Titan Books

The name or term "Titan" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Titan (disambiguation).

Titan Books is part of the Titan Publishing Group with Titan Magazines. Founded in 1981 by comic fan and Forbidden Planet founders Nick Landau, Mike Lake, and Mike Luckman, it has been one of the United Kingdom's big boys when it comes to publishing U.S. comics for UK readers and also publishes prose fiction and making-of/art books.

In 2001, Titan Books acquired the rights to reprints of Marvel Comics' U.S. Transformers run, publishing the complete near-complete American series in several volumes of trade paperbacks and hardcovers. They have also released much of the Marvel UK material. As they went for the license before Dreamwave Productions had hit big, they were able to get global licensing rights and the option to use Marvel characters without spending much!

Marvel Comics Generation 1 continuity collections

U.S. collections

As writer Simon Furman was responsible for curating these collections, he made the decision not to start from the very beginning, but instead by reprinting some of his own most popular work late in the comic's run. After a pair of volumes covering the very end of the U.S. title, the next pair reprinted the rest of Furman's tenure leading up to that point, then his follow-up series Generation 2, before finally going back to the very start of the comic with Bob Budiansky's work, which was simply reprinted chronologically. Each subsequent pair of paperback volumes had connecting covers by Andrew Wildman, which themselves could all join together end-to-end to create one ridiculously-long piece of artwork; the hardcover editions, meanwhile, had standalone covers by different artists.

