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Idea and Design Works, LLC is a publishing company that held the Transformers comic book license from May 2005 through December 2022. Their tenure followed the financial collapse of previous license holder Dreamwave Productions at the tail-end of 2004. (IDW's license excluded manga; those rights are handled by Viz Media in the English-language market.)

IDW's flagship storyline was, for thirteen years, a new Transformers continuity that started in 2005. Initially written by longtime Transformers scribe Simon Furman, it was told through a succession of mini-series and one-shot Spotlights, before becoming a monthly comic in 2009. IDW was also authorized to re-release trade paperbacks published by Dreamwave Productions, such as the War and Peace mini-series and The War Within and War Within: The Dark Ages. In May 2008, IDW's relationship with Hasbro proved to be quite healthy indeed as they snapped up the G.I. Joe comic book license as well, and in 2010 obtained the license to Dungeons & Dragons. Then in 2012 they started publishing My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic comics. Hasbro definitely seemed to like them.

In 2016, IDW and Hasbro decided to create a "shared universe" for many of its properties. The Revolution event merged the Transformer books with the recently acquired ROM, Micronauts, Action Man, M.A.S.K. and currently-running G.I. Joe. This met with tenuous levels of success, and all of the non-Transformers titles were consolidated and relaunched after 2017's First Strike crossover event, which led into a Visionaries miniseries. For various reasons, IDW and Hasbro decided the Transformers universe needed a complete reboot; in 2018, the Transformers: Unicron crossover concluded IDW's first Transformers universe before a full continuity reboot debuted in 2019.

Other licensed comics published by the company over the years include Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Godzilla, Marvel Adventures, Sonic the Hedgehog, Star Trek, Star Wars Adventures, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The X-Files, and many, MANY others.

On January 20, 2022, following months of rumors, IDW announced that they would be losing the Transformers and G.I. Joe licenses at the end of the year;[1] their very last miniseries, Shattered Glass II, concluded in December 2022. The Transformers and G.I. Joe comic licenses subsequently went to Skybound Entertainment, who debuted a new Transformers universe in June 2023.

Contents

Series published

2005 IDW continuity

Main article: 2005 IDW continuity

Initial ideas for IDW's Transformer line included a Crisis on Infinite Earths-style story crossing over with the new Cybertron toyline, starting ongoings in both G1 and Cybertron continuity. The G1 cast would suffer Cybertron's destruction and learn Unicron's death had destabilized the entire omniverse, forcing them to try and assemble an artifact called the "Decepticon Matrix" in order to resurrect Unicron. This would parallel with the Cybertron plot, in which the Autobots seek out the Cyber Planet Keys to revive Primus, and Vector Prime would have appeared as a guide in both series. It seems that series would then have come together with the concurrent Cybertron comic as Transformers from across the multiverse were brought together for a final, epic clash.[2]

This was considered too confusing for new readers, however, and dropped for a hard continuity reboot, based on the Generation 1 characters. Furman mostly oversaw this, creating a more sophisticated universe around the familiar characters and tropes: Marvel Comics' Ultimate line was the inspiration, and Furman deliberately borrowed the more leisurely pacing of Ultimate Marvel.[3]

Instead of an ongoing civil war on Cybertron which spills over to Earth by accident, Furman presented us with an interstellar war between the Autobots and Decepticons, a war with a Code of Interplanetary Conflict and alt-form-and-dagger covert operations, with energon the prize and whole planets at stake. A surprising development on Earth heats up the war and turns our planet from just another proxy battleground into the ultimate prize.

This slow, measured storyline was eventually abandoned in an attempt to bring in more casual fans with a more G1 cartoon-inspired revamp in All Hail Megatron. This failed to have the desired effect both in terms of sales and fan-response, so another revamp was attempted with the start of The Transformers ongoing series. It was met with sharp fan criticism as well.

Yet another revamp was attempted with two concurrent ongoing series, More Than Meets The Eye and Robots In Disguise beginning in 2012, later dubbed "Phase 2". Positive fan response came at last, and the writers of those books (James Roberts and John Barber) would continue to be the main writers of the universe until its conclusion in late 2018.

