Editing Hearts of Steel issue 1

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'''Written By:''' [[Chuck Dixon]]<br>
'''Pencils By:''' [[Guido Guidi]]<br>
'''Inks By:''' [[Aaron Leach]]<br>
'''Additional Art By:''' [[Antonio Vasquez]], [[Luis Czerniawski]], and [[Sulaco Studios]]<br>
'''Covers By:''' [[Guido Guidi]]<br>
'''Edits By:''' [[Chris Ryall]], [[Dan Taylor]]<br>
'''Colors By:''' [[Jay Fotos]]<br>
'''Letters By:''' [[Robbie Robbins]]<br>
'''Additional Colors By:''' [[Josh Burcham]]<br>
'''Design By:''' [[Josh Burcham]]<br>
'''Collection Edits By:''' [[Justin Eisinger]]<br>

* ''Series:'' The Transformers: [[Evolutions]], [[Hearts of Steel]]
* ''Original release date:'' ???
* ''Followed by:'' [[Hearts of Steel, Part 2]]
* ''Major Characters (in order of appearance):'' [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[John Henry]], [[Brawley]], [[Cletus]], [[Mark Twain]], [[Jules Verne]], [[Tobias Muldoon]], [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Stanford Merriweather]], [[Kitty Merriweather]], [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]].
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==Synopsis==
The story opens on prehistoric Earth, in the opening years of an ice age.  The [[Autobots]] and [[Decepticons]] fight their war here, using dinosaur and insect altmodes (most of them distinctively spiky).  These "Ice Age Wars" draw to a close as the cold gets worse.  Some of the Autobots retreat into a cave, and place themselves in [[stasis lock]], to wait for external conditions to improve.

Millions of years pass.

[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] is woken by the sound of hammering.  He investigates, and spies on a crew of humans, including [[John Henry]], laying track.  The year is around 1867; the Autobots have slept for a ''long'' time.

[[Image:Marktwain.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"I'll risk forty dollars that [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] can outjump any frog in Calaveras county."]]
Meanwhile, aboard the paddle-wheeled steamship ''Enterprise'' in [[San Francisco]] Bay, [[Mark Twain]] and [[Jules Verne]] prepare to witness a "marvelous exhibition."  The ''S.S. Vicuna'', a primitive submarine, rises from the waters, crewed by its inventor, [[Tobias Muldoon]].  He stands atop it, extolling its virtues, until it suddenly sinks under him.  (Why it sinks is unclear.)  It falls to the bottom of the bay, where we see [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], apparently just emerging from stasis lock, inside a glass-domed underwater base.  (Possibly the impact of the ''Vicuna'' is what wakes Starscream.)  Muldoon is financially ruined; Verne is inspired.

That night, as Henry and his crew eat dinner, he states his dislike of job-stealing machines, and swears to go to his grave a'hammering.  Bumblebee, [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], and [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] observe this.  Ratchet and Prowl believe they should go back to sleep, and wait a century before making contact with humans, but Bumblebee instead approaches the camp, to inspect one of the locomotives.  Henry and his crewmate [[Cletus]] investigate, and find a mysterious little yellow locomotive on a siding.  It has no driver's cab, and they conclude it's some new job from back East.  Henry takes an immediate dislike to it.

That same night, Muldoon is forced to report his failure to one of his investors, [[Stanford Merriweather]].  Merriweather is upset, and puts Muldoon to work in the kitchen of one of his hotels.  We see that Muldoon has a (reciprocated) romantic interest in Stanford's daughter, [[Kitty Merriweather]].  Later, he wanders the docks, musing out loud about how his prospects (both romantic and financial) look bleak.  A bellowing voice asks him if he would truly give up so easily.  Suddenly, the ironclad ship next to him transforms, and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] tells Muldoon that he will assist him in reshaping the future of the Earth.

==Quotes==

"Stand ''aside,'' y'all.  My hammer's fixin' to ''fall,'' and all God's Earth is my ''anvil.''"<br>
:'''-John Henry'''<br>

"[Machines] driven by the contained pressure of heated ''water.''  Simple but ''effective.''"<br>
:'''-Prowl'''<br>

"I am the end result of a science ''beyond'' your understanding.  I am here to ''serve'' you in the exploration of all that is possible on your world.  I am a living ''machine.''  I am an ''automated'' lifeform.  I am called ''Shockwave.''"<br>
:'''-Shockwave'''<br>

==Errors==
* Merriweather tells Muldoon to do $40 worth of work in the kitchen.  Adjusting for inflation from 1867 to 2007, this is about $530.  It's unclear if Merriweather is expecting him to work off the debt for the meal he just ate, or for the investment in the submarine, but $530 is either far too much or far too little, respectively.  It's also an awful lot of dishes to wash.

==Items of note==
*This issue was available with three covers.
**Cover A, montage of John Henry and Bumblebee.
**Cover B, Bumblebee wraparound sketch.
**Retailer incentive cover, Shockwave wraparound sketch.

[[Category:IDW issues]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>