Reading order	Release order	Cover	Title	Contents	Notes	Release date
1	7		Transformers: Beginnings	The Transformers issues: #1 "The Transformers" #2 "Power Play!" #3 "Prisoner of War!" #4 "The Last Stand" #5 "The New Order" #6 "The Worse of Two Evils!	Features: "More Than Meets the Eye...", a foreword by Jim Salicrup; cover gallery	28/02/2003 (TPB) 26/03/2003 (HC)
2	8		Transformers: New Order	The Transformers issues: #7 "Warrior School!" #8 "Repeat Performance!" #9 "DIS-Integrated Circuits!" #10 "The Next Best Thing to Being There!" #11 "Brainstorm!" #12 "Prime Time!"	Features: "The Last One on the Ark", a foreword by Bob Budiansky; "The Story so Far", a recap; cover gallery	30/05/2003 (TPB) 27/06/2003 (HC)
3	9		Transformers: Cybertron Redux	The Transformers issues: #13 "Shooting Star!" #14 "Rock and Roll-Out!" #15 "I, Robot-Master!" #16 "Plight of the Bumblebee!" #17 "The Smelting Pool!" 18 "The Bridge to Nowhere!"	Features: "A Tale of Two Worlds", a foreword by Bob Budiansky; "The Story so Far"; cover gallery	21/08/2003 (TPB) 19/09/2003 (HC)
4	10		Transformers: Showdown	The Transformers issues: #19 "Command Performances!" #20 "Showdown!" #21 "Aerialbots over America!" #22 "Heavy Traffic!" #23 "Decepticon Graffiti!" #24 "Afterdeath!"	Features: "A Love - Hate Relationship", a foreword by Simon Furman; "The Story so Far"; cover gallery	21/11/2003 (TPB) 19/12/2003 (HC)
5	11		Transformers: Breakdown	The Transformers issues: #25 "Gone but Not Forgotten!" #26 "Funeral for a Friend!" #27 "King of the Hill!" #28 "Mechanical Difficulties!" #29 "Crater Critters" #30 "The Cure!"	Features: "Yo - Transformers!", a foreword by Brad Mick; "The Story so Far"; cover gallery	23/03/2004 (TPB) 01/07/2004 (HC)
6	12		Transformers: Treason	The Transformers issues: #31 "Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom" #32 "Used Autobots" #35 "Child's Play" #36 "Spacehikers!" #37 "Toy Soldiers!"	Features: "Me, Grimlock", a foreword by Gregg Berger; "The Story so Far"; cover gallery; "Man of Iron", a writeup about the "Man of Iron" storyline Omissions: Issues #33 and 34, which were a colourised stopgap reprint of the Marvel UK story "Man of Iron". This story is also omitted from the UK collections.	25/06/2004 (TPB) 23/072004 (HC)
7	13		Transformers: Trial By Fire	The Transformers: Headmasters issues: #1 "Ring of Hate!" #2 "Broken Glass!" #3 "Love and Steel!" #4 "Brothers in Armor!!" The Transformers issues: #38 "Trial by Fire!" #39 "The Desert Island of Space!"	Features: "Headmasters Proposal", the original miniseries proposal by Bob Budiansky; cover gallery	24/09/2004 (TPB) 22/10/2004 (HC)
8	14		Transformers: Maximum Force	The Transformers issues: #40 "Pretender to the Throne!" #41 "Totaled!" #42 "People Power!" #44 "The Cosmic Carnival" #45 "Monstercon from Mars!"	Features: Bob Budiansky sketchbook; cover gallery; gallery of Titan's Transformers trade paperback covers Omissions: Issue #43, a stopgap adaptation of "The Big Broadcast of 2006". The UK-original framing device to this story is included in Space Pirates, but not the story itself.	26/11/2004 (TPB) 17/12/2004 (HC)
9	15		Transformers: Dark Star	The Transformers issues: #46 "Ca$h and Car-nage!" #47 "Club Con!" #48 "The Flames of Boltax!" #49 "Cold War!" #50 "Dark Star"	Features: sketchbook covers for Transformers issues #29 and #36; cover gallery	21/01/2005 (TPB) 25/02/2005 (HC)
10	16		Transformers: Last Stand	The Transformers issues: #51 "The Man in the Machine!" #52 "Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?" #53 "Recipe for Disaster!" #54 "King Con!" #55 "The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!"	Features: Bob Budiansky paperwork, including treatments, sketches, and page layouts; gallery of Titan's Transformers hardback collection covers; cover gallery	25/03/2005 (TPB) 22/04/2005 (HC)
11	3		Transformers: Primal Scream	The Transformers issues: #56 "Back from the Dead" #57 "The Resurrection Gambit!" #58 "All the Familiar Faces!" #59 "Skin Deep" #60 "Yesterday's Heroes!" #61 "The Primal Scream" #62 "Bird of Prey!	Features: "New Head on the Block", a foreword by Simon Furman; "Humble Beginnings", a foreword by Geoff Senior; "Who's Who in the Transformers Universe", short bios on several key characters; "War Without End!", an introduction; "Power to the People", a recap; cover gallery; "Evolution of a Cover", a look at the production of the covers of this collection and Matrix Quest; "Script Notes", parts of the script to issue #56	22/03/2002 (TPB) 26/04/2002 (HC)
12	4		Transformers: Matrix Quest	The Transformers issues: #63 "Kings of the Wild Frontier." #64 "Deadly Obsession" #65 "Dark Creation" #66 "All Fall Down" #67 "Rhythms of Darkness!" #68 "The Human Factor!"	Features: "Pulling it All Together", a foreword by Simon Furman; "Melding Universes", a foreword by Bob Forward; "Who's Who in the Transformers Universe"; "War Without End", an introduction; "Lost in Space", a recap; cover gallery; "(More) Script Notes", parts of the script to issue #56	21/06/2002 (TPB) 26/07/2002 (HC)
13	1		Transformers: All Fall Down	The Transformers issues: #69 "Eye of the Storm" #70 "The Pri¢e of Life!" #71 "Surrender!" #72 "...All This and Civil War 2" #73 "Out of Time!" #74 "The Void!"	Features: "The Beginning and the End", a foreword by Simon Furman; "Bits and Pieces", a foreword by Andrew Wildman; "War Without End!"; an introduction; "Who's Who in the Transformers Universe", featuring short bios on a different selection of characters; "Prelude to Disaster: The Story So Far...", a recap; cover gallery; "Evolution of a Cover", a look at the production of the covers of this collection and End of the Road	24/08/2001 (TPB) July 13, 2001 (BotCon-exclusive HC) 25/07/2003 (HC)
14	2		Transformers: End of the Road	The Transformers issues: #75 "On the Edge of Extinction!" #76 "Still Life!" #77 "Exodus!" #78 "A Savage Circle" #79 "The Last Autobot?" #80 "End of the Road!"	Features: "Asked and Answered", a foreword by Simon Furman; "The Story So Far...", a recap; "You Only Order Twice", an afterword by Rob Tokar; cover gallery	23/11/2001 (TPB) 08/12/2001 (HC)
15	5		Transformers: Dark Designs	Transformers: Generation 2 issues: #1 "War Without End!" #2 "All or Nothing!" #3 "Primal Fear!" #4 "Devices and Desires!" #5 "The Power and the Glory" #6 "The Gathering Darkness"	Features: "Eating My Words", a preface by Simon Furman; "Prophetic Words", a preface by Richard Starkings; a recap of the original Marvel Transformers series; a recap of the G.I. Joe issues leading into Generation 2; cover gallery Omissions: The Transformers: Generation 2 story, "Ghosts"	27/09/2002 (TPB) 25/10/2002 (HC)
16	6		Transformers: Rage in Heaven	Transformers: Generation 2 issues: #7 "New Dawn" #8 "Escalation!" #9 "Swarm" #10 "Total War!" #11 "Dark Shadows!" #12 "A Rage in Heaven!"	Features: "Armageddon Then", a preface by Simon Furman; "For Whom the Bell Tolls", a preface by Manny Galan; "Smash and Grab", a preface by Derek Yaniger; cover gallery	27/12/2002 (TPB) 24/01/2003 (HC)

