We've been provided with official confirmation of Transformers-related items to be shipping via Diamond to comic book stores next Wednesday, February 20th. Available the 20th are.... Classic Transformers Volume 1 Trade Paperback (B&W) - $19.99 Spotlight: Arcee - $3.99 (No incentive cover listed) Spotlight Volume 2 Trade Paperback - $19.99 Also scheduled to ship from Diamond... Megatron Bust - $60.00 Omega Supreme Statue - $199 Thanks to D-Drive for the heads-up! Also, here's a description of Classic Transformers Volume 1 for those who don't recall what this is:
Classic Transformers trades huh. Does this mean they're going to give us trades from the start of the series to end or just present some note worthy story lines?
The latter - apparently, they can't reprint any issues with Marvel-owned characters (and given that that includes Circuit Breaker & Death's Head, that's quite a few - not sure why Titan didn't have that problem...)
Probably connected with Titan having little to do with the US singles direct market. IDW have already reprinted #75 in the Furman hardcover, so either it isn't a blanket prohibition or they're hoping Marvel didn't notice -- different material may be under different agreements (or Hasbro may have weighed in, since the #68-80 Unicron arc is a bit more important to their IP than Circuit Breaker on her lonesome or a promotional appearance of Spider-Man.) http://idwpublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3034 Apparently it is, but the decision would've come after the solicits were submitted and the issues with the ads for it went to the printers. AFAIK, V1 should be roughly #1-16 (with notes/panels elaborating on the material that can't be reprinted) and V2 with a similar amount of content. I don't know what the editing process will have been, but if you find the notes in the first book a bit chatty rest assured that the ones submitted for the second are more straightforward summary. Neither the IDW nor Titan reprints are really a substitute for original issues, as both have gaps. These books'll just be an inexpensive way of reading a decent-sized block of the old stuff for anyone who's curious.
