Aimee (LadyWreck) on Getting Into Transformers Comics

I want to read it and experience it because that's

part of the review is to be like, oh my gosh,

this is so great. Welcome to The Pole Bag. Join

us as we dig out our latest comics. and discuss

them with the rotating panel of the GCRN crew.

So sit back and enjoy this week's Go Bang! You

know wreckers don't call for backup? They call

for cleanup! Hello and welcome to The Pull Bag.

I am your host, DFJ1Mike, and this is another

Origins episode. For those of you who don't know,

who haven't been listening to this show, first

of all, why haven't you? We've only had 15 episodes

so far. The Origins episodes is where I bring

someone on that I want to talk to and ask them

about their comic credentials, as Ender so eloquently

put it in episode 9. uh... and this time around

i have a lady rec of the underbase hello hello

how are you i'm fantastic how about yourself

awesome i'm doing very good i've recorded two

podcasts tonight and i will have edited two podcasts

wow wow oh my gosh yes it's a rough job podcasting

it is air quotes there yes So for those of you

who don't know who Lady Rek is she is one of

the main co -hosts of the under base Which is

solely a transformers comics podcast. It is comics,

right? It does the other stuff Yeah, we only

we only do the the comic anything comic oriented

or whatnot. So literature art type of thing.

So yeah where Okay, I get moon base to hey spike

and bumblebee home what are we going to do now

you know i'd get that where did the title for

the underbase come from well at the time when

i first started reviewing and podcasting uh...

we were actually a part of the moon base to it

was just a segment that you would really really

really yeah and it would go out with their with

the regular show and after that a couple months

of doing that uh... Dave who was running the

show Calliella Prime he decided that he wanted

to make it more permanent it was kind of like

it was just the next thing that he was expanding

to and that's where he brought on another you

know other reviewers to help out with comics

and he kind of put it up to the listeners and

I think there were I don't even remember what

the other ones are because the forum that All

of those suggestions were on has since been taken

down. Yeah But there I think there were three

three particular There were three Options and

I think out of the three we one of them was the

underbase and So that's how it kind of came into

being and I think it was a Marvel references

where it came from I'm not exactly sure on that

because I know there was the underbased saga

in Marvel back in the day. I haven't read it

I should But that's pretty much where it started

and at the time it was just as let's see last

end of the records had just ended and that was

the first thing I'd ever reviewed and Ongoing

was just kicking off Dave wasn't really too keen

on it. And so he kind of just said, you know

guys Here. Just take it. Yeah. Here's the podcast.

Here's the under base. Go run with it. Have fun.

Like, oh, OK, sure. At the time, like, I've never

run a podcast in my life. I've listened to them

for maybe about a year. I don't know anything.

That's the same way I was in 2008 I was running

off of a little laptop that when we Skyped it

had this noise and You know sometimes I would

use my iPod touch which had a better you know

sound to it because it didn't have the the fan

from the old laptop and it just you know it we

still sent at that point we sent all the files

or recorded it and send it over to Dave and We

were still figuring out like best microphones

and I mean it was just quite literally It was

just kind of dropped in our lap and said, okay

go for it Learn as you go So that's kind of where

it started out is just that you know Getting

on as a reviewer. I it was random Dave he like

I said, he was trying to expand and he wanted

to kind of start doing comics type of review

on on Moonbase to it just kind of expand to maybe

multiple different podcasts and whatnot and He

had already kind of dabbled a little bit with

he brought actually he brought Ender on I think

the fall before the records came out and I think

at that time it was I heard a review of coda

it was at issue 15 that was the one with prowl

and That was the first time I had ever heard

Ender review anything, but like he gushed about

this comic to the extent that after I finished

the podcast, I said, I'm going to go and buy

my first comic. And then of course he had nothing

but good things to say about Last Night of the

Wreckers. So because of that. I went out and

got my first comic and I intended to follow Last

Stand of the Records for the first time. I'd

never set foot inside a comic shop before and

I'd never gotten where I was actually running

down and trying to get single issues for a specific

series before. At least not in a long time. I

did back when I was a little kid but we'll probably

get into that later. But long story short is

that it kind of is as amazing as this is It was

probably because of Ender and another podcast.

It was on with Anthony over on tformers the tformers

podcast the last podcast that they did I actually

listened to it was like the last one I was like,

oh dang it. I I was looking for podcasts and

and Some a couple things that Anthony had said

in because it was their farewell show is like

that You know He he was ending the podcast because

he had other things other projects going on and

he had to take a step back And he said that somebody

else Just making room for somebody else to step

forward and fulfill a need in the fandom because

there's always a place for everybody. And so

a couple months after that, Dave puts out this

call on the Moonbase 2 forum that they were looking

for some comic reviewers and I thought, well,

you know, I'm getting those. Maybe I could do

a couple of writing reviews. That would be cool.

That would be fun. you know, because I have a

little bit of an art background as well. And

so I thought, well, writing and art, I could

do that. So that's I contacted him and so did

my co -host, Matt. And so that's how we got picked

out of the crowd is the fact that he put the

call out there and we answered it. I had no idea

it meant that I was going to be on a podcast.

I thought, oh, no, no, I was just going to write.

That was it. Yeah. Yeah. That cured me real quick.

That's how it started. So you mentioned that

when you were a kid, how did you come to know

comics? Did someone introduce it to you? How

did that come about? This is kind of a sad story,

actually. I never really got into comics when

I was a kid. It was something that I did more

as an adult. I became an adult fan solely because

of transformers but my I Mean like okay, you

want to go really old -school. I okay back in

the day, you know, I remember who wonder woman

was and My first introduction to I'd say any

comic hero was probably that far back and I was

like maybe four or five something like that And

because I watched a little bit, they had the

old show way back in the day. At least I remember

watching it with my family a little bit. Not

a lot, just just a little bit. I don't remember

like full episodes, but I remember the lady that

played Wonder Woman and she's just like that

woman. And of course, there was Superman, too,

which was like the old movie, the old, old one.

You know, I got I was a kid. I got like some,

you know. superhero underwear and all that stuff

and You know Wonder Woman Batgirl that type of

thing, but that was pretty much my exposure to

Comics was just little kid stuff that you know

I could recognize who some of the characters

were and I knew who they were I didn't know anything

about them or what they did I just knew they

were heroes and that was that was the extent

of that and for the most part that was my exposure

to comics up until I was It may be in high school.

