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Directly from IDW Publishing and post-embargo time, we can share with all the solicitations for the IDW Publishing comics in the Transformers and Hasbro Universe (with its one, collected Rom the Spaceknight book), both heading towards the close of their narrative life as we all know by now, with the Unicron series in full swing, and Lost Light and Optimus Prime hurtling towards the end - and plenty of tie-in books for the live action Bumblebee movie due in December.

Please be aware there may be some spoilers in the synopses below, and some hints in the covers, but other than that, take a look, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub discussion boards!

TRANSFORMERS

Transformers: Unicron #3 (of 6)—Cover A: Alex Milne—SPOTLIGHT
John Barber (w) • Alex Milne (a & c)
Unicron approaches Cybertron, so Windblade enacts a desperate plan—one neither Optimus Prime nor Starscream agree with! Has Windblade outmaneuvered Shockwave's machinations—or played right into his deadly hand?
FC • 32 pages • $4.99

Transformers: Unicron #3 (of 6)—Cover B: James Raiz—SPOTLIGHT
John Barber (w) • Alex Milne (a) • James Raiz (c)
FC • 32 pages • $4.99

Bullet points:
Variant covers by Nick Roche, and Francesco Francavilla!

Transformers: Unicron #4 (of 6)—Cover A: Alex Milne—SPOTLIGHT
John Barber (w) • Alex Milne (a & c)
Unicron sets his sights on Earth... but is anyone left to defend it?
FC • 32 pages • $4.99

Transformers: Unicron #4 (of 6)—Cover B: James Raiz—SPOTLIGHT
John Barber (w) • Alex Milne (a) • James Raiz (c)
FC • 32 pages • $4.99

Bullet points:
The destruction continues! We’re halfway to the end and Unicron is winning. Will Optimus and his allies be able to save anything?!
Connecting B covers by James Raiz featuring destruction at the hands of Unicron!
Covers by fan-favorite Transformers artists of the past decade!
Variant covers by Guido Guidi and Francisco Francavilla!

Optimus Prime #23—Cover A: Kei Zama—SPOTLIGHT
John Barber (w) • Priscilla Tramontano (a) • Kei Zama (c)
The battle against Unicron forces Optimus Prime's colonist soldiers to contend with a brutal reality—they have no homes to return to. But when they make a move against Trypticon, the human-controlled home of the next generation of Cybertronians... can the end be far behind?
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Optimus Prime #23—Cover B: Priscilla Tramontano—SPOTLIGHT
John Barber (w) • Priscilla Tramontano (a & c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Tie-in to the Unicron event!
Part of the summer of Transformers—all building up to the end of the universe as we know it!
Variant cover by Kei Zama!

Transformers: Lost Light #23—Cover A: Jack Lawrence—SPOTLIGHT
James Roberts (w) • Jack Lawrence (a & c)
The final battle is here! Bots will live, bots will die, and the craziness can only increase! We’re halfway through a finale six years in the making! And if you’ve ever loved a bot, you won’t want to miss this.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: Lost Light #23—Cover B: Geoff Senior—SPOTLIGHT
James Roberts (w) • Jack Lawrence (a) • Geoff Senior (c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Lost Light’s grand finale kicks into high gear!
Bringing the story to a close at long last—and everyone’s involved!
Don’t miss the B cover by beloved Transformers artist Geoff Senior!
Variant cover by Geoff Senior!

Transformers: Lost Light, Vol. 3
James Roberts (w) • Alex Milne, Brendan Cahill, Jack Lawrence (a) • Jack Lawrence (c)
Crammed into a dead Decepticon astropod that's 10 sizes too small, the displaced crew of the Lost Light faces their most serious threat yet: each other. No worries though, Rodimus can save the day! Or maybe they’ll all die... Plus, the Scavengers have never had it so good. The war is a receding memory, their patchy service records have been forgotten, and the five of them can roam the galaxy as they please. All's well that ends well? Not quite. Collects issues #13–18.
TPB • FC • $19.99 • 144 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-331-5

Bullet points:
Advance solicited for September release!
Winner of the Comixology Award for Best Ongoing Comic Series of 2017 as well as Best Writer for James Roberts!

