The Energon Pub

odd...looking at the may solicits....If OP #16 which came out in Feb is "The Falling Part 2", how can #19, which comes out in May only be "Part 4", unless 17 or 18 deviates from this for a month?...something is goofy here

o.supreme wrote:odd...looking at the may solicits....If OP #16 which came out in Feb is "The Falling Part 2", how can #19, which comes out in May only be "Part 4", unless 17 or 18 deviates from this for a month?...something is goofy here

Issue 18 is "The Falling: Interlude" with Onyx Prime backstory

^ oh, ok, gotcha. . Also is kind of funny, since way back when, I hadn't known much about Onyx Prime, and Galvatron's warning to Optimus intrigued me. I looked up his info from different sources. He was benevolent, well liked, and kind...definitely NOT what we are getting in IDW...heh...

Not really a Chronology, but here's some Stuff from IDW.

Source: http://www.idwpublishing.com/transforme ... ing-guide/

Free Comic Book Day quickly approaches, and the Transformers bots are gearing up for their deadliest face-off. Worlds will die, heroes will fall, and things will never be the same. Prepare yourself for the bot battle of a lifetime by catching up with IDW’s Transformers Required Reading Guide! Arm yourself with knowledge, as we approach the final battle. Transformers: Unicron begins with issue #0 this Free Comic Book Day, May 5th.

^ Good lord I hope that's not supposed to provide a reading order. I guess it could be one if you like breakfast for dinner.

I think it's just an ad for each series.

So, while we may not know the exact order of the final run of the series (Most likely Unicorn #6 will be the end of everything however), we can now say that it will end with a total of 427 issues. Not bad...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trans ... Publishing)#Chronological_Comic_Order

Right, time to revise a thing or two! This is a partial IDW Transformers/Hasbro Universe timeline that covers all the "after First Strike" material.

6 - The Road to Unicron

1. Rom and the Micronauts 1-5 (kinda just runs parallel to other stories, can really go anywhere within this subset of books)
2. Transformers: Salvation
3. Optimus Prime #13-14
4. Till All Are One Annual
5. Optimus Prime Annual (this starts before the TAAO annual, but ends after.)
6. Optimus Prime #15-16
7. Scarlett's Strike Force #1-3 (#2 references the Ore 13 mine opened up in KY during OP #15)
8. Optimus Prime #17-21
9. Transformers vs Visionaries #1-5
10. Requiem of the Wreckers

7 - End of the Road

1. Optimus Prime #22 (pages 1-13)
2. Unicron #0
3. Optimus Prime #22 (pages 14-20)
4. "Ad Infinitum" - back up Rom strip published in Unicron #1
5. Unicron #1-3
6. "Last Stand" - back up G.I. Joe strip published in Unicron #2
7. Unicron #4
8. Optimus Prime #23 (mostly concurrent with Unicron #4)
9. Optimus Prime #24
10. "Reunion" - back up M.A.S.K. strip published in Unicron #3
11. "Transition" - back up Micronauts strip published in Unicron #4
12. Unicron #5
13. "A World and a Future" - back up Visionaries strip published in Unicron #5
14. Unicron #6
15. Optimus Prime #25 (presumably, releases 11/21)
16. Lost Light #25

Lost Light 1-24 can go anywhere you like. I like putting LL 1-7 ("Dissolution") just before First Strike, 8-9 before the list above, 10-12 somewhere around the TAAO Annual just to check in, 13-15 just before OP 17-21 ("The Falling"), and 16-24 either just before Unicron or just after all that. I stress that this is entirely subjective and there is no "right" answer with respect to Lost Light 1-24's "chronological" placement.

So I've finally decided to catch up on the IDW Transformers. I've gotten all the first 4 volumes of the Spotlight comics (not sure if there's more) in tpb form, I have all of Megatron Origins, I have Last Stand of The Wreckers, I have volume 1 of Robots in Disguise and More than Meets The Eye, and I have the Transformers/Avengers crossover comic. Other than that, that's all I know about what's going on. I've searched around, and all I can find is lists for reading the IDW Transformers comics in chronological order. I'd rather read it in order that IDW Released them because I'm weird that way. However I've found it hard to actually find a release date list rather than an in-universe chronological list.

