Paramount Pictures’ float in the 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, celebrated the Hollywood studio’s 100th anniversary by highlighting some of their best-known properties. Among them was Transformers movie Bumblebee, right in the middle of the float. As all Rose Parade float elements have to be covered in living things, Bumblebee was decked out in yellow Strawflower as well as poppy and chive seeds. Los Angeles’ KTLA channel 5′s long-time Rose Parade commentator Bob Eubanks, former host of the classic TV gameshow The Newlywed Game, revealed that his son, stuntman Corey Eubanks, was coincidentally the stunt driver for the Bumblebee Camaro in the 2007 Transformers film.

… Dallas, Texas, in the Hyatt Regency Dallas. The dates are April 26 – 29, 2012.

IDW’s continuation of the original Marvel Comics “Transformers” series will be available in May.

After a twenty-year wait, IDW Publishing today proudly announced the return of the original Generation One TRANSFORMERS comics, beginning with the free TRANSFORMERS: REGENERATION ONE #80.5, available on Free Comic Book Day, May 5, 2012 as a Gold Sponsorship comic. Fan-favorite writer Simon Furman and legendary TRANSFOMERS artist Andrew Wildman pick up right where 1991′s TRANSFORMERS #80 left off, and lead into this all-new month series, kicking off in July with TRANSFORMERS: REGENERATION ONE #81.
 
Starting with the free TRANSFORMERS: REGENERATION ONE #80.5, OPTIMUS PRIME, GRIMLOCK, KUP, HOT ROD and all the favorite Generation One TRANSFORMERS characters charge into the future. Reflecting back on the dizzying highs and the terrifying lows of the original run of Transformers comics, OPTIMUS PRIME watches over a CYBERTRON that hasn’t faced MEGATRON for decades. But that peace shudders to an end and dives headlong into July’s TRANSFORMERS: REGENERATION ONE #81.

New IDW editor John Barber, Hasbro’s Senior Global Publishing Manager Michael Kelly and IDW’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations AnnaMaria White recently held a press conference to discuss upcoming plans for IDW’s Transformers series. Spoilers abound in the article, so if you don’t want to know what’s coming, avoid reading any further.

IDW Publishing and Hasbro held a press conference call Wednesday to present the future of “Transformers” comics — a future that, it would appear, does not include the famed leader of the Autobots. Following the two-stream “Chaos” arc now running biweekly in the “Transformers” ongoing series, December will see a one-shot titled “The Death of Optimus Prime,” after which the series will relaunch as two separate, ongoing series, “Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye” and “Transformers: Robots in Disguise.” New IDW editor John Barber led the discussion, with Hasbro’s Senior Global Publishing Manager Michael Kelly and IDW’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations AnnaMaria White also on the call.

Follow the link to read the full article at comicbookresources.com.

From this year’s SDCC comic panel comes various tidbits of information about upcoming Transformers comics from IDW.

December – Transformers #125
The “big event” issue. The current ongoing comes to an end. Death of Optimus Prime!

January – All Digital Comic: Autocracy
By Flint Dille and Livo Ramondelli – will be an enhanced comic, with more than just scans of the comics. Likely will be a print version available as well.
Release date is TBD

Two New Ongoing Series – Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets The Eye. These two comics will run in parallel.

Robots In Disguise is written by John Barber, with art by Andrew Griffith

More Than Meets the Eye is written by James Roberts, with art by Nick Roche

See the link for more information and some Q & A with the panelists.

Time Magazine has compiled a list of the 20 worst summer blockbusters of all time, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was ranked worst on that list, just ahead of 1999′s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

The second of Michael Bay’s’ cinematic Transformers trilogy was released just 2 years ago to impressive box office results – the movie was the biggest draw of the trilogy and ranks 78th in all-time domestic ticket sales (adjusted for inflation), making it the only Transformers film on the top 100 list – but downright abysmal  reviews that have not improved in the 2 years since its release. Time’s list places blame on the movie’s confused, jumbled plot, but ultimately focuses the film’s scorn upon its helmer, Michael Bay.

Time also named ROTF’s sequel, this summer’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, as the 16th worst summer blockbuster of all time.

You can read their rationale and the rest of the list on Time’s website.

I got an e-mail from Brian at the Transformers Collector’s Club regarding the free membership figure for this year, the repaint of Classics Rodimus into RID Side Burn:

This is going out to all members. 

Provided that your membership was in good standing on March 16th (which makes you eligible to receive this year’s free figure) the domestic figures are now in the mail.  If you joined after that date, you will receive next year’s figure.

Your Sideburn will arrive via standard rate mail so this can take as much as 3-4 weeks.  If you do not receive your figure by Sept 1, please let us know.  Please do not contact us before that date. 

For those not in the US:

The foreign mail pieces will depart by next Tuesday.  They go via DHL Worldmail.  DHL forwards them to your county’s mail system and then your postal carrier will deliver your piece.  These should be in your country’s mail system by the end of next week.

Thanks for your patience with the delivery on these figures!

Brian

I learned at Comic-Con that the head of Hasbro’s Star Wars figure sculpting department, Dave Vennemeyer, handles the Transformers Human Alliance humans, as well as the Star Wars Transformers heads? It’s true! He even had the original sculpts on hand alongside his Star Wars head sculpts on display at the Hasbro booth as he was showing off sculpting and discussing the art with con-goers. The detailing on the Sam Witwicky, Captain Lennox, and Agent Simmons original sculpts was outrageously accurate, done in one-to-one scale no less, before they got turned into molds and given production paint. Dave and his team also do the generic Human Alliance figures that are helmeted, many of which are found in the basic HA line, and said any scale issues are unintended. Dave doesn’t personally do all the figures, for example, I asked him about the Sgt Epps figure and he knew that one only based on its flaws, not its name.

Kinda weird, it’s Wednesday and yet there’s some sort of movie being released today. Not sure what the big deal is, I mean, it’s not like we’re a movie website. I don’t even remember what this movie’s called. But it’s out now, and in 3D and IMAX 3D (don’t get suckered into fake IMAX tho’).

This just in from Hasbro…

“Hello TRANSFORMERS Fans!

Hasbro’s new KRE-O TRANSFORMERS construction sets are now available for pre-sell beginning today.  (…more)