OTFCC 2004 - Simon Furman & Andrew Wildman

Over the weekend of July 31st and August 1st, OTFCC (the Official Transformers Collectors Convention) opened its doors to thousands of Transfans from across the US (and beyond). 2004 being the twentieth anniversary of all things Transformers, expectation was high, but did the convention deliver? For the first time (ever, we think), the ins and outs and ups and downs of OTFCC are explored from the perspective of two of its special guests, Simon Furman and Andrew Wildman. Their exclusive report follows...

Before OTFCC

Simon Furman: This was my sixth OTFCC (formerly Botcon), having previously attended as a guest in '97, '98, '01, '02 and '03, and I was somewhat concerned as to what I still had to add to the mix as a featured guest. Sure, there was plenty of new stuff happening on the Dreamwave and TF Universe (produced for the OTFCC fan club) fronts, but surely everyone had heard my (original Marvel US run) Hasbro April Fool's story (in some cases, many times over). But hey, this was the 20th Anniversary... I had to be at this one! Didn't I? Truth be told, I approached Chicago (via Boston and a roadtrip round New England with my wife, Anna) with a degree of trepidation. I was, I realised, in danger of becoming a fixture and fitting rather than a special guest (in eyes of both the fans and, possibly, the organisers), and I wasn't entirely comfortable with that. Over-exposure, I've found, is sometimes as damaging as under-exposure. I was, however, comforted that I would be joined on my inevitable writer's/G1 Marvel panel by original TF scribe Bob Budiansky and long-time collaborator, artist Andrew Wildman. Bob, in particular, I felt would have a lot of new stuff to add into the mix, and Andrew would bring a different perspective on our existing work. Still, I steeled myself for the odd groan amongst the applause as I came to be introduced...

Andrew Wildman: Six years since I did one of these, six years! I still remember the incredible buzz I got from being asked to attend the '97 Botcon. Never have I felt so much like a rock star. '98 was good too and then it went quiet. UK cons are cool but they don't have that all consuming thing that a US con has. I arrived in Chicago on the Wednesday afternoon after travelling for what seemed like the whole of the previous six years! I then played the role of useless English bloke wandering around the airport with back-breaking bag of luggage (containing mostly artwork) trying to work out how the ground transportation service worked! Holiday Inn, finally got there and collapsed on the bed. I had no idea what time it actually was or was even supposed to be. Shower. Check emails, watch a bit of nonsensical telly then... beer (if that's what it's supposed to be) and food in the hotel bar. Thursday? Can't remember really. Lots of swimming in the pool and drinking coffee.

Friday Night (July 30th)

Simon Furman: A mixed bag of an evening. Having met up at the Holiday Inn (under reconstruction and nowhere near as comfortable or welcoming as the nearby Hyatt from last year!) with Andrew, we (myself, Andrew and Anna) prepared for the usual Friday night meal/introduction appearance. But we had no details, and Glen [Hallit, OTFCC's main organizer] hadn't been in touch. What should we do? Where should we go? And at what time? Glen, to be fair, had e-mailed me a schedule for the weekend, but I couldn't open the attachment (or the replacement he sent). Still, I had expected at least a phone call at the hotel from someone connected with the convention to welcome us (and make sure, I guess, we'd arrived and knew what was what for the immediate evening). But... nothing. Time ticked on, and I wondered again about the 'fixture and fitting' analogy. In the end, I called Ben Yee, both fan and font of all TF information, who laid out the 'murder-mystery' evening/dinner that had been planned. It all sounded very different from previous Friday night events. Were we even supposed to be there? In the end, we decided to go along regardless, and (at 6 o'clock sharp) met outside the main convention hotel, the Doubletree. Two coaches sat idling in the driveway. One pulled away. Were we supposed to be onboard? A quick sweep of the hotel foyer revealed no one remotely connected with OTFCC, so (having ascertained that the remaining coach did contain TF fans/OTFCC attendees) we jumped aboard and hoped for the best. No other guests seemed to be around, and we felt slightly like interlopers. Once we arrived at the venue, a quick peek into the main banquet room revealed no guests and no Glen, so we made to retreat. Thankfully, at that point, Malin Huffman (OTFCC's PR/promotions man) intercepted us, revealing (finally) that the guest dinner was a separate affair, to be held in an adjoining area. We all breathed a slight sigh of relief. Not that we wouldn't have been happy to mingle and mix, but the evening (of murder and mystery presumably) didn't seem set up for the usual meeting and greeting and unveiling of exclusives. Malin told us that other guests (and Glen) were inbound (soon), so we took refuge in the bar to wait. Some forty minutes later, in they trooped (Glen, Bob Budiansky, Vince DiCola and family, Scott McNeil and so on). We settled ourselves at a table and enjoyed a hearty (something like six-course... they just kept coming!) Italian meal (of excellent quality). Finally, I began to relax. The meal done, and the murder-mystery dinner likewise finished, we were escorted round (through the kitchens, a very surreal, fly-on-the-wall type moment) to be introduced (to enthusiastic applause... and no groans). That done, there was some brief interaction before the coaches departed and Friday night was pretty much done. We did get a chance to throw some questions (and voice the odd concern) to Glen, but otherwise the 'hands-off' approach that had greeted us was set to continue for the weekend. Finally, I should mention that a call from an OTFCC helper was waiting for us, on voicemail, on our return to the hotel room. But I have to conclude that at the time it was left we were already on a coach bound for the venue.

