Good Causes, One and All

Due to the computer problems I experienced last week, I'm pretty far behind where I'd like to be in terms of Ark Addendums, so I'll be taking another week off from them.  Perhaps next week I'll be back, we'll see.  In the meanwhile, I figured I'd highlight some worthy causes.

First up, one of my heroes Simon Furman has expressed an interest in picking up the old Marvel Comics series at issue #81, similar to how Larry Hama did with GI Joe.  Personally, I'd be very curious to see where he'd take the story, since the old US/UK G1/G2 continuity was and is my favorite Transformers saga.  (Beast Wars and Animated are both amazing, but the sheer scope of those hundreds of issues are so magical to me.)  There is a petition to be signed, and they're closing in on 1000 signatures.  Let's make that goal happen, and we'll see where to take the movement from there:  http://www.petitiononline.com/tf81idw/petition.html

Next up, I've had some folks write to me and ask if I'd help promote their petition for more Animated in comic form.  Yes, yes, a thousand times yes please.  I'd love to see Marty and Derrick return to the universe as a comic.  I, more than most, know how cool S4 would have been and I'd love to see it continue.  Oh, and if that means that I'd have enough material for an Almanac III, so much the better:  http://www.petitiononline.com/TFAIDW/petition.html

Finally, the good folks at Auto Assembly, the most amazing Transformers convention ever, are working feverishly to try to raise enough money to bring the one, the only, the amazing Geoff Senior, to their convention.  Sadly, I won't be attending this year, but if you will be (and if you're anywhere in Europe, you should be) then consider heading to their Geoff Senior page and possibly contributing a few dollars... er, pounds, euros, whatever.  With Death's Head starting to pop back up in the Marvel Universe these days, could there be a better time to get this amazing artist down to Birmingham to mingle with the fans?

Three excellent causes.  If any of them seem like something you might be interested, then do what you can to make it happen.

Reviews!

All the great Amazon.com reviews of The Complete Ark and The AllSpark Almanac have put me in a review kind of mood. So, some random reviews.

First up, long-time Transformers scribe, (and personal hero of mine,) Simon Furman has recently started doing some reviews for Total Sci-Fi Online. His monthly column is called Comics Candy, and the first edition covers 28 Days Later #1, Punisher Noir #1, G.I. Joe Origins #6 (Scarlett), and several others.

Second up, I thought I'd post some reviews from around the world for the AllSpark Almanac and The Complete Ark. If you're a fan of the English language, Dave Van Domelen does an examination - you'll have to scroll down a bit. If you're more in the mood for some Japanese, you can read this for a brief overview of the Complete Ark - click next at the bottom (and scroll down) for a review of the Almanac. For a longer review of just the AllSpark Almanac, try here. Finally, friend of the blog Carlos gives us a review in Spanish for both books. Know of any reviews in other languages? Give me a holler and I'll post them here.

11/11/09 Addendum: I found a very nice Chinese review here. Warning, big images and slow loading.

1/21/10 Addendum: Here is another review in Japanese.

1/28/10 Addendum: Here is an English review of The Complete Ark

5/2/10 Addendum: Here is a third Japanese review.