Omitted U.S.-originated material

Though comprehensive, Titan's U.S. collections were by no means complete, and omitted several stories due to either editorial decisions or understandable mistakes. The absent material includes:

• Ralph Macchio's adaptations of animated material, consisting of the standalone miniseries Transformers: The Movie, and issue #43, "The Big Broadcast of 2006". Neither of these stories were pertinent to the ongoing plot of the U.S. book. However, they were both relevant to the UK storylines being reprinted around the same time; the first six UK collections were introduced by a prose summary of the movie's events, encouraging readers to watch the film to get the full scoop, while the Transformers: Space Pirates collection included a prose summary of "The Big Broadcast of 2006" at the appropriate point.
• Material concerning G.I. Joe, possibly due to a differing license. This means all four issues of G.I. Joe and the Transformers, the 1986 crossover by Michael Higgins, and issues #138 to #142 of G.I. Joe by Larry Hama, which led directly into the Transformers: Generation 2 book by reintroducing Megatron.
• "The Night the Transformers Saved Christmas", a four-page comic produced by Marvel, written by Budiansky, published in Woman's Day magazine. This was originally published around about issue #14-15. (To be fair, we didn't even cover this until long after the reprint collection had ended.)
• Issues #33 and #34, which reprinted the UK story "Man of Iron". We mention it here as the U.S. version featured exclusive colours by Nelson Yomtov. The UK collections didn't reprint it either, sadly!
• The Generation 2 story "Ghosts", first printed as a free promotional comic and then again as a back-up in the second issue.
• Any profile material, including The Transformers Universe issues #1 through 4 as well as additional profiles that supplemented the content of the main comic.

UK collections

Colour

As with the U.S. collections, while curating the material from the UK comic, Simon Furman chose to lead with the highlights from his own work on the series. However, as the UK stories were typically written as filler material between U.S. stories, they have a much less straightforwardly continuous narrative from start to finish—leading Furman to focus just on stories from the height of the comic's popularity, tying into the widely-seen The Transformers: The Movie, across six volumes beginning with "Target: 2006". Each collection began with four pages of background material on the history of the Marvel UK Transformers title, followed by a single two-page spread giving a review/summary of The Transformers: The Movie (this spread was nearly identical across the volumes, with only a single paragraph differing to explain how each particular collection's stories related to the film's events). Individual covers for the collected issues were only included in the form of a collage surrounding the blurb on the back cover of each book.

