Optimus Prime doing his thing

If you’ve read Blam! in the latest issue of Stranger (issue 16, out 20 August) you’ll know all about how Hollywood blew up the comic book, and you’ll most likely be wanting to read the full interview with Steve White, editor of the new Transformers comic. Check it out, below.

If you’ve not picked up a copy of the latest issue yet what are you waiting for? Click here to order online.

Stranger: When did you start working on the new Transformers comic, how did it come about?
Steve White: Titan picked up the license in 2005. We sat on it for a while, lurking like the Phantom of the Opera whilst we waited to see what was going to happen with the movie. Once it all got green-lit, we began work in deadly earnest at the end of 2006. Of course, at that point, we had made the decision to go with the movie continuity but had next to nothing to go on. It caused a few headaches to begin with as we obviously had no idea what was happening with the story and had no idea what they were going to do with the robots – how different they were going to be etc.

ST: Do you think that committed fans of the old comic will respond well to the film and new comic?
SW: Hmmm. I've heard about supposed death threats sent to Michael Bay, but that's obviously the psycho hose beast end of the fan spectrum. That said, I seem to remember that when the first images of the 'bots, especially Megatron, were released, the reaction on the fan sites was generally negative, if not downright angry. I can understand that to a certain degree (as a long-time Star Wars fan, I was with Simon Pegg when he said George Lucas raped my childhood after Phantom Menace), but to me it's all about evolution. Would the classic Transformers look like they did in 1984 had the technology we have now been available? I don't think so. But that means that the comic I'm doing now is pretty different to the one I worked on in 1986 and as such many of the legacy fans won't like it. However, you're never
gonna please all the people all the time, but so be it.

ST: So who is the target audience for the new comic?
SW: The legacy fans are a big part of the readership but not the main part - that'll be all the kids whose first point of contact with Transformers is the movie and who'll pick up the comic as a result. The interesting thing there will be the percentages - just how many older fans will pick it up.

ST: The film industry has exploded with comic book movies in the last four years, why do you think this is?
SW: I think it's just an extension of the 'collective consciousness' that seems
to consume cinema - you get two Wyatt Earp movies, two Robin Hood movies,
two Volcano movies, at more or less the same time - but just to a much
greater degree. Studios have figured there's gold in them thar hills and
start trawling around comic book properties to see what else make a
plausible (or entirely implausible) movie.

ST: The new comic is being published to coincide with the launch of Michael Bay’s film. Do you think that the two can work in synergy as the old Transformers comic and the original Transformers: The Movie did?
SW: Hmmm. I don't think so. That synergy came from the relative freedom Simon Furman had when he began spinning out the back story created in the animated movie.The new movie has borders that are much more fixed, however, that does mean we have to be a little innovative when developing the story line. We're also
aware that there's going to be at least one sequel to the new film so we can only go so far. All the legendary story lines in the Marvel UK comic were those that took an idea from the film and ran with it. We're unlikely to get that opportunity this time around. I think it's also worth noting the Marvel UK comic was already huge before the animated movie was released, and that just buoyed it up still further.

ST: Is Hollywood too dependent on comic books as source material to assure box office success, or is it a great thing that so many comics are being translated onto film?
SW: I don't think it's that dependent - how many comics-related movies are there a year? Three or four blockbusters? If that? They do seem to have become the sharp end of the wedge for the summer blockbuster season but I think most filmmakers and critics would meet that with complete indifference, if not contempt. You don't see Fantastic Four getting nominated for many Oscars. And there's just a handful of franchises - Batman, Superman, Fantastic Four (although it'll be interesting to see if they bother with another...). I think all the best comics movies like Sin City, 300, Road to Perdition, American Splendor and The Fountain are those that most people wouldn't even know WERE comics originally (well, technically graphic novels, but you know what I mean). I guess in the end, it depends on the quality of the
filmmaking. I loved all those movies and it was all about the story. I think that's why Batman Begins was so well received. It did a pretty good job of painting a realistic portrait of a plausible superhero. Chris Nolan stayed pretty faithful to source material, which in itself was brilliant comic writing.

ST: One final question, what do you personally think of Michael Bay’s translation of Transformers for the big screen? Are there any changes that he made that stood out
particularly?
SW: Personally, I think it could have done with more haste, less speed. I would also have included more dialogue between the Transformers themselves. They are after all sentient beings so it would have been nice to see them develop as personalities in themselves.