THE PAST AND FUTURE

So tomorrow, the collected edition (what some call a trade paperback) of TRANSFORMERS: THE REIGN OF STARSCREAM will be released. I'm very happy with how it turned out and I was very glad to have been able to include a lot of the extra material. From Alex's detailed sketches, to the 33 character bios (written by myself, Josh Van Reyk, Shaun Knowler, and Andrew Griffith), to my commentary, it all came together pretty well. Seriously, it's $19.99, too. Cheaper if you get it online, but there you have it. So that story was in the past... now the future.

Next month will see the debut issue of the first of two prequel miniseries for TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, ALLIANCE. While the first cover has been online for a while now, here's the first peek at the wonderful cover for Issue #2. This cover was done by none other than Josh Nizzi.

Street date for Issue #1 is scheduled for December 17th. Story by me, artwork by Alex Milne, colors by Josh Perez. The issue is at the printer now and we should be posting a 5-page preview soon. The Alliance storyline takes place after the first film, during the Reign of Starscream story arc, and concludes right where the next film begins.

Keep watching the usual channels for info on the second miniseries, DEFIANCE. That info will be coming very soon, with an exclusive first look at another Josh Nizzi cover.

Thanks,
Chris

REIGN OF STARSCREAM TRADE PAPERBACK DETAILS

Hello there.

Long time... no talk. Very sorry about that, but things have been busy and somewhat "complicated" if you will. There was a time where I didn't think I would ever get around to posting again. But here I am, and like that line in that Supersuckers song, it all rolled off like water off a duck's back.

So my first comic book work came and went. Thank you very much to the fans that not only enjoyed it, but those that felt the need to email and post their comments. Regardless of good or bad, your opinions were great to read and I'm happy you at least gave the series a shot. But the good thing is that reviews were overwhelmingly positive. And now, ready for release on November 19, is the collected, trade paperback version of the book. Now the listing on Amazon is wrong, and we've really packed this thing with extras. Here are the details:

• 152 pages

• Cover gallery featuring unpublished cover concepts (including an awesome Ben Templesmith one!)

• 33 character bios written by myself, Josh Van Reyk, Shaun Knowler, and Andrew Griffith

• 11 pages of never-before-seen sketches and designs by Alex Milne

• Commentary by me covering story references, easter eggs, and early draft concepts

All of this for $19.99 (and cheaper if you get it online probably)! I got my advance the other day and it really did turn out nice. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Hope to talk about the "Destiny" mini-series soon. Both of them. Stay tuned.

-Chris

REIGN OF STARSCREAM WINNERS!

Very sorry for the delay everyone. Things have been very, very busy lately.

The judges consisted of IDW employees, and I did not vote. I asked everyone to vote for their top 3 and a runner-up. Points were given based on their answers (4 points for First, 3 points for Second, 2 points for Third, 1 point for the Runner-Up). The entry with the most points was the winner.


But without further delay, here are the winners:

FIRST PLACE: TRUPSOR DENIS
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l122/zosan73/STARSCREAM%20CONTEST%201/DSC02511.jpg

SECOND PLACE: WARREN WRIGHT
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l122/zosan73/STARSCREAM%20CONTEST%201/StarscreamatBigBoy.jpg

THIRD PLACE: JILL PETERS
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l122/zosan73/STARSCREAM%20CONTEST%201/Contestentry.jpg

SPECIAL MERIT RUNNER-UP: DEB MARKLEY
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l122/zosan73/STARSCREAM%20CONTEST%201/Markley.jpg

Prize packs will be sent out next week!

Thanks to everyone who entered. There were a lot of votes and the judges thought it was very hard to pick their favorites. Great job and hopefully we can get another contest around the time of the trade paperback's release.

Thanks again and thanks for reading the story!

-Chris

REIGN OF STARSCREAM CONTEST WINNERS....

...will have to wait another day or two.

I'm really, really sorry, but I've been swamped lately. Working on new projects, working in general, and dealing with some other stuff. I've got all of the votes in and just need to tally them.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone that entered. There are definitely some very talented and funny people out there. Even the judges repeatedly said that it was very cool to see so many creative people and how it was tough to nail down their favorites.

So nice job everyone. I promise that we'll get the winners posted today or tomorrow.

And here's proof that there's signed books! That's me, Josh Perez, and Alex Milne signing them at Comic-Con.

REIGN OF STARSCREAM CONTEST - ENDS TONIGHT!!!

Just a reminder that the contest ends tonight at 9pm PST!

Thanks for all of the entries so far, there's some very talented and funny people out there!

Winners will be announced on the day that Issue #4 is released... AUGUST 13th!

Thanks and good luck!

-Chris

ISSUE #5 - APPROVED TO PRINT

Issue #5 was approved to print today. Not sure what the in-store date will be, but I'm sure I'll find it out sometime in the next week or two.

Thanks to everyone who's been following the series, and especially those that have taken the time to give their comments on it. I don't think you'll be disappointed in how it all "ends."

