40 years ago today, May 8, 1984, the first piece of Transformers media - Marvel Comics' The Transformers #1 - was released. Although the cartoon would prove the more impactful of the two in the public consciousness, the comic was integral to the formation of the franchise as we know it today (we should probably all be glad that Marvel Productions' initial treatment was shot down!) Bob Budiansky developed most of the characters and background for the beginning of the franchise, and as editor, his work helped make the comic popular enough to graduate from a 4-issue limited series into an ongoing, eventually lasting 80 issues until 1991, four years after the cartoon had finished. And while it was short lived, the comic was revived for a brand-new 12-issue run for Generation 2, while the cartoon would only get reruns with Cybernet Space Cube window dressing.
I have a fond nostalgia for the comics, though, full disclosure, I was a 90's kid who first got into Transformers during G2 - so, even as a child, the original 80s run of comics had an aura of bygone history and mystique for me, even for some of the sillier stories and concepts. And while they say not to judge a book by its cover, a comic book's cover is definitely an important part of the package - it's the first thing you see, may largely decide if you buy the issue, and often feature striking images that last in your memory beyond the interior pages.
To that end, I thought it'd be fun for the anniversary to rank and discuss all* 100 covers of the Marvel US comic. I'll post my own ranks in batches of 5 or 10 every couple days or so, but please feel free to discuss in this topic however you'd like - share your own favorite (or least favorite) covers, wax poetic on the halcyon days of 80's coloring, tell me how I'm wrong and the cover to #55 is actually the greatest TF cover of all time, whatever! As art, this is of course, highly subjective, and just one fan's opinion, but I hope to spark some fun discussion.
Boring details in the process if anyone cares, spoiler boxed for space:
Issues Considered: This list covers the 80 issues of the Transformers run, the 4 issues of G.I. Joe and the Transformers, the 4 issues of Headmasters, and 12 issues of Generation 2. I decided to leave out The Movie (because it's an adaptation) and Universe (because the covers are constrained by the format). I also limited myself to the US run, partially for time/space constraints (adding in the UK covers would probably triple the list), and also because I'm just simply not as familiar with it and don't have the same personal connection to it outside of the few trades I've read. This isn't to criticize, there are some real bangers in there, but it just wasn't feasible.
I went back and forth on whether to include G2 or not, as there was a bit of a shift in style, but ultimately decided it wasn't too big of one, and only being separated by the end of G1 by a little over two years (far less than the seven years separating #1 and #80!) Also, it's nice to have an even 100.
Methodology: To help me initially rank the images, I brainstormed on what makes a good comic cover? From the company perspective, whatever gets you to buy the issue is the chief concern. Of course, bait covers are a thing, and might eventually turn off readers long-term if they keep buying comics where the covers lie, so that should be a factor as well. As a purchaser (and someone who cares enough to wax poetic about comic covers decades later), I think a more general 'overall quality' of the art is the most important factor.
So, I ended up scoring each cover in a few different categories:
Overall Quality (1-5) - how well the characters are drawn/detailed, composition of the image, if it just looks "cool" or not. Includes stuff like the characters being colored correctly, which for anyone familiar with the G1 comics, is a factor that crops up quite often.
Eye-Catching (1-3) - does the comic stand out, catch your eye on the shelf? Color contrast is big here.
Interest (1-3) - once I'm looking at the cover, does it make me want to buy it? A good cover should stir the emotions.
Accuracy (-1, 0, 1) - I detest misleading comic covers. Outright misleading covers (i.e., characters who aren't even in the book) get -1, while stuff like generic team shots or sorta-bait covers get a 0 (with some leeway for issues where it makes sense, like #1 issues). Thankfully, this is much more of a problem for current day comics; most of the books here got a 1 with no problem.
Admittedly, these factors are not the be-all end-all, and this was just a rough framework to help me organize the initial rankings (and thankfully, the overall scores ended up in a decent bell curve). Some issues got moved around in the final rankings, and I often would use gut feelings to break ties (especially since some of the factors really tended to clump around the middle grades).
For each cover, I'm referring to the artists as listed on the wiki - the penciler should always be listed, but I think sometimes the inkers weren't credited. And I'm assuming Yomtov was the colorist for all issues except G2, so I won't bother listing him.
I went back and forth on whether to include G2 or not, as there was a bit of a shift in style, but ultimately decided it wasn't too big of one, and only being separated by the end of G1 by a little over two years (far less than the seven years separating #1 and #80!) Also, it's nice to have an even 100.
Methodology: To help me initially rank the images, I brainstormed on what makes a good comic cover? From the company perspective, whatever gets you to buy the issue is the chief concern. Of course, bait covers are a thing, and might eventually turn off readers long-term if they keep buying comics where the covers lie, so that should be a factor as well. As a purchaser (and someone who cares enough to wax poetic about comic covers decades later), I think a more general 'overall quality' of the art is the most important factor.
So, I ended up scoring each cover in a few different categories:
Overall Quality (1-5) - how well the characters are drawn/detailed, composition of the image, if it just looks "cool" or not. Includes stuff like the characters being colored correctly, which for anyone familiar with the G1 comics, is a factor that crops up quite often.
Eye-Catching (1-3) - does the comic stand out, catch your eye on the shelf? Color contrast is big here.
Interest (1-3) - once I'm looking at the cover, does it make me want to buy it? A good cover should stir the emotions.
Accuracy (-1, 0, 1) - I detest misleading comic covers. Outright misleading covers (i.e., characters who aren't even in the book) get -1, while stuff like generic team shots or sorta-bait covers get a 0 (with some leeway for issues where it makes sense, like #1 issues). Thankfully, this is much more of a problem for current day comics; most of the books here got a 1 with no problem.
Admittedly, these factors are not the be-all end-all, and this was just a rough framework to help me organize the initial rankings (and thankfully, the overall scores ended up in a decent bell curve). Some issues got moved around in the final rankings, and I often would use gut feelings to break ties (especially since some of the factors really tended to clump around the middle grades).
For each cover, I'm referring to the artists as listed on the wiki - the penciler should always be listed, but I think sometimes the inkers weren't credited. And I'm assuming Yomtov was the colorist for all issues except G2, so I won't bother listing him.
With all that out of the way, onto the rankings! (Links to each post to be updated here):
#100-96, #95-91
#90-86, #85-81
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