Richard Irvine-Brown has written an article for the BBC covering the Transformers comic The Lost Light and the rising diversity of fans within the Transformers franchise which you can read here.

Whilst it has come into criticism from some areas of the Transformers community, The Lost Light comic series and More Than Meets The Eye before it has been some of the best selling and highly praised Transformers comic series for many years with a diverse and loyal fan base and has been a series that many deem to have been an important player in the growth of diversity within the fandom and especially at conventions around the globe

At the end of the story within the current Transformers: Robots in Disguise comic from Signature Publishing, the best selling Transformers comic globally, it was announced that as of the next issue the comic will transform into a Transformers: Cyberverse comic book with the first issue due on stands on the 21st September 2018.

It is expected that the comic will continue in the same format as the highly successfully RiD and Rescue-bots comics with freebies, activities, games, puzzles and a comic version of each episode of the cartoon.

Signature Publishing have announced that they shall be releasing a second monthly Transformers comic in the form of Transformers Rescue Bots with the first issue set for UK stores on the 19th May 2017 priced at £3.99 and coming with a Chase car stunt set and 4-roll sticker box.

The magazine is aimed at the pre-school audience and is based on the animated show which averages 17,000 viewers across 600 plays on Tiny Pop; 76% above the channel average. The show is on par with My Little Pony for the station where it contirbutes 1/5th of the total views with 1.5 million children having viewed it since it's launch.

Danny Morris, Signature Publishing's Managing Director stated that "The Transformers franchise just keeps growing, with the launch of the latest blockbuster movie in June, while younger fans are egaging with the hit animated cartoon Rescue Bots" adding that "We are therefore delighted and honoured to be the first publisher, worldwide, to launch a standalone magazine for this fantastic extension to Hasbro's Transformers brand where, as always, storytelling is at its heart. With the viewing figures and toy sales for Transformers Rescue Bots speaking for themselves, this new magazine is sure to be a huge success!"

CBR are reporting that Mairghread Scott and David Rodriguez will be writing the next Hasbro Universe cross-over arch called FIRST STRIKE which focuses on Cobra, led by Baron Ironblood, deciding to directly target the Transformers. The artwork shall be provided by Max Dunbar withissues solicited as coming out from September.

IDW Publishing has a new Hasbro crossover on the way, and it doesn’t sound like good news for the Transformers.

CBR has the first details on “First Strike,” announced Thursday at the Diamond Retailer Summit in Chicago. The story starts with two issues in August, from the writing team of IDW Transformers vet Mairghread Scott & David Rodriguez (Narrative Director at Vicarious Visions, the game company best known for the “Skylanders” franchise) and artist Max Dunbar, recently of IDW’s “Micronauts” series.

Following 2016’s “Revolution” event — which saw IDW’s licensed Hasbro properties united in one shared universe — “First Strike” picks up with Earth about to join the Cybertronian Council of Worlds. That peaceful event is interrupted by Cobra, as Baron Ironblood — historically the British counterpart to Cobra Commander — has targeted all Cybertronians for termination, putting the Transformers in serious jeopardy. The G.I. Joes, led by Scarlett, and the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, stand in the way in the face of extinction — enlisting help along the way from, apparently, an unlikely ally in the form of Soundwave of the Decepticons.

While this certainly sounds like the comic book equivalent of a blockbuster summer movie, Scott said it’s also a “deeply personal character story.”

“One man attempts to dominate, one woman stands against him,” Scott said in a statement to CBR. “Watch as Scarlett leads her G.I. Joes on a daring mission to save all of Cybertron from their gravest threat yet. ‘First Strike’ is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, and deeply personal character story set against the backdrop of intergalactic war with all the giant robots, cyborg ninjas, and massive explosions you could ask for.”

IDW Publishing Editor-in-Chief David Hedgecock described “First Strike” as the natural progression from what the company started in “Revolution.”

“In ‘Revolution,’ we united our Hasbro comic book titles into one shared universe,” Hedgecock said. “In ‘First Strike,’ we see what it’s like to live in the shadows of a massively powerful, ancient, alien race that has been warring with itself for millions of years and, in doing so, has brought death and destruction to every planet it has touched.”

“What, if anything, can one man do to save his planet? What depths will he go to in order to save mankind? How do you destroy all the Transformers?”

True to the “Revolution” spirit, it won’t just be Transformers and G.I. Joe getting involved in “First Strike” — the M.AS.K. team will also be involved.

“‘First Strike’ is your childhood toy box exploding onto the [comic] page: the Transformers, G.I. Joe, and M.A.S.K. teams brought together, each of them positioned on different sides of this planet-spanning conflict,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Sometimes the groups will line up along expected party lines, but other times, you’ll see them being torn apart from the inside, as they are forced to face the impossible concept of one human man declaring war against Cybertron and then being really good at it.”

“First Strike” will run for three months, with six issues planned to ship on a twice-monthly schedule. Tie-ins to the event will be revealed at a later date. Covers for each issue will be illustrated by “Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” artist Freddie E. Williams II, along with multiple variants.

ew.com have posted an article covering the six property comic cross over that IDW will be pubilshing from September featuring Transformers, G.I.Joe, Micronauts, ROM, Action Man and M.A.S.K. You can read a snippet below but follow the link at the start of this article for more.

