IDW has sent out an SDCC press release detailing a few of their future Transformers books, including more information and clarification on both the upcoming Combiner Wars and Angry Birds series. Specifically, it seems that the Combiner Wars toy tie-in will be an event that spans across both the Robots in Disguise (#39-41) and Windblade Returns (#1-3) series, in a fashion similar to that of the previous toy tie-in event, Dark Cybertron:
Transformers: Combiner WarsA new Transformers event, Transformers: Combiner Wars will start March 2015 from writers Mairghread Scott and John Barber and artists Sarah Stone and Livio Ramondelli. It’s an arms-race of truly titanic proportions as a long-lost ancient artifact allows the Cybertronians to unite into more powerful, gigantic forms. Will Cybertron—or the galaxy—be able to withstand the onslaught? Find out with a prologue and 5 issues, running in TRANSFORMERS #39-41 and the new TRANSFORMERS: WINDBLADE #1-3, which will be packed in with select TRANSFORMERS GENERATIONS toys.
Angry Birds / Transformers
Announced earlier this year, Rovio and Hasbro have teamed up two beloved properties in Angry Birds and The TRANSFORMERS! This fall IDW will bring the mayhem to comics with the brand new series, Angry Birds Transformers, expanding on the unexpected backgrounds of this explosive crossover! Written by The Transformers mastermind, John Barber, with art by Marcelo Ferriera, this crossover will be one for the record books!
Check out the full press release after the break and discuss on the boards! All Eyes On IDW
At Comic-Con International 2014!
New Series, Archival Collections, And Monumental Crossovers Announced
San Diego, CA (July 28, 2014) – The eyes of the world were watching San Diego Comic-Con International 2014 for major announcements and this year IDW Publishing took the stage to reveal an impressive array of projects that are coming soon! Behold, the cure for the post-convention blues is here:
Star Trek / Planet of the Apes
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to “mind-meld” with a sentient ape? Or wanted to see a Klingon on horseback, brandishing a rifle? Readers will soon have a chance to peek into just such an alternate future, as IDW Publishing partners with BOOM! Studios for the crossover event of the year: Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive. The creative team will be a mix of proven experience and new blood with scripts by beloved Star Trek scribes Scott and David Tipton (Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2) and interior art and covers by the British newcomer Rachael Stott.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Ghostbusters
The crossover of the year comes to IDW when two of the most legendary teams come face-to-face in the new mini-series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ghostbusters! Written by top IDW talent, Tom Waltz, and Erik Burnham, the series will feel right at home with art by Dan Schoening.
Orphan Black
The acclaimed sci-fi series assumes a new identity in the form of a comic-book series from IDW Publishing. This will not be a clone of the show but will feature some all-new stories set in the complex and thrilling world of Orphan Black, which IDW will be working closely with the show’s producers to expand. The full creative teams and series details will be announced soon, with the first comic-book series launching in early 2015.
Garbage Pail Kids
Topps’ Garbage Pail Kids, the 1980s sensation, will have readers squirming with delight this winter as the obscene adolescents star in a brand-new comic-book series from IDW Publishing. With the likes of Adam Bomb, Leaky Lindsay, and New Wave Dave populating the Garbage Pail Kids universe, the delightfully deformed and often downright disgusting Kids are set to make their mark on the world of comics, just in time for their 30th Anniversary in 2015!
Edward Scissorhands
Just in time for Halloween, IDW Publishing and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products are proud to announce the first in a number of new projects together, with the first ever Edward Scissorhands comic book series. The long overdue all-new adventures begin in October, with New York Times best-selling author Kate Leth (Adventure Time) on writing duties and Drew Rausch (Haunted Mansion) lending his delightfully spooky style to the interior art. Rounding out the creative team will be acclaimed Locke & Key artist Gabriel Rodriguez, who will provide a stunning and suitably creepy cover for the debut issue.
Corto Maltese
The complete Corto Maltese will published in English for the first time! EuroComics, a new imprint edited by Dean Mullaney, worked closely with Patrizia Zanotti, Pratt’s long-time collaborator, to present the complete Corto Maltese in a series of twelve quality trade paperbacks in Pratt’s original oversized black and white format. They will also feature new translations from Pratt’s original Italian scripts by Simone Castaldi, Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Hofstra.