Offered Again!
Transformers Lost Light, Vol. 1 • FC • $19.99 • ISBN: 978-1-63140-992-9
Transformers Lost Light, Vol. 2 • FC • $19.99 • ISBN: 978-1-68405-148-9

Live action Bumblebee movie

Transformers: Bumblebee—Win If You Dare
James Asmus (w) • Marcelo Ferreira (a) • Nicoletta Baldari (c)
Life can feel rough when you aren't the fastest, or the bravest, or the tallest Autobot, and Bumblebee's feeling the pressure. When he’s hurt, Bumblebee takes it upon himself to prove his worth to his fellow Autobots. Things get tense as 'Bee and his new human companion race into action hunting down dangerous foes and a devastating device. It's ready, set, go in this new exciting '80s adventure packed filled with laughs and thrills!
TPB • FC • $9.99 • 72 pages • 6” x 9” • ISBN: 978-1-68405-227-1

Bullet points:
Advance solicited for September release!
The first Bumblebee original graphic novel!
Bumblebee: The Movie premieres in theaters December 21st, 2018.

Transformers: Bumblebee Movie Prequel #3 (of 4)—Cover A: Andrew Griffith
John Barber (w) • Andrew Griffith (a & c)
Energon is Forever. It's war in the streets of swinging 1960s London, baby—and it’s freaking Bumblebee out! The Decepticon scheme to lure the world's top espionage organizations into war shifts into high gear—so Bee and his super-spy friends call in some international help!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: Bumblebee Movie Prequel #3 (of 4)—Cover B: Fico Ossio
John Barber (w) • Andrew Griffith (a)• Fico Ossio (c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
The prequel to the new Bumblebee film (coming this winter), geared toward a younger audience!
Sometimes serious, sometimes campy action spy adventure for fans of James Bond or Mission Impossible!
Black and white variant cover by Andrew Griffith!

HASBRO Universe

Rom: Cold Fire, Hot War
Chris Ryall & Christos Gage (w) • David Messina, Ron Joseph, Paolo Villanelli (a) Loston Wallace (c)
The evil Dire Wraiths have escaped to Earth but are hounded by a Knight of the Solstar Order, the one feared more than all others. He is Rom, the Wraith-slayer. Rom, the Spaceknight!

Having followed the Dire Wraiths across the galaxy to Earth, Rom finds they have infiltrated all levels of society, hiding in plain sight. Replacing many humans in key leadership positions, the Wraiths’ plan to dominate the planet—and everyone in it—is gaining momentum. But Rom finds resistance from the humans as well, who fear he is just another alien invader. He is joined in the battle by two other Solstar Knights… but are they here as friends or foes?

Collects all 14 issues of the series, the 2017 Annual, and the Rom: Revolution one-shot.
TPB • FC • $29.99 • 312 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-278-3

That Trypticon storyline is SURE GOING PLACES.

Awesome cover - Metroplex going straight into Unicron's maw.
Not awesome - anything involving Anode/Lug.

The more I see it, the more I love the depiction of unicron in idw. The cold unfeeling face of his in that cover, shows no pleasure in what he does. Given the synopsis is it going to be a case that earth is the last planet standing? Is this new generation of cybertonians going to be the next continuity version of the thirteen after they get sent through a portal to warn the next dimension of unicron? So many questions...but at what point will we get answers?

Also I wonder if they'll point out when the events of the final issues of op take place during the unicron event.

ZeroWolf wrote:The more I see it, the more I love the depiction of unicron in idw. The cold unfeeling face of his in that cover, shows no pleasure in what he does. Given the synopsis is it going to be a case that earth is the last planet standing? Is this new generation of cybertonians going to be the next continuity version of the thirteen after they get sent through a portal to warn the next dimension of unicron? So many questions...but at what point will we get answers?

Also I wonder if they'll point out when the events of the final issues of op take place during the unicron event.

Dude they’re talking about the protoforms that are residing in trypticon. The new continuity after this will be that, a new continuity.

I know who they were talking about and I was only being half serious. I mean even if they did that I doubt it would mean anything more than an easter egg for readers. It's not like the new continuity will throw us at the very beginning of the cybertonian race (I suspect it'll start very early in the war or maybe offer a new take on how it started)

Think what y’all want about IDW, I’m just worried that Lost Light won’t tie back into the main series. They set it up as being just important, but now you could tell me Lost Light is an entirely different continuity and for all intents and purposes it is.

