Transformation: Livio Ramondelli talks about The Transformers: Monstrosity

“I’ve been reading comics since I was a kid,” states Livio Ramondelli.  “I used to really devour Spider-Man and The Hulk, as well as the original Marvel Comics Transformers run; in high school and college my tastes ran more toward Preacher, Y the Last Man and a bunch of other darker stories. My favourite comic of all time though is The Dark Knight Returns; I remember feeling electrified the first time I read it, and still get that feeling when I read it now. It’s just an amazing piece of work.”  The traditional print format is no longer the only way to read and publish comic books.  “The digital age is really in its infancy, and I think people are embracing it more and more. I would say it’s definitely easier to get a book published…and actually in my experience it doesn’t hurt your living at all. It just means more new eyes on your book, which ideally should translate into more sales. The lower priced digital issues really do equal a lot of new buyers, who might be uncertain about buying a $4 dollar comic on a whim, but don’t mind spending 99 cents to see if they like something.”

The illustrator was familiar with the Transformers before becoming associated with the comic book line of the iconic toy produced by Hasbro.   “Certainly when the G1 series aired in my childhood, I was instantly hooked by it,” states Livio Ramondelli.  “I responded to the characters, and the transforming aspect was almost secondary to them for me. As I got older I never really gave up my love for them, in a way it only deepened as it caused me to appreciate how well that universe stands the test of time.”  The cinematic version helmed by Michael Bay (Bad Boys) has had a creative impact.   “The movies certainly bring more awareness of the characters and the world to people who haven‘t read the comics before. And visually, I think there’s a lot of really inspiring stuff in them. I always study the lighting and atmospherics of it. They’ve really been invaluable in terms of imagining these characters in a real environment. One of my favourite sequences in the films is the forest fight in the second movie which really put the Transformers in an environment that you don’t usually see them in; these metallic colours against a lush natural surrounding.   It’s also cool to see how the filmmakers choose to handle the fight scenes themselves.  When metal punches metal, how much debris does that cause? I look at that stuff a lot.”

The Transformers: Monstrosity which originally appeared as a digital comic series and is currently being released in print.  “I think it came from a desire to get the story out to the non-digital readers quicker,” remarked Livio Ramondelli who was responsible for the artwork.  “There were a lot of people who wanted to read Autocracy but had to wait for the trade paperback, which can be a long journey if it’s a story you’re really anxious to read and you know people have it in their hands around you.”   The project reunited the illustrator with writers Chris Metzen and Flint Dille.  “If anything, Chris, Flint and I are even better friends now. We worked closer on the story this time around and were constantly tweaking it and adding suggestions along the way. One of the great joys of my professional life is becoming friends with those two guys, and for them allowing me to contribute story ideas. It’s really been a dream gig working with them.”

“Given that we’re telling prequel stories, the hope is that certain things we touch on here will resonate in the later stories,” notes Livio Ramondelli.  “Ideally, we try to give some backstory and depth to character relationships. It’s one thing to say, ‘They fought a war for 4 million years.’ And it’s another thing to actually show what they went through.   You’re also locked into certain things where obviously main characters can’t be killed, especially in a prequel. But luckily given that they’re robots we can seriously maim them! But we’ve been pretty free with most any ideas we’ve had. Both IDW and Hasbro have been terrific to work with; they really do just want the best stories told rather than any kind of a mandate to do this or do that.”  With all the different Transformers comic book titles being concurrently released maintaining a consistent story canon is not an easy matter.   “Continuity is always tricky with the TF world because it’s such a big property and there are so many projects in motion. Plus, the characters themselves live for millions of years so it can be hard to keep track of where they were on X date in X year. Luckily, John Barber is a godsend of an editor who really keeps things on track about as well as a human being can. There are always those mistakes we regret, but we do our best not to contradict anything. Certain creative choices may look like contradictions, but hopefully by the end of the story the logistics of where the story fits into established continuity makes sense.”

