Transformers : The Ultimate Guide
Product ID: 84430504
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The book will look in detail at the Transformers, with spreads following each character's story arc, and cutaway artworks of important robots. The text will explain the robots' origins, abilities, weapons, and exactly how each Transformer transforms from robot mode to vehicle mode. Special feature spreads will cover all aspects of the Transformers world the origins of the Transformers, with specially commissioned maps and detailed city plans of their home planet of Cybertron, the giant space ark in which the Transformers travelled to Earth, major wars in Transformers history, and much more. Review: This IS The Ultimate Guide!!! - As a longtime Transfan who hasn't even gotten halfway through this book yet, what can I say but...WOW!!! I'm well aware of just how comprehensive and attentive to detail DK's series of guide books are - from the Marvel and DC Comics character guides to the Star Wars books, from that super-cool James Bond guide detailing every movie up to 'The World Is Not Enough' to the Lego Book which contained almost every bit of info on the Lego company you could cram into print. But the Transformers guide goes above and beyond to appeal to both the rabid fanbase and those uninitiated in the multiverse of the Robots In Disguise. If you're not a diehard Transfan but are fascinated by that little toy line that became something of a pop-culture phenomenon, then this is the perfect place to acquaint yourself with the Transformers saga. For starters, the first part of the book deals primarily with the story that started it all - the Generation One saga. And it's pretty expansive. Everything you could possibly want to know about the Transformers - from the geological makeup of the planet Cybertron to the exact inner workings of Optimus Prime and Megatron themselves, to the personalities that make up the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons - is covered here in glorious full-color detail. Veteran TF scribe Simon Furman was the right man to put in charge of cataloguing every little detail, smartly melding elements of both Marvel Comics' continuity and that of the G1 cartoon AND the newer Dreamwave Productions comics into one cohesive timeline. Furman does pick a little at the continuity conflicts and errors that have cropped up in the past twenty years of the franchise, but it's largely unimportant as the most critical elements are still covered. And there are some elements injected therein that even a Transfan would crack a smile at: Macadams Old Oil House, for one (complete with a transforming bartender who more or less looks like an Old West barkeep in robot mode), and even a chapter outlining Optimus Prime's many deaths and resurrections (I'm not sure, but I think only Dracula has come back from the dead more times). But there's more. The book also covers the ill-fated Generation 2 segment of the franchise, the Beast Wars days and Beast Machines, Robots In Disguise and even the Armada-Energon continuity, all with the same depth and informative style, although not nearly as much as G1 given the rapid succession of these later series. And apart from character schematics, historical data and episode synopses galore, the book also hits upon the toys themselves, detailing some of the greats and even touching upon their Japanese upbringing in lengthy exposition. It allows for a great sense of prehistory to the Transformers franchise, explaining how the original G1 line was culled together from figures included in a multitude of toy lines released in Japan by Takara. The comic book continuities are not left out, either, making up quite a bit of the foundation of the G1 backstory. Publishers and entire story arcs are referenced here, as are some of the defining personalities who helped flesh out an ever-growing mythology - from original TF writer Bob Budiansky to innovative TF artist Don Figueroa. There are segments dealing with both Marvel's American comic and its UK counterpart (both written, at one point, by Simon Furman, which gives him further credential for bringing this thing together). But I would be remiss if I did not mention some of the more tantalizing, more mystic aspects of the Transformers saga brought up in this volume. Specifically, the origin of Cybertron itself, and of the everlasting duel between the heralds Unicron and Primus. Their struggle adds something not expected in a toy brand involving robotic characters: a defined mythology to their world. The Transformers' religious reverence for their origins highlights another dimension to the saga that, in the big picture, may enable the unseasoned reader to understand why these big lugs continue to ignite the 'sparks' of countless legions of fans. When they say the Transformers are 'more than meets the eye', you'd better believe it...and if you don't, get this book. Kids will be drawn in by the outstanding graphics, and the young-at-heart who enjoy all things sci-fi and fantasy-related will not be disappointed. It's worth ever penny. Review: How Ultimate Is It? - This is a book that has guts - with its back cover proclaiming it to be "the first fully authoritative history" of the Transformers, and the interior introduction claiming that it is