The Ark Addendum - Fortress' (Cerebros') Transform

What's this?  I'm going a week without skipping an Ark Addendum?  Could it be that my life is settling back down to something approaching normal? 

Since I seem to be on a roll with Transformations, I figured I'd see if I had any more.  This one is a funny one... Fortress.  Or, if you prefer western naming conventions, Cerebros.  Despite being a giant head, he manages a pretty interesting transformation.

This is a particularly timely model, since TakaraTomy has recently announced Encore #23... Fortress Maximus!  Now, I've already got a MIB Fort Max, Japanese style with the swords, so I'm not directly excited by this.  But we also have the possibility of an eHobby FM repaint.  Oh, my, that could be a LOT of fun.  Anyway, if you've always wanted a Fort Max, this is your chance to get one for something approaching reasonable: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK11575&mode=retail

The Ark Addendum - Perceptor's Transform

Hey, y'all!  Sorry I took a week off, moving from LA to Albuquerque is taking up much of my time.  I found the time today, though, to share a fun model sheet... Perceptor's transformation!

Oddly, I don't have too many of the American transformation sheets.  Most of what I had I shared in The Ark, albeit small.  I acquired a few more, when I got the model packs for Webworld and Madman's Paradise.  Perceptor was among these.  (As was Sludge, so expect to see him and no other Dinobot at some point.)

I like step 4... I wonder if it didn't, many years later, inspire the rather excellent Vitruvian Man Perceptor cover to All Hail Megatron 15 by all-around cool guy Casey Coller. 

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Can't neglect my dozens of Farscape fans either, now, can I?  Let's see, where did I leave off?  Oh, yes, early Season Three.  (I'm up to S4 now, so I've got some catching up to do.)  S03E05, Different Destinations, is Farscape's take on time travel.  True to form, the gang just makes things worse and worse, and while things don't wind up at their nadir, they leave history worse than they found it.  One geektastic reference here, when Crichton gives Stark the nickname Astroboy.  Gotta love it.  Other pop-culture references include Scarface ("Woah, Tony Montana") and The Andy Griffith Show, when he calls the peacekeeper hero "Opie."

S03E06, Eat Me, kicks off one of the best storylines in Farscape, bar none... the two Crichton arc.  On board a dying leviathan, the gang encounters a madman who can 'twin' people.  Two copies, both equal and original, though repeated twinning can result in degradation and brain damage.   The biggest geek reference in the ep is John calling the degraded, too-often twinned Peacekeepers "Night of the Living Dead."  Hammer Films is also name-checked.  Other pop-culture references include additional nods to The Wizard of Oz ("ding, dong, the pod is dead") and Kentucky Fried Chicken ("it's finger-lickin' good.")  Oh, and John mentions Abbot & Costello again.

S03E07, Thanks for Sharing, continues the ramifications of two Crichtons running around, and introduces Aeryn's mother Xhalax, as a recurring villain.  The main story, about local intrigue as the gang tries to fix Talyn, falls a bit flat though.  Geek references, there are two.  My favorite is this: "I know it's not as bad as the last time. It's not the Cro-Magnon copy or the Alien Nation reject, but you can tell I'm the original, right?"  Alien Nation, a terrific sci-fi show, was created by Rockne O'Bannon, one of Farscape's creators.  I also enjoy the continuity nod to the last time we had multiple Crichtons running about. The other geek reference was to The Dark Crystal, when John lists the Skeksis among people Crais might have pissed off.  Non geek references include Captain Crunch as a nickname for Crais, the Gotti family as a nickname for the ruling family on the planet in question, and A Few Good men ("you want the truth? you can't handle... aw, let's cut the crap."

S03E08, Green Eyed Monster, starts off the format of the season.  Half the episodes take place on Talyn, with Crichton, Aeryn, Rygel, Stark, and Crais.  Half take place on Moya, with Crichton, D'Argo, Chiana, Jool, and Pilot.  Monster is one of the former, and involves Talyn getting swallowed by a living budong (See Home on the Remains.)  Only one Geek reference, but it's lovely.  "That's no moon... That's a budong!" (If you need me to explain this, then why are you even reading this blog?)  Other less geeky reference include the obligatory bible reference when John calls Crais 'Jonah' and the famous Apollo (mis)quote, "Houston, we have a problem."

