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Transformers IDW Reading Order

Like with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Buffyverse, or the G.I. Joe comic book franchise, IDW took over the Transformers comics and launched its own continuity–and there are some discussions about the more legitimate continuity, but it’s not the subject of this article. We are here to talk about the third Transformers comics series.

The first was published by Marvel (from 1984 to 1991), and the second by Dreamwave Productions (from 2002 to 2004). After that, IDW Publishing took over with the third series (the Generation 1 continuity) written by Simon Furman starting with issue #0 in October 2005 and a regular series starting in January 2006 (and ending in November 2018). The fourth series is a relaunch at IDW that started in 2019.

And so, as the official synopsis tells it, it began on Earth, in 2006. The fate of the planet is already sealed, its destiny decided… by the marauding mechanical beings known as Decepticons. In their way stand an embattled crew of seven hardy Autobot warriors, sworn to prevent the impending Armageddon at any cost, and an unlikely trio of human misfits, pulled kicking and screaming into a hitherto hidden world of pain and hurt. The can of worms is open, the genie is out of the bottle… and nothing will ever be the same again! It begins again — here, now — the saga of the war-torn robots in disguise, the Transformers!

In 2022, IDW Publishing lost the license to publish Transformers comics. Skybound Entertainment (an imprint of Image Comics) took it over and created the Energon Universe.

Transformers IDW Reading Order: Hardcover Collection

The more straightforward way to collect and read Transformers comics is now the Transformers: IDW Collection, a Hardcover collection that reprints the original IDW Transformers stories in a “suggested reading order.”

Because IDW lost the rights to publish the Transformers comics, the following books are no longer available as digital comics. Also, it may become harder to find them in your comic book shops.

The Transformers Comics: The IDW Collection Phase One

The TRANSFORMERS universe is vast and full of the ongoing conflict between the AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS. A war that stretches across the galaxy and throughout time. These data tracks — from IDW’s timeline of events, recorded for further study — re-present the saga as it unfolded. From Cybertron to Earth, this is the story of the TRANSFORMERS.

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Transformers Comics: The IDW Collection Phase Two

The war for Cybertron is over, but Bumblebee and his fellow Autobots struggle to maintain control of a world without Optimus Prime. The provisional government is struggling and Prowl will defend it against the Decepticons at seemingly all costs. Meanwhile, Hot Rod and a group of Autobots and Decepticons embark on an epic quest to the farthest reaches of the Universe.

Transformers Comics: The IDW Collection Phase Three

The Revolution begins here! Explosions rip across Earth–and all signs of blame point to OPTIMUS PRIME and the TRANSFORMERS! G.I. JOE refuses to go quietly, however–and they assemble heroes big enough to stop the invaders! ACTION MAN and M.A.S.K. fight for humanity as well–but where do ROM and the MICRONAUTS stand?

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Transformers IDW Reading Order: TPB Collection

Earth: 2006, and the fate of the planet is already sealed, its destiny decided… by the marauding mechanical beings known as Decepticons. In their way stand an embattled crew of seven hardy Autobot warriors, sworn to prevent the impending Armageddon at any cost, together with an unlikely trio of human misfits, pulled kicking and screaming into a hitherto hidden world of pain and hurt. The can of worms is open, the genie is out of the bottle… and nothing will ever be the same again! Before Escalation begins next month, see how it all started – the saga of the war-torn robots in disguise, the Transformers!

All Hail Megatron: The DECEPTICONS have won, the AUTOBOTS are defeated, and the time for conquest is at hand! Or is it? This classic series picks up one year after the Revelations saga, and finds the DECEPTICONS alone and triumphant on Earth, with not an AUTOBOT in sight. With no one to stand in their way, how will the planet survive? And what of the missing AUTOBOTS?

Transformers: Autocracy Trilogy: Before Optimus became a Prime he fought for order. Before Megatron became a conqueror he fought for freedom. In the early days of the war on Cybertron, two leaders–one Autobot, the other Decepticon–start down their own paths towards destiny.

