The Transformers (Marvel comic)
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The Transformers was an 80 issue comic book by Marvel Comics telling the story of the Transformers. Originally scheduled to run 4 issues, it spawned a mythology that would inform other versions of the saga. It also had a UK sister title that spliced in original stories into the continuity, running for over 300 issues.
[edit] US title
There were several main story arcs that ran through the Marvel comics.
Issues # 1-4 - The Autobots and Decepticons land on Earth via the Ark, paralleling the cartoon. The Autobots are reformatted by the Ark to resemble cars and trucks; the Decepticons take the form of jets, weapons or in the case of Soundwave, a cassette deck with tapes.
The Decepticons wreak havoc, steal energy and build a fortress. The Autobots, seen here as very weak underdogs, unsuited for war, fight valiantly to stop their foes.
Ultimately, it's the humans that the Autobots befriend that save the day. Buster Witwicky's dad, captured by the Decepticons to formulate a fuel for them, secretly poisons his captors and later escapes thanks to the superhero Spider-Man.
In the final battle, five Autobots take on the entire Decepticon army. On the cusp of defeat, the tainted fuel concocted by Mr. Witwicky kicks in and the Decepticons fall.
The Autobots don't even have time to celebrate, however, as the 4-part mini-series ends with Shockwave making an appearance, blowing the remaining Autobots to pieces. This cliffhanger led directly into the monthly Marvel run, which began 3 months after the miniseries ended. (Issue #4 had a cover date of Mar. 1985; issue #5 had a date of June.)
Starting with issue 5, The Transformers had more drastic changes. Before reaching its 30th issue, both Optimus Prime and Megatron had been killed off to make way for newer characters.
Starting in issue 35 (cover-dated December, 1987), the events became less Earth-centric, as the Transformers repaired their spacecraft and were able to revisit their homeworld Cybertron and other planets. This aspect was particularly prominent in the Matrix Quest sub-plot.
In issue 75 (cover-dated February, 1991), the Autobots and Decepticons had united under one banner after Autobot commander Optimus Prime surrendered to Scorponok, in order to end their civil war. United, they finally faced their ancient nemesis: Unicron. The Transformers won, but with heavy losses, including the deaths of Scorponok and Optimus Prime (again). Peace between the two Transformers factions was shortlived after Unicron's death. Bludgeon, the new Decepticon leader, tried to strand the Autobots on Cybertron, which was apparently destroying itself. His plan failed and the final confrontation between the two factions played out, with the Autobots lead again by Grimlock. Optimus Prime is united with Hi-Q (his Powermaster) and given life by The Last Autobot. He returns to battle to save the Autobots and then exiles the Decepticons forever (until Transformers: Generation 2). After the battle for Unicron, the comic ran for only five issues before being cancelled. The final issue had the mini series banner above the title; "#80 IN A FOUR ISSUE LIMITED SERIES".
[edit] UK title
The U.K. version of the original Transformers comics was produced by Marvel UK (Marvel Comics's semi-independent UK imprint). It began as a simple reprint book with a single US story split across two or more UK issues, but differences in production schedules meant that additional locally sourced material was need to pad around the U.S. material. Over 160 new stories not included in the U.S. comic were produced for the UK market. They introduced characters such as Emirate Xaaron and operated an expanded continuity parallel to main U.S. franchise. Classic storylines included Galvatron time-travelling in Target: 2006 and the introduction of the Transformer God, Primus.
Initially, the UK exclusive stories were heavily tied into U.S. continuity and were not able to develop the characters. However, the release of the Transformers animated movie introduced a new generation of future characters (Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, Galvatron, etc.) who were generally ignored by the U.S. title and could be developed by the UK title without contradicting the U.S. reprints.
The principal writer of the UK material was Simon Furman. Many of his longer stories took a more epic approach to the Transformers than the U.S. title. The UK comic extensively developed the backstory world of the Transformers. Furman's epic semi-mythical and at times more sophisticated approach to the material had a significant impact on future Transformer imprints. His success on the title was such that he succeeded Bob Budiansky as writer of the U.S. counterpart and has been associated with the succession of Transformers comic franchises, such as Dreamwave and IDW.
[edit] Other titles
There were two 4 issue mini-series, G.I. Joe and the Transformers, and The Transformers: Headmasters, part of the story of the main title. The G.I. Joe comic would also introduce the 12 issue follow up, Transformers: Generation 2.
