Monday, March 2, 2015

The Complete AllSpark Almanac - 8 Page Preview! (Plus a Silly Little Contest)


Howdy! After a few weeks delay at the ports, The Complete AllSpark Almanac is just about to hit shelves, due out from Diamond outlets (like your local comicbook store) this Wednesday and a week or two after that from Amazon.com. It's time for our preview, but this left me with a conundrum. Do I showcase pages that people who have V1 and 2 (plus our fanclub material) have already seen? That seems pointless. Do I instead pull out the brand new or completely revised pages created for this book? That's problematic, because there are only about a dozen pages that fit the above characterization.

Then it hit me... there are numerous pages that aren't completely new but are a BIT new. New art, new context, new photos, integrated in with the existing material So, why not showcase them?

Then I thought, why not make it a game? The first person who replies in the comments who can correctly identify every difference will get a sketch card of the (pre-existing) character of their choice by Bill Forster. 8 pages, (at least) 8 differences. Go for it!






22 comments:

Unknown said...

Two new chapters have been added to the table of contents. Nook and night-watch are new characters. Cyclonus is using his show accurate colors. Sideswipe and sunstreaker are using their comic models.The mirror universe page is new and awesome. Jackpot is added to the collectors club exclusives. The note to self on the timeline page. Mindwipe replaces the inferno tile space on the great war game.

Jimtron said...

You're close. One of your observations is incorrect, and you haven't addressed what's different about Decepticon Air.

EJ said...

- Forwards by Wyatt and Kaye instead of Youngberg. Several new chapters and sections have been added to the table of contents, including Humans, Detroit, Hero, and expanded Universe. Afterwords now include Isenburg.
-The inclusion of Nook and Night-watch.
-Cyclonus’ transformation steps in the right sidebar.
-There are more cyberglyphs written behind the Sonic Jammer.
-The use of recolored in-show models for Sideswipe and Sunstreaker (as played by Rodimus and Arcee, respectively. Mindwipe having replaced Inferno on his game square.
-The mirror universe page from the Allspark Addendum in Club issue #44 now includes TFA SG Decepticons.
-Jackpot is now included amongst the TFCC/Botcon exclusives.
-The inclusion of a “note to self” on the timeline.

PhantomDusclops'92 said...

-New chapter, Studio 4° C. David Kaye forewords. The Videogame, Titan Comics, Bee in the City and some other stuff were condensed in the "Expanded universe" chapter.
-Nook and Night-Watcher are added in Rosanna's bio.
-Cyclonus is now in show-accurate colors and his transformation sequence is shown aside.
-Some extra cybertronian writing in the Decepticon Air page.
-The Great War game replaces Inferno with Mindwipe. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker not only get new designs, but also their positions are switched around (in the original release, Sideswipe was the one spotting an enemy ship and Sunstreaker the captured one)
-The team photo of Shattered Glass Decepticons.
-Jackpot in the TFCC/BotCon stuff.
-The "Note to myself" bit on the timeline.

Jimtron said...

Phantom, you're exactly as close as, and have made the same mistake as, EJ. Which is to say VERY VERY close and you're missing something incredibly subtle.

EJ said...

The image by the page number on the Cyclonus pages are different.

Jimtron said...

Well, yes, it is, but I'm not being that much of a hardass.

EJ said...

Aaaaah! Haha, I'm pretty much out of luck, then. I'm at work til 3 am and can't get to my books and scrutinize them :(

Primejunky said...

Everything else mentioned including: The street style colors of Optimus, Megatron and The Decepticon symbol are all different.

tinytuba said...

Table of Contents:
1.The colors of the characters in general look slightly brighter, but that could possibly be my monitor. Purples look bluer all around.
2.Table of Contents is now green instead of yellow
3.Introduction by the Authors is now first instead of second on list
4.Forewords by Derrick Wyatt & David Kaye instead of Matt Youngberg
5.Forewards listed second instead of first
6.Lots of Interstitial changes: Lighting replaced Size Comparison Charts, Transformations replaced Animated in Japan, Deleted Scenes replaced Style Guides, Design Evolution replaced Shorts, Backgrounds replaced Deleted Scenes, Size Comparison replaced The Video Game, Japan replaced The Arrival
7.Chapter 3: Humans and Chapter 6: Detroit are totally new
8.Chapter numbers different: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, (8, 9 due to addition of chapters)
9.Forewords by Eric Siebenaler & Matt Youngberg instead of only Eric Siebenaler
10.Section V: Hero and Section VII: Expanded Universe are new
11.Section VI: Packaging Art and Section VIII: The Cast re-numbered
12.Afterwords by Aaron Archer & Marty Isenberg instead of only Aaron Archer
13.Lots of page number changes (Do you want a list? I can do that.)

