MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:Ladybird Books

2020-11-24T15:03:36Z

Sparkbag:

Hey. This is my first time making an edit so I'm just leaving this here. I don't see any listing for who the narrator of the audiobooks is, and while I don't know who the regular narrator is, I'm pretty certain the one time narrator of 'Autobots Lightning Strike' is Paul Maxwell. {{unsigned|Sparkbag}}
:Actually, we already note on the page that [[Peter Marinker]] narrated the rest of them, so that part's already sorted. I admit, I'm not familiar with Maxwell's work; do you have a vocal sample we can use to compare just to be certain? -- [[User:Cyberlink420|Cyberlink420]] ([[User talk:Cyberlink420|talk]]) 08:40, 24 November 2020 (EST)
::Should we add the narrators to the pages for the individual books?--[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) 09:03, 24 November 2020 (EST)
Funny enough, this handy dandy youtube vid on his acting history has plenty of clips to drawn upon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6bUUcia2Ig

Ladybird Books

2020-11-24T13:00:08Z

Sparkbag: /* Notes */

{{nav-G1|logo=TheTransformers_Logo.jpg}}

[[File:Autobotslightningstrike.jpg|right|upright=1.67|thumb|Disclaimer: Not affiliated with the [[Lightning Strike Coalition]].]]

'''Ladybird Books''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] publishing company which produced several ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|The Transformers]]'' storybooks and audio cassettes written by [[John Grant]] and released under their "Tell-A-Tale" line from 1985 to 1988. The stories take place in a [[micro-continuity]] all their own.

The books' illustrations, provided by a variety of artists, are strictly based on the toys of the characters, down to the "headless" [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and trigger-crotch Megatron. Although the art is at best inconsistent and at worst wildly off-model, the stories are well-written with exciting plots that delve quite thoroughly into the secrecy of the [[Transformer]]s' conflict on [[Earth]].

Each book has an opening blurb that describes the state of the war at the time of the story. The blurbs are included in the audio readings, the first one by a [[Victor Caroli]]-esque narrator and all subsequent ones by voice actor [[Peter Marinker]], set to a synthesizer [[theme song|theme]] that contains elements of the classic "Transformers! More than meets the eye" leitmotif.

==Books==
===1985===

*[[Autobots' Lightning Strike]]
*[[Megatron's Fight for Power]]
*[[Autobots Fight Back]]
*[[Laserbeak's Fury]]

{{quote|Once, long ago, a race of robot beings called Autobots were forced to wage war against another race of robots called Decepticons to bring peace back to their home planet of Cybertron. As the war went on, chance brought both sides to Earth. They crashed so violently on landing that all the robots lay in the Earth's crust, seemingly without life, for over four million years.

Then, the energy set in motion by a powerful volcanic eruption gives them life once more, and the war starts all over again here on Earth. Among the robots' many strange powers is the ability to transform into other shapes, and they use this to disguise themselves to fit in among the civilisation they find on Earth.

The Autobots have to defend themselves. They must protect this planet, with all its valuable resources and the people who live here, and they must also build a new spaceship if they are ever to get back to Cyberton—THE TRANSFORMERS!}}

The 1985 books specifically draw some themes and concepts from the original cartoon pilot, "[[More than Meets the Eye (mini-series)|More than Meets the Eye]]", such as the continuing repair work being done by the [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s on their ships, Spike keeping a journal, Decepticon catchphrases like "Scramble!" and "Prepare the [[energon cube]]s!", and in a slightly odder turn, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] acting as a hench-thug for [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], presumably borne out of their discussion on treachery in the first episode.

The books were not, however, above doing their own thing. Of particular note is the characterisation of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and Starscream; the former is portrayed as a very aged, wily character, to contrast with the latter’s rendition as a user of clumsy, brute strength. The books also remain one of the few early ''Generation 1'' continuities to consistently employ the principle of "robots in disguise" above most other things; one of the major points of these early books is the Autobots’ desire to carry out their war with a maximum of secrecy, preventing humans from even becoming aware of their existence.

Brief character bios were also provided on the inside front and back covers of the 1985 books, profiling [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], [[Hound (G1)|Hound]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]], [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Gears (G1)|Gears]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]].

===1986===
*[[Galvatron's Air Attack]]
*[[Decepticon Hideout]]

To the 1985 opening blurb, the 1986 appended the following:

{{quote|Leaders come and go. Galvatron travels back from the 21st Century to take over from Megatron, commander of the Decepticons. Then the strange disappearance of Optimus Prime leaves the Autobots without a leader, and Ultra Magnus arrives from Cybertron to take his place as the Autobots' new commander.

And so the fight goes on, both now and far into the future, on different time levels.}}

This, the initiated will realize, is the plot of the [[Marvel UK]] serial "[[Target: 2006]]", used as an explanation for [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] replacing [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Prime]] and Megatron. Additionally, the character profiles were dropped from the inside covers and replaced with a battlefield illustration featuring Galvatron, [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], Jazz, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] and Ultra Magnus.

