James Roberts Interview on MTMTE

[JediTricks]

I'm separating this out from the regular MTMTE thread because this is more of an "overall" interview than one strictly about the current ongoing nature of the book.

So the interview's first part is up now, and for a "part 1" it's pretty big:

http://sequart.org/magazine/46997/trans ... s-roberts/

Having heard Roberts speak in person with his refined English accent, I now can't read these without hearing him, which is very odd as his writing definitely doesn't have that sound when I read it.

Surprised that MTMTE's premise started with Costa and Schmidt.

Dang, IDW gave Roberts a lot of time to plan MTMTE, that's awesome. I keep finding new reasons to like IDW lately.

He nailed what I like about this book, it's fun, it's not a killing story, it's a search for something that could enlighten all of Cybertron, and that ends up making it a search for something that can enlighten each character.

[andersonh1]

I've read the interview and enjoyed it. I'm not sure everything he's trying to do comes across to me.

Because IDW were very organised about all this, I had a whole year to plan More Than Meets The Eye before it launched in January 2012.

That's excellent. Good for IDW to give him plenty of time to plan.

Yes, Alex Milne – who has drawn the vast majority of issues – is as much a part of MTMTE as I am. I’d always been a fan of his, and the first time we worked together was on Chaos Theory – and I was blown away. There’s a tremendous detail to his work – and an unerring sense of logic to his designs, in the sense that you can truly believe that if someone had to build these mechanical beings in real life, they would have these joints, these points of articulation. But at the same time, he brings these characters to life through their expressions and their body language. They’re not colorful technical drawings, they’re living, breathing (so to speak) people.

I have to agree. I didn't used to be a fan of Alex Milne, but he's done some great work on MTMTE.

It’s an optimistic quest, and optimism is at the heart of the book. True, you might sometimes have to dig through layers of cynicism and even nihilism to get to it, but underpinning the broader story arc, as unfashionable as it may be, is that sense of hope. Most of us are a bit misshapen, personality wise; we’re scuffed around the edges and (even if it’s only deep down) we don’t think too much of ourselves.

This is where I tend to differ with Roberts. Maybe I just get stuck on the "cynicism and nihilism", but the book doesn't seem all that optimistic and joyful. There are moments of levity and fun, but the book overall has felt very cynical to me. I think it's laudable that Roberts is going for a more positive quest and tone, and maybe if all the characters weren't so "damaged" as he puts it, that message would come through more than it does.

We do a lot of world-building in MTMTE. I’m addicted to it.

That's very apparent!

[JediTricks]

I've read the interview and enjoyed it. I'm not sure everything he's trying to do comes across to me.

Definitely, and that may be what I like about him and Barber, they have kernels of ideas and they have impetuses and they have layers that don't always sell or come across to me, but the intention gives weight and merit and feeling underneath their works.

Yes, Alex Milne – who has drawn the vast majority of issues – is as much a part of MTMTE as I am. I’d always been a fan of his, and the first time we worked together was on Chaos Theory – and I was blown away. There’s a tremendous detail to his work – and an unerring sense of logic to his designs, in the sense that you can truly believe that if someone had to build these mechanical beings in real life, they would have these joints, these points of articulation. But at the same time, he brings these characters to life through their expressions and their body language. They’re not colorful technical drawings, they’re living, breathing (so to speak) people.

I have to agree. I didn't used to be a fan of Alex Milne, but he's done some great work on MTMTE.

I generally agree with ya on this, although I haven't been feeling it as much with "season 2" so far, the art is darker and more crowded than season 1. But Milne's art turned it around for me after Roche's first issue, I wasn't sure of the style with Roche's guest-starring work the way I was with Milne's.

It’s an optimistic quest, and optimism is at the heart of the book. True, you might sometimes have to dig through layers of cynicism and even nihilism to get to it, but underpinning the broader story arc, as unfashionable as it may be, is that sense of hope. Most of us are a bit misshapen, personality wise; we’re scuffed around the edges and (even if it’s only deep down) we don’t think too much of ourselves.

This is where I tend to differ with Roberts. Maybe I just get stuck on the "cynicism and nihilism", but the book doesn't seem all that optimistic and joyful. There are moments of levity and fun, but the book overall has felt very cynical to me. I think it's laudable that Roberts is going for a more positive quest and tone, and maybe if all the characters weren't so "damaged" as he puts it, that message would come through more than it does.

You and I definitely differ on that, I totally feel the joy and optimism behind the cynicism and damaged personalities, it's a definite draw for me. RID has been optimistic in parts as well, but definitely feels different because it's not a core driving element.

[Dominic]

Because this is the internet, and I am feeling like a lazy ass today....

Remember that episode of "Deep Space Nine" where Sisko knows he has to stop a group of seperatists even though he can sympathize with them? He references the Federation's high command and says that they see paradise outside of their office windows and that "it is easy to be a saint in paradise".

Ah, wait, just came up with a better example.

If you want to see a great boxer, watch him fight a losing match.

The crew of the Lost Light are miscreants and ne'er do wells. Their leader is reprehensible. Their science officer is a deranged maniac. Hoist is an odd-ball by virtue of being one of the only (if not the only) normal guy on the ship. The list could just go on.

If the characters were not so damaged, then the optimism would either be saccharine or it would be easy to miss because it would just be assumed.

Even somebody as cynical as Ratchet is shown to be worried about his crew-mates, as shown when he was going to leave his hands to Whirl.

The scene with the suicide clinic in "Shadow Play" is another example. As bad as the crew of the Lost Light is (and they are terrible), only a few of them have become monsters. Constrast that to the Decepticons, where the best and brightest either fled (and were likely executed) or committed suicide early on.

In this regard, Megatron leading the ship makes perfect sense.