The Energon Pub

I'm looking for recommendations as to where I should start when it comes to reading Transformers comics.

I've been a Transformers fan my whole life, I grew up on the Unicron Trilogy, and I've seen every show through Prime. I haven't been able to get into the more recent shows, so somebody on Reddit recommended Transformers comics, as they're apparently pretty good. As it turns out, there's an overwhelming amount of Transformers comics and no clear starting point as far as I could tell.

Any suggestions or recommendations?

#1 Signal Lancer fan wrote:I'm looking for recommendations as to where I should start when it comes to reading Transformers comics.

I've been a Transformers fan my whole life, I grew up on the Unicron Trilogy, and I've seen every show through Prime. I haven't been able to get into the more recent shows, so somebody on Reddit recommended Transformers comics, as they're apparently pretty good. As it turns out, there's an overwhelming amount of Transformers comics and no clear starting point as far as I could tell.

Any suggestions or recommendations?

Well, my recommendation would ve to first pinpoint which run you want. Most people go with IDW, but there are others. Then, try and find a reliable reading list by asking around about it. Ide recommend against googling that sort of thing because there's a lot of misinformation and misordered lists out there (not to mention comics ide personally recommend avoiding altogether)

The Marvel Comics are simple but fun adventures.Some great stand alone stories.
The Movie IDW comics are also a good read.The prequel stories do a good job setting up the live action films.
Not all of them remain canon,but they are still worth the read,in my opinion.

Well my #1 recommendation would be to start with the original series from the 80s. The Marvel comics were fun, the stories were mostly interconnected, and as much as I respect original writer Bob Budiansky, I think when Simon Furman took over in the 2ns half of the run, that's when things got really great.

Of course, if you choose to read G1, you should also read G2 and the G.I. Joe crossovers as well. Then pick up Regeneration One, which disregards the G2 series and takes place 20 years after the end of G1.

If you want to stick with more modern art and style of writing (both of which IMO are inferior to Marvel) go with IDW, especially starting with The Death of Optimus Prime from 2012. That's a very good jumping-on point, but if you want to read the entire IDW continuity, you must start with the Megatron: Origin storyline.

If you check the top of this forum, there is a sticky thread with the IDW chronological order posted, pretty much in correct order. Prepare for a lot of reading, and if you prefer physical books over reading online, prepare to spend some serious coin. But if you do, it'll be worth it.

Rodimus Prime wrote:If you check the top of this forum, there is a sticky thread with the IDW chronological order posted, pretty much in correct order.

Is it recommended to read chronologically or in release order?

#1 Signal Lancer fan wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:If you check the top of this forum, there is a sticky thread with the IDW chronological order posted, pretty much in correct order.

Is it recommended to read chronologically or in release order?

Chronologically if you like linear storytelling, otherwise there will be stuff that won't make sense for a while, but the upside is you'll get a few good surprises. All depends on your reading preference, really.

#1 Signal Lancer fan wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:If you check the top of this forum, there is a sticky thread with the IDW chronological order posted, pretty much in correct order.

Is it recommended to read chronologically or in release order?

Chronologically isn't perfect, but I find it much preferable to release order. Only things that immediately come to mind which end up feeling a little weird chronologically are some of the later Spotlight issues that don't bear fruit until the lead up to Dark Cybertron, and the Autocracy/Monstrosity/Primacy trilogy which just kind of feels tacked on wherever you put it in your reading order.

Also as stated by RP, check the FAQ thread - but damn do I need to update that. For everything pre-2019-reboot it should still be pretty darn useful though. There are some posts which use present tense that date themselves pretty thoroughly nowadays