Andrew Wildman: Got together with the Furmans and had a quick look at Chicago before we tried to track down the evening meal. Murder Mystery? You had to be some kind of sleuth to be able to find out what was happening that evening! I have this memory of sitting on a coach looking at the totally bemused Mrs Furman as all around us fans were dissecting the nitty gritty of the Transformers universe. Did they realise that Simon was sitting amongst them? We sat in the bar at the restaurant and waited for the others. In came the other guests. Great to see them all. Vince, what a hero, big hug. Food was... plentiful and... plentiful. After the meal Glen introduced us to the room full of budding detectives and the buzz began, the weekend had kicked off.

Saturday (July 31st)

Simon Furman: The morning began with a quick swim (in the Holiday Inn pool) and breakfast, before heading over to the convention pre-9AM (the aim being to pick up my badge, programme and event timetable ahead of the main, general public, influx and have a quick look around the dealer/exhibitor hall before the questions and autograph requests started flying). I checked in briefly with the Dreamwave booth, found Jaclyn, from ESPN2's Cold Pizza, who was going to be interviewing me (and others) for a slot on the show, and set up a suitable time to speak, and finally said a quick hi to Aaron Archer and Joshua Izzo at the Hasbro stand. That done, I headed over to the panel room for the 10AM G1 (Marvel) comic panel (with Bob and Andrew). As I'd hoped, Bob had some great (early developmental) stories to tell, and we structured the panel accordingly. Bob kicked off by taking those assembled through the earliest stages of the Hasbro/Marvel interaction and the original mini-series. He read excerpts from [former Marvel editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter's original pitch/overview document from 1983, pointing out sections where changes had been made by Bob himself. Having reached the point where Bob and I met in London and he offered me the book, he handed over to me for a brief encapsulation of my run on the book and how I'd involved first Geoff Senior and then Andrew in the art-side of things. Cue for Andrew to take over and talk about his somewhat faltering start on the book and we were then open to questions, which flowed happily until the hour was up. I even, against my better instincts, told the Hasbro April Fool's story (again!). But I have to say, it was one my better retellings, and anyone who's interested in the full story (remembered in super-fine detail), should go to www.comiculture.com and pick up a copy of Comiculture issue #3 (in which former Marvel editor Rob Tokar reminisces on that and other Transformers-related stuff).

