http://suvudu.com/ Here's the interview: Shawn Speakman: Hi Alex! You’ve written two tie-in novels for Transformers — EXODUS and EXILES. How did you get the chance to work on one of the most recognized franchises on the planet? Alex Irvine: Well, that was thanks to Tricia Pasternak. I’d worked with her on an Iron Man novel and (memory fails) a couple of other things. When the Transformers project rolled around she asked me if I was interested…and of course I was. Then I had a bunch of conversations with Michael Kelly and the rest of the cool cats at Hasbro, and off we went. SS: Where do these books fit in with the chronology of the movies and how much liberty were you given since they were prequels? AI: I had a lot of liberty within the broader parameters of Hasbro continuity. In Exodus, my mandate was essentially to tell the history of the civil war and tie it to the portions of the story presented in the War for Cybertron video game. Transmedia! But within that framework, I could do anything. I wanted Optimus to believe what Megatron was preaching initially, so that when Megatron betrays his own principles it’s a real shock to Optimus, and leaves a scar that never quite heals. Exiles continues that story and also tees up some things that you might see in the coming season (or seasons?) of Transformers: Prime. (By the way, speaking of Megatron: for those Suvududes of either sex who do not follow the NFL, the Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson is nicknamed Megatron.) SS: What kinds of things will Transformers fans learn if they read EXILES? AI: They will learn about lost Cybertronian colonies—including Velocitron and Junkion; some of the history of the Thirteen; and how Optimus deals with betrayal when he has to confront the fact that one of the Autobots is a spy for Megatron. Also there are cool fights. They might see a kind of bot that is very rarely seen, and they will certainly learn something interesting about the origin of Junkion. And did I mention the…? Oh. I can’t mention those. SS: Got a favorite Transformer? And I have to know, do you own him in toy form? AI: Starscream! And yes, although my son Ian took him apart a while back and we never did find all the pieces. So he has transformed into something else. SS: An age-old question: Can Optimus and Megatron ever settle their differences and become friends again? AI: I envision the two of them on the porch of the Home for Aged Star-Faring Cybertronians in Iacon, sipping Maccadam’s and…by which I mean no. I think that Megatron would never let it happen. He’s too resentful about Optimus becoming the standard-bearer for the movement Megatron created, and he’s also never going to get over Optimus being named Prime. SS: You are always busy with something. What are you currently working on and when will we be able to see it? I’m putting the finishing touches on my Star Wars novel right now. It’s due to come out at the end of next year. I would tell you the title, but I’m still fiddling with different ideas. I wrote the novelization of the Tintin movie that’s coming out this Christmas; the book is out November 1. That was a great excuse to dig back into Tintin comics. I’m trying to teach the baby to say “Blistering barnacles!” Also I am working on a couple of different game development projects, one of which will go live in January. And I’ve got three novels on the boil. I’m hoping to finish one of them by spring, but I don’t know which one. SS: Thanks Alex! AI: Thanks Suvudu
seems like a knowledgeable guy. to date, I think he has single-handedly written most of the pre-earth history of the transformers, more so than any other writer. I'm not terribly far into exiles, but I'm liking it so far!
Do you think he would have dropped this hint if it weren’t? Like the guys behind Transformers: Prime, Alex Irvine was pretty much free to do whatever he wanted so long as he covered the civil war, which is the story presented in War For Cybertron—what exactly happened in that war, I’d assume is up to him to decide, as we’ve already seen with the WFC and Exodus—Transformers: Prime has even given nods to both Exodus and Transformers: Prime with variation or explanation, depending on your point of view. I still don’t see any of them being the same story, as Hasbro has given all writers of whatever medium too much freedom; however, I would agree they are all in a continuity much closer to one another than the original comics and the G1 cartoon ever were.
So the Writer himself says his novels are in continuity/in the same universe as Prime. Kinda figured from what happened in the Exiles book. Hope he give us a third novel soon.
I liked the first and am waiting for the second to arrive via the post. I'm not a fan of TF Prime so a bit disappointed with that link. James Roberts filled in a bit of history between Megs and Op just nicely.
Asked Alex if the Spoiler Pirates intro at the end meant that we might get a book 3. His answer "Yarr, from what I hear." ZacWilliam, which is cool, small nitpicks and all aside, I'm eager to see this story continue.
Man I wish there was someone out there who could handle the “G1 lore” with the same care that George R.R. Martin did with the first 3 or 4 Game of Thrones novels. TF rime, WFC and the novels are all clearly doing their own thing yet they still insist on stating their all the same continuity….Mind you weren’t the dev’s that did WFC pissed about the poor handling of this assessment as well???! The fact that the author can’t even make heads or tails of even his own favorite character (Starscream) puts this entire unsorted mess in perspective. That said, please leave War For Cybertron out this! Between the poorly portrayed Movies, disappointing cartoons, and contradictory novels. A video game is all I really have left.
I think you're missunderstandng the situation. Hasbro has a 375 page story bible outlining the characters, backstory and general history of the Aligned Continuity that includes Prime, WfC, and the EX Novels. But they have said they VERY PURPOSELY left it somewhat vague in the particulars so the Writers of each medium were free to tell their own stories to their best abillity. Hasbro is not concerned if every detail matches up perfectly. They just want the general histories, backstories, characters and universe to match up on all the big points. -ZacWilliam, when Hasbro says they're "All One Continuity" they mean they're all focused and based on the "Aligned" Story Bible. That makes them the Same Thing in Hasbro's book. But they're different takes on that thing, just as the G1 Cartoon and Comics were different takes on G1 continuity.
Dear Lord they made another one. I would buy it just to burn it, but I couldn't stand for rewarding Irving for laying another stinkbomb. Maybe I'll steal one, then burn it.
I agree with what Youngprime and you touched on. I was hoping for so much more, but the ripping off the Roman Empire/Republic ideals was partly what made me stop reading Exodus. It seems like this novel is like movies today. Nothing original, its a shame.
