Hmm.

 

You know, I'm not really into comic books per se (though I do love a good graphic novel), so this isn't such a big deal for me. It is interesting though. Perhaps Dreamwave started to resent too much the fact that they only continued to exist because of the Transformers license. Perhaps they wanted to prove that they were more than just fodder for retcon-loving TF fanboys. But I think it's clear by now that they were mistaken.

 

Dreamwave's only real draw for me was the artwork, and that was mainly because between Sunbow and Marvel, we hadn't ever really seen G1 characters drawn well (with the exception of TF:TM). Of course there are fan artists on this board and others who draw at least as well as the DW guys, but as far as official TF artwork goes, it was a pretty barren wasteland. (I wonder how many TFans members owe their sigs to DW.)

 

Personally I never "got" comics anyway. Waiting a whole month for another five minutes of story is not my idea of a fun time. I love the medium, but I think its potential is often wasted. I certainly get that feeling when I read the Energon comics to my son. I thought back over the entire Energon story arc recently and realized that hardly anything of substance had really happened (for the record, introducing new characters doesn't count as a plot point). It just seemed aimless and rambling, and came across mainly as an attempt to squeeze in as many characters as possible.

 

Well, I'm sure someone will pick up the license for Transformers. Though my son will be disappointed; he had really been looking forward to Cybertron.

Yeah, the Energon comic story was pretty crappy. Megatron just got out of Unicron and it's about to change to Cybertron. WTF???

Don't forget about Optimus Prime. And Alpha Q. And Unicron. And the evil Autobot councilmember. And what happened to the whole "connection with the planet" thing? Bla bla bla. So many threads that were started and never went anywhere. Very sloppy writing. Though not completely out of character for Furman...

I just hope that Hasbro ALREADY owns ALL the copyrights to the comics. I think thats why there were certain hoops and stuff for DW to jump through when they began the whole comics thingy.

 

Hasbro doesnt want the same probs they had with Marvel/Marvel UK to resurface. For us fans that means yet ANOTHER continuity will be killed off.

Hmm.

 

You know, I'm not really into comic books per se (though I do love a good graphic novel), so this isn't such a big deal for me. It is interesting though. Perhaps Dreamwave started to resent too much the fact that they only continued to exist because of the Transformers license. Perhaps they wanted to prove that they were more than just fodder for retcon-loving TF fanboys. But I think it's clear by now that they were mistaken.

 

Dreamwave's only real draw for me was the artwork, and that was mainly because between Sunbow and Marvel, we hadn't ever really seen G1 characters drawn well (with the exception of TF:TM). Of course there are fan artists on this board and others who draw at least as well as the DW guys, but as far as official TF artwork goes, it was a pretty barren wasteland. (I wonder how many TFans members owe their sigs to DW.)

 

Personally I never "got" comics anyway. Waiting a whole month for another five minutes of story is not my idea of a fun time. I love the medium, but I think its potential is often wasted. I certainly get that feeling when I read the Energon comics to my son. I thought back over the entire Energon story arc recently and realized that hardly anything of substance had really happened (for the record, introducing new characters doesn't count as a plot point). It just seemed aimless and rambling, and came across mainly as an attempt to squeeze in as many characters as possible.

 

Well, I'm sure someone will pick up the license for Transformers. Though my son will be disappointed; he had really been looking forward to Cybertron.

Yeah, the Energon comic story was pretty crappy. Megatron just got out of Unicron and it's about to change to Cybertron. WTF???

Don't forget about Optimus Prime. And Alpha Q. And Unicron. And the evil Autobot councilmember. And what happened to the whole "connection with the planet" thing? Bla bla bla. So many threads that were started and never went anywhere. Very sloppy writing. Though not completely out of character for Furman...

No love for Furman? :tflaugh I believe he thinks he is as good as other people think he is.

 

Yeah, it was very sloppy. The G1 stuff I like though.

