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Transformers: Evolutions Hearts of Steel
Ever wondered what form your favorite Transformers would take if they existed in different eras? Wonder no more, as IDW's new Evolutions line debuts with "Hearts of Steel," writer Chuck Dixon and artists Guido Guidi transplant the 'bots to the Industrial Revolution, where a charismatic hammer-man named John Henry discovers that a steam drill is really an alien robot named Bumblebee. Before he can process this information, the pair is attacked by Decepticons disguised as tanks, trains and walking engines. Is this all part of a larger scheme by Starscream? And if so, will the other Autobots arrive in time to stop his nefarious plans?
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 11, 2006
3 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Dixon
3,426 books1,029 followersCharles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 24, 2025
A fun little story that feels like it belongs in a middle school library, a few historical references, some American folklore and giant transforming robots. I’m really loving transformers right now, it feels like playing with your toys and mixing and matching characters.
Really cool gallery of covers and design ideas- so many comics venture into this era but transformers really get to redesign the full characters and world. Lots of fun to see. Transformers fans should read this!
Really cool gallery of covers and design ideas- so many comics venture into this era but transformers really get to redesign the full characters and world. Lots of fun to see. Transformers fans should read this!
February 13, 2025
6/10
A steampunk reimagining of the G1 Transformers AND it features Mark Twain?
Fun idea, but felt rushed and undercooked.
A steampunk reimagining of the G1 Transformers AND it features Mark Twain?
Fun idea, but felt rushed and undercooked.
September 8, 2018
Fun
Fun book, not too series. It's an "Elseworlds" style story where the Transformers have been moved to the 1800's and steampunked out. The story is dumb and the art quality isn't great, but it is highly creative however. The steampunk Transformers designs all look very interesting and some look cool too.
The ending is anticlimactic. The story just kind of runs out of steam. Or runs out of track - pick your metaphor. It just ends. And no Optimus, no Megatron. That's weak, man. And not much fighting. But had the series continued, maybe it would have gotten better. We will never know. It does continue sort of, in Infestation 2.
Fun book, not too series. It's an "Elseworlds" style story where the Transformers have been moved to the 1800's and steampunked out. The story is dumb and the art quality isn't great, but it is highly creative however. The steampunk Transformers designs all look very interesting and some look cool too.
The ending is anticlimactic. The story just kind of runs out of steam. Or runs out of track - pick your metaphor. It just ends. And no Optimus, no Megatron. That's weak, man. And not much fighting. But had the series continued, maybe it would have gotten better. We will never know. It does continue sort of, in Infestation 2.
February 19, 2022
This was an intriguing concept that unfortunately never really went anywhere. It felt like it ended when it did just because it ran out of issues. Seeing Bumblebee as a steam hammer and Shockwave as an ironclad warship are almost worth the price of admission. Also, readers who are less familiar with the Transformers might struggle to identify the characters in their 19th century forms.
August 12, 2022
Such wasted potential.
November 25, 2022
The Transformers cosplay as steampunk. There really is nothing more to it than that.
August 23, 2023
The designs were a lot of fun. It’s a pity we didn’t get to see them much, as the story mostly focused on the humans. Missed opportunity.
June 22, 2025
This book would have benefitted from having two more issues in which to breath
November 18, 2016
There's nothing worse than a lovely concept that gets buried under subpar execution.
At first glance, a steampunk Transformers tale should be one of my absolute favourite stories since I love both of those aspects very much. But while the writing is passable, the artwork is far too muddy to really enjoy. In fact, I find the story takes itself too seriously. Something like this should've been written more entertaing and fun with artwork to match. Like the team who work on Transformers vs GI Joe, for example.
Going back to the writing, there were too many people in this book to keep track of or care about, like the Bayformers movies. Only Bumblebee and Starscream really contribute to the plot while the other Autobots and Decepticons are simultaniously unrecognizable or recognizable but background characters who do nothing to advance the plot. For the humans, too many of them look alike or very forgettable. Even the great Mark Twain, who manages to kill a Decepticon (an actual well done part of the book) doesn't really interact or move the plot along compared to the folk hero John Henry or original character Tobias Muldoon, who actively engage with the Transformers. In fact, both Optimus and Megatron are absent in this mini series. I imagine that they had the attitude of Marlon Brando and threw prima donna tantrums that lead to their uselessness here.
