The Energon Pub

Next spring, a war is coming to IDW’s Transformers comics – and it’s bigger than one single robot, or even the divide between Autobots and Decepticons. It’s the “Combiner Wars.”

Combiners are the term used to describe super-robots of sorts, made out of multiple Transformers combining together into one – and they’ve been a major part of the Transformers franchise, from the Destructicons’ Devastator to Predacons’ Predaking and numerous others. In the IDW Transformers line’s upcoming “Combiner Wars,” the technology that made Combiners possible has been found and it starts what IDW Senior Editor (and longtime Transformers writer) John Barber calls a “cold war” between Transformers factions.

Beginning in March “Combiner Wars” will crisscross between the main Transformers comic series (formerly subtitled Robots In Disguise) and the upcoming Transformers: Windblade ongoing series. The crossover will be written by Barber along with Mairghread Scott, and illustrated by Sarah Stone and Livio Ramondelli.

Newsarama: Mairghread, John, what is this “Combiner Wars” about?

John Barber: “Combiner Wars” is, in the comics, the cold war between factions on Cybertron and Earth growing hot. Starscream is the (mostly) legitimate ruler of Cybertron, but not everybody thinks he should be. And when one of his ultimate goals—contact with the missing ancient Cybertronian colonies, as seen in the Transformers: Windblade miniseries—starts to come to fruition, other parties—Optimus Prime, Windblade, Prowl—see an immediate danger to the sanctity of the galaxy.

Beyond that—“Combiner Wars” is a great example of Hasbro and IDW working together and building a huge storyline that goes between toys and comics and into other media. We on the comics have worked very closely with Hasbro’s Transformers brand team, especially Mark Webber and Sarah Carroll, plus Director, Global Publishing Michael Kelly—there’s pieces that come straight out of the comics (like the new Megatron toy for next year that gives you the option of giving him an Autobot symbol, like he has in the Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye comics) and some new things coming from the toy side that we get to debut in the comics. Plus, while the comics will come out from IDW first, they’ll be packed in with select Transformers Generations toys, which will get the comics to an all-new audience that might have never had the chance to read them before.

And beyond that—“Combiner Wars” is a great chance for Mairghread Scott (writer of the amazing Windblade series) and I to work together and to team with Sarah Stone (artist on that amazing Windblade series) and Livio Ramondelli (who’s just finished the Transformers: Punishment motion comic and is in the middle of Transformers: Primacy, the story of the early days of the war) and make a big, action-packed, character-packed story with huge ramifications for the comics in 2015.

[...]

Nrama: We’ve mentioned theWindblade miniseries and ongoing series, but what about Windblade herself – how does she factor into it all?

Scott: The end of Windblade saw our heroine striking a real devil's bargain with Starscream and she's still trying to maintain that very dangerous balance. So we see a really different side of Windblade, one trying to hold her own in the shadowy political world of Cybertron (a world Starscream is the undisputed master of) while still trying to hold onto some sort of moral compass. The question for Windblade in “Combiner Wars” is really: How far can you go in the name of good until you aren't good anymore? When does the end stop justifying the means?

I am currently writing the 2015 Windblade series. I just finished issue 1 and am starting issue 2. That will play into an event next year called Combiner Wars and crosses over with RiD. I am also writing several tv projects which will probably air sometime in 2015/2016. One of which is Transformers: RiD. You’ll see an all-ages story I wrote in an upcoming anthology book, it’ll be out before the end of 2014. I am also writing a creator-owned comic series with Sarah Stone and just pitched another creator-owned series with another artist. I also wrote an 8-part digital comic series for Lion Forge that brings back a classic 1980s cartoon series, that should be announced soon. There’s probably more that I’m either forgetting or can’t talk about yet. No rest for the wicked.

1984forever wrote:IDW comics do not showcase the characters correctly. The pack-in comics have very little to do with the toys they are packaged with. Transformations during action sequences are scarce.

