Richard Irvine-Brown has written an article for the BBC covering the Transformers comic The Lost Light and the rising diversity of fans within the Transformers franchise which you can read here.

Whilst it has come into criticism from some areas of the Transformers community, The Lost Light comic series and More Than Meets The Eye before it has been some of the best selling and highly praised Transformers comic series for many years with a diverse and loyal fan base and has been a series that many deem to have been an important player in the growth of diversity within the fandom and especially at conventions around the globe

At the end of the story within the current Transformers: Robots in Disguise comic from Signature Publishing, the best selling Transformers comic globally, it was announced that as of the next issue the comic will transform into a Transformers: Cyberverse comic book with the first issue due on stands on the 21st September 2018.

It is expected that the comic will continue in the same format as the highly successfully RiD and Rescue-bots comics with freebies, activities, games, puzzles and a comic version of each episode of the cartoon.

C.O.N.S. X ! The Anniversary !

The 10 year anniversary of the German Transformers Fan Convention will be on 2nd of september 2018.

C.O.N.S. X will be opening at 11 pm and will start full speed ahead. And who wants to join us can now preorder his ticket for C.O.N.S. X at Kolpinghaus/Josefshaus in Viersen-Süchteln at Ostring 33. On our homepage www.ntf-cons.de you will find all new information as well as our ticket hotline.

Of course the popular cosplay contest will be held for the 10th anniversary of C.O.N.S. Each visitor of C.O.N.S. X can participate in our Transformers Quiz.

At our ten year anniversay of C.O.N.S. we have many dealers for you in store offering a huge variety of Transformers from old to new. Including of course our sponsors Actionfiguren24, Gerrut Camaro and TF Robots. In addition there are Bram Bossers, Thats Cult, Ying Zhu the jewellery dealer, the team of Verlsercon from the Netherlands and Transformers Universe with our announcer Philister. That is not all by far. There is still TeleToys from the Netherlands and many more Transformers Dealers.

IDW Artist Jack Lawrence will make a return to C.O.N.S. He still works on IDW's Transfomers Lost Light and surely will have lots of news about the book.

And one guest must not be missing. One man who has become like inventory of C.O.N.S. We are talking about none other than IDW Colorist John-Paul Bove!

Our sponsor Actionfiguren24 will donate the main price to our raffle of C.O.N.S. X at 2nd of September 2018. It is Planet X - PX- 11 Set A plus B.

You always wonderd how to make a cosplay? You want to know which material to use? Or which cosplay suits you best?

All these questions and many more will be answered on the 2nd of september 2018 at C.O.N.S. X. In a small workshop about cosplay "Chaoszrael" will show you how it's done and answer you questions. She will show you how to find a cosplay, first steps in creating a cosplay, which tools to use and how to make a finished cosplay.

Be there and learn how to make your own cosplay on 2nd of september 2018.

C.O.N.S. X - The Program:

10:30 am - Admittance for the participants of the Cosplay Contest

11:00 am - General admittance

11:15 am - Official welcome

11:30 am - Cosplayers model show on stage

12:00 pm - Chaozrael´s Cosplay Workshop

12:30 pm - IDW Artists John-Paul Bove & Jack Lawrence Presentation & Interview

01:30 pm - Teutonicons Podcast Live on the C.O.N.S.

02:00 pm - 1st Raffle

03:00 pm - Live Review with Reyjin on stage

04:00 pm - Transformers Quiz sheet turn-in

04:15 pm - End of voting for the Contests

04:45 pm - Announcement of the Contest Winners

05:00 pm - 2nd Raffle & Star Price raffling

06:00 pm - Thank Yous & Goodbyes

We are looking forward to greeting everyone at C.O.N.S. X and hope that our visitors will be able to make a good haul.

Source: www.ntf-cons.de

Signature Publishing have announced that they shall be releasing a second monthly Transformers comic in the form of Transformers Rescue Bots with the first issue set for UK stores on the 19th May 2017 priced at £3.99 and coming with a Chase car stunt set and 4-roll sticker box.

