Seibertron.com interview with Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:23 pmSaturday at BotCon, Delicon and Savage of Seibertron.com got the chance to sit down with Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster, the guys behind The Complete Ark and Allspark Almanac books. Read the interview below to get the latest scoop on their upcoming book, the Allspark Almanac II!
Seibertron.com: How did you guys first get into Transformers?
Bill: I'd been into it as a kid, but I got out of it and more into comic books. I've known Jim since about 1990. He went to Japan for a while, comes back, and says "I got you a gift” it was Transmetal 2 Blackarachnia. It just completely sucked me in.
Jim: Bill's a big fan of sexy women. I knew that if I got him a Transformer that was hitting the sort of things he's into, removable cyberbras, that he'd come around. [laughs} I got in in 1984. I really liked Star Wars, Voltron, I'd been into that sort of show. Every year on my birthday, dad would take me into New York City and let me pick out robots. When I was 8, Transformers started coming out. The advertisements looked like the coolest thing. From there, I just never got out of Transformers.
Seibertron.com: What made you think this might be something you could be involved with on a professional level?
Jim: I've always been interested in the character models, so I had a pretty large collection of character models going into 2005. I had a lot of them, so I decided to make a book out of it. I had no artistic talents, so I found Bill, and we made this pitch to IDW and eventually they bought it and we got to make the book. A little bit of passion and too much time on your hands.
Seibertron.com: What books have the two of you done together?
Bill: First Ark, second Ark, and of course the almanac books--the second one will be out Wednesday.
(Editor's note: "Wednesday" was yesterday, and the Allspark Almanac II is now available!)
Seibertron.com: What things are you most excited about in the new book?
Bill: We've expanded the universe a great deal, lots of new characters.
Jim: I'm most excited about expanding the scope of the book. The first book was basically just animation models. The second one is more textual, trivia, and information. In the third book, we basically embrace the fiction. The fourth book includes every character model from season three, and the last quarter of the book is a behind-the-scenes on how the cartoon and toyline are made, who the people are behind them.
Bill: It's a nice balance, we're being very creative and putting some journalistic skills to work. It has a very large scope.
Seibertron.com: Obviously, this book centers around the Transformers: Animated universe. As fans, what were your initial impressions of Animated?
Bill: Very Bruce Timm. It reflected his style. I was leery to see if Transformers would work in his style, but clearly it did.
Jim: It was similar for me, but the difference was that I thought “How are they gonna make toys that look like this?” But they managed, and they really captured the feel of this dynamic, unique, superheroey silhouette. I think a lot of the guys deserve the credit, guys like Eric Seibenaler.
Seibertron.com: Animated was the first Transformers series designed initially for the US market, with no real plans for a Japanese release. Now that it's coming out in Japan, how successful do you think it will be?
Jim: I would imagine they would really embrace it. It embodies some of the heart and underlying spirit, or spark, of anime. There is a lot of movement and dynamic elements to it that I think they'll like.
Seibertron.com: Jim, your blog, Disciples of Boltax has really developed a following amongst the fandom. What inspired you to start?
Bill: Jim's a workaholic, the blog gives him a daily project.
Jim: I usually find 27-28 hours a day, it helps that my other car is a TARDIS. I have lots of energy, so I need multiple outlets, and the blog is one of them. I also have great contributors, folks like David Bishop, Iván Mas, Monzo, Zobovor, and of course Bill Forster. Oh, Kurisama, the guy who did the Steelhaven cutaway in the book, just let me post some of his stuff to the blog. You should check it out!
Seibertron.com: Well, we'll wrap this up and let you guys get rolling, but is there anything else you'd like to tell people about your book? Sell away, fellas!
Jim: You'd be hard-pressed to find a guidebook that has more love and more passion than Allspark Almanac II. So if you love Transformers, I think you'll find the book full of fun, humor, and of course great artwork from Bill, Matere, and lots of other artists. If you want to know how the cartoon and toyline came about, this book will tell you.
Bill: If you're familiar with the first book, this one is ten times better!
Seibertron.com would like to thank Jim and Bill for their time and wish them the best of luck with the sales of this book. As a reminder, it is now available on Amazon.com.