Have we forgotten about the Worldsweeper crashed into the White House, ala Optimus Prime’s vision during AHO?

Stormshot_Prime wrote:Think what y’all want about IDW, I’m just worried that Lost Light won’t tie back into the main series. They set it up as being just important, but now you could tell me Lost Light is an entirely different continuity and for all intents and purposes it is.

Have we forgotten about the Worldsweeper crashed into the White House, ala Optimus Prime’s vision during AHO?

They probably won’t meet back up becuase meeting back up isn’t part of the story. Would it be nice? Yes, will it happen? Maybe maybe not


It’s not a different continuity it’s just “here’s what’s happening on the other side of the galaxy”

That’s like saying “the comic guardians of the galaxy is a different continuity because it’s got nothing to do with earth”

That vision also had Aileron as the new Mistrss of Flame, Optimus with a tattered amarcican flag and galvatrons head in his hand”

The vision has been brought up but if anything it just shows that the end of the IDW-verse was decided very late last year. It was even drawn by James raize instead of the artist who was doing first strike.

John probably had a lot of plans before the decision was made to end the books.

Randomhero wrote:

Stormshot_Prime wrote:Think what y’all want about IDW, I’m just worried that Lost Light won’t tie back into the main series. They set it up as being just important, but now you could tell me Lost Light is an entirely different continuity and for all intents and purposes it is.

Have we forgotten about the Worldsweeper crashed into the White House, ala Optimus Prime’s vision during AHO?

They probably won’t meet back up becuase meeting back up isn’t part of the story. Would it be nice? Yes, will it happen? Maybe maybe not


It’s not a different continuity it’s just “here’s what’s happening on the other side of the galaxy”

That’s like saying “the comic guardians of the galaxy is a different continuity because it’s got nothing to do with earth”

That vision also had Aileron as the new Mistrss of Flame, Optimus with a tattered amarcican flag and galvatrons head in his hand”

The vision has been brought up but if anything it just shows that the end of the IDW-verse was decided very late last year. It was even drawn by James raize instead of the artist who was doing first strike.

John probably had a lot of plans before the decision was made to end the books.

Oh yeah, after the last issue of OP you can really tell how Barber is tying everything together after years of build up.

I know the stories are in the same universe, but that lack of connection bothers me, especially since they used to at least acknowledge each other.

I guess my point is, both stories are going deep into the origins and such of the Cybertronian race, there’s got to be a connection somewhere. Unicron is becoming prominent in OP while Primus is becoming important in LL, that’s a parallel that can’t be ignored, especially considering how badass Barber is with his plots (even if MTMTE/LL aren’t entirely his).

I for one think the Grand Architect and Unicron are going to go hand in hand. The similarities in dialogue/general action can’t be utterly separate.

That first cover is all kinds of awesome.

Stormshot_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:

Stormshot_Prime wrote:Think what y’all want about IDW, I’m just worried that Lost Light won’t tie back into the main series. They set it up as being just important, but now you could tell me Lost Light is an entirely different continuity and for all intents and purposes it is.

Have we forgotten about the Worldsweeper crashed into the White House, ala Optimus Prime’s vision during AHO?

They probably won’t meet back up becuase meeting back up isn’t part of the story. Would it be nice? Yes, will it happen? Maybe maybe not


It’s not a different continuity it’s just “here’s what’s happening on the other side of the galaxy”

That’s like saying “the comic guardians of the galaxy is a different continuity because it’s got nothing to do with earth”

That vision also had Aileron as the new Mistrss of Flame, Optimus with a tattered amarcican flag and galvatrons head in his hand”

The vision has been brought up but if anything it just shows that the end of the IDW-verse was decided very late last year. It was even drawn by James raize instead of the artist who was doing first strike.

John probably had a lot of plans before the decision was made to end the books.

Oh yeah, after the last issue of OP you can really tell how Barber is tying everything together after years of build up.

I know the stories are in the same universe, but that lack of connection bothers me, especially since they used to at least acknowledge each other.

I guess my point is, both stories are going deep into the origins and such of the Cybertronian race, there’s got to be a connection somewhere. Unicron is becoming prominent in OP while Primus is becoming important in LL, that’s a parallel that can’t be ignored, especially considering how badass Barber is with his plots (even if MTMTE/LL aren’t entirely his).

