Why no big names on Transformers?

[grahamthomson]

This post may be a little on the controversial side, but I thought it could provoke some interesting discussion.

Currently, Transformers comics aren't what one might call "big sellers". They sell well, don't get me wrong, but I think gone are the days when Transformers comics were regular top ten sellers. And that's even with last year's feature film bumping up the brand recognition to unheard of heights.

Like any entertainment "industry", the comics world has its share of "big names", sought-after and highly revered writers and artists and so on. But Transformers has never really had anything of that kind of talent attached.

IDW's Transformers, on the whole, have fans-turned-pro on art and Simon Furman on scripts. Now, this is no insult at all (AT ALL!) to any of the hard working talent that churns out these (mostly) entertaining comics month after month. And I sincerely hope that the likes of Roche, Guido, and Su get to move to bigger and better things.

But I am simply curious as to IDW's practises. I am sure it's cheaper to hire these newbies (experience = $$$) and hacks (kidding!) as creative talent on the comics, but do they ever even approach more, shall we say, established writers and artists?

Or does the "establishment" simply look down on Transformers and prefer not to touch it with an appropriate-length pole?

One particular example, which sticks out to me personally, is the series of Movie comics. Transformers (2007) was one of the most-seen films (both at the pictures and on DVD) of last year. It had a huge profile. Absolutely huge.

It would have been an ideal opportunity to get some "big names" on the books. And, again, not meaning to cast aspersions on the creative teams, but why did IDW go for the writers/artists they picked?

My personal opinions on the writers/artists aside, why assign art/colour teams on the Movie Adaptations/"Sequels" that didn't seem to have a grasp of the look/feel the film makers were going for. Could even the concept artists who worked on the film itself be a consideration for the comics?

Perhaps with more experienced and better known creators, the comics could have achieved better-selling success?

What are everyone's thoughts on the matter?

[Nigel]

Where big name British talent is concerned, many of these would have started off at Marvel UK (not necessarily on Transformers) before "going on to bigger and better things". I could well imagine for some of these, they may think that working on Transformers would be a step backwards.

Without presuming to speak for them, would the likes of, say, Grant Morrison or Bryan Hitch want to work on Transformers now?

[charlesrocketboy]

And many name creators, quite simply, have a lot of other comics to choose from.

IDW got Chuck Dixon though. Oddly they've still got him for GI Joe, but not Transformers - surely he'd work better as a writer for a jump-on mini?

[primenova]

You mean just like Chris C, Joe Mad, doing inside work not just like covers. We don't want Grant Morrison or Bendy Brian [Ult SM] doing any work. If Hitch come on we hope that Paul doesn't ink.

[andrewbcalculating]

Maybe its down to Transformers being more of a franchise and less of a comic. Superman and X-Men for example were characters that were created for comics and later made the transition to toys and TV shows. Transformers went the other way and so maybe there is a bit of snobbery amongst the big names as they like to work on a title that was primarily a comic creation first as opposed to a toy licence like what Transformers is.

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[The Doctor]

Back when I used to frequent the IDW boards a lot, I recall Ryall banging on many times in the early days of having a licence that a fair few feelers were put out to 'name' comic creators (in particular with the now stalled Evolutions sub-line) but that there was a lack of interest as many creators just weren't of a certain age to have any nostalgia, etc for Transformers (being too old/young when it was big in the 80's) and so it was seen as just another toy franchise and there was little interst in working in it.

Also, the current practice with the big 2 publishers in the direct market (Marvel and DC) is to tie creators into exclusive deals to work solely for them. Sometimes outside work is negotiated as part of the deal, but this tends to be creative owned work from which the owners are likely to make more cash/have more creative control. Toy tie-in comics are seen as somewhat of a lower priority.

Also bear in mind that the nature of licensed comic books has changed since the 80's. They need a longer lead-time for approvals from the licence holder and need to pass through a fair few eyes before they see publication. This does not often suit schedules of 'big name' comic creators. The likes of Alex Milne probably keep getting a lot of TF movie tie-in work due to dependability re: timescales and meeting the licencees needs.

