Yeah, the title is a play on Radiohead's "Subterranean Homesick Alien," just modified for this post. This here is my first Mosaic (http://transformers-mosaic.deviantart.com/). For those of you that don't know, the Mosaics are fan-made creations of single page stories telling basically anything you want in the Transformers universe. I wrote this on the plane up to Wondercon a few weeks back, and it was an idea that I've had for a while. Cosmos, the poor little Transformer who tends to daydream. But how can you really daydream in space anyway? Regardless, he's a favorite of mine and I had a lot of fun doing this.
Andrew Griffith (http://glovestudios.deviantart.com/) completely nails the artwork and colors on this one. Seriously, he took a very horrid pencil sketch by me and turned it into this. Nice job, Andrew. Now if only we can get that Spotlight approved (yes, that's a hint for whatever arm-twisting, letter-writing, blackmail photo exploitation campaigns people want to start). I'll be at Botcon this weekend along with pretty much everyone involved in the IDW side of things. I'll be at our booth the whole time, so make sure to stop by and say hello to us. Hope to see you there.
-Chris
So I got the advances for the Alliance and Defiance trades and they look pretty good. There's not much by way of extras for them, but you'll find a few sketches in each, rough comps, that kind of thing. I did what I could. Either way, look for them on June 4th, but I'm going to see if we can get a few copies to Botcon, too. I'll be there the whole time, so I look forward to meeting and seeing people again. Pretty much everyone from IDW who's involved with the franchise will be there, so don't be a stranger if you're going. We have a pretty cool exclusive that will be available at the show, but I'll let one of the editors talk about that.
In single issue news, issues #3 and #4 of both Alliance and Defiance have sold out. The other issues are dwindling down and only a few are left of those. So thanks to all that bought them, and I'll post a commentary sometime after the movie is released.
Last week I finished the second script of a new project I'm involved with. Still can't say anything about it (I'm sure the info will come out any day now), but I'm very happy to be working with one of the people involved. You could say that I'm still buzzing over it.
Only a few short weeks until Botcon!
Wow, has it really been over two months since I posted anything? Well, I'll try to be a bit more punctual now if at all possible.
So what's been going on? Nothing other than being busy it seems. Moving to a new place here in sunny San Diego, making a trip up to Wondercon (thanks to the fans that stopped by to show their support), going to Vegas for a friend's birthday, and work in general. It's been a busy time indeed.
The "Destiny" prequels are done and have been printed. Of the two, I'm far more fond of Defiance. Something about not having certain restrictions really helps. Not that I think Alliance is bad, but it could have been much better in my opinion. Either way, it sets things up for the next movie at least, and I think you'll find that Defiance fits in to the overall universe a bit more in the final issue. They were both a lot of fun to work on and I really can't thank everyone involved enough for their hard work they put into the stories.
I'll post some info about the trade paperbacks for the two series soon. Due to cost reasons, or perhaps something else entirely, they're not as packed with materials that The Reign of Starscream trade paperback was. Not even close. But I'll do an issue-by-issue commentary on this blog in the next few days. Maybe an issue a day or something like that. Turns out that the artists really didn't have many sketches to include, either, so I guess I can honestly say that we put all that we could into them.
And for those that are interested, I just turned in the first draft of my next project. Can't say what it is yet, but I can tell you that it's Transformers-related. I also turned in my first piece for the Mosaic team, with Andrew Griffith on the art duties. More on that soon.
-Chris
I've been reading a lot of posts regarding the upcoming TRANSFORMERS: DEFIANCE series and a lot of the speculation is way off. So I think it's time to finally fill everyone in.The series takes place before the events of the first TRANSFORMERS movie. It expands on the events from the first movie and this summer's sequel. If all goes well, it'll help expand upon the movie universe and set the stage for future stories as well.It's an origin that's a bit different. Cybertron isn't the same planet that we know. It's flourishing. Characters are working together and not killing one another. The society is based upon peace and the expansion of their knowledge. Megatron serves as the planet's protector. With his soldiers, the planet has enjoyed peace for a long time. Optimus heads up the science and construction division. He's the "blue collar" character who will eventually find himself thrust into a situation that he's never been in before. It's a different time and a very different place, but it all goes horribly wrong.It's a very ambitious story and one that I hope people enjoy. Josh Perez will once again be doing the colors and I can't say how much I enjoy working with him. He's so full of energy and it really shows. Dan Khanna and newcomer Andrew Griffith are handling the art chores and they've been doing great. There's some awesome stuff in there. Defiance has also allowed me to work with someone I've always dreamt of working with. The one, the only.... (credit here to Denton for saying it first!)!!!! He'll fill in for the art duties on Issue #3 (due in March some time).So there you have it. A different story for a different universe. Hopefully people like it. There'll be a 5-page preview soon, too.Thanks for stopping by.-Chris
Just a reminder that TRANSFORMERS: ALLIANCE #2 is out in stores today! This issue features a reuniting of Decepticons Starscream and Wreckage. Needless to say, one of them is going to have a very bad day.
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
