The official Transformers Facebook page has posted the five-page commentary for Transformers: Robots in Disguise Issue 16 with writer John Barber. You can view a mirror of the preview below.

TRANSFORMERS: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE #16 hits the stands today, courtesy of IDW Publishing and Hasbro! This is it—the climax of the first big ROBOTS IN DISGUISE story. The fate of Cybertron’s leadership is decided, as Bumblebee and the Autobots battle Megatron’s forces in the city of Iacon. Artist Andrew Griffith—along with inker Brian Shearer and colorist Josh Perez—pulled out all the stops on this one; and we sat down with writer John Barber to talk about this monumental issue. TF:RID #16 is available at comic book stores everywhere and at https://transformers.comixology.com/ or via the Comixology and iBooks apps on your computer or mobile device!

PAGE 1- The might against Megatron continues with Bumblebee and his team. Considering the different factions trying to live together on their home world, was there ever a right or wrong in the decisions he took? Or was it simply that he wasn’t strong enough to hold them all together?

JOHN BARBER: That’s a good question. Bumblebee was trying to do what was right, and here—battling Megatron—it’s clear what needs to get done. But would Megatron have had support, would the Decepticon masses have followed him, had it not been for Bumblebee’s policies? He locked them up, he put in the Identification/Deterrence chips, and even once those were gone, he still clearly didn’t welcome them with open arms. I mean, Bumblebee had reason to be angry at the Decepticons, and reasons to not trust them. So maybe he never had a chance.

There isn’t really a clear-cut answer, as to whether Bee was right or wrong, and that’s one of the big themes of the series. I hope the readers will argue about it.

Was Bumblebee too weak? That’s how he sees himself, and how some of the others see him. Maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, though. Could anybody have accomplished what he set out to do? Again—I don’t mean to evade the question, it’s that the question is the main thing about the series. I don’t want to cop out on anything, but the question is more interesting to me. And hey, if I had the actual answer, I should be ruling the world myself.

PAGE 2- Megatron, Devastator and the other Decepticons pile on the pressure. You think right now Starscream is regretting the things that he has done prior to this issue, and not done what might have previously done before?

JOHN BARBER: Starscream thought he was playing everything correctly for a while—up to issue 11—then he had a crisis of… well, not “conscious,” as this issue will demonstrate… but a crisis of faith in himself. I’m sure that, in his head, he’s running through every action he’s ever taken, but I don’t think he has Bumblebee’s capacity for self-reflection. He’s more likely to see any failure as a failure of circumstance, not of himself. But this was a big fall—he was about to gain control of the city, and then Megatron showed up and ruined everything, so it’s a crushing blow.

Anyway—he definitely doesn’t have Bee’s capacity for beating himself up over his decisions.Actually, his ego probably protects him a little here (like Prowl’s does).
What is why, at this point in the story, even if it doesn’t look like it, he is actively looking for any opportunity amidst all the action.

PAGE 3- Arcee and Sideswipe do their best to carry on the fight back. With Arcee, was the plan always to make her as ambiguous as possible until she was forced into making a decision on where she truly stood?

JOHN BARBER: Yeah—Issue 18 is where we actually get into her head, and see how she thinks. She just approaches things from a way that other Cybertronians don’t. Her worldview is skewed by all the events in her life—I mean, everybody’s is; it’s just that her event are just a little more unusual.

So, yeah, she was definitely keeping quiet about what she knew, who she would side with, all that—until she had an opportunity to strike most effectively. Which, I don’t think exactly worked out—she definitely didn’t want out-of-control Prowl-Devastator running around, so it’s not like she actually succeeded in her plan. But things could have been worse.

Nevertheless, from my perspective, she’d have been better off going to Bumblebee in issue 4. But she didn’t think he’d trust her, and Bee definitely didn’t act like he was looking to trust Prowl’s secret warrior. So she didn’t think that was a legitimate possibility. And now, hey, look what all that mistrust has sown.

PAGE 4- Ironhide and the Dinobots pile in to provide reinforcements? Considering what is happening to his friends, do you think Ironhide is certain that the visions of the future he saw are going to come true, despite the devastation around him? They seem to have been driving his recent actions.