Speaking of things that are days away, it's Comic Con time again. This year I'll be working the IDW booth Wednesday night through Friday. Feel free to stop by and chat. Also, be sure to check out IDW's Transformers panel on Friday at 4pm. There'll be A LOT of surprises in store.

Thanks again!
Chris

THANKS NERCM.COM!

RECOMMENDED READING!!!

Just wanted to share a cool review I found tonight with everyone.

http://www.nercm.com/2008/07/recommended-reading-2/

REIGN OF STARSCREAM - CONTEST #1

We all know that Starscream escaped being captured by Sector Seven. But what if he never made it into space? Where on Earth would he have gone to?

So that's the contest! Send me your photos of Starscream (in toy form... any version) visiting somewhere on our planet. Would he go back to Ohio to seek out the fembots of Botcon? Would he be hiding at a local coffee shop? Finally learning about human physiology at the beach with Barricade? Of course, he wouldn't travel far without a copy of his comic book, now would he? IT'S UP TO YOU!!!

The Deadline for the contest is July 31st.

Simply send your photo to this email address: zosan73@yahoo.com and use the subject line STARSCREAM CONTEST.

After the contest closes, a panel of judges (from IDW) will select the winner and two runner-ups (Honorable Mentions). For this first contest, the winners will receive:

FIRST PLACE:
The ORIGINAL proofs and editing materials (lettering guides, script, revisions, etc.) for REIGN OF STARSCREAM #1. These materials include dialog and layout changes never-before-seen. The winner will also receive copies of Issues #1, #2, and #3, along with the scripts for those issues. The issues will be signed by myself, Alex Milne, Josh Perez, and Denton Tipton.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Honorable Mention winners will receive copies of Issues #1, #2, and #3, as well as a copy of the scripts for those issues. Signed, of course.

So get out there with your toys and comics and take some pictures!!!

For example, here's one of him admiring my designs in the TRANSFORMERS: PREMIERE EDITION VOLUME 1.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

RULES:

• One entry per person (entries must include your full name).

• Toys should be in the movie style and can include the FAB and Robot Heroes, too. If you don't have one, any version of Starscream will do. You can use other toys if the scene allows it, but Starscream MUST be the focal point. He'd have it no other way.

• Be creative and HAVE FUN!

REIGN OF STARSCREAM #3 - EXCLUSIVE REVIEW

User ENERGON has been kind enough to post her exclusive review of Issue #3 on the Seibertron.com forums.

Here's the link:
http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=41914

REIGN OF STARSCREAM #4 - APPROVED TO PRINT

Just a quick update for you regarding Reign of Starscream #4. It was approved to print today by Hasbro and sent out to our printer in Korea. Can't guess at an in-store date just yet, but we should find out soon. First two weeks in August is what I'd say.

Oh, and this panel is from that issue. Enjoy.

THANKS, PAPERBACK READER!

Great review of Issue #2 of "Reign of Starscream" on Paperbackreader.com I wanted to share. It's great to see that they "get it" and are excited for the rest of the series.

There's also a nice review of Tom Waltz's final issue of "Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward" on there, too.

www.paperbackreader.com/newcolumn2.php?ColumnID=642

LIVE TO SERVE HIM

Way back when Reign of Starscream first started moving forward, I wanted to somehow get a viral marketing campaign going to help promote the book. There was a website that I had (www.livetoservehim.com, doesn't work now, though) that I would post clues and have people track down artwork, exclusives, things of that nature. But you'll remember that in the movie, "I live to serve you, Lord Megatron" was one of the two (d'oh!) lines that Starscream had.

But because with most things (simply not enough time) we had to scrap it. What was funny is that here in the States, 2008 is an election year. At IDW, we've got this series that focuses on Starscream and then All Hail Megatron. So the thought was that we'd be able to have these two characters and people could vote throughout the year on who their favorite Decepticon leader would be. At the end, that character would get some kind of exclusive artwork or something along those lines.

Either way, this was one of the "teaser" images that I was going to have around. Thinking that someone might type those words into a browser, find the site, solve the puzzles, blah, blah, blah.

REIGN OF STARSCREAM #3 - PREVIEW

Finally, here's a 5-page preview for Issue #3. As you recall, at the end of Issue #2, Starscream and Thundercracker are reunited at the Decepticon camp on Mars. Starscream was weakened from his exploits on Earth, but was slowly recovering. Much to their amazement, a group of Autobots had been patrolling the planet and had been alerted to their location.

ISSUE #4 COVER

Wow, he might have actually done it! Can't really say much more about this cover than AWESOME. Alex really nailed all of the details of this scene, and Josh really added to the mood of it. Great job (as usual) by them both. All of this, and we don't even have a 5-page preview for Issue #3, yet!

Have to give a big thanks to everyone that has been reading the book and passing on their comments to me. I'm glad to hear that so many of you are enjoying it, and there's so much more on the horizon.

I won't post anything that happens in #4 just yet. After all, we have to get through Issue #3!

TRANSFORMERS: THE REIGN OF STARSCREAM #4
Art by Alex Milne • Colors by Josh Perez • Words by Me

ISSUE #3

IN STORES JULY 16.

