The Transformers are back in the collecting spotlight, but it’s not only their first comic that’s feeling the heat from the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts trailer.

You can’t keep a good ‘bot down…or an evil one, for that matter.

It’s been four years since we last saw the big-screen Transformers in the 1980s-set Bumblebee solo movie, but we all knew the franchise wouldn’t stay dormant for long. Today, Universal Pictures unveiled the first trailer for the next installment, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Along with taking the timeline back to modern day, the film will introduce the Maximals and the Predacons. Check out the trailer below.

[penci_video url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PmPyFH8wlE" align="center" width="" /]

After Last Knight brought the Dinobots to live action, Rise of the Beasts will roll out the red carpet for more animal-inspired Transformers straight from 1996’s poorly-rendered CGI cartoon, Beast Wars. That will lead collectors to the golden gates of the secondary market. While the first Transformers comic will be at the head of the pack, don’t neglect these other issues.

TRANSFORMERS #1

Looking back, 1984 was the year of The Transformers. Along with the launch of their first toy line and cartoon series, which was explicitly created to promote the toys, Marvel Comics published the franchise’s original comic, and a legend was born. Famously, Hasbro had commissioned Marvel to basically flesh out the entire Transformers universe and characters, which would be a major factor in winning the robot toy war against Tonka’s Go-Bots. That easily makes this the number one comic on today’s list for good reason.

The anticipation for the new movie was already causing a stir in the secondary market. On November 28, a first print graded at a 9.8 sold for over $2k, which was the first time that’s happened since July. 

BEAST WARS: OPTIMUS PRIMAL VS. MEGATRON

In 1995, Hasbro released the first Beast Wars comic that introduced the main characters, Optimus Primal and the prehistoric Megatron with a tyrannosaurus rex head for a hand (that also shot lasers). This issue wasn’t available at your local comic shops; you could only read it if you bought the first Optimus Primal Vs. Megatron action figure set. What’s interesting to collectors is that the character designs for both Primal and Megatron were starkly different from what would be featured in the cartoon. Of course, that only makes it more of a collectible. 

There has yet to be a brave collector to break out the comic and send it to CGC, but I’m sure that day is coming. Since October, the sealed toy package with the comic has sold anywhere from $90 to $150. 

TALES FROM THE BEAST WARS: TRANSFORMERS CRITICAL MASS #1

Hasbro didn’t make it easy for comic collectors, but the hunt is the fun part. To find this issue, you’ll need to go on an epic quest worthy of carrying a ring to Mount Doom. Again we have a comic that was only available with a toy. In this case, it was an exclusive figure set made for BotCon 1997, making it that much harder to find.

This one is so rare that only one copy could be found on eBay, and it was a loose issue that was listed with a buy-it-now of $248.99.

TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE #1

In 2003, the Maximals finally made their debut in a proper comic book. This time, it marked the first time the Autobots met the prehistoric Transformers. However, following Beast Wars tradition, this issue is hard to find.

The last time one sold online, a raw copy sold for $10 on October 12. Now that the attention from the movie is spilling into the secondary market, there is a listing for a graded 9.8 for $280.

TRANSFORMERS: BEAST WARS #1

Of all three Beast Wars comics on today’s list, this is your easiest option to track down. Under the IDW banner, the Maximals and Predacons finally got their own comic series just last year. Since it’s available in such larger quantities, plus it’s not the first appearance, this one should be much cheaper. The last time a raw copy sold on eBay, it went for $10.

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.