The NTFA Store now takes pre-orders for the July 2013 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 24 April 2013, 07:48

The NTFA Store is now taking pre-orders for the July 2013 comics!

July is another good month for Transformers comic book readers, with five comics and two paperbacks. The five comics are the continuations of the three ongoing titles - Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #19 (which introduces Star Saber from the Transformers: Victory series!), Transformers: Robots in Disguise #19 and Transformers: Regeneration One #93 - and the two mini-series - Beast Hunters #3 and Monstrosity #2. The paperbacks are Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, volume 4 and Transformer Classics, volume 5.

And on the G.I. Joe side the four ongoing titles continue with G.I. Joe #6, G.I. Joe: Special Missions #5, G.I. Joe: Cobra Files #4 and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #192. There is also one trade paperback, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, volume 7.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Wednesday 24 May 2013.

Website migration complete! -- posted by Groundsplitter on 26 March 2013, 19:51

The website's migration to a new server platform is now complete, and the NTFA Forums has been reopened.

There is actually a second problem as well, apart from the non-functional Forum Archives from 2002-2005:
At the moment it isn't possible to upload avatars from your own computers. It shouldn't be a serious problem, most likely just an erroneous upload path, but I will need to look into it.


If you discover any other problems, I would appreciate it if you report it to me know right away - send a PM to Groundsplitter, or an e-mail.

The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for the June 2013 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 24 March 2013, 00:20

The NTFA Store is now taking pre-orders for the June 2013 comics!

Just like May, June is a nice month for Transformers comic book readers, with five comics, a trade paperback, plus a hardcover collection. This time I want to draw your attention to Transformers: Monstrosity #1, the first issue of four in a sequel to last year's Transformers: Autocracy. The first few parts have already been made available in digital format, but in June it will also be published in printed form.

The other four Transformers comics are of course the continuations of the ongoing titles - Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #18, Transformers: Robots in Disguise #18 and Transformers: Regeneration One #92 - and then the Transformers Prime mini-series continues with Beast Hunters #2.

As for the collections, IDW obviously wants to make another attempt to cash in on the Transformers movies, when Transformers Movie Collection, volume 1 is released again, this time in paperback form (it was available as a hardcover back in 2010). And then they start the 30th Anniversary one year early, when they plan to release a hardcover collection (in)aptly called Transformers: 30th Anniversary Collection. 320 pages long, it appears to be a mix of stories from Marvel, Dreamwave and IDW.

On the G.I. Joe side the four ongoing titles continue with G.I. Joe #5, G.I. Joe: Special Missions #4, G.I. Joe: Cobra Files #3 and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #191. There is also one trade paperback, G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds, and one hardcover, G.I. Joe: The IDW Collection, volume 2.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Monday 22 April 2013.

Temporary shutdown of NTFA Forums 25-27 March (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) -- posted by Groundsplitter on 22 March 2013, 09:47

In the beginning of next week the NTFA Forums need to be closed for one or a few days.

This is because our web hotel will move the website from one server platform to a more modern one. For the most part this move should be transparent and unnoticeable, but it does introduce a certain risk that data created close to the move (i.e. data from the NTFA Forums) is lost in the process. Without going into too much detail, I reckon that this could happen because the knowledge of the new location won't be spread to all Domain Name Servers in the world at once, but will take a few hours up to a day to spread everywhere. So in theory there exists a risk that some of you could be visiting the site and post to the board on the new server, while some of you could be posting to the board on the old server, during this transition period.

It would be very difficult to move posts from one place to another after the actual move has already taken place, so in order to prevent this I think the best solution will be to turn off the board on the old server for a couple of days, while the move is taking place. And that will be from Monday 25 March and onwards.

So, if you happen to access the Forums in the next two weeks and discover that it (or the website) is inaccessible, it is probably due to the move. I actually plan to open up the Forums in the new location almost right away, so if you discover that you can access it, it will be because you've already been switched over to the new location.

The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for the May 2013 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 28 February 2013, 01:04

The NTFA Store is taking pre-orders for the May 2013 comics!

May is a quite good month for Transformers comic book readers, with five comics plus two paperbacks. Of special interest this time is Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters #1 - the first issue in a new series apparently set in the third season of the Transformers Prime/Beast Hunters show.
Transformers Spotlight continues, this time with a focus on Hoist. And then the ongoing titles continue with More Than Meets The Eye #17, Transformers: Robots in Disguise #17 and Transformers: Regeneration One #91. The two trade paperbacks are Transformers: Regeneration One, volume 2 (which collects #86-90 of the series), plus Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots, which collects the mini-series with the same name.

