Does anyone have any idea of when it is most likely we will find out who the new Transformers comic publisher and why it has not happened yet?
- Thread starter Soundwave2.0
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I imagine it'll start on Earth this time. Starting from the beginning was an interesting idea but I doubt Hasbro will want to see the experiment repeated.
It'd be hard to have an "original" way of starting it, really, unless they go the Earthspark route and go "Kinda like that other series, but with a twist." (possibly like the Wings of Honor approach? I didn't read those, so I don't know for sure if that's a relevant example.)
Any new comic will be compared to what's gone before - for me, it's a question of how good the writing and the art turn out to be.
Any new comic will be compared to what's gone before - for me, it's a question of how good the writing and the art turn out to be.
My pessimism suggests it'll just be a modernized take of heroic autobots vs evil decepticons on Earth, with maybe an attempt to make the sides a little more grey. I bet the cast is entirely S1/2 as well, aside from like Arcee and some other ladies.
I'll hopefully be pretty stoked if I'm wrong and it's a wild departure.
I'll hopefully be pretty stoked if I'm wrong and it's a wild departure.
Heroic Guardians wage a battle against the schemes of the villainous Renegades....
...slightly more seriously, what about a continuation from S4 of the G1 cartoon? There's a lot of unexplored territory there, as long as it doesn't try to write Beast Wars out of existence, it might be ground for some newish territory for a writer to play in. Cybertron's new Golden Age, the threat of the Decepticons still exists, but wouldn't have to be the focus. Lots of G1 characters never got a cartoon appearance, and there's always the Legacy treatment of bringing in post-G1 characters to fill the cast. It would maintain the familiar G1 ground, but still give the writer(s) some room to explore. Only drawback would be the burden of undoing any S1&2 'dead' characters that Hasbro wanted to feature.
...slightly more seriously, what about a continuation from S4 of the G1 cartoon? There's a lot of unexplored territory there, as long as it doesn't try to write Beast Wars out of existence, it might be ground for some newish territory for a writer to play in. Cybertron's new Golden Age, the threat of the Decepticons still exists, but wouldn't have to be the focus. Lots of G1 characters never got a cartoon appearance, and there's always the Legacy treatment of bringing in post-G1 characters to fill the cast. It would maintain the familiar G1 ground, but still give the writer(s) some room to explore. Only drawback would be the burden of undoing any S1&2 'dead' characters that Hasbro wanted to feature.
I think it's good to keep in mind that Hama's IDW GI Joe (A Real American Hero) run was, itself, essentially a continuation of the original Marvel run. (With some discrepancies, but it started with issue 155-1/2, so it's definitely meant to continue the story he started in Marvel) If whatever new publisher picks up the license does continue ARAH with Hama writing, it stands to reason he would leave some plot threads untied (haven't read the final issues myself due to issues with my local comic shop; I'm still hunting a couple of the final issues), no matter how unsatisfying it was.
On the other hand, unless any of the current or recent writers for Transformers move to the new publisher, there is no reason to continue those stories unless directed/requested by Hasbro. It sounds like the publisher most interested in Transformers has their own angle for the title, so that is another strike against any stories continuing.
Finally, Transformers reinventing itself semi-regularly has generally been good for the brand, creating new characters and directions to explore along the way. Attempts to reinvent GI Joe...well, seem to have been less successful. Of the two titles, GI Joe is more likely to continue under the old direction, while Transformers is much more likely to...change.
On the other hand, unless any of the current or recent writers for Transformers move to the new publisher, there is no reason to continue those stories unless directed/requested by Hasbro. It sounds like the publisher most interested in Transformers has their own angle for the title, so that is another strike against any stories continuing.
Finally, Transformers reinventing itself semi-regularly has generally been good for the brand, creating new characters and directions to explore along the way. Attempts to reinvent GI Joe...well, seem to have been less successful. Of the two titles, GI Joe is more likely to continue under the old direction, while Transformers is much more likely to...change.
I'd love to see them do G1 Legacy. It's a reboot with them taking characters and ideas (storylines, character designs G1-ified and plot devices) from the last 30 years of TF content. Comics, Games, the G1 extended universe from Japan, Vehicons from BM, characters from 2001 RID (using some of their Car Robot names), ideas and characters from the Unicron trilogy, Animated, Prime saga and Cyberverse.
Example. Go with Cyberverse Swoop but the rest of the Dinobots are their G1 selves.
Example. Go with Cyberverse Swoop but the rest of the Dinobots are their G1 selves.
GI Joe A Real American Hero #300 is the physical embodiment of all those "To Be Continued..." memes.
I had heard it was a pretty...poor issue as the end of the run. The shop that I had my pulls at quit handling comics in June, and the most local shop to me, the guy is super nice, but is very unreliable at doing pulls. I just this weekend found most of what I was missing, but until I get the last 2 issues, I wasn't going to read that final arc. Might go ahead and read what I can and hope the recaps fill in the blanks...
That's basically the Aligned continuity.
That was almost IDW, wasn't it? You had G1, G1UK, G1Japan, G2, Beast Wars, Beast Machines, RiD, UT, Animated and Aligned characters and concepts all running around.
What if Optimus Prime didn't survive getting shot in the head by Beast Megatron and the Autobots woke up without a leader?
What if Starscream didn't say goodbye and the Autobots woke up much later (possibly without a leader), on an Earth that the Decepticons had already successfully plundered?
What if Ultra Magnus had caught the Matrix? Does the Matrix care who catches it first?
Alternate universes are fun but that's not why this issue exists. It's just a meanspirited fixfic meant to satisfy a grudge, not explore an idea.
What if Starscream didn't say goodbye and the Autobots woke up much later (possibly without a leader), on an Earth that the Decepticons had already successfully plundered?
What if Ultra Magnus had caught the Matrix? Does the Matrix care who catches it first?
Alternate universes are fun but that's not why this issue exists. It's just a meanspirited fixfic meant to satisfy a grudge, not explore an idea.
The answer to that is Beast Wars: Uprising.
Really? I've not bothered with IDW comics. May get into comics again once I have the money. Currently very slowly getting through a huge (and expensive) back log of figures from when I was unemployed. (Titans Return, Combiner Wars and PotP)
How was Aligned handled? Were the characters plucked from their continuities and placed in the G1 timeline, or were they treated as though they were always there?
How was Aligned handled? Were the characters plucked from their continuities and placed in the G1 timeline, or were they treated as though they were always there?
IDW made G1 versions of lots of originally-non-G1 characters. Here's a sample group shot of some:
The latter.
The former would instead be something more like the 2003 Universe series, or TransTech (albeit, in the world of Axiom Nexus rather than a G1 world).
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Put it this way, the publisher likely has to put up more money than IDW did, so they're going to have to sell a lot more books, to the non-core TF fandom.
The only pitches for that I think might even have a chance is a fairly faithful but talent lead G1 on Earth reboot, or a in-continuity set of stories set between Season 2 and the Movie.
That said, I am beginning to get the impression everyone is baulking at the price.
Still, I think both of those could both be fun.
The only pitches for that I think might even have a chance is a fairly faithful but talent lead G1 on Earth reboot, or a in-continuity set of stories set between Season 2 and the Movie.
That said, I am beginning to get the impression everyone is baulking at the price.
Still, I think both of those could both be fun.
Why are those pitches you think are the only ones with a chance?
Because of his first sentence.