The Energon Pub

Wouldn't starting at phase 2 part 1 be a good idea to get the full back ground of CW?

Nik Hero wrote:The Super Duper IDW Universe Continuity Guide Doc recently changed this order. Is that your doc? If not, do you agree with that, Scotty P?

It says now...
Micronauts: Revolution Volume 1 #1
Revolution Volume 1 #0
Rom: Revolution Volume 1 #1
Revolution Volume 1 #1
M.A.S.K.- Mobile Armored Strike Kommand: Revolution Volume 1 #1
Revolution Volume 1 #2
The Transformers: Till All Are One: Revolution Volume 1 #1
Revolution Volume 1 #3
G.I. Joe: Revolution Volume 1 #1
The Transformers: Revolution Volume 1 #1
Action Man: Revolution Volume 1 #1
The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye: Revolution Volume 1 #1
Revolution Volume 1 #4
Revolution Volume 1 #5
Revolutionaries Volume 1 #1

Anything that uses numbers to two decimal precision to mention different universes in the overall Transformers meta-series is not mine

I don't think there's anything wrong in that order, not how I'd suggest it but it would certainly work. I really don't like separating Micronauts and TAAO, but again it wouldn't necessarily be 'wrong' to do that. In fact, the order there is probably what I'd go with if someone said "you have to adapt this into an episodic TV series"

Pot Bot wrote:Wouldn't starting at phase 2 part 1 be a good idea to get the full back ground of CW?

I think one thing that really hurts CW in this particular context is Optimus Maximus. For that to have the most impact and not just be plot serving nonsense, you have to know so much about so. Darn. Much. Spotlight: Mirage, the -ations, most of Phase 2, a good bit of the Costa era for Ironhide and Prowl stuff, and even some LSotW!

Scotty P's Attempt at a Hasbro U Reading Order
I haven't seen a good one of these out there, or at least one that I'd endorse and say "Yep, that looks right", so I'm making an attempt at it. Obviously, things are subject to change as new knowledge is gained by newly published works, or as people here on the boards point out reasons why what gets put down here is wrong. Heck, that latter part is half the point! Our collective knowledge can make this work.

Note that this does not include any G.I. Joe stuff from before Revolution (publication wise) because I don't know anything about it and really don't have the time to research it - or interest in Joe to that degree. Sorry!

This also doesn't include Jem and The Holograms or The Misfits, as it's currently unknown where those fit in. Then again, that's sort of the point. They're "In Universe" just in case they ever want/need them to be, as I understand it, and that's the extent of that. For now.

Last disclaimer - this barely touches on Lost Light/MTMTE because they have been purposely sheltered away from the shared universe for the most part. I have my own idea on where LL's first arc fits in that I'll put down here.

Away we go!

Pre-Revolution - these go some yet-unknown spot prior to Infiltration #0 but after Shockwave has initiated Regenesis

1. Rom: Annual
2. Rom vs Transformers: Shining Armor (This is a presumption, but a very safe one)

The Road To Revolution and Titans Return

1. Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #1 - "Roadies" opening short
2. Transformers 50 - 55 ("All Hail Optimus"/Volume 10 TPB)
3. Till All Are One 1-4 (Volume 1 TPB) - roughly concurrent with "All Hail Optimus"
4. Micronauts 1-6 (Volume 1 TPB) - could really go anywhere before Revolution, because Time is All Things.
5. Titans Return One-Shot
6. Transformers 56-57
7. More Than Meets The Eye 56-57
8. Revolution #0
9. M.A.S.K. Revolution - Rough guess with this being ~ a year before Revolution, but it would need to be after Blitzwing's capture.
10. Rom #11's backup story "Tales of the Solstar Order: Battle Scars, Part One"
11. Rom #0 - maybe? Just to introduce Action Man.
12. Action Man #0-4
13. Rom #1-4

Revolution

1. ROM Revolution
2. Revolution #1
3. Revolution #2
4. Micronauts: Revolution
5. Till All Are One: Revolution
6. Revolution #3
7. G.I. Joe: Revolution
8. Transformers: Revolution
9. Action Man: Revolution
10. Revolution #4
11. Revolution #5
12. More Than Meets The Eye: Revolution

Reconstruction

1. G.I. Joe #1-5 (presumably #1-9) - really hasn't placed itself anywhere else yet that I've noticed?
2. M.A.S.K. #1-7 (presumably #1-10) - see just above
3. Till All Are One #5-8 (Volume 2 TPB)
4. Micronauts #7-9
5. Micronauts Annual
6. Micronauts #10-11
7. M.A.S.K. Annual (2017) - really though I have no idea where this one should go. I'd put good money down that only John Barber has an idea (of where he will eventually retcon it)