*[[Transformers the Movie (Ladybird adaptation)|Transformers: the Movie]]

This adaptation (also written by Grant) of the movie storyline was released in 1986, but is not part of the larger continuity.

===1987===
*[[Decepticons at the Pole]]
*[[Autobots Strike Oil]]

{{quote|Once, long ago, a race of robot beings called Autobots were forced to wage war against another race of robots called Decepticons to bring peace back to their home planet of Cybertron. When chance brought both sides to Earth, the war went on.

Over many centuries, leaders have come and gone. Now the fight continues in a far-flung corner of the galaxy, on the planet Nebulos. Both Autobots and Decepticons have formed new alliances, each with a rival group of Nebulans.

The Decepticons are determined to destroy the Autobots and reign supreme. Will they succeed?}}

In 1987, Ladybird moved the war to [[Nebulos]], defying convention by mostly ignoring the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] concept and establishing that in their continuity, [[Nebulan]]s were a race of small robots. Furthering the atypical nature of the setup, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] led the Autobots and Decepticons, and were featured prominently in the new inside-cover illustration.

===1988===
*[[Autobot Hostage]]
*[[Decepticons Underground]]

The 1988 books re-used the opening blurb from 1987 and introduced more appropriate leader-figures in [[Powermaster]] Optimus Prime and [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. Truly the most distinguishing feature of these two books, however, was their use of characters who received very little attention in other fiction, such as [[Quickswitch]] and the [[Targetmaster (technology)|Double Targetmasters]], in starring roles; these characters shared the new inside-cover illustration with Prime and [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]].

==Notes==
*In all of the books featuring Transformers with [[Nebulan]] companions, no mention is ever made of their [[binary bonding]] in the text. In ''[[Autobots Strike Oil]]'', [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] is even said to transform into robot mode and look around while [[Duros]] is absent, so the illustrator tries to cope by just showing Hardhead without a head.
*While the identity of regular narrator of the audiobooks is unknown, [[Autobots' Lightning Strike]] was narrated by Paul Maxwell.
*The Ladybird Books logo, visible on the lower right corner of the cover shown above, is a drawing of a {{w|ladybird}}. What did you think they were called?

==External links==
*{{w|Ladybird Books|Ladybird Books at Wikipedia}}
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20050906032053/http://www.green-ranger.com/stuff/ladybird/ Scans online at green-ranger.com]
*[https://www.camphortree.net/tf/books/#ladybird Scans and recordings online at Steve-O's Transformers Site]

[[Category:Ladybird Books| *]]
[[Category:Audiobooks]]
[[Category:Generation 1 storybooks| Ladybird Books]]

Ladybird Books

2020-11-24T12:59:40Z

Sparkbag: Added voice actor

{{nav-G1|logo=TheTransformers_Logo.jpg}}

[[File:Autobotslightningstrike.jpg|right|upright=1.67|thumb|Disclaimer: Not affiliated with the [[Lightning Strike Coalition]].]]

'''Ladybird Books''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] publishing company which produced several ''[[The Transformers (franchise)|The Transformers]]'' storybooks and audio cassettes written by [[John Grant]] and released under their "Tell-A-Tale" line from 1985 to 1988. The stories take place in a [[micro-continuity]] all their own.

The books' illustrations, provided by a variety of artists, are strictly based on the toys of the characters, down to the "headless" [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and trigger-crotch Megatron. Although the art is at best inconsistent and at worst wildly off-model, the stories are well-written with exciting plots that delve quite thoroughly into the secrecy of the [[Transformer]]s' conflict on [[Earth]].

Each book has an opening blurb that describes the state of the war at the time of the story. The blurbs are included in the audio readings, the first one by a [[Victor Caroli]]-esque narrator and all subsequent ones by voice actor [[Peter Marinker]], set to a synthesizer [[theme song|theme]] that contains elements of the classic "Transformers! More than meets the eye" leitmotif.

==Books==
===1985===

*[[Autobots' Lightning Strike]]
*[[Megatron's Fight for Power]]
*[[Autobots Fight Back]]
*[[Laserbeak's Fury]]

{{quote|Once, long ago, a race of robot beings called Autobots were forced to wage war against another race of robots called Decepticons to bring peace back to their home planet of Cybertron. As the war went on, chance brought both sides to Earth. They crashed so violently on landing that all the robots lay in the Earth's crust, seemingly without life, for over four million years.

Then, the energy set in motion by a powerful volcanic eruption gives them life once more, and the war starts all over again here on Earth. Among the robots' many strange powers is the ability to transform into other shapes, and they use this to disguise themselves to fit in among the civilisation they find on Earth.

