When Hasbro announced on Thursday that it has awarded the next North America license to publish Transformers comic books to IDW Publishing, a not uncommon reaction among the hardcore Transformers fan community was "Who??" Which may well be part of the appeal of the license for the small, but retailer-favorite publisher.

Their profile already raised just 24 hours after the license was announced, Newsarama spent a few moments Thursday evening taking to IDW about their early plans. In their first Transformers interview, IDW Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall spoke about why they pursued the license and what it means for them as a publisher, and reveals details about their first ongoing project, including its title and creative team. And they also provided us a slew of preview art from the penciler of that first title….

Newsarama: Chris, obviously an announcement like this raises questions about what it means for IDW and what it means for Transformers fans. Let's start with the former, business side of the equation.

On the outside looking in Transformers was very successful in terms of the volume of books its last license holder - Dreamwave - was able to sell. But as most fans know Dreamwave wasn't able to survive long-term despite this success. This suggests that maybe the license could be expensive to obtain…

Chris Ryall: I like when you lead off with a statement - less for me to answer.

About this, I'll just say that we weren't the highest bidder to pursue the property. Hasbro made it very clear to us that our approach to business, production values and proposal for the Transformers line outweighed simple bottom-line figures.

NRAMA: Fair enough, but to complete the question, does IDW see this license simply as an opportunity to publish and sell a lot of books with a built-in fan-base? Or is it seen as a larger an investment in the company itself?

Ryall: Well, at least we're getting the cynical question out of the way first, Matt! The appeal of the license was actually a chance to not only expand our current fan-base by offering more all-ages material, but primarily to take one of the top intellectual properties in all of comics and give it our own spin. Imagine that - as a fan, you long for a chance to tackle properties like Spider-Man, Superman or Transformers. And while the first two will never be available to other publishers, when we had a chance to bid on the Transformers property, we jumped at it. We have, on a grand scale, the chance to back up the fan talk of "Well, if we did Transformers, we'd do this way!" And our way is coming.

NRAMA: How much is the appeal of the license a means to raise the profile of the company overall?

Ryall: I definitely think having the license to one of the most iconic brands out there, as well as the fan base that comes with it, will certainly raise our profile in some people's eyes. It already seems to have raised some eyebrows, anyway, and that's a good start.

NRAMA: Along those lines, Dreamwave was seemingly never able to capitalize on the profile the Transformers license brought to the company and translate that to their original, in-house titles.

How does IDW plan to capitalize on this opportunity to get your other titles more exposure?

Ryall: We don't plan to do anything differently as far as the way we market our other books. They will mostly appeal to a different audience than our Transformers titles. But hopefully people who've never checked out an IDW title before and see our Transformers comics will be interested enough to check out some of our other titles, be they other licensed books like Metal Gear Solid, Shaun of the Dead, or anything else we do.

More important than this is the chance to offer age-appropriate material on a grander scale than before. Past all-ages books like Olympus Heights, while really solid reads, maybe didn't reach the audience they could have because comics fans expect more mature material from us. Now, we truly have a nice assortment of creative content for fans of all ages and interests.

NRAMA: Can you talk about what you learned about the eventual demise of Dreamwave and how they handled the property that you can apply to your approach?

Ryall: We've learned that Transformers fans really love this property when it's done right and have been very patient in waiting to see Transformers comics return to the racks. And now their wait is almost over…

NRAMA: What did Dreamwave do right that you'll be looking to continue to improve upon?

Ryall: We're looking to offer the IDW take on Transformers, actually. We've all read the Dreamwave books, and I think they had a great group of creators working on those books - they really did an impressive job and helped build the brand into its status as one of the more iconic licenses in comics, but at the outset, we don't plan to follow any path that's come before. Instead, we've worked hard on a sound publishing plan that will not only relaunch the property but also carry it into the future in interesting and creative ways.

NRAMA: So just to complete the circle of this line of questions, what'd they do wrong that you're looking to do much better with?

