IDW Publishing
Idea and Design Works, LLC currently owns the Transformers comic book license as of May 2005, following the financial collapse of the previous license holder, Dreamwave, at the tail-end of 2004. The flagship title is a rebooted continuity – loosely based on Generation 1 – written by longtime Transformers scribe Simon Furman, with art by E.J. Su (who previously worked on G.I. Joe/Transformers Vol. 2 for Devil's Due) on the main "*ation" series, and various artists, prominently including Nick Roche and Don Figueroa, on associated miniseries and one-shot Spotlights.
Series published
IDW Publishing was awarded the Transformers comic book license from Hasbro in 2005, after the demise of previous holder, Dreamwave Productions.
G1 rebooted
The main IDW continuity is overseen by Simon Furman, who has taken a fresh approach to the Generation 1 story. All the familiar faces are present, but a more sophisticated universe is unfolding around them.
Instead of an ongoing civil war on Cybertron which spills over to Earth by accident, Furman presents us with an interstellar cold war between the Autobots and Decepticons, a war of Codes of Interplanetary Conflict and alt-form-and-dagger covert operations, with Energon the prize and whole planets at stake. A surprising development on Earth heats up the war and turns our planet from just another proxy battleground into the ultimate prize.
The general order of publications to date is as follows:
- Infiltration (2005–06) Establishes the presence of the Transformers on modern-day Earth and re-establishes the theme of "robots in disguise" as central to the new continuity. A seven-issue story arc (issues #0 to #6).
- Spotlight (2006–present) Series of one-shot stories focusing on a single Transformer per issue. This series has no fixed publication format and is ongoing.
- Stormbringer (2006) Four-issue miniseries tie-in to Infiltration, establishing Cybertron's current situation in the re-boot and focusing squarely on the Transformers.
- Escalation (2006–07) Sequel to Infiltration; a six-issue story arc.
- New Avengers/Transformers (2007) A collaboration between Marvel Comics and IDW featuring the first ever crossover between the Transformers and New Avengers. Though it will have minimal effects on the overall universe, it is specifically designed to fit into continuity between Infiltration and Escalation.
- Megatron Origin (2007) Details the events surrounding Megatron's rise to power and the founding of the Decepticon faction.
- Devastation (2007–08) Sequel to Escalation; a six-issue story arc.
- Revelation (2008) Sequel to Devastation.
- Expansion (likely 2008–2009) Reportedly the sequel to Revelation.
See also
Beast Wars
Taking place within the Beast Wars cartoon universe, this line eschews the previous 3H fan club comics that previously continued the show's story to strike out in a new direction, focusing mainly on the non-show toy characters.
- Beast Wars: The Gathering – 4-issue mini-series marking the 10th anniversary of the Beast Wars franchise.
- Beast Wars: The Ascending – 4-issue sequel to The Gathering began publication in October 2007.
- The Beast Wars Sourcebook profile series is currently (November 2007) being published.
See also
Evolutions
A series of Elseworlds-like stories that exist in their own separate continuities, each taking different takes on Transformers. Only one has so-far been produced.
- Hearts of Steel – Places the Transformers in the American West during the Industrial Revolution.
Other
- Generations – Reprints old Marvel Comics issues, specifically ones that did not feature Marvel-owned characters such as Circuit Breaker.
- Transformers: The Animated Movie – An adaptation of the original Transformers film, 1986's The Transformers: The Movie.
- Transformers: Movie Prequel – A four-part series detailing the lead-up to the 2007 Transformers movie.
- Target 2006
- Best of UK: Dinobots
