We managed to catch up with Simon from Auto Assembly and talked with him at great length about the event itself, the guests and Transformers in general.

For those of us that have never been to Auto Assembly, or any other kind of Transformers convention before, what sort of stuff goes on there? Is it just for the extreme hardcore fan who knows everything about everything, or is there something for people with a casual interest or just like collecting the toys?

It’s a pretty packed event really over the two days and I’d like to think that there’s something for everyone. At the very heart of it is the collectors fair with dealers tables from all over the UK – you’ll be able to buy pretty much any piece of TF merchandise you want from some of the UKs top dealers. However, Auto Assembly is much more than that… As well as the dealers, we’ll have episodes screening throughout the weekend from all the shows, guest talks and panels (with some great guests making an appearance this year over the two days), quizzes, a games area, a massive toy and art display, a charity auction (with some great autographed items), a charity raffle, autograph sessions and a chance to meet the guests, and a lot more besides! It doesn’t really matter whether you’re a die-hard G1 fan, a casual TV viewer who buys toys occasionally or someone who appreciates all aspects of TFs as you’ll find something at AA for you and throughout the whole weekend you’ll find something to keep you occupied. It’s our goal really to offer two days of entertainment and to offer a great weekend… and we are making sure that both days (and the special Saturday night programme) are all going to be offering something different so no two parts of Auto Assembly will be the same! There are other UK conventions that take place as well and they all offer something different, but generally, they all tend to offer dealers, guests and videos, with their own mix of original ideas thrown in.

So Auto Assembly is spread over two days this year? For some of us Birmingham is quite far to come, and we can only make the one day. Are we able to book for just one day, and what would be the best day to come for?

We are taking bookings for single days although this is something that we are having to keep a close eye on. We need to keep a balance in terms of the numbers of people around on both days so we may need to close bookings on certain days for one day places at some point so the best way is still to go for the whole weekend. With the different activities on offer and the fact that there will be different guest talks on both days it’s still something worth considering. There is very cheap hotel accommodation in and around the city centre – less than Shelfwarmer Prime for a night with a lot of places – so it’s not too difficult to afford to be there for both. We are doing upgrade deals for one day attendees though so you can upgrade at a later date or one the day so you can be with us for both days. In terms of the best day, we’re still working on the programme itself so I can’t really say at the moment, but Wally Wingert will be actively involved in the main programme on both days doing different things. Despite Saturday running for longer, the Saturday night programme will be restricted to weekend bookings only though. It’s all down to personal choice really and what you’re able to make, but I’d ring or email us to check availability and book NOW to make sure your preferred date still has tickets available.

It all sounds like an enormous amount of work to put together a convention of this size. How many of you guys are involved in the organisation, and just what made you do it – and see it through?

At the very heart of it is myself and Sven Harvey. Sven was the one who came up with the idea for Auto Assembly several years ago which was a spin-off from a Star Trek club that we used to run called Alpha Quadrant, both of which coming under our general sci-fi organisation Infinite Frontiers. Mini history lesson over! lol

We have got other support staff as well, including our very understanding other halves and other friends and family, but I’d say that about 95% of the work is done between the two of us.

In terms of why… well, we keep asking ourself that every year! Well, originally AA started off as a Transformers equivalent to our monthly meetings for our Star Trek club but it kinda exploded from there. It was meant to be something to do occasionally for something different but neither of us expected it to be where it is today. We started off with 30 people for the first one, the second grew to 60, last year had 230 and we dread to think what this year will be like!

Don’t get me wrong, running something like Auto Assembly is incredibly hard work and takes up a lot of time but just seeing the look on people’s faces as they enjoy each convention or reading comments on forums about the convention makes it all worth while. Knowing that people appreciate what we’re doing and that we’re actually able to give something back to TF fandom keeps us going!

I thought from attending the last AA that organising the event would have been a full time job! You’ve kind of touched on it there with the Star Trek mention, but what other interests do you guys have despite Transformers, and what is it about Transformers specifically that makes you want to dedicate so much of your time to it?

We’re both interested in sci-fi and fantasy generally and computing/gaming. Sven’s more into the Amiga, which he trades in, and my gaming interest lies more with consoles lately and retro stuff. For Transformers, I guess it’s just something that appeals to me as a collectible item (and the big kid that’s in me), has good TV shows (I can watch Beast Wars over and over!), is generally fun and accessible and has a varied and incredibly friendly fan community (being in fandom for as long as I have, this is fairly important to me) so it’s an all-round thing really. In terms of dedicating time, I’ve been actively involved in sci-fi organisations since 1989 when I formed Infinite Frontiers, so it’s been a constant part of my life since then, but Auto Assembly is the most important, has had the most positive feedback, and is certainly the most enjoyable, and as long as that’s the case, I’m only too happy to carry on doing it!

It sounds like much of yours and Sven’s time is taken up with either Transformers, or some Sci-Fi activity. How do your better halves react to your Sci-Fi dealings, and how do friends who aren’t as interested react?

Sven’s wife, Claire, is a bit of a sci-fi fan herself although I think sometimes she thinks Sven is a little insane over TFs. My fianc�e absolutely hates sci-fi and I bet she wishes I’d give it all up and sell me collection. Fat chance!!

A lot of my friends are into sci-fi, although I’d say that most of the friends I keep in touch with online aren’t. Strange or what?! As a lot of my friends are into sci-fi, most think it’s pretty cool that I’m interested in AA, and in terms of the ones who are into TFs, it’s more of a competition to see who can get the most toys!

I’d say things are probably similar for Sven although you’d probably have to ask him that one. I don’t think any of his friends try to compete with him for toy collections though!

So I take it your TF collection is a source of great pride? I saw Sven’s proudly displayed across ‘several’ tables last year, I myself consider my Diaclone boxed Frenzy and my Original Lee Sullivan comic art among my best pieces. What pieces are the jewels in your collection, and what (at the risk of bumping the prices up) are you desperate to get hold of?

My collection isn’t that large at the moment as I didn’t really get into TFs in a big way until a couple of years ago and I didn’t really actively start collecting the toys until last year. I’ve only got somewhere between 70 and 100 toys, but I have got some I’m quite pleased with, not necessarily because of value but just because I think they’re pretty cool!

Obviously is RiD Prime which I have to be honest and say has to be in everyone’s collection. One of my latest additions is a red transmetal Cheetor which I’m really happy with and I got it for a pretty good price on eBay – it’s one of those rare toys in my collection that Sven DOESN’T own! Other stuff would include my Worlds Smallest Prime and Soundwave just for the coolness factor.

I’ve only got a few convention exclusives so far including a few Botcon comics, Tap-Out and Rook so nothing special there but I can’t really afford to change that!

I managed to get a Japanese Armada Megatron not long ago that I quite like, some Takara reissues (so nothing really that exciting) but I have got a personalised signed photo of David Kaye if that counts! 🙂

In terms of future wants, this will mainly be at Auto Assembly and it’s got to include all the Worlds Smallest that are missing from my collection, a few more Botcon toys (especially Windrazor), Universe Sideburn (I admit I am biased here!) and Depth Charge and probably a few things in the AA auction including some of the signed comics from Dreamwave that are on the way to us!

In a position like ours, with access to hundreds of fans and their desires, demands and wants etc, have you been involved in any of the UK releases of TFs from the likes of Hasbro, Metrodome, TITAN, Atari and the like?

In a word, Yes (well, actually that was four words but who’s counting!). I’ve been talking to Hasbro for months now and I’ve been hoping to get them to attend Auto Assembly 2004 although we still don’t know what is happening there – even Hasbro themselves don’t know if they are attending ANY events in the UK yet. Metrodome I think will be a permanent guest at AA and again they’re producing exclusive postcards that we are going to be giving away, and hopefully some stuff for the auction. Titan again are being talked to in a number of areas and we will be doing something with them. I have been in touch with Atari and their various PR representatives since last year for several aspects of them being involved in AA so it’s looking promising on all fronts there! I’ve also been in touch with other companies producing Transformers merchandise and we do have a few surprises up our sleeves in terms of the auction and generally for the convention, although one or two haven’t been too supportive but I can’t really go into details on who these are for obvious and legal reasons!

Yes, I’m familiar with companies who aren’t very supportive or responsive to the wishes of their customer base in this way, do you feel that the various Transformers license holders are receptive to the fans requests in terms of giving us what we want? After all, we ARE the customers who will be buying their products.

Some companies are pretty fantastic both in terms of the support they have given to us and generally in terms of adapting and listening to the views of fans and their general customer base (remembering that there are more fans out there other than us die-hards!. As you said, if we don’t buy the stuff, they’re not going to make any money.

Dreamwave are a perfect example – they have been wonderful in terms of listening to the fans and despite the opinions of some fans, even Panini adapted their Armada comic as their sales audience changed and I don’t think anyone can doubt Atari’s commitment to doing the brand justice. There are some companies however that will produce what they want whether the market wants to buy it or not and then they complain when sales are poor.

In the UK it’s still difficult though as it will always be seen as a toy line and apart the specific collectors market there will always be the belief that toys and cartoons are for children and I don’t think that this is an attitude we are ever likely to see change in the UK.

Yes, it’s really frustrating being in the UK seeing all of the great releases that Takara bring out, and the willingness to please of Hasbro US, and then the scraps we get dealt afterwards. With the problems of import tax, or hiked up prices in the UK for imported lines (Forbidden Planet for example), where do you go for your rarities and reissues?

