The Energon Pub

This'll pretty much be the only thing from idw I'll buy this year. I just hate the retro style they keep telling Guido to use (and the faux "dot matrix" colours)

It was cute for a one shot or a flashback in a comic but it's bloody ugly lookin for a full mini.

I wast thrilled with how prime was portrayed in 84 but there's a lot of fun to be had in the period alluded to and I do like the g1 set up either way I'm delighted to get more furman.

I can't wait to see more of Guidi artwork. His and Wildman's work was the best thing about Regeneration One. That's why I hope Geoff Senior stays away, his angular, blocky, flat style is a clash with Guidi's more rounded and organic lines, and in my opinion just ugly. Galaxies is very similar in art, which is why I cringe when I look at that book, even if the story is intriguing.

As for the issues themselves, the cover of issue 1 featuring Starscream and Jetfire seems to have been copied/ripped off the original Marvel issue 49, where Megatron stands over Optimus after blasting him. It was part of the Underbase Saga, but Optimus got away at the end after launching the Underbase into space. Is it just ironic, a pure coincidence, or does it have to do with Starscream during the return of the Underbase, like it was speculated?

As for issue 2, I wonder if they will just elaborate on the fight between Shockwave and the Dinobots, considering Shockwave followed the Ark to Earth and the Dinobots were already on the Ark in stasis, they just had dino bodies built for them. We already know the main points and outcome of the battle. Unless there was something else between them from before?

The 3rd issue with Star Saber intrigues me, because he never showed up in the original comics, and since his sword shows a reflection of Straxus, I wonder if he's responsible for taking Star Saber out back in the day. Intriguing.

As for the black and white cover, I'm glad to see Max and Magnus together, and am I the only one who thinks Thunderwing's face looks just like the Hobgoblin with that maniacal laugh?

It's likely been said somewhere that the business of comic books is built on habits. There's the habit of going to your local comic shop on Wednesdays, the habit of ordering products a couple months ahead of time on the second-to-last Friday of the month, and of course the habit of actually reading the books.

The events of 2020 have shattered a great deal of these habits for numerous readers and many are still getting back into the swing of things where possible. We've fallen out of a habit here at Seibertron.com too: reviewing Transformers comics. With our apologies for the absence, let's get back to business with a review of Transformers '84: Secrets and Lies #1, out this Wednesday, July 15th.


Our fandom must have bought a plenty profitable amount of last August's Transformers '84 #0, because not just one follow-up issue is upon us. This expansion of the early stages of the old Marvel G1 Transformers story continues on with the staple tradition of Transformers comics - a four-issue limited series. In many ways this first issue feels like the second, with the narration not missing a beat after Punch's guided tour through issue 0. Counterpunch takes the narrator role this time around, providing a not subtly taken opportunity to expand on the character. Even colorist John-Paul Bove's choice to add in G2 Color Changer Deluge (not to be confused with G2 Aquaspeeder Deluge - this has been your toy trivia for this comic review) and a yellow Hook adds a layer to something Counterpunch basically tells you himself anyway, which is that he's not a reliable narrator. It works really well and lends a coherency to the proceedings as the plot zigs and zags through small cracks in previously established works. The high-level plot and direction here are marvelously executed.


Readers not familiar with Marvel G1 will probably find plenty to enjoy on a quick read, but a deep-dive appreciation will be reserved for those familiar with the G1 books, and by that I mean both Marvel's US and UK output. While this slots into a chronologically similar position as issue 0, the plot plays with events that occur a bit after that first handful (or eight-full depending on your location) of original issues. Extra pages of notes by Simon Furman are provided at the end of the issue that really help guide the way, and these are very much appreciated.


A sub-plot of the story features the Dinobots (or Dynobots in this case since it's pre-Earth) in conflict with Skyfire and Shockwave. The former is novel but the latter is, to be frank, exhausted. I love the Dinobots but found myself getting a sense of déjà vu during this issue. G1, Dreamwave and IDW 1.0 incarnations of the characters feel like they're getting blended together here in a way that sadly feels stale in just their particular case. The story features some very fun moments and interactions, but just feels like the same thing seen before in a different setting. Guido Guidi took this given opportunity to provide some very cool new Cybertronian alt-modes for Slag, Sludge and Snarl, so I can't be too upset about this when all's said and done.