S03E09, Losing Time, is a Moya episode. The gang takes on a couple of energy beings who can possess them, and hilarity ensues.  PLENTY of geekdom here, so it's a good one to end on.  One of the incorporeal beings he addresses as Casper.  In a nice Exorcist nod, John argues that he can't be the one possessed, because "If I'm Linda Blair, why am I telling you guys anything?" John also informs a DRD "All right, we don't understand the R2-D2 crap. We're going to use the Star Trek system: one blink for yes, two blinks for no. You understand?"  This is a beautiful Star Trek/Star Wars reference.  One blink for yes, two for no comes from The Menagerie two-parter in the original series of Trek.

Farscape: The Complete Series is available for purchase on Amazon, and needless to say is well worth the money.

The Ark Addendum - Sureshot's Transform (and even more Farscape)

The Ark Addendum marches on!  I'm honestly not sure what I'll bring you next week, but this week I finish off the last of many partial sequences I've been through, the transformations for the Headmaster characters.

Sureshot's our boy this time.  I'd say my favorite image is probably step 1, just showing the car zooming along at high speed.  It's nice that they didn't just reuse the basic car model.  It's a bit odd that they violate the 180 degree rule from that shot to the next one, though.

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Farscape Geekwatch also continues!  The wife and I are enjoying plowing through the show as a nice break from my work and her studies.  It's my second, MAYBE third time watching it, her first.  It remains mucho fun, mainly for the rich characterization though the arc episodes are quite well done.

S03E02, Suns and Lovers continues with the Zhaan dying plotline. The gang just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, when some religious zealots target the station they're resupplying at.  The only genre reference of note is Scooby Doo.  John calls the gang's heroism "Scooby time" and then name-drops Scooby snacks.  Non-genre references include John calling D'Argo Heavy D, after a rapper.

S0E03-04, Could'a, Would'a, Should'a, introduces Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis (aka Jool), writes Zhaan out (Virginia Hay was having a bad time with the make-up), and gives us an inside look at Wormholes.  Many fans seem to hate Jool, and I can see why.  My first exposure to her was from mid-S3, when she was a contributing crew member, but in her first few appearances she was annoying as frell.  That was probably a bad choice, and probably why they'd write her out in early S4.

Sci-Fi and geek references include another Trek reference (John to Jool: "Welcome to the Federation Starship SS Buttcrack.) and Aeryn, of all people, asking if a broadcast clip John saw was 'Yoda of Dagobah.'  Also to Jool, he expresses some sympathy as he knows that "this trip to Krugerland was not on your itinerary," a Nightmare on Elm Street references.  Non-genre references include infamous defense attorney F. Lee Bailey ("can it, F.Lee", he quips to Rygel), Adam-12 ("One-Adam-Twelve, guys."  Adam-12 starred frequent Farscape guest star Kent McCord, aka Jack Crichton), and Hogan's Heroes (he calls one of the aliens Colonel Klink.)

Farscape: The Complete Series is available for purchase on Amazon, and if you don't own it, buy it now now now!

The Ark Addendum - Pointblank's Transform (and Farscape continues)

Welcome, faithful readers, to another edition of The Ark Addendum.  I've been endeavoring, with long-time reader Martin's help, to finish off some gaps in my previous postings.  With that in mind, here's the Transformation for Pointech, AKA Pointblank.

My favorite part of this drawing is the underside of the car, in step 2A.  It seems very Back to the Future somehow.

And while we're on the subject of other Sci-Fi, let's examine some Farscape, shall we, as my Geekwatch continues.

We're up to the mid-season three-parter, Look At The Princess, S02E10 - S02E12.  The story kind of dragged, truth be told.  Originally this was a two-part episode that got expanded.  I think they would have been better off keeping it tight.  The Scorpius stuff is great, and we get our first look at the Scarrans, but the local politics winds up tedious.

Lots of great genre references, though.  When D'Argo leaps through the air to catch a plummeting Chiana and knock her away from boiling acid, John's reaction is an earnest "how Batman was that?"  As John contemplates the downside of 80 years spent as a sentient statue, he lists out all the people who will be dead when he's revived, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  John also likens a floating probe to the one used by Obi-Wan in Star Wars. Prince Valiant is namechecked. Finally, when Crichton finds out that he is to wed the princess, because only he is genetically compatible for siring children, he calls himself the reverse King Arthur.  "I'm the one who can put the sword INTO the stone!"  Cute.  (Non genre references include Blazing Saddles ["Get back, or the white boy gets it. Oh, man, don't let 'em kill me!"], Apocalypse Now, and John Wayne Bobbit.)

