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Thanks to our friends over at IDW Publishing, we have two full previews to show. The first one is for this week's issue 96 of ReGeneration One, the beginning of the final arc for the series - check out the images below, and come back later for a review!

Transformers Regeneration One #96
Simon Furman (w) • Guido Guidi (a) • Andrew Wildman, Guidi (c)
ZERO INITIATIVE! As RODIMUS PRIME urgently struggles to comprehend the what, why, and wherefore of SPIKE WITWICKY, GALVATRON, JHIAXUS, and a DARK MATRIX creature, and specifically how they contribute to the final dissolution of time, space and everything in between! Unless NIGHTBEAT and BUMBLEBEE can shake loose some answers, the future—is cancelled.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

ReGeneration wordsmith Simon Furman has updated his blog with his usual commentary on the issue to come - it's number 96's turn this time, see what its author has to say about it below, and read the preview here!

SCRIPT (W)RAP – TF REGENERATION ONE #96

And so we begin… the end. 100 (or so) issues and 30 years in the making, the original grounding Transformers comic and series starts the countdown to its epic conclusion with the release (this week, November 27th) of Transformers: Regeneration One #96. The final arc kicks off with both aftermath (of #95′s epic battle against Bludgeon’s Blitz Engines) and the opening thrusts and feints in what is to be a truly double-edged conflict, one that will come from without and within (with the lines blurring constantly). As is my habit at such pre-release moments, my scribely digressions on the issue follow. Beware of slight spoilers if you wish to enjoy the experience without even a whiff of what’s to come. But, as always, my aim is to tease and torment rather than reveal. So begins The War to End All Wars, the pulling together of all the threads we’ve been dangling for the past 15 (or so) issues. Omens and portents abound on Cybertron as Rodimus Prime struggles to understand the often cryptic clues scattered by Primus on his journey through Zero Space, and uppermost in his mind is the question: who is Jhiaxus? And perhaps more importantly, what’s he been up to since he deleted himself from Cybertron’s history many millennia ago? But more immediate concerns, such as the Primordial Cybertronians and rogue (time-lost) Decepticon Galvatron take precedence this issue, but that doesn’t stop ace investigators Nightbeat and Bumblebee beginning their search. While on Earth, the building of a Space Bridge to unite two mauled and battered worlds/populations, brings its own clanging chimes of apocalyptic doom. Let me just say, that the omens for a happy ending are not good, and nothing (and no one) is quite what they seem. For a full preview of the issue, check out the official IDW offering here. Otherwise, just clench your bits and wait for Wednesday. Trust me, it’ll be well worth a few grimaces.

"Maybe it was just a time for A miracles? lol, I hope that mistake doesn't make it to print. But then again I could believe Rodimus would be that retarded.

Heehee, I see Cover B is a recycled cover.

Metroplex79 wrote:Heehee, I see Cover B is a recycled cover.

Yeah, unfortunately the story isn't. The G2 comics were much better than what we're getting with ReGen. #95 was supposed to be a great ending to the story arc with lots of action. Turned out to be a couple of bitchslaps by Rodimus after Bludgeon dispatched the Wreckers in 1 page. Hardly epic. I'm still gonna finish the series, so I gues that's what matters most to iDW and Furman, but I hate to say it, I am disappointed in the overall story so far. Better have a hell of an ending.

Rodimus Prime wrote:

Metroplex79 wrote:Heehee, I see Cover B is a recycled cover.

Yeah, unfortunately the story isn't. The G2 comics were much better than what we're getting with ReGen. #95 was supposed to be a great ending to the story arc with lots of action. Turned out to be a couple of bitchslaps by Rodimus after Bludgeon dispatched the Wreckers in 1 page. Hardly epic. I'm still gonna finish the series, so I gues that's what matters most to iDW and Furman, but I hate to say it, I am disappointed in the overall story so far. Better have a hell of an ending.

I more or less agree, which I'm really bummed to have to say. This whole "Regeneration" storyline isn't what I wanted after 21 years. The biggest fault, in my opinion, was fast forwarding the story by 21 years. Everything that happened in the story gets questioned by "it took 21 years?"

