{{disambig3|Simon}}
{{factions|maximal|hofgold}}

[[File:Simon-Furman.jpg|thumb|But... but [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] is neither vast nor predatory nor even a bird! [[Furmanism|What is he playing at?]]]]

British comic book writer '''Simon Christopher Francis Furman''' (born [[March 22]], [[1961]]<ref>[http://www.bwtf.com/interviews/sf399/ Interview at Ben Yee's website]</ref>) is probably the most well-known of all ''[[Transformers brand|Transformers]]'' comics scribes, and certainly the most prolific. He wrote most of the UK-original comic stories of Generation 1, as well as the latter 1/3rd of the US comic run, and has been author on innumerable Transformers tales since. As a result, he is often the first, last, and occasionally ''only'' resort in penning ''Transformers'' literature, with a deep involvement in a wide variety of product. He's admitted this has left him typecast and his non-''Transformers'' work gets overlooked, but he's stated he stopped struggling against the association years ago and gives thanks for the opportunities and steady income it's given him.<ref>[http://mindlessones.com/2009/07/20/transformers-terminators-and-the-rest11-questions-with-simon-furman/ Interview at Mindless Ones blog]</ref>

He has also written and created many non-''Transformers'' characters, including [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]], "Dragon's Claws", and "To the Death" with [[Geoff Senior]], "Brute Force" with [[José Delbo]], and "The Vigilant" with [[Simon Coleby]]. He was an editor at [[Titan Books]], which published collections of ''Transformers'' comics among other material, and at Tokyopop he 'localised' a translation of a sci-fi gothic romance manga. We're not joking.<ref>[http://link.library.austintexas.gov/portal/Doll-Vol.-1-by-Mitsukazu-Mihara--translation/Bhj0F3bdk1w/ Austin Texas Library entry for DOLL Volume 1]</ref> He was good at it too. <ref>[http://sundaycomicsdebt.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/tokyopops-bubble-bursts.html Sunday Comics: Tokyopop's Bubble Bursts]: "Mihara’s other Gothic works were a popular mainstay of Tokyopop’s Manga line, thanks to Simon Furman’s translation, who was a writer for Transformers. He gave the disassociated vibe of those protagonists such a realistic feel"</ref>

In his spare time, Furman enjoys drinking [[Corona]] and killing off hordes of background characters. And [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]. He's also a fan of West Ham United football club,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120303025903/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_furman3.php Interview on Transfans.co.uk]</ref> which perhaps explains his bloodlust.

{{bigquote|Who can I kill?|Simon Furman's first question upon being brought on to write for ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]<ref>[http://www.camphortree.net/tf/tidbits/botcon2002.txt BotCon 2002 appearance]''</ref>}}

==Work on Transformers==

{{quote|The Simon Furman of early 1985, when I was first asked to write for the UK Transformers comic, would have probably said "pull the other one" if you'd told me I'd still be involved with Transformers more than thirty years later|Furman talking to Vice<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/comic-writer-simon-furman-discusses-three-decades-of-transformers-and-new-game-earth-wars-707 Vice interview on Earth Wars]</ref>}}

[[File:Simon Furman 1980s.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Never did want to have hair forever!]]
Furman almost drifted into Transformers, being asked early on to pitch some ideas when they needed new strip fast; he only had an 'in' here because he'd recently left IPC and joined Marvel UK thanks to his friend [[Ian Rimmer]]. He quickly became ''the'' Transformers guy at Marvel UK, also working as assistant editor for years before becoming ''the'' editor and writing [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters pages]] until 1989 when he went onto just writing the scripts. (It was his idea to make [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] the first letters' host)<ref>[[The Transformers Classics UK Volume 1]], page 14</ref> Despite this, he hadn't actually wanted to be the editor of the comic after Rimmer as he'd just started editing the new ''Thundercats'' comic; his bosses made it clear he was moving title.<ref>[[The Transformers Classics UK Volume 4]], page 10</ref> Around 1989, he went on to be [[Bob Budiansky]]'s hand-picked replacement for the US title (as Furman actually knew who all these characters were) and wrote it until it ended. When a ''Generation 2'' comic was wanted a few years later, Furman went back for a year but didn't expect it to last.

His post-Marvel return to Transformers came courtesy of [[BotCon 1997]]: not only was he a guest expected to answer questions he couldn't remember the answers to, there was this thing called a "Beast Wars" they wanted him to write a short comic about. He quickly had to get back into the swing of things. After the Botcon material (and the last episode of ''Beast Wars'' gained via con networking), he'd work for Titan Books and brought to them the idea of Transformers reprints as the conventions he was being invited to proved there was money in it. He would then contact Dreamwave once he'd heard they had the license. <ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vpunNgHR4M The Great Derelict] 58:00 to 1:02:50, discussing Botcon, Titan, and Dreamwave</ref> Thus, he was linked forever more with the franchise.

