The Energon Pub

Hey guys,

I've been meaning to get into the IDW Transformers run for a couple of years now and for one reason or another, mainly financial, I haven't managed to do so. My situation has changed now and I'm looking to enter the Dreamwave Transformers universe. The only problem is that I haven't got a frikkin' clue where to start, so thought I would consult you online connoisseurs of the comic book world...

This has all been recently inspired by my parents buying me Simon Furman's Maximum Dinobots graphic novel for my birthday, which I enjoyed immensely and wolfed down, despite not having a clue about the context.

I am not a complete newbie to TF comics, I'm a huge fan of the old Marvel UK Simon Furman run and I like some of Bob Budiansky's work.

So, any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I'm aware that I initially put 'Dreamwave' which was the short-lived revival under that company.. I actually meant IDW! Apologies.

I personally like the current ongoing series. I would start with the first volume and go from there.

Note: It's out of print and goes for crazy prices online. However, I'm sure you can still find it in comic stores.

Supreme Convoy wrote:I personally like the current ongoing series. I would start with the first volume and go from there.

Note: It's out of print and goes for crazy prices online. However, I'm sure you can still find it in comic stores.

Thanks a lot.

Does anybody else have other recommendations?

Just start with the most current issue and don't bother with the old material, idw isn't known for keeping their continuity for very long.
Also idw has currently released their entire TF run in digital format, so if you don't care for having printed versions, that would be the cheapest legal way of getting the full run.

Well, I would definitely agree with these guys on checking out Mike Costa's run. I think he's been doing some really great stuff, and, while it's still connected to everything that came before, it's a pretty fresh start, and you don't need to know a lot about previous Transformers comics to enjoy it.

If you want to try some non-G1 stuff, the Transformers Animated comic is absolute gold, and it really channels the heart of the show.

I wouldn't really recommend much movie stuff, but if you can track down the Arcee issue of "Tales of the Fallen" by Alex Milne, it's an awesome prelude to Revenge of the Fallen, and it explains Arcee's form in the movies. I had Alex sign my copy last year at Fan Expo in Toronto.

I'd also recommend the reprints IDW published of Dreamwaves "More than Meets the Eye" profile books. The profiles don't always 100% gel with IDW's continuity, they're still really nice books and I highly recommend trying them out.

Thanks a lot for all your help guys, I appreciate it.

I'll be certainly taking a look at Mike Costa's Transformers books, as so many people have now recommended them.

As for your suggestion about the Transformers Animated comics, I haven't actually caught the show, does that matter?

Thanks again.

I just realized that IDW's big Transformers Chaos event kicked off with Transformers #21 recently and #22 comes out tomorrow.

The Chaos event will probably be a good time to jump in right away.

Blast Cannon wrote:As for your suggestion about the Transformers Animated comics, I haven't actually caught the show, does that matter?

Yes and no. If I remember correctly, I picked up the first issue of the Animated comic before I saw the show, but the book plays up on a lot of stories and characters from the show. The stories DO stand on their own, but it would definitely help to have seen the show.

Plus, you should see the show anyway, because it's awesome.

Thanks for all the help guys. I got tired of waiting on Amazon to deliver Vol 1 so took a trip to my local Forbidden Planet to see what was on offer. I picked up 'All Hail Megatron Vol 1' and I've just coasted through it. I realise that I've missed out on a little bit of context but I really did love it. Just added Vol 2 to my orders now.