As we introduced only a bit in the past, the license for Transformers and GI Joe comics has landed at Skybound, with the shock look of the Transformer Jetfire in Void Rivals #1 by Robert Kirkman, artist Lorenzo De Felici (Kroma), colorist Matheus Lopes (Step By Bloody Step) and letterer Rus Wooton.
It’s the beginning of the “Energon Universe,” an ongoing publishing program that can see these basic characters given a contemporary coat of comedian e book paint, whereas preserving among the storylines beloved by followers.
In full disclosure, I’m not an skilled on something Transformers associated…however after I was given an advance PDF of Void Rivals #1 and obtained to the web page in query, even I mentioned to myself….”That appears like a…Transformer? WTF?”
Pretty intelligent! Doing this sort of stealth launch is a daring transfer, particularly for an enormous get just like the Hasbro licenses, and the key alllllmost lasted till the difficulty got here out. I’m informed that retailers got advance phrase on what was taking place, and they stored it underneath wraps till an advance copy went out final week and beans obtained spilled.
Still, it’s the newest shot at uncommon advertising from Skybound, which has tried completely different strategies for earlier Kirkman titles like Die! Die! Die! and Oblivion Song. A couple of weeks forward of immediately’s launch, The Beat was given an opportunity to speak to Kirkman concerning the e book, the shock and the publishing plans. As famous, our dialog happened earlier than Jetfire’s look in Void Rivals had leaked.
Heidi MacDonald: So, you sneaky satan! What’s the story behind the story of Skybound getting the Transformers?
Robert Kirkman: Yeah, Hasbro reached out to us about two years in the past, about the opportunity of us pitching for Transformers and GI Joe. One of the issues we considered, shifting into it, is that IDW has accomplished a variety of nice Transformers and GI Joe comics. And so it’s a must to sort of give you one thing completely different, one thing distinctive. The factor that we got here up with was not solely doing the Energon Universe – the place we sort of do it from the bottom up, retelling origins and a brand new means into this universe, primarily akin to the Ultimate Universe with these characters, sort of a gentle reboot – but in addition to have Void Rivals, this utterly new idea, be the way in which into that universe.
I all the time attempt to [approach] every thing from a fan perspective. And pondering of myself as a fan, if I used to be studying a Mark Millar comedian, and unexpectedly, the Smurfs confirmed up, it will be simply completely insane, like one thing utterly not possible and unreal. I obtained actually enthusiastic about the opportunity of really pulling one thing like that off, and we pitched it to Hasbro and they had been completely into the concept and had been keen to work with us each step of the way in which. So from that time on, it was like, Oh my gosh, we’re really going to have the ability to do that. This is gonna be loopy. To have the ability to do a e book that’s primarily the identical as Firepower or Oblivion Song or Die! Die! Die! however have this acquainted character that has its personal built-in fan base, simply sort of randomly present up in the course of the difficulty – it was simply too new and completely different and thrilling to not accomplish that. So yeah, I used to be thrilled.
MacDonald: When I turned the web page, I gotta admit, it was a variety of enjoyable. You grew up with the Transformers. What’s your private Transformers story?
Kirkman: I used to be born in ‘78. So I was eight years old when the Transformers movie came out in 1986. I was sitting in a theater with my dad, my mom, crying my eyes out watching Optimus Prime die. I think that that moment kind of set me on a path that led to everything I’ve ever accomplished. I don’t assume you get all the stunning Walking Dead deaths if I’m not an eight yr outdated experiencing the dying of Optimus Prime. That stunning expertise of seeing the dying of the character I cherished, pulled from me feeling these feelings…getting that out of a cartoon, the place robots combat one another with weapons, was simply life-changing for me.
I had watched the Transformers and GI Joe cartoons main as much as that, [and] each birthday and Christmas was a recreation of like, which GI Joe, which Transformer am I going to get? I all the time had the little Transformers as a result of my dad and mom couldn’t afford the massive Transformers. So I used to be searching these yard gross sales, attempting to get my Optimus Primes, attempting to get my SoundWaves. So yeah, it’s an enormous a part of my life. And nonetheless to today, I purchase a variety of Transformers and GI Joe stuff. My children are all the time making enjoyable of me as a result of my workplace appears like a toy retailer. It’s an enormous a part of my life, and it’s nice to take my dependancy and flip it into my job.
MacDonald: So the massive information is an entire Hasbro universe coming from Skybound. What are you able to inform us about that?
Kirkman: Yes, we’re rolling out Transformers #1 in October. And then Duke #1 launches in December. And then Cobra Commander #1 launches in January. These 4 titles make up the Energon universe, which goes to be a reasonably contained shared universe.
MacDonald: There are 4 collection proper now and you mentioned this may Ultimize issues a bit of bit. So is this sort of tidying up any continuity?
Kirkman: It’s actually going again to the start, beginning these characters off contemporary. We’re going to be adapting a variety of acquainted tales from the comics and the TV exhibits and issues like that. So there will likely be character introductions which can be acquainted, up to date retellings of your favourite episodes of Transformers and GI Joe. But additionally, they may dovetail into utterly new tales. The natural meshing of those ideas will result in some new and thrilling methods [to approach] the characters. Void Rivals results in the Transformers waking up on Earth and that in a means results in the formation of the GI Joe and Cobra organizations. It’s like placing a contemporary coat of paint on these ideas and attempting to inform the most effective tales of them once more, whereas mixing in new tales. The entire objective right here is to offer followers a brand new start line for these creations and to make them see how cool they’re and love them as a lot as we do.