Contrary to the popular opinion that he is an outspoken critic of the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon series]], Furman has stated in an interview that he loves the series. He explained that when he was involved with the Marvel comic books as a twenty-something-year-old writer, he thought the show was pitched a little young and that the stories were simplistic and had huge logic flaws, but conceded that he saw them from a different perspective than the generation that grew up watching the cartoon and buying the toys as kids, and so he concentrated on his work, which he believed was more "adult" in tone. He added that, in hindsight, he went back to watch the series and now really enjoys it, particularly Season 2's strong character stories. When he wrote for Marvel comics, he was averse to episodes that dealt with the character back-stories because they clashed with his own back-stories and also caused him to worry that he wasn't presenting the characters as intended. But now he had the freedom to take the series as a viewer and admire the way they were building upon their own mythos.

In the same interview, he thought [[The Transformers: The Movie|the 1986 animated movie]] was "fantastic", and one of his stated reasons was that "characters died."<ref>Simon Furman's interview on [[Madman Entertainment]]'s ''Beast Wars'' Season 3 DVD set</ref>

In terms of other Transformers media, he's a big fan of ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]'', saying it's the best cartoon since ''Beast Wars'',<ref>[http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/a-touch-animated/ July 4, 2008 blog post]</ref> despite a relative lack of violent deaths. While he liked ''Wars'', he stated in an interview that he considers ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' to be too dark for a children's cartoon.<ref>[[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 1|"The Last 'Action' Hero"]]</ref> He's not a fan of the movies either, believing they throw out characterisation and story, though he happily admits he's not the audience for them. He still admires the technical side of the films and [[Michael Bay]]'s vision.<ref>[http://mindlessones.com/2009/07/20/transformers-terminators-and-the-rest11-questions-with-simon-furman/ Interview at Mindless Ones blog]</ref>

A list of all of the issues written by Furman's hand would be overkill; even the list of ''titles'' he's worked on is considerable:

* [[Marvel Comics|Marvel UK]]'s [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|''The Transformers'']]: Furman began his involvement with Transformers as editor and author for much of the Marvel UK run, writing stories that integrated with those coming from Marvel US.
* [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel US's ''The Transformers'']]: At writer [[Bob Budiansky]]'s recommendation, Furman took over the US book after Budiansky left, writing issues #56–80.
* ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]'': Furman penned the entire 12-issue run.
* [[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]]: Furman scripted the final episode of the show, "[[Nemesis Part 2]]".
* [[3H Productions]]: Furman wrote a series of BotCon-exclusive stories, including several live-action voice actor scripts, the ''Beast Wars'' comic "[[Ground Zero]]" (the very first BotCon story), and the ''Beast Wars'' text and comic story "[[Reaching the Omega Point]]".
* [[Titan Books]]: while working for them, he pitched the idea of collecting the Marvel Transformers comics into trades, and edited the collections. Titan ended up collecting ''almost everything'' Marvel US and UK had ever done, including being able to get the issues with Marvel characters quite cheaply, ''and'' got the rights for global licensing: at this point, pre-Dreamwave, neither Marvel nor Hasbro had much investment in Transformers! <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSyBtqe67uk Moonbase 2 AA2010 interview], 7:50 -</ref> When the [[live-action film series]] was announced, Titan [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|decided to do a tie-in]] and Furman went on to write almost every issue of the first two volumes, plus a spin-off ''Animated'' issue, for 43 issues in total as of April 2012.
* [[Dreamwave Productions]]: Furman wrote two-and-a-half ''[[War Within (comic)|War Within]]'' G1 mini-series for Dreamwave, as well as most of their ''[[Transformers: Armada (Dreamwave)|Armada]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Energon (comic)|Energon]]'' comics.
* ''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]'', a book giving an overview of the length and breath of Transformers (toys and fiction) as it existed at the time. The book was arguably somewhat biased towards comic [[canon]] (particularly that which he penned) and, in places, invented new material wholecloth without any precedent in prior fiction. As the [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity]] was in full swing at the time Furman tended to treat it as the baseline for many of the entries and new material presented here.
* Micellaneous work in the 2000s would include "[[Alignment]]" for the Transforce UK convention, [[The Transformers (Madman)|several]] [[The Balance of Power|tie-in comics]], [[Panini]]'s [[Transformers: Armada (Panini)|short-lived ''Armada'']], and [[Starscream's_New_Body|three]] [[The_Fierce_Fighting_on_Planet_Nebulos|different]] [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Unite for the Universe|mangas]].
* [[IDW Publishing]]: He wrote the first five Generation 1 mini-series for IDW's G1 reboot, as well as numerous ''[[The Transformers: Spotlight|Spotlight]]'' issues. His IDW run is notable for being the only instance where he has actually created the mythos from the ground up, rather than coming in after someone else had already set everything up. Other IDW titles include two ''Beast Wars'' mini-series and a ''Beast Wars'' guide book, various comics related to the film series, and the belated "completion" of his Marvel (US) G1 run as ''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One|Regeneration One]]''. For the 35th anniversary of the franchise, IDW had him write the Marvel prequel ''[[Transformers '84 issue 0|Transformers '84 #0]]''; it sold well enough to get a [[Transformers '84: Secrets & Lies|sequel miniseries]].
* ''[[Transformers: Earth Wars]]'': Just when he thought he was out, in 2015–16 he was pulled back in by Hasbro to write the story for the ''Earth Wars'' mobile game. This was his first video game work and he said he enjoyed it as it involved "flexing new creative muscles".<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/comic-writer-simon-furman-discusses-three-decades-of-transformers-and-new-game-earth-wars-707 Vice interview on Earth Wars]: "Usually, storytelling for me is a one-off process, after which it moves on to another level—with the artist, or whatever. But this was much more a case of laying out a rough story framework and then evolving and adapting it to fit the game mechanics, and it was a much more collaborative, team process. I always enjoy flexing new creative muscles, and this was very much that. We tried hard, within what could be a fairly restrictive storytelling medium, to give Earth Wars the kind of narrative integrity that owed more to my comics work. Overall, I think we succeeded."</ref> It was still ongoing five years later with him as writer, which, yes, led to him saying "maybe it does... never end!"<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Hard to believe, but @TransformersWar is 5 years old! Many new characters and sagas later... I'm still loving crafting this mini-universe of its own. Maybe it does... never end!|link=https://twitter.com/SimonFurman3/status/1397450528024633347|name=Simon Furman|site=Twitter|year=2021|month=05|day=26|(defunct=)}}</ref>
* ''[[Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection]]'': Late 2016 saw [[Hachette]] hire our man to edit their <s>sixty</s> <s>eighty</s> one hundred-volume partwork collecting nearly every Generation 1 comic ever made.
* ''[[Transformers: EarthSpark - Expedition]]'': In 2023, Furman returned to video games as the writer for this ''EarthSpark'' tie in.
* ''[[Transformers: Reactivate]]'': He wrote multiples aspects of the cancelled video game.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=I'm hearing the plug has officially been pulled on Splash Damage's #Transformers: Reactivate game. I've been contributing story, lore, character work & dialog to the project, alongside amazing teams and creatives.|link=https://x.com/SimonFurman3/status/1877275986170986918|name=Simon Furman|site=Twitter|year=2025|month=01|day=09}}</ref> From his own admission, it was great to work on it, shared with a great team.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=I can’t really. I don’t really feel it’s my place to do so. At least, not yet. I can tell you it was great. I was having the best time working on it, with a really great team. The setting was very cool and the enemy was totally kickass. Wish it had come to full fruition, and you’d got to play it. Maybe in time I can talk more, share more. Sigh...|link=https://www.reddit.com/r/transformers/comments/1jzwr70/comment/mn9w88i|name=Simon Furman|site=Reddit|year=2025|month=04|day=15}}</ref>

==Alternate mode==
When Furman became the editor of the UK ''Transformers'' comic with issue #121,<ref>[[Titan Books]]' ''[[Transformers: Legacy of Unicron]]'', says Furman's takeover was "business as usual for the first few issues, which reprinted US issues [[Mechanical Difficulties!|28]]-[[Crater Critters|29]]", thereby implying that Rimmer left in issue [[Fire on High!|#120]] and "Francis" started in issue [[Mechanical Difficulties!|#121]].</ref> it opened up a dilemma, as Marvel policy, enforced by Marvel US editor-in-chief [[Tom DeFalco]], frowned on editors serving as their own writers. To circumvent this problem, it was agreed that senior editor (and frequent ''Transformers'' letterer) [[Richard Starkings]] would serve in an advisory capacity on Furman's own strips.<ref>Starkings, Richard "Prophetic Words" in ''[[Transformers: Dark Designs]]'' trade paperback (London; [[Titan Books]], 2002), page 4.</ref> When an editorial credit for the comic as a whole was required, Furman used the credit "Chris Francis", derived from his middle names.<ref>Unknown author "Transformers UK" in ''Second Generation'' Trade paperback (London; Titan Books, 2004), page 6.</ref> As far as Starkings was concerned, however, it was an open secret – in his ''[[Action Force (comic)|Action Force]]'' title, he happily credited Furman as the editor of ''Transformers''.<ref>"Mail Call!" in [[wikia:gijoe:Action Force (weekly) 28|''Action Force'' issue 28]] (cover date 12th September 1987): "TRANSFORMERS is edited by stubby Simon Furman (with a script-editing assist from Marvel UK's Managing Editor Jenny O'Connor)."</ref> Furman was succeeded by [[Euan Peters]] from [[Dark Star|issue #208]] onwards.<ref>Issue #208's Transformation page.</ref>

==Fiction==
===Dreamwave ''Armada'' comic===
The flesh creature known as Simon Furman pleased [[Unicron]] with his accurate depiction of Unicron's omnipotent magnificence. {{storylink|The End (Armada)|Letters page for "The End"}}

===Titan movie comics===
According to [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], Furman was a [[Maximal]] disguised as a "strategically shaved ape. Especially on his head." {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 7|#7's Star Screams}} When Starscream captured the Titan offices, only Furman escaped capture and was still at large, with a vast amount of intelligence regarding [[Nucleon (substance)|nucleon]]. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 21|#21's Star Screams}}

The Autobots, however, were not much nicer. When Furman was writing his alternate universe tale, [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] "made sure" that it would have an Autobot-friendly ending... {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.12|#12's Law and Disorder}}

