Actually, that explains a LOT ...

So, still hyper-busy on the Almanac, and probably will be for a few more weeks.  That means the usual programming is on hiatus for a bit.  Still, found out some interesting news that I wanted to share.  I'm a direct descendant of Julius Caesar.  I mean, how cool is that?

How do I know? Funny you should ask, other Jim. When I'm not making awesome Transformer books, I do data analytics for a company called Geni.com.  It's a really cool genealogy website that harnesses the power of social networking to let one build family trees. Basically, you start your tree, add in parents, siblings, kids, maybe a few aunts or uncles. But as you go, you have the option to invite those people to join your tree. If they want to, they too can add relatives. So, if you're not quite sure what your cousin's birthday is, she can add it herself.  Then add in her grandparents on her dad's side, whom you haven't even met. And if she invites them, the virtuous cycle continues.  In other words, not only does the tree grow vertically, but also horizontally.

What's the bottom line on all this? My 'family tree' has over thirty-six million people in it. And one of those people is Gaius Julius Caesar.You can even see the relationship path between us below:

Pretty neat, no? So, now I know why that weird Gypsy lady was telling me to beware the ides of March. Wait, what's today's date?

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PS: Attila the Hun AKA "The Scourge of God" is my 39th great grandfather. Kick-ASS!

Interviews! Articles! Overexposure!

I'm everywhere!

First up, I wrote an article for the first Transformers fanclub magazine of 2010.  My subject? Transformers: 2010.  No, not the line for this year, the line from 1986 in Japan.  (In the US, season 3 took place during 2006.  In Japan, it was 2010, and that's what they named the line.)  Now, normally you have to buy a membership to get the magazine, but the good folks have made a PDF of the magazine available to non-members.  Download it and check out my article. 

I've also been interviewed on the Geek Radio Network.  Specifically, you can hear TFG1Mike interview me on their 49th Toycast.  He covers my fandom in general, then moves on to questions about both Almanacs.  They also have details about a contest to win Recon Ravage.  Give it a listen!

In other news, still hip-deep in the Almanac II, so I'll be holding off on reviews for a bit more.  Bad news for the blog, but good news for readers everywhere come June.

The AllSpark Almanac II Cover

Well, I'm a bit late to this party, but I figured I may as well post the covers to  The AllSpark Almanac II (preorder it today!) .  Marcelo Matere, my editor Justin Eisinger, Bill Forster and I wrangled back and forth over what exactly the cover should look like for a while. One idea was to feature Decepticons, since season 3 has a darker tone than seasons 1 & 2, and it would mirror the first volume. On the other hand, we wanted to keep the same sense of fun that the first volume had, and not too many Decepticons can pull that off.  We did have an idea about bumbling Constructicons building the cover, which seemed fun, but we also wanted to get some of the core characters into the mix. Finally, we wanted a cover that not only communicated 'season 3,' but also said that we'd be delving into the toy side of things. 

It was Bill who eventually came up with the final idea. He drew a quick, 30-second sketch as proof of concept and sent it to the rest of us.  I think everybody immediately agreed that the idea was a winner. We were especially keen to have Wreck-Gar in the picture, playing with not the toys but the detritus AROUND the toys. 

I think it came out just lovely. It did everything we set out to do, kept the tone perfectly with the first book while setting up the differences in the new volume. Marcelo posted the black & white image over on his Deviant Art account, and Priscilla Tramontano (the colorist) posted the color image sans-logos over on her Deviant Art page. Be sure to check them out!

The Ark Addendum - Sixshot's Transformation (part 2)

True to my word, this week it's another edition of The Ark Addendum.  Here is Part II of Sixshot's transformation from Headmasters, covering his jet and tank modes.  I especially like his jet mode, and the dramatic pose he ends up in.  Given Brian's continued review of the Headmastes series, this seemed like a good model to pick.  Next week I'll probably finish out Sixshot's with his conversion to gun mode.

Transformers: Headmasters – "Explosion on Mars! Scorponok Appears!"

