Transformers Classics UK trade paperbacks

[Paulbot]

Is the cover gallery all UK covers, or just the covers of the issues included in that volume?

And does it mention anything about the non-TF content in the UK Comics?

Oh, and how much was it?

The covers are for issues 1 to 44 (which is inclusive of all the stories this book reprints and the UK covers for the issues reprinting *US #1-12).

There's very little actually about the non-TF content. I wonder if a latter volume will provide a back-up strip index.

It's $30 USD (but I paid $18 AUD shipped)

Is this the Volume 1? Do we know how many volumes altogether are there going to be?
*
I've got IDW's Best of UKs, read a tiny bit of it and loving what I've read (except that the drawing is a bit of too much exertion of the eyes ). I'm wondering if I need to get a complete set of the UK line.

We don't know how many yet. At least five volumes I'd guess. The art gets better but it's not crash hot to start with.

I had a flick through it the other day in the shop, is it in chronological order? it all seemed a bit disorganised to me?

It's in publishing order. The first few UK stories are all 'flashbacks' between the first four US stories but otherwise everything flows (except perhaps the text stories in the Annual).

[UltraMarginal]

that seals it then.

getting these for sure

[gavnushkatron]

Thanks for a comprehensive and xcellent review

I decided to start reading the G1 Transformers comics a couple of months ago. So I went ahead and purchased Vol.1 of both the US and UK classics.

The white margins around the pages are a bit distracting, yet nothing drastic. And I would really have loved if they placed each of the covers before each respective issue, instead of batching them into galleries. And as mentioned in your review that some of the scans are not the best, the colors can get really dark.

Great TPB for those of us who seek a complete collection in chronological order. I am really ooking forward to purchasing all the rest!

[Trent]

I picked this up a few weeks ago but haven't read it yet. Thanks for the review

[Paulbot]

Volume 2 comments



Although only a few more pages than the first volume, the second one feels thicker and it feels like there's more content.

The first volume's stories are kind of forgettable, a bit primative and rather stand-alone. The second volume starts to show more meaty stories as well as establishing the parallel continuity that took the oddly neglected parts of the US stories and ran with them without causing too much contradiction.

For instance, after their introduction (in US#8) the Dinobots disappeared from the US comics except for a cameo appearance (in US#19 - where they walked off) until the 'Grimlock as leader' story started ( US#27). Almost two years? Whereas in this volume you see that in the UK the Dinobots really got a chance to shine and the Grimlock I prefer (not the King nor the cartoon buffoon) originates. Similarly, Buster and his connection to the Creation Matrix get revisited, something the US comic pretty much ignored after it's first year.

The art improves too, but for those who love the modern Dreamwave or IDW styles will be disappointed. This book has what I think are Will Simpson's best issues (Devastation Derby and In The National Interest) and I like his take that falls somewhere between Cartoon model and Toy.

Unfortunately the art is let down by the printing/scanning/paper choice. The painted colours (so more advanced than the US comic book colouring at the same time) are washed out. I've tried to take an example here to illustrate. Side by side with the Titan reprint you can see how the reds and blacks are less solid and bold.:



The covers return (still in the four a page format) and there's a good range of bonus scans of fact files, adverts etc. The inclusion of 1986 Annual is most notable for State Games, the 'origin of the war/origin of Megatron' story that has influenced modern takes by IDW and the Exodus novel. There's a few text stories from that Annual that I've never had the opportunity to read to, so I'm happy for the chance at last.

So while I've read most of this content before, and own original copies or better quality reprints, I'm still happy to have another solid volume of these stories in order. I recommend this volume over the first, but still think volumes 3-5 (or how ever many it takes to get to 205) are the ones that essential reading.