About six months (or more) back, I did a big ol’ Q&A session via the IDW website, with readers/posters submitting their burning questions and me (after a degree of paring down to a manageable 20) doing my level best to supply coherent (vaguely spoiler-free) responses. Well, six months (or so) on, and I’m doing it again. If there’s something (about Transformers, new or old, or my other comics/TV/books work) you’ve been bursting to ask me, now’s the time to speak… or forever(ish) hold your peace. In due course, once the questions are in and sorted and pared down to 20, the answers will be published on the IDW website/forums (answers 1-15) and here on my blog (16-20). So, if you want to get a question into mix, the IDW forum thread can be found here. Or, post your questions here in this topic’s responses space. Between us, myself, IDW’s Chris Ryall and forum moderator Bassbot, we’ll shake ’em all out into a sort of loose top 20, one that we feel has the widest, most interesting (generally) range and scope. I’ve posted some (loose) criteria for the questions over on the aforementioned IDW forum thread. So… what are you waiting for? Let the interrogation begin…
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simon furman 
Hmmm… okay, I’ll shoot:
1) If you could do any Transformer crossover, with any property of your choosing, what would you like to use?
2) Do you base any of the personalities for the characters on people you know? I know that you “start” with the tech specs, of course, but…
3) What’s your stance on the organic origins of Cybertron?
4) Any more news on getting the chance to finish the Dreamwave comic stories?
5) I know you “like” Grimlock, but what character do you idenitify the most with?
6) How does the Matrix work in the IDW universe? (i.e., power of Primus, souls of all the Transformers, sacred battery, etc…?)
7) What is your stance on Megatron? Is he “just” evil, or does he really believe he can make the universe more peaceful through his dictatorship?
8) Any family members (children, nephews/neices, etc.) that are Transformer fans? If so, do any of their thoughts ever contribute to any ideas?
9) Who is your favorite non-comic book science fiction writer?
10) Recently, a lot of stories have dealt with the past of the Transformers–any plans to delve the other direction, the IDW universe far future?
I could ask more–but I’m sure you’ve got lots of others to read 😉
I have a question or two…
Is there any plans to bring in the characters Elita-1, Chromia, Moonracer, Firestarr, The Fallen, The Quintessons, or Alpha Trion at some point?
Will we ever have to tolerate Rodimus Prime?
Would you like to finish the War Within stuff you were planning in the Dreamwave continuity?
Would you ever like to do a War Within style continuity in the IDW verse?
is there any chance we will see punch/counterpounch and any metroplex
are we verer going to see notspot and when
are we erver going to see hotspot
Semi unrelated I know but it is technically a question; for those of us who have difficulty reaching you at ‘Cons and signings, is there any other way for us to acguire your autograph on our books? I know yourself and Andy occassionally put stuff up on ebay but I always seem to hear abiut them after the auctions have ended?
Oh! And was it always the intention to introduce Acree to the IDW-Verse, or was it as case of being suddenly struck with a workable idea? If so what inspired the idead and story.
Thanks
Will BRUTE FORCE ever return? Yes, yes, I do indeed own that very comic series from the early 90’s! Does the war against the evil HEAVY METAL animals continue? Will the heroic animals of BRUTE FORCE ever, dare I say it, encounter…THE TRANSFORMERS?!
🙂
Hmm, okay, here we go:
1) What are some of the best experiences you’ve had working with artists? Any particular issues, old or new, where you were especially blown away?
2) What are some of your more bizarre ideas that you’ve thrown away–or the more bizarre ideas that you’ve tried to introduce? Any you regret? Any that really worked, much to your surprise?
3) Given your intro to the first War & Peace trade, and your reaction to “Who the **** is Brad Mick?” how do you feel about your relationship to other TF writers now? Can you see yourself lifting a shuddering palsied hand to pass the torch on to other writers one day?
4) IDW’s Transformers line has been going for about two years now. Keeping things as spoiler-free as you can, where will the stories be in two more years? In four?
Ralph, you just gave me the scariest childhood memory-flash ever!
Wow, I didn’t even remember that ’till I read your post…
…the things we suppress
😉
holy cow, I guess if you post 10 questions you’ll have a chance of getting one in the twenty!!! heh heh.
(not to correct you Simon, but it’s me, Bassbot, not Denyer. 🙂 )
Luke
Heres a few questions I like to ask you:
1) In the future in 2008, are there any plans for a mini-series of Primus and Unicron story and fit the core continuity?
2) Will the Monsterbots (like Doublecross) be next series in IDWverse?
3) Is the “Evolutions” series still in the works?
4) How far the war be spreading on Earth?
5) Are there any plans for 6-part chapters of the next Beast Wars volume or just stay the same as 4-part chapter?
Oops, sorry Luke. I get so confused with all these forum names. Put it down to my age and the number of grey cells now pickled in fine ale! I have corrected the blog copy!