The magazine is aimed at the pre-school audience and is based on the animated show which averages 17,000 viewers across 600 plays on Tiny Pop; 76% above the channel average. The show is on par with My Little Pony for the station where it contirbutes 1/5th of the total views with 1.5 million children having viewed it since it's launch.

Danny Morris, Signature Publishing's Managing Director stated that "The Transformers franchise just keeps growing, with the launch of the latest blockbuster movie in June, while younger fans are egaging with the hit animated cartoon Rescue Bots" adding that "We are therefore delighted and honoured to be the first publisher, worldwide, to launch a standalone magazine for this fantastic extension to Hasbro's Transformers brand where, as always, storytelling is at its heart. With the viewing figures and toy sales for Transformers Rescue Bots speaking for themselves, this new magazine is sure to be a huge success!"

TFNation have announced another guest for their first Transformers convention as Simon Furman!

Transmission Initiated
Transmission ID: 000021
TFNation_2016
Operation: Target 2016

We are honoured to announce that Simon Furman, one of the most significant contributors to Transformers and its rich mythos, will be joining us for our inaugural convention! 

It really does feel right for somebody who has worked so hard from the Cybertronian's earliest days be here with us to celebrate the bold new era of TFNation. 

We would keep you here all day if we were to list Simon's complete Transformers credits. Much of his work comprises the bedrock of the comics, animation and films we all enjoy today. Simon's writing has stood the test of time and his work is still held in high regard today. He has worked for the successive publishers Marvel, Dreamwave and IDW.

Simon has also lent his comic talents to many other titles including Scream, Thundercats, Alpha Flight, Doctor Who, as well as co-creating Dragon's Claws and of course a certain Freelance Peacekeeping Agent who Marvel keep teasing may return...

In addition to his writing, Simon also served as an editor for Marvel UK and Titan Books.

Away from comics, Simon has been involved in the world of animation from Beast Wars, X-Men: Evolution, Dan Dare to most recently serving as both Head Writer and Script Editor for CITV's The Matt Hatter Chronicles.

Over the course of the weekend, you will have the opportunity to hear more about this storied career from the man himself and in much greater detail.

To keep up with Simon's current work, he maintains a blog over at:
https://simonfurman.wordpress.com

Simon will be signing autographs and selling comics and script packs from Friday 19th until Sunday 21st August 2016 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel at TFNation 2016. We look forward to seeing you there!

Further transmissions to follow.

TFNation

Where All Are One
End_transmission

Comic Book Resources have posted an interview with Mairghread Scott and John Barber the creators behind the upcoming Transformers: Combiner Wars crossover. The key points are:

• The Combiner Wars will be on two fronts - both an information war, a "war of influence", and a physical war. Starscream is at the heart of all of it, of course - with Optimus, Windblade and Prowl all being key players.
• Superion has a few new moves - he's described as a cross between "an NBA star and Godzilla"
• The seeds of Combiner Wars have been sown since Windblade first appeared in Dark Cybertron.
• On an unrelated note, we'll also be seeing more Transformers of more body types - not only female characters but more diversity in general, more religions, creeds and classes.

Credit to TFW2005.com for the summary

Big news has come out of Dublin International Comic Expo (DICE for short) for fans of Death's Head as it was annouunced yesterday during the Marvel Comics panel that Nich Roche will be the new artist on the Death's Head one-shot comic which is due for release in early 2014.  Nick will be providing the art for Andy Lanning's scripts which will be based on the Death's Head II incarnation of the Marvel UK character.  The comic is rumoured for a possible Feb 2014 release, marks the first Marvel work for Nick Roche as well as being the first in a series of planned released by Marvel US to bring back older Marvel UK properties.

The official Transformers Facebook page has posted a preview of IDW's Spotlight: Megatron comic by Nick Roche who talks the reader through the pages both as the writer and the artist.

