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THE TRANSFORMERS: COMICS, BOOKS AND MANGA

Marvel Comics
(1984-1994)
Japanese
Manga
Other Books
and Titles
Titan Books
(2001-2010)
Club/Con
(2001-2016)
Dreamwave
(2002-2004)
Devil's Due
(2003-2007)
IDW Publishing
(2005-now)

CURRENT TRANSFORMERS COMICS FROM IDW PUBLISHING

Transformers: Movie Prequel

| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | TPB | Novel | Target Free Comic | Target DVD Bonus | Special | PREVIEWS |

Movie Prequel #1

Released on 7th March 2007.

Story by: Chris Ryall.

Written By: Simon Furman and Chris Ryall.

Art by: Don Figueroa.

Colours by: Josh Burcham.

Letters by: Robbie Robbins.

Edits by: Dan Taylor.

$3.99 cover price, choice of covers.

Later reprinted in: Transformers: Prime Directives TPB [IDW], The Transformers [Titan] Issues 1-3.

Synopsis: Cybertron - A distant planet, where for millions of years peace reigned as the Autobots tended to the mysterious Allspark, the object that gave them life, under the joint leadership of Optimus Prime and Lord High Protector Megatron. But, over time Megatron became power hungry and started a war for control of the Allspark that soon spread throughout the planet.

With no options left, Optimus Prime plans to put the Allspark out of Megatron's hands forever by launching it into space. As the Decepticons launch a full scale attack on the city of Simfur, a small team lead by Bumblebee (the only one who knows the real purpose of their mission) protect the Cube's real launch location at Tyger Pax.

But Megatron can sense the object of his desires, and launches an assault that captures the team. He begins to torture Bumblebee for the exact location, but before he can get anywhere the Cube is launched. As he attempts to follow, Megatron is delayed for a few vital seconds by Bumblebee, who pays a heavy price when the Decepticon rips out his vocal circuits before pursuing.

As Bumblebee recovers he reveals to his fellow Autobots that the Cube is not yet completely safe, and their war may well be in the process of spreading to other worlds.

Characters Featured [in rough order of appearance]: Bumblebee, Optimus Prime [Flashback], Megatron, Starscream [Flashback], Swindle, Payload, Dreadwing, Arcee.

Reviews & Commentary: Reviewed by Denyer (pre-movie) / Reviewed by Inflatable Dalek (post-movie)

Movie Prequel #2

Released on 7th March 2007.

Written by: Simon Furman and Chris Ryall.

Art by: Don Figueroa.

Colours by: Josh Burcham.

Colour Assist by: Mark Bristow.

Letters by: Robbie Robbins.

Edits by: Dan Taylor.

$3.99 cover price, choice of covers.

Later reprinted in: Transformers: Prime Directives TPB [IDW], The Transformers [Titan] Issues 4-6.

Synopsis: Thousands of years ago: Megatron follows the Allspark to Earth, but in his haste misses a radiation blind spot in the atmosphere and crashes in the polar ice cap.

1897: Captain Archibald Whitwicky's Arctic expedition stumbles upon something beneath the ice.

1898: In Boston, a now insane Captain Whitwicky is visited by Sector 7, who ask him questions about the “Mega Man” he saw and the drawings he made before going blind. They decide to set off on an expedition to the Arctic to capture the creature.

1899: Sector 7 make preparations to move the Ice Man into a secure dome.

1902: The Allspark is found in Colorado, they decide to use Roosevelt's Reclamation Act as a cover to build what will become Hoover Dam around it.

2003: The Hubble Space telescope takes a picture of something unusual on Mars. Sector 7 quickly realise it's a relative of the Mega Man that, if captured, could be exploited in the same way. The picture is of Bumblebee...

Characters Featured [in rough order of appearance]: Megatron, Bumblebee [Flashback, plus photo], Dreadwing [Flashback], Optimus Prime [Flashback], Captain Archibald Whitwicky, Agent Simmons.

Reviews & Commentary: Reviewed by Denyer (pre-movie) / Reviewed by Inflatable Dalek (post-movie)

Movie Prequel #3

Released on 11th April 2007.

Written by: Simon Furman and Chris Ryall.

Art by: Don Figueroa.

Colours by: Josh Burcham.

Colour Assist by: Mark Bristow.

