Incredible Change-Bots

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Incredible Change-Bots
IncredibleChangeBotsBook1.jpg
The cover to the first Incredible Change-Bots graphic novel.
Publication information
Publisher Top Shelf Productions
Publication date11 September 2007
Creative team
Created by Jeffrey Brown
Collected editions
Incredible Change-Bots ISBN   9781891830914
Incredible Change-Bots Two ISBN   9781603090674
Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something ISBN   9781603093484

Incredible Change-Bots is a series of graphic novels written and illustrated by the American comic book artist Jeffrey Brown and published by Top Shelf Productions. The first graphic novel was released on 11 September 2007, [1] and is a parody of the shape-changing robot genre, [2] described by Brown as being "part parody, part nostalgic tribute and part moral fable". [3] A sequel was released in 2011. [4]

Contents

Creation

Brown credits the initial inspiration as being an incident in high school where a friend joked that the soundtrack album of The Transformers: The Movie consisted of an hour of "chee choo chee choo chook" sound effects, something which stuck with the artist and led to the Incredible Change-Bots' distinctive onomatopoeia. He revisited the idea in Sulk Sketchbook #10 in January 2004. [5] Transformers and GoBots toys Brown owned as a child were also an inspiration. [6]

Publication history

News of the book's release broke in June 2007, just as Michael Bay's first Transformers movie was about to be released. [7] The first release was a 144-page digest format graphic novel, on 11 September 2007. The book was previewed by an exclusive strip in Wizard . [8] In 2010 an exclusive Christmas-themed strip was produced for Comic Book Resources. [9]

A sequel called Incredible Change-Bots Two followed in 2011. [10] Announced at the C2E2 convention, [11] it was again previewed with a strip in Wizard, which appeared in the final print edition of the magazine. [12] Another exclusive strip was created for ComicsAlliance. [13] In the run-up to the sequel's release Brown's artwork for the book was the subject of a month-long exhibition at the Scott Eder Gallery in New York. [14] [15] He stated the fun he had making the first version and the positive reception to the characters was a factor in making the sequel. [16]

In 2014 a collection of short strips and other material [17] [18] was released as Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something. [5] This compiled material produced for the fan club, the online strips, the Scott Eder Gallery Show and numerous other sources, and included additional commentary and notes from Brown. [5]

Synopsis

Incredible Change-Bots: More Than Just Machines!

On the planet of Electrocybercircuitron machines have evolved into sentient beings called the Incredible Change-Bots. They are named such due to their ability to Incredible Change from robots to vehicles or other objects. The population of Electrocybercircuitron is split into two ideological groups, the Awesomebots, led by Big Rig, and Fantasticons, led by Shootertron. The latter tamper with senate elections and take control of the planet, and the resulting heavily-armed peaceful protest mounted by the Awesomebots soon escalates into civil war. The long conflict leaves Electrocybercircuitron drained, so both factions work together to build a ship and set off into space to find a new source of energy.

The truce soon breaks down, causing the ship to crash on Earth. Like all alien spacecraft it lands in a remote North American desert, and the Fantasticons leave the ship to set up a base called the Fantasticave in a nearby mountain. Realising that their Incredible Change ability gives them the perfect disguise, the Awesomebots go looking for them - but are wary due to many of Earth's machines due to them carrying organic infestation. During a skirmish the Awesomebot called Balls goes missing. He is found by human mechanics Jimmy Junior and his father Monkeywrench. They help repair him and befriend the Awesomebots. Shootertron also makes an alliance, with General Deeyer and the army. They pleasure each other by exchanging Incredible Change-Bot technology for supplies of energy. In the resulting battle the Awesomebot Arsonal is destroyed. Monkeywrench is able to repair him, and the Fantasticon spy Microwave tells Shootertron they ask for nothing in exchange.

