Don Figueroa

Don Figueroa
Don Figueroa
Area(s)	Pencils
Notable works	Transformers: The War Within ; Beast Wars: The Gathering ; The Transformers: Stormbringer

Last updated October 13, 2019

Don Allan Figueroa is a Filipino American comic book artist and toy designer. He is best known for his work on many different Transformers designs, for both the defunct Dreamwave Productions and with IDW Publishing.

The Transformers is a line of mecha toys produced by the Japanese company Takara and American toy company Hasbro. Initially a line of transforming mecha toys rebranded from Takara's Diaclone and Microman toylines, it spawned the Transformers media franchise.

Dreamwave Productions was a Canadian art design studio and comic book publisher founded in 1996 which is best known for their multiple Transformers comic book series. The company shut down on January 4, 2005.

IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recognized as the fifth-largest comic book publisher in the United States, behind Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image Comics, ahead of other major comic book publishers such as Archie, Boom!, Dynamite and Oni Press. The company is perhaps best known for its licensed comic book adaptations of movies, television shows, video games, and cartoons.

Dreamwave Productions

One of Figueroa's projects was to illustrate Dreamwave's first Transformers: The War Within miniseries. In the series, Figueroa was tasked to design new alternate modes for the Generation 1 Transformers, based on the fact that the series is set long before their arrival on Earth. The Transformers: Titanium line of die-cast toys was based on this series.

Transformers: The War Within is a series of comic book mini-series written by Simon Furman and published by Dreamwave Productions featuring Generation One characters with brand new pre-Earth designs.

Transformers: Generation 1 is a children's toy line that ran from 1984 to 1992 and was produced by Hasbro. It was a line of toy robots that could change into an alternate form by moving parts into other places, and it was the first line of toys produced for the successful Transformers toy and entertainment franchise. The line was originally called The Transformers, with "Generation 1" originating as a term coined by fans of the toys when the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line was released in 1992. Hasbro eventually adopted the term "Generation 1" to refer to any toy produced in that era.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon, which is Earth's only natural satellite. Earth orbits around the Sun in 365.26 days, a period known as an Earth year. During this time, Earth rotates about its axis about 366.26 times.

Figueroa was later brought on to pencil the "Worlds Collide" story arc on the Transformers: Armada comic book series, which featured some G1 Decepticons. He was eventually named as the penciler for the ongoing Generation 1 comic. He also contributed heavily to their More Than Meets the Eye eight-issue volume of character profiles.

A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and films with each episode following a dramatic arc. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story arc is much more common in comedies, especially in soap operas. In a traditional Hollywood film, the story arc usually follows a three-act format. Webcomics are more likely to use story arcs than newspaper comics, as most web comics have readable archives online that a newcomer to the strip can read in order to understand what is going on. Although story arcs have existed for decades, the term "story arc" was coined in 1988 in relation to the television series Wiseguy, and was quickly adapted for other uses.

<i>Transformers: Armada</i> television series

Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as Super Robot Life-Form Transformers: Legend of the Microns, is a Transformers animated series, comic series, and toy line which ran from 2002–2004. It was originally scheduled for 2001, however was delayed until mid-2002. As the first series co-produced between the American toy company, Hasbro, and their Japanese counterpart, Takara, Armada begins a new continuity/universe for Transformers, with no ties to any of the previous series, including the immediately prior Transformers: Robots in Disguise in 2001. It inspired a sequel called Transformers: Energon. Hasbro handled the distribution of the English license, while Takara Tomy handled the distribution of the Japanese license.

Decepticon Faction of sentient robots from the Transformers universe

The Decepticons are the main antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers multimedia franchise. They are depicted as a faction of sentient robotic lifeforms from the planet Cybertron led by Megatron, identified by a purple face-like insignia. Capable of transforming into alternate forms, these are often high-tech or powerful vehicles; including aircraft, military vehicles, construction vehicles, expensive luxury or sports cars and even smaller-than-human-sized objects.