S02E13, My Three Crichtons is much stronger.  Crichton gets hit with a probe and a prehistoric and highly evolved version extrapolated.  Two good sci-fi references here.  John refers to the probe which duplicates him as a 'body snatcher', a nice nod to the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  Perhaps more fun is a confused Crichton stating that he's "in Bill and Ted land here," referring to the amusing time travel parody Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.   Other pop culture references include The $64,000 Question and My Three Sons. 

S02E14, Beware of Dog, is a fun little story about parasites on the ship and the Vorc the gang buys to try to help deal with them.  Hardly profound, but an enjoyable outing.  Good genre references abound.  Crichton calls the parasites body snatchers (a better use of the term, though a bit repetitive.)  He refers to the Vorc as an "Ewok gone bad" (because it's cuddly and cute) and as "The Incredible Vorc" (due to its ability to Hulk out).  John also employs the Riddler's catch phrase, "riddle me this."  Non-sci-fi references include Lassie ("Look, Lassie here is trying to communicate with us,") and some dialog paraphrased from Caddyshack.

I'll end with S02E15, Won't Get Fooled Again.  This is a terrific episode, where John wakes up seemingly on Earth.  Since they played this beat last season, the audience isn't buying it and neither is John.  It turns out that the scenario isn't designed to fool him, just to drive him bonkers.  I love John opening the door to a woman's room and seeing... a woman's room.  It's also clear the production team had a ton of fun putting the gang in unusual costumes and situations.  Crais as a police officer in red high-heeled shoes? Priceless.  Getting the girls to dress up in fetish outfits is fun too.

Reference-wise, there are a TON of Wizard of Oz references.  (Let's see... John thinks he's got it all figured out, and it's a plot to "show you how I create the giant blue twister that sucks me down to Oz." Crais as a police officer calls a dog Toto.  John calls the Scorpius neuro-clone, which manifests itself for the first time here, "the man behind the curtain."  John says he feels like he's been hit by a house.  And John's rhyme, "Come out, come out, wherever you are, and see the young man who fell from the star" echoes a similar rhyme from the Good Witch.  Other references include Hamlet, Dirty Harry, The Beatles, and The Who (the eponymous song, naturally.) I find it amusing that it's between two Jimmy Stewart movies that Crichton picks the Scorpius Clone's name from.  Harvey is an invisible rabbit from the film of the same name, Clarence is the invisible angel from It's a Wonderful Life.

Farscape: The Complete Series is available for purchase on Amazon, and everyone should watch it.

The Ark Addendum - Diver's Transform (and Farscape's Geekwatch marches on!)

Filling in the gaps in previous series continues with Diver, the last Pretender I'm missing from Masterforce.  (Martin, who am I still missing now?)

I think my favorite bit from the Diver model isn't represented here.  It's the tattoo on his human form that reads "perked up anchor."  Oh, Japan!

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Farscape Geekwatch!  S02E06: Picture if You Will features the return of Maldis.  We won't see him again (though, without looking it up, he seems like a sure bet for a comic appearance) but he'll be mentioned a few more times.  I hated the character the first time through, seemed too mystical for my taste, though really in retrospect he's not much different than Q or Trellain or any other energy being.  The geekiest bit in the episode is when Crichton criticizes Maldis for not reading the supervillain's handbook.  Not specific, but geeky none-the-less.  (specific non-geek references include The Price Is Right, The Sound of Music, and Magical Mystery Tour.)

S02E07: The Way We Weren't is an episode largely motivated around a series of flashbacks to the days of Crais and Aeryn as Peacekeepers.  Man, if they'd made Crais this badass in S1 they might not have had to replace him!  Nothing too geeky here, though John saying that "I don't think Pilot's in a 'Leviathan for Dummies' kinda mood right now" almost counts.

S02E08: Home on the Remains (ugh!) is another weaker episode, again with a Chiana focus.  Good geek cred, though, with John shouting "shazam!" (Captain Marvel, natch.  From memory, Soloman, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, Mercury. Yeah, I like my Captain Marvel.)  John also tells the bad guy "No more Captain Kirk chitchat." Other references include Dominoes pizza, Jenny Craig's weight loss ads, and the Donner party.