All in all, this feels like how a bad movie seeks aspirations to be a multi-sequel franchise with no hindsight of if it fails.
At first glance, a steampunk Transformers tale should be one of my absolute favourite stories since I love both of those aspects very much. But while the writing is passable, the artwork is far too muddy to really enjoy. In fact, I find the story takes itself too seriously. Something like this should've been written more entertaing and fun with artwork to match. Like the team who work on Transformers vs GI Joe, for example.
Going back to the writing, there were too many people in this book to keep track of or care about, like the Bayformers movies. Only Bumblebee and Starscream really contribute to the plot while the other Autobots and Decepticons are simultaniously unrecognizable or recognizable but background characters who do nothing to advance the plot. For the humans, too many of them look alike or very forgettable. Even the great Mark Twain, who manages to kill a Decepticon (an actual well done part of the book) doesn't really interact or move the plot along compared to the folk hero John Henry or original character Tobias Muldoon, who actively engage with the Transformers. In fact, both Optimus and Megatron are absent in this mini series. I imagine that they had the attitude of Marlon Brando and threw prima donna tantrums that lead to their uselessness here.
All in all, this feels like how a bad movie seeks aspirations to be a multi-sequel franchise with no hindsight of if it fails.
June 21, 2013
Confesso que achei curiosa a ideia de misturar este franchise transmedia que serve essencialmente para vender bonecos de plástico com uma estética steampunk. E a curiosidade foi satisfeita. Até poderia ter saído algo visualmente interessante, mas nem isso acontece neste comic martelado que tem a complexidade narrativa de um desenho animado infantil de baixa qualidade, daqueles que se vê e se esquece logo a seguir. Mas outra coisa não seria de esperar de um tipo de banda desenhada que tem de seguir à risca um mundo ficcional televisivo criado não como ambiente de fantasia mas como manobra de marketing. Lido, degustado, desgostado com o tempo perdido nisto e já vai a caminho do esquecimento.
June 28, 2018
The premise for this book is really interesting. What if the Transformers woke up during the industrial revolution. But the book was a massive let down.
The robot/vehicle designs are really interesting but you'll only know what most of them look like because concept art is included at the back.
I thought the build up for the story was good and lloked forward to seeing how it came to a head. But the ending is the biggest let down, it's rushed on the last few pages and doesn't fully explain why suddenly the conflict has ended.
A book that could have really stood out as a great story with excellent artistic designs ultimately ended up being quite the disappointment.
After reading this, I can see why the "Evolutions" books were cancelled.
The robot/vehicle designs are really interesting but you'll only know what most of them look like because concept art is included at the back.
I thought the build up for the story was good and lloked forward to seeing how it came to a head. But the ending is the biggest let down, it's rushed on the last few pages and doesn't fully explain why suddenly the conflict has ended.
A book that could have really stood out as a great story with excellent artistic designs ultimately ended up being quite the disappointment.
After reading this, I can see why the "Evolutions" books were cancelled.
July 21, 2013
A nice idea, putting Transformers into a different era. Too bad the story was stupid. The Decepticons need a human to design alt forms for them? What?!? The Insecticons steal a shipment of money because the Decepticons need money to fund their operation?!? Since when do they need money? And since Kickback, Shrapnel and Bombshell transform into railcars, why are they still called the Insecticons? I could go on, but I won't.
February 8, 2013
El atractivo de ver a los personajes en la época de vapor no da para rescatar un guión algo flojo y muy dependiente de los clichés que abundan en el subgénero (conspiraciones, cameos). Sin llegar a entusiasmar, Dixon cumple con el mínimo.
October 15, 2008
Shockingly lame. The art was good and the concept interesting, but damn the story was lame. and no Prime or Megs to be found? I think that's what killed it for me.
No Soundwave either.
sigh.
No Soundwave either.
sigh.
August 20, 2011
a re-imagining of the transformers story in the steampunk era. awesome idea and great adapted character designs. it ended rather abruptly though.
October 28, 2012
I enjoyed the art and the idea was cool. I just really wish we got more.
May 16, 2014
Steampunk Transformers is a great idea and this would have been a fun setup for an alternative take on the story had it gone any further than just this one, very simple storyline.
March 16, 2015
The idea of steampunk Transformers is intriguing, and the artwork in this is good. However, the story is simple and has a quite unsatisfying end.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews