What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

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Starsaberdub
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What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Starsaberdub »

What are the odds in all likelihood?
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Denyer »

Close to absolute zero if you're relying on someone paying Furman to do it.

You could argue that outlier UK annual story Another Time And Place and/or other bits and pieces slot in with Earthforce, if you wanted, so in that sense there's already been sequel material.

Or, and it'd be very difficult to follow these days with old sites having gone offline, but the TransMasters UK fan group continuation of Marvel UK continuity was officially promoted in the UK G2 comic when it was cancelled at issue #5. There were years of drawn comics and text stories produced, including Eugenesis by James Roberts of later IDW contract work fame.

Aspects of Evil... also fits in with TMUK, IIRC, but it's kind of a limited story idea. It essentially concludes that Unicron will inevitably corrupt Primus's creations and win. It's as narratively satisfying as fantasy fiction involving intelligent undead and other immortal characters who can just go to ground and wait until all of the heroes are dead/gone.

Also see reference endnotes on https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Earthforce and this bit on the talk page... I'm not saying I agree with everything, but you can stitch it together so that any additional stories would fit around segments of Aspects of Evil and lead into Peace;
Ryangut wrote:The marvel comics are confusing because of multiple timelines and missing stories. The timelines in the comics are actually very simple to understand. Here is an explanation.

There are 4 timelines splitting off each other:
The Original timeline,
The Rhythms of Darkness timeline,
The Main timeline,
The Earthforce timeline,
Everything is the same up to ‘In The National Interest’
Then in the Original timeline you have the precognition of the special teams. then:
1990 - Aspects of Evil: Megatron,
1991 - Aspects of Evil: Scorponok,
1992 - Destiny of the Dinobots,
2003 - Ark Duty,
2004 - Aspects of Evil: Shockwave,
2006 - MOVIE ADAPTATION.
Then Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge travel back in time to 1986 and inadvertently create the Main timeline.
Events in both timelines then move towards Time Wars. The space-time rift repairs itself by creating The ‘Rhythms of Darkness’ timeline. In this new dark future Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge never time-jumped. The rift erases the original future but the main timeline is saved because Shockwave blasts Cyclonus’s body in to the rift just in time. Later Galvatron II ends up in the Main timeline. Then due to publishing problems the Earthforce timeline splits from the main timeline just after ‘The Price of Life’ US#70.
The Earthforce stories are then followed by:
Prime Bomb,
Dreadwing Down,
Magnificent Six,
1995 - Prime's Rib.
Rodimus Prime returns from the Time Wars and ends up trapped in this timeline because the space-time rift erased the original future. Then you have:
2009 - Aspects of Evil: Galvatron,
The Void,
Edge Of Impact,
Shadow Of Evil,
White Fire,
2010 - Aspects of Evil: Unicron,
2356 - Aspects of Evil,
2510 - Peace.
In the main timeline, after the ‘Price of life’ the US comic continues, then you have ‘Another time and place’ then the Action-masters in full, then Generation 2 in full, then Alignment, then The Last Days Of Optimus Prime. Sadly, as the comic got the chop twice there are missing stories. Please note that in the original future timeline Optimus Prime never becomes a Powermaster, Bumblebee never becomes Goldbug. There are no pretender classics, Action-masters or Generation 2.

Now if you want, it is possible to merge the Earthforce timeline in to the main timeline. 'Prime's Rib' must take place in 1991 then events go pretty much round in a circle with a lots of characters being de-activated once more due to the dodgy nucleon. (A full reading order list can be found on the Transformers Multiverse article on the Transfanon website) Any questions?
I'm assuming you've read the Earthforce material rather than just summaries? Because whilst it has some brilliant short pieces such as Secrets (#275) and this is stuff that's been seared into my memory for 30+ years a lot of it is also five-page joke sequences and/or quite throwaway.

I've got the original art for the final page of the Doubledealer story too...
Starsaberdub
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Starsaberdub »

Denyer wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 6:20 pm Close to absolute zero if you're relying on someone paying Furman to do it.

You could argue that outlier UK annual story Another Time And Place and/or other bits and pieces slot in with Earthforce, if you wanted, so in that sense there's already been sequel material.

Or, and it'd be very difficult to follow these days with old sites having gone offline, but the TransMasters UK fan group continuation of Marvel UK continuity was officially promoted in the UK G2 comic when it was cancelled at issue #5. There were years of drawn comics and text stories produced, including Eugenesis by James Roberts of later IDW contract work fame.

Aspects of Evil... also fits in with TMUK, IIRC, but it's kind of a limited story idea. It essentially concludes that Unicron will inevitably corrupt Primus's creations and win. It's as narratively satisfying as fantasy fiction involving intelligent undead and other immortal characters who can just go to ground and wait until all of the heroes are dead/gone.

Also see reference endnotes on https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Earthforce and this bit on the talk page... I'm not saying I agree with everything, but you can stitch it together so that any additional stories would fit around segments of Aspects of Evil and lead into Peace;
Ryangut wrote:The marvel comics are confusing because of multiple timelines and missing stories. The timelines in the comics are actually very simple to understand. Here is an explanation.

There are 4 timelines splitting off each other:
The Original timeline,
The Rhythms of Darkness timeline,
The Main timeline,
The Earthforce timeline,
Everything is the same up to ‘In The National Interest’
Then in the Original timeline you have the precognition of the special teams. then:
1990 - Aspects of Evil: Megatron,
1991 - Aspects of Evil: Scorponok,
1992 - Destiny of the Dinobots,
2003 - Ark Duty,
2004 - Aspects of Evil: Shockwave,
2006 - MOVIE ADAPTATION.
Then Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge travel back in time to 1986 and inadvertently create the Main timeline.
Events in both timelines then move towards Time Wars. The space-time rift repairs itself by creating The ‘Rhythms of Darkness’ timeline. In this new dark future Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge never time-jumped. The rift erases the original future but the main timeline is saved because Shockwave blasts Cyclonus’s body in to the rift just in time. Later Galvatron II ends up in the Main timeline. Then due to publishing problems the Earthforce timeline splits from the main timeline just after ‘The Price of Life’ US#70.
The Earthforce stories are then followed by:
Prime Bomb,
Dreadwing Down,
Magnificent Six,
1995 - Prime's Rib.
Rodimus Prime returns from the Time Wars and ends up trapped in this timeline because the space-time rift erased the original future. Then you have:
2009 - Aspects of Evil: Galvatron,
The Void,
Edge Of Impact,
Shadow Of Evil,
White Fire,
2010 - Aspects of Evil: Unicron,
2356 - Aspects of Evil,
2510 - Peace.
In the main timeline, after the ‘Price of life’ the US comic continues, then you have ‘Another time and place’ then the Action-masters in full, then Generation 2 in full, then Alignment, then The Last Days Of Optimus Prime. Sadly, as the comic got the chop twice there are missing stories. Please note that in the original future timeline Optimus Prime never becomes a Powermaster, Bumblebee never becomes Goldbug. There are no pretender classics, Action-masters or Generation 2.

Now if you want, it is possible to merge the Earthforce timeline in to the main timeline. 'Prime's Rib' must take place in 1991 then events go pretty much round in a circle with a lots of characters being de-activated once more due to the dodgy nucleon. (A full reading order list can be found on the Transformers Multiverse article on the Transfanon website) Any questions?
I'm assuming you've read the Earthforce material rather than just summaries? Because whilst it has some brilliant short pieces such as Secrets (#275) and this is stuff that's been seared into my memory for 30+ years a lot of it is also five-page joke sequences and/or quite throwaway.

I've got the original art for the final page of the Doubledealer story too...
Why would someone not pay Simon Furman to do either be it in the US or the UK ?
Would you please answer?
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Denyer »

a) Earthforce is very niche interest.
b) His general view is that it doesn't really hold together as a timeline, distinct or otherwise. Plans to dovetail storylines with the US title when he took that over didn't work out.

Also notice that Regeneration One excludes both the UK and US G2 material, both of which are generally more popular than Marvel US material on its own. Unless you're waving large amounts of cash, the guy is unlikely to particularly want to unpack stuff that tailed off and concluded with generic brainwashed journo Irwin Spoon. It's not outright dislike in the way that there are parts of Marvel UK he's not keen on being reprinted, but think of it as juvenilia.

