G.I. Joe Vs. the TransFormers #5

December 4, 2003

Quick Rating: Very Good

It’s G.I. Joe and the Autobots versus Cobra and the Decepticons in a massive battle!

Writer: Josh Blaylock
Pencils: Mike S. Miller
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colors: Lynx Studios
Letters: Dreamer Design
Cover Art: Mike S. Miller (Cover A); Dan Norton (Cover B)
Publisher: Image Comics/Devil’s Due Studios

Everything in the first four issues of this crossover has led up to this point, a massive battle on Cobra Island. This issue, for the most part, is fight scene after fight scene after fight scene, and they’re all done exceedingly well. There’s a real sense of fun in seeing Snake Eyes take on Starscream with just a sword or with the Autobots facing down Storm Shadow in the “Snake” armor Cobra reverse-engineered from the robots.

Some of the battle scenes are surprisingly brutal, even considering that robots get most of the damage. Optimus Prime taking on Soundwave and Ravage is fierce, showing how powerful the Autobot leader really is. Jazz and Bumblebee, often thought of as some of the less war-like Autobots, display a surprising degree of ferocity in their fight with Devastator.

Sure, there’s a plot. Megatron and Dr. Mindbender are amassing a stockpile of Energon Cubes (power source of the TransFormers for the casual reader). Meanwhile, the president has ordered a nuclear strike on Cobra Island to wipe out both Cobra and the robots in one fell swoop, not realizing that when the bomb hits the Energon Cubes it will trigger a train reaction that will probably blow up the world. But let’s face it, we all know that, by the end of the last issue, the Autobots and the Joes will avert the cataclysm somehow, so why not just enjoy the great fights? It’s like watching an action movie where the outcome is never in doubt.

Blaylock writes a good script (including a particularly good joke from Cobra Commander, but the Miller/Hamscher/Lynx art team is the real star of this comic book series. Their re-imaginings of the TransFormers in their “Cobra-ized” forms are a lot of fun. I’d be willing to shell out big bucks for an Optimus Prime-turns-into-a-Cobra Hiss toy. Come to think of it, why hasn’t Hasbo ever attempted to meld their two most popular toy lines? Seems like a natural idea.

Anyway, I’ve become a real fan of Miller over the last five issues. He draws great action scenes and giant toys as good as anyone in the business. I only wish the other Image series he’s working on, The Hedge Knight, wasn’t so hopelessly delayed.

If you haven’t been reading this title already, I doubt this issue will be where you want to come in. If you’ve read and enjoyed the previous four issues, fear not, this is another very good installment.

Rating: 8/10

TransFormers/G.I. Joe (2003 Series) #3

November 28, 2003

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Trial By Fire

The Autobots and G.I. Joe rejoin the fray.

Writer: John Ney Rieber
Art: Jae Lee
Colors: June Chung
Letters: Benjamin Lee
Editor-in-Chief: Pat Lee
Cover Art: Jae Lee
Publisher: Dreamwave

The World War II-era alternate universe crossover continues. The G.I. Joe team believes Snake Eyes dead in battle, but in reality everyone’s favorite All-American Ninja is locked in deadly combat with Storm Shadow and Ravage. Meanwhile, the G.I. Joe team and the Autobots finally take the initiative in the battle while Megatron and Cobra Commander get locked in a power struggle of their own.

This is another good issue of this crossover event, but it’s starting to wear a little thin. It feels like an example of the “decompressed” storytelling Marvel is putting to such use right now. G.I. Joe and the Autobots have been preparing for battle for two issues now, and the Snake Eyes/ Storm Shadow/ Ravage fight is starting to feel a bit padded and stretched out. Also, it makes perfect sense and is perfectly in character for Megatron and Cobra Commander to get locked in a power struggle, but that doesn’t make it any fresher. I feel like I’ve read the scene with them a dozen times already.

What we get works well, though. We get introduced to a couple more villains (well… re-introduced, since they’re longtime bad guys from both of these properties), and Rieber has these characters down pat. I particularly enjoyed the scene with Roadblock and Grimlock rolling into battle together. They make a pretty well-matched pair, I must say.

On the art front, Jae Lee continues to prove he is the perfect choice for this project. His dark, gritty style is well-suited to what is essentially a war story. Pages in this book are like reading “Saving Private Ryan”. He’s also fantastic at drawing the TransFormers characters in their World War II forms – but again, I have to complain a little about the fact that we still haven’t gotten really good looks at most of the redesigned forms. There’s a nice shot at the beginning of the issue of one of the Aerialbots with Stalker, and I still think making Grimlock a tank in this incarnation instead of trying to explain a tyrannosaurus rex was a stroke of genius, but we’re halfway through this series and most of the shots we’ve gotten of the big guns — Optimus Prime, Megatron, etc. – have been in the shadows. This is done, I presume, to have some “big reveal” moments later in the series, but the audience is still itching for more of what they paid admission for – great big robots.

On just a side tangent, I hate the title of this issue. “Trial of Fire” is one of those titles that has been overused so much I think it should be retired permanently.

This is a good series, but it’s getting stretched out too much. The hand-to-hand with Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow is getting old. We need some big action, and we need it soon. Hopefully, we’ll get it in the next issue.

Rating: 7/10