Transformers Prime Marathon Poster, Promo, and Clip (Updated)

A friendly reminder that starting Thursday, November 1st at 5:30pm EST, The Hub starts their 26-hour long Transformers: Prime marathon. It starts with the very first episode and ends with the season 2 finale "Darkest Hour". In the episode "Megatron comes up with a complex plan and once it's put together, Optimus is placed in a position where he is forced to make a risky decision that, if not carefully considered, could have an inescapable effect on the entire Autobot team." As part of the marathon, The Hub has created a poster (left) that depicts Optimus Prime using an image from each of the episodes. If you are interested in winning 1 of a 100 copies of the poster, click here. Don't forget that Transformers: Prime Season Two 4-disc set will be released on November 20th.

Update: Added a clip from "Darkest Hour" where revealed that Megatron's plan isn't to reformat Cybertron in his image but Earth.

Disney Buys Lucasfilm with ILM for $4.05 Billion

Tuesday it was announced that Disney has bought Lucasfilm from George Lucas for $4.05 billion. Lucasfilm's main properties that matter a great deal to Disney are Star Wars, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound (sound effects, mixing for most movies). ILM is the company that did all the visual effects for all three Transformers films and invented most of the effects we see in movies for the last 30+ years. It is assumed they are doing Transformers 4's effects but now that ILM is part of Paramount's movie studio competition, who knows if they will keep such an important summer tent pole picture there. Disney has posted several videos about the acquistion (below) making surprising use of the internet to get info about this purchase across. Normally something like this would be handled with a press release and maybe a quick press conference. Companies should pay attention to this approach.

Highlights:
- A new Star Wars Trilogy was announced with Episodes 7 (for 2015), 8 (for 2017), and 9 (2019). Treatments already exist for this.

Transformers Prime: The Game Out Today

Friendly reminder that Transformers Prime: The Game has been released for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS. The Nintendo Wii U version will be out on November 18th with the new console. Below the is the launch trailer and press release for game. Click here for screenshots.

Transformers: MTMTE #10 Preview

Wednesday is new comic book day with Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #10 hittings real and virtual comic stores. The issue goes back to the past, before the TF civil war, to tell a story of Orion Pax and the hunt for a serial killer. Considering the Lost Light has one on board, those skills might be useful in the present. A preview of the issue can be found here.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #10
James Roberts (w) • Alex Milne (a) • Milne, Nick Roche (c)
SHADOWPLAY continues! On pre-war CYBERTRON, Prowl and Chromedome realize they’ve got a serial killer on their hands, and Orion Pax receives a summons from an old friend that will change his life forever!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: Prime 2.25 Regeneration Promo, TV Spot

Tomorrow Transformers Prime air the penultimate episode of season 2 on The Hub at 7PM EST. "Regeneration" has The Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons are drawn into Cybertron to face each other in a heroic battle over their mutual quests for the coveted Omega Lock, which, once unlocked with the four keys, would reawaken Primus' power." Considering that the previous episode Patch was a clip show, I suspect the next two episodes will be going full throttle, spending the money the bottle-episode saved. Below is clip and promo for episode, screenshots here. The 26 hour long Transformers: Prime Marathon that starts on November 1st at 5:30pm EST and ends with the November 2nd 7:00pm EST season finale episode "Darkest Hour." Don't forget that Transformers: Prime Season Two 4-disc set will be released on November 20th. The previous two episodes of TF Prime are also up on HubWorld.

Upcoming episodes:
11/02 Darkest Hour (2.26) - Season 2 finale. Megatron comes up with a complex plan and once it's put together, Optimus is placed in a position where he is forced to make a risky decision that, if not carefully considered, could have an inescapable effect on the entire Autobot team.

Transformers Prime Producer on Show Mythology, Beasts

In an interview with Hero Complex, Transformers Prime producer Jeff Kline talked a little bit about the last two seasons of the show and the upcoming third. The full interview is here, highlights below.

- From series start, had three seasons planned out but as "wanted it to get more epic", the idea of self contained episodes "became impossible." Also that 3 season roadmap was burned up by early season 2 "which is pretty typical."

- Having a full time writing staff allowed them to plot story arcs out. Normally cartoons have a story editor and freelance the writers.

- "the end of Season 2 will paint us into a corner and hopefully you’ll be surprised at how we get ourselves out of it. For Season 3, we’re actually bringing Beasts into the story, which is a big game-changers. Not necessarily “Beast Wars” way or “Dino-bots” but Beasts, which are part of the Transformers lore."

- "Season 3 will be even more about how Earth and Cybertron are brother, or twin, planets in some way. And, as we’ve been doing for two seasons, allegiances will change, good guys and bad guys will switch sides, new elements will be brought in and old elements will be sent away."

IDW January 2013 Transformers Comics

IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for January 2013. This month kicks off the IDW crossover series Mars Attacks that Transformers is part of. It also marks the return of the Spotlight series with a focus on Thundercracker while the Tranformers Prime season 3 prequel comic Rage of the Dinobots continues. A total of six (I think a TF record) comics and 1 trade are coming out in January. If you are interested in the books, just let your local comic book store know. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Star Trek, Locke & Key, and more click here.

Mars Attacks the Transformers
Shane McCarthy (w) • Matt Frank (a) • Ray Dillon (c)
The weekly invasion continues: AUTOBOTS vs. DECEPTICONS vs... MARTIANS?! The invaders from Mars take advantage of the colossal Cybertronian's conflict and begin their assault on Earth in full force. It's Martian vs. Machine as the audacious Autobots and the devilish Decepticons begrudgingly join forces to repel the inhuman invaders and save the planet!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Mark Wahlberg Cast in Transformers 4? Nope (Updated)

The Transformers 4 rumor continues as the latest from Twitch Film is that Mark Wahlberg is in "early conversation" with Michael Bay for a role in the movie. The pair recently worked together on Pain & Gain that is coming out next year. The site reports that "we are hearing [the story] will revolve around an adult star (the part being discussed with Wahlberg) and his teenage child with the idea being that the child would then grow to be the focus of subsequent entries in the series." The usual grain of salt warnings as no means to prove or disprove the story.

Update: Michael Bay posted on his blog that the story "just a rumor."

The Mark Wahlberg T4 rumor is just a rumor.

Mark and I are talking about another film project.

-Michael

Hasbro Q3 Earnings Call, Shortened TF Prime Season

Today Hasbro held their conference call to report their Q3 earnings. You can get the business details here but basically sales and profits dropped for the quarter with expectation that Christmas and the Marvel toys helping to boost the bottom line and make up the difference. As part of the call, CEO Brian Goldner revealed that The Hub is cutting their production orders for new shows. This is important for fans of The Hub cartoons and especially Transformers Prime as the current rumor is season 3 is only 13-16 episodes long. Transcript of relevant portion below.

