Sorry if this has been asked already (and probably more than once...), but I haven't read any of the main IDW line of comics. I've read Regeneration vol 1 and 2 (which I liked, and want to finish), and For All Mankind vol 1. But where does the story line actually start? Is it with the 'Ongoing' series? Also, didn't IDW publish some larger volumes that have Infiltration, Ongoing, etc., all together? Keep in mind that I'm not too privy to all the tributaries associated with the IDW TF library, so forgive me if I have some names mixed up. Thanks in advance
Regeneration One is a continuation of the old 80 issue Marvel comics, sort of an alternative sequel that ignores the other Marvel stories from the UK or Generation 2. If you want the stories that take place before RG1, pick up IDW's classic reprints. For All Mankind takes place in a different continuity which we often refer to as IDWverse. It's the first volume of what we refer to as the third IDW era/Costa era. I'll post my personal reading order right now. It's in order of when the stories were released: 1. Furmanation era: Infiltration, Stormbringer, Spotlight V1, Escalation, New Avengers/Transformers (That one isn't really needed though), Spotlight V2, Megatron Origin, Devastation, Spotlight V3, Revelation, Maximum Dinobots 2. All Hail Megatron era: All Hail Megatron V1-4 3. Costa era: TF V1, Bumblebee mini, Last Stand of the Wreckers, Drift mini, Spotlight Prowl, Infestation, TF V2-3, Ironhide mini, TF V4-7 0. Autocracy Trilogy: Autocracy, Monstrosity, Primacy 4. MTMTE & RID season 1: MTMTE V1-5, RID V1-5, Dark Prelude, Dark Cybertron 4. Season 2: MTMTE V6-8, Drift: Empire of Stone, MTMTE V9-10, RID V6, Windblade V1, RID V7, Punishment, Combiner Wars, and things may get confusing for you here where RID V8, Combiner Hunters, Windblade V2, Redemption and Sins of the Wreckers take place inbetween certain issues before concluding with RID V9-10, Titans Return, Til All Are One and Revolution. 5: Season 3: Lost Light and Optimus Prime. It's probably not the preferred order but it was the easiest one for me to navigate though.
In addition, in both 2009 and 2012 IDW tried to make the series more "new-reader-friendly" so it is a little easier to jump in there if you don't want to start all the way back in Infiltration, which came out in 2006. So For All Mankind is the beginning of the 2009 "soft reboot." More Than Meets The Eye vol. 1 and Robots In Disguise vol. 1 are the beginning of the 2012 "soft reboot."
Thank you, both of you. This helps alot. Navagating the IDW map is almost as daunting to me as the Gundam universe.
I started late as well, but I got caught up. I'd recommend getting Transformers: The IDW Collection vol 1 through 8 and all the volumes of Transformers: The IDW Collection Phase Two. These are the nice hardcover collections that include EVERYTHING with the exception of a recap comic and some prose stories. They might seem expensive, but they cost a bit less off of Amazon than buying all of the paperback trades would have. There is also an IDW collection for G.I. Joe which is now set in the same universe, but it is nowhere near required reading. I'd recommend getting the hardcover of The Last Stand of the Wreckers to get the prose stories that The IDW Collections skip over. If you want to get caught up with the current issues being released, I'd peruse the TFWiki page for IDW that lists all the series in release order, and either getting those issues in paperback or off of Comixology. If those options are too expensive for you, IDW has a lot of sales through Comixology if you don't mind digital comics. They have also done a few really good deals as Humble Bundles, but there is no guarantee if those deals are going to show up again.
This topic comes up a lot, and my advice is always the same. Start with Chaos Theory, read Chaos, Death of Optimus Prime, and then read the 'Robots in Disguise' and 'More Than Meets the Eye' ongoings (and what those ongoings later turned into). Done.
Start with the 2009 series and Last Stand of the Wreckers. Costa's run wasn't great, but there's too much context to ignore.
Almost the entire series is ignorable. Nothing prior to Chaos Theory is the slightest bit necessary for someone to understand the RiD/MTMtE status Quo. Instead of reading the Costa ongoing, spend 3 minutes reading the wiki summary and save yourself hours of pain. Don't be a glutton for punishment.
Use this reading order with Death of Optimus Prime before reading mtmte 1 and RID 1; and The Transformers: Drift before mtmte 1; "Spotlight: Kup", " All Hail Megatron " 15a and "Spotlight: Drift" before LSotW; Also add and "Autocracy", "Primacy", "Monstrosity" and "The Transformers: Megatron Origin" sometime before mtmte 28.
if you want everything the IDW Collection Hardbacks, are your best bet really, as well as likely the cheapest, and easiest to navigate - Phase 1 Volumes, 1 - 8 Phase 2, Volumes 1 - 4 (currently) You wont have to worry about what goes where, when to read something and when to switch etc. I would say the wait between volumes is about 6 months + at the moment, and about 2-3 years behind current events. they also look fantastic on the shelf
