When IDW lost – or weren’t able to renew – the Transformers license, I must admit that I was massively concerned.

For 17 years, IDW had built up, explored and expanded the Transformers universe in a way that made it feel bigger, deeper, more coherent and diverse.

They arguably peaked with the long running series Robots In Disguise and More Than Meets The Eye.

These ran in parallel, exploring both a post-war Cybertron’s volatile political situation and the quest for the possibly mythical Knights of Cybertron, respectively.

More Than Meets The Eye in particular used its setting and sprawling cast of lesser known characters in incredibly interesting ways, with hugely satisfying and long running stories that went to some very surprising places, in terms of the subject matter and social commentary.

The big weakness of these comics, however, were that the longer form storytelling, huge casts of characters and array of plot threads made it incredibly difficult, if not nigh in impossible, for casual readers to jump in.

Those of us who tuned in and kept up were rewarded with payoffs large and small, with the long term stories recalling the glory days of ensemble comics such as X-Men, back when they were essential monthly reading.

So it was with some trepidation that I picked up the new Transformers by Skybound comics; however, in the hands of Daniel Warren Johnson – one of the most underrated contemporary comic creators – I needn’t have worried at all.

In this second issue, the Autobots and Decepticons are taking their first steps on Earth, with – as you may expect – vastly different approaches to what they discover.

It’s action packed, as well as feeling like a fresh start and comfortingly familiar without being predictable too.

Johnson – pulling double duty on writing and art – does a cracking job of making the Transformers universe accessible even to complete newbies, but it’s still exciting for those of us who’ve been along for the ride with the Transformers since 1984.

There’s a minor seeding of the shared universe with GI Joe here too; it’s not massive or too attention seeking either, just a nice Easter Egg for us long term fans.

Given the current sales success and buzz that Transformers is seeing, I don’t think I even need to tell you that it’s well worth checking out – but I will anyway.

Even if you don’t have the slightest interest in Transformers, you may find this to be an enjoyable and action packed comic; it’s a nice throwback to a simpler time, without feeling dumbed down or – as the franchise has been guilty of in the past – feeling simply like a toy advert.