Rosanna page:
1."And Nook & Night Watch are the cutest little dexi-squirrels you ever did see. He likes to run along energy conductor rods; that's where his eye color comes from. She does search & rescue!" added
2.Nook & Night Watch art added
3.Page# is now 77

Cyclonus page:
1.Cyclonus is bluer in general
2.Added little sketches along the side
3.Page# is now 125

Sentinel's Private Journal:
1.Circles on Sonic Jammer 3000 are bluer
2.The Cybertron language is slightly different at the bottom of the page.
3.Page# is now 222

Game Board:
1.Sunstreaker spots enemy ship instead of Sideswipe
2.Sidewipe picture replaced next to tile
3.Sideswipe captured instead of Sunstreaker
4.Sunstreaker picture replaced next to tile
5.Mindwipe mesmerizes Autobot Outpost 1,000 VP instead of Inferno protects the Royalty 1,000 VP
6.Picture of Mindwipe instead of Inferno next to tile

Mirror Universe and Jackpot toy page are new.

Timeline:
1.Note to self added
2.Page# is now 462

I really love Transformers Animated!

TakoTank said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TakoTank said...

-new chapters (hero and expanded universe)
-some interstitials are missing/unlisted in the table of contents (e.g. The Video Game, among others), although they may be merged with others
-Nook and Night-Watch are new
-Cyclonus is in different, lighter colors and now includes a transformation graphic
-Mindwipe is in the Great War game instead of Inferno; Sunstreaker and Sideswipe have different designs than the original game
-Jackpot is added to the club exclusives
-Note to self on the timeline
-The lights on the sonic jammer have changed from purple to blue, and more cybertronian text has been added to the background of the page
-a group shot of the Shattered Glass Decepticons has been added (forgot this in my original comment)

Ochopante said...

Great Stuff!

EJ said...

I've GOT IT! In the timeline 4 Billion Cycles Ago: the sentence regarding the end of the Golden Age says the Second Cybertroian War was fought for 3 million Stellar Cycles, a correction from 3 million YEARS as originally printed in the 2nd AA.

The same correction is made for the 1 Billion Stellar Cycles ago section, changing 17 Billion years to 17 Billion Stellar Cycles

Jimtron said...

OK, EJ wins!

The changes I was looking for:

1: Several new chapters and sections have been added to the table of contents

2: The inclusion of Nook and Night-watch.

3: Cyclonus’ transformation steps in the right sidebar.

4: Cyberglyphics have changed.

5: New models for Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

5a: Mindwipe having replaced Inferno on his game square.

6: The mirror universe page from the Allspark Addendum in Club issue #44 now includes TFA SG Decepticons.

7: Jackpot is now included amongst the TFCC/Botcon exclusives.

8: The inclusion of a “note to self” on the timeline.

8a: revised text on timeline

EJ, which character would you like a sketch of?

tinytuba said...

Way to go, EJ!

EJ said...

Oh awesome, thanks!!!

-Any chance I could convince you to throw this Deathsaurus head (of my own design) on TFA Earth-Megatron's body?
http://www.deviantart.com/art/TFA-Deathsaurus-Head-Sketch-517905174

-If not, then Animated Sky-Byte (on Lugnut's earth-body instead of the cybertronian one?), please and thank you so much! This was fun- Now I need to go out and buy the book! :D

EJ said...

Hope you didn't forget, I'm looking forward to whatever you sketch out!

Benancius.blogspot.com said...

Greetings,Mr. Sorenson! I'm VectorMagnus2011. Remember that you leave two comments of yours on my Deviantart page? I need a favor: On page 325, of the COMPLETE ALLSPARK ALMANAC, there are pictures of the Animated renditions of the Transformers. Most of them I can recognize, but there are some that I can't, like the Decepticon that looks like a general,positioned between Sky Linx and Landshark; and two Autobots; a pink female, and the funny one that stands next to Blaster. If possible, will you provide all the names of those Transformers that appear on page 325? Thank You.

TOUCHDOOOOWWWWN San Fran Cisco said...

I propose renaming Nightwatch Cranny.

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