Letters by: Robbie Robbins.

Edits by: Dan Taylor.

$3.99 cover price, choice of covers.

Later reprinted in: Transformers: Prime Directives TPB [IDW], The Transformers [Titan] Issues 7-9.

Synopsis: 1924: Captain Witwicky is now in an insane asylum, plagued by visions of the Transformers bringing their war to our world.

1935: On the eve of his retirement, Agent Simmons visits Hoover Dam as it nears completion to see when the "Mega-Man" will be soon laid to rest. He remains convinced that others will come looking for the cube, and no amount of concrete will hide it.

2003: Sector 7 arrive in Virginia at the location where Bumblebee has just crashed on Earth. Watching CCTV tapes reveals the visitor has assumed the shape of a Camero, but despite this knowledge they fail to capture him.

Young Sam Witwicky inherits his Great, Great Grandfather's possessions, but is unimpressed by their contents, whilst Bumblebee hacks into the Internet and learns of Captain Witwicky's claims about an Ice Man.

Sector 7 call in Agent Simmons, a specialist to help them capture the newly christened N.B.E.2. He formulates a plan to use a synthesised material to imitate the Cube's signal and lure the unaware alien into a trap.

But an unexpected spanner is thrown into his plan as three Decepticons arrive on Mars...

Characters Featured [in rough order of appearance]: Captain Witwicky, Starscream, Ratchet [Flashforward], Devastator [Flash Forward], Jazz [Flash Forward], Agent Simmons Sr, Bumblebee, Sam Witwicky, Ron Witwicky, Judy Witwicky, Agent Simmons, Starscream, Blackout, Barricade.

Reviews & Commentary: Reviewed by Denyer (pre-movie) / Reviewed by Inflatable Dalek (post-movie)

Movie Prequel #4

Released on 2nd May 2007.

Written by: Chris Ryall and Simon Furman.

Art by: Don Figueroa.

Colours by: Josh Burcham.

Colour Assist by: Mark Bristow.

Letters by: Robbie Robbins.

Edits by: Dan Taylor.

$3.99 cover price, choice of covers.

Later reprinted in: Transformers: Prime Directives TPB [IDW], The Transformers [Titan] Issues 10-13.

Synopsis: The Decepticons arrive on Earth and take on new alt modes before setting out to search for the Allspark.

In Tranquility, Nevada, Sam Witwicky is depressed at the seeming lack of value in his Great, Great Grandfather's artifacts, and decides that once he's old enough he’ll sell them online to raise money for a car.

After two days of waiting, Sector 7's lure finally attracts the target as Bumblebee comes into the area. But he's not alone, as the Decepticons have also traced the signal. As Barricade pursues Bumblebee, Blackout and Starscream fight the humans. The Decepticons begin to download their computer files, though they learn little before the system is disconnected.

Frustrated, they decide to let Bumblebee think that he has escaped them, and then follow to find what, if any leads he has on the Allspark. In the interim, the lone Autobot heads for Tranquility Nevada...

Characters Featured [in rough order of appearance]: Starscream, Blackout, Barricade, Megatron, Simmons, Bumblebee, Sam Witwicky, Milo.

Reviews & Commentary: Reviewed by Denyer (pre-movie) / Reviewed by Inflatable Dalek (post-movie)

Movie Prequel TPB

Reprints issues #1-4 of the Movie Prequel comic.

$19.99 list price.

Publisher solicitation: The live-action Transformers movie is finally upon us! But the spectacle unfolding on the big screen isn't the whole story. Read the beginning of the story right here! In this four-part prequel to the film, travel from CYBERTRON to Earth as we see for the first time what momentous events led to the TRANSFORMERS bringing their war to our world.

Browse at Amazon.com | Browse at Amazon.co.uk

"Ghosts of Yesterday" Novel

Not an IDW product, but co-ordinated with the publishers of the novel (printed by Del Rey in the US, Titan in the UK. 6.99 in either currency.)

Reviewed by Inflatable Dalek

The first human-alien contact. The last word in galactic warfare. The story you must read–before Transformers rockets to the big screen!

A mammoth robotic being, clearly of alien origin, has been found beneath the Arctic ice. Its advanced engineering dwarfs known human technology, and unlocking its secrets will catapult American science eons into the future. In search of the mysterious artifact’s origin, a covert government agency sends the manned craft Ghost 1 on a perilous journey of discovery.