Would this: https://www.seibertron.com/comics/series.php be accurate for what I'm looking for? Or did IDW release in a different order?

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:So I've finally decided to catch up on the IDW Transformers. I've gotten all the first 4 volumes of the Spotlight comics (not sure if there's more) in tpb form, I have all of Megatron Origins, I have Last Stand of The Wreckers, I have volume 1 of Robots in Disguise and More than Meets The Eye, and I have the Transformers/Avengers crossover comic. Other than that, that's all I know about what's going on. I've searched around, and all I can find is lists for reading the IDW Transformers comics in chronological order. I'd rather read it in order that IDW Released them because I'm weird that way. However I've found it hard to actually find a release date list rather than an in-universe chronological list.

Would this: https://www.seibertron.com/comics/series.php be accurate for what I'm looking for? Or did IDW release in a different order?

So as laid out on the page, unfortunately no. However, within each series they're very close to bekng in order, and each of the individual issues' pages does have its first publication date available. That's a bit of a slog to dig through, let me see if I have a way to make that easier.

The series order is off because there have been several admins for that area over the years, including a 2.5 year stretch where no one touched it, and I'm still playing catch-up on some material. At least all the books are there now even if some have bare-bones credits/covers and a ton are missing character lists.

I will say that the Phase 2 hardcovers have been more-or-less in publication order. Not dead on to it, but way closer than the Phase 1 books. I will say that they did you a huge favor by making the Phase 1 collections chronological!

Hello there, I took a small 6 year break from IDW's transformers. I liked Furman's run along with Last Stand of the Wreckers, though All Hail Megatron and the ongoing back then were something of a disappointment for me as it got very stale and boring.

Does the series pick up again?

Stormwolf wrote:Hello there, I took a small 6 year break from IDW's transformers. I liked Furman's run along with Last Stand of the Wreckers, though All Hail Megatron and the ongoing back then were something of a disappointment for me as it got very stale and boring.

Does the series pick up again?

Many consider everything that IDW put out in its main Transformers continuity after the Mike Costa-penned ongoing ended (that being primarily everything written by John Barber, James Roberts, and Mairghread Scott), collectively known as "Phase Two", to be the new golden age of Transformers comics.

Sabrblade wrote:

Stormwolf wrote:Hello there, I took a small 6 year break from IDW's transformers. I liked Furman's run along with Last Stand of the Wreckers, though All Hail Megatron and the ongoing back then were something of a disappointment for me as it got very stale and boring.

Does the series pick up again?

Many consider everything that IDW put out in its main Transformers continuity after the Mike Costa-penned ongoing ended (that being primarily everything written by John Barber, James Roberts, and Mairghread Scott), collectively known as "Phase Two", to be the new golden age of Transformers comics.

Thank you, I'll look into that

Stormwolf wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Stormwolf wrote:Hello there, I took a small 6 year break from IDW's transformers. I liked Furman's run along with Last Stand of the Wreckers, though All Hail Megatron and the ongoing back then were something of a disappointment for me as it got very stale and boring.

Does the series pick up again?

Many consider everything that IDW put out in its main Transformers continuity after the Mike Costa-penned ongoing ended (that being primarily everything written by John Barber, James Roberts, and Mairghread Scott), collectively known as "Phase Two", to be the new golden age of Transformers comics.

Thank you, I'll look into that

For me personally, everything from Ongoing 22-23 ("Chaos Theory") up to the end of Titans Return (More Than Meets The Eye #57) is the best stretch of Transformers fiction ever made. There are some speedbumps along the way, and Ongoing 24-30 right there at the start of that stretch aren't really needed, but that July 2011 - August/September 2016 period (pre-Revolution) is very generally the long, One Perfect Summer of Transformers fiction for me.

I know I'm alone in this thinking, but it's also because I've always preferred the animated continuity. I always thought the furman stuff in the beginning was really boring, a slow burn. Then finally with AHM IDW hit its peak, and was a slow decent ever since. Sure there were a few surprises like CW (which admittedly could have been way better), and I'm still irritated that Titans Return had to be cut short to force in the shared hasbroverse, which only ended up lasting 2 years. I know tons of fans love MTMTE/LL. I understand that adapting characters to certain circumstances to keep them "fresh" is what supposedly keeps readers coming back, but when I read that series, NONE of the characters act how I would expect them to. To ME they have changed beyond recognition. It would be like if Superman just started killing indiscriminately, or if Cyborg all of a sudden decided to make a different life style choice, or if Aquaman said "screw you" to Atlantis, and wanted to stay on the surface... I see how these characters are, and know what they are called, but I do not know these characters.

