SEIBERTRON.com Interviews Simon Furman!

SEIBERTRON.com was recently fortunate enough to be able to conduct interviews with Dreamwave's War Within crew - UK comics legend Simon Furman, and Seibertron's own ngboy, Joe Ng!

First up is the interview with Mr. Furman, which was conducted by Seibertronian alex_kindom:

Alex Kingdom: First of all I’d like to congratulate you on a great first issue of War Within: The Age of Wrath. Something that stood out for me is how well your action-packed writing and Joe Ng's dynamic artwork complimented each other. How has it been working with such a fresh new talent?

Simon Furman: Working with Joe has been a blast. I've kind of seen all his potential realized on WW3. I'd worked with Joe on a few issues of Energon, and while the talent was there to see, it hadn't quite matured in terms of page layout, panel composition and storytelling. I could almost see him improve, issue-by-issue, and then, suddenly, it was like BANG -- WW3 #1... amazing, breathtaking. Wow... WOW! I know it's always tempting in these interviews just to automatically say the artist was this good or this amazing, but I'm hypercritical when it comes to WW. If I weren’t happy, everyone would know. And if you think issue #1 was good, wait until see the stuff on #2 & 3. Joe's a rising star and no mistake. I'm just glad to have got him on WW now, while he's creatively boiling over.

Alex Kingdom: It was interesting to see that Ultra Magnus had formed a strong bond with Grimlock, this isn’t something many of us would have expected considering Ultra Magnus’s 'good soldier' attitude. What would you attribute this to?

Simon Furman: I think Magnus is a somewhat overlooked character, and one that's not so easy just to buttonhole. Sure, he's the 'good soldier,' like you say, but as much as he almost reveres Prime and his capacity for mercy and compassion, there's another part of him that really wants cut loose and wade in, like Grimlock. We're going to show a little bit of that Magnus in the wrap up to WW3. He's always lived in Prime's shadow somewhat, figuring that's how he ought to be, and now he'll really start to emerge as his own character (which is maybe a little more like Grimlock!).

Alex Kingdom: I think it’s great how you, James ‘Brad Mick’ McDonough and Adam Patyk have worked together to create continuity between War Within and the ongoing G1 Comic. In fact there do seem to be some reoccurring themes, such as religious zealots like the Fallen and Sunstorm, and Megatron returning with clone armies of seekers in both titles. Is this a coincidence or is there a link between these events?

Simon Furman: James, Adam and I are working hard to make sure our various G1 series (from the ongoing to WW to Micromasters) work seamlessly together to create one whole story. So there are definitely links. The clone troopers are one such. The WW flashback in G1 #4 (and its pick up in WW3 #1) is another. But overall, we're working within the same larger framework, setting up stuff that has a payoff; either in G1 ongoing or retroactively in WW or MM. We are also working closely with Hasbro on this stuff. Expect more crossovers and cross-series teasers.

Alex Kingdom: Hasbro has stated that the Dreamwave continuity is now the official Transformers continuity. How do you feel about rewriting Transformers history from scratch, especially as it is a history you had so much involvement in creating?

Simon Furman: It's good, I'm very happy to be a part of it. We played it fairly fast and loose with continuity in the original G1 (UK/US) series, largely because we never expected anyone to be analyzing the stuff 20 years on. So this time it's a chance to do it right, as if we mean it. It was also useful when it came to writing TRANSFORMERS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE, as it meant I could focus on a cohesive through-line for the whole evolving saga.

Alex Kingdom: With The War Within, are you enjoying not having to work around an ever growing toy line like you do with Energon and had to back in you Marvel days? What kind of freedoms does this afford you?

Simon Furman: It's nice to be able to stage characters into the story at my own pace, and pretty much at whim. It also gives me a chance to cherry-pick characters I either like already or just never got a chance to write first time around. This extends to intro-ing characters like the Turbomasters who never made it into the original comic(s) at all. But best of all you get to write the characters before this or that gimmick practically defined who and what they were. It's kind of Transformers Unplugged!

Alex Kingdom: Dreamwave comics are aimed primarily at an older audience than the Marvel comics. How does working on Dreamwave titles differ from your work on the Marvel title? Does this allow you more creative freedom and the opportunity to take more risks?

Simon Furman: Y'know, I never really felt I was writing for a younger audience back in the Marvel days. I always pitch my stories at a level I hope can be enjoyed by all ages. One of my first rules of writing for kids is never write down to them. Just tell solid, exciting stories with interested, layered characters. Other than a few stylistic differences, I don't feel I'm particularly telling a different category of TF stories at Dreamwave. Some might say by Marvel UK/US stories were, if anything, somewhat more uncompromising.

Alex Kingdom: Are there any characters or Transformers series you really want to begiven the opportunity to write stories about? Have you any plans in the pipeline you can tell us about?

Simon Furman: Right now, there's no particular story I'm bursting to tell that I'm not already telling (either in Energon or WW). I'm like a kid in a toy shop (literally!). In fact, two toy shops. I'm not sure I have the time or mental space to take on a third series. As it was, when I was doing the Universe comics as well, I found it quite a struggle to switch tracks and deal with that kind of multiversal set-up. It was fun, but it was taxing, juggling so many characters and generations. I do have a new series upcoming from Dreamwave, but it's not exactly a huge departure. More news on this soon!

Alex Kingdom: A lot of your work has involved Unicron and the Quintessons, and it seems like it will again. What is it you like so much about these shady characters, and what is it you plan to do with them in the future?

Simon Furman: I just love the kind of big mythos-type stuff, so of course I want to play with those characters. As a comics reader, it always used to be the biggest thrill to discover some behind-the-scenes character has been either manipulating our hero(es) or building, via incidental scenes, to a big plan/attack. I love to drop that stuff in. With Energon, I had my behind-the-scenes story and incidental stuff simmering from the word-go, and it's the first time for a while I've felt completely in control of all the pieces on my chess board. Issue #31's cover even features a kind of chess-board scene. The Quints are going to be big players in WW and G1. That's all I can say for the moment. But don't expect us just to rehash stuff that's gone before. As for Unicron, that's pretty much James's baby at the moment. But who know? Maybe I'll get to play too!

Alex Kingdom: You've been an important part of Transformers mythology since the beginning in 1984, what is it that originally attracted you to the title and what drives you to continue writing Transformers stories 20 years on?

Simon Furman: Sorry to shatter any illusions, but what originally attracted me to Transformers was the paycheck. Back in 1985, it was just another job (and I had expectations it would stand the test of time). But, slowly but surely, I got dragged in much as the fans did. The reason? It has to be a rich cast of characters. Every one has an almost infinite number of stories in them, and you start to care about them. I think that's why the brand/concept has endured. It's the characters, first and foremost. That fact that they're cool toys doesn't hurt either. Nowadays, I feel somewhat honored to be such an, arguably, integral part of its history. It's kind of defined and furthered my career and I owe TF a lot. That I'm still here, still turning out TF stories, still having a blast, is just the icing on the cake.

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