Rise of the Maximals - Issue #1

[Verno]

G'Day all,

I've decided it was about time to publish the script for the first part of a new series I've written:

Rise of the Maximals - Issue #1



Synopsis:

Set during the latter stages of the Great War, a ceasefire is in effect between the Autobots and Decepticons as they try to maintain an unsteady alliance against the Cybertronian Empire.

But as Autobot cargo ships traveling between Earth and Cybertron begin to come under attack from an unknown enemy, Grimlock tries to uncover the identity of the assailants - with the help of some familiar faces.

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As with all my writing, it's set within the TVC Universe, and transpires towards the end of the Great War, after the arrival of the Cybertronian Empire and The Swarm, but some years before the events of the Hub Assault and TransWarp Saga*.

If you've got a few spare minutes, please have a read - I'd love to get some feedback on it.

Cheers,
Verno.

*For those that are familiar with my other writings.

[Hursticon]

I very-very much like this Verno, but did you really think I wouldn't?

You paint such amazing pictures with words; the end scene with Sunstreaker smearing the green oil on Tracks' Autobot insignia?, "Giving the Autobots back their bite"? - such a defining & epic scene/moment!
Ao too with the Predacon being forced into testing a new Proto-Matter chassis, only for his optics to fade & smoke beginning to bellow after mere seconds into a seemingly successful transfer...

You handle characterisation here as superbly as you have before; more, I say, MORE!

[Verno]

I very-very much like this Verno, but did you really think I wouldn't?

Hursty! I can always count on you for some very kind words mate! I'm always glad to see you've had time to cast an eye across my new stuff.

You paint such amazing pictures with words; the end scene with Sunstreaker smearing the green oil on Tracks' Autobot insignia?, "Giving the Autobots back their bite"? - such a defining & epic scene/moment!

That scene is perhaps the second-most pivotal scene in the 'Maximals' story - second only to the final scene of the final issue, but I'm not going to tell you any more than that right now.

It was very important that the genesis of the Maximal faction was entirely an organic/logical one. Here we have the beginnings of the Maximals as a renegade sub-group of the Autobots, similar to the Wreckers. But what these 'Maximals' do and how they go about it (and what they eventually stand for) is what shapes the sub-group into a larger faction.

I've argued the point with a few people over the years that such a shift from Autobot to Maximal is hardly a simple decision. The Autobot brand is 9 million years old at this point, and holds a lot of meaning in Cybertronian history. If people think such a symbol and name would be so easily cast off in order for the Maximal brand to be adopted are kidding themselves. It takes a major shake-up of Cybertron, and of the Autobots, to bring about such a change.

Ao too with the Predacon being forced into testing a new Proto-Matter chassis, only for his optics to fade & smoke beginning to bellow after mere seconds into a seemingly successful transfer...

It's like something out of a nightmare. That was a fun scene to write

You handle characterisation here as superbly as you have before; more, I say, MORE!

That means a lot mate, thank you. Apart from G1 Silverbolt (in the Csirac story) I haven't had to deal/write too much with iconic G1 characters, so to suddenly find myself steering Grimlock around, it was an interesting challenge to try and get his characterisation correct, or at the very least truthful to what has been seen before. True too with the other G1 characters like Sunstreaker and Tracks, but I felt I had a bit more freedom with them. But of course, I had to throw in a couple of new 'bots like Fonix and Briq, just for fun. With Grimlock so fixedly mute for the most part, a character like Fonix (to help push along the story and detail) is essential.

More? More you say? I don't know if I'll have any good news on that front. I honestly don't have any plans to continue on with any Transformers writing at present - be it 'Maximals' or other. The motivation simply isn't there like it used to be. This script was finished some time ago, but figured it was about time I put it up for folks to read (and hopefully enjoy).

I'll be back with more one day though. The ReGen1 comics will finish and none of IDW's other titles will spark an interest, so I'll be back to having to write my own stories to entertain my own imagination and fill the TF void in my own life.

Or Hasbro/IDW decide to put some BW-related stories together for the 20th Anniversary and come knocking on my door... A guy can dream, right?

[Sinnertwin]

Hursti's summed it up perfectly Me Autobot...with teeth... Oh yeeeaaahhh
Hope to read more soon

[Trent]

Dude, awesome work as always. Your ability to paint pictures with your words is a great talent that even some well published authors can't do as well as you. I can actually visualise in my mind the rooms and the ships and the characters facial expressions

As always, MORE

[Verno]

Hursti's summed it up perfectly Me Autobot...with teeth... Oh yeeeaaahhh
Hope to read more soon

Grimlock was actually quite fun to write with. He'd been cooped up in the Research Facility with nothing to do for too long, so when he finally got out for some R and R (ripping and raiding) he could really let loose.

Dude, awesome work as always. Your ability to paint pictures with your words is a great talent that even some well published authors can't do as well as you. I can actually visualise in my mind the rooms and the ships and the characters facial expressions

The script format I'm writing in gives me the advantage of brief descriptive outlines for each panel and scene. Long enough to give the Artist and reader something to get their teeth into, but short enough not to slow down the story. I'm glad you're enjoying the vivid images my words are able to conjure up in your head.

[doublespy]

Awesome stuff. This will make good comic no doubt.