Steve White is currently the Editor for the new UK Transformers Magazine, the first issue of which came out on July 19th. Steve has a long background working in British comics, from the original Transformers UK through to TMNT and Wallace and Gromit amongst others.
Could you explain your background in Transformers and your level of Transformers expertise on the patented Furman-o-meter, where 5=Simon Furman and 1=Simon Cowell.
My relationship with Transformers began in late 1987 when I was asked to colour a Transformers strip – a Christmas story drawn by Will Simpson. It was the point where the colour process was transitioning from hand-coloured, fully painted to mechanical. It was a big thing for me to be invited to do it, as prior to that I’d just done the really junior stuff like Care Bears. It took a while for us to get the process refined but I did well enough to get asked back for a repeat performance. I ended up colouring the comic for three or four years off and on.
The only thing with colouring is that it kind of defines your knowledge of the subject matter – most Transformers were simply that to me: whatever colour they were. I sometimes used to read the stories as I coloured them but generally that was not the aspect you were concentrating on. As such, I’d probably score about a 2 and a half. I think it’s always a disappointment to the fans that most of the people working on these comics are so uninformed!
What was it like working on the original Transformers UK comic? How did it differ from the way the process works today?
Well, my involvement was purely freelance. I was a full-time staff member moving up the editorial ladder at the time. I used to colour the comics as a way to boost the terrible money we were paid, and because it was fun, obviously! All I did was colour b&w photocopies of the artwork with markers, then mark them up for the separators. This was usually in the evening or at weekends. So to be honest it’s not really that fun or exciting. I wasn’t even in the same office as the TF editorial team until Marvel UK moved in about 1989, and I ended up sharing a room with Simon. I was editing Action Force and other titles at the time. Transformers was just one those things that happened to other people unless Si said he had another colour job for me. It was a real surprise to me when a few years ago I got asked to a TransForce convention as a guest and was applauded by fans. I felt really guilty for having such a lackadaisical attitude to it all.
Of course back in the late eighties there were no computers. It’s weird looking at photos of that time (some in colour…) and to not see one computer, not one giant Amstrad. Just drawing boards that the designers (who were often the assistant editors) cut and pasted on – physically, not by hitting buttons on a keyboard. All very quaint.
So, now in 2007, we have email and internet and FTP sites and desktop publishing. I’ve never really got into computer colouring so I don’t have much to make comparisons with. But editorially, the biggest leap has been the immediacy of the work. You are no longer reliant on the post and special delivery. Stuff is emailed back and forth and it’s all so much simpler. We had occasions back in the day when parcels of artwork would vanish into the ether, or arrive in the office looking like they’d been fired from a muck spreader. So I guess the big difference was that things were a little more “by the seat of your pants” – you had less room to manoeuvre if things went wrong.
How did you end up, twenty years later, editing this new version of Transformers UK?
Hehehe. Pretty much blind luck! I’d been at Titan a couple of years, working as Graphic Novel Editor. I’d abused my previous Marvel UK contacts so that Simon Furman had helped get a job for me – he was an editor at Titan at the time, prior to leaving to re-embark on his writing career. Anyway, I was then headhunted and ended up working in the Magazines department as editor of the official RAF Magazine, and launching the SpongeBob SquarePants comic. Party never stopped. Then in 2005, Titan landed the TF license. For whatever reason, Panini was no longer in a position to publish Transformers comics and we stepped up to fill the breach. At the time, we sat on the license as rumours had started about the film during which time the ‘comics’ department had expanded from about half a dozen titles to around 15. I’d also moved up the ranks to senior editor but there was no way on God’s green Earth I was going to let anyone else edit this baby. We started work on it officially in around October 2006 – that far ahead, although it was a pretty slow launch as we had nothing to work from; all the movie stuff was top secret. I think it did reach a point where Simon was starting to get nervous about what he could actually write about, then the IDW stuff kicked off and we got there in the end.
Any plans to stretch those colouring muscles again?
No. Those days are behind me, unless it’s fully painted artwork. I did do a Beast Wars poster for a Transforce con a few years ago though.
What is the rationale behind the magazine, why not just a reprint magazine like a lot of similar products already on the shelves?
Interesting question with a simple answer. There was no way we were going to let an opportunity like this pass. We’ve been originating comics for a couple of years now – Wallace & Gromit, DreamWorks Tales and TMNT, but it felt like Transformers would be the Big One, a chance for Titan to really make its mark as a force in UK comics. We are reprinting some IDW material in the comic, but it just seemed a golden opportunity for us to actually get some kudos within the UK comics industry. I don’t think it ever occurred to us NOT to originate material.