I for one think the Grand Architect and Unicron are going to go hand in hand. The similarities in dialogue/general action can’t be utterly separate.

I agree I wish MTMTE/LL had more interactions with the main books because whether you like it or not LL/MTMTE was not a main book. It was a quest story and my issue to was that yes James was allowed to pretty much be left alone to do this story. Regular books do that but not really books that are licensed out. It’s not just an editor that says no, all the comics have to be approved by hasbro. it’s a shame because we probably won’t have them return to cybertron and have Optimus reunite without roller, Grimlock reunite with the Dinobots.

The biggest crime is it does seem this is really seems like we don’t have time for Megatron to come back. If this continuity wasn’t ending that more than likely would have happened but his story was told I guess. He got away and that sucks. I can and I can’t blame James. He chose to take megatron out of the book but we all know he had plans for this series to go to maybe 100 issues of it was lucky.

I don’t think the Grand Architect has something To do with unicron. That stuff has been laid out since 2012 when MTMTE started and Unicron was decided only last year to be the finale. This is the finale to James’s story and it very much isn’t part of the rest of books coming out.

Randomhero wrote:The vision has been brought up but if anything it just shows that the end of the IDW-verse was decided very late last year.

That's not true. Roche said on the recent Twincast that they all found out the books were ending around #10 of both series.

Not everything in the vision was going to come to pass... I'm pretty sure Barber even said it was just a hint of stuff to come and not necessarily literal. For example, we got Optimus decapitating Galvatron, but it didn't happen like in the vision.

Shot Put wrote:

Randomhero wrote:The vision has been brought up but if anything it just shows that the end of the IDW-verse was decided very late last year.

That's not true. Roche said on the recent Twincast that they all found out the books were ending around #10 of both series.

Not everything in the vision was going to come to pass... I'm pretty sure Barber even said it was just a hint of stuff to come and not necessarily literal. For example, we got Optimus decapitating Galvatron, but it didn't happen like in the vision.

Issue 10...you mean the books at came out end of August and September? Yeah that’s late last year. The same time the last issue of First Strike was made and James drawing the epilogue with unicron.

And also my post always pointed out things in the vision that didn’t happen like Aileron become mistress flame.

Randomhero wrote:

Shot Put wrote:

Randomhero wrote:The vision has been brought up but if anything it just shows that the end of the IDW-verse was decided very late last year.

That's not true. Roche said on the recent Twincast that they all found out the books were ending around #10 of both series.

Not everything in the vision was going to come to pass... I'm pretty sure Barber even said it was just a hint of stuff to come and not necessarily literal. For example, we got Optimus decapitating Galvatron, but it didn't happen like in the vision.

Issue 10...you mean the books at came out end of August and September? Yeah that’s late last year. The same time the last issue of First Strike was made and James drawing the epilogue with unicron.

And also my post always pointed out things in the vision that didn’t happen like Aileron become mistress flame.

Issue 10? I feel like that’s not a whole lot of time to prepare for an entire universe ending when they’ve been planning out so much in advance, especially since Roberts was trying to take LL to issue 43 if he could (technically issue 100 of MTMTE had things not been shaken up).

I don’t think it’s too late for the Aileron thing to play out, it’d be a fantastic ending for her character given how much she’s been involved, it wouldn’t take a lot of pages to show that.

I don’t know, I’m holding onto that hope that at the last second, maybe issue 24-25 of both OP and LL, we’ll get that reunion perhaps.

Gonna throw my prediction out there: This universe actually will be destroyed, as advertised, but Megatron will come to save the day and the Functionist Universe Cybertron will be he new home for all this universe’s refugees fleeing Unicron.

I wonder if there was some major push from Hasbro to end things as quick as possible, considering how the whole brand is about to be shaken up after this year it seems.

I've thought it had something to do with hasbro shaking up the toys and the fact they are doing the great war in the toy line (not that it ever stopped really for the toys) that's why I think they'll be more synergy with the toy designs and comic designs.

Oh there most definitely is a big brand synchronisation at hand: Takara Tomy and Hasbro unifying the toylines, the movies being 'rebooted', the stories in IDW coming to a close, and a new 'concept' for the cross-franchise mandate.

I still do not think any of this will have been rushed by the end of it, and I really recommend listening to the Roche interview for his personal take on that editorial meeting with the IDW creators!