

EXTRAS

The meat and potatoes of it all.

DISC 1

This disc includes a feature-length audio commentary by me. It’s a pretty breathless experience, as I just had *so* much stuff laid out in my notes in front of me that I didn’t have time to let up anywhere. No slight against those that participated in the Sony commentary track, but I felt that it fell into the trap I discussed above – the tendency to be very “familiar”, talking not just about the movie, but Transformers as a whole, as if all the listeners are automatically informed about all of it, and will know what “Diaclone” is, and other such things that are not the province of Joe Public, with the presence of multiple commentators preventing them from dwelling on any one topic long enough to get really specific about it. I go out of my way to begin the whole affair by summarising the creation of the Transformers toyline, going through G.I. Joe, Henshin Cyborg, Microman, Diaclone and MicroChange, so that viewers will understand what I’m talking about when I refer to them, and I always make sure to clarify what characters I’m talking about by saying something like “Dirge, the blue cone-headed jet,” given how few of them are actually named in the film. It’s a very concentrated effort to make the commentary open to everyone, to not confuse those who aren’t as informed as fans on message boards, but at the same time, to include lots of obscure facts, trivia and anecdotes that will ensure that even informed fans get something out of it.

At least, uh, I hope. /: )

Next on the list is a familiar feature from the Reconstructed list of extras – a compare-and-contrast of the differences between the US and UK versions, offering clips of the opening, closing and Spike’s expletive. Twelve TV spots for the movie follow (in contrast to Sony’s eight), alongside the US theatrical trailer and the Japanese “trade trailer” with Diaclone Magnus. Both Sony and Metrodome include the “final title check” and “cinex check” reels, the former featuring the Superman-style flying text cast credits, and the latter featuring several animation effects, including a “clean open” version of Laserbeak’s approach to Cybertron, without text.

After that, there are a selection of character biographies – these appeared previously on the Reconstructed disc, and actually come from the Australian release, but whereas Reconstructed just literally cropped the screens of text and pasted them in, background and all, this version reproduces the text with a new design. Profiles included are for Arcee, Blurr, Hot Rod, Kup, Springer, Ultra Magnus, Brawn, Ironhide, Optimus Prime, Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Windcharger, Cyclonus, Galvatron, Scourge, Bombshell, Kickback, Megatron, Shrapnel, Skywarp, Starscream, Thundercracker and Unicron. The presence of so many unimportant characters, only included to give a sort of “book of the dead” side to the profiles, is sort of bothersome when characters like Wreck-Gar, Grimlock and Perceptor go unmentioned, as is the sweeping statement that Skywarp unequivocally became Cyclonus, or the *ridiculous* notion that one of Galvatron’s weaknesses is a “reliance on Unicron,” but overall, they’re as nice as they ever were.

The final extra on this disc is a rather nifty little trailer that Metrodome created to promote this DVD release.

DISC 2

As I haven’t mentioned it before, this would be a good time to point out that this disc features the original, fullscreen version of the film. It is an unremastered version, the same version included on those budget releases you can pick up for £2 in any store, hence it is entirely unremarkable – kinda dark, but watchable anyway, and certainly nicer looking that the fullscreen version on the Sony disc, where the colours are all *over* the place. What is notable is that is it the UK version of the film, with the opening text crawl, no swear and Caroli’s closing narration, thereby making both versions of the movie available in one set. Nice!

After this, the disc includes a 25-minute interview featurette with story consultant Flint Dille, then a 20-minute video of Peter Cullen’s Q&A session from… I don’t know what convention this is from, I’m afraid, but the video comes courtesy of Evantainment.Com. Both men talk about their history in the industry and their involvement in Transformers, coming across as likeable blokes, with Cullen getting emotional in a few spots.