Smaller publishers such as IDW also more than likely pay a lower page-rate than the likes of Marvel and DC. Such smaller publishers also have a greater need to have their comics come out on a timely schedule: retailers are less patient with them than with the likes of Marvel/DC as they will shift less units of books from them. Also, the Direct Market is littered with the corpses of small publishers: Marvel and DC are a known quantity. Unfortunately, many 'big name' creators in the Direct Market have problems putting comics out on regular schedules. If, say, Bryan Hitch wanted to do a TF comic tomorrow, IDW would have to decide if it would be worth their while financially: they could sell more units per issues but less issues in a year due to lateness.

Additionally, TF comic sales have hit their level in the direct market, seemingly irregardless of who is on it (AHM's sales are not hugely above Furman written comics, for example). It may be that IDW already have a pool of reliable creative talent to put on the books. Why waste time/effort looking elsewhere? Ironically, as retailers know roughly how many units of TF comics they can shift, they are unlikely to adjust orders up significantly higher for new minis, etc unless 'big names' are attached. That's why AHM (irregardless of quality/personal opinions about it) was never going to have retailer orders of, say, 50k for #1 when TF comics now rarely shift above 15K (with a few more for movie tie-ins).

Take all this into account and the odds of 'big name' writers/artists touching Transformers are low at this time. What is more likely is if a creative talent working on the property goes on to become a bigger name later.

-Ralph

[Deleted]

IDW seem to be more keen on throwing their money at licences than big name writers and artists. They may have got Bob Budiansky to write the 1986 movie adaptation and Simon Furman is a veteran comic book writer but thats about it as far as IDW are concerned. Transformers is an acquired taste in that not everybody likes to read a comic where big robots point guns at each other every issue. As such IDW are more relying on the brand name than the writer or artist to shift units.

[legios]

Sept 30, 2008 19:29:35 GMT @zudobug said:

Simon Furman is a veteran comic book writer but thats about it as far as IDW are concerned.

Simon Furman isn't really a "name" writer in that sense though. He is one of those jobbing blokes who writes a lot of comics, but he doesn't have the bloggeratsi hanging on his every word at appearances at Comi-con or whatever.

I don't think it is controversial to say that "Transformers" is never really going to see a writer or an artist come to it who already has a major following in modern comics. It is a relatively low-profile franchise (witness that Shia LebBouf is "Shia LeBouf from Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull"", rather than "from "Transformers"" or "from "Disturbia"") and is after all a book licensed from a childrens toy-line. In modern American comics this isn't something that you go after once you have built up a bit of a rep - it is something that you would try to use as a stepping stone to more "significant" comics. A writer or artist with a reputation is going to want to be doing Spiderman, Batman, Justice League or creator owned stuff. (I can't see Grant Morrison going back to do a "Zoids" revival for example, no matter how kindly he speaks of his time on the title).

"Transformers" is one of those second or third tier books that is going to end up with the folk who a) haven't managed to get a better gig, b) see it as paying work and are happy to take it on that basis or c) fans of the property who get a particular kick working on it.

"Transformers" has been fortunate in that those that IDW have recruited from these groups have been for the most part competent. Other similar titles haven't been so lucky ("Voltron" and "Robotech" spring to mind as examples of titles that mostly drew from category C and didn't manage to put together creative teams with the ability to hold an audience).

I'd agree that the film had a huge profile, for a while, but like most "event" movies it faded out of the public conciousness fairly swiftly I suspect. Given the lead time on comics I think you would have been fairly hard-pressed to convince folk that it was going to be that big in advance, and when it was around a lot of folk would probably have felt it would be a "here today, gone tomorrow" kind of thing.

I'm not sure whether concept artists would have been a good choice to work on the movie adaptation. Sequential Art is a very different discipline to concept design, so there would be no guarantee that they would have the skills to do that well.

There's also the fact that IDW's pockets aren't that deep - they are already paying out significant licensing fees on their licensed titles, so they need to keep an eye on their other expenses to make sure that the comics are breaking even (turning a profit would be nice as well of course). Higher Profile creators can twist folks arm for higher payments, and that may not be economically viable for IDW. Especially as it does appear that "Transformers" comics are approaching the "creator proof" status - all the folk who are likely to read them already are doing so pretty regularly. They seem to have stabilised at a given sales level, and that may not be enough to justify the gamble of seeing if someone better know, and more expensive, can raise those numbers.

Karl