March 2019 Transformers Comics and Books

March sees the return of Transformers to IDW, with a new series called... "Transformers".
Note that Volume 9 of Phase Two is currently listed on Amazon as June 18th (the March release date might have been the original release date back in December when this listing was released).
Details and mirrored covers can be seen here.

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Transformers #1—Cover A: Gabriel Rodríguez
Brian Ruckley (w) • Angel Hernandez & Ron Joseph (a) • Gabriel Rodríguez (c)
A NEW ERA DAWNS! In the infinite universe, there exists a planet like no other: Cybertron! Home to the Transformers, and a thriving hub for inter-stellar commerce, it is a world brimming with organic and constructed diversity. Immense structures line its landscape. Mechanical giants roam across its surface. Starship-sized titans orbit its skies, keeping a constant protective watch above and below.
Ancient Transformers merge into its very fabric. Small, mysterious creatures skulk in its shadows. It is a truly amazing realm, long untouched by war, and exuberantly reaching for the stars. This is the Cybertron that Optimus Prime and Megatron vie for in this bold new origin—a world of seemingly endless peace! All that changes when Bumblebee and Windblade take a newly-forged Cybertronian on his first voyage through this world of wonders—they are confronted by the hard reality of the first murder to have occurred on Cybertron in living memory!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers #1—Cover B: Angel Hernandez
Brian Ruckley (w) • Angel Hernandez & Ron Joseph (a) • Angel Hernandez (c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99


*Retailer incentives:
Order 10 copies and get one free Transformers 35th Anniversary variant cover by Sara Pitre-Durocher!
Order 25 copies and get one free variant cover by Freddie E. Williams II!
Order 50 copies and get one free SPECIAL TREATMENT variant cover by Freddie E. Williams II!
Order 10 copies and receive your order fully returnable!

Bullet points:

• A BOLD NEW ORIGIN!
• Fantasy Author Brian Ruckley brings an epic story so amazing, it takes two artists to tell it!

Transformers #2—Cover A: Nelson Daniel
Brian Ruckley (w) • Angel Hernandez & Ron Joseph (a) • Nelson Daniel (c)
“Your life is yours to shape.” These words form the backbone of the Transformers’ society. But Cybertronian police officers Chromia and Prowl learn there’s a dark underside as they investigate the murder that’s caught Bumblebee in a web of lies and secrets.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99


Transformers #2—Cover B: Ron Joseph
Brian Ruckley (w) • Angel Hernandez & Ron Joseph (a) • Ron Joseph (c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99


*Retailer incentives:
Order 10 copies and get one free Cybertron Travel Poster variant cover by Jeffrey Veregge!
Order 10 copies and receive your order fully returnable!

Bullet points:

• Double-shipping monthly!
• Don’t miss out on this brand-new adventure!
• Don’t miss the Cybertronian travel poster cover by Jeffrey Veregge!

Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two, Vol. 9
John Barber, James Roberts, Mairghread Scott (w) • Livio Ramondelli, Sarah Stone, Andrew Griffith, Marcelo Ferreira, Corin Howell, Alex Milne, Hayato Sakamoto (a) • Marcelo Matere (c)
The Autobots and Decepticons’ uneasy peace is threatened by the flames of war! Starscream, ruler of Cybertron, makes contact with Windblade’s homeworld—and the only defense against a new Cybertronian Empire is the Combiners—multiple Cybertronians joining together into huge, dangerous forms! Collects Transformers issues #39-43, More Than Meets the Eye issues #41-44, and Windblade, Volume 2 issues #1-5.
HC • FC • $49.99 • 312 pages • 7” x 11” • ISBN: 978-1-68405-484-8

Bullet points:

● Advance solicited for June release!
● Presenting IDW’s Transformers comics in recommended reading order, including one-shots, crossovers, and event series! It’s everything a beginner could need, everything a die-hard could want.