Fast forward that to about Transformers, because

I was big into the TV show. In fact, I remember

being eight years old and I saw the first advertisements

for it when they were going to actually put it

on TV. And it didn't say a time or when they

were going to actually broadcast the first episode.

So for two weeks, I ran home from the bus stop

every afternoon because I wanted to get home

hoping that I would see the show, the first show.

And so I'm like because all I saw were advertisements,

but I don't remember seeing a date or a time

or when it was going to air. I wasn't quite familiar

at the time on how to find out that information,

like where to get it because you have to like

look in the newspaper or have some sort of TV

guide or something like that, which I wasn't

quite sure how to do that. I was only eight and

I didn't really have. you know help from my parents

they're like you know you don't need to watch

cartoons you need to do your homework so you

know i was like hey you know little kids priorities

okay it's priorities right and so i was running

home for two weeks i remember it was two weeks

straight because every single time i'd turn on

the tv i'd be looking for this show and i'd wait

for like a good two maybe two and a half hours

and then I'd be like disappointed like really

disappointed going I want to see this show and

I don't want to miss it and so you know I that's

why I remember is because I felt so you know

upset that it wasn't on yet so and then once

the show actually came on I was just like I would

quite literally I would I think it was like I

had 30 minutes until it came on so I would get

off the bus I would run home and I try to do

my homework within 30 minutes so I wouldn't miss

anything I was crazy. I was just a crazy kid.

I did get the toys. My brothers both got one

each. I got My Little Pony and they got Transformers.

But I was all right with that because I was like,

you know, the show is cool. You know, of course,

when you're a girl and you're being told, oh,

those are those are toys for little boys. You're

not a little boy, so you can have dollies and

stuff. I'm going, OK, whatever, you know. What

yeah, I just got over the fact that I wasn't

going to get one. So, you know, whatever But

yeah, I was obsessed with the show it came to

the point where I I was I would not like I really

wanted to watch the show my brothers tried to

turn it off or anything, you know, there'd this

be this big battle and you know, it just my it

bothered my mother it really bothered my mother

that was so obsessed about this show and so She

basically grounded me from watching it, and I

was like, no, you can't do this to me. Crying

in tears and all that. I begged my parents at

the time because the movie was about to come

out, so I made it through at least two seasons.

Yeah. And they were not going to let me go. And

so I begged and begged and begged and begged

and begged and begged and begged and begged.

So my mom made this deal with me. She says, OK.

I will take you to the movie, but then you have

to give it up. You're not going to watch it anymore

after that. I don't want anything else ever again.

I don't want to hear anything about it. I will

take you to the movie, but that means that's

it. And so I, considering what happens in the

movie, I'm sure you wanted to give it up. So

I, I, I went, I saw it and yes, I, you know,

it was like, No, although that stuff and yes,

I cried cuz I was a girl and I still cry to this

day if I allow myself to get there But I let

I gave it up. I never saw season 3 or the ending

Season 4 I saw parts and pieces like there were

times where my parents weren't home and I was

like Flip it through the channels and oh my goodness.

It's start. It's it's it's it's it's you know

Transformers like I gotta watch it and I'd like,

you know get little glimpses then I hear my parents

come home I turn it off right away, you know,

cuz I you know, I made a promise I'm not gonna

break my promise and yeah, so I dropped it and

I I saw parts in peace. Like I said, that was

that was it didn't get to see the ending until

I was an adult And of course, afterwards, I heard

that there are comics. Now, I did ask about them

because I thought, well, you know, it's not the

TV show. It's it's a comic. And so I thought,

well, you know, and it's reading and it's semi

educational. And and you think, you know, because

young kid, I lived in a small town, you know,

I'll ask. Why not? Why not ask? And that pretty

much. Was told and and it just I think back on

those years I go golly. I was so sheltered. It

was not even funny I was pretty much steered

my parents pretty much steered me away from the

comics for a couple reasons one we lived in a

small town and There really wasn't a comic shop

there, to be honest. I don't ever, even as an

adult now, I think back like, no, I never even

remember hearing of a comic shop in that area.

So part of it was the fact that we didn't really

have the resources. Two, my parents really didn't

have the money, and I know that's kind of a cop

-out because back in the day, that was actually

when they were really cheap. But three, they

gave me this dumb -ass excuse how comics are

not for kids. And I know, I know it sounds bad

because now I know better, but back in the day,

for some reason that hit my little kid ears and

I thought, oh, oh, okay. Well, I know other kids

read them and you know, but it's like my parents

just didn't want me to get into it and they didn't

want me to read it. And so I pretty much... I

just kind of wrote off comics after that, which

is kind of sad because considering what I actually

ended up going to college for and the education

that I got, I mean, I really could have benefited

from having that early exposure to comics and

illustration and how to tell a story with pictures.

And so I kind of look back on that. I mean, now

as an adult, I just think, golly, you've got

to be careful what you say to your kids because

even the littlest things that you might think

are just harmless as little kids, You know you

your parents tell you something you believe it

and so I kind of steered away from comics because

of a misunderstanding and that that kind of is

kind of sad if you think about it and There have

been times where I've actually been really kind

of angry that my parents did I would say for

me what specifically to the old cartoon I loved

it when they switched it to the morning time

like it used to because I used to live in Massachusetts

I used to be in the well I'm still in Eastern

Time Zone but it was they moved it to 6 a .m.

Eastern and I loved it because it was right before

I had to run out and catch the school bus because

every other time when it was on in the afternoon

my mom would be like oh you want to go over to

your aunt Debbie's or whatever and every time

I would go over there and I would try to watch

it My aunt was like yeah, that's too violent.

Oh, hey, I swear that robot just said ass I'm

not gonna have any children in my house watching

a cartoon that someone says ass on yeah, yeah

You know the afternoon was actually better for

me because in the morning my parents would know

did not allow TV at all so I Think at that point

when they did make it in the morning That's the

time where I wasn't allowed to watch it anyhow.

