Hasbro Comic Book Universe Explained
|
| Publisher: | IDW Publishing |
| Genre: | Various |
| Startmo: | October |
| Startyr: | 2005 |
| Endmo: | December |
| Endyr: | 2020 |
| Event: | yes |
The Hasbro Comic Book Universe (HCBU) is an American comic book franchise and shared universe created and published by IDW Publishing, based on various properties of the toy company Hasbro.
Publication history
Following the bankruptcy of Dreamwave Productions in 2005, IDW picked up the Transformers comic book license and hired veteran writer Simon Furman to craft a rebooted continuity based on the Generation 1 toy line, similar to what Marvel Comics did through Ultimate Marvel.[1]
In May 2008, IDW obtained the G.I. Joe comic book license from Devil's Due Publishing.[2]
Over the years, both comics participated in several crossover events, like Infestation and Infestation 2.
In 2016, IDW gained the rights of Rom, Micronauts, Action Man and M.A.S.K. from other publishers. That same year, IDW announced the Hasbro Reconstruction campaign, in order to converge those brands in the same continuity, starting with the crossover event Revolution.[3]
In 2017, IDW gained the rights of Visionaries, with most of its characters debuting after the crossover event First Strike.
In April 2018, IDW announced the HCBU would conclude with the limited series in November 2018.
In-continuity canon
IDW has never established a shared continuity between its own Transformers and G.I. Joe comics, even during the crossover event Infestation, when they both exist in separate universes, with other licensed franchises. While The Transformers has only participated in Infestation, the miniseries , also set in its own alternate timeline, has participated in Infestation 2. On the other side, G.I. Joe participated in both events.
While other brands exist within the HCBU (e.g. Jem and Clue), they did not appear in Revolution, First Strike or Transformers: Unicron for tonal reasons. IDW's versions of My Little Pony, Dungeons & Dragons, , Stretch Armstrong and Go-Bots exist "outside" of this universe entirely.
List of works
2006
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| The Transformers: Evolutions — Hearts of Steel | 1–4 | July 5, 2006 | September 27, 2006 | | |
| July 19, 2006 | October 18, 2006 | | |
| 31 (unnumbered) | September 13, 2006 | May 1, 2013 | | |
| 1–6 | November 29, 2006 | May 2, 2007 | Sequel to The Transformers: Infiltration. | | |
2007
2008
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| 1–16 | July 10, 2008 | October 14, 2009 | | |
| G.I. Joe (vol. 1) | 0–27 (plus 1 special) | October 22, 2008 | February 23, 2011 | | |
| 1–5 | December 10, 2008 | April 15, 2009 | | | |
2009
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| G.I. Joe: Origins | 1–23 | February 2009 | January 2011 | | |
| (vol. 1) | 1–21 | March 2009 | June 2009 | | |
| G.I. Joe: Cobra Special | 1–2 | September 2009 | September 2010 | Tie-in to G.I. Joe: Cobra (vol. 1). | |
| The Transformers | 1–31 | November 18, 2009 | December 7, 2011 | Sequel to The Transformers: All Hail Megatron. | |
| The Transformers: Bumblebee | 1–4 | December 16, 2009 | March 10, 2010 | | | |
2010
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| G.I. Joe: Cobra II | 1–13 | January 2010 | February 2011 | | |
| 1–5 | January 27, 2010 | May 19, 2010 | | |
| G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds | May 2010 | September 2010 | | |
| 1–4 | May 12, 2010 | August 4, 2010 | | |
| September 2010 | October 20, 2010 | | | |
2011
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| The Transformers: Infestation | 1–2 | February 2, 2011 | February 16, 2011 | Part of the crossover event Infestation. | |
| G.I. Joe: Infestation | March 2, 2011 | March 16, 2011 | Part of the crossover event Infestation. | |
| The Transformers: Heart of Darkness | 1–4 | March 23, 2011 | June 29, 2011 | | |
| G.I. Joe: Cobra Civil War | One-shot | April 1, 2011 | Prelude to Cobra Civil War. | |
