"Cargo Space Optional" ("Transformers")
Autobot Logo (c) Hasbro
I was a huge fan of the "Transformers" when I was a kid. Not only did I try to own all the toys, but I also taped a lot of the cartoons on VHS, had a three-year subscription to the comic book, and even made my own transforming robot comic books (they were called "The Changers" and the main hero turned into a ten-speed bike). Yeah, it was an obsession; an obsession so out of control in the middle of this robotic golden age, I was busted for shoplifting. Fortunately the store manager was very kind and I got off lightly. But after that day when my parents found out, I was banned for life from ever owning another thing with an Autobot or Decepticon symbol on it. For life.
But enough of my personal history. Let's take about the picture.
Some may think I stole the joke from an episode of "Clerks: The Animated Series" or a few knowledgeable comic geeks might shove a copy of the first issue of "Damage Control" in my face. But what really brought about this picture is all the long hours I spent contemplating the science of what it would be like if the Transformers (or Go-Bots) were real. How tall would they be in scale if they were originated from a certain vehicle? And if so, how would all the parts of the vehicle be distributed around their body and still maintain a humanoid shape? Not to mention the circuitry to bring them life. Most of all - what would happen to somebody if they were riding in them?
That's the real reason why I drew this picture: I wanted to revisit the land in the mind of that day-dreaming 9-year old. The one who wound up having all his toys thrown away, his comics ripped up and his tapes erased.
You know, the brother of the actual sticky-fingered member of our family who never fessed up for stealing those toys from the Excelsior drug store. - Jake