The last four volumes mopped up most of the remaining comic material from the series' heyday, with storylines focused on the Wreckers, Dinobots and Predacons. These collections saw the introductory background material reduced to three pages, with the movie review/summary being dropped entirely. Blurbs for the last three volumes specifically called out "bonus stories", apart from the main title story—for instance, the final volume reprinted most of the Christmas strips from the comic's run.

Reading order	Release order	Cover	Title	Contents	Notes	Release date
1	7		Transformers: Dinobot Hunt	The Transformers (UK) issues: #45-46 "The Icarus Theory" #47-50 "Dinobot Hunt!" Annual 1986: "Victory!" #74-77 "In the National Interest"	"Transformers: UK": background on issues #243-260	26/03/2004
2	9		Transformers: Second Generation	The Transformers (UK) issues: #59-60 "Robot Buster!" #61-62 "Devastation Derby!" #63-65 "Second Generation!" #93 "The Gift" #145 "Stargazing" #198 "Cold Comfort and Joy!" Annual 1990: "Dreadwing Down!"	"Transformers: UK": background on the Marvel UK editorial team behind The Transformers	23/08/2004
3	1		Transformers: Target: 2006	The Transformers (UK) issues: #78–88 "Target: 2006" (including "Cybertron: The Middle Years!")	"Transformers: UK": background on issues #1-77	10/08/2002 (hardcover) 23/08/2002 (softcover)
4	8		Transformers: Prey	The Transformers (UK) issues: #96-97 "Prey!" #98 "...The Harder They Die!" #99 "Under Fire!" #100 "Distant Thunder!" #103-104 "Resurrection!" Annual 1987: "What's in a Name?" #135-136 "Grudge Match!" Annual 1990: "The Chain Gang!"	"Transformers: UK": background on issues #261-289(-332)	21/05/2004
5	2		Transformers: Fallen Angel	The Transformers (UK) issues: #101-102 "Fallen Angel" #113-114 "Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!" #115-116 "Burning Sky!" #117-118 "Hunters" #119-120 "Fire on High!" Annual 1987: "Vicious Circle!" "High Noon Tex", the first ever Death's Head strip (allegedly)	"Transformers: UK": background on issues #78-120	29/11/2002
6	3		Transformers: Legacy of Unicron	The Transformers (UK) issues: #133-134 "Headhunt" #137-138 "Ladies' Night" #146-151 "The Legacy of Unicron!" #152-153 "Enemy Action!"	"Transformers: UK": background on issues #121-153	24/01/2003
7	6		Transformers: City of Fear	The Transformers (UK) issues: #164-165 "City of Fear!" #166-167 "Legion of the Lost!" #168-169 "Meltdown!" #170-171 "Deadly Games!" #188 "Firebug!" #213-214 "The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire." #132 "Kup's Story!"	"Transformers: UK": background on issues #228-242	24/10/2003
8	4		Transformers: Space Pirates	The Transformers (UK) issues: #160-161 "Salvage!" #172-173 "Wrecking Havoc" #180-181 "The Big Broadcast of 2006" (framing pages with new two-page summary) #182–187 "Space Pirates!" Annual 1987: "Ark Duty"	"Transformers: UK": background on issues #154-187 (including a reprint of "The Wind of Change!")	25/04/2003
9	5		Transformers: Time Wars	The Transformers (UK) issues: #130-131 "Worlds Apart!" Two-page text summary of Target: 2006, Fallen Angel, Legacy of Unicron, and Space Pirates #189 "Dry Run!" Annual 1989: "Altered Image!" & "All in the Minds!" #199-205 "Time Wars"	"Transformers: UK": background on issues #188-227	24/07/2003

Black & white

Marvel UK's later material, produced solely in black and white, was reprinted in a series of digest-size paperbacks. It was claimed that if these reprints were successful, Titan would finance future colour releases, but this evidently did not pan out. Some stories (notably "The Big Shutdown!" and the Survivors saga) had previously been reprinted within the original UK comics themselves in colour.

