TF comics - making of

Destron · Post by **Destron** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 5:15 pm

The very question has bothered me for a while but - since I haven't read more than a few interviews with the authors in my entire life - really couldn't figure this one out alone.

Does anyone have a clue how long does it take to fully draw a single issue of Transformers comic book nowadays?

Post by **Best First** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 5:30 pm

is there any reason you think a TF comic would take more/less time than another monthly comic?

Artists vary - some can turn around a book in a month - i think Guido is pretty fast - he managed 8 issues of AHM before EJ Su gave him a rest on 9. Artists who can turn out 12 monthly issues a year are pretty rare though - a good example would be Mark Bagley who turned round issue after issue of Ultimate Spidey without a break.

Conversely EJ Su takes longer from what we have seen in interviews - but again this depends on art style - i imagine that he can draw the style he used for spotlight Prowl a lot quicker than the fully painted art on Spotlight: Sideswipe. Similarly i believe that the bi-monthly schedule ofr a book like Astonishing Spider-man and Wolverine is driven by Adam Kubert's turnaround time.

So - in brief - it depends, but i'd say on average 4-6 weeks.

EJ and Guido have both posted here so maybe they will reply but that's my outsiders perspective.

Kinf Og The World · Post by **Kinf Og The World** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 5:52 pm

I really don't think the artists are a problem.

Though I'd love to see more Hellbots. The Chin is In.

They seem to know what we want to see. Less editing on what they look like, from an artist point of view. E.J. and Guidi are awesome, and are down with what we want. Continuity, please. I can wait.

Don has his shardfaces in check now. Let's rock.

Post by **Best First** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:04 pm

Kinf Og The World wrote:I really don't think the artists are a problem.

i don't think anyone is suggesting they are?

Post by **Kaylee** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:33 pm

I could usually write and ink a Molestrangler issue in about 6 minutes.

And at least 4 minutes of that was thinking about dinner.

That's how I maintained the devestatingly high quality.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:48 pm

Did IDW kill Molestrangler, too? Haven't seen it in a while.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 8:40 pm

bumblemusprime wrote:Did IDW kill Molestrangler, too? Haven't seen it in a while.

Wasn't it Molestrangler 3D: The 3D Movie in 3D! 3D! that killed it off?

When the producer went away from the original storyline, replaced all the characters with metal shavings, which, due to the 3D process, got stuck in the eyes of each and every audience member at each and every showing, causing massive medical issues and lawsuits.

I'm sure I read that either on here, Wikipedia, IMDb, or imagined it.

Definitely one of those.

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 7:43 am

Isn't it about time someone started up a molestrangler fansite? Molefans.co.uk? It could a bunch of scanned issues and a forum and stuff... that kind of sire normally does ok

Post by **Best First** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:17 am

Strangfans surely?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 1:11 pm

MoleFans follows the already existing (un)intentionally-ambiguous format.

It might even get a user sign up to post about the furry kind. Just like that user who signed up on here a few years back asking about electrical transformers.

Post by **Best First** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 2:50 pm

could have been a lot worse my friend.

Post by **Kaylee** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:10 pm

I did complete a final issue of Molestrangler but I think Rob (mv) was the only one to see it. He was going to colour it but I think we both died of boredom instead.

I'm not even sure a complete list of Molestrangler even still exists!

All adds to the mythos though.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:25 pm

Best First wrote:could have been a lot worse my friend.

Actually, I'm surprised we haven't had any activity from that particular department.

Or, maybe it should be impressed?

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:41 pm

Karl wrote:I did complete a final issue of Molestrangler but I think Rob (mv) was the only one to see it. He was going to colour it but I think we both died of boredom instead.

I'm not even sure a complete list of Molestrangler even still exists!

All adds to the mythos though.

Pretty much the ultimate TF collector's item. Can only by found by digging through Emvee's lair. Will kill you once you read it. Worth it?

Post by **Kaylee** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:08 pm

Of course!

See long as nobody ever reads it nobody will know it's not actually worth reading

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 11:21 pm

Karl wrote:Of course!

See long as nobody ever reads it nobody will know it's not actually worth reading

It's like a secret ballot, where the "nobody" voted for the winner.

Or the 60's, where if you can remember it, you weren't there!