JOHN BARBER: Ironhide has come to realize that, even if he believes what he saw, there are multiple ways of looking at “fate.” He can just sit back and let the future happen, or he can take an active role. And if he takes an active role, he has to be himself. Beyond that—well, there’s more to come.

PAGE 5- Ironhide literally tries to knock some sense into Prowl/ Devastator’s head, and Bumblebee can see the tide of battle turning. This issue marks the end of the current arc in the series. In the grand scheme of things to come, how important are the issues we’ll find within these pages?

JOHN BARBER: Very. I mean, this issue is the close of the first big RID story arc. The story of Bumblebee versus Starscream versus Metalhawk struggling for control of Iacon comes to a close this issue. And however it works out, any one of them (or none of them) “winning” control of the city will change the face of Cybertron. There’s a lot going on in this issue, a lot of stories coming to a close, and it all matters a lot.

But it’s not the end of the series, and there are still going to be big, pointed questions looming. Where’s Shockwave? Why did what happened to the Aerialbots happen—and what’s the status of them now? Not to give anything away, but how does Starscream justify his actions? What’s up with Ironhide’s vision of the future? What does Jhiaxus want with Gorlam Prime? Lots and lots of other questions…

Not everything ends here—we’re back with another issue in a few weeks—but all that comes will be built on what we’ve done here. And there will be impacts felt in our sister series, TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE, too. But I can’t talk about that without spoiling anything. I can say, that events from MTMTE spill into RID next issue… but if you’ve followed what MTMTE revealed about Shockwave, I don’t think that will be a surprise. Anyway—this comic, RID #16, will have repercussions in the comics—and maybe beyond—for some time to come.

But I do want to thank all the readers who’ve read this series—and read MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE, and all the other Transformers comics, too—from the beginning, or who’ve come in during the run, or who are just joining us. Thanks for being there, hope you’ve enjoyed the ride so far, and it just gets better from here on out.

TFW2005 recently had the opportunity to speak to Mairghread Scott, one of the writers for Transformers Prime and co-writer of IDW Publishing's Rage Of The Dinobots mini-series and their upcoming Beast Hunters comic.

There is a short snippet below, but to read the full article visit TFW2005.com

1. Hi Mairghread! First off, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us here at TFW2005.com. Can you tell our members a little bit about yourself and how you landed the gig of working with the Transformers?

Sure, I’m a freelance animation writer and my day job is working for production on Transformers Prime the TV Show. It’s where I got my first script and it has been my home base ever since. As far as the comic is concerned, Mike Johnson invited me to join him on Rage of the Dinobots. He’s a fantastic writer who worked with us on Prime before and knew how badly I wanted to get into comics. Since he had the comic book chops and I was already immersed in the Aligned continuity we were a natural pairing to work on Rage. After that… well we made no secret about wanting to continue the stories we were telling and, thankfully, our editors at IDW and the good folks at Hasbro agreed to let us keep going.

2. What do you do when you're not writing stories about giant robots punching eachother? Are there elements of your real life that you draw influence upon for your stories?

Mostly I read comics and cross-stitch, but I am always trying to do new crazy things that I think might be useful later on (much to the chagrin of my husband, who insists I’m going to get myself killed). I’ve done everything from flying trapeze to pole dancing, kung fu to parkour and it’s all helped with my work. Writing the Ser-ket/Grimlock fight in issue 3 of Rage involved a lot of thinking back to my armored sword fighting lessons with the SCA (they’re medieval reenactors). I wanted Ser-ket to be a two-weapon fighter, but in real life they rarely beat sword and shield fighters like Grimlock, so I tweaked her weapons to be a sword and electric scourge instead of two swords. It made it a lot more believable that she would get Grimlock to drop his guard and giving her that goal in battle made the fight a lot more interesting than just having them randomly hack at each other.

3. You're the first woman to write a Transformers comic. How does that make you feel and what do you think you bring differently to the table of other comic book writers?

Well, you definitely feel like there are more eyes on you, but I’ve got a really great writing partner in Mike Johnson and that’s reassuring. The only thing I think I do deliberately as a female writer that might be different is to include women in my stories in a very ‘normal’ way. Female comic book readers (i.e. me when I read comics) are looking for female characters to be there, be well written and not be treated like a big deal. In a lot of ways Transformers is the perfect brand for that. Female Transformers characters don’t dress provocatively, they aren’t just love interests and no one questions if they’re fit to lead/defeat because of their gender. Ser-ket lost because she was a villain. Arcee is on Team Prime because earned her spot. End of story. The more I can do to build on that for all comic fans, the better.