the "one true history" of G1, hardcore Transfans would not be frowned on for finding such statements insulting, sounding for all the world like the book will be dismissing the original comics and cartoon in favour of what IT says is right and wrong. Thankfully, the reader will discover that this is NOT the case. The "one true history" that the entire G1 section revolves around proves to be that of the latest incarnation of G1 - the Dreamwave comic book series. While perhaps a little disrespectful to the cartoons and comics that CREATED the universe that these comics have to thank for their existence, it's understandable that this is the route taken - and the cartoons and comics themselves are hardly set by the wayside, getting multiple pages to cover their own stories. With everything from the geography of Cybertron, the history of the civil war, massive cutaways of Optimus Prime, Megatron and Unicron, profiles on selected individual soldiers and sub-groups like the Dinobots, Constructicons, Headmasters and Pretenders, the book provides a wide, general look at the G1 universe. However, it is in the cartoons and toy sections that its weakness shows, as scribe Simon Furman's lack of knowledge outside of the DW and Marvel comics results in several niggly factual errors - he's done his research, but he hasn't gone far enough to eliminate all his errors. The look of the pages is worsened by the fact that many of the toys photographed are mis-transformed, or look somewhat worn. It would have been child's play to find fans with toys that looked better than this, but they didn't bother. Of course, the book doesn't stop at G1. There are sections for all the ensuing series - Generation 2, Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Robots in Disguise, Armada and Energon. The Beast sections are some of the nicest-looking ones in the book, with beautiful CGI art from animation company Mainframe, but each section could have done with just one or two more pages to add a little more details on the events of their latter seasons, with information on the BW events relating to G1, Transmetal 2's, or BM's Noble, Botanica and Megatron's numerous bodies limited only to the vague episode guide page (like every section of the book dealing with cartoons, the episode guide only has enough to room to include selected key episodes, so the whole story evades the reader even in these entries). The G2 and Robots in Disguise sections, however, leave a bad taste in the mouth. There is very little to say about G2, and the section required nothing more than a comic summary and toy pictures, but in addition to this, it's been padded with an entry on G.I. Joe crossovers and fanfiction - two things which, while presented and written perfectly fine, are simply needless, and whose pages would have been bettered served elsewhere - namely in the RiD section, which is stuck only showing pictures of toys, lacking any real information on the cartoon series or characters (speculation was that this was because Disney, who own the show, wouldn't allow competitors DK access to it in time for print, but other comments by Furman imply it was bumped for the Energon section). Worsening the matter is that most of the pictures for the section are taken from adverts and package art for the toys, and feature some pretty bad mistransformations and missing parts. The book ends with a look at Armada and it's current, sequel series, Energon, then a brief look at the Dreamwave comics, two of the best-handled sections of the book. Looking back at what I have written here, it seems overly critical - but please, make no mistake, I heartily recommend this book. It's a brilliant overview of the history of Transformers and as concise a written guide as you could want - but it's just infuriating to me that DK's other guides for characters like Superman and Spider-Man, with their 60 and 40 years of history, could be so comprehensive, and yet the 20 years of Transformers has to be so abbreviated, with so many characters and episodes flat-out left out, to make the book an acceptable length. I am not pointing the finger of blame at anyone, however - Transformers simply has a *massive* history of characters, concepts and scenarios, making it all the more impressive and enduring. Furman's name power may make him come off as the most qualified person to write a book such as this, but some fan assistance would not have gone amiss. This would have stopped the mis-spellings (Elita One becomes "Eleta-1", for example, or the Armada episode "Cramp" becomes "Clamp") which are just the result of carelessness and not enough research, and would have provided superior toy pictures, and more accurate information about them. The toy pages are truly the weakest sections of the book - not one of them goes by that a factual error is not made. A fact-checker who truly knows his stuff - or perhaps several of them, one to each category, toy, comic, cartoon - would have caught these errors, and the book would have felt as though more care had gone into it. Bottom line - this book is by no means an "Ultimate" guide. Entirely too much is left out, generalised or glossed over for that. But it's still a brilliant overview of Transformer history that both hardcore and casual fans should not hesitate to add to their collections.
