The current Transformers universe at IDW is coming to a conclusion.
Transformers: Unicron is a 6-issue bi-weekly series by John Barber and Alex Milne that launches in July with a #0 on Free Comic Book Day in May.
Says Barber:
TRANSFORMERS: UNICRON is a culmination of the years of TRANSFORMERS comics I’ve been a part of… and the conclusion of one of the longest continued narrative in TRANSFORMERS history.
Says Associate Editor David Mariotte:
TRANSFORMERS: UNICRON is a grand finale to the past 12 years of TRANSFORMERS comics at IDW and to really celebrate that and to celebrate the people who have made it such an amazing ride, we’re getting some amazing, beloved artists to contribute to what I’m sure will be our biggest—literally—TRANSFORMERS story ever.
Wrapping up 12 years worth of comics? That really does make for a pretty large scale.
Official PR follows.
The fate of all worlds are at stake, as the world-eating menace Unicron has set his sights on Cybertron, home of the TRANSFORMERS robots, and next in line… EARTH! A bi-weekly six issue event titled TRANSFORMERS: UNICRON arrives this July and will bring about the end of the TRANSFORMERS universe as we know it. As Optimus Prime gathers his defense against this monstrous threat, it might be too little too late.
Veteran TRANSFORMERS creators John Barber (Optimus Prime) and Alex Milne (More Than Meets The Eye) are joined by colorist Sebastian Cheng (Revolution) to tell the epic conclusion to the current TRANSFORMERS comic book universe.
“TRANSFORMERS: UNICRON is a culmination of the years of TRANSFORMERS comics I’ve been a part of… and the conclusion of one of the longest continued narrative in TRANSFORMERS history” said Barber. “This is a story of heroism in the face of impossible odds; of a reckoning for an entire universe. I couldn’t be luckier than to have Alex [Milne] right here with me on this—if you know Alex, you know nobody puts more into the TRANSFORMERS than he does, and nowhere before has he drawn drama, action, and pathos at this scale. Tying it all together is the incredible palette of Sebastian Cheng. We’ve never held back before on our TRANSFORMERS comics, but this time we’re pushing ourselves—and each other—harder than ever.”
TRANSFORMERS mainstays from the past 12 years will be providing variant covers for the series, including Andrew Griffith, Nick Roche, and many more. Additionally, legendary comic artist Bill Sienkiewicz will be reinterpreting his classic cover to TRANSFORMERS #1 as a special variant, along with a new cover by Francesco Francavilla.
“TRANSFORMERS: UNICRON is a grand finale to the past 12 years of TRANSFORMERS comics at IDW and to really celebrate that and to celebrate the people who have made it such an amazing ride, we’re getting some amazing, beloved artists to contribute to what I’m sure will be our biggest—literally—TRANSFORMERS story ever,” said David Mariotte, Associate Editor. “This is an event years in the making and one that only works because of the years fans and creators have invested in the comic.”
The action kicks off on Free Comic Book Day, May 5th, with the #0 issue by the series creative; available for free at comic shops across the country. Don’t miss the world-ending first chapter of the summer’s cataclysmic event!
The thing is…I’m not sure what the hell any of this actually *means*. I haven’t heard anything about IDW losing the Hasbro licenses, or about GI Joe drawing to a close, though maybe I’m just out of the loop.
Given how much trouble they’ve gone to to establish a Hasbro Shared Universe, I suspect this will end up being some kind of Crisis on Infinite Earths style continuity reset that’ll bring Transformers back to its usual status quo (Optimus Prime’s Autobots fighting Megatron’s Decepticons), and put it in a shared universe with GI Joe from the get-go instead of trying to graft them together ten years on.
Guess we’ll find out.
Regardless of what happens with the Transformers from here on out, James Roberts has written some of the best comics I’ve read in years. If he’s still up for writing more Transformers comics, then I’m still up for reading them. If he’s not, then I hope he gets some work somewhere else; I’ll keep an eye out.
Are they losing the license?
Would make sense with IDW tarnishing the brand so much.
Dare I ask what you mean by “tarnishing the brand”?
Because I’m a longtime Transformers fan, and while IDW did a number of things I didn’t care for, More than Meets the Eye/Lost Light has surpassed Beast Wars as my favorite Transformers anything ever.
The IDW transformers books have been some of the greatest comic books I’ve ever read. I am not happy at all about this being a finale. Just terrible news. I hope this continuity continues on otherwise I have no interest in whatever is replacing it.
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