old news about transformers
Jul. 14th, 2010 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
davemerrillHey Danno, here's that old column I wrote about the Transformers convention you went to in 1999. This was originally written for the "Athenstown" website; I wrote a regular column about anime, comics, and movies for them that lasted about a year and a half. I can't remember if it was weekly or bi-weekly, but after a couple of months I really started running out of stuff to write about.
As I recall this piece got a little message board action from the TFers, but seeing as how we were up front in the article about our failure to really be a part of the whole Transformers experience, there really wasn't much they could complain about.
So my friend Dan came to town last weekend and we spent most of the time driving around doing some serious shopping. Yeah, I know it sounds pretty boring, but let's face it, I'm a pretty boring guy. I live in a fairly boring city. I drive a boring car and I have a boring job and I make up for it by seeking out and consuming weird pop culture from all over the place. I dunno, some guys hang-glide, others go for kickboxing, I root around in the detrius of civilization. Which one of us still has all his own teeth?
Anyway, Dan got to telling me about the Transformers convention he went to up in St. Paul the other week. That's right, Transformers, More Than Meets The Eye, Autobots and all that. Actually the name of the con was Bot-Con. It's an international thing, a convention that meets in a different city every year. Last year it was in Britain. This year it was in St. Paul. There are quite a few of these things, travelling cons - there are SF cons (Worldcon being the big example), there's even one for Gargoyles (the Disney TV cartoon about stone gargoyles come to life) that has been in two different continents so far. So I'm not too surprised somebody worked up a con for Transformers.
Knowing some Transformers fans, I'm not surprised at all. Transformers fans are sort of a weird hybrid between fanatical toy collectors, Trekkies, and anime fans. What's more, they're hard core. Most of the anime fans I know went through a Transformers phase when they were kids - you know, giant robots and all that - but once they discovered Robotech or Gundam, in other words, the real thing - they dropped Transformers before you could say "otaku."
But not these guys. They know what they like, which is Autobots and Decepticons and Beast Wars and Headmasters and the Movie and ferreting out old Mint-On-Card toys and digging up the three Japan-only TV series and buying plastic bags full of broken toy parts at the Value Village because there's part of an Optimus Prime in there somewhere. I can't quite figure it myself - I never liked that half-assed Marvel Productions animation, which is just as flat and lifeless and sterile now as it was back in 1985. Watch an episode of Hulk or Fantastic Four today, and compare it to an episode of GI Joe or Transformers, and there's not a dime's worth of difference. Character design by committee - guaranteed to suck the life out of anything. Plus, I never liked the idea of sentient robots. Cartoon robots are things you climb inside and blow stuff up with -everybody knows that! I once even watched the entire Headmasters mini-series, because a friend of mine insisted that if only I watched this I'd be convinced that Transformers was as good as Zeta Gundam or Saint Seiya. When the 10-episode series was over and the only practical thing accomplished was to turn the surface of the planet Autocron gold, I'd had enough. But like I said, I don't have enough toy-collector in me, different strokes for different folks, etc., etc., etc.
Anyway, Dan said Bot-Con was totally empty when he showed up - everybody was next door where representatives from Hasbro Toys (they own Transformers) and a guy from the CG animation company that produces Beast Wars were holding court and anwsering questions. Sample question, "Have you talked about making another Transformers movie?" "Yes, we've talked about it... next question." When the Q&A session was over the crowd moved back into the main hall, the dealer's room, where bits and pieces of Transformers history were on sale for widely varying prices. These guys had every kind of Transformers toy ever made, bits and pieces, on card, in box, out of box, and from what Dan said the dealers could tell you every single bit of trivia about the toy, when it was made, how many were made, what colors of plastic it was made in. There were even two special exclusive Bot-Con-only releases of Transformers toys, that Hasbro made JUST FOR BOT-CON! Now that is what I call knowing your market. Dan said the British Transformers fans were really interesting and the Japanese Transformers fans had really groovy T-shirts left over from the previous Transformers convention in Japan, but they were $20. The Bot-Con '99 shirts were cheaper but weren't nearly as good.