I'll end with S02E09: Out of their Minds, a hilarious episode with body swapping all around.  No geek references here, I'm afraid.  No real references of any kind that I noticed, outside from Crichton calling Rygel (in his own body none-the-less) Einstein and referring to his body smacking his ego (residing in Aeryn's body) as a Three Stooges routine.  I'll forgive much, though, since John goes ahead and takes advantage of his time in Aeryn's body to feel up her boobs, then dance around with her shirt open. 

Farscape: The Complete Series is available for purchase on Amazon, and unless you're homeless you should own it.

The Ark Addendum - Gilmer's Transform (plus Farscape Geekwatch)

OK, starting to resume a more normal posting schedule despite the move.

First up, let's hit this week's Ark Addendum.  From good old Masterforce comes another transform... Gilmers!  That finishes off the Destron Pretenders.  (Right now I'm engaging in Operation: Make Martin Happy).

This is a great transform, no doubt.  I love how step three just runs right off the page.

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I'll also finish of season one of my Farscape Geekwatch.  S01E21: Bone to Be Wild.  First off, as puns go... ugh!  Really?  SO painful.  (It's about a bone-eating carnivore, played by Ben Browder's wife.  She'll return in each subsequent season... as a different alien each time.  Fun stuff!)

Two good Geek references here:  "One, two, three, four to beam down, Pilot," quips John, in a beautiful Trek reference.  (Though next episode has it beat.)  John also remarks, of the botanist of the episode, "Swamp Thing here ain't the Mr. Rogers scientist we thought he was."  Nice DC Comics shout-out, and juxtaposed with Fred Rogers no less.  Fun!

(Stark is nowhere to be seen.  Somewhere a line of dialog about him taking a Transport Pod out into the asteroid belt got lost.  Boo!  We also meet Lieutenant Braca, though he isn't named yet.  I like Braca.)

S02E22: Family Ties, finishes off the season, and finishes it off strong.  Rygel tries to sell out the crew, only to find that Scorpius isn't interested.  Crais uses it as an opportunity to jump ship and eventually absconds with Talyn, Moya's offspring.  John and D'Argo manage to outmaneuver Scorpius and blow up his base, though they're left floating in space with Aeryn unable to rescue them due to heavy Prowler patrols.

Only one geekwatch here, but it's a goodie.  As Crichton and D'Argo prepare for their spacewalk, he refers to them as Kirk and Spock, then as Abbot and Costello.  It's a great moment.

(M'Lee, the bone eater, is acknowledged as having gone off somewhere in a Marauder.  Scorpius wondered where the security officer assigned to her had gotten to.) 

Thus ends Farscape, season one.  Slow to start, but really gets there in the end.  Crais never worked as the main villain of the series, but as a wildcard with family ties to Moya, he seems right at home.  Scorpius is magnificent as the big bad of the series.  Ben seems to have found his Crichton, with a bit more madness thanks to the Aurora chair and looking kinda bad-ass in his Peacekeeper Command get-up.  (He'll stick with that, with a few minor alterations, for the rest of the series.) 

Farscape: The Complete Series is available for purchase on Amazon, and I just love it.  It was slow at first, but now it's kicking ass.

The Ark Addendum - Highbrow's Transform (& Farscape Geekwatch)

Howdy, y'all!  Sorry that it's been a while since I've posted here.  I'm in the process of moving my wife and I to Albuquerque, from New Haven and Los Angeles, respectively. This includes the purchase of a new home, which has taken up much time and energy.  Between that and ComicCon this weekend, I've been swamped.

However, I didn't want to neglect you, my loyal readers, so I checked Martin's wish list and found Highbrow's transformation.  Here it is!  It's one of the more elaborate ones.  Note how, though there are only six frames, three of them have insets. My favorite detail has to be the inset of his gun, popping into his hand, in step 6.

A funny sidenote: Gort got his own transform, which I'll try to clean up and post next week.  Most of the Master guys didn't, or got a very very simple one.  His is fully detailed.  I wonder why.

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I've also been neglecting my of Farscape Geekwatch.  We've watched a few more.  There's kind of a dearth of genre references, though, so I can reasonably do this quickly.

S01E11: Till the Blood Runs Clear.  No real sci-fi references to speak of, though Crichton references Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, as well as Disney's Pluto.  This episode introduces Furlough, the hefty mechanic, who will play an important role in season 3. 