It all depends on what I am after really. I do get a lot of stuff from eBay as most people do, but I tend to be careful in terms of the amount I spend so I keep it within customs limits (in other words, I aim for bargains!). Otherwise, I’d rather stick to UK dealers as I know I don’t need to worry about import duty as it’s already been covered in
the price. Most of my non-eBay buying tends to be done either at Auto Assembly (for my annual blow-out) or through Sven at Stellar Dreams. I used to be Sven’s business partner so I used to be a TF dealer (as Michael Caine would say, “Not a lot of people know that!”), but with Sven living locally it’s just easier for me to pop and see him. I will buy stuff from other dealers too but it usually depends on what I am after and what prices I can find – I spent quite a bit locally on stuff in the last six months on Worlds Smallest, comics and Jap Armada stuff! I can’t remember the last time I bought a TF from Forbidden Planet though, although I have to say that they do have some good deals now and then.

What did you think personally about Hasbro US refusing to reissue Megatron, and many US retailers taking the ‘moral standpoint’ and not importing the Takara Megatron, when real handguns are freely available? I made a lot of noise about that on TheTransformers.Net stating that if Americans want less shootings they should try banning guns, not Transformers.

I can understand completely about the reissue problem although it’s obviously different for the US and UK. UK wise it’s a combination of safety and meeting CE regulations and realism in toy guns, where in the US it’s toy guns looking too realistic as Megs does in gun mode and if I remember correctly, wasn’t it actually a legal ban on Megs and not selective retail boycotting?

For the UK with the restrictions now stressing that Megatron has to be marketed solely as a collectible for the 14+ age range. We’ve had to introduce a “weapons policy” for AA this year simply to protect attendees (if anyone carries a G1 Megs around the city centre in gun mode, they could have a few problems with the odd armed police patrol!) so I can understand the decision completely.

With the issue over the gun law, it’s not just adults who use guns or get hold of them in the US but even the perception of someone having a gun in their possession is too great a risk Stateside. The gun culture is too dangerous to take lightly.

Not wanting to sound morbid on this, but a friend of mine in America had a gun in her house, and years ago one of her sons got hold of it when he was young. He accidentally shot and killed one of her other children. Makes you think, doesn’t it.

If that’s the risk we take in making guns seem acceptable, even with realistic looking toys, then maybe banning them or restricting sales is a step in the right direction until attitudes change?

Some US etailers did import the Takara megs, whereas others stated that they wouldn’t. Big Bad Toy Store for example didn’t take Megatron, whereas Maybang’s Collectibles did. It was a choice depending on whether they were comfortable selling a replica gun. Agreed the US gun culture is extremely dangerous, but when a child can get hold of a handgun far more easily than they can get hold of a Megatron, clearly a policy is wrong somewhere.

Off the morbid subject now, for those of us who’ve only attended Transforce in the UK, how does Auto Assembly compare to Transforce, and have you had any contact with their organisers?

I think all three UK events are very different. At Auto Assembly, we’ve come from a very different background to the others and we’ve got more experience than people might realise. We’ve run somewhere in the region of 75 events in the last 15 years and been involved in a lot of sci-fi conventions and one thing we are trying to do is that, in addition to the collectors fair sales side of things, is to offer a more rounded package of activities for fans who are interested in all aspects of Transformers whether it’s the toys, TV shows, comics or anything else.

I’ve only been to one Transforce and that was as a dealer, but if I had to compare the two (which I don’t really like doing!) I’d say that AA seems to be more informal, with more things going on and with more interactive elements. From what I saw we seem to have better access to our guests as well with them being on hand all throughout the convention, but I can’t comment on the other Transforce events since then.

To be honest, I think every convention has something different to offer and even if we’re in different parts of the UK, there’s enough going on at each to offer something for everyone.

Back to Transforce for a moment though, and one thing I did notice is that, despite the large number of dealers and videos, Transforce did seem to have more of a drive towards the comic/book side of Transformers where AA has always tried to be an all-rounder covering everything. That’s certainly not a bad thing – there’s room for every style of convention and there are a lot of fans who are mainly interested in the comics – so I think this is something that should be applauded for Paul trying to do something different. Maybe that’s just me though from what I saw!

I’ve been in touch with Paul a few times about AA2004 and Transforce 2004 and how they relate to each other but not too much. To be honest, Paul has been fairly quiet recently apart from a few posts on the Transforce forum, so I guess he’s been too busy behind the scenes with Transforce – I know how that feels!

I remember when I first spoke to Lee Sullivan that I was very much in awe; the man shaped my childhood with his work on Transformers. How approachable have you found the Transformers celebs, have you become friendly with any of them and is there anyone you would give a carded Huffer for; if you could get them to attend AA?

I think it depends on the person really. Because of the auction and guests, I have been in touch with a lot of people from all aspects of TF – actors, writers, artists etc. and I would say that I have probably contacted somewhere between 50 and 100 of these. Of the ones that have replied, most have generally been great to deal with and really approachable. Bob Forward was really great not only with the auction but really friendly with his emails and helpful with the interview, David Sobolov shocked the hell out of me when he sent the signed Depth Charge toy over (I thought he was sending a photo), David Kaye’s pretty cool… I could go on… Some have been complete assholes though; I have to be honest. One person who I contact asking about an autograph early on sent me an email reply with just two words – “what charity”. Nothing more. I replied with a fairly friendly email and never heard anything since. Others just didn’t even bother to reply. In terms of being on friendly terms, I do email some of the actors occasionally keeping them posted on what we are doing, how AA is coming along that sort of thing and the odd email to Bob Forward. I try to keep in touch with Lee, Simon and Andrew as much as possible. Since first emailing him back in September about AA (initially to get an autograph for the auction), I’ve become close friends with Wally Wingert and we tend to email each other all the time, talking on the phone quite a bit, and we’re even planning a trip down to London on one of the days he’s over here for AA, so it’s been pretty cool making new friends out of running something like AA! Is there anyone I’d desperately want to meet? Well, as well as TF I’m a big Star Trek fan, so I think you can guess the rest of my answer…!

Ah yes, Mr. Nimoy. I wonder if he ever attends any Transformers conventions in the USA? Somehow, I doubt it – but he is a legend. I’ve been trying for some years now to get an interview with the main man in TF voicing, Frank Welker – but can never get past his agent, despite the promises. Have you approached Frank or Peter at all?

I’ve been trying to find contact details for as many voice actors as possible since we decided to run a charity auction (literally days after AA2003 ended). I still haven’t been able to find ANY details for Frank Welker despite the number of websites dedicated to him (if you could help, it would be appreciated – I seem to have a talent for negotiating or so I’ve been told!), but I have been in touch with Peter Cullen’s agent on quite a few occasions and he’s quite a nice guy.

I don’t think we have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever getting Peter to ever attend a convention in the UK because of his incredibly busy work schedule, but I am trying to get an autograph for the auction. However even Steve, his agent, has trouble getting photos from him to get signed!

You mentioned that you’re into all aspects of Transformers, for me the defining moment has to be Lee Sullivan’s work on the Time Wars storyline (of which I have two original pages framed on my wall), and is the best comic storyline ever. What for you is your favourite Transformers moment or item that said to you ‘yes, transformers are the best’?

I don’t think there was a moment that said “Transformers are the best” for me as I’ve been an avid sci-fi fan since I was very young (before Transformers came along) and I’ve been into Star Wars, Star Trek and much more besides including running a large Star Trek fan club and convention so Star Trek is one of my main passions.

However, when it comes to Transformers, probably the trigger for me was Sven’s fault! For a LONG time, he’d been trying to get me into Transformers with no success, trying to force-feed me with G1 and anything else. Gradually every time I went to visit him and his family he kept putting episodes of Beast Wars on and I got hooked! I started getting the odd toy (I think Silverbolt was my first), and it just went from there!

In terms of my favourite moment, it keeps changing as I’m always having new favourite moments as they happen. Last year’s AA was obviously a big one for me when it all came together and seeing how we managed to pull everything together on the day but I think this year is going to top that so I think that will become my new “favourite”!

I take it from your constant references to it that Beast Wars is your favourite incarnation of Transformers, why is that?

Primarily it’s what got me into Transformers, but it’s got great storytelling, I love the characters, I don’t think there’s a bad episode in the series, and there are some pretty cool toys.

Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of the other shows and toy ranges, but Beast Wars is what started it all off and I’ll always have a soft spot for it!

As well as all the personal sacrifices and time that goes into AA, there must be a huge financial outlay as well. Are you able to break even from the event, and if a profit is made what happens to the extra cash?

Also do you need to seek permission from Hasbro before organising an event of this nature with their brand?