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 174 Reviews |
J**N
This IS The Ultimate Guide!!!
As a longtime Transfan who hasn't even gotten halfway through this book yet, what can I say but...WOW!!! I'm well aware of just how comprehensive and attentive to detail DK's series of guide books are - from the Marvel and DC Comics character guides to the Star Wars books, from that super-cool James Bond guide detailing every movie up to 'The World Is Not Enough' to the Lego Book which contained almost every bit of info on the Lego company you could cram into print. But the Transformers guide goes above and beyond to appeal to both the rabid fanbase and those uninitiated in the multiverse of the Robots In Disguise. If you're not a diehard Transfan but are fascinated by that little toy line that became something of a pop-culture phenomenon, then this is the perfect place to acquaint yourself with the Transformers saga. For starters, the first part of the book deals primarily with the story that started it all - the Generation One saga. And it's pretty expansive. Everything you could possibly want to know about the Transformers - from the geological makeup of the planet Cybertron to the exact inner workings of Optimus Prime and Megatron themselves, to the personalities that make up the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons - is covered here in glorious full-color detail. Veteran TF scribe Simon Furman was the right man to put in charge of cataloguing every little detail, smartly melding elements of both Marvel Comics' continuity and that of the G1 cartoon AND the newer Dreamwave Productions comics into one cohesive timeline. Furman does pick a little at the continuity conflicts and errors that have cropped up in the past twenty years of the franchise, but it's largely unimportant as the most critical elements are still covered. And there are some elements injected therein that even a Transfan would crack a smile at: Macadams Old Oil House, for one (complete with a transforming bartender who more or less looks like an Old West barkeep in robot mode), and even a chapter outlining Optimus Prime's many deaths and resurrections (I'm not sure, but I think only Dracula has come back from the dead more times). But there's more. The book also covers the ill-fated Generation 2 segment of the franchise, the Beast Wars days and Beast Machines, Robots In Disguise and even the Armada-Energon continuity, all with the same depth and informative style, although not nearly as much as G1 given the rapid succession of these later series. And apart from character schematics, historical data and episode synopses galore, the book also hits upon the toys themselves, detailing some of the greats and even touching upon their Japanese upbringing in lengthy exposition. It allows for a great sense of prehistory to the Transformers franchise, explaining how the original G1 line was culled together from figures included in a multitude of toy lines released in Japan by Takara. The comic book continuities are not left out, either, making up quite a bit of the foundation of the G1 backstory. Publishers and entire story arcs are referenced here, as are some of the defining personalities who helped flesh out an ever-growing mythology - from original TF writer Bob Budiansky to innovative TF artist Don Figueroa. There are segments dealing with both Marvel's American comic and its UK counterpart (both written, at one point, by Simon Furman, which gives him further credential for bringing this thing together). But I would be remiss if I did not mention some of the more tantalizing, more mystic aspects of the Transformers saga brought up in this volume. Specifically, the origin of Cybertron itself, and of the everlasting duel between the heralds Unicron and Primus. Their struggle adds something not expected in a toy brand involving robotic characters: a defined mythology to their world. The Transformers' religious reverence for their origins highlights another dimension to the saga that, in the big picture, may enable the unseasoned reader to understand why these big lugs continue to ignite the 'sparks' of countless legions of fans. When they say the Transformers are 'more than meets the eye', you'd better believe it...and if you don't, get this book. Kids will be drawn in by the outstanding graphics, and the young-at-heart who enjoy all things sci-fi and fantasy-related will not be disappointed. It's worth ever penny.
C**Y
How Ultimate Is It?
