IDW Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #3 Subscription Cover

They're charging money for this? I'd almost pay NOT to see that artwork again... Almost.

The Joes kinda remind me of those lil wrestling figures that came out during the late '80s.

The artwork looks a heck of a lot like that of boardmember of old GrimSqueaker.

I have to say... after reading the first one (and understanding it's a bit of a playful, joke comic)... I'm loving this series. The retro art and inside jokes really made me laugh... and feel like a child in the 80s again.

It was off putting at first, but by the time I reached the end of the comic I was sold.

The IDW comics have been taking a couple of breaks this month, but with this final week of July, they definitely catch up! Check out below a full preview,via Newsarama, for the first offering: the truly bonkers Transformers vs G.I. Joe #1! (And head back here on Wednesday to find out if we have finally formed an opinion on it..)

Transformers VS G.I. JOE #1—SPOTLIGHT
Tom Scioli & John Barber (w) • Scioli (a & c)
SPACE WAR I! Earth makes contact with an alien race—and G.I. JOE is on the front lines of first contact! But when the TRANSFORMERS arrive—their version of “peace” does not match our own…
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Variant cover by Rob Liefeld!
Launching out of the smash-hit FREE COMIC BOOK DAY comic!
ALL NEW STORY, ALL NEW ART!

Scioli is the best artist in the whole 3rd grade!

But otherwise, I like this and I will buy ( and probably complain).

Never in my almost 40 years of reading comics has an art style turned me off so much. I could see this working for another comic or a kid's storybook, but it just doesn't fit G.I. Joe or the Transformers at all.

I think you have to be an older fan to really appreciate these... having read comics for a good 35 years, I can recognize that this art is homaging a different era of comics... and see it as the tongue-in-cheek, funny project it is.

But for younger or casual fans, it would look really childish and odd. Maybe after reading the trade paperbacks of all the 80s TF comics and the excellent UK series you could warm up to it and see the humor?

I'm still getting my head around it, with a mixture of amusement, bemusement and confusion.

It's just so wacky in its scope!

Ignoring the artwork, I enjoyed issue 0. The humor worked pretty well. I'll pick up this comic, but I do hope that they do something about the art eventually. I get that it is a homage, but the art that they are referencing never had this many issues, especially with the perspective.

Also, I hope that they stop making everything in red, including the speech bubbles, in the briefing room scenes. Trying to read black on dark red in this preview was just painful.

Yeah, I admit I kinda hated it until I read it. About 2/3 through I started to "get it" and by the end I was having a lot of fun. I think it's a good gimmick for a limited series. If they do an ongoing Joe/TF series, I'd want a serious reboot and some modern art.

That said, I really loved the older Dreamwave crossover that was so dark and painterly. It was really gritty. But I digress...

I'd agree on the mini-series idea, rather than ongoing. But we'll see what happens to it after the initial run.

First issue is already on second printing!

I'm twenty one years old, and I'm digging on what's going on here. It isn't so much age as exposure to the material they're riffing on/basing it on that's a necessity, I think. Kirby, classic comics from the 70s and 80s, etc. It's an ungodly, beautiful chimera.

Synopsis
SPACE WAR I! Earth makes contact with an alien race—and G.I. JOE is on the front lines of first contact! But when the TRANSFORMERS arrive—their version of “peace” does not match our own…



Story

On a completely different note, artistically, thematically, tonally, from the concluding issue of Windblade... This week also marks the beginning of a new Transformers vs G.I. Joe ongoing from the mind and hands of John Barber and Tom Scioli, co-plotting and co-writing the whole run (as far as we know, at least). We've seen issue #0, but come along for a look at the actual start of a new thing right below here.

[Credit: Tigertrack is remotely helping out with this review, though all conclusions are my own.]



It's still completely out there. Nothing has shifted since Free Comic Book Day, as Barber and Scioli plot the arrival of Cybertronians onto Earth, as the Joes set out to meet a Decepticon delegation headed by Soundwave and the cassettes. Where is Cobra? Oh, they're there. Where are the Autobots? Do is it really matter at this point, with Soundwave taking centre stage?



Plot-wise, there's a simplicity which might turn some people off the book, almost going back to the original cartoon plots from the two series - but in comics form, revelling in the creative spaces left from a stripped down narrative. There are sight gags, wordplay moments, slapstick, and some quite good action sequences, too.



The countdown sequence in particular is well thought out, and really shows the decompressed, almost slowed down to the bare minimum approach that the writers are taking. And we end up picking up a plotline started in issue #0, almost to its conclusion, along with what I think is an extremely intriguing ending to the book. Both of them.