The panel done, I scooted back to the main hall, pausing briefly at the OTFCC tables to pick up copies of TFU #2-3 and Wreckers #2-3, all of which had strips by me in them. At first, the guy serving tried to charge me, but a fellow helper stepped in and I was saved having to say something along the lines of 'do you know who I am?' At 11.30, I made my rendezvous with Jaclyn from Cold Pizza, and the interview kicked off. It was clear from the outset that the interviewer didn't really get what I did or my role in the twenty-year history of Transformers, but I did my best to mould the questions into something I could answer (without giving the impression that I had single-handedly created Transformers and every G1 character). The interview had been set up through Dorling Kindersley's US offices, so the questions were largely based on and around the Ultimate Guide. But, like I say, I hopefully smoothed that process a little. That done, there was another quick stop at the Dreamwave booth to say hi to the likes of Pat (Lee), Roger (Lee), Candice (Chan), Alex (Milne), Joe (Ng), Derek (Choo-Wing), some of whom I'd met before, others I hadn't, and set up a suitable time for me to sit down and sign there. We settled on 2PM and then it was off for a quick bite to eat over at the Hyatt bar (with Bob). I was back at the Dreamwave booth a little before 2, whereupon I, Alex and Joe settled down to sign whatever was thrust at us (regardless of whether we'd worked on it). It was great to meet my two current artists (Alex on Energon and Joe on TWW3) and get to know them a bit. Alex in particular was full of ideas for Energon, all of which I gratefully took on board. One thing I do know, a happy artist tends to make for a great-looking book, and on the evidence of what I've seen of Alex's work so far, we're in great shape. Joe too is turning in amazing pencils, some of which (I was glad to see) were featured in the main OTFCC convention programme. The Dreamwave signing segued neatly into the Dreamwave panel (over in the panel room) at 3PM. Both Andrew and I lined up with Pat, Roger, Joe, Alex, Adam (Patyk), Candice and James (McDonough), and - to the accompaniment of a Powerpoint presentation - regaled fans with tales of TWW3, Energon and the like. Among the stuff we 'let slip' was the involvement of the Quintessons in TWW3 and hints of how it will tie into the G1 comic eventually. With that done, and after one brief circuit of the dealer room in search of a Headmasters issue #4 (Titan lacking one for the upcoming collection, Trial By Fire), it was out of there. But the day was far from done. Next up... that evening's live voice actor drama. Last year, this event (based on an original script penned by me) had been dumped squarely in my lap (to stage direct, oversee, narrate, etc), something I had not even been slightly prepared for. This year, at least, I was ready... sort of.

First step, contact the voice actors. I'd already spoken to Scott the previous evening, but I'd not yet met either Dan (Gilvezan) or Michael (McConnohie). Their flight, on Friday, had been delayed, so they hadn't made it to the dinner. My here-there-everywhere day meant I hadn't had a chance to check in at the voice-actor panel or signings, and to my question, "Will you be seeing the voice actors before this evening?" Glen had simply replied, "Hey, they're at your hotel," which I took to mean 'handle it yourself, Furman.' So I dutifully left messages on each of the actors' hotel extensions, requesting they be at the Ballroom in the Holiday Inn a half-hour before showtime for a rehearsal/run-through. Vince, in particular, needed his cues for music and sound-effects, and we'd already discussed expanding the musical intros to each act into full-blown musical sessions. To say I was nervous was a huge understatement. Writing for voice alone (with gags!) is a relatively new discipline for me, and I lack the confidence in my own material I have with comic book or TV work. Having the script performed by seasoned voice actors in front of a live audience was not making it any easier on a second-timer. Neither was having to arrange the stage, get the voice actors and Vince in-synch, prep the guest voice talent (Clive Ramroop and Michelle Carolus, fresh from a competition earlier that day) and hustle all through a fast read-through with showtime rapidly approaching. Finally, though, thanks largely to sheer talent and professionalism of the voice talent (including last year's returning competition winner Daniel Ross as Reptilion) and Vince, the drama was done and dusted, to great applause and laughs, and I breathed again. Bob Budiansky even made it back in time (having squeezed in some sightseeing in Chicago proper) to witness his deification (and in-joke at the expense of his much-maligned 'Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom' story) in the final act, which pleased me immensely. Nevertheless, it took several stiff drinks in the bar afterwards (many courtesy of very generous and sociable fans who joined us) before I could relax and reflect on a job well done. Apart from the delights of seeing Scott wrestle with three different, and very diverse, voices (solo) in one act, or Michael preen and strut as Tracks or Dan give his bubbliest best as Bumblebee, the highlight for me was Vince's music, the sheer gusto and power he put in enough to penetrate the haze of doubt and fear that otherwise haunted the twenty-five or so minute performance for me. Sunday, I hoped, would be an all-round quieter, low key affair.

