If you’re jonesing for more Transformers stories between collected trade releases of The Lost Light and Optimus Prime, the two main IDW Transformers comics, you’re in luck. Out now are two stories that fill in the gaps for some of the major (and minor) players in the IDW Transformers universe.

ROM vs. Transformers: Shining Armor – The biggest development in Transformers since IDW spun up the persistent universe isn’t a character death (a moment of silence for Bumblebee) or secret reveals (hellooooo Ultra Minor), but Hasbro’s mashing of all their intellectual properties together into one shared universe. Some properties only tie in with Transformers by having a character or two on a team (ala Thundercracker in G.I. Joe). However, others like ROM the Space Knight went all in, featuring the mercurial Cybertronians as key characters as well as featured adversaries. In fact, it’s the hatred of all things Cybertronian that drives a large part of Rom vs. Transformers.

The story begins years before the start of any of the current IDW stories (but in the same universe) with a space battle where pirates pursue and shoot down Cybertronians (well, Camiens in this case, but no one other than other Transformers seem to care about that distinction) for fear their mere presence will bring their million year war with them. ROM, the titular Space Knight, responds to the fracas and rescues the one surviving protoform. Raised away from any Cybertronian influence but never allowed to forget her origins, Stardrive is a gentle soul. Years later, trying to prove her worth to her adopted homeworld, she takes up the mantle of the Solstar Order, after a chance encounter with a Dire Wraith reunites her with her savior.

Once the actual Cybertronians show up, led by Starscream and with Autobots Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus (one of ’em at least) close behind, things get even uglier. Fast.

I never had a great interest in ROM growing up and this comic didn’t do a lot to assuage that feeling. Frankly, the Solstar Order proves itself time and again to be a bunch of racist jerks who are more than willing to make assumptions and assign blame to Stardrive and the Autobots without any evidence of malfeasance. In their defense, when the Cybertronians show up, they trigger an event so catastrophic, the Knights’ first reaction is to try and raze half the planet. So they don’t do much to to disprove any assumptions.

That doesn’t mean ROM vs. Transformers: Shining Armor isn’t good or fun. It’s both. John Barber and Christos Gage craft a nuanced, engaging story that quickly turns into a body horror screamfest as the organic, magical Dire Wraiths, enemies of the Solstar Knights, turn their attention to the “fresh meat” of the Cybertronians. Milne and Perez, whose Transformers art has given us some of the most detailed, freshest takes on the franchise since G1, are in top form, necessitating that every page be poured over, just in case you miss a minor clue or bit of foreshadowing.

It’s this hyper-detailed art, paired with a shockingly relatable tale of racism (given that we are talking about giant robots and armor-encased Space Knights) that make this first issue a treat. Stardrive’s ultimate decision (does she stay loyal to the Order or does she return to her Cybertronian roots?) is an interesting one, and the implications of that decision will continue to ripple throughout the shared Hasbro universe. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Redemption of the Dinobots – Meanwhile, back on Cybertron, we have a contemporary story that fits in between the cracks of Robots in Disguise and Optimus Prime. Anyone who’s spent time with the more politically tinged side of the Transformers presented in RiD will feel right at home as this murder-investigation-turned-‘bot-hunt drama plays out.

It’s a satisfyingly deep examination of what millions of years of war can do to a sentient being. There’s the simmering hatred of the Dinobots, the too-loud refutation of violence by Optimus Prime, and, of course, the manipulation of the entire situation by Starscream. Who to trust or even like remains a moving target.

With the murder mystery wrapped up by the middle of the trade, the second half is more about the Dinobots figuring out their place in a post-war Cybertron. It’s more hopeful and more fatalistic at the same time. Faced with an ambitious enemy who’s more than ready to reignite the Autobot/Decepticon conflict, the Dinobots find themselves serving as protectors rather than forces of destruction. They’re finally given a chance to atone for atrocities they committed during the war.

Plus, there’s Trypticon (who’s working out some rather surprising issues of his own). You can’t go wrong with a purple, city-sized T-Rex.

Barber wrote Redemption solo and and his careful examination of post-traumatic stress would be fascinating with any characters. That it’s applied to characters from my favorite 80s property is a bonus. I never would have considered the Dinobots to be anything other than killing machines (literally), but in his hands they’re old soldiers, horrified by what they’ve done but unable to process their deeds or escape their past. RiD series regular Ramondelli’s art is characteristically atmospheric. It’s a phrase I use a lot, but here it really makes sense. Red fog obscures everything as characters argue, vibrant purple hues dominate the panels as lasers are fired, and the painted visages of the Transformers are in stark contrast to the hyper-detailed style of Milne and Perez. It provides a gravity to every panel that can’t be denied.

It’s a story that will have you processing the outcomes well after you’ve finished.