The goofiest thing about the con was, as Dan saw it, was the program book. It cost an extra $15, and while it had the schedule and lists of guests and everything, it was mostly fan fiction. Fan fiction that was continued from last year's program book, and didn't end this year, but would be continued next year. Now, I like fan fiction as much as the next guy, but putting it in the program book of a con is kind of suspect, having it be "to-be-continued" fan fiction is even worse, and charging an extra fifteen smackers for the whole shebang is highway robbery. That's what ADVERTISING is for, people- to pay for the program book.
What Our Correspondent remembered best about the con was the go-getting attitude of the dealers. Seeing Dan as one of the few people at the con who wasn't carrying around a box full of previous Transformers purchases, the dealers zeroed in on him and launched every hard-sell missile they had in their arsenal. One guy even ripped a toy OUT of the bubble-pack so he could show it to Dan better. Now, I know toy collectors, and they'd rather rip out their own hearts than take away the precious "mint on card" status of their merchandise! Dan's not a big Transformers fan, and the other anime stuff was way overpriced ($70 for a toy Yamato gun that makes the wave-motion noise when you pull the trigger? I don't think so) so his wallet was safe.
Safe enough, in fact, that Dan could lay down serious cash at Iwase Books, Atlanta's premiere Japanese bookstore. Iwase is over in the Prado shopping center (not in the main Prado, where the sports bar is, but in an office building to the right. There's a sign.) and they've got new Japanese magazines, books, manga galore, toys, videos, calligraphy supplies, iced coffee, reprints of those Hio Combattler V manga from the '70's that are (or used to be) as rare as nonsmoking A.A. members, Pokemon stuff, you name it. Just head south on Roswell Road, right off of I-285, and you're there. Oh yeah, they've got a few tables of cheap stuff, too. Sorry to quit talking about the con, but I got really tired of typing "Transformers" over and over again. Anyway, Dan had fun there, he had fun here, he spent lots of money both places, and he'll be back in October for Anime Weekend Atlanta, more about which next week!
Note to modern readers: Iwase Books is out of business. Its successor, Books Japan, is also out of business. Anime Weekend Atlanta, however, is still in business. I no longer live in Atlanta and have never attended the Transformers convention in Toronto, though if someone wants to pay me to write about it, I will cheerfully do so.
As I recall this piece got a little message board action from the TFers, but seeing as how we were up front in the article about our failure to really be a part of the whole Transformers experience, there really wasn't much they could complain about.
So my friend Dan came to town last weekend and we spent most of the time driving around doing some serious shopping. Yeah, I know it sounds pretty boring, but let's face it, I'm a pretty boring guy. I live in a fairly boring city. I drive a boring car and I have a boring job and I make up for it by seeking out and consuming weird pop culture from all over the place. I dunno, some guys hang-glide, others go for kickboxing, I root around in the detrius of civilization. Which one of us still has all his own teeth?
Anyway, Dan got to telling me about the Transformers convention he went to up in St. Paul the other week. That's right, Transformers, More Than Meets The Eye, Autobots and all that. Actually the name of the con was Bot-Con. It's an international thing, a convention that meets in a different city every year. Last year it was in Britain. This year it was in St. Paul. There are quite a few of these things, travelling cons - there are SF cons (Worldcon being the big example), there's even one for Gargoyles (the Disney TV cartoon about stone gargoyles come to life) that has been in two different continents so far. So I'm not too surprised somebody worked up a con for Transformers.
Knowing some Transformers fans, I'm not surprised at all. Transformers fans are sort of a weird hybrid between fanatical toy collectors, Trekkies, and anime fans. What's more, they're hard core. Most of the anime fans I know went through a Transformers phase when they were kids - you know, giant robots and all that - but once they discovered Robotech or Gundam, in other words, the real thing - they dropped Transformers before you could say "otaku."