• It took 21 years for Megatron to reach out to Optimus Prime from a conquered Earth?
• It took 21 years for Autobots to wonder what happened to Earth ... you know, the planet with the inhabitants the Autobots swore to protect?
• In 21 years, no one thought to find out what happened to the Ark?
• In 21 years, nothing better could happen to poor ol' Ratchet except become a hood ornament? C'mon ... he was one of the greatest of the Marvel Transformers characters and one of the few to have several issues where he was the primary character.
• It took 21 years for Grimlock to figure out how to transform again?
• It took 21 years for the story to start up again and Megatron is dead by the end of the first story arc?
• It took 21 years and the best storyline that could happen with Scorponok was to destroy his character? He was a redeemed character with his death in #75! Why destroy that legacy?
• It took 21 years for Hot Rod to become Rodimus Prime? What's the point?
• It took 21 years for Bludgeon and Soundwave to take on the Autobots?
• It took 21 years ... and I could go on.

If I had had my way with Regeneration, I would have just picked up immediately after the last page of #80. Resolved the Action Master ordeal. Dealt with the Last Autobot. Dealt with Bludgeon and his Decepticons. Dealt with the Earth-crashed Ark and its occupants. Dealt with Spike and Fortress Maximus. Dealt with the ramifications of the new Golden Age of Cybertron. Leaked Nucleon restores Megatron, Starscream, and Shockwave. Using Nucleon to revise the Constructicons who get stuck in Devastator form. Introduce the European Transformers (i.e. stick to the formula of the original series by continuing to introduce new characters based on what toys were available at that time). Figure out some way to tie all of that up and have an epic conclusion. Want to toss in the Hot Rod becomes Rodimus Prime side story to give the overall story a conclusion ... that's fine (not my cup of tea, but whatever).

I guess I would have liked to have seen the overall story somehow get back on track to the UK 2006 storyline or deal with the consequences of them being in an alternate reality since Optimus Prime lived). There was no point to the 21 year span. I'm 17 issues in and I still don't see what the point was of moving the story forward by that many years (other than Furman seems to have a history of dating his stories more-or-less in the present).

The only thing that salvages this storyline now is if (the hopefully giant-sized) issue #100 deals with going back in time 21 years to right the wrongs mostly by preventing Megatron's atrocities on Earth (which, in my opinion are now every bit the fault of the "heroic" Autobots) or maybe "Rodimus Prime" uses the Matrix to "fix" Earth.

The sub-standard artwork of Wildman OR Baskerville's inking didn't help matters much either. This style of Wildman artwork is not what we had when Marvel's Transformers ended 21 years ago. I loved Wildman's original style, but this new style of his that we've seen since his Dreamwave comics just doesn't cut it. I love his old artwork but I'm not a fan of this new stuff. I can't pinpoint what it is, but mostly it seems like there is a significant lack of detail compared to his vintage artwork.

Frustrated, disappointed and unfortunately very bummed. This was not what I wanted. All Regeneration has done is confirmed an opinion I had formed back in high school while reading Generation 2. Furman is at his worst with Transformers when he's given free reins to do whatever he wants versus him being at his best with Transformers when he has to work within the confines of Hasbro or editors telling him what he has to accomplish. His best work was his run on the US comics from 56 through 80. Some of my favorite Transformers comics to this day! The UK stuff was great as well. But Generation 2, the IDW stuff, and Regeneration are just not for me.

Seibertron wrote:
Frustrated, disappointed and unfortunately very bummed. This was not what I wanted.

You just described my opinion of RG1 in two sentences (though I may have added "annoyed" to it). I almost cried when they announced that 81 was happening. Now?