Question: Final Question… If you could just elaborate. You touched a bit on a prepared remark that I’m interested. You said you are reducing your production spend over the past several quarters… said due to efficiencies. Can you just elaborate more on that?
Answer: "Actually what we are saying is amortization has come down because ultimate revenue expectations have gone up. It’s one big driver on that. As we look at our ultimate revenue expectations for out programming because our performance we have on the television and digital distribution performance and revenue we are now expected to get from that programming; cross merchandising and program sales the amortization comes down."

Transformers 4 to Film in London?

Casting website Mandy.com has posted a listing for the two potential Transformers 4 leads under their "United Kingdom" section with note that "This is a Paramount Pictures production filmed in various locations overseas" with one location being "London". There are several ways to interpret this. One is the most obvious - its fake (one I lean too). Another is the lead casting is open to non-American actors as long as they can do the need accents. A third interpretation is they are looking for UK actors because filming in UK or London. The previous Transformers films have filmed in many different locations around the world but a majority (like 90% to 95%) of the filming took place in the United States. This is something that Michael Bay is very proud of doing for all his films and not a tradition I see him ending any time soon. Any case the text of the listing is below.

Production: TRANSFORMERS 4 (Feature Film)
Location: London
Employer: BDiscovered
Duration: 3 months, starts approx April/May 2013 (non-Equity artist contracts)

Director: Michael Bay. Looking for Talent to send to Casting Director - This is a Paramount Pictures production filmed in various locations overseas.
Apply to: Tina Hartery

2 breakdowns:
1. Female / 18-24 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
FEMALE LEAD - 18 to play high school senior…LEAD ETHNICITY - ANY

2. Male / 18-24 yrs. / Any Ethnicity.
MALE LEAD - Her 20-21 year old boyfriend, raised in Texas & drives racecars…LEAD ETHNICITY - ANY

Ad created by user 783009 on: Oct 18, 2012. Expires: Nov 7, 2012

Transformers 4 Release Date, Filming Start Date, More Lead Characters Info

A new post from Acting-Auditions website has collaborates the info on the lead human characters for Transformers 4, revealed the planned filming start date (April or May 2013), and set TF4's release date as June 27th, 2014. A little more info was provided so now can described the lead as an 18 year old female high school senior and her 20-something Texan race car driver boyfriend. The choices allow Bay to (legally) play up her sex appeal while providing a "realistic" reason for why one or both can drive an Autobot vehicle like a professional for whatever action scenes Bay has designed that needs those skills. Coming Soon also reports that Paramount has designed their temporary logo for Transformers 4 where "the right half of the standard transformers symbol acting as the stem of the number four." A previous report had the release date set 6/29/14 (a Tuesday) but still in the July 4th holiday window that the previous films were released in.

Di Bonaventura Pictures and DreamWorks SKG in association with Hasbro are in development on the Paramount Pictures science fiction action film "Transformers 4". The casting directors are auditioning actors for the new lead roles in the film, as neither Shia LaBeouf or Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are returning. The female lead role is an 18 year old or above who can play high school senior age, and the male lead is an early twenties Texas race car driver who plays the female lead's boyfriend. Shooting will take place in various locations beginning in April or May of 2013. This film is currently being referred to as "Untitled Transformers Sequel".

Michael Bay "Sick" of Hugo Weaving

It seems that Michael Bay did not appreciate Hugo Weaving's honestly when he spoke about doing the voice of Megatron for the Transformers films. Weaving commented that despite doing three films he never met the director and that the role itself really did not mean much to him, that it was essentially just a paycheck. I see nothing wrong with that the honestly as really no different then how I have looked at most of my jobs over the years. Obviously Bay had no concerns about Weaving's ability to do the job considering he still has not met the actor. While I was mostly indifferent to the comments, Bay was angry about it and shared those feeling on the his blog. The comment was deleted but Collider has a copy.

Do you ever get sick of actors that make $15 million a picture, or even $200,000 for voiceover work that took a brisk one hour and 43 minutes to complete, and then complain about their jobs? With all the problems facing our world today, do these grumbling thespians really think people reading the news actually care about trivial complaints that their job wasn’t ‘artistic enough” or “fulfilling enough”? I guess The Hollywood Reporter thinks so.

What happened to people who had integrity, who did a job, got paid for their hard work, and just smiled afterward? Be happy you even have a job – let alone a job that pays you more than 98% of the people in America.

I have a wonderful idea for all those whiners: They can give their “unhappy job money” to a wonderful Elephant Rescue. It’s the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Africa. I will match the funds they donate.

While the odds of Megatron returning in the fourth film were already unlikely, this mini-argument probably put a permanent kibosh on the idea. I really have a problem with Bay's comments, just question the wisdom of saying anything as it renewed this story for another news cycle. The best move in this case would have been no move.

Transformers: Prime 2.24 Patch Promo, TV Spot

Tomorrow Transformers Prime gets ever closer to the season 2 finale on The Hub at 7PM EST. "Patch" has "Starscream proposes a truce with fully-recovered Decepticon leader Megatron, but his new righthand man Dreadwing threatens to stand in the way of the alliance, even going so far as to coax Megatron into subjecting Starscream to some sort of mind probe to see what he's really planning." Below is clip and promo for episode, screenshots here. The 26 hour long Transformers: Prime Marathon that starts on November 1st at 5:30pm EST and ends with the November 2nd 7:00pm EST season finale episode "Darkest Hour." Don't forget that Transformers: Prime Season Two 4-disc set will be released on November 20th. The previous two episodes of TF Prime are also up on HubWorld.

Upcoming episodes:
10/26 Regeneration (2.25) - The Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons are drawn into Cybertron to face each other in a heroic battle over their mutual quests for the coveted Omega Lock, which, once unlocked with the four keys, would reawaken Primus' power.
11/02 Darkest Hour (2.26) - Season 2 finale. Megatron comes up with a complex plan and once it's put together, Optimus is placed in a position where he is forced to make a risky decision that, if not carefully considered, could have an inescapable effect on the entire Autobot team.

Transformers 4 Lead Characters?

SpoilerTV has posted a very brief description of what it claims to be a description for the two leads for Transformers 4. The posts says "The new female lead that they are looking for is a high school senior and her boyfriend a Texas racing driver." No further details. Usual grain of salt warnings apply until get more information. Update: Info confirmed. Click here for story.

Hugo Weaving Has Never Met Michael Bay

In an interview with Collider, Hugo Weaving commented about working as the voice of Megatron on the three Transformers films. Specifically he mentioned he has not been approached about Transformers 4, has never met Michael Bay and knew nothing then nor nothing know about Transformers or Megatron (which explains why he never did press for the films). It kind of hints at the nature of voice over work for celebrities which is often very little work for high amount of pay. Basically it was a job and he went in at did it.

