At AA2005, Simon Furman gave some updates as to the direction that the new comics would take. To sum up what he said, Simon has posted some points on TFW2005 to clear up the confusion that had been occurring on other sites

Hi everyone– some quick responses and clarifications to the AA-feedback.1) First of all, when I mentioned ‘younger age bracket,’ what I meant was we’re aiming to appeal to an age group under 30! While we definitely want the long-time fans to read and enjoy the book, we also want to make it accessible and resonant with teenagers too.

2) There’ll be a range of ages for the human characters, but the youngest will be maybe fifteen/sixteen. We’re not going ‘junior’ here.

3) Character (alt-mode) updates will be by necessity only. If we can get away with using a ‘classic’ car in the 2005/2006 setting, we will. I have no burning urge to reinvent the wheel here, I just want to make stuff fresh and believable in a modern setting. These guys want to blend in, so they’re hardly going to pick a make of car or whatever from 1984.

4) BUT, and I stress this, we are taking pains to update, not reimagine. All of us (me, EJ, Hasbro, Chris and Dan at IDW) are looking for the most natural fits, those that won’t require major tweaks to the robot modes. We want you to look at any given vehicle on a page and know right off it’s Wheelie (just kidding!).

5) Megatron. Honestly, I always thought the gun was a bad idea. You’ve got the most powerful, feared being in the known galaxy and he turns into a handgun (and mostly he needs someone else to hold and point him!). Gimme a break. No, when Megatron transforms, it should be epic, grandiose. Hardened battle veterans should feel their exhaust ports loosen.

6) And finally, trust me that I won’t take everything you know and love throw it out the window. I won’t. Why? Because I know and love it too. It just don’t want to tell exactly the same story. Again.

Cheers– Simon Furman (honest!)