Yeah, to say that Auto Assembly costs a fair amount of money to run would be an understatement. We’ve been working hard to keep costs down to attendees and although £15 might seem a lot to many people, compared to sci-fi conventions and even our own Star Trek convention that we ran back in ’96, AA2004 is a bargain! When we held that, it was a two day event as well at the same venue. A similar structure, and we had booked a Star Trek actor to fly over. Most of the costs were the same as Auto Assembly, although our guest budget was obviously higher. We did have a few differences in terms of activities – we hired a DJ for a disco, we hired AV equipment, and we had a magazine printed (A4 black and white 32 pages) so in a lot of ways it was not as elaborate as Auto Assembly is. The registration for that year was £35 for the weekend because of guest costs and equipment hire, and we lost a considerable sum of money. Auto Assembly 2004 is VERY different. It is costing us THOUSANDS of pounds to run the convention and every penny that comes in counts and this is why weekend registrations are better for us than day places and one of the reasons why we are offering better activities for those who book for the full weekend. The hotel hire alone is costing several thousand, our guest budget is also a four-figure sum (hotel, flight costs, expenses), printing of a full colour fanzine is costing a few pounds per copy, publicity, postage, possible equipment hire and more besides. It all adds up very quickly. We know that Auto Assembly will break even (every AA event so far has done so and this year is looking to be the best of all of them) – we plan carefully to make sure that the event grows physically only when we can afford to do it and that’s why we took so long to announce Wally – but in terms of the scale, this is down to pre-bookings. With excess income, we have two charities we are raising funds for, and after all our costs have been worked out and final bills paid after the weekend (with some of these not being completely cleared such as printing for about a month after) then we’ll split the balance between the NSPCC and Cancer Research. Finally, Hasbro have been aware of Auto Assembly for some time. As a non-profit making event, as long as we don’t claim to be officially endorsed, generally there isn’t a problem – and this is the same for conventions covering any product, franchise or series, but we wanted to keep Hasbro informed of what we were planning and doing. I have been talking to them for some time about them actually making an appearance at Auto Assembly. There’s nothing definite here although they have expressed an interest in coming along, but obviously if anything develops here, you’ll be the first to know…

Crikey, it all sounds like a major headache. As much as I like the idea of being a part of something like this, I think I’ll leave it to the experts and just be content to come along and enjoy the fruits of your labours.

As a final word, what would you say to those still undecided about attending?

It’s the 20th Anniversary year, so EVERY fan should really try to get to at least one convention this year, ideally all three. I won’t make comments on the others but I do know that pretty much everyone who attended AA last year had a great time and I know that this year will be better than ever. We’ve got great guests, a good selection of dealers, a fantastic auction, loads of variety in the programme throughout the weekend and a lot of things that you won’t see at ANY other event in the UK. Metrodome will be filming the convention to appear on a Season 3 DVD set (they’re bringing their own camera guy this year) so if you want to be on a Transformers DVD, AA is the only place that this will happen. I know you’ll have a great time and you’ll struggle to fit everything in all weekend that you want to do – yes, we’ve got that much going on that’s different each day! If you’ve only been to Transforce or OTFCC/Botcon before, then I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what we’re doing and you’ll find us to be a refreshing change, and if you’ve never been to a convention before, I think you’ll find that Auto Assembly will give you a great introduction to the world of Transformers conventions and that hopefully it won’t be your last.

Well, we’d like to thank Simon for taking the time to speak with us, and Sven for working with Simon to create Auto Assembly. If you want more info on the event visit the AA website (no, not that one) here.

We managed to beg a little time with Andrew Carter, Vice President of Development at Melbourne House, and the Melbourne House team developing Transformers Armada: Prelude to Energon for the PS2. Naturally we quizzed them on Transformers, and it turns out they know a thing or two, being fans themselves.

Transformers fans have been waiting for a video game like this since the days of the Commodore 64, do you think they’ll be impressed with what they see?

We hope they’ll be staggered by what they see! We think this is a whole new level of Transformers game. This is a high budget title and represents a big commitment from Atari towards Transformers fans.

What steps were taken to ensure that the character Transformations were of value to the game play, rather than just a nice feature?

Vehicle mode is an integral part of who the Transformers are. The player is free to transform at any time, and transforming is fast. Players will find that in certain situations it’s advantageous to be a vehicle: to speed into battle, to take a jump, to ram enemies, or to make a quick retreat. It’s up to them. The game is open and free for players to evolve their own strategies. There are multiple ways of attacking the same situation in the game and different players will find it preferable to be in either form in many instances.

In Japan, Takara and Winkysoft are releasing a Transformers Generation One game called Transformers Tatakai. Do you know anything about Tatakai and how does Prelude to Energon compare to that?

We haven’t had any involvement with that game, so sorry, no comment.

Will there be any multiplayer or online play in Prelude to Energon?

No, it’s an action adventure game for single players with a heavy emphasis on shooting. We focused on making the best quality single player game and multiplayer would have compromised this.

How early in development and why was the decision made to base the game on the Armada line of Transformers, as opposed to Generation One which has a much larger fan base in the PlayStation 2 owning demographic.

Armada was chosen from the start. Atari’s Beverly Studio worked with Hasbro (the licensor outside of Japan) and Armada was chosen as it is the latest series. Armada is on the air, and Armada products are in stores.

We also thought Mini-Cons offer a lot of cool possibilities – the quest for them is an obvious goal for a game, but they also extend the powers of the player character. We’ve really emphasised this aspect, with over 40 Mini-Cons, each of which gives the player different abilities, such as different weapon systems, stealth, glide, shields, Energon vision, and more. This means that the Autobots really evolve their capabilities as the game goes on; they can take on tougher enemies, and get to previously inaccessible places in the world. Players are free to customize their Mini-Con load out at any time in the games HQ. We think that this will help maintain interest in the game all the way through, using an element that is unique to Armada.

Are there any plans to release the game for Xbox if the PS2 version proves successful?

Transformers Armada is a PS2 exclusive right now. Everything in the game has been made to get the most from this platform and it would be quite difficult to convert.

How many playable characters will there be in the game, and what are the main differences between them?

The player can choose from one of three Autobots, and can change at any stage, even during a level. Each Autobot has different stats: weight, Mini-Con capacity, different physics, and a different feeling in play.

Optimus Prime is the heaviest, and has the best combat abilities. His Mini-Cons power capacity is greater than the other Autobots. His running speed is slow in acceleration, but once he gets up to speed he really pounds along. His truck is great for bashing through enemies.

Red Alert has better armour and defences, and is more of an all rounder; his vehicle mode is also the best at negotiating terrain.

Hot Shot is the most nimble, and has the longest jump, and the best turning speed. Obviously his sports car is also the fastest vehicle.

Each character has been modelled and enhanced to the highest level possible on PS2. We approached this area with the same theme as the rest of the game – highest quality is the priority. We could have included more characters, but when making a game on a high level like this, we think it’s much better to have a smaller number of really high-quality characters than a ton of low fidelity ones. Of course there are a ton of Mini-Cons to customise them further.

How hard is it making a game based on a license, knowing that so many licensed games fall flat – including huge licenses like Star Wars and Star Trek?

So many games fall flat today, full stop. Actually the licence is a bonus and we never assume a game will sell just because it has one. So really it’s about making a great game, license or not! We’ve approached making this game as a real game first and foremost, it’s a game made at the highest level, one that could easily stand by itself. The Transformers Amada license is a great theme that the game has been built and designed around. We aim to enhance the licence,
not abuse it as many titles do. Actually, making Armada has been a ton of work compared to more standard games. There are many new ideas and these characters have so many abilities and Mini-Cons. We’re honestly enjoying making it, and we hope that shows in the results.

How much research into Transformers did you do prior to working on the Prelude to Energon project?

We have some fans on the team, and more than a few toys turned up on people’s desks! We looked at everything Transformers, from the animated series to the toys to the Dreamwave comics and understanding the PS2 market that led us to a certain point of view: The toys look like toys, the cartoon has a look suitable for being a cartoon, the comics look great as comics. How would Hollywood approach this if they were doing a movie right now? (Which, we now learn, they are!). So for the game we decided to create a new look that is suitable for a game,
a PS2 game.

Did you enlist the help of any of the Transformers animators or comic artists to help get the look of the game correct?

We evolved the look independently – we have a great team in house. The look of the backgrounds has evolved with our proprietary graphics engine and a special system we developed just for this game called “Eco System”. It’s responsible for the amazing foliage and weather you’ll see in the game. On the character side we drew inspiration from many sources including original Japanese concept sketches of Transformers Armada characters and Dreamwave art. We also created an original Decepticlone army for the game that can be completely blown to pieces! Hasbro have also been great in allowing us to evolve a slightly older look for the game.

Oh, and a Japanese CG company called Buildup are doing the Pre-Rendered movies for the game – they did the movies for Panzer Dragoon Orta and the intro for Soul Calibur 2.

Do you think this game will appeal to both the ‘twenty something’ fans of the original Transformers and the pre-teen fans of Transformers Armada?

That is what it’s designed to do, so we shall see! We think it will appeal to all PS2 action gamers, irrespective of whether they are Transformers fans or not. The game is similar in control and atmosphere to Halo, but with an even more dynamic player character. So, although the Armada animated series is only intended for younger viewers, the game is most certainly not.

Recently games such as Gun Metal and Robotech Battlecry have featured Transforming mechs to great effect. How does Prelude to Energon compare with them?

We believe our game is on another level to those titles.

Thanks for the opportunity to talk to you. We hope you enjoy the game when it comes out next Easter.

TheTransformers.Net thanks Melbourne House for taking time to answer our questions, and we do indeed look forward to playing the game. It’s been a long time coming, but finally we can have Optimus on our PS2. I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.

We were lucky enough to land an interview with voice artist Corey Burton. Corey will be best known to transfans as the one eyed monstrosity Shockwave from the Transformers G1 series and Movie. So without further ado, let’s chat to Corey.