As the voice of Megatron, has Michael Bay called about the next Transformers movie yet?
WEAVING: No. That’s a weird job for me because it honestly was a two-hour voice job, initially. I was doing a play and I actually didn’t have time, anyway. It was one of the only things I’ve ever done where I had no knowledge of it, I didn’t care about it, I didn’t think about it. They wanted me to do it. In one way, I regret that bit. I don’t regret doing it, but I very rarely do something if it’s meaningless. It was meaningless to me, honestly. I don’t mean that in any nasty way. I did it. It was a two-hour voice job, while I was doing other things. Of course, it’s a massive film that’s made masses of money. I just happened to be the voice of one of the iconic villainess characters. But, my link to that and to Michael Bay is so minimal. I have never met him. I was never on set. I’ve seen his face on Skype. I know nothing about him, really. I just went in and did it. I never read the script. I just have my lines, and I don’t know what they mean. That sounds absolutely pathetic! I’ve never done anything like that, in my life. It’s hard to say any more about it than that, really.

NYCC 2012: Next Year's Hasbro Transformers

Thursday Hasbro teased their next sub-line of Transformers Prime called Beast Hunters that brings the Beast Wars design aesthetic back into the main TF line. Hasbro also held a panel where they provided their plans and images of the first wave or so of toys that will start hitting shelves in spring 2013. Below are links to the galleries and info that was revealed. Also links to a recording of the actual panel and below that is a summary of what was revealed.

Links: Hasbro Panel | 3rd Party Gallery | Blue 'Bee Kreon Review | Non TF Displays | TF Universe MMO Trailer
Panel YouTube Video: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Transformers: Prime 2.23 Inside Job Promo, TV Spot, Road So Far

Tonight Transformers Prime moves close to the season finale on The Hub at 7PM EST. "Inside Job" has a captured Smokescreen learning where the Omega Key while trying to get the other three from Megatron. Below is clip and promo for episode. Also Hasbro has posted a sorta "The Road So Far" (cue up Carry on Wayward Son) for the first two season of Transformers: Prime to promote their epic 26 hour long Transformers: Prime Marathon that starts on November 1st at 5:30pm EST and ends with the November 2nd 7:00pm EST season finale episode "Darkest Hour." Don't forget that Transformers: Prime Season Two 4-disc set will be released on November 20th. The previous two episodes of TF Prime are also up on HubWorld.

Upcoming episodes:
10/19 Patch (2.24) - In an effort to secure a peaceful truce that would be beneficial to all parties involved, Starscream offers Megatron a ceasefire but Dreadwing has other ideas and does whatever he can to keep the diplomatic agreement from taking place.
10/26 Regeneration (2.25) - The Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons are drawn into Cybertron to face each other in a heroic battle over their mutual quests for the coveted Omega Lock, which, once unlocked with the four keys, would reawaken Primus' power.
11/02 Darkest Hour (2.26) - Season 2 finale

NYCC: New Transformers Prime Faction, Season 3 Teaser Trailer (Updated)

Today the New York Comic-Con 2012 started and Hasbro was on hand to tease their 2013 plans for Transformers Prime season 3. Below is a teaser trailer for Transformers Prime - Beast Hunters, set to start in the Spring (no exact date). With it comes a new faction, the Predacons along with Predaking (likely leader) with dragon alt mode. In G1 cartoons Predacons were the team of five Decepticons with creature alt modes merged to form Predaking. In Beast Wars, the Predacons are basically the ancestors of the Decepticons who continued the war against the Maximals, the Autobot ancestors.

Since Transformers Prime is part Hasbro's official canon for Transformers, it seems this is Hasbro's attempt to bring the successful Beast Wars approach into the toy line to open up the possibilities of alt modes back to real world animals and fantasy creatures. Depending on how the story goes and how well designed the (hopefully) new toy molds are, this could be kind of best of both worlds for TF fans. Hopefully more will be revealed of the line-up over the weekend. A gallery of Predaking can be found here.

Update: Hasbro has issued a press release providing an official image of Predaking's dragon alt mode. They also showed a teaser clip (below) that introduces the character, all the while keeping his robot mode secret.

"BEAST HUNTERS is an exciting new direction for TRANSFORMERS brand entertainment and the introduction of the PREDACON faction is a pivotal moment for OPTIMUS PRIME and the heroic AUTOBOTS, impacting the world of TRANSFORMERS which will never be the same," said Jay Duke, Global TRANSFORMERS Brand Vice President at Hasbro. "Kids and fans will be amazed by how Hasbro will bring this story and the 'beasts' to life across the brand's major entertainment platforms in 2013."

TF Linkfest - Hoodies, Pinball, and Posters

This edition of TF Linkfest is an interesting hodge podge of Transformers stuff. We have hoddies, new poster art, "cheaper" pinball machine, and custom TF art. New (currently) Takara only toys have been announced along with galleries for the next Masterpiece toy. Last but not least is video reviews for not Reflector, TF Prime Ultra Magnus, TRU Exclusive MP Prime, Gaia Unicron, not Brawn and not Cosmos.

Optimus Prime and Grimlock Hoodies
Now available from 80s Tees is two unique hoodies that could double as an easy Halloween costume. Grimlock is currently sold out but Optimus Prime is available. They cost $60 each.

Bay: TF4 Will "Feel Very Different"

While promoting his Doritos Super Bowl Contest to Entertainment Tonight, Michael Bay briefly commented about Transformers 4. He didn't really say anything different then what he said previously.

"What I can say is that it's going to pick up where the other three left off," said Bay of the film, which will predominantly feature new actors from its predecessors. "It's going to feel very different. It's going to definitely open the franchise up for many more to come, and it's going to have a freshness to it."

Transformers: RID #10 and Regeneration One #84 Previews

Wednesday brings Transformers: Robots in Disguise #10 and Transformers: Regeneration One #84 to stores. RID #10 switches gears to play catch up with Optimus Prime Orion Pax as he searches for Jhiaxus and his Decepticons. Regeneration #84 continues telling story of the Wreckers plan to stop Megatron with what little remains of human resistance. The preview of RID #10 is here and Regeneration #84 is here.

Transformer Prime The Video Game Wii U Trailer

From Wired.com, here is a new trailer for Transformers Prime The Video Game that will be released for Wii, Wii U, DS and 3DS. The Wii U version will be out on November 18th, the other consoles on October 30th.

Tyrese Back for Transformers 4?