Art

Ok. So Tom Scioli is taking care of absolutely everything here, from layouts to lines to inks to colours to lettering, this is his book definitely a lot more than Barber's, and it's his vision of the two franchises that we're seeing, with his artistic tendencies and influences coming into it - and that will work two ways with readers: yes, or no.



I can't see a middle ground, to be honest, the style does not allow for it. And I have to say, after getting my head round issue #0, I've come to enjoy this one a lot more than jumping into the cold deep end straight away - though I think another one to fully enjoy it. Credit note: even with Scioli on everything, I do want to make a note towards Chris Mowry's production work on this, especially the page design, and Carlos Guzman on editing, which cannot have been easy.



As SDCC is coinciding with the launch of the new series in this first issue, multiple variant covers were to be expected; here's a list of what you can get: Rob Liefeld with Romulo Fajardo Jr, James Stokoe, several Tom Scioli ones, Jamie Tyndall with Ula Mos, interlocking, single, blank, GI Joe dominant, TF dominant - you name it! It's Liefeld and Fajardo in the thumbnail, in case you were wondering.


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

As we said in the double-team review of issue #0, this series is setting itself up to be completely bonkers, with a method in the madness. I can't stress this enough: it's not for everyone, it does not take itself seriously, but it does it with such a charm and clearly heartfelt research and execution of styles, references and planning that it will at least crack a smile.



I am still ambivalent about the artwork, as much as I do like the darker hues and overly filled panels, but it does fit the entire concept of the book from what I take from it - and my opinion quite definitely is not that of the entire comics staff! But if you're into your nostalgia pandering, your cosmic sagas, celebrations and parodying in parallel, this is definitely an issue for you - TF or Joe fan alike.

A rating too high to post, huh?

Convoy wrote:A rating too high to post, huh?

It's something like twentyfive purples out of D snakes.

Every time I see this, I keep coming back to this:

Even though I am still not a fan of the artwork, I did have an easier time following what was going on than in issue 0.

Besides that, I did really enjoy this issue and it made me chuckle a few times. Like the review said, it seems closer to the original cartoons than the comics, especially in terms of ridiculousness.

Merp.

Well at least we have another joe and TF series. And they really seem to be trying to cram in tons of joe vehicles and characters. Sadly, there's still not a lot of TFs. 0 Autobots this issue. Bets on the joes blowing up bumblebee or another Autobot next issue?

This thing is just crazy.

Someone pointed out elsewhere that this comic is getting a lot of good buzz from comics readers that are not strictly part of either fandom - which is excellent news for the writers, publisher and franchises, to be honest!

It might be one of those gateway series into the Transformers/G.I. Joe published universes, and that can only mean well for future ventures.

Va'al wrote:Someone pointed out elsewhere that this comic is getting a lot of good buzz from comics readers that are not strictly part of either fandom - which is excellent news for the writers, publisher and franchises, to be honest!

It might be one of those gateway series into the Transformers/G.I. Joe published universes, and that can only mean well for future ventures.

That's my hope.

Next week sees the second issue of the IDW Publishing Transformers vs G.I. Joe ongoing crossover series, but Amazon.com already has a pre-order for the first trade paperback volume! Release expected in December, price currently at $15.77, more information below.

SPACE WAR I! Earth makes contact with an alien race - and G.I. JOE is on the front lines of first contact! But when the Transformers arrive, well, let's just say you've never seen TRANSFORMERS or G.I. JOE like this! Visionary comic book maker Tom Scioli (with Transformers fan-favorite John Barber in tow) combine two of the biggest names in entertainment into the surprise breakout hit of 2014!

This is seriously hideous in appearance. I like the idea that we see how some people got their injuries and modifications but I can't get past this artwork that looks like it's done by someone that has no concept of proportions, depth, and straight lines. Sadly, I've been sitting comics out for a few years because the price tag is too steep.

Hideous.. Just hideous. My 10 year old daughter has made better artwork than this..

Everything about the art aside it's kind of funny they are putting up a collection of these things for pre-order when we only have issues 0 and 1 out.

Visionary comic book maker Tom Scioli (with Transformers fan-favorite John Barber in tow) combine two of the biggest names in entertainment into the surprise breakout hit of 2014!

This is the big hit? What happened to everyone loving Windblade?!

gothsaurus wrote:I think you have to be an older fan to really appreciate these... having read comics for a good 35 years, I can recognize that this art is homaging a different era of comics... and see it as the tongue-in-cheek, funny project it is.