Also, they will be having a book signing in Burbank, California on Saturday, July 3rd at 1:00 PM. Jim, Bill, Derrick Wyatt and Marty Isenberg will be signing autographs and giving out sketches at Emerald Knights, 4116 West Burbank Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91505, (818) 588-3631.
Seibertron.com: How did you guys first get into Transformers?
Bill: I'd been into it as a kid, but I got out of it and more into comic books. I've known Jim since about 1990. He went to Japan for a while, comes back, and says "I got you a gift” it was Transmetal 2 Blackarachnia. It just completely sucked me in.
Jim: Bill's a big fan of sexy women. I knew that if I got him a Transformer that was hitting the sort of things he's into, removable cyberbras, that he'd come around. [laughs} I got in in 1984. I really liked Star Wars, Voltron, I'd been into that sort of show. Every year on my birthday, dad would take me into New York City and let me pick out robots. When I was 8, Transformers started coming out. The advertisements looked like the coolest thing. From there, I just never got out of Transformers.
Seibertron.com: What made you think this might be something you could be involved with on a professional level?
Jim: I've always been interested in the character models, so I had a pretty large collection of character models going into 2005. I had a lot of them, so I decided to make a book out of it. I had no artistic talents, so I found Bill, and we made this pitch to IDW and eventually they bought it and we got to make the book. A little bit of passion and too much time on your hands.
Seibertron.com: What books have the two of you done together?
Bill: First Ark, second Ark, and of course the almanac books--the second one will be out Wednesday.
(Editor's note: "Wednesday" was yesterday, and the Allspark Almanac II is now available!)
Seibertron.com: What things are you most excited about in the new book?
Bill: We've expanded the universe a great deal, lots of new characters.
Jim: I'm most excited about expanding the scope of the book. The first book was basically just animation models. The second one is more textual, trivia, and information. In the third book, we basically embrace the fiction. The fourth book includes every character model from season three, and the last quarter of the book is a behind-the-scenes on how the cartoon and toyline are made, who the people are behind them.
Bill: It's a nice balance, we're being very creative and putting some journalistic skills to work. It has a very large scope.
Seibertron.com: Obviously, this book centers around the Transformers: Animated universe. As fans, what were your initial impressions of Animated?
Bill: Very Bruce Timm. It reflected his style. I was leery to see if Transformers would work in his style, but clearly it did.
Jim: It was similar for me, but the difference was that I thought “How are they gonna make toys that look like this?” But they managed, and they really captured the feel of this dynamic, unique, superheroey silhouette. I think a lot of the guys deserve the credit, guys like Eric Seibenaler.
Seibertron.com: Animated was the first Transformers series designed initially for the US market, with no real plans for a Japanese release. Now that it's coming out in Japan, how successful do you think it will be?
Jim: I would imagine they would really embrace it. It embodies some of the heart and underlying spirit, or spark, of anime. There is a lot of movement and dynamic elements to it that I think they'll like.
Seibertron.com: Jim, your blog, Disciples of Boltax has really developed a following amongst the fandom. What inspired you to start?
Bill: Jim's a workaholic, the blog gives him a daily project.
Jim: I usually find 27-28 hours a day, it helps that my other car is a TARDIS. I have lots of energy, so I need multiple outlets, and the blog is one of them. I also have great contributors, folks like David Bishop, Iván Mas, Monzo, Zobovor, and of course Bill Forster. Oh, Kurisama, the guy who did the Steelhaven cutaway in the book, just let me post some of his stuff to the blog. You should check it out!
Seibertron.com: Well, we'll wrap this up and let you guys get rolling, but is there anything else you'd like to tell people about your book? Sell away, fellas!
Jim: You'd be hard-pressed to find a guidebook that has more love and more passion than Allspark Almanac II. So if you love Transformers, I think you'll find the book full of fun, humor, and of course great artwork from Bill, Matere, and lots of other artists. If you want to know how the cartoon and toyline came about, this book will tell you.
Bill: If you're familiar with the first book, this one is ten times better!
Seibertron.com would like to thank Jim and Bill for their time and wish them the best of luck with the sales of this book. As a reminder, it is now available on Amazon.com.
Also, they will be having a book signing in Burbank, California on Saturday, July 3rd at 1:00 PM. Jim, Bill, Derrick Wyatt and Marty Isenberg will be signing autographs and giving out sketches at Emerald Knights, 4116 West Burbank Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91505, (818) 588-3631.