Enraged with Deeyer, he sends Rusty and Gasser to find him. Due to there being two General Deeyers the errand takes them two years. They try to get him to ally the army to the Fantasticons but the Awesomebots thwart this by ramming Deeyer's car, badly injuring him. However the Awesomebots are betrayed when Siren, one of their own, shoots her lover Honkytonk. To reverse their fortunes, Awesomebot Eject devises a plan to construct a Solar-Turbine Power Converter to gather energy. However, their plans are overheard by Fantasticon spy Microwave and after setting up the Converter in the South American jungle the Awesomebots are ambushed - with Arsonal getting shot again. The Fantasticons' new ally Dr. Infallible unleashes his new origami creation Papercut, which kills Monkeywrench. The Awesomebots return to Awesomebase in low spirits, and shortly after Honkytonk and Siren destroy each other in a brief shoot-out. Fed up of Big Rig's repeated incompetence, the Awesomebots decide they want a change of leadership - especially after Eject reveals Big Rig is Shootertron's brother. Big Rig is impeached into the desert, swiftly becoming delirious before being found by the Fantasticons, who convince him to join them.

The Awesomebots, having elected Stinky as their new leader, track Big Rig to a dam and battle is joined. Big Rig rejoins the Awesomebots and knocks Shootertron off the dam, the Fantasticon refusing to be rescued due to belief his opposite number will use him to shoot himself. As the fight rages Gasser has an existential crisis and douses the dam in petrol before setting it off. Between the battle and the explosion only a few survivors are left. After Rusty reveals they weren't there to steal energy but just to see the view. They band together and repair the ship before leaving Earth - and an awkwardly emotional Jimmy Junior - behind.

In an epilogue construction workers begin to clear the debris of the dam, revealing Shootertron. [3]

Incredible Change-Bots Two: The Vengeful Return of the Broken

Three years later, an amnesiac Shootertron digs himself free and is adopted by the Dards, a kindly couple of farmers called Stanley - who calls him "big guy" - and Edna. Despite being a gigantic robot he is enrolled in the local high school, becoming a key player in the football team. He rediscovers his powerful gun when protecting Stanley from Tracktor, which Shootertron has mistaken for a sinister presence due to pareidolia; runs a successful campaign of terror in order to be elected Class president; and begins dreaming of the war between the Awesomebots and Fantasticons. However his school rival alerts General Deeyer to Shootertron's whereabouts, and he is captured by agents of a Washington think tank. Deeyer's scientists try to harness Shootertron's powers, eventually reawakening his memory.

Meanwhile in space the Change-Bots' ship is coming up to Jupiter. Big Rig proposes they formalise their alliance with a triumvirate of leaders - himself, Eject and Rusty - while medic Ivy is gradually restoring destroyed Change-Bots to life. However Calculatron has only double-checked their trajectory despite Big Rig's request he triple-check it, and the ship goes off course, back towards Earth. Even though the ship is totally destroyed on impact everyone survives unharmed.

Desiring revenge, Shootertron decides to work with Deeyer to destroy the Change-Bots, and leads a planning session to map the battlefield using pirate-themed interlocking bricks. They confront Big Rig and a battle breaks out. The Change-Bots find their lasers are useless as Eject sold the idea of using mirrors to deflect them to the military before they left Earth. However, Eject and Rusty soon hit on the idea of just punching the soldiers. The army is driven off and the Awesomebots and Fantasticons begin squabbling as to whether it counts as a victory as the enemy weren't finished off. The Fantasticons leave and head back to the Fantasticave, where Shootertron is waiting and retakes command. While the Awesomebots receive a visit from Jimmy Junior and Monkeywrench. Initially, Big Rig is perplexed by Monkeywrench being alive until Eject suggests they might be time-travellers and the Awesomebots decide to go with it.

Shootertron proposes arbitration and the Awesomebots meet with the Fantasticons, taking Jimmy Junior and Monkeywrench along after the former points out to Big Rig they can be used as human shields. Shootertron's lawyers tell Big Rig he and the Awesomebots have 48 hours to submit to his control or be wiped out. Both sides throw new creations into the fight - the tiny annoying Fantastinsectors, the giant Awesomesauruses and the huge Macrowave- but the key tussle is once again between Big Rig and Shootertron. However, the Fantasticon leader refuses to fight after Big Rig calls him "big guy", reminding of his time with the Dards. He apologises to Big Rig and both groups reconcile.

