Author's Reflections- Comic #124

#124

 

Nothing extraordinary here except to show Megatron was indeed down for the count. Most of Kup’s lines were inspired by or taken straight from Futurama or the Simpsons…I try not to plagiarize that like a lot but sometimes I may be in a hurry or just don’t take the time needed to do a good job. It’s a poor excuse, and I beat myself up about it when I re read the strips where I do use verbatim quotes a lot. Kup’s line in Panel 5 was intentionally cropped off at the bottom, mainly to indicate he was still rambling on when the others were talking behind his back. The top of the words can barely be made out, the entire line is “Then on the other hand we could burn it to the ground and dance around.” Personally I hope to be outfitted with Hot Shot’s wheelchair when I’m elderly!

Author's Reflections- Comics #121-123

#121

 

 

#122



#123

 

#121-123

 

When I first started writing this arc I really did intend to have Ultra Magnus, Springer and Kup change Rodimus’ mind and make him work with Optimus. When I finished #121 I didn’t find it very satisfying so I completely changed it so Rodimus was actually the one who changed Ultra Magnus’ mind. It worked out better in the long run not only for this particular story but for Rodimus/ Hot Rod’s characterization as well. In the first panel of #123, I tried to convey that in Rodimus’ mind he was still Hot Rod trying desperately to get Optimus’ approval.

 

Nothing really of note to mention for the Peanut Gallery panels…the one that stands out from my memory is the one for #121 when Hot Shot says he learned the word ‘dammit’, which was my reference to the 1986 animated Movie when the swear words were such a big deal to parents. Since the Peanut Gallery panels for the other two were pretty much things mentioned in passing I think it’s definitely apparent that at this point I really started focusing on the overall story and not just the punchline.

Author's Reflections- Comics #119-120

#119

 

#120

 

#119-120

 

#119 had little meaning in the overall scheme but to explain why Springer was making Optimus chase him in #120. It progressed the story but there’s not much comedic value in either of them. Optimus and Rodimus in the first panel of #120 is another homage to Calvin and Hobbes. Hot Shot’s line in the last panel of #120 was partially right. I didn’t want the story to drag out, yet I wanted enough comics to span at least a few weeks worth of material. Plus the inclusion of Ultra Magnus, Kup and Springer was still new and fresh (for me) so I wanted to give them as much time as possible yet still get the story out. Sometimes it worked, other times it felt forced such as #119.

Author's Reflections- Comic #118

#118

 

I took Megatron out of the story pretty early on because I wanted the remaining conflict to be between the Autobots and Unicron. It was much easier to reach the resolution I had in mind without getting the Decepticons involved. Kup’s long speech is most notable time I used Grandpa Simpson as direct inspiration. I changed quite a few words to reflect Kup’s history but the intent is the same. After dropping some heavy dialogue for Hot Shot in the previous strip I went back to basics and gave him some simple childlike lines here. I like that Hound and Cliffjumper were affected by Kup’s speech like Megatron was. I suppose the reason they weren’t sent into comas is that they’re used to hearing Kup’s speeches!

Author's Reflections- Comic #117

#117

 

In the cartoon, Springer and Ultra Magnus were pretty stereotypical soldier characters with no standout attributes, but Kup being an old guy always telling stories of the ‘good old days’ was something I could grasp onto and exploit to make for an interesting characterization in the comic. Admittedly my template for Kup’s rebooted ‘super old’ depiction was Grandpa Simpson, but he is a cliché old person anyway so although I used a few lines from The Simpsons it’s a broader stereotype than just that TV character. This marks the first time Hot Shot showed some form of cleverness, and I made sure I punctuated that by giving the trio an extra panel for Hound and Cliffjumper to stare at him in surprise. I’ve never come out and stated one way or another if Hot Shot really is mentally handicapped or if he’s just pretending and I doubt I ever will…I prefer the magic in mystery.

Author's Reflections- Comic #116

#116

 

Without giving too much away as to who the voice from the last strip was, a big clue was the sarcastic, almost insulting tone from the letter he left. Enough said about that. I got a big kick out of the part of the strip Ultra Magnus is excited to be a part of the action and name-drops several Autobots who Optimus apparently liked better than him, then in the next panel those same Autobots’ “phone numbers” are listed in the letter so the trio can contact them when they run into trouble. I like the Peanut Gallery panel since it was true, Ultra Magnus did far more in the cartoon in his one season appearance than Cliffjumper did in the previous two. Granted, Cliffjumper’s absence in season 3 is mainly due to Caser Kasem’s departure as a voice actor on the show, but it still worked to have Hound throw that tidbit in to rub it into my Cliffjumper’s face.