IDW has been teasing a mysterious “Revolution” banner for the past few months, and now EW can exclusively reveal the meaning. Revolution will be a five-issue biweekly event series, starting this September, that will bring together all of the company’s Hasbro properties: G.I. Joe, Transformers, Micronauts, ROM, Action Man, and M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand)). In its wake, all the series will kick off with new number one issues and a new status quo. But IDW editor-in-chief Chris Ryall insists this isn’t a reboot.

“We didn’t want this to be what fans have seen from so many others, which is a reboot or a relaunch where you’re asked to forget about all these characters and stories you’ve been following for years,” Ryall says. “It’s just now everybody will be acknowledging each other in a much greater way than ever before.”

Karyuudo fansubs have published their translation of the manga that accompanies TakaraTomy's Grand Galvatron. You can read the translation over on their Blogspot page.

Today is the day that fans of the Wreckers have been waiting for as IDW release Sins of the Wreckers.  So whether you buy digital copies of physical comics it's out so go and buy it, enjoy it and share your love across Social Media.

When Titan Publishing stopped the UK Transformers: Age of Extinction comic book many thought that it may be a few years until another UK Transformers comic would hit the shelves, well that all changed last Friday when Signature Publishing released the first issue in a new monthly UK Transformers comic called Transformers: Robots In Disguise. The comic will slowly reprint the IDW RiD stories along with new exclusive content for the UK market.  Issue 1 is still available in stores right now and comes with a free disk shooting Bumblebee.

Here's a little more information and quotes on what you can expect from the comic book.

The “interactive” magazines features a Transformers toy, exclusive links to unlockable Transformers brand app content and a 20-page comic strip story in every issue.

“We are absolutely delighted to be given the opportunity to publish the official magazine for this iconic brand that targets a new generation of Transformers brand fans,” confirmed Signature’s Managing Director, Danny Morris.

“As with all of Hasbro’s brands, the quality of the assets and storytelling is amazing, while the highly successful animated series and extensive toy marketing campaign will ensure this magazine is a great success.

“We look forward to creating a truly immersive brand experience, playing our part in bringing the characters to life and reigniting the imagination of Transformers: Robots in Disguise magazine readers.”

• Transformers: Robots In Disguise magazine launches on Friday 16th October, priced at £3.49, and comes with a Bumblebee figure disc-blaster plus an additional free comic

Having picked up the first issue from our local Tescos we can confirm that the comic contains two strips, the frist is a reprint of "Fire when ready" which was the Free Comic Book Day issue 0 story from IDW. The second story is titled "Look Before You Leap!" and is written by Richard Mead with art by Fun Publications' artists Dan Khanna and Evan Guantt. The strip is lettered by Terry Sambridge

Big thanks to fellow former Trans-Europe Express member Nevermore who posted the following summary of upcoming Generations releases over on the TFW2005 message board. The news includes the first official listings for Generations Ravage, Wheelie and Rumble as well as the first images of Pipes.

As originally reported over at Cybertron.ca and pointed out to me by megatroptimus.

Ignore the "Star Wars Transformers" prefixes, that's an error.

Legends Shockwave (originally revealed at BotCon), with new photos!


Legends Chop Shop (originally revealed at BotCon), with new photos!


Legends Buzzsaw (originally revealed at BotCon), with new photos!


Legends Pipes (originally revealed at BotCon)

UPDATE: Photos for Pipes have incorrectly been added to an existing page for "Warpath".


Legends Wreckgar (originally revealed at BotCon)

Legends Stripes (originally revealed at New York Comic-Con)

Legends Rewind (originally revealed at New York Comic-Con)

Legends Ravage (originally rumored by listing back in June)

Legends Wheelie (originally rumored by listing back in June)

Legends Rumble (originally rumored by listing back in June)

The Twitter account of IDW Publishing have posted a preview for the upcoming Sins Of The Wreckers Issue1 comic book. The title is the sequel to one of the most praised Transformers comics ever, The Last Stand Of The Wreckers. You can find the full preview here.  Story by Nick Roche with art by Josh Burcham, the title is released in November.

Comic Book Resources have posted an interview with Mairghread Scott and John Barber the creators behind the upcoming Transformers: Combiner Wars crossover. The key points are:

• The Combiner Wars will be on two fronts - both an information war, a "war of influence", and a physical war. Starscream is at the heart of all of it, of course - with Optimus, Windblade and Prowl all being key players.
• Superion has a few new moves - he's described as a cross between "an NBA star and Godzilla"
• The seeds of Combiner Wars have been sown since Windblade first appeared in Dark Cybertron.
• On an unrelated note, we'll also be seeing more Transformers of more body types - not only female characters but more diversity in general, more religions, creeds and classes.

Credit to TFW2005.com for the summary

TakaraTomy have published the 3rd chapter in their Transformers Cloud story which you can find on their website. The story contains an illustration by Nagi Miyako.

Alex Milne has posted his design for Dark Cybertron Arcee onto his Deviant Art account. The design is adopted by Arcee in In More than Meets the Eye issue 27 and is based on a concept design created by Hasbro for the character.  Whilst this does not confirm that a toy will be made of this form, it does mean they some of the design work may have already been done which could be adjusted based on Alex's changes.

Newsarama have posted a collection of preview pages from the post-Dark Cybertron IDW Transformers universe in the form of Robots in Disguise issue #28.  The issue is the first to be released under the "Dawn of the Autobots" banner, which is set to see the action return to Earth and reintroduce a character who we have not seen a great deal of in the last two years since the Transformers left Earth.  To view the preview images simply head on over to Newsarama.