The official Transformers Facebook page has updated with an interview with comic artist Matt Frank. Mr. Frank provided the pencils for the recently released Spotlight: Trailcutter and provides answers to inquiries from the Transformers Facebook page. Among them; how he became involved with the Transformers, working with writer James Roberts, Killmaster and how he feels about this issue possibly being a child’s first comic.
Click on the title bar to read the entire interview. Q: Hi Matt. How was everything for you in2012?
MATTFRANK: 2012 was a pretty incredible year. No continental shifts or explodingsuns, so we’re ahead of the game! I’ve been lucky to have a near-constant flowof work with TRANSFORMERS and other projects.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself. How you gotinto drawing, were you a comic book fan, who has influenced you in your career.
MATTFRANK: As a kid, drawing seemed to be a natural result of the sort ofstuff I was a fan of. Dinosaurs and monsters and robots and all kinds ofgoodness. I just wanted to recreate the stuff that gave me so much excitement.I’m definitely a pretty big comic fan, although my interests are kind of allover the place (though many still chart a course through the same thematicelements). I’m a big fan of guys like William Stout, Art Adams, Ricardo Delgado(Age of Reptiles!), Dan Brereton, andmore recently I’ve discovered the glory of books like Blacksad and Scott Pilgrim.Of course, I’ve always loved the TRANSFORMERS comics, be they G2, Dreamwave orIDW!
Q: Were you a fan of Transformers right fromthe very beginning?
MATTFRANK: Depends on what “very beginning” is…I’m a ’90s kid, so I wasn’t therefor the G1 boom. Eventually I got a hold of TRANSFORMERS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE bySimon Furman, and that definitely opened up a few more doors!
Q: Having donework on MARS ATTACKS THE TRANSFORMERS recently, how did it feel to come backand work with James Robert in the MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE world on SPOTLIGHT:TAILCUTTER?
MATTFRANK: Ironically, I made the TRAILCUTTER comic several months BEFOREthe crossover! So it actually provided a nice warm-up for when I had to tackleMARS ATTACKS THE TRANSFORMERS in an even SHORTER time frame! But I’m a big fanof James’s work, and it was a real thrill to compliment our respective comedicstyles for this book.
Q: Did you have to do muchresearch and catch up with events/characters designs before drawing SPOTLIGHT:TAILCUTTER?
MATT FRANK: My existing issues ofMTMTE were scattered around my studio and workspace, each opened to aparticular page that proved useful, especially for Trailcutter’s relativelyshort exposure up to this point. Beyond that, I was pretty familiar with thelore… although I actually got to DESIGN Killmaster, which was wonderful.
Q: Spotlight Tailcutter is part ofthe recent wave of SPOTLIGHTs. How’d you feel knowingthat this comic is going to be packaged with a toy, and could be someone’sfirst ever TRANSFORMERS, or any, comic book?
MATTFRANK: One of the first TRANSFORMERS projects I ever tackled was thepack-in comic, “The Rise of Safeguard,” sold alongside Jetfire and Jetstormfrom TRANSFORMERS: ANIMATED. So the feeling is a familiar one!
Q: What advice would you give to someone ifthey were drawing TRANSFORMERS for the first time?
MATTFRANK: It would definitely be to find your own style… or at least put yourunique stamp on the characters you draw. There are so many amazing TRANSFORMERSartists out there, try and make yourself stand out!
Q: What tools of the trade do you use whendrawing the characters? Do you do lots of research before hand?
MATTFRANK: Besides good ol’ pens and paper, I have a ton of reference material,which I cannot stress enough. THE COMPLETE ARK is a godsend (or a[Transformers writer and letterer Chris] Mowry-send!) and I have quite a few ofthe IDW trades. Beyond that there’s definitely the internet. My own TFcollection is somewhat limited (gotta make room for all my Godzilla toys, afterall), but they’ll provide good reference in a pinch!
Q: Autobot or Decepticon? Who gets yourallegiance?
MATTFRANK: “Me Grimlock no Autobot… Me DINOBOT.” (rips off Con’s arm).
Q: As we head deeper into 2013, whatare your aims for this coming year? Any burning ambitions you would like toturn into reality?
MATTFRANK: I’ve got a few other veryexciting TRANSFORMERS projects coming down the pipe. I’m also doing even moreGodzilla stuff… and then perhaps a little creator-owned goodness? Maybesomething original to spice things up? Stay tuned, kids!
courtdevil
seems Hasbro and IDW work pretty close, they are promoting each other's product!
hotrod5749
What happened to idw price structure? I thought back issues were only $1.99, now they are $2.99.
I usually wait for the price drop so I'm surprised they only dropping $1. Instead of $2.
AngryChad
Really liking this guy's art, and hope to see more of it in the upcoming books.
SPLIT LIP
You can say that again.
Killmaster was a riot.
adambman
For an interview relating to MTMTE characters, those insights were short but sweet! Now I'm just wondering when the toys and reviews will start popping up.
Mechafire
Glad to hear Frank's working on more TF projects. Dude's art is terrific.
ken8kuhletz08
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