The mad genius of a Brit gives us but a glimpse in the soon-to-be-relaunched comic series – plus we have the first cover!
Anybody that keeps half an eye on The RealmCast knows that I’m the resident Transformers nerd. And anybody who’s been keeping a close eye has heard me gush over next year’s IDW relaunch of the original 80s Marvel continuity of Transformers comics, announced at Comic-Con this summer. The return of Simon Furman – hands-down the greatest scribe to ever put words into the mouths of robots - is not only a good thing for Transformers fans, but fans of comics in general.
A couple days ago, the first issue in the series was announced – a special issue for May’s Free Comic Book Day, which will act as a prologue of sorts for the ongoing series, which will begin with #81 (the original 80s run ended at #80). The series is subtitled Regeneration One, and this free issue will be numbered #80.5. Here’s the cover:
On his blog today, Furman gave fans an idea of what to expect from the free issue, and in the series as it unfolds. Rest assured, he’s not giving anything too juicy away, but it’s enough to whet our collective appetite. Of course, as you probably know, incomparable artist (and frequent Furman collaborator) Andrew Wildman is joining in on the fun, and none other than Stephen Baskerville is also coming along for the ride. Be sure to read the entire blog post, but if you’re too lazy to click a link, here’s the digest version of Furman’s post:
*#80.5 will serve to catch up the old fans on what happened leading up to the original run’s end, but also serves as a fresh start to help newcomers get in on the fun.
*In preparation for this work, Furman went back to re-read all 80 original issues, plus all the miniseries. He made notes, and promises many references and loose storylines tied up.
*The story (which will climax at #100) will not lead directly into the twelve issue Generation 2 book of the early 90s, but it will acknowledge those events.
*Bombshells are promised.
Why can’t it be May now?!? Stupid linear time.
