The modern comics universe has had such a different take on G1, one that's significantly represented by the Generations toys, so they share a forum. A modern take on a Real Cybertronian Hero. Currently starring Generations toys, IDW "The Transformers" comics, MTMTE, TF vs GI Joe, and Windblade. Oh wait, and now Skybound, wheee!
This is not Roberts encouraging people to practice and train. This is him being a fan when he should be a professional.
Just to play devil's advocate here, didn't both Roche and Roberts get their start by writing fanfic, or at least being involved as fans and not professionals? Don Figeroa got noticed by his fan art. A few of the Mosaic contributors have gone on to work for IDW, including John-Paul Bove.
And, correct me if I am wrong, but Figueroa is the only one who has even started to break out of "Transformers" to well and properly become a pro. There is nothing wrong with working on "Transformers", or even getting a start with this sort of property. But, there is a difference between somebody getting a job as a writer/artist and working as a writer/artist on the thing you they are a life-long a fan of.
Dom
-would like to see what Roberts and Roche can do outside of "Transformers".
Fanfic is kind of "everything wrong with fandom" in that it is so utterly self-indulgent (and generally accompanies the idea that the fans know more than the IP holders and licensors). For all the pretense of creativity, fanfic is usually the most derivative stuff out there.
I can *almost* understand fanfic when there is no new content being produced. (It is kind of like drinking cheap home-brewed liquor when you cannot buy any of the real stuff.) Of course, even then, it raises the question of why those fans do not just move the fuck on to something else.
I think part of the real problem with fanfic is that most "fans" can't actually write. And by that I mean they lack the inherent skills to put an actual story together.
But, I would ask, what's the worst fanfic you've ever read?
As for moving on, what if nothing else really sets you ablaze? Then there you are as a fan of a dead franchise with nothing current to really satiate any sort of entertainment desires. At that point, fans have two options: Continue rewatching/reading/playing whatever over and over again or create their own new content.
I remember one featuring Bumblejumper....as a female.....who was raped by Autobots.....but still liked Autobots because she was saved by Bumblebee and Cliffjumper.....which is why she chose the name.
I also recall a hilarious essay by Sharon "Tut" Laborde (sp?) about Transformers and domestic violence and how Starscreawas a victim of Megatron's abuse and..... oh my lordy......
As for moving on, the inability to do that is a problem with many fans in many fandoms.
Dom
-used to trick Honeybear in to reading fanfic by swearing up and down that it was "really good, honest".
Dominic wrote:I also recall a hilarious essay by Sharon "Tut" Laborde (sp?) about Transformers and domestic violence and how Starscreawas a victim of Megatron's abuse and..... oh my lordy......
Dude, did you *read* Spotlight Megatron? That thing was like a Lifetime Original Movie starring Transformers.
Gomess wrote:Dom's relationship with fanfic is like that one immature girlfriend when you were 15 who makes you think all women are inherently horrible forever.
We should all move on... to bashing the fandom at large. =3
We could also turn the tables and come clean about our *own* contributions to the fanfic scene! For instance, when I was in eigth grade, I started writing this *really* horrible and convoluted BW fanfic where the other Deluxe Fuzors were on the teams and Dinobot had been brought back to life for some reason (he wasn't even important to the plot, I just wanted an excuse to write Dinobot in some scenes of my story) and BWII Galvatron and Heinlad were also there and they were all getting ready because Unicron had prophesized his own arrival to eat Earth and it was all going to be wrapped up so that everything would still tie in with the show canon, honest! And there was time travel bullshit with Heinlad and connecting stuff to BWII and BWNeo when I didn't fully understand the context of how those shows worked and was just going off vague summaries. I think I actually still have it lying around here, written in its horrible 12-year-old cursive, I might have to see about attempting to transcribe it, for hilarity value.
I tried to do a couple comics, one that was pretty faithful to everything G1, and one that took BW in a different direction, but I apparently have an incredibly short attention span when it comes to writing with other people's IPs. Probably a good thing, my own stuff is better.
And Dom, of course, does write fanfic, but makes the distinction that he's *serious* about getting it published, so it isn't reeaally fanfic. =3
I wonder where photocomics fit into the fanfic scheme of things? I spent a couple of years doing weekly photocomic installments of the "Obsidian's Lament" post-Beast Machines series over on TFW2005. I did put some thought into it and try to reason out plot and motivation, so it wasn't just thrown together, but a lot of it was adlibbed on the fly as I actually created the story and made changes in the process of creating the images. I'm sure I'd cringe at some of the choices now. But then that's often the case with art or designs or whatever that I revisit later on. And I'm sure I'd be quite happy with how a lot of it as well.
Visual fanfic. Maybe that's a good term.
This topic may need its own thread. It's actually fairly interesting to discuss.