In a way, I'm glad its all coming to an end. I don't know exactly what's coming next (I didn't read up on IDW at SDCC). But it gives me an opportunity. Since the end of 2006, I felt obligated to support IDW because at the time, I wasn't sure if it would be another DW situation (2 years and gone). Now that they've proven they can stand on their own, no matter what, and I've had several years of reading unsatisfactory stories, I can determine, if what comes next, is something I'm again not interested in, I feel no obligation to follow it.

Here's what I've got since Combiner Wars, and Scotty P., Please correct any word that you see please, also letting me know why:

Windblade Vol. 1 #1
Windblade Vol. 1 #2
Windblade Vol. 1 #3
Windblade Vol. 1 #4
Robots in Disguise #33: Streetwise
Robots in Disguise #34: Rook
Transformers Vol. 2 #35: Blades
Punishment #1: Dinobots
Transformers Vol. 2 #36: Firstaid
Transformers Vol. 2 #37: Prowl
Transformers Vol. 2 #38: Sunstreaker
Transformers Vol. 2 #39: Ironhide
Windblade Vol. 2 #1: Mirage
Transformers Vol. 2 #40: Trailbreaker
Windblade Vol. 2 #2: Wheeljack
Transformers Vol. 2 #41: Hound
Windblade Vol. 2 #3: Smokescreen
Transformers Vol. 2 #42
Transformers Vol. 2 #43
Combiner Hunters #1
Transformers Vol. 2 #44
Windblade Vol. 2 #4
Windblade Vol. 2 #5
Windblade Vol. 2 #6
Windblade Vol. 2 #7
Holiday #1
Transformers Vol. 2 #45
Transformers Vol. 2 #46
Redemption #1: Dinobots
Transformers Vol. 2 #47
Transformers Vol. 2 #48
Transformers Vol. 2 #49
Transformers Vol. 2 #50
Till All Are One #1
Till All Are One #2
Till All Are One #3
Till All Are One #4
Transformers Vol. 2 #51
Transformers Vol. 2 #52
Transformers Vol. 2 #53
Transformers Vol. 2 #54
Transformers Vol. 2 #55
Titans Return #1
Transformers Vol. 2 #56
Transformers Vol. 2 #57
More than Meets the Eye #56
More than Meets the Eye #57
Lost Light #1
Lost Light #2
Lost Light #3
Lost Light #4
Lost Light #5
Lost Light #6
Lost Light #7
Lost Light #8
Lost Light #9
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. #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
Lost Light #13
Lost Light #14
Lost Light #15
Lost Light #16
Lost Light #17
Lost Light #18
Lost Light #19
Lost Light #20
Lost Light #21
Lost Light #22
Lost Light #23
Lost Light #24
Lost Light #25
Revolutionaries #1
Revolutionaries #2
Revolutionaries #3
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
Revolutionaries #4
Hearts of Steel #1
Hearts of Steel #2
Hearts of Steel #3
Hearts of Steel #4
Infestation 2: Transformers #1
Infestation 2: Transformers #2
Revolutionaries #5
Revolutionaries #6
Optimus Prime #1
Optimus Prime #2
Optimus Prime #3
Optimus Prime #4
Optimus Prime #5
Optimus Prime #6
Optimus Prime #8
Transformers #2017
Revolutionaries #7
Revolutionaries #8: Sovereign
Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #1
Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #2
Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #3
First Strike #0
Optimus Prime #9
Optimus Prime #10
First Strike #1
First Strike: Optimus Prime #1
Optimus Prime #11
First Strike #2
First Strike #3
Optimus Prime #12
First Strike: G.I. Joe #1
First Strike: M.A.S.K. #1
First Strike #4
First Strike: Transformers #1
First Strike #5
First Strike #6
Salvation #1: Dinobots
Optimus Prime #13
Optimus Prime #14
Till All Are One #2017
Optimus Prime #2018
Optimus Prime #15
Optimus Prime #16
Optimus Prime #17
Optimus Prime #18
Optimus Prime #19
Optimus Prime #20
Optimus Prime #21
Vs. Visionaries #1
Vs. Visionaries #2
Vs. Visionaries #3
Vs. Visionaries #4
Vs. Visionaries #5
Requiem of the Wreckers #1
UNICRON #0
Optimus Prime #22
UNICRON #1
Optimus Prime #23
UNICRON #2
Optimus Prime #24
UNICRON #3
Optimus Prime #25
UNICRON #4
UNICRON #5
UNICRON #6

