"All Hail Megatron" teasers: art, interviews, etc.

[inflatable dalek]

Right. We'll hold you to that. When the series has finished, I'll go through and do a direct blow-by-blow comparison between the two.

I mean that, incidentally.

But what if he's right?

[Sociopathic Autobot]

But what if he's right?

Then we find a new reason to discredit him?

[Halfshell]

But what if he's right?

Then it'll be a first.

[rattrap23]

Ouch, my pride.

[Denyer]

http://ryalltime.blogspot.com/2008/03/hail-hail.html

New cover --



Really liking this style.

[Denyer]

Press release:

IDW Publishing Unleashes the DECEPTICONS on Earth!

Maxi-Series ALL HAIL MEGATRON Depicts a World Without AUTOBOTS

San Diego, CA (March 19, 2008) - It’s often said that the true measure of a hero is based on the quality of the villain—and TRANSFORMERS has some of the greatest villains in pop culture. But the heroic AUTOBOTS have kept the evil DECEPTICONS in check—until now.

Starting in July, IDW Publishing will unveil a turning point in the TRANSFORMERS saga. TRANSFORMERS: ALL HAIL MEGATRON, under license from HPG, the licensing division of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS). Set one year after the events of TRANSFORMERS: Devastation, TRANSFORMERS: ALL HAIL MEGATRON launches a new storyline that shows what happens when great heroes aren’t around to defend against their powerful villains. The DECEPTICONS, led by the ruthless MEGATRON, have somehow succeeded in dispatching the AUTOBOTS and their leader, OPTIMUS PRIME, leaving Earth ripe for the plucking.

The 12-part maxi-series takes TRANSFORMERS in an epic new direction courtesy of writer Shane McCarthy (Detective Comics, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight) and fan-favorite artist Guido Guidi (TRANSFORMERS Spotlight: Galvatron, TRANSFORMERS Beast Wars: The Ascending). Together, they tell the tale of an Earth decimated by the DECEPTICONS. Where are the AUTOBOTS, and how did they come to be exiled from Earth? Who has changed sides, who will live, and who will die? These questions, as well as the introduction of an all-new Transformers character, will be answered in the pages of the series.

“This thing is going to knock the fans’ socks off,” McCarthy says. “This is exactly the kind of story I’ve always wanted to see done, and I think the fans will be right there with me.”

IDW’s Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall added, “ALL HAIL MEGATRON is what the AUTOBOTS fought so hard to prevent, the ultimate culmination of MEGATRON’s plans. It’s destruction on a grand scale; it’s a story of sacrifice, lost heroism, betrayal, and hopefully at the end, renewal.

“But this series, more than any other we’ve done, shows that hopes don’t amount to much in the face of unrelenting evil. Shane’s story hearkens back to the greatest stories in TRANSFORMERS history, while still feeling vibrant and excitingly new. And the best part is the accessibility of the tale makes this a perfect jumping-on spot for new fans of good comics, along with long-time followers of TRANSFORMERS.”

TRANSFORMERS: ALL HAIL MEGATRON #1 is being solicited for July ’08 release. It will feature a victorious MEGATRON cover by Klaus Scherwinski, as well as a distinctive variant cover by Trevor Hutchison.

[Denyer]

Nice meaty second phase "One Year Later" style approach.

[LKW]

Hm.... I like the sound of "maxi-series"; not so sure I like that Furman's not writing it. I hope he at least has some sort of supervisory capacity, to ensure it's properly in-line with this continuity....

[zigzagger]

Mmm-hmm. That is a gorgeous cover. If all the variant covers look like this, I may have to be picky about which ones I will purchase. They're almost frame-able.

So, a 12 part maxi series, eh? Does this mean twelve issues, or a couple of chapters within a book (like G2, some of the UK stuff)? Either way, despite its length, this distinctively feels like an ongoing of sorts. Just what we always wanted. Guess you could say the same about the "-tions" , but this will allow more room for exposition.

[Terome]

Guido? One year later? This sounds a lot more interesting than a bunch of Dead Universe malarky.

I mean, seriously, that Dead Universe plot was going nowhere.

[Denyer]

Does this mean twelve issues

That seems to be the convention for the term with comics; basically "limited series longer than a mini."

I mean, seriously, that Dead Universe plot was going nowhere.

I reckon it's got some potential, but hopefully the focus for the main universe as a whole will be on characters and the war rather than going too far into alt-universe or alt-timeline approaches. Furman may be going for a pastiche on some existing TF conventions with the Nemesis Prime setup.

Wild speculation/theory: in AHM the Autobots haven't actually been defeated. Megatron is using fake footage to ensure that Earth hands over its resources with a minimum of fuss. And there's probably a bit Decepticon civil war in there, too.

[Terome]

I reckon it's got some potential,

Oh, certainly. I just think that it's way too early to be introducing any kind of giant threat. We don't even know who the hey Optimus Prime is yet. I'd like to see Nemesis and Jhiaxus survive to fight another day, since they have a nice visual element to them and probably a lot of story milage.