4. What can you tell us about the upcoming Beast Hunters comic from IDW Publishing?

The new comic features the same great Dinobots we had in Rage, but we’ve jumped forward in time and the Dinobots’ mission to protect those still left on Cybertron has turned them into accidental leaders for the largest Autobot settlement still on the planet. The only problem is that being great commando fighters and being great civic leaders are two very different things. We’re hoping to expand the Prime universe and explore that tension as the Dinobots protect their followers from threats both external and internal. Grimlock’s always claimed that he could do a better job than Optimus and Mike and I are determined to test that theory.

Chris Ryall has revealed the cover art for volume 8 of Transformers: The IDW Collection, via his Tumblr account. The hardcover comic collection feature a portrait of Hot Rod by the artist E.J Su.  You can view the image below.

IDW have dispatched the usual preview pages for the latest issue of their Transformers More Than Meets The Eye series.  The preview images, which can be seen below, continue the story with Overlord being on the loose onboard the Lost Light while Chromedome is trapped in the time-dilated cell.

Amazon have posted some new pre-orders for some upcoming Transformers trades from IDW. The two new listings are:

Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Volume 1
It's the beginning of the end for Transformers Prime! But a new enemy is revealed and the stakes are racheted up even higher as the Cybertronians continue their quest for peace throughout the universe.

Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: IDW Publishing (August 20, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1613777159
ISBN-13: 978-1613777152

and Transformers Prelude which is a collection of the latest spotlight comics
The Spotlight falls on Orion Pax, Thundercracker, Megatron, Bumblebee, Trailcutter, and Hoist in this collection of six individual stories that explain an important moment in each character's life. From the distant past to current events, each story adds to the Cybertronian lore.

Paperback: 152 pages
Publisher: IDW Publishing (August 27, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1613777167
ISBN-13: 978-1613777169

IDW have sent out their solicitations for June which you can read below.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #18
John Barber (w) • Atilio Rojo (a) • Rojo, Casey Coller (c)
SURVIVOR'S GUILT! After the shattering events of the past two issues, we can't tell you who's alive and who's dead. But we will hint that one CYBERTRONIAN has to reconsider her worldview—while she comes face-to-face with some old enemies. We won't mention any names, but she's in for the fight of her life!
*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

• Expected in-store date: 6/5/13
• Variant Covers: Phil Jimenez variant cover!
• T-Minus 4 months to the event that will rock the TRANSFORMERS to their core!

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #18
James Roberts (w) • Alex Milne (a) • Milne, Sean Chen (c)
"DON'T LET THEM TAKE SKIDS!" The crew of the Lost Light left CYBERTRON before they could hear those words—part of a message from the future warning of terror and catastrophe and a threat to the entire Cybertronian race. Can the AUTOBOTS do anything to stop the beginning of the end?
*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

• Expected in-store date: 6/26/13
• Variant Covers: Nick Roche variant cover!
• This is the big one—everything since MTMTE #1 has been leading to this story!
  Heroes will fall—and revelations will change your perceptions of everything, ever!

Transformers: Monstrosity #1 (of 4)
Chris Metzen & Flint Dille (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a) • Ramondelli x 3 (c)
MEGATRON'S DESCENT! In the early days of the war on CYBERTRON, OPTIMUS PRIME puts everything on the line to unify the planet—but not everyone agrees that this new Prime should be in charge! Meanwhile, the fallen DECEPTION leader, MEGATRON, begins a journey that will change everything. Plus—what is the terrible secret of the DINOBOTS?
*3 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1-to-1 ratio
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

• Expected in-store date: 6/5/13
• Exploding from the screen to your comic shop!
• The sequel to the amazing AUTOCRACY!
• Written by Chris Metzen (one of the main creative minds behind Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® universes) and Flint Dille (writer on the original TRANSFORMERS cartoon)!

Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters #2
Mairghread Scott & Mike Johnson (w) • Agustin Padilla (a) • Ken Christiansen (c)
THE WORLD BELOW! Deep beneath the surface of CYBERTRON, the last vestiges of life struggles to survive. Their only protectors: GRIMLOCK and his loyal DINOBOTS—who find themselves at the center of a dark mystery!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

• Expected in-store date: 6/19/13
• Variant Covers: Animation art variant cover!
• Ties in to the smash hit TRANSFORMERS PRIME: BEAST HUNTERS television show as seen on the HUB!
• The creative team from the critically-acclaimed TRANSFORMERS PRIME: RAGE OF THE DINOBOTS is back!

Transformers Regeneration One #92
Simon Furman (w) • Andrew Wildman (a) • Wildman, Guido Guidi (c)
CRISIS ON CYBERTRON! A whole society, wounded and reeling after SCORPONOK's genetic manipulations, teeters on the edge of anarchy and uprising, a situation SOUNDWAVE is only too happy to exploit! When the newly recovered BLASTER uncovers the truth, he finds himself on the endangered species list—courtesy of the all-new, all-deadly MAYHEM ATTACK SQUAD.
*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

• Expected in-store date: 6/19/13
• Variant Covers: Geoff Senior variant cover!
• CYBERTRON: The last line of defense!
  Continuing the story of the original 1980s TRANSFORMERS comic book series!
• Non-stop action in the Furman/Wildman manner!

Transformers: Movie Collection, Vol. 1
Simon Furman, Chris Ryall, Kris Oprisko, & Chris Mowry (w) • Don Figueroa & Alex Milne (a) • John Nizzi (c)
From CYBERTRON, to Earth, and back again… the quest for the Allspark begins here! Volume 1 contains the TRANSFORMERS Movie Prequel, the TRANSFORMERS Movie Adaptation, and the comic sequel TRANSFORMERS: Reign of Starscream.
TPB • FC • $29.99 • 324 pages • ISBN 978-1-61377-692-6

• Expected in-store date: 6/5/13
• Now available in paperback!

Transformers 30th Anniversary Collection
Jim Sorenson, Bob Budiansky, Simon Furman, Mike Costa, James Roberts & More (w) • Andrew Wildman, Geoff Senior, Pat Lee, Don Figueroa, EJ Su, Alex Milne, Nick Roche, & More (a) • Alex Milne (c)
It's a celebration 30 years in the making! Relive the landmark comics that helped define the legacy of TRANSFORMERS and read along with the creators that made these great comics as Jim Sorenson provides insight from a range of writers and artists that breathed life into the denizens of CYBERTRON. From Marvel to Dreamwave to IDW and other iterations in-between, this book is a must have for TF collectors!
HC • FC • $49.99 • 320 pages • 7" x 11" • ISBN 978-1-61377-662-9

• Expected in-store date: 6/19/13
• Celebrating 30 Years of TRANSFORMERS comics!

Amazon have posted a new book listing called Transformers: 30th Anniversary Collection [Hardcover] which is due out on the 25th June 2013 priced at $32.99.

The description of the book, which is from IDW Publishing and stands at 320 pages, is:
It's a celebration 30 years in the making! Relive the landmark comics that helped define the legacy of Transformers and read along with the creators that made these great comics as Jim Sorenson provides insight from a range of writers and artists that breathed life into the denizens of Cybertron. From Marvel to Dreamwave to IDW and other iterations in-between, this book is a must have for TF collectors!

The author of the book is listed as Chris Mowry who also worked on the Transformers Revenge of the Fallen movie prequals.

We promised you more guests for Auto Assembly 2013, and we can now confirm that Regeneration One colourist John-Paul Bove is making a welcome return to Auto Assembly. As with all of our comic guests, he will be on hand all weekend in our guest area and no doubt will be on stage at some point during a Q&A Panel with some of our other guests… For more details of who else will be at the convention with him, check out the Auto Assembly 2013 Guest List.

The official Transformers Facebook page has posted a preview of IDW's Spotlight: Megatron comic by Nick Roche who talks the reader through the pages both as the writer and the artist.

PAGE 1: This story starts off just after Megatron has received a new body during the TRANSFORMERS ONGOING series from a couple of years ago. Why set the tale in this time frame? And did you have to research all the old designs again?

NICK ROCHE (writer): Well, I just write the thing. It doesn’t bother me what the designs for the characters are like. I just sit back, lash any old nonsense out, and watch the accolades come cascading in.