The Autobots have to defend themselves. They must protect this planet, with all its valuable resources and the people who live here, and they must also build a new spaceship if they are ever to get back to Cyberton—THE TRANSFORMERS!}}

The 1985 books specifically draw some themes and concepts from the original cartoon pilot, "[[More than Meets the Eye (mini-series)|More than Meets the Eye]]", such as the continuing repair work being done by the [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s on their ships, Spike keeping a journal, Decepticon catchphrases like "Scramble!" and "Prepare the [[energon cube]]s!", and in a slightly odder turn, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] acting as a hench-thug for [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], presumably borne out of their discussion on treachery in the first episode.

The books were not, however, above doing their own thing. Of particular note is the characterisation of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and Starscream; the former is portrayed as a very aged, wily character, to contrast with the latter’s rendition as a user of clumsy, brute strength. The books also remain one of the few early ''Generation 1'' continuities to consistently employ the principle of "robots in disguise" above most other things; one of the major points of these early books is the Autobots’ desire to carry out their war with a maximum of secrecy, preventing humans from even becoming aware of their existence.

Brief character bios were also provided on the inside front and back covers of the 1985 books, profiling [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], [[Hound (G1)|Hound]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]], [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Gears (G1)|Gears]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]].

===1986===
*[[Galvatron's Air Attack]]
*[[Decepticon Hideout]]

To the 1985 opening blurb, the 1986 appended the following:

{{quote|Leaders come and go. Galvatron travels back from the 21st Century to take over from Megatron, commander of the Decepticons. Then the strange disappearance of Optimus Prime leaves the Autobots without a leader, and Ultra Magnus arrives from Cybertron to take his place as the Autobots' new commander.

And so the fight goes on, both now and far into the future, on different time levels.}}

This, the initiated will realize, is the plot of the [[Marvel UK]] serial "[[Target: 2006]]", used as an explanation for [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] replacing [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Prime]] and Megatron. Additionally, the character profiles were dropped from the inside covers and replaced with a battlefield illustration featuring Galvatron, [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], Jazz, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] and Ultra Magnus.

*[[Transformers the Movie (Ladybird adaptation)|Transformers: the Movie]]

This adaptation (also written by Grant) of the movie storyline was released in 1986, but is not part of the larger continuity.

===1987===
*[[Decepticons at the Pole]]
*[[Autobots Strike Oil]]

{{quote|Once, long ago, a race of robot beings called Autobots were forced to wage war against another race of robots called Decepticons to bring peace back to their home planet of Cybertron. When chance brought both sides to Earth, the war went on.

Over many centuries, leaders have come and gone. Now the fight continues in a far-flung corner of the galaxy, on the planet Nebulos. Both Autobots and Decepticons have formed new alliances, each with a rival group of Nebulans.

The Decepticons are determined to destroy the Autobots and reign supreme. Will they succeed?}}

In 1987, Ladybird moved the war to [[Nebulos]], defying convention by mostly ignoring the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] concept and establishing that in their continuity, [[Nebulan]]s were a race of small robots. Furthering the atypical nature of the setup, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] led the Autobots and Decepticons, and were featured prominently in the new inside-cover illustration.

===1988===
*[[Autobot Hostage]]
*[[Decepticons Underground]]

The 1988 books re-used the opening blurb from 1987 and introduced more appropriate leader-figures in [[Powermaster]] Optimus Prime and [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. Truly the most distinguishing feature of these two books, however, was their use of characters who received very little attention in other fiction, such as [[Quickswitch]] and the [[Targetmaster (technology)|Double Targetmasters]], in starring roles; these characters shared the new inside-cover illustration with Prime and [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]].

==Notes==
*In all of the books featuring Transformers with [[Nebulan]] companions, no mention is ever made of their [[binary bonding]] in the text. In ''[[Autobots Strike Oil]]'', [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] is even said to transform into robot mode and look around while [[Duros]] is absent, so the illustrator tries to cope by just showing Hardhead without a head.
*While the identity of regular narrator of the audiobooks is unknown, [[Autobots Lightning Strike]] was narrated by Paul Maxwell.
*The Ladybird Books logo, visible on the lower right corner of the cover shown above, is a drawing of a {{w|ladybird}}. What did you think they were called?

==External links==
*{{w|Ladybird Books|Ladybird Books at Wikipedia}}
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20050906032053/http://www.green-ranger.com/stuff/ladybird/ Scans online at green-ranger.com]
*[https://www.camphortree.net/tf/books/#ladybird Scans and recordings online at Steve-O's Transformers Site]

[[Category:Ladybird Books| *]]
[[Category:Audiobooks]]
[[Category:Generation 1 storybooks| Ladybird Books]]

Talk:Ladybird Books

2020-11-24T12:57:16Z

Sparkbag: Created page with "Hey. This is my first time making an edit so I'm just leaving this here. I don't see any listing for who the narrator of the audiobooks is, and while I don't know who the regu..."