Eric Powell’s The Goon Artist Edition
Special Projects Director, Scott Dunbier revealed the fan-favorite, cult series, The Goon by Eric Powell is next in line to receive the acclaimed Artist’s Edition treatment! Collecting the series “Chinatown,” The Goon Artist’s Edition will pummel its way into comic shops in 2015.
Shadow Show
IDW announced a 5-issue series of comic-book adaptations of the prose anthology Shadow Show, a tribute to the work of the incomparable Ray Bradbury. Shadow Show #1 starts with the haunting and melancholy “By The Silver Water of Lake Champlain,” written by Joe Hill (Locke & Key) and adapted by Jason Ciaramella (The Cape) with art by Charles Paul Wilson III (Wraith) and a gorgeous cover by Locke & Key co-creator Gabriel Rodriquez. Issue 2 will see Neil Gaiman’s “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury,” brought to life with artist Maria Fröhlich, and artist Eddie Campbell will tackle Audrey Niffenegger’s “Backward In Seville.” Other Shadow Show stories to be included are Harlan Ellison’s “Weariness,” Dave Eggers’ “Who Knocks?” and Alice Hoffman’s “Conjure” with accompanying artists to be announced.
Angry Birds / Transformers
Announced earlier this year, Rovio and Hasbro have teamed up two beloved properties in Angry Birds and The TRANSFORMERS! This fall IDW will bring the mayhem to comics with the brand new series, Angry Birds Transformers, expanding on the unexpected backgrounds of this explosive crossover! Written by The Transformers mastermind, John Barber, with art by Marcelo Ferriera, this crossover will be one for the record books!
Transformers: Combiner Wars
A new Transformers event, Transformers: Combiner Wars will start March 2015 from writers Mairghread Scott and John Barber and artists Sarah Stone and Livio Ramondelli. It’s an arms-race of truly titanic proportions as a long-lost ancient artifact allows the Cybertronians to unite into more powerful, gigantic forms. Will Cybertron—or the galaxy—be able to withstand the onslaught? Find out with a prologue and 5 issues, running in TRANSFORMERS #39-41 and the new TRANSFORMERS: WINDBLADE #1-3, which will be packed in with select TRANSFORMERS GENERATIONS toys.
Galaxy Quest
The adventures of the NSEA Protector continue at IDW with an all-new Galaxy Quest series set after the film. Written by Erik Burnham, with art by Nacho Arranz the new series will be available in early 2015!
Dungeons & Dragons
A new Dungeons & Dragons series, Legends of Baldur’s Gate, sets off for adventure this October; led by fan-favorite writer Jim Zub. With art by Max Dunbar and covers by Sarah Stone, this will be a series of legendary proportions!
Lion Forge
IDW announced that it would be joining forces with Lion Forge Comics to bring the hit digital comics line to print, starting later this year!
Comics Experience
Spearheaded by former IDW Editor Andy Schmidt, Comics Experience is the premier destination for aspiring comic creators to learn the in’s and out’s of the trade. Starting later this year, IDW will bring these up-and-coming talents to the forefront of the comics world by bringing them to print!
Joe Frankenstein
Joe Frankenstein is a 2015 action/horror/adventure tale from Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan (co-creators of Batman villain, Bane) telling the story of young Joe Pratt, who discovers upon meeting the monster of his ancestor, that he is the heir to the Frankenstein name. A legacy that may get him killed if the creatures of the night have their way.
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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, G.I. JOE and MY LITTLE PONY; Paramount’s Star Trek; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; 2000AD’s Judge Dredd; The Rocketeer; Toho’s Godzilla; Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons; V-Wars from New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Maberry; Ragnarök from Eisner Award-winner Walter Simonson; Winterworld, created by Chuck Dixon and Jorge Zaffino; and Little Nemo from the award-winning duo of Eric Shanower and Gabriel Rodriguez. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints, Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio, and the multiple award-winning Artist’s Edition imprint.
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; Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Warner Brothers are producing a film based on Ashley Wood’s Lore; Michael Bay‘s Platinum Dunes and Sony are bringing Zombies vs. Robots to film, Kurtzman/Orci are producing a movie based on Locke & Key at Universal.