So By that time we'd gotten past that I was like,

oh I can't watch it anyhow So even if it moves

to the morning, I'm I'm I'm not missing anything

But because of that I turned to books so I couldn't

read comics and I couldn't you know, watch the

show. So I turned to books. By the fourth grade,

I was reading books and hanging out in the library

and saving money to buy books of my own. And

I just took off. My next obsession was that.

So I turned to books. I turned to writing, not

necessarily writing, but like I just I liked

stories. I was just a story nut. And that kind

of. it filled a hole that I didn't have. And

I remember even thinking as a kid, I want to

see the rest of that, but I realized that I'm

kind of out of my control and if it's still around,

it will be when I'm an adult. I'll find some

way to find it someday and connect back with

that. And that was it. That was it. I had to

give it up. It wasn't my choice. I didn't want

to give it up. In fact, I remember I still have

a couple of journals that I wrote back then just

writing about how I want to get back to it someday,

even years later after that. It's funny how,

and the reason why I got back into it is because

I had kids of my own and it's kind of one of

those full circle things. You end up having your

own kids and you start going, what was I into

when I was a kid? I'd like to get back to that.

So that's where it ended up doing. But it was

because of those years, those impressionable

years, that I got into storytelling and that

I got into art. And I ended up going all the

way up through, like when I went to college,

I took creative writing classes and I went to

a university studying as an illustration major.

can't draw robots because they're just way I

just my brain wrapping around it I don't have

any reference material I could probably fill

around. I'm sure one of the Josh's could teach

you. I'm sure that they probably could, but a

lot of it's on computer nowadays and I was an

oil painting person. I loved oil painting and

I need to learn the computers what I need to

do. I need to sit down and lock myself in a room

with a computer and a Photoshop and a nice Wacom

or whatever pad they have nowadays. I'm sure

they could give me some good tips on what to

get and then just learn it and just practice

my butt off. haven't I don't have time now yeah

no yeah that's that's one of the reasons why

I wanted to have you on and talk about all this

stuff because everywhere I see people talking

about you or to you it's like Amy she does all

this stuff with comics now and she's a mother

where does she find the time yeah Well, let's

just say this. My kids, they are both in school

now. My youngest was in preschool, but now he's

in kindergarten this year. While they're at school,

I do stuff. When they are home, I get them started

on other stuff and I kind of multitask. My house

is not immaculate like my mother's house is.

It definitely has its mess. Mostly livable in

it, but there are rooms that need to be cleaned

out badly That I might be starting to hoard a

little bit. I don't know. We'll see But yeah,

you know, I I do fun thing I have both boys so

it's like I don't have to I can hang out with

the boys, you know, and I get the boy things.

I had two brothers, too, so I didn't have any

sisters. I'm just kind of not a girly girl, although

I can be a girly girl. And, you know, I just,

you know, I hang out and do fun things with them.

And like we play games and, you know, get on

the Xbox with the kids and play Transformers.

I sit down and watch cartoons with them. I multitask.

It's something that's OK for kids. And, you know,

just because I had a family that, you know, I

had a parent situation where they kind of censored

a lot of stuff and kept me from getting into

stuff. But I still found a way to to read books.

I think sometimes books are worse than comics.

There are some books. Yeah, there are some out

there that I there are there are some out there

that I found. Let's just say that mom's like,

you know, hey, I hope that's a really nice book

for you that doesn't have anything dirty in it.

Like, no. No mom, it doesn't and even if it did

I'd say no mom. It's it's it's fine. It's Yeah,

you know, that's his harlequin on the cover.

No, there's nothing dirty and I wasn't a romance

person not the sci -fi and the fantasy which

Yeah, there's some stuff out there Alright, so

you said that wreckers was the first thing you

got into when you started So for those that don't

know transformers last stand of the records was

It wasn't ongoing but it was it was a mini series

it was a mini series it was five issues That

it's been it's about two years is maybe it's

three now. Yeah, it's about three years now.

Yeah Came out about it was released about the

same time that the transformers ongoing issue

one started up not too long after that so and

it was also going on during the bumblebee mini

as well uh huh yeah so i assume after reading

that that's where you got the whole wreck and

rule thing oh yes absolutely that's that's why

i'm actually called lady wreck um while i was

reviewing it again dave used to call me the our

lady of mayhem our wrecking lady and it just

kind of had a ring to it I kind of changed my

name because of that. It was something else,

and I was like, you know what? I couldn't think

of a really cool Transformer homage. And then

Lady Rek showed up, and I'm like, yeah, it's

me right there. Woohoo! Yeah, that works. That

works. Totally works. So you're pretty much reading

everything Transformers -wise these days? Right

now, I am, yes. I'm pretty much reading every,

and that's the odd thing, because I did, let's

see, when I was in high school I got into like

a Star Trek. obsession and started reading everything

Star Trek and I did actually pick up a couple

of a string of comics at the time but they just

didn't keep my interest very well and I thought

the books just seemed to do it a little bit better

so I only had like I got a couple weeks worth

of issues and then I just kind of died off on

it and walking away from that and that was that

was pretty much it when it came to and I didn't

go into a comic shop to get that it came with

a Star Trek magazine And I've got it like it's

in a box somewhere somewhere in my closet or

something Anyhow, and so that's pretty much it

when it came to comics So when I say I walked

into a comic shop for the first time I had bought

comics, but I hadn't really you like I bought

on my read on my I just didn't get into them

but when I When I went in for the first time

to get you know I actually went in and got the

coda issue that Ender had reviewed on the under

or not the other base at the time It was moon

base too at the time and so I went in I walked

in I went and got it Had the typical response

that the guy that walks, you know, the girl that

walks in the comic shop Oh, you're here for your

boyfriend, right? You're here to get somebody

something for somebody else. You don't look like

a comic fan I was like no actually it's here

for me and he kind of looked at me like, huh

What do you want again transformers like it's

in the back and they kind of just look at you

like you're an odd what what where did you come

from why am i flashing to the big bang theory

episode when penny walks into the comic shop

for the first time and every single guy in the

room nearly passes out and has an asthma attack

oh gosh I was the only one there. I mean, I think

there was one other guy. He was talking to the

guy that was at the front desk. And then he turned

around and left. He didn't even look at me. But

it was the guy that was running the shop that

was just like, just don't look like the comic

fan. And I was like, this is my first time. I'm

like, this is so exciting. And he's like, you

just don't look like the right person to be here.

