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[[Image:James Roberts.jpg|right|150px|thumb|A proud smile, a sad smile.]]
{{disambig3|James}}
'''James Roberts''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] writer and Transformers fan. He was one of the early members of fan club Transmasters UK (TMUK), and wrote a number of text stories and strips. The most famous of these is the ''absolutely'' massive ''Eugenesis'', an unofficial novel he first published back in 2001.


His first pro-work was helping fellow TMUKer [[Nick Roche]] with [[All Hail Megatron issue 15|''All Hail Megatron'' #15]], acting as a "sounding board" for Nick's script. While he didn't write any of the script, Nick made sure to include him in the credits.<ref>[http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=601856 Moonbase 2 interview], 29:15 to 31:00</ref>  
[[Image:James Roberts.jpg|right|300px|thumb|A proud smile, a sad smile.]]
'''James Roberts''' (born [[November 15]], [[1976]])<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Best tweet ever. “@rollerOrbital: @jroberts332 It's your birthday? HAPPY BIRTHDAY! i didn't get you anything because trailcutter is dead”|link=https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/533729176067801088|name=jroberts332|site=Twitter|year=2014|month=11|day=15|(defunct=)}}</ref> is a [[United Kingdom|British]] writer and Transformers fan. He was one of the early members of fan club [[Transmasters UK|Transmasters UK (TMUK)]], and wrote a number of text stories and strips. The most famous of these is the ''absolutely'' massive ''Eugenesis'', an unofficial novel he first published back in 2001.


After that, Roberts was brought in to co-write ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', in order to lessen the stress and workload for Roche. While the first issue was all pre-planned by Roche, from issue two onwards it became a collaborative effort. <ref>[http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=601856 Moonbase 2 interview], 39:40 to 31:00</ref> He went on to write the text story ''[[Bullets]]'' for the ''Wreckers'' trade and then became a co-writer on the [[The Transformers (IDW)|ongoing]] for the ''Chaos'' story. Following that, he co-wrote "[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime]]" and became the sole writer on the new ongoing, ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]''.
His first shot at pro-work was pitching ''Spotlight: Octane'' with fellow TMUKer [[Nick Roche]] in 2007, where he wrote an extensive outline (some of which has shown up in his later comics). It wasn't picked up and Roberts forgot all about it until reminded in 2016.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=In 2007, @jroberts332 and I attempted to pitch Spotlight: Octane. Here's the cover and character design. https://t.co/5fS4W2grfz|link=https://twitter.com/NickRoche/status/737318150660886529|name=NickRoche|site=Twitter|year=2016|month=5|day=30|(defunct=)}}</ref><ref>{{citesocial|quote=*head explodes* I'd completely forgotten about this! Oh my god! https://t.co/fhoMT9uNai|link=https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/737321575976947712|name=jroberts332|site=Twitter|year=2016|month=5|day=30|(defunct=)}}</ref><ref>{{citesocial|quote=Not a script, but James wrote a very extensive outline which he then hacked down. Some of it has shown up in MTMTE. https://t.co/7sjztgmVv5|link=https://twitter.com/NickRoche/status/737321240428486656|name=NickRoche|site=Twitter|year=2016|month=5|day=30|(defunct=)}}</ref> His first successful bit of work was helping out on [[All Hail Megatron issue 15|''All Hail Megatron'' #15]], acting as a "sounding board" for Nick's script. While he didn't write any of the script, Nick made sure to include him in the credits.<ref>[http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/interview-with-james-roberts- Moonbase 2 interview], 29:15 to 31:00</ref>
 
After that, Roberts was brought in to co-write ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'', in order to lessen the stress and workload for Roche. While the first issue was all pre-planned by Roche, from issue two onwards it became a collaborative effort.<ref>[http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/interview-with-james-roberts- Moonbase 2 interview], 39:40 to 31:00</ref> He went on to write the text story "[[Bullets]]" for the ''Wreckers'' trade. On the back of that, [[Andy Schmidt]] offered Roberts a role as "showrunner" on digital-only 5-page stories called ''War Stories''; most would be written by Roberts but guest writers like [[Simon Furman]] would drop in. This was derailed by, as Roberts remembered in an interview, plans for a digital ''[[Transformers Prime]]'' story that itself went unmade (unless in interviews he's confusing that with ''[[The Transformers: Autocracy]]''). After that, he pitched a one-off Megatron origin story that would become "[[Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory]]", which saw him brought into a multi-writer "brain trust" modelled on the contemporary writers' room for [[Spider-Man]] after "Brand New Day", co-writing "[[Chaos (IDW)|Chaos]]" with [[Mike Costa]] and then being on the ground floor of the Phase Two soft reboot, co-writing ''[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime]]'' and became the sole writer on the new ongoing, ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]''.<ref>[https://www.mixcloud.com/GuernseyGeekOnPodcast/guernsey-geekon-james-roberts-interview-in-full/ Guernsey GeekOut interview, 1:12:30 to 1:15:10]</ref>
 
