OUT NOW – TALES OF THE FALLEN #5

It begins here. The continuation of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Transformers: Tales of the Fallen #5 (out this week, December 23rd in the US, 24th in the UK), featuring Ravage, picks up after Revenge of the Fallen and paves the way for 2010’s official comic book sequel — Transformers: Nefarious (which kicks off in March). As we all know, poor old Ravage got his spine ripped out by Bumblebee in ROTF, but someone wants him back up and running, and—more to the point—doing their bidding. Someone, clearly, with access to Cybertronian tech and the know-how to use it. Who? What? Why? Part of the answer can be found in this issue, a big fat clue being Ravage’s mission, the rest of the answers unfold in Nefarious. For the moment, sit back and enjoy Ravage in (silent/stealth) action, doing what he does best, penetrating the very heart of NEST operations. Story is by me, art by Alex Milne (who really story-tells his heart out in this one). Enjoy!

LINKS — UP(DATE)

That Geek Syndicate interview (with me) I mention in my previous post is now up. You can find it here.

LINKS — UP!

Various mutterings from me currently spread across the Web for your delectation, should you be so inclined. First off, my latest Comics Candy (review) column is up at totalscifionline.com. For my digressions on 10 choice (or otherwise) samplings from the November shipping titles, click here. Also, to tie in with the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Sci-Fi London did an audio interview with me that you can find here. And a recent (non-audio) interview I did for Beast Wars International can be viewed here. And keep an eye on Geek Syndicate. Did an interview for them recently too. It’s not up yet, but should be soon!

OUT NOW — TALES OF THE FALLEN #4

Featuring — the Fallen! Yep, at last, the story can be told. The big bad of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is revealed in all his terrible glory in Tales of the Fallen #4 (in comic book stores this week, November 25th in the US, 26th in the UK). Who was he? When/why did he ‘fall’? What cataclysmic event(s) turned a Prime into a fully-fledged agent of universal chaos and destruction? Witness all the events that led to the Fallen decimating the Brotherhood of Primes and ending up in limbo, banished! It’s your chance to get right inside the Fallen’s head… if you dare! Plus, events in Tales of the Fallen #3 (Jetfire) play out from a uniquely different perspective in the story! Story is by me (though Chris Mowry and I did a lot of back and to on this one), with art by Carlos Magno (who’s currently doing stellar work on Transformers: Nefarious). For essential background on the movie-verse’s ultimate villain — look no further. And for more details of all IDW/Transformers titles check out their website here.

I WANT (MORE) CANDY

My latest Comics Candy review column is now up at totalscifionline.com. Ten bright, shiny releases from October are scrutinized, including Daredevil #501, Planetary #27 and The Unwritten #6. You can check it out here.

SCRIPT (W)RAP — NEFARIOUS #1

Been a while since I did one of these post-script digressions, so here goes with issue #1 of the upcoming Transformers: Nefarious (6-issue) mini-series from IDW, a direct sequel to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (so set in the movie-verse). My aim is to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, but if you’d rather not even be teased, look away now! Strictly speaking, Nefarious begins in Tales of the Fallen #5, which features the mysterious resurrection of Ravage (and his even more mysterious mission). But even if you don’t catch that one, issue #1 rolls full pelt into a global conspiracy of which even the Autobots and Decepticons have been blissfully oblivious… until now. Featuring Soundwave, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Sideswipe, Alice (yes, Alice!), a quartet of Autobot (toy) characters making their Earth-based debut and even four all-new, original Decepticons (you didn’t think Ravage was Soundwave’s only special agent, did you?), the first issue peels back some of the layers surrounding the mysterious (human) organization known as The Initiative and the (potentially) earth-shattering Project: Nefarious. Just how far and wide its reach extends into the warp of weft of recent Cybertronian history (and how much it’s about to influence their future too) will force Soundwave and then Optimus Prime into truly desperate measures (and a clash or two too) as they learn who’s really in charge of their destiny. And it’s not them! Issue #1 promises lots of intrigue, action, shocks and a final page that’ll leave you scraping your lower jaw off the floor. Do not miss this one!

WIN A COPY OF RAD ROBOTS

That totally fabulous book on all things robotic (from movies, TV, literature, comics and more!), Rad Robots (by someone or other) could be yours — for nowt! Yep, those good people over at totalscifionline.com have 5 signed and bookplated editions (courtesy of Kyle Cathie) to give away in a mind-blowingly simple competition. To find out what’s what, zip over to the competition page here. And if you don’t manage to win one… it’s well worth the cover price anyway, so go on — treat yourself!

I WANT CANDY

The second of my monthly Comics Candy columns, featuring reviews of September-shipping comics titles, is now up at totalscifionline.com. You can check it out here.

In other news, I’m still thundering through a bunch of Transformers and StarCraft scripts. Just wrapped issue #2 of Transformers: Nefarious, the IDW sequel to Revenge of the Fallen. Look for that starting in early 2010, but before that I’ll be sure to start bringing you some teaser-style ‘Script (W)raps’. Soon! Titan’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen mag rolls, with issue #5’s UK-exclusive strip pitting Skids and Mudflap against the one and only Ravage! StarCraft-wise, I’m now well into scripting the second story arc, which really ramps up the action and scale, featuring two of the StarCraft Universe’s biggest and baddest characters! And there’s more, of course, but nothing I can talk about right now. Keep watching for updates as and when!

TALES OF THE FALLEN

Spinning out of, though chronologically set before, the blockbuster movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Tales of the Fallen spotlights movie characters and delves a little deeper into what makes them tick. My first contribution to the series comes in the shape of Sideswipe, an Autobot in allegiance if not exactly ethos. Far from coming to Earth to answer Optimus Prime’s summons and protect humankind, Sideswipe is driven by a blinding quest for vengeance and an utter disregard for the organic life he finds teeming on the planet. So much so, he becomes the menace that the other Autobots must roll out and confront — not the massively destructive Decepticon he’s in pursuit of. Where does Ironhide fit in to all this? He trained Sideswipe. And now, he wants the job of stopping him! Tales of the Fallen #2 hits stores this week, September 9th in the US, 10th in the UK. Art is by Carlos Magno, a new talent and definitely one to watch!

UPDATES – FINALLY

Yeah, I know, another gulf of time and no updates. But, to be fair, I have been busy/travelling and there’s not actually been much in the way of Transformers new releases to comment on. But, finally, I do have some news that’s fit to (virtually) print:

Item 1: last month saw the release of Transformers: Generations 2009 #3, a Japanese magazine published by Million Hero. As previously reported, it contains an exclusive 2-page manga strip written by me and drawn by Guido Guidi, and marks my first work on a purely Japanese strip. I mentioned previously that I’d publish the original English dialog here, but actually Million thoughtfully included an English-language version in the magazine, so clearly that’s no longer necessary. Do check it out if you can, and check out also the exclusive toys on offer in the same issue. The potted biogs for ‘Quantum Agents’ Skids and Screech feature a healthy input from yours truly, and in fact I chose the name for the latter (see pic below). So I feel quite parental about those two. For more information, check out Million’s web page here.

Item 2: and next up, something of a real change of gear for me. I was asked by the editor of online news magazine totalscifionline.com to write a monthly comics review for them, which was interesting because I hardly ever read monthly comics any more (sadly, and I’m ashamed to admit this, I’m more a collected edition guy). Anyway, once the nuts and bolts of the operation were sorted out I got right to it, and enjoyed myself immensely. Anyway, the first of my ‘Comics Candy’ (monthly) round-ups can now be viewed at totalscifionline.com here.