In the epilogue, the two groups move into the new Fantasticawesome complex, rapidly become bored and start squabbling about minor things. [10]

Characters

Awesomebots

Fantasticons

Humans

Cultural impact

Various projects have been inspired the novels. After discussing the idea of a theme tune for Incredible Change-Bots with Brown in an interview for his blog, [19] Pirooz Kalayeh wrote music to the lyrics. [20] With Brown's blessing, [5] animator Oren Mashkovski created a "trailer" for the comics, which was uploaded to the official Top Shelf Productions YouTube Channel. [21] Brown claimed that there had been some interest from TV and film studios over a full adaptation but that it had come to nothing. [5]

Fan club

Brown set up an official fan club for Incredible Change-Bots. The first iteration, advertised in the back of the graphic novel, cost $20, for which members would receive a mini-comic, a full-colour drawing and a membership card. [2] It had around a hundred members. [16] The second version charged $5 in exchange for a newsletter, a black-and-white sketch of a requested Change-Bot and a membership card. Animator Pendleton Ward was named as the organisation's vice-president, a post that - in Brown's words - had "zero actual responsibilities". [5]

Merchandise

In 2008 Devil's Due Publishing reached a deal to produce 6-inch vinyl figures based on Incredible Change-Bots characters, beginning with Balls and Microwave (with Soupy and Popper). [22] Each could Incredible Change via substituting parts, included a 6-page exclusive comic strip and had packaging designed by & Thank You For Flying. [23] However, despite prototypes being made and the products being solicited in the Diamond Previews Catalogue [5] the release fell through. [16] The mini-comics were eventually published in Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something. [5]

In 2016 Brown revisited the Change-Bots with a trading card set featuring all-new art, aiming to raise funds through crowdfunding website Kickstarter [24]

Other appearances

Due to the association with Devil's Due the characters of Balls and Microwave briefly appeared in Hack/Slash #18 in a character's nightmare, and a poster for the first graphic novel is glimpsed in the film version of Kick-Ass . [5]

Reception

All three volumes have received largely positive reviews.

Doug Glassman gave the first book a positive review for Collected Editions, but noted the humour might be lost on those not familiar with the conventions of the Transformers cartoon. [25] Writing for ComicBookBin, Leroy Douressaux gave the graphic novel a B rating but noted similar reservations about the niche humour. [26] Reviewing the book for Panel Patter, Rob McMonigal noted "Good parodies can survive on their own as a story. Incredible Change-Bots does this perfectly." [27] . Writing for the MTV Adapt This! column in 2010, Rick Marshall suggested Incredible Change-Bots would make a good animated TV series, noting the books' "perfect balance between nostalgia and self-aware fun", but noted such an adaptation could attract legal attention due to the inspiration it took from the Transformers and GoBots franchises. [28]

James Hunt of Comic Book Resources praised Incredible Change-Bots Two, noting that it "builds on the original without being a complete retread", [29] while Michael May positively compared it to the Transformers film series, [30] a sentiment that was shared by McMonigal in Panel Patter's review. [31] Sean Edgar scored the book at 8.2 out of 10 for Paste , noting "Brown’s art resembles the margins of a ridiculously talented high-schooler’s geometry notebook, but this informal, goofy take perfectly complements a story that revels in incompetent characters and sly non sequiturs." [32] . Jonathan H. Liu was equally positive for Wired , noting the story "takes a lot of the tropes of our beloved Saturday morning cartoons and mashes them up into a hilarious take on giant (and not-so-giant) robots battling it out for no really good reason." [33] . On his personal blog, The Comics Journal critic Rob Clough noted that the book had "either a comedic bit, a fight or an explosion on every page." [34] , while R. Fiore noted that "No fair observer would deny that it takes more than one book to fully explore the absurdity of the Transformers concept." [35] .