(October 2005 – July 2006)
Establishes the presence of the Transformers on modern-day Earth and re-establishes the theme of "robots in disguise" as central to the new continuity; a seven-issue story arc (issues #0 to #6).
(July – October 2006)
A four-issue miniseries tie-in to Infiltration, establishing Cybertron's current situation in the re-boot and focusing squarely on the Transformers.
(September 2006 – May 2013)
A series of one-shot stories focusing on a single Transformer per issue; this series has no fixed publication format, and often jumps around in the universe's chronology. It went on a hiatus after "Spotlight: Metroplex" while the new ongoing series was getting established, returned with a tie-in to the Generations toyline with several issues packed in with (usually) relevant toys, but petered out shortly after the toyline's format shift.
(November 2006 – May 2007)
The direct sequel to Infiltration; a six-issue story arc detailing a conflict with the Decepticons in Brasnya and the abduction of Sunstreaker and Hunter O'Nion.
(June – October 2007)
A four-issue story arc detailing the events surrounding Megatron's rise to power and the founding of the Decepticon faction.
(July – October 2007)
A collaboration between Marvel Comics and IDW featuring the first ever crossover between the Transformers and New Avengers. Though it has minimal effects on the overall universe, it was specifically designed to fit into continuity between Infiltration and Escalation. This series has been effectively rendered non-canon for both IDW and Marvel... or at least "yeah we don't talk about that" territory.
(October 2007 – February 2008)
The direct sequel to Escalation; a six-issue story arc following up on what happened to Sunstreaker, as well as the Decepticons' battle with the Reapers, and seeds are planted for the upcoming Dead Universe arc.
(June – October 2008)
The sequel to Devastation composed of four Spotlights in fairly direct continuity: "Cyclonus", "Hardhead", "Doubledealer" and "Sideswipe". This series wraps up the first set of Dead Universe-related events.
(April 2008 – October 2009)
A twelve-issue maxi-series, extended to sixteen to include the All Hail Megatron Coda series. Intended to be a "soft reboot" of the series, it chronicles the aftermath of the defeat of the Autobots and the Decepticon conquest of Earth. The publication schedule overlaps with Revelation and Maximum Dinobots. Issues 13–16 each consist of two 11-page stories that help strengthen the flaws in All Hail Megatron and tie into the ongoing series.
(December 2008 – April 2009)
A five-issue miniseries taking place chronologically between Revelation and All Hail Megatron (which it was published concurrently with). The series wraps up Furman's story arcs with the Dynobots, Sunstreaker, the Headmasters, Shockwave, Skywatch and the Machination.
(November 2009)
A one-shot intended as a 'catch-up' for new readers, ahead of the new ongoing series.
(November 2009 – December 2011)
An ongoing series in the aftermath of All Hail Megatron. The series is penned by Mike Costa, with art on the first arc by Don Figueroa, and eventually a string of different artists.
(December 2009 – March 2010)
A four-issue miniseries chronicling Bumblebee's journey on Earth after the events of All Hail Megatron, focusing on the conflicts and decisions 'Bee makes. Written by Zander Cannon with art by Chee Yang Ong.
(January – May 2010)
A five-issue miniseries chronicling the actions of the Wreckers in deep space after All Hail Megatron. A number of short supplemental stories were also released across a number of outlets. Written by Nick Roche and James Roberts, drawn (mainly) by Roche with colors by Josh Burcham.
(May – August 2010)
A four-issue miniseries in which the thought-to-be-dead Ironhide wanders the wastelands of Cybertron. Story by Mike Costa and art by Casey Coller.
(September – October 2010)
A bi-weekly four-issue miniseries that chronicles Drift's origins as the Decepticon Deadlock to becoming an Autobot. Written by Shane McCarthy, with art by Alex Milne and colors by Josh Perez.
(February 2011)
A two-issue story set within the larger Infestation series, a large-scale cross-over in which cross-dimensional zombies invade the universes of Transformers, Star Trek, G.I. Joe and Ghostbusters. The Transformers segment involves the Autobots teaming up with Galvatron's crew to stop the menace. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, with art by Nick Roche and colors by Joana Lafuente and Josh Perez. The entire series was released weekly over 10 weeks.
(March – June 2011)
A four-issue miniseries featuring Galvatron and crew, following the events in Infestation, and leading into the final arc of the Costa ongoing which marks the end of IDW's "phase 1" by ending the long-running Autobot-Decepticon war. Written by Abnett and Lanning, with art by Ulises Fariñas.
(December 2011)
The start of IDW's "phase 2". Optimus Prime makes a decision about his role in a post-Great War Cybertron. IDW's 125th issue, written by James Roberts and John Barber, with art by Nick Roche.
(January 2012 – September 2016)
Following the revitalization of Cybertron and the departure of Optimus Prime, Rodimus sets out to find the legendary Knights of Cybertron with a crew of like-minded Autobots aboard the Lost Light. Ended after issue #57 and rebranded as The Transformers: Lost Light. Written by James Roberts, with art (mainly) by Alex Milne.
(January – June 2012)
A bi-weekly twelve-issue digital comic set in the days just before the start of the Great War, focusing on Orion Pax's transformation into Optimus Prime. Written by Flint Dille and Chris Metzen, with art by Livio Ramondelli.
(January 2012 – September 2016)
Bumblebee, Starscream, and Metalhawk attempt to forge a government and maintain control on the revitalized Cybertron, while personal mistrusts, old grudges, and new problems seek to shatter the fragile peace. This title was renamed to "The Transformers vol. 2" at issue #35 to avoid confusion with the new Robots In Disguise toy-and-TV-show franchise, which included an IDW tie-in comic. Ended at issue #57 and rebranded as Optimus Prime. Written by John Barber, with art by Andrew Griffith.
(March – July 2013)
The direct sequel to Autocracy, set in the early days of the Great War. Released digitally bi-weekly, then later compiled into four print issues.
(June 2013 – March 2014)