Could you start by introducing yourself and tell us a few of your voice work credits?

I’m a shy kid from The San Fernando Valley (in Los Angeles) who became a professional voice actor at the age of 17, some 30 years ago. Over that span of time, even a brief overview of my credits would be a bit much to get into here (I have a website for that); but knowing that this is for the eyes of Transformers fans, I’m sure they’d like to know that I was the original Spike, Brawn, Shockwave and Sunstreaker in the series and movie. In G.I. Joe, I was Tomax. The majority of my character voice work over the years has been for Disney; in series, storyteller records & CDs, movies, theme parks, and interactive media. In more recent years, I’ve done character voices for quite a few Warner Bros. shows, such as Pinky & the Brain and Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries; as well as playing the recurring role of Brainiac on “Superman”, “Justice League” and “Static Shock”. For many years, I’ve been the Announcer voices for Old Navy, and on radio commercials for Real California Cheese and Expedia.com, to name a few. My work is indeed “all over the place”, and chances are good that you hear me on something at least once a week over some form of media or other.

What character are you most proud of that you have given life to in your career and why?

If I had to pick just one, I’d have to say it’s Gaetan Moliere (Mole) from Disney’s “Atlantis: The Lost Empire”. This was my first major role in an ensemble cast for a first-class feature film. I take pride in knowing that it is an entertaining character entirely of my own creation – not a recreation or simulation of anyone else’s work. I’m also very proud to be a part of such an excellent movie (despite the completely unjustified “bad rap” that has been put on it). I have no doubt that it will one day be appreciated as a truly fine animated feature from the last days of Disney’s second Golden Age of hand-drawn cell animation.

How did you get started in the business and who were your greatest influences?

Regarding my entry into this business, once again, far too involved a subject to get into here. As far as my influences, I’ve made no secret of the fact that I idolize the amazing Ghost Host voice (from Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion) and all-around Voice Genius known as Paul Frees (and try to sneak a little tribute to him into many of my characterizations). I’ve also been inspired by Daws Butler (my ‘mentor’), Bill Scott (Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right and many others; also a brilliant writer/director/producer for Jay Ward), Mel Blanc (of course), June Foray (Rocky, Natasha, and countless others; June was the foremost voice actress of the 20th Century), Hans Conried (Snidely Whiplash and Disney’s “Captain Hook” are his best remembered voices), Dick Tufeld (great classic announcer for Disney), Alexander Scourby (National Geographic narrator), Orson Welles, Boris Karloff, and maybe a hundred other great actors and vocal performers.

In the Transformers comics, Shockwave was a major character who lasted right through to final issues. What did you think of Shockwave’s involvement, or lack of it, in the Transformers cartoon.

Somewhat disappointed. It was frustrating to be given such a cool character with so little involvement in the shows. I always felt that they missed a “golden opportunity” to use this interesting and powerful character to its full potential in the series.

In the Transformers series, the voice of Shockwave was on a par in terms of iconic power with that of Frank Welker’s Soundwave. How did you come up with that style for the voice, and what is the process for inventing a new voice for a character?

Thanks for the compliment – I really enjoyed doing it. As far as inventing a ‘new’ voice goes, I must confess that I used the old voice actor’s tradition of “borrowing” the sound from an actor I thought would work well for the role: David Warner. As a cold and mysterious artificial intelligence, I was impressed with Warner’s characterization as the Master Control Program from an otherwise terribly flawed movie, “Tron”. I had already done some sound-alike work as that character, and looking at the design and description of Shockwave, felt it would be a good fit.

The world of film and television is filled with big egos and bad attitudes, is there anyone you’ve worked with that you wish you hadn’t?

Not really. First of all, in the Off-Camera part of the business that I work in, those sorts of egos and attitudes hardly exist at all; you wouldn’t last very long as a voice actor if you exhibited those traits. We come from the traditions of “The Golden Age of Radio”, where mutual respect and gracious ‘camaraderie’ were expected from everyone involved. The most challenging and unpleasant individuals I’ve worked with have mainly been a small number of feature film and animation series directors, who believe they must bully and intimidate actors in order to get a good performance out of them. Otherwise, I can honestly say that it’s been a delight to work with nearly everybody I’ve ever met in a studio. Not to be a complete “goody-good” on the subject, I can say that I did regret being cast alongside Michael Bell to play Tomax, as twin to his Xamot in G.I. Joe: don’t misunderstand – Michael is a fine actor and human being – but our styles and techniques are so entirely different, that tightly synchronizing with him proved to be a daunting ordeal. Rather like sharing a steering wheel with someone who has a resolutely different idea of the best way to get somewhere. I’ve had a few similar experiences with actors whose approach and sensibilities seem to clash with my own, but thankfully it has been a very rare occurrence.

Have you any tips or advice for anyone wanting to become a voice artist?

I’ve gone into detail on the subject in replies to questions posted on my website’s message board (www.coreyburton.com), and am currently writing about it in a foreword to a book of Daws Butler scripts, being edited by Ben Ohmart (due out sometime next year). I can briefly only offer my most basic bit of advice for the purposes of this interview, and that is: If you don’t love it more than anything else in the world, it simply won’t be worth all the time and effort necessary to make even a modest living at it. Like anything else, if you seriously want to be a respected professional, you’ve got to devote your life to it.

Who are the most talented people that you’ve worked with?

As for Actors… beginning with those I idolized growing up: Daws Butler, June Foray, Bill Scott, Hans Conried; along with Radio actors such as Parley Baer, Virginia Gregg, John Dehner, Frank Nelson (“Yyyyeeesss…?”), Marvin Miller, Vic Perrin (voice of original “Outer Limits”); Hal Smith (“Otis”, the drunk from Mayberry), Sorrell Booke (played “Boss Hogg”); and folks such as Rob Paulsen, Frank Welker, Paul Winchell, April Winchell, Brian Cummings, Linda Gary, Russi Taylor, Pete Renoudet, Scatman Crothers, Maurice LaMarche, Tress McNeille, Michael McKean, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer, Whoopi Goldberg, Roddy MacDowall, Mary Kay Bergman, Dan Castellanetta, Phil Morris, John Sessions, Tim Curry, Jim Cummings, Dan Gilvezan, Kevin Michael
Richardson, Tony Jay, Phil Lamarr, Gary Owens, B.J. Ward, Don Novello (Guido Sarducci), Florence Stanley (Mrs. Fish from Barney Miller)… to name a few. As for Writers and Directors… Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, Joe Dante, Mel Brooks, Billy Wilder, Philip Kaufman, Jymn Magon, Jack Fletcher, Paul VerHoeven, Lamont Johnson, Richard Jefferies, Penelope Spheeris.

Is there anything on your CV that you’d like to forget? (:work history – Is there anything you’ve done that you wish you hadn’t or don’t like to admit?)

I once did an annoying voice on a radio commercial… and woke up one morning swearing at an obnoxious voice on my clock radio, and then – to my horror – realized it was me (and since then, have tried to never do another obnoxious voice on a commercial). …There was also a nightmare session for a promotional film about a certain University in the South, where I was “directed” by an ensemble of at least 5 people who couldn’t agree on anything: except for the fact that they all deeply resented me as an “overpaid voice-clown”, and blamed me for everything wrong with their truly inept script. It was such an insulting, hideous ordeal, that instead of coming back the following day to start all over (having gotten through less than half of it in 8 grueling hours the first day), I feigned illness and “blew it off”. …I was also once mistakenly cast to do the voice of Yoda (for a storyteller cassette), and even though I ‘sucked’, it was recorded and released anyway. …I did a half-assed character in the awful animated feature, “The Trumpet of the Swan”. And there were a few commercials I’ve recorded on a particularly “bad voice day” that ended up on radio or TV constantly for months on end, and everybody I knew happened to hear it. …Awful!

What projects are you working on right now?

The only current series where I’m a semi-regular is Cartoon Network’s “Clone Wars”, in which I play Christopher Lee’s “Count Dooku”, and I’ve done a couple more Justice League episodes as Brainiac along with some supporting characters, and Renegade Cartoons’ “Captain Sturdy” (I played the title role in two pilot episodes so far). Otherwise, more of my regular commercial work (Old Navy, Real California Cheese, Expedia, etc.), announcing for “Comedy Central Presents…”, bits and pieces for various animated series, interactive games, and theme parks in the U.S. and Japan. Nothing particularly earth-shaking to report, but work continues to be plentiful. …By the way, I recently won my first “Annie” award for voice acting, as Ludwig Von Drake on Disney’s “House of Mouse” (from ASIFA).

You’ve done a wide variety of work in your career, from Film to television to Disney park ride voices. What have you enjoyed the most?

What I love most of all is being a Radio Actor, especially when the “Old-Timers” were still around. And going in to work on any Disney Animated Feature has always been an absolute thrill for me. But I really do thoroughly enjoy most of the work I’m hired to do. Personally, (even though there are a few negative aspects) I can’t think of a more wonderful way to make a living.

Is there anyone who you have not yet worked with but would like to?

I’ve worked with the other members of “Spinal Tap”, but never with Christopher Guest (I think he’s a genius)… There are also some fine movie actors I’d love to work with; like Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, Nicole Kidman, Johnny Depp, the new ‘hot’ star Colin Farrell, Gene Wilder, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ian McKellan, Kathy Bates, and several others. I’m sure it would be a real ‘hoot’ to work with Christopher Walken. Working with Garry Shandling would be an interesting and fulfilling experience as well, I think. Just about any really skilled actor (with a great “ear” for voices) from movies and TV would be exciting to do good voice work with.