Reviewing Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something for ComicBookBin, Douressaux praised the book, noting it "is not a collection of throw-away stuff and odds-and-ends. These are fully functional short stories and vignettes..." [36] .

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References

  1. ↑ "Incredible Change-Bots One". Top Shelf Productions.
  2. 1 2 "Jeffrey Brown Puts Spin on Transformers with Incredible Change-Bots". Alarm. 15 November 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Brown, Jeffrey (11 September 2007). Incredible Change-Bots. Top Shelf Productions. ISBN   9781891830914.
  4. ↑ "Incredible Change-Bots Two". Top Shelf Productions.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Brown, Jeffrey (9 December 2014). Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something. Top Shelf Productions. ISBN   9781603093484.
  6. ↑ "Special Limited Quantities Offer". Jeffrey Brown Comics. 11 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "Jeffrey Brown's Incredible Change-Bots". Comics Alliance. 18 June 2007.
  8. ↑ Brown, Jeffrey (August 2007). "At the Awesomebase...". Wizard #190. Wizard Entertainment.
  9. ↑ "Seasons Greetings From "The Incredible Change-Bots"". CBR.com. 31 December 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Brown, Jeffrey (13 April 2011). Incredible Change-Bots Two. Top Shelf Productions. ISBN   9781603090674.
  11. ↑ "Incredible Change-Bots take aim at C2E2". CBR.com. 18 March 2011.
  12. ↑ Brown, Jeffrey (March 2011). "The Test". Wizard #235. Wizard Entertainment.
  13. ↑ "The Incredible Change-Bots Ponder the Joy of Shooting Things with Lasers (Exclusive Comic)". ComicsAlliance. 20 January 2011.
  14. ↑ "Jeffrey Brown's CHANGE-BOTS invade New York next weekend!". Top Shelf Productions.
  15. ↑ "Original artwork by Jeffrey Brown". Scott Eder Gallery.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Brown's Incredible Change-Bots Return". CBR.com. 26 January 2011.
  17. ↑ "Top Shelf unveils new 'Incredible Change-Bots' collection". CBR.com. 25 June 2014.
  18. ↑ "Jeffrey Brown's Incredible Change-Bots Returns (Kind Of) in September". ComicBook.
  19. ↑ "Interview with Jeffrey Brown: May 21st - June 7th". Shikow.
  20. ↑ "Incredible Change Bots Theme Song". Internet Archive.
  21. ↑ "Incredible Change-Bots Trailer". YouTube.
  22. ↑ "Balls: Incredible Change-bots Vinyl Figure". Toy News International.
  23. ↑ "Incredible Change Bots". & Thank You For Flying.
  24. ↑ "Cartoonist Jeffrey Brown launches Change-Bots Trading Card Kickstarter". CBR.com. 16 June 2016.
  25. ↑ "Review: Incredible Change-Bots graphic novel (Top Shelf Comics)". Collected Editions. 5 November 2007.
  26. ↑ "Jeffrey Brown: Incredible Change-Bots". ComicBookBin.
  27. ↑ "Incredible Change-Bots". Panel Patter.
  28. ↑ "ADAPT THIS: 'Incredible Change-Bots' By Jeffrey Brown". MTV. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Incredible Change-Bots #2". CBR.com. 18 April 2011.
  30. ↑ "Robot Review : Incredible Change-Bots Two". CBR.com. 30 March 2011.
  31. ↑ "Incredible Change-Bots Two". Panel Patter.
  32. ↑ "Comic Book & Graphic Novel Round-Up (5/4/11)". Paste. 4 May 2011.
  33. ↑ Liu, Jonathan H. "Incredible Change-Bots 2: The Vengeful Return of the Broken!". Wired.
  34. ↑ "Piling On: Incredible Change-Bots Two". High-Low. 12 March 2012.
  35. ↑ "Art Comics and No Fooling". The Comics Journal. 7 July 2011.
  36. ↑ "Incredible Change-Bots Two Point Something Something review". Comic Book Bin.
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