A twelve-issue maxi-series primarily told within the ongoing Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets the Eye series, with a number of side-stories and setups. The series focuses on Shockwave's machinations to change the entire universe. Written by John Barber and James Roberts with a variety of artists.
(April – July 2014)
A four-issue miniseries focusing on Windblade in the wake of the "Dark Cybertron" crossover event, as she tries to help rebuild a shattered Cybertron while dealing with the planet's duly-elected leader Starscream. Written by Mairghread Scott and drawn by Saren Stone.
(June 2014)
A five-issue digital motion comic miniseries, eventually collected into a print one-shot. Optimus Prime investigates a series of murders on Cybertron after the events of "Dark Cybertron". Written by John Barber and illustrated by Livio Ramondelli.
(August – November 2014)
The direct sequel to Monstrosity, concluding the Great War trilogy. Trypticon and Metroplex clash as Megatron discovers an ancient secret on a dilapidated planet. By the same creative team as the previous installments.
(November 2014 – February 2015)
As Drift rights wrongs in the galaxy, he is joined by Ratchet and winds up facing an old enemy. Written by Shane McCarthy with artwork by the Regeneration One team of penciller Guido Guidi, inker Stephen Baskerville, and colorist John-Paul Bove.
(March – September 2015)
A seven-issue miniseries advancing the Combiner Wars, trading issues with the main series. Windblade and Starscream seek out the lost Cybertronian colony worlds, with Windblade constantly trying to blunt and stymie Starscream's aggressive (and sometimes deadly) machinations. Written by Mairghread Scott and drawn by Corin Howell.
(July 2015)
A one-shot directly following Windblade vol. 2. On the trail of the stolen Enigma of Combination, Windblade and Chromia run afoul of both Arcee and the Torchbearers. Written by Mairghread Scott and drawn by Sara Pitre-Durocher.
(October 2015)
The Dinobots head out into the Cybertronian wilderness on a secret mission. A one-shot story written by John Barber and drawn by Livio Ramondelli.
(November 2015 – June 2016)
Five-issue miniseries. Dark secrets come to light when a mission to rescue the kidnapped Prowl leads the Wreckers into a sinister web of shocking revelations. Written and drawn by Nick Roche.
(December 2015)
A one-shot anthology of holiday-themed tales set on Earth, Cybertron, and deep space.
(June 2016 – December 2017)
A continuation of the Windblade miniseries as an ongoing book. Windblade tries to maintain the peace on Cybertron while dealing with the Council of Worlds, and, of course, Starscream. Cancelled after issue #12, with a thirteenth "Annual" issue to wrap up the primary storylines. Written by Mairghread Scott and drawn by Sara Pitre-Durocher.
(July 2016)
A one-shot issue setting up events in Till All Are One, Transformers vol. 2 and More Than Meets the Eye. Sentinel Prime returns, but he's unhappy with what Cybertron has become in his absence. Written by Mairghread Scott, James Roberts, and John Barber, and drawn by Livio Ramondelli.
(July – November 2016)
A five-issue miniseries with associated one-shots and setups across several books, setting up the massive cross-property "shared universe" that will be the setting for the Transformers books from here til the end. Hasbro's greatest heroes and villains collide in a battle for Earth's Ore-13. Written by John Barber and Cullen Bunn, and drawn by Fico Ossio.
(December 2016 – November 2018)
The re-retitled continuation of Robots in Disguise. Optimus Prime grapples with what it means to be a Prime as he defends his adopted homeworld of Earth. Written by John Barber and drawn (mainly) by Kei Zama.
(December 2016 – November 2018)
The retitled continuation of More than Meets the Eye. The marooned crew of the Lost Light deal with new allies and surprising new enemies as they try to get back home. Written by James Roberts and illustrated by Jack Lawrence.
(December 2016 – March 2018)
The G.I. Joe team's adventures continue with the strangest member they've ever seen: the Decepticon Skywarp! Written by Aubrey Sitterson and drawn by Giannis Milonogiannis. Ended at issue #9, rebranded as Scarlett's Strike Force, which was cancelled after three issues.
(January – September 2017)
Kup, G.B. Blackrock, Action Man, and Ayana Jones embark on a globetrotting adventure in search of an ancient Talisman and uncover a globe-spanning conspiracy in the process. Sets up the upcoming First Strike miniseries. Written by John Barber and drawn by Fico Ossio.
(April – September 2017)
Five-issue miniseries. Wielding Cybertronian technology, Baron Karza returns to Earth to turn it into a new home for his people. Written by Cullen Bunn and Jimmy Johnston and drawn by Andrew Griffith.
(June 2017)
One-shot concluding the "Dinobot Trilogy" following on from Punishment and Redemption The Dinobots join forces with Sandstorm to face the twin threats of Bludgeon and Trypticon. From the same creative team as prior installments.
(July – November 2017)
Five issue miniseries. Set two hundred years ago, the Solstar Order finds themselves caught up in the Cybertronian Great War, with their one-of-a-kind warrior Stardrive and an alliance between the Dire Wraiths and Decepticons in the center of it all. Written by John Barber and Christos Gage, and drawn by Alex Milne.
(June – October 2017)
Six-issue multi-brand crossover miniseries with associated one-shots. The time has finally come for Earth to formally join the Council of Worlds... that is, if the Transformers and G.I. Joe can defeat the villainous Baron Ironblood in time! Written by Mairghread Scott and David Rodriguez and drawn by Max Dunbar.
(January – May 2018)
Five-issue miniseries. Science and magic clash as the forces of Prysmos emerge from Cybertron. Written by Magdalene Visaggio and drawn by Fico Ossio.
(May 2018)
One-shot ending the Wreckers trilogy. The few remaining Wreckers come under fire from an old foe and an anti-Cybertronian campaigner. Written and drawn by Nick Roche with other art duties by Josh Burcham, Geoff Senior, and Guido Guidi.
(May – November 2018)
Seven issue miniseries, wrapping up the first Generation 1 continuity in advance of 2019's Transformers ongoing. Unicron awakens and begins to consume all in its path. Written by John Barber and drawn by Alex Milne.

