The Energon Pub

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 9:46 am

Yesterday we had the BIG guest news, how about some BIG comic news today? Fun Publications are thrilled to announce that they have partnered with IDW Publishing to produce this year's BotCon comic, Transformers: Dawn of the Predacus!

The comic is written by John-Paul Bove and drawn by the very talented Corin Howell. If you've been following the IDW comics, those names should be very familiar to you! Also familiar to you will be the comic's setting - it is set in the same Beast Wars expanded universe as IDW's two Beast Wars titles: The Ascending and The Gathering!

The first printing of Dawn of the Predacus will be available at BotCon and feature an exclusive cover as well as all of the convention program and event information.

News Credits: 1235 · by **LOST Cybertronian** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 11:38 pm

Today the gentlemen over at BotCon 2016 released some new details pertaining to the BotCon 2016 comic Dawn of the Predacus. Fellow Seibertronian and Transformers Collectors' Club liaison TF_JW breaks down the details for us.

TF_JW wrote:Yesterday we had the BIG guest news, how about some BIG comic news today? Fun Publications are thrilled to announce that they have partnered with IDW Publishing to produce this year's BotCon comic, Transformers: Dawn of the Predacus!

The comic is written by John-Paul Bove and drawn by the very talented Corin Howell. If you've been following the IDW comics, those names should be very familiar to you! Also familiar to you will be the comic's setting - it is set in the same Beast Wars expanded universe as IDW's two Beast Wars titles: The Ascending and The Gathering!

The first printing of Dawn of the Predacus will be available at BotCon and feature an exclusive cover as well as all of the convention program and event information.

Additionally, by JP Bove directly, we have this extra information about the setting of the story in the wider timeline:

For fans of both Beast Wars and G1, Dawn of Predacus is set during the last 48 hours of the Great War...

The story is completely in continuity (the wibbly wobbly G1, G2, BW continuity) and features some HUGE moments in TF history.

by **Henry921** » Sat Mar 05, 2016 5:39 am

Well, that opens up a whole slew of new options for the cast appearances.

Here's hoping for a Cybertronian Razorbeast to go with Lio Convoy.

News Credits: 2 · by **grimlockprime108** » Sat Mar 05, 2016 7:40 am

my transmetal 2 razorbeast custom will feel right at home at this year's custom contest

News Credits: 459 · by **Sabrblade** » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:14 pm

TF_JW wrote:it is set in the same Beast Wars expanded universe as IDW's two Beast Wars titles: The Ascending and The Gathering!

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:24 pm

To clarify, it's in continuity with the Beast Wars cartoon and doesn't contradict anything in the IDW comics.

So, yeah, that technically makes in that universe. However, its setting places it in the last couple days of the Great War, which means it really doesn't come in contact with anything from the two previous IDW Beast Wars titles.

JP Bove has been mulling this story over for YEARS (some minor tweaks needed to fit the BotCon characters into it, of course) and I'm really happy for him that he has this chance to tell it!

News Credits: 6188 · by **Va'al** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 7:28 am

The artist for this year's BotCon comic 'Dawn of the Predacus' Corin Howell, has shared on her Twitter account a one-panel sneak preview of Megatron's character as he will appear in the book - or at least the roughs of the image. Check it out mirrored below!

News Credits: 653 · by **ScottyP** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 8:43 am

by **Microraptor** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 8:45 am

PLEASE let this relate to the rubber ducky in some way.

Website · by **Flux Convoy** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 11:17 am

Just... WTeverlovingF is that? Are you kidding?

News Credits: 459 · by **Sabrblade** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 11:23 am

Flux Convoy wrote:Just... WTeverlovingF is that? Are you kidding?

Well, at least this time we can't blame Fun Pub for this since this is all IDW's handiwork.

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 11:33 am

Those are digital pencils.

Artists who work in the digital medium tend to have much looser pencils since it's that much easier to move onto inks by simply creating another layer. The looser pencils also allow for a greater sense of fluidity and motion as the lines are cleaned and tightened in subsequent layers.

If you want to check out something a little more representative of Corin Howell's final work, you can check out her pages for IDW's Windblade and Jem and the Holograms comics, or go to her site.

Website · by **Flux Convoy** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 11:51 am

I was referring to the ridiculous face. I'm familiar enough with the finished work. I'd hardly call it better. At least for Transformers. For humor books,man, knock yourself out! Seems completely out of the blue to have her do this comic when current IDW Beast Wars is so radically different than what this ties into. I WANT to be pleasantly surprised. I don't think there's been a Botcon comic I don't like. I'd like to think that something I'm this interested in WON'T be the letdown I'm imagining. I want to be wrong.