The next feature is Scramble City, the big draw of which is that – unlike Sony’s version – it contains the original Japanese audio and subtitles, as well as a new commentary from me. The subs, it must be said, are “hard” subs, permanently on-screen, which cannot be turned off – I believe this is a rip of that bootleg that goes about. The subs are functional, conveying the action and intent decently, and thankfully, were already translated into English terminology, talkin’ about Optimus Prime, Autobots, Decepticons, etc, rather than Convoy, Cybertrons and Destrons. I don’t think they use an apostrophe correctly in all 30 minutes, though. VERY disappointingly, however, something has gone horribly wrong with the video. The individual disc I received of the episode during production of the DVD was of the same sort of quality as the version included on Sony’s – however, somewhere between that disc and the final release, the video has become washed out and greenish throughout, looking like a bad VHS dump. I mean, yeeeeah, audio and subs, but… what *happened*? I’m playing detective on this one right now…

Next on the list is the “Alternative and Deleted Footage” also seen on Sony’s disc – a lot of stunningly unremarkable footage that is either missing some luminous effects or small overlays, or not immediately distinguishable from the finished affair, and then the sole second or two of ACTUAL deleted footage that has been uncovered. This has no audio, so I provide some colour commentary, as Paul Hitchens did on the Sony disc... there is not a lot to say, so I try to spice it up by talking about how the luminous effects are created and such things.

The first theatrical trailer for the live-action movie is also included here, as opposed to the Mars Rover teaser on the Sony disc. After that, the animated storyboards feature on the Sony disc, courtesy of Paul Hitchens, put in an appearance here, with storyboard stills of Hot Rod and Daniel’s fishing sequence, the Decepticon attack on Autobot City and Optimus Prime and Megatron’s battle set to the audio of the finished sequences, as well as one “deleted scene,” when Magnus, Tracks, Sideswipe and Red Alert attack Devastator, and Red buys it. Also featured on the disc are the original movie script (the ACTUAL original script, featuring all the wacky stuff that didn’t get into the finished movie, not the transcript included on Reconstructed), and the “5.1 breakdown” I made singling out all the added noises from the Reconstructed audio. Beware of snideness!

OVERALL

The disc offers a superior video presentation to Sony’s, so that is a major plus to it. Beyond that, it really comes down to a battle of the extra features, and what is present and what is not. Metrodome’s version lacks some extras that Sony has, due to the dissolution of Sony BGM making their acquisition challenging, but features some of their own unique extras which Sony did not have. For starters, the Flint Dille, Nelson Shin and Susan Blu commentary is absent, as are the collection of featurettes with that trio, Jay Bacal and Tom Griffin – however, Dille was the only real reason to listen to the commentary, and he covers the same basic stuff in his interview (unique to Metrodome’s version), while the inclusion of a Peter Cullen segment is a worthy substitute for any featurette, given his complete absence from the Sony disc (also, I’m not afraid to mention that I culled a bunch of stuff out of the featurettes for use in the commentary, so a chunk of what was talked about in there is already covered on the set in some way). Sony also included some toy commercials and a gallery of production art that are not here, but Metrodome features the original script, more TV spots, audio and subs for Scramble City and two different versions of the movie. I don’t really think that any one selection of extras is particular better than the other – Sony has some good things Metrodome don’t, Metrodome has some good things Sony don’t. This one’s a judgement call for all y’all out there, but if you’re basing it on the video, then Metrodome wins.

War Within Collector Pack Bio

Date: Tuesday, May 29th 2007 8:17pm EDT
Category: Toy News
Posted by: Hotrod | Credit(s): DESTRO of TFW2005

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We just reported that Hasbro announced that the War Within Collector Pack which features 6 inch Titanium War Within Optimus Prime and War Within Megatron would be a Toys "R" Us exclusive. Now the Bios for the set has been revealed. DESTRO of TFW2005 has posted the bio for the set. Here it is:

"TRANSFORMERS TITANIUM SERIES Die-Cast War Within OPTIMUS PRIME vs. War Within MEGATRON:

Available exclusively at TRU: Deep within CYBERTRON, in chambers long lost and longer forgotten, two of the mightiest warriors the universe has ever seen battle for supremacy in a struggle that will forever define the future. One is a leader newly made, a simple archivist infused with the power of the Matrix and pushed unwilling into greatness. The other is an ancient warrior, washed in the oil of fallen foes, whose plans have been years in the making.

Here, at the very heart of their home world, the power of the Matrix flares into life as none before have witnessed, and both warriors are given a glimpse of what will be. They see themselves, ages hence, locked in a strange echo of their current struggle. They see the wasteland their war will make of their world, and the long chain of Sparkless shells in their wake. They see the shape of things to come and know that what they fight for is not just victory but the future itself.

Collectible two-pack of poseable, die-cast metal figures feature robot-to-vehicle conversion, and come with a shield and a variant-cover War Within comic!"