This is a book that has guts - with its back cover proclaiming it to be "the first fully authoritative history" of the Transformers, and the interior introduction claiming that it is the "one true history" of G1, hardcore Transfans would not be frowned on for finding such statements insulting, sounding for all the world like the book will be dismissing the original comics and cartoon in favour of what IT says is right and wrong. Thankfully, the reader will discover that this is NOT the case. The "one true history" that the entire G1 section revolves around proves to be that of the latest incarnation of G1 - the Dreamwave comic book series. While perhaps a little disrespectful to the cartoons and comics that CREATED the universe that these comics have to thank for their existence, it's understandable that this is the route taken - and the cartoons and comics themselves are hardly set by the wayside, getting multiple pages to cover their own stories. With everything from the geography of Cybertron, the history of the civil war, massive cutaways of Optimus Prime, Megatron and Unicron, profiles on selected individual soldiers and sub-groups like the Dinobots, Constructicons, Headmasters and Pretenders, the book provides a wide, general look at the G1 universe. However, it is in the cartoons and toy sections that its weakness shows, as scribe Simon Furman's lack of knowledge outside of the DW and Marvel comics results in several niggly factual errors - he's done his research, but he hasn't gone far enough to eliminate all his errors. The look of the pages is worsened by the fact that many of the toys photographed are mis-transformed, or look somewhat worn. It would have been child's play to find fans with toys that looked better than this, but they didn't bother. Of course, the book doesn't stop at G1. There are sections for all the ensuing series - Generation 2, Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Robots in Disguise, Armada and Energon. The Beast sections are some of the nicest-looking ones in the book, with beautiful CGI art from animation company Mainframe, but each section could have done with just one or two more pages to add a little more details on the events of their latter seasons, with information on the BW events relating to G1, Transmetal 2's, or BM's Noble, Botanica and Megatron's numerous bodies limited only to the vague episode guide page (like every section of the book dealing with cartoons, the episode guide only has enough to room to include selected key episodes, so the whole story evades the reader even in these entries). The G2 and Robots in Disguise sections, however, leave a bad taste in the mouth. There is very little to say about G2, and the section required nothing more than a comic summary and toy pictures, but in addition to this, it's been padded with an entry on G.I. Joe crossovers and fanfiction - two things which, while presented and written perfectly fine, are simply needless, and whose pages would have been bettered served elsewhere - namely in the RiD section, which is stuck only showing pictures of toys, lacking any real information on the cartoon series or characters (speculation was that this was because Disney, who own the show, wouldn't allow competitors DK access to it in time for print, but other comments by Furman imply it was bumped for the Energon section). Worsening the matter is that most of the pictures for the section are taken from adverts and package art for the toys, and feature some pretty bad mistransformations and missing parts. The book ends with a look at Armada and it's current, sequel series, Energon, then a brief look at the Dreamwave comics, two of the best-handled sections of the book. Looking back at what I have written here, it seems overly critical - but please, make no mistake, I heartily recommend this book. It's a brilliant overview of the history of Transformers and as concise a written guide as you could want - but it's just infuriating to me that DK's other guides for characters like Superman and Spider-Man, with their 60 and 40 years of history, could be so comprehensive, and yet the 20 years of Transformers has to be so abbreviated, with so many characters and episodes flat-out left out, to make the book an acceptable length. I am not pointing the finger of blame at anyone, however - Transformers simply has a *massive* history of characters, concepts and scenarios, making it all the more impressive and enduring. Furman's name power may make him come off as the most qualified person to write a book such as this, but some fan assistance would not have gone amiss. This would have stopped the mis-spellings (Elita One becomes "Eleta-1", for example, or the Armada episode "Cramp" becomes "Clamp") which are just the result of carelessness and not enough research, and would have provided superior toy pictures, and more accurate information about them. The toy pages are truly the weakest sections of the book - not one of them goes by that a factual error is not made. A fact-checker who truly knows his stuff - or perhaps several of them, one to each category, toy, comic, cartoon - would have caught these errors, and the book would have felt as though more care had gone into it. Bottom line - this book is by no means an "Ultimate" guide. Entirely too much is left out, generalised or glossed over for that. But it's still a brilliant overview of Transformer history that both hardcore and casual fans should not hesitate to add to their collections.
