Fun Publications have updated Botcon.com with a teaser quicktime video and image which features Transformers Classics Optimus Prime, what appears to be Transformers Cybertron Crosswise and a third robot all with a purple hue. The quicktime video displays the message "This spring at Botcon 2007 everything you thought you knew will be shattered" and ends with a reversed gen1 scene shifting rift.

"TRANSFORMERS on JOOST With a New Episode Added Every Week.

Do you remember the original epic battles between OPTIMUS PRIME and MEGATRON? When the AUTOBOTS and the DECEPTICONS crash landed on Earth?

Relive it all over again! Watch the entire first season of TRANSFORMERS Generation 1 on JOOST.

And there are new episodes from Season Two being added every week, make sure to come back to see what’s new!

That’s right –every episode is exclusively on Joost – and it’s FREE. All you need is a high-speed internet connection, and you have 24x7 access to full-screen, TV-quality Transformers. It’s all on demand, so you can watch when you want, where you want, as many times as you want.

For “More than meets the eye,” download Joost today!"

Source: Transformers.com

Simon Furman has updated his blog with an entry entitled Cougar Coverage in which he gives a breif update on the current state of the Cougar comic.

Okay, first things first. The comic is still a long way off. Though Cougar #1 is written (and pencilled, largely), there’s a whole lot more needs to be done before there’s a locked in on sale date. Studio Cougar remain committed to the character/project, but the logistics of getting the comic out there and in the hands of general comics buyers need more looking at. Stuff is happening but slowly. I remain hopeful that sometime in 08 there’ll be an actual, physical comic. In the meantime, here’s a look at a brand spanking new poster/litho featuring Cougar, Kickstart and the bad guys by Jeremey Tiongson (art) and Jukka Issakainen (colour). Click on the thumbnail to enlarge (a bit). Oh, and one more update, due to work committments(and stuff) I won’t be at Collectormania Manchester this coming weekend. Apologies to anyone who was banking on my being there.

Simon Furman has updated his blog with the following information.

As we teeter on the precipice between October and November, IDW squeezes out yet another Transformers comic release in a month already bursting at the seams.

Issue #2 of the Beast Wars Sourcebook (character profiles series) hits stores this week (31st Oct in the US, 1st Nov in the UK), taking you through from Elephorca to Noctorro.

Now here’s a tester for those of you who figure you can detect a Furmanism at thirty paces: can you identify (or guess) which of the character profiles were written by me (rather than Ben Yee)? If memory serves, there are nine of them in total in issue #2. Now, if we (myself and Ben Yee) have done our jobs well, it shouldn’t be easy to spot who did who, as they were done in a style, to a format, and I kind of did an editorial pass to make sure the whole thing was as seamless as possible (text-wise). But maybe you can work it out.

Feel free to post your thoughts/conclusions on this thread and in a few days I’ll reveal who was on the money and who missed the mark. I’ll give you one for free, though, as it’s a bit of a no-brainer: eight letters, begins with ‘G’ ends with ‘K’.

Click on the thumbnail below for a better butchers at the cover for Beast Wars Sourcebook #2 and don’t forget to check out the IDW site for more preview pages and news of upcoming Transformers releases.

When asked whether the Transformers Movie "Search for Starscream" series was still in the pipeline, after the announcement of the second Transformers Movie, Chris Ryall replied with the following comment.

"[snip]There are multiple Spotlight issues in the works, this series, some other series set in the past, and one big thing coming. For starters. 2008's gonna be a lot of fun."

Simon Furman has updated his blog with the following information concerning the IDW Publications Beast Wars The Ascending issue 2 comic.

Hot on the heels (paws?) of issue #1 of Beast Wars The Ascending comes issue #2. This week, October 17th in the US, 18th in the UK, sees the release of issue #2 of The Ascending, the continuation of IDW’s series set in and around the Beast Wars world created by Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio in the TV series of the same name.

Things are looking bad for the Maximals and Predacons, as an ancient evil once more threatens the very future of Cybertron itself. Their only hope? One Predacon general, Magmatron, currently in temporal limbo and unable to affect very much at all. One Maximal deep cover agent, Razorbeast, currently stranded on prehistoric Earth and embroiled in his own ‘Beast Wars’.

This issue, things go from bad… to worse. Even the arrival of The Pack (the Maximals’ crack special forces team) seems destined to be too little, too late. As for Razorbeast, he’s about to undergo something of a transformation, and things will never be the same again! Beast Wars The Ascending #2 is by myself and Don Figueroa.

For more details of all IDW’s Transformers titles visit their website here.

In his latest blog update, Simon Furman has given a few pointers as to the direction that in which the UK exclusive Transformers comic, from Titan Books, will be heading. After issue 6, the story will switch to take place just at the end of the Transformers movie and will revolve around Starscream’s Militia.

