It's been one of hottest series of books to come out of Dreamwave Productions since the company took over the liscence for Transformers comics. Now the War Within is heading into its third volume with the Age of Wrath and the sparks are flying again, but the creative team of Simon Furman and Joe Ng still found time to talk with TNI's own JayC...
1.)
Will we ever see a line of toys based on the comic series from Hasbro. Hasbro is currently conducting a fan choice poll with Devils Due to create GIJoe figures based on their comic series. Any plans or chance of seeing Hasbro do something similar with Dreamwave and Transformers toys?
Simon: No idea, but I'd love to see it happen. War Within toys anyone?
Joe: That's something you'll have to ask Hasbro. I think it would be really cool to have War Within toys, but I'm not sure how realistic it would be since there are already so many different Transformers toy lines out there.
2.)
How much freedom do you get with character creation? For instance could we ever see a brand new character debut in War Within and then see again as an older version the the regular G1 series.
Simon: Always possible. The Fallen was created specifically for WWv2, and maybe some day he'll appear in G1. But given the wealth of existing characters already in WW and others still to be introduced, creating too many new characters seems unnecessary. One thing I do really want to get into, and this may indeed call for a new character or two, is the whole Bludgeon/Metallikato thing. What exactly is it? Where did he learn it? And from whom?
Joe: It all depends on whether or not Simon has any plans for new characters in the story. But I think since there are so many characters in the Transformers universe, there really isn't any reason to just bring in new characters just for the sake of bringing in new characters. Unless of course it was a major character like the Fallen in Vol. 2.
3.)
Any chance of seeing stories take place even farther in Cybertron's past. Like have stories that depict the origins of favorite characters like Optimus Prime and Megatron. or even the origin of characters like Alpha Trion
Simon: It's something I'd like to do, but maybe as a Special or a one-shot. Within the framework of Cybertron's past, I'd prefer to keep the WW arcs moving forwards, towards the point Prime and the Ark leave the planet. May take me some time to get there, though. Lots of stories to be told!
Joe: That would be a very interesting read! It's probably something that the writers would have to talk about if there ever is going to be a story based on Cybertronian life before the War Within. Even at Vol.3 though we're still so far away from the great shutdown, which leads to Generation One, there are still so many stories to be told in this current timeline.
4.)
What are the chances of War Within becoming a ongoing series?
Simon: It's a matter for the Dreamwave management (and my schedule, which is pretty packed right now). The gaps between WW series allow me to catch up on all the other stuff I haven't done. Mind you, with an ongoing series, it would allow me more to do more focused, one or two-part (character) stories, which is something I'd certainly like to have a crack at. Six issues just ain't long enough!
Joe: I think in a way, it kind of is like an ongoing series, just divided into different volumes that highlight the important events leading to the great shutdown. I think it works well telling these stories in this format. It gives readers plenty of jumping on points.
5.)
Will Optimus Prime show up in "The Age Of Wraith" or will Ultra Magnus get the entire spotlight, and with the return of Megatron in the first issue can we expect a huge one-on-one battle between the to to happen?
Simon: Prime's back (but not fully until issue #6)... but he's in pretty bad shape, mentally and physically. His 'exile' has been an ordeal and half, and that's something we're going to explore in more excrutiating detail in the next WW arc (assuming there is one). And while Prime does tackle Megatron, don't count UM out. He's still got a big part to play in the wrap-up.
Joe: You'll have to wait and see what happens I suppose. I can't really give away too much, but it's a no brainer to say that Megatron will be a large part of the ending of this series.
6.)
When it comes to designing a well known-characters pre-earth form what goes into the creation process, and which character do you think has the coolest pre-earth form?
Simon: I'll leave Joe to answer this one! But I've been blessed with three artists who seem to be able to do this in their sleep. Thank god!
Joe: I've been trying to stick to what Don did in the first volume and the few designs that Andrew did in the second volume. But since most of the new characters that show up in the Age of Wrath already have very Cybertronian forms to them, I didn't do too much redesigning. Mostly just updating certain elements but keeping the transformations relatively similar to their original designs. Of the characters that exist in the War Within world, I'm really liking the visual of Jetfire. Don really made him look like a white knight with the sliding helmet and shoulder plating.
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