B**R
More Than Meets The Eye
Every Transformer fan, new and old, needs to have this book. People who are only familiar with the newest incarnations can learn how it all started and long time fans will appreciate having a complete chronological account of the phenomonon. The book starts right where it should - before the original toy line or TV show and eplains the history of the Transformers homeworld Cybertron and the beginning of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. What follows is a detailed examination/explanation of EVERY incarnation of the Transformers up to and including Energon. Character bios, selected show synopsis, toy descriiptions and inner workings of key players are all covered and supported by detailed artwork and photographs. Multiple pages are givin to the Japanese toy line and continunity as well as the US and UK comics, including the latest from Dreamweave. What more could you ask for? Before reading this book I was skeptical about it's ablity to cover the entire Transformers universe with the detail it demands. Now that I've read all 141 pages, it has become a jewel in my Transformer collection. For once the title "Ultimate Guide" has been used appropriately!
M**N
Of any Transformers guidebook, this seems the closest so far to a Transformers Encyclopedia.
While it may not be a complete "Official" history, it's a rather amazing compendium of information. There's a lot of information on original toys, and pretty much all the series up through Energon... There's some history of Cybertron (I assume gleaned from the TV show and the comics?). A number of comic book series are glossed over briefly as well. From the originals some UK comics up through All Hail Megatron and some of the modern graphic novels. This and the Transformers Vault are probably my two favorite books thus far. If you're into Transformers Animated, the two Allspark Almanacs seem pretty decent too, though more specialized niche books that sprawling encyclopedic general-purpose Transformers tomes... Now if they just had a big "official" Transformers Encyclopedia, that would be great. In lieu of that, we have this, which is pretty awesome in its own right. Even if it doesn't cover Transformers: Cybertron or Transformers Prime... Overall, I love it! I'd bet you will too... Sadly, it's out of print and getting hard to find cheaply.
M**E
Awesome artwork!!!
Something evil's watching over you Comin' from the sky above there's nothing you can do Prepare to strike There'll be no place to run When your caught within the grip Of the evil Megatron Transformers More than meets the eye Transformers Robots in Disguise Strong enough to break the bravest heart We have to pull together We can't stay worlds apart To stand divided we will surely fall Until our darkest hour When the light will save us all Transformers More than meets the eye Transformers Robots in Disguise Transformers Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of The Decepticons Transformers It's judgment day and now we've made our stand And for now the powers of darkness Have been driven from our land The Battle's over but the war has just begun And this way it will remain til the day when all are one Transformers More than meets the eye Transformers Robots in Disguise Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of The Decepticons!
J**B
Roll Out!
What better time to review this product than after the release of the movie. I was born in 76 so I know about the transformers. I practically grew up with them and had quite a few of the toys. It was sweet nostalgia seeing the toys in vivid color. Although they don't show you all of the toys they show the most important ones in my opinion. Why 4 Stars you ask? It's because along with the good (The toys) comes the bad (The comics) The comic book part of the book was boring to me and made no sense. It's part of the transformers mythology so it had to be included. The problem I have with the comics is a personal one. The comics did not follow the storyline of the TV show. If you are a fan of the toys, TV shows & comics this is the perfect book.
P**L
nice book. not sure if it's worth the pricetag ...
nice book. not sure if it's worth the pricetag I keep seeing. but for 32 bucks, I'm pleased. You have to like G1 and G2 a lot...which I do and bought the book primarily if not all for that reason. just over half is dedicated two these two categories. love hardcover and it doesn't have a dust cover, the pic is on the book which was not expected but very much liked.
N**K
The Transformers ultimate guide is the ultimate guide!
The Transformers ultimate guide is the ultimate guide! This Transformers reference book is written by one of the Transformers most beloved comic book writers, Simon Furman! He writes in detail about the history of the Transformers, the origins, 1980s,the cartoon, the comics,and the japanese toys! I think this Transformers book is great because tells you everything you need to know about them including Transformers: Generation 1, Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon! It also summarizes the 1980s -1990s Marvel Transfomres comic books and to the current Dreamwave Transformers comics! I love this book! I am a big fan of the Transformers: Generation 1 series and I am very proud of it! Highly Recommended! *****
A**R
Very pleased
A must have book for Transformer fans! Packed good, no damage. Arrived in a short amount of time. Very pleased!