As for the timeframe, IDW and Hasbro were looking for a Megatron SPOTLIGHT to feature the same body that the character currently sports in the TRANSFORMERS: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ongoing series. Of course, he’s a little dinged-up over on that title, and has foregone more of his personal grooming routines. But it’s essentially the same character design. Now, almost every nano-second of that iteration of Ol’ Megs has been accounted for – from him coming online in TRANSFORMER ONGOING #13, to his climactic farewell in the “CHAOS” series. I had to pull a trick that Simon Furman has made his own, and find an empty story-corner to craft an idea; tell an off-panel tale, as it were. And it allowed me to address what must have been huge disappointment and frustration on Megatron’s part upon discovering the undignified and embarrassing mess Starscream had made as leader of the Decepticons.

NICK ROCHE (artist): The script was pretty loosely written, so I had to second-guess the writer’s intent a lot of the time. He’d just send a hand-scrawled note on greaseproof paper that said, “’bot 1 punches ’bot 2.” I had to do a lot of work to put any shape on the so-called story.

Piecing together the “script” did involve me having to do some research and capture the look that the ONGOING-Era Decepticons had on their Vacation Asteroid. But every comic – and every TRANSFORMERS comic especially – involves a lot of back-checking and cross-referencing on pre-existing designs. Because I had drawn Megatron and a few of the other cast members in these designs before, it wasn’t a complete slog, and didn’t slow me down too much.

PAGES 2 and 3: Did you find it difficult to write Megatron’s character at this point in time, bearing in mind everything he went through in All Hail Megatron and just after that?

NICK ROCHE (writer): Not prohibitively difficult, but it was an enjoyable challenge marrying up the Megatrons of two different writers (Shane McCarthy & Mike Costa) and have him pointing where the current writer (John Barber) has him positioned. It was interesting to read back over both eras of Megatron and reconcile the words and deeds of one with the other. I think I managed to not contradict anyone as I pulled my Megatron into place.

Barring weaving other versions of the character into this one version though, I tried to think about how Megatron would feel at having all that is sacred to him – his Decepticons; The “physical manifestation of his ideology” – absolutely driven into the ground. His star system-trouncing warriors are reduced to a whimpering mess, so let’s discover what affect this would have on him. If the Decepticons are defeated, he feels it, because to him, the Cause and The ’Bot are one and the same.

NICK ROCHE (artist): Is there a question for me? No? Oh, it’s all about the writer, yeah? That guy…

Well, let me tell you about stuff anyway. I drew these pages. Was it easy? Nothing is, working with that guy. He didn’t even specify which ones some of them were. “The Blue Cassette and a Broken Clone” was pretty much all the direction I got for this spread.

This was where some of the referring back to earlier issues paid off. Like, I tried to keep the wounds that Razorclaw suffered in his skirmish with Starscream back in ONGOING #13 consistent with the wear-and-tear shown here. And then I added little nods to the cannibalization that was rife during this period too. You can see that Sunstorm (on the left of the image) is sitting down, because someone else is probably using his lower legs…

PAGE 4- What would you say set this issue apart on terns of the challenge as apposed to the other issues that you have written and drawn yourself?

NICK ROCHE (writer): Oddly, this page represents the real departure from previous solo excursions, in that there is some Editorially-mandated content. The through-line between this current batch of Spotlights is a connection to Metroplex and the Space Bridge technology he possesses. We know that this new body Megatron inhabits has the ability to traverse vast interstellar distances. Where did his restoration crew gain that technology from? Well, now we know. And as a dutiful Megatron nerd, I couldn’t bypass the opportunity to refer to the character’s oft-cited ability to access a Black Hole in deep space. What potential side effects could those powers unleash with this new Space Bridge ability? It’s all touched on slightly here. In dinner terms, this page is the Science Starter, the rest of the issue is Red Raw Main Course. Things…get messy. Bring a bib.

Though you have no idea how giddy a writer can get when they realize, “Wow! I’m writing a conversation between MEGATRON and SHOCKWAVE!” Workdays don’t come any better than that.

NICK ROCHE (artist): “Make the One-Eyed One argue with the Bucket-Head One.” That’s literally all he wrote.