From the solits, the last issue of op actually takes place after the unicron event. Could be wrong but I think this point was brought up when the October Solicitations came out.

Targetmaster Kup wrote: list snipped for space

Looks mostly fine/the same as what I had so not much I can add! I do have a few questions:

1. I've assumed this is not strictly "chronological", is it meant to be? If so, Hearts of Steel is definitely not in the right place, but I get why that would be a satisfying place to put it if not going strictly by timeline.
2. Where are the other Hasbro U series? The inclusion of the MASK Annual and the Sourcebooks really drove this question. For a mostly just Transformers related reading order, I don't think those or Wrath of Karza really matter. Or the Joe/MASK First Strike tie-ins.
3. Your Revolution order isn't wrong, but boy do I like Rom flying off to kill Colton happening just before Revolution 1.
4. Again, it isn't necessarily wrong, but why break up Lost Light like that? I don't think it has a defined point of demarcation yet and reads better as a straight-through experience, but reserve the right to change my mind about this as the last issues come out!

ScottyP wrote:Lost Light 1-23 can go anywhere you like still, I think. Might not even cross over again before the end!

Which is sad...I'm still hoping that somehow LL ties in, even if at the very end to OP #25 or Unicron #6. I would be extremely disappointed if this all ended without Megatron and Prime meeting one last time

ScottyP wrote:For the rest, here's the highly subject to change publication order, based on Diamond's site as best as I can keep up with it. I would highly recommend to not get your hopes up or make plans that depend on this schedule becoming reality, it changes sometimes mere days before a "scheduled" release:

September

• 9/5: Optimus Prime #23
• 9/5: Lost Light #23
• 9/5: Unicron #4
• 9/26: Lost Light #24
• 9/26: Unicron #5

October

• 10/17: Lost Light #25
• 10/17: Optimus Prime #24
• 10/24: Unicron #6
• 10/31: Optimus Prime #25

And then there were six... Just picked up my comics yesterday and got all caught up, with only 6 issues left... LL #24/25 OP #24/#25 and Unicron #5 and #6, does anyone know the preferred reading order? I would hope it would be the publication/release date order, but something tells me that's not going to be the case.

At this point, overall things look very bleak. Cybertron is destroyed I know a lot can happen in six issues, but, being the traditionalist I am, I would still be very disappointed if we don't get a happy ending. It doesn't need to be perfect, I know there will be major loses (most of my favorites are already dead, or not participating...so go figure), but if it ends on a downer, or is ultimately inconclusive and unsatisfying, it will definitely put me off purchasing any new IDW comics in the future.

o.supreme wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Lost Light 1-23 can go anywhere you like still, I think. Might not even cross over again before the end!

Which is sad...I'm still hoping that somehow LL ties in, even if at the very end to OP #25 or Unicron #6. I would be extremely disappointed if this all ended without Megatron and Prime meeting one last time

ScottyP wrote:For the rest, here's the highly subject to change publication order, based on Diamond's site as best as I can keep up with it. I would highly recommend to not get your hopes up or make plans that depend on this schedule becoming reality, it changes sometimes mere days before a "scheduled" release:

September

• 9/5: Optimus Prime #23
• 9/5: Lost Light #23
• 9/5: Unicron #4
• 9/26: Lost Light #24
• 9/26: Unicron #5

October

• 10/17: Lost Light #25
• 10/17: Optimus Prime #24
• 10/24: Unicron #6
• 10/31: Optimus Prime #25

And then there were six... Just picked up my comics yesterday and got all caught up, with only 6 issues left... LL #24/25 OP #24/#25 and Unicron #5 and #6, does anyone know the preferred reading order? I would hope it would be the publication/release date order, but something tells me that's not going to be the case.