Marvel G1 question:
Whatever happened to Professor Morris? I believe the last we saw of him was when Centurion was beheaded by Galvatron… later when Wheeljack rebuilt him, Morris was never mentioned again. So was he trapped in his underground bunker when Centurion was sent to the bottom of the Thames or what?
Been niggling me for the last 20(ish) years that one… 😉
Will the “new” Transformers universe always be composed of mini-series and spotlights?
Will there be an ongoing series of ANY Transformers title, ever?
Where does the current Beast Wars storylines fit in the “new” G1 series, or are they tied in anyway or how? and why? , is there a purpose for that?.
Will you someday explain or fix all the complex Multiverse that has been created for the Transformers, in which you have been involved as the writer?
If so, is Unicron ALWAYS going to be the tier nod (as a narrative explanation) for all the realities confussions?
Will you consider any G1 Japanese characters in your future deliveries (StarSaber, Deathsaurus, Overlord, Dai Atlas, Battlestars Optimus Prime)?, any?
One of the things I loved about Beast Wars: The Gathering were the brief appearances of a few characters who made their first appearances as anything other than toys outside Japan (Lio Convoy, Magmatron, etc.).
And so my question comes in three parts. 🙂
1) How familiar are you with the Japanese-exclusive Transformers continuity (specifically the G1 cartoon post “The Rebirth” – Headmasters, Masterforce, Victory and Zone) and its manga continuation?
2) How much interest do you have in characters depicted solely in that continuity (fellows like Star Saber, Dai Atlas, Deszaras)? Do any of them appeal to you as characters you might want to write in the future?
3) Has there been any discussion of using such characters or exploring this relatively untapped (outside of Japan) source of cool Transformers concepts at IDW?
Cheers!
Do the assorted artists ever threten you with impending death for the insane amount of stuff they have to draw, or are they simply a bunch of overachievers who deliver above and beyond because they are (or need to be) comitted?
Other than the obvious ones, ae there any characters you have a soft spot for that have yet to make their IDWverse debuts? And do the artists have any favourites that they try and request get a look-in?
And the most important question: Any chance of a certain bounty hunt… sorry, ‘freelance peacekeeeping agent’, making an IDW guest appearence in light of Avengers/ Transformers?
1.-Have you ever considered that maybe all the various storylines from all the previous companies, (Marvel, DW, Club excls.) could be brought together in a huge storyline that could redefine the future of the TF´s and use all the characters from all the comics, toys, manga and anime available (G1 to Galaxy Force, Beast Wars, and back),just like DC is actually doing in their Countdown comic series?.
I remember the “TIME QUAKE” storyline that ran in the Armada comics from DW a few years ago, and IT ROCKED!!!!; and in the old Marvel series when you first intruduced an alternative world where the ‘cons ruled and the GREY Galvatron ruled with an iron fist, THOSE were some glorious days, but history(?) now anyway.
Maybe you could plot something like that again, or even better (of course). So that we could have a cohesive and strong Transformers universe for the years to come. They are the new Pop culture icons. and they will be for years to come, only if we treat them with the respect and love (OK, i´m overreacting) that they deserve.
2.-I´d like to see how the PRIMES council from the Beast Wars future is formed, and if all the existing versions of several characters, could exist at the same time, in the same place. That could be HUGE!!
what do you think?
3.-Finally, my choices for TF´s artists are Mr. Don Figueroa and Alex Milne. whose are yours?
Any chance on seeing Impactor again?
1. Which character do you find it easiest to write for? And who is the most difficult?
2. What future plans are there for the stories in the new UK comic?
3. What do you want for Christmas?
1. As a longtime fan of Transformers and an emerging writer, you have what seems to me to be the ultimate dream job. What advice do you have for budding writers, particularly those who would love to write for Transformers?
2. One of the biggest “flaws” of the Transformers line is the increasingly splintered continuity, with comics and cartoons from the various lines and publishers spinning off and borrowing from each other. What would you consider the “core” continuity, if one can claim to exist? And how has the Transformers multiverse affected the line in general and specifically how you (or others) write for it?
3. What do you see as the future for Transformers? Will it continue to splinter? Fade away? Collapse under its own weight? Become rewritten and unified into one “true” line?
4. What is your reaction to the live-action Transformers movie, released this past summer? Any thoughts/hopes for the sequel?
5. You have been involved with Transformers more or less since the beginning. How do you feel about how the line has grown and evolved since its inception? Has it improved, degraded, remained true to the original vision, forgotten it, reshaped it for the better?
6. As a toy line that has also built a significant story mythos, Transformers is a unique entity controlled more or less by Hasbro (the toy company), unlike other similar mythos (ie, Star Wars, Star Trek, X-Men, Battlestar Galactica, etc.). Would you say this is a good thing or a bad thing, and what (if anything) would you change about this arrangement, were it up to you?
When writing dialogue for the Transformers, do you imagine it being spoken by the voice-actors that played the respective characters in the cartoon?