News Credits: 2 · by **Hero Alpha** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 12:44 pm

Her work on the Windblade comics was awesome. Hopefully I will get a change to check out the Botcon comic.

News Credits: 6188 · by **Va'al** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:10 pm

As we get closer to BotCon 2016, and with the IDW/FunPub collaboration on this year's comic - Dawn of the Predacus - recently confirmed, we thought we'd reach out to one of the creators behind it, to get a little further into the process and the story: colourist turned writer, and fellow partial Italian, John-Paul Bove!

--

Va'al - Hi John-Paul! It's great to hear you'll be working on the insides of another Transformers comic, though this time you're actually at a keyboard rather than with a palette! How did you get the gig?

JP - The short answer? Lots and LOTS of death threats.

Probably how the talks went down at IDW

The longer answer is that outside of Transformers and IDW I had been writing for some time on creator owned stories and writing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles here in the UK. I had been pitching some ideas for Transformers stories for some years, but with the amazing IDWverse books they're planned a long way in advance so there's not much space for any additional tales in there. I'd nailed my colours to the mast regarding working on a G1 cartoon continuation comic and I'd also approached IDW with an idea for a Beast Wars book to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Interestingly these two ideas had the potential to dovetail together and connect if necessary. When FunPub looked to partner with IDW to produce the comic, John approached me to pitch and the rest is (future) history!

Va'al - Perseverance seems to be the way to go, then - a tip to keep in mind. So when Barber approached you, did you get a guideline or directive, or were you given free rein as to what the story might do (other than include this year's toys, of course)?

JP - My main guideline was that it had to be in continuity (which any BW fan will know is an interesting and muddy one) and it had to feature the toys. I had already pitched a mini series that would bridge the gap between G1 and Beast Wars so the story was always going to live in that time frame. A lot of the characters that the toys represent were already baked into the story so the main challenge or restriction was getting as much of what I planned into just one issue. I had to take my original outline and focus in on a very specific part and specific time and place from it.

It is a very full issue and the goals I set myself were that it should be a Beast Wars and G1 story that matters, with moments that shape and add to your understanding of the mythology in ways that are both inevitable AND surprising. I really wanted to see what some G1 characters had become and what some Beast Wars characters were like before they had become the characters we knew.

If I ever get the chance to expand on this it has been built in such a way that it is the middle part of a trilogy. The first part would be very G1 centric and the third part more BW centric with this issue functioning as a bridge. There's a really, really incredible moment, a scene between two important characters that I would love to one day tell. What starts Dawn of the Predacus off is the consequences of an act of sacrifice that make the Great War anyone's to win or lose.

DotP is a complete one shot but we know it isn't the end, we know some of these characters continue into BW and we know that some G1 characters don't make it through the Great War. There's still a lot of time between here and the Beast Wars (and here and The Rebirth) that I had planned out and hope to one day tell you all about.

Va'al - That sounds like you really planned the events out quite a lot already before getting the brief, definitely! You mention a number of characters that you wanted to include: was anyone forcibly or inevitably left out?

JP - Oh yeah, I'd been planning these stories out a long time before the opportunity came up. I can't say too much as there are still other characters getting toys to be revealed, but there's a lot of G1 characters I wanted to touch on. Again, if the book does well maybe we will see them yet! Mainly there are characters I'd like to have had more time to play with, especially Tarantulas.

Va'al - We are seeing a very different Tarantulas in IDW's version of events, of course, but that's another story... So we are to find something bridging a gap, which feeds from established work and feeding into other established work - what was the hardest part to tweak to make it all work, in your opinion?

JP - I'm a continuity junkie so finding the connections between various points on the timeline was something that came quite naturally. The hardest part was deciding what to leave out as the space I had was limited. I wanted to avoid multiple timelines and realities, and have what happens here to inform and have impact on the stories we're already familiar with. Just because we know the war ends doesn't mean we know HOW the war ends.

Though the big challenge was that the Beast Wars show referenced points from various continuities that contradict each other. Making sure that that this story was in continuity with as much of those other stories as possible was tricky, but hopefully rewarding for most fans.

Va'al - I do not envy you that task, at all. Was there anything you were particularly pleased to have been able to work in, either as an in-joke, a reference, or just a personal itch scratched?

JP - There is a Transformers the Movie nod which was so satisfying... I think, beyond getting to give characters I adore new words to say and new characters some life, my main satisfaction comes from setting the foundation for things in Beast Wars that were perhaps not best explained and seeing how their origins stem from G1 events... It adds another layer to stories we already know.

Va'al - I'm sure we'll be seeing it for ourselves very shortly, at this stage! Before we round this off, how was collaborating with someone else on the visuals, this time round? How was the experience of working with Corin Howell?