But not these guys. They know what they like, which is Autobots and Decepticons and Beast Wars and Headmasters and the Movie and ferreting out old Mint-On-Card toys and digging up the three Japan-only TV series and buying plastic bags full of broken toy parts at the Value Village because there's part of an Optimus Prime in there somewhere. I can't quite figure it myself - I never liked that half-assed Marvel Productions animation, which is just as flat and lifeless and sterile now as it was back in 1985. Watch an episode of Hulk or Fantastic Four today, and compare it to an episode of GI Joe or Transformers, and there's not a dime's worth of difference. Character design by committee - guaranteed to suck the life out of anything. Plus, I never liked the idea of sentient robots. Cartoon robots are things you climb inside and blow stuff up with -everybody knows that! I once even watched the entire Headmasters mini-series, because a friend of mine insisted that if only I watched this I'd be convinced that Transformers was as good as Zeta Gundam or Saint Seiya. When the 10-episode series was over and the only practical thing accomplished was to turn the surface of the planet Autocron gold, I'd had enough. But like I said, I don't have enough toy-collector in me, different strokes for different folks, etc., etc., etc.
Anyway, Dan said Bot-Con was totally empty when he showed up - everybody was next door where representatives from Hasbro Toys (they own Transformers) and a guy from the CG animation company that produces Beast Wars were holding court and anwsering questions. Sample question, "Have you talked about making another Transformers movie?" "Yes, we've talked about it... next question." When the Q&A session was over the crowd moved back into the main hall, the dealer's room, where bits and pieces of Transformers history were on sale for widely varying prices. These guys had every kind of Transformers toy ever made, bits and pieces, on card, in box, out of box, and from what Dan said the dealers could tell you every single bit of trivia about the toy, when it was made, how many were made, what colors of plastic it was made in. There were even two special exclusive Bot-Con-only releases of Transformers toys, that Hasbro made JUST FOR BOT-CON! Now that is what I call knowing your market. Dan said the British Transformers fans were really interesting and the Japanese Transformers fans had really groovy T-shirts left over from the previous Transformers convention in Japan, but they were $20. The Bot-Con '99 shirts were cheaper but weren't nearly as good.
The goofiest thing about the con was, as Dan saw it, was the program book. It cost an extra $15, and while it had the schedule and lists of guests and everything, it was mostly fan fiction. Fan fiction that was continued from last year's program book, and didn't end this year, but would be continued next year. Now, I like fan fiction as much as the next guy, but putting it in the program book of a con is kind of suspect, having it be "to-be-continued" fan fiction is even worse, and charging an extra fifteen smackers for the whole shebang is highway robbery. That's what ADVERTISING is for, people- to pay for the program book.
What Our Correspondent remembered best about the con was the go-getting attitude of the dealers. Seeing Dan as one of the few people at the con who wasn't carrying around a box full of previous Transformers purchases, the dealers zeroed in on him and launched every hard-sell missile they had in their arsenal. One guy even ripped a toy OUT of the bubble-pack so he could show it to Dan better. Now, I know toy collectors, and they'd rather rip out their own hearts than take away the precious "mint on card" status of their merchandise! Dan's not a big Transformers fan, and the other anime stuff was way overpriced ($70 for a toy Yamato gun that makes the wave-motion noise when you pull the trigger? I don't think so) so his wallet was safe.
Safe enough, in fact, that Dan could lay down serious cash at Iwase Books, Atlanta's premiere Japanese bookstore. Iwase is over in the Prado shopping center (not in the main Prado, where the sports bar is, but in an office building to the right. There's a sign.) and they've got new Japanese magazines, books, manga galore, toys, videos, calligraphy supplies, iced coffee, reprints of those Hio Combattler V manga from the '70's that are (or used to be) as rare as nonsmoking A.A. members, Pokemon stuff, you name it. Just head south on Roswell Road, right off of I-285, and you're there. Oh yeah, they've got a few tables of cheap stuff, too. Sorry to quit talking about the con, but I got really tired of typing "Transformers" over and over again. Anyway, Dan had fun there, he had fun here, he spent lots of money both places, and he'll be back in October for Anime Weekend Atlanta, more about which next week!