See also

2019 IDW continuity

Four months after the end of Unicron and IDW's first Transformers continuity as a whole, IDW relaunched its Transformers continuity, a rebooted universe with no connections to IDW's previous output. Under the pen of writer Brian Ruckley, IDW's new Transformers ongoing adopted a back-to-basics approach to the mythos, a single comic that established a "Year One"-style origin story for Optimus Prime, Megatron, and many other characters as the Great War unfolds against the backdrop of a utopian Cybertron.

Compared to IDW's previous Transformers output, the debut of the 2019 continuity marked a shift in IDW's approach to Transformers comics as a whole—while IDW's previous Transformers books pinballed between dozens of different miniseries and sometimes several simultaneous ongoings, the rebooted comic is confined to a single ongoing, with one companion miniseries at a time focusing on a different cast of characters set far away from the main story. Perhaps to compensate for this tightly focused storyline, IDW shifted its approach to include multiple self-contained miniseries not set in this continuity, including crossover comics advertising Hasbro's Collaborative and Shattered Glass toylines.

(March 2019-June 2022)
The first installment of IDW's new continuity, Transformers begins on a utopian Cybertron before the Autobot-Decepticon war. Written by Brian Ruckley and illustrated by Angel Hernandez and Cachét Whitman.
(September 2019-December 2020)
A companion to Transformers, Galaxies is an anthology series that ties into the ongoing, featuring a rotating creative cast and a variety of characters from across the new Transformers universe.
(February 2020)
A special romance-themed one-shot.
Nautica, Hound, and Wheeljack organize the evacuation of Cybertron. Written by Brian Ruckley and illustrated by Beth McGuire-Smith.
(September 2021)
A special horror-themed one shot.
(October 2021-January 2022)
A miniseries documenting the adventures of a new team of Wreckers. Written by David Mariotte and illustrated by Jack Lawrence.
(February 2022-May 2022)
A companion to Transformers, War's End focuses on the return of the ancient warlord Exarchon and his renewed plan for conquest. Written by Brian Ruckley and illustrated by Jack Lawrence.

