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Transformers 40th Anniversary Display at Retro Con!

April 6, 2024 retroconz Leave a comment

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2024 marks the *40th Anniversary* of the Transformers brand! Hard to imagine there was a time when we didn’t have such iconic characters as Optimus Prime, Megatron, Wheeljack, Soundwave, Bumblebee, and Starscream. We don’t talk about Wheelie…

And kindly given to us by Monro Auto in Phoenixville (as part of a recent tire sale campaign), we’ll have a 40th Anniversary Transformers display at Retro Con 2024! Standing 8 feet tall, look for the display on the show floor and get a picture behind it! Included in the display are a pair of masks to pose with if you want to channel your inner Optimus Prime.

Categories: Transformers Tags: G1, G1Transformers, G1_transformers, OptimusPrime, optimus_prime, transformers

Mark Watts Gallery at Retro Con 2019!

July 17, 2019 retroconz Leave a comment

Returning for Retro Con 2019 is artist Mark Watts!

Mark is responsible for some of the iconic artwork used in the G1 Transformers toy line! He did over 45 commissioned paintings for Hasbro between the mid 80’s and early 90’s, most of which were used directly for the packaging of the product.

Notable packaging illustrations he created include Shockwave, Jetfire, the Constructicons, the Stunticons, and all of the series one Minibots! He also did several paintings used for pack-in mail-away offers for the Transformers line, such as Reflector, the “Time Warrior” Autobot watch, and the Omnibots.

Check out Mark’s booth in the guest section where he’ll be displaying his artwork and offering prints for sale! He had a great time meeting attendees last year. He loved hearing stories of how some would cut his artwork out of the toy packaging as kids and tape it to the walls of their room.

Follow Mark Online!

Main Website: https://markwattsstudios.com/

Mark’s Table Art: https://www.tableartstudios.com/

Transformers Prints: https://markwattsstudios.com/collections/transformer-prints

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkWattsStudios/

Facebook 2: https://www.facebook.com/TableArtStudios/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkWattsStudio

Categories: Guests, Transformers Tags: 80stoys, ActionFigures, art, G1, G1Transformers, OptimusPrime, toyart, transformers, transformersg1

Meet the voice of Jem, Samantha Newark, at Retro Con 2018!

December 12, 2017 retroconz Leave a comment

“Showtime, Synergy!”

We’re excited to announce our first guest for Retro Con 2018: Voice actor and singer Samantha Newark! Samha is best known for giving voice to one of the most iconic characters of the 80’s: Jem!

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Through secret technology developed by her late father, young adult Jerrica Benton uses special earrings to communicate with supercomputer Synergy, allowing her to assume the holographic identity of mysterious rockstar… Jem!

As lead singer of The Holograms, the band created eclectic rock music, with much of the sale proceeds going to Starlight House, a home for orphaned and homeless girls.

Samantha voiced the character through all 65 episodes of the Sunbow cartoon series, with performer Britta Phillips providing vocals for the song portions of the show. The show was hugely popular in the mid to late 80’s, and has a devoted fanbase to this day. And recent re-airings of the series on cable have brought new fans into the fold!

Samantha also took part in one of the most significant episodes of the G1 Transformers cartoon. She voiced Autobot “Ariel” in Wardawn, a flashback episode that revealed the origin of legendary Autobot Leader Optimus Prime! Ariel herself would later be rebuilt into the powerful leader of the female Autobots: Elita-One!

Another noteworthy project of Samantha’s was performing lead vocals for the song “In Your Eyes” from the classic 1986 anime film Project A-ko! The song was included in both the original japanese and international versions of the movie.

And for an added treat, Samantha has kindly agreed to be a guest judge this year at Retro Con’s annual Truly Outrageous Karaoke Contest, making this year’s contest Truly, Truly, Truly Outrageous!!