TFCon 2015 is well under way and our main man Sol Fury is attending some of the panels. James Roberts from IDW fame is a panelist this year and below are some notes from his session.
[7/18/2015, 1:12 PM] Sol Fury TFW: James Roberts panel
[7/18/2015, 1:13 PM] Sol Fury TFW: No pay off from what took Pharma in 50
[7/18/2015, 1:13 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Scavengers return is a two parter. 45 and 46
[7/18/2015, 1:15 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Tarn’s holomatter avatar is Megatron
[7/18/2015, 1:19 PM] Sol Fury TFW: The characters actually speak Cybertronian in the comics but James translates it for readers – tongue in cheek explanation for the suspension of disbelief
[7/18/2015, 1:21 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Characters James wishes he’d used: at one point Powerglide (used Tailgate instead, happier with outcome), Prowl (happier with how it played out. Wanted to use Ravage, now has Ravage
[7/18/2015, 1:22 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Says Prowl would have distorted the whole thing
[7/18/2015, 1:24 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Ambulon’s combiner buddies may show up
[7/18/2015, 1:24 PM] Sol Fury TFW: We’ll find out more about Transformers weddings (Conjunx Endura) soon
[7/18/2015, 1:25 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Nick Roche is 100% writing Sins of the Wreckers. Roberts not involved.
[7/18/2015, 1:26 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Every character carries the weight of the war and manifests it in different ways
[7/18/2015, 1:26 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Roberts only kills characters when it makes sense
[7/18/2015, 1:27 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Tailgate was originally going to die.
[7/18/2015, 1:27 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Only kills when there is dramatic impact
[7/18/2015, 1:28 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Doesn’t want to overuse shock deaths
[7/18/2015, 1:28 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Every character has an arc mapped out. Some end with those characters dying
[7/18/2015, 1:30 PM] Sol Fury TFW: First Aid departs for Combiner Wars next issue
[7/18/2015, 1:30 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Current issues set back in time
[7/18/2015, 1:30 PM] Sol Fury TFW: First Aid will come back. He’s got more story to come.
[7/18/2015, 1:31 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Other Protectobots may not get as much focus: “we’ll see”
[7/18/2015, 1:31 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Set back in time = before CW
[7/18/2015, 1:34 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Crowdsourcing ideas now
[7/18/2015, 1:37 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Megatron’s backstory was a conglomeration of minor and major aggressions
[7/18/2015, 1:34 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Crowdsourcing ideas now
[7/18/2015, 1:35 PM] Sol Fury TFW: No idea what that was!
[7/18/2015, 1:37 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Megatron’s backstory was a conglomeration of minor and major aggressions
[7/18/2015, 1:39 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Issue 13 Skids mentioned his nemesis was Misfire. It’s because the glass looked like Misfire and Skids was amnesiac
[7/18/2015, 1:39 PM] Sol Fury TFW: More of Rung to be seen, but jokingly he’s “less than meets the eye”
[7/18/2015, 1:40 PM] Sol Fury TFW: James usually gives notes to Alex / Nick Roche, but other times he leaves it to themCharacters are designed with the plot in mind
[7/18/2015, 1:43 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Deleted scene in 41 (left for reasons of space & worst thing ever). A song comes on at the party, Magnus comes out and sheds his armour to music. (Song is Staying Alive)
[7/18/2015, 1:43 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Was dropped because it was out of character for Magnus
[7/18/2015, 1:44 PM] Sol Fury TFW: IDW has a character location document. Tracks where every character is
[7/18/2015, 1:45 PM] Sol Fury TFW: James is very committed to More than Meets the Eye. He intends to finish the series.
[7/18/2015, 1:45 PM] Sol Fury TFW: He intends to wrap up the story
[7/18/2015, 1:45 PM] Sol Fury TFW: He has an emergency wrap-up plan.
[7/18/2015, 1:46 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Can never count on having 20 more issues etc.
[7/18/2015, 1:47 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Question specifically asked about issue 87 being the end, that’s rattled him a bit
[7/18/2015, 1:47 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Note: Someone asked “suppose you get a better offer after 87?”
[7/18/2015, 1:53 PM] Sol Fury TFW: He’s hoping to carry on, he’s dedicated to finishing. The very specific number is going to haunt him
[7/18/2015, 1:55 PM] Sol Fury TFW: Abandoned plot thread involving Sunstreaker would have delved into his role in All Hail Megatron
soundwaverulls
Ah, no payoff by issue 50. While I feel MTMTE has been falling in quality to the point that I'm questioning if I want to keep paying full price for it, I didn't think things had gotten so bad that a definite plot point would be completely forgotten.
The Madness
Ah, OK, that sounds more reasonable. Thanks for the clarification. I'm sure it is quite important, but potentially close to the endgame in the search for the knights.
I do get a kick out of how ironically different IDW Spinister is to his Marvel character.