A**O
Libro discreto a prezzo esagerato
Indubbiamente libro di interesse per i Transformers fans ma, onestamente mi aspettavo di meglio.... Per essere essenzialmente un libro "fotografico" ho trovato belle ma poche le schede-profilo dei personaggi per i quali mi sarei aspettato un'intera pagina dedicata, almeno per i personaggi più importanti, ed invece.... ma già l'avrei dovuto capire dalle appena 152 pagine dell'opera... Per finire, una vera rapina il prezzo, a fronte del prezzo di copertina del NUOVO di circa 11,75 euro ( ..al cambio attuale), questo libro "USATO" mi è costato la bellezza di 71 euro, davvero troppo in relazione a quello che offre, in sostanza, pensateci bene prima di acquistarlo.
G**G
Un très bon livre !
Il présente chaque série, avec quelques exemples. Un régal pour les yeux !
P**Y
Die Welt der Transformers in Kurzfassung
Für alle Fans der Transformers in ihren vielen Variationen und Neueinsteiger, die sich einen Überblick verschaffen wollen, ist dieses Buch genau das richtige. Wunderschöne Illustrationen von Dreamwave, sowie Screenshots der Cartoons und Auszüge aus den alten Marvel Comics runden das visuelle Erscheinungsbild ab. Das Buch selbst ist aufgeteilt in die einzelnen Inkarnationen der Transformers, wobei der Schwerpunkt klar auf den ursprünglichen G1 Transformers liegt. Hier können Fans in Detailkarten von Cybertron und der Arche schwelgen, Profile ihrer Lieblingstransformer ansehen, und einen Einblick in die Historie und Mythologie dieses faszinierenden Universums erlangen. Aber auch die Fans von G2, Beast Wars, Beast Machines, und Armada/Energon kommen nicht zu kurz. Auch hier eröffnet das Buch Einblicke und zeigt neben den Comics und Cartoons auch Beispiele der zugehörigen Spielzeuge und geht sogar auf solche Themen wie Fanfiction ein. Eigentlich gibt es an dem Buch nur auszusetzen, dass es für eingefleischte Fans wie mich teilweise etwas zu oberflächlich bleibt. Speziell da in der Einleitung versprochen wird, dass hier die definitive Historie der Transformer dargestellt wird, man aber nur einen Überblick bekommt und auch nicht weiter auf die Widersprüche zwischen z.B. Cartoons und Comics eingegangen wird. Alles in allem ein wunderbares Buch zum Schmöckern für alle Transformers Fans und solche, die es werden wollen.
A**R
The Transformers bible
If ever there were a Transformers bible, Transformers: The Ultimate Guide is it. This is an outstanding book that carefully examines each integral part of the Transformer mythos concisely. For many people this is the first time some of this material may have been seen as unless you are a die-hard collector it would be impossible to have experienced every element of this vast genre. This book is a labour of love for writer Simon Furman who has been with the Transformers series from the beginning, first putting pen to paper in 1985's comic story The Enemy within, and he hasn't stopped since. This revised edition covers a huge amount of information in its 152 packed pages. We begin with detailed illustrations of Cybertron (the Transformers home planet) and Iacon (the capital city), passing through civil war and the Autobots and Decepticon's arrival on Earth. We then take a look at many of the main characters such as Optimus Prime, Megatron, the Dinobots and Constructicons. All lavishly drawn and presented with their tech specs data. Furman then takes a look at the cartoon TV series and looks at each episode of Generation 1 seasons 1-4 and the cult Transformers: The Movie. We are also taken on a journey through vast collection of comics ranging from Marvel UK and US right up until the present day IDW series. The book covers the Emmy award winning Beast Wars TV series as well as the recent more poorly made Japanese dubbed Robots in disguise, Armada, Energon and Cybertron. This book is a welcome addition to any bookshelf and is a point of reference for anyone trying to find out a fact about any part of the Transformers universe. To conclude I was pleased to see the addition of sections on IDW comics and the Alternators and Classic toys for this edition.
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