IDW Publishing

After Dreamwave went out of business, Figueroa was brought into IDW Publishing's Transformers franchise. At IDW, he worked on Beast Wars: The Gathering , The Transformers: Stormbringer , a comic adaptation of 1986's The Transformers: The Movie , the official 2007 Transformers movie prequel and a Spotlight issue on Optimus Prime. His later work included Beast Wars: The Ascending , a Target exclusive movie prequel comic with Andrew Wildman as well as many of the profiles for the Transformers: Beast Wars Sourcebook profile series.

Beast Wars: The Gathering is a four-issue comic book mini-series, published by IDW Publishing. The series was launched with #1 in February 2006 and ended with #4 in May. It has since been republished as a trade paperback.

The Transformers: Stormbringer is a comic book mini-series, published by IDW Publishing.

<i>The Transformers: The Movie</i> 1986 US animated film

The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated film based on the Transformers television series, in turn based on the Transformers toyline created by Hasbro. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986, and in the United Kingdom on December 12, 1986. The film was co-produced and directed by Nelson Shin, who also produced the original Transformers television series. The screenplay was written by Ron Friedman, who would create The Bionic Six a year later. The movie features the voices of Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Casey Kasem, Robert Stack, Lionel Stander, John Moschitta Jr., Peter Cullen and Frank Welker. It also marked the final roles for both Orson Welles, who died the year before its release, and Scatman Crothers, who died months after its release. The film's story takes place in 2005, 20 years after the events of the TV series' second season, and serves to bridge into the third season.

For a time, Figueroa stopped working on the Transformers comics to pursue other projects, the first of which being a five-part series for IDW titled Zombies: Hunters. He returned to Transformers as a fill-in artist on the third issue of Transformers: Defiance, a prequel to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen . He also provided line art on the first story in All Hail Megatron: Coda, as well as the Terminator Salvation prequel comic.

<i>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen</i> 2009 science fiction film directed by Michael Bay

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed by Michael Bay and based on the Transformers toy line. It is the sequel to 2007's Transformers, as well as the second installment in the live-action Transformers film series. Taking place two years after the first film, the story revolves around Sam Witwicky, who is caught in the war between the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime and the Decepticons, led by Megatron. Sam begins having strange visions of Cybertronian symbols, and is being hunted by the Decepticons under the orders of an ancient Decepticon named The Fallen, who seeks to get revenge on Earth by finding and activating a machine that would provide the Decepticons with an energon source, destroying the Sun and all life on Earth in the process. Returning Transformers include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet, Megatron, Starscream, and Scorponok.

<i>Terminator Salvation</i> 2009 US science fiction action film directed by McG

Terminator Salvation is a 2009 American military science fiction action film directed by McG and written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris. It is the fourth installment of the Terminator film series, following 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The film stars Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, with Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Michael Ironside, and Helena Bonham Carter in supporting roles. In a departure from the previous installments, Salvation is a post-apocalyptic film set in the year 2018. It focuses on the war between Skynet's machine network and humanity, as the remnants of the world's military have united to form the Resistance to fight against Skynet's killing machines. Bale portrays John Connor, a Resistance fighter and central character, while Worthington portrays cyborg Marcus Wright. Yelchin plays a young Kyle Reese, a character first introduced in The Terminator, and the film depicts the origins of the T-800 Terminator.

Figueroa returned to Transformers full-time as the artist of IDW's ongoing Transformers series.

Toy designs

Figueroa worked with Hasbro on their Transformers: Titanium line of die-cast toys. Figueroa based several designs after his War Within series for Dreamwave, but did not limit himself to those. All-in-all, he created the designs for every six-inch transforming figure in the line, over 12 figures, not including repaints.

After the Titanium line ended, Figueroa worked with Hasbro again on their Transformers: Classics toy-line, creating updated, highly articulated designs for classic Transformers characters. The line has since expanded into the Transformers: Universe line, and continues to put out new toys.

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Simon Christopher Francis Furman is a British comic book writer who is best known for his work on Hasbro/Tomy's Transformers franchise, starting with writing Marvel's initial comic book to promote the toyline worldwide, as well as foundations for both Dreamwave Production's and IDW Publishing's takes on the Generation 1 minifranchise.

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References

Don Figueroa at the Grand Comics Database
Don Figueroa at the Comic Book DB
Don Figueroa on deviantART

The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project is cataloging information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful to the comic book reader, comic collector, fan, and scholar. The GCD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Arkansas.

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