In an interview with Mobli Tyrese Gibson indicated he was talking with Michael Bay about reprising his role of Robert Epps for Transformers 4. The discussion is in the literal early stages (text messages) so subject to change. Tyrese has already said before he was up for a return so all this indicates is Bay may be open to the idea also. Whatever story Bay comes up with there is likely to be a military component to it so why not have a military based character or two act as a bridge between the first trilogy and this "new direction" that Hasbro and Bay are planning. Transcript of TF4 section below, full video here.

“I don’t know… me and Michael Bay, we’ve been exchanging e-mails… I mean Text Messages and I just hope that it works out… I mean things fell apart with Megan Fox and so we had to do what we had to do to pick up the pieces and keep moving with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. And now things fell apart with Shia. Business is business I think. I think Shia has expressed his opinion. I think when you are associated with movie like Transformers other than the box-office sees you as an actor... a full-on actor, lot of people arguably can say they don’t take you serious… in this town called “Hollywood”... because the reason all these doing big is because of the robots, the big action and special effects and so in some capacity could diminish your value as an actor which you bring to the table. Even though it’s huge for your brand and your image and your celebrity around the world. But Shia is one of those real actors full-on real actors... whether gets an independent role where he just get paid Per diem or at some role he’s just passionate about and that he may do for free. As long as he gets associated with these heavy-weight actors… that’s the space he’s been. But for me I started this s*** with Shia, Josh, Michael Bay and the Team and sometimes you lose a team member. In my mind not be in a part with Transformers 4… if that’s even happening… it f**** me up. I’ll be honest… I love it. It was the childhood, movie, favorite of mine… you know I don’t really not wanna be a part of the franchise. Period. You know when you lose a team member sometimes you gotta keep going. Period.”

Transformers: Prime 2.22 Hard Knocks Promo, TV Spot

Tomorrow a new episode of Transformers Prime is on The Hub at 7PM EST. "Hard Knocks" is described as "When their desperate efforts to acquire the coveted Omega Keys take an unexpected and frantic turn, Knock Out is able to take advantage of the power of sound while Starscream uses his efforts to focus on the power of hyper-speed." Below is a clip and promo for the ep. Additional screenshots here. Also don't forget that Transformers: Prime Season Two 4-disc set will be released on November 20th.

Upcoming episodes:
10/12 Inside Job (2.23) - When Smokescreen is captured, he learns the location of the Omega Key and attempts to retrieve all the other stolen keys.
10/19 Patch (2.24) - In an effort to secure a peaceful truce that would be beneficial to all parties involved, Starscream offers Megatron a ceasefire but Dreadwing has other ideas and does whatever he can to keep the diplomatic agreement from taking place.
10/26 Regeneration (2.25) - The quest for the Omega Lock takes the Autobots and the Decepticons to Cyberton for a battle.
11/02 Darkest Hour (2.26) - Season 2 finale

Transformers: Prime 2.21 Alpha, Omega Promo, TV Spot

Tonight is a new episode of Transformers Prime on The Hub at 7PM EST. "Alpha, Omega" is described as "The Omega Keys and the influential secrets they contain catch the interest of the Autobots; the powerful capabilities of the Primes are noticed by Megatron, who takes it upon himself to do whatever it takes to extract them for his own use." Below is clip and promo for the ep. Additional screenshots here. The two previous episodes, The Human Factor (2.19) and Legacy (2.20) can be viewed at HubWorld. Also don't forget that Transformers: Prime Season Two 4-disc set will be released on November 20th.

Upcoming episodes:
10/05 Hard Knocks (2.22) - When their desperate efforts to acquire the coveted Omega Keys take an unexpected and frantic turn, Knock Out is able to take advantage of the power of sound while Starscream uses his efforts to focus on the power of hyper-speed.
10/12 Inside Job (2.23) - When Smokescreen is captured, he learns the location of the Omega Key and attempts to retrieve all the other stolen keys.
10/19 Patch (2.24) - Starscream proposes a truce with Megatron but Dreadwing threatens to stand in the way.
10/26 Regeneration (2.25) - The quest for the Omega Lock takes the Autobots and the Decepticons to Cyberton for a battle.

IDW December 2012 Transformers Comics

IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for December 2012. It is a bigger month then normal with five comics and 4 traders being released that month. The comics continue the post war Cybertron adventures, Scorponok returns in the G1 Marvel book, a look at Optimus Prime's pre-war past, and more. If you are interested in the books, just let your local comic book store know. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Star Trek, Locke & Key, and more click here.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise Ongoing #12
John Barber (w) • Andrew Griffith (a) • Andrew Griffith, Casey Coller (c)
THE RETURN! He’s back… and CYBERTRON will never be the same. Everything BUMBLEBEE and his AUTOBOTS have built teeters at the edge of collapse—and STARSCREAM has to make the choice his whole life has been leading to.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers RID Annual, MTMTE #9 Previews

Tomorrow is new comic Wednesday and this week brings two Transformers related issues to stands. Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #9 brings us a story from Cybertron's past while Robots in Disguise Annual provides a little more on the origin of the Transformers race when Metrotitan (like Metroplex but not) lands on Cybertron. A preview of MTMTE #9 is here and RID Annual here.

Transformers: More than Meets the Eye #9
(W) James Roberts (A) Alex Milne (CA) Alex Milne, Nick Roche
SHADOWPLAY begins here! One AUTOBOT connects the crew of the Lost Light with pre-war CYBERTRON and the rise of the DECEPTICONs. His name? OPTIMUS PRIME. The past and the present collide as Rewind begins telling his crew mates the most shocking story of all!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: Robots in Disguise Annual
(W) John Barber (A) Brendan Cahill, Guido Guidi (CA) Tim Seeley, Andrew Griffith
CRASHING DOWN! The mysterious Metrotitan from last month's More Than Meets the Eye Annual arrives on CYBERTRON-smashing into the ruins of the legendary Crystal City! Starscream and Prowl begin a battle of wills over the fate of this behemoth-and the outcome will shock you!
FC • 48 pages • $7.99

New Fall of Cybertron Massive Fury DLC Out Today

Today High Moon Studios will release their Massive Fury DLC pack for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron that includes the Retro Pack from the game's initial release. The pack adds five new playable characters (and their component parts) for multiplayer mode & character creations along with three new single player campaign items. For multiple player you have G1 Retro Optimus Prime, Hound, and the three Insecticons Kickback, Sharpshot (aka Shrapnel) and Hardshell (aka Bombshell). I guess Hasbro lost the copyright on those names. For single player you have the Generation 2 skin for Bruticus (in time for upcoming Amazon exclusive release), G1 Shockwave Blast Cannon weapon (retro pack) and G1 Megatron Pistol Gun weapon (retro pack). I am unclear if those that don't have the Retro Pack at game launch are able to play as Prime in single player mode or not. Below is a game play video from Kotaku

Glenn Morshower Back for Transformers 4 and 5

While at the Con X in Kansas City, Missouri, Glenn Morshower said he might be back in the role of General Morshower for Transformers 4 and 5.

