He was part of our show all the way back in 2013, and we’re pleased to announce his return for 2020. Please welcome to Retro Con 2020 writer and artist Bob Budiansky!

Bob was instrumental in the development of G1 Transformers in the early years of the brand. Over a single weekend in 1983, Bob crafted character names and bios for nearly all of the Autobot and Decepticon characters from the first year of the line. These bios ended up directly on the toy packaging, and were used as a guideline for writing the characters’ pesonalities in the G1 comic and tv series. Bob went on to write character bios for over 250 Transformers characters over the course of six years, and in the process coined such iconic Transformer names as Grimlock, Wheeljack, Starscream, and Megatron!

Bob was also script writer for 50 issues of the original Marvel Transformers comic, handled editing duties on the original comic mini-series, and would also pencil the occasional cover for the title. It’s in these pages that Bob originated the idea of the Autobot Matrix, which would go on to be a mainstay in Transformers lore.

Not a Transformers fan? Bob enjoyed a 20-year career at Marvel Comics as editor, illustrator, and writer. As an editor, he oversaw titles that included Spider-Man, Daredevil and the Fantastic Four. As an illustrator, he rose to prominence as the cover artist for Ghost Rider, eventually taking over the penciling chores for the entire book. And he also created his own Marvel Comics monthly series- Sleepwalker!

Bob will be joining us both days of the show. He has also kindly agreed to be part of a panel at the show, which will include a Powerpoint presentation documenting his involvement with the Transformers brand. But he would also love to hear your questions about his work apart from Transformers! 🙂