At this point, overall things look very bleak. Cybertron is destroyed I know a lot can happen in six issues, but, being the traditionalist I am, I would still be very disappointed if we don't get a happy ending. It doesn't need to be perfect, I know there will be major loses (most of my favorites are already dead, or not participating...so go figure), but if it ends on a downer, or is ultimately inconclusive and unsatisfying, it will definitely put me off purchasing any new IDW comics in the future.

Read Unicron #4 before OP #23. LL didn't matter in reading order as of yet.

^ I picked them both up yesterday, I think I read Op #23 first..but it really didn't make much difference. What i was specifically asking about was the reading order of the final 6 issues that have yet to come out.

I usually read things in order from least liked (which is LL, I just try to get that out of the way), to OP, which I legitimately like most of the time, then to Unicron, which I figure is the big finale tying everything up, but I figure for the final 6 issues I just want to try to do things right, if IDW isn't going to help by releasing them out of order though...

Given that the last issue of op is set after the unicron event, you can rest assured that unicron is doomed.

Assuming Lost Light doesn't get involved in earnest, my best guess at the OP/Unicron order is:

• Unicron 5 and/or OP 24, with possible concurrent events. I could see OP wrapping up what's happening with Jazz, the colonists, the Junkions, and so on while the Unicron story focuses on OP, Soundwave, Bee, Rom, Prowl, Stardrive, Arcee, and so on.
• Unicron 6
• OP 25

If Lost Light does get involved, all I can do is wildly speculate, but here goes nothin':

• OP 24 (or Unicron 5)
• Unicron 5 (or OP 24)
• Lost Light 24 - Fort Max and Red Alert show up with Luna 1 using its planetary engines after being sent by Prowl, use Adaptus' old tech along with a new Matrix (and Skids' brain to bypass the Morality Lock, whatever that really is) to fry the Functionist Council, then commandeer the "God Primus" planet to go fight? This is the basic, logical path to get them involved if they even do.
• Unicron 6
• Lost Light 25
• OP 25

ScottyP wrote:If Lost Light does get involved, all I can do is wildly speculate, but here goes nothin':

• OP 24 (or Unicron 5)
• Unicron 5 (or OP 24)
• Lost Light 24 - Fort Max and Red Alert show up with Luna 1 using its planetary engines after being sent by Prowl, use Adaptus' old tech along with a new Matrix (and Skids' brain to bypass the Morality Lock, whatever that really is) to fry the Functionist Council, then commandeer the "God Primus" planet to go fight? This is the basic, logical path to get them involved if they even do.
• Unicron 6
• Lost Light 25
• OP 25

I know it's all educated guesses, and may not pan out at all, but I respect your opinion. Your spoiler tag is what I was kind of thinking/hoping as well. The other day my son asked me why (in any fiction) Unicron and Primus have never actually fought (other than flashbacks in the original marvel comic)...and I said...THAT is an excellent question...

o.supreme wrote:

ScottyP wrote:If Lost Light does get involved, all I can do is wildly speculate, but here goes nothin':

• OP 24 (or Unicron 5)
• Unicron 5 (or OP 24)
• Lost Light 24 - Fort Max and Red Alert show up with Luna 1 using its planetary engines after being sent by Prowl, use Adaptus' old tech along with a new Matrix (and Skids' brain to bypass the Morality Lock, whatever that really is) to fry the Functionist Council, then commandeer the "God Primus" planet to go fight? This is the basic, logical path to get them involved if they even do.
• Unicron 6
• Lost Light 25
• OP 25

I know it's all educated guesses, and may not pan out at all, but I respect your opinion. Your spoiler tag is what I was kind of thinking/hoping as well. The other day my son asked me why (in any fiction) Unicron and Primus have never actually fought (other than flashbacks in the original marvel comic)...and I said...THAT is an excellent question...

Yeah, I think Unicron vs Primus is the ticket that would be most satisfying. Keeps the MacGuffins away a bit too. Then it leaves LL 25 as a coda for that huge cast and OP 25 for Optimus Prime vs Megatron one last time.