Aaron Archer has left Hasbro - another look at a famous document of his

[UltraMarginal]

here is a very interesting article. (http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/cybertron-7/aaron-archers-napkin-of-revelation-177422/)not sure about the authenticity, if it is authentic it's a very interesting part of the franchises history.

[Megatron]

Cool. I wonder what he had for lunch that day. :p

[griffin]

here is a very interesting article. (http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/cybertron-7/aaron-archers-napkin-of-revelation-177422/)not sure about the authenticity, if it is authentic it's a very interesting part of the franchises history.

It's authentic, but isn't new TFW2005... as it was revealed 8 years ago at BotCon 2005. Apparently one side of that is in the Vault book, while both halves and the story behind the lunch that created it, was shown off at BotCon 2005. I guess for many of today's fans, something from 8 years ago is "new".


I just had a look at my BotCon archives, and I actually have photos of both sides as well, as it was on public display at the Hasbro Exhibit, so shouldn't be news on TFW2005.
I think the reason it is being posted up though as "news", is that it is being confirmed that Aaron Archer has indeed left Hasbro (a rumour was going around last week), and re-posting about the napkin is just a way to make it public... so I might might modify this topic to reflect it.

[Sinnertwin]

Seibertron has it up on their pages also.
Do we know if Aaron left or was made to leave?

[liegeprime]

So who's taken his position now? I wonder if the next Hasbro Head would be more in leaning towards TFs, as we all know Aaron admitted he was more of a GIJoes fan/collector.

[griffin]

I came across this topic on TFW (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-general-discussion/889739-aaron-archer-no-longer-works-hasbro.html), talking about Aaron Archer leaving Hasbro.
As someone who was around when Aaron posted on the TFW board as "Orson", it is funny to see newer members trying to guess what they've heard about Aaron/Orson.

Apparently also gone are (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-general-discussion/889739-aaron-archer-no-longer-works-hasbro-2.html#post9377343) Joe Kyde (was mostly responsible for redecos if I remember correctly), Rik Alveraz (a fan hired by Hasbro 2 years ago, after going through the Hasbro Vaults to provide images and info for the Vault Book), and Andy Schmit (from IDW, hired VERY recently by Hasbro after recent "freelance" collaborations).
Most of those were fan-favourites, or were at many BotCons. (the person posting that, "Nevermore" is a veteran, so isn't likely to speculate without some evidence)

Considering the lack of hype at FunPub's efforts this year, I think the most exciting fan-gossip at this years BotCon will be finding out who was sacked and who left.

Personally, I doubt Aaron Archer would have been one of the people layed-off, as he was the one behind the Unicron Trilogy (after the dark days of Transmetal 2s and Beast Machines), as well as one of the key figures getting the Movies signed up and making sure that Bay was educated with enough basics for us fans to recognise who each of the iconic characters were, and various concepts, and even made sure the original robot models were changed to closer reflect the iconic Gen1 characters (original concept images were of just generic alien robots, with almost non-existent vehicle parts).
I think he was also the one behind the Aligned universe that we are currently going through, so at least we had someone inside Hasbro who tried to make a "bible" as often as possible, instead of just some corporate executive green-lighting a new idea and series each year, and leave it up to TV writers to sort it out (like power-rangers).

One thing I liked about Aaron Archer, was the way he walked that very very fine line of being a Hasbro employee (bound by confidentiality agreements, that were probably more restrictive as he climbed the corporate ladder) and blending in with the fans at BotCon each year. I didn't know them personally, I only spoke to them like most other attendees, but Aaron and Greg Lombardo were the faces you want as a fan, of a soulless multi-national global empire.

[UltraMarginal]

No worries about Topic Modification Griffin. The whole issue is a little bigger than I understood at first.

I'm a little concerned for Transformers if so many key people seem to be getting weeded out of the core Hasbro representatives.

perhaps these redundancy decisions are representative of how much money these people have been making and HASBRO have decided they can get ideas and product out of cheaper employees.
Andy Schmidt must be a bit pissed, having been picked up only so recently.

[griffin]

At least most of those people layed off appear to be newest, so is only fair... and they haven't contributed as much to the direction of the Brand.
Word circulating about Aaron though is that he may have left for family commitments, or that he was looking for something new after almost 20 years at Hasbro.
I don't think anything significant will change from all of this, as the Hasbro offices at Rhode Island appear to be well stocked, so the growing Transformers family of employees probably just grew too much in the last few years and cuts needed to be made if the work wasn't there to support it.

[Paul Agnew]

I think the most exciting fan-gossip at this years BotCon will be finding out who was sacked and who left.

And here I was thinking the most exciting fan-gossip at BotCon would be revealing the identity of Michael Crutchfield. :p

[Deonasis]

Sad to see him leave Hasbro. You can tell he has always had a soft spot for transformers and their fans despite climbing the ladder beyond that brand at Hasbro.

Maybe he can post on forums now or maybe now he can start a successful, offical Transformers Collectors Cub? :) That would be nice.

[Hursticon]

Indeed it's very sad to hear that Aaron Archer has left the company. :(
His tenure with the brand has seen it reach its loftiest of heights & some of the most amazing Transformers toys in history have been produced under his watch also. :o:)

I think we as fans & the brand at large will continue to feel the ripples Aaron created for a while to come, it is definite though that a Giant piece of Hasbro has departed. :cool:

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Rik Alvarez was working for Hasbro? I didn't know that. The main point that sticked with me about Rik is that he had those rubbish "unofficial guides" and in the back of the book was usually a section dedicated to horrid cheap, nasty knockoffs...

IIRC, he is also a consultant or soemthing with funpub too.

But Yeah, sad to see Aaron go although I didn't really notice him until WFC came along and he popped up on some promotional videos.:p;)

[griffin]

Rik Alvarez was working for Hasbro? I didn't know that. The main point that sticked with me about Rik is that he had those rubbish "unofficial guides" and in the back of the book was usually a section dedicated to horrid cheap, nasty knockoffs...

IIRC, he is also a consultant or soemthing with funpub too.

Yeah, he started out as one of the "fan council" of FunPub, but in 2011 he was announced as being employed by Hasbro as "Creative Manager" (http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc11/bc11hf.html) (and was on the 2012 Hasbro panel as well (http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc12/bc12hp.html))... which sounds like a made up title, that didn't end up going anywhere or lasting very long.
TFwiki has a page on him. (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Rik_Alvarez)

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I realise that TFwiki is far from an unbiased source, but

Alvarez is ambidextrous, and frequently lightens the mood around the Hasbro, Inc. offices with feats of juggling.
As the main point just feels a bit sad.