Not the BotCon comic

JP - I'd worked with Corin before on a couple of pages but I'd also had the good fortune to meet her at last year's San Diego Comic Con. Her style is very different from what I'd worked with in the past, a more expressive, more animated look which in a way captures two aspects of both G1 and Beast Wars. As a colourist it gives you a lot to play with as well. Of course she has the misfortune to deal with me as a writer and a colourist! Who can she complain to about the demanding writer or the unreliable colourist!?

Va'al - She'll be up to the challenge, I'm sure. JP, it's been great to have you have this chat with us to build up some extra hype for the comic and BotCon - thank you for joining us! Are there any last words you want to throw out to readers and fans?

JP - Only that I hope everyone has a great BotCon, the guests are amazing, the artists are amazing and the toys (some still very secret) are going to knock your socks off! I hope people enjoy the book too, naturally! And if you do please spread the word, there's so much more story to tell! Thanks to everyone that has supported me and the books I've coloured and really pushed to have me write something in the Transformers universe, it's a dream come true.

Oh, and don't forget to sign the petition for a G1 Cartoon universe comic!

--

BotCon 2016 will take place in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 7-10th. You can check out news and coverage of the event, as things happen, right here on Seibertron.com, and join in the discussion in the Energon Pub boards!

by **OptimusPrimeval** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 5:08 pm

Ah... This is what I've been waiting for since 1996! The story at least, the exclusive figures are going to be slightly out of my price range unfortunately.

News Credits: 459 · by **Sabrblade** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 1:00 am

There's still a lot of time between here and the Beast Wars (and here and The Rebirth)

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 11:40 am

Would you like some preview pages??

https://www.facebook.com/BotConOfficial/posts/1152485964791861

News Credits: 6188 · by **Va'al** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 4:57 pm

Once again via BotCon correspondent on Seibertron.com TF_JW, we have two unlettered preview pages from the event's comic, as written and coloured by JP Bove and drawn by Corin Howell - check them out mirrored below!

Here is your first look at the finished colored pages 1 and 2 from next month's BotCon comic "Transformers: Dawn of the Predacus" published by IDW. This fantastic Beast Wars 20th anniversary story was written by John-Paul Bove with art by the very talented Corin Howell. Get the limited edition convention edition next month at BotCon 2016 in Louisville, Ky April 7-10. See you there!

News Credits: 1 · by **Lucky Logician** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 6:32 pm

I'm sure everyone noticed that the Autobots are Silverbolt, Prowl, & Ironhide (a nice reference to Magnaboss). But can anyone make out who are in the pods? I just can't quite make them out.

News Credits: 1642 · by **D-Maximal_Primal** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:36 pm

So those 3 together eh? Interesting... :MAXIMAL:

by **Gearslide** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 9:27 pm

I'm just saying, if they had a 2 Pack of Torca (Maybe from the Rook mold) and Air Hammer (An Aerilbot mold) with red colored Combiner limbs at Botcon, they could EASILY give people a Magnaboss/Maximal High Council combiner using CW Silverbolt, Ironhide, and Prowl with them.

You'd use Prowl and Air Hammer as the arms with the new red combiner kibble for the hands, and Torca and Ironhide for the legs with the Silver Combiner kibble (From CW Prowl and Ironhide) for the feet.

They could even go the (unlikely) extra mile and make a new head to swap out Superion's with that was vaguely Magnaboss-y, but that isn't completely necessary.

News Credits: 459 · by **Sabrblade** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 9:35 pm

Gearslide wrote:I'm just saying, if they have a 2 Pack of

Three of the four souvenir sets this year are singular figures. Only the troop builder set is a multi-pack.

And only one of them is a CW Deluxe mold. The other three are a non-CW Deluxe mold (who is a Maximal), the centerpiece Transmetal 3 Megatron, and the troop builder set consisting of a CW Legends mold.

by **Gearslide** » Wed Mar 09, 2016 9:38 pm

Sabrblade wrote:
Gearslide wrote:I'm just saying, if they have a 2 Pack of
Three of the four souvenir sets this year are singular figures. Only the troop builder set is a multi-pack.

And only one of them is a CW Deluxe mold. The other three are a non-CW Deluxe mold (who is a Maximal), the centerpiece Transmetal 3 Megatron, and the troop builder set consisting of a CW Legends mold.

Yeah, I meant that as a hypothetical/wasted opportunity. I meant to say "if they had" not "have".

News Credits: 388 · by **Bounti76** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 2:20 am

Well color me a bit impressed. Howell's art has improved greatly from the Windblade mini. Better proportions, stronger lines. Almost makes me overlook the fact that she still draws every single bot like they're constantly pulling goofy faces.