Transformers Comics Recommendations
Man, is it a great time to be a fan of Transformers comics. IDW has been going out of its way to make them available to anyone who wants to try them out at terrific prices. The big sale right now comes by way of Comixology’s “Discover The Transformers Sale” going on through 3/17. Some of the offerings include the first trades of “More Than Meets the Eye” and “Robots in Disguise”, both of which were available in the just ended Humble Bundle. But, there are also other great books available in the sale and lucky for you, dear reader, I just happened to have read a majority of them. So allow me to recommend a few of them for you.
Last Stand of the Wreckers
If you did manage to pick up the “More Than Meets the Eye” series in the recent Humble Bundle, then this book is as close to a must buy as it gets. Written by Nick Roche based on the story plotted by Roche and future MTMTE writer James Roberts, Last Stand tells the story of The Wreckers going to Garrus-9 in order to reclaim the Autobot prison that had been overrun by the Decepticons. The Wreckers are basically Autobot Special Ops lead by Ultra Magnus who are sent in to take the prison back from Overlord, the Decepticon Phase-Sixer who took led the takeover. While it may seem like a straightforward story, there are plenty of twists and turns and it gives you a really good look at just how terrifying Overlord is, as he will be mentioned several times in the future MTMTE series.
All Hail Megatron Volume 1
This is the book you want if you’re looking for something that closely resembles the look and feel of Generation 1. With Optimus Prime down for the count, Megatron is free to finally enslave the population of earth with no resistance. The art and writing both perfectly match the tone of the 1984 cartoon series so you can almost hear the voices of Frank Welker, Chris Latta, and Peter Cullen coming off the page. Until we actually get a series that deals with the 20 years between the second season of The Transformers and The Transformers: The Movie, this is a worthy placeholder for your imagination.
Autocracy and Monstrocity
I’m combining these two book because they have the same writers in Chris Metzen and Flint Dille and artist in Livio Ramondelli. They both have a part in filling in the pre-earth era of the Transformers story, although they happen at different times. “Autocracy” takes place before Orion Pax takes the mantle of Optimus Prime, and “Monstrocity” tells a story of Megatron taking leadership of the Decepticons back from the hands of Scorponok. I’ll leave my description of both books simple because while each one is a great story, it’s Ramondelli’s art that really brings these stories to life. It’s about as artistic an approach as you will see for The Transformers, and it’s captivating to say the least. Each book is also the full collected edition so you’re getting the whole story instead of just the first volume like “All Hail Megatron”.
Those are some recommendations for you, but of course you can’t go wrong with anything you choose. You even have the option to go back and visit some of the original Marvel Comics’ issues if you want, or see one the original writers of those comics, Simon Furman, revisit them in “Regeneration One”. Regardless of what you choose, I’m sure you will find that all of these stories are far more than meets the eye (nailed it!).
– Jason Kirk is a loyal fan and listener to our podcast and even has a podcast of his own, Podvocacy. Find out everything about Jason (and more) right here.
I have been interested in reading the transformer series. Are MTMTE and Robots is Disguise in the same same continuity? Do you need to read both to get the full story?
MTMTE and RID (now just called The Transformers) are the same continuity. They even cross over during the Dark Cybertron event. But until that point they are separate stories and can be read separately.