An appeal for help

I am currently having to ration my household budget to £10 a week (from the refunded travel expenses gained from my volunteering work) in order to both survive and make the rent payment once Universal Credit pays out at the end of the month.  If anyone can help, please visit my gofundme page.

The Young Astronauts: first episode script

With thanks to yanchagraffiti, the Sunbow Marvel Archive is proud to present the first episode script from Marvel Productions' ill-fated series The Young Astronauts.  Written by Karl Geurs, with a story by Jack Mendelsohn and Michael O'Mahony, A Fall Of Marsdust would have introduced viewers of CBS' 1985 Saturday morning lineup to the Hampton family and the crew of the mothership Courageous.

To read the script, and to hear dialogue audio from the first episode to actually be produced, Ghost Ship, head to Marvel Network Shows

The series was first delayed, then cancelled following the Challenger tragedy, but that was not the end of the story for this particular script.  Even after Challenger, hope remained that the already-planned Marvel comic could still be published in the summer of 1986, on the STAR Comics imprint.  As described by writer Denny O'Neil in Marvel Age #37, he adapted this animation script to become the first issue of the comic, drawn by June Brigham and inked by Pat Redding.

Alas, this too was not to be, as the Young Astronauts Council chose to extricate itself from their agreement with Marvel.  A decision that would later spark a lawsuit in 1988..

Transformers: The Ultimate Doom and Countdown To Extinction storyboards

Thanks to Ryan King and originally owned by contributing artist Peter "Aeon Flux" Chung, the Sunbow Marvel Archive now hosts full storyboard sets for The Ultimate Doom, Part 3 and Countdown to Extinction.

These storyboards see the moment FIRRIB was born as Frenzy makes his cartoon debut, as well as Jetfire's adventures in his original toy-based design.

To view these sets as galleries, head to: Storyboard Viewing Gallery

Or for downloadable versions, alongside the virtual library of material for seasons 1 and 2, head to: The Transformers, Part 1

Transformers: The Immobilizer storyboards

The Archive now hosts storyboards for The Transformers episode The Immobilizer, which marks the debut of Carly to the franchise.  The 12th full set and the 21st episode overall to have storyboards showcased at the Archive, they include art by Vincenzo Trippetti, Peter Chung, David Russell, Gregg Davidson and others.

To view in gallery form, head to: The Immobilizer storyboard gallery

Assorted additions

Over the last two months, several small and ongoing additions have been made to the Archive

On the Marvel Muppet Connection page, storyboard samples have been added for three Muppet Babies episodes: Who's Afraid Of The Big, Bad Dark?, Raiders Of The Lost Muppet and From A Galaxy, Far, Far Away.  Additionally, storyboards for the animated segments on two commercials advertising Fraggle Rock's promotional tie-in with McDonalds Happy Meal.

On the Marvel's New World page, an expanding collection for the 1990 series Kid 'n Play.  Storyboards for Play's Place and Quantum Rap, as well as model sheets for Rap-O-Mania.  Also, samples from a storyboard test sequence, drawn by Larry Houston, for the ultimately unproduced Siegfried & Roy cartoon in 1992.  As detailed in the promotional flyer photographed below.

Jem: music video storyboards

Some sample pages of Jem music video storyboards drawn by Larry Houston have been added to the gallery page, from the episodes Britrock and A Change Of Heart.

Head to Jem music video storyboard gallery

The Paul Davids Collection, Part 1

To view and purchase original artwork by Paul Davids, visit: Shop Art | Paul Davids Art

With thanks to turbobluestreak for his hard work and to the man himself for his permission, the Sunbow Marvel Archive now hosts part of Paul Davids' collection of G1 cartoon production material, saved from his time as episode writer and Production Coordinator on seasons 2 and 3.

The current collection consists of

Chaos

• Outline, depicting a far different story to the one that made the screen
• First draft script
• Final script, further reworked and cut down
• Full storyboard
• Models and background layouts

Return Of Optimus Prime, Part 2

• The eight pages missing from the previously available version of the script, reintegrated along with Sunbow memos detailing changes required for Parts 1 and 2 of the story.
• Models and backgrounds, including the Solaris and Jessica Morgan's full exo-skeleton, not used in the show

Misc.

Also included are recap scripts for 20 episodes of the cartoon that aired on the Bozo the Clown Show in 1986.  These were written by Michael Charles Hill and gained him membership in the Writer's Guild of America.

These are in addition to the various items Paul Davids has sold off over the years, which have come to the Archive via deals with private owners.  Such as the Cosmic Rust full script and storyboard, as well as the 186 page 1986 character binder revealed earlier this year.

To view the new items, head to: The Transformers, Part 2

To view the Chaos storyboards as a separate gallery, head to this link

Ron Friedman 1932-2025

Variety has reported that TV and film writer Ron Friedman has passed away at the age of 93.

In late 1982, Sunbow Productions hired Ron to write the first G.I Joe animated five-part miniseries, the resounding success of which led to: 

• The writing of three more miniseries on G.I Joe: The Revenge of Cobra, The Pyramid of Darkness and the teleplays for Arise, Serpentor, Arise! 
• Acting as an interim dialogue editor on Transformers, beginning with Roll For It and ending with Make Tracks.
• Development and writing outlines for the initial fifteen-segment version of Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines
• Co-development (with Doug Booth) and the writing of an ultimately unproduced three-part miniseries for Air Raiders.
• Writing of two versions of the script for The Transformers: The Movie
• Writing the initial outlines for G.I.Joe The Movie

The Sunbow Marvel Archive sends condolences to his family and friends.

The Transformers: Transport To Oblivion storyboards, assorted models and backgrounds

With thanks to Matt Schantz and Ryan King, the Archive now hosts partial storyboards for The Transformers episode Transport to Oblivion, covering the aftermath of the Autobots fight to stop the Decepticons raiding a solar power station for energy, up until the reprogrammed Bumblebee returns to Autobot HQ to lead his comrades into Megatron's trap.

Additionally, the Season 1 background layouts book has been edited to add and replace certain pages with better scans. Model sheets of Skyfire, redesigned due to the legal issues stemming from Bandai's acquisition of the toy mold licensed to Hasbro as Jetfire, have been added to the Fire In The Sky model pack.  Finally, more models of the 1984 cast, as they were submitted to Sunbow for approval during the production of the pilot miniseries, have been consolidated with those models previously in possession of Wendell Washer.

To view these items, head to The Transformers, Part 1

Air Raiders press pack

The following is a press pack Sunbow Productions sent out in 1987, trying to sell Hasbro's latest toyline Air Raiders as a weekly series.  The cartoon concept had been co-developed by Doug Booth and Ron Friedman, with the latter writing a three-part pilot miniseries in January 1987.

However, due to low initial retail orders of $30 million at New York Toyfair that year, all plans for an Air Raiders show were scrapped and the toyline cancelled by the end of the year.

Super Sunday press pack: Robotix and early show ideas

In early 1985, Sunbow Productions sent the following press pack out to syndicators, selling the Super Sunday anthology concept before the shows that would make up the half-hour series were finalised.

Detailed below is an early backstory for Robotix, unrealized show ideas Starlite and Stoney, as well as notes on the show's format and sample ratings for Transformers on weekends in 1984.

The Transformers: weekday series press pack

Fresh off the success of The Transformers' first season on weekends in 1984, here is Sunbow Productions press pack to promote the series going to full weekday syndication in 1985.