It's another area where it's worth looking for interviews and panels the creator and others involved in the publishing have done over the years.

Have you read Earthforce in reprint collections or the c2c scans that are knocking around online? Some of it's easier to get a handle on knowing how it was originally published and presented as standalones, with a new piece of cover art and a few pages of original content mixed in with whatever reprints were to hand or someone else wanted.
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Starsaberdub »

Denyer wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 10:34 pm a) Earthforce is very niche interest.
b) His general view is that it doesn't really hold together as a timeline, distinct or otherwise. Plans to dovetail storylines with the US title when he took that over didn't work out.

Also notice that Regeneration One excludes both the UK and US G2 material, both of which are generally more popular than Marvel US material on its own. Unless you're waving large amounts of cash, the guy is unlikely to particularly want to unpack stuff that tailed off and concluded with generic brainwashed journo Irwin Spoon. It's not outright dislike in the way that there are parts of Marvel UK he's not keen on being reprinted, but think of it as juvenilia.

It's another area where it's worth looking for interviews and panels the creator and others involved in the publishing have done over the years.

Have you read Earthforce in reprint collections or the c2c scans that are knocking around online? Some of it's easier to get a handle on knowing how it was originally published and presented as standalones, with a new piece of cover art and a few pages of original content mixed in with whatever reprints were to hand or someone else wanted.
Why would they not make a sequel about Aspects of evil though ?
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Denyer »

It ends with a cliff hanger twist, i.e. indefinitely deferred denouement; https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Marvel_Comics_t ... ars_future -- it's a no-win situation, Unicron can't be killed and will keep coming back.

In publishing order, the arc that ends with White Fire follows Aspects. Furman had plenty of opportunity to follow up, but that's how the author chose to leave things.
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Starsaberdub »

Denyer wrote: Fri Jan 20, 2023 12:55 am It ends with a cliff hanger twist, i.e. indefinitely deferred denouement; https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Marvel_Comics_t ... ars_future -- it's a no-win situation, Unicron can't be killed and will keep coming back.

In publishing order, the arc that ends with White Fire follows Aspects. Furman had plenty of opportunity to follow up, but that's how the author chose to leave things.
If a sequel was pitched then what are the odds of it going through and why?
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Denyer »

A story needs people who want to write it, and to be a "success" it needs people who want to read it.

As outlined above there isn't much case for an officially published sequel. There've been fan sequels.
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Starsaberdub »

Denyer wrote: Sat Jan 28, 2023 2:24 pm A story needs people who want to write it, and to be a "success" it needs people who want to read it.

As outlined above there isn't much case for an officially published sequel. There've been fan sequels.
Could just a mini series sequel be more possible?
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Denyer »

Furman won't do it unless you throw wheelbarrows of cash at him. A publishing company is unlikely to see the point.

IDW did some really rather pointless and ragged on miniseries, but following up Aspects of Evil would struggle to get green-lit by both a publisher and Hasbro.

Earthforce is already out of continuity, so you could argue that different stories were in-continuity with it as long as they don't directly contradict.
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Starsaberdub »

Denyer wrote: Sat Jan 28, 2023 8:19 pm Furman won't do it unless you throw wheelbarrows of cash at him. A publishing company is unlikely to see the point.

IDW did some really rather pointless and ragged on miniseries, but following up Aspects of Evil would struggle to get green-lit by both a publisher and Hasbro.

Earthforce is already out of continuity, so you could argue that different stories were in-continuity with it as long as they don't directly contradict.
If the publisher reprints the UK issues could that be used as a way to lead to to a sequel?
Simon Furman may have said that he would want too after I asked him on facebook. [ And I Don't have a link.]
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Re: What are the Chances of a sequel to the uk story aspects of evil and earthforce ?

Post by Denyer »

It's fairly likely that the new publisher will get reprint rights to earlier material since IDW have set that precedent (although they may not be worth as much in a contract since most/all of the available material has been reprinted one or more times by now either by Titan or them).

So it's possible. Also, in creative jobs enthusiasm varies according to circumstances.
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