I want to buy a comic." And he's like, oh yeah,

in about two weeks you're probably going to be

like, never back here again. It turns out that

that guy actually, I stayed devoted coming in

there until he closed the shop. And then afterwards

he was the guy that I called up and said, hey,

I'd email him and say, I want this issue, this

issue, this issue, this issue. I did that for

a good solid year. So, you know, you never know.

Those girls that kind of walk in there and say,

no, no, I'm not, this is not a fad. I'm here

for life. They made it. This is not 3D. So are

you just reading the Transformers stuff? You're

not reading anything Marvel or PC? I'm not really.

I really don't. I don't have the time right now.

Yeah, I'm a very busy woman. And then on top

of that, I'm also a podcaster. And then on top

of that, yeah, I'm just, it's crazy. I am getting

all of the Transformers comics right now, and

I have dabbled with a few other things. Everybody

had good things to say about the Birds of Prey

that was written by Gail Simone. And so I have

that, but I haven't finished it. I kind of started

it, but I didn't finish it. I picked up The Walking

Dead. I haven't finished that either, but I've

gotten up to like 30 issue 35 36 Then the show

came on and I started watching that I Need to

go back and watch more of it or I need to go

back and read more of it But I I do have access

to it. I just haven't like picked it up again

Let's see. I did recently pick up Because one

of the other podcasts I'm on is with a friend

of mine Nicole hailstorm. She goes by Beatles

Diva on Twitter and She's a big Stephen King

the Dark Tower series fan Which has also been

traded into comic form or whatnot and I actually

have the first Volume and I cracked it open last

night said, okay, I'm gonna read it and is sitting

beside me, so that's probably the next thing

I'm gonna ingest. I have, I've started reading

the Milo Pony comic. And so, yeah, and I've read

a couple issues of the Ninja Turtles, but again,

it's just sometimes my time is just so limited

that I just, and I, you know, at the end of the

day when the kids are in bed, I'm like, I just

wanna go and. veg to Star Trek Deep Space Nine.

Yeah, yeah. Oh, and I also read Casa's run of

G .I. Joe while he was writing Transformers because

I wanted to see what else he had written. And

it was actually really good. I liked it. So,

yeah, I've dabbled with other things, but nothing

that's like actually stuck. I say that I'm like,

oh, I'm gonna buy this now and this is like my

next thing It's three years straight right now,

so I'm here to stay with transformers I'm getting

all of the the the old more Marvel run. I haven't

I've rat I sat down and read the first volume

I haven't read the second one yet and I need

to do that Yeah, eventually I find myself Going

backwards comes to chance for hers and Again

as it's already been stated in this podcast.

This is all Ender's damn fault I Guess after

he read issue 11 of more than meets the eye he

was like I Will never see the origin of shockwave

ever again after that, you know, and I was like

Do I need to read the first 10 issues to get

caught up? He said, yeah, you probably should.

So I went out and I got all three volumes of

More Than Meets the Eye. You know why Ender was

reading it, right? Because I told him, you better

get on board with this dude. I said, you're missing

out on some good stuff. It's like, yeah, yeah,

yeah, whatever. I said, no, seriously, you need

to check this out. I got it. Not that I'd say

that, you know, I'm sure all he needed was a

little encouragement. That's all he needed. He's

he's such a Transformers fan. He really is. Yes,

he is. And then he believed me. So, yeah, yeah.

After that origin yeah anybody would be a whopper

isn't it that one was just like oh my gosh So

strange so I've now obviously the listeners know

since this is episode 15 of the show and I wrapped

up our one meets the I talk in episode 13 and

Yeah, so now that I'm caught up with more than

meets the eye I'm going back and I'm gonna see

what the hell is going on on Cybertron, so I

gotta go get rid. Yes. It's good, it's really

good. It feels like a slow burn at first, but

it has an awesome payoff. I just... I'm trying

to think. It's specifically to, and I'll say

this now, I've only, like, for me and the Transformers

spotlights, I will not get every issue. I just

won't. I will get the issue of characters I know

and like, like Hot Rod, obviously, Cyclonus,

Galvatron, Soundwave, and I have a lot of them

now. I don't have them all, Shockwave. I don't

have most of them, but I've got a good majority

of them now, and I read... Which one was it?

It was... Oh yeah, Spotlight Bumblebee. I just

can't see. Bumblebee in charge. It's just like

there's something wrong with the universe when

Bumblebee is made the leader I Just I don't know

and it's that's what's kind of gonna probably

scare me going into rid is because I know he's

The he is the leader on Cybertron, right? He

is but then yeah, it's nice good power play because

He he's he's the leader but there's There's Prowl,

one, but two, and he does, like, you, Prowl gets

you through the first two volumes, I'd say, because

a lot of things, like, you see what Bumblebee's

doing, but really what you want to know what's

going on is with Prowl, because he's doing stuff

behind the scenes, and there's stuff going on,

and while you also get this nice buildup of what,

Bumblebee is dealing with he's also got Metal

Hawk and Starscream hanging around Just doing

stuff at every turn Like giving him a hard time

all the time. He quite literally is just like

he never gets a break. He never gets a break

He's always got conflict at directed at him at

all at the whole time. And I think that's really

what if you focus on not necessarily that he's

the leader, but that everything is standing in

his way as the leader. The conflict is really

not that bad. I mean, it's it's really good in

the sense that you can tell. I mean, it's constantly

living up to, you know, hey, it just doesn't

seem like he should be the leader. And you're

right, because everything that's going on around

him, everything says he shouldn't. And he still

just plowing along trying to be that guy you

know um which isn't necessarily a bad thing it's

just how they play the conflict it's really toward

the end there before everything kicks off and

Megatron comes back I was like look I kind of

hope that these guys like you you start getting

this sympathetic this sympathetic eye toward

Starscream which I've never been a fan of his

character to be honest Even back in g1 time.

I thought he was just disloyal. He was never

loyal to Megatron He should have killed him a

long time ago when he had these girls that were

like swooning over You know being fans of Starscream.

I was like why he's a jerk But so I've never

really really had much of much love for Starscream.