General Magnus
Old enough to know Transformers and other scifi/comic franchises and have the awareness to know that there are creatures and races (especially in the marvel comics) that could destroy the Cybertronians without breaking a sweat.
Just because I am a transformers fan, I don´t see them as the most powerful race evah.
WilyMech
I asked him about back ground characters and mostly Hound and Mirage with an emphasis on the Hound part.
JudgeDeliberata
What I asked was if it was a plot point that he figured would be touched on close to issue fifty, or issue one hundred. He said no time around fifty, so no payoff in the near future. When I prompted with issue one hundred, he said "I won't be answering that", while smiling apologetically. It did seem to be important though.
So I instead asked him what the first thing Spinister would see in the morning would be, and his reaction to it. The gist of his answer was "Probably a door which he'd interpret as a threat, with hostility. An angry door."
Autobot Burnout
Nobody's making you read the damn things, though.
To be fair, Transformers aren't technically 100% mechanical robots as the term "robot" would imply – they are sentient, living beings (granted, they're mechanically based but they get sick and have bodily fluids and stuff).
Plus, Soundwave could read Chip Chase's brain in one G1 episode, going off of the fact all our brains really do is execute super-complex sequences of electrical impulses – like an organic computer – and on that logic, if Xavier's psychic powers are just based on biological electrical impulse reading, a human-like brain such as a Cybertronian's would be child's play.
Haywired
G1 Marvel series had a human mutant telepath called Rapture who was able to mindlock a transformer. She was a very low level telepath and could only lock them for a short while.
Someone like Charles Xavier could probably lobotomize an entire group.
That's Marvel writing TFs for you.
Newholl
What sense does that make? Can Xavier hack computers with his mind nowadays?
Okay, how old are you?
I seriously want to know because all you seem to be familiar with are the current IDW comics.
Wheeljack_Prime
Look at the site you're on right now.
We're the last people on Earth who should dismiss the Collector Mentality.
General Magnus
"Mutants are overpowered!!!!111!!"
Haywired
And TFs not being any harder than a human for telepaths as it was shown in Marvel's G1, so basically every high level mutant psionic would wipe floor with them.
And I'd pay to see fans reactions. Just for a comedy value.
Marvel did sponsored/licenced G1 comic when there was G1 cartoon aired for a first time. And it wasn't manhandled by Hasbro any less than Combiner Wars. Omega Supreme, Tripticon, the Underbase Saga finale massacre, classic Pretenders, Action Masters – people have short memory.
This time? They'd go for the newest spin, so Aligned or maybe Bayverse. Hope you like both.
Because Dreamwave reprints or IDW is as close as you could get to modernised G1.
Rodimus Prime
Marvel did okay the first time. Besides, as long as they could finally give us a decent TF comic, I don't care about much else.
General Magnus
Would this even work? I mean, when Magneto main power is handing metals….nevermind the other living weapons running around MCU Earth..Cybertron is woefully unprepared.
Hey it would be fun to see the bitching when Cybertron get´s it´s entire ass handed to it by Magneto. If people though the human military in the films was bad…
Haywired
I'd laugh my aft off watching fan reactions. Really.
Because Disney owning Hasbro would probably mean Marvel doing TF books.
And Hasbro trying to push one big continuity.
Which would probably be not more even remotely G1 inspired, but more Aligned.
With unavoidable crossovers with Marvelverse. So more focus on human characters.
And, obviously, given Marvel's focus on inclusiveness, there would be actually more queer couples, socialising and female characters.
And probably graphic style not in line with Sunbow or DW because of either Aligned continuity or Marvel's own stable of authors.
And since Marvel owns Circuit Breaker, I bet every Transfan would be happy to see her again in a some kind of reimagined incarnation.
Now, that I'd love to see. Especially reactions from people who wish for a change of publisher now.
But maybe I'd live to see X-Men/TF crossover.
General Magnus
It´s not like they need it anyways, Star Wars and Marvel are bigger pop cultures icons and cash cows than Transformers. It´s like owning a Ferrari and a Bentley and then buying a Mustang. It´s redundant.
edgs2099
The chances are super slim. These rumors go back to even before the Star Wars rumors popped up. The whole reason The Hasbro rumors existed is that Disney made no secret that they were in the market to BUY the boys market. They couldn't build a boys market like they did with the girls market. They did the next best thing, they bought Marvel and Star Wars.
They are swimming in proven sellers in the boys market now. I'd bet on the Colorado Avalanche moving back to Quebec City before I'd bet on Disney buying Hasbro.
PredaconElder
This just isn't happening.
Newholl
Maybe. But then the solution would be if another publisher took over (which may happen if that rumor about Disney looking into buying Hasbro is true).
If you think that was aimed at you – 'kay.
We should make a thread about that!
Maximo Prime
Good God, if IDW starts over, I quit. There are so many things that are generally accepted in IDW that would most likely appear again so the reboot would be for nothing.
PredaconElder
That is considered good.
Usually as per the rule the trajectory of sales is a downwards nosedive.