Whether you’re an established fan of Transformers, or are looking to take your first steps into the fandom, the following works are those I consider to be the very best.
Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers
Spike dreams of following in his brother’s footsteps, and travelling to the stars. The stars, however, have come to him. They are the Transformers—a dying race of mechanical lifeforms, gifted with the ability to disguise themselves as anything, and cursed to wage their war forever. As Spike’s relationship with his father reaches a breaking point, the fate of two worlds hangs in the balance.
If you’ve never engaged with a Transformers story before, this is hands-down the best place to start. Daniel Warren Johnson has made a name for himself as the writer/artist auteur behind some of the most powerful mainstream comics being released, and his Transformers series is no exception in terms of its thematic complexity and the sheer level of storytelling craft on display. It takes a back-to-basics approach, grounding the narrative in a human perspective and tapping into the core appeal of Transformers. This is the centrepiece of Skybound’s “Energon Universe” shared-universe slate, and you can check out the related series by other writers if you like, but they’re frankly nowhere near as good—and DWJ’s work holds up completely on its own.
The Transformers: The Movie
In the far-flung future of 2005, the Autobots have peacefully settled on Earth—but Megatron is preparing to wipe them out once and for all. Meanwhile, in the depths of space, a planet-eating monster approaches…
This iconic 1986 animated Star Wars homage is a coming-of-age story about hope in the face of a hopeless world, buoyed by captivating visuals, an all-star voice cast and an incredible soundtrack. It’s also a cheesy toy commercial, so check your expectations—but its impact on every single Transformers story written since its release has been immeasurable.
Last Stand of the Wreckers
The Autobots are on the ropes. Garrus-9 has gone dark. The Dinobots aren’t available. When the stakes are high, it’s time to send in the Wreckers, and this time new recruit Ironfist is coming along for the ride. He’s read about all their missions, so he should be ready for anything—but they say you should never meet your heroes.
Nick Roche and James Robert’s comic debut is the standalone highlight of IDW Publishing’s long-running Transformers continuity. It’s practically a direct counterpoint to the themes of The Transformers: The Movie, using a cast of expendable nobodies to turn Transformers into a genuine war story, while keeping the same heart and wry humour. Five issues collected in a single trade paperback—but the hardcover edition also includes exclusive prose stories, short comics, profiles, behind-the-scenes content, and comes highly recommended. See also Roche’s earlier one-shot Spotlight: Kup; for a full reading order of the Wreckers Saga, check out our guide.
Beast Machines
When the Maximals return triumphant to Cybertron, they find that Megatron has somehow beaten them there. Hunted by mindless Vehicon drones and trapped in their beast modes, Optimus Primal and his friends must Transcend if they are ever to save their home.
Marty Isenberg and Bob Skir’s sequel to Beast Wars (itself a very well-regarded show) is a spiritual epic that explores the conflict between nature and technology. With animation from the pioneering Mainframe Studios, the show boasts astonishing production values, with perfect voice acting and one of the boldest aesthetic directions in the franchise. Twenty-six 22-minute episodes. If you enjoy it, check out Nick Marino’s short comic “The Morphlings”, from IDW’s Beast Wars Annual.
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
The metal world of Cybertron arrives in Earth’s solar system! It’s all-out war between the alien Transformers and America’s elite fighting force!
Tom Scioli’s Silver-Age crossover is a shining example of what makes the comic medium so special—although I’ll admit that the story might make more sense on a reread, when you already know what the plot’s supposed to be. Succeeded by a five-issue Go-Bots miniseries, which I also think is pretty great.
Beast Wars: Uprising
The Great War is over. The likes of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and Starscream have been consigned to history. Humanity’s own technological prowess has long outstripped Cybertron’s own, and the decrepit stragglers of the Autobots and the Decepticons—once scourges of the galaxy—are now trapped on their home planet, living the Great War vicariously through their Maximal and Predacon slave races and slowly waiting for the fuel to run out. If Cybertron is to survive, it must transform.
Over twelve connected online prose stories, Jim Sorenson and David Bishop craft the quintessential Transformers epic. The first story, “Broken Windshields”, suffered due to editorial mandates, but later tales were effectively produced without oversight, creating a breathtaking vision of the darkest version of Cybertron yet. The more you know about Transformers, the more you’ll enjoy this, but I think the story itself holds value even to the uninitiated. If you must, read “Burning Bridges” before deciding this isn’t your cup of tea. Also optionally read Greg Sepelak and S. Trent Troop’s Alone Together comic story (scans here) before any of the prose ones; it’s very good, but a little different. Don’t forget to read translated versions of the ciphertext after each story.
Cyberverse
Bumblebee was sent to Earth on a mission—but he doesn’t remember what it was. Now, he’s on the run from the Decepticons with his best friend Windblade, on a journey to restore his memories and find the other Autobots in time to stop a full-scale invasion.
While it’s far from being the best Transformers cartoon of all time, Cyberverse is a serviceable introduction to the big-picture concepts that characterise the franchise. Over the course of three seasons, it overcomes its tight runtimes and weak sound design, with the outstanding The Matrix-inspired Quintesson arc cementing it as a memorable and entertaining series. Sixty-two 11-minute episodes and two specials available on YouTube.
Brian Ruckley’s Transformers
Rubble is born into an age of peace on Cybertron—peace that is broken when the planet experiences its first murder in living memory.
