Bob Budiansky

2020-10-06T13:30:49Z

PeterClaverCullen:

{{disambig3|Bob}}
{{factions|hofgold}}

{{bigquote|... when [fans have] contacted me for one reason or another, like for an interview for instance, they don’t understand how I’m not as passionate about the Transformers as they are now, even though I worked on them for so long. All I could basically say is, "Well, I enjoyed working on them while I did it, but it was a job, and then after I finished that job I moved onto the next job".|Bob Budiansky|[http://ohdannyboy.blogspot.com/2007/09/looking-back-with-bob-budiansky.html "Looking Back With Bob Budiansky"] interview}}

[[File:Bobbudiansky.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Not actually Kirk Cameron. You can tell because he writes about Earth being millions of years old.]]
'''Bob Budiansky''' (born [[March 15]], 1954) was the writer of most of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel US ''Transformers'' comic book]] series and the creator of much of the mythos, characters, and names behind the first several years of the franchise.

In late 1983, [[Hasbro]] approached [[Marvel Comics]] to create a storyline around a series of transforming toy robots they had licensed from Takara. Editors [[Denny O'Neil]] and [[Jim Shooter]] created some of the early background for ''Transformers'', including several names, but much of the material for the first 28 characters was rejected by Hasbro. Revision duties were passed to Bob Budiansky, a writer and penciler who had only been promoted from assistant editor to editor earlier that year.<ref>Marvel Comics Bullpen Bulletin for July 1983, as presented in "[[Star Wars]]" #73.</ref> Budiansky renamed most of the characters and revised the personalities... with a week's deadline ''during Thanksgiving''.<ref name="moonbase2">[http://traffic.libsyn.com/moonbase2/BobBinterview.mp3 Bob Budiansky interview at Moonbase 2]</ref> Though [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] was named by O'Neil, Bob Budiansky is responsible for the names of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (Go-bot name), the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], and countless others.

Due to its success, ''The Transformers'' four-issue miniseries became an ongoing. None of the three writers had been able to 'get' the Transformers mythos during the miniseries, and Bob Budiansky spent a lot of time directing the story as its editor—and even ''he'' thinks it was a total mess because nobody could keep track.<ref name="Interview at Rusting Carcass">[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954/t/Bob-Budiansky.html Interview at Rusting Carcass]</ref> Because of this, after he was replaced as editor (due to Marvel internal rules) he was made the writer from #5 on: he was the only one who knew enough about the mythos! It was in these years that he developed popular characters [[Shockwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Shockwave]], [[Ratchet (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ratchet]], and [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] into the roles they're famous for today; the only characters at this time he ''didn't'' create were the [[The Transformers: The Movie|movie ones]], who were specifically created for the film by [[Sunbow Productions|Sunbow]]. He did, however, create the concept of the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. Budiansky continued to write [[bio]]s and name characters until the end of the original series, working off pictures of the toys and what they could do, with names based on whatever the hell he'd just read or seen or heard about that week. When new concepts like [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]s or [[Pretender]]s were created by Hasbro, Budiansky would be given the job of working out story treatments for them and adding them to the Transformers mythos.<ref name="moonbase2"/>

[[File:BobBudianskyDVD.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Bob today.]]
During his run, Bob was constantly kept up to date on Hasbro's plans: information about new toys and their model sheets were sent to him, he attended meetings at their Rhode Island HQ, he visited their annual toy exhibitions. Outside of pimping their wares, Hasbro left him alone. It was up to him whether or not he wanted to follow the cartoon's lead, he wasn't told to keep the target audience in mind (he made the decision himself), and he was even allowed to not use the future-set movie cast.<ref>[http://www.metalmachine.net/blog/2009/11/21/todds-take-with-bob-budiansky-the-architect-of-the-transformers/ Metal Machine interview]</ref>

Towards the end of his time on the comic book series, Budiansky started to feel fatigue. It was complicated and frustrating, from a story-crafting point of view, [[To sell toys|to introduce so many new characters in so few issues]]. At Budiansky's recommendation, the writer of the Marvel UK ''Transformers'' comic, [[Simon Furman]], took over Budiansky's duties on the US comic.