S01E12: Raphsody in Blue. An important Zhaan episode, wherein she gives up her frock.  Again, no genre references.  Could my memory be failing?  Perhaps later seasons will pick it up a lot more.  Looney Toons gets name-checked, at least. 

S01E13: The Flax.  We're introduced to a new tech, the Flax, an invisible web that will play a role in the S2 three part season ender.  AGAIN, no sci-fi or fantasy references, though Top Gun is mentioned.

S01E14: Jeremiah Crichton. A fun episode where Crichton attempts to go native. Yet again, no solid genre nods, though there's a Lion King reference. John to the native's Masata, or wise man: "Well, hakuna matata, Masata."

S01E15: Durka Returns. A solid Rygel episode, where his old nemesis returns as an apparently brainwashed ward of a new race, the Nebari.  Chiana, a Nebari prisoner who really just wants to live a little away from her stifling culture, is a welcome new addition to the crew.  Not quite genre, but worth mentioning.  John: "Durka's gone Hannibal Lecter on us." To her credit, Chiana calls John on his incomprehensible (to anyone on that side of the galaxy) speech.

Farscape: The Complete Series is is for sale on Amazon.com, and I'll get through a few more before ComicCon if I can. 

The Ark Addendum - Misfire's Transform

After a few weeks of Madman's Paradise, I thought we should head back to the anime.  This week, I finish off the Destron targetmaster transformation sequences.

This is a pretty nice one. I especially like the fact that the start and end points are new models, as opposed to recycled the standard bot or jet mode. 

In other news, I just sent in the final version of the  The G.I. Joe Field Manual: Volume 1 (preorder it today) to IDW.  Volume One should be excellent, and I've already started Volume Two.  Transformers Legacy, meanwhile, is in the final phases of content acquisition. I'm still hunting, so if you've got pieces I'm missing, definitely drop me a line.

The Ark Addendum - Motormaster's Transform

Whew!  Back from BotCon and still a bit exhausted from the whole wonderful magical ordeal.  I'll probably post a somewhat abbreviated convention report, though you'll have to give me some time to collect my thoughts.

In the meanwhile, it's time for another Ark Addendum.  This time I tackle Motormaster's transformation.  I don't have many other scramble city transforms, and what I did have found its way into  Transformers: The Complete Ark  (order it today!)  This one came to me with the models for Webworld I believe.  (I did an eight part series on Webworld some time back.)

Hope you enjoy!  And there may be another multi-part series of models in the not-too-distant future.

The Ark Addendum - Ginrai's Trailer Transformation

Full disclosure: I don't think this is a particularly interesting model.  It depicts the transformation of Ginrai's trailer into its base mode.  Maybe I find it dull because it's not a character proper.  Maybe It's just that it's really a rather static piece, with no great liberties taken from the toy.  Nevertheless, it was requested, so I figured why not.

Now, the actual Ginrai / Powermaster Optimus Prime toy, on the other hand, is just marvelous.  Ginrai especially, with the retractable fists and metal bits.  As a kid I thought it a bit funny that Prime had a cargo space in his trailer, but nothing to put there.  I would store his head back there, but it seemed like overkill.  I used to try to cram Roller back there too.  I think I could get it to just about fit if I took off all the wheels.

As it turns out, great minds think alike!  How could I know that that trailer space was vestigial? Early on in the design phase, Powermaster Prime was to be a Powermaster AND a Headmaster, with a triple-changing Roller as the head.  It would have been truly glorious.

Godbomber, too, went through some big changes from conception to final execution. (If you don't know, Godbomber is the trailer extension for Ginrai that turns into a robot or an enhancement for Super Ginrai, allowing him to become God Ginrai.) Big differences include spots on his wrist to keep Ginrai's rifles, and a large hand-held cannon instead of a shoulder-mounted missile launcher.  I liked the idea of the wrist-mounted guns so much that I drilled holes in my reissue.

Anyway, a very neat figure, and maybe some day I'll customize up that rifle or even the Roller headmaster.  Don't hold your breath, though, since Joe books are taking up much of my time.  (I came up with a great little eight page block today that lets me use a lot of neat models and have them all feel coherent.) If anyone else out there has done some kitbashing or customizing along this line, chime up and let me know.  Maybe we can do a photo-spread right here.

The Ark Addendum - Wilder's Transform

BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT!  (Well, Martin politely requested it, but close enough.)  I finish off the HM Junior transformation sequences with Wilder.