On the G.I. Joe side the four ongoing titles continue with G.I. Joe #4, G.I. Joe: Special Missions #3, G.I. Joe: Cobra Files #2 and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #190. There are two paperbacks as well: The Complete Cobra Command plus G.I. Joe Field Manual, volume 2.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Friday 22 March 2013.

The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for the April 2013 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 6 February 2013, 23:18

The NTFA Store is taking pre-orders for the April 2013 comics!

April is a quite good month for Transformers comic book readers, with four comics plus three paperbacks. Of special interest this time is Transformers Classics UK, volume 4 - the popular paperback series is finally back after a hiatus. Highly recommended!
The Transformers: Spotlight series continues - the fifth book in the current set focuses on Trailcutter (Trailbreaker). And of course the ongoing titles continue with More Than Meets The Eye #16, Transformers: Robots in Disguise #16 and Transformers: Regeneration One #90. Finally we have the trade paperbacks Transformers: Robots in Disguise, volume 3 which collects #10-11 of the series, plus the 2012 Annual, and the paperback G.I. Joe vs. The Transformers, volume 2, which collects Devil's Due's last two crossovers (vol. 3 and 4) between the two franchises.

On the G.I. Joe side the full lineup is restored when the third main-continuity title relaunches, with G.I. Joe: Cobra Files #1. The other ongoing titles continue with G.I. Joe #3, G.I. Joe: Special Missions #2, and Larry Hama's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #189. There are two more G.I. Joe collections in April: the paperback Cobra: Oktober Guard, and the hardcover G.I. Joe: The Complete Collection, volume 2, which collects issues #13-25 of the original G.I. Joe comics by Marvel Comics.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Friday 22 February 2013.

Auto Assembly Europe 2013 cancelled -- posted by Fighbird on 21 January 2013, 14:34

We regret to inform that 2013 will not see an Auto Assembly Europe convention. The convention comittee has decided that, due to various personal and health-related issues amongst us, it would be in the best interest for all parties that we would postpone the convention again this year. Nothing pains us more than doing this for the 2nd year in a row, but we feel that we would not be able to make the convention that we'd like it to be for our attendees, so we will try again to regroup and pool our resources for a better 2014.

If you still want the ultimate Transformers convention experience for 2013, then look no further than Auto Assembly 2013 (the original one in the UK!), which is happening August 9th to August 11th in Birmingham. And if that isn't an option for you, we want to encourage our Scandinavian friends to try and organise smaller, local meet-ups instead. If anything, conventions are about meeting and hanging out with similar-minded friends, and even though there won't be a big convention this year in the Nordic it shouldn't prevent people from meeting and having fun anyway - be it at Auto Assembly UK or at a local meet-up.

Please let us know if you are a group getting together - perhaps only for one evening in the privacy of your home, or banding together to go to the UK in August! If something local is happening the AAE comittee will do our best in helping making the occation as special as possible, using our unique connections to help making the event something to remember.

Thank you for your understading, and happy conventioning!

The Auto Assembly Europe Team
Peter, Lars, Dennis, Simon and Martin

The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for the March 2013 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 1 January 2013, 11:22

The NTFA Store is taking pre-orders for the March 2013 comics!

March is a quite good month for Transformers comic book readers, with five comics plus one paperback. Of special interest this time is the Transformers: Fall of Cybertron one-shot. A prequel to the videogame of the same name, this story was previously published in digital form in August–October 2012, but has now been collected in printed form as well. Fans of Transformers Prime and buyers of the Rage of the Dinobots mini-series should take note that this story also helps establishing the Dinobots in the TF Prime continuity.
The Transformers: Spotlight series continues, with the fourth instalment in the current set. This time the focus is on Bumblebee, in a story set on Earth during the Transformers Ongoing comic of 2010-2011, before the Transformers returned to Cybertron. And of course the ongoing titles continue with More Than Meets The Eye #15, Transformers: Robots in Disguise #15 and Transformers: Regeneration One #89. Finally the trade paperback Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, volume 3 collects the 2012 Annual plus issues #9-12 of the same series.

On the G.I. Joe side the relaunch continues, when G.I. Joe: Special Missions #1 (this series is written by Chuck Dixon) is added alongside of G.I. Joe #2. And of course Larry Hama's series continue in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #188. There are also two G.I. Joe paperbacks in March: G.I. Joe: Target Snake Eyes which collects six issues of G.I. Joe vol. 2 and Snake Eyes, plus G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, volume 6.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Tuesday 22 January 2013.

