Four robots receive a sentence that makes each one responsible for keeping the others alive. If any member of the group dies, all four die. That is the mechanism behind Livio Ramondelli’s The Kill Lock—and a compelling reason to look beyond the recognizable franchise imagery at his L.A. Comic Con table.
Fanbase Press’s 2026 independent-creator roundup lists Ramondelli at Artist Alley S-X20 across the three-day convention, offering prints and commissions. For visitors who know his name from Transformers, his original series opens a different conversation: what happens when an artist who helps visualize an established universe builds one of his own?
A franchise artist with a world of his own
Ramondelli’s official portfolio identifies him as a Los Angeles comic artist and illustrator, with galleries spanning Transformers, Star Wars, Marvel and DC, concept work and covers. He identifies The Kill Lock as a creator-owned series that he created, wrote and drew.
IDW’s career overview includes The Autocracy Trilogy, Robots in Disguise and Optimus Prime among his Transformers credits. It also records work connected to Battlestar Galactica, Pacific Rim and illustrated Star Trek travel guides. That range places his original comic alongside a substantial career interpreting other people’s fictional worlds.
The punishment turns survival into a relationship
The original Kill Lock ran for six issues beginning in December 2019. Ramondelli’s series page describes a group drawn from radically different positions in robot society: a soldier, a laborer struggling with addiction, a dangerous engineer and a child.
The shared death sentence creates an immediate ethical problem. Cooperation does not require affection; protecting someone does not require approving of them. The premise makes responsibility unavoidable before trust has had a chance to develop.
As a storytelling device, the link also frustrates the familiar lone-survivor fantasy. One character cannot simply become strong enough to escape everyone else’s needs. Every threat to a companion becomes a threat to the group. The question built into the setup is whether forced interdependence can become something more than self-preservation.
The Artisan Wraith changes the scale
The sequel, The Kill Lock: The Artisan Wraith, expands the conflict. IDW’s announcement describes a dangerous member of the original group acquiring an extraordinarily powerful body and control of a planet, prompting the authorities to send assassins.
In that announcement, Ramondelli frames the sequel around the consequences of gaining enough intelligence and power to remake society. Our reading of that premise is that it shifts the central problem from surviving a system to deciding what should replace it.
The collected sequel’s distributor listing records a March 14, 2023 publication date and 208 pages. For someone discovering the series at the convention, these are existing books to investigate, rather than a newly announced 2026 launch.
What to ask at S-X20
A useful starting question is how Ramondelli approaches a robot whose personality must register without a familiar human face. Another is how his page planning changes when he writes the story as well as illustrating it. Both connect the finished object on the table to the decisions behind it.
Collectors considering a commission can consult his published process before asking about a slot:
- Prepare a brief with the character, format, size and deadline.
- Confirm the quote and your place in the queue.
- Review the sketches before final painting begins.
- Agree on delivery and whether an original is included.
Confirm convention availability and delivery arrangements with him directly.
That conversation is one of Artist Alley’s particular advantages. A familiar character may draw a visitor to a table; the artist’s own storytelling can give them a reason to stay.
Continue exploring: Fanbase Press’s comics about identity and invisible illness and why original art matters in Artist Alley.
Sources
- Fanbase Press — L.A. Comic Con 2026 creator listings and table locations
- Livio Ramondelli — official portfolio and professional background
- Livio Ramondelli — The Kill Lock series overview and publication history
- IDW Publishing — The Kill Lock: The Artisan Wraith announcement and creator commentary
- Penguin Random House — The Artisan Wraith book details and cover
- Livio Ramondelli — official commission process