transformers 30th anniversary collection preview

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THE TRANSFORMERS 30TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION. JUNE 2013. FIRST PRINTING. HASBRO and its logo, TRANSFORMERS, and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. 2013

Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Editorial offices: 5080 Santa Fe St., San Diego, CA 92109. The I DW logo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Any similaritiesto persons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of ar twork used for review purposes, none of the contents of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC.Printed in Korea.IDW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited submissions of ideas, stories, or artwork.

Ted Adams, CEO & PublisherGreg Goldstein, President & COORobbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic ArtistChris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-ChiefMatthew Ruzicka, CPA, Chief Financial OfficerAlan Payne, VP of SalesDirk Wood, VP of MarketingLorelei Bunjes, VP of Digital Services

IDW founded by Ted Adams, Alex Garner, Kris Oprisko, and Robbie Robbins

ISBN: 978-1-61377-662-9 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4

Special thanks to Hasbros Aaron Archer, Jerry Jivoin, Michael Verret, Ed Lane, Joe Furfaro, Jos Huxley, Andy Schmidt, Heather Hopkins, and Michael Kelly for their invaluable assistance.

www.IDWPUBLISHING.com

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Forewordby Simon Furman

Introductionby Jim Sorenson

The Transformers #1, September 1984, Marvel Comics, "The Transformers"Plot by Bill Mantlo Script by Ralph Macchio Pencils by Frank Springer Inks by Kim DeMulder Colors by Nelson Yomtov Letters by Higgins &

Parker Edits by Bob Budiansky Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz

The Transformers #17, June 1986, Marvel Comics, "Return To Cybertron, Part 1: The Smelting Pool!"Written by Bob Budiansky Pencils by Don Perlin Inks by Keith Williams Colors by Nelson Yomtov

Letters by Janice Chiang Edits by Mike Carlin Cover by Herb Trimpe

The Transformers (UK) 1986 Annual, January 1986, Marvel Comics UK, "Victory!"Written by Simon Furman Art by Geoff Senior Colors by Gina Hart Letters by Annie Halfacree

Edits by Sheila Cranna Cover by Barry Kitson

The Transformers (UK) #86, November 1986, Marvel Comics UK, "Target: 2006, Part 8"Written by Simon Furman Art by Geoff Senior Colors by Gina Hart Letters by Annie Halfacree

Edits by Ian Rimmer Cover by Robin Smith

The Transformers #69, August 1990, Marvel Comics, "Eye Of The Storm"Written by Simon Furman Pencils by Andrew Wildman Inks by Harry Candelario and Bob Lewis

Colors by Nelson Yomtov Letters by Rick Parker Edits by Don Daley Cover by Andrew Wildman

The Transformers Generation 2 #45, FebruaryMarch 1994, Marvel Comics, "Tales of Earth, Parts 12"Written by Simon Furman Art on #4 by Derek Yaniger Pencils on #5 by Manny Galan Inks on #5 by Jim Amash

Colors by Sarra Mossoff Letters by Richard Starkings and Peggy Gaushell Edits by Rob Tokar Cover on #4 by Derek Yaniger

The Transformers #0, March 2002, Dreamwave, "The Prime Directive"Written by Chris Sarracini Pencils by Pat Lee Inks by Rob Armstrong Backgrounds by Edwin Garcia

Colors by TheRealT! Letters by Dreamer Design Cover by Pat Lee

The Transformers: The War Within #6, March 2003, DreamwaveWritten by Simon Furman Pencils by Don Figueroa Inks by Elaine To Colors by Rob Ruffolo and Alan Wang

Letters by Dreamer Design Cover by Don Figueroa

Transformers Armada: Mini-Comic, 2002, Hasbro / DreamwaveWritten by Chris Sarracini Pencils by James Raiz Inks by Rob Armstrong

Colors by Alan Wang and TheRealT! Letters by Dreamer Design Cover by James Raiz

The Transformers: Infiltration #6, July 2006, IDW PublishingWritten by Simon Furman Art by E J Su Colors by John Rauch Letters by Robbie Robbins

Edits by Chris Ryall and Dan Taylor Cover by Klaus Scherwinski

The Transformers: All Hail Megatron #1, July 2008, IDW PublishingWritten by Shane McCarthy Art by Guido Guidi Colors by Kris Carter Letters by Neil Uyetake and Chris Mowry

Edits by Denton J. Tipton Cover by Trevor Hutchison

The Transformers #4, February 2010, IDW Publishing, "Things Fall Apart, Part 3: Seasons In Flight"Written by Mike Costa Art by Don Figueroa Colors by J. Brown Letters by Robbie Robbins

Edits by Denton J. Tipton and Andy Schmidt Cover by Andrew Wildman

The Transformers: Last Stand Of The Wreckers #5, February 2010, IDW PublishingWritten by Nick Roche and James Roberts Art by Nick Roche Colors by Josh Burcham