Synergy: A Hasbro Creators Showcase
Various (w) • Various (a & c)
In recognition of Women’s History month, IDW and Hasbro are teaming up to create SYNERGY: A HASBRO CREATORS SHOWCASE, a celebration of fan-favorites and new talent working with some of the most beloved Hasbro characters. With 13 fabulous covers drawn from the IDW archives and 27 pages of new material—including autobiographical works by Mairghread Scott (drawn by Sara Pitre-Durocher, reuniting the creative team behind the beloved Transformers: Till All Are One series) and Katie Cook (writer on the hit My Little Pony comic), as well as three original stories inspired by G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Jem and the Holograms—this anthology celebrates the women who have made, or will make, an impact on the world of Hasbro for many years to come.
FC • 48 pages • $7.99

Bullet points:

• Celebrate Women’s History Month with women creators who made history!
• Includes a collection of some of the most gorgeous and dynamic covers IDW and Hasbro have to offer—plus exciting new stories!

Star Trek vs. Transformers
John Barber & Mike Johnson (w) • Philip Murphy, Jack Lawrence (a) • Derek Charm (c)
When Kirk, Spock, and the entire crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise investigate problems at a remote mine, they’re met with an explosive battle between powerful warriors who change into vehicles from the 20th century! As the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons rages, it’s up to Kirk to decide—does he violate the Prime Directive and interfere in a war that’s raged for millenia? And how will the Klingons complicate the issue? It’s cartoony fun between two of the most popular science fiction franchises in the world!
TPB • FC • $17.99 • 120 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-436-7

Bullet points:

● Advance solicited for May release!
● Four decades in the making, it’s the crossover that fans have demanded! Kirk, Spock, and Autobots! Decepticons and Klingons! Optimus Prime and the Prime Directive!
● “Star Trek vs. Transformers broke all the rules of a typical comic book team-up and it was fantastic!”—Outright Geekery
● “If you’re a deep Star Trek fan and you’re turned off by this cartoony combination, lighten up!”—Trek Core
● “A great burst of nostalgia-filled fun for fans of the original incarnation of the Star Trek and Transformers properties.”—Multiversity Comics


Go-Bots #5—Cover A: Tom Scioli
Tom Scioli (w & a & c)
The jaw-dropping conclusion to Tom Scioli’s epic tale is here! The fate of all Go-Bots hangs in the balance!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99


Go-Bots #5—Cover B: Dash Shaw
Tom Scioli (w & a) • Dash Shaw (c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99


*Retailer incentives:
Order 10 copies and get one free variant cover by Ryan Brown!

Bullet points:

• From the creative mind that brought you IDW’s Transformers vs. G.I. Joe!
• Visionary creator Tom Scioli unleashes his imagination on the bizarre, absurd, and wonderful world of Go-Bots!

Tom Scioli (w & a & c)
The jaw-dropping conclusion to Tom Scioli’s epic tale is here! The fate of all Go-Bots hangs in the balance!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99


Go-Bots #5—Cover B: Dash Shaw
Tom Scioli (w & a) • Dash Shaw (c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

*Retailer incentives:
Order 10 copies and get one free variant cover by Ryan Brown!

Bullet points:

• From the creative mind that brought you IDW’s Transformers vs. G.I. Joe!
• Visionary creator Tom Scioli unleashes his imagination on the bizarre, absurd, and wonderful world of Go-Bots!

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Recent and Upcoming TPBs & Books.
-- IDW Collection Phase Two Volume 8 HC (MTMTE #35-40, RID #35-38, Punishment, Empire of Stone) - December 18th 2018
-- Lost Light Volume 4 - 160 pages (issues 19-25) - January 29th (was February 12th 2019)
-- Optimus Prime Volume 5 (2018 Annual, issues 22-25) - February 5th (was February 26th 2019)
-- Transformers Vs Mazinger Z (JP comic - 104 pages - B5 size) - March 28th
-- Unicron - 232 pages (all 6 issues & short stories) - April 2nd (was March 12th 2019)
-- Star Trek Vs Transformers - 120 pages (all 5 issues) - May 21st 2019
-- IDW Collection Phase 2 Vol 9 HC - 312 pages (Transformers #39-43, MTMTE #41-44, Windblade Vol 2 #1-5) - June 18th 2019
-- The Game Master (Life and Career of Flint Dille - 1980s Transformers cartoon writer) HC - 312 pages - July 9th 2019
-- Transformers Vol 1 - The World In Your Eyes HC - 288 pages (#1-12) - October 22nd 2019
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September 2018 comics and books

October 2018 comics and books

November 2018 comics and books

December 2018 comics and books

January 2019 comics and books

February 2019 comics and books
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Since this isn't a monthly listing of just IDW comics and books, I have included a Japanese crossover comic that is scheduled for March 28th, featuring Transformers and Mazinger Z.