One of his noted habits is massive world-building and drip-feeding character details & backstory throughout a run. He's cheerfully admitted he likes building up a character history in non-sequential order "so [[you]] fill in the blanks".<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay"], 09:11 - 09:24</ref> His characters are prone to language- and literature-related digressions and witticisms, and sometimes self-aware to the point of straining the fourth wall. Due to all his long term plots, he obsesses a ''lot'' over every script and they all start as longhand before being refined ("I have a tower of notebooks full of my barely legible handwriting").<ref>[https://boroughcon.com/2017/04/revealing-greatness-with-james-roberts/ Interview with Boroughcon]</ref>
 
{{quote|Always start off low, always start off with real people, y'know, because most of us ''are'' ordinary people.|James Roberts,<ref>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay", 1:10:22 - 1:10:30]</ref>}}
 
{{quote|Let’s just say that my interest in politics stems from time spent working closely with politicians.|Roberts on his job before becoming a full-time writer.<ref>[http://boards.idwpublishing.com/3/viewtopic.php?p=309699#p309699 IDW Forum Q&A: "Assuming that writing is now your full-time job, what did you do for a living before?"]</ref>}}


==Writing==
==Writing==
* ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'' [[All Hail Megatron issue 15|#15]] (first story, assisting Nick Roche)
* ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'' (co-written with Nick Roche)
* ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'' (co-written with Nick Roche)
* ''[[Bullets]]''
** "[[Dead Men's Boots]]"
** "[[Bullets]]"
** "[[Zero Point]]"
* ''[[The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers]]'' [[Chaos Theory Part 1|#22]], [[Chaos Theory Part 2|#23]], [[Chaos Part One: Lamentations|#24]], [[Chaos Part Two: Numbers|#26]], [[Chaos Part Three: Kings|#28]], [[Chaos Part Four: Genesis|#30]], (co-plotter on #24, #26, #28, and #30 with [[Mike Costa]])
* ''[[The Transformers (IDW)|The Transformers]]'' [[Chaos Theory Part 1|#22]], [[Chaos Theory Part 2|#23]], [[Chaos Part One: Lamentations|#24]], [[Chaos Part Two: Numbers|#26]], [[Chaos Part Three: Kings|#28]], [[Chaos Part Four: Genesis|#30]], (co-plotter on #24, #26, #28, and #30 with [[Mike Costa]])
* ''[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime]]'' (co-written with [[John Barber]])
* ''[[Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime]]'' (co-written with [[John Barber]])
* ''[[The Transformers Classics UK]]'' (essay writer)
* ''[[The Transformers Classics UK]]'' (essay writer)
* ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]''
* ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]''
* ''[[The Transformers: Spotlight|The Transformers Spotlight]]: [[Omega's Conundrum|Orion Pax]]''
* ''The Transformers Spotlight: [[The Reluctant Specialist|Trailcutter]]''
* ''The Transformers Spotlight: [[The Waiting Game|Hoist]]''
*"[[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|Dark Cybertron]]" (with John Barber)
*"[[Silent Light]]", from [[The Transformers Holiday Special]]
*"[[The Last Autobot]]" (with [[Mairghread Scott]] and John Barber)
* ''[[The Transformers: Lost Light]]''


==Fiction==
==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 comics===
===2005 IDW continuity===
James Roberts was the author of a book [[Jimmy]] owned, whose name began with an ''E''. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}}
James Roberts was the author of a book [[Jimmy (G1)|Jimmy]] owned, whose title began with an ''E''. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}}
 