[[File:Cameos Invasion.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
====Ask Vector Prime====
Simon Furman was a [[Maximal]] because they had a better dental plan than the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 16/6/2015}} He was identified as a wielder of the [[Quill]], which allowed him to evade [[death]]. [[Vector Prime]] identified him as the one who had charted many of their destinies, which raises a lot of strange metafictional questions. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 10/8/2015}}

===''Classics''===
When [[Ultra Magnus (SG)|an alternate Ultra Magnus]] threatened to destroy [[Earth]] with the power of his [[Terminus Blade]], Simon Furman was stuck in a collapsing building in [[Canada]]. {{storylink|Invasion (issue)|Invasion}}
{{--}}

==Female Transformers==
Simon Furman has traditionally not been a fan of [[Female Transformer]]s or the idea of gendering Transformers at all, stating on several occasions that he doesn't understand why robots would have women.<ref>[https://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/arcee-a-go-go/ "Arcee-a-Go-Go"]: "Well, I’ve always been fairly outspoken about the redundancy of ‘female’ Transformers (or ‘fembots’). It’s not a sexist thing, it’s just that they’re robots."</ref> Subsequently he's attempted to explain it in Marvel UK (which inherited [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] from [[The Transformers: The Movie|the 1986 film]]) and at IDW, but both stories have been pretty awkward. "[[Prime's Rib!]]" for Marvel said she was built after a [[feminist mob]] had protested about a lack of female Cybertronians, while Arcee's [[Spotlight: Arcee|origin]] in the 2005 IDW continuity attempted "to apply a rationale to the whole issue"<ref>[https://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/arcee-a-go-go/ "Arcee-a-Go-Go"]</ref> by saying Jhiaxus had introduced gender to the race. That was unfortunately shown by having Arcee as a genderless Cybertronian that was forcibly changed into a female gendered form, traumatizing her.

His insistence that Cybertronians are genderless, not male by default, extended to a post he wrote<ref>http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/response-to-mairghread-scott/</ref> in response to a blog post by [[Mairghread Scott]] discussing other female Transformers in IDW, wherein she stated that she understood that Arcee's origin could be seen as offensive to women, especially those who are transgender. The two authors later talked in private and settled the beef.

Outside of their origins, Furman's female 'bots are written the same as their male counterparts.

In 2016, during an interview with ''Vice'', Furman said they "almost certainly" "could/should" have done better with female Transformers in the 1980s but views it as a different time and audience and that he doubted he'd do it differently now. When it came to the recent work, he said he applauded what had been done "and done well" with female characters. <ref>[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/comic-writer-simon-furman-discusses-three-decades-of-transformers-and-new-game-earth-wars-707 Vice interview on Earth Wars]</ref>

==Comic bibliography==
===Marvel Comics===
* [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|Marvel UK]] #13–21, 29–32, 45–50, 59–65, 74–88, 96–104, 113–120, 125, 130–138, 146–153, 160–161, 164–173, 182–189, 198–205, 213–332
* [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel US]] #56–80
* [[Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel)|''Generation 2'']] #1–12

===3H Productions===
* "[[Ground Zero]]"
* "[[Terminus (issue)|Terminus]]"
* ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' #2–3
* ''[[Transformers: Universe (comic)|Universe]]'' #1–3
* "[[Shell Game]]"

===Dreamwave Productions===
* [[Transformers: The War Within|''The War Within'' vol.1]] #1–6, [[Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages|vol.2]] #1–6, [[Transformers: War Within: The Age of Wrath|vol.3]] #1–3 (#4–6 unreleased)
* [[Transformers: Armada (Dreamwave)|''Armada'']] #6–18
* [[Transformers: Energon (comic)|''Energon'']] #19–30 (#31–36 unreleased), [[Energon Volume 2|Volume 2]], [[Energon Volume 3|Volume 3]]
* "[[Perspective]]", from the ''[[20th Anniversary Transformers Summer Special]]''

===Panini Comics===
* [[Transformers: Armada (Panini)|''Armada'']] #1–9

===IDW Publishing===
* ''[[The Transformers: Infiltration|Infiltration]]'' #0–6
* ''[[The Transformers: Spotlight|Spotlight]]'' #1–6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15 (story by [[Klaus Scherwinski]]), 16–19 (''Revelation'')
* ''[[The Transformers: Stormbringer|Stormbringer]]'' #1–4
* ''[[The Transformers: Escalation|Escalation]]'' #1–6
* ''[[The Transformers: Devastation|Devastation]]'' #1–6
* ''[[Revelation (IDW)|Revelation]]'' #1–4
* ''[[The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots|Maximum Dinobots]]'' #1–5
* ''[[Transformers, Beast Wars: The Gathering|The Gathering]]'' #1–4
* ''[[Transformers: Beast Wars: The Ascending|The Ascending]]'' #1–4
* ''[[Beast Wars Sourcebook]]'' #1-4 (with [[Ben Yee]])
* ''[[Transformers: Movie Prequel]]'' #1–4 (with [[Chris Ryall]])
* ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Official Movie Adaptation|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen comic book adaptation]]''
* ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'' [[Old Ways|#13 ("Old Ways")]]
* ''[[Transformers: Tales of the Fallen|Tales of the Fallen]]'' [[Tales of the Fallen issue 2|#2]], [[Tales of the Fallen issue 4|#4]], [[Tales of the Fallen issue 5|#5]]
* ''[[Transformers: Nefarious|Nefarious]]'' #1–6
* ''[[Rodimus vs. Cyclonus]]''
* ''[[The Transformers: Regeneration One]]'' #80.5–100
* [[Transformers '84]] #0–4