Letters by Chris Mowry Edits by Denton J. Tipton and Andy Schmidt Cover by Nick Roche

The Transformers: The Reign Of Starscream #1, May 2008, IDW PublishingWritten by Chris Mowry Art by Alex Milne Colors by Josh Perez Letters by Chris Mowry

Edits by Denton J. Tipton Cover by Gabriel Rodriguez

The Transformers Animated: The Arrival #3, October 2008, IDW Publishing, "'Bots of Science"Written by Marty Isenberg Art by Boo Colors by Liam Shalloo Letters by Chris Mowry Edits by Denton J. Tipton Cover by Boo

Further Reading

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PG. 75

PG. 89

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PG. 159

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My childhood memories of TRANSFORMERS are of shiny toys

with decals I got to put on myself, and the smell of old-style

newsprint comics. Like many kids of that age I was hooked

by the "Hasbro approach," the epic story lines of good

versus evil. Epic characters in all sizes, with any number of

personality quirks, fighting in a never-ending robot civil war.

It was a whole world history and I loved the endless

possibilities of it all. It turns out I wasnt alone.

TRANSFORMERS was made for comics (mostly)planet-wide

robot civil war being fought on Earth, that had both the

protagonist and antagonists cloaking themselves in the

latest vehicle fashions of the day. They were colorful,

bombastic, and EPIC! You are going to hear that a lot here

but it is the perfect word for this brand, EPIC!

Transformation describes the toy play pattern, but it also

describes the brands ever-changing journey over 30 years.

As a result the TRANSFORMERS brand appeals to a

wonderfully diverse fan base, and the stories in this volume

represent that diversity. Nothing lasts 30 years without

support; it is the fans who keep their favorite generation of

TRANSFORMERS alive alongside the generation of the

moment.

TRANSFORMERS does not have one story heartbeat, it has

multi-dimensional story heartbeats that coexist together.

TRANSFORMERS is stronger than the generations and that

is why the brand endures.

Let us take a moment to celebrate all of the creators who

have touched this brand over 30 years, those who have

added their talents to make better the ever continuing myth

that is TRANSFORMERS.

TRANSFORMERS is considered a licensed brand, and no one

can deny that the comics started as one element of a three-prong approach Hasbro took in the '80s, with toy, animation,

and comic promoting a generally common story and

characters. Creators assigned to the tie-in -comics were

often directed to fill in the large story and logic gaps not

accounted for by the toy company. These comic creators

were mostly left alone to dream up new adventures so long

as they could account for the strangely timed shifts

requested by Hasbro.

The TRANSFORMERS story is unlike many other popular

brands, in that the core concept has been re-presented,

rebooted, and changed over the years to suit yearly toy

trends. I would argue that the toy needs to keep the brand

story fresh, nimble, relevant, and modernthis is a strength

rather than a weakness. Over 30 years the comic creators

working within the larger toy needs have had the freedom

to create newness well beyond anything that could be done

on television or toy packaging. Therefore the comics have

always told the deep story.

THE STORIES

We live in a world where heroes matter, and OPTIMUS PRIME

and his AUTOBOT friends are perfect symbols of the heroic

ideal. Against all logic and ability they battle on, to survive

against great odds, all while protecting their adopted planet.

During most alien invasion stories humanity is the victim, but

TRANSFORMERS is unique. Here the epic hero role is turned

sideways and put into the hands of metal alien knights that

dedicate time, energy, and life to the protection of the

human race, which often does not know they are fighting for

them at all (ROBOTS IN DISGUISE).

TRANSFORMERS is also an epic sci-fi adventure, in the best

of space opera traditionsan endless storyline of

outrageous proportions across time and space. From the

robots themselves being created by and from their creator's

stardust, to having a backstory every bit as dense and vague

as Tolkien. You have robots that can seemingly live forever

and yet still find new ways to battle or not make peace.

MEGATRON has been bested dozens of times by the

AUTOBOTS and yet he thinks he and his DECEPTICONS are

better than their enemies. OPTIMUS PRIME will continue to

worry about putting his team in harm's way, and we keep

reading because we have a desire to see good defeat evil.

As readers, we read these stories because we all want

heroes in our life. We wish we could overcome lifes

challenges with the dedication of OPTIMUS PRIME, but we

are often flawed and desire more than we have, as wouldMEGATRON. Like the AUTOBOTS, we share good times with

our friends, but we will join with them in combat to overcome

those that look to bully us. We like that STARSCREAM tries

to undermine his boss. These are the core human stories

told through the lens of an EPIC robot space opera that

makes TRANSFORMERS relevant 30 years on.