Reading order	Release order	Cover	Title	Contents	Release date
1	3		Transformers: Fallen Star	The Transformers (UK) issues: #215-218 "Race with the Devil" #248 "Fallen Star!" #243 "Mind Games" #244 "Two Megatrons!" #268 "Flashback!" #270 "The Bad Guy's Ball!" #275 "Secrets" #276 "Bugged!" #277 "Internal Affairs!" #284 "Assassins" #285 "External Forces!" #286 "The Lesser Evil!"	23/09/2005
2	2		Transformers: Way of the Warrior	The Transformers (UK) issues: #219-222 "Survivors!" #229 "The Hunting Party" #237 "Way of the Warrior" #238 "Survival Run" #239 "A Savage Place!" #272 "Cry Wolf!" #273 "Wolf in the Fold!" #274 "Where Wolf?" #282 "Shut Up!" #283 "Manoeuvres!" #249 "Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?" #250 "The Greatest Gift of All!"	22/07/2005
3	1		Transformers: Aspects of Evil	The Transformers (UK) issues: #223-227 "Aspects of Evil!" #251 "The Void!" #252 "Edge of Impact" #253 "Shadow of Evil" #254 "White Fire" #235-236 "Deathbringer" #240 "Out to Lunch!" #245 "Underworld!" #246 "Demons!" #247 "Dawn of Darkness"	23/05/2005
4	4		Transformers: Earthforce	The Transformers (UK) issues: #228 "(Double) Deal of the Century!" #234 "Prime's Rib!" #261 "Starting Over!" #262 "Two Steps Back!" #263 "Break-Away!" #264 "Desert Island Risks!" #265 "Once upon a Time..." #266 "Life in the Slow Lane" #267 "Snow Fun!" #269 "Mystery!" #271 "The Living Nightlights!" #278 "The House that Wheeljack Built!" #279 "Divide and Conquer!" #280 "The 4,000,000 Year Itch!" #281 "Makin' Tracks!"	23/12/2005
5	5		Transformers: Perchance to Dream	The Transformers (UK) issues: #255-260 "...Perchance to Dream" #230-231 "The Big Shutdown!" #232-233 "A Small War!" #241 "Rage!" #242 "Assault on the Ark!" #287 "Inside Story!" #288 "Front Line!" #289 "End of the Road!"	24/02/2006

Omitted UK-originated material

Compared to the U.S. collections, the UK collections omitted a much longer list of material (though this may because there was a significantly larger amount of material to begin with). The absent material includes:

• The first UK-original story, "Man of Iron". Written by Steve Parkhouse, this was printed in issues #9-12, and was the only UK story to be reprinted by the U.S. book.
• The rest of the UK comic stories from the early days of the book, all penned by Simon Furman, consisting of "The Enemy Within!" (#13-17); "Raiders of the Last Ark" (#18-21); "Decepticon Dam-Busters!" (#29-30); "The Wrath of Guardian!" and "The Wrath of Grimlock!" (#31-32); "Plague of the Insecticons!" and "And There Shall Come...a Leader!" (Annual 1985); "Christmas Breaker!" (#41); and "Crisis of Command!" (#42). Furman, acting as a consultant for Titan, may have had some say in these stories not being reprinted, as later comments indicate he wasn't so proud of his early work. Helpfully, all of these significant omissions from the early UK comics were precisely what was included in the very first volume of IDW Publishing's later reprint series The Transformers Classics UK.
• "The Special Teams Have Arrived", a short advertisement comic about the Special Teams produced by the regular Marvel UK team for Hasbro. This was supplanted in continuity by an expanded retelling in "Second Generation!".
• The Action Force crossover story "Ancient Relics!", which ran across The Transformers #125 and Action Force #24-27. (The also-omitted U.S. crossover, G.I. Joe and the Transformers, did not take place in UK continuity.)
• A handful of Annual comic stories written by authors other than Furman: "To a Power Unknown!" (Annual 1986), "Peace" (Annual 1989), "Destiny of the Dinobots!" (Annual 1990). Incidentally, none of these particularly fit into continuity without some massaging.
• Any of the Annual prose stories: "Missing in Action", "Hunted!" (Annual 1985); "The Return of the Transformers", "State Games", "The Mission" (1986); "Doomsday for Nebulos", "Stylor's Story", "The Final Conflict" (1987); "Prime Bomb!" (1989); "Trigger-Happy!" (1990); "The Magnificent Six!" (1991); and "Another Time & Place" (1992).
• Any prose recaps, such as the Robot War features and the annual recaps "In the Beginning...", "The Saga of the Transformers — So Far!", and "The Quest!".
• Any profile material, such as the Fact Files or the Transformers AtoZ, which adapted the Universe profiles to better fit the UK continuity.
• Any of the letters page and editorial material, such as relevant Robo-Capers strips (except "The Wind of Change!") and the prose story "Dreadwind's Xmas!".