"‘Starscream’s Militia’ picks up directly (moments) after Megatron’s final downfall, and has a distinctly ‘Night of the Living Dead’ type vibe, as Starscream makes decidedly unconventional use of such downed/deactivated Decepticons as Barricade, Blackout and Devastator. ‘Starscream’s Militia’ is written by me, with art from a relative newcomer to TF-strip work (apart, I believe, from a back-up strip in Panini’s Transformers Armada #9) Simon Williams. " Posts Simon (Fuman).

Also the article acts as a reminder that Issue 4 was released within the UK today. If, like us, your local stockist are not selling the comic, remember that you can subscribe online.

Simon Furman has posted an update on his blog with some details, and cover image, for the Titan Magazine Transformers Issue 4. Here's what he had to say :-

It’s out this week, Thursday 11th October to be precise, the fourth issue of Titan’s superlative Transformers comic/magazine. And this issue is extra-special, as it features all-new art from the one and only Don Figueroa (Transformers Movie Prequel, Beast Wars The Ascending)!

Movie Devastator comes under the spotlight in a new 10-page comic strip, written by me and drawn by Don. Is he as dumb as his G1 counterpart? Well, yes. But he’s also equally as brutal and destructive, and when he finds himself with no easy prey to crush, watch out!

As always with these solo but interlinked stories, there are guest appearances aplenty from other characters from the new TF-movie. Plus, more strip, a profile for Blackout and a titanic, expanded head-to-head smackdown between Optimus Prime and Megatron! Oh, and free pin badges! What more could you ask for.

Over on the IDW message board, Chris Ryall has responded to some of the negative feedback that IDW have received over last weeks release of the Beast Wars Sourcebook issue 1. Here's what Chris had to say

Hey, everyone--

In the time we've been doing Transformers comics, there have been highs and lows for the fans, I know. As there's going to be on anything -- some projects work better than others, for various reasons.

This one seems to be ranking somewhere near the first issue of the TF Animated Series for most of you, from the responses I've seen.

Which sucks all around--the last thing we want to do is release product that doesn't work for you. Especially since this particular book took so long to finally arrive. And because so many artists and colorists labored over it. And because Simon and Ben Yee did the same, and then waited patiently for the book to finally be assembled and released.

So for the person who just e-mailed me very angry and said "once again, IDW screws its fans," well, that's hardly true and hardly a sound approach to business, I would think. And nothing we would ever set out to do.

So what happened?

That's a good question. But there's really no need for me to make excuses or air any beasty-smelling laundry, so I'll just say that the book is, like everything we publish, ultimately my responsibility. This book was one that sort of slipped through the crack while I was dealing with an editorial shift, and it went out with some errors. Book Two was completed during this same period. But Andrew is here as the TF Editor now, and is extremely competent and he and I will do what we can to ensure the rest of the books are produced as they should be. As many errors are able to be corrected in the collected version will be fixed, too.

I know that this book was a bit of a disappointment for fans who waited so long. Transition with art teams or editorial teams can cause hiccups that are evidenced in the finished product, but certainly not on purpose.

So know that I share your pain on this--maybe moreso, since so many people have shared their pain with me--but also know that putting out something you don't love is never our intent. We'll get 'em next time.

Simon Furman has updated his blog with a post Dublin Sub-Con entry that contains a little bit more infomration on Transformers Mosaic as well as a few comments on future entries to his blog.

On Transformers Mosaic's Simon comments "the news finally broke while I was away that I’ll be contributing a one-page story to the fan project Transformers Mosaic (go here for the full Newsarama interview with Josh Van Reyk and Shaun Knowler, the driving force behind Mosaic), which showcases new (one-page) strips by budding writers and artists, and is well worth your time to check out. The stories can be from any era or incarnation of Transformers and the one-page format makes for some pithy and unique storytelling. Anyway, I’m writing (or actually, have written) a story called ‘Hail and Farewell’ which sits very much in the current IDW/TF continuity. It’s set a year or two ahead of where we are now (in Devastation) and features Hunter O’Nion and Sunstreaker. Can’t tell you any more, as it’s very difficult to tease here without giving too much away. But it touches on stuff that the main series will expand on big time. It’s being drawn by two guys who are new to Transformers but have comics careers that span a decade or more (and also happen to be good friends of mine, which is always handy when there’s no money involved!), Steve Buccellato and Don Hudson."

Simon also comments that Death’s Head vol 2, Transformers Devastation #1, Beast Wars The Ascending #1 and Beast Wars Sourcebook #1 are all out now with Titan’s Transformers #4 coming out next week. Speaking on Titans Transformers Issue 4, Simon mentions that he will have a full trailer next week

Future posts will include a report on the Dublin Sub-Con event, more on the Forbidden Planet London signing (Thursday October 25th from 6PM) and a Script Wrap on Transformers (UK) #7, the first full in-movie continuity issue.

To read the post in full, visit Simon's blog.

Thanks to Talk Transformers for posting a few images from the Transformers Beast Wars Source comic from IDW Publications. You can see the images here.

I'm not sure why BB is coloured in Orange, but puhaps if someone owns the comic they could shed some light on this?

Simon Furman has posted the following update on his blog