CBR knows, diversity is critical to surviving in the comics book industry. I disagree with the notion that DV should have focused on TFs more. I think that's what's hurt them the most. When the sales on the TF comics fell they had nothing else to rely on. As much as we all think TFs are the only thing in the world, the rest of the world does not even know about us.

 

BESIDES - We've seen this again and again with 88mph, 3H, and others thinking there is a huge fan base ready to mobilize and buy buy buy. The problem I see most is these licensees at once become over-whelmed by the response and beholden to die-hard fans. If they can't meet demand or the quality is not there they loose the respect of the fans fast. If it persists, it can turn against them - fans litterally trashing these guys for not being better than perfect. Not that I am saying none of the licensees didn't screw up. They all did. Everyone does. Some a lot more than others. Still, at least they tried and failed. Without them we'd get nothing.

 

At the end of the day, I think it is US. We the overzelous fan base, that are partially to blame. We clammour for more and better all the time, yet we are never satisfied. Its what makes being a TF fan good and bad I guess. With so much rich stuff to choose from, we become spoiled and unhappy with everything really fast.

 

I for one would prefer DW to continue over anyone else I can think of. They have pushed the level of quality way high - against all the odds - probably at the sacrifice of their future. They were not experts on TFs at first but they got it going. I dont see anyone else coming along and taking this over and even coming close to what DW has done and can still do. They get it. They know bots as characters. Anyone else will just make characters into bots. That never works - its the sentient aspect of Transformers that makes them something else.

 

Mark my words, if someone else does take the comics over, we'll all be wishing DW was back in the drivers seat.

DW had a LOT of good stuff before they aquired all the licences...I was a big big fan of Dark Minds, Neon Cyber, Last Shot, Warlands, and Echo. These were the comics that MADE DW. I think they just lost thier focus...with Megaman, Duelest and such...they forgot how to CREATE...

I disagree with the notion that they should have focused on TFs more. I think that's what's hurt them the most. When the sales on the TF comics fell they had nothing else to rely on. As much as we all think TFs are the only thing in the world, the rest of the world does not even know about us. CBR knows, diversity is critical to surviving in the comics book industry.

 

BESIDES - We've seen this again and again with 88mph, 3H, and others thinking there is a huge fan base ready to mobilize and buy buy buy. The problem I see most is these licensees at once become over-whelmed by the response and beholden to die-hard fans. If they can't meet demand or the quality is not there they loose the respect of the fans fast. If it persists, it can turn against them - fans litterally  trashing these guys for not being better than perfect. Not that I am saying none of the licensees didn't screw up. They all did. Everyone does. Some a lot more than others. Still, at least they tried and failed. Without them we'd get nothing.

 

At the end of the day, I think it is US. We the overzelous fan base, that are partially to blame. We clammour for more and better all the time, yet we are never satisfied. Its what makes being a TF fan good and bad I guess. With so much rich stuff to choose from, we become spoiled and unhappy with everything really fast.

 

I for one would prefer DW to continue over anyone else I can think of. They have pushed the level of quality way high - against all the odds - probably at the sacrifice of their future. They were not experts on TFs at first but they got it going. I dont see anyone else coming along and taking this over and even coming close to what DW has done and can still do. They get it. They know bots as characters. Anyone else will just make characters into bots. That never works - its the sentient aspect of Transformers that makes them something else.

 

Mark my words, if someone else does take the comics over, we'll all be wishing DW was back in the drivers seat.

I think you're wrong about the fan base dude. I think Dreamwave put their eggs in too many baskets. They had too many things going at once and they couldn't keep up. Why else do you think they couldn't even produce the G1 comic(their cash cow) anywhere close to being on time? Look, I know it sucks, but the fans are by no means to blame. Pat Lee used to do the artwork on the G1 series. He stopped. Why? He was busy doing the artwork for the other comics they were producing. I'm telling you Transformers was/is one of the hottest selling comics at all the comic stores that I have gone to. I talk to the owners all the time. And they all have at least one thing in common. They "sell the hell out of Transformers." They should have never got behind with the G1 ongoing series. That was their cash cow. When the focus went off of the money maker, that's when things started to come apart. I'll bet that's exactly what happened.