The Few Short Months of Status Quo Before First Strike

1. Revolutionaries #1-5 (presumably #1-8)
2. Till All Are One #9-10 (presumably #9-12)
3. Rom #5-11 (presumably #5-14) - Just putting it somewhere after Revolutionaries 1 and alternating to something else in between where TF books go, tbh.
4. Wrath of Karza #1-2 (presumably #1-5) - a wild guess, to be fair, but I haven't seen anything yet suggesting this is after anything in Optimus Prime. Issue 2 goes full bore Time is All Things so maybe it takes place whenever you want it to
5. Optimus Prime #1-8 (presumably #1-10)
6. Transformers Annual (2017)
7. Lost Light #1-6
8. Transformers: Salvation
9. Optimus Prime #11 - based on a couple pieces of anecdotal information, including John Barber's tease of the events in this issue and the summary of the First Strike TPB on Amazon.

First Strike - Completely theoretical in nature!

1. First Strike #0 (6/14/2017 release, therefore this is a complete assumption at the current moment.)
2. First Strike #1
3. First Strike #2
4. G.I. Joe First Strike
5. Micronauts First Strike
6. First Strike #3
7. First Strike #4
8. M.A.S.K. First Strike
9. Rom First Strike
10. Optimus Prime First Strike
11. Transformers First Strike
12. First Strike #5
13. First Strike #6

The Strike Strikes Back 2: Die Hard (In a Mall)

1. Lost Light #7-10?
2. Till All Are One Annual?
3. G.I. Joe Unmasked?
4. Rom and the Micronauts?
5. Schick Hydrobot meets The Transformers? TBD, which is hopefully obvious

Scotty,

Isn't OP 7-10 after Transformers Annual 2017?

Nik Hero wrote:Scotty,

Isn't OP 7-10 after Transformers Annual 2017?

7 and 8 are definitely before (site's comic reviewers have their copies so have read 8; I don't consider this part a spoiler so hopefully others don't either.) 9 and 10 TBD but I know 10 is a Galvatron flashback at any rate so it may go way back in the list anyhow depending on how they frame it!

Can you share your OP #11 reasonings for those of us who missed these things?

Nik Hero wrote:Can you share your OP #11 reasonings for those of us who missed these things?

I believe he's referring to the interview he had with Barber: https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... all/37582/

Va'al wrote:

Nik Hero wrote:Can you share your OP #11 reasonings for those of us who missed these things?

I believe he's referring to the interview he had with Barber: https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... all/37582/

Little of that, little of the Amazon solicit for First Strike TPB.

Basically, we are supposed to find out who Earth's rep to the Cybertronian Council of Worlds is in OP #11. The aforementioned solicit notes said representative, meaning it's been determined by that point.

Looks like Lost Light 1-7 should go before Revolution. The question is should it also go before TR?

ScottyP wrote:Looks like Lost Light 1-7 should go before Revolution. The question is should it also go before TR?

Should it also go away (given the reactions to it)?

I like it

With TFCon currently stunning over in Canada, national media CBC.ca have also run a piece on the current output of IDW Publishing's Transformers stables, with a lengthy interview featuring writers John Barber, Mairghread Scott and James Roberts! (Shame about the neglected artists, really.)

While the interview does not really give any new information exactly, it's a good point to take to reflect on where the TF comics have come and will be going, with Till All Are One ending, and Optimus Prime and Lost Light reaching their second arcs, as First Strike is about to .. Strike the Hasbro Universe too. Check out some snippets below, and read the whole interview here!

The writers' biggest challenge is figuring out how to explore gender in a race that has rarely encountered it while avoiding making the characters feel wholly alien to readers.

"If you took a hard-science-fiction look at a world of machine life that reproduces asexually, ideas like gender and sex would be either nonexistent or very, very different than our human understanding and background in those issues," says Barber.

"But Transformers stories exist in our human world, where we know Optimus Prime is male because people say 'he' and he sounds like (voice actor) Peter Cullen and whatnot. So there's gender in there whether it makes hard-science-fiction sense or not."

[...]

"Initially, you were invited to think of them [Rewind and Chromedome --V] as very good friends, and as the story progressed, as I became more confident in what I could and couldn't do, we became more explicit in establishing them as 'robot husbands,'" says Roberts. "And I'm pleased to say that everyone involved — IDW editorial and Hasbro — have run with it. And fans, most importantly, seemed to like it."

[...]

"There are certain things that Hasbro will dictate that they do or do not want, but other than major things like 'Don't kill our main characters' or 'We really want to highlight this person,' they let us tell the stories that we want to tell," says Scott.

Stone the crows! This all started in 2005? Good grief. I feel old. But who cares? IDW has given us consistently good Transformers fiction which has often veered into excellent in the last couple of years (MTMTE in particular.). What a time to be alive!

