Bleedingcool.com has updated their website regarding Free Comic Book Day. They’ve announced the 2012 Gold level of free comic books, that will be available in all participating stores on May 5th, 2012. Among the issues on the list IDW has posted the cover to a prequel book to their upcoming continuation of the older Marvel Comics from Andrew Wildman and Simon Furman. The prequel issue will be #80.5, titled “Regeneration One” and they’ve included an image of the cover for the book.
Click on the link above to view the cover and then speculate away on what might be happening in this prequel book!
UPDATE: Solicitation InfoIDW PUBLISHING
Transformers #80.5
Simon Furman (w); Andrew Wildman (p), Stephen Baskerville (i); Wildman (c)
The wait is over–after a 20-year hiatus, IDW proudly returns to the original TRANSFORMERS comic book universe, picking up right where 1991’s TRANSFORMERS #80 left off! Optimus Prime, Grimlock, Kup, Hot Rod and all your favorite Generation One TRANSFORMERS characters charge into the future as fan-favorite writer Simon Furman and legendary Transformers artist Andrew Wildman present TRANSFORMERS #80.5! Reflecting back on the dizzying highs and the terrifying lows of the original run of Transformers comics, Optimus Prime watches over a Cybertron that hasn’t faced Megatron for decades. But that peace shudders to an end, as we dive headlong into July’s TRANSFORMERS #81!
Because the Fans demanded it! Thousands of TRANSFORMERS fans signed petitions urging us to make this book–and IDW listened!
Infosaur
*ding* glad I'm not the only member of this board old enough to remember VHS!
Foster
Haha, wow. An Ice Pirates reference. Nice!
Soundwinder
Damn, I was hoping for an updated Marvel G1, with better art and maybe some of the sillier elements excised.
But still, could be cool. Curious as to how it'll jive with existing continuity… both the Classics comics and G2 took place after Marvel G1. I imagine it's going to do the same as Classics and pretend G2 didn't exist.
I'm hoping it'll work in G2 characters, possibly the Electro Rods (still pushing for an Electro remold of Sergeant Kup).
Infosaur
"Why'd you make him black?"
"Because I wanted to make him perfect."
Name the movie.
Foster
I hope to see why Sideswipe changed his deco from red to black. Good story potential there.
jamarmiller
"Oh yeah, one last thing – categorically, #81-100 are not a lead in to G2. But neither are we exactly ignoring G2 either. Weird as that sounds, I think/hope it’ll kind of work."
that part is encouraging, If it can all fit, I will be on this book, like white on rice !
Scorpion
That's something that a few of the comic companies did in the past, but that has pretty much stopped. Find a copy of GI Joe 155.5 to get an idea of what you're in for. As far as I know, it was a shorter than normal book, but still a book with new art and story.
also to reiterate…op has the date wrong.. it's MAY 5th…
Magnus’ Mate
I'm right with you… and I've NEVER been cover completionist, but come on… it's the Marvel TF saga. THE definitive Transformers tale. It has to be done!
Only disappointment? Waiting until May…
BB Shockwave
Don't be silly. Furman would stake Chris Ryall through the heart if that happened.
Nice cover! It's kinda small, but in the background I can make out Prowl,Thunderwing, Unicron, Fort Max (damaged from his fight with Galvatron), Grimlock throwing a tantrum, the Ratchet-Megatron fusion, Nightbeat and someone else being awed by some light, Bludgeon, Shockwave and what looks like the Moon.
I still can hardly believe this is happening. We have waited so long… but it was worth it.
Infosaur
Speculate on what's in issue #80.5? Hmm, and it's a "Free" book?
I'm guessing an 11 page summery of the Marvel run with clipped art and some poor intern trying to write in a narative (which will be poorly edited and less acurate than 90% of the TF history available online) followed by 2 pages of Preview art, (some not even inked & colored) a preview of the cover of issue #81, a letter from the editor and 7 pages of adds for Infestation 2!
What do I win if I guessed correctly?
Thundershot
Actually, it was kinda cool back in the day when Quantum & Woody did it. The book went on hiatus for a year and when it returned it picked up with #32 (#17 was the last issue published). They even had #32 as part 3 of a 4 part story… jumping the reader right into it. The next month they went back and did #18 so people could see what led up to that… Alas, the whole company went under before it all saw fruition, but I think it was a cool idea.
Anywho…
Bass X0
Thats not how numbering of issues worked anywhere ever.
It did end. Nobody is pretending that it didn't. Now its back. Your idea would just confuse and annoy people.
1987olds442
I can't wait Oh I don't know if anyone else mentioned this or not "Free Comic Book Day" is always the first Saturday of May each year, it is on May 5th this year.
Thundershot
I guess my point is that if you're going to continue the numbering as if it had never ended, you should also continue the story as if it hadn't ended. If the story is going to jump ahead 20 years, I thought maybe the issue number should reflect never having stopped publication in 20 years. That's all. A LOT can happen in 20 years (consider how much changed in just 6 years) and it could be an entirely different universe than we were familiar with (and loved).
Regardless, I'm in. I just hope there's lots of flashbacks so we don't feel we missed something.
SmokescreenSWE
While it's getting a bit old and not dedicated to any particular storyline, the TF: The Ultimate Guide book by Furman says that Grimlock and co eventually decided to purge the nucleon from their bodies like it was no big deal. He obviously had whatever outline for post-80 issues he had already made in mind there, so I don't think it will be a big problem.
Bass X0
When I read the G2 comics, I'm not seeing whats printed on the page. I'm seeing what I am imagining I would do if I had some artistic talent to redo the G2 comics. Not just recolor them but actually rewrite them. Artwork, characters, characterisation and story. Nothing would be safe from being changed. If the end product is only vaguely similar to the actual G2 comic but I'm happy with it then so be it. Thats what I'm seeing.
Jhiaxus' Decepticons would now resemble the movie Decepticons in aesthetic while the regular Autobots and Decepticons remain a more traditional aesthetic.
but that would be dumb. what happened previously would be told in flashbacks. this isn't an ongoing series, its only going to last until #100.
Cast
I think simon had a lot of plans around its effect not just turning tfs into action masters, I hope we see that played out and then a good reason given for a "cure".
Anguirus
Since when exactly does issue number have anything to do with time passed in a comic book?
Wikkid
I'm hoping they are able to eliminate the actionmaster effects of nucleon in a decent way and make them Transformers again.
stormbringer251
I hope alter-future Galvatron shows up. That plotline was never truly tied up.