Molini
And fit creatively is certainly subjective. It is my opinion that the dark Cybertron event was a bad storyline. I didn't enjoy it, although it did more than just work certain characters Hasbro wanted to sell toys off of into the story "creatively", in that it also served to set up Megatron's new status quo in MTMTE.
I also don't know how good sales of FOC Bruticus were despite the fan hate for how poorly executed he was. I've been too heavily involved in 3rd Party bliss to know if Hasbro found that they struck gold with the combiner concept again in terms of consumer demand. That they are using a Voyager as the torso unit this time suggests they've at least listened to many of the complaints in FOC Bruticus. So I won't put it past Hasbro that they are definitely seeing a more likely purchase of their combiners if they are part of a popular ongoing fiction. Sounds more like piggybacking than dictating to me at this point, but its speculative for sure.
LegendAntihero
I'm excited for the Comibiner Wars comic but less excited for the combiners we'll get
iconscons
Well, ok, fair enough. I just don't think the spirit of the question asked was really "does hasbro actually write the stories/plot/dialogue. Maybe I'm wrong in my belief that no one would actually think that. I mean, combiner wars is the toy theme for the year, and combiner wars is the story arc as said by IDW. I guess we're just arguing shades of gray which is difficult.
Maybe I would have preferred the "some guidance" bit, and they left it at that. Instead 5% of the paragraph (2 words) was admitting hasbro influence, and the entire rest of the paragraph trying to spin it. And the characters "only if they fit creatively…." Good for them that 100% of all characters that got deluxes last year just happen to "fit creatively."
Molini
People seriously have taken this statement out of context:
They basically answered yes to the first part of the question this answer derived from. They admitted to receiving "guidance" (likely on characters to use), however, they (Hasbro) aren't responsible for the quality of the story. That's where IDW is telling the truth. If Hasbro says, "hey, can you try to work combiners as a theme for a few issues, and we want to target X-date", I don't see a problem with that. I also don't see a problem if Hasbro and IDW collab for specific events they want to bring to fans who collect figures, so long as the stories are strong.
Marvel and DC do this crap all the time with their own creative teams. Hell part of the main reason Steve Rogers didn't stay dead and came back and took the mantle back from my beloved Bucky Cap was because the first Captain America movie was coming out soon at the time.
Kieron Gillen is a great writer, but even he admitted that when he took over Iron Man he got dealt a sour hand of major Marvel icon constraints. With Iron Man riding an RDJ high with the movies and IM3 seeing an imminent release in theaters, he was forced to work a story using Extremis. Then he got asked to find a way to severely change Iron Man's status quo. I didn't like those stories as a result, even though I like that writer, but the truth was, they were his stories about something they asked him to write about.
Same with Hasbro. They can guide the direction with respect to hey include this or that character, but ultimately, the writer is either skilled enough to make it work, or not.
IDW didn't lie. They said the stories are purely the creative teams' responsibility and not top down. Hasbro is not telling them, here's the story outline and it needs to play out like this with so and so living or dying. They just say, hey for a future story use such and such character somehow. And they likely said they received "some guidance" and not complete guidance because IDW may already be using characters in ongoing stories that they already intended on making toys out of on some occasions.
Not saying we have to like the story as a result, only that IDW is being honest with their response.
They likely had this in the works for a few years to ensure a proper set-up. Although it wouldn't be farfetched to think IDW wasn't planning this Combiner Wars event either. They already suggested that Megatron could have combined into Devastator. Now this theme suggests all Cybertronians can now combine. Hasbro could just have finally bought in on the idea for toys much the same way High Moon Studios had the arduous task of proving the Dinobots could be used creatively and make sense in the mythology when Hasbro specifically said they didn't want them used originally because they no longer fit in.
Massasoit
Predacons, yes. Predaking, no. See below.
iconscons
It's not Hasbro dictating the stuff. It's the fact that IDW directly states that Hasbro doesn't that bothers me.
When someone in a panel says that which is obviously 100% B.S. I take offense to it. I know that's me but there it is. It's like false advertising.