August Solicitations From IDW

Date: Thursday, May 17th 2007 6:10pm EDT
Category: Comic Book News
Posted by: Hotrod | Credit(s): IDWPublishing.com

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IDW has updated with their August solicitations. There are a number of Transformers books due out in August. Here is the list:

The Transformers: Beast Wars: The Ascending #1

Simon Furman (w); Don Figueroa (a); Figueroa, Nick Roche (c)

Spiraling out of the events in Beast Wars: The Gathering... MAGMATRON—now a disembodied entity, existing out of time and space—is witness to CYBERTRON's unchecked descent into chaos and madness, all of which is a prelude to its complete and utter destruction! Powerless to directly affect this terrifying apocalypse, MAGMATRON’s last desperate recourse is to try and bring his greatest enemy, RAZORBEAST, together with fellow MAXIMALS LIO CONVOY and THE PACK! By The Gathering team of Simon Furman and Don Figueroa.

*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.

*Retailers: See your order form for special incentives

FC • $3.99 • 32 pages

The Transformers: Beast Wars: Sourcebook #1

Simon Furman & Ben Yee (w); Various (a); Don Figueroa (c)

Simon Furman (Transformers: Beast Wars: The Gathering) and Ben Yee (consultant on the Beast Wars TV series) team up to present an all-encompassing, unifying resource book highlighting the characters, worlds and technology from all generations and incarnations of BEAST WARS. From AIR HAMMER to WOLFANG and beyond, and featuring all-new art from a host of the greatest TRANSFORMERS artists like Don Figueroa, Nick Roche, Rob Ruffolo, and many more, this is the series everyone's been clamoring for! This special series will be comprised of three 48-page, ad-free editions.

*Retailers: See your order form for a special incentive

FC • $6.99 • 48 pages


The Transformers: Target: 2006 #5

Simon Furman (w); Geoff Senior, Jeff, Anderson, Will Simpson (a); Nick Roche, retro art (c)

The special reprint of this beloved U.K. TRANSFORMERS tale continues here with two new chapters in one comic! The epic tale of Target: 2006 comes to a conclusion as the future AUTOBOTS put their plan into action and GALVATRON returns—and he's angry. From writer Simon Furman and artists Geoff Senior, Jeff Anderson and Will Simpson. Nick Roche once again provides an all-new cover re-creating a classic scene from the issue!

*2 Regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.

*Retailers: See your order form for special incentives

FC • 32 pages • $3.99


The Transformers Magazine #2

Continuing with three tales that span THE TRANSFORMERS' twenty plus year reign, this special 8-1/2" x 11" magazine format collection contains an early Marvel story (issue #44, "The Cosmic Carnival"), the continuing Dreamwave run (Generation 1, Vol. 3, #2), and the latest contribution to TRANSFORMERS lore from IDW (Stormbringer #2). Artist Robby Musso (Transformers Spotlight: Ultra Magnus) provides another all-new stunning cover.

*Retailers: See your order form for special incentives

$7.99 • FC • 8-1/2 x 11 • 72 pages


The Transformers Spotlight: Optimus Prime

Simon Furman (w); Don Figueroa (a); Figueroa, Gabriel Rodriquez (c)

Continuing a series of one-shots focusing on some of the best-loved (or loathed) TRANSFORMERS characters. The spotlight falls on OPTIMUS PRIME, the towering figurehead of the entire TRANSFORMERS race. To those under his command, he is an island, forever stood apart, aloof. In times of dire personal crisis he has no one to turn to... save one. Guest-starring OMEGA SUPREME!

*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.

*Retailers: See your order form for a special incentive

FC • $3.99 • 32 pages


The Transformers: Megatron Origin #3

Eric Holmes (w); Alex Milne (a); Milne, Marcelo Matero (c)

Celebration. Intrigue. Assassination. The hardcore, the outlaw elite—the insurgent DECEPTICONS go public, rebelling with a sudden and unstoppable fury. The icon behind this is celebrated as an omen for change—MEGATRON's day has come! A response must be heard, seen, felt. SENTINEL PRIME's narrowed options make him lunge for his bluntest tactic: a thunderous head-on attack aimed at squashing resistance overnight. By Eric Holmes and the artist of the TRANSFORMERS: MOVIE ADAPTATION, Alex Milne.

*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.

