Seibertron.com Interviews IDW's Transformers Lead Editor Andy Schmidt

Hello Seibertronians, First Gen here with another great Q & A for your reading pleasure. This newest installment features the lead Editor of the Transformers storyline for IDW Publishing, Andy Schmidt. Andy, I'd like to thank you again for taking the time to talk to Seibertron.com about Transformers Ongoing. It’s really great to see how well you've presented yourself and IDW to the fandom leading up to the release of Transformers Ongoing #1.


Andy Schmidt: I appreciate that, Steve. It's nice of you to read all that and I hope the fans realize I'm genuinely a big fan of TRANSFORMERS and that while I don't agree with everything they say, we are all at least listening and always trying to improve our game.


First Gen: My first question to you is this: With the monster success that Transformers has been at the Box Office the last couple years, the ridiculous amount of fans that have been drawn back into "Transformermania" and hardcore fans who never left sucking up everything and anything Transformers, how does it feel to be taking on such a huge property with IDW Publishing?


A.S.: Well, to be fair, I'm only a part of a larger team that includes several people at IDW like Denton Tipton who has been working on TRANSFORMERS longer than I have and Chris Ryall, our editor-in-chief. But more importantly, the many creators who have contributed to IDW's wide-ranging projects with TRANSFORMERS and the creators currently work on them. Also, let's not forget that Hasbro is an integral part of the team too. I just seem to be the guy doing the most public interviews. So, since I'm surrounded by so many people whose hard work makes me look good, I feel pretty darn awesome about being involved with TRANSFORMERS right now!


FG: Indeed, I've enjoyed many of the works produced by Chris and the crew at IDW Publishing immensely. Some of the works that were produced, like Transformers Stormbringer and the -Tion series really "raised the bar" on how to tell the story of our beloved Robots in Disguise. Knowing the groundwork that has been laid prior to your arrival and the cult like following some of the writers and artists have, does it ever get intimidating to you?


A.S.: Short answer: Yes. Long answer: You have no idea! Yes. Yes. And yes. It's extremely intimidating. It's funny, when I was coming on board at IDW, I told Chris I didn't want to edit TRANSFORMERS because I was such a big fan that I was afraid I wouldn't have enough distance from my inner fan to do the franchise justice, to really be a leader with the creative teams. I really liked G.I. JOE when I was a kid, too, but I LOVED TRANSFORMERS. So, it is extremely intimidating and, honestly, I've had a much harder time getting my head around how to do TRANSFORMERS comics. But fortunately, there are some great people at Hasbro that have been very encouraging and the creators have really stepped up so I feel like it's all starting to come together finally. But yeah, intimidating is an understatement.


FG: Great. Let me go ahead and make your job a little harder *wink*. Transformers Continuum has been out for a little over a week, helping refresh the memories of Transformers comic fans and giving those newcomers a solid foundation to start on, and Transformers Ongoing #1 is currently flying off newsstands. USA Today posts a feature stating "Optimus Prime Quits", quite possibly the most capturing statement in Transformers HISTORY! It’s issue one and you make die hard "geewunners", like myself, relive the pain of an unexpected death ala the 1986 animated movie, and we find out that Spike Witwicky is the enemy! What is going through your head right now? Is it a state of euphoria; are you scared out of your mind? What does the lead editor of the Transformers brand think when a much anticipated story arc hits the scene in a major way?


A.S.: Well, any time you are shooting for a jumping on point (and that's really what this is, not a reboot as some people have called it), there's a lot of angst. One of the things that's been troubling to me as a fan and now professionally, was how little coverage TRANSFORMERS comics had been getting the last couple of years. There was a big splash when IDW started with them, and then again when ALL HAIL MEGATRON started, but not much since then. So, with this issue, it was really important to us (IDW and Hasbro) that we get the word out in a big way--hence the push with USA Today and the CBR spoiler article. I wanted people to HAVE to notice what we were doing. The fact that we had to do a spoiler on IRONHIDE's death was unfortunate, but it really got a lot of people talking, wondering if it was real, if it was just a stunt to grab attention, or if it actually served a purpose in the greater story. The point is, it got people talking in a way that they hadn't been recently. So, to get back to your question, sometimes these jumping on issues work, and sometimes they don't. It's too early to tell for sure, but if what I saw yesterday (the day #1 came out) is any indication, it looks like we've got some readers coming back. The first issue sold out at Diamond (the comic’s distributor) yesterday, so it seems that the demand for the book is there. Now we see if folks hang on. Yeah, I'm nervous, but I'm always nervous about a starting point like this. I mean, we've got long-term plans and if this doesn’t pan out as we had hoped, all of that planning gets thrown out, which would be a huge bummer for us because we’re really excited about this story. But, again, it looks like a hit right now which is exceptionally rewarding. Aside from all that nervousness, my primary emotion is excitement. I think we're finally moving in the right direction (or, at least, a good direction. I don't mean to imply it's the only direction that would be good). I look forward to the reaction of the fans.


