The news is thin on the ground this week, but that’s fine, because we’ve got a new issue of More Than Meets the Eye to discuss! Spoilers ahoy!
Fun Publications has officially announced the dates and location of BotCon 2015: It’ll be held June 18th-21st in Chicago…sort of.
The actual location of the convention will be the Pheasant Run Resort, which describes itself on its own web site as “less than one hour from Chicago”. The “Beautiful 250 acre setting in historic St Charles Illinois” features “18 holes of championship golf including a resort course, driving range, golf academy and pro shop” but no mention of the sort of amenities the 20-to-30-something Transformers convention-goer actually wants, such as “cheap food” or “maybe a Target”.
Is this a swing at TFCon, who is holding their first US convention this weekend near Chicago at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare? Or does Brian Savage just want to get in a few rounds of golf?
IDW has teamed up with the folks at Humble Bundle – which sells bundles of games, books, and other digital content at a heavy discount to support various charities – to offer the Humble Transformers Bundle! You can pay whatever you want to pick up the first four volumes of the Transformers Classics collection. If you choose to pay more than the current average (at $10.16 as of this posting) you also get All Hail Megatron 1-4, Autocracy, and Spotlight Vol. 1 with a promise of other books to be added soon, and if you pay $15 or more you get all of that plus More Than Meets The Eye and Robots in Disguise Vols. 1 & 2! This is DRM-free, multi-platform, and can be sent as a gift, so it you’ve purchased all these already you can still help out by buying them for that friend who NEEDS to read more Transformers comics!
The bundle will only be available for two weeks, so head over there and pick up some great comics for charity!
TakaraTomy has strange ideas for Transformers. While Hasbro is putting together award-winning TV shows and working with Hollywood studios, TakaraTomy is…making toy sneakers and caps that turn into Optimus Prime.
And sometimes they do strange, inexplicable crossovers, like toys that change from iconic Transformers vehicle modes into Disney characters. And then there’s this: Crossing Transformers with the influential, deeply psychological 90s anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. Like a fanfic on a GeoCities site circa 1999, the Autobots are teaming up with NERV to take down a Starscream-possessed Angel Sachiel. Why? Because TakaraTomy is doing a limited-release Masterpiece Optimus Prime in Unit 01 purple and green, which is already bad enough without having to fanfic things up. At least it’s limited to 1000 pieces.
You can check out the official page for the crossover here, though I think even Google Translate will be hard-pressed to make any of it actually make any sense. I’ll be off in a corner being appalled on behalf of Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno.
It’s that time of year again – no, not Valentine’s Day, it’s Toy Fair! This weekend is going to be a non-stop deluge of new toy news, so to make sure you’re on top of it here are a few of the best people to follow and places to check:
Twitter feeds:
Web sites:
If you know of other sources, mention them in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!
Now that Dark Cybertron is well and underway, we here at Iacon Underground were fortunate enough to get to ask IDW writers John Barber and James Roberts some questions about the series so far and both Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets The Eye going forward!
IU: Thank you both so much for taking the time to talk to us! Now that we’re halfway into the event, what’s your favorite part of DARK CYBERTRON so far? What upcoming part of the series are you looking forward to finally seeing the light of day?
John: Well, we’re a little past halfway, but that’s my fault for not writing this quicker… it’s funny, because of the way this comic came together, that so much of it kinda crushes together in my head… it’s hard to remember what’s out, what’s done but not out, and what’s still in progress… Early on, I think the combination of Phil Jimenez and Andrew Griffith in issue 1 was really exciting to see. I’ve known Phil a little bit for a while, but never actually worked with him or even spent any real time talking to him before we started this comic—and it turned out we grew up really close by each other. And Andrew, I love working with. That first issue coming together was really cool.
As far as looking ahead—I think the last act of the story, the last third is really strong. Issue 9 is really crazy action, and I think James and I found a good rhythm to the writing there. And issue 10 is a lot of fun, there’s sort of a breath to take, before the end comes.
Continue reading One Foot In The Dead Universe: IU Talks to John Barber and James Roberts
So what do you think? Are you excited to play it as a MOBA? Do you like seeing the Prime aesthetic alive and kicking, or does it feel over now? Are you, like me, still mourning the loss of character creation?
An email went out today to those signed up for beta access to Transformers Universe, the MMO first unveiled as an RPG with character creation at BotCon 2011 but later changed to a MOBA. After the initial limited beta, there was very little said about the game for months. According to Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard:
2013 was a critical year in the evolution of Transformers Universe. It was essential that we just knuckled down and got on with the core gameplay, and that unfortunately meant there was not much news to share for anyone outside of Jagex.
The new projected release timeframe is Summer 2014, with widening beta access between now and then. What will the current version of the game be like?
Autobots versus Decepticons, you’ll team up to play with and against other Commanders around the world in tactical and strategic online battles, competing for supremacy in the global faction war. Legendary Transformers characters will make special appearances – but more on that another time!
Your squad of Bots are a faction-specific collection with their own play styles, weaponry, augment options and specialties. There are countless fighting strategies when battling them and we really believe they will crystallise, embody and capture both what Transformers is all about and your imaginations.
More information can be found over on the official site.