Andrew Wildman: Swim and a strange breakfast. Pancakes, ENORMOUS pancakes with maple syrup. Gathered the necessary stuff from my room and off we went to the 20th Anniversary OTFCC! The hall was huge and I did the usual quick look around to see if there was anything of interest. I had my eye on a couple of things but decided to wait until the end of the weekend. The first panel attended was the old gits talk. Furman, Budiansky and Wildman. Budiansky is the one with hair. Having done the WILDFUR double act many times (although not for a while in the US) it was great to have Bob Budiansky there. It's amazing to think that he hasn't been involved before. There was so much cool Transformers anecdotal history that he brought to the show. Shame it wasn't capitalised on more. Maybe next time. The fans were great, as usual, and the questions kept on coming. The rest of the day was spent dipping in and out of panels and the dealer room and trying to get something to eat... anything to eat. At the end of the day, after grabbing some food at the hotel bar myself and Anna (Furman) strolled into the room where the voice drama thingy was to be held. FANTASTIC! Vince launched into an earth shattering display of keyboard wizardry and the play began. Those voice actors! What did their mothers feed them? The two competition winners who took part did extremely well and the winner from last year fooled me. I thought he was a fully signed up member of the voicing talent community! Simon's inclusion of the tribute to Bob was a master stroke and brought the house down. When the show had ended we all tried to leave and I was swamped by fans asking questions. It's great but curious that although you walk around the hall all weekend you don't get stopped that many times and then all of a sudden WHOOSH! There they are (love 'em). We adjourned to the bar and spent too long talking about comics. I had a very interesting discussion with Tim (sorry, mate, can't remember your last name) about all things G.I. Joe. Very interesting. More (kind of) beer then some well earned rest.

Sunday (August 1st)

Simon Furman: A later swim/breakfast and an all-round later start eased me into the Sunday of the convention (or so I thought). My first official duty involved a panel at 11AM to discuss the OTFCC Universe comics, alongside artist Guido Guidi (who I was also meeting for the first time, and whose acquaintance I was very pleased to make), artist/editor Dan Khanna, Rob Geracht (writer of the Wreckers comics) and Glen. I'd preceded this with a quick once-round the main dealer/exhibitor room, whereupon Andrew and I set up shop on a table adjoining the one on which Vince was selling CDs. We'd pretty much reserved the Sunday for selling what merchandise we'd managed to bring with us (stuffed into bulging suitcases and lugged across thousands of miles). This comprised script/art packs for all issues of the War Within 2 series (available from the online Wildfur shop here), signed copies of the Dynamic Forces edition (Andrew cover) of TWW2 #1, a few precious copies of Alignment (the UK convention exclusive novella) and hastily copied (that morning, on a recalcitrant copier in the Holiday Inn) scripts from the voice drama. Andrew had original artwork for sale also, but he can tell you more (should he wish) about that. Andrew held the fort while I dashed off to the TF Universe panel (so much for a more restful day!), where I fielded some questions about earlier OTFCC work I should have known the answers to but didn't (it was Sunday morning!). On the whole, though, I knew what I was talking about on upcoming stuff, thanks to a fast prep/forward planning talk (while I was setting up the merchandise table) from Dan, in the company of Guido and fellow Universe artist Marcelo Matere. Up to this point, I have to admit, I've been largely relying on Dan/Glen to come up with the story directions for Universe (based on their exclusives) and I just stepped in with the script. Now, though, Dan was keen for me to push the comic as far and wide as I wanted to go, making it more of an ongoing/evolving monthly (once the Diamond distribution kicks in) title. As I sat on the panel, it occurred to me this was the most I'd seen of Glen (sitting at the far end of the table from me) all weekend. To my knowledge, he hadn't even put in appearance at the script reading the previous evening. Was this just a demonstration of his total faith in me... or some kind of subtle avoidance? Paranoia walk with me! After the panel it was straight back to the table to relieve Andrew, who was due on a Dreamwave 'How to Draw Transformers' panel. Thereafter, at 1AM, we (along with Bob) were due in the signing room, for our official convention autograph session. Somehow lunch hadn't happened yet, and I was hoping my stomach wouldn't grumble each time a book was presented for my 'John Hancock'. Considering we'd all been signing pretty much all weekend (cornered here and there, or simply while wandering around), there was actually still a pretty decent line. A couple of guys had brought their whole collections, which - once the line had tailed off almost completely - we duly scribbled all over. By now, my right hand felt disconnected from the rest of me, but I knew I wasn't done yet.