But for younger or casual fans, it would look really childish and odd. Maybe after reading the trade paperbacks of all the 80s TF comics and the excellent UK series you could warm up to it and see the humor?

Plus you have to have been a fan of both Transformers and G.I. Joe for that long. I came in during Beast Wars and I never got into Joe except for Renegades, so this series is leaving me cold so far.

DanaCornZine wrote:This is seriously hideous in appearance. I like the idea that we see how some people got their injuries and modifications but I can't get past this artwork that looks like it's done by someone that has no concept of proportions, depth, and straight lines. Sadly, I've been sitting comics out for a few years because the price tag is too steep.

It's the writing that bothers me. It feels like plot and characterization take a backseat to trying to string together a bunch of in-jokes and one-liners.

Nemesis Primal wrote:

Visionary comic book maker Tom Scioli (with Transformers fan-favorite John Barber in tow) combine two of the biggest names in entertainment into the surprise breakout hit of 2014!

This is the big hit? What happened to everyone loving Windblade?!

Outside of established TF readership, this comic is selling like ridiculously hot cakes.
The first issue went to multiple printings almost immediately, as they sold out at distributor level.

Yeah, Windblade and MTMTE are amazing on different levels... plus also love some Ramondelli. BUT I love all those for very different reasons. Same for this crossover. It's light, funny, and hits that nostalgic spot that makes you feel like a kid again... reading the original Transformers comics twenty years ago.

I guess my point is, doing side by side comparisons doesn't make a lot of sense for this one. You either get it, or you don't.

Coming at you like a python wrapped around an Energon-fuelled torpedo, is this month's issue of the new IDW publishing crossover ongoing from the minds and hands of Tom Scioli and John Barber: Transformers vs G.I. Joe! Check out a full preview below, keep an eye out for the Seibertron.com review.

Transformers VS G.I. JOE #2
Tom Scioli & John Barber (w) • Scioli (a & c)
BOOTS ON THE GROUND! The war has begun—and no bars will be held! SCARLETT’s forces go head-to-head with MEGATRON’s hordes—and the most off-beat adventure in comic book history hits a new level of dangerous alliances, deadly invasions, and devastating betrayals!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
The comic book event of the millennium!
One world was never enough for this war!
Cosmic action as you like it!
Connecting Variant Cover by Tom Scioli

Yep. This is incredible.

Synopsis
BOOTS ON THE GROUND! The war has begun—and no bars will be held! SCARLETT’s forces go head-to-head with MEGATRON’s hordes—and the most off-beat adventure in comic book history hits a new level of dangerous alliances, deadly invasions, and devastating betrayals!



Story

The introduction to Tom Scioli's world of G.I. Joe and Transformers has really been like nothing else so far, in issues #0 and #1, even with John Barber's vigilant watch. And issue #2 continues the streak of whatever-it-is this comic is doing, with its anachronistically retro style and feeling, toy advertising without the products and general action-packed whimsicalness.



We headed with Scarlett's team to Cybertron at the end of last issue, and this is where we find ourselves straight away, as the Joe team brings the war begun by the Decepticons to their own turf - and it sets up the rest of the universe, as Autobots are subjugated by the Kirby-esque merciless godhead figure of Megatron, and his minions.



Though the big bad gun is a slow build-up, Scioli does not hold back on the even bigger, if not the brighter, guns: Trypticon and Devastator, all still through the (I guess) military eyes of Scarlett and the other humans, searching for targets in true Earthican foreign policy: stamp on, blow up, then investigate the remains.



There are some amusing references to the nature of all the characters and their plastic counterparts, though as I said, without the toys existing. The dialogue is still completely over the top, and is still not for everyone, along with the thread being very very thin, though a little tighter than last month. But it's also extremely enjoyable if you can buy into the whole premise.

Art

And I suppose, the artwork. Tom Scioli perseveres in his Silver Age style of dotted galaxies, peculiar proportions, referential work (with Flash Gordon also featuring in some scene set-ups, as the commentary expands upon), mirroring what is already present in the dialogue and set-up with the visual style that some readers still consider a hurdle.



Personally, however, I find that not only does the style really work with the aim of the series, it allows Scioli as both writer and artist to place all of his toys across the drawing board, and just go wild with the colours, interactions and the stupidly fun lettering touches, from the titles to the ID cards to explosions and EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.



I applauded the production of the book last issue as well, but it is nice to see Chris Mowry's work still shaping the final product. I am not a gigantic fan of the exclusive Liefeld and Tyndale covers, but the Ed Piskor Cobra heavy one and the two Scioli versions are perfectly in keep with the tone and content of the book (thumbnail: Retail Incentive cover by Scioli).


Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

If you're not on board with Transformers vs G.I. Joe by now, I'd recommend to stop trying. This comic is clearly not for you, and by no fault of the readership. It is doing what it does unapologetically, and received warm-heartedly by many for very good reasons, and it's little to do with the actual lore of the franchises involved in the crossover, if only maybe as reference material and gags. And Scioli and Barber are clearly having barrels of fun with it.



What is particularly enjoyable, is that after the rollercoaster up a snake with wings in its nose that is the story, the two creators give themselves almost the same amount of space to talk about what went into the creation of the issue, page by page, panel by panel, deconstructing the whole frame and proving just how not seriously this is to be taken - but also how to, if so one wished. I will stop warning readers about this by next issue, but enjoy some green mean killing machines in #2 for now.

This actually looks like a lot of fun! I've never been a Joe fan, and whilst the vs comics never caught my attention, I'd certainly like the idea of it becoming toys. However this comic looks like just what the doctor ordered-a good dose of fun in a franchise (TF) that seems to be trying too hard and failing everywhere! I'm so exhausted by the toys nowadays, they say they are going back to kid friendly but they look as appealing as cheap knockoffs. IDW's main TF titles sound awesome in themselves, but I feel the fandom get a bit too heavy and that adds negative weight to the stories (Gender, Hard head and Rewind, etc) I try not to dislike Bay's movies, but seriously the whole thing is also so very exhausting now.
This comic looks like a nice dose of marmite-you either love it or hate it! It's not trying to be agnostic or please everyone. If you hate it, you're not gonna discuss it or try to disect or argue it, and if you love it, you'll clearly have a blast. If I could find comics in my area, I'd probably get into this series for a nice bit of Brain down time!

In other IDW Publishing news this week, we also have a preview for the return of the crackers comics crossover: Transformers vs GI Joe #3! Check out below the first handful of pages from the issue, and check back in with Seibertron.com later this week for a review.

Transformers VS G.I. JOE #3
Tom Scioli & John Barber (w) • Scioli (a & c)
CYBERTRON INFESTED! The Transformers’ homeworld is crawling with tiny green invaders from the planet Earth—the G.I. JOE team! Also this issue—Funeral for a Friend. Many AUTOBOTS and G.I. JOE soldiers have fallen in the line of duty—but you've never seen a send-off like this!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
WAKE THE DEAD!!! In 3-D!!!
Not actually in 3-D—but you will not believe your eyes! Guaranteed!
The biggest thing ever gets bigger!
Interconnected Variant Cover by Tom Scioli!

oh man. I just cant like this art. sorry.

I'm sure there are people who do...for whatever reason, but it is, in a word, ugly.

I guess it has nostalgic value...it reminds me of the pictures I drew in 5th grade.

Optimizzy wrote:oh man. I just cant like this art. sorry.

I'm sure there are people who do...for whatever reason, but it is, in a word, ugly.

I guess it has nostalgic value...it reminds me of the pictures I drew in 5th grade.

I was
Thinking I was only one don't like this style

I think they're going for the early Marvel style of both comics.

However, why is Starscream like Underbase sized?

This book just gets worse. I thought it would grow on me. NO. It's terrible. The art is terrible, the writing is terrible. Yeah, I know, it's intentional, but just because it's intentionally bad doesn't make it good.

For that matter, why is the purple cyclops calling himself SOUNDwave

What the hell is up with the size? If Starscream transformed, he'd be 20x bigger than those jets falling into the sea. Same goes for Soundwave, they are all Godzilla sized?

Flashwave wrote:For that matter, why is the purple cyclops calling himself SOUNDwave

He isn't. Soundwave died in the first issue. Shockwave is avenging his death.


I still do not like the art style, but I do think the comic captures some of the goofiness and bizarreness of the cartoon series.

My bad, typo on Shockwave's name because I read Soundwave off of the panel too lol.

This comic is fantastic. What if Steranko and Kirby worked on Transformers and G.I. Joe?

I also hated the art style... until I downloaded issue #1 and read it. Then I feel like I began to "get" it. The art does some really interesting & fantastic things with perspective that's actually really skillful and unique. Once I started to enjoy that, I found myself appreciating the retro style more and more.

That's not to say that there's anything wrong with those who just don't like it. But there may be some of you for whom giving the book a read may actually change how you feel.

Siger wrote:What the hell is up with the size? If Starscream transformed, he'd be 20x bigger than those jets falling into the sea. Same goes for Soundwave, they are all Godzilla sized?

