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Thread: IDW's Transformers comic licence ends DEC 2022

  1. #1
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    Default IDW's Transformers comic licence ends DEC 2022

    Okay, this was officially revealed back in January, but I kept forgetting to post about it... and since I had to mention it in the June pre-order listing, I had better make an official news posting about it somewhere here.

    Rumours were starting to pop up about IDW losing the Transformers licence back in late November 2021, and a week later in early December it was rumoured that Jon Barber (the main guy with Transformers at IDW for most of their 14 years) was to be leaving (again, as I think he left before, but came back).

    About a week after that, we are told that Jon Barber has indeed left IDW (on December 17th), and that a new company called Skybound could be applying for the Transformers comic licence.

    After about a month of speculation among fans of is it true or isn't it, we were finally put out of our misery at the end of January by the Hollywood Reporter, by being told that IDW were indeed losing the licence for Transformers at the end of 2022... along with their licence for producing GIJoe comics.
    (which would be a big blow to IDW's revenue so soon after their debt restructuring, as they apparently recently lost some other licences, and their biggest selling comics each month have been their licenced comics, not their original content comics - after 23 years of operation, and some big licences at times, IDW have never managed to grow enough as a comic company to be better than 5th, behind Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse)

    At the end of 2022, IDW will bid a fond farewell to the publication of G.I. Joe and Transformers comic books and graphic novels, the company said in a statement provided to THR. Were exceedingly proud of our stewardship of these titles 17 years with the Robots in Disguise and 14 years with A Real American Hero and thank the legion of fans for their unwavering support, month in and month out. Were also eternally grateful to every one of the talented creators who helped bring these characters to four-color life through our comics.
    My Little Pony and Dungeons & Dragons comics, based on the Hasbro brands, will be published by IDW, however.
    While rumors painted the loss of the rights in immediate brushstrokes, the company still plans to put out a years worth of Joe and Transformers stories and comics.
    The monthly Transformers series will wrap up by mid-summer, while the Transformers: Beast Wars series, too, will come to its conclusion this summer. That will lead to two new miniseries events. The company will also publish a variety of special one-shot projects spotlighting heroes and villains from across Transformers history.
    On the Joe front, the company is planning a blowout celebration later with milestone issue, G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero no. 300 with Larry Hama, the veteran comics writer who launched the Joe brand with Marvel Comics in 1982, at the helm.
    In the spring, G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero Saturday Morning Adventures will offer a four-issue send-up of the beloved 80s cartoon. And it being the 40th anniversary of the modern iteration of the military toy brand, several special projects are also in the works. Creators and release details will be released by IDW at a later date.

    Licensed properties have been a major part of the business plan for IDW, which for a time rose to become a top non-DC and Marvel publisher after Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics. The company will need to refocus after earlier this year losing publishing rights to a Star Wars and a Marvel comic.
    Skybound, meanwhile, has yet to comment on its potential deal with Hasbro.
    So, who is Skybound?
    Since I had never heard of them before as a comic company, if they do get the Transformers comic licence, I thought that I should find out who they are, and what experience they have with comic writing and publication.

    Skybound Entertainment first existed in 2010, co-founded by the creator of The Walking Dead comic (which later spawned a TV series in 2010), primarily existing as the business entity to own and manage the Walking Dead property as it became a TV series, after being a comic by Image comics since 2003. (it is worth noting that the creator of The Walking Dead (Robert Kirkman) who co-founded Skybound is/was COO at Image comics, before deciding to publish their own comics under their own banner, including titles that they were originally doing under Image)

    The popularity of The Walking Dead has given the company that owns it, the capital to expand directly into other entertainment mediums and develop the creator's other story projects (into TV shows, Movies, and from June 2022, comics).
    Even though the Walking Dead comic ended in 2019, the popularity of the TV show has seen it being reprinted several times, and since it was originally published in (mostly) black and white, it is now being re-released in colour... which will headline their launch of their comics branch in June.
    It would then make sense that they would want to pad out their stable of comics with more well known titles, as soon as they can, and since they can't poach comics from DC and Marvel, having licenced comics is the way to go. It has put other relatively unknown comic companies on the map, like Devils Due, Dreamwave and IDW.