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:50 am

Karl wrote: I'm not even sure a complete list of Molestrangler even still

Noooo!!

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:27 am

In the past, a lot of artists aimed to pencil one page a working day. Some were able to get through more, although often they had a lot of help from their inkers.

After the pencils, usually the pages are sent to be inked. I've heard that at least some of the Dreamwave stuff was just colored from the original pencils. The OTFCC Mega-Litho was.

Following the inks, pages are colored. Sometimes by just one person or by an entire studio.

After that, the speech balloons and text boxes are put in.

So, on average, after the script is turned in, it takes about of 22 days to plot, draw, ink, color, and letter a comic book.

Post by **Kaylee** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 11:16 am

My molestrangler topic has been derailed!

...oh, wait...

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:14 pm

Karl wrote:My molestrangler topic has been derailed!

...oh, wait...

That's my bad. Sorry, Karl. I just had to get the "basic" comic creation thing out of the way. You know, the "normals." Crap like "Bluewater Presents: Lady Gaga," and "Watchmen."

In the case of Molestrangler, you've got to ferment multiple decades worth of media (print, celluloid, die-cast, 35mm, plastic, A4, trukk, monkky, etc) across multiple continents in the mind and deeds of a single person. Add alcohol, stir, shake, and otherwise muss. Grow hair at least to shoulder length. Reconsider. Cut. Then grow again.

After that, there's the plotting phase. This is both the most and least labor intensive portion. It's got to be focus tested.

We've got it!

Then everything that everybody has said (ever) has to be rejected.

WRONG!

Then (and only then) it has to be rewritten (extensively) by a lone person, possibly operating on multiple levels of consciousness.

And that's the EASY part.

After that, a team of the finest artists from the United States, the whole of Europe, and New Zealand collaborate with cutting edge animators from Tokyo, Japan, before having their work converted into 3-D digital constructs by the evil computer from Tron.

There is, at all times, a beverage present.

Next comes the hard part. Michael Bay, Megan Fox, Shia Lebouf, and Pat Lee all get taken into a room, beaten with sacks, and turned into a human centipede.

CENSORED! You're welcome!

Then it's thrown into the ocean.

With all those distractions out of the way, the mind behind Molestrangler is free to get down to the real nitty gritty. Every line is drawn with a separate pencil. Each panel, on a separate piece of paper. Each paper, a hand bleached first edition of Action Comics #1 (which was, itself, recycled from first editions of The Adventures of Huck Finn.

Each of these priceless masterworks are scanned at a resolution unknown to laymen, before being sent off to the soundtrack department.

He records The Touch with Springsteen's band for each panel.

Near the end of the process, the almost-completed panels are sent to Geoff Senior, filtered through AJ Su, given a once over by Dave Gibbons, and run past a certain Josh to make sure that the colors have exactly the right flavor.

As a final safety check, the now-idealized product is run past the single most smug, self-centered, and aloof audience possible for a final critique.

FOR-E-VER!

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 3:01 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXRWQa9tQLw

Optimus Prime Rib · Post by **Optimus Prime Rib** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 3:21 pm

bumblemusprime wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXRWQa9tQLw

um... what?

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:12 pm

That's what happens spontaneously around the world when Molestrangler is released.

Post by **Kaylee** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:14 pm

Yay! Awesome! Thanks keV

{claps like an infant}

Post by **Best First** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:01 pm

bumblemusprime wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXRWQa9tQLw

Yay! Awesome! Thanks SpencE

{claps like a dirty 32 year old}

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:10 pm

America has a lot of things wrong, but that being a competitive sport taught in school isn't one of them.

Post by **Kaylee** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:19 pm

Best First wrote:
bumblemusprime wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXRWQa9tQLw
Yay! Awesome! Thanks SpencE

{claps like a dirty 32 year old}

Yay! Awesome! Thanks BestY!

{claps like a monkey in a bath}

Cool video Spence

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Thu Aug 12, 2010 9:00 pm

That's me in the middle.

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Fri Aug 13, 2010 11:05 am

Best First wrote:{claps like a dirty 32 year old}

never heard it called 'clapping' before...

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Fri Aug 13, 2010 1:37 pm

Sure you have. That's why they call it the clap. Because the alternative to how you get it is "clapping."

Yeah, I'm not even trying today.