*Retailers: See your order form for a special incentive

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers Movie Prequel #1: Wizard World Los Angels Con Exclusive Edition

*Limited to stock on hand.

FC • 32 pages

The Transformers/New Avengers #2

See this month's Marvel Previews for word on the second chapter of this titanic team-up!

You can check out all of IDW's August Solicitations by clicking here.

Final Version Transformers Club Exclusive Breakaway Revealed

Date: Thursday, May 10th 2007 10:43pm EDT
Categories: Collectables, Collector's Club News, Toy News
Posted by: Hotrod | Credit(s): Transformers Collector's Club

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We first reported about the first photos of Transformers Collectors Club exclusive Breakaway. Now the club website has been updated with an image of the actual production figure. Breakaway should be shipping soon. To check out the lastest photo click here. Until Breakaway released check out the two previous club exclusives:

McDonald's Beast Wars Transformers galleries ... and the origin of Seibertron.com?

Date: Wednesday, May 2nd 2007 9:43pm EDT
Categories: Site Articles, Site News, Toy News, Transtopia
Posted by: Seibertron

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I imagine after you look at the McDonald's Beast Wars galleries, many of you will be asking: "Why in the world are there almost 400 photos of the McDonald's Beast Wars figures?" Let me take a moment to explain why these figures are such a key piece to my history with the Transformers brand, why they mean so much to me and how these little guys ultimately tie into part of the origin behind Seibertron.com.

Manta Ray	Panther	Beetle	Rhino	Under-3

The McDonald's Beast Wars figures represent a very distinct moment in the history of the Transformers brand. I had discovered my last Generation 2 figure about 10 months earlier in May 1995. On the back of an upper shelf at a KB Toy store at the Genesee Valley mall near Flint, MI, I had discovered Laser Rod Optimus Prime stashed behind several other toys. I had never seen this figure before and was truly elated at this very incredible incarnation of the most iconic Transformer ever. For many months, I thought Laser Rod Optimus Prime was THE last Transformer. I scoured the local Kmarts in the Flint suburbs where I grew up as well as a several Targets for many months but never found any new Transformers. Not only was this before the Internet would drastically change our lives, it was also before I had ever discovered a little store chain called "Wal-Mart."



Fast forward 8 months later to January 1996. There was a brand spanking new "Big K" (a Kmart store variant that was comparable to many of Wal-Mart's stores) that had recently opened near the McDonald's that I worked at as a teenager on Owen Rd. in Fenton, MI. Shortly after that stores grand opening (which was a HUGE deal to this town back then after the old school Kmart store had closed on the other side of town), I discovered a new series of "Beast Wars Transformers" figures. I didn't discover these in the fall of 1995 like many other Transformers fans have claimed to have found these figures.

Cover Artwork		Beetle

This new line of transforming animals was apparently a product of one of Hasbro's competitors, Kenner. I had thought that Hasbro must've sold the Transformers brand to the highest bidder due to the obvious decline in sales toward the end of the Generation 2 line. Little did I know at that time that Hasbro had actually purchased Kenner recently (which was most famous for its Star Wars line) and had decided to move all of their action figure lines to that "brand".

The first set of figures that I purchased was the Optimus "Primal" and Megatron 2 pack that came with a mini-comic book that reminded me of the mini-comics that used to accompany Mattel's Masters of the Universe line during the 1980s. It was a no-brainer since those were the only names that I had recognized amongst toys such as Cheetor, Waspinator, Rattrap and Razorbeast.

Cheetor		Dinobot

I thought it was very odd that Kenner would make two of the most powerful Transformers not much bigger than the Generation 2 Cyberjets. It also struck me as odd that they were not using the Autobot and Decepticon factions. What the heck were these "Maximals" and "Predacons"? Did Hasbro not sell Kenner the rights to some of their copyrights? And why did "Optimus Primal" turn into a bat and Megatron turn into an alligator? What happened to the Transformers?

After I opened the package and read the mini-comic book, I realized that these new Transformers didn't appear to have any relation to the Transformers I had grown up with. The comic pretty much made sure that I knew that these weren't Hasbro's Transformers. "Bio-Genetic Engineering?" Animals? No Energon? Seriously -- c'mon Kenner! Regardless, this was a test of my loyalty to the "transforming" from one thing into a robot concept under the "Transformers" product banner. I knew I didn't like other transforming robot toy lines such as the failed Gobots line from Tonka so I bought a few of the other figures that I could afford at that time.