===Titan Magazines/Titan Comics===
* [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|''Transformers'' Comic v1]] #1–25
*Transformers Comic v2 #1-9, #11-14 & #18-21.
* [[Transformers Animated (Titan)|''Transformers Animated'']] #1

===Atari===
* "[[The Balance of Power]]"

===Madman Entertainment===
* [[The Transformers (Madman)|''The Transformers'']]

===Million Publishing/''Henkei! Henkei!''===
* "[[Starscream's New Body]]"
* ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Unite for the Universe]]''
* "[[The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos]]"

==Bibliography==
===3H Productions===
*"[[Herald]]" (both versions)
*"[[Covenant (story)|Covenant]]"
*"[[Schism (story)|Schism]]"
*"[[Paradox]]"
*[[OTFCC Live-Action Drama|OTFCC 2003 Voice Actor Drama]]
*[[Voice Actor Drama|OTFCC 2004 Voice Actor Drama]]

===DK Publishing===
*''[[Transformers: The Ultimate Guide]]''
*''[[Transformers: The Movie Guide]]''
*''[[You Can Draw Transformers]]''
*''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Movie Universe]]''

===Titan Books===
*''Transformers: The Art of the Movies'' (canceled)

==Voice Roles==
*[[Narrator]] ([[Voice Actor Drama]])

==Convention appearances==
{{collist|3|
*[[BotCon 1997]]
*[[BotCon 1998]]
*[[BotCon 2001]]
*[[BotCon 2002]]
*[[OTFCC 2003]]
*[[OTFCC 2004]]
*[[BotCon 2006]]
*[[BotCon 2008]]
*[[BotCon 2012]]
*[[San Diego Comic-Con]] 2009
*C.O.N.S. (2011)
*C.O.N.S. (2012)
*NordCon 2010
*TFcon 2011
*Auto Assembly 2003
*Auto Assembly 2004
*Auto Assembly 2005
*Auto Assembly 2006
*Auto Assembly 2008
*Auto Assembly 2010
*Auto Assembly 2011
*Auto Assembly Europe 2011
*BotCon 2022}}

