The war is almost over for the Transformers. That is, if the title of a new “must-read” miniseries from IDW is to be believed. The publisher has announced the release of Transformers: War’s End, a new four-issue companion series to the franchise’s main comic book title.
IDW has revealed that the series will kick off in February. It hails from writer by Brian Ruckley, who serves as the architect of IDW’s monthly Transformers books. Jack Lawrence (Transformers: Lost Light) is handling the art.
Here’s the synopsis for Transformers: War’s End.
In War’s End, the infamous warlord Exarchon, who single-handedly plunged Cybertron into darkness long ago, has returned and reunited with his former generals, Shockwave and Skywarp. Cyclonus, a warrior haunted by the horrors of that ancient conflict, seeks a glimmer of hope by testing the allegiance of Decepticon leader Megatron, whose own evil machinations have so recently fractured civilization into warring factions!
Ruckley had this to say about it.
“War’s End is about unfinished business: for both the characters and for Cybertron as a whole. It’s the return of Cybertron’s traumatic past to upend its present… and answers the question: If your planet has at its core the collective Spark of your entire civilization, just how vulnerable might that make you? I love the fact that we will get to act this out with some of my favorite characters: Cyclonus, Team Stream, Pyra Magna, Geomotus, and Exarchon. They all get to take center stage, play for the highest of high stakes, and discover their fates and their futures.”
“Up to now, my Transformers work has been post- or pre-war, so with War’s End, I’m excited to contribute to the Cybertronian war itself. This story is, understandably, darker and grittier than what I’ve worked on before, so I’m looking forward to going shadowy and ominous with it. Plus, I get to draw characters I haven’t worked with in a big way – characters I’ve loved for more than 35 years. There aren’t really words for how incredibly exciting that is!” Lawrence said.
Editor David Mariotte added the following.
“Since launching in 2019, all our Transformers universe titles — the ongoing, Galaxies, Escape, Wreckers: Tread & Circuits, the 2021 Annual, the Valentine’s Special, and the Halloween Special — have been the quilted pieces of an epic story, helmed by Brian Ruckley. War’s End and the ongoing series are where those threads weave together, showing the full picture of the Transformers mythos — past, present, and future — that we’ve been building for years.”
This comes at a robust time for the franchise. We have a new show coming to Netflix, as well as another series in the works for Nickelodeon. On the big screen, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is also on the way. The only downside is that the movie was recently pushed back to 2023. Perhaps this new miniseries can help to fill the void.
Transformers: War’s End #1 hits shelves in February.
What do you think? Do you dig the premise for this one? Do you plan on picking up a copy? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!