Iguanus		Manta Ray

Fast forward a month later to February 1996. As I mentioned above, I was working at McDonald's as a "swing manager" (basically a "shift manager") at that time while I was unsuccessfully attending the University of Michigan's community college in Flint. Imagine my surprise one day when we were received some paperwork about an upcoming Happy Meal promotion that we would be receiving: "Transformers Beast Wars" for the boys alongside "The Littlest Pet Shop" for the girls.



I'm sure a smile gleaned across my face as I noticed the classic Generation 2 "Transformers" logo next to the Generation 2 Autobot symbol above the words "Beast Wars". This wasn't "Beast Wars Transformers" ... this was "Transformers Beast Wars" with the word "Transformers" positioned dominantly over the words "Beast Wars" instead of the other way around. Imagine how thrilled I was to see the use of the G2 font and Autobot logo after a couple of months of wondering what the heck Kenner had done to the Transformers line I thought they had bought from Hasbro.

As the weeks went by, we received more promotional materials for the McDonald's Beast Wars Happy Meal toys. My hopes were quickly dashed that there would be a continuation of Generation 1 or 2 styled Transformers to accompany the Beast Wars figures I had purchased at Kmart. Instead, they were these lame little beast figures with extremely generic names: Manta Ray, Beetle, Panther and Rhino. I'll let you use your imagination to figure out what each figure transformed into. There was even an unnamed toy designed for children under three that was a head of a lion that turned into an Optimus Prime looking character.

Megatron		Optimus Primal

Once we received the Happy Meal display piece for our restaurant, I gladly volunteered to set it up. I thought it was pretty cool to have loved the Transformers for so long that I was able to set these up first hand. Looking back at this experience, it wasn't really that big of a deal but I sure thought it was at the time. And to think that my parents had wanted me to work at VG's, a local grocery store chain on the east side of Michigan!

The induction of the McDonald's Beast Wars figures led to a stream of creativity on my behalf. The new Happy Meal boxes, which featured a lot of new artwork for the Beast Wars figures as well as the McDonald's figures, really helped me accept these figures as official Transformers figures. I had even gone so far as to draw character sheets for all of the Beast Wars Transformers that I owned after I had come up with an idea to incorporate these new Transformers into the Generation One stories I had grown up with (thanks to McDonald's use of the Generation 2 Transformers font and Autobot logo). I even have the artwork still to show you guys my cartoon-styled take on these "Beast Wars" guys. Optimus and Megatron were who they always were, Terrorsaur was the new Starscream type character (most likely due to his alternate mode and wings in robot mode), Tarantulas was my new Soundwave type character (most likely due to the visor on his face) and Cheetor was my new Prowl type character (most likely due to me thinking that a cheetah would "prowl" and because I thought his face kind of looked like Prowl's at the time). This was months before the Beast Wars cartoon's pilot episodes aired on television and about 6 months prior to Cheetor's dream sequence which cameoed the Decepticon Starscream in "The Web".

Panther		Rattrap

Within a couple of months, my excitement about the Beast Wars Transformers really started to heat up. I was very excited about my beliefs that these could be new incarnations of the characters that I had grown up with (even thought some of my character associations didn't really make at the time looking back on all of this). As I continued to purchase more and more of these Beast Wars figures, I had grown to accept them. Sure it was a new take on the Transformers, but I was enjoying these new incarnations just the same (much to my own surprise).

After buying a toy magazine sometime in the spring of 1996, I saw an advertisement for a Transformers convention called "Botcon" that would was going to be held in Chicago over the 4th of July weekend run by a local group of guys from Ypsilanti, MI who went by "The Men-In-Black". After so many years of thinking I was the only person around into Transformers, I was very excited about the prospect of meeting other Transformers fans at this "Botcon" convention, I had begun working on a fan newsletter I called "Trans-Forum". Fortunately I had ended my employment at McDonald's by this time at 19 to start working as a car salesman for the Al Serra dealership organization after dropping out of college 3 times. To start a reader base for Trans-Forum, I grabbed all of the names and addresses I could find from the letter pages in the Marvel's "Transformers" and "Transformers: Generation 2" comic books. The first issue of Trans-Forum went out to almost 100 people in May 1996. I even made a special "Botcon" edition which I gave away to people at Botcon 1996 in Chicago. The fanbase for Trans-Forum continued to grow year after year which led to the next phase of my involvement with the Transformers community.