Seibertron wrote:

• It took 21 years for Megatron to reach out to Optimus Prime from a conquered Earth?
• It took 21 years for Autobots to wonder what happened to Earth ... you know, the planet with the inhabitants the Autobots swore to protect?
• In 21 years, no one thought to find out what happened to the Ark?
• In 21 years, nothing better could happen to poor ol' Ratchet except become a hood ornament? C'mon ... he was one of the greatest of the Marvel Transformers characters and one of the few to have several issues where he was the primary character.
• It took 21 years for Grimlock to figure out how to transform again?
• It took 21 years for the story to start up again and Megatron is dead by the end of the first story arc?
• It took 21 years and the best storyline that could happen with Scorponok was to destroy his character? He was a redeemed character with his death in #75! Why destroy that legacy?
• It took 21 years for Hot Rod to become Rodimus Prime? What's the point?
• It took 21 years for Bludgeon and Soundwave to take on the Autobots?
• It took 21 years ... and I could go on.

You certainly have a right to your views, and I'm not necessarily disagreeing with them, just providing a different view. As far as the time-jump, I can see your point, but I personally prefer it. I don't necessarily always like series that are set in the past. Maybe, if there's enough interest, they could do a follow-up, more limited series that would explore the 21-year gap.

• Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Megatron beaming the message to Optimus out right after he'd devastated Earth? The signal taunting Optimus? I've just been re-reading the first ReGen collection and when Prime does finally notice the signal, it's because the Megatron let the Wreckers get a message to Optimus, so Op would finally see Megatron's repeating message.
• My guess is that the Autobots didn't pay any attention to Earth because they thought it secure with Fortress Maximus there to guard it, and the Ark unknown to the general population. Not to mention that there were no active Decepticons on Earth. Hadn't Primus teleported them all to Cybertron?
• You got me on that Ark one. Maybe they thought it was beyond repair and not worth salvaging? I dunno. That is kind of a glaring hole in the whole series.
• Didn't Ratchet personally crash the Ark to try and kill Megatron, Galvatron II and Starscream? I'm guessing it's only his psychic connection with Megatron that kept him alive. It's also that connection that allowed Megatron to reanimate all the "zombies" in the first arc, because of that shared connection. It would have been nice for Ratchet to have had a bigger role than hood ornament, but given his physical state when Megatron reawoke, I doubt he could have escaped.
• Who said Grimlock hadn't been searching for a cure to Nucleon exposure since then? When he approaches Nebulos, he reviews the science log that explains the process of reintegrating the Headmasters' original heads to new bodies (which was a loose thread that I loved, but the Headmasters were some of my favorite G1 toys). Then he receives a warning from the ship computer that Nebulos is off limits. I'm guessing his stop there was a last resort, since nothing else in 21 years had worked.
• I can agree with this...maybe Megatron's end should have come later in the series, but as batsh*t insane as he was by this time, I don't think there could have been a way of putting off killing him for good.
• This is where I have to defer to you- as far as Scorponok's redemption goes, I don't have much to go on other than the summaries I've read. But I have to wonder if part of that was due to Zarak and Scorponok's melding together. Zarak showed flashes of compassion and good judgement, even as far back as the original Headmaster process. When was Scorponok, by himself, ever like that? I would hazard a guess that once his original head was reactivated, and he took over Nebulos, he was completely ruthless- there was no trace of Zarak in him to be "tainted" by. That was shown when he had trouble repressing his aggressive warrior instincts when the Gene Key was being built and he was growing frustrated at Perceptor's slow going.
• My guess at why it took that long for Hot Rod to become a Prime was because Optimus was having trouble letting go of the status quo. Frankly, I do NOT like Optimus in ReGen. It was his inaction that allowed Earth to go to hell, quite literally, and his endless mentoring of Hot Rod (though we're not specifically noted when that started) that allowed...
• .... Soundwave to build up a resistance, quietly and slowly, to avoid detection and Bludgeon to amass the vast capabilities of the Warworld and the Blitz Engines, etc. These things couldn't have happened overnight. Kup was right to express his anger at Optimus' ineffective leadership in not hunting down Bludgeon or putting a stop to ever a hint of an insurgency. Bludgeon wasn't just going to attack Cybertron as soon as possible, because that wouldn't allow him to wipe out as many Autobots as he tried to on Klo. He wanted to make sure his (own self-inflicted) dishonor in retreating was avenged in a way that would ensure he became legend.