===''Legends'' comic===
A resident of the [[Legends World]], James Roberts was saved from a [[Zamojin (species)|Zamojin]] invasion by [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] and [[Thunder Clash]] toys that revealed themselves to be real Transformers. {{storylink|Targetmaster Chapter Finale: Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two|Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two}} When his world was destroyed, Roberts was evacuated to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] of the [[G1 World]]. {{storylink|The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 2}}
 
==Convention appearances==
* [[BotCon 2014]]


==Notes==
==Notes==
*He first got into Transformers in 1986, in time for the [[Triple Changer]]s, and hunted down older toys and Ladybird Books at second-hand shops and fetes; key memories also include visiting the local shop and poring over their Hasbro retailer catalogue for new toys, with his mind being ''blown'' by Mega and Ultra Pretenders ("they're inside and oh my god that one transforms!"). The earliest toy he bought himself was [[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]]. He's even said the [[Action Master]]s were "cool", explaining he felt those toys showed Hasbro's faith in the characters selling toys and not the transformation gimmick itself.<ref>[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ Moonbase2's second interview with James Roberts - 49:50 to 59:30]</ref>
*The [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|Marvel UK ''Transformers'' comic]] printed [[Letters page (Marvel UK)|letters]] from a young James Roberts on four separate occasions.<ref>[[Source:Dread Tidings#Issue 288|Dread Tidings issue 288]] and [[Source:Dread Tidings#Issue 295|295]]; [[Source:Darn 'n' Blast#Issue 310|Darn 'n' Blast issue 310]] and [[Source:Darn 'n' Blast#Issue 316|316]]</ref>
*He was nominated for Favourite Writer in the 2014 True Believers Awards.<ref>[http://www.truebelieverscomicawards.com/nominees.html True Believers Comic Awards nominees]</ref>
*The number 113 [[113 (disambiguation)|constantly shows up]] in Roberts' ''Transformers'' work in homage to ''The Transformers'' UK [[Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!|issue #113]], the first issue he bought for himself after getting pulled in from reading a friend's copy of [[Prey!|issue #97]].
[[Image:Eugenesis easteregg.jpg|thumb|right|200px|James Roberts: ''E(aster Egg)!'']]
[[Image:Eugenesis easteregg.jpg|thumb|right|200px|James Roberts: ''E(aster Egg)!'']]
* Roche snuck ''Eugenesis'' into a bookshelf in [[Maximum Dinobots issue 3|''Maximum Dinobots'' #3]].
* Roche snuck ''Eugenesis'' into a bookshelf in [[Maximum Dinobots issue 3|''Maximum Dinobots'' #3]].
* The original ''Eugenesis'' cover looked like a Penguin Classics book (even sporting the tagline "[[Polyhex]] 21st Century Classics"). Roberts has said this was him poking fun at his own "lofty" aspirations. [http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_roberts.php]
* The original ''Eugenesis'' cover looked like a Penguin Classics book (even sporting the tagline "[[Polyhex]] 21st Century Classics"). Roberts has said this was him poking fun at his own "lofty" aspirations.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111114130534/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_roberts.php Interview with Roberts at TransFans.co.uk]</ref>
* Shockwave's death in ''[[The Legacy of Unicron!]]'' has haunted Roberts since childhood... <ref>[http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=601856 Moonbase 2 interview], 50:26 to 51:08</ref>
* Shockwave's death in ''[[The Legacy of Unicron!]]'' has haunted Roberts since childhood...<ref>[http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/interview-with-james-roberts- Moonbase 2 interview], 50:26 to 51:08</ref>
* [[Mike Costa]] has joked that because of James's popularity among the nerdier fans, he thought that even if people didn't like ''Chaos'', "they'd have to pretend they did because James' name was on it!"<ref>[http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/webpage/the-underbase-reviews-ongoing-31 The Underbase podcast interview with Mike Costa ("Special Guest")]</ref> Sour grapes?
* [[Mike Costa]] has joked that because of James's popularity among the nerdier fans, he thought that even if people didn't like ''Chaos'', "they'd have to pretend they did because James' name was on it!"<ref>[http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/webpage/the-underbase-reviews-ongoing-31 The Underbase podcast interview with Mike Costa ("Special Guest")]</ref>
* In ''Eugenesis'', Roberts listed some of his creative influences (circa 2001): [[Simon Furman]], {{w|Martin Amis}}, {{w|Chris Carter}}, {{w|Graham Greene}}, {{w|Neil Hannon}}, {{w|Vladimir Nabokov}} and {{w|Morrissey}}, "who I doubt have ever been acknowledged in the same sentence". He's since brought up his admiration for {{w|Russell T Davies}}' TV work (including his run on ''[[Doctor Who]]''); {{w|Peter David}}, {{w|Grant Morrison}}'s ''{{w|Zenith (comics)|Zenith}}'', and ''{{w|Justice League International}}'' in comics; and {{w|Don DeLillo}}, {{w|Philip Roth}}, and {{w|John Updike}}'s "Rabbit" books in literature. Science fiction prose isn't his thing though, instead gravitating to literary fiction.<ref>[http://www.fullmetalhero.com/t14540/ Moonbase2's second interview with James Roberts - 01:20:00 to 1:22:15]</ref>
* Roberts admitted to being "a control freak when it comes to my scripts", and that they are often 50 pages long with precise panel-by-panel descriptions. However, he concedes artists like [[Alex Milne]] have "a far, far superior grasp of visual storytelling than I do", and "unless the way a particular shot is framed is integral to the plot", they can feel free to deviate.<ref>[http://boards.idwpublishing.com/3/viewtopic.php?p=309177&sid=47e759963d0b07cbf1c5e7dc2f5a8c4f#p309177 Answer to a post on an IDW Forum Q&A.]</ref> Nick Roche strongly implied in 2015 that these masses of detailed panels are why they hadn't worked together for a while,<ref>{{citesocial|quote=@MMortAH Well, we haven't worked together in three years... make of THAT what you will... :)|link=https://twitter.com/NickRoche/status/665246818389856256|name=NickRoche|site=Twitter|year=2015|month=11|day=13|(defunct=)}}</ref> though they are still friends, you paranoid person.
* His biceps are huge.
* Roberts collected many of the more interesting tidbits from his early notes for ''More Than Meets the Eye'' into four volumes of ''The MTMTE Notebooks'', which he sold at conventions and online.
 