Razorbeast		Rhino

Some time during 1998, I began working on a new Generation One comic book that took place after Marvel's run of the original Transformers comic book. I was fascinated with the Japanese terminology which I had only begun to learn about back in 1995 after purchasing a bootleg Masterforce video. The Internet had exposed me to a new word that I really liked which the Japanese used for the name of the Transformers homeplanet Cybertron: "Seibertron". This word would be the title of the comic book idea that I had because I wanted to implement key elements from the American continuity as well as the Japanese continuity which I had recently discovered. The "Seibertron" comic book gained mention in one of the issues of the Trans-Forum fanzine during that year.

Trans-Forum eventually evolved into Seibertron.com during the summer of 2000 as I had become more and more fascinated with the prospect of making my own website on the Internet to showcase my interests in the Transformers. That's a whole other story in itself that I might go into another time.

Tarantulas		Terrorsaur

I attribute my interests in contributing to the Transformers community to the McDonald's Beast Wars figures. Maybe the Beast Wars cartoon would have prompted me to get involved with the community. Maybe not. It was the McDonald's Beast Wars Transformers that got me to imagine that these new characters were somehow tied into the original Transformers. While the McDonald's Beast Wars figures might not be that exciting individually, I attribute the start of Trans-Forum to this Happy Meal promotion which eventually led to the creation of Seibertron.com.

If you were wondering at the start of this article why the McDonald's Beast Wars Transformers have almost 400 images amongst their galleries, I hope you now understand how special these figures are to me. I wanted to treat these figures just like I would any other Transformer toy since I consider these 5 toys to be a part of the official Transformers toy line. Each gallery is complete with comparison pictures of the other figures from this set, comparison pictures with the other Beast Wars characters who were pictured on the Happy Meal boxes, detailed photographs of the Happy Meal boxes, scans and photographs of my artwork of these figures and even a couple of special items that I had retained from my tenure as a McDonald employee such as the reference card as well as the instructions for putting together the store's display for this Happy Meal promotion.

Waspinator

I hope all of you enjoyed this flashback in time and that maybe you learned something new about the origin of Seibertron.com. I wouldn't do all of this endless work if it wasn't for such an amazing audience of people that I get to entertain. I hope that all of you are enjoying the hard work that myself and the entire staff puts into this website every day. Isn't it interesting to think that you might just owe your enjoyment of this site to the McDonald's Beast Wars Transformers? Thank you for supporting Seibertron.com ... it's been a wild ride for me personally during the past 10 years. I can't wait to see what happens in the next 10 years.

Ryan Yzquierdo
Seibertron.com

IDW's July Solicitations

Date: Thursday, April 19th 2007 7:18pm EDT
Category: Comic Book News
Posted by: Hotrod | Credit(s): IDWpublishing.com and Calvatron

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IDW has posted their solicitations for the month of July. Among the solicitations are four Transformers books due out in July. Here are the comics due out in July:

"The Transformers: Megatron Origin #2

Eric Holmes (w); Alex Milne (a); Milne, Marcelo Matero (c)

Megatron: Year One continues here! As a destitute fugitive with nothing to live for, MEGATRON digs deep inside himself to discover a hidden talent for brutal violence. As his deadly skills secure a bloodthirsty following, the surging gladiatorial phenomenon place themselves in the crosshairs of CYBERTRON’s law enforcement—and SENTINAL PRIME himself. By Eric Holmes and the artist of the TRANSFORMERS MOVIE ADAPTATION, Alex Milne.

*2 Regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.

*Retailers: See your order form for a special incentive

FC • $3.99 • 32 pages


The Transformers Spotlight: Galvatron

Simon Furman (w); Guido Guidi (a); Guidi, Alex Milne (c)

Presenting the latest in a series of one-shots, focusing on some of the best-loved (or loathed) TRANSFORMERS characters. The spotlight falls on GALVATRON, the most enigmatic (and deadly!) DECEPTICON of all! Driven by destiny, sculpted by fate, he is the emissary, the harbinger of an encroaching darkness that will soon envelop the entire TRANSFORMERS universe! By Simon Furman and Guido Guidi, with a variant cover by Alex Milne (The Transformers: Megatron Origin).

*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.