Best of Transformers

There was only one release in the Best of Transformers series, collecting Furman's run starting with the Matrix Quest through to Unicron's defeat.

Cover	Title	Contents	Notes	Release date
	Best of Transformers: Eye of the Storm	The Transformers issues: #62 "Bird of Prey!" #63 "Kings of the Wild Frontier." #64 "Deadly Obsession" #65 "Dark Creation" #66 "All Fall Down" #69 "Eye of the Storm" #70 "The Pri¢e of Life!" #71 "Surrender!" #72 "...All This and Civil War 2" #73 "Out of Time!" #74 "The Void!" #75 "On the Edge of Extinction!"	Features: an introduction by Simon Furman Omissions: the alternate-universe interlude "Rhythms of Darkness!" from issue #67; issue #68, "The Human Factor!", likely due to Furman's expressed dissatisfaction with that story. Both were already reprinted in Matrix Quest.	April 2008

Titan Magazines live-action film series continuity collections

Titan Books also put out a small selection of trade paperbacks collecting strips and other features from Titan Magazines' long-lived Transformers movie tie-in comic in the form of Transformers Adventures. These digest-sized volumes were aimed at younger readers and retailed at an affordable £4.99.

Cover	Title	Contents	Notes	Release date
	Transformers Adventures (Vol. 1)	Transformers Comic (vol. 1) issues: #1 "Prelude: Optimus Prime" #2 "Prelude: Megatron" #3 "Lost in Space, Part 1: Ratchet" #4 "Lost in Space, Part 2: Devastator" #5 "Lost in Space, Part 3: Ironhide" #6 "Lost in Space, Part 4: Jazz"	Features: "Transformers 101", an introduction of the premise; an Optimus Prime profile; a Megatron profile; "Cybertron Smackdown: Optimus Prime v. Megatron"; a Jazz profile; "Cybertron Smackdown: Jazz v. Blackout"; a Starscream profile	25/04/2008
	Transformers Adventures (Vol. 2)	Transformers Comic (vol. 1) issues: #7 "Starscream's Militia" #8 "Scorpion Sting" #9 "Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part 1" #10 "Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part 2" #11 "Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part 3" #12 "Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part 4" #13 "Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part 5"	Features: "Transformers 101", rewritten to incorporate the events of volume 1; a Frenzy profile; a Bonecrusher profile	22/08/2008
	Transformers Adventures (Vol. 3)	Transformers Comic (vol. 1) issues: #14 "Aftermath, Part 1" #15 "Aftermath, Part 2" #16 "Dark Spark" #17 "Return to Cybertron, Part 1" #18 "Return to Cybertron, Part 2" #19 "Return to Cybertron, Part 3" #20 "Return to Cybertron, Part 4"		29/01/2010
	Transformers: Reversal of Fortune	Transformers Comic (vol. 2) issues: #1 "Training Day" #2 "Dogfight!" #3 "Learning Curve" #4 "New Tricks" #5 "Reversal of Fortune" #6 "Outlaw Blues" #7 "Turnabout" #8 "Back-to-Back"		24/09/2010

Notes

• Several Marvel stories omitted from Titan's collections proved to be so elusive that they were reprinted as part of IDW Publishing's Best of the Rarities in 2022, including "Ghosts", "The Night the Transformers Saved Christmas", "Another Time & Place", and "Dreadwind's Xmas!".

External links

• Titan Books: Transformers