It was hugely enjoyable to realize that I was drawing two of the heaviest-hitters (maybe THE heaviest?) in the Decepticon army having a typically terse one-to-one. It was massive fun to draw a similar scene between Shockwave and Overlord in LAST STAND OF THE WRECKERS, but as popular as Overlord is now, he didn’t have the same weight of responsibility to draw then. Whereas this scene – which has a sulky, skulky Soundwave too, for flip’s sake! – made me regress to seven-year-old status. (I usually operate at full-on nine-year-old.)

PAGE 5- Megatron sets his sights on Starscream for the first time since he’s seen just what Starscream did as leader in his stead. This is one of Transformers classic relationships. Had you always in your mind wanted to do these scenes, and did you always know how you wanted them to be?

NICK ROCHE (writer): I didn’t think I had a burning desire to explore this relationship, but that’s sometimes the best way to be. A part of me worries I’ll choke or wobble (or both at once – a “chobble”) when the day comes to write some dialogue for Optimus Prime. But because of when this story was set, and because of the events that lead us here, this confrontation was unavoidable. I had no choice but to just write it, and I think that can often be for the best. Out of all the iterations of TRANSFORMERS lore over the decades, this relationship between Megatron and Starscream is by far the most constant and enduring. Prime has different lieutenants or right-hand-guys in different shows, but Starscream is eternally cursed to be the thorn in Megatron’s side.

For me, the question at the heart of this relationship is as fundamental as “Why DOESN’T Batman just kill the Joker?” Why does Megatron keep Starscream around? What possible thought-process could allow a liability like him to linger and lurk, constantly undermining and unraveling your progress? It became apparent very quickly that this was what the story had to be about. And I think I’ve managed, in the pages that follow, to explore – and even explain to some degree – what this relationship is really all about.

NICK ROCHE (artist): My thinking here (because ONE of us had to do a bit of that) was that upon discovering Megatron’s resurrection in ONGOING #14, Starscream fronted it out a little with the returning boss, and then retreated to his rinky-dink throne room, where he’d squandered three years piffling about with the Autobot Matrix. So, I wanted to show a Starscream that’s beaten before Megatron even makes a start. The heft of his own fear of Megatron has literally crushed him, and where better to reflect on his potentially final moments than at the foot of the seat of his power. Interesting though that he doesn’t flea; he stays to face the music. The rest of this issue gets down to the nitty-gritty of the odd and dark relationship that these two share. I think. I dunno, I just draw the pictures.

Simon Furman has updated his Wordpress Blog with a new article titled "Script (W)rap – Transformers RG1 #85" which, as you should be able to guess from the title, covers his preview of Regeneration One issue 85 which sees the conclusion of the "Loose Ends" story arc.  Simon makes mention, within his blog, the posting a spoiler free preview was going to be very difficult, but he has promised a true smackdown of Optimus Prime Vs Megatron, a real first for the "Generation One" story.  Simon explains his thoughts on this "Pretty much everyone now knows it features what I hope is the most titanic and revealing Prime/Megatron clash ever. I’d always felt vaguely unsatisfied that the two towering titans of Transformers-dom had never really had an appropriately epic smackdown in the (original) comic series. Circumstances and story direction just seemed to have them in different corners of the storyline, or the clashes would end in stalemate. When I came on the (US) book, with issue #56, the first thing on my mind was to get Megatron back in the fray. But through twists and turns (of my own devising) somehow I could never get them face-to-face, toe-to-toe (if you discount the Mega-Ratchet combo fight with Prime, where it’s fair to say Megatron wasn’t exactly feeling himself).".

The classics cover month his provided by Geoff Senior (that'll be the copy we pick up then ;))

The comic goes on sale this week from all good, and some not good, stockists

Full Metal Hero have some preview images of the upcoming Transformers Robots in Disguise Annual which continues on from the previously released MTMTE Annual, this issue picks up the story of the Metrotitan and events on Cybertron.

Amazon US, we have some new IDW Trade Collections listings go up in the last few days

Regeneration One - Volume 1
The Transformers comic that began it all is back - with a vengeance! 21 years have passed since Cybertron was restored to its former glory, and finally there is peace. But, after millions of years of bitter civil war, can all ever truly be one?
132 pages. 5th February 2013

Robots in Disguise - Volume 2
104 pages. 18th December 2012

GI Joe/Transformers - Volume 2
248 pages. 18th December 2012

DINOBOTS enter the TRANSFORMERS PRIME world for the first time ever!