Twincast: My God! What is that?
Zarak: At last, it is finished. My work of art – Scorponok.
Mindwipe: Incredible!
Zarak: Come aboard.
Mindwipe: It's amazing!
Zarak: Wait, there's more to come. You're about to see something even more amazing!

Here is the exciting conclusion to this two-parter revolving around Zarak's plan to destroy Mars in order to collect the plasma energy from the resulting explosion. Fortress Maximus is completed depleted of energy and unable to transform due to the attack which closed out the previous episode, while Highbrow and Brainstorm are recovering from their injuries. Spike, Daniel and Wheelie have been safely returned to Athenia, thanks to the Trainbots. Now there is a waiting game as the Autobots still search the planet Mars for the bomb coordinates, not even knowing how much time they have remaining.

Hardhead monitors some activity nearby, spots a Terrorcon and he and Chromedome immediately charge forth to attack. They are met in battle by the Decepticon Headmasters, however. In response, the Trainbots are ordered to return to Mars in order to assist in the fight. Strangely enough to the Autobots, the Decepticons depart in haste, while we the viewer have seen Zarak command this retreat.

Suspicious of this enemy retreat, Fortress contacts Ultra Magnus at Autobot City on Earth to uncover any information they can from the Decepticons residing there. Magnus dispatches Twincast to infiltrate their opponents' base. We see Twincast stealthily approach the Decepticon Earth HQ, which is currently guarded by Thrust and Dirge. He dispatches Steeljaw and Rewind, distracts the "coneheads" with a direct assault and Rewind sneaks inside.

On Planet Zarak, Zarak is ready for the final stage of his plan and commands a select group of Decepticons converge on Chaar. Soundblaster contacts Sixshot on Earth and informs him that he needs to attend. All of this is overheard by Rewind, who reports back to Twincast. They proceed to follow Sixshot to the Decepticon space bridge, which appears to be the same one at the bottom of that old riverbed from Season One. Admittedly, this was great to see, as were the cameos of Thrust and Dirge. Anyway, Twincast follows Sixshot, using the space bridge to transport him to Chaar.

Once there, Twincast, hidden away in the main Decepticon HQ, witnesses a bold presentation, broadcast from Planet Zarak. We all watch with Soundblaster and the rest (Astrotrain, Blitzwing, the Predacons, etc) as the small planet cracks and crumbles in space, revealing the massive form of Zarak's transtector, Scorponok. The Decep Headmasters, after having fled Mars, are invited on board, before it transform from city mode to scorpion and heads for Chaar. The Decepticons prepare to welcome Lord Zarak but suddenly Soundblaster discovers Twincast and the two long-time, well-matched enemies engage in a fight. Cassettes warriors from both of them are tossed into the mix as well yet Twincast is able to escape.

Fortress is altered of this development while Chromedome and the others are battling the Terrorcons. Highbrow and Brainstorm, fully repaired, join the fray. Scorpnok then appears over Mars, to everyone's amazement, having warped in from Chaar, and easily defeats all the Autobots nearby. He then heads towards Fortress, who is still unable to transform and has no energy.

Fortress: Zarak!
Scorponok: My name is no longer Zarak! I am Scorponok!
Fortress: Scorponok, you say?
Scorponok: Fortress, now you are going to pay for kicking me off Planet Master!

Transforming to robot mode, Scorponok proceeds to trounce the inert Fortress. However, he is informed that the bombs are all in place and instructs Soundblaster to begin the countdown. Soon, the bombs placed at the poles erupt, followed by the plasma charges and Mars is engulfed in flames. The Decepticons retreat and Fortress orders his Headmasters to follow suit. Chromedome insists they save their commander and they rush inside the great battleship. As they find themselves surrounded by explosions on all side, they realize that the energy produced is being absorbed by Fortress Maximus.

Mars is destroyed as Scorponok watches in glee, but he is soon shocked to see Maximus flying out of the flames and straight towards him. He absorbed enough plasma energy to transform and escape and he successfully routes the Decepticons, with a strike of his Master Sword to Scorponok's shoulder. There is rejoicing by the Autobots due to Fortress's survival yet this is greatly tempered by the shocking failure to save Mars from destruction.