Underwear
Btw I'm just curious as I've not been up to date on IDW recent continuity but have Predaking make an appearance in IDW TF universe yet?
O.Supreme
As a fan of combining transformers (Gestalts) from the very beginning, i love the idea. I always wanted to see something dedicated to them whether it be in animation or comics. It is because of the "problems" with combining technology, that very few of them have appeared in IDW so far.
Devastator, Superion, Menasor, & Monstructor are the only ones I am aware of. Can't wait to see the rest.
Underwear
Alright I'm definitely Iooking forward to this!
Well at the end of the day, Hasbro is still the owner of the brand..
Galaxy Convoy
Agreed. Hell, if it wasn't for Hasbro working with IDW, we probably wouldn't have gotten most of the Gen. Deluxes that we have so far in the last year.
Negativedark
Honestly if they'd cared about TM2 Dinobot coming, I don't think they'd have killed the original in the first place.
If it ties into RID, it makes some sense. I mean if Prowlstator causes too much trouble for them, Galvatron and Soundwave would probably try to get their own combiner to deal with it.
General Tekno
Well said; the Predacons didn't really feel that forced on S3 of Prime.
Hell, I notice nobody calls foul on Beast Wars for selling toys. I imagine half the reason we got Code of Hero was "we have a new Dinobot toy coming next year."
Grimwing
I'm not ready to cry foul on Hasbro mandateing the IDW universe.
Even the generations partnership in dark cybertron really only amounted to cameos and the metrotitans.
At very least hasbro is not micro manageing it, the writers just have toys at their discretion to make use of.
Kind of like how the those behind the Prime Beast hunters season had to get predacons and predaking in there but it was not as overt as the toy line fiction took them; But for the most part they just did what they wanted to tie up some season 2 story threads and dial up some character conflicts.
Omegax80
When does that ever stop anything. It's comics!
Uh… wha? Comics have been part of the medium to sell toys since the eighties, probably even earlier. Read some Marvel comics from the 80's and look at the advertisements…
Lost Light characters probably won't get the combiner treatment.
Here is the thing, we already have Prowlstator, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Swindle already appropriated "combiner" technology and experimented on the Stunticons? There must be a reason they were chosen for this.
Negativedark
Railspike was also on the Lost Light. So hey, maybe JRX/Rail Racer? He had the most unified combined mode ever in my opinion.
Dista
Not a huge fan of Stone's artwork (it's very pretty, but perhaps too light in tone for the material, at least to me), although I can follow it no problem.
That's my issue with Ramondelli. Great for covers, but not for interiors. The storytelling isn't clear – he has this tendency to frame EVERYTHING in close-up / medium, so even when we're dealing with vast scenes, there's never a sense of scale because there's never more than a few shapes in the panel that have any definition. Compare a crowd scene in his work with any other TF book and it's noticeable. Physical placement also disappears when you show everything so close – it lacks context, and it's style over narrative clarity, which I don't think is appropriate for a fairly conventional TF book.
FigNewton
It's pretty in its own right but the style is so completely dissonant with the rest of the books that I feel like I'm reading something completely unrelated.
Blitz.
On the subject of toys and comics. Of course its a way of selling whats new and I'd call BS if they say otherwise. I'm not going to go as far as saying some PR guy at Hasbro says characters XY and Z need a feature but I'd be willing to say many characters have been put on the back burner if Hasbro had a toy in development so that both the toy and comic appearance coincide as an event. Also Hasbro own the rights to whats now a multi-million $ property and I'd be shocked if they didnt oversee every detail.
As for Ramondelli's art I enjoy his colours but some of the line work does seem a bit patchy. I'd be willing to say he has his fans but from a business view I'm thinking he's really good at turn over and probably cheaper then some others on IDW's books. But that's just a theory
soundwaverulls
An ancient artifact? If this is what caused Superion, it could be a decent expansion of something already set up. If it's not connected, this will seriously come off as Hasbro forcing themselves into these comics to sell toys through TFP level lazy writing.
Trek
I'm not so sure (see below).
I was about to post this. This looks to me as setup for MTMTE to be involved, especially as it does specify which transformer series is involved.
How many Seacons are left too? Is it just Nautilator who was killed?