Ryall: Same answer really. More important than what any company did in the past, we've actually been lurking at the various Transformers message boards for months now, taking into consideration what the fans have liked, what they haven't, and what they might like to see in a new title. We've then summarily dismissed all their concerns and gone in a totally different direction and… no, no, I kid.

The fan reaction, especially since they haven't known where this property was going to wind up, has all been incredibly honest and helpful and enlightening, and I think people are going to be very happy with where we take the property from here.

In fact, it's those fans' passion and interest in Transformers that made us really want to take on this property and set things off in an exciting, new direction.

We plan to interact more closely with some of these fan sites on some projects over the next few months, too… unbeknownst to them until they read this, anyway. And we'll be attending Bot-Con in Dallas this September, so it'll be nice to meet some of the loyal fans face-to-face. In fact, you Bot-Con attendees are in for a nice surprise this year, too… more on that later.

NRAMA: One of the few bugaboos fans have with IDW is the cover price of your current books, with is typically $3.99. You kind of addressed this earlier today on our message board, hinting at a lower price. Can you expand on that?

Ryall: Let's just say that fans will need to find some other bugaboo in this case.

Okay, let's say a bit more. Our "0" issue in October will carry a price of $0.99, and will be a 24-page comic, offering a 16-page story that sets up the entire first storyline, some interviews and editorial pages that speak to our future plans, and additional pieces of artwork from other folks, too, all carrying IDW's usual high production values.

And just what is that first storyline we're introducing in October? I'm glad I asked me that question.

Transformers: Infiltration will be a 6-part story (6 & ½, actually) that reintroduces the Transformers mythos from the ground up. It will be written by Simon Furman and feature art by E.J. Su, who we'll talk about more in a moment.

The relaunched Transformers title will carry a $2.99 cover price. Take that, bugaboo-happy fans!

In all seriousness, we do think it's important to make these comics as accessible as we can to a large number of people, so we've been determined from the start to have these books carry a $3 price tag.

NRAMA: Okay, since you skillfully redirected this interview into more creative issues, we'll be happy to follow your lead.

Can we assume your stories will begin anew with a clean slate? They won't continue stories Marvel or Dreamwave began before you?

Ryall: You can. Our plan is to really return a sense of wonder to these characters, and to tell stories that appeal to people who have been there from the start as well as people who might never have picked up a TF comic before.

I don't want to use the word "Ultimization" of the Transformers line, mostly because I don't think "Ultimization" is a real word [editors note: he's right, it isn't, we checked], but our initial Transformers book will be a stripped-down, rebuilt, rebooted title that explores the world of the Transformers and just what they've been doing here on our planet. They are Robots in Disguise, after all, and we're going to return them to deep cover. At first…

NRAMA: You also have several different "continuities" to deal with, based on the various toy lines and animated programs. What will be IDW's approach to this issue? Will you concentrate on one distinct continuity, or tackle multi ones in separate projects?

Ryall: Our initial title, which starts in October's "0" issue and continues in the 6-part Transformers: Infiltration that debuts in January, will be its own continuity. We all realize and are sensitive to the fact that there are other continuities out there, as well as some unfinished stories, and will work to resolve those to fans' satisfaction as well. Which is why we'll logically then lead right into our Crisis on Infinite Cybertrons maxi-series by Wolfman and Perez...*

[*Note: not really].

NRAMA: Hasbro referred to it as a "line" in their announcement. How big do you envision the line becoming? Will you publish multiple projects concurrently, or concentrate on one or two at a time?

Ryall: We'll talk more about our publishing plans as we get closer to the relaunch, but the initial salvo will be this ongoing Transformers comic. I'd love to say more about it right now, since I love what we have planned for it, but I won't.

Yet.

NRAMA: So just to be sure we're clear, the series that begins with October's #0 issue and then continues with issue #1 in January is an ongoing series, with Infiltration being just the first, six-issue (and ½) story arc? Will the series be monthly beginning in January?

