''Transformers'' is an ongoing line of American

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

published by

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

and

Skybound Entertainment Skybound Entertainment is an American multiplatform entertainment company founded by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert. It operates in concert with Image Comics. History Skybound Entertainment is the company behind the long-running comic series, ...

, being based on the toy line of the same name by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

and

Takara Tomy (trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...

. It is a successor of

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...

's previous relaunch of ''Transformers'' comics.

Publication history

After

lost the licenses to produce

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

and

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), A ...

comics by the end of 2022,

announced in June 2023 that

, an imprint of

, would acquire those licenses. During

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

2023, it was revealed that Skybound has plans to reprint both the

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

and IDW comics based on ''Transformers'', with more info set to release later. In April 2025, Skybound opened a crowdfunding project on

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

to release volumes 1–4 of the ''Transformers Compendium Set'', which include the original comic series from the Marvel era. The project was successfully funded in 2 minutes.

Energon Universe series

Premise

When

Autobots The Autobots are a fictional faction of sentient robots in the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. The Autobots are living robots from the planet Cybertron who, like most Transformers, are each imbued with a unique "life force" known as a " ...

and

Decepticons The Decepticons are a fictional faction of sentient robots in the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. Serving as the main antagonists in the franchise, their goals include conquering their fictional homeworld planet Cybertron, defeating ...

travel from Cybertron to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

, their war changes humanity's fate, and only

Optimus Prime Optimus Prime, also known in Japan as is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Transformers'' franchise. Generally depicted as a brave and noble leader, Optimus Prime is the supreme commander of the Autobots in their fight ag ...

can save them.

Overview

Mainline series

Skybound's first ''Transformers'' comic is set in the Energon Universe, being written and drawn by

Daniel Warren Johnson Daniel Warren Johnson (born March 1987) is an American comic book artist and writer based in Chicago. He has worked on titles with Image, Marvel, and DC. He also collaborated with colorist Mike Spicer beginning with ''Extremity''. The duo also wo ...

, and colored by Mike Spicer, and debuted on October 4, 2023. Johnson said, “To my readers, retailers, and fellow Transformers fans: get ready! I’ve only been drawing Optimus Prime and the rest of this amazing cast since I was in first grade. This is a dream project for me, and I’m so glad to be adding a new chapter to the decades long celebration of robots turning into cars. Also, cab-over trucks are so fun to draw!” In June 2023, Skybound announced that the main roster of

features

Arcee Arcee is a robot character in the ''Transformers'' franchise, an Autobot usually pink or blue in color. She has made more appearances and has had several more incarnations than any other female Transformer. Arcee's design, alternate mode, and p ...

Cliffjumper Cliffjumper is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. His name is usually associated with an Autobot whose toys are often red repaints or remold of Bumblebee (Transformers), Bumblebee toys. Transformers: Gene ...

Wheeljack ''The Transformers'' is an animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984, to November 11, 1987, in syndication based upon Hasbro and Takara's ''Transformers'' toy line. The first television series in the ''Transform ...

and

Ratchet Ratchet may refer to: Devices * Ratchet (device), a mechanical device that allows movement in only one direction * Ratchet effect in sociology and economics * Ratchet, metonymic name for a socket wrench incorporating a ratcheting device * Ratc ...

, while the main roster of

features

Starscream Starscream is a character in the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the second-in-command of the Decepticons, a villainous faction of alien robots that s ...

Soundwave Soundwave or Sound Wave may refer to: * Sound, a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave * Acoustic wave, the wave which carries sound Festivals * Soundwave (Australian music festival), an annual music festival 2007–2016 * Soundwave Fe ...

, Laserbeak, Rumble and

Skywarp The Decepticons are a fictional faction of sentient robots in the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. Serving as the main antagonists in the franchise, their goals include conquering their fictional homeworld planet Cybertron, defeating ...

. In January 2024, it was announced that Jorge Corona would serve as the new artist of the series starting with issue 7, with Johnson staying as writer for the series. In August 2024, Johnson confirmed that his run will feature 24 issues in total.

Plot

''Worst Bot Ever'' series (Skybound Comet)

In August 2024, Skybound announced a new graphic novel series titled ''Transformers: Worst Bot Ever'' for the Skybound Comet imprint for young readers.

Reprints

Accolades

Collected editions

Energon Universe

''The Transformers Compendium''

''The Transformers UK Compendium''

Notes

References

{{Hasbro Transformers comics Skybound Entertainment titles 2023 comics debuts Comic book reboots Comic book lines