Guidi absolutely nails the line art, capturing the spirit of a book that knew it had to tell a story while also selling toys to kids. There's a grandeur to some of the larger panels that makes the Transformers look to be "more than meets the eye" while panels such as Dirge's toy accurate-ish transformation shown just above hit the "robots in disguise" beat that brand managers must crave. John-Paul Bove's colors are mostly good throughout but on the digital copy there were times the attempted replication of 1980s Marvel's cheapo coloring processes just didn't land for me. While the effort's appreciated, maybe some of those texturing details are better left in the past, and I think Bove's a talented enough colorist to convey a vintage look without having to rely on those stylistic callbacks. Letters are handled by now-regular Jake M. Wood, with careful attention paid to separation in narration and dialogue that keeps the reading experience comfortable. Kudos are also in order for the editorial team of David Mariotte, Tom Waltz and Riley Farmer for making space for the aforementioned continuity notes supplied by Furman, as these really help the experience and don't make me feel like I need to go start another re-read of hundreds of older comics.

On covers there are a plethora of options, with the more readily available "A" cover featuring more work by Guido Guidi while the "B" cover has Casey Coller showing off his G1-style chops featuring colors by Bove. The dynamic (and sorely missed on interiors!) duo of Nick Roche and Josh Burcham supply the 10-copy retailer incentive cover, which is featured in this review's news story thumbnail image. Things don't stop there, as readers that visit shops who order large numbers of copies may be able to snag a 25-copy incentive cover featuring the Dinobots with art by Transformers legend Geoff Senior and colors by, well, Transformers legend Josh Burcham. There were several variant retailer and convention exclusive covers shown in the sample file distributed by IDW to Seibertron.com and other press outlets, however we do not have details on how, when, or even if these will be released at this time. As always, you can also find full credits for the issue in our Vector Sigma Database page for Transformers '84: Secrets and Lies #1.


One word comes to mind that describes this comic: fanservice. Fans of Marvel G1 will feel the love here, as Simon Furman has taken great care to have fun while also not totally wrecking established continuity. The narrator's slightly unreliable slant helps give an opportunity to hand-wave any incongruity while also building up the character in entertaining fashion.

I had a lot of fun reading this book and you probably will too. My subjective opinion is pretty simple: if you like Transformers just go buy a copy, read it while messing around with G1 Dirge or something after school/work/whatever, and just enjoy the nostalgic ride. A more objective analysis is factored into the score below, mostly flavored by all those positive thoughts yet weighed down a bit by a slightly derivative Dinobots/Shockwave sub-plot and '80s Marvel color textures that need to be retired.



This issue's out today, so pick it up on the Seibertron.com eBay store or at your local shop, check here to see if you have one nearby and remember to check first for special hours or restrictions related to public health matters.

Nice nod to swoops "original" name

I didn't know this was out today so it'll be off to the lcs tomorrow to pick it up for me.

The best book IDW has ever published and the best Simon Furman has ever written, hands down. This issue deserves 5 Decepticon symbols.

I've already ordered the Transformers '84: Secrets & Lies paperback via Amazon.com on February 16 of this year.

On February 16, 2021--exactly one year later--the namesake trade paperback is scheduled to be released.

Thanks once more to the Apple books preview, we have our 2nd preview of the day, this time for Transformers 84: Secrets and Lies, the 4 part series narrated by Counterpunch. This comic tells some hidden never before heard stories related to the launching of the Ark in the original Marvel run. This comic kicks off with a quick flash forward to the con invasion of the Ark, and then a backwards glance to the aftermath of issue 1, with the Dynobots disabled and going into storage alongside the 1985 Autobot reinforcements for the Ark.

Check out the preview pages below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

Oh, look. Another TFTM quote. How droll.

Sabrblade wrote:Oh, look. Another TFTM quote. How droll.

I almost called that out, but i didn't know if that was initially in the comic that that scene was in

Sabrblade wrote:Oh, look. Another TFTM quote. How droll.

i guess we shouldnt expect anything different

That art is so beautiful.

I'm waiting for the trade on this series (and all comics these days), but preview art like this makes that wait really, really hard.

