Feb 14

Are You Ready for Toy Fair 2014?

1392401212_windbladeIt’s that time of year again – no, not Valentine’s Day, it’s Toy Fair! This weekend is going to be a non-stop deluge of new toy news, so to make sure you’re on top of it here are a few of the best people to follow and places to check:

Twitter feeds:

Web sites:

  • ASM always has massive galleries of every company present at the show
  • TF Radio Network will be discussing it via live stream on their site!
  • Seibertron.com has already started their coverage
  • TFW2005 has a Toy Fair tag

If you know of other sources, mention them in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

Feb 10

One Foot In The Dead Universe: IU Talks to John Barber and James Roberts

Now that Dark Cybertron is well and underway, we here at Iacon Underground were fortunate enough to get to ask IDW writers John Barber and James Roberts some questions about the series so far and both Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets The Eye going forward!

IU: Thank you both so much for taking the time to talk to us! Now that we’re halfway into the event, what’s your favorite part of DARK CYBERTRON so far? What upcoming part of the series are you looking forward to finally seeing the light of day?

John: Well, we’re a little past halfway, but that’s my fault for not writing this quicker… it’s funny, because of the way this comic came together, that so much of it kinda crushes together in my head… it’s hard to remember what’s out, what’s done but not out, and what’s still in progress… Early on, I think the combination of Phil Jimenez and Andrew Griffith in issue 1 was really exciting to see. I’ve known Phil a little bit for a while, but never actually worked with him or even spent any real time talking to him before we started this comic—and it turned out we grew up really close by each other. And Andrew, I love working with. That first issue coming together was really cool.

As far as looking ahead—I think the last act of the story, the last third is really strong. Issue 9 is really crazy action, and I think James and I found a good rhythm to the writing there. And issue 10 is a lot of fun, there’s sort of a breath to take, before the end comes.

Continue reading

Feb 07

Jagex Updates With Transformers Universe Trailer

So what do you think? Are you excited to play it as a MOBA? Do you like seeing the Prime aesthetic alive and kicking, or does it feel over now? Are you, like me, still mourning the loss of character creation?

Feb 05

Jagex Provides Transformers Universe Update, Still Not MMORPG

An email went out today to those signed up for beta access to Transformers Universe, the MMO first unveiled as an RPG with character creation at BotCon 2011 but later changed to a MOBA. After the initial limited beta, there was very little said about the game for months. According to Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard:

2013 was a critical year in the evolution of Transformers Universe. It was essential that we just knuckled down and got on with the core gameplay, and that unfortunately meant there was not much news to share for anyone outside of Jagex.

The new projected release timeframe is Summer 2014, with widening beta access between now and then. What will the current version of the game be like?

Autobots versus Decepticons, you’ll team up to play with and against other Commanders around the world in tactical and strategic online battles, competing for supremacy in the global faction war. Legendary Transformers characters will make special appearances – but more on that another time!

Your squad of Bots are a faction-specific collection with their own play styles, weaponry, augment options and specialties. There are countless fighting strategies when battling them and we really believe they will crystallise, embody and capture both what Transformers is all about and your imaginations.

More information can be found over on the official site.

Feb 03

Marvel Retrospective II: “Power Play!”, “Prisoner of War!”, and “The Last Stand”

This is the second in a series of articles re-visiting Marvel’s version of Transformers, covering the 80 issues released in America and the 4-issue miniseries “The Headmasters.” Images are scanned from my personal copies of each comic.

...close enough.

…close enough.

Over the course of the rest of the original 4-issue miniseries, plot points similar to the cartoon’s “More Than Meets the Eye” are carried out: The Autobots establish a human-Cybertronian relationship with Earth in general and the Witwickies in particular; the Decepticons try to get energy; Starscream plots against Megatron; there are a few big battles; the general status quo is set.

But a couple things differ strongly throughout the arc.

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Jan 24

Marvel Retrospective I: “The Transformers”

This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of articles re-visiting Marvel’s version of Transformers, covering the 80 issues released in America and the 4-issue miniseries “The Headmasters.” Images are scanned from my personal copies of each comic.

Here we go again for the first time...

Here we go again for the first time…

It was a world transformed.

In 1984, Marvel comics began a series of comics that would be the very first representation of Transformers in fiction, edited – and soon written – by Bob Budiansky, the same man who named most of the early characters and wrote the bios printed on the toy packaging.

Though I feel the animated cartoon that soon followed became, for most folks, the definitive version of the G1 story, the comic rumbled along far longer than the ‘toon lasted and morphed into its own totally unique version of the mythos.

I was a kid in the early 1990s, when Transformers was in decline, and my first introduction to the property was by way of an old Marvel comic I found at my local library. I spent much of my childhood scavenging yard sales, book stores, and flea markets for signs that Transformers once existed, and it oftentimes paid off in the odd issue of the Marvel comic, usually far distant in the chronology from any other that I owned. So I pieced this story together in my mind and it became just as cherished as the cartoon that I also adored.

Continue reading

Jan 17

More Than Meets Some Haikus!

[Ed. Note: I come from a fanzine background, so I love highlighting not just news but creative work as well. So have some haikus from our contributor Windchaser!]

Cyclonus the grump.
Can’t deal with emotions.
Tears face in grief.

Robot Tailgate
So old, yet so very young.
New horn seals friendship

With amnesia
Skids has forgotten so much
But not Getaway

Oh, Chromedome
So unlucky in love.
Remember Rewind.

Leader Rodimus
Not quite a Prime yet
Rod Pod too silly.

See Ultra Magnus
The big voice for reason
Small robot inside

Jan 16

IDW “After The Dark…” Teaser Images Reveal HUGE Twist

AfterTheDarkOptimus AfterTheDarkWindbladeAfterTheDarkMegatron

 

Over on their Tumblr, IDW’s been tossing out teaser images for what comes after Dark Cybertron with the “After The Dark…” tagline. The first one, with Optimus Prime (or possibly still Orion Pax?) over a planet that looks suspiciously like Earth, was a bit of a surprise after IDW swore off Earth-based stories a couple years back. The second, with Windblade and Cybertron, surprised no one (but was nice to see!).

It’s the third one that’s the real shocker, not so much for the character it features – Megatron – but for the details. Yep, that’s an Autobot symbol on Megatron’s chest, and his associated setting? The Lost Light.

Things just got a whole lot more interesting.

 

Jan 15

Wiki Wednesday: Foo

Pity him.

Seriously, though, he was in Headmasters, so he probably deserves your pity.

Jan 01

Wiki Wednesday: Maccadam’s Old Oil House

It’s New Year’s Day, and for many people that means it’s time to face the day with a blinding hangover. In honor of the season, let’s take a look at Cybertron’s favorite place to get plastered:

Situated over at sub-level six on Cybertron‘s lower-east quadrant, or just east of the High Council Pavilions in Iacon, is one of Cybertron‘s most renowned enterprises:Maccadam’s Old Oil House—the biggest single source of black market fuel on the entire planet. Its main attraction, beyond the excellent service, exceptionally pure oil and general selection of fuel, is that the proprietors make no distinction between Autobots, Neutralists and Decepticons. If you can pay, you can stay.