PAGE 1: This story starts off just after Megatron has received a new body during the TRANSFORMERS ONGOING series from a couple of years ago. Why set the tale in this time frame? And did you have to research all the old designs again?

NICK ROCHE (writer): Well, I just write the thing. It doesn’t bother me what the designs for the characters are like. I just sit back, lash any old nonsense out, and watch the accolades come cascading in.

As for the timeframe, IDW and Hasbro were looking for a Megatron SPOTLIGHT to feature the same body that the character currently sports in the TRANSFORMERS: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ongoing series. Of course, he’s a little dinged-up over on that title, and has foregone more of his personal grooming routines. But it’s essentially the same character design. Now, almost every nano-second of that iteration of Ol’ Megs has been accounted for – from him coming online in TRANSFORMER ONGOING #13, to his climactic farewell in the “CHAOS” series. I had to pull a trick that Simon Furman has made his own, and find an empty story-corner to craft an idea; tell an off-panel tale, as it were. And it allowed me to address what must have been huge disappointment and frustration on Megatron’s part upon discovering the undignified and embarrassing mess Starscream had made as leader of the Decepticons.

NICK ROCHE (artist): The script was pretty loosely written, so I had to second-guess the writer’s intent a lot of the time. He’d just send a hand-scrawled note on greaseproof paper that said, “’bot 1 punches ’bot 2.” I had to do a lot of work to put any shape on the so-called story.

Piecing together the “script” did involve me having to do some research and capture the look that the ONGOING-Era Decepticons had on their Vacation Asteroid. But every comic – and every TRANSFORMERS comic especially – involves a lot of back-checking and cross-referencing on pre-existing designs. Because I had drawn Megatron and a few of the other cast members in these designs before, it wasn’t a complete slog, and didn’t slow me down too much.

PAGES 2 and 3: Did you find it difficult to write Megatron’s character at this point in time, bearing in mind everything he went through in All Hail Megatron and just after that?

NICK ROCHE (writer): Not prohibitively difficult, but it was an enjoyable challenge marrying up the Megatrons of two different writers (Shane McCarthy & Mike Costa) and have him pointing where the current writer (John Barber) has him positioned. It was interesting to read back over both eras of Megatron and reconcile the words and deeds of one with the other. I think I managed to not contradict anyone as I pulled my Megatron into place.

Barring weaving other versions of the character into this one version though, I tried to think about how Megatron would feel at having all that is sacred to him – his Decepticons; The “physical manifestation of his ideology” – absolutely driven into the ground. His star system-trouncing warriors are reduced to a whimpering mess, so let’s discover what affect this would have on him. If the Decepticons are defeated, he feels it, because to him, the Cause and The ’Bot are one and the same.

NICK ROCHE (artist): Is there a question for me? No? Oh, it’s all about the writer, yeah? That guy…

Well, let me tell you about stuff anyway. I drew these pages. Was it easy? Nothing is, working with that guy. He didn’t even specify which ones some of them were. “The Blue Cassette and a Broken Clone” was pretty much all the direction I got for this spread.

This was where some of the referring back to earlier issues paid off. Like, I tried to keep the wounds that Razorclaw suffered in his skirmish with Starscream back in ONGOING #13 consistent with the wear-and-tear shown here. And then I added little nods to the cannibalization that was rife during this period too. You can see that Sunstorm (on the left of the image) is sitting down, because someone else is probably using his lower legs…

PAGE 4- What would you say set this issue apart on terns of the challenge as apposed to the other issues that you have written and drawn yourself?