*Retailers: See your order form for special incentives

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

The Transformers: Target 2006 #4

Simon Furman (w); Geoff Senior, Will Simpson (a); Nick Roche, retro art (c)

The special reprint of this beloved U.K. TRANSFORMERS tale continues here with two new chapters in one comic! GALVATRON reveals his origin to JAZZ before using him as the catalyst of his plans to bring down the AUTOBOTS. Continuing the epic tale from writer Simon Furman and artists Jeff Anderson and Will Simpson. Nick Roche once again provides an all-new cover re-creating a classic scene from the issue!

*2 Regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.

*Retailers: See your order form for a special incentive

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

New Avengers/ The Transformers: Man and Machine #1

See this month's Marvel Previews for word on this Earth-shattering new crossover miniseries! Issue 1 in stores on July 5, 2007!"

To see the other comics being offered by IDW in July head over to IDW's Solicitations Section.

First Two Issues of IDW’s Movie Prequel Comic Completely Sold Out

Date: Wednesday, March 28th 2007 3:43pm EDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Movie News, Press Releases
Posted by: Seibertron | Credit(s): IDW

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Transformers Prequel to the Upcoming Blockbuster Movie Looking Like a Blockbuster, Too

First Two Issues of IDW's Movie Prequel Comic Completely Sold Out

March 28, 2007, San Diego, CA - With the recent release of new one- sheets showing the first official poster images of OPTIMUS PRIME and MEGATRON, fan anticipation for the big-screen TRANSFORMERS movie opening on July 4 continues to grow. This interest is evidenced in another way, too -- the first two issues of IDW Publishing's Transformers: The Official Movie Prequel comic book miniseries are officially sold out through Diamond Comic Distributors.

The Movie Prequel comic book, co-written by longtime TRANSFORMERS scribe Simon Furman and IDW's Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall and featuring art by fan-favorite artist Don Figueroa, offered fans the first official look at the characters and storyline to come in the summer movie release. This all-new, four-part storyline spanned centuries and planets, taking the story from the TRANSFORMERS' world of CYBERTRON through space to Earth, where players on both sides are gathering for a coming war. IDW released a special WizardWorld LA convention-exclusive edition of issue 1, limited to 1,000 copies, and will also distribute a special Free Comic Book Day version of the comic in May. But otherwise, that first issue, and issue 2, which features MEGATRON's arrival on Earth, have all been snatched up by anxious fans.

"This is especially gratifying to me," said co-writer Ryall, "since we've been doing Transformers comics for over a year now, and I've got to see from the start how fan interest in the movie has turned from wariness to absolute fervor."

Overall interest in THE TRANSFORMERS comics seems to be growing, too, as evidenced by other recent sell-outs, including:

The Transformers: Infiltration TPB. A second printing is on press right now.

Transformers Spotlight: Hot Rod

The Transformers: Escalation issues 2 and 4

Additionally, IDW has seen a spate of other titles sell out completely, too:

Zombies vs Robots issues 1 and 2

Ashley Wood's Grande Finale 1st and 2nd Printings

All issues of 24: Nightfall

Sparrow: Phil Hale

Issue 3 of Transformers: the Official Movie Prequel will be in stores on April 11. Issue 4 is set for May 2. Following that miniseries, IDW will release Transformers: The Official Movie Adaptation, by Kris Oprisko and Alex Milne, as a weekly comic book throughout the month of June. With both those projects in stores a month ahead of the movie itself, fans will find themselves fully armed as they head in to see the big-screen spectacle.

------------------------------------------

About IDW Publishing

IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients. Among their best-selling titles are Hasbro's THE TRANSFORMERS; Fox's ANGEL, Konami's METAL GEAR SOLID, and FALLEN ANGEL. IDW's 30 DAYS OF NIGHT film is in development and will be released by Sony Pictures in October 2007. IDW has films in development at Dimension Films and Paramount Pictures, as well.

About The Hasbro Properties Group

The Hasbro Properties Group (HPG), the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro, Inc., (NYSE:HAS), translates one of the industry's richest portfolios of brands into a world of fun and excitement for children and adults globally. Through a host of publishing, digital media, lifestyle and entertainment platforms, HPG is able to surround fans worldwide with consumer products that expand Hasbro's core brands, such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, MY LITTLE PONY, MONOPOLY, G.I. JOE, TONKA and PLAYSKOOL.