For a limited time, Amazon is offering huge savings on the Transformers Trilogy (Transformers / Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen / Transformers: Dark of the Moon) on DVD and Blu-ray.

Transformers Trilogy Blu-ray: $29.99 (61% off list price of $76.99)

Transformers Trilogy DVD: $17.99 (56% off list price of $40.00)

Today marks a milestone for digital comics as IDW Publishing launches Transformers: Autocracy, the first ever exclusively digital Transformers comic.

From the press release:

DW Publishing proudly announces a new digital comics event five million years in the making: TRANSFORMERS: Autocracy. Released exclusively on digital platforms, this 12-part series will be released on multiple digital platforms as 8-page chapters every two weeks starting January 18th and running through June. Each episode will be priced at 99¢.

TRANSFORMERS: Autocracy has ties to the two new TRANSFORMERS comics series based on the iconic TRANSFORMERS brand from Hasbro and launching this month, Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets the Eye. “Those series look to the future,” said IDW Senior Editor John Barber, “but they have strong ties to the past. And Autocracy fills in some of the gaps in that past by telling one of the most important stories to ever appear in TRANSFORMERS comics.”

Before OPTIMUS became a PRIME... he fought for order. Before MEGATRON became a conqueror... he fought for freedom. Before they were enemies... they stood against — AUTOCRACY.

Autocracy features the stunning TRANSFORMERS writing debut of Chris Metzen – SVP, Story and Franchise Development at Blizzard Entertainment and one of the main creative minds behind the company’s Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® universes. Metzen is joined by co-writer Flint Dille, a fan-favorite for his work on the original TRANSFORMERS animated series.

“This project is a dream come true for me,” said Metzen. “I’ve loved the TRANSFORMERS brand all my life – and the chance to take these characters for a drive with my good friend Flint has been an incredible privilege. But I think it’s Livio Ramondelli’s gritty, cinematic vision that really brings this story to life.”

Artist Livio Ramondelli came to fans’ attention last year with the world-shattering TRANSFORMERS: Chaos series. “I feel beyond thankful to be a part of this project,” said Ramondelli. “These two have written a truly epic TRANSFORMERS story for the ages. I can’t say enough good things about Chris Metzen, and we should all feel lucky that Flint Dille is returning to TRANSFORMERS.”

“IDW is very excited to launch this digital-exclusive series,” said IDW CEO and Publisher Ted Adams. “The TRANSFORMERS brand has a broad international fan-base, this series will continue to increase the comics audience.” The Autocracy series will help bring these new readers to comic shops, by including a page featuring the Comic Shop Locator service and best-selling TRANSFORMERS collections and comics.

Autocracy can be found in IDW’s Apple iPad™, iPhone® and iPod touch®, apps – Transformers Comics and IDW Comics, and on the Web at read.idwpublishing.com. The series is also featured in the Comics by comiXology platform for iOS, Android, Web and Kindle Fire, and Comics + by iVerse.

So, welcome to your new life as a robot that turns into a car. Should be an interesting experience, if you find yourself at Universal Studios Singapore you should give Transformers: The Ride - The Ultimate 3D Battle a shot and let me know hot it works out for you.

Waitasec, those aren't robots, that's a Captain EO audience! What gives, Universal?

No, but it does look like a good time, as these rides tend to be. Check out the video clips, and let me know what you think.

Unfortunately, when I announced last Tuesday that I would begin posting weekly new DVD and Blu-ray releases, I was unaware that November 1, 2011 would prove to be the shittiest, most uneventful DVD day in the history of ever. So, this list isn't a symptom of me hitting the sophomore slump - it's just that the entertainment industry has been busy pushing scary, invasive bills through Congress and was therefore too preoccupied to release anything more impressive than Cars 2.

Next week should be better, assuming you're free to buy DVDs and not doing hard prison time for having Metallica playing in the background of your latest YouTube post.

Transformers Beast Wars: The Complete Series

Cars 2

Dragon Ball Z: Movie Pack Collection One (Movies 1-5)

Seriously, that's it. This week sucks so hard that a Michael McDonald live DVD is in the first few pages of Amazon's new releases in order of popularity. Look for a much more impressive release list, or for the entertainment industry to begin sliding into bankruptcy, next Tuesday.

IDW Publishing has announced that December 2011 is Photo Cover Month, and as you can see they're taking it a few steps beyond photo covers as we know them. It's not uncommon for licensed books like Star Trek to feature variant photo covers featuring cast members of films and TV shows, but when's the last time you saw a vintage Cobra action figure, posed for action, on the cover of a comic?

Speaking as a G.I. Joe comics collector since Real American Hero #1 (my god I'm old), I'm going to go out on a limb and say never.

G.I. Joe and Transformers action figure dioramas will share the stands with snazzy cast photo covers, and participating books will also feature illustrated covers.

IDW's Photo Cover Month comics are as follows:

Cobra #8
Doctor Who #12
Eternal Descent Vol. II, #2
G.I. Joe #8
G.I. Joe: Real American Hero #173
Transformers #31
Transformers: The Death of Optimus Promie
True Blood: The French Quarter #5
Snake Eyes #8
Star Trek #4

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!

IDW Publishing's Transformers #23 hits stores tomorrow (August 10), and continues the 'Road to Chaos' storyline through the eyes of Optimus Prime. That much is made immediately clear from Alex Milne's excellent covers, which spotlight Optimus Prime similar to the Megatron covers from Transformers #22.

Here's the official description of the issue, written by James Roberts with art by Milne, via IDW:

Last issue, you discovered the first ever meeting between Optimus Prime and Megatron. And if the surprises there weren't enough-you won't believe what happens just hours later! Optimus Prime recounts the fascinating end of their introduction as he decides the fate of the jailed Megatron.

This one's a keeper, folks! Now let the CHAOS BEGIN!

Check out a preview below (click on the images to view full-size).

Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the top-grossing film at the box office this weekend, making an estimated $97.4 million. That's a new high for the July Fourth weekend, breaking the record previously held by Spider-Man 2, which grossed $88.2 million this weekend in 2004. Transformers also had the most lucrative opening weekend of 2011 to date, beating out Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which had a $90.1 million opening earlier this summer.

Well, that's awkward. I mean I know there are only so many ways to shoot an exploding car race, but this is just out-and-out laziness on the part of Michael Bay, who appears to have shamelessly lifted footage from his 2005 film The Island for use in Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon.

I suppose if you're stealing from yourself it's a victimless crime - unless you count the audience, of course.