Big Grim wrote:Stone the crows! This all started in 2005? Good grief. I feel old. But who cares? IDW has given us consistently good Transformers fiction which has often veered into excellent in the last couple of years (MTMTE in particular.). What a time to be alive!

Whenever I remember it was 2005 I just find myself amazed that it's the longest-running TF fiction to ever exist -- surpassing even Shattered Glass and the Live-action movies. It's a wonderful ride that refuses to stop

cool stuff

Tried updating very briefly the timeline, will do more once SDCC is over and can compare with ScottyP's list.

Va'al wrote:Tried updating very briefly the timeline, will do more once SDCC is over and can compare with ScottyP's list.

I need to look at that list again anyhow. And update the FAQ. All I need is free time that isn't available :'(

Oughta update the wikipedia page with this, it's in the same style but theirs is really dodgy.

Today on Reddit, John Barber said Wrath of Karza was right around Optimus Prime #1 and Salvation takes place right before Optimus Prime #13-14.

Nik Hero wrote:Today on Reddit, John Barber said Wrath of Karza was right around Optimus Prime #1 and Salvation takes place right before Optimus Prime #13-14.

More elaborately, six IDW writers of the Hasbro Universe (Mairghread Scott, David Rodriguez, Max Dunbar, John Barber, Christos Gage, and Aubrey Sitterson) held an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit in which they took questions about their work and provided answers to several of them.

Sabrblade wrote:

Nik Hero wrote:Today on Reddit, John Barber said Wrath of Karza was right around Optimus Prime #1 and Salvation takes place right before Optimus Prime #13-14.

More elaborately, six IDW writers of the Hasbro Universe (Mairghread Scott, David Rodriguez, Max Dunbar, John Barber, Christos Gage, and Aubrey Sitterson) held an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit in which they took questions about their work and provided answers to several of them.

Yeah I asked the question about WoK I feel like they don't know/care and were letting Bunn wrap up his story. I'm ok with that.

Anyone figured out the order to best read all the First Strike tie-ins yet?

Nik Hero wrote:Anyone figured out the order to best read all the First Strike tie-ins yet?

Too many not out yet to know - OP and Rom not out until 10/18, TF and MASK presumably 10/25.

Publication order has thus far been easy to follow, fwiw!

This is what I think I've figured out for the best reading order so far:

Revolution: ROM #1
Revolution: M.A.S.K. #1
Revolution #1
Revolution #2
Revolution: Micronauts #1
Revolution: Till All Are One #1
Revolution #3
Revolution: G.I. Joe #1
Revolution: Transformers #1
Revolution: Action Man #1
Revolution #4
Revolution #5
Revolution: More Than Meets the Eye #1
Till All Are One #5:
Till All Are One #6:
Till All Are One #7:
Till All Are One #8:
M.A.S.K. Annual #2017:
Till All Are One #9:
Till All Are One #10:
Till All Are One #11:
Till All Are One #12:
Lost Light #10:
Lost Light #11:
Lost Light #12:
Revolutionaries #1:
Revolutionaries #2:
Revolutionaries #3:
Revolutionaries #4:
Revolutionaries #5:
Hearts of Steel #1:
Hearts of Steel #2:
Hearts of Steel #3:
Hearts of Steel #4:
Infestation 2 #1:
Infestation 2: Transformers #1
Infestation 2: Transformers #2
Infestation 2 #2:
Conspiracy #1:
Conspiracy: Transformers #1
Conspiracy #2:
Revolutionaries #6:
Revolutionaries #7:
Revolutionaries #8:
Micronauts: Wrath of Karza #1
Micronauts: Wrath of Karza #2
Micronauts: Wrath of Karza #3
Micronauts: Wrath of Karza #4
Micronauts: Wrath of Karza #5
Optimus Prime #1:
Optimus Prime #2:
Optimus Prime #3:
Optimus Prime #4:
Optimus Prime #5:
Optimus Prime #6:
Optimus Prime #7:
Optimus Prime #8:
Transformers Annual #2017:
Hasbro Heroes #1
Hasbro Heroes #2
Hasbro Heroes #3
First Strike #0
Optimus Prime #9:
Optimus Prime #10:
First Strike #1
Optimus Prime #11:
Optimus Prime #12:
First Strike #2
First Strike: Micronauts #1
First Strike: ROM #1
First Strike #3
First Strike: G.I. Joe #1
First Strike: M.A.S.K. #1
First Strike #4
First Strike: Optimus Prime #1
First Strike: Transformers #1
First Strike #5
First Strike #6
Till All Are One Annual #2017:
Salvation #1:
Optimus Prime #13:
Optimus Prime #14: