with the endless waves of IDW comics/ w generations deluxes in the USA and CANADA? Markets.... It got me to wondering....Who pays who? Does Hasbro pay IDW to print and include their comics with the transformers figures? OR Does IDW pay hasbro for the chance to expand their market and exposure to transformers fans? I have found absolutely ZERO on the internet as to who gets $$$ from who.
IDW pays Hasbro for the license to produce TF comics at all. Beyond that, I don't think anyone is paying anyone. I see what you mean, though, and it is an interesting question. I'm not sure whose dime the comics are being printed on. Are the ones included in the generations toys printed at the same time and location as the packaging? Or are they printed at the same time as the regular cover comics and then shipped to wherever the toys are being packaged?
I suspect neither as some of the comics are changed significantly from their initial release. Trailcutter is the most prominent example of this since the comic packed in with the toy has any mention of the name Trailbreaker removed. I haven't compared the other issues, but that, in addition to the different covers leads me to think that maybe IDW produces the comics and then sends them to Hasbro to include with the toys.
Many of the pack-in versions also contain instances of censorship. References to "guns", "death" etc. are changed to more technical terms.
IDW produces the comics anyway. But they don't PRINT the comics. No publisher prints their comics. Publishers send all their comics TO a printer. Usually in Canada. The changes you guys are talking about are all lettering changes. And since those are done digitally, they could be done at any point in the process. Actually, you could find the answer to this question very easily by asking the editor. Either by email or on the IDW forums. I'm sure it's no secret or anything.
That's interesting. I still have most of the pack in comics so I might go through and read them to see this firsthand (I believe you, but it's different reading for yourself). That's also interesting. I'm not really much of a "comics guy", the only reason I go to the comic shop is because there are comics with Transformers in them. Otherwise, I would not read comics. As such, I'm not really privy to how the industry works so this is good to know. I was just pointing out that there were differences between the ones in the comic shop vs. the ones in with the toys.
I was just wondering, because comic paper does not come out of a paint apps or plastic content budget obviously. It's a cool concept that they are doing....the best once since minicons were included with the armada figures.... I just hope it is continued far, far into the future....
Here's an idea: They should have the instructions for the toy on the back page of the comic. It could save Hasbro the money of printing both the comic (if they're the ones that print it) and instructions.
I'm pretty sure they're printed with the toys since they use diffrent paper stock than the newsstand versions