FG: Well, I can tell you from a personal standpoint, that in order for me to read a comic it has to grab my interest. And if you're anywhere near being a Transformers fan, thinking that Optimus Prime resigned as leader of the Autobots should have you all over that comic. Also, I'm glad that you clarified that this is a jump and not a reboot, I think it’s important for the fans and readers to know that Ongoing isn't going to leave you lost in the sauce over past IDW issues.


Now let me ask you THE question: based on discussions been held on the forums here at Seibertron.com, it seems that fans are thinking of this as a reboot purely based on the change in art style for the Transformers. I know you've read the responses and that some of us either love it, hate it or still can't decide. What influenced the change to the representation of our comic book heroes?


A.S.: I'm glad you asked THE question. I'll address a couple of things that I've seen on the boards and whatnot. First, there was no decision to make the G1 guys look more like movie universe characters. If I thought the movie books would out sell G1, I'd just make more movie books. Isn't that the simple solution if that were the case? And honestly, while I can appreciate the argument, I don't see the new character art as reflecting movie styling. They're all in their original color schemes and retain the key elements that make them identifiable; this is a new, updated style for this contemporary series. I think the art is amazing and I've been really happy to see that a lot of posts on the boards now that the issue has come out have shown that people are starting to dig it. Not everyone, mind you, but it looks like some of the jets are cooling a bit. We'll see. The thing to keep in mind is that Don is still figuring them out too. He's testing here and there.


Interesting point about why folks think it's a reboot. The characters aren't redesigned. What I mean is that we're not asking anyone else to follow Don's take on the characters. Hasbro and IDW have decided to allow for artistic interpretation of the characters. Don's is probably the most extreme I've seen so far, but Chee's version look a lot like the original toy designs, Guido's and Casey's look more similar to the original cartoon, and Nick's look closer to the more recent Animated show here and there. So, there's room, as far as I'm concerned, for artist license with how they look.


If you feel that they can't change how they look, hey, that's cool. Then for you, just realize they have a lot of control over how they look, and they can change form and modify between issues--problem solved!


So, to get to the heart of your question, the influence was actually Don himself. When I called him months ago he asked what version I wanted and I told him I wanted the coolest version ever. So, he asked if he could do something different. He'd drawn all the different version already and wanted to try something a little different. I told him as long as the characters were recognizable, I'd back him up. And Hasbro went for it. They're pretty keen on the idea of the different interpretations.


FG: Thank you again for the clarification on that. Don Figueroa has always managed to take Transformers designs to new heights, never seeming to be satisfied with the status quo, and if I can use the War Within series as being a testament, I'm sure we'll see some subtle changes to the Autobots and Decepticons as the story progresses. With that in mind, and with the different artist having creative freedom, to a point, with the Ongoing series, are you more focused on developing the story at this point, or would you say that the art and story are neck and neck for you in continuing the newest story arc?


A.S.: Well, to be honest, I don't really separate the two. You have a story that the writer and artist tell together. I think they need to be in synch with one another and that may mean changing styles a bit for both players in that equation. Don's an organic artist and he's always changing things and evolving which is cool. And, Mike is getting more and more comfortable with each script. He really starts playing to his strengths in the second arc. That's where I think it will really start clicking for readers who are on the fence. And you know, that's just a natural progression. There's a lot to get comfortable with in the TRANSFORMERS universe. Getting the characters down pat, the situation, dealing with the fact that they are giant robots, keeping the alternate modes relevant, all that stuff is a lot to get wrap your mind around at one time. I've seen this on all the books I've worked on from Avengers to Fantastic Four to X-Men, writers and artists both need sometimes three or six or even more issues to finally get really comfortable.



I went off on a tangent there, but yeah, I don't really separate the two. It's all about the story for me.