 

Also, if the writers from Dreamwave still work on the comics, it won't miss a beat.

At the end of the day, I think it is US. We the overzelous fan base, that are partially to blame. We clammour for more and better all the time, yet we are never satisfied. Its what makes being a TF fan good and bad I guess. With so much rich stuff to choose from, we become spoiled and unhappy with everything really fast.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't recall being particularly overzealous about the quality & quantity of Transformers merchandise. I grew up with G1 and I think it's great that there's so much G1 stuff around now for the old fans. G1 died a long time ago and by rights, we shouldn't have anything to buy now but mega-expensive MISB stuff off of eBay. I love the fact that all of the TF series are coming out on DVD. And with stuff like the Alternators line, 20th Anny Prime, and the mere fact that they're still making TFs, I'm as happy as a pig in poo.

 

Now I can be as critical as anyone else, but critiquing a particular figure or comic or line doesn't mean that I don't want it to exist. I think feedback from the fans is vital to keeping a company creative. It's up to the company to ultimately make the creative & business decisions, and I think it's a bit facile to blame the fandom when things don't work out. We all know what fans are like. DW knows it as well. It's a given. The trick is to work with it and not react to it.

 

Anyway, it sounds like DW simply overextended themselves and tried to push something that just wasn't working. Looks like they had a few sacred cows that they were unwilling to slaughter. And that'll bite you in the ass every time.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't recall being particularly overzealous about the quality & quantity of Transformers merchandise. I grew up with G1 and I think it's great that there's so much G1 stuff around now for the old fans. G1 died a long time ago and by rights, we shouldn't have anything to buy now but mega-expensive MISB stuff off of eBay. I love the fact that all of the TF series are coming out on DVD. And with stuff like the Alternators line, 20th Anny Prime, and the mere fact that they're still making TFs, I'm as happy as a pig in poo.

Oh sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like we're all out to dismember the people who make toys and TF related stuff. The vast majority are in TF nirvana right now.

 

I am just saying, we are quite verbal as a community. If anything, these licensees can't tell where the real pulse is with people blowing what often looks like flames. Moreover, I have to wonder if there is a perception that we are a larger group than we really are becuase of the amount of feedback they get. My point is where does a company draw the line in trying to appease such a vocal crowd and make sound business choices?

 

Amen, support and the fact that we are being heard as a fan base is vital to keeping an interest in it alive.

I think you're wrong about the fan base dude.  I think Dreamwave put their eggs in too many baskets.  They had too many things going at once and they couldn't keep up.  Why else do you think they couldn't even produce the G1 comic(their cash cow) anywhere close to being on time?  Look, I know it sucks, but the fans are by no means to blame. Pat Lee used to do the artwork on the G1 series.  He stopped.  Why?  He was busy doing the artwork for the other comics they were producing.  I'm telling you Transformers was/is one of the hottest selling comics at all the comic stores that I have gone to.  I talk to the owners all the time.  And they all have at least one thing in common.  They "sell the hell out of Transformers."  They should have never got behind with the G1 ongoing series.  That was their cash cow.  When the focus went off of the money maker, that's when things started to come apart.  I'll bet that's exactly what happened.

 

Also, if the writers from Dreamwave still work on the comics, it won't miss a beat.

 

I honestly dont know what happened... You could be right Diesel. If so, then it was simply a matter of spending more money than was made. In which case no quantity of titles would have mattered.

 

I can only assume they thought things would keep booming forever and when it didn't there was no resources left to pull them out of a hard nose dive. Unforntunately that happens more often than not. Just ask anyone who worked at a dotcom. =/