==External links==
* [https://twitter.com/jroberts332 James Roberts' Twitter feed]
* [https://jrtweetsindex.tumblr.com/ Indexed archive of Roberts' Twitter answers from 2012-2018]
 
===Interviews===
*February 2007—[https://web.archive.org/web/20090916001317/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_roberts.php TransFans]
*December 2009—[http://web.archive.org/web/20091228083352/http://www.oneshallstand.com/articles/wreckers.html One Shall Stand] (with [[Nick Roche]])
*April 2010—[https://moonbase2.libsyn.com/interview-with-james-roberts- Moonbase 2]
*August 2010—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9DPbginVXE Auto Assembly] (with Nick Roche)
*July 2011—[https://moonbase2.libsyn.com/the-underbase-talks-sdcc-with-andrew-griffith-and-james-roberts- The Underbase] (with [[Andrew Griffith]])
*August 2011—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1eqng2 Auto Assembly] (with [[Simon Furman]], [[Andrew Wildman]], and [[Nick Roche]])
*August 2011—[https://moonbase2.libsyn.com/the-underbase-aa2011-interviews-james-roberts The Underbase]
*August 2011—[https://moonbase2.libsyn.com/the-underbase-aa2011-interviews-nick-roche-and-james-roberts The Underbase] (with Nick Roche)
*February 2012—[https://www.mandatory.com/fun/182693-james-roberts-and-the-transformers-renaissance CraveOnline]
*May 2012—[https://www.cbr.com/barber-and-roberts-build-transformers-civilization/ CBR] (with [[John Barber]])
*June 2012—[https://news.tfw2005.com/2012/07/24/tfw2005-interviews-james-roberts-175563 TFW2005]
*August 2012—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1k0jz6 Auto Assembly] (with [[Nick Roche]] and [[Livio Ramondelli]])
*August 2012—[https://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-interviews-james-roberts-at-aa2012 The Underbase]
*2012—[https://transformers2015.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/old-interview-with-james-roberts/ transformers2015]
*December 2012—[https://www.facebook.com/notes/363455448043789/ Facebook]
*January 2013—[http://www.multiversitycomics.com/interviews/transformers-one-year-later-with-writers-john-barber-and-james-roberts-interview/ Multiversity Comics] (with John Barber)
*April 2013—[https://www.cbr.com/theres-more-than-meets-the-eye-in-roberts-transformers/ CBR]
*May 2013—[https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.472332696170263.1073741834.146805978722938 Facebook]
*July 2013—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGaOktzahSg TFCon] (incomplete)
*August 2013—[http://web.archive.org/web/20130825223633/http://www.fullmetalhero.com/content/fmhsquared-special-episode-1-interview-james-roberts-7442/ Full Metal Hero] (defunct)
*August 2013—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1lpoc5 Auto Assembly] (with [[Nick Roche]])
*August 2013—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1nkosy Auto Assembly] ([https://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-presents-aa2013-overlord-deconstructed alternate recording]) (with [[Nick Roche]] and [[Chris McFeely]])
*August 2013—[https://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay The Underbase] (with [[Alex Milne]])
*September 2013—[https://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-presents-aa2013-idw-comic-panel Auto Assembly] (with Alex Milne, Nick Roche, and Andrew Griffith)
*October 2013—[http://web.archive.org/web/20131005060537/http://www.newsarama.com/19117-transformers-dark-cybertron-architects-unlike-any-event-to-hit-franchise.html Newsarama] (with John Barber)
*October 2013—[https://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-interview-of-more-than-meets-the-eye-season-one The Underbase]
*November 2013—[https://moonbase2.libsyn.com/episode-268-interview-with-james-roberts Moonbase 2]
*February 2014—[http://www.iaconunderground.net/2014/02/10/one-foot-in-the-dead-universe-iu-talks-to-john-barber-and-james-roberts/ Iacon Underground] (with John Barber)