Serving as a hypothetical prequel to, well, any Transformers story, this political thriller has a steady escalation and a sprawling cast—it’s a fantasy doorstopper in comic form. Has several tie-in comics, which are mostly written by different authors and wildly inconsistent in tone, but are sadly required reading. See my detailed review.
unofficial works
Since its inception, Transformers has been shaped by its fandom. What follows is a showcase of lesser-known works which, while lacking any corporate seal of approval, exemplify some of the best storytelling the Transformers universe has to offer.
Starscream OVA
Megatron’s most loyal soldier, Starscream, is summoned for an assessment.
This absolutely stunning cel-shaded 3D-animated short film has impeccable storyboarding, sound design, voice acting, and even original music, in service of a script that actually kind of slaps? Project lead 87render has many more impressive fan-animations on their channel.
Showdown at Sherman Dam
The Golden Age has already ended, again. Spike and Carly are getting divorced. Optimus Prime and Rodimus aren’t talking to one another. With Galvatron plotting revenge, only an Autobot detective and his partner can save the day.
Prime Radiant dives into a newly-invented fifth season of the ’80s Transformers cartoon, with a story entirely told across the scraps of data collated by its protagonists. A deeply funny and affecting tale that takes the silly conflicts of a toy advert very seriously.
Transtech: An Unofficial Guide to the Forgotten Franchise
Only shown in North America, never broadcast twice, and unavailable on home video anywhere, Transtech tells the final story of our Maximal heroes.
TheLastGherkin’s one-of-a-kind zine is a deep-dive into a nigh-mythical piece of Transformers lore, one that explores what exactly it takes to lead a society after the world’s been saved. If you liked Beast Machines, this is a must-read.
I actually kind of appreciate the Transformers movies.
The Heroic Autobots are in an endless war with the Evil Decepticons. The noble Optimus Prime wants to save humanity. The Transformers movies totally suck. None of these statements are entirely true.
Terry van Feleday’s opus delves deep into Michael Bay’s much-derided franchise. A legitimately incredible work of cinematic analysis—not because its interpretations are accurate (they’re often not), but because of the insights it offers into the art of filmmaking, and how exactly to tell stories using Transformers. Also features an interlude covering Steven Spielberg’s first movie, Duel, which I highly recommend, and an epilogue covering the 1986 animated movie. 537 pages.
Transformers: Mosaic
The Universe of the Transformers is vast, and populated by many characters. Their universe is a large tapestry, made up of the stories and points of view of countless experiences that serve the larger whole. These are some of those stories. This is…
A one-of-a-kind fan initiative to encourage people to create and submit comic stories told in just a single page. On my ongoing annotated archive of the project, I’ve picked out the strips which I think are the very best.
related works
The following stories may not have “Transformers” in the title, but from an intertextual perspective, I think they hold a huge amount of interest to Transformers fans and are absolutely worth checking out.
Noumena
It is the year 2007, and Cora Sabino wants nothing to do with her whistleblower father who’s convinced the US government is hiding extraterrestrials. When she runs into the living proof of this conspiracy, she finds herself working as the interpreter between humanity and the creature which could be their doom… or their only hope at avoiding it.
This novel series by Lindsay Ellis draws heavily from her analysis of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies in her The Whole Plate video essays, and effectively creates its own version of the first-contact premise, except this time with sensitivity and maturity. Axiom’s End is a gripping sci-fi alt-history book, but it’s the sequel, Truth of the Divine—which explores the aftermath of first contact—that truly floored me with its emotion and timeliness. Note that the sequel begins with a content warning listing the sensitive topics featured in the book, which should inform any decision over whether or not to read it. Oh, and ignore the negative reviews, yeah?
AmbuLAnce
Desperate for the money to pay his wife’s medical fees, struggling veteran Will Sharp agrees to help his adoptive brother with a bank heist. To make their getaway, they hijack an ambulance—with an EMT and her dying charge as hostages.
This movie stars Ratchet in an uncredited role. No, jokes aside, Michael Bay’s bombastic style applied to a remarkably tight and resonant adapted screenplay by Chris Fedak results in a heart-pounding masterpiece. If anything about the Transformers movies appealed to you, this is like that except the writing isn’t insane.
Steven Universe
The war is over, and now the Crystal Gems help the half-human son of their dead leader master his alien powers, all while keeping the Earth safe from monsters. But the Gem empire is still out there—and now they’re coming back.
Okay, although there’s nothing to explicitly tie Steven Universe to Transformers, in my opinion this is the best Transformers show ever made. It may have its ups and downs, but the likable and complex characters, powerful themes of acceptance, beautiful visuals, and unparalleled songwriting make it well worth the watch. If nothing else, Steven Universe: The Movie is probably one of the best animated films of all time. One-hundred and sixty 11-minute episodes, plus a movie. Use this viewing order for the first season, watch the second season’s shorts after “Reformed” using this playlist, and the fourth season’s after “Onion Gang” using this one. Avoid looking up the show at all costs otherwise; your YouTube recommendations will quickly fill with major spoilers!
If you’ve already read everything on this page, then it sounds like you should probably be the one making recommendations! I promise to give any story you shill to me a fair shot—so long as you can prove it’s at least tangentially connected to Transformers in some fashion.
It’d be silly of me not to mention that I’ve written a few Transformers stories of my own, which you can find here.
I maintain similar lists to this one for stories which aren’t related to Transformers, which you can find at the links below.
TFWiki Community 