I thought oh, he's always just that guy That's

bothering Megatron and keeping him from really,

you know doing what he really needs to be doing

because he's always having to deal with his drama

But then I read Robots in disguise and I suddenly

started seeing his character completely different

and I really became really sympathetic toward

him and I really really liked his character and

I still kind of do because it He's still that

guy. He can still be that guy. But some of the

decisions that he makes towards the end, you're

like, what? Well, he's Starscream. You should

expect this, right? Yeah. But leading up to that

in in robots in disguise, you get this just this

this group of, you know, you get Bumblebee, the

Autobot, Starscream, the Decepticon and Metal

Hawk, the the third party, the third faction,

the the nail. non -aligned Cybertronian and They

have this it's like I got to the point where

I was like, you know It'd be great is if they

didn't have a like prime anymore and they just

had you know guys that were just kind of thrown

together voted wherever they're gonna be to be

like the leader and you have these three as being

the next leaders of the planet and I thought

you know be great because you can have this great

conflict because they're always nitpicking at

each other and keeping each other in line and

you know being sarcastic and just just picking

where everybody's sensitivities are and I thought

that's great conflict that would be entertaining

especially in the sense that you know they're

always trying to get who's up on top who's who's

trying to be top dog in this group, and they're

all fairly equal when it comes to some of the

things. Bumblebee is just not the manipulator,

and the other two are. It turned into this, yeah,

Bumblebee shouldn't be the leader, and here's

the reason why, because these guys manipulate

him in circles. Yeah, it's just he just doesn't

know how to be that person because that's not

his character So it was it was interesting just

to see that and that kept on being like, you

know every week is like oh gosh Bowlby You need

to have these guys teach you how to be this way

and eventually he does manipulate in one little

way And I was like, yes, finally he's learning.

It's taking him this long, but I just think again

again He's not that leader. He's not that type

of leader And not every leader has to be a manipulator

Right, but for him to be with other minute when

you're around other people that manipulate you

have to learn to play that game or you have to

learn to find a way to be above that and You

know put them in their place and he's just not

that guy He's never been that guy. So yeah in

a sense He's well, we shouldn't be the leader

But at the same time because of the conflict

that they're making in there and how they have

a setup You know, I'm kind of glad that they

have made him that guy because they've played

off that they played off of his his weaknesses

and they've put him in some really nice conflict

and It's it's been really amazing to kind of

see where they went with that and I don't know

where they're gonna go next but I'm certainly,

Barber has definitely got my attention and I

think that he's brilliant and I trust pretty

much anything he's gonna go with because he's

really won me over in the last, I mean he already

won me over before that but this just, it's like

I've got 16 issues of proof now, so. Yeah, the

whole Starscream thing, I liked him as a kid,

I liked a lot of his voice for him in G1 and...

You're right the fangirls ruined it. Yeah I'm

sorry. It's that's my personal opinion. I'm gonna

start scream fangirls just really really ruined

it until the point of I Saw how comedic he could

be an animated and then how dark He could be

in Prime, and Steve Bloom. Steve is no offense

to Tom Kenny in that version of Starscream, but

in this... To me, personally, Prime is this era's

G1. Not saying this is your children's G1, because

that's obviously what G1 is for, but to me, this

is what G1 could have been. Etc. Etc. Etc. And

Steve Blum, oh man, when he does Starscream,

he does it so well. He was, when we interviewed

him, he was telling us that there was an episode,

I think it's episode 20 of season one, I think

it's Partners, when he goes crazy and he starts

to sound like... This is not funny, Arachnid!

Come back here right now and cut me loose! Blume

does such a great job of doing that character

so dark. I think it's season one episode 20 partners

where he just freaks out and he almost mimics

Lada's version. When we interviewed him, I asked

him about that and he's like, yeah, they don't

usually have me do that all that often because

they wanted it to be its own voice, but when

they do have me do it, the producers are in the

booth giving me jazz hands in order for me to

do a lot of Starscream. No, but yeah, the Starscream

fangirls really just like that. That was my whole

resistance to Starscream. My thing is I remember

being in grade school and the Remember specifically

there was I was watching the show and of course,

you know when you when you started really realizing

Oh other kids watch this too. And oh, I'm a fan,

but you're like I'm a fan, but I'm not that I'm

still cool, you know But they're like you're

a girl. You're watching it, you know You boys

show and I was like so so what I've got two brothers.

We watch it together You know one of it and he's

like, well Starscream must be your favorite then

that's like why? It's like because all the girls

like Starscream and that's when I learned to

dis dislike the guy Because I had somebody else

telling me what I should it shouldn't like and

I'm like, no, no, I like Optimus Prime He's like

my favorite character like but he's not Starscream

I was like and Give me a reason to like Starscream

because everybody every girl likes it. I was

like, I'm a girl and I don't I think he's disloyal

and a jerk They're like what's wrong with you.

You're not like the other girls. I can't thank

you Oh, man, but no, they can't like I'm trying

to think oh I forget if it was, was it the Underbase?

I don't know. Somehow I heard about, it might

have been one of your tweets, actually. I had

heard about Rage of the Dinobots, the Prime miniseries,

and that's really where I started. And then Ender,

you know, brought up the whole, oh, more than

meets the eye thing, and I'm so excited to see

where they take Beast Hunters in the comic, because

I just... Rage was so good at least close to

the end. It was so damn good It is something

that I didn't expect and I like things that do

that that like the last issue I did not expect

shocks Shockwave to be in that The last issue

like we did and so because of that and I like

this when when it when a writer does something

I completely did not see or didn't expect Then

all of a sudden it's like oh I'm really interested

and that's exactly what Rage of the Dinobots

did and so I can I can see where you because

I thought oh it's gonna go this way and then

it didn't and I was like whoa okay and they just

blew me away with that yeah with rage because

it was my like rage was actually my first that

was my How I get into Transformers comics and

I approached it as okay. This is basically You

know based off the game. It's You know the new

game follow Cybertron, and it's you know the

Dinobots on Cybertron, but it's going to be Me

Grimlock and me sludge and me snot of snarl and

me slag I don't care what anyone says his name

is slag You know, I thought it was going like

I thought this like reading that first issue

I was like this is too strange seeing the Dinobots

talk coherently and It's like I didn't dislike

it. It was just like one of those moments and

I was like this is so weird and Everybody complains.

