G1 Marvel Comics

[Ironwave]

I know how the saying goes "Read them to find out". But, this is just your opinion and thoughts for those who have read the 80's G1 comics back in the day. Are the comics a good read and enjoyable? Do you enjoy reading those comics as much as you enjoy reading the IDW comics? On scale from 1 to 10 where do you scale the G1 comics story-wise.

Thanks

[PrimalEnvy]

I haven't read all of them, but generally they're not bad. Most of them are obviously from the 80s, just like the cartoon, in that they should not be taken seriously. But some of the later comics are actually really good, especially once Unicron and the Matrix come into play. Really, the first half or so would probably be a 6, with plenty of outliers, while the latter half is closer to a 7.5 or 8. IDW is better for long-term plot and characters, but G1 Marvel has its moments.

[RNSrobot]

They vary wildly in quality and you should keep expectations minimal. To his credit budiansky has to work with an obscene number of characters and constantly has to stop and intro piles of new ones at once. There is some very good stuff mind you, such as blaster, and shockwave being a killer. Delbos art is OK and sometimes lousy. .

The last 20 issues when Simon Furman takes over with Geoff senior and Andy wildman on art are significantly better. Not perfect or always amazing, but there is some terrific stuff there, and some seeds and ideas that ended up becoming major parts of TF lore. Primus and unicron mythos for one. Or characters like nightbeat and bludgeon receiving the screen time that makes them fan favorites.

Read it, just be prepared to slog through some stuff and remember it's a toy mandates 80s comic.

[Blitzwing]

I love the 80's Marvel comics and am currently doing a re-read of all of them myself. They are definitely worthy of being read at least once by any fan of G1 because they lay the groundwork for almost all of the fiction that has been based around G1 going forward, including the cartoon.

Budiansky did a great job considering he had to constantly add new characters to the cast. He was responsible for coming up with some of the most commonly used ideas in the Transformers mythos like the Matrix, Space Bridges and the concept of the Civil War itself. Towards the end of his run, he started to come up with some fairly silly ideas like "Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom", but they are still fun stories.

Furman took over at issue #51 and he brought a lot more to the table in establishing the origins of the Transformers and their eventual conflict with Unicron. He also wrote great stories about later G1 characters that never got a chance to appear in the cartoon like Thunderwing and Bludgeon.

[Robimus]

By and large they are great and present a much more gritty story than the cartoon did prior to the 1986 film.

[Omegatron]

I read them all back in the day and periodically re-read them for fun. I'm a big defender of Budiansky, his early comics are gritty and interesting with some really cool ideas. If you love Ratchet you have to read the Marvel comics. Budiansky's Shockwave is also a completely different take on the Character and to this day that's my favorite Shockwave.

Once Furman took over, and to be fair a bit before that, things got more cosmic and space opera like. That's not a bad thing, I love Furman too, but his take is different.

There are also the G1 British Marvel Comics if you're interested. They are also written by Simon Furman and contain the best Galvatron ever in my opinion. Also Simon Furman's rivalry between Divebomb and Swoop made the Predacons and Dinobots for me.

There are dated and a product of their time but the G1 Marvel comics are definitely worth reading.

[RNSrobot]

Originally Posted by Omegatron

I read them all back in the day and periodically re-read them for fun. I'm a big defender of Budiansky, his early comics are gritty and interesting with some really cool ideas. If you love Ratchet you have to read the Marvel comics. Budiansky's Shockwave is also a completely different take on the Character and to this day that's my favorite Shockwave.

Once Furman took over, and to be fair a bit before that, things got more cosmic and space opera like. That's not a bad thing, I love Furman too, but his take is different.

There are also the G1 British Marvel Comics if you're interested. They are also written by Simon Furman and contain the best Galvatron ever in my opinion. Also Simon Furman's rivalry between Divebomb and Swoop made the Predacons and Dinobots for me.

There are dated and a product of their time but the G1 Marvel comics are definitely worth reading.

Oh HELL yes to comics ratchet. "IS THIS HOW YOU GET YOUR JOLLIES?" He is outstanding. Idw ratchet certainly owes a lot to him. He preserves life no matter what it takes, but is full of passion and fury.

some of the marvel UK trades are good. I don't plan to read it all but time wars and target 2006 are real good.

As a few of us have reiterated, so much of what becomes "standard" in TF lore comes from the marvel comic maybe more so than the cartoon. Budianksy does not get enough credit. He also essentially named most of the first year tfs, including Megatron, came up with basic back stories and whatnot, tons of concepts. He definitely suffers from being forced to introduce new characters every three issues. At least he tries to come up with story beats, where the cartoon literally just drops new people in mid-season 2 as if they were always there.

He does have a fairly blunt and 80s marvel house style that doesn't always give for me, and some dumbass ideas like the carwash of doom and cosmic circus.

Furman's shit is so damn good and truly sets up decades of TF everything. All the aligned shit and focus on Unicron and primus comes from here. A lot of the mystical matrix influence.

But I love ratbat, decepticon leader evil accountant, and Megatron being pummeled by shockwave, and blaster the motherfucker, and goddamn Thunderwing.