Prime Directive
| This article is about the first Dreamwave G1 mini-series. For the 2007 movie's prequel comic called Prime Directive in solicitations, see Transformers: Movie Prequel{{#switch:{{#sub:Transformers: Movie Prequel|-1}} | != | .= | ?= | .
}} |
Prime Directive is a six-part miniseries published by Dreamwave Productions in 2002, and set in the main Dreamwave Generation One continuity. It centers on the revival of the Transformers after a catastrophe several years prior. Four of the six individual issues topped Diamond Comic Distributors' sales charts for the month they were released in (with one issue losing to another Dreamwave Transformers title and the other one to a special publicity stunt by Marvel Comics), an accomplishment no other Transformers comic title has achieved before or afterwards.
While the series was simply titled Transformers: Generation 1 when it was released, it was dubbed Prime Directive when collected in trade paperback form.
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Joe | sotw|wreckers2|sins of the wreckers|transformers sins of the wreckers|transformers: sins of the wreckers|the transformers sins of the wreckers|the transformers: sins of the wreckers=Sins of the Wreckers | combiner hunters|combiner hunters (comic)=Combiner Hunters | titans return|titans return (comic)=Titans Return | optimus prime|optimus prime (comic)=Optimus Prime | annual2017|2017 Annual|Annual 2017=Transformers Annual 2017 | lost light|transformers lost light|the transformers lost light|transformers: lost light|the transformers: lost light=Lost Light | till all are one|Till All Are One|transformers till all are one|transformers: till all are one|the transformers till all are one|the transformers: till all are one=Till All Are One | revolution=Revolution | revolutionaries=Revolutionaries | action man=Action Man | gijoe5|g.i. joe vol 5|g.i. joe vol. 5|g.i. joe volume 5|g.i. joe (vol. 5)|g.i. joe (volume 5)=G.I. Joe vol. 5 | g.i. joe idw collection=G.I. Joe: The IDW Collection | first strike=First Strike | hasbro heroes sourcebook=Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook | micronauts=Micronauts | wrath of karza|micronauts wrath of karza|micronauts: wrath of karza=Micronauts: Wrath of Karza | rom=ROM | rom dire wraiths|rom: dire wraiths=Rom: Dire Wraiths | romamn|rom&mn|rom and the micronauts|rom & the micronauts=Rom & the Micronauts | rom vs transformers|shining armor|rom vs. transformers|rom vs transformers: shining armor|rom vs. transformers: shining armor=Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor | m.a.s.k.|m. a. s. k.|mask mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k. mobile armored strike kommand|mask: mobile armored strike kommand|m.a.s.k.: mobile armored strike command=M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand | scarletts strike force|scarlett's strike force=Scarlett's Strike Force | transformers vs visionaries|transformers vs. visionaries=Transformers vs. Visionaries | requiem of the wreckers|transformers requiem of the wreckers|transformers: requiem of the wreckers=Requiem of the Wreckers | transformers unicron=Unicron | IDW (2005)}} issues{{#if: yes | *}}]]}}}}}} | Prime Directive issues:}} | {{#if:War and Peace|»|}} |
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Overview
Prior to the events in the series, the Transformers had been gone from Earth for several years, having all vanished and thought destroyed in the destruction of their Ark II ship. The ship was carrying the victorious Autobots and their captive Decepticons back to Cybertron, but exploded soon after launch. Afterward, the sinister Lazarus collected their inert forms and found a way to control them, planning to sell them on the black market. However, the U.S. government has plans of its own... as do the Transformers themselves.
Prime Directive, originally only titled Generation 1, was the first mass-market Transformers comic in nearly a decade, an absence reflected in the storyline.
The mini-series marked a brief phase of highly successful Dreamwave Transformers comics: Following an introduction in the form of a six-page preview issue, the first regular issue, released in April 2002, debuted at #1 of Diamond Comic Distributors' sales charts, an accomplishment repeated by issues 2, 3 and 6. Issue 4 ranked second behind Dreamwave's own Transformers: Armada #1, whereas issue 5 was beaten by Marvel's Fantastic Four #60 (which sold for a mere 9¢ as part of a one-off publicity stunt), with 705,109 copies ordered versus Generation 1 #5's 122,829 copies. Generation 1 peaked with issue 3 in June 2002, with 131,586 copies ordered, although issues 1, 2 and 5 saw a second printing run, and issue 1 even saw a third printing run.
Back then, rumors were circulating that Dreamwave had manipulated the market through a special deal with Diamond to ensure their success, or that Hasbro had set up an account to order large numbers of the Transformers comics. in fact however, Hasbro had apparently ordered less than 200 copies per issue, and primarily because they were not guaranteed free copies from their contract with Dreamwave.<ref name ="litgtfspec">Lying in the Gutters Transformers Special, July 2002</ref> Later that year, other companies also reported high sales of "nostalgia" titles, thus further challenging those rumors.<ref name="litgnostal">Lying in the Gutters, October 2002.</ref>
Prime Directive established a new G1 continuity that drew on elements of the cartoon but also incorporated some elements of the old Marvel comics (most notably, the mention of Spike Witwicky's brother Buster, who originally only appeared in the Marvel comics) and generally does not fit well into any particular previous story. A second Generation 1 volume called War and Peace followed, and an ongoing series after that.
Many fans found the series impressive for the great amount of care and detail put into the artwork. The glossy print and computer coloring were worlds beyond the newsprint paper and dotted coloring of the Marvel Comics series. Others felt that the storyline was needlessly decompressed (almost two whole issues pass before any of the Transformers actually speak), that the visual storytelling was unclear, and that the overall pacing suffered for the sake of needlessly dramatic splash pages.
Creative team
The series was written by Chris Sarracini and penciled by Pat Lee and Edwin Garcia (and, allegedly, also by Sigmund Torre<ref name="litgtfspec"/>).
Notes
- "Prime Directive" was also the name of the original Transformers movie script, and a working title for IDW Publishing's Movie Prequel mini-series.
- The Prime Directive trade paperback collections are the only official release of the eight-page preview story for the second Generation 1 volume, War and Peace... which doesn't actually have a lot to do with the actual story of War and Peace, due to a sudden change of writers.
Collections
DreamWave
Transformers Generation One, Vol. 1 TPB
- ISBN 0973083727
- ISBN 978-0973083729
- Date published: December 4, 2002
- Pagecount: 160
DreamWave / Dynamic Forces
Transformers Generation One, Vol. 1 Hardcover
IDW Publishing reprint
Transformers Generation One, Vol. 1 TPB
- ISBN 1933239816
- ISBN 978-1933239811
- Date published: February 22, 2006
- Pagecount: 144
International printings
Japan
Transformers G1 Vol. 1 (トランスフォーマーG1)
- ISBN 4902314134
- ISBN 978-4902314137
- Date published: December 17, 2003
- Translator: Hiroto Ishikawa, Katsuya Akitomo
- Publisher: JIVE Ltd. (JIVE American Comics Series)
Footnotes
<references />