==Notes==
* ''Transformers'' was the earliest comic he wrote after leaving IPC's ''Scream!''.
* Outside of ''Transformers'', he's worked on multiple comic strips in the 80s to 10s. His most prolific time was 1980s Marvel UK, where he not only wrote ''Transformers'' but also strips for ''[[Action Force (comic)|Action Force]]'' and ''[[Doctor Who]] Magazine'', and created ''Dragons Claws'' and ''[[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]]'' (both netting ten issues, plus a graphic novel for DH). Editor [[Rob Tokar]] would bring him to ''Alpha Flight'', though that comic would be killed off in the infamous early 90s market crash. Outside of comics, he's written for a few cartoons, was involved in [[Rik Alvarez]]'s first stab at an independent toyline<ref>[http://tformers.com/all-this-and-simon-furman-too-play-with-this-too-update/26076/news.html TFformers article on Furman's involvement]</ref>, and in 2012-2015 was the head writer and script supervisor for UK/Canadian co-production {{w|Matt Hatter Chronicles}}. He and [[Andrew Wildman]] created an IP company, Wildfur, in the early 00s to try and sell new ideas they'd come up with<ref>http://www.wildfur.net/</ref> but that quietly died. He and Senior brought out a webcomic, ''To The Death'', in late 2016 (which harkened back to both ''Claws'' and ''Death's Head'') which would later come out in print (along with a prequel) both on its own and as one of the core strips for the 2020s anthology ''Shift'', doing well enough to get a sequel story in 2022. In 2023 he was tapped to write the comic for ''Astrobots'', another sentient robot series by Whatnot Publishing.
* One of Furman's big contributions to the franchise is crafting the Transformers as children of the light god [[Primus]], born to fight the universe-killing demigod [[Unicron]]. How did he sell Hasbro on this? He didn't, he just wrote "[[The Legacy of Unicron!]]" on the assumption they wouldn't object if it was already in print! (He told [[James Roberts]] in a 2014 interview that Hasbro didn't seem to notice anyway.)<ref>''[[The Transformers Classics UK Volume 5]]'', "The Legacy of Furman" feature</ref>
* It is generally accepted that [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] is Furman's signature ''Transformers'' character, although a case could be made for [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]. His signature ''creation'' (according to the man himself <ref>http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=42871</ref>) is the <s>bounty hunter</s> freelance peacekeeping agent [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]], yes?.
* He spent at least some time as the writer of the Marvel UK comics letters page, setting the precedent for having a Transformer "host" reply to the kids' letters, but without patronising them. This tradition has been followed up on in [[Transformers: Armada (Panini)|other]] [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|UK]] comics.
* Chris Claremont, X-Men mega-writer, is one of Furman's key influences in comics: "Mostly how well he managed multiple characters and sub-plots, something I’ve applied to my Transformers work as much as I can ever since". Other influences are Alan Moore's Marvel UK work; 70s/80s sci-fi films like ''Blade Runner'', ''Aliens'', and ''[[Terminator]]'', as well as Assault On Precinct 13; and crime books.<ref>[http://hombreimaginario.deviantart.com/art/Interviews-10-Simon-Furman-130246343 Interview with Transformers Hispanos Forums]</ref>
* If his last words before dying aren't [[Furmanism|"hnng... never ''did'' want to live forever"]], there will be much sadness.
* Apparently, if [[Pat Lee]] wants back in ''Transformers'', he will have to climb over Simon's cold, rotting corpse to do it.<ref>Based upon a comment Furman made at [[BotCon 2008]] when asked if Pat Lee would ever work for IDW Publishing</ref>
* [[Furmanite]] and [[Simfur]] are obvious enough [[Jhiaxus (G2)|puns]] on his name.
* Due to the impact of Marvel UK's ''Transformers'' on a generation of British and Irish comic readers, ''House to Astonish'' only half-joked that Furman was the underrated influential writer of his generation.<ref>[http://www.housetoastonish.com/?p=3665 H2A: "Holds to Astonish: Mike Quackenbrush"]</ref> Known pros who grew up on his work include [[James Roberts]], [[Nick Roche]], [[Simon Williams]], [[John-Paul Bove]], and {{w|Kieron Gillen}}.
* Outside of his official work, when attending [[unofficial conventions]], Simon Furman has been known to write exclusive ''Transformers'' stories in the form of voice-actor script readings or comics for the events. The most prominent cases were the Transforce-exclusive "[[The Last Days of Optimus Prime]]" and "[[Alignment]]", which attained [[pseudocanon]]ical status, but other examples include:
** Furman frequently wrote script readings for Auto Assembly, including three ''Beast-Wars'' themed scripts across [[Auto Assembly 2009]], [[Auto Assembly 2010]] and Auto Assembly 2011,<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXpdlvfExSU|name=Infinite Frontiers|site=YouTube|title=Transformers Beast Wars Convention Script Reading Auto Assembly 2009|year=2019|month=07|day=27}}</ref><ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEnoh84sKac|name=Infinite Frontiers|site=YouTube|title=Transformers Beast Wars Convention Script Reading Auto Assembly 2010|year=2020|month=03|day=19}}</ref><ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZYaeH4Ow6c|name=Infinite Frontiers|site=YouTube|title=Transformers Beast Wars Convention Script Reading - Auto Assembly 2011|year=2021|month=05|day=05}}</ref> an IDW-themed reading at Auto Assembly 2012,<ref>{{citesocial|quote=One thing that made me smile that I forgot to mention is that the statute of limitations on Shane McCarthy must have expired as the Furman written script reading had what is- to the best of knowledge- the first out and out bitch slap from him towards All Hail Megatron. With Hunter waking up and being assured by Verity that it was all a terrible dream. So there you go folks, that's canon if you want.|link=https://tfarchive.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=721166#p721166|name=Stuart Webb|site=TFArchive|title=Auto Assembly News|year=2012|month=08|day=10}}</ref> and a ''Prime''-themed script reading at Auto Assembly 2015.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxb2JUBoJy0|name=Infinite Frontiers|site=YouTube|title=Transformers Prime Voice Actor Script Reading at Auto Assembly 2015|year=2021|month=08|day=04}}</ref>
** For the Nordic ''Transformers'' convention RetCon 2019, Furman wrote "The Last - And Only - Stand of the Remnants", an innuendo-laden comic starring ''Transformers'' with unfortunate names ([[Erector (G1)|Erector]], [[Windbreaker]]... you get the idea) illustrated by [[Ed Pirrie]].
** And for BotCon 2023, Furman wrote "Bee in the City 3: Let's Go to the Mall!", a script reading with no connection aside from the title to [[Bee in the City|older]] [[Bee in the City 2: Electric Bugaloo|readings]] from official BotCons of yore.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjKHHBy0JgM|name=Benson Yee|site=YouTube|title=Botcon 2023 Script Reading "Bee in the City" Part 3|year=2023|month=08|day=26}}</ref><ref>{{citesocial|quote=Last night’s amazing ⁦@BotCon⁩ script reading - super vocal performances from a stellar #transformers cast!|link=https://twitter.com/SimonFurman3/status/1695424842361622649|name=Simon Furman|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=08|day=26}}</ref> An epilogue script reading written by [[Jesse Wittenrich]] was performed the following day.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9WuY3hb7BY|name=Benson Yee|site=YouTube|title=Botcon 2023 Transformers: Cyberverse Panel|year=2023|month=08|day=29}}</ref><ref>{{citesocial|quote=For those that want a glimpse behind the BotCon '23 script readings... here are the scripts! "Bee In The City Part 3: Let's Go To The Mall" written by @SimonFurman3 & "Bee In The City Epilogue" written by @JesseWittenrich! https://botcon.com/_files/ugd/74a879_e32db551e2f74007be8c98f162cbd41b.pdf https://botcon.com/_files/ugd/74a879_44ece3568ff34937bd1c78332f06407d.pdf|link=https://twitter.com/BotCon/status/1697221426401419507|name=BotCon|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=08|day=31}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Furmanism]]
* 80% of this Wiki.

