Hasbro have released the following press release covering the induction of Chris Latta and Simon Furman into the Transformers Hall of Fame

LEGENDARY VOICE ACTOR TO RECEIVE FIRST POSTHUMOUS INDUCTION INTO HASBRO’S TRANSFORMERS HALL OF FAME
Chris Latta, the Voice of Starscream, to Be Honored, Along With Prolific TRANSFORMERS Comic Writer Simon Furman and a New Crop of Robots, at Ceremony in Dallas, Texas on April 28

Pawtucket, R.I. (MARCH 9, 2012) - Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is proud to announce the induction of two legendary figures in the evolution of the iconic TRANSFORMERS franchise-comic book writer Simon Furman, and legendary voice actor Chris Latta-into the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame. Furman has written TRANSFORMERS comics on and off for almost 30 years, and has written more TRANHSFORMERS comic books than anyone else. Chris Latta voiced ten Transformers characters in the early animated series, including STARSCREAM and WHEELJACK. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1994, however his posthumous award will be accepted by his family at the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame ceremony, April 28, 2012, during BOTCON, the Official TRANSFORMERS Convention, in Dallas, Texas.

Founded in 2010 to honor those influential in creating and building the iconic TRANSFORMERS franchise, as well as actual "ROBOTS IN DISGUISE," the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame has previously honored writer Bob Budiansky, voice of Optimus Prime Peter Cullen, original TRANSFORMERS designers Yoke Hideaki and Kojin Ohno and the Director and Executive Producer of the live-action film trilogy, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.

Simon Furman: Simon Furman is one of the most recognized and respected names in the world of TRANSFORMERS comic books. Furman began his run on TRANSFORMERS comics writing the first UK version of the TRANSFORMERS imprint. Later on, Furman took over the role of writer on the U.S. comic adaptation beginning with issue 56 and ending with issue 80, the final comic to be published in the series. In 1993 with the reintroduction of the TRANSFORMERS brand under the "Generation 2" banner, Furman was once again tapped to pen the 12 issue comic series. Nearly ten years later, Furman returned to the world of mainstream TRANSFORMERS comics as part of the "Dreamwave" writing staff. Simon Furman now writes for IDW comics, where in 2012 and by popular demand, he was asked to continue the story of the original TRANSFORMERS comics right where he had left off beginning with issue 81 of TRANSFORMERS ReGeneration One.

Chris Latta: The first TRANSFORMERS animated television series began to air in 1984, and as part of the original cast, voice actor Chris Latta helped breathe life into these animated robotic characters.
Chris Latta began his voice over career in the late 1970s. In 1983, Latta joined the cast of the G.I. JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO animated series as COBRA COMMANDER, the leader of the evil mega maniacal organization COBRA. Later, on the TRANSFORMERS series, Latta pioneered the role of STARSCREAM, a back handed and conniving character that constantly plotted to usurp his leader MEGATRON for control over the DECEPTICONS. Latta’s portrayal of both STARSCREAM and COBRA COMMANDER have made these characters two of the most iconic and widely recognized in their respective brands. Unfortunately, Chris Latta passed away in 1994; however his family will be on hand at the Hall of Fame event to accept the award on his behalf.


Hasbro will also induct four more iconic robot characters into the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame. Heroic AUTOBOT JAZZ, fan-favorite DINOBOT GRIMLOCK and evil DECEPTICON SHOCKWAVE will all be honored. In addition, TRANSFORMERS fans around the world are able to vote on TRANSFORMERS.com for a fourth robot to receive the 2012 "Fans’ Choice" honor. Fan-chosen nominees include ARCEE, MEGATRON (BEAST WARS), WHEELJACK, RODIMUS and SKY-BYTE. The winner will be revealed for the first time at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony at "BOTCON" on April 28, 2012. Voting is open from now until March 21st on TRANSFORMERS.COM

First introduced in 1984 by Hasbro and Takara as a toy line, the TRANSFORMERS brand
has provided kids with hours of MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE fun with their action figures that convert from robot to vehicles and back again. Legions of boys around the world grew up creating fantastic adventures and battles set on both the planet CYBERTRON and Earth that featured the "good-guy" AUTOBOTS and the "bad-guy" DECEPTICONS. Since then, more than 7500 robots have been introduced in countless animated TV series, comic books and three live-action feature films. For further information visit the official TRANSFORMERS Facebook page at Facebook.com/Transformers.

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About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY. The Hub, Hasbro’s multi-platform joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10, 2010. The online home of The Hub is www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com. © 2012 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

BotCon have tweeted that both Simon Furman and Chris Latta will be inducted into the Transformers Hall of Fame

Simon Furman is best known for writing various Transformers comics, starting with Marvel UK, he went on to Marvel US  looking after both comics.  Then with the revival of Transformers Comics with Dreamwave Simon once again started to write Transformers comics, as well as working with Titan Books to republish some of the original Marvel UK stories.  He even wrote a few stories for Titan Magazine's UK Transformers comic as well as joining IDW (meaning he has been the only writer to write for every publisher of Transformers comics).

Chris Latta is most famour for voicing Starscream in the original Transformers cartoon, as well as Cobra Commander in GI-Joe.  Chris proved to be a fan favorite, featuring in the top 3 most popular voice actors for Transformers fans, along with Frank Welker and Peter Cullan.

Hasbro are now taking names for the 2012 Hall of Fame

In 2010, Hasbro inducted humans and robots from the worlds of toys, entertainment and CYBERTRON into the inaugural class of its TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame, honoring more than 25 years of “robots in disguise” action. Now in its third year, Hasbro is once again turning to fans to help finalize the 2012 robot inductee class.


Hasbro’s internal panel of judges has chosen three iconic characters to induct into the TRANFORMERS Hall of Fame in 2012—Heroic AUTOBOTS JAZZ and GRIMLOCK, as well as evil DECEPTICON SHOCKWAVE. But we need your help to determine this year's fourth robot inductee!

Check back on Transformers.com later in March to cast your vote for the “Fans Choice” TRANSFORMERS robot to be inducted into the 2012 class.



The winning character will be announced at the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday, April 28 at BOTCON, the Official TRANSFORMERS Convention in Dallas, TX.



The TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame was created to honor those influential in building the iconic entertainment brand, as well as the actual “ROBOTS IN DISGUISE.” The inaugural induction ceremony was held at BotCon 2010. TRANSFORMERS influentials Bob Budiansky, Peter Cullen, Hideaki Yoke, and Kohjin Ohno were members of the inaugural class, along with five notable robot characters that are a part of TRANSFORMERS lore. The previous robot honorees (who are ineligible for the fan-voted slot in this year's ceremony) are:

OPTIMUS PRIME
BUMBLEBEE
MEGATRON
STARSCREAM
DINOBOT
IRONHIDE
RATCHET
SOUNDWAVE
WASPINATOR