BUY ME

Hey you! Do you remember me? I used to sit next to you at school...

Yes, yes, jokes (and serious points) a-plenty to be made about my lack of online presence. Seriously, if I was here more often, you'd tire of me. As it is, I'm like a beloved drunken uncle, pinwheeling his way through your house for a couple of hours on Christmas Eve, bringing joy to all I encounter, without lingering long enough that you realise what a sad and hollow figure I truly cut...

It's obvious that I want something, isn't it? well, sometimes, what I want and what you - Timothy Smythe-Public - want are the same thing. So let's deal.

This Friday, I attend Auto-Assembly 2011, Europe's biggest Transformers convention. (Check it out here, hit's quite the larf: www.autoassembly.org.uk/) Apart from interviewing my childhood idols, Simon Furman and Geoff Senior, in a 25th anniversary retrospective on seminal robo-epic, Target:2006, and facing off against David Kaye (Beast Wars Megatron) and Gregg Berger (G1 Grimlock) in a voice-acting battle of halfwits, I'll also be signing and sketching all weekend. And flogging two brand-honking-new 'Last Stand of the Wreckers' themed art prints. Check 'em out below:





Tasty, huh? Coloured by the multi-hued and semi-skilled Josh Burcham. It's a true Wrecker Wreunion, and you can pick these bad boys up (A3, 160 gsm) for ten British pounds per print. I've been asked quite a bit if I'll make these available to buy online afterwards. The answer is: Highly Unlikely. I'm just not very good for staying on top of practical matters like that, so if anyone wants one, ask a friendly AA-Attendee to grab one for ya. My earlier prints (The Revelations Covers, and the Starscream And The City one) are also available at a reduced rate this year too.

What else? Well, I recently wrote and illustrated a How to Draw Transformers: Prime book for IDW/Scholastic. this book - weirdly - is NOT available in the shops! You can only get it through eductaional publisher Scholastic for your school. But I'll have limited copies available for sale this weekend too. Here's a sampler of the art:

Yep, all your favourite Prime characters drawn in my easily-imitable style. Hopefully the book helps in breaking down the pretty complex CG character models into something a little more drawable. Buy one and find out! Seriously, these books are rare.

Rarer still is original TF comic artwork by Nick Roche for sale. Not this weekend! For the serious collectors (and for the silly ones with too much coinage) pages from Transformers Ongoing #13, and Transformers: Infestation #1 & #2 will be up for sale. They're pricey, around the £100-£150 mark, with some pages a little under, and others a bit over. Covers are around the £200+region. They're big buys, and I don't like letting them go very often, but I know some people like a bit of warning that these things are available. So they can skip lunch and buy one I suppose.

That's about it! Come along and say hi! Can't wait to sketch, sign and sob my weekend away! Till All Are Brum!

You've Been Nicked

DnA FTW

I've been a fan of the separate and combined talents of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning for about twenty-three years now. So it was another lifetime highpoint to get to work with them on the upcoming TRANSFORMERS: INFESTATION, due out next week (January 26/27) from all discerning stockists. The book's as fun as you'd hope, and more in-continuity than fans may have imagined.

As a little nod to the D and the A, I lashed together a shot of some of their individual and joint successes; Nova and Rocket Raccoon from their cosmic Marvel stint, and Death's Head II, the Abnett-helmed character I drew more as a teenager than any other. It was almost as fun as working on Infestation.

You've Been Nicked

LAST ISSUE OF THE LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS

Ready to get Wrecked one last time?

TRANSFORMERS: LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS #5 punches your comic shop in the bollocks tomorrow, the 19th of May ( it donkey-punches the rest of the world on Thursday 20th) and it marks the end of a truly phenomenal chunk of my professional life. THANK YOU to all those who picked up each issue, supported it, blogged and posted about it, created fan banners and generally made the world Wreckers Aware. The feedback James, Josh (and the wrest of the Wrecking Crew) have received over the last few months has just been tackle-ticklingly terrific. We realise that not everyone that wanted to managed to get on the Wreckers bus, so for those of you who know that something special happened but just didn't manage to get Wrecked-up, the TPB collection of LSOTW hits in August, and all being well (and the planets at IDW Editorial aligning) we'll give you a jam-packed, exclusive-thronged package filled with the 5 issues, plus a ton of supplementary fun. Servos crossed...

So, to accompany the release of #5, let me link you to an interview I did with Sohaib Awan on his EXCELLENT "Fictional Frontiers" pop culture-based radio show/podcast. It was from a while back, so I think I'm still talking up the coming issues, but there might be some stuff you've not heard. Plus, check out some of the other Fictional Frontiers shows on tap there. There's something for every geek. For me talking Wreckers, click here

Also, by now, The first four issues of Wreckers are available on iTunes with the IDW app. And what's more, I'm told that you can get in on the action with yer PSP too.


