Editing Revelation (IDW)

{{disambig3|Revelation}}
[[Image:Revelation EJ covers.jpg|center|500px|thumb|Destruction at its most beautiful.]]
'''''The Transformers: Revelation''''' is the follow-up miniseries to [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''[[Devastation (IDW)|The Transformers: Devastation]]''.  From June–October, 2008, ''Revelation'' was played out through four ''[[Spotlight (comics)|Spotlight]]'' format issues, focusing on [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]], [[Doubledealer]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]]. This four-parter marked the [[Autobot]]s' confrontation with the [[Dead Universe]] Cybertronians and the end of the "-tion" series "for the foreseeable". <ref>http://www.idwpublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3599</ref>  It had previously been hinted that the following volume would be titled ''The Transformers: Expansion'', but writer Simon Furman later stated that "the stuff [he] had (mentally) prepared for ''Expansion'' may still happen, just later or in a different form. <ref>http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/revelations/</ref> These four ''Spotlight'' issues were ''in addition to'' the normal ''Spotlight'' series, notably, ''[[Spotlight: Wheelie]]''.

The four ''Spotlight''s were to be issues #23–26 in the IDW overarching "sub-numbering", the only ''Spotlight''s to be incorporated in this way, though the sub-numbering has since been abandoned.

{{chapters |style=3 |prev=Devastation (IDW) |next=Maximum Dinobots
|title=''The Transformers Spotlight: Revelation'' issues: |content=
* [[Spotlight: Cyclonus]]
* [[Spotlight: Hardhead]]
* [[Spotlight: Doubledealer]]
* [[Spotlight: Sideswipe]]
}}




==Overview==
[[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]]'s corrupted crew prepares to unleash the [[Expansion]], bringing the unlife of the [[Dead Universe]] into our own.  On multiple worlds and fields of battle, the [[Autobot]]s struggle to uncover the plot and find a way to stop it.  [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] confronts his inner berserker, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] finds the truth about [[Doubledealer|Dealer]], [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] accepts an inevitable destiny, and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] proves his own worth to himself.  

Ongoing story arcs that were wrapped up with this series include Hot Rod and Dealer's battle over the [[Magnificence]]; the mystery of what happened to the crew of the first ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', and their plot for Expansion of the Dead Universe; the theft of [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]] and [[Sixshot]]; [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]'s revenge on [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]; and the nature of [[Gorlam Prime]] and the [[Micromaster]]s.

==Creative team==
The creative team from ''[[Infiltration]]'', ''[[Escalation (IDW)|Escalation]]'' and through ''Devastation'' (writer [[Simon Furman]] and penciller [[E. J. Su]]) again worked on ''Revelation'', though Su only illustrated Cyclonus and Sideswipe and provided a connecting cover for all four.  [[Nick Roche]], who also drew a cover for each issue, penciled and inked Hardhead, while [[Dan Khanna]] penciled Doubledealer (with inks by [[Frank Milkovich]] and [[Robert Atkins]]). [[Kris Carter]] was the colorist for Cyclonus and Hardhead, [[Liam Shalloo]] for Doubledealer, and E. J. Su colored Sideswipe himself.


==Notes==
* IDW Editor-in-Chief [[Chris Ryall]] made the decision to tie up the -ation run short here, explaining it as a basic business strategy for comics: "it's like any book on the market--sales start at a point and then they slowly dip until things are done to re-invigorate them... the reality is that sales numbers need to stay steady for a book to stay on the market. This isn't to say that things were by any means dire--they weren't at all--but we do need to occasionally mix things up so people don't just take a book for granted." <ref>http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=3845&amp;postdays=0&amp;postorder=asc&amp;start=15</ref>

* ''Revelation'' is the third IDW miniseries in a row that [[Revelation (The Dark Ages)|borrows a title]] from [[Dreamwave Productions]]' ''[[War Within: The Dark Ages|The War Within: The Dark Ages]]'' series.

* Shane McCarthy has said that originally, ''Revelation'' was ''not'' going to happen; he'd started writing ''[[All Hail Megatron]]'' when IDW decided to let Simon finish his story off. <ref>[http://tformers.com/article.php?sid=11723 Shane McCarthy podcast interview]</ref>

==Collections==
* ''The Transformers Spotlight: Revelation'' TPB <small>([[February 4]], [[2009]]) ISBN 1600104215 / ISBN 978-1600104213</small>
:Bonus material includes each A and B cover, and sketches of the 4-part image, Cyclonus, Nightbeat, Doubledealer (including a mosquito-like alternate mode), [[Grindcore (G1)|Grindcore]] and [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] (the last 2 in robot and alt mode). 
:The spine of the collection bears the number 4, putting it clearly in the ''Spotlight'' series rather than in the main "-ation" series (where it would have been #5, including [[Stormbringer (comics)|Stormbringer]]).

* ''[[The Transformers: The Premiere Collection|The Transformers: The Premiere Collection Volume 2]]'' <small>([[June 17]], [[2009]]) ISBN 1600104371 / ISBN 978-1600104374</small>
:Includes ''[[Devastation (IDW)|Devastation]]'', ''Revelation'', and the contents of volumes 2 and 3 of the ''[[Spotlight (comics)|Spotlight]]'' collections.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Generation 1 comic series]]
[[Category:IDW titles]]