The Energon Pub

END OF THE ROAD

Well, after five years and over six hundred and fifty individual pieces, we have both decided that the time has come to bring the Transformers: Mosaic project to an end. A number of reasons could be cited for drawing the project to a close, but ultimately, it was never going to last forever. We had a pretty good run, and it’s just time to bow out.

It’s been a true honor to watch the project which began as a humble collaboration on the IDW Forums grow to become a fandom institution, and even it’s own genre of Transformers storytelling. The project enjoyed incredible support from the wider Transformers community, and even the stewards of the franchise itself. We’ve had the blessed opportunity to work with some talented and passionate people, and even played a small part in launching a few professional careers.

So, what does this mean for anyone currently working on a submission for the project?

Well, first off, the 'Transformers the Movie - Special Edition' sub-project is no longer a stand-alone entity, and any pieces that were part of it, would now become regular submissions.

There are still a few completed pieces in the pile, and they will continue to be released as usual. These should take us through to the end of June 2012, so any other pieces that are completed and submitted before this time, would be released an included under the 'Transformers: Mosaic' banner.

After that time, any other pieces would be the responsibility of the creative team to release themselves. We do ask that any of these pieces, do not include the 'Transformers: Mosaic' logo, and are not advertised as such.

Obviously, this is not the end of Transformers fan-fiction. The project has spawned a number of other similar projects, just as TF: Mosaic itself sprang out of inspiration from an earlier one. There are many dedicated people in the community to keep telling their own tales. As a wise man once said, “It never ends”.

Thanks again to everyone who has; written, drawn, colored, lettered, commented on or just supported a Mosaic. This project truly was by the fans, for the fans. Take a bow, all of you.

It’s been an amazing five years, and we were lucky to be a part of it. We now look forward to where the creative community will go from here. Now get out there and write and draw the future.

-Josh van Reyk & Shaun Knowler
Townsville, Australia / Vancouver, Canada
May 2012

We have some sad news to report this evening, the Transformers: Mosaic project is coming to an end. Since the project's inception in 2007 it has generated over 650 pieces, most of which have been chronicled right here on Seibertron.com (click here to check them out)! Over the years countless fans and many professional, including Hall of Famer Simon Furman, have contributed to help flesh out the vast Transformers universe. A big thanks to Josh van Reyk, Shaun Knowler, and all the other talented individuals who brought this project to life!

END OF THE ROAD

Well, after five years and over six hundred and fifty individual pieces, we have both decided that the time has come to bring the Transformers: Mosaic project to an end. A number of reasons could be cited for drawing the project to a close, but ultimately, it was never going to last forever. We had a pretty good run, and it’s just time to bow out.

It’s been a true honor to watch the project which began as a humble collaboration on the IDW Forums grow to become a fandom institution, and even it’s own genre of Transformers storytelling. The project enjoyed incredible support from the wider Transformers community, and even the stewards of the franchise itself. We’ve had the blessed opportunity to work with some talented and passionate people, and even played a small part in launching a few professional careers.

So, what does this mean for anyone currently working on a submission for the project?

Well, first off, the 'Transformers the Movie - Special Edition' sub-project is no longer a stand-alone entity, and any pieces that were part of it, would now become regular submissions.

There are still a few completed pieces in the pile, and they will continue to be released as usual. These should take us through to the end of June 2012, so any other pieces that are completed and submitted before this time, would be released an included under the 'Transformers: Mosaic' banner.

After that time, any other pieces would be the responsibility of the creative team to release themselves. We do ask that any of these pieces, do not include the 'Transformers: Mosaic' logo, and are not advertised as such.

Obviously, this is not the end of Transformers fan-fiction. The project has spawned a number of other similar projects, just as TF: Mosaic itself sprang out of inspiration from an earlier one. There are many dedicated people in the community to keep telling their own tales. As a wise man once said, “It never ends”.

Thanks again to everyone who has; written, drawn, colored, lettered, commented on or just supported a Mosaic. This project truly was by the fans, for the fans. Take a bow, all of you.

It’s been an amazing five years, and we were lucky to be a part of it. We now look forward to where the creative community will go from here. Now get out there and write and draw the future.

-Josh van Reyk & Shaun Knowler
Townsville, Australia / Vancouver, Canada
May 2012

That's a shame. I've always wanted to do a mosaic, but I have no artistic talent myself.

I wonder if they'll compile them all into a book or something. I'd buy it!

Noooo!1! I loved these, well most of them

UltraPrimal wrote:I wonder if they'll compile them all into a book or something. I'd buy it!

That's a great Idea, I'd buy that book too

I has a sad.

I had a few ideas, but never knew how to contribute. (That was one thing that was never made clear, at least here.) Still, I'm not saddened by this loss. A lot of it was non-sequitor, one shot, nonsense kind of stuff. Some of the art was fantastic, some of the stories were good, but for the most part, it had always struck me as pointless. Like the worst filler episodes of a crappy show season. It needed more structure, I thought.

We're not being told something. Why would it end? I seldom comment, especially with something negative, but this is BS. I will miss it. People love it. The site is about all aspects of TF fandom, so why does it end? There's more to this. Gotta be.

I always liked the Mosaics. Not all were of the same constant quality, but on the whole, they were very enjoyable and all showed a lot of love for the Transformers franchise. 650+ Mosaics... I wonder how many of those I missed. I hope for quite a few, cause I'm going to miss that Mosaic fix.