The comic includes artists who have worked on Transformers art in Japan and even for IDW.

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According to the synopsis, the story will be about forces of the Cybertrons and the Destrons being sucked into a space-time distortion across dimensions, then appearing in a time Japan where Mazinger Z is active. It is here, along with Dr. Hell and Baron Ashura, that a battle will be unveiled between the 4 sides.
The team of artists on this book includes: Yuu Kinutani (The Apocalypse of Devilman, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex), Hayato Sakamoto (The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye, Takara Transformers Legends Manga), Eiji Yoshioka (Transformers Illustrator, eHobby Comics), Kazumi Hoshi (Mazinkaiser SKL, Dino Getter), Hidetsugu Yoshioka (various packaging art from Transformers Masterforce, Victory, and Zone, eHobby, Henkei), and Naoto Tsushima (Henkei! Transformers packaging artist, various IDW Transformers covers). The normal release cover will be done by Mazinger Z creater Go Nagai himself.
The book will feature 4 different covers with one on the normal release, one on the Amazon Japan exclusive, and two store exclusives versions at Village Books. The book will be 104 pages long, with a release date of March 28th 2019 and a retail price of 1980 Yen.

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So, it will be right back to the golden age, so no modern story with flashbacks like I thought they might try to get away with.

No surprise Bumblebee will be the entrypoint, although Windblades role should be interesting if she is not a city speaker (at least not yet). While I quite like Windblade I wonder if her being a central character in all the recent tv and comic series might make her a bit repetitive... oh well, she will fit in perfectly with all the iterations of Prime, Megatron and Bumblebee then! :D

Some covers to the Mazinger/Transformers comic.

Another exclusive cover (for Amazon Japan) of the MazingerZ/Transformers comic.


Meanwhile, on the IDW side of things, after some recent changes at the top (President and CEO), one of the shareholders (of just 9%) is strongly recommending that the company seek out more strategic investors (obviously to drive up the share price, to which they would benefit from).
There is always a concern when a company is looking to change owners (or majority shareholders), as it could change the company's direction or focus (away from licensed properties), or could make decisions that give them quick profits or returns (selling off assets or intellectual properties).

Personally, after seeing what Boom studios has done with their other licensed properties, I'd be happy for them to get the TF license away from IDW.

With the first issue of the new Transformers comic coming out this week, IDW have released four preview pages on facebook. (or here if that disappears)

I hope this does well and doesn’t just rehash things (difficult to do with so many variations and iterations over the last 35 years).

I won’t be buying it issue by issue though, no matter how good it may be or become.

The one-shot "Synergy" issue from IDW comes out in a week or two, but a 3-page preview has been released from itunes.
It is hard to understand what is actually going on in this issue, other than it being something done to commemorate/celebrate women, during Women's History Month.
The promo blurbs keep saying "autobiographical" of the female writers and artists involved in this issue, but the preview pages and description of the issue itself show creative works.
Maybe it includes their individual life stories, relating to their first involvement in the franchise they have become famous for, in addition to the creative works.

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Synergy: A Hasbro Creators Showcase - the collection features autobiographical works by Mairghread Scott (Batgirl, Transformers: Till All Are One) and Katie Cook (My Little Pony). Each will be infused with the respective author’s experiences with the Hasbro toys. In addition to these autobiographical works, there will be original comics inspired by groundbreaking female characters Dawn Moreno (G.I. Joe) and Windblade (Transformers), as well as the girl-power rock band Jem and the Holograms.

Four new pin-ups will come with the collection, as well as 13 illustrations from IDW’s archives, in honor of the women of Hasbro’s past and the ones who will shape its future.

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