As Regeneration dawns on the horizon, i am more and more swept up with the idea of reading the original g1 comic run. I eventually came to terms with the difference between the Marvel and UK runs (a little confusing at first, especially since i didnt know that UK issues were a smaller format)

To further complicate things- there is the older IDW reprints (Classic Transformers), and now the new ones (Transformers classics - more expensive with less issues but remastered colors) and also the UK reprints?

I figure Regeneration will not be wholy dependant on having read the original run, but i figure i'll enjoy it more if i do. Is there a substancial difference between the US and UK run (especially in terms of the later issues- ie- the events that exit to Regeneration)? Are all the secondary plots in the UK "side-issues" so engaging that you would recommend them, or are they more like "o, that was cool, not back to the main plot ark" (figuring it will be more expensive for me in Canada to get a hold of the UK reprints as well)

For anyone that had the older US run reprints (classic transformers) and the new ones (transformer classics - god what a confusing name switch up wtf?) - are the remastered colors a selling point (anyone know and comparitive pics anywhere?) - - does the inclusion of Marvel copyright character issues make that much of a difference? (so much so that you end up paying five dollars more for each volume.

Ultimately, i'd like to get them as cheap as possible (so maybe i should hunt the boards rather than ordering from a comic book shop - and in the same vein the older IDW reprints are all out there and available. There is likely someone with volumes 1-6 looking to sell them - and for the record im not a completionist or rolling in money - so buying each collection of reprints is not an option for me.

in some sense im coming to the conclusion that the older reprints will be the way to go for me- but i am still interested in people's opinion in the difference between the US and UK runs, and the difference between Classic Transformers and Transformer Classics?

 

the inclusion of the Marvel characters is fairly important because their place in the story lead to entire issues being dropped from the first reprints. All you'd get is a text summary of what happened in that issue. I suppose that's fine if you only need the gist of things, but if you actually want to sit back and experience the entire run, you wouldn't want to miss an entire issue just because Circuit Breaker showed up for 2 pages.

The other selling point of the new runs (the redone coloring) is hit or miss. They don't redo the entirety of the coloring, just the stuff where it would make events significantly clearer, and sometimes they don't even do it well enough to make that difference. Sometimes they choose to make Soundwave blue (since he was usually purple in the US run) but not always. Frankly it's not the biggest thing to get worked up about.

As for the UK run, while the original authors tried to make it work with US continuity to the best of their ability, it is generally regarded as a separate continuity just to save headaches, and as such it is not "mandatory" for the understanding of Regeneration. However, to answer your "is it super engaging" question, some of the stuff (like Target: 2006) does have such a reputation, and some fans consider the UK stuff in general to be of higher quality (even if the off-model art of the early years is dodgy). Also, James Roberts and IDW put a ton of work into making the UK books high quality, featuring not only the stories, but also extensive trivia, interviews with the original creators, cover art and promotional galleries. It is a very lovingly made piece of work and even if it isn't necessary for Regeneration, I think most fans would recommend it on its own merits

 

They were a larger format. MUCH larger. IDW only reprints the UK material smaller because the page dimensions are different. The UK comics pages were wider, so to fit them on a page the width of a US comic, the UK pages needed to be overly shrunk.

The new Regeneration One series carries on from the US continuity, so I'd recommend catching up on that. The UK continuity told a lot of cool stories that took place in the G1 season 3 era, 20 years in the "future", while the US continuity always remained in the present day. Eventually, things happened in the US series' present that pretty much guaranteed the UK future would never happen. US continuity went in a completely different direction (despite being written by the same guy   ).

If you want to get a good lead up into Regeneration One, I would recommend the 4 Titan compilations of the end of the US series.

-Primal Scream
Transformers, Vol. 11: Primal Scream: Simon Furman, Geoff Senior, Jose Delbo: 9781840234015: Amazon.com: Books

-Matrix Quest
Amazon.com: Transformers, Vol. 12: Matrix Quest (9781840234718): Simon Furman, Geoff Senior, Jose Delbo: Books

-All Fall Down
Amazon.com: Transformers, Vol. 13: All Fall Down (9781840233001): Simon Furman, Andrew Wildman, Stephen Baskerville: Books

-End of the Road
Amazon.com: Transformers, Vol. 14: End of the Road (9781840233728): Simon Furman, Andrew Wildman, Stephen Baskerville, Geoff Senior: Books

As you can see, all of these are available new from amazon sellers for pretty cheap. All cheaper than original retail, and they feature the entire run from the point Furman started writing the US series until the series' end...leading into Furman's Regeneration One.

I'd also recommend these Titan Books volumes because they feature the absolute best reproduction this art has ever received, and they're not missing the amount of material the IDW reprints of the same issues are. The newer IDW reprint series will supposedly restore the missing material, but that reprint series won't reach this material for a long while.