The art is gorgeous!

the bit with the dinos is VERY Andy Wildman.



whens this due out, this week or next?

turns our it came in last wednesday but managed to nab a copy (the LAST one it turns out- casey coller cover) yesterday (mon)

its a good read.

the art still bugs me. i really wish they'd drop the faux dot matrix style and let guido go back to a more modern style. some of this is practically delbo-esque so if your gonna go like that just hire jose. when you look at the utter tumblr style trash getting better treatment on the main book its frustrating in the extreme to see a genuinely competant artists work suffer under this editorial direction.

but i gotta say storywise it covers an angle i didnt think of. IDW HAVE no savage land in their universe so the original G1 marvel version of events for the intro to the dinos CANT happen in an IDW book. it still sticks to the guts of it but theres enough different to make this worth a buy and effectively blend it with what came later in the reprints and regeneration 1 .

and theres lovely nods of the head to early lore building stuff like the mind bank which gave us tracks hoist and co.

i did smile at the sheer joy of straxus getting his smelting pool though. that was done with just the right level of wry humour.

this and the terminator crossover (for all its flaws) are the only thing worth getting IMO.

If Secrets & Lies continues with the Shockwave/Dinobots story (while possibly revealing other behind-the-scenes shenanigans) I think the best place in the story for it to be inserted is between issues 4 and 5 of the Marvel comic, right after Shockwave returns and takes out everyone. (Throughout G1 and IDW, he seems to be good at that. But it's never permanent.)

Rodimus Prime wrote:(Throughout G1 and IDW, he seems to be good at that. But it's never permanent.)

Of course, he's a bad guy. Bad guys can't have permanent wins like that.

Sabrblade wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:(Throughout G1 and IDW, he seems to be good at that. But it's never permanent.)

Of course, he's a bad guy. Bad guys can't have permanent wins like that.

You have to admit, this whole Shockwave-runs-things-behind-the-scenes idea is compelling, because I think most fans would agree that he made a much better leader than Megatron. If he actually got to be in charge, the Decepticons might actually have won the war. Shockwave's intellect and planning would have made up for most if not all of the Decepticon troops' shortcomings. I mean, he actually did it in IDW, even if it took him literally the length of the Transformers' existence to do it.

As for G1, I never understood why he acquiesced to both Ratbat and Scorponok after Megatron took his leap off a short bridge so to speak. He was more effective than both of them. It was a pure freak occurrence and a lucky shot that Maximus was able to damage him and knock him out of space. Had he been the actual leader, he would have remained on the island base and perhaps send Scorponok out to deal with Maximus.

Rodimus Prime wrote:As for G1, I never understood why he acquiesced to both Ratbat and Scorponok after Megatron took his leap off a short bridge so to speak. He was more effective than both of them. It was a pure freak occurrence and a lucky shot that Maximus was able to damage him and knock him out of space. Had he been the actual leader, he would have remained on the island base and perhaps send Scorponok out to deal with Maximus.

Scorponok wasn't there. He was the leader of his own separate crew unaffiliated with Shockwave and Ratbat at the time. The two teams of Decepticons wouldn't join together until much later during The Underbase Saga.

As for why Shockwave went out to face Fort Max himself, there are two reasons. First, in-story, for all of Shockwave's talk about pure cold logic, he really did have an ego that he tried very much to hide but didn't always keep in check. He would never admit it, but he wanted to take Fort Max out himself. He wanted to personally deal with that Autobot pest who was ruining everything in that moment. And the other reason is an out-of-story one, in that Shockwave had by then become "old product" who needed to be gotten rid of and replaced by "new product", so Budiansky wrote him out so that Ratbat could fully take over as the new Decepticon leader. Basically, TFTM syndrome.

However, that didn't stop the UK comics from continuing to use him. The panels of his burning up in Earth's atmosphere and those right after were rewritten in the UK version to make his "death" more ambiguous and instead merely have him "fall to Earth" so that he could survive and keep working his own machinations on Earth, operating out of the Decepticon's original Earth base from the early issues that they abandoned to relocate to their new base in Wyoming.

Sabrblade wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:As for G1, I never understood why he acquiesced to both Ratbat and Scorponok after Megatron took his leap off a short bridge so to speak. He was more effective than both of them. It was a pure freak occurrence and a lucky shot that Maximus was able to damage him and knock him out of space. Had he been the actual leader, he would have remained on the island base and perhaps send Scorponok out to deal with Maximus.