Thanks for taking time to talk to us Corey, and wish you all the best for the future. You can check out Corey Burton’s website at: http://www.coreyburton.com

Thanks go to Shaun Cox for getting us in touch with Corey Burton.

Hey Trans-fans, I recently had the chance to interview Mike S. Miller the artist behind the GI Joe / Transformers crossover which is out now at comic book stores priced $2.95 (around the £2.50 mark), its available with three different covers all by some of the best known guys in the industry.

This guy willingly took time out of his schedule to bring TheTransformers.Net an exclusive interview purely because of his love of this great Eighties property we all know and love, this guy’s a fan himself so a big hand for Mike S. Miller.

Sid Beckett: Hey Mike.

Mike: Hello

Sid: Okay, first of all how long have you been a Transformers fan?

Mike: Since childhood. When Transformers first came out, it was about the time we got our first VCR. I would tape TF religiously and watch it in slow motion. I even started designing my own transformers, taking care that they would actually work in ‘reality’.

Mike: I guess that was early 80’s, though I don’t remember exactly what year…

Sid: Nice, around the time of the movie or before?

Mike: Oh, before. I’m 31, so I watched TF first time it came around, about 1984. I even have some of those old drawings of Optimus Prime around here somewhere. If I can find them, I’ll send them to you. It’s worth a laugh.

Sid: Excellent, it would be cool to post on the site. A few fanboy questions to get going, what’s your favourite Transformers toy?

Mike: Sideswipe. I don’t know why for sure, but he’s always been my favorite TF. Probably because he’s a Lamborghini, lol. Jazz and him are my favorites.

Sid: Great choices, two of my favorites too

Mike: Great minds and all that rot.

Sid: Are they your favourite characters as well as toys?

Mike: Yep.

Sid: As a child were you a bigger fan of the cartoon where you first saw them, or the comic books?

Mike: Without question, the cartoon. I didn’t like the comics at all. I wouldn’t buy them. I thought the art was completely inferior to the cartoon (no offense to those working on the comics), or at least too far away from the ‘feel’ of the cartoon for my tastes. I so much prefer the way they are being handled now, by Dreamwave et al.

Sid: Yeah, Dreamwave and Image are definitely more Art Studios, than 1980’s Marvel.

Mike: I couldn’t say much for the stories though, since I never read them. I like what Dreamwave is doing with the story, because I AM actually reading it. I guess it takes good enough art for me to start reading a comic.

Sid: Are you a fan of Beast Wars and Beast Machines?

Mike: I thought they looked pretty cool for the CG of that ‘era’. Which is funny to say since it was only a few years ago, but the technology has changed so much, I think a really cool cel shaded CG transformers cartoon would really rock now. I think they should bring G1 back, in the gap between the last episode and the movie.

Sid: I couldn’t agree more, there is a lot of groundwork to be filled before 2005 and hopefully Dreamwave are going fill that.

Mike: Hey, if anyone can do it, it’s those guys. Or me. I also wish the comics had never explained the TF origin, because I have a great fan fiction idea for that..

Sid: Well, there is no one true origin of the TF, the TV said Quintessons but that was contradicted by the UK comic origin. So there is always an opportunity for a retelling, look at Marvel and Spiderman – how may times has that changed.

Mike: The Quintessons are robots too. So they would require a creator as well.

Sid: Did you ever read the UK origin.

Mike: No I didn’t. Mine would be a completely different take. Want to hear
some?

Sid: Definitely, give us the lowdown

Mike: Well, in my take, Cybertron is originally an organic planet populated by a human race. ‘The’ human race, actually. A highly developed technological planet, where people have ample use of robots as tools and transportation, etc. At first they are just programmed for specific chores, because AI has yet to be developed.

Sid: Yeah

Mike: One man, Nuhn, develops the first AI, and it is a huge leap forward in technology. He uses a program that forces the AI to constantly devour information. He dubs this first AI robot, ‘Unicron’.

Sid: Ah! Like it…

Mike: Eventually Unicron becomes unstable, following it’s ‘hunger’ for information to it’s logical conclusion, it starts assimilating everything around it. In an effort to save the planet, Nuhn is forced to jettison Unicron into space, hopefully never to be heard from again.

Sid: Right…

Mike: Using the self-created programming he had copied from the Unicron model, Nuhn develops less aggressive AI that can be used for various purposes and we see the first generation of what he calls ‘Auto-Bots’.

Sid: Ha-ha, I like it…

Mike: These robots have a failsafe program that does not allow them to harm humans, as Unicron was doing.

Sid: Right

Mike: They are used as servant robots, their very purpose to serve human kind, and even designed with human features, faces, hands, etc�etc� Well, as all things do, eventually this technology makes its way to the military.

The military redesigned the AI program so that the ‘do not harm humans’ element was removed, so the programming could be used in their new line of ‘Decepticon’ robots.

Sid: I see

Mike: Of course, this idea was not unique. Various countries around the planet had similar ideas, and a massive war of giant robots ensued. Each trying to take over dominion of the planet, soon the world was a mess. But eventually the Decepticons realized that all they were doing was fighting each other, their own kind, at the whim of these ‘flesh bag’ humans. So they joined together to wipe out the human cancer. This, of course, flew directly in the face of their Auto-bot counterparts.

Sid: Ah

Mike: A great civil war began, and the Decepticons began to re-shape the face of the planet in their own likeness. Every ounce of natural resource was used and recycled into a techno-organic framework. The beginnings of an artificial planet.

Sid: Ties in with Beast Machines too, they found the planet was once organic.

Mike: Really, cool.

Sid: It ends with them restoring the natural balance to Cybertron and becoming techno-organic, but I digress.

Mike: Seeing the way the tide was turning, Nuhn and those humans he could gather together created an ‘Ark’ and left to establish a life somewhere without robots. With the Human cancer gone, the Decepticons claimed victory and re-named their planet, ‘CYBERTRON’.

Sid: yeah,

Mike: D’oh! I forgot to mention that the first good Auto-Bot Nuhn created was a ‘Prime’ unit, complete with Matrix. lol. Ah well, this is the shorthand version.

Sid: Yeah, sounds really cool, you don’t want to give too much away.

Mike: Well, don’t think it’s ever going to be done. Sad to say.

Sid: Very interesting. This leads me to what was going to be a later question, how does a TF fan get a job in the Comic industry?

Sid: I ask the question for the site and because I have been trying to get into the comic industry as a writer for years now, we have some very talented fan-fiction contributors as well as many talented artists who would love to get involved in the industry.

Mike: What kind of skills would this particular TF fan have that would be useful in the comic industry? Hardest job to get in comics, I think, is that of a writer. One way to go about it is to hitch on to an artist, and just publish your stuff. There’s just basic stuff really, the stuff you’d read in books about comics. There is no set formula, just keep trying to do your best, get your name out there, cross your fingers and see what happens.

Sid: Good advice, all right back to you

Mike: okay.

Sid: Your new series GI Joe and the Transformers has just shipped and its a 6 issue series, how’s it doing.

Mike: The first issue sold over 100K, and sold OUT in less than a week. Pretty cool.

Sid: Excellent stuff, very good numbers for the industry, that puts it in the top 20 if my knowledge is correct.

Mike: Maybe Top 5. I think it was highly under-ordered. People say the ‘wheels are falling off the 80’s buss, but with sell through like that, you have to be kidding me.

Sid: Available from all good comic stores now, while available.

Mike: We’re going to a second printing now, I believe, so it should be available if your local shop orders it. You could always just ask them to order you a copy or three.

Sid: New covers on the second print?

Mike: I’m not 100% certain, but I think so.

Sid: I take it all the character redesigns are by yourself?

Mike: Yes, all the character redesigns were mine. I did my best to ensure they would actually ‘work’ too. My father is an engineer, so I think I get that kind of thinking from him.

Sid: Indeed, and the hardest part looking at the designs, would be mixing the TF style, with that of pre-existing Cobra vehicles.

Mike: Yeah, it was difficult on some of them. For example, the Rattler doesn’t have enough mass to match the TF. So I had to take some liberties with the final design.

Mike: But that Optimus Prime Hiss (Hiss is a Cobra vehicle for those as unclued as me – Sid) was just a breeze to design in a working way. And I have to do this every time a new character pops up in Josh’s script.

Sid: I must say the designs work perfectly – the blend between the two is seamless. I bet the redesigns are the funnest part of the job.

Mike: It is rewarding. Like solving a puzzle that no one has ever had to think about before.

Mike: I’d love to see Hasbro make them into toys (hint hint).

Sid: Yeah, that would be great, they did a line of Expanded Universe toys with Star Wars so you never know…it could happen, and the Botcon toys carry a Transformers Expanded Universe logo.

Mike: Maybe. If enough TF fans email them, it might possibly happen. I don’t know of any plans to do so, I just think it would be cool.

Sid: Well, we’ll keep hassling them.

Mike: I can tell you there will likely be SOME kind of peripheral products from this series. Nothing set in stone though, nothing I’m at liberty to discuss.

Sid: What’s it like working with Josh Blaylock? And how do you feel about the art team in general?