The comics are geared more to teens or adults. The video games do a much better job at making kids want to buy the toys, my 6 year old is living proof of this. He begged me to buy him Bayformers Drift after playing the first stage of RofTDS. I would NEVER consider buying Drift for myself. The partnership between IDW and Hasbro is clearly missing it's mark.

ZeroWolf wrote:

1984forever wrote:IDW comics do not showcase the characters correctly. The pack-in comics have very little to do with the toys they are packaged with. Transformations during action sequences are scarce.

The comics are geared more to teens or adults. The video games do a much better job at making kids want to buy the toys, my 6 year old is living proof of this. He begged me to buy him Bayformers Drift after playing the first stage of RofTDS. I would NEVER consider buying Drift for myself. The partnership between IDW and Hasbro is clearly missing it's mark.

That's the thing, I think the pack in comics are actually to get people interested n the IDW comics rather then the other way round.

Also your first point, this is a different G1 universe then your preferred G1 toon. So characters are allowed to change and grow The transformation thing, I rather have them transform for a reason then needlesslly.

You do make a fair point about the games however, they should think about trying to make a game advertising that year's generation line.

Va'al wrote:Ok, I keep re-reading that interview, and I'm still confused as to whether the second Windblade will be ongoing or mini.

This is what Scott had to say a while back:

I am currently writing the 2015 Windblade series. I just finished issue 1 and am starting issue 2. That will play into an event next year called Combiner Wars and crosses over with RiD. I am also writing several tv projects which will probably air sometime in 2015/2016. One of which is Transformers: RiD. You’ll see an all-ages story I wrote in an upcoming anthology book, it’ll be out before the end of 2014. I am also writing a creator-owned comic series with Sarah Stone and just pitched another creator-owned series with another artist. I also wrote an 8-part digital comic series for Lion Forge that brings back a classic 1980s cartoon series, that should be announced soon. There’s probably more that I’m either forgetting or can’t talk about yet. No rest for the wicked.

Va'al wrote:Also:

(via Josh Perez)

Va'al wrote:MTMTE will continue undeterred. Windblade is getting a second mini, not an ongoing as yet.
The current TF based ongoings are RID, MTMTE and TFvsGIJoe. Plus Primacy (4 issues), Windblade in 2015 (4? issues).

I'm really not sure what they mean by that RID drop.
(Then again, Newsarama is not the most clued in outlet for the franchise.)

Dead Metal wrote:

Va'al wrote:Ok, I keep re-reading that interview, and I'm still confused as to whether the second Windblade will be ongoing or mini.

This is what Scott had to say a while back:

I am currently writing the 2015 Windblade series. I just finished issue 1 and am starting issue 2. That will play into an event next year called Combiner Wars and crosses over with RiD. I am also writing several tv projects which will probably air sometime in 2015/2016. One of which is Transformers: RiD. You’ll see an all-ages story I wrote in an upcoming anthology book, it’ll be out before the end of 2014. I am also writing a creator-owned comic series with Sarah Stone and just pitched another creator-owned series with another artist. I also wrote an 8-part digital comic series for Lion Forge that brings back a classic 1980s cartoon series, that should be announced soon. There’s probably more that I’m either forgetting or can’t talk about yet. No rest for the wicked.

I think it's going to be an annual mini, otherwise she would have said the Windblade series instead of the 2014 Windblade series. Kinda like what idw did in the beginning, the main series was restricted to a six part story each year, numbered as such with a smaller secondary numbering showing us its "ongoing" issue number for instance Infiltration #1 was ongoing #11.

I believe Windblade will be handled similarly getting a mini a year.


I'm really exited for this. So far idw has kinda failed at doing Combiners. Furman was taking his time with introducing the tech due to his long term plans, then those got shelved. Then we suddenly had Devastator and Menesaur, shortly after that they were removed from existence for cheap shock effect. And now it seems we're going to finally have all-out Combiner action!

Va'al wrote:Also:

(via Josh Perez)

That is awesome. Man it would be so cool if that was actually going to happen, Prowl going Constructicon that is.