I think it's is it right? Yeah. Yes, it's rage

where they have the the alternate alt modes,

right? Their first alt modes. I think it does,

but it also kind of plays off of what they did

with the game a little bit, because in the game

you actually get the first look at all of their

new alt modes, but you don't really get a chance

to see anything that they did before. But yeah,

they did have that in there. Right, yeah. Well,

in the comic they have all the... and I'm thinking...

Okay, the names for the most part minus slag

are the same the you know characteristics are

Slightly strangely different. Oh wait, those

aren't the alt modes I know and I know what it's

leading up to obviously It's leading up to the

fact that and spoilers for anyone who hasn't

read it yet You know, I know it's leading up

to the fact that shockwave created them you know

created what we know as T -rex Grimlock You know

all that stuff I get that but it was again. It

was one of those moments where I wasn't taken

out of the story I was intrigued by it by seeing

hey the dinobots had different alt modes before

they were actually done on pots It was either

that one or it was the fall of Cybertron. Yeah,

it was one of those. Yeah, cuz I'm thinking He

doesn't transform into a dinosaur till like,

you know, like what? Episode 2, Episode 3, or

issue episode is the same thing, right? Same

thing, yeah. The thing is, I knew when I came

into that, because I had been following the game,

I'd been following the game since the first game

came out, so second game came out, I actually

did get a chance to go out. and see it before

anybody else did and review a few things with

it because High Moon had invited some of the

Transformers website individuals to come out

and I was able to go out on behalf of Tformers

and so I got to hear Grimlock at the very beginning.

I mean they didn't show us too much, they just

kind of showed us a little bit and I got to hear

some of the voice and I thought it was brilliant.

I thought it was great. I got to talk to a couple

of the guys about their decision of putting Grimlock

as the dude and one of the guys that was like

against it from the very beginning. I totally

heard what he said and I said yeah you're right

because like repraising that role you were kind

of taking a big chance. And I can see why, you

know, I was like, I don't I don't I won't knock

you for being the guy that was trying to trying

to be the voice of reason because I was kind

of that girl too. But then I heard what he said

and I was like, he's bringing it. He really is.

It was great to see that. And so that's why I'm

like, hey, it'd be great if they got Greg Berger

to come on Transformers Prime if they do make

a cameo like, please, please do this, please,

please, please. That would be such a nod if they

did that. And see, the thing is, and we were

talking about this off air a couple weeks ago,

it was one of those things where my theory is

that they could essentially have the Dinobots

in the show if they wanted to. They could. They

don't have to put them on Earth because the Decepticons

can bridge to Cybertron. So they could you know

still like if you just like say the Beast Hunters

comic isn't coming even though it is say it isn't

and the show Takes the Dinobots from where rage

ended Just have them on Cybertron and have a

shockwave go back like It would be absolutely

awesome. My one thing is, and I'm not sure if

the other voice actors that originally voiced

the Dinobots are still with us. I know two of

them are. My only thing with the Dinobots is

if they show up in the show, I need Berger and

I need Michael Bell, Greg Berger and Michael

Bell to voice Grimlock and Swoop. Because those

are... Because what I want is, I want them to

do something that isn't... does pay homage to

G1, but at the same time, the writing would be

kind of like what Rage is, where they're actually

talking instead of, you know, me dumb Dinobot,

you know, instead of the dumb talk. I want to

see what the voice actors would do with lines.

And we kind of know what Greg would do. Yeah,

we've been able to hear that. If you played the

game, you hear what he went with it, which I

thought was great. I liked it. Very dark and

gritty. It was just Just did a good job with

it Yeah, I love that game I play I haven't played

it for a while, but I just love that game Yeah,

and the comics they're so they're so good and

so like when I went into more than meets the

eye I was like, you know and there's like oh

and my thinking was okay. Well, I Actually looked

it up on the on the TF wiki to see what the basic

premise was and it's like oh Rodimus and a ragtag

group of Autobots go on the lost light to find

the Knights of Cybertron I'm like okay and I'm

thinking okay it's gonna be Autobots at least

names I know and it wasn't and I was like okay

well I can I can kind of go with this and Whatever

else and as I kept reading more than meets the

eye and reading it and reading I'm like, oh my

like all these moments just like Because I went

into it as a G1 fan thinking oh if it's not what

I know, you know what I mean? And it wasn't what

I knew outside of Rodimus and Magnus because

they're their Friendship relationship, whatever

you want to call it in the comic is essentially

the same thing that happened and seem it's the

same kind of dynamic You know, where Rodimus

is kind of like the free -for -all, you know,

winging it person, and Ultra Magnus has basically

got the stick up his... afterburner. We're gonna

do it like this because that's our protocol,

right? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Why aren't you wearing

badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges. And

I'm reading this and I'm reading this and I'm

really enjoying all of these characters and just

how sick and twisted some of them are, specifically

Whirl. Yes. Oh, Whirl. Whirl, Whirl, Whirl. The

Wreckers in Whirl. Yeah. And Rung, how a crazed

robot can be a psychologist. I have no idea.

