Vernoverse

[Verno]

And instead of something new and interesting in comics, we're given rehash after rehash of G1. *sigh*

I was thrilled when I heard Don was doing the pencils for them, his pre-BW modes for Magmatron and the like are incredible! Hinting at what they will be, but still clearly Cybertronian. Magic stuff!

[Paulbot]

I shot IDW an email, to see if they were at all interested in, at the very least, reading some of my stuff, to which I received the simple, one line reply:

"Thanks for this, but Hasbro isn't open to us doing any more Beast Wars comics."

Is not really a BW comic, is it? Which suggests to me they didn't even read it. Oh well...

Remember:

IDW does not accept unsolicited works (artwork, story ideas, etc.) of any kind.

[RageOnTheRoads]

And instead of something new and interesting in comics, we're given rehash after rehash of G1. *sigh*

I was thrilled when I heard Don was doing the pencils for them, his pre-BW modes for Magmatron and the like are incredible! Hinting at what they will be, but still clearly Cybertronian. Magic stuff!

I wouldn't mind it, but they insist on focussing on the same characters over and over and over and over... I think that was one of the reasons why Last Stand of the Wreckers was so well received. Finally we got a more in depth focus on some other characters. I would love to see a series that revolves around just the different Autobot and 'Con gestalts or something like that. What its like to be a gestalt, their inter relationships and place in the tfs society laid out, all while battling other tfs monsters etc etc.

If handled by a decent writer the Combaticons could make for some fun stories. They had such a nice history in G1, what with their rebellious/ political prisoner past and such. (A comic where the Stunticons actually get a smidgen of character development would be nice too. I have only been waiting for that since 1987.) There is just so much potential in these guys and instead of getting the rich character development they lend themselves to and deserve we get the likes of Drift (Gah!) and these potentially great characters are relegated to background expendables or baddy of the week.

Almost everything Don does is magic I still love ogling his concept sketches in the back of the BW comics.

[Verno]

IDW does not accept unsolicited works (artwork, story ideas, etc.) of any kind.

That's a damn shame. How then are new artists and writers meant to crack it into their 'boys club' then? How does someone, like Don for example, get 'solicited' in the first place if you can't submit them work that you've done? It's all a bit odd.

I'm not a big G1 buff by any stretch of the imagination ROTR, but I can understand your frustration. G1 is a HUGE thing of great potential, and instead of broadening it as you suggest, they narrow it on the same guys constantly. It's a terrible shame.

[RageOnTheRoads]

That's a damn shame. How then are new artists and writers meant to crack it into their 'boys club' then? How does someone, like Don for example, get 'solicited' in the first place if you can't submit them work that you've done? It's all a bit odd.

TraditionalDanimatio (as he is know on Deviant art) submitted his Ghostbusters series idea to IDW and while they did 'turn down' his idea, they liked the art he submitted with the idea enough to hire him for a Ghostbusters seasonal special comic. Magically, later that year the Ghostbusters ongoing series began with TD as the artist. I know a couple of other artists who also submitted sample pieces of their work and are now working at IDW.

I guess it comes down to the oddity which is the corporate machine. In short they tell you one thing and then expect another. It's probably just a way for them to cover their behinds.

[Hursticon]

Whilst the response from IDW is unfavourable, one has to admit though that it is good that they at least gave you a response at all and if one really wanted to speculatively extrapolate it from said response; It's Hasbro that doesn't want to do anything with Beast Wars at the moment, not IDW.

I too am bewildered as to how one manages to break into the comic scene, I've a good friend who is a truly exceptional comic artist and narrative scribe who has been trying to break into it for almost a decade; alas to no avail beyond 'We'll buy your concept and it's rights for x$', which is normally a minute fragment of the IP's potential value so unfortunately it just seems that unless you're in America it's almost a fruitless exercise.
(Hence why most popular Actors, Artists and Musicians leave Australia )

What Paulbot has quoted is honestly expected though, because if a company were to adopt said ideas without your involvement, re: financial compensation, you'd be quite within your right to sue them; I kind of expected this response as it sounds almost word for word like that of the policy the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has had for many years with regards to storyline and character idea proposals.

Mind you keep up the efforts man as there are a number here who surely appreciates what you're doing, at least 2 of us have made our interests known , once you've got it to a level/amount you're happy with - perhaps you could post your work on an International fansite that isn't as continuitively/cannonicly narrow focussed and see what others abroad think of it?
(Gotta rustle the feathe... - door locks a bit eh? )

[Verno]

Dynobot: was a disenfranchised young Predacon. He came into a world where he the failings of his ancestors were reminded to him daily and he was judged by their actions, rather than his own. This constant taunting, coupled with his impulsive and aggressive nature, saw him constantly involved in scuffles with young Maximals.

On one fateful day, he engaged a group of seven Maximals on his own, after he could take no more of their verbal abuses. He refused to take a backwards step in life, as it seemed to be his destiny to fight against the hand the universe had dealt him, and no matter the cost, he would fight against it to the end. He was a powerful combatant, and rendered several of the Maximals offline, but was then struck from behind and rendered offline himself.

He awoke in unfamiliar surrounds. He was greeted by a cloaked stranger, who commended him on his bravery and power, but made mention of his stupidity. Dynobot made to leave but his path was blocked by the stranger, who offered to help train him in combat. Dynobot refused help, made to attack the stranger but was easily overpowered. The stranger dispensed some wisdom about life, then opened the door, letting Dynobot chose his fate. Dynobot knew if he left nothing would change and the universe would continue to look down on him, so he stayed, and thus began his training.