| G.I. Joe (vol. 2) | 1–21 | May 2011 | January 2013 | | |
| (vol. 3) | December 2012 | | |
| G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes | May 18, 2011 | February 6, 2013 | Separated inside three storylines. | |
| The Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime | One-shot | December 21, 2011 | | | |
2012
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| 1–57 (plus 1 annual) | January 11, 2012 | September 28, 2016 | Issues #23-27 tied to Dark Cybertron; issues #56-57 tied to Titans Return. | |
| The Transformers: Autocracy | 1–12 | January 18, 2012 | June 20, 2012 | | |
| The Transformers: Robots in Disguise | 1–57 (plus 1 annual) | January 25, 2012 | September 28, 2016 | Issues #23-27 tied to Dark Cybertron; retitled as The Transformers (vol. 2) in issue #35; retitled as Transformers in issue #39; issues #56-57 tied to Titans Return. | |
| The Transformers: Infestation 2 | 1–2 | February 1, 2012 | February 15, 2012 | Part of the crossover event Infestation 2; related to The Transformers: Hearts of Steel. | |
| G.I. Joe: Infestation 2 | March 14, 2012 | March 28, 2012 | Part of the crossover event Infestation 2. | | |
2013
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| G.I. Joe (vol. 3) | 1–15 | February 2013 | April 2014 | | |
| G.I. Joe: Special Missions | 1–13 | March 2013 | April 2014 | | |
| The Transformers: Monstrosity | 1–12 | March 1, 2013 | July 31, 2013 | Sequel to The Transformers: Autocracy. | |
| G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files | 1–9 | April 2013 | December 2013 | | |
| The Transformers: Dark Cybertron | One-shot | November 6, 2013 | Tied to Dark Cybertron. | | |
2014
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| The Transformers: Dark Cybertron Finale | One-shot | March 26, 2014 | Tied to Dark Cybertron. | |
| (vol. 1) | 1–4 | April 16, 2014 | July 23, 2014 | | |
| The Transformers: Punishment | 1–5 | June 2014 (printed on January 21, 2015) | Digital comic. | |
| The Transformers: Primacy | 1–4 | August 13, 2014 | November 19, 2014 | Sequel to The Transformers: Monstrocity. | |
| G.I. Joe (vol. 4) | 1–8 | September 2014 | April 2015 | Retitled as The Fall of G.I. Joe. | |
| The Transformers: Drift — Empire of Stone | 1–4 | November 26, 2014 | February 25, 2015 | Sequel to The Transformers: Drift. | | |
2015
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes — Agent of Cobra | 1–5 | January 2015 | May 2015 | | |
| (vol. 2) | 1–7 | March 25, 2015 | September 23, 2015 | Sequel to The Transformers: Windblade (vol. 1); issues #1-5 tied to Combiner Wars. | |
| Transformers: Combiner Hunters | One-shot | July 29, 2015 | Tied to Combiner Wars. | |
| Transformers: Redemption | October 28, 2015 | Sequel to The Transformers: Punishment. | |
| Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers | 1–5 | October 2015 | June 2016 | Sequel to The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers. | | |
2016
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| Jem and the Holograms | 1–26 (plus 1 annual and 2 specials) | March 25, 2016 | June 14, 2017 | | |
| Micronauts | 1–11 (plus 1 annual) | April 27, 2016 | April 12, 2017 | | |
| Transformers: Till All are One | 1–12 (plus 1 annual) | June 15, 2016 | December 13, 2017 | Sequel to The Transformers: Windblade; issues #5-8 tied to Titans Return. | |
| Revolution | 0–5 | June 21, 2016 | November 30, 2016 | | |
| Action Man | 1–4 | June 22, 2016 | September 21, 2016 | | |
| Rom | 0–14 (plus 1 annual) | July 27, 2016 | November 1, 2017 | | |
| Transformers: Titans Return | One-shot | July 27, 2016 | Tied to Titans Return. | |
| Transformers: Revolution | October 26, 2016 | Part of the crossover event Revolution. | |
| Transformers: Till All are One: Revolution | November 2, 2016 |
| G.I. Joe: Revolution | November 16, 2016 |
| Rom: Revolution | September 21, 2016 |
| Micronauts: Revolution | September 28, 2016 |
| M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand: Revolution | September 29, 2016 |