*February 2014—[http://web.archive.org/web/20140302221213/https://bleedingcool.com/2014/02/16/transformers-james-roberts-in-disguise/ Bleeding Cool]
*April 2014—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPQ_4P-Uuxs IDW] (with [[John Barber]], and [[Mairghread Scott]])
*April 2014—[https://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-interview-of-season-two The Underbase]
*June 2014—Sequart ([http://sequart.org/magazine/46997/transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-interview-with-james-roberts/ Part 1], [http://sequart.org/magazine/48110/a-conversation-with-transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye-james-roberts-part-two/ Part 2])
*June 2014—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHLoH6ozTGM BotCon] (with [[John Barber]], [[Mairghread Scott]], [[Andrew Griffith]], [[Saren Stone]], and [[Livio Ramondelli]])
*June 2014—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2d172s BotCon] ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MyIoSXX0cs alternate recording])
*June 2014—[https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2014/06/transmissions-live-from-botcon-special-chat-with-the-idw-comics-writers Transmissions / The Underbase] (with John Barber and [[Mairghread Scott]])
*August 2014—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24gm8a Auto Assembly] (with [[Jim Sorenson]], [[Nick Roche]], [[John-Paul Bove]], and [[Casey Coller]])
*August 2014—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24qpek Auto Assembly] (with [[Alex Milne]] and [[Joana Lafuente]])
*October 2014—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akFOnU4T9OM TFCon] (incomplete)
*October 2014—[https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2014/10/transmissions-episode-75-james-roberts-interview-from-tfcon-usa TransMissions] ([https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2015/02/james-roberts-interview-transcript-from-transmissions-episode-75 transcript])
*February 2015—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TvfUAkqqDY Women Write About Comics]
*March 2015—[https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2015/03/transmissions-episode-94-james-roberts-mtmte-elegant-chaos-interview TransMissions] ([https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2015/04/james-roberts-elegant-chaos-interview-transcript-from-transmissions-episode-94 transcript])
*March 2015—[https://thesolarpool.weebly.com/addendum-11.html The Solar Pool]
*March 2015—[https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/twincast-podcast-episode-113-signal-to-noise-includes-interview-with-james-roberts/32531/ Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast]
*April 2015—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqk26mHhaLc Fanboy vs Transformers]
*July 2015—[https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2015/07/transmissions-episode-113-tfcon-toronto-james-roberts-interview TransMissions] ([https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2015/07/james-roberts-tfcon-toronto-2015-interview-transcript-from-transmissions-episode-113 transcript])
*July 2015—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZF8cA55_M TFCon] (incomplete)
*September 2015—[https://www.pajiba.com/science_fiction/an-interview-with-transformers-writer-james-roberts.php Pajiba]
*September 2015—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsoRpO0lyyY&t=1853s GamesRadar]
*October 2015—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pVvISkgzDQ Vangelus]
*January 2016—[https://www.mtrnetwork.net/transformers-meets-eye-james-roberts-interview/ Movie Trailer Reviews]
*March 2016—[https://io9.gizmodo.com/megatron-faces-the-sins-of-his-past-in-transformers-mo-1763557332 Gizmodo]
*March 2016—[https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2016/03/transmissions-episode-159-barber-roberts-on-writing-idw-transformers TransMissions] (with John Barber)
*April 2016—[http://web.archive.org/web/20160424042138/http://www.orbitalcomics.com/orbital-directors-commentary-james-roberts-on-transformers-mtmte-50-audio/ Orbital Comics] (archived)