Anyhow, that's my take on it. I enjoy it for what it is, but the long, 20-year complete disconnect for me (1987-2007) as a Transformers fan left me with vastly different expectations than you had. I never physically read anything past issue 50. When I got back into Transformers via the live-action movies rekindling my love of the brand, I had to search it all out online. I only ever read summaries of #51-#80. I never even knew Beast Wars, the Unicron Trilogy, Car Robots, Animated, etc, existed until ROTF came out and I came back bigtime to Transformers. My first Transformer since Apeface in '87 was Chromia in '09 (make of that what you will). I'm sure if I'd been a continuous fan, and as devoted as you, I'd have much the same take on it that you did.

I do have to say, I do enjoy seeing rare and never used characters (Overdrive, Punch or Wingthing anyone?) make appearances in the comics. They may not add a ton to the story, but it makes the Transformers comic Universe a bit bigger and my collecting more fun. I couldn't have cared less if I ever got Crosshairs' toy for instance, but since he played a fair role in the Natural Selection arc, his want factor has gone up for me. ReGen has re-kindled my love for G1 as a whole, so if nothing else, it's done that.

And while I'm at it, I couldn't agree with you more about the IDW stuff. NOT my thing at all. It is kind of cool seeing more under-utilized characters (as in ReGen), but the storylines, to me, are far too convoluted and ridiculous to be worth paying more than passing attention to. Transformers "drinking" in a "bar"? Having "roommates" and "movie nights?" What is this, a frat house? I can understand giving them personalities and character development, but that's going too far for me to find any interest in the series as a whole. We are getting some very cool toys out of it (Scoop, Skids, Armada Starscream, possibly a new Brainstorm- my fave Headmaster- and a potential G1-ish Arcee and Chromia if those listings are to be believed), so there IS that, I guess.

Synopsis

ZERO INITIATIVE! As RODIMUS PRIME urgently struggles to comprehend the what, why, and wherefore of SPIKE WITWICKY, GALVATRON, JHIAXUS, and a DARK MATRIX creature, and specifically how they contribute to the final dissolution of time, space and everything in between! Unless NIGHTBEAT and BUMBLEBEE can shake loose some answers, the future—is cancelled.



Story

We've had adventures in time and space, we've had Hot Rod become Rodimus Prime, we've had Bludgeon dying his death, Galvatron fighting Ultra Magnus - it is now time to start dragging them all together, into the final arc of Transformers: ReGeneration One. This is it, people. This is the actual end. Again.



Simon Furman at the helm (duh) we get a story that ties together the events of the past arc and Issue Zero, attempting to neatly place everything in its own space, while still making sense of the whole. More or less. It's good to get back to Spike, actually, and his resentment towards Cybertronians, and I am interesting to see if it will play any actual impactful role in the plot to come.



Though at times the dialogue and interaction between the two 'main' characters, Bumblebee and Nightbeat, can feel a bit G1esque at its most childish, the older readers will definitely enjoy some of the references, even if not direct ones. And by 'main' I mean the ones teased in the solicits, as Rodimus still takes the spotlight.



Furman does a really good job with Rodimus, especially by using the characters around him to help flesh out his newfound leader personality and the burden of responsibilities that come with it -- and then he garbles the gurgling waters by throwing in all the plot elements he needs from Zero Space in the final two acts of the issue. Buckle up. It gets bumpy.

Art

Guido Guidi is still going strong, though with some very marked differences between the opening pages and the rest of the issue. We get to see a variety of styles and poses, all about different cast members, organic, mech and both together, which is always good, and the final page is something magnificent. But after this issue, the one word that to me describes Guidi's work is FACE. He loves giant faces. He really really does.



Stephen Baskerville does some good stuff with Guidi's pencils, and works on finishes in the later pages. He's a master chameleon, adding just that little touch of his own to his blend-in inks. And of course, JP Bove glistens again with his amazing colours, as we've seen in Issue Zero. I'll stop before going into full-on gushing.