Back to the merchandise table, and finally food! The hot dogs served just outside the main hall weren't much to write home about, but there and then they were a sheer, culinary masterpiece. Yum. More stuff was signed and sold in the course of the next two hours or so, but by now people were drifting off and the largely slower Sunday (in general rather than personal terms) was tailing off to something that clearly no longer required our presence. Fond farewells were exchanged with Bob Budiansky and the Dreamwave/Hasbro folk and - with one giant leap - I was free! Vince and his family, Beth (wife), Jessica and Danielle (daughters), were, like us, extending our trip for a day or so after the convention and we'd already arranged to hook up with them on the Monday for some Chicago sightseeing. As for Glen, we had to track him down at his hotel just to say farewell, and in many ways that summed up the entire weekend.

Andrew Wildman: Sunday was even better. Meeting the guys from Dreamwave was a real buzz. It has been cool to have the opportunity to work with them and I was touched at how they invited me onto their panels even though I wasn't necessarily down to be on them. The 'How to Draw Transformers' was an interesting one. A look at one subject from either end of fifteen years. I found what they were saying very interesting and I like to think I added a few things to the mix. Out then to the selling table and a chance to give people the opportunity to buy or even just browse through the few pages of original Marvel Transformers artwork that I have left. The Script/Art packs went down very well too. And then. Suddenly. The venue was closing. All to quick for my liking but there ya go. These people have homes to go to. Myself and Simon had a brief meeting with Glen Hallit who I hadn't had the opportunity to speak to over the weekend and then it was food and more (what passes for) beer.

After OTFCC

Simon Furman: Just so we're clear, I had a blast at OTFCC, and as always I wholeheartedly appreciate the effort (and expense) it takes to get me there. I thought the convention was right up to standard and a whole lot of fun. Tiring, sure, but that's the name of the game. We're there to work for our ticket, to be seen and available at pretty much all times. I love being at OTFCC, meeting and greeting and getting feedback, it - more than anything - makes me feel part something enduring and cohesive. Minor gripes. Though it was, as I said, right up to standard, it wasn't 'special', and somehow it should have been... for the 20th Anniversary and all. Also, I think Bob Budiansky was hugely under-used. It was his first OTFCC and fans were meeting him for the first time. There was so much more he could have got into, especially in relation to the whole beginnings of the Transfomers saga, and so little stage time for him to do so. A waste, I couldn't help but think. In the final analysis I've decided I'm not yet just a fixture and fitting, at least not in the eyes of the fans. In the eyes of the organizers, though· this year it's been kinda hard to tell.

Andrew Wildman: So that was it. It had been a long six years waiting for the opportunity to meet all the US fans again and what a blast it was. The questions this year went beyond the usual. OK, we had some of the same old enquiries (although I don't think anyone asked me who my favourite Transformer is) but there were some good ones. The interview by Tim (with the most amazing hairstyle I have ever seen) was great fun. Creative questioning. Cool. Email me, Tim. I wasn't due to fly back to the UK until Wednesday afternoon so Monday for me was a meeting at the pier with the DiCola family (love 'em) and an 'Architectural Cruise' down the river looking at the most amazing buildings and a trip to Millenium Park where hey have the most incredible Anish Kapoor sculpture, check it out. After that? Relax in the hotel, lots of games of pool with Simon and Anna (note of caution: don't ever play pool with Furman, HE'S DIRTY!). Tuesday night in the hotel bar was cool. Luis, the barman, was showing me and the other three insomniacs the most amazing puzzles and tricks with glasses of water and coins. Lots more beer type stuff and a 2 o'clock in the morning swim in the pool, nice. A final note. On the plane on the way back I watched a movie the name of which escapes me. Had Owen Wilson in it, anyway. There was a scene where his girlfriend was telling him to get the beer. He was looking in the refrigerator. "Where is it? There's none in here". "It's in the cupboard" was her reply, to which he said, "What are you, English?"... Maybe that's the answer.

Cheers!