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! [1]
Titan collections
U.S. collections
Transformers: Beginnings
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #1–6 (UK #1–8, 22–25)
Transformers: New Order
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #7–12 (UK #26–28, 33–40)
Transformers: Cybertron Redux
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #13–18 (UK #51–58, 66–69)
Transformers: Showdown
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #19–24 (UK #70–73, 89–92, 94, 95, 105, 106)
Transformers: Breakdown
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #25–30 (UK #107–112, 121–124, 126, 127)
Transformers: Treason
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #31–32, #35–37 (UK #128, 129, 139–144, 154, 155);
Omits: Marvel U.S. #33–34 — Color reprint of Marvel UK's "Man of Iron", not part of the ongoing storyline. This story isn't among the collected UK material either.
Transformers: Trial by Fire
Collects: Marvel Headmasters #1–4, Marvel Transformers U.S. #38–39 (UK #130–145, 156–159)
Transformers: Maximum Force
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #40–42, #44–45 (UK #162, 163, 174–179, 190, 191);
Omits: Marvel U.S. #43 — Adaptation of "The Big Broadcast of 2006", not part of the ongoing storyline. This story was omitted from the Space Pirates! collection too, despite that storyline being written around this issue, being replaced with a summary illustrated by a few panel excerpts.
Transformers: Dark Star
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #46–50 (UK #192–197, 206–210)
Transformers: Last Stand
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #51–55 (UK #211–220, 232–239)
The titles listed after this point, written by Titan affiliate Simon Furman, were the first Transformers collections printed.
Transformers: Primal Scream
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #56–62 (UK #240–254, 259–264)
Transformers: Matrix Quest
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #63–68 (UK #282–305)
Transformers: All Fall Down
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #69–74 (UK #306–318)
Transformers: End of the Road
Collects: Marvel Transformers U.S. #75–80 (UK #319–332)
Transformers: Dark Designs
Collects: Marvel Transformers: Generation 2 #1–6 (UK #3–5)
Omits: Marvel Transformers: Generation 2 #0 — Promotional issue taking place prior to #1, "Ghosts" was not part of the ongoing storyline. This story was also re-printed as a backup story in Transformers: Generation 2 #2. It is not collected elsewhere.
Transformers: Rage in Heaven
Collects: Marvel Transformers: Generation 2 #7–12
UK collections
Color
These compilations are shown in chronological order (based on the first issue, note that many include stories published years after the title arc), the order in which Titan published these is as follows: Target: 2006, Fallen Angel, Legacy of Unicron, Space Pirates, Time Wars, City of Fear, Dinobot Hunt, Prey, Second Generation.
Transformers: Dinobot Hunt
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #45–50, #74–77, 1986 Annual
ISBN 1-84023-789-9
Transformers: Second Generation
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #59–65, #93, #145, #198, 1989 Annual
ISBN 1-84023-935-2
Transformers: Target: 2006
Collects: Story arc from Marvel Transformers UK #78–88, including the "Cybertron: The Middle Years!" prose feature from #83
ISBN 1-84023-510-1
Transformers: Prey
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #96–100, #103–104, #135, #136, 1987 Annual, 1989 Annual
ISBN 1-84023-831-3
Transformers: Fallen Angel
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #101–102, #113–120, 1987 Annual, plus "High Noon Tex" (the first ever Death's Head strip)
ISBN 1-84023-511-X
Transformers: Legacy of Unicron
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #133–134, #137, #138, #146–153
ISBN 1-84023-578-0
Transformers: City of Fear
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #132, #164–171, #188, #213–214
ISBN 1-84023-671-X
Transformers: Space Pirates
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #160–161, #172–173, #180–187, 1987 Annual
ISBN 1-84023-619-1
Transformers: Time Wars
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #130–131, #189, #199–205
ISBN 1-84023-647-7
Black & white
These compilations are listed in chronological order based on the first issue included, however the stories are bound by subject matter as opposed to sequential order.
Transformers: Fallen Star
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #215–218, #243–244, #248, #268, #270, #275-277 and #284–286
- Note: The inidicia printed in this collection mistakenly lists issue number contents as those collected in Way of the Warrior.