San Diego, CA (August 15, 2012) – IDW Publishing, Hasbro, Activision, and High Moon Studios are thrilled to welcome the launch of the new digital comic series: TRANSFORMERS: FALL OF CYBERTRON! Announced at Comic-Con International San Diego last month, and beginning today, this new series will offer fans an exclusive look at the story that precedes the explosive new game.

In the days leading up to the events of Activision and High Moon Studios’ TRANSFORMERS: FALL OF CYBERTRON video game, we see the origin of the fearsome DINOBOTS as they encounter a secret DECEPTICON plot and take on a slew of enemies including SHOCKWAVE and the INSECTICONS!

"It's a lot of fun to have a chance to play in the sandbox of the Fall of Cybertron game. I'm lucky enough to get to write one of our Transformers ongoing comics, and edit the rest, but doing these stories in this setting... well, it's a real blast!” said writer JOHN BARBER. BARBER continued "I sat down with Dave Cravens, the head writer of the game at High Moon Studios, and we plotted out the whole comic one afternoon. It was great to get to work that closely with somebody so intimately involved in the game, so we could really make sure this comic actually fits in with the story the game is telling--and plays into the larger TRANSFORMERS mythology. Plus, anybody who knows me knows I love me some Dinobots, so it was a thrill to get to write them!"

Don’t miss TRANSFORMERS: FALL OF CYBERTRON, a prequel to the much-anticipated videogame, written by Barber (Transformers: Robots in Disguise) with art by Dheeraj Verma (Escape of the Living Dead)! Issues #2-5 will also include exclusive preview pages from TRANSFORMERS: THE ART OF THE FALL OF CYBERTRON, coming soon from IDW!

The series will run for six digital-only installments on a bi-weekly schedule, and will be available all digital platforms including Apple iOS, Android, and online.

TRANSFORMERS: FALL OF CYBERTRON ($0.99, 8 pages; full color) will be available in August in IDW’s Apple iPad™, iPhone® and iPod touch®, apps – Transformers Comics and IDW Comics, and on the Web at read.idwpublishing.com. The series will also be featured in the Comics by comiXology platform for iOS, Android, Web and Kindle Fire, and Comics + by iVerse.

TRANSFORMERS PRIME – RAGE OF THE DINOBOTS #1 ($3.99, 32 pages; full color) will be available in November 2012.

Visit IDWPublishing.com to sign up for updates and learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

About IDW Publishing
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC’s DOCTOR WHO; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Toho’s Godzilla; Wizards of the Coasts Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons; and the Eisner-Award winning Locke & Key series, created by best-selling author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints, and Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio.

IDW’s critically- and fan-acclaimed series are continually moving into new mediums. Currently, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Disney are creating a feature film based on World War Robot, while Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes and Sony are bringing Zombies vs. Robots to film.


About Hasbro

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company's world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global customers with well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY. The Company’s Hasbro Studios develops and produces television programming for markets around the world. The Hub TV Network is part of a multi-platform joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), in the U.S. Through the company's deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies.” Learn more at www.hasbro.com.  © 2012 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

The Allspark ran a Q&A session with Simon Furman regarding the new

Snippet (click the link for the full Q&A)

 MrBlud: "Did you add Leadfoot to the Wreckers because of his appearance (and membership) in DOTM? "

Simon Furman: My intention with RG1 was to kind of absorb the whole 27 or so year history of the franchise and bring diverse elements (that have a resonance outside the narrow world of the original G1 US comic) into the mix. So yeah, Leadfoot being a Wrecker is a part of that (but not limited to DOTM). There’s also the G2 link, elements and characters of which are being folded into RG1 on a regular/ongoing basis, and the fact that Leadfoot featured in the IDW-verse too, in my Spotlight: Galvatron, so I really wanted him to be a part of RG1 because of all those influences, not any single one.

Full Metal Hero have been sent a few pages of Transformers Regeneration 81 in preperation of tomorrows big release.  This will be one of only a few IDW Comics that we'll actually be looking to buy, as we ran out of space for comics years ago, but we're certainly looking forward to getting back into the Transformers comic lore.

NOTE: The pages include spoilers