After a multi-week heater thanks to ComicsPRO’s annual meeting, we saw a bit of a lull in terms of (comic) news recently. But that allows me to focus on some preferred bits of news, so I’m all about it. Let’s dig into all that in this week’s edition of Comics Disassembled, as I share ten things I liked or didn’t like from the week of comics.

As a note: This does not include anything about tariffs, because as per usual, those went away as quickly as they arrived. As I said before, until there’s something concrete that actually affects the comic industry beyond elevating everyone’s stress levels by roughly 1,000%, I’m not reporting on them. It’s not helping anyone to do so.

Runaways Back! Runaways Back! Runaways Back!

As if they predicted not just the fact that I would write a piece questioning their recent moves but when it would publish, news of a new Runaways miniseries arrived on the scene right after my DC/Marvel feature hit on Wednesday. And just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in! Not only is writer Rainbow Rowell returning — woooo! — but she’s being joined by artist Elena Casagrande. Casagrande’s an unbelievable talent, and someone whose work is a highlight of this news even if I think of her as an action first artist. This story fits within the One World Under Doom event, which actually makes sense here as one of the core members of the group right now is a Doombot — and a rather stylish one at that! I suspect it’s really just giving everyone a reason to have a Runaways story, though, and I fully support that.

Reinforcing just how much I missed this series, look at that A cover from artist Stephanie Hans above. The vibes! The style! The swagger! The energy! I love everything about it — although that Doombot lean is #1, closely followed by the traffic sign that references Old Lace — with Hans’ cover catapulting my interest from “high” to “this might as well be a Stilt-Man comic” levels. Runaways returns in June and I am 100% in on it. Rowell and Casagrande are going to deliver something fantastic here, I know it.

The Transformers, Being Remastered

While the headline for this one isn’t explicitly true, in a way it is, as Skybound is cooking up a Kickstarter for The Transformers that seems like it could be a special one. It’s for a compendium (or compendiums) that will be different than the one releasing in comic shops this upcoming April. This The Transformers Compendium Set will collect the original Marvel series from both the United States and the United Kingdom into a pair of hardcovers, while adding a rather intriguing wrinkle to the mix. As the Kickstarter preview says, it will also feature “the Til All Are One box set, which weaves the US and UK series together using the UK edits to the US stories, resulting in the most seamless and comprehensive reading experience ever.” I’m intrigued!

Now, for those that don’t know, the US and UK versions of The Transformers comics from the 1980s were different in a variety of ways, with Bob Budiansky being the writer of the former and Simon Furman tackling much of the latter. They were different lengths and there was different material, at least until Furman eventually even took over the US version because he was, by all accounts, amazing at writing the Transformers (and Budiansky tired of the work). What’s cool about this compendium is for someone like me who grew up on the US version and was ride or die with it, I’ve never been able to read the UK version, and I’ve certainly never read a version that remasters it in a way that weaves both together. That makes this Kickstarter a pretty appealing one, and the type of thing that will likely do rather well when it launches in April.