Aaron Archer

Former Vice President of Transformers Design, Hasbro

Veteran of the Transformers Robot Wars 2000-2013

Morganton, North Carolina (Southwest of Kaon)

FOREWORD


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ABOVE: Megatron character study by Guido Guidi

RIGHT: All Hail Megatron #15 cover concepts by Nick Roche


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Thirty years of TRANSFORMERS books. Wow!

My personal journey with TRANSFORMERS comics begins in

early 1985, when I found a copy of Marvels Transformers #5

at a local supermarket. The cover intrigued, and flipping

through the book I became immediately engrossed. My mom

bought it for me, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

I was eight years old.

Fast forward some 28 years. My editor asked me if Id be

interested in compiling a book celebrating 30 years of

TRANSFORMERS comics. I thought back to my eight-year-old

self, how much hed envy me right now. I didnt hesitate to

accept the job.

But 30 years is a huge amount of material to cover. How could

I possibly do justice to such a huge amount of material,

published across and around the world by a large number ofpublishers and touching on multiple eras of TRANSFORMERS

lore? I rolled up my sleeves, sat down with IDW editors Justin

Eisinger and John Barber, and of course Hasbro, and tried to

hash out a list that would at least touch on most of the major

epochs of TRANSFORMERS comics. Those books we loved

that we didnt have room for we could at least nod to, in the

form of some Further Reading pages at the end of the book

and in shout-outs in the introductory text.

Ah, yes, the introductory text. The other challenge of this

book, beyond a surfeit of material, was the old chestnut of

balancing the expectations of newcomers with that of the

hardcore fan. It was vital that those of you who are just joining

us be able to understand each story, so placing them in the

right context was critical. But those fans who have read all

of the issues contained herein already (probably two or three

or four times each) should be able to learn something new. To

that end, I reached out to as many artists and writers as I

could to get their perspective on the issues we chose to

feature. I daresay theres something here for everyone.

This book was only possible thanks to the generosity of the

many creators who gave of their time to make this book as

in-depth as possible. Simon Furman, Bob Budiansky, Shane

McCarthy, Guido Guidi, Mike Costa, Casey Coller, JamesRoberts, Nick Roche, Chris Mowry, Marty Isenberg, Boo, Flint

Dille, Chris Metzen, Livio Ramondelli, Andrew Wildman,

Mairghread Scott, Pat Lee, and John Barber, I salute you. To

the many fans who shared their personal scans of original

artwork, including Joe Sherman, Martin Fisher, Chuck Costas,

and Nathan Stacy, I thank you too for your contributions.

Thanks to David Bishop for his invaluable transcription help.

And to you, the readers, get ready to strap in! Youre in for

one hell of a ride!

Jim Sorenson, March 2013

INTRODUCTION


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THE TRANSFORMERS #1ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY MARVEL COMICS: SEPTEMBER 1984


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It was the year 1983...Hasbro had recently acquired the rights to some amazing new toys from

Takara, a Japanese company. These toys could convert from robots to

vehicles, and everyone involved knew that they had a home run on their

hands. They had a challenge, though. WHY would vehicles reconfigure

themselves into robots? What was the conflict? Why should anyone care?

To answer these questions, Hasbro went to Marvel Comics. Hasbro and

Marvel had collaborated, to great success, to craft the story supporting

the relaunched G.I. Joe toyline. Armed with the names Transformers,

Autobots, and Decepticons, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter wrotethe treatment that would lay out many of the fundamentals of the

universe still in play today, including the idea of these beings as aliens

from the planet Cybertron. Some elements came from an earlier

treatment draft written by comic book legend Dennis O'Neil, including the

name Optimus Prime.

Once Hasbro signed off on the treatment, further development was given

to Marvel editor Bob Budiansky, who proceeded to flesh out (so to speak)

the cast of characters. From his fertile imagination came a plethora of

names, abilities, personalities, and attributes. One name that was initially

rejected was "Megatron." There were some concerns that the name was

"too scary" and that connotations of nuclear war were inappropriate. Bob

fought for the name on the grounds that it was appropriate for the leader

of the bad guys to be at least a little scary. Generations of fans thank him

for the stand he took.

Marvel and Hasbro had now assembled both a basic premise and a horde

of characters. This work would provide the foundation for the first

Transformers comic book. (As well as for the Transformers cartoon, but

that's a story for another book.) The book was launched with a four-issue

miniseries. The book was an instant hit, and plans were soon underway to

expand the series into an ongoing series. It would eventually run 80 issues,

with over 30 issues of spin-offs, crossovers, and sequels. And THAT

doesn't even include the contemporary UK run...

The road to success wasn't without bumps. The first issue went through

a number of changes. Several pages had to be redrawn or were cut up

and rearranged. The four pieces of artwork here and on the next page are

all unfinished. Compare to the finished issue and note the many differences.


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Unused / Altered artwork from The Transformers #1

Pencils by Frank Springer; Inks by Kim DeMulder


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