“Ideally, you should read Autocracy first,” notes Livio Ramondelli.  “It really does help to set up Monstrosity’s first issue…in particular why Megatron is in such a bad state at the opening. However, if you can immerse yourself in the first issue of Monstrosityand follow along, you should have no trouble going through the rest of the series. Plus Autocracy also does inform a lot about Optimus Prime’s origins and why he is the way he is when Monstrosity begins. As much as Autocracy was a story of Optimus Prime, Monstrosity is a story for Megatron.”  Ramondelli adds, “Luckily, in the current output of books this is the only title currently focusing on the ‘war’ era, where Prime and Megatron are going head to head. It’s been great for all the series to be able to focus on different things while hopefully adding to the greater hole.” Each digital chapter was about the third the size of a normal print version.  “It’s got some drawbacks, but for the most part it’s very cool. The plus side is it gives the issues a momentum, and makes every panel count.   We’ve been very happy to hear people say these 8 page chapters really feel pretty meaty. I like that most every issue begins like an Indiana Jones movie, where the characters are already doing something and you need to catch up slightly. Occasionally, we’d like more room for a giant splash page or something but I’ve never felt like we got short changed too badly on anything.”

“Not as hard as you might think!” responds Livio Ramondelli when asked how difficult it is to convey emotions with robots.  “I actually love a lot of the ‘faceless’ characters like Prime, Soundwave and Shockwave. In particular, Shockwave’s completely unsympathetic face totally fits that character.  You almost add your own meaning to what he’s thinking depending on the dialogue coming from that unmoving eye. And with Prime, I enjoy tilting his head in certain shots to really play with the emotions. He’s got sympathetic eyes as well.”  Every character is distinguishable.  “Luckily, they’re pretty classic characters so they tend to be recognizable. The colour schemes are a good help, and also the fact that they have brands indicating which team they’re fighting for!”  Dialogue needs to be incorporated without overpowering imagery.  “That’s really the genius of IDW’s lettering crew. Since I get to handle all the art, the lettering is the only real visual thing I get to be surprised by, and I’m always amazed by them. I try to leave enough space for them to place bubbles. Sometimes we ask for a change so it doesn’t cover a bit of scenery or something, but it’s usually always perfect. “

“With new characters we always look at if they’ve been seen in IDW before,” states Livio Ramondelli.   “For us, we introduced Sharkticons and a Quintesson, which are hugely important things from the TFmovie.  I looked at the film a lot, and tried to update them slightly but keep them very familiar. We also did that with the Terrorcons, a lesser known Decepticon group we wanted to make pretty scary. And as always, I’m watching tons of movies for visual inspiration.”  Cinema is plays an influential role in the depiction of the various environments.   “Anything Ridley Scott or David Fincher does is immensely educational. Blade Runner [1982] and Se7en [1995] are great movies to study for atmospheric lighting. I could watch those movies forever and still learn new tricks; my Cybertron tends to feel Blade Runner-ish, and that’s not a coincidence.”   Different colour schemes were used make to the various environments distinguishable.   “A lot of that comes from the original series where Cybertron was a bluish world and Junkion more orange and brown. But it helps to show we’re in a new location. In an 8 page format, we want people to quickly grasp when we change places.”

“With a series this big, it’s really just taking it one step at a time,” states Livio Ramondelli.  “And not dwelling on how much work lays ahead. Once it’s finished you can look back and appreciate the sheer hours of work that was required to get it finished. But it’s also a great feeling to have a new series, and therefore a soon-to-be collected trade paperback, under your belt. Ideally, I’d love to just have a line of books I could be proud of on my shelf one day.” Monstrosity has a number of highlights for the illustrator.  All of the Junkion stuff has been a blast. It was great being able to show Sharkticons, and a Quintesson.  I love desolate, sci-fi landscapes and Junkion fits that perfectly. Later in the series, the Trypticon sequences were a blast as well. Getting to do our very first splash page in either Autocracy or Monstrosity [when Trypticon breaks through the surface] was a lot of fun.”

Some alternations were made when adapting the digital issues for the print editions. “It’s visually the same, though some captions have been altered since the printed collections merge three chapters into each issue,” reveals Livio Ramondelli.  “It does change the reading slightly, since the cliffhangers lead right into the next page as opposed to having a two week wait during the digital releases.” The American artist laughs at the suggestion that he has become creatively tied to Transformers.  “That’s funny because I don’t consider myself a veteran compared to a lot of the creators out there.   But I suppose I do have enough under my belt at this point to be able to reflect back on it. For me, it’s a love for the characters and the universe that constantly keeps me excited. As well as getting to interact with the readers at conventions or on the IDW message boards. It really is a very cool experience.”  Ramondelli concludes, “If people would like to see more art, check out my Deviant Art at Livio27, as well as follow me on Twitter at @LivioRamondelli!  And it’s been a pleasure talking to you! I really love your site, and check it often.”