{{MarvelEditor nav}}

==External links==
* [https://twitter.com/simonfurman3 Simon Furman on Twitter]
* [http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/ Simon Furman's blog]
* [http://to-the-death.com/ To The Death homepage]
* [http://www.wildfur.net/ Homepage of Wildfur Productions], original properties by [[Andrew Wildman]] and Simon Furman.
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1084210/ Simon Furman on the Internet Movie Database]

===Interviews===
*1987—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPkGN5OaGAc Get Fresh]
*2001—[https://www.bottalk.com/2024/02/simon-furman-transformers-interview.html BotTalk]
*October 2002—Altered States Magazine ([http://web.archive.org/web/20021111210901/http://www.alteredstatesmag.com:80/features/qanda/sfurman_1.php Part 1], [http://web.archive.org/web/20021114055500/http://www.alteredstatesmag.com/features/qanda/sfurman_2.php Part 2], [http://web.archive.org/web/20021220170307/http://www.alteredstatesmag.com/features/qanda/sfurman_3.php Part 3])
*August 2004—TransFans ([https://web.archive.org/web/20090914233035/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_furman.php Part 1], [https://web.archive.org/web/20090916001247/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_furman2.php Part 2])
*October 2004—[https://toynewsi.com/102-4557 Toy News International]
*October 2004—[https://www.seibertron.com/people/interviews/view.php?interview_id=9 Seibertron]
*[[November 24]], 2004—[https://web.archive.org/web/20041210201625/http://www.dreamwaveprod.ca/2005/index.php?id=1,21,0,0,1,0 Transfandom] (with [[Chris Sarracini]]) (archived)
*June 2005—[http://web.archive.org/web/20050608031134/https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/thread75667.html Auto Assembly]
*September 2005—[https://web.archive.org/web/20120303025903/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_furman3.php TransFans]
*October 2005—[http://web.archive.org/web/20051222005436/https://comicnewsi.com/article.php?catid=208&itemid=7960 Comic News International] (with [[Chris Ryall]])
*October 2006—[http://web.archive.org/web/20061023113632/http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=8665 CBR]
*2007—[http://web.archive.org/web/20071023034941/http://www.scifi.co.uk/hub/interview_transformers.asp Sci Fi Channel]
*2007—[http://web.archive.org/web/20071021035303/http://fractalmatter.com/main/?p=538 Fractal Matter] (with Chris Ryall)
*August 2007—[http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/33678 Ain’t It Cool News]
*April 2007—[http://web.archive.org/web/20070927043424/https://comicnewsi.com/article.php?catid=208&itemid=9670 CNI]
*April 2007—IDW Q&A 1 (questions [http://web.archive.org/web/20070907114736/https://www.idwpublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=705 #1-15], [https://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2007/04/28/five-questions-and-answers/ #16-20])
*December 2007—IDW Q&A 2 (questions [http://web.archive.org/web/20120510005733/http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=42871 #1-15], [https://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/another-quick-qa/ #16-20])
*July 2008—[http://web.archive.org/web/20081117222107/http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080725-SDCCIDWTformers.html Newsarama] (with [[Chris Mowry]] and [[Shane McCarthy]])
*July 2008—[https://www.cbr.com/cci-idw-rolls-out-more-transformers-in-09/ CBR] (with Chris Ryall)
*December 2008—IDW Q&A 3 (questions [http://web.archive.org/web/20081209144812/http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=5032 #1-15], [https://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/its-qa-time-again/ #16-20])
*July 2009—[http://mindlessones.com/2009/07/20/transformers-terminators-and-the-rest11-questions-with-simon-furman/ Mindless Ones]
*July 2009—[http://web.archive.org/web/20110612025753/https://hombreimaginario.deviantart.com/art/Interviews-10-Simon-Furman-130246343 Transformers Hispanos]
*July 2009—[http://web.archive.org/web/20090729035544/http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/100/1006780p1.html IGN]
*November 2009—[http://www.reviewgraveyard.com/00_interviews/09-11-20_simon-furman.html Review Graveyard]
*November 2009—[http://www.scifilondontv.com/audio/Simon_furman2.mp3 Sci-Fi-London] (defunct)
*December 2009—[http://web.archive.org/web/20100425000741/https://geeksyndicate.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/q-a-with-transformers-comic-writer-simon-furman/ Geek Syndicate]
*August 2010—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSyBtqe67uk Moonbase 2]
*March 2011—IDW Q&A 4 (questions [https://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/that-ol-qa-thing/ #1-6], [http://web.archive.org/web/20110830031839/http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=9505 #7-18])
*April 2011—[http://web.archive.org/web/20110430094502/http://www.newsarama.com/comics/transformers-fans-petition-idw-110425.html Newsarama]