An artist as well, Budiansky also drew several covers for ''Transformers'' and penciled the first half of his final issue.

As the quote notes, Transformers was a job he enjoyed at the time but is still just a job he did twenty years ago. Not that he isn't pleased to have a 25 year old franchise as his legacy! Until he got onto the [[Internet]] and searched his own name in the 90s, he didn't realize it was still such a big deal with fans and was both amused ''and'' bemused to learn the truth. In the early 2000s, he started to give interviews to fans and websites. This led to him coming back briefly to adapt ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' for [[IDW Publishing|IDW]] and he was given an option to pitch to them again, but decided not to as he was far removed from the current Transformers status quo.

Outside of ''Transformers'' Budiansky is perhaps best known for drawing ''[[Ghost Rider]]'', creating ''Sleepwalker'' and writing the entire series, and serving as group editor-in-chief of the ''[[Spider-Man]]'' titles between 1994 & 1995. In addition, at one point he was assigned to Marvel's "Special Projects" section; this followed his promotion to "executive editor".<ref>Marvel Comics Bullpen Bulletin for December 1991, as printed in ''Excalibur'' #47, cover date February 1992</ref> He was also tasked with overseeing a number of other limited series, such as an ''X-Men'' / ''[[Micronauts]]'' crossover.

==''Transformers'' comics credits==
{{bigquote|If there are older Transformers fans who feel my stories were too geared to children—hey, good insight! That was the audience I was playing to.|Bob tells it like it is, at [http://www.metalmachine.net/blog/2009/11/21/todds-take-with-bob-budiansky-the-architect-of-the-transformers/ Metal Machine.net]}}

Marvel ''[[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel U.S.|The Transformers]]'' (US):

:Editor - [[The Transformers Four-Issue Limited Series|Issues 1–4]]
:Writer - Issues 5–15, 17–32, 35–42, 44–55
:Penciller - [[The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!|Issue 55]]
:Cover Artist - Issues [[Rock and Roll-Out!|14]], [[Crater Critters|29]], [[Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom|31]], [[Monstercon from Mars!|45]], [[Club Con!|47]]

Marvel ''[[The Transformers Universe]]''

:Writer/Consulting Editor - Issues 1–4

Marvel ''[[Transformers: The Movie (Marvel comic)|Transformers: The Movie]]'' comic adaptation

:Editor - Issues 1–3

Marvel ''[[The Transformers: Headmasters|Headmasters]]'' mini-series

:Writer - Issues 1–4
:Cover Artist - [[Ring of Hate!|Issue 1]]

IDW ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' comic adaptation

:Writer - Issues 1–4

==Convention appearances==

{{bigquote|"I discovered there were all of these websites, these discussion boards... [people] were passionate about [Transformers], emotional about it. I was despised! People hated me! *laughs* ... still carrying grudges about the fact I wrote '[[Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom]]' or something!"|Bob on 90s Internet fandom, [http://traffic.libsyn.com/moonbase2/BobBinterview.mp3 at Moonbase 2], 31.10-31.51}}

*[[OTFCC 2004]]
*[[Unofficial conventions|Iacon One]]
*[[BotCon 2010]]

==Budianskyisms==
Though not as prominent or well-remembered as the so-called "[[Furmanism]]s" that successor writer Simon Furman would popularize, Bob Budiansky also had a few turns of phrase that he repeatedly fell back on:

[[File:Thetorquerifle.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Enjoy a nice serving of Brown Betty, with DEATH!! But mostly, eat death.]]
* "Have some (X), courtesy of my (Y)!"

