The Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Volume 1


John Barber - 2012
    The war for Cybertron is over—now the hard part begins! BUMBLEBEE and his fellow AUTOBOTS struggle to maintain control of a world without OPTIMUS PRIME! Bumblebee's provisional government is struggling and Prowl defends it against the DECEPTICONS but how far will he go—and who will chose to stand by his side?

The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, Volume 1


James Roberts - 2012
    The ultimate Transformers saga begins here! This volume reunites the fan-favorite creative team behind Last Stand of the Wreckers and sends the Transformers on an epic quest to the farthest reaches of the Transformers Universe -- and beyond in the three-part story "Lirars, A to D!"Collects issues #1-3 of The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye and the one-shot Death of Optimus Prime.

Transformers Volume 1: For All Mankind


Mike Costa - 2010
    The Earth has been rebuilt, the Autobots are in hiding, and the next great era in the Transformers saga is about to begin! Critically acclaimed writer Mike Costa is joined by superstar artist Don Figueroa for IDW's biggest book of the year -- the launch of the first ongoing Transformers title in five years!

The Transformers: Regeneration One Volume 1


Simon Furman - 2013
    But, after millions of years of bitter civil war, can all ever truly be one?

Cable & Deadpool, Volume 1: If Looks Could Kill


Fabian Nicieza - 2004
    Can two grown men armed to the teeth with deadly genetic weaponry live together without driving each other crazy? Action, adventure, black humor, black-ops, face-changing viruses, gratuitous France-bashing and lots of gunfire mark the return of two of Marvel's fan-favorite anti-heroes.Collecting: Cable/Deadpool 1-6

Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 1: Cosmic Avengers


Brian Michael Bendis - 2013
    There’s a new rule in the galaxy: No one touches Earth! But why has Earth suddenly become the most important planet in the galaxy? That’s what the Guardians of the Galaxy are going to find out! Join Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot and--wait for it--the Invincible Iron Man as they embark upon one of the most explosive and eye-opening chapters of Marvel NOW! The secrets these galactic Avengers discover will rattle Marvel readers for years to come! But while London deals with a brutal invasion by the Badoon, the fate of the Guardians may have already been decided millions of miles away! Why wait for the movie? It all starts here! Collecting: Guardians of the Galaxy 0.1, 1-3; & Guardians of the Galaxy Infinite Comic

Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Vol. 1: Berzerker


Jeff Lemire - 2016
    Logan's closest friend, Hawkeye, will have been murdered in cold blood right before his eyes. And driven mad by the same radiation that gave him his superhuman strength, Bruce Banner will have fathered a family of hillbilly Hulks...that eventually went on to slaughter Logan's wife and two children. But now, in the present, Old Man Logan wakes up to discover himself in a world before these atrocities, before the Wasteland. And he's going to seize this opportunity and change history to ensure that his future never comes to pass...Collecting: Old Man Logan 1-4, Giant-Size

Captain Marvel, Volume 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More


Kelly Sue DeConnick - 2014
    Carol Danvers, comes to a crossroads with a new life and new romance, she makes a dramatic decision that will alter the course of her life - and the entire Marvel Universe - in the months to come. But as Carol takes on a mission to return an alien girl to her homeworld, she lands in the middle of an uprising against the Galactic Alliance! Investigating the forced resettlement of Rocket Girl's people, Carol discovers that she has a history with the man behind the plot. But when the bad guy tries to blackmail Carol and turn the Avengers against her, it's payback time! Guest-starring the Guardians of the Galaxy!COLLECTING: CAPTAIN MARVEL 1-6

Thanos Rising


Jason Aaron - 2013
    Where did this demi-god of death and destruction come from and...more importantly what does he want?

World War Hulk


Greg Pak - 2008
    Now, the Hulk returns to Earth to wreak his terrible vengeance on Iron Man, Reed Richards, Doctor Strange and Black Bolt - and anyone else who gets in the way. Stronger than ever, accompanied by his monstrous Warbound gladiator allies and possessed by the fiercest and purest rage imaginable, the Hulk may just tear this stupid planet in half! Then in AFTERSMASH, heroes and monsters rise and fall as the events of "World War Hulk" reverberate through the blasted ruins of New York City with goliath impact. It's a massive story featuring the Warbound, the Renegades, Heroes for Hire, Iron Man, Tom Foster, and Damage Control.Collects: World War Hulk 1-5, World War Hulk: Aftersmash, Marvel Spotlight: World War Hulk and Planet Hulk Saga.

Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren


Charles Soule - 2020
    But the Skywalker legacy casts a long shadow, the currents of the dark side run deep and Ben has Darth Vader’s blood in his veins. Voices from both his past and future tell him who he must be. He will shatter, he will be reforged and his destiny will be revealed. Snoke awaits. The Knights of Ren await. Ben Solo’s path to his true self begins here.COLLECTING: STAR WARS: THE RISE OF KYLO REN #1-4

Star Wars: Thrawn


Jody Houser - 2018
    Jody Houser and Luke Ross adapt Timothy Zahn’s New York Times best-selling novel about Thrawn’s rise through the Imperial ranks! Meet young Lieutenant Thrawn, who graduated the Imperial Academy with the highest marks possible. He’s been assigned his own personal assistant, Ensign Eli Vanto, and is ascending quickly — but that doesn’t mean everyone in the Imperial Navy wants him to succeed. And Thrawn isn’t the Empire’s only rising star — so is Arihnda Pryce. The two rivals’ paths will cross, and tensions will run high, when they discover a dark secret within the Empire.COLLECTING: STAR WARS: THRAWN #1-6

Transformers


Bob Budiansky - 1985
    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.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 with 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".Most of the issues of Transformers Marvel US were written by two writers. Although the first four issues were written by Jim Salicrup, editor Bob Budiansky was the one who contributed the most to the story, writing the character bios and backgrounds for the Transformers, even giving names to some of them. After the mini-series became an ongoing comic, Budiansky was promoted to constant writer. Except for issue #16 (Plight of the Bumblebee, written by Len Kaminski), issue #43 (The big broadcast of 2006, a Transformers cartoon episode adaptation by Ralph Macchio) and the two-part story Man of Iron (imported from Transformers Marvel UK), Bob wrote all the Transformers comics until issue #55.Most famous story arcs and issues are Warrior's school featuring the introduction of the Dinobots and the first clash between Autobot medic Ratchet and Megatron; Prime Time! when Optimus Prime is finally freed from captivity and battles current Decepticon commander Shockwave; Smelting Pool and The Bridge to Nowhere brought the story back to Cybertron where only a handful of Autobots fight an underground war against Straxus's Decepticons, also introducing Blaster, Budiansky's most-used character who was radically different from his cartoon and Marvel UK version. Afterdeath and Gone but not forgotten saw the deaths (for a while, anyway) of Optimus Prime and Megatron, after which Grimlock took control of the Autobot forces in King of the Hill. Starting at issue #28, Blaster and Goldbug (a rebuilt Bumblebee) defected from the Autobots due to Grimlock tyrannical leadership, which ended with Grimlock and Blaster having a duel in Totaled. The next issue, People Power saw the return of Optimus Prime, as a Powermaster. The "Underbase saga" began in issue #47 and ended in issue #50, Dark Star, where Starscream, absorbing the power of the Underbase, kills most of the active Transformers of the time. (Budiansky admitted in an interview that Hasbro was forcing him to introduce new characters so quickly, he had to do an epic to "make room" for them.) Budiansky's last 5 stories were very mediocre, he himself said that he lost the interest in Transformers, and asked Hasbro to hand over the comics to a new writer.From issue #56, the by then well-known writer of Transformers Marvel UK, Simon Furman took over the reins, having been asked by Marvel US. Furman used the characterisation he used at Marvel UK for the Transformers, and introduced many characters to the US comic who have already appeared in the UK comic. He wrote all the issues until the comic's cancellation at issue #80.Furmnan's most famous story arcs include Back from the Dead, the return of Megatron who kidnaps Ratchet to help him in his revenge against both Autobots and Decepticons; Primal Scream! which introduced Primus and re-told the origin of the Transformer race to the US readers too; the "Matrix Quest" which features the Autobots sending numerous teams to locate the Matrix that was lost when Optimus "died" and his body was shot into space; and the Unicron story arc from #67 to #75, featuring the Transformers' ultimate battle against the Chaos Bringer.Sadly the comic was cancelled shortly after issue #75, so Furman had to "wrap up" the ending. According to some interviews with him, he planned to feature the Neo-Knights and the "demons" inhabiting Cybertron's underground more in the never-written issues

Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 1: Legacy


Dan Abnett - 2008
    Dark gods and monsters are seeping through the cracks, reigning horror upon those still reeling from the recent calamities. In the face of terror, who stands to defend a desperate universe? Star-Lord and his squad of butt-kickers - the modern day Guardians of the Galaxy You've heard that Annihilation: Conquest rocks - the guy at the comic shop keeps telling you to try Nova - well, now's your chance to experience the glory that writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and artist Paul Pelletier can unleash All this...plus a wise-cracking raccoon and a telepathic dog. C'mon, people, time to lock and load.Collecting: Guardians of the Galaxy 1-6

Saga, Book One


Brian K. Vaughan - 2014
    The dialogue is smart, arch and always rings true, and the visuals, rendered digitally, are alluring and inventive. The Stalk, an eight-eyed, eight-limbed female bounty hunter, remains a creepy favorite." -The New York TimesAt long last, a deluxe hardcover of the Hugo Award-winning Saga is finally on its way! Collecting the first three trade paperbacks (issues #1-18) of the smash-hit series, this massive edition features a striking new cover, as well as special extras, including never-before-seen sketches, script pages, and a roundtable discussion with the creators about how Saga is really made. Altogether, this hardcover contains over 500 pages for less than fifty bucks! Written by Eisner Award-winning "Best Writer" Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, The Private Eye) and drawn by Harvey Award-winning "Best Artist" Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, North 40) Saga is the story of Hazel, a child born to star-crossed parents from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war. Now, Hazel's fugitive family must risk everything to find a peaceful future in a harsh universe that values destruction over creation. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in a sexy, subversive drama for adults that Entertainment Weekly called, "The kind of comic you get when truly talented superstar creators are given the freedom to produce their dream book."Collects: Saga #1-18.