TransMissions: Liane Elliot

The second response I got from the 100 letters I mailed out was from one Liane Elliot. Someone who was very active in the fandom back in the day. “I was quite surprised to see your letter as it has been so long since my address was in the Marvel ‘Transformers’ comic.” She responded.

Her letter in the 80s Marvel comic read:

Dear Transmissions,
I am a member of a Transformers fan club called the TransMasters. The club started in 1984, and our current membership stands at 45, and we’re looking to expand still further. We have several talented artists and most every member has written Transformer related stories. We are an international club with members in the US, UK, and Canada. If possible, we’d like to open up a line of communication between ourselves and a concerned party at Marvel. I await your response expectantly.
Liane Elliot
Gig Harbor, WA

Now, 30ish years later we get to hear from Liane once again.

Youseph: How did you discover the Transformers?

Transformers was part of the afternoon cartoon lineup. I’d catch it right after getting home from school.

Youseph: Where did you get your Transformers comics from?

I originally discovered there was a comic in a shop at the B & I in Tacoma. But the shop keeper didn’t have back issues so I ended up at O’Learys’ comic shop. When it closed up, due to the health of the owner, I went to Lady Jayne’s comic shop until she closed. Then to Comic Book Inc until I became unemployed and couldn’t afford comics anymore.

Youseph: What compelled you to write to the comic?

Simply put I felt that any true fan would want to be included in a fan club so wrote in to let those fans know that one existed. It got a number of responses and every once in a great while I still get a letter, like your own. You are lucky that I’m one of those people that stick around where they grew up.

Youseph: What was it like to see your letter printed in the back of the comic?

I was thrilled to see it and looked forward to hearing from fans who wanted to be part of the fan club.

Youseph: Who are you today and are you still a Transformers fan?

I’m not sure what you mean by ‘who’. I’m still me. I’m just older, wiser and all that comes from 30 years of living. Yes I am still a fan.

I asked Liane to give me some background history on the TransMasters fan club.

The history… hoo boy… this should cover it nicely I think. http://transmasters.angelfire.com/history.html
As it states in that I left the club, I cannot recall what about, but I was really ticked off enough to give up and leave. I stayed in contact with those members that joined my Survivors fan club. So named after the UK Transformers story where the remaining Autobot “Wreckers” joined with the surviving Decepticon “Mayhem Attack Squad”. I ran Survivors for a number of years along with a fanzine I called Overlord II. I stopped the fanzine and soon let the club die after feeling like my feelings or opinions didn’t matter to the Internet generation of fans. Suffice it to say there was enough trolling done on me to make me want nothing to do with the fandom and I disappeared from it for 10 years (1995-2005). Wrote them all off entirely. I was still a fan, just not into socializing with kids who were being mean and nasty to someone who should have been respected at the very least.
 
Here’s some FaceBook links for you.
 
I want to thank Liane so much for her time and the information she shared with me. I’m really amazed this letter mailing effort has worked so well. Stay tuned as I still have more letter responses to share soon.

Youseph

The host of the YOSHICAST and TRANSMISSIONS Podcast. Transformers enthusiast and comic book collector.