IDW Publishing's Transformers ongoing series has been full of action and turmoil of the sort one doesn't expect from a licensed title, as the "Chaos" event has shaken up the status quo in dramatic ways. And there will be lasting repercussions. When the smoke clears in December, IDW will release a one-shot called The Death of Optimus Prime, after which Transformers will relaunch as two new series: Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, and Transformers: Robots in Disguise.

Chaos has seen a new threat in the form of Galvatron, leader of a splinter band of Decepticons bent on destroying Cybertron. This set in motion a series of events including the mystery of whether the Autobots' human companions on Earth secretly murdered a Decepticon, and a crisis of faith for Optimus Prime. He's not certain he's up to the task of leading the Autobots through this crisis and into a new future - and he might be right.

The arrival on Cybertron of ex-patriot Transformers who are angry at what's become of Cybertron would certainly seem lend credence to Prime' self-doubt.

As Transformers editor John Barber put it, in a conference call Wednesday with IDW Publishing and Hasbro, "They don't see the Autobots and Decepticons as good and evil as we see them. They see just them as two warring factions who have destroyed their world."

These events and more, including the threat of the Deciptigod - a combiner of massive power and hell-bent on destruction - come to a head in Transformer #31. That leads directly into the Death of Optimus Prime one-shot, written by Barber and James Roberts, with art by Nick Roche.

Barber is also the writer of Transformers: Robots in Disguise, which will feature art by Andrew Griffith. Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye will be written by Roberts, with art by Roche.

It's a new era for The Transformers comics, and the representatives from Hasbro made it clear that they are big fans of IDW's work, and collaborative partners in the franchise. Hasbro Senior Global Publishing Manager Michael Kelly made a point of saying that "Transformers comics have truly become "a Hasbro/IDW thing."

So, assuming this really is it for Optimus Prime, what impact will that have on the films, cartoons, etc.? Well, possibly none. In any case, the comics are definitely no beholden to the continuity of the Transformers in other media. As Barber put it, "It's like when Bruce Wayne gets sent back through time in Batman; it's not like Christopher Nolan has to do that in his next movie."

Which means anything goes, and anything can happen. So if you haven't been following Transformers at IDW, now is most definitely the time to start. And if you've been reading "Chaos," buckle up - it's about to get real up on Cybertron!