TRANSFORMERS RG1 VOL 1

It hardly seems any time at all since we were trumpeting the much-anticipated release of Transformers: Regeneration One #80.5, the continuation of the original (Marvel) Transformers comic series (cut teasingly short back in 1991), and here we are — with the release of the first trade paperback collection of issues #81-85 (the ‘Loose Ends’ arc), plus that aforementioned and already highly collectable (Free Comic Book Day) issue #80.5. Transformers: Regeneration One, Volume 1, is out today (23rd Jan), so if you’ve missed out so far or, like all sane collectors (myself included), you want the same thing again, only in one neat bookshelf edition, rush to your local comic book store and grab a copy now! And then scour the shelves for copies of #86 and #87, on the off-chance your comic shop still has them. Because boy, are you going to want to read on…

SCRIPT (W)RAP – TRANSFORMERS RG1 #87

Slightly later than usual, but just in under the wire before its Jan 9th release (though it seems Comixology managed to pre-release the issue last Wednesday!), is my Script (W)rap for Transformers: Regeneration One #87, the second part of the second arc, ‘Natural Selection’. And as usual, I’ll be teasing the contents of the issue (and some of the creative thoughts behind it) so if you’d rather go in with no preconceptions whatsoever, stop reading now. Okay, on with #87. For a start, we’ve a few re-introductions. The issue kicks off with three Autobot Headmasters, back from the dead (after a fashion). But thanks to Scorponok’s personality modifications they’re a little different to how we remember them. As he puts it himself, a little more “motivationally inclined to the mayhem I have in mind.” This whole arc looks deeply at the fundamental nature of Primus’s creations, and kind of poses the question: who came first? Autobot or Decepticon. Which one is the deviation? The aberration? And just what role does Grimlock play in Scorponok’s unfolding plan? It’s going to make him question his fundamental nature and motivations too. The arc also plays into the bigger picture too — as enforcing even anarchic order on the Cybertronian race will pull another big pin out of the whole teetering structure. And while things snowball rapidly out of control on Cybertron, there’s other big stuff unfolding too. Discoveries under the surface of Cybertron, that will draw Hot Rod closer to a destiny he never dreamed of. We have the (full) return of Galvatron… and one other!! And a potentially fateful decision by Optimus Prime. Those who adore the advancement of multiple plotlines in any one issue should welcome this one. It twists and turns like… a twisty, turny thing.

UPDATE – Preview can be viewed here.