You’ve said that you want the new magazine to run longer than the original run of 332 issues, and as you’re giving away free gifts, why don’t you combine the two and give away pieces of Optimus Prime every four weeks so all the kids can build a life-size replica of the movie character? That should get you past a few thousand issues.
A solid plan with no drawbacks as far as I can tell. Be interesting to see how many readers actually stayed to the bitter end.
How did Simon Furman (Uber-Transformers writer) become involved, and then subsequently the artists for the Movie Prequel stories?
Well, it was a no-brainer really. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve known Simon for about 20 years – since I first started at Marvel UK. We’ve been friends for a long, long time and he was instrumental in getting me the job at Titan. It never really occurred to me get anyone else to write it. Even before we got the official go-ahead we were already having informal discussions about what we going to do with the strips and whom we were going to get to draw them.
As for the artists, I’d actually already worked with Don Figueroa on a cover for one of the Diamond hardback TF collections. I loved his stuff. I figured if I could get Si to work sufficiently far ahead with scripts, and as they were only ten pages, and he was just doing pencils, I could ask Don to try and squeeze one of the strips into his hectic schedule. As it turned out, I figured correctly and he agreed.
Nick was suggested to me by Simon, but I think he contacted me first after I put up a post on the TransFans forum asking for letters and art for the new comic – which kicked up a storm. I think most people thought the rumours about a new UK comic were entirely unfounded at that point so getting confirmation from the editor led to my email inbox being swamped! Anyway, at some point Nick got in touch and as I already had him in mind for a strip, it was just a matter of logistics in terms of deadlines. And I’ve loved what he’s done!
Who did you sacrifice to Unicron to get Geoff Senior to draw some pages?
Again, sad to say, there was no virgins or babies or chickens to be sacrificed. I think I’ve mentioned this on several occasions before so it’s a matter of public record that I was at Simon’s house-warming in North London and happened to mention to Geoff we were doing a new TF UK comic. We were both pretty drunk at this point so when he said he was interested in working on the new comic, I figured it was just the booze talking. But then he emailed me on Monday morning and said that he’s plucked from the ether a conversation we’d been having about drawing Transformers again, and although things were a little hazy, he was most definitely interested. I was really pleased about this as Geoff had always been my favourite artist – certainly to colour – on the Marvel UK stuff, so it did feel like “hey, hey, the gang’s all here!”
I will surmise that even with so many classic and current artists working on the magazine, we won’t be seeing Bryan Hitch reprising his TFUK work?
Andy Wildman has just finished #3’s artwork which I’m sure will be on a website near you very soon. Also have Guido Guidi lined up. There’s a couple of other people I’m interested in getting involved, especially as we’re looking to shift to art covers pretty soon, which will be very exciting! Not sure Bryan will be amongst those, but should he ever have a hole in his packed schedule I’d love to see if we could work something out…
What is the long-term intention for the magazine, are you only licensed to create new Movie related stories?
Well right now, in the words of Han Solo, that’s the real trick, isn’t it. We have contracts across the entire Transformers universe but we’re obviously going to want to stay within the movie continuity, as that’s where most of the new fans will be coming from. That said, we are in the difficult position of having to operate in a very enclosed space. We have no idea what’s going to happen in the sequel and we don’t want to in any way infringe on what IDW are doing. Bottom line is Simon and myself have some serious thinking to do about where to go with the new strips.
How are you deciding which reprint work to run in the magazine? Is there work you’re not going to touch?
The obvious choice was the movie prequel stuff, just because it would be most familiar to the new generation of fans who we think are going to form the bulk of the readership – mainly young kids whose only frame of reference will be the film.
The decision to run Beast Wars was based around the fact that the artwork is really cool and the DVDs were due out at the same time as the movie. So mainly for marketing reasons really.
How is distribution of the magazine going to work, will people in the UK be able to pick it up from their newsagents?
That’s pretty much the main place they’ll be able to get it. The comics market in the UK is almost entirely focused around the newsstand, which is why we have free gifts on every issue; it also dictated the physical size of the comic. I’m sure some of the direct market comic shops will pick up copies but that will be a small fraction of what goes on sale in supermarkets and newsagents.
Is it true the magazine will not be distributed in the US?
No. UK only.
If so, do you believe there would be any way of working a deal with IDW to reprint the new material in the US?
To be honest, I have no idea. Not my remit.
And finally, will Grimlock be answering the letters?
No. Most kids would have no idea who the hell Grimlock is, although if the rumours are true, that might change after the second movie…
James Dodsworth - Born and raised in Yorkshire, residing in London since 2000, James has a Law Degree and works for the Anti-Financial Crime Office of a International Asset Management Company. He is a writer and editor for FractalMatter.com.
But his main claim to fame is living next to the pub where Shaun of the Dead was conceived.