MacDonald: What about the way forward for Void Rivals? As I used to be studying it, I actually cherished the artwork by Lorenzo De Felici – I cherished that it sort of had this basic, retro sci-fi really feel to it, and loved the story. So how will it match into all of this going ahead?
Kirkman: I really like to listen to that you just loved the e book as a e book, as a result of that’s the objective. We need Void Rivals to face on its personal with its personal tales, its personal conflicts and characters. That’s going to proceed. There are a variety of parts from the Transformers Universe that exist out in deep house, completely different alien races, completely different planets, and the Void Rivals characters could get to work together in some type. But if you happen to’re not acquainted with that stuff, you’ll simply assume, Oh, they went to this new planet, that’s fairly cool. “Oh, that ship is from the planet, Nebulon. Interesting.” You gained’t know that there’s a deep historical past to that planet within the Transformers Universe. [Editors note: I did not.] So that’s sort of the way in which we’re taking part in it. But the objective with the Energon Universe is that every particular person title will stand on its personal. If you simply wish to learn Daniel Warren Johnson‘s Transformers book, reading the other books will be additive, there will be things in that book that mean more, and are cool in a way that you wouldn’t essentially perceive if you happen to weren’t studying the opposite books. But if you happen to’re not studying the opposite books, you’re not going to note that you just’re lacking that stuff. We’re attempting to make this as accessible in all completely different angles and methods as potential.
MacDonald: I actually wish to ask a bit of bit concerning the advertising of this, simply because I do know at Skybound you’ve tried varied alternative ways of launching books. You’ve tried the all out press convention occasion, right here’s the PDF, sending the primary six points to retailers. And you’ve additionally simply accomplished a mic drop with no lead in. I do know you probably did do some occasions with retailers for Void Rivals and the Hasbro reveal. And it by some means hasn’t leaked out which is superb. [Editors note: It did after this interview was conducted.] Do you’ve got any feeling for these completely different strategies, what works and what doesn’t? The comedian e book promoting system has so many checkpoints and bizarre time frames.
Kirkman: What I’ve found from doing all these various things is that all of them work and don’t work however in numerous methods. And so it’s good figuring out, okay, if I wish to pull this off, I can do that. If I wish to strive that, I can try this. And I’m consistently studying and sharing all of these things with everyone at Skybound and Image as “Okay, here’s a different way to market things, here’s a different way to do this.” It’s a variety of enjoyable being, primarily, like a assume tank, looking for new methods to promote comics. It’s all towards the objective of creating the expertise of studying comics as thrilling as potential for the reader. So, if I’m attempting to maintain a secret, it’s as a result of I would like that secret to hit you at the precise time to make the e book as thrilling as potential. Sometimes doing that’s at odds with really promoting the e book, which is bizarre. Navigating that and figuring that out is actually tough.
And that’s why we had that non-public occasion with retailers to inform them, that is precisely what we’re doing, that is how we’re going to promote it earlier than the e book is out and after the e book is out. Because while you do a factor like this, it’s a must to be sure that the e book is definitely in shops for when folks do discover out. Bringing retailers in, recognizing that partnership that we’ve got and giving all of them the data, letting them make their educated guess on how this e book goes to carry out of their retailer, was an ideal alternative for us and it labored out so nicely. But it’s thrilling me for the subsequent factor like, now I can let this neighborhood of shops in on what we’re doing. And that makes the probabilities actually thrilling of what we are able to do with extra Energon Universe launches or with utterly various things. There’s actually an ideal potential in strengthening that half.
MacDonald: I’m glad anyone’s attempting alternative ways as a result of the direct market system is so Byzantine. Also, you mentioned these will likely be mini-series and ongoings. There’s been fairly a little bit of speak these days, once more, in comedian e book Twitter or the web comics neighborhood, about ongoings versus shorter collection. And definitely The Walking Dead was an ideal instance of greater than 100 points, figuring out each month, you’re gonna get this story, and how profitable that technique could possibly be. And now we’re seeing shorter collection. Do you’ve got any take on the evolution of those completely different codecs for periodical comics?
Robert Kirkman: Yeah, I feel, notion ebbs and flows. Lots of people are saying shorter collection make extra sense. Longer collection are harder to do, however the harder a factor to do is, the extra rewarding it may be if it really works out. So I feel that as a comic book e book reader, the factor I most need is a unbroken story that’s going to go for an excellent very long time. Half of the attraction of Saga is seeing what Brian Okay Vaughan and Fiona Staples are capable of do to maintain that story attention-grabbing. From arc to arc to arc yr to yr to yr. And I don’t assume we’re in peril of shedding that anytime quickly. Lots of creators are a bit of hesitant to begin that journey and attempt to discover that path, as a result of it’s tough, however I feel it’s a cornerstone of our trade. It’s undoubtedly the sort of comics that I wish to be doing.
MacDonald: Just another query, Daniel Warren Johnson. How superior is that?
Robert Kirkman: It’s nice. And he’s the proper mixture of actually progressive and thrilling and distinctive motion, however insanely emotional storytelling. The drama, and the pathos that he’s capable of carry to his characters is second to none. And to have the ability to take that lens and flip its focus to Transformers in a very thrilling means…I couldn’t be extra thrilled for folks to be getting this e book and the stuff that he has deliberate for it’s completely glorious.
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