Amusingly enough, I found a reading order for the entire IDW G1 run at The Transformers (IDW Publishing) - Wikipedia . Yes, you read that right, Wikipedia (of all places).

So, if I want to stick ROM and a few of the other GOOD non-Transformer properties from the Hasbroverse into this massive reading list, where would they go?

And for those too lazy to goto Wikipedia, here's the reading list:

1–4. Megatron Origin #1–4
5. Spotlight – Orion Pax
6. Spotlight – Blurr
7–18. Autocracy #1–12
19–22. Monstrosity #1–4
23–26. Primacy #1–4
27. Spotlight – Thundercracker
28. Spotlight – Shockwave
29. Spotlight – Cliffjumper
30. Spotlight – Wheelie
31. Spotlight – Hot Rod
32. Spotlight – Sixshot
33–37. ROM vs Transformers – Shining Armor #1–5
38–41. Hearts of Steel #1–4
42–43. Infestation 2 #1–2 (Transformers series)
44. Spotlight – Soundwave
45. Spotlight – Ultra Magnus
46–49. Infiltration #0–3
50–52. Stormbringer #1–3
53–54. Infiltration #4–5
55. Stormbringer #4
56. Infiltration #6
57. Spotlight – Kup
58–61. New Avengers/Transformers #1–4
62–63. Escalation #1–2
64. Spotlight – Nightbeat
65–68. Escalation #3–6
69. Spotlight – Ramjet
70. Spotlight – Galvatron
71. Spotlight – Optimus Prime
72–75. Devastation #1–4
76. Spotlight – Blaster
77. Spotlight – Arcee
78–79. Devastation #5–6
80. Spotlight – Mirage
81. Spotlight – Grimlock
82–85. Revelation #1–4 (contains Spotlights on Cyclonus, Hardhead, Doubledealer & Sideswipe)
86–90. Maximum Dinobots #1–5
91. Spotlight – Drift
92. All Hail Megatron #15
93. Spotlight – Metroplex
94. Spotlight – Jazz
95–109. All Hail Megatron #1–14 & 16
110. Continuum
111. Spotlight – Prowl
112. Last Stand of the Wreckers #1
113. Transformers #1
114–115. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2–3
116. Transformers #2
117. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4
118–119. Transformers #3–4
120–123. Bumblebee #1–4
124–125. Transformers #5–6
126. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5
127–130. Ironhide #1–4
131–134. Drift #1–4
135–136. Heart of Darkness #1–2
137–138. Infestation #1–2 (Transformers series)
139–145. Transformers #7–13
146. Spotlight – Megatron
147–153. Transformers #14–20
154–155. Heart of Darkness #3–4
156–164. Transformers #21–29
165. Spotlight – Bumblebee
166–167. Transformers #30–31
168. Transformers: Death of Optimus Prime
169–171. More Than Meets the Eye #1–3
172–176. Robots in Disguise #1–5
177–178. More Than Meets the Eye #4–5
179. Spotlight – Trailcutter
180. Spotlight – Hoist
181–183. More Than Meets the Eye #6–8
184–187. Robots in Disguise #6–9
188–191. More Than Meets the Eye Annual, #9-11
192–199. Robots in Disguise #10, Annual, #11–16
200–210. More Than Meets the Eye #12–22
211–216. Robots in Disguise #17–22
217–228. Dark Cybertron #1–12 (contains Dark Cybertron #1, More Than Meets the Eye #23–27, Robots in Disguise #23–27 & Dark Cybertron Finale)
229–234. More Than Meets the Eye #28–33
235–239. Robots in Disguise #28–32
240–243. Windblade #1–4
244–248. More Than Meets the Eye #34–38
249–250. Robots in Disguise #33–34
251–254. Transformers #35–38
255–256. More Than Meets the Eye #39–40
257–260. Drift – Empire of Stone #1–4
261. Punishment
262–265. More Than Meets the Eye #41–44
266–271. Combiner Wars (contains Transformers #39–41 & Windblade Vol.2 #1–3)
272–273. Transformers #42–43
274. Combiner Hunters
275. Transformers #44
276–279. Windblade Vol.2 #4–7
280–284. Sins of the Wreckers #1–5
285–289. More Than Meets the Eye #45–49
290. Transformers #45
291. Holiday Special
292. Redemption
293–302. Transformers #46–55
303–308. More Than Meets the Eye #50–55
309–312. Till All Are One #1–4
313–317. Titans Return (contains Titans Return #1, Transformers #56–57 & More Than Meets the Eye #56–57)
318–331. Revolution (contains Prelude, M.A.S.K., ROM, Till All Are One, #1–2, Micronauts, #3, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Action Man, #4, More Than Meets the Eye, & #5)
332–335. Till All Are One #5–8
336–341. Optimus Prime #1–6
342–347. Lost Light #1–6
348–351. Revolutionaries #1–4
352–353. Optimus Prime #7–8
354. Transformers Annual
355–356. Optimus Prime #9–10
357. Spotlight – Salvation
358–361. Till All Are One #9–12
362–367. Lost Light #7–12
368–371. Revolutionaries #5–8
372–384. First Strike (contains #0–1; Optimus Prime; #2–6; Transformers; Micronauts; ROM; G.I. Joe; M.A.S.K.)
385–388. Optimus Prime #11–14
389. Till All Are One Annual
390. Optimus Prime Annual
391–395. Transformers vs Visionaries #1–5
396. Requiem of the Wreckers
397–399. Lost Light #13–15
400–406. Optimus Prime #15–21
407–416. Lost Light #16–25 (#25 unpublished)
417. Unicron #0
418. Optimus Prime #22
419–422. Unicron #1–4
423–424. Optimus Prime #23–24
425–426. Unicron #5–6 (#6 unpublished)
427. Optimus Prime #25 (unpublished)