NICK ROCHE (writer): Oddly, this page represents the real departure from previous solo excursions, in that there is some Editorially-mandated content. The through-line between this current batch of Spotlights is a connection to Metroplex and the Space Bridge technology he possesses. We know that this new body Megatron inhabits has the ability to traverse vast interstellar distances. Where did his restoration crew gain that technology from? Well, now we know. And as a dutiful Megatron nerd, I couldn’t bypass the opportunity to refer to the character’s oft-cited ability to access a Black Hole in deep space. What potential side effects could those powers unleash with this new Space Bridge ability? It’s all touched on slightly here. In dinner terms, this page is the Science Starter, the rest of the issue is Red Raw Main Course. Things…get messy. Bring a bib.

Though you have no idea how giddy a writer can get when they realize, “Wow! I’m writing a conversation between MEGATRON and SHOCKWAVE!” Workdays don’t come any better than that.

NICK ROCHE (artist): “Make the One-Eyed One argue with the Bucket-Head One.” That’s literally all he wrote.

It was hugely enjoyable to realize that I was drawing two of the heaviest-hitters (maybe THE heaviest?) in the Decepticon army having a typically terse one-to-one. It was massive fun to draw a similar scene between Shockwave and Overlord in LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS, but as popular as Overlord is now, he didn’t have the same weight of responsibility to draw then. Whereas this scene – which has a sulky, skulky Soundwave too, for flip’s sake! – made me regress to seven-year-old status. (I usually operate at full-on nine-year-old.)

PAGE 5- Megatron sets his sights on Starscream for the first time since he’s seen just what Starscream did as leader in his stead. This is one of Transformers classic relationships. Had you always in your mind wanted to do these scenes, and did you always know how you wanted them to be?

NICK ROCHE (writer): I didn’t think I had a burning desire to explore this relationship, but that’s sometimes the best way to be. A part of me worries I’ll choke or wobble (or both at once – a “chobble”) when the day comes to write some dialogue for Optimus Prime. But because of when this story was set, and because of the events that lead us here, this confrontation was unavoidable. I had no choice but to just write it, and I think that can often be for the best. Out of all the iterations of TRANSFORMERS lore over the decades, this relationship between Megatron and Starscream is by far the most constant and enduring. Prime has different lieutenants or right-hand-guys in different shows, but Starscream is eternally cursed to be the thorn in Megatron’s side.

For me, the question at the heart of this relationship is as fundamental as “Why DOESN’T Batman just kill the Joker?” Why does Megatron keep Starscream around? What possible thought-process could allow a liability like him to linger and lurk, constantly undermining and unraveling your progress? It became apparent very quickly that this was what the story had to be about. And I think I’ve managed, in the pages that follow, to explore – and even explain to some degree – what this relationship is really all about.

NICK ROCHE (artist): My thinking here (because ONE of us had to do a bit of that) was that upon discovering Megatron’s resurrection in ONGOING #14, Starscream fronted it out a little with the returning boss, and then retreated to his rinky-dink throne room, where he’d squandered three years piffling about with the Autobot Matrix. So, I wanted to show a Starscream that’s beaten before Megatron even makes a start. The heft of his own fear of Megatron has literally crushed him, and where better to reflect on his potentially final moments than at the foot of the seat of his power. Interesting though that he doesn’t flea; he stays to face the music. The rest of this issue gets down to the nitty-gritty of the odd and dark relationship that these two share. I think. I dunno, I just draw the pictures.

IDW Transformers comic book artist Alex Milne has updated his DeviantART site with the the concept drawing for Springarm, who features in issues 22 and 23 of the ongoing Transformers comic.  You can view a mirrored copy of the image below.