*April 2016—[https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/james-roberts-interview-with-tmw-magazine/35144/ Toy Meets World]
*July 2016—[https://comicsalliance.com/john-barber-james-roberts-mairghread-scott-transformers-sdcc-2016/ Comics Alliance] (with John Barber and Mairghread Scott)
*August 2016—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4w1jme TFNation] (with [[Simon Furman]] and [[Geoff Senior]])
*August 2016—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4ww9bo TFNation] (with [[Alex Milne]])
*August 2016—[https://www.denofgeek.com/comics/idws-transformers-comics-writers-on-their-ongoing-g1-epic/ Den of Geek] (with John Barber)
*August 2016—[https://podcastmaximus.podbean.com/e/podcast-maximus-episode-18-james-roberts-interview/ Podcast Maximus]
*October 2016—[https://moonbase2.libsyn.com/moonbase-2-interview-james-roberts-2016 Moonbase 2]
*November 2016—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-l4p7ZYVew Movie Trailer Reviews]
*December 2016—[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/02/transformers-lost-light-comic-same-sex-partnerships The Guardian]
*December 2016—[https://forcesofgeek.com/2016/12/fog-chats-with-transformers-lost-light-writer-james-roberts.html Forces of Geek]
*April 2017—[http://web.archive.org/web/20180826040900/https://boroughcon.com/2017/04/revealing-greatness-with-james-roberts/ BoroughCon]
*July 2017—[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/transformers-comics-idw-1.4203312 CBC News] (with John Barber and Mairghread Scott)
*August 2017—[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6fi5mu TFNation] (with [[Jack Lawrence]])
*August 2017—[https://podcastmaximus.podbean.com/e/podcast-maximus-episode-24-james-roberts-interview/ Podcast Maximus]
*August 2017—[https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2017-08-16/an-interview-with-guernseys-top-comic-book-writer ITV]
*September 2017—TFCon ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6I9DBC_mJI Part 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5HLxkV5gps Part 2]) (with [[Alex Milne]])
*September 2017—[https://full-autopsy.tumblr.com/post/165936704642/qa-with-james-roberts-tfcon-dc-2017 TFCon Q&A] (incomplete notes)
*October 2017—[https://www.transmissionspodcast.com/2017/10/special-episode-2-tfcon-dc-2017 TransMissions] (with [[Casey Coller]], Andrew Griffith, and [[Josh Burcham]])
*June 2018—[https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview-james-roberts-gears-up-for-his-100-issue-spanning-universe-ending-transformers-lost-light-finale/ The Beat]
*July 2018—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IPFJ8HZzBo RetCon] (with Nick Roche)
*November 2018—Instagram Q&A ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgIwc6IMu0s&ab_channel=KB incomplete recording], [https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/james-roberts-ama-mtmte-ll-questions-answered-transcript.1164603/ incomplete transcript])
*January 2019—[https://transformers.news.blog/2019/01/16/we-talk-to-james-roberts/ Real Transformers News]
*March 2019—[https://www.mixcloud.com/GuernseyGeekOnPodcast/guernsey-geekon-james-roberts-interview-in-full/ Guernsey Geek On]
*August 2019—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q70NHIyJjM4 TFNation] (with [[Nick Roche]] and [[Jack Lawrence]])
*July 2021—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8_CzxhHrb4 Ia-Con] (with [[Mae Catt]], [[Jack Lawrence]], and [[Thomas Deer]])
*July 2022—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZhJpnRmrr8 AARGH! MY OPTICS!]
*August 2022—[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FpdWAyptjfXB4_o3Vzi1ln05VpW9NeBg/view?usp=sharing TFNation] (with [[Simon Furman]], [[Nick Roche]], [[Jack Lawrence]], and [[Brian Ruckley]])
*March 2025—[https://www.tripletakeover.com/e/100-idws-transformers-last-stand-of-the-wreckers-featuring-james-roberts-nick-roche/ Triple Takeover] (with [[Nick Roche]])