FG: I'm glad that you compared Transformers Ongoing to other works such as the Fantastic Four or the Avengers. In an exclusive interview we did with Mike Costa, he also fielded some questions regarding the story and how he was writing them. He likened it to such storylines as Marvel's Amazing Spiderman in which Brian Bendis is considered the lead writer and other writers, who use the Spiderman character in other titles such as the New Avengers, may cause some confusion within the overall continuity of Spiderman's story. For the sake of the casual fan that may not know this, we know that most scripts for story arcs are done months in advance and this can create issues with writers staying on track, therefore creating "plotholes" that later need to be filled it. How do you plan to minimize the continuity gaps with Transformers Ongoing? Will Mike be the exclusive writer or are there plans to create an "Ongoing Team"?


A.S.: Mike's the guy for now at least. He seems really into it and has big, big plans. Hasbro is really happy that we're going to new places with it, so that's really great to have their support. In order to minimize plot holes, I've got all the writers initially in contact with each other. But let me be honest, we ran into several problems in our initial arcs with the three books. This happens when they're being built simultaneously. Currently, there are nine story arcs for the G1 TRANSFORMERS being written at the same time. They're planned out, but sometimes you get into a script and you realize you need a certain character but, wait, we actually need him over here, or whatever happens. And one huge problem for me is crowd scenes. I like to give the creators freedom to put their favorites in the crowd scenes but then in the case of this first story arc, that caused a problem too. The good news is, 9 times out of 10, Denton and I are catching them, or the artists or writers are catching them. It's much easier to see it as a reader than as it's being created, but the best way to minimize it is by having everyone working on the universe in touch with one another. That way we can all stay on the same page, at least.


But yes, Mike's book is THE book, as it were. If you're only reading one, this is the one to read. But I think most fans will want to read the others. And that's another way that some fans feel we're inconsistent--different books have different tones and are intended for different parts of the TRANSFORMERS audience. LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS, for example, is intended for the core die-hard fans. Obscure characters, weird off-world setting, that's for the die-hards specifically. But it has a different tone, and I think that sometimes because we make series or one-shots that are so different in tone and intended audience that there are perceived mistakes, that aren't really there. It's a bit concept--TRANSFORMERS--with lots of room for all kinds of stories. But yeah, definitely trying to keep it all down to a minimum in terms of continuity gaffs.


Sorry, rambling again! This is just one of those hot-button topics so I'm trying to explain fully. And this is an explanation, not an excuse. Although a big challenge, we're doing everything we can to make sure there aren't problems within the continuity . I'm impressed, looking at the continuity from the editor's side at how few gaffs there are currently given the number of creators, concurrent titles that have been published and the switching over of editorial, what, four or five times in nearly four years? Yes, there are glitches, but not as many as I would expect given how many comics have been published with such a large number of people involved along the way. Of course, I'm going to get publicly flogged for saying that... but it's true.


FG: I tell you Andy, I know Transformers fans, and if you keep up these short, beat around the bush answers, they're gonna eat you alive *wink*.


Well, news has officially broke that Transformers Ongoing #1's first printing has SOLD OUT! Congratulations. I'm gonna wrap this up with a BIG thank you for taking the time to talk to Seibertron.com and give us the inside scoop. We really appreciate it and wish you and the rest of the IDW Publishing Team all the success possible. If there's anything you want to say to the fans, feel free to use this as your forum.


A.S.: Thanks, Steve and the Seibertron.com crew for the opportunity to speak with you and with the fans. It's much appreciated. I never know what to say directly to the fans, but I'd guess I'd say this. The current creators and editors are all fans too. We have different favorite incarnations of the TRANSFORMERS and different favorite characters and different stories from Simon and Shane's runs (as well as others) on the IDW books. So we'll be getting to a lot of things that you like and we are all working doubly-hard to keep it all straight. You may not love everything we do in the coming months and years, but it won't be because we don't care or we don't respect the material. The flip side of this is that we're all very hopeful that you will enjoy the various books and takes on the characters and that you'll grow to love the books with us. We're committed to making TRANSFORMERS comics great, and we're sure we'll get there given the time and your support.


Thanks for supporting us, the future looks bright for all of us.


Thanks again, guys.


Andy


Seibertron.com would like to that Andy Schmidt, Mike Costa, Chris Ryall, all the fine folks at IDW Publishing and the HASBRO Transformers Team for making this interview possible.


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