ISBN 1-84576-060-3
Transformers: Way of the Warrior
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #219–222, #229, #237–239, #272–274, #282–283 and #249–250
ISBN 1-84576-059-X
Transformers: Aspects of Evil
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #223–227, #235–236, #240, #245–247 and #251–254
ISBN 1-84576-055-7
Transformers: Earthforce
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #228, #234, #261–267, #269, #271 and #278–281
ISBN 1-84576-061-1
Transformers: Perchance to Dream
Collects: Stories from Marvel Transformers UK #230–233, #241–242, #255–260 and #287–289
ISBN 1-84576-062-X
Non-Marvel collections
Transformers Adventures: (Vol. 1)
Collects: Titan Transformers UK #1–6
ISBN 1845768361
ISBN 978-1845768362
Transformers Adventures: (Vol. 2)
Collects: Titan Transformers UK #7-13
ISBN 184576837X
ISBN 978-1845768379
Transformers Adventures: (Vol. 3)
Collects: Titan Transformers UK #14-20
ISBN 1848561989
ISBN 978-1848561984
Transformers: Reversal of Fortune
Collects: Titan Transformers UK #2.1-2.8
ISBN 1848567464
ISBN 978-1848567467
Uncollected material
Though the Titan reprints were not fully comprehensive, most of the omissions read as editorial decisions or understandable mistakes. The collections didn't reprint...
- Ralph Macchio's U.S. issues adapted from animated material.
- Transformers: The Movie #1-3 — Adapted from The Transformers: The Movie. Several of the UK reprint volumes contained editorial material centred around the movie to provide context for the comics.
- "The Big Broadcast of 2006" (U.S. #43) — Adapted from the cartoon episode of the same name. Furman's UK-exclusive framing material for this story was reprinted alongside a summary of the issue.
- Any of the G.I. Joe/Action Force crossover material.
- G.I. Joe and the Transformers #1–4 — Marvel U.S.'s 1986 crossover, written not by Budiansky but by Michael Higgins. This story did not take place in the UK continuity.
- "Ancient Relics!" — Furman's Marvel UK crossover told across The Transformers #125 and Action Force #24-27.
- G.I. Joe #138-142 — Marvel U.S.'s 1993 lead-in to the Generation 2 series, written not by Furman but by main G.I. Joe writer Larry Hama.
- Any of the profiles produced alongside the comic.
- Transformers Universe #1–4 — Bob Budiansky's character profiles.
- Transformers Universe (various) — Character profiles printed as backups throughout the Marvel U.S. run.
- Transformers AtoZ (various) — Modified or new character profiles printed as backups throughout the Marvel UK run.
- "The Night the Transformers Saved Christmas" — a four-page comic produced by Marvel, written by Budiansky, published in Woman's Day magazine.
- "Ghosts" — A comic story from the promotional issue Transformers: Generation 2 #0.
- "Man of Iron" (UK #9-12, U.S. #33-34) — The first Marvel UK story, by Steve Parkhouse, the only one to have later been reprinted in the U.S. series.
- The rest of the earliest Marvel UK material from prior to issue #45. When this material was finally reprinted as part of IDW Publishing's The Transformers Classics UK series, Furman implied that he wasn't so proud of his earliest work on the book;[2] this, combined with the fact that some of it had only ever been printed in black-and-white, likely explains these earlier omissions.
- "The Enemy Within!" (#13-17), "Raiders of the Last Ark" (#18-21), "Decepticon Dam-Busters!" (#29-30), "The Wrath of Guardian!"/"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).
- A few Annual comic stories not written by Furman:
- "The Special Teams Have Arrived" — A short semi-canonical comic by Furman commissioned by Hasbro UK to promote the Special Teams.
- Any of the prose stories.
- Missing in Action, Hunted! (Annual 1985), In the Beginning..., The Return of the Transformers, State Games, The Mission (1986), Doomsday for Nebulos, Stylor's Story, The Final Conflict (1987), The Saga of the Transformers — So Far!, Prime Bomb! (1989), The Quest!, Trigger-Happy! (1990), The Magnificent Six! (1991) and Another Time & Place (1992).
- Any of the letters pages material, including the tie-in stories.
- The relevant Robo-Capers strips.
- "Dreadwind's Xmas!" — The prose story from The Transformers #302.
References
- ↑ Moonbase 2 AA2010 interview, 7:50 - 9:04
- ↑ "I just don't think ["The Enemy Within!" is] my best work. And certainly in terms of Transformers, I only hit my stride later. I possibly could have done with some editorial guidance on my early stories. I look back and, certainly in terms of my technical abilities, I wasn't really clued up enough about how much or how little to put on a page and how not to drive your artist insane... I could have done with some judicious editing."—Simon Furman in interview in The Transformers Classics UK]] vol. 1.