The true legendary scribe of Transformers, Simon Furman, have updated his blog with a small entry regarding the SDCC announcement by IDW that Transformers #81 will indeed be published with a special 20 part run (issue 80.5 through 100) with the original Generation One crew of Simon Furman and Andrew Wildman back on board.  Here is Simon's post

"Announced live yesterday at San Diego Comicon — the original Marvel Transformers comic series (cancelled back in 1991 at issue #80) is being continued by IDW Publishing, thanks in large part to an online fan petition (big shouts for Luke and Ron of the IDW forums) and the tireless efforts of IDW EiC Chris Ryall. Transformers (‘classic’) will (re-) launch in Spring 2012 with issue 80 and a half, and reunites the previous writer/artist team of myself and Andrew Wildman. The reinvigorated run will build to a monumental 100th issue conclusion, pulling together and tying up every dangling plotline you can think of and a whole lot you can’t! What else can I tell you about the series? Nada. Niente. Zilch. So don’t ask. For the time being anyway we’re keeping this tightly under wraps. But it is going to shatter your trousers! Guaranteed! "

Do not forget that Simon Furman and Andrew Wildman will both be in attendance at Auto Assembly next month in Birmingham where you can give them your reactions in person

The Allspark have posted a good round-up of the IDW panel from this years SDCC.  You can find the article here. Which included the news that Simon Furman and Andrew Wildman will be back to write Transformers issues 81 to 100 in 2012 that will indeed continue on from the end of the Generation One series. So a 19 part mini-series, you can be sure that there will be more on this over the coming weeks especially since both parties will be at Auto Assembly next month

ComiXology and IDW have published a press release announcing the release of IDW's Transformers title onto the Android mobile OS

comiXology and IDW Publishing today announced a partnership to bring TRANSFORMERS comics to Android and the Web as the battle for Earth between AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS rages on.

Through this strategic undertaking, comics fans everywhere will now be able to experience every metal crunching battle of more than 200 TRANSFORMERS comics using comiXology’s Guided View™ Technology, enabling the reader to transition smoothly between different comic panels, mimicking the reading experience of a traditional print comic book.

“Working with IDW, one of the largest and most esteemed comic publishers in the industry, to launch their entire TRANSFORMERS comic library on Android is truly an honor,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “IDW has really elevated TRANSFORMERS comics to a fan-favorite that our community has been waiting for.

All of the TRANSFORMERS comics will be available on the comiXology Android and Web platforms starting Thursday, July 23rd.

“It’s been very important to IDW to offer our TRANSFORMERS line to digital comics fans everywhere,” stated Jeff Webber, IDW’s Director of ePublishing. “We’ve always been impressed with comiXology’s strength in offering comics across multiple platforms, including Android and the Web. David and his team have put together an awesome offering. And just wait till you see how we kick it off when the doors open Thursday! I think we’re going to make a lot of TRANSFORMERS fans happy this week.”


Today’s announcement comes just days after comiXology exceeded the one million mark of comic book downloads on the Android platform.
The TRANSFORMERS digital comics collection features all the currently available TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON movie-related comics, plus previous movie-related series, cartoon tie-ins, IDW's own ongoing TRANFORMERS series and related titles, and even old classics from the 80s, including:
• TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation
• TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon: Rising Storm Movie Prequel
• TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon: Foundation Movie Prequel
• TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen Movie Adaption
• TRANSFORMERS: Movie Adaption
• TRANSFORMERS: All Hail Megatron
• TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen: Alliance Movie Prequel
• TRANSFORMERS: Classics
• TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen: Defiance Movie Prequel
• TRANSFORMERS: Heart of Darkness
• TRANSFORMERS: PRIME
• TRANSFORMERS: Spotlight
About comiXology

Since 2007 comiXology has been developing the technological infrastructure to bring comics into the digital mainstream and expose new audiences to the rich history and culture of the industry. Through partnerships with top comic book publishers including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Archaia Entertainment, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment and Image Comics as well as their own mobile and web apps which hosts over 9,500 digital titles, comiXology has become a leader in digital comic book proliferation. Also focused on creating strong ties with retail stores through its technology solutions, comiXology continues to transform the previously fragmented comic ecosystem into a vibrant and cohesive marketplace.

About IDW Publishing
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC’s DOCTOR WHO; Toho’s Godzilla; and comics and trade collections based on novels by worldwide bestselling author, James Patterson. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio; and is the print publisher for EA Comics.

IDW’s original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.