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Shane McCarthy: The mini kicks off after Drift was booted from the Lost Light and deals with what he’s been doing since then. It’s been a lot of fun because I’m incorporating the elements James brought to his character in the ongoing bookwhile also bringing the focus back towards his internal struggles with what the war did to him and what it meant to switch sides.

I’m including some great villains—seriously, they’re so much fun, and I’ve also brought in Ratchet. I loved the chemistry James brought to those two so, as you know, I lobbied hard to be able to use Ratchet in this. There’s rogue Decepticons, a hidden army, and a ton of action. Plus a good hard look at who Drift is underneath his cavalier exterior.

Guido Guidi: Drift, like a wandering samurai... in space! After leaving the Lost Light, he’s been pretty much on his own, and guess what—the universe is still full of bad guys... and some unexpected friends.

I’m currently sitting in a hotel in Stockholm working on the script for Drift: Empire of Stone #3. I’m loving the hell out of writing this and wanted to share some random thoughts…

I’ve seen a lot of tweeting and retweeting about the series on Twitter and I’m really thankful for all of the excitement out there. John (Transformers editor) tells me the reaction at Botcon to the series announcement was big and that’s really exciting to hear. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks.

The biggest kick in all of this is working with Guido again. The Gui’s art is brilliant but partnering up with him again is bringing me back to the amazing AHM days.

It dawned on me that this is the first time I’ve been able to write Drift as I originally imagined him to be. He spent much of his time in the background of AHM and then the Spotlight and the mini series that followed focused on Drift in the past, a Drift that was in a lot of turmoil. Not to suggest he still isn’t but he wasn’t the cavalier, good humoured Autobot I originally conceived him to be yet. His good humour and often present smile certainly hides a lot of inner pain but in those flashbacks the pain was all on the surface. It’s three issues in so far and Drift is definitely a guy I’m enjoying hanging out with. And let it be known, Drift’s time on the Lost Light definitely plays into the series.
With the Drift Spotlight Director’s Cut out it’s been revealed that Ratchet is playing a big part in this and THAT’S been a hoot. I was over the moon when John gave me the go ahead to be able to use him.

John is a champion and has been great to work with. I’ve been lucky with getting to work with great editors during my career and John’s no different.

Lastly, a big shout out to “Sprite” for her help wayyyyy back when I was formulating all this. It’s good to have a Transformer expert’s brain to pick.

Anyway, back to the script and thank you for all the support out there!

Heckfire wrote:I'm kinda torn. On one hand, this feels a little too much like "ROB LIEFIELD COMES BACK TO DO SHATTERSTAR!", where a creator comes back to one of his creations who was turned from an embarrassing joke under his hand into a popular character under someone else's JUST for the sake of a gimmick buck. On the other hand, I am legitimately curious as to whether McCarthy will keep the character development Drift received in MTMTE and build on it, plus the artwork looks pretty good to boot.

If I see it before I read any reviews, I'll check it out.

Shane McCarthy wrote: Empire of Stone" takes place after Drift was booted off the Lost Light and sent on his way into the galaxy. It's about what he's been doing while he's been gone and how he's trying to be relevant and find his place in the galaxy now he's neither Autobot or Decepticon. Knowing Drift was wrongly accused, Ratchet comes looking for him to bring him back and the two become well and truly caught up in something from Drift's days as a Decepticon. While Drift is trying to save the galaxy, Ratchet is attempting to save Drift from himself. Buddy cop meets space adventure.

Later this month, writer Shane McCarthy returns to the samurai Transformer he created in "Drift: Empire of Stone," a four-issue mini-series from IDW Publishing with artist Guido Guidi. As a former Decepticon who found sanctuary with the Autobots, Drift is currently on a journey of self-discovery, attempting to discover his place in the Galaxy. Along with Autobot medic Ratchet, who is along for the ride to help clear Drift's name from a wrongful accusation, Drift will go through what McCarthy describes as "buddy cop meets space adventure."

The writer discussed re-visiting his samurai Transformer in the new IDW mini-series "Drift: Empire of Stone," revealing why Drift finds himself without alliances yet again, his feelings on Michael Bay's interpretation of the character in "Transformers: Age of Extinction" (and why it was "bordering on offensive") and more.

CBR News: Shane, what's the main story behind "Drift: Empire of Stone?"

Shane McCarthy: "Empire of Stone" takes place after Drift was booted off the Lost Light and sent on his way into the galaxy. It's about what he's been doing while he's been gone and how he's trying to be relevant and find his place in the galaxy now he's neither Autobot or Decepticon. Knowing Drift was wrongly accused, Ratchet comes looking for him to bring him back and the two become well and truly caught up in something from Drift's days as a Decepticon. While Drift is trying to save the galaxy, Ratchet is attempting to save Drift from himself. Buddy cop meets space adventure.

[...]

Are you coordinating your story at all with IDW "Transformers" architects John Barber or James Roberts? Will it connect to either "Robots in Disguise" or "More than Meets the Eye?"

Nothing beyond having John as my editor, no. John let me know what happened prior to "Empire of Stone" and I read up on Drift's appearances but, outside of that John's left me completely alone. He's a great guy to work with. Whilst the mini series takes place after the events on the Lost Light, the mini doesn't connect with the major books.

What's it like working with artist Guido Guidi?

Working with Gui is always a treat. He's a great artist! As I was writing up "Empire of Stone" I was sending Guido ideas and letting him know what characters I'd be using that he'd need to design. As the scripts start coming through to him he sends through sketches and pages for John and I to look at. It's like Christmas every time. I really enjoy working with Guido a lot and was over the moon when I found out we'd be able to work together. He was the one guy I really wanted for this and it's fantastic to come together to work on the character we created.

He won't be the wacky hippie guy that's been seen in the comics recently

I think the "Transformer" films are terrible cinema with no story or plot to speak of.

JazZeke wrote:

He won't be the wacky hippie guy that's been seen in the comics recently

But that was miles more interesting--and fleshed out--than anything he did with his own character.

I think the "Transformer" films are terrible cinema with no story or plot to speak of.

Funny, that's what I think about "All Hail Megatron" sometimes.

Randomhero wrote:

JazZeke wrote:

He won't be the wacky hippie guy that's been seen in the comics recently

But that was miles more interesting--and fleshed out--than anything he did with his own character.

I think the "Transformer" films are terrible cinema with no story or plot to speak of.

Funny, that's what I think about "All Hail Megatron" sometimes.

You want to put the entire sentence from the quote instead of stopping where nodoubt you quit reading? He's not ignoring Drifts character development from MTMTE, it's going to be there as background like McCarthy even says in the rest of the sentence, but he's going to try and developed him further into what he-as the creator- always imagined.

Dead Metal wrote:So Drift will ignore all the character development he's had, plus instead of leaving the Lost Light as a fall guy (his own idea) he'll actually be kicked of and look for his lot in life, also Ratchet (the Lost Light's medic who's been on the ship before and after Drift left) will come looking for him.

Ignoring continuity and the rest of the comics, as usual, classic McCarthy.