==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>


==External links==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, James}}
* [http://www.oneshallstand.com/articles/wreckers.html One Shall Stand.com interview on the Wreckers]
[[Category:IDW (2005) humans]]
* [http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_roberts.php TransFans interview with James Roberts]
[[Category:IDW Publishing]]
* [http://moonbase2.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=601856 Moonbase 2 interview with James Roberts]
[[Category:Legends World humans]]
 
{{DEFAULTSORT: Roberts, James}}
[[Category:Generation 1 humans]]
[[Category:Real people]]
[[Category:Real people]]
[[Category:IDW Publishing]]
[[Category:Writers]]
[[Category:Writers]]

Latest revision as of 15:03, 11 August 2025

The name or term "James" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see James (disambiguation).
A proud smile, a sad smile.

James Roberts (born November 15, 1976)[1] is a British writer and Transformers fan. He was one of the early members of fan club Transmasters UK (TMUK), and wrote a number of text stories and strips. The most famous of these is the absolutely massive Eugenesis, an unofficial novel he first published back in 2001.

His first shot at pro-work was pitching Spotlight: Octane with fellow TMUKer Nick Roche in 2007, where he wrote an extensive outline (some of which has shown up in his later comics). It wasn't picked up and Roberts forgot all about it until reminded in 2016.[2][3][4] His first successful bit of work was helping out on All Hail Megatron #15, acting as a "sounding board" for Nick's script. While he didn't write any of the script, Nick made sure to include him in the credits.[5]

After that, Roberts was brought in to co-write Last Stand of the Wreckers, in order to lessen the stress and workload for Roche. While the first issue was all pre-planned by Roche, from issue two onwards it became a collaborative effort.[6] He went on to write the text story "Bullets" for the Wreckers trade. On the back of that, Andy Schmidt offered Roberts a role as "showrunner" on digital-only 5-page stories called War Stories; most would be written by Roberts but guest writers like Simon Furman would drop in. This was derailed by, as Roberts remembered in an interview, plans for a digital Transformers Prime story that itself went unmade (unless in interviews he's confusing that with The Transformers: Autocracy). After that, he pitched a one-off Megatron origin story that would become "Chaos Theory", which saw him brought into a multi-writer "brain trust" modelled on the contemporary writers' room for Spider-Man after "Brand New Day", co-writing "Chaos" with Mike Costa and then being on the ground floor of the Phase Two soft reboot, co-writing The Death of Optimus Prime and became the sole writer on the new ongoing, More than Meets the Eye.[7]

One of his noted habits is massive world-building and drip-feeding character details & backstory throughout a run. He's cheerfully admitted he likes building up a character history in non-sequential order "so you fill in the blanks".[8] His characters are prone to language- and literature-related digressions and witticisms, and sometimes self-aware to the point of straining the fourth wall. Due to all his long term plots, he obsesses a lot over every script and they all start as longhand before being refined ("I have a tower of notebooks full of my barely legible handwriting").[9]

Always start off low, always start off with real people, y'know, because most of us are ordinary people.James Roberts,[10]
Let’s just say that my interest in politics stems from time spent working closely with politicians.Roberts on his job before becoming a full-time writer.[11]

Writing

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Fiction

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2005 IDW continuity

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James Roberts was the author of a book Jimmy owned, whose title began with an E. Maximum Dinobots #3

Legends comic

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A resident of the Legends World, James Roberts was saved from a Zamojin invasion by Skyquake and Thunder Clash toys that revealed themselves to be real Transformers. Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two When his world was destroyed, Roberts was evacuated to Cybertron of the G1 World. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 2