I'm not sure if ending the Mosaics has anything to do with Hasbro's reported crackdown on 'third party' stuff and a bigger focus on protecting their intellectual property, but I wouldn't put it past them.

alldarker wrote:I always liked the Mosaics. Not all were of the same constant quality, but on the whole, they were very enjoyable and all showed a lot of love for the Transformers franchise. 650+ Mosaics... I wonder how many of those I missed. I hope for quite a few, cause I'm going to miss that Mosaic fix.

I'm not sure if ending the Mosaics has anything to do with Hasbro's reported crackdown on 'third party' stuff and a bigger focus on protecting their intellectual property, but I wouldn't put it past them.

I need to make this very clear, Hasbro, or any other outside party, had nothing to do with the decission to end the project.

well that sucks

Richter wrote:(...)
I need to make this very clear, Hasbro, or any other outside party, had nothing to do with the decission to end the project.

Thanks for clearing that up!
Glad to hear there's no need for unwarranted blame where none is deserved.

Richter wrote:

alldarker wrote:I always liked the Mosaics. Not all were of the same constant quality, but on the whole, they were very enjoyable and all showed a lot of love for the Transformers franchise. 650+ Mosaics... I wonder how many of those I missed. I hope for quite a few, cause I'm going to miss that Mosaic fix.

I'm not sure if ending the Mosaics has anything to do with Hasbro's reported crackdown on 'third party' stuff and a bigger focus on protecting their intellectual property, but I wouldn't put it past them.

I need to make this very clear, Hasbro, or any other outside party, had nothing to do with the decission to end the project.

OK so be straight with us. "Things end" is not really a reason. It's popularity is still established. If Seibertron is trying to take some new direction, I guess that's... something but I don't think alienating the fans by not giving us valid reasons for our direction is a good start.

Well then, I'll take this chance to offer my sincerest thanks and congratulations to all who were involved.

Its been truly entertaining. I appreciate all that went into the project . The art, the stories, the hard work and the damn right bizarre all of which offered something to the fandom.

It will be missed but all good things must come to an end.

That is seriously too bad. So many sick one-pagers over the last lil while, I still have a ton to look through.

Asepticon wrote:

Richter wrote:

alldarker wrote:I always liked the Mosaics. Not all were of the same constant quality, but on the whole, they were very enjoyable and all showed a lot of love for the Transformers franchise. 650+ Mosaics... I wonder how many of those I missed. I hope for quite a few, cause I'm going to miss that Mosaic fix.

I'm not sure if ending the Mosaics has anything to do with Hasbro's reported crackdown on 'third party' stuff and a bigger focus on protecting their intellectual property, but I wouldn't put it past them.

I need to make this very clear, Hasbro, or any other outside party, had nothing to do with the decission to end the project.

OK so be straight with us. "Things end" is not really a reason. It's popularity is still established. If Seibertron is trying to take some new direction, I guess that's... something but I don't think alienating the fans by not giving us valid reasons for our direction is a good start.

Unless I missed a memo, Seibertron.com had nothing to do with this either. Why would we when we've just started to push the creative forums?

Asepticon wrote:OK so be straight with us. "Things end" is not really a reason.

Yeah, it's not like they would just step away from the project, so someone else could continue it - it's the forbidding of further useing the Mosaic logo 'n stuff which gives it a strong fishy smell.

They actively put a forceful stop to a prospering project.
That reads: Someone has an agenda for a future in which an active Mosaic project must not exist.

Wonder who (and why) that might be?

I'll be sad to see TF: Mosaic go. Always enjoyed the entries, especially liked that I had to research some characters to know who was involved sometimes which ended up furthering what I knew about different TF continuities. So long and thanks for all the fish Mosaics

For all that most mosaics were just throw-away one shots and "What If..."s, some of the best ones actually smoothed over continuity problems in official fiction, like the one that addressed what was going through Op's head when he decided to commit suicide over that video game in Marvel #24 ("That is Why"?), and the one where Boltax told Omega Supreme about gestalt technology being mind-wiped from all TF memory, potentially allowing "The War Within" to fit in IDW continuity.

Ah well, it's not like they'll crack down on DeviantArt, which already has hundreds of unapproved Mosaic attempts anyway. Everyone just needs to agree on a 3rd-Party-esque name for them, like "Transformers Tiny Tiles". They'll never get official acknowledgement, but the spirit will live on.

Congrats on keeping it going for this long! I'm glad to have been a part of it as miniscule as my part was.

It is a shame that it's ending, but I did enjoy a lot of them. Good fortunes on your next project!

Wow, that's a bummer.

Okay, something here does NOT sound right. Why would it bother these peeps that the Transformer Mosaic name / logo be used on any future one piece fan fiction pieces?

I get the STRONG feeling that we're not being told something, and I don't like it. Someone told them to pull the plug... someone is threatening legal action... or someone is being paid off.

Either tell us the whole truth, or admit that "someone" is keeping you from speaking up.

There's no conspiracies folks, it's just time to shut down.

There's nothing stopping anyone from starting a whole new project of their own. We're just putting the bookends on TF Mosaic itself.

Thanks for all the kind words and support over the years everyone!

-Shaun

Aw. I'm bummed about this because it highlighted some of the best fan art, and kept things in a framework.

I don't want to dig through thousands of deviant art pages about fan-characters, and what-ifs to be able to find the serious, classy, in-continuity, great ideas, writing, and art. I don't have the time or effort to filter through all the mediocre stuff to find the "Mosiaics."

I'm truly going to miss Mosaics and it its regularly being featured.

So seriously, someone pick up the gauntlet and take the helm of continuing this properly? Proofing and keeping up to snuff and in continuity?

Well, Heres an idea!
Get a ragtag group of site members with alot of time on their hands to go through Devientart and pull out all the best ones, then you can feature "The best of Mosaics" on the front page.
Just a thought...