This is actually an interesting one, if only because it's so complicated.  Yes, it's nominally six steps, but note how there is an insert between steps one and two showing the back, and note the detail in step five, split up into three parts.

All this for one of my least favorite designs in the series.  There just weren't enough liberties taken with the toy design.  Now, Fangry, at least as done up by Andrew Wildman, that's how you stylize up this toy.  This guy looks terrifying!  Wilder looks too dumpy, almost like he should be plush.

The Ark Addendum - Lander's Transform

Welcome back, true believers!  Another edition of The Ark Addendum, extra model sheets not in  Transformers: The Complete Ark  (order it today!) , my 416 page tome of Transformers character models.

This week's offering is another transformation sequence from Masterforce.  I give you: Lander!  I find the last picture in the sequence especially nice, what with the clouds and the mountains.  For a pretty simple toy, he they sure make his Transform seem dynamic.

By the way, Landmine, the American version of  Lander, was my first Pretender.  I remember finding him in a drug store while waiting for my parents to pick me up.  Since the TF cartoon was long off the air and I hadn't yet discovered the comics, I was pretty thrilled to find a brand new Transformer.  I had almost as much excitement from looking at the 1988 catalog as I did from the toy itself.  Had I found Transformers #52 and #53 at this time, I'd probably have been pretty thrilled.  (Instead, I got into the comics with issue #69.  When I tracked down the back issues, I found this underwhelming.  I'd already grown bored with the toy by that point.  What a difference 18 months make.)

While I've got your attention, I did an interview with the folks over at Rusting Carcass, so read that if you'd like the latest on the Joe model book.  Also, the kind folks over at the What's on JOE Mind talk a bit about the upcoming Joe book, so check out their excellent podcast.

The Ark Addendum - Phoenix's Transform

Hello, intrepid Transfans.  This week's Ark Addendum was inspired by last week's offering.  It seems like a while since I've done an extended Masterforce Transformation sequence, so here one is.  Naturally, I chose Phoenix.

As usual, the designers did a kick-ass job with this, lots of motion and excitement.  Note how many of the models break from the panel.  They just can't be contained.  I also like the speed lines in the final panel. 

The Ark Addendum - Ratbat's Transform

OK, this week I finish up my cassette transformations.  I give you... Ratbat!  It's a simple transformation.  He basically unfolds, much like the toy.  The big difference is that his weapons pop out of his back, instead of being attached manually.

And one final reminder: we've got a book signing for The AllSpark Almanac Addendum this Saturday at Emerald Knights Comics & Games in Burbank.  1:00 PM on December 10th.

4116 W. Burbank Blvd
Burbank, CA 91505

Hope to see a bunch of you there.  A ton of folks from Transformers Prime will be there, as well as Mike Costa and Livio Ramondelli.  Plus, of course, Bill Forster, Marty Isenberg, and myself.  Join us, it'll be a blast.

The Ark Addendum - Transforms for Soundwave and Laserbeak

Continuing the theme begun two weeks ago, the detailed transformations for Laserbeak and Soundwave!

Soundwave's transform I've actually already published.  It showed up in Transformers: The Complete Ark  (order it today!)  It was tiny, thumbnail size, but nevertheless it was there.  I thought it was worth a closer look though, so here we go.

Because we'd seen it already, I coupled it with the Laserbeak transformation.  That one is brand new, though it's so simple that I didn't think it warranted its own page.

Don't forget to pick up Timelines #6, out a couple of weeks ago.  16 pages of AllSpark-infused Almanacky goodness!  I'll be in Burbank on 12/10 to promote it, see Emerald Knights for details.  I hope to see you there.

The Ark Addendum - Rumble's Transform and Cheetor's Badge

Well, that was exciting.  My first work published in comic form.  Transformers Timelines #6, with The AllSpark Almanac Addendum, out last week.  If your local comic store doesn't have one, you can order it from the Transformers Collectors' Club.  And don't forget, if you're in the SoCal area, huge TF signing on 12/10 at Emerald Knights in Burbank.  Lots of cool folks from IDW and TF Prime, plus Marty Isenberg, Bill Forster, and myself, will be in attendance. 

Already the intrepid Chris McFeely has published his Annotations from the same.  He did a pretty good job, but so far he hasn't cracked my C.O.C. code.  Will he prevail?  Only time will tell.  Here's something that he mostly got correct... at least what he was able to make out.  Look familiar?  Hint, hint!  We had fun making that, especially the seal. (BTW, McFeely, that's not a GPDC...)