:where
:"X" = some form of damage, dismemberment or death
:"Y" = the special weapon of the character in question

:Examples:
: "Have some metal-eating slime, courtesy of my [[Corrosive slime-shooter|slime gun]], Autobots!"—Blot {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}
: "Have a mechanical malfunction, courtesy of my [[concussion weapon|concussion cannon]]!"—[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}}
: "Just a case of bad balance, courtesy of my [[electro-scrambler]]."—Blaster {{storylink|The Bridge to Nowhere!}}
: "Energy feedback, courtesy of my electro-scrambler, tinhead."—Blaster {{storylink|Totaled!|Totaled!}}
: "You're going on a one-way trip, [[Monzo]], courtesy of my [[anti-gravity gun]]!"—Skullcruncher {{storylink|Love and Steel!}}

* "I hope you (A) as well as you (B)!"

:where
:"A" = perform some action, typically shooting
:"B" = boast, brag, or some other meaningless non-action

:Examples:
: "You ''boast'' better than you ''shoot'', [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]]!"—[[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]] {{storylink|People Power!}}
: "Grrr—I hope you ''shoot'' straighter than you ''think'', Weirdwolf!"—Skullcruncher {{storylink|Trial by Fire!}}
: "Only if you ''aim'' as well as you ''brag'', Brawl!"—First Aid {{storylink|Used Autobots}}

* "This wasn't in (Z)!"

:where
:"Z" = amusingly bureaucratic item with no bearing on the situation at hand.

:Examples:
:"This...this wasn't in my job description!"—anonymous railway worker {{storylink|Child's Play (issue)|Child's Play}}
:"This wasn't on the trail guide!"—anonymous skier {{storylink|The Man in the Machine!}}
:"None of this was in the rehearsal!"—Sky Lynx {{storylink|The Cosmic Carnival}}

==Notes==

* As Bob's quotes above show, for a while in organised fandom he was [[the Fallen]] of the writing world, his stories dismissed or ripped into as being juvenile and silly. His reputation in fandom has gone up since the start of the 21st century, something he attributes to doing interviews.

* Bob's stories almost always have a human guest star involved and the Transformers getting involved in human affairs and finding them odd. He's stated this was because he thought the most interesting part was seeing these two vastly different races and worlds colliding with each other - or, more bluntly, "The Transformers were on Earth!".<ref>[http://www.oneshallstand.com/articles/bob_budiansky.html Budiansky interview archived at One Shall Stand]</ref>

* He's a fan of the first [[Transformers (film)|Bay movie]] and thinks that the Transformer/human interaction is similar to his own stories.<ref name="Interview at Rusting Carcass"/>

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/play/details.cfm?R=3D17280F-19B9-F369-1080-6B4D52898CFD:en_US Hall of Fame video]
*[http://www.oneshallstand.com/reviews/articles/bob_budiansky.html First known interview with Bob Budiansky]
*[http://www.asmzine.com/geekly-rewind/2010/07/02/from-the-asm-archives-a-little-qa-with-bob-budiansky/ A Little Q&A with Bob Budiansky]
*[http://www.bwtf.com/interviews/bb204/ Bob Budiansky Interview at BWTF.com]
*[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/32bc08f5d9b4678b? Transcript of Budiansky/Furman panel from OTFCC 2004]
*[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/80a6fffaad63aa8d? Transcript of Budiansky/Figueroa panel from Iacon One]
*[http://ohdannyboy.blogspot.com/2007/09/looking-back-with-bob-budiansky.html Looking Back with Bob Budiansky]
*[http://www.metalmachine.net/blog/2009/11/21/todds-take-with-bob-budiansky-the-architect-of-the-transformers/ Metal Machine interview with Bob]
* [http://traffic.libsyn.com/moonbase2/BobBinterview.mp3 Bob Budiansky interview at Moonbase 2]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budiansky, Bob}}
[[Category:Convention guests]]
[[Category:Editors]]
[[Category:IDW Publishing]]
[[Category:Illustrators]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame creators]]
[[Category:Writers]]

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Bob Budiansky