And not just in combat - Cybertronian history, the War, ethics, judgement and philosophy. The stranger was obviously of great age and wisdom, and had fought extensively in the War, but Dynobot couldn’t figure out which side he was on. He asked the stranger who he was, but was never greeted with a straight answer.

As Dynobot’s skills grew, the stranger offered him a chance to test them. Deep in the old parts of the city, tournaments were held, secretly, in the ancient Cybertronian tradition of Gladiatorial Combat! Illegal, of course, but run tightly by the underworld kingpin Cryotek, though no connection could be traced to him.

Dynobot fought, and won. The stranger, however, was betting on the outcomes of the matches without Dynobot’s knowledge.

Dynobot’s training continued, still with no idea who his tutor was, and curiosity got the better of him again. He was given a cryptic answer - that the blade Dynobot was holding was crafted from the shards of a sword that stole a great friend from the stranger. He had sought vengeance, but was devoured by the blinding force of it. Only through mastery of his skills, and of himself, could he avenge his friend and defeat the greatest master of Metallikato Cybertron had ever seen.

Dynobot continued to fight but was soon delivered a crushing defeat. His favouring of the use of a blaster over a sword had cost him dearly. The underworld environment was the prefect place to find a solution. Arms dealing was of course illegal, as was the adaption of weaponry into a Transformers super-structure, but an old arms dealer, orange in colour, provided the stranger with some small, but necessary upgrades for Dynobot, at a ‘reasonable’ price. Dynobot was fitted with optical lasers, so as to free his hands whilst battling and carry both a sword and shield.

His victories continued, seemingly against the odds, as he was now fighting much more fancied opponents. After a bruising encounter, the stranger’s betting was revealed, as the manager of Dynobot’s defeated opponent refused to pay up on the bet. The stranger dragged the matter before Cryotek, who was judge over all transactions in his arena. He ruled in the strangers favour, and stated payment must be made within five solar cycles. The stranger left, but the low-life manager remained to make Cryotek a deal.

In exchange for twice the bet amount, and a stake in his fighter, he asked Cryotek to kill the stranger. Cryotek simply laughed, as he had no interest in his defeated fighter, but told him to make it four times the price and they had a deal, and if he didn’t like it, he was sure the Maximal Security Force would be interested in the low-life’s attempted solicitation of an assassination. The low-life had been royally screwed over. Instead of being in a small debt to the old warrior, he was now in a pile of debt to the Underworld king, who would do more to him than the stranger would have if he’d not paid. But the hit was now out on the stranger.

Cryotek had seen potential in Dynobot, and wished to bring him into his employment. Megatron had used the Gladiatorial events to recruit an army; Cryotek was in a similar business, but to a more capitalistic end. He needed jobs done on occasion that required certain talents, and Dynobot fit the bill. With the stranger out of the way, he could swoop in and take the impressionable young Predacon under his wing.

Cryotek knew the identity of the stranger, it was his business to know these things, and while he was above organising the murder of one who survived the Great War, he wasn’t above orchestrating his discrediting and bringing about his imprisonment.

The plan worked. The stranger was set upon by a group of thugs and he could do little else but defend himself using all means necessary. He took down all the assailants but stopped before killing them. However, several deaths were faked, and the stranger was charged with their murder. His residence was stormed by Maximal Security Forces, and much to Dynobot’s protests, he was told not to engage them. The stranger went peacefully taken away, saying he may have earned his imprisonment, not for this recent action, but for others in his past - a lifetime of offences.

Cryotek stepped in and played the role of the new mentor for the young Predacon. But Dynobot had come under the eye of another - an ambitious Predacon, called Megalith.

As a stolen Predacon ship blasted off from Cybertropolis after a successful theft of a heavily guarded Earth artefact, an enormous billboard on a skyscraper flashed a huge neon sign…

“Carnivac Escapes Custody…”

[RageOnTheRoads]

“Carnivac Escapes Custody…”

This plastered a big Smile across my face. As did this:

- that the blade Dynobot was holding was crafted from the shards of a sword that stole a great friend from the stranger. He had sought vengeance, but was devoured by the blinding force of it. Only through mastery of his skills, and of himself, could he avenge his friend and defeat the greatest master of Metallikato Cybertron had ever seen.

Once again a very nice backstory, well thought out and executed. I think it's your attention to detail that make it all the more appealing for the reader.

[Verno]

Had you figured it out by the end? I tried to leave a few little clues in there to point people in the right direction.

The Stranger, the lost friend, the master of Metallikato, the orange arms dealer... All G1, and all neccessary to try and give the story credibility and links to canon.

I've been looking at the BW Wolfang toy and trying to come up with some kind of Cybertronian/Beast form for the reformatted Carnivac, but so far I'm failing miserably.

[Verno]

Info 2:

Early Autobot research into TransWarp technology found that instead of the desired pinprick it was theorised that would only be needed to travel through time and space, the crude technology instead cut a gash in the fabric of space/time, leaving open a doorway to the extra-dimensional realm of the Allspark - the very essence of Primus, and of all Transformer life: past, present and future. Speculation suggested that over time the wound would heal, but during the time it was open, one could travel to this dimension. It was never tested; as no one knew what damaged could be rendered to this Well of Being.

Info 3:

The Autobots developed Proto-Matter technology alongside Scientists from Earth, before Earth was blown up by the Predacons and everyone was killed. The Predacons would later steal the specification of this technology and adapt it to their own ends. The technology was hardwired to be Maximal, the new breed of Autobot soldier. The Predacons didn’t have time to go through the programming line by line and remove all traces of Maximal code; instead they devised a program to override it. The Shell Program would dominate the underlying Maximal programming and bring forth a Predacon instead, with all the desirable Predacon tendencies. It would suppress the previous coding, and deliver a Predacon ready for battle.