See also

2006 Beast Wars continuity

Weaving in and around the events of the Beast Wars cartoon universe, this line eschews the previous 3H Productions fiction that previously continued the show's story to strike out in a new direction, focusing mainly on the non-show toy characters.

See also

2021 Beast Wars continuity

A brand new retelling of Beast Wars set in an original continuity.

Evolutions

Evolutions was originally intended to be a series of Elseworlds-like stories that existed in their own separate continuities, each taking different takes on Transformers. Only one miniseries – Hearts of Steel – was ever produced; reportedly, Hasbro asked IDW to hold back on Evolutions as to not confuse customers looking for merchandise based on the live action films.[citation needed] Chris Ryall stated that the subsequent focus on Movie and Animated meant that it was unlikely that Evolutions would continue further,[4] though various comic stories over the years have sporadically revisited the Hearts of Steel universe.

In 2017, a version of the Hearts of Steel story was retroactively folded into the main IDW universe via Revolutionaries; the first two stories listed here are also canon in the ongoing G1 continuity.

  • Hearts of Steel (2006) — Places the Generation 1 Transformers in the American West during the Industrial Revolution.
  • Infestation 2 (2012) — The sequel to Infestation. This time, it's Lovecraftian demons that invade the various licensed properties. The Transformers-specific issues take place in the Hearts of Steel universe.
  • The X-Files: Conspiracy (2014) — Another multi-brand crossover, this time involving The X-Files series, whose Transformers-specific issue takes place in the present day of the Hearts of Steel universe.

Live-action film series

See Also

Transformers Animated

See also

Marvel Comics continuity

Aligned continuity family

See also

Crossovers

Other continuities

Reprint series

U.S. Marvel reprints

U.K. Marvel reprints

Dreamwave reprints

Straight reprints of some TPB collections previously released by Dreamwave.

G.I. Joe/Transformers

Paperback collections of various G.I. Joe crossovers from over the years.

IDW hardcovers

Omnibuses

Smaller-format TPBs collecting specific larger runs of material.

Compendiums

Reprints of reprints—doorstopper paperback collections of previous volumes. Each was apparently intended to be the first in a series, but no more instalments ever materialised.

Compilations

Themed collections of random highlights from the Transformers back catalogue.

100-Page Giants

Perfect-bound one-shots containing themed collections of stories.

Artbooks

Unpublished

Notes

  • From 2008 to 2011, IDW developed a reputation amongst the fandom for its cavalier approach to both visual and storytelling continuity in both All Hail Megatron and The Transformers ongoing—an attitude exemplified by then-Senior Editor Andy Schmidt's infamous remark that suggested readers prioritized these things more than IDW's own editorial team.[6] Eventually, however, corporate shakeups resulted in new creative and editorial teams taking the reins, and John Barber's subsequent tenure as Senior Editor resulted in a far tighter approach.
  • "Phase Three" of the Aligned continuity was going to be IDW doing comics with Aligned backstories instead of the established ones. Hasbro first proposed a "New 52" reboot event (uh oh)... and then instead agreed that IDW had put five years of work in, upcoming plans would have to be cancelled, and it'd be too confusing for readers to do another reboot, so they let IDW carry on.[7]

External links

References

  1. ↑ The Hollywood Reporter, "IDW to Lose 'G.I. Joe,' 'Transformers' License at End of 2022 (Exclusive)", 2022/01/20
  2. ↑ Pitch printed in The Transformers: The Best of Simon Furman
  3. ↑ Moonbase 2m AA2010 interview, YouTUbe, "AA2010- Chapter 4- Simon Furman.", 2010/08/21
  4. ↑ "Probably not. That was a plan I really liked but between all the other TF universes, and the lack of too many high-profile folks able to work on them, it probably wont happen again any time soon."—Chris Ryall, IDW's forums, 2008/04/16 (archive link)
  5. ↑ "This is the last one, I'm afraid. Maintaining the quality and length you've come to expect, we'd need to do 5 more volumes to finish out, I believe, and that's not workable. The final hardcover volume of IDW2 is out in November. More TF collections, Best ofs, and issues to come!"—David Mariotte, Twitter, 2022/09/28
  6. ↑ "If I could go back to the 70s and 80s and stop Marvel and DC from ingraining in comics fans brains that continuity is paramount, I would."—Andy Scmidt, IDW's forums, 2010 (dead link)
  7. ↑ Rik Alvarez panel at TFcon Charlotte in 2015 - See fan photos of the slides.
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