The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye

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

All of your favorite childhood heroes... and Drift.

The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye is an ongoing comic series published by IDW Publishing, starting in January 2012. This series follows the adventures of Rodimus and his team as they travel through space, hunting for the legendary Knights of Cybertron and having adventures along the way. But mostly it's about lonely nobodies hanging out pretending they have friends

The series picks off from "The Death of Optimus Prime", the final issue of the previous ongoing, and takes place at the same time as a second ongoing series, Robots in Disguise.

«	The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye issues:
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 (comic) #13 (text) #14 #15 #16 Annuals: 2012

Overview

In contrast to the Cybertron-based setting of Robots in Disguise, More than Meets the Eye is set predominantly within the walls of the Lost Light, the spaceship captained by Rodimus that carries his crew on their expedition to locate the Knights of Cybertron, a mythical group who left the planet ten million years prior to the present day to spread peace and enlightenment across the universe. The book features an ensemble cast, who come and go from the spotlight with each passing issue, made up in large part of characters who have been overlooked by past fiction.

The "main cast" at the series outset includes Rodimus himself; his officious second-in-command Ultra Magnus, whose obsessive-compulsive traits make life on the ship difficult for everyone; third-in-command Drift, now with a relentlessly positive outlook on life following a near-death experience; the talkative Swerve, who immediately became a fan favorite; ship's doctor Ratchet, now feeling his age and looking for something new in life; dangerously unhinged ex-Wrecker Whirl, who soon forms a murderous enmity with disillusioned ancient Cybertron Cylconus; ship's security officer Red Alert, even more paranoid then ever; timid psychiatrist Rung, who slowly seems to be more than he appears; and diminutive archivist Rewind and mnemosurgeon Chromedome, who would come to draw much attention as the first truly official "gay" romantic couple in Transformers fiction. In short order, the crew is joined by Tailgate, a naive Transformer who has been offline for the duration of the war and finds himself forced to choose a side, and Skids, a long-missing Autobot who reappears with amnesia and a bad attitude. As the series progresses, more Autobots come into focus on the fringes of the story, like the over-eager, luckless Pipes, and resentful, boozy, one-trick-pony Trailbreaker.

Creative team

The series is written by James Roberts, fresh from the critical success of Last Stand of the Wreckers. Roberts had already been assigned the series when he wrote the two-part "Chaos Theory" in issues #22 and #23 of the ongoing series, and seeded many early plot points for the series into those two series, including Whirl as the prison guard. Also furthering the link between the ongoing and More than Meets the Eye, when Roberts co-plotted "Chaos" with Mike Costa, Costa let him script all of the Kimia escape shuttle scenes, populated with characters who would be aboard the Lost Light.

Alex Milne serves as the series regular artist, employing a slightly exaggerated cartoonish style unlike much of his past work, with colors by Josh Burcham, using a palette of muted, textured tones very unlike anything seen in a modern Transformers comic. Frequent Roberts collaborator Nick Roche provided art for issues #1 and #6, while Joana Lafuente assisted with colors in issue #7, and Brendan Cahill co-pencilled #12.

Collections

• The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 1 (June 13, 2012) ISBN 1613772351 / ISBN 978-1613772355

• Contains issues #1 to #3, as well as the preceding The Death of Optimus Prime one-shot.
• Bonus material includes art from most covers, 12 promotional images, "Meet the Crew" page, design sketches from Alex Milne for various characters and ship locations, and a 2-page editor's comment with "behind the scenes" information about the series.

• The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 2 (October 17, 2012) ISBN 1613774982 / ISBN 978-1613774984

• Contains issues #4 to #8.
• Bonus material includes art from most covers, "Meet the Crew" and "Meet the 'Cons" pages.

• The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 3 (March 26, 2013 Scheduled) ISBN 161377592X / ISBN 978-1613775929

• Contains Annual 2012 and issues #9 to #11.
• Bonus material UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.

• 
  Volume 1 cover
• 
  Volume 2 cover
• 
  Volume 3 cover