The NTFA Store accepts pre-orders for the February 2013 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 24 November 2012, 08:23

The NTFA Store is accepting pre-orders for the February 2013 comics!

This month we have five Transformers titles. The ongoing titles continue with More Than Meets The Eye #14, Transformers: Robots in Disguise #14 and Transformers: Regeneration One #88, while the FoC/Prime mini-series concludes with Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots #4. Just like the last two months there's also a Transformers: Spotlight issue - this time it focuses on none other than Megatron.

On the G.I. Joe side, we have G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #187, plus that the main series restarts again with G.I. Joe #1. Two more titles in the main continuity will be presented in March and April.
G.I. Joe fans can also look forward to two collections: the 564-page paperback G.I. Joe: Complete Cobra Civil War compendium and G.I. Joe Disavowed, volume 7.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Saturday 22 December 2012.

The NTFA Store accepts pre-orders for the January 2013 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 30 October 2012, 03:14

The NTFA Store is accepting pre-orders for the January 2013 comics!

For the third year in a row, IDW's various titles have to fend off an invasion that hits all series at the same time. In 2011 it was zombies, in 2012 it was Lovecraftian demons… now in 2013, it's an invasion of Martians!
And Transformers are involved once again, when Mars Attacks Transformers.
(This year's crossover appears to be even more loosely connected than the last two crossovers and it seems you can read the issues completely independently of each other. For that reason I'm not bothering to offer the other crossover titles in January but if you want any of them, just let me know. See the order form for more information.)

The title above is obviously not in continuity. Shifting our attention to the titles that are in continuity, we have another Transformers Spotlight, this time featuring Thundercracker! And the ongoing titles continue with More Than Meets The Eye #13 and Transformers: Robots in Disguise #13. The majority of the subscribers should note that it is time to renew the subscriptions this month.

The original Marvel comics continuity continues with Transformers: Regeneration One #87, and if you've missed earlier issues there's also a trade paperback Transformers: Regeneration One, volume 1 which collects issues #81-85. And for fans of the more recent Transformers series there's Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots #3.

Moving over to the G.I. Joe side, the three main ongoing comics all reach their final issues with G.I. Joe #21, Snake-Eyes & Storm Shadow #21 and Cobra #21. The main continuity isn't terminated though - three new titles will be presented in February, March, and April.
Larry Hama's continuation of the old Marvel comic isn't affected, but continues with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #186. There are also three collections in January: the paperbacks Cobra: Son of the Snake (which collects issues #13-16 of the Cobra comic) and Danger Girl/G.I. Joe, plus the first volume in a new series of hardcover collections titles G.I. Joe: The IDW Collection. These, like the Transformers IDW collections, will present the stories in chronological order.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Thursday 22 November 2012.

The NTFA Store accepts pre-orders for the December 2012 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 29 September 2012, 17:06

The NTFA Store is accepting pre-orders for the December 2012 comics (plus this year's convention comics)!

Before we have a look at the December comics, I need to talk about this year's convention comics from Fun Publications (i.e. Transformers Timelines and G.I. Joe vs Cobra). In the past these have always been released in (or at least scheduled for) November, but this year the issues were solicited two months earlier than usual, causing me to miss to list them back when they were announced! (I only discovered this today) Now they will in fact be released on October 3.
I aim to repair that oversight by ordering backissues though, so I have included Transformers Timelines #7: Invasion (featuring the Shattered Glass characters) and G.I. Joe vs Cobra #5: Operation Bear Trap on this order form. The orders will remain open until October 22, but if you're interested in these convention issues I would appreciate it if you can place your order as soon as possible, so we can avoid delays and decrease the risk that my supplier runs out of backissues before our orders can be filled!

Okay, over now to IDW's titles:
December is a very good month for Transformers, with several titles of interest. After a 2,5-year long hiatus, the Transformers Spotlights finally return - Orion Pax (Optimus Prime) is first out, with a historical story that will have repercussions for the current comics! The current comics which of course include More Than Meets The Eye #12 and Transformers: Robots in Disguise #12. For the latter title, it's also time for another trade paperback, Robots in Disguise vol. 2.

For fans of the very first edition of Transformers, Simon Furman's continuation of the original Marvel comics continues in Transformers: Regeneration One #86, and for fans of the most recent series there's not only Transformers: Rage of the Dinobots #2 but also a pocket-sized paperback Transformers Prime, season 2.
But there's still more: Shane McCarthy's original character gets a hardcover collection called Complete Drift, which collects both the Drift mini-series, and his Spotlight issue. And finally there's another crossover collection, G.I. Joe/Transformers, volume 2 - this volume collects Devil's Due's first two crossovers G.I. Joe vs The Transformers from 2003, and G.I. Joe vs The Transformers II from 2004.