Scorponok wasn't there. He was the leader of his own separate crew unaffiliated with Shockwave and Ratbat at the time. The two teams of Decepticons wouldn't join together until much later during The Underbase Saga.

That's right. It's been a while since I read the G1 comics, those events all run together in my memories. Shockwave and Scorponok didn't get together until their fight in New York/New Jersey, where Shockwave would have handed Scorponok his skidplate if it wasn't for the Neo-Knights. more useless human characters.

As for why Shockwave went out to face Fort Max himself, there are two reasons. First, in-story, for all of Shockwave's talk about pure cold logic, he really did have an ego that he tried very much to hide but didn't always keep in check. He would never admit it, but he wanted to take Fort Max out himself. He wanted to personally deal with that Autobot pest who was ruining everything in that moment. And the other reason is an out-of-story one, in that Shockwave had by then become "old product" who needed to be gotten rid of and replaced by "new product", so Budiansky wrote him out so that Ratbat could fully take over as the new Decepticon leader. Basically, TFTM syndrome.

Makes sense, I hadn't thought about it. This was issue 39, which would put it in summer of '87, and Shockwave didn't appear past TFTM in the cartoon. He was too good a character to discard, but like you said, newer toys had to be shilled.

And since you mentioned TFTM, I just realized after 34 years that Prime was killed off both on screen and on page roughly at the same time. Until, of course, the magic of floppy disk.

However, that didn't stop the UK comics from continuing to use him. The panels of his burning up in Earth's atmosphere and those right after were rewritten in the UK version to make his "death" more ambiguous and instead merely have him "fall to Earth" so that he could survive and keep working his own machinations on Earth, operating out of the Decepticon's original Earth base from the early issues that they abandoned to relocate to their new base in Wyoming.

I never read the UK comics. I need to track down a set of collections like Titan did with the US version. Unless I can find them all online. I'd like to read the actual comics instead of just going through all the wiki entries.

Rodimus Prime wrote:And since you mentioned TFTM, I just realized after 34 years that Prime was killed off both on screen and on page roughly at the same time. Until, of course, the magic of floppy disk.

Yep. That was on purpose too. Hasbro wanted Prime killed off so the order came from on high for not just TFTM but for the comics to kill him off as well. Of course, Prime's first death in the Marvel comics was his worst death ever, IMHO, but that would later be redeemed in his second death, the one where he died fighting Unicron, being his best death ever, IMHO.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I never read the UK comics. I need to track down a set of collections like Titan did with the US version. Unless I can find them all online. I'd like to read the actual comics instead of just going through all the wiki entries.

PM me. I can help you out.

Continuing with our three previews for Transformers comic books being released tomorrow, enjoy a look at the first five pages of Transformers '84: Secrets and Lies #3. Check out the synopsis, main cover and preview pages below for a taste of the next chapter of Counterpunch's wild ride, with some familiar faces from the classic Marvel G1 stories "The Smelting Pool!" and "The Bridge to Nowhere" making an appearance.

Look for this issue tomorrow at your local comic shop, on the Seibertron.com eBay store, or via digital release on Comixology, Apple Books and other authorized digital retailers. Speaking of the Seibertron.com eBay store, you can visit now to experience the aforementioned The Transformers #17 and The Transformers #18 for yourself, or possibly just to upgrade your current beaten up vintage copy.

(W) Simon Furman (A/CA) Guido Guidi
With Megatron, Shockwave, and the Decepticon brass gone, the power vacuum on Cybertron leads many Decepticon commanders to stake their claims on the world. And with the Decepticons divided, which Autobots will step up to take command? Meanwhile, on Earth, Grimlock wanders into the strangest battle yet!

Welp, there goes "Cybertron: The Middle Years!" down the drain.

So if Magnus apparently knows where the Ark crashed, why not make an effort to recover them? Or does he know Prime wouldn't want that? Is he privy to the actual secret plan?

Rodimus Prime wrote:So if Magnus apparently knows where the Ark crashed, why not make an effort to recover them? Or does he know Prime wouldn't want that? Is he privy to the actual secret plan?

It's like Magnus says, they're stretched to the breaking point. They don't have the resources to do much of anything, let alone embark on another space voyage.