Mike: Josh is cool as they come. Any time I need something or I have a question, I call him up and he’ll give me what I need. He’s a huge TF fan too, and with the way he handles the Joe’s, I think you would have been hard pressed to find a better suited writer for this project. Armando Durruthy is doing the best inks of his life, the original pages are just gorgeous! And the coloring, well, the coloring is done by the folks I hand-picked to color ‘George R. R. Martin’s: The Hedge Knight’, so you know I’m pleased to have them aboard. It’s basically the same art team, inker aside, on both books. So if you like the art on Joe v. Transformers, you should well like it in ‘The Hedge Knight’.

Sid: So what series will you be working on next, anything TF wise or onto other pastures? Whats this Hedge Knight?

Mike: Well, I don’t work for Dreamwave, so I don’t think we’ll be doing anything related to TF. Though I had made the suggestion to do ‘G.I.Joe: Mech Division’ as a follow up to this series. I don’t know if that will ever happen though.

Sid: Interesting.

Mike: I’m in the middle of issue 4 now, as soon as I finish issue 6 I’ll be jumping back on ‘George R. R. Martin’s: The Hedge Knight’.

Sid: Published by ???

Mike: Published by Image comics, produced by Roaring Studios

Sid: Available at local comic stores in August.

Mike: I put that book on hold to take on Joe/TF, because it was the chance of a lifetime. Not that working with George R. R. Martin ISN’T the chance of a lifetime, but you know what I’m talking about.

Sid: Indeed, a very high profile book like GI Joe/TF can not be turned down

Mike: Exactly, but I itch to get back on GRRM’s: The Hedge Knight as well. It’s a fantastic story, written by a guy who without doubt will come to be known as the single best writer in comics. He’s already known as one of the best, if not THE best writer in all of fantasy history, compared to and sometimes even touted more highly than J.R.R. Tolkien.

Sid: Impressive comparison, sounds like a good writer.

Mike: And that’s saying quite a bit. So if your fans like comics at all, and they care about quality writing, with decent artwork, George R. R. Martin’s: The Hedge Knight is a book to order.

Sid: I’ll add it to my pull list!

Mike: George’s best known work is his NYTimes best selling, Award winning series, ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’. Including, ‘A Game of Thrones’, ‘A Clash of Kings’, and ‘A Storm of Swords’, he is currently working on the fourth phone-book sized novel, ‘A Feast for Crows’.

Sid: So where does ‘The Hedge Knight’ fit in with ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’?

Mike: ‘The Hedge Knight’ is a prequel novella that ties directly into ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’. There are some 6 million copies in print to date in ‘Legends’, edited by Robert Silverberg, who also writes the forward in our adaptation. It’s a Six issue limited series that will be followed directly with our adapting ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ as a series that will likely take me the rest of my career to draw.

Sid: Haha, as long as Cerebus? (300 issues)

Mike: Each novel is going to take probably 40 issues or so.

Sid: Wow, so a huge epic

Mike: Yes. Actually, I could be wrong, it could take more than that. Just check out Amazon.com for people’s reviews. You’ll see what I mean, if it does even a small percentage of it’s potential, I’ll do well with it. I did a recent online poll, asking over 500 Martin fans if they would buy The Hedge Knight adaptation, and of those who responded, over 60% said they would buy it if it was decent at all. Almost 90% would at least give it a try. Given the size of his audience, this indeed could be a blockbuster book.

Sid: Would you recommend a new artist or writer submit to Image?

Mike: Image is a great place for people to get their book noticed. As a beginner studio, you might get 2 or 3 thousand books sold through the back of ‘Previews’, but if you get it into the Image section, you could sell over 10K or more, even as an unknown. That’s pretty good for exposure, and they have all the ‘hook-ups’ that take all the headaches away from self-publishing. You also retain copyrights for your product with Image.

Sid: Some comic creators seem to have a problem with the eighties comics popularity, any ideas why?

Mike: Good question. I think perhaps people see it as a ‘fad’, just the next flash in the pan, and they don’t want to be associated with what they view as a giant ‘gimmick’. But if you look at the numbers, G.I.Joe has had a consistant following since it’s woefully underordered first issue. TF rode that wave and because so many retailers UNDER ordered Joe, they OVER ordered TF, but it still sold like hotcakes. Of course it’s going to plateau, but what a lot of people in my industry don’t realize is that TF isn’t just selling to comics fans, it’s selling to your audience, the TF fans. Just like Joe is selling to the Joe fans. And they’re not going anywhere. So it might feel like a fad to industry people, retailers, what and not, but to the fans who have been chomping at the bit for 15 or 20 years for a good yarn about their favorite transforming robots and battling Americans, it’s an addiction. Of course, the industry people tried to ride that wave with less popular 80’s titles and haven’t been as successful, but I don’t think there were any more popular properties in the 80’s than G.I.Joe and Transformers.

Sid: Well put, so you think there’s a long shelf life for the Transformers revival?

Mike: I think so. As long as the quality of the product remains high, and they don’t annoy the fans by doing anything particularly stupid, I think fans will be fans. And those fans will keep these books competing with the top sellers in the industry.

Sid: Well Mike, thanks very much for your time, good luck with The Hedge Knight and I look forward to the conclusion of GI Joe / Transformers.

Mike: Thanks to all the fans for the support, later.

For more information about Mike S. Millers future work check out the following
websites. www.georgerrmartin.com www.roaringstudios.com www.theartoficeandfire.com
www.underdogstudio.com

Our hob nobbing with the famous continues as we present our latest interview, this time we talk to Dick Gautier of Rodimus Prime fame.

Could you start by introducing yourself and tell us a few of your voice work credits?

My voice credits are extensive, you’d best look on my web site under RESUME. I can’t list them here. Bad typist.

What character are you most proud of that you have given life to in your career and why?

The original Conrad Birdie in BYE BYE BIRDIE on Broadway (Tony nomination) and HYMIE on Get Smart.

How did you get started in the business and who were your greatest influences?

I sang with a band when I was 17 and then did stand up for about four or five years before doing Broadway and becoming an actor. Sid Caesar and Danny Kaye were big influences on me. As were other odd, weird and bizarre comics that you’ve never heard of — Theodore and Lord Buckley.

Rodimus Prime was despised by some Transformers fans for replacing Optimus Prime, and this was something that was even written into the script with Rodimus living in Optimus’ shadow. How was it for you replacing Peter Cullen as the lead on the show?

It wasn’t Peter Cullen, it was Ted Schwartz and all I know is that Wally Burr, the director, said “Okay- you’re Rodimus Prime. I had never worked with Ted nor met him.

How much of the voice of Rodimus Prime was yours, and how much was influenced by Judd Nelson’s portrayal in Transformers the Movie?

It was all mine. I never saw the movie, the series and didn’t even know who Judd Nelson was. I’ve seen him in the interim as an actor, he’s not imitatable because his voice and personality are not clearly defined.

Are you aware of the revival in the Transformers toy line, comics and TV series – largely generated and supported by the online community?

Yes – I attended a convention last year in Indiana.

Which do you prefer, acting on stage, acting for television, voice over or drawing?

All of it. Why not? If you can do all of it — do it. Why inhibit yourself? Although I prefer stage to TV and movies. more challenging, better writing.

The world of film and television is filled with big egos and bad attitudes, is there anyone you’ve worked with that you wish you hadn’t?

Egos? Hollywood? What on earth do you mean?

Have you any tips or advice for anyone wanting to become a voice artist?

It’s best to develop ORIGINAL voices, not Bugs Bunny, Etc. they’re covered. Be unusual and creative, that’s the strongest weapon you have. I taught VO for awhile and one of my best bits of advice was IF YOU DO A BAD IMPRESSION OF A FAMOUS PERSON SO IT’S UNRECOGNIZABLE MAYBE YOU’VE CREATED A NEW VOICE!

Who are the most talented people that you’ve worked with?

Frank Welker is very talented, so is Peter Cullen, Maurice LaMarche, there’s a mess of ’em. Jack Angel, too. Charlie Adler is great. And me. I’m not too bad.

Is there anything that you’ve done career wise that you’d like to forget?

I’ve done some bad movies. I’ve been miscast – the Doris Day show I was a Mideastern terrorist. Bad! I was the Governor in a Billy Jack movie. Not good. I’m sure there’s more.

What projects are you working on right now?

I just finished a new book (number 15) a compendium, of humorous poetry dealing with contemporary issues large and small. with illustrations by moi of course.

Is there anyone who you have not yet worked with but would like to?

Oh too many to name. I’ve been lucky to work with some greats – Barbra Streisand, Jimmy Stewart, Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, Paul Lynde, Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, ETC. ETC. ETC.

We want to say a big thanks to Dick for the interview, you were great. Best of luck in the future and we hope your latest book does well. Don’t forget you can check out Dick’s website here.

We managed to catch up with Theo Black from Black Arts Illustration. Theo has created the artwork for Maverick’s Transformers season 1 DVD boxset, and what a fine job he’s made of it to. If you’d like to own one of Theo’s numbered prints depicting the artwork present in the DVD release then check out his website here.

Without further ado, lets talk to Theo Black.

Can you start off by introducing yourself and what it is that you’ve done that involves the world of Transformers.

I am the illustrator for the UK Deluxe Edition G1 Season 1 DVD set published by Maverick Entertainment. Other than that I have created a few personal Transformers pieces because I love them so.