Well, it's not like scale has ever mattered in this hobby. That being said . . .

They took a break, but the cosmic crossover of Transformers vs G.I. Joe comics is back soon, thanks to a preview up on iTunes. Expect the full preview and release to appear in the next two weeks, and check out the mirrored images from Mariel Romero's screenshots below!

THE WAR AT HOME! But whose home—and whose war?! Interstellar war has never been so cosmic! The G.I. JOE team faces the TRANSFORMERS—on Earth and Cybertron. Plus—just in time for Halloween… meet the OCTOBER GUARD!

Plenty of comics news this week from IDW Publishing! Everyone is writing and arting everything, as not only Angry Birds Transformers is out, but so are the new issue of Transformers vs G.I. Joe, MTMTE and the first issue of Drift: Empire of Stone - check out the preview for the cosmic comic by Scioli and Barber below!

Transformers VS G.I. JOE #4
Tom Scioli & John Barber (w) • Scioli (a & c)
THE WAR AT HOME! But whose home—and whose war?! Interstellar war has never been so cosmic! The G.I. JOE team faces the TRANSFORMERS—on Earth and Cybertron. Plus—just in time for Halloween… meet the OCTOBER GUARD!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
The biggest crossover the cosmos has ever faced JUST KEEPS GETTING BIGGER!!!
Ask your retailer about the Tom Scioli connecting variant cover! Connects with the variants for #2 & #3 creating one big piece!

Review is coming, by the way, for this one and issue #3 (which somehow never made it onto here).
I'm just a bit stuck with connection issues and time.

There is no preview as such for this week's IDW Publishing release - the first collected trade volume of Transformers vs G.I. Joe - but you can still get to find out more about it by reading an interview with creators John Barber and Tom Scioli, courtesy of ComicsAlliance. Find some snippets below, and click on the link to read the full story - and maybe come back to Seibertron.com, so we may finish reviewing the two issues we've left behind!

ComicsAlliance: The amazing thing about Transformers vs. G.I. Joe for me as a reader is that it doesn’t feel like it should exist, and I mean that in the best way possible. It has this feeling that there’s no way this book should’ve been approved, because it’s so wild, raw and energetic. How did you get that feeling to come across in this comic?

Tom Scioli: I don’t know how you would get to that point with any kind of comic. Just from my perspective, I’ve been doing comics for such a long time and in such a way that’s very different from the normal career path for comics, so I don’t know how you replicate that. I don’t know how many other people are out there that would be able to have that mix of discipline and self-destructive chaotic impulse to get that. I don’t know, John? Do you have any perspective?

John Barber: To one degree or another, when you’re working on something that’s company-owned, you have to forget about that when you’re working on it, and I think that degree varies. The whole idea was to make something kind of weird, that went out the window at some point. There was probably a minute early on where Michael Kelly, the guy we work with at Hasbro as their Director of Global Publishing, called and he was like, “This isn’t exactly what we talked about.” He loves the book, but at some point, the idea was going to be safer. It’s not like there’s anything unsafe about this, either, but you want to be able to point at it and say “here are these two things that we put together to make one thing,” and I don’t think you can do that with our book. I think that’s what makes it interesting.

TS: I didn’t really know how it was going to turn out either. It’s a project where it’s like “yeah, what would this thing be?” I know that when we first talked about in the beginning, we had that very basic idea of a Jack Kirby take on this sort of thing, but when you sit down to actually make it, all these other opportunities open up. All these other creative things take over, and it outgrows that initial idea. But then it sort of comes back to it. Early on, I thought I wanted to do something more serious than just a straight Jack Kirby rip-roaring adventure, but then it turned into that kind of rip-roaring adventure.

[...]

CA: Along those same lines, I’m a much bigger fan of Joe than Transformers, so most of the Transformers comics that I’ve read have been crossovers with G.I. Joe, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that was structured like this, with the Joes going to Cybertron. Was that just an obvious thing that you’d never seen?

JB: That was there from the beginning. 100% of this comic is Tom at this point, and I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I expect that one day, Tom will just stop emailing me.

TS: [Laughs] I’ll just send you the finish comic.

JB: Right. But every other Transformers/G.I. Joe comic, at least every one that I read, tried to drag Transformers to a realistic level and throw that into the G.I. Joe world. I thought the idea of blowing up G.I. Joe and making them science-fiction, having them live in the Transformers’ world, was there. If anything, Cybertron was the one thing I really wanted to do. But it obviously came out much cooler in the comic than I would’ve thought of.