Triptych: Decepticons!

"As You Command!" (t-shirt) by Nik Holmes

"Blue Mixtape 1984-1986" (t-shirt) Ryan Astle

"Devastator" by ta2nb

Triptych: One Shall Stand... One Shall Fall

"One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall" (t-shirt) by BiggStankDogg

"The Touch (Classic)" (t-shirt) by Synaptyx

"A Grim Find" (t-shirt) by Pinteezy

Man, there was nothing - but NOTHING - as thrilling to my seven-year-old self as hearing Optimus Prime lay down the law in Transformers: The Movie. He may as well have said to Megatron, "One of us is getting carried out of here in a body bag, and it ain't gonna be me." AMAZING. One day, I hope that someone more talented than me remakes Transformers: The Movie, using the original soundtrack and voice recording but completely revamping the animation from scratch. That would be incredible.

Variations On A Theme: Never Lose Your Cut

"Sons of Arcade" (t-shirt) by Olipop

"Sons of Avalanche" (t-shirt) by The Yellow Snow Co.

"Sons of Energon" (t-shirt) by BiggStankDogg

"Sons of Adventure" (t-shirt) by Perdita00

"BLACKCRO" (t-shirt) by SixtyBones

Triptych: You've Been Put To The Test, But It's Never Enough

"Sounds of the 80s - Vol. 1 & Vol. 2" (t-shirt 1)(t-shirt 2) by Pinteezy

"Chinese Optimus" by 画画的张旺 (I think?)

"Oh Goodie!" (t-shirt) by Pinteezy

Lotta Pinteezy today, but seriously, the dude makes the best Transformers art.

Triptych: Light Gun Pressed To The Screen

"Duck Hunter" (t-shirt) by FuranSan

"Dog Hunt" (t-shirt) by SplitReason

"'80s Caliber" by Blake Wheeler

Triptych: Transform Into A KANEDAAAAAA

"Carface" (t-shirt) by Mike Handy

"Kanedatron Prime" (t-shirt) by Nik Holmes

"Dino Crunch" (t-shirt) by Brinkerhoff

Triptych: Everybody Hates Navi

"Hylian Matrix of Heroes" (t-shirt) by TeeKetch

"The Courage, The Wisdom and The Power" by Luis Santiago

"The Fairy Companion" (t-shirt) by Caeolos

Showcase: Steampunk Transformers

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"Optimus Prime"

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"Megatron"

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"Soundwave"

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"Bumblebee"

A disclaimer: I try to avoid anything steampunk here, because let's be honest - steampunk has been done to death, and then some. I could go into a whole rant about steampunk, in fact, and how it was a novelty for about six months back in 2002 before it got co-opted by the Hot Topic crowd and blown completely out of proportion, but that wouldn't change the fact that blue-haired teenagers wearing corsets, goggles and top hats would continue to celebrate an era of western history typified by its horrific working conditions, abuse of children and the poor, and rampant, unchecked colonial expansionism. So I'll leave it alone.

But, having said that, sometimes I come across something that uses steampunk tropes to its advantage, and that's what we have here, with Brian Kesinger's clever steampunk\Transformers mashup. As you may or may not know, depending on how nerdy you are, IDW published a steampunk Transformers miniseries, called "Hearts of Steel". Kesinger's industrial revolution revisions of Transformers blows that officially sanctioned concept out of the water, thanks to his attention to detail and a number of sardonic touches.

In particular, I love how both Optimus and Megatron are sporting mustaches. I love how Optimus turns into a steam-powered locomotive, Megatron into a baroquely-patterned sixshooter, and Soundwave into a victrola\player piano. I love how era-specific hats have been incorporated into each character's robot mode.

If more steampunk had as much of a sense of humor as this, I probably wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it out of hand.

[Brian Kesinger on Deviantart]

Triptych: You've Come A Long Way, Walter White

"Heisenbot" (t-shirt) by Dann Matthews

"Breaking Bad: The Animated Series" by Ian Glaubinger

"All Hail The King" by Bee Johnson

Man, I can't believe AMC is doing this thing where they're breaking up the final season of Breaking Bad into two mini-seasons airing over a year apart. Especially after that slow burn of a mid-season cliffhanger. AMC is a cruel mistress.

Triptych: When This Baby Hits 88MPH, You're Going To See Some Serious Shit

"I'm Your Density" (t-shirt) by Synaptyx

"This Is Heavy" (t-shirt) by Putricide

"Marty McPrime" (t-shirt) by Nathan Davis

Triptych: It's In The Mighty Hands of Steel

"Transformers Noir" by Marco D'Alfonso

"'Til All Are One" by Andrew Heath

"Bad Bugs" by Brinkerhoff

Triptych: Where We're Going, We Don't Need Energon

"Giga Watt, The Time Former" (t-shirt) by NinjaInk

"Transformers Timelines" by Dave Perillo

"We Can Do It" by Dann Matthews

Triptych: Legends of the Battle Network Star Force

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"Destroy The Robot Masters" \ "Defeat The Robot Masters" by NinjaInk

"MegaMan Tribute" by Mark Hansen

"Mega Lawn Care" (t-shirt) by Hudson Design

Triptych: What Time Is It?!

"My Neighbor Jake" by JJ Harrison

"It's Transforming Time!" by NinjaInk

"All-Terrain Adventure Transport" (t-shirt) by Derin Clier

Yep, that's now two "My Neighbor Totoro" mashups I've posted in a row. Know why? BECAUSE TOTORO THAT'S WHY.

Triptych: And Speaking of Transformers...

"Throne of Screams" (t-shirt) by Brinkerhoff

"Tatakae Chou Samurai Seimeitai!" (t-shirt) by NinjaInk

"Transformers: The Movie" by Caz Lock

Triptych: Giant Transforming Robotic Lifeforms

"The Mech In Red" by NinjaInk

"Thomas The Assault Engine" (t-shirt) by MidgeRock

"Z.A.P. Wave" (t-shirt) by zomboy