Note to modern readers: Iwase Books is out of business. Its successor, Books Japan, is also out of business. Anime Weekend Atlanta, however, is still in business. I no longer live in Atlanta and have never attended the Transformers convention in Toronto, though if someone wants to pay me to write about it, I will cheerfully do so.
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 05:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 06:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 08:56 pm (UTC)it wouldn't bother me much i guess except for the fact that these seem to be the people who make creative decisions in the game industry and watching this happen is frustrating.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 09:56 pm (UTC)the problem is that there's just nothing to take seriously there; it's a bunch of claptrap, an amalgam designed to try and provide backstory for some unconnected toys. it doesn't make sense, isn't clever, and certainly could not be used for the basis of anything remotely non juvenile. i find adults who are serious about it to be fairly revolting.
what's funny is that somehow it seems that transformers has more staying power than 80s GI joe and also masters of the universe, which are both similarly ridiculous and crappy (and in the case of GI joe, the cartoon was dreamed up by the same creatives.)
yes, of the three, transformers are the best toys. but so what? get on with your fucking life, jesus.
i realize i am not speaking from a strong position here, but i think the eternal adolescentization of culture and geek culture in specific is quite frustrating. sure, i like cartoons with robots, still, but that's not all i like and i do not make it the entire center of my life.
i particularly want to tackle this issue creatively, actually.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 10:47 pm (UTC)(no, seriously, you know that kerfluffle about World of Warcraft a'gonna demand real names in the forums? You'd think the company had declared jihad and were beheadding babies and sucking the blood out of living cats or something)
And don't be too dismissive of the Masters of the Universe folk, they're a growing nerdom that's going to turn just as annoying as the Transfans, the Voltronies (they have a nickname yet?) and the Robotechies.
But yes, I can't think of anything worse than an 'Alpha Nerd' being in charge of something. Good god, that's nightmare fuel.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 10:53 pm (UTC)But maybe that's completely out of my ass, I haven't been in a Japanese bookstore in years now. Bah.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 11:06 pm (UTC)I also think you underestimate the impact of that "bad kids movie". I know we are jaded by anime now, but the Transformers movie was mindblowing at the time. Characters got shot and DIED. Characters that you saw through 2 or 3 seasons suddenly blew up and became scrap on the big screen. It was so jaring that when they tried the same thing in the GI Joe movie, they had to dub in lines (all said off screen so they didn't have to fit it into someone's mouth flaps) to make the character that was supposed to die end up "going into a coma". We weren't used to this type of cartoons, unless you managed to sneak into a showing of "Heavy Metal" and the boobies were distracting you from the blood anyway.
So yeah, I can't really blame the Transformers fans, at least not the ones that manage to have a life outside of their fandom. An otaku is an otaku, no matter what they collect or are interested in.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 11:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-15 01:08 am (UTC)But yeah, Iwase's markup was pretty solid and Books Japan opened after I left Atlanta but from what I could see it was kinda similar. Tough market, I think.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-15 01:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-15 02:32 am (UTC)The only part that bothered me was dead robots. Even then I knew enough to realize "Oh, Optimus blew up again? Someone get his memory back-ups."
no subject
Date: 2010-07-15 04:46 am (UTC)I would basically agree with this, and I don't have a high opinion of Transformers.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-15 09:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-15 09:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-15 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-15 10:16 pm (UTC)But still, given the inflation of Japanese book prices over the last 10 or so years (what used to be a 1000 Yen artbook ala Roman Album has become 2800 Yen and up) combined with the insane Dollar/Yen exchange, a 500 Yen manga would be, like, $7 USD now at current rates! Throw the artificial profit margin markup on top of that and wowsers, that's gonna completely kill what is already a super niche market.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 03:07 pm (UTC)