"After I did the opening ceremonies for the ride, Steven Spielberg walked up to me and chatted and said 'You know we've got you set to do the fourth one and probably the fifth one on the heels of that," said on how he was approached about the new sequels. "So, I guess in December we are on our way to making 4 and 5."

This could have just been premature talk from executive producer Steven Spielberg but it would probably be very easy to have the character in the next movie (or two) considering Michael Bay said Transformers 4 is set after Dark of the Moon and the goal is a new direction that sets up the franchise for the future (aka TF5) without Bay at the helm. Any new direction is likely to have a military aspect to it and who better to act as liason then General Morshower. As for filming starting in December, that strikes me as unlikely considering Bay is still finishing editing Pain and Gain and nothing has been heard about script drafts.

Bay: Transformers 4 Set After Dark of the Moon

In an interview with the Huffington Post to promote his Doritos contest, Michael Bay discussed his upcoming movie Pain & Gain and provided a few more details about Transformers 4 including why he returned to the franchise and when it is set. The full interview is here.

Highlights:
- Movie set after Transformers: Dark of the Moon
- Peter Cullen will be back as the voice of Optimus Prime
- No indication on what other character may return (be really surprised if Bumblebee didn't)

Bay: "New Direction" for Transformers 4

Michael Bay posted a brief update and poster for his next movie Pain & Gain that he is currently editing. As part of that he provided a kind of mini-update on Transformers 4.

"The editing process is a bit slower on this one because I'm in the middle of launching my three TV shows and prepping Transformers 4–which is going in a total new direction and in a way to really broaden the franchise to give it lasting legs."

That aligns with Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner's desire to reinvent the brand to help boost toy sales.

Transformers: Prime 2.20 Legacy Promo, TV Spot

A new episode of Transformers Prime is airing on The Hub at 7PM EST. The ep is called "Legacy" and described as "Megatron does his best to distract Optimus from the reality of a weapon of legend belonging to the Primes, which if discovered, could change the entire outcome of the war; Jack and his new Autobot companion set out on a mission." Below is the promo and clip for the episode. The two previous episodes, New Recruit (2.18) and The Human Factor (2.19) can be viewed at HubWorld. Also don't forget that Transformers: Prime Season Two 4-disc set will be released on November 20th. On a related note, Rescue Bots voice actor D.C. Douglas has blogged that it is getting a season two. It was kind of assumed but this is the first mention from anyone associated with the show.

Upcoming episodes:
09/28 Alpha; Omega (2.21) - The Omega Keys and the influential secrets they contain catch the interest of the Autobots; the powerful capabilities of the Primes are noticed by Megatron, who takes it upon himself to do whatever it takes to extract them for his own use.
10/05 Hard Knocks (2.22) - As the race grows more desperate, Knock Out harnesses the power of sound while Starscream the power of hyper speed.
10/12 Inside Job (2.23) - When Smokescreen is captured, he learns the location of the Omega Key and attempts to retrieve all the other stolen keys.

Work with Michael Bay Transformers 4 Contest

USA Today has revealed that Doritos and Michael Bay are working together on a new contest for the 2013 Super Bowl and Transformers 4. The contest focuses on consumer-generated commercials. The winner whose commercial is chosen will win $1 million dollars, have commercial air during the Super Bowl and work with Michael Bay on Transformers 4 (how much time and on what isn't specified). Submissions open on October 8th, a little bit more info can be found at the Doritos facebook page.

The next Transformers movie could have an unlikely film credit: yours.

Doritos, the Frito-Lay brand that has embraced the Super Bowl as the salty snack's sweet spot for consumer-generated commercials, on Wednesday will announce plans to seriously boost the booty in its seventh annual Crash the Super Bowl contest.

Linkfest - TF Legends

This linkfest brings you a little bit of info on two new video games (one mobile, one for Wii U), Digital Domain bankruptcy, TFs on your street, transforming furniture, real life transforming car, new take on Unicron, a mobile card game and an amusing repaint. For videos we have an amusing new Kre-O commercial, a not Devastator stop motion video, reviews of MP Thundercracker, Bruticus, Dreadwing and more.

Transformers Prime The Video Game for Wii U Dated
Nintendo has officially announced the release date of the Wii U for North America as November 18, 2012 with a price of $350 (there is a $299 model but no point in getting that one). One of the official launch games will be Transformers Prime The Video Game (also be Wii, DS, and 3DS versions). Oddly the listed release date is November 13, 2012 with retail price of $49.99. The game lets you play as various TF Prime characters in 3rd person action in a new single player storyline or multiplayer action.

Digital Domain Files for Bankruptcy
The company that James Cameron (Avatar) created and Michael Bay once owned a stake in (but sold off more than three years ago) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company created visual special effects for the three Transformers films, Apollo 13, Titanic, The Fifth Element, Star Trek: Nemesis, Tron: Legacy, Avatar, X-Men: First Class and host of others. Upcoming films they are set to work on (for now anyway) are Ender's Game, Jack the Giant Killer and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The cause for the financial problems does not seem to be known except that the bankruptcy was initiated because it was in default on its loans. A public auction to sell the company is set for September 21st with Searchlight Capitol indicating it will bid $15 for it. The speed to deal with the bankruptcy is due to studios threatening to pull their films to give other studio effects companies’ time to complete any visual effects.

Transformers Prime - Beast Hunters?

According to a document leaked to a TFW2005's Neo-Bombshell from Hasbro's South American operations, it looks like the Fall 2013 will bring us Transformers Prime Beast Hunters. As Seibertron found, Hasbro has filed for the trademark to "Beast Hunters" calling it "an on-oing animated television series for children" and IDing it for "toy action figures, toy vehicles and toy robots convertible into other visual toy forms." Back in 1999 the name Beast Hunters was the initial name for what became the Beast Machines cartoon series that followed after Beast Wars.

The presentation image along with trademark information indicates that this will be used for Season 3 of TF: Prime and likely part of how the Dinobots will be added to the series cast. Also makes you wonder if and what aspects of Beast Wars/Machines might be incorporated into the Hasbro canon. Other relevant information is Transformers: Generations will continue through to 2014 as a kind of mark of the 30th Anniversary of the series. Also Hasbro hopes to continue Transformers Prime and Rescue Bots going through at least 2015. Feel free to speculate in the comments what TF Prime combined with Beast Hunters mean.