That dude is crazy. is just wrong is just out

there um his eyebrows could have their own comic

yeah yeah there have been suggestions of it already

it'll be a spotlight they have to do that eventually

spotlight that man spotlight it but it's like

all these characters that i didn't think i was

gonna like i actually liked them all i only got

tripped up What the whole Decepticon Justice

Division and all that and meaning and once I

got to knew the I think it's six Not not not

the Justice Division cons, but the the other

ones Miss fire and oh, okay that that group of

Decepticons that were on the planet. Yeah Right,

yeah, I actually again got to like them the only

thing that really threw me off was all these

I guess you could call them street judges almost

with with the Decepticon Justice Division I didn't

really get that whole thing, but After reading

all three volumes of more than meets the eye

and I actually had I have issues 12 and 13 digitally

and I have 14 through 16 Sitting on the table

here, so I'm caught up. I'm I'm done. I'm ready

bring on 17 18 bring on the next arc Whatever

it is. I'm ready to go So but yeah, it's like

I I don't know between beast hunters between

more than meets the eye now rid I'm pretty much

well Set for Transformers comics amongst everything

else. I read nice I just I don't know I don't

know what else they're gonna do. I don't know

what else they can do They've got so much going

on right now. I don't see them releasing any

new Outside of Beast Hunters, I don't see them

adding more titles. Yeah, I have if I don't I

think that if they go to like IDW pulling in

and doing the amount of comics that they're doing

right now, I think That were there as good place

and I don't know if they'd shake it up too much

by adding another one in there I'd love it if

they did because I'm still holding out for that,

you know wreckers part two But I don't think

it'll happen this year and I think it probably

if it's gonna happen it would be maybe late next

year if if at all so we'll see what happens because

last year they did an annual and I'm Guessing

that there might be a possibility of another

one this year. But we'll see. I don't know. It

just depends on if they have time to do it and

if they have a really great idea that they're

going to run with. And I don't know. I've read

James. James is one of those guys that OK, like

10 years ago, he wrote a fan fiction called Eugenesis.

Now, I have to read that right after I was after

everybody kind of said, hey, you should read

this thing that he wrote. after I read Last Night

of the Wreckers. And so I said, OK, sure, I'll

pick it up. And I've been one of those people

that, you know, I like reading. So I've read

lots of stories and I know what I like and what

I don't like. And when I picked that up and I

read it, I probably read it within seven days.

And I just knew. After reading that that he is

going to write some really great stuff If only

he they will give him a chance and he gets a

chance to run with it just because of how he

was setting things up how he Did what he did

in the conflict in that and how he built things

and how? Like I didn't know some of the characters

that were in there because I never read any of

the Marvel stuff and apparently I think it came

off with some of the the Marvel stuff that he

was kind of writing some of the story that he

wrote and I just I could just tell by reading

it that he had more in him to give. He's one

of those guys I think has he's ingested all of

Marvel because it's where you know he he said

he's been doing all the UK volumes and putting

a lot of love into that and it all comes from

the fact that he was raised on that. He's one

of those guys. I think he's he's read it. It's

percolated in his Crazy brain for the last you

know however many years has been since he's written

wrote it or read all of that and He is going

to give us a lot of stuff if we just let him

And I'm on the James team right here. I totally

think that he's going to do some really fantastic

stuff and I am just ready for the ride. Yeah,

I am too because I know I need to go back and

I need to read Last Stand of the Wreckers. I

think the only thing outside of I can't get any

more comics right now that's really stopping

me from seeking it out is I'm not a fan of Springer.

Springer is a home -wrecking mo foe that I just

can't stand. He basically blocked Hot Rod in

the movie. He does have better things to do tonight

than die because it just... God, I loved it.

Was it season three? Yeah, in season three, he

goes through a garbage shoot and he gets all

his... Basically, take what Galvatron did to

Ultra Magnus and Basically have a garbage shoot

do that to start now. Yeah, basically what happened

remember that? I Cheered I was like, yes, he's

gone. Oh, no, you're the one Oh, you're the one

that's coined the phrase that he's a green bastard

No, it's not not you. I thought I remember hearing

you say that I've coined the phrase that he's

a damn homer. Okay, that's what I bad. Okay,

I Remember hearing somebody say that he's and

I thought Really Yeah, I just can't So sorry,

I'm gonna obviously put my Springer hate aside

and really do you know really look at last ten

of the records for what it is I'm not going for

the not the same guy in IDW continuity and I

kind of like his character better to be honest

I I never I don't know how he is in in in Marvel

in the Marvel stuff because I haven't read all

of it yet, but Yeah, I always kind of thought

there were some moments where he was a real jerk.

Yeah. But you know what? That could be said of

a lot of the Autobots in G1 were kind of jerkish.

That's that's true. You know, try not to try

yelling at you. Side swipe. Give me your jet

pack now. You know, it's just. Well, I think

I can forgive that one moment for optimus because

it was a little bit emotional for true true Like

terrorizing you side swipe stop When I go back

and read it or go back and watch it I'm just

like You know, I love these guys. They're great.

But yeah, sometimes you guys can really act like

a bunch of church It's so it's so great and I

Don't know. I'm just so like I'm so at this point

after catching up with more than me see I'm so

interested to see what remains though or does

it remain in light light? Yes the next story

I have no idea what's and and like you said earlier.

I like it that way that I have no idea, but it's

like After Well, I haven't read issue 17 issue

17 hasn't come out yet, right? It has not not

yet Yeah, as of as of this recording and has

not come out yet Get it next week or maybe like

that. Yeah Fantastic, I can't wait James is one

of those guys that I know that you're saying

like I don't know where it's going It's like

he's very deliberate when he drops things I bet

you once we actually start seeing what's got

what we're getting That we'll be able to go look

back on what he's given us the last You know

other 16 issues and we will see little things

in there that he's planted so expertly we're

like Whoa, I didn't even get that. Oh my gosh.

Yeah. I love how in his writing, they find a

way to work in references. I forget which issue

it is. I think it's either issue 12 or issue

13, where they're trying to... Is it one of the

Autobots or one of the... I don't know. It's

the one with the faceplate. um that has the low

voice and they're like hey you kind of are you

megatron let me let me imitate optimus prime

you know and they and they do the whole he writes

the whole thing of i think it was 13 actually

yeah i think it is 13 um no no 13 was when they

went to that planet i think it's 12 actually

Don't know I'm gonna have to actually look it

up because it's one of those thing. Well, it's

what? You sound like Megatron. Yeah, I know I

hear that a lot Yeah, yeah Where is it? It's

on my Facebook here somewhere. I thought it was

What the heck? But it was so it was so funny

because they they imitated the scene from the

movie but it's it's yeah yeah here it is um you

who are now without mercy now plead for it i

was like oh my god i can't believe they worked

at it just the little little things that james

does in the writing with with homages to to almost

everything and i just absolutely love it when

i catch on the The only thing that really freaks

me out about More Than Meets the Eye, and sadly

it's over now, seeing as how quote -unquote one

of the characters is dead, was Rewind having

basically nothing to do with Black. I know Ender

always says, oh, would you rather just have them

fold up and fit in somebody's chest? That's not

nearly as bad as them being married. It's that

G1 fan in me that... the cassettes or the memory

sticks or whatever are associated with Blaster

or Soundwave. You know what I mean? It's just

one of those things where it's like, no, this

is how it's supposed to be. I don't know. It's

just one of those things. What do you guys got

coming up on under bass? Well, we were pretty

full with reviews. I mean now that I've actually

Did that? Interview with Josh Prez and Josh Burcham

last week and that was kind of like I Had an

idea to do like a color cuddle in a sense for

a while I just didn't have a space to put it

in and then we found out that Regeneration one

had been Moved and we had already reviewed it

so I had a free week and so I was like, oh crap

I got to figure out a podcast and I got to do

it really quick So luckily it all worked out

with both Josh both Josh's were not necessarily

between jobs, but they were like It was like

the sweet spot where it's like, OK, well, we're

both really busy. What what you got? And I was

like, well, how about this time on this time?