Incidentally, is anyone else a bit annoyed about the message of Science = Horrible Things that seems to be running through this continuity? I know that Jhiaxus is behind most of it, but didn't he discover anything worthwhile with all that tinkering about?

[Denyer]

is anyone else a bit annoyed about the message of Science = Horrible Things that seems to be running through this continuity?

It makes sense in the context it's given... if there were easy advancements to be made in TF tech, there'd be a much more intensive arms race and both sides would probably be far closer towards mutually-assured destruction. Or have reached that state already in the current timeline, rather than the more "cold war" situation of raids and infiltrations.

More power has to come with drawbacks to explain why it hasn't already taken over, besides just being new. It does seem likely the Autobots will refine some of the freshly-discovered tech into more positive and sustainable forms, or they'll be overrun. And there seems a good chance we'll see more of Jhiaxus' endeavours (maybe more successful ones) in the Revelations saga.

Hopefully more details will emerge in the Focus On issue due soon.

[zigzagger]

That seems to be the convention for the term with comics; basically "limited series longer than a mini."

Hush. I'm entitled to have a moment of stupidity once in a while.

Oh, certainly. I just think that it's way too early to be introducing any kind of giant threat. We don't even know who the hey Optimus Prime is yet. I'd like to see Nemesis and Jhiaxus survive to fight another day, since they have a nice visual element to them and probably a lot of story milage.

I'd like to think so, assuming the title "Expansion", whether it is ever written or simply tossed out in the last minute, has any bearing with all the esoteric babble going on between the residents of the Dead Universe. Of course, it is just a title, but one can't help but see a correlation. I agree that The Dead Universe material should be prolonged just a teeny bit longer, though the occasional revelations leading up to it are very much welcome to me. Given a bit more time to stew in its creative juices, not to mention room, just may allow it to show some of that plotline's potential. I'd hate to see it rushed myself, though something tells me that Revelations will focus on various other plot strands, which just happen to be interconnected to DU stuff. Could simply be a prelude.

[inflatable dalek]

"One year latter" does sound a bit of a cheat, but the set up sounds interesting, as this stuff about exile and no Autobots on Earth doesn't match up with the way [i}Devatsation[/i] ended so it'll be interesting to see how we get there (assuming it's not bollocks PR stuff that is).

[Neuronutter]

Well, a 12 issue comic set a year after Devastation- That's not what I was expecting! I think bringing in a new writer is a great idea, though it'll take some doing to match Furman's current run, and 12 issues offers a lot more scope than the last few minis. I hope they stick to 12 issues and don't cut it short.

I think this idea has a lot of potential if they play it as the humans trying to deal with the Deceps; man versus very tough machine, something like the Terminator comics with a lot of human casualties and some brutality.

What exactly does "the Autobots have been dispatched mean?" I'd assumed it was set on Earth after the Bots had left to deal with other things, not that the Deceps had managed to kill most of the 'Bots including Prime. This is main continuity right, not an elseworlds thing? Denyer may be right with his fake footage theory. Or it could be something else entirely. I'm glad they're finally giving us some info about this.

[Rossum]

What exactly does "the Autobots have been dispatched mean?" I'd assumed it was set on Earth after the Bots had left to deal with other things, not that the Deceps had managed to kill most of the 'Bots including Prime. This is main continuity right, not an elseworlds thing? Denyer may be right with his fake footage theory. Or it could be something else entirely. I'm glad they're finally giving us some info about this.

I was kind of thinking that the "dispatched" and "exiled" language was more for the sake of the press release--just ways of telling readers who haven't been following Devestation that this is an Autobot-free Earth. They aren't all dead, they're just...not there.

Plus, they left Earth right as things became public, so even without fake footage, Megatron can pretty much say whatever he wants without contradiction. It'll be interesting to see if the Decepticons present themselves as heroes to Earth, or immediately start with the conquering.

[Denyer]

The former would be nice to see... though having the leader of an alien race "come in peace" and turn into a handgun is a touch incongruous.

Do we reckon Earth could mount a serious defence against the Decepticons if it came down to it? I'm thinking not, with the element of teleportation tech being present a big factor.

[Rossum]

I think it could be a little of both, as in "We come in peace, but we're also vastly superior to you". If all the facsimililes that are in place chime in with support, it could divide humanity's opinion and keep people from mounting a strong defense. If the Decepticons are not obviously taking over, a lot of people might not want to risk provoking them with an attack.

Various nations could still mount Independence Day-style military attacks, but the Decepticons seem like pros in taking over planets. I don't think the humans would be able to do much damage before Megatron stamped out any organized resistance. Plus, enough displays of major destruction might eventually cow people into going along with a takeover.

[Hennessy]

Here's a preview page taken from Denton Tipton's blog .

http://fromthetip.blogspot.com/