Transformers: Prime 2.19 The Human Factor Promo, TV Spot

Friday on The Hub at 7PM EST is a new episode of Transformers Prime. Called "The Human Factor" the episode is described as "Silas is given a new lease on life and approaches Megatron with a plan to join the Decepticon ranks". In a previous episode Silas' mind was transferred into a human built Transformer that uses Starscream's transformation cog. Below is promo and clip for the episodes. More screenshots are here. The two previous episodes, New Recruit (2.18) and Out of the Past (2.17) can be viewed at HubWorld. Also don't forget that Transformers: Prime Season Two 4-disc set will be released on November 20th.

Upcoming episodes:
09/21 Legacy (2.20) - Megatron does his best to distract Optimus from the reality of a weapon of legend belonging to the Primes, which if discovered, could change the entire outcome of the war; Jack and his new Autobot companion set out on a mission.
09/28 Alpha; Omega (2.21) - The Omega Keys and the influential secrets they contain catch the interest of the Autobots; the powerful capabilities of the Primes are noticed by Megatron, who takes it upon himself to do whatever it takes to extract them for his own use.
10/05 Hard Knocks (2.22) - As the race grows more desperate, Knock Out harnesses the power of sound while Starscream the power of hyper speed.

Transformers 4 Direction Motivated by TF3 Toy Sales

Hasbro's CEO Brian Goldner was at the UBS Best of Americas 2012 Conference (not a clue what that is) where the company provided a little bit of information about Transformers 4 including their placeholder logo until something official is developed with Paramount for the current summer 2014 release date. TFW2005 was able to provide the Transformers specific highlights.

Highlights:
- Called Botshots and Kre-O part of the gamification of Hasbro brands.
- Transformers 3 toy sales lower than expected blamed having the same characters in all the movies.
- Drop in sales motivated desire to use new characters in a new story specific to them.
- Desire to expand Transformers 3 to young kids lead to creation of Rescue Bots.
- Goldner hinted that Transformers 4 may lead to a re-imaging or reinvention of the brand.

It is easy to read too much into this but nothing surprising here. Hasbro take. Sales of TF3 toys were down, not surprising considering how many of them were just modifications of previous lines releases. A key way to refresh the line is new characters with new story arcs that could still tie into the larger TF Bay-verse if choose to or go into a new direction. Until we see of what Michael Bay has in store for TF4, it will be difficult to judge exactly what a reimaging or reinvention may actually mean. Thanks to Sahara A. for the link.

Dinobot Destructor Pack Released

Today High Moon Studios has released its next DLC pack for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron called "Dinobot Destructor Pack" for 360, PS3, and PC. The game gives you four Dinobots to play in multiplayer mode or use their component parts in creating your own custom Transformer. Below is a look at the pack from G4 and trailer for all the DLCs.

Transformers: MTMTE Annual Preview, Rage of the Dinobots Interview

Transformers is getting its first annuals in a long time (or ever, not sure) starting with Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye Annual #1. The issue will provide more background on The Knights of Cybertron that kicked of Rodimus and gang's mostly disasterous adventure in space. An eight page preview can be found here.

In addition, IDW Senior Editor John Barber was interviewed about the Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots miniseries that launches in November. The in canon series will take the origin of the Dinobots from Fall of Cybertron and bring it into the Transformers Prime storyline suggesting (but not confirmed) that one or more of the characters could pop in season 3. It starts where Fall of Cybertron ends, with the Ark leaving Cybertron with the Dinobots and others left behind. The full interview can be found at Ain't It Cool News.

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Annual 2012
James Roberts (w) • Jimbo Salgado, Guido Guidi (a) • Tim Seeley, Alex Milne (c)
THE ORIGIN OF THE KNIGHTS OF CYBERTRON! Rodimus and the crew of the Lost Light finally reach Crystal City, home to the mysterious Circle of Light. But what they find waiting for them is going to change everything—and not necessarily for the better!
FC • 48 pages • $7.99

Transformers: Prime 2.18 New Recruit Promo, TV Spot

Tonight brings new Transformers: Prime 2.18 episode New Recruit to the Hub at 7pm EST. The episode is described as "Starscream goes on a quest for Red Energon; a new Autobot joins Team prime. The Autobots and Decepticons come across some clues that could have the potential to change the war and perhaps restore Cybertron." Below is the promo and clip for the episode. If missed the previous episode, Out of the Past, it is now up on Hub World. Season 2 DVD/Blu-ray set will be out on November 20th.

Upcoming episodes:
09/14 The Human Factor (2.19) - Silas is given a new lease on life and approaches Megatron with a plan to join the Decepticon ranks.
09/21 Legacy (2.20) - Jack is paired off with a new partner; Megatron tries to keep Optimus from discovering the existence of a legendary weapon.
09/28 Alpha; Omega (2.21) - Omega Keys and the secret they hold; Megatron takes extreme measures to harness the power of the Primes.
10/05 Hard Knocks (2.22) - As the race grows more desperate, Knock Out harnesses the power of sound while Starscream the power of hyper speed.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Dinobot Destruction Pack DLC

High Moon Studios has officially announced their upcoming release of their new DLC for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron called "Dinobot Destruction Pack". It will be released on September 11th (probably for $10) for the PC, 360 and PS3. The pack will make Grimlock, Slug, Snarl, and Swoop available for multiplayer with their component parts for use in creating your custom Transformer. Press release below, images here.

Transformers: Regeneration #83, Robots in Disguise #9 Previews

Tomorrow Transformers: Regeneration #83 and Transformers: Robots in Disguise #9 will hit comic and online stores. Regeneration continues the Marvel take on the TF universe from the late eighties only jumping ahead 20 years to "our" present. Which isn't doing so hot since Megatron conquered and essentially destroyed the planet while the Autobots where enjoying their 20 years of peace. The Wreckers have crashed landed on the planets trying to avoid Megatron's zombie Decepticons and figure out what to do next to save what remains of the human race. Meanwhile in RID Ironhide and the Dinobots continue to explore the dangers of a reformatted Cybertron. To view an eight page preview of Regeneration click here and for Robots in Disguise click here.

Transformers: Regeneration #83
(W) Simon Furman (A) Andrew Wildman (CA) Andrew Wildman, Guido Guidi
The Wreckers are on Earth-and their fates rest in the hands of… a human? A very particular human-Spike Witwicky, the Circuit Smasher! The AUTOBOTs learn what MEGATRON's been doing the past 20 years… and OPTIMUS PRIME struggles to come to a decision about the future!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #9
(W) John Barber (A) Andrew Griffith (CA) Casey Coller, Andrew Griffith
DINOBOT HUNT! Ironhide and the DINOBOTS journey deep into the Cybertronian wilderness… and what they find is not what they expected! Meanwhile, the DECEPTICONS enact a dangerous plan with bizarre consequences!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

JLA/Transformers Pitch Crossover Artwork

For the last few days long time Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis has been tweeting comic related artwork from his tumblr blog but it was a piece from last night that got the most attention from the comic blogosphere. He tweeted "Transformers/JLA by Phil Jimenez yes, i said Transformers/JLA by Phil Jimenez" with gorgeous artwork (left). It turns out this piece wasn't just some fan commissioned artwork but a pitch from IDW's Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall for a JLA/Transformers crossover that looks to have been truly DC Universe wide and epic in scope. The idea was probably killed by DC as it came when they were getting ready to relaunch the DC Universe that would adjust the look and history of DCU. On bright side it doesn't mean they might revisit this in a few years and just update the story to reflect the new DCU.

