A NEW ERA DAWNS!

In the infinite universe, there exists a planet like no other: Cybertron! Home to the Transformers, and a thriving hub for inter-stellar commerce, it is a world brimming with organic and constructed diversity. Immense structures line its landscape. Mechanical giants roam across its surface. Starship-sized titans orbit its skies, keeping a constant protective watch above and below. Ancient Transformers merge into its very fabric. Small, mysterious creatures skulk in its shadows. It is a truly amazing realm, long untouched by war, and exuberantly reaching for the stars. This is the Cybertron that Optimus Prime and Megatron vie for in this bold new origin-a world of seemingly endless peace!

All that changes when Bumblebee and Windblade take a newly-forged Cybertronian on his first voyage through this world of wonders-they are confronted by the hard reality of the first murder to have occurred on Cybertron in living memory!

Cover price $3.99.

IDW's decision to reboot the Transformers comic book franchise no doubt ruffled some feathers among the Transformers fan community. It's a lot to ask readers who have been following one continuity for the past 13 years to suddenly pivot and embrace a completely new universe. On the other hand, books like the new Buffy show how much there is to be gained by starting fresh, a new creative team and a new storytelling mentality. That's the same spirit driving the new Transformers series. It's a comic that aims to give readers a fresh start without simply retreading what's been done in the past.

The new volume of Transformers doesn't even necessarily have to be looked at as a reboot. Rather than again rehash the story of the Autobots' arrival on Earth, this series flashes back to the heyday of Cybertron. As the series opens, future Optimus Prime Orion Pax and Megatron are just beginning to shift from close friends to bitter rivals, while a peaceful society is experiencing the first pangs of civil war. There's no "robots in Disguise" here, just the story of a glorious civilization slowly spiraling into ruin. Suddenly, the story of shape-shifting robots feels more timely than ever...

New writer Brian Ruckley is instrumental in crafting a new universe with a distinctive feel. Ruckley's background is in fantasy novels. As such, there's less an emphasis on the science and technology of it all than the sheer sense of wonder fueling this highly advanced civilization. A lot of that is conveyed through Rubble, a wide-eyed rookie of a protagonist who makes his debut in this issue. Ruckley wisely divides the series between two perspectives. On one hand, you have Rubble, Bumblebee and Windblade as basically the humble beat cops of Cybertron. On the other, you have Orion and Megatron feuding it out and shaping the course of Cybertronian civilization. Much has been made about the desire to get more in touch with the humanity of the Transformers in this series, and so far it appears the book is up to the task.

Hernandez succeeds in crafting a very traditional Transformers look - one full of sleek character designs and a slightly cartoonish quality that hearkens back to the classic animated series. It works in that context, the vivid colors and sterile environments do a lot to bring the world of Cybertron to life. The sweeping vistas capture that sense of wonder while at the same time painting Cybertron as a cold and vaguely hostile planet.