    So, watch this space for updates or confirmation of who is getting the Transformers licence from 2023... and keep an eye out on the montly comic listings here, as they wind up the IDW comics towards the end of this year (wrapping up stories and publications).

  2. #2
    KELPIE is offline Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
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    Personally I'd rather Boom Studios get the license.

    I know Kirkman is a massive fan of Transformers and heck, if I owned an entertainment company I'd go after Transformers too. However Skybound seem to be feeling their way through what they want to do at the moment. Comics, games, animation... dipping their toe in and out of each.

    I'd rather a more established comic company take the reins in the hopes that we get 10+ years out of them.

  3. #3
    JJJ is offline Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
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    Skybound should learn from IDW's mistakes, which were to over-extend themselves in trying to be more than just a comics company (I have few complaints about the actual comics they've been producing the past few years, and -almost- none at all about the previous era - cross-overs, of any sort, suck, always).

  4. #4
    KELPIE is offline Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
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    If there's anything I want them to learn from IDW it's to provide an ongoing from the start and consolidate.

    Bloody hell all the miniseries and spinoffs and one offs make reading IDW so ridiculous.

  5. #5
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    We now have official commentary from Hasbro's VP of Global Publishing about IDW losing the license for Transformers and GIJoe at the end of 2022... and it is noted that they are intending to have a new license-holder, but are still in discussions with potential companies. In other words, it could be a while before we see new comics, as it will take some time to get them drawn up and printed for sale in stores, after a license is finally drawn up and sold.

    The article was on a site called Nerd Reactor, but the important Transformers bits have been copied from here...

    “Actually, we’re in a bit of a transition at the moment, as you might have heard,” Kelly tells Nerd Reactor. “So we’ve been with IDW on the comic book front, with Transformers and Joe, and that’s going to be ending at the end of this year. We’re not ready yet to announce who our new partner is, but we’ve already begun some creative discussions.”
    Both brands will step into a new direction after the transition.

    “Certainly there’ll be plenty of things that they’ll be familiar with,” Kelly continued. “Because again, we’re not going to completely reinvent the brands, but I think what they’ll find is a fresh take on the storytelling and the characters. Probably develop a little bit more slowly to try and bring some new fans in as well as by starting out focusing on two or three main characters and really giving them a lot of depth and a lot of personalities and then building out the team of characters as we go along. So yeah, that’s usually what we do.”
    Regarding creative decision-making from Hasbro’s side:

    “In some regards, we will do adaptations of TV or movies, obviously, but a lot of what we’re doing is actually original storytelling,” Kelly explained. “As far as toys are concerned, we at times will try to incorporate some of the artistic designs of toys. But it’s important to us that the integrity of the storytelling always be what’s driving the narrative. So we’re never going to just say, ‘Oh, well, you know, Hasbro is releasing a new toy, so we’ll put it in this comic, like an advertisement.’ We don’t do that.”
    Tie-in comics with Transformers: EarthSpark will also take place.
    “When it comes to the kids’ properties, we tend to try and use the main characters that fans are familiar with,” Kelly said. “If there’s anything that we would do, we would focus more on the heroism or on the adventure of it – less on the violence side. So we really want to craft that message so that kids are reading the stories that they’re ready for, and that their parents are going to be happy that they’re reading as well. What it is about is just making sure that it’s accessible. So certainly, you know, Bumblebee would be a character that we would focus on for a younger audience, because he’s everybody’s best friend, and it tends to resonate well with kids. If we do bring in Decepticons like Starscream and Megatron, we might play them a little bit more, sort of over the top – not humorous necessarily, but scary.”

  6. #6
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    We’re not ready yet to announce who our new partner is, but we’ve already begun some creative discussions
    That sounds like they definitely know who is getting the licence and they are in the initial planning stages.
    Dovie'andi se tovya sagain

  7. #7
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    Does anyone know whats happening with the license, and whether digital versions on Comixology are going to suddenly be out of print? I assume the same thing will happen for gi joe as well, so Ive been buying up what I can afford now.
    On the lookout for MISB Headmaster Highbrow, Takara or Hasbro. I'm sure I could make you a sweet deal!

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