I was like, oh, yeah, that'll work out perfect.

And it turned out that I think they were just

in the right spot where Josh Perez hadn't gotten

his stuff yet. And I think Josh Busham wasn't

under his deadline too tightly. So he was like

working while he was while we were talking with

him. But he he wasn't too far behind. So he wasn't

like crunched for time. So it just turned out

that it just it was a perfect. perfect slot,

perfect time. And it just ends up kind of working

like that a lot when we kind of have a little

week like that. But this week, tomorrow actually,

as soon as I can get it out, we've got Robots

in Disguise 17 that we've just recorded. And

I've got to edit that. And then we've got Monstrosity.

And then I think next week, we get More Than

ECI 17. and possibly Monstrosity 7 if we can

get that review done before it gets too late.

And of course Beast Hunters is also going to

be out next week as well. And I'm probably going

to give that over to the same team that did Rage

of the Dinobots and we'll have that the beginning

of June. So next month we're going to be having

our anniversary show, which I'm still trying

to figure out what we're going to do. But it

will be it'll be comic related in one way or

another I have an idea I don't want to tease

it too much because I'm like I Really got to

put all my notes together and I hopefully get

it to work out And if I can get it to work, it'll

be great. But if I don't then I'll be like, oh

we have no anniversary show So But that's pretty

much what's coming up with us. And then, of course,

conventions between now and the time that my

kids go back to school. I'm going to be going

to BotCon, and I'm going to try to hit TFCon

for my first time this year. And then, of course,

I've got to go back to Auto Assembly. Steve Blum

is going to be there, and so is Nick Roach and

Jim Sorensen and James Roberts and all of these

people that I want to go see. I've just been

you know, it's it's funny because I'm like I

can't kind of give this up because I've got so

many friends over in the UK now and Yeah, it's

just like it's like a family Vacation, I mean

where I actually it's I don't take my kids with

me. I go to meet family I go to meet my my geek

family and Right. It's just what it is. I I can't

not do that because it's like I'll miss them

so much As of this recording, you'll be seeing

Steve Bloom twice. Yes. Yes, I will. He and Amari

and the rest of the cast of Rescue Bots were

announced as BotCon guests this year. Yes. Yes,

I saw that. I haven't had a chance to actually

see who all is going to be there, but I saw the

Rescue Bots thing and I went, yes, finally BotCon.

It's about time that you put that out there.

So yeah, but I won't be able to interact with

him as much as I will be at Auto Assembly. And

so I'm really looking forward to being able to

actually go up and shake his hand, whereas at

BotCon, I don't really think that's going to

happen too much. It's a little bit different.

Basically, all the voice actors from the main

Autobots are going to be there. Parvish, Sheena.

uh... steve bloom k dc well you know you're making

you know making my heart beat really fast uh...

and and and and amari williams which we've we

we have to be castro network of interview both

steve and amari uh... but you know i love it

when bot con does that they really Last couple

of years, okay, I get it. It's, you know, they

want to be able to get people in there. And obviously

what gets most of us that grew up with it is

the G1 voice actors. But I'm so glad that they're

finally reaching out to like the current shows

and like the current stuff and all that stuff.

I love that they're doing that. So that's, that's

great. I'm pretty stoked. for the same reason

too, because I'm like, hey, give rescue bots

some love. It's brilliant. It's for little kids,

but it is so much fun. I can't wait for it to

come back. It's been gone for too long already.

We've gotten Transformers Prime already before

we've gotten that, and we won't get to see that

until December. So I'm like, oh, this dead zone

is killing me. Wait, rescue bots isn't coming

back until December? Yeah, it's not coming back

until December. Yeah, it's going to be second

season. or yeah, the second season. It'll be

December into next year. Wow. That's just great.

And I only know that because I've been following

that because I also run another podcast called

The Rescue Center. It's kind of on hiatus right

now because I've been too busy to do any of the

reviewing for that. I need to get back into it.

We're going to finish it up before Rescue Bot

Season 2 starts. So there you go. Cool, cool.

All right, well, it's been fun and interesting,

and yeah, IDW is putting out some really, really

cool stuff. I just can't pay attention to, like,

the only other IDW title I'm gonna be getting

is, well, besides the Transformer stuff. is the

new animated Turtles Adventures based on the

new cartoon. Oh, nice, nice. Now, that's another

one that I haven't been following. I've been

watching the new cartoon, but I haven't been

following the comics too close. I really do need

to do it. The comic apparently is just now starting

here in a couple of months. They had a free comic

book day issue with a story. And I didn't even

know it. Darn it. Yeah, I'm sure comics ology

would have it or something But yeah, no it it's

it's really fun really cool the rest of the stuff

I read is mostly DCA I'm I'm hooked on my on

my bad heroes. So For the most part so All right.

Well, that's gonna do it for us here in the pull

bag. It's been a very very interesting ride through

Cybertron with you. Awesome, yeah. Cybertron's

the best, man. Yes, that's right. And we will

catch you next time with, I have no idea what,

because the schedule for this podcast changes

almost weekly, so. We'll have something for you

in episode 16. For now, I am TF2 and Mike with

Lady Rek. And we will catch you next time. Keep

reading those comics. Absolutely. Be this mockery

of justice! They've got more sharktocons than

we have photon charges! Then let's hold the demolition,

Davey! You just heard the latest episode of The

Pullback, GCRN's comic book review podcast. There

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