Moving over to the G.I. Joe side, apart from the crossover collection mentioned above, we have the four ongoing comics - G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #185, G.I. Joe #20, Snake-Eyes & Storm Shadow #20 and Cobra #20, plus a paperback Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow, volume 1 which collects issues #13-17 of that comic. And don't forget the convention comic G.I. Joe vs Cobra mentioned in the beginning.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Monday 22 October 2012 (but remember, if you're interested in the convention comics I appreciate it if you can place your orders ASAP).

The NTFA Store accepts pre-orders for the November 2012 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 4 September 2012, 14:31

The NTFA Store is accepting pre-orders for the November 2012 comics!

November sees the start of a new Transformers mini-series, as well as the final battle between two legends who have opposed each other for millions of years. The latter event takes place in Transformers: Regeneration One #85, where Optimus Prime and Megatron clash for the final time -- one will fall!
The intense action also continues in the other two ongoing titles, More Than Meets The Eye #11 and Transformers: Robots in Disguise #11.
As for the mini-series, that story is set in the Transformers Prime TV show's universe, and builds upon the newly released Fall of Cybertron videogame which introduced the Dinobots. In this four-part series we will face the Rage of the Dinobots. #1 will be out in November.

On the G.I. Joe side, we have the four ongoing comics - G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #184, G.I. Joe #19, Snake-Eyes & Storm Shadow #19 and Cobra #19 - plus a trade paperback, G.I. Joe: Deep Terror (collecting G.I. Joe #13-17), and a hardcover, Cobra: The Last Laugh, which collects the whole Chuckles story from the first two Cobra mini-series, etc.
Finally, readers of the Danger Girl/G.I. Joe mini-series should note that there is a fifth part of the series that was originally advertised as spanning over four issues. The subscription that I offered four months ago was only for those four issues, so you will need to purchase the conclusion separately.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Saturday 22 September 2012.

Optimal Transformations cancelled -- posted by BigPete on 10 August 2012, 15:34

We have decided to cancel our podcast, Optimal Transformations. This is due to poor listener response, few listeners, personal issues, and lack of time.

However, feel free to pop on over to Full Metal Hero and their podcast, FMHSquared, where BigPete is one of the hosts

And to those of you who have faithfully listened to us, thank you.

http://www.fullmetalhero.com/f209/

The NTFA Store accepts pre-orders for the October 2012 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 9 August 2012, 13:49

The NTFA Store is accepting pre-orders for the October 2012 comics!
(A quite late announcement this time. Apologies for that. I have been overburdened with work, and also haven't been quite well)

October is a rather average month, offering mostly the continuations of the many ongoing comics, plus a few trade paperbacks. On the Transformers side we have Regeneration One #84, More Than Meets The Eye #10 and Transformers: Robots in Disguise #10, plus the paperbacks Transformers Classics, volume 4 (which collects Marvel's Transformers #39-50), and Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, vol. 2 (which collects MTMTE #4-8).

On the G.I. Joe side, we have the four ongoing comics - G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #183, G.I. Joe #18, Snake-Eyes & Storm Shadow #18 and Cobra #18 - plus Danger Girl/G.I. Joe #4 and the paperback G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, vol. 5.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Wednesday 22 August 2012.

The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for the September 2012 comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 28 June 2012, 05:06

The NTFA Store is now accepting pre-orders for the September 2012 comics!

September is another month that is quite good for Transformers comic book fans, with six titles in total. Apart from the continuations of the three ongoing titles - Regeneration One #83, More Than Meets The Eye #9 and Transformers: Robots in Disguise #9 - there is also the double-sized Robots in Disguise Annual (which continues the story from last month's MTMTE Annual) plus two hardcovers: One is Transformers: The IDW Collection, vol. 7 collects the Ironhide mini-series, last year's Infestation: Transformers #1-2, plus Transformers Ongoing #7-18. The other is The Art of Fall of Cybertron, which features artwork related to the upcoming Fall of Cybertron video game!

On the G.I. Joe side, we have the four ongoing comics - G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #182, G.I. Joe #17, Snake-Eyes & Storm Shadow #17 and Cobra #17 - plus the crossover mini-series Danger Girl/G.I. Joe #3 - but also G.I. Joe: The Complete Collection, vol. 1, the first volume in a new series of hardcovers collecting Marvel Comics' entire run of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and G.I. Joe: Special Missions, now in proper reading order.

The last day to pre-order these comics and collections is Sunday 22 July 2012.