Go here and press the magic buttons that put the comic I made onto your pocket game box, yeah?

So that's it. On behalf of Andy, Denton, Carlos, Chris, Joana, Waki, Andrew, Guido, Josh, James and myself, thanks for taking this series to your fuel pumps. I don't know if anything I work on will be this well-received again, so I'll enjoy the buzz while it lasts. If you want more, drop a line to the Eds at IDW, or send a note to letters@idwpublishing.com, and hopefully James and I will return very soon.

Wreck and Rule.


Last Stand of the Wankers. Photo by Whittle

You've Been Nicked

LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS #3 OUT THIS WEEK

HUGE thanks to the super-talented, and uber-hunky Chris Mowry for putting this poster together for us.

Last Stand of The Wreckers #3 is released March 24th in North America and on the 25th everywhere else. And if you missed the first two issues...

LES WRECKERS DIGITALES

Graham Thomson of The Hub (http://www.the-hub.co.uk/) puts it better than I ever could:

"The first two issues of the critically-acclaimed IDW mini-series "Transformers: The Last Stand of the Wreckers" by James Roberts and Nick Roche are now available to download to your iPhone/iPod/iPad* for just £1.19 per issue!

You can download the IDW Transformers Comics app for free via iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/transformers-comics/id335638555?mt=8 and from there buy/download individual issues directly to your device.

Each comic can be viewed either as one-panel-per screen (by holding your device sideways) or one-page-per-screen (by holding your device upright).

And you can even take screen captures of any page/panel for use as wallpaper on your device. Just imagine looking at a screen of beautiful Nick Roche artwork every time someone sends you a message, Facebook update or Tweet!

£1.19 really is exceptional value for a RochertsTM product. Other Transformers comics are available via the App for the same price, but clearly aren't as good value.

So, if you have an iPhone/iPod/iPad* or are a pirate with an iPatch, then do your bit today to support James and Nick and cement a long and utopian future of RochertsTM Transformers comics for our children, their children, and their licensed bio-engineered offspring!

*iPad coming 3 April 2010."

Wreckers: A-where? A-here.

Stand fast, Wrecktums. And thanks for maintaining optimum vigilance in my absence. I never stopped being Wreckers aware; it's just the Wreckers I was aware of were the ones that still needed to be drawn in #5. (A part of me dies with every death I must draw...)

So here's a round-up:

WIKI-WAW

More robot dreams (electric sheep optional) coming true as the Transformers Wiwi site Wrecked itself, like, right up. Click here to see how those wonderful folk Wreckerised the logo and slapped in their entry on those Wrecker guys as there featured article for the duration of WAW. Guys, I dunno which of you wonderful motherfolkers are responsible, but mahoosive thanks. Seriously.

TFI TFORMERS

ANOTHER site has roofied this half-assed idea, toaken it home, done unspeakable things to it, and taken polaroids. High fives and over-egged ass-grabs at TFormers.com. They've thrown up a nice hoo-rah call to arms to whip all the uneducated into a lather. They're also responsible for THE innovation of the 21st century, the movement to Wreck A Friend (WAF. Wonderful, wonderful stuff outta those guys. Get on it!

ME TUBES ARE WRECKED

WAW has even infiltrated Youtube! Infamy at last! They don't let just anyone on there, y'know?

A wonderful chap I only know as Peaugh (but who writes for Fangoria Comics) up-chucked a great video of him saying nice (like, RIDICULOUSLY nice) things about Last Stand of The Wreckers. Thanks so, so much man, that's really cool to hear. What's even coler, is that he came across LSotW inkbot, John 'Waki' Wycough (Where, we're unsure. His house? The changing room in the local swimming baths?) and grabbed some incredible pieces of original inked Last Stand artwork for himself. He has my two favourite pages in the whole series in his collection now. Swine. He also managed to grab the page from #1 with the first appearance of the now universally beloved Wrookies. So click til ya can't!

DOWN UNDERLORD

Our Antipodean friends (Yes, we're friends now) are doing their bit here, generally being smug with their masses of Wrecker toy photos. All iterations of Wrecker are accounted for, and it's enjealousing to see all those toys from yesteryear that you'll never own. Well, not for me. I have them all.

LAST STAND OF THE RUSTING CARCASS

And lastly in our round up, here's a...mental website which I'm glad is on our side! Carcass is the man in charge, and his sit features a very Impactful piece of art from the glorious Marcelo Matere. Gotta be worth the trip for that, kids?

And that's it for now! Remember the point of it all: Last Stand of The Wreckers #2 is out pretty much everywhere, except where it isn't - and it'll be out there tomorrow. Or the next day. Just don't give up! You can track it down if you Dare!

I hate myself.