*May 2011—The Allspark ([https://www.allspark.com/2011/05/allsparkcom-interview-with-simon-furman-part-1/ Part 1], [https://www.allspark.com/2011/06/allsparkcom-interview-with-simon-furman-part-2/ Part 2])
*August 2011—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8cKFa2GA1A Auto Assembly] (with [[Geoff Senior]])
*August 2011—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1eqng2 Auto Assembly] (with [[Andrew Wildman]], [[Nick Roche]] and [[James Roberts]])
*October 2011—[https://moonbase2.libsyn.com/the-underbase-aa2011-interviews-simon-furman-and-andrew-wildman The Underbase]
*January 2012—[http://web.archive.org/web/20120129013041/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=36515 CBR]
*February 2012—[https://www.allspark.com/2012/02/the-allsparkcom-interviews-transformers-writer-simon-furman/ The Allspark]
*March 2012—[https://www.freecomicbookday.com/Article/118631-FCBD-Interview-Wildman--Furman-Discuss-All-Things-Transformers Free Comic Book Day] (with [[Andrew Wildman]])
*August 2012—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1fb8cm Auto Assembly] (with [[Andrew Wildman]], [[Stephen Baskerville]], [[John-Paul Bove]] and [[Jason Cardy]])
*November 2012—[https://www.allspark.com/2012/11/allspark-interview-with-regeneration-one-writer-simon-furman/ The Allspark]
*August 2013—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1m18hl Auto Assembly] (with [[Andrew Wildman]], [[Stephen Baskerville]], [[John-Paul Bove]], [[Jason Cardy]], and [[Geoff Senior]])
*February 2014—[https://www.cbr.com/furman-shuts-down-marvels-transformers-continuity-with-idws-regeneration-one-100/ CBR]
*March 2014—[https://bleedingcool.com/comics/recent-updates/talking-with-simon-furman-about-the-final-chapters-of-transformers-regeneration-one/ Bleeding Cool]
*March 2014—[https://comicsverse.com/comicsverse-interviews-simon-furman/ ComicsVerse]
*August 2014—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24il0m Auto Assembly] (with [[Andrew Wildman]], [[Stephen Baskerville]], [[John-Paul Bove]], and [[Jason Cardy]])
*December 2014—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP3oEJFeBqc Urban Species Studios]
*February 2016—[https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2016/02/10/transformers-land-mobile-earth-wars/80167164/ USA Today]
*June 2016—[https://www.pocketgamer.com/articles/070313/we-chat-to-simon-furman-about-how-transformers-earth-wars-relates-to-the-comics/ Pocket Gamer]
*June 2016—[https://www.vice.com/en/article/mvkjvp/comic-writer-simon-furman-discusses-three-decades-of-transformers-and-new-game-earth-wars-707 Vice]
*August 2016—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4w1jme TFNation] (with [[James Roberts]] and [[Geoff Senior]])
*August 2016—[https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/seibertron-interviews-simon-furman-from-the-past-to-the-death/36232/ Seibertron]
*August 2018—[https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/06/transformers-godfather-simon-furman-rolling-out-on-his-first-video-game/ VentureBeat]
*August 2019—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8hTKMabLyk TFNation] (with [[E. J. Su]], [[Nick Roche]], and [[Kris Carter]])
*May 2020—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwqy-aVR10Y WonderCon@Home] (with [[John Barber]], [[David Mariotte]], [[Sam Maggs]], and [[Brian Ruckley]])
*December 2020—[https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2020/12/tmalts17 TransMissions]
*May 2021—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vpunNgHR4M The Great Derelict Podcast]
*May 2021—[https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-h8bcg-10434fb Talking Codswallop]
*August 2021—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tye_0Qe57qY Transformerspodden]
*June 2022—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHmQy1rT-k0 Ben's World of Transformers]
*June 2022—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q3q2wYPvNI Dollar Bin Bandits]
*August 2022—[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FpdWAyptjfXB4_o3Vzi1ln05VpW9NeBg/view?usp=sharing TFNation] (with [[Nick Roche]], [[James Roberts]], [[Jack Lawrence]], and [[Brian Ruckley]])
*January 2023—[https://open.spotify.com/episode/1zVnSGOzfwfIbro02yGhnJ AARGH! MY OPTICS!]
*February 2023—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFMP_J1_-yM Transformers The Show]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furman, Simon}}
[[Category:Armada humans]]
[[Category:Classics humans]]
[[Category:Convention guests]]
[[Category:Editors]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame creators]]
[[Category:Maximals]]
[[Category:Movie Transformers]]
[[Category:Real people]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen Transformers]]
[[Category:Writers]]

2025-11-02T02:30:41Z

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2025-11-02T02:15:43Z

ComeonandSLAM:

2025-10-23T01:49:55Z

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2025-10-21T22:41:49Z

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