The Transformers: Bumblebee
| This article is about the IDW Publishing miniseries. For characters named Bumblebee, see Bumblebee (disambiguation). |
The Transformers: Bumblebee is a 4-issue limited series published by IDW Publishing from 2009–2010 and set in the 2005 IDW continuity.
The miniseries served as sort of a maxi-Spotlight for Bumblebee and ran concurrently with the then-current ongoing series. The events follow the All Hail Megatron maxiseries and are specifically set between issues #3 and #5 of the ongoing.
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Overview
Although Bumblebee was elected as Autobot leader, he gets little respect, as Autobots strike out on their own or disrespect his authority. A rogue faction within Skywatch contacts the Autobots and sets up a meeting with Bumblebee to enlist the Autobots' help in capturing Decepticons. Bumblebee agrees and the bots are fitted with special badges to cloak them from the main Skywatch force, but when Colonel Horiuchi orders the capture of Blurr and resentment ensues, the Autobots learn that the badges also have the ability to immobilize them.
Creative team
Transformers: Bumblebee is written by Zander Cannon and illustrated by Chee Yang Ong, who both worked on stories in All Hail Megatron Coda. Moose Baumann provides colors. Guido Guidi and Josh Burcham team up to provide alternate covers.
Notes
- The events of the miniseries take place between issues 3 and 5 of the ongoing title.
- According to Andy Schmidt, this miniseries was intended to appeal mainly to younger readers, while still fitting into the main storyline.[1] How this squares with the graphic imagery of cows being killed by Frenzy, drill-hands soaked in blood, is unclear,
- The titles of all four issues are derived from incidents in Greek mythology and legend (the sword of Damocles, the Gordian Knot, the Trojan Horse and the flight of Icarus). There is precedent for this, albeit less high-falutin'.
- One of the things this mini became known for is the large number of discrepancies both between the artwork and the dialogue, as well as with the artwork of the concurrently released ongoing series. This affects character designs, characters appearing in places they shouldn't be, the "badges" Horiuchi's rogue Skywatch faction provides the Autobots with being rather obviously interpreted very differently than intended by the script, several characters with very Asian-sounding names being drawn as white people (including a red-haired girl), and more.
Collections
- Bonus material includes cover art from all issues.
- The Transformers: The IDW Collection Volume Six (May 9, 2012) ISBN 1613771835 / ISBN 978-1613771839
- Contains The Transformers #1–6, Bumblebee #1–4, Last Stand of the Wreckers #1–5 and Spotlight: Prowl.
- Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 47: International Incident (March 3, 2019)
- Collects Bumblebee #1–4 and The Transformers #9–12.
- Bonus material includes an interview with Zander Cannon and breakdowns for pages 1–4 of each issue of Bumblebee.
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Bumblebee TPB; cover art by Chee Yang Ong and Moose Baumann -
IDW Collection Volume Six; cover art by E. J. Su -
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 47: International Incident; cover art by Don Figueroa and Guido Guidi