But it's a new week, and that means that it's time for another Ark Addendum!  I figured I'd keep up the trend set last week and continue with some cassette transformations.  Last week was Ravage, so this week I'm doing Rumble.  Once again, this one comes from More than Meets the Eye, and is nicely dramatic.  It was a bit hard getting it all on the page, mostly because he went from a square to a horizontal rectangle to a vertical rectangle, but I managed.  Hope you enjoy one of my better unpublished pieces.

The Ark Addendum - Ravage's Transform and The AllSpark Almanac Addendum!

I thought I'd kick this week off extra early, because it's a big week for me and I'm feeling Transformersy.  And when that happens, I go trawling through my collection looking for especially nice material to share with you, my loyal readers.  People like cassettes, so I thought I'd start the week off with Ravage's transformation.

This comes from straight out of More than Meets the Eye.  I like that he winds up in the classic Ravage leap, also seen in his character model and box art and numerous comic book panels.  And who can blame the artists for reusing it, it looks fantastic!

But why am I feeling so excited this week?  Savvy readers can probably guess.  Yup, this Wednesday, Timelines #6 hits fine comic book stores everywhere.  It contains the rather excellent Isenberg / Matere collaboration that was Transformers Animated: The Stunti-Con Job.

Why this is relevant to me is that it ALSO contains a 16 page AllSpark Almanac Addendum, covering the BotCon characters and events.  The Transformers Collectors' Club was kind enough to post a preview of it, which I'll share here.  In-universe, we cover 6 Autobots, 6 Decepticons, Trypticon Prison, the events of The Stunti-Con Job itself.  Out of universe, we look at this year's BotCon, both the events and the toys.  There's also a special teaser for... well, let's just wait and see.

Oh, and if you're in the SoCal region, we're doing a special signing at Emerald Knights in Burbank.  On Saturday, December 10th, at 1:00 PM, Bill Forster, Marty Isenberg, and I are doing a signing for the book.  We'll be alongside some of the talented folks behind Transformers Prime as well as IDW's Mike Costa and Livio Ramondelli.  It's shaping up to be quite an event, so I hope to see you there.  (There being 4116 W. Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505.)

The Ark Addendum - Dauros' Transform

Another week, another Ark Addendum.  After going to the Sunbow well for a bit, I figured I'd bounce back to Japan for a lovely Masterforce transformation.  This one belongs to Dauros, and they certainly squeezed quite a lot of info onto one page.  my favorite part is probably his hand swapping for his gun in the upper left.

When I was a kid, I had this toy, or rather Skullgrin, and would let him flip his hands around for guns while still in robot mode to do extra carnage.  It hearkened back to More than Meets the Eye, when robots would routinely replace their hands with tools and weapons.  Skullgrin was probably my favorite Pretender toy as a child.  (Favorite Pretender character: Bludgeon.)  It was fun that Budiansky gave him a spotlight issue. I suppose my like for the character is pretty evident.  I wrote a whole Monster from Mars riff into the first  Allspark Almanac (order it today!)

The Ark Addendum - Yukikaze's Transform

Well, it's about that time again.  Yup, it's another Ark Addendum.  This week, I round out the Trainbots, with the transformation sequence for Yukikaze.

BTW, Yukikaze translates roughly to "Snow Breeze."  It's a fairly common name in Anime and Manga, especially for cold-based characters.  The name itself would be reused in Beast Wars II as the space ship (non-sentient) for the Maximals.  Oh, and speaking of, Beast Wars II is coming out on DVD, finally.  I guess I'll be able to dump my old commercial VHS tapes of it.  If we're very lucky, maybe Shout!Factory will release a sub of it.

The Ark Addendum - Seizan's Transform

Another week, another Ark Addendum!  Continuing the theme that I've been exploring, I bring you another transformation of one of the Trainbots.  This is Seizan, the Blue Mountain.  Why Blue Mountain?  Ummm... not sure.  I was happy to find out that Suiken, 'Water Fist', was the Drunken Boxing style of Martial Arts.  Anyone know what significance Blue Mountain might have?

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More SDCC photos!  I feel like I fit right in with the Imperials.

Doesn't Daphne look adorable?

Bill gets his Slave Leia on!

Jim Sorenson - TIME LORD!

OK, more SDCC photos next week!