How did you first get into the role of a professional illustrator?

I got my first gig in gaming. I went slowly up the ladder in that industry. I’ve worked for about 15 gaming companies including Wizards of the Coast and White Wolf Publishing.

What kind of things were you into at school?

Art, Fantasy, Sci Fi, karate, pets, gaming, girls.

What artists influenced your work and whom do you admire?

Honestly I get my influence from lots of media. When I have artist block I watch a movie, read, look at other art etc. Of the artists I love and wish I could paint like I’d have to say: Maxfield Parrish, Sir John Everett Millais, Dore, Waterhouse for old masters and Donato, Brian Froud for new masters.

What artistic media do you prefer to work in and there any that you don’t like to use?

I used to be an oil purest but it took forever so I switched to water and led mixed media: water colour, gouache, pencil and pen.

How much of a fan of Transformers are you?

Before I talk about Transformers I would first like to discuss the concept of the modern myth. A myth is a fantastical tale that offers qualities that one can draw upon. This is often done subconsciously I think in times doubt and question. The Vikings relied on stories of Thor and Loki, the Egyptians had Osiris and Set, and the list goes on. I had Prime and Megatron.

G1 is about a slave who seizes the opportunity to escape with some of his friends. They escape and the symbol of the action causes the breakdown of the society on Cybertron. Megatron, obsessed with punishing Prime for his actions, pursues him and his small band of rebels to Earth. The Great War Begins.

The contrast between Prime and Megatron is very much like the conflict between Jean Valjean and Javert in Les Miserables. A man commits the crime of stealing (Jean took bread, Prime took a ship) and the a leader of the ruling dictatorship (Javert / Megatron) view it as symbol of the destruction of the society and become obsessed with punishing the rebel for his actions. The G1 story is very much the story of the poor rising upon the ruling class. The story could be told in the form of a fantasy tale with knights with little difficulty I think. What are the Autobots, if not a band of knights, men of honour who were once slaves? Being American I can very much appreciate this concept.

Till all are one.

How did you land the enviable task of designing the artwork for Maverick’s Season 1 DVD release?

Darren, How can you ask me that? It was the doing of Darren and his incredible TF site. I was out of work for about two week so I decided to paint one of my childhood heroes, Prime. The response to the piece was tremendous and a fan telling me of the Transformers.net site emailed me. When I saw the site I was amazed. Previously I thought Transformers died in the 80s. I could not have been more wrong. I sent the piece I did to you, Darren for the fan art site. Darren sent it to Sharon at Maverick and that was that. I got the DVD job!!

TheTransformers.Net regularly holds Fan Art competitions in which very talented artists send in their work, do you have any advice for people like this who would like to become illustrators?

Use a media you can control the best. Steal whatever you can from toys, other artist, and animators etc to get the perfect image. When I work I use a bunch of stuff just to get one figure. When I did Prime for the DVD set I took an animation still for the chest and head only, made up my own arms and legs and then looked at a bunch of stuff to get the texture down including: My PVC Prime, a matchbox car, photos of tractor trailers I got off the web and the red and blue side of a rubix cube.

What other projects have you worked on besides Transformers?

I have worked on Dungeons and Dragons, Werewolf, Changeling, a few d20 games, lots of collectable card games, a few book covers and some concept design.

Is there anything you’d like to work on if you had the chance?

The Baroness with a riding crop.

What piece are you most proud of and why?

To date it is “Roiben” http://theblackarts.com/royben.htm because it has a lot more detail and expression than most of my other work. The Great War Piece is up there too for the same reason.

Thanks for the Interview Theo, and good luck with your future projects. Remember you can see Theo’s work for the DVD at his website here: http://www.theblackarts.com/prints.htm, where you can also purchase prints of the art.

TheTransformers.Net managed to catch up with veteran Transformers comic artist Mike Collins. Mike also worked on some of the Transformers ladybird books with Mark Farmer and has recently created a piece of artwork for a deck of charity comic based playing cards – the subject matter? Transformers of course.

You can check out what Mike is up to by visiting his website at www.freakhousegraphics.co.uk

Mike, could you start by introducing yourself and your involvement with Transformers?

I had just broken in to comics (which makes it sound like a criminal act.. and some would say..) and was working regularily for Marvel UK. My art-parter at the time was Mark Farmer, now best known for his inking on pretty much all the top American comic heroes. At the time, Mark was wending a course between comics and illustration. Ladybird Books had approached Sheila Crenna at Marvel UK, looking for an artist to draw their new range of books based on the Transformers toys. Sheila remembered Mark’s painting abilities and asked him if he wanted the gig– he kindly offered that we did it between us: he was happy with doing the finishes, but drew the line at actually having to draw the things. He figured I’d enjoy that!

After that, when John Ridgway was unable to continue on the strip, Sheila and Ian Rimmer remembered that I’d been working on the books and could hit the ground running on the strip, so I got the job ….ironically, without Mark inking! I was keeping him busy on the Ladybird work.

How did you get into the comic industry?

Sheer bloody-mindedness! I always wanted to work in comics, and did all I could -work in fanzines, getting to meet editors, showing my work at conventions, sending in samples… Eventually, my work caught the eye of Alan Moore, who got me work at Marvel UK.

What was the first Transformer you ever drew, and who is your favourite Transformer to draw?

Optimus Prime! And….Optimus Prime!

What Transformers related art, or strip, are you most proud of and why?

Crisis Of Command! With co-writer James Hill, we produced a tale that filled a gap in the American continuity, shortly after Optimus had lost his head (literally) and had it restored. It was an exploration of power, and what it means to those who command… oh, and we blew up a whole lot of stuff! Great art by John Stokes and Geoff Senior and of course, starring Optimus!

What kind of things were you into as a child, and did you ever read comics?

Comics, and Gerry Anderson– and Gerry Anderson comics! TV21 was a weekly transport to a world of outsized ships, planes and spacecraft. Working on Transformers wasn’t too much of a leap after that!

How do you rate the new Transformers Beast Wars, Generation 2 and Car Robots’ compared to the originals: as cartoons and to draw from an artists point of view?

Beat Wars I though was great– haven’t seen Car Robots… isn’t that the one were they’ve basically just slapped a ‘Transformers’ logo over a wholly different show?

How was your relationship with the other Transformers artists and writers, and do you still keep in contact with any of them now?

We used to get on really well- still do when we meet up– it’s one of those things– working in comics, you’re scattered around the country. Certainly when I started on the comic I was living in London so went out drinking with the others on a reasonably regular basis!

How do you rate the story lines in the Transformers comic, as opposed to say, Judge Dredd or Doctor Who?

At the beginning there was a certain amount of filling in the gaps to the US material– but when Simon hit his stride I think he was producing some kicking action… wholesale smash and crash. Of course, when he took over the US comic there was no stopping him!

What would be the process for drawing a single issue of The Transformers? i.e. the time it takes, where you start, rough sketches. From when you received the script to the final art.

Generally, Simon’d write the script, I’d draw it… if new toys were involved, a trip to London was in order for me to pick up the reference… and maybe a few pints too. Very nice way of working! When I wrote a few stories, it’d be a trip in to knock out the ideas with the editor and co-writer, and then -in the case of Crisis- refer to a bit of animation film that we could ‘re-write’ as a scene from our story. The idea being, Marvel could run an ad on TV showing the clip saying “Read the rest of the story in the weekly Transformers Comic!” Don’t think they ever ran the ads though…

How do you relax when you’re not working on comic books?

Uh, I draw. When on holiday, I’ll take a pad with me- it’s a great release just drawing anything, not necessarily in relation to work.

What comics do you prefer to work on, and are there any characters that you dislike drawing?

I love Super-Hero comics, I love science fiction… I particularly like Star Trek and have now drawn strips -and written some- based on every incarnation of the show… hmmm, wonder if they need an artist for Enterprise…Who don’t I like drawing? Well, on Transformer’s it’d have to be the Insecticons…too fiddly!

Lee Sullivan would try to work the Marvel offices into all of his backgrounds. Do you make any subtle ‘in jokes’ in your work such as this?

Well, I always have, and still do, include the Rotunda from Birmingham City Centre in backgrounds. It’s been in Mega-City One, it’s been on Vulcan, Trill and New York. Everywhere. Go look!

What are you working on now?

Harry Potter RPG cards, a graphic novel based on the Phantom, covers (and currently a story) for the regular Star Trek e-books that you can download.

What do you think are the chances of The Transformers comic returning, and would you like to work on them again?

If there was a Transformers comic around again and they wanted me, I’d love a shot at it… it was glorious fun– it’s what comics are all about big improbable action, big robots and high drama.

How difficult was it to draw a Transformers ‘mid Transformation’ as opposed to drawing a human form moving? Are there any similarities?

When the strip went over to the animation models rather than looking like the toys it got a lot easier! They had pretty much human proportions… trying to have Mirage lumbering around was a major feat of logistics and engineering theory…

Have you any advice for anyone wanting to become a comic artist?

The same old dull advice, I’m afraid… draw REAL things… don’t copy another artist’s style…a ‘style’ is just where they’ve made a mistake (to badly quote Neal Adams). Find your own voice. Draw friends, pets, spanners…get a sense of different textures, lighting conditions, learn to draw metal so that it doesn’t look like wood or cloth. Sounds dumb, but think that way and you’ve got half the puzzle solved.