When a mishap maroons Ghost 1 in the far reaches of unknown space, the ship’s distress beacon reaches the very alien race Ghost 1’s crew has been seeking: the Autobots. The gigantic mechanized beings are also on a quest: to find the Allspark, a device crucial to the salvation of their home world, Cybertron. But they’re not alone. The Decepticons, the Autobots’ brutal enemies, have their own sinister purposes in seeking the Allspark. As these adversaries are drawn together once more, the stage is set for a death-dealing new battle in which each is driven by a single-minded aim: total annihilation of the enemy.


Browse at Amazon.com | Browse at Amazon.co.uk

Movie Prequel: Target Free Comic

Released June 2007.

http://transformers.target...TransformersComic.pdf

Written by Simon Furman and Chris Ryall.

Art by Andrew Wildman.

Colours by Josh Burcham.

Letters by Robbie Robbins.

Edits by Ted Adams.

This eleven-page, self-contained exclusive free issue for Target chronicles what happens to Bumblebee in the two days between pages 7-8 of Movie Prequel #4.

Later Reprinted In: Transformers Movie Prequel Special under the title Chapter Two: Interlude.

Synopsis: Bumblebee recaps the Autobots launcing the Allspark into space, and Archibald Witwicky's mission to polar regions. His snooping on medical computer records is detected by an NBE (non-biological entity) team, who dispatch a fleet of vans and helicopters to intercept. Bumblebee is able to shake off their pursuit without causing loss of life, but runs into a dead end trying to find Archibald's descendants in Springfield. Fortunately the house is changing hands again that day, and the estate agent's laptop contains details of previous owners... thereafter, Bumblebee travels to several states looking for surviving relatives, before once more running into NDE agents and crossing paths with a Decepticon, Barricade.

Characters Featured [in rough order of appearance]: Bumblebee, Megatron (flashback), human agents, Barricade.

Reviews & Commentary: Reviewed by Inflatable Dalek (post-movie)

Movie Prequel: Target DVD Bonus

Released October 2007.

http://transformers.target...TransformersComic2.pdf

Story by Chris Ryall, Michael Ritchie and Michael Verrecchia.

Script by Chris Ryall.

Art by Don Figueroa (p1-9) and Andrew Wildman (p10-22).

Colours by Josh Burcham.

Letters by Robbie Robbins.

Edits by Ted Adams.

Later Reprinted In: Transformers Movie Prequel Special under the title Chapter One: Planetfall.

This twenty-four page DVD-size comic for Target covers Megatron's exit from Cybertron and Decepticons following him to Earth.

Synopsis: On Cybertron, Megatron sends Blackout to reinforce Starscream's assault on Tyger Pax. Starscream is keen to take the Allspark for himself, but the group are in understandable fear of Megatron. Following their leader through space, they planetfall in Afghanistan and encounter a military base that's been tracking their arrival. A brief fight ensues, with the humans revealing that they have anti-Transformer weaponry before being crushed. The Decepticons prepare to begin their search for the Allspark.

NB: the story appears to be an alternative continuity to the main IDW Prequel comic series.

Characters Featured [in rough order of appearance]: Megatron, Blackout, Barricade, Bonecrusher, Starscream, Wreckage, Devastator, Scorponok, human troops.

Reviews & Commentary: Reviewed by Inflatable Dalek (post-movie)

Movie Prequel Special

Released 18th June 2008.

$3.99 cover price.

Publisher solicitation: This special edition with a full 32 pages of story and art offers two titanic TRANSFORMERS MOVIE tales never before offered for sale. In a special lead-in to the movie, BUMBLEBEE finds himself beset on all sides. And in a full-length tale, STARSCREAM and other DECEPTICONS experience “Earthfall.” Courtesy of Simon Furman, Chris Ryall, Don Figueroa (all three veterans of the Transformers Movie Prequel), and Andrew Wildman. Available with 50/50 covers by Figueroa, one portraying AUTOBOTS, the other showcasing the DECEPTICONS.

(In other words, it's the two Target prequel comics collected together.)

 

| Intro to be done | IDW Comics Guide | Saga of the Allspark |

 
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