The Transformers: Best of UK

Following along the same lines of Generations, IDW Publishing next began a series of Marvel UK reprints focusing on collections of stories similar to those previously published by Titan Books. The first of these was Target: 2006, immediately followed by several series under the moniker Best of UK. The Best of UK series, along with Target: 2006, were much like Generations, in that they featured brand new covers that were either recreations of the original cover or a depiction of some important scene in the issue. However, unlike Generations, these comics were sold at full price ($3.99 U.S.) The line was replaced a couple of years later by the more-comprehensive The Transformers Classics UK trade collections, though it did cover a couple of arcs left uncollected with that latter series' cancellation.

Six series were produced in total.

• Target: 2006 (published 04/2007–08/2007)
• Best of UK: Dinobots (published 09/2007–04/2008)
• Best of UK: Space Pirates (published 03/2008–07/2008)
• Best of UK: Time Wars (published 08/2008–12/2008)
• Best of UK: City of Fear (published 02/2009–06/2009)
• Best of UK: Prey (published 08/2009–12/2009)

Notes

• In keeping with writer Simon Furman's usual stance on his own material, these reprints skip his earliest work on Marvel UK's Transformers comic, with "The Icarus Theory" being the story reprinted from earliest in the series run, and with "Target: 2006" being given priority as the first to be reprinted. With the post-"Time Wars" black-and-white stories having never been colourised, this leaves the following stories of this era omitted from this series of reprints:
  • "Robot Buster!", "Devastation Derby!" and "Second Generation!"
  • Annual stories by other authors: "To a Power Unknown!" (by Ian Mennell & Wilf Prigmore), "Ark Duty" (by Ian Rimmer), and "Peace" (by Richard Starkings)
  • The Christmas strips "The Gift" (by James Hill), "Stargazing", and "Cold Comfort and Joy!"
  • "Fallen Angel"
  • "Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!", "Burning Sky!", "Hunters", "Fire on High!", and "Vicious Circle!"
  • "Ancient Relics!"
  • "Kup's Story!"
  • "Headhunt"
  • "Ladies' Night"
  • "The Legacy of Unicron!"
  • "Salvage!"
  • "The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire."
• These reprint collections are not necessarily identical to their Titan counterparts. A comparison is as follows:
  • IDW's Dinobots collection was mostly identical to Titan's Dinobot Hunt collection, but the single issues additionally included a story from the Marvel U.S. series to round out the pattern of containing two stories (or parts) per issue—this being left out of the trade.
  • IDW's Space Pirates started with the "Space Pirates!" arc (issues #182–187), followed by "Worlds Apart!" (issues #130–131, part of Titan's Time Wars collection) and "Wrecking Havoc" (issues #172–173). Titan's collection began with "Salvage!" (issues #160–161, and not in IDW's version), followed by "Wrecking Havoc", the "Space Pirates!" arc and "Ark Duty" from the Transformers Annual 1987 (also not in IDW's collection).
  • IDW's Time Wars started with "Dry Run!" (issue #189), followed by "Altered Image!" and "All in the Minds!" (both in Transformers Annual 1989), "Firebug!" (issue #188, part of Titan's City of Fear collection) and the "Time Wars" arc (issues #199–205). Titan's collection started with "World's Apart!" (from IDW's Space Pirates), followed by "Dry Run!", "Altered Image!", "All in the Minds!" and the "Time Wars" arc.
  • IDW's City of Fear coincided with Titan's collection for the first three stories: "City of Fear!", "Legion of the Lost!" and "Meltdown!". "Enemy Action!" was not in Titan's, but rather in their Transformers: Legacy of Unicron collection. "Deadly Games!" was in both collections and concluded IDW's. The Titan collection instead included "Firebug!", "The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire." and "Kup's Story!".
  • IDW's Prey included: "Prey!", "...The Harder They Die!", "Under Fire!", "Distant Thunder!", "Resurrection!", "Grudge Match!", and "What's in a Name?", while the Titan's collection also included "The Chain Gang!"

Collections

• Best of UK Omnibus (August 26, 2009) ISBN 1600104894 / ISBN 978-1600104893

• Contains Best of UK: Dinobots, Best of UK: Space Pirates, Best of UK: Time Wars
• Bonus material: cover gallery