Convention appearances

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Notes

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  • He first got into Transformers in 1986, in time for the Triple Changers, and hunted down older toys and Ladybird Books at second-hand shops and fetes; key memories also include visiting the local shop and poring over their Hasbro retailer catalogue for new toys, with his mind being blown by Mega and Ultra Pretenders ("they're inside and oh my god that one transforms!"). The earliest toy he bought himself was Snapdragon. He's even said the Action Masters were "cool", explaining he felt those toys showed Hasbro's faith in the characters selling toys and not the transformation gimmick itself.[12]
  • The Marvel UK Transformers comic printed letters from a young James Roberts on four separate occasions.[13]
  • He was nominated for Favourite Writer in the 2014 True Believers Awards.[14]
  • The number 113 constantly shows up in Roberts' Transformers work in homage to The Transformers UK issue #113, the first issue he bought for himself after getting pulled in from reading a friend's copy of issue #97.
James Roberts: E(aster Egg)!
  • Roche snuck Eugenesis into a bookshelf in Maximum Dinobots #3.
  • The original Eugenesis cover looked like a Penguin Classics book (even sporting the tagline "Polyhex 21st Century Classics"). Roberts has said this was him poking fun at his own "lofty" aspirations.[15]
  • Shockwave's death in The Legacy of Unicron! has haunted Roberts since childhood...[16]
  • Mike Costa has joked that because of James's popularity among the nerdier fans, he thought that even if people didn't like Chaos, "they'd have to pretend they did because James' name was on it!"[17]
  • In Eugenesis, Roberts listed some of his creative influences (circa 2001): Simon Furman, Martin Amis, Chris Carter, Graham Greene, Neil Hannon, Vladimir Nabokov and Morrissey, "who I doubt have ever been acknowledged in the same sentence". He's since brought up his admiration for Russell T Davies' TV work (including his run on Doctor Who); Peter David, Grant Morrison's Zenith, and Justice League International in comics; and Don DeLillo, Philip Roth, and John Updike's "Rabbit" books in literature. Science fiction prose isn't his thing though, instead gravitating to literary fiction.[18]
  • Roberts admitted to being "a control freak when it comes to my scripts", and that they are often 50 pages long with precise panel-by-panel descriptions. However, he concedes artists like Alex Milne have "a far, far superior grasp of visual storytelling than I do", and "unless the way a particular shot is framed is integral to the plot", they can feel free to deviate.[19] Nick Roche strongly implied in 2015 that these masses of detailed panels are why they hadn't worked together for a while,[20] though they are still friends, you paranoid person.
  • His biceps are huge.
  • Roberts collected many of the more interesting tidbits from his early notes for More Than Meets the Eye into four volumes of The MTMTE Notebooks, which he sold at conventions and online.
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Interviews

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References

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  1. ↑ "Best tweet ever. “@rollerOrbital: @jroberts332 It's your birthday? HAPPY BIRTHDAY! i didn't get you anything because trailcutter is dead”"—jroberts332, Twitter, 2014/11/15
  2. ↑ "In 2007, @jroberts332 and I attempted to pitch Spotlight: Octane. Here's the cover and character design. https://t.co/5fS4W2grfz"—NickRoche, Twitter, 2016/5/30
  3. ↑ "*head explodes* I'd completely forgotten about this! Oh my god! https://t.co/fhoMT9uNai"—jroberts332, Twitter, 2016/5/30
  4. ↑ "Not a script, but James wrote a very extensive outline which he then hacked down. Some of it has shown up in MTMTE. https://t.co/7sjztgmVv5"—NickRoche, Twitter, 2016/5/30
  5. ↑ Moonbase 2 interview, 29:15 to 31:00
  6. ↑ Moonbase 2 interview, 39:40 to 31:00
  7. ↑ Guernsey GeekOut interview, 1:12:30 to 1:15:10
  8. ↑ "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay", 09:11 - 09:24
  9. ↑ Interview with Boroughcon
  10. ↑ "The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay", 1:10:22 - 1:10:30
  11. ↑ IDW Forum Q&A: "Assuming that writing is now your full-time job, what did you do for a living before?"
  12. ↑ Moonbase2's second interview with James Roberts - 49:50 to 59:30
  13. ↑ Dread Tidings issue 288 and 295; Darn 'n' Blast issue 310 and 316
  14. ↑ True Believers Comic Awards nominees
  15. ↑ Interview with Roberts at TransFans.co.uk
  16. ↑ Moonbase 2 interview, 50:26 to 51:08
  17. ↑ The Underbase podcast interview with Mike Costa ("Special Guest")
  18. ↑ Moonbase2's second interview with James Roberts - 01:20:00 to 1:22:15
  19. ↑ Answer to a post on an IDW Forum Q&A.
  20. ↑ "@MMortAH Well, we haven't worked together in three years... make of THAT what you will... :)"—NickRoche, Twitter, 2015/11/13
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