"We're not saying you should buy Dreamwave comics, only that you'll regret it."
Dreamwave Productions was a fairly unknown independent comic book publisher when it obtained the Transformers license in 2001. For a time, there was gigantic buzz surrounding Dreamwave's relaunch of the Generation 1 title, even pushing it past Marvel and DC's top titles. Many comic book fans had been away from Transformers for a long time and were overjoyed to see highly detailed manga-style art driving a childhood favorite.
Dreamwave published a good deal of Transformers books, including many varied miniseries, before capitulating to the notoriously fickle comic-buying public. Towards the end of 2004 delays started getting more and more frequent. This was followed by rumors of writers and artists leaving because they weren't being paid, which were then confirmed. In early January 2005, Dreamwave declared bankruptcy, and there were no Transformers comics to be had for more than half of 2005.
History
Dreamwave Productions was originally launched by brothers Pat and Roger Lee as a studio within Image Comics in 1996, at the height of the Image boom. Originally, Dreamwave published various blatantly plagiarized originally created titles such as Warlands and Darkminds, as well as work-for hire such as a Wolverine/Punisher mini-series for Marvel. Initially, the "hook" for Dreamwave's financial success was the drawing style of its president, Pat Lee, which many readers viewed as "manga-like" (although readers of actual Japanese Mangas had a different opinion on this matter).
In 2001, issue #111 of Wizard: The Comics Magazine ran a feature named "Big 80s", featuring various popular properties of the 1980s such as Thundercats or Masters of the Universe in new interpretations by modern artists. Pat Lee and Dreamwave submitted their own take on the Transformers, one of Pat's personal favorites from his childhood days. That same year, a group of Dreamwave employees departed from their company to form their own business, UDON Studios.
Shortly afterwards, Hasbro was offering the license for Transformers comics. Several companies, including Marvel (with UDON being supposed to handle the art), were interested[1], but ultimately it was Dreamwave who offered Hasbro the biggest sum of money for the license - money which Hasbro would ultimately never see in full. To accompany the new flagship title, Dreamwave officially cut all ties with Image and became an independent publisher on their own.
Dreamwave's launch title, Transformers: Generation 1 vol. 1, written by Chris Sarracini and drawn by Pat Lee, became an instant hit, dominating Diamond's sales charts for months. Dreamwave would soon expand their range of Transformers comics to include an ongoing Transformers: Armada series (which later evolved into Transformers: Energon to accompany the resepctive toylines) as well as various Transformers: The War Within mini-series. Dreamwave also hired new writers, such as James McDounough (who originally worked under the alias "Brad Mick") and his partner Adam Patyk, or fan-favorite Simon Furman, as well as new artists which were mostly hired directly out of the fandom, among them Don Figueroa, Guido Guidi and Joe Ng.
Following the success of their Transformers titles, Dreamwave put their own titles Warlands and Darkminds on hold, instead focussing on other licenses such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Mega Man. None of those titles would last particularly long, however. This was also when rumors of creators not getting paid first came up.[2]
Series published
Dreamwave G1
- Prime Directive (G1 Volume 1)
- War and Peace (G1 Volume 2)
- Generation 1 Ongoing (G1 Volume 3)
- The War Within
- The War Within: The Dark Ages
- The War Within: Age of Wrath
- Micromasters
Unicron Trilogy
Transformers/G.I. Joe
Other
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