 

I would honestly not recommend reading in chronological order. I’d go by publication order.

 

If you ask me, I'd recommend to tear apart several issues of Optimus Prime and Unicron then glue them back page by page to have a chronological order.

 

Yeah, chronological order is such a bad idea. Telling a new reader to get into IDW Transformers by starting with Megatron Origin and the -acies is the best way to get them to give up and lose interest really, really quickly.

 

This is a better order:

 

Having already read everything in the list once (some things more than that), I find it an interesting look into the mythos.

I think I'm going to stick that in my archive =D

 

Looking at GI Joe on that chart really highlights what an unholy mess they turned that franchise into.

A decent start but pretty quickly devolved into constant relaunches/renumbering, a hugely muddled reading order, compounded by one of the worst jobs of collecting into tpb I've ever seen from any publisher. It's almost impossible to follow in tpb, with huge chunks of double-dipping, issues missing for no reason in the middle of a volume, stories printed out of order and every other mistake anyone could have possibly made. What a clusterfreak.

 

Yes for publication order, but without splitting stories. The list quoted below is very good. However, I'd group up phase 2 and 3 even more:

• Switch MTME 1->3 to MTME 1->22
• Switch MTME 28->33 to MTME 28->55
• Switch LL 1->6 to LL 1->25
• Switch Till All Are One 1->4 to Till All Are One 1->12+Annual
• Put all three Wreckers together
• Put all three Redemption together

This in turn will cause RID/Transformers/Optimus Prime to clump up more too.

Ok, you might get some minor spoilers along the way, but it'll read better.

Make sure you get through the Revolution Heroes before starting on any MASK, Rom, Micronauts, GI Joe, Action Man. They gave me enough information to realise non of them were for me. Actually, I read GI Joe Vol 5, some Rom, some Micronauts and wished I hadn't.

 

Now I wish PotP Abominus had a little optional sixth member named "Clusterfreak".

 

now we know LL#25 is the end of IDW G1

 

Looking at the Hasbro Universe Season 2 section, having not read the individual issues yet how much intersection is there between Unicron, Lost Light v4, and Optimus Prime v5? Are later issues in one volume going to spoil another volume so I should jump between them, or can I pretty safely read them one after another? I expect Lost Light to be mostly self-contained, but I feel like there'd probably be a fair bit of crossover between Unicron and Optimus Prime.

 

Lost Light is self-contained from the rest of the Hasbroverse but the final issue has a jump to the future which some people complain spoiled the end of Unicron.

Like Optimus Prime v3 and First Strike, the Optimus Prime v5 takes place both concurrently with and after Unicron and is meant to be read as a side-story or coda. I think. Some people think they would be better stitched together.

 

So it sounds like it's probably best to read Unicron first, then Optimus Prime and Lost Light?

 

It's a reasonable *re* read order, but not necessarily a read order.

 

I’m almost at the end, do people who’ve already finished think I should read:

unicron 0-6
Optimus Prime 23-25

OR:
unicron 0-4
Optimus prime 22-24
unicron 5-6
optimus prime 25


Also, Lost Light 25 after everything else?

 

Unicron #0
Optimus Prime #22
Unicron #1
Unicron #2
Unicron #3
Optimus Prime #23
Unicron #4
Optimus Prime #24
Unicron #5
Unicron #6
Optimus Prime #25

 

Thanks you guys! I actually got impatient and basically did the second order last night

 

Well things still make sense?

 

*Me looking at the reading order*

What is this witchcraft?!

 

Considering that publication order means you’re reading things as they are written, it will make far more sense than chronological order, which sees retcons/revelations that happen later already spoiled for you.