Use reference- everything should feel credible, particularly here in a strip where you’ve got to suspend disbelief. A handy tip… even today, when I draw cars, I still look at my Transformer toys!

We’d like to thank Mike for spending time talking to us about Transformers, and wish hime the best of luck in the future. Remember to check out his website at www.freakhousegraphics.co.uk

We here at TheTransformers.Net have been talking to long time Transformers writer, guru and personal idol Simon Furman. Simon has found us a little slot in his busy schedule to talk to us about his time as Editor on Marvel’s The Transformers comic, and what he’s up to these days – which includes more Transformers you’ll be pleased to hear. So without further ado we’ll question the man, the mirth and the legend that isSimon Furman.

Simon’s note to TheTransformers.Net:
“Hi Darren, Thanks for your patience here. It’s been a mind-blowingly busy time, and I’m only just starting to work through a mountain of correspondence. Let’s go with the Q&A stuff (which I hope will also answer your other questions):”

Can you start by introducing yourself, and your role on Marvel’s The Transformers?

I started writing for the UK Transformers comic back in 1985 (in issue #13, a story called ‘The Enemy Within’). At this point, I’d done relatively little script work (some ‘creepy’ stories for Scream, an IPC comic) and Transformers I knew only vaguely from some TV ad spots. Nevertheless, when TF UK editor Shiela Cranna was pitching around for writers to originate new UK TF material (there just wasn’t enough US comic strip to sustain a fortnightly, as it was then, reprint title) I sent in a batch of story ideas. She liked a few of them, and I found these ‘toys’ were surprisingly interesting. Since then I’ve written many, many UK TF stories, and in 1989 I took over on the US TF comic.

The script writing industry is remarkably difficult to break into successfully, how did you mange it?

I really got into scriptwriting through the back door. I was working for IPC Magazines as a competitions journalist (writing copy for a wide range of magazines and comics, everything from My Guy to Popular Gardening, Woman’s Own to Buster). Back then IPC published a whole range of comics (2000 AD, Buster, Roy of the Rovers, Whizzer & Chips, Battle and so on). A lot of the stuff I did was for the comics bit, and eventually they asked me to come aboard as assistant editor on a companion comic to 2000 AD called Scream. It featured originated strips, and I got a first hand look at how to write for comics. They let me write a few myself (some episodes of the Dracula Files, a thing called Terror of the Cats and various one-shot stories). Looking back, they were pretty terrible, but I knew even then that this was what I wanted to do.

What influenced you to move into writing?

I’ve always been writing, ever since I was a kid. One very early school report praised my imagination AND my imaginative spelling! So I was always looking to write, in some way, or for something. The first idea was to be a full fledged journalist, but I was never sure I had the incisiveness necessary. As with most people, I sort of stumbled sideways into what I really wanted to be doing.

Have you, or did you at any time have aspirations to move into movie scripts?

It’d be great to do so, but I’m a realist. Getting a movie script written is one thing, getting someone to even look at it, let alone pick it up, is whole other thing. For the moment, I’m happy writing stuff for TV. But who knows, down the line a bit, if I get the right contacts…

The characterisation within the Transformers comic was well rounded, particularly those of Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime being hounded by self doubt and feelings of inadequacy. How did you come up with the characters for the Transformers, and are they based on anyone, fact or fiction?

To be honest, all the basic character stuff was already locked in. The character profiles were pretty well rounded, so all I had to do was run with that. What I did, was simply to flesh them out, give them rough edges and flaws and bright spots that people would be able to associate with. I’d approach anything (or any character) the same way, you have to make it as real as possible, even within the realm of sci-fi/fantasy.

In ‘Time Wars’ in particular a lot of main stream characters were killed off, how much of a problem was it to gain permission to eliminate nearly half of Hasbro’s Transformers toy line?

Permission, mmm. Did we ever ask permission? Certainly by the time we got to Time Wars, Hasbro weren’t over-scrutinising what we were doing. So we just did.

Have you written any scripts, or synopsis for Transformers comic stories that never made it to print, and if so, what were they?

The only TF story outline I remember submitting that never made it into print (and just as well) was a April Fools’ gag we tried on Hasbro US. It had giant nuns, mechanical sheep, school buses being squished underfoot and everyone died at the end. Rob Tokar (the editor of TF US) swears he has a copy of this, somewhere. If he ever finds it, I’ll be first in line to read it. Hasbro’s comment on all of this was, ‘but what happens afterwards?’. Sigh.

What things do you have to consider when writing for a comic as opposed to writing a short story, novel or script?

Comics have to be very in your face. In a novel (not that I’ve written any) or a short story, you’ve time and space to build up mood and atmosphere, in a comic you’ve got to grab the reader on page 1 (or at least lead them onto page 2). You’ve also got to think a lot more about page-to-page structure, about the way your story breaks down over 11 or 22 pages. You’ve also got to be able to visualise everything, from the way people look to how you want each panel staged and shot. It’s very like doing a film or a TV script, which was why I found the transition to TV animation straightforward. There are a few differences. In comics, you can afford to have characters stop and chat, in animation you have to keep them on the run all the time. You’ve a 22 minutes to pack a whole lot into, so any exposition has to be moving with the action. One thing I prefer about prose, as opposed to script, is that to an extent you’re opening it up to the reader to visualise, to flesh out. There are a lot more blanks for the reader to fill in, comics (or animation) does all that in the artwork.

What relationship do you now have with the old team from the Transformers comic?

I’m still in touch with a lot of the artists who worked on Transformers. Andy Wildman and I are still actively working together (see below), and I still regularly see Geoff Senior, Bryan Hitch, Barry Kitson, John Higgins and Lee Sullivan. A little more geographically removed are the likes of Mike Collins and Jeff Anderson, but we still keep in touch (I saw Mike at the recent Bristol comics con). Rob Tokar and I, though some 6,000 miles distant, are still very good friends. There was a really good team spirit that seemed to come with working on Transformers, UK and US, and it endures to this day.

In your own opinion, what is your favourite Transformers story, and do they compare well with other comics that you have written?

I still think my best TF stuff was the run from #69-80 of the US comic, the whole Unicron saga. It still holds up today, and I’m not sure I’ve ever bettered it (or had a better time doing it) since, in or out of TF. Of the UK strips, I love the Target 2006s and Time Wars and their ilk. I was always happiest writing stories which featured Galvatron, Unicron and Death’s Head (or a combination thereof).

Titan books have struck a deal to publish classic Transformers comics in graphic novel form, do you think this deal will lead to a possible return of the Transformers comic?

I’d love to say yes, but the realist in me doubts it. It’s certainly a step in the right direction. The Titan collections (which coincidentally collect TF US #69-80) arrive at an ideal time, especially with the US TV series TF: Robots in Disguise (a re-tool of the Japanese ‘manga’ TF series) airing this autum in the US. Maybe it’ll spur someone into thinking it’s a good idea again.
There are plenty of people pushing for this, but it’s going to take a big publisher (Marvel, Top Cow, Dark Horse, someone like that) to come on board and make it happen. The two Titan paperback collections, All Fall Down and End of the Road (new interlocking cover art by Andy Wildman) are out this August and November respectively. The first one looks fab, and if you’re lucky enough to be visiting this year’s Botcon US you’ll see (and have a chance to buy) the hardback cover variant edition (with art by Geoff Senior).

What advice can you give to someone wanting to move into, what is essentially, a fiercely competitive industry?

My advice to anyone trying to break into comics (or associated industries), be they writer or artist, is always have a back-up plan. It’s hard to break in, and once you’re in it’s sometimes hard to stay busy. So make sure that while you’re pitching ideas to publishers you’re also doing something that pays. A lot of artists and writers, myself included, have diversified into advertising, commercial art, non-fiction, reviews, and so on.

What are you working on right now?

Right now, and the focus of as much of my attention as time allows, is the web-based (for the moment at least) project (long in various stages of development) I’ve been working on with Andy Wildman. It’s called the Engine: Industrial Strength, and after several false starts it’s now set to debut this August, though the site will go on line in July. The site: www.whorunstheengine.net will feature new story material (presented in the form of text and visuals, all of which will have an element or two of interactiveness about them) and regular updates on what Andy and I are up to (plus new art, TF-related stuff, video interviews, background and a whole bunch of great stuff).

Alignment is exclusively available to pre-registrants of Transforce 2001. Writer – Simon Furman Illustrated by Geoff Senior, Lee Sullivan, Andrew Wildman, Jeff Anderson and other great Transformers names.

I’ve also just written a non-fiction companion book to an upcoming (this Autumn) Channel 4 series called Extinct!, which recreates (CGI-wise) extinct beasties such as the Sabre-toothed Tiger and the Mammoth. Other stuff includes development work for a TV series that may or may not be, and so is still very much under wraps, and a new TF story for this year’s Transforce con. It’s called Alignment (part one of two), and it features (finally) the continuation of, and resolution to, the whole Liege Maximo storyline (begun fleetingly in issue #12 of TF Gen 2 comic). It’s big, it’s epic, and it’ll be published as part of the convention booklet this year. Do not miss it. And that’s it.

Hope that’s OK. I’ll nag Geoff about his Q&A, but he’s also been v.v.busy.
Best, Simon Furman.

We’d like to thank Simon for taking the time to talk to us, and wish him the best of luck with his future projects – all of which we wait with baited breath to see.