REIGN OF STARSCREAM #3 - COVER

Cover Art by Alex Milne
Cover Colors by Espen Grundetjern

Wanted to share the cover to the third issue of the book with everyone. In this issue, Arcee and her combat team (consisting of Air Raid, Cliffjumper, Smokescreen, and Camshaft) launch their offensive on the Decepticon assault ship on Mars. Little do they know however, that Starscream is not alone.

This one is going to be a bit late. Not sure of an exact in-store date, but sometime in mid-late July is what I'd guess at. The other issues are on the fast track though, so the series will wrap up at the originally scheduled time. I'd really like to thank Josh Perez for absolutely kicking ass on this book and helping us out when we really needed some help. Thanks, too, to Alex for doing another fantastic job with the art.

REIGN OF STARSCREAM: TIME FRAME

I've been asked before about when the Reign of Starscream story takes place. So, being one to enjoy talking about such things, I'll expand upon that now if I may.

Issue #1: All of the events lead up to the movie, right up to where Frenzy locates Megatron and the roll call happens.

MOVIE: Megatron is freed, acts like a selfish jerk. Starscream is fighting the jets. Sam kills Megatron.

Issue #1 (pg17)-5: Starscream pauses to think about what happened, gets hit by another missile from a new squadron of jets, goes into the remainder of the story.

Now, in my mind the film ends when Bumblebee talks. Keller is giving the press conference about disposing of the aliens and disbanding Sector Seven. This (again, in my opinion) is happening after the events of RoS, as these things would take some time to occur.

Maybe later I can elaborate more upon what Sector Seven may have been doing during that time and how Starscream ends up going into space—from Earth—in that final shot during the closing credits.

REIGN OF STARSCREAM #2 - ON SALE TODAY!

Just a friendly reminder that TRANSFORMERS: THE REIGN OF STARSCREAM #2 is on sale today!

In this issue, Starscream makes it back to Hoover Dam to recover the remains of Frenzy. Waiting for him though, are the enforcement arm of Sector Seven (you know, that shadowy, uber-secret division of the government), and they're determined to capture him. Let's just say that things won't bode well for them... or their squad leader, Agent Salazar. And yes, that's Landmine on the truck's trailer.

Art by Alex Milne • Colors by Josh Perez • Edits by Denton J. Tipton • Words by me

R.I.P. - King Kong: The Ride (1986-2008)

I'm sure that most everyone has heard about the fire that devastated a number of buildings in the Universal Studios lot on Sunday. In addition to some of the sets that were used in countless films, some of the film archives were destroyed, too. What really sucks for me, given my love of giant monster movies, was that the "King Kong: The Ride" attraction was destroyed. Hopefully they'll rebuild the attraction, or an updated one based off of Peter Jackson's film. Maybe one where you're on a raft or something could be cool. So while I'm off to dream of V. Rexes and Skull Island, take a moment to remember what is no longer with us.

Oh, how I'll miss that banana breath.

TF: ROS #4 - Script Fixes

Had a great night tonight. Went to Ben and Lorelei's for L's birthday bbq extravaganza, which was filled with great food, great drink, and great friends. Once I got home, I felt like doing some polishing of the Issue #4 script.

Mostly dealing with moving the story from the "TF meets SAVING PRIVATE RYAN" action in Issue #3 (and that quote was from Hasbro, btw), to the big finish of Issue #5. There's a lot of new characters to introduce that will play a big role in the last act of the series, so I think there's room to improve a bit for the script to accommodate their roles.

That's it for tonight, but I'll be posting a bit more regarding the finer details of the story. You know, those things that can't quite fit into 22 pages.

-Chris

TF: ROS #5 - Underway

That's TRANSFORMERS: THE REIGN OF STARSCREAM by the way.

I'm not sure how Simon Furman does it, or Peter David, or anyone for that matter. Who finds the time to write? Most of the work for ROS was done in the wee hours of the morning, with a quiet house and lots of Cure and Radiohead in the background. In addition to that, I've just finished another semester of school. Finished it at 2:11am, actually. But now that it's over, issue #5 is underway.

Since nobody (well, almost nobody) has seen issues #2-4 yet, there's a lot in store. The return trip to Cybertron, a brief stop on Mars, and lots of new characters never seen before in the movie style. Issue #5 is the last issue of the series, but it won't disappoint. There's going to be a lot of action in this one. More so than any other issue, I think.

-Chris

Beware! The Blog

Yeah, that title was a nod to the Blob. Probably one of the cooler movie monsters out there, well barring Godzilla and the mighty Kong, of course.

So I finally got off of my butt and decided to throw this thing together. Probably looks very thrown together, too, but on to other things...

In addition to talking about how things are going with my book, TRANSFORMERS: THE REIGN OF STARSCREAM, I'll be talking about pretty much anything that inspires me enough to write about it, and in turn, hopefully talking to you about it as well.

But I'll be adding the usual amount of work-related stuff to this page that my co-workers, Chris Ryall and Denton Tipton do. In fact, I might be adding a bit more.

-Chris