Chris Mowry on letters does a brilliant job too, completing but not covering the action, and helping out with the character's voices. The artistic team on the issue does a really good job of working with the script, and it always knocks up the enjoyment of the story. And don't miss out on the covers - Geoff Senior and Guidi dazzle once again!

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

As a first issue of a final arc it does all it needs to do, and does it well. We may be getting tired of the 'beginning of the end of the beginning of the..' trope, but hey, it's true, and at least this is the *actual* end. The dialogue can be a bit.. Furmanesque, including Furmanisms, but it's what I've come to expect.



The art is always brilliant, from pencils to inks to colours to letters, and really helps deliver a comic that could feel very out of place in the newer readership. I am actually really intrigued as to what is to come, and will be looking forward, trepidantly, to next month. You coming along?

I clearly disagree with all three of you, sorry.

Bounti76 wrote:Transformers "drinking" in a "bar"?

Have you read the vintage UK comics?

Seibertron wrote:

Bounti76 wrote:Transformers "drinking" in a "bar"?

Have you read the vintage UK comics?

I haven't, actually. The closest I came was issue 33? 34? when the "Man of Iron" story was printed in the U.S., and it didn't strike me as all that interesting. Then, as you're well aware, I dropped off about a year or so later and didn't come back to it until '07.

I pointed out the drinking in a bar to highlight how silly I think a lot of the IDW stuff is. To me, it's too human a characteristic for giant robots from outer space to have. They don't need to eat or drink or breathe to survive, so why would they pick up that human of an activity? Then add in their goofy antics juxtaposed alonside with serious drama and it's just too much for me to suspend my disbelief.

Va'al wrote:I clearly disagree with all three of you, sorry.

Va'al, I actually enjoy ReGeneration One, and count down the days until the next one. I don't have any major issues with it at all, really. It's the first time I've actually bought a comic book since the late 80s. If you're talking about disagreeing with the IDW-verse, then we'll have to keep agreeing to disagree.

Seibertron wrote:Frustrated, disappointed and unfortunately very bummed. This was not what I wanted. All Regeneration has done is confirmed an opinion I had formed back in high school while reading Generation 2. Furman is at his worst with Transformers when he's given free reins to do whatever he wants versus him being at his best with Transformers when he has to work within the confines of Hasbro or editors telling him what he has to accomplish. His best work was his run on the US comics from 56 through 80. Some of my favorite Transformers comics to this day! The UK stuff was great as well. But Generation 2, the IDW stuff, and Regeneration are just not for me.

G2 is IMHO Furman's best US TF series and is the series that needs a proper conclusion. What has bummed me about Regeneration One is the fact that it throws Furman's best work under the bus and then runs over it, backs up and runs over it again for good messure. Sure he takes elements from TFUK and G2 but at this point in my life I don't want elements from G2 I want a proper and real ending to G2 which is the ONLY TF series I wanted to be brought back.

I will admit that I haven't read all the UK series (I've bought and read all the Titan reprint books) but I've read the celebrated stories Traget: 2006, Fallen Angel, Space Pirates, Time Wars, Earthforce, and so on)and I agree that Furman's best work is when he has restraints placed on him by Hasbro and the publisher, and what makes his Marvel UK work so outstanding is he told hs stories in 8-16 pages, and they are still better than most of his US work.

Cyberstrike wrote:G2 is IMHO Furman's best US TF series and is the series that needs a proper conclusion. What has bummed me about Regeneration One is the fact that it throws Furman's best work under the bus and then runs over it, backs up and runs over it again.

QFT.

Though wasn't there some sort of work by Furman that did conclude the story somewhat? IIRC it was circulated at some of the conventions.

Either way, ReGen is a hollow shell of what he did in Marvel #56-80 and G2. He's trying to redo the story of G2, and it's dumb. If anything, he could have fit ReGen in between G1 and G2, and not skip 21 years in the story, like Ryan said.