<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> The Transformers comic by Marvel was the first and arguably the best known Transformers comic . Although it was originally intended to be a 4 - issue limited series, it expanded into an ongoing series, which ran for 80 issues before being cancelled . The final cover read "80 in a 4 issue limited series". Issues #5--15, 17 - 32, 35 - 42 and 44 - 56 were written by Bob Budiansky, with Marvel UK writer Simon Furman taking over for the remainder of the comic . The comic did not attempt to follow the show and some elements and characters were completely absent, including Ultra Magnus, Springer, Arcee, and Metroplex . The comic started much the same as the show; a crew crash landing the Ark on Earth in the distant past . They are befriended by Buster Witwicky . His brother Spike eventually joins the cause as Autobot leader when he became the head of commander Fortress Maximus . There occurs a considerable amount of fractioning and in - fighting in both the Autobots and Decepticons . However, the series climax occurs when both sides, Autobots and Decepticons, form an uneasy peace to defend Cybertron from Unicron . </P>

When did the first transformers comic come out