<P> There have been three main publishers of the comic book series bearing the name Transformers based on the toy lines of the same name . The first series was produced by Marvel Comics from 1984 to 1991 , which ran for 80 issues and produced four spin - off miniseries . This was followed by a second volume titled Transformers : Generation 2 , which ran for 12 issues starting in 1993 . The second major series was produced by Dreamwave Productions from 2002 to 2004 with multiple limited series as well , and within multiple story continuities , until the company became bankrupt in 2005 . The third series is currently being produced by IDW Publishing starting with an issue # 0 in October 2005 and a regular series starting in January 2006 . There are also several limited series being produced by IDW as well . In addition to these three main publishers , there have also been several other smaller publishers with varying degrees of success . </P>
<P> There have been three main publishers of the comic book series bearing the name Transformers based on the toy lines of the same name . The first series was produced by Marvel Comics from 1984 to 1991 , which ran for 80 issues and produced four spin - off miniseries . This was followed by a second volume titled Transformers : Generation 2 , which ran for 12 issues starting in 1993 . The second major series was produced by Dreamwave Productions from 2002 to 2004 with multiple limited series as well , and within multiple story continuities , until the company became bankrupt in 2005 . The third series is currently being produced by IDW Publishing starting with an issue # 0 in October 2005 and a regular series starting in January 2006 . There are also several limited series being produced by IDW as well . In addition to these three main publishers , there have also been several other smaller publishers with varying degrees of success . </P>
when did the first transformers comic come out
when did the first transformers comic come out
1984
1984