https://twitter.com/The_TF_Club/status/514491786954567680

 

This is pretty cool. I feel like free fiction is a marketing tool that the club could use more often - everyone knows that good characterisation can make an otherwise unremarkable character/toy very desirable.

For reference, the story this is following up on, Timelines #8, was the BotCon 2013, 'Machine Wars: Termination' story. See TFWiki for a summary.

 

Awesome cover!!!

 

Great move! I'm very excited!

Randy

 

Quite honestly, I'd rather see more of this sort of thing from the club than a bimonthy magazine I glance at and toss aside.

Only maybe do, say, weekly updates like a proper webcomic.

 

I can dig this direction.

 

I am actually looking forward to this, seems like the right direction for the club to be taking.

 

This is a great move by the Club. I would much rather have this over the bi-monthly magazine.

 

Speaking of website updates, however... though this clearly serves an advertising purpose for the upcoming toys, it ALSO feels like something that better belongs (aside from preview pages maybe) behind the members-only paywall.

You know, the paywall that hasn't been up and running for YEARS now and as such means that anyone wanting to get access to the prose stories behind it needs to use extralegal methods. (And that's not even touching on the prose stories that as far as we know are completed but unpublished because there's nowhere to publish them to.)

 

Cool move, and congrats Josh!

 

i thought carzap was an autobot?

cool cover though i like the way they designed serpent o r

 

I'd like to think they've thought about this and will make this type of content exclusive for members moving forward. That's a true perk of being a Club member, but kudos to them for making them public.

 

I've never read any of the collector's club comics before, but from the looks of the website it looks very expensive for those memberships that they have, and it looks essential to have one of those if you want to buy something from them even if it's say a $5 Beast Wars comic?

I'm quite new to this right now honestly, for someone whose only read from IDW when it comes to Transformers.

 

They release retail versions of the botcon comics months after Botcon for a very good price.

 

Surely, since the purpose of this comic is to sell TFSS subscriptions, putting it behind the paywall and thus limiting its potential audience would be counterintuitive? Sure, you have to be a club member to buy the TFSS, but that doesn't mean there won't be people who'd potentially join the club especially to subscribe.

General fiction-for-the-sake-of-fiction, sure, that's something that makes sense as members-only material, but this is basically a full-length equivalent of last year's "Timeless" comic, designed to hype the TFSS figures and boost subscriptions.

 

Consider my jaw a-dropped.

Very excited to read this.

 

Can't wait. Wonder if there will be a print release too? Call me old fashioned but there's just something about holding a comic in-hand.

 

Would save them a few bucks shipping those out too?
I'd be down for a digital-only option membership that was a little cheaper like most magazines (or at least the two I subscribe to) offer nowadays.

 

All I really want are Krok and Serpent O.R. and it looks like it'll stay that way

 

I've subscribed, as usual once I see them in person I decide who stays and who is sold.