Author's Reflections- Comic #98

#98

I realized I hadn’t used the Blue and Grey Knockoffs at all so I threw in this strip at the last minute to give them some screen time since I had no idea at what point, if at all, I’d have them return. The ‘Partialbots’ nickname worked out pretty well since the two toys I had at the time were half of what was supposed to be two combining robots. At this point in time the KB toy outlet I bought the knockoffs at never put the other two out for sale. Since I didn’t have any idea if I’d ever be getting the remaining robots, I just said they had been crushed and left it at that. The half-combiners looked so pathetic and hilarious it worked out so perfectly for what I had in mind. I didn’t use any sort of support to hold them up and I have absolutely no idea how I was able to get them to balance, it was just luck of the draw. “The Partialbots rebuke your pity!” is one of my all-time favorite lines in the history of the comic.

Author's Reflections- Comic #97

#97

I think the thing that went over best about this strip was Hot Shot…pushing out…a brick in response to seeing Inferion and Championizer. Personally I liked the way Championizer seemed so hurt the Autobots didn’t appreciate the Champions’ willingness to help them in whatever they needed. I thought the panel of Megatron and Optimus throwing Astortain and Cliffjumper at the Knockoffs turned out really well, motion lines and all. (Butters makes another accidental appearance here in Panel 3, this time his face instead of his rear end!)

Author's Reflections- Comic #96

#96  

A confrontation was inevitable, and I definitely wanted to have the Knockoff toys combine to show that even if they did have annoying personalities and shoddy construction, they could surprisingly be a force to be reckoned with. I think one of my favorite parts of this strip is the fact the Knockoffs using the excuse that they had just signed a six month apartment lease and that’s why they couldn’t go back to their home dimension. The name ‘Inferion’ came pretty easy as it is a twist on the Autobot combiner name Superion, but Championizer (surprisingly) took longer to settle on. When I was still going to give the characters stereotypical Jew personalities, the combined toy’s name was going to be Kosheron Maximus, but along with the characterization I settled on, Championizer works so much better than what I originally came up with, obviously. Optimus channeling Bill Lumberg from Office Space and Cliffjumper making matters worse are pretty funny to me as well.

Author's Reflections- Comics #93-95

#93

#94

#95



#93-95

I tried to keep Megatron’s character pretty grumpy and indifferent to Optimus and the Autobots during the truces I’ve set forth in the strip. The first panel in #93 is one of the most blatant examples. Like the courtroom scene back in #55-56, the box the trio put all the holes in was a real box I covered up in paint. You can see the reflection in the table. The gigantic Blue Hole was a last minute addition to the script. More on that soon. I think the best part of #94 is Optimus’ cliché foreshadowing comment in panel 2. ‘Moronicons’ was originally just thrown in there as an insult, but eventually I just decided to give them their own Decepticon subgroup (a la ‘Stunticons’, ‘Predicons’, etc;). I can’t help but throw in an Astrotrain mass shifting joke anywhere I can, as seen in #95. There’s a small continuity error in #95 as well, where Grimlock calls the four original Knockoffs ‘Medicorebots’. That was the subgroup name I wanted to go with for them originally but in writing their bios I went with ‘Irritatobots’ instead. They’re the same amount of syllables, it just came down to which one I liked better. Panel #5 is where you can see the signs of my original camera’s demise. The last Panel of #95 is one of my favorite Cliffjumper moments, and Optimus’ comment was the icing on the cake.



Author's Reflections- Comic #92

#92

I needed something to tie getting all the knockoffs back through the Blue Hole and I liked the idea of Megatron having the same problem the Autobots did, that the visitors were just too annoying to handle. The main part here that stands out to me is Optimus shooting Starscream in the face from offscreen as he ran away. Megatron’s line is another one taken straight from Futurama I thought was really funny.

Author's Reflections- Comic #91

#91

 
I really liked the Champions’ desire to help in any way they could, even if what they were asked to do something that made no sense. They’re so polite too, asking if they can communicate through Morse code! Some of my favorite parts of the strip here are the comments by the Autobots driving around the Champions. Particularly Gears’ line “Yer really grindin’ my gears!” Every once in awhile I have to throw in some terrible puns.