Thus concludes the mini story arc following the destruction of Cybertron as we watched Zarak's mysterious plans and construction of his transtector finally come to fruition. Zarak has turned out to be a most dangerous and unpredictable foe, even moreso now with the aid of Scorponok. This two-parter was as tense as the pair involving Cybertron and nicely rounds out the first batch of 15 episodes of the series. There are few sub-par installments in this group, such as "Terror of the Six Shadows" and "The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts", but overall they provide a fun mix of action, mystery and character, following new and beloved characters.

It's interesting to wonder what would have happened if the US G1 season four had not been limited to three episodes. Here Takara held off on the reveals of Maximus and Scorponok until a dozen episodes had passed, building the tension with shocking crises and major leadership changes on both sides. It's obvious that the US G1 series would have also shown a power struggle between Galvatron and Zarak, as seen in this series, but who knows if the former would have been driven off-screen completely.

I also had a thought about Soundblaster, while watching this episode. Soundwave had always appeared fiercely loyal to Megatron and later Galvatron, no matter who attempted to usurp command. Now remade as Soundblaster, he seems to have become more shrewd, letting his allegiance follow whoever appears to be the final victor for role as Emperor, in this case Zarak. This aligns a bit more with his portrayal in the Marvel comic book, so it's interesting to note this change. Also good to see another showdown between he and Blaster... I mean, Twincast!

IN ONE PAGE!

There's an artist out there who goes by the name of, ahem, Boltax, who does these very funny one-page summaries of Transformers stories and ideas.  They're generally quite funny.  Here is All Hail Megatron part 1, as well as AHM part 2.  He's also lampooned G1 Megatron(s), The Wreckers (how apropos for Wrecker Awareness Week,) Megatron Origin, and Time Wars (of the Transformers, not Doctor Who variety.)  You can also read his webcomic, A Townsville Fairytale. I was chatting with him and requested that he do one of my books and here's what he came up with:

I regret that this week will be busy for me, between the book and my wife's birthday, so I'll be postponing most reviews and new content for a week or so.  Have no fear, The Ark Addendum will be back next week, come hell or high water!

The Allspark Needs Your Help!

So, as it turns out, there is a seller out there with some really interesting Transformers material.  In this particular case, it's the Hasbro catalog from the 1986 Toy Fair with some really cool Transformers material in it.  Unfortunately, given the rarity of the material, the seller is asking quite a lot for it.

That's where you come in.  NightViper over at the excellent AllSpark website is taking up a donation drive.  If you think that you might be able to spare $5 for this cause, then head on over to the AllSpark for info on how you can help.

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UPDATE 1: WE GOT IT! Kudos, to everyone. This is exactly what I was talking about when I praised the Transfandom community.

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UPDATE 2: Thanks to Galenraff over at the AllSpark, this has now become a full-on charity drive. He's trying to raise a total of $380 for charity, a match for the price of the book, and is already up to $70. So, if you can spare it and want to support this effort (all proceeds go to the Hasbro Children's Hospital), then head on over and lend your support.

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UPDATE 3: I wanted to bump this post up.  Galen set a VERY ambitious $2000 goal for Sunday, the 28th of February.  This is enough to get us in as a high-tier benefactor to the Hasbro Children's Hospital annual Game of Life gala.  We're less than $300 away at this point, with a good 12 or so hours to go.  If you can spare even just a few bucks, it's a good cause and a wonderfully collaborative approach to giving that reflects well on Transformers-fans everywhere.  Won't you?  Info on giving HERE.

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FINAL UPDATE: This was an amazing smashing extraordinary success!  143 Transformers fans raised $2,340 for charity in just five days, and that's on top of the catalog we also managed to buy.  (Oh, and we plan to auction the catalog and give the resulting funds to charity too.)  That's a pretty impressive grassroots campaign. The whole fandom should be proud; I know I am!