| Action Man: Revolution | October 26, 2016 |
| M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand | 1–10 (plus 1 annual) | November 30, 2016 | October 11, 2017 | | |
| Transformers: More than Meets the Eye: Revolution | One-shot | December 7, 2016 | Part of the crossover event Revolution. | |
| Optimus Prime | 1–25 (plus 1 annual) | December 14, 2016 | November 21, 2018 | Sequel to The Transformers: Robots in Disguise. | |
| 1–25 | November 7, 2018 | Sequel to The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye. | |
| Jem: The Misfits | 1–5 | December 21, 2016 | July 6, 2017 | Spin-off of Jem and the Holograms. | |
| G.I. Joe (vol. 5) | 1–9 | December 28, 2016 | October 11, 2017 | | | |
2017
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| Revolutionaries | 1–8 | January 18, 2017 | September 27, 2017 | Team-up between various Hasbro characters. | |
| Transformers Annual 2017 | One-shot | March 9, 2017 | | |
| Micronauts: Wrath of Karza | 1–5 | April 26, 2017 | September 20, 2017 | Sequel to Micronauts. | |
| Transformers: Salvation | One-shot | June 14, 2017 | Sequel to Transformers: Redemption. | |
| Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook | 1–3 | July 14, 2017 | October 25, 2017 | Featuring various background stories. | |
| First Strike | 0–6 | Sequel to Revolution. | |
| Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor | 1–5 | July 19, 2017 | November 27, 2017 | | |
| Jem: Infinite | 1–6 | June 29, 2017 | October 19, 2017 | Crossover event between Jem and the Holograms and Jem: The Misfits. | |
| Clue | November 23, 2017 | | |
| G.I Joe: First Strike | One-shot | September 20, 2017 | Part of the crossover event First Strike. | |
| Micronauts: First Strike | September 27, 2017 | |
| Optimus Prime: First Strike | October 18, 2017 | |
| Rom: First Strike | |
| M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand: First Strike | November 1, 2017 | |
| Transformers: First Strike | November 8, 2017 | |
| Jem: Dimensions | 1–4 | December 6, 2017 | March 7, 2018 | | |
| Rom & the Micronauts | 1–5 | December 20, 2017 | May 9, 2018 | | |
| Scarlett's Strike Force | 1–3 | December 27, 2017 | February 28, 2018 | | | |
2018
| Title | Issue(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|
| Transformers vs. Visionaries | 1–5 | January 3, 2018 | May 2, 2018 | | |
| Rom: Tales of the Solstar Order | One-shot | April 4, 2018 | Back-up strips published in Rom #11–14. | |
| 0–6 | May 5, 2018 | November 14, 2018 | | |
| Transformers: Requiem of the Wreckers | One-shot | May 30, 2018 | Sequel to Transformers: Sins of the Wreckers. | | |
2020
Major storylines
Tie-in books
- The Transformers: Continuum (November 11, 2009) – First guidebook of the HCBU-related Transformers comics.
- G.I. Joe: Tales from the Cobra Wars (April 19, 2011) – Anthology of prose stories based on several HCBU-related G.I. Joe comics.
- Transformers: Historia (January 9, 2019) – Second guidebook of the HCBU-related Transformers comics.[4]
Unproduced works
- Transformers: Legacy of Rust[5]
- Transformers: Spy Games[6]
- Transformers: Collision Course[7]
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: DYNAMIC FORCES® - Marvel, DC, Dynamite, Signed Comics, Sketch Covers, CGC Graded, Variants, Collectibles and more!. 2020-12-30. www.dynamicforces.com.
- Web site: 2008-05-29. IDW Lands G.I. Joe License. 2020-12-30. CBR. en-US.
- Web site: IDW Is Merging G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Its Other Hasbro Comics Into One Giant Universe. 2020-12-30. io9. June 2016 . en-us.
- Web site: September 19, 2018. TRANSFORMERS HISTORIA: Chris McFeely Writes History Of IDW Transformers Universe, Due In December. TFormers.com. October 23, 2018.
- Web site: Legacy of Rust - Transformers Wiki . 2022-11-03 . tfwiki.net.
- Web site: Spy Games - Transformers Wiki . 2022-11-03 . tfwiki.net.
- Web site: Transformers: Collision Course - Transformers Wiki . 2022-11-03 . tfwiki.net.