But I love YOU.

Don't be Wary: Be Aware.

You've Been Nicked

Wrecker Awareness Week Continues

Thank you, you valiant fools, for getting behind WAW. This stirring campaign was even frontpaged on The Allspark, which is surely a more auspicious honour than getting pixelspace from USA Today. I'm looking into organising a telethon, with phones manned by the guy who played Emirate Xaaron in the comics and the bloke who turned the piano in Target: 2006. Even toying with a 'Make #2 a Sell-out, and I'll spare Character X in the finale!'offer (I'm not really.)

But the important thing is the AWARENESS, people. I'm assured that in the places that have yet to receive it, Wreckers #2 will be available next New Comic Day. So that's next Wednesday in the States and Thursday over these parts. Tell people why they need to get on board this bus (reprints of #1 are available, sisters) and that the mass-dissection of #2, which people - and not just my Mam - say is better than #1, can begin once EVERYONE has their copy next week.

We, the cool kids, know how good this is. So let's make the party even bigger. Educate the Ignorant. Or something equally cozy.

Something else to be aware of: there's no profile in this issue. Sad, isn't it? But there are TWO in #3. And they won't be republished anywhere else, not even in the Trade collection of LSotW. So the monthly format is the way to get your Wrecker fix.

Feel free to circulate the Ironfist Awareness Appeal image in my previous post. Use it as your signature or banner on the boards you visit. Hell, print it out and stick it in your local comic shop. And let's make this a yearly event, eh? Even if the sequel isn't out by then. (What?)

David Willis' really quite excellent Shortpacked! is highlighting the cause with a Wrecker A Day for Wreckers Awarness Week (WAD4WAW) so Roche Bless Him.

The lovely Liz (Jeysie) has shown Rotorstorm the love he pours on himself by featuring him in her own forum sig:


And Andrew, who posts as Jhiaxus on the Ozformers board has captured documentary footage of The Last Stand of The Wreckers:







So be aware - be WRECKER aware. If the comic's not out now, then it will be next week. And there's lots of lovely people (specifically oneshallstand.com) online that will happily assist you.

You've Been Nicked

Wreckers Awareness Week

So when we last spoke, we were discussing the good fortunes of Last Stand of The Wreckers #1. Little did I know that said comic was destined to sell out. Like, everywhere. Guys, thank you SO much for making this series more of a personal milestone than it already was. And screw buying it - thanks for enjoying it as much as you all seemed to. A reprint of #1 (featuring a spoiler-heavy cover...) is now out and about. I think I can say that if you're a fan of a good story well-told, whether you like TFs or not, you'll get something out of this series. It ties in and compliments the ongoing IDW Transformers saga, but you don't need to know anything other than what appears in our 22-page installments to pick up on what's happening in this series. So if you're a lapsed robot-comic fan who wants one last hurrah with Springer, Kup, and yeah...even Impactor, then track #1 down if you haven't already.

Now, #2 of Wreckers is unleashed, and at this stage that should apply worldwide. Due to a horrific road accident last week, not all of IDW's stock reached their destinations. Two truck drivers were injured severely in the incident, so thoughts and prayers aimed directly at them, people. But one of the minor upshots of this was that there's been some confusion about when and where the second installment of Last Stand can be located. It's out there now, Wrecktums, so seek it out. I have declared the next seven days Wreckers Awareness Week, and would like to give over a few moments of this blog for a very important message.



So spread the word (as you've been doing all along, you wonderful creatures)to the Transformers and comic message boards you populate and let them know that the Last Stand continues apace. Some are saying #2 is better than #1, so that's a lovely upswing we'd like to continue. There seems to be a real buzz of grassroots support for this book, and YOU guys can't all be wrong. So hopefully we can get some new readers (Or G-9 Deniers as they should be labelled) hooked.

A snuggly bonus of all this Wreckage is that the fantasmic Shortpacked webcomic, the go-to barometer for all that's gud with geeks, gave a little shout-out, so much did they enjoy our Last Stand. David Willis: (author of said strip) just because I haven't gotten around to drawing a comic telling you how solidly I believe you to rock, doesn't mean I don't think it. Thank you, sir.

(The next edition of Shortpacked features clothing that I would insist on wearing to my next BotCon.)

I'd like to leave you with a load of spine-buffingly Wrecktastic banners and sigs that the Cool Kids have put together in support of the book. Most of these are culled from the IDW boards, with a nice one nicked from the Allspark. All are credited to their creators, with huge love and thanks from me and the Wrecking Crew. Keep 'em up, and keep smearing them about, like casserole on an actress.



By Martin Fisher

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By HdE

This one's from Wingus of The Allspark:







By Daniel W





By Bludgeon





By Rycochet













By Thunderwing







By Zhgingaah

You've Been Nicked.