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.