Phil Jimenez followed up via twitter with an additional piece of art (right) and comments to fans. I strung them together below.

"Somehow, that rascally @brianbendis got a hold of my JLA/Transformers pitch art! Oh, what an epic that would have been! It would have been EPIC. You missed out on Wonder Woman's invisible jet becoming a very cool Transformer. Another piece of unused art from my JLA/Transformers pitch, with colors by the unbelievable @rfajardojr

"Giving credit where credit is due: the idea for Optimus Prime as a GL was none other than @chris_ryall's. Smart guy. A pitch for a cross-over! Got sideline after the DC relaunch, I think. Would have been fun, though! I'm a sucker for those Seacons. ...this was just pitch art, my friend. Just to give a taste. The transforming invisible jet... which was "female," I think. She would have been sooo cool. This would have been epically fun. No other reason to attempt such a thing, really, except for fun!"

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron iOS App, Upcoming DLC

High Moon Studios has released their official app for iPad and iPhone to go with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. It is not a game but more of a companion piece that provides story background, artwork, news and videos around the game. The free app can be found at the App Store. Thanks to Spark500 for the link.

High Moon also has two new DLC packs set for release. The Dinobot Destructor Pack is set for release on 11/9/12 and will be simiuliar to the already released Havoc Pack where the character skins are available for multiplayer as are their component parts for creating a custom Transformer. The Massive Fury Pack will be out on 9/25/12 and comes with the G1 Optimus Prime for the single player missions and Insecticons for the multiplayer game. I assume both those packs will also be $10 each.

Transformers: Prime 2.17 Out of the Past Promo, TV Spot

A new episode of Transformers: Prime airs Friday on The Hub at 7pm est. Called "Out of the Past, the episode is described as "When Arcee is unexpectedly brought back into the company of an old friend, they discover together that Decepticon has been scheming behind their backs an elaborate plan with the intentions of destroying the Autobots and claiming his victory." The episode has Cliffjumper and the Prime debut of Shockwave. Below is a the TV spot and clip for the episode. Few more images are here.

Upcoming episodes:
09/07 New Recruit (2.18) - Starscream goes on a quest for Red Energon; a new Autobot joins Team prime. The Autobots and Decepticons come across some clues that could have the potential to change the war and perhaps restore Cybertron.
09/14 The Human Factor (2.19) - Silas is given a new lease on life and approaches Megatron with a plan to join the Decepticon ranks.
09/21 Legacy - Jack is paired off with a new partner; Megatron tries to keep Optimus from discovering the existence of a legendary weapon.

Linkfest - Upcoming

The theme of this linkfest edition seems to be “upcoming” as there are a slew of new official and unofficial (but expensive) toys that are coming out in the next few months. All of them drool worthy, especially for G1 fans. The links includes galleries to Takara next wave of Masterpiece toys, Kreon Wallpaper, new TFC Toys, iGears and Mastermind Creations toys along with a review for a Hercules add-on.

Upcoming Takara MP Releases - MP-12 Lambor/Sideswipe | Red Alert, Soundwave | Video
Hit the link to look at the next new Masterpiece molds from Takara. Sideswipe and Red Alert is the smallest MP toy they have made yet as designed to be to scale to MP Prime and fit inside his trailer. The toys have been officially licensed by Lamborghini to give it that extra authentic look. The figures will be out by end of the year for around $90 each. Shockwave is getting the MP upgrade, retaining his classic boom box look with Laserbeak cassette but with a whole lot more detail and articulation. I would be very surprised if Hasbro didn't bring one or all of these molds stateside sometime next year. You can also hit the video link for a look at the figure but no subtitles to understand what the engineer is saying.

Kreon Wallpaper
Hasbro has released wallpaper for many of their upcoming Kreon figures. CGI images include Ironhide, Megatron, Prime, Wheeljack and more.

Transformers: Prime Season 2 Returns Tonight (Updated)

Just a friendly reminder that Transformers: Prime returns tonight on The Hub with new episodes starting with ep 2.16 "Hurt" that is described as "Still reeling from the near-fatal experience Bulkhead faced at the hands of Hardshell during the last relic hunt, Wheeljack and Miko decide to take matters into their own hands and leave to hunt down Hardshell to exact revenge for their friend." Prime will now air on Friday at 7:00pm EST, a move from its previous Saturday 8:00pm slot. Promo video for Hurt is below. The new eps kick off with a mini-marathon starting at 5pm EST that is likely Tunnel Vision, Triangulation, Triage, and Toxicity to help get you caught back up.

Update: Added clip from Hurt ep below.

Upcoming episodes:
08/31 Out of the Past (2.17) - When Arcee is unexpectedly brought back into the company of an old friend, they discover together that Decepticon has been scheming behind their backs an elaborate plan with the intentions of destroying the Autobots and claiming his victory.
09/07 New Recruit (2.18) - Starscream goes on a quest for Red Energon; a new Autobot joins Team prime. The Autobots and Decepticons come across some clues that could have the potential to change the war and perhaps restore Cybertron.
09/14 The Human Factor (2.19) - Silas is given a new lease on life and approaches Megatron with a plan to join the Decepticon ranks.
09/21 Legacy - no episode description

Transformers: Prime Season 2 Blu-Ray, DVD Sets Coming

The last half of season 2 of Transformers: Prime starts tomorrow. It looks like it will be 11 straight weeks of new episodes as Hasbro and Shout Factory have announced that Transformers: Prime Season 2 set will be released on November 20th for DVD and November 27th for Blu-ray just in time for Christmas. The four disc sets will include all 26 episodes, Optimus Prime: Up Close and Personal Panel with Peter Cullen being interviewed by Larry King and interviews with the production team. Doesn't look like there will be any commentaries and the like. Currently Amazon has pre-orders up for the set with DVD set priced at $20.95 and shoutfactory.com - Blu-ray set at $41.93. Full press release below.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron DLC and Reviews

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron has only been out a day but already a new DLC has been released, the end credits sequence posted and various reviews of the game. The FoC DLC gives access to Ultra Magnus, Perceptor, Wheeljack and Blast Off with Cybertronian vehicle modes and parts available in customization menu so can create your own version of these characters if choose too. The characters are only playable in multiplayer mode. The DLC is now available on PSN and XBox Live for $10. More screenshots from the DLC can be found here.