IDW Publishing logo

Comics Crossover Hasbro: Revolution Reading Order

Revolution is the start of the Hasbro Comic Book Universe! This 2016 crossover event involved characters from various Hasbro franchises: Explosions rip across the Earth―and all signs of blame point to OPTIMUS PRIME and the TRANSFORMERS! G.I. JOE refuses to go quietly―and they assemble heroes big enough to stop the invaders! ACTION MAN and M.A.S.K. fight for humanity―but where do ROM and the MICRONAUTS stand?

Here is the Hasbro: Revolution Reading Order:

  • Revolution #0, M.A.S.K.: Revolution, ROM: Revolution, Revolution #1, Revolution #2, Till All Are One: Revolution, Micronauts: Revolution, Revolution #3, G.I. Joe: Revolution, Transformers: Revolution, Action Man: Revolution, Revolution #4, Revolution #5, More than Meets the Eye: Revolution.

The Hasbro: Revolution Collected Editions:

  • Revolution
    Collects Revolution #0-5.
  • Revolution: Heroes
    Collects ROM: Revolution #1, M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand: Revolution #1, Micronauts: Revolution #1, G.I. Joe: Revolution #1, Action Man: Revolution #1.
  • Transformers: Revolution
    Collects Till All Are One: Revolution #1, Transformers: Revolution #1, More than Meets the Eye: Revolution #1, and Transformers Holiday Special.

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The revolution may be over–but the future is just beginning! Revolutionaries is the follow-up to the Revolution crossover.

First Strike is the 2017 sequel crossover to Revolution in the Hasbro Comic Book Universe.

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Issue by issue, it goes Unicron #0, Optimus Prime #22, Unicron #1-4, Optimus Prime #23-24, Unicron #5-6, Optimus Prime #25, Lost Light #25.

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The Transformers Vol. 3 (2019)

In 2019, IDW launched the third Transformers series, a reboot mostly written by Brian Ruckley taking place in a new continuity that is separate from the Hasbro Comic Book Universe.

In the infinite universe, there exists no other planet like Cybertron. Home to the TRANSFORMERS bots, and a thriving hub for interstellar commerce, it is a world brimming with organic and constructed diversity. It’s a world of seemingly endless peace. All that changes when Bumblebee and Windblade take a newly-forged Cybertronian on his first voyage through this world of wonders, only to discover the first murder to occur on Cybertron in living memory! Soon, they’ll face the hard reality that the planet is on the brink of an unprecedented shift, and nothing will ever be the same.

To offer a conclusion to their Transformers comics, IDW Publishing produced a four-issue comic Western-inspired miniseries imagining a far future where Cybertronians are nearly extinct, leaving one last Transformer alive in a universe that has moved on from their war-torn legacy. 

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The Transformers: Shattered Glass (2021)

In 2021, IDW Publishing launched a reboot of The Transformers: Shattered Glass universe. It serves as a modern reinterpretation of the original Shattered Glass concept, a fan-favorite alternate universe introduced by Fun Publications in 2008. This universe flips the traditional roles of Autobots and Decepticons, portraying Autobots as tyrannical oppressors and Decepticons as heroic freedom fighters. The 2021 series delves deeper into this darker, morally inverted world.

  • Transformers: Shattered Glass
    Collects Transformers: Shattered Glass (2021) #1-5.
  • Transformers: Shattered Glass II (2022) #1-5 (Never collected)

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The Transformers: Beast Wars (2022)

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Beast Wars cartoon series, IDW Publishing launched a new Beast Wars comic. This all-new comic is entirely divorced from the previous continuity. It’s more of a reimagination of the story.

Here is the official story presentation: “In the beginning came the beasts, and all that creeps, crawls and flies—but nature lies, they’re robots in disguise!” In the future, the planet Cybertron belongs to the scientific-minded Maximals and the action-oriented Predacons! When a crew of Predacons, led by the successor to the Megatron name, steals a golden disk and a ship capable of traveling through time, it’s up to Optimus Primal and his Maximal crew—Rattrap, Rhinox, Cheetor, and new character Nyx—to catch them!”

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