Ryall: Yes and yes. And after that book launches, and soon after that, we'll introduce some of the other Transformers books we have planned. There will also be collections of out-of-print material, collections of past issues that have never made it to trade paperback form, and some other cool things, too. But for our opening act, Transformers: Infiltration will stand alone.

Of course, 2006 is the 10th anniversary of Beast Wars, as well as the year the movie is released, so you can expect some special one-shots and other things, too. I checked the Japanese calendar, and next year is coincidentally the "Year of the Transformer", which is fortuitous timing for us.

NRAMA: Indeed. Speaking of the live-action movie coming to a theater near you, creatively, how much influence - if any - will the film have on your approach to the property?

Ryall: The movie will be its own entity, much in the same way that, say, Spider-Man the movie is separate from Spider-Man comics. We'll definitely be involved with presenting our take on the movie when that time comes, and the Transformers in both will be essentially the same, personality-wise, but our initial Transformers comic will stand apart from anything else.

NRAMA: Can you talk about the creators you've talked to at this point?

Ryall: I've talked to many, past and some who will be future Transformers creators, but the biggest name I've spoken to as I've mentioned is Simon Furman.

I've actually been talking to Simon for months, and he's an integral part of our relaunch plans. I don't think you could point me to another person who's more well versed in Transformers lore than Simon. It's for that reason that he's going to be our writer on the ongoing Transformers book, as well as some other projects down the line.

In order to properly relaunch this property, I wanted someone who knew things back to front, and who could really use what's worked in the past as a foundation to build on what is to come. Simon's initial arc and reintroduction of these characters, and the new supporting cast, is fantastic, something I think people will really respond to. And with E.J. Su on art, well, we're about as close to a Transformers "dream team" as I could have imagined.

The only other thing I'll say right now is that fans of Transformers and comic books alike can expect to see some really unique takes on these characters next year, in addition to the plans we've already announced.

NRAMA: Let's talk about E.J. Su for a moment. Being as "techy" as it is, Dreamwave focused on Pat Lee's strength and introduced a very manga-ish flavor to their books. Su's work on Devil's Due's Voltron, Image's Tech Jacket and a little project called G.I. Joe vs. Transformers Vol. 2 implies that you plan to continue in that general direction?

Ryall: Well, anyone who knows artist E.J. Su's work from books like Tech Jacket knows that he can do "tech" and "manga-ish flavor" as well as anyone out there, so I suppose in that regard, the books will have a little bit of that flair. That said, as much as I liked the work that past creators have done on Transformers comics, this is going to be a new take that doesn't follow what's come before, but instead hopefully sets the standard that future Transformers books will want to follow.

NRAMA: Okay, wrapping things up, the generation that grew up with Transformers are now adults. But Transformers is of course based on a very much still viable line of toys. Can you speak to what your target audience will be?

Ryall: All of them. And more.

In looking back at the Transformers license, like any decades-old property, there was a considerable amount of back story built up, so much so that new fans might have found the idea of a Transformers comic to be intimidating and mostly impenetrable. But it shouldn't be that way - at its core, Transformers is a great concept with interesting characters and personalities. I mean, they're giant, transforming robots! This new title has a chance to capture the imagination of new generations of comic book fans, but will also be true to what's come before and will be of appeal to long-time fans, too. So adult, kid… we want 'em all to find something they can enjoy through these comics.

NRAMA: Will you be creating more mature stories perhaps designed to appeal to the long-time, adult fans, or a more all-ages approach, taking kids now discovering Transformers today into consideration?

Ryall: Yes…

What I mean is, this first book will appeal to teenagers and beyond. When I was a kid, I never felt like comics were tailored to me - they told fun, appealing and high-adventure stories that I liked then and that I like now. Transformers are the perfect property to offer something for everyone. If kids like the idea of giant, transforming robots, they'll get that, but if you like stories with some nuance and texture to them, you'll get that out of this title, too. I think of properties like The Incredibles, or Ultimate Spider-Man, and in those, you have elements that work for multiple audiences and ages. That's what you'll get here.

We also have other plans that will be even more appealing to longtime comics fans, but for now, I've said enough…