While it is early, there are already several reviews posted for the game. Some sites loved the games, others where underwhelmed but so far the game has around a 80% on Metacritic. Below are select quotes from various reviews to give a range of what is being written. Also below, for giggles, is the spoiler free end credits to the game scored to Stan Bush's The Touch: Sam Theme. This version of the classic TF: The Movie song was remade to fit Bay's sound athestics for the first Transformers theme. If don't mind spoiler the game, there are already plenty of boss fight and walkthrough videos posted on YouTube.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Out Now

Just a reminder that today is the launch date for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron for the PS3, XBox 360 and PC. Most stores are pricing the game at $59.99 but there are a few exceptions. Probably the best deal comes from Toys R Us with their buy 1 get 1 video game off for 40%. If can't find that second game then Amazon is your other bet with a $49.99 price point. You can find the launch trailers here and here.

Amazon - PS3/360: $49.99; PC: $59.99
Best Buy - PS3/360: $59.99; 15% off game guide with game purchase
Gamestop - PS3/360: $59.99
Target - PS3/360: $59.99
Toys R Us - PS3/360: $59.99; Buy 1 Get 1 40% Off
WalMart - PS3/360: $59.99

IDW November 2012 Transformers Comics

IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for November 2012. A total of four comics and zero trades are being released that month. Transformers: Prime joins the line-up with a the mini-series Rage of the Dinobots that uses their Fall of Cybertron Dinobots origin to tell a new in continuity story. If you are interested in the books, just let your local comic book store know. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Star Trek, Locke & Key, and more click here.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye Ongoing #11
James Roberts (w) • Alex Milne (a) • Milne, Nick Roche (c)
SHADOWLAND CONCLUDES! And it’s the end of an era when, on pre-war CYBERTRON, enemies close in on all sides and Orion Pax—the future OPTIMUS PRIME—selects a team of AUTOBOTS to help him pull off the ultimate heist—with the fate of the planet hanging in the balance!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #8 Preview

Dinobot essentially ends with the release of Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #8 this Wednesday. The annuals are still to come but they don't focus on the Dinos. This issue focuses on Grimlock and I assume tells a little bit of what happened to him since he was last written about. I think that was the Maximum Dinobots miniseries in 2008 to 2009 but not entirely sure. Any case a preview of MTMTE #8 can be found here.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye Ongoing #8
James Roberts (w) • Alex Milne (a) • Milne, Nick Roche (c)
DINOBOT MONTH! Three years ago, Grimlock disappeared from his prison cell on Garrus 9. Where did he go? What happened to him? One thing’s for certain: the leader of the Dinobots is back—and he's itching to settle some scores!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Launch Trailer 2

High Moon Studios has released another new launch trailer via IGN (previous here) for Transformers: Fall of the Cybertron. Whoever does the trailers for High Moon deserves a raise as they have a true cinematic feel to them compared to other video game trailers. The game comes out this Tuesday, August 21st on PS3, 360 and PC.

Transformers: Prime 2.16 Hurt Promo, Marathon

Transformers: Prime returns starting August 24th with new episode called "Hurt" that pits the Insecticon Hardshell against Wheeljack. To kick things off starting this Friday at 5pm EST The Hub will have a marathon of TF Prime eps. Not sure how many episodes but I assume it will go from 5-8 so six. Below is the promo for the marathon. Speaking of TF Prime, click here for screenshots of the the video game for the Wii and DS systems that is out in October.

Upcoming episodes:
08/24 Hurt - Still reeling from the near-fatal experience Bulkhead faced at the hands of Hardshell during the last relic hunt, Wheeljack and Miko decide to take matters into their own hands and leave to hunt down Hardshell to exact revenge for their friend.
08/31 Out of the Past - Arcee and a friend uncover a feat of Decepticon engineering intending to destroy the Autobots.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Launch Ads

While Transformers: Fall of Cybertron isn't officially released until August 21st, High Moon Studios went ahead and revealed what their launch ads will be for the game. I assume variations of it will start appearing all over the place starting next Tuesday. It not anything we have not seen before but still cool to see. Except for Prime. Don't know why but when Prime is running towards Megatron, it just makes me think of a fat man with huge beer belly trying to run fast. The game will be released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. Thanks to Spark500 for the link.

Linkfest - TFCon

At the end of July TFCon was held in Canada. While Hasbro bowed out of the convention due to the con refusing to ban third party Transformers, those same companies used it as an opportunity to sell and show off some of their upcoming projects. Almost all of them engage in homages to Generation One toys but usually with a level of detail and articulation that Hasbro toys don't have and with characters and alt modes that Hasbro will never bother to attempt due to lack of mass market appeal and cost. With all that in mind, below are galleries to various 3rd party toys shown off at TFCon, galleries to official Hasbro products, article about G1 mail away TFs and a whole bunch of video reviews.

Mastermind Collectibles Gallery
Hit the link for MC's upcoming toys. Hextron is their take on G1's Sixshot with six transformer modes but with greater detail and articulation then the 80s version (which is getting a re-release from Takara). The final version will be about Masterpiece Grimlock in size so probably will not be cheap when it is released sometime in 2013. Their other toys include a repaint of Knight Morpher Cyclops based on the gray scale paint scheme of Radioshack version of G1 Shockwave and Knight Morpher Seekers that are repaints of not Starscream.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Giant Bomb Video

If you have 35 minutes, below is a long look at Transformers: War for Cybertron as High Moon Studios Matt Tieger teaches Giant Bomb's crew how to play the game by showing off multiple levels from the game. It starts with the Optimus Prime level (the G1 retro version), moves to Jazz, Cliffjumper, Vortex, Bruticus, and ends with Grimlock. Demo is out now on the PSN and XBox Live. Game comes out on August 21st. A summary of a Kotaku Q&A with Tieger about the game can be found here.

Transformers: MTMTE #8 Preview

Dinobot month continues in IDW's Transformers title. Today brings Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #8 to stores as the rest of the Dinobots show up on Cybertron. A sneak peak of the issue can be found here.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye Ongoing #8
James Roberts (w) • Alex Milne (a) • Milne, Nick Roche (c)
DINOBOT MONTH! Three years ago, Grimlock disappeared from his prison cell on Garrus 9. Where did he go? What happened to him? One thing’s for certain: the leader of the Dinobots is back—and he's itching to settle some scores!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Demo Video,

Yesterday Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Demo went live on XBox and PS3. ClevverGames has posted five videos that show off the various features that players can expect. Thanks to Spark500 for the links.

Demo Review