IDW has released their second volume of GI JOES fighting Transformers in 2013, which collects two volumes of GI JOES fighting Transformers originally published by Devil’s Due in 2003, and has nothing in common with IDW’s first volume of GI JOES fighting Transformers, which was originally published by Marvel in 1986. Confused? That’s ok. Here’s what you need to know: it’s good.
Written by Josh Blaylock, Dan Jolley
Illustrated by Mike S Miller, E.J. Su, Tim Seeley, Emiliano Sanalucia, and Guido Guidi
Cobra gains control of giant, mechanical aliens capable of changing into vehicles of awesome destructive power and uses them in their attacks. In response, the United States military forms an elite group of soldiers, GI JOE. Cobra Commander, Megatron, Hawk, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and more do battle.
$24.99 / 248 pages
Unlike the Marvel crossover collected in IDW’s first volume of “GI JOE / Transformers” which was set firmly in the same continuity as the ongoing “GI JOE” and “Transformers” books, the crossover from Devil’s Due is its own beast. Starting the story from scratch allows elements from both franchises to be merged fluidly, and results in a new, surprisingly appealing mythology which holds as much potential as either of its parents.
The first story, a six-issue tale written by Blaylock and Jolley with pencils by Miller, features an enourmous cast. If you know your JOEs and/or your Transformers, the characterization is happily accurate. If you don’t, the players’ roles are still easy to grasp, but have a deeper, nuanced quality instead of being flat archetypes. The numerous Easter eggs are subtle, meaning you’ll never feel like you’ve missed something. Nothing in this volume feels forced; all the decisions and situations make a reasonable amount of sense. As a collected unit, the individual chapters read seamlessly. If it weren’t for the splash pages and captions reminding you where the scene is occuring, they’d be completely undetectable.
The art is on the cartoony side, with lots of bright colors and over-the-top costume designs. This makes all the characters distinct, and keeps the action scenes dynamic. There are some odd page layouts, with some small panels which zoom in much closer than any others on the same page. There’s also an occassional panel where, to make the action seem quicker, there are multiple copies of the same character as they move. While this is sometimes effective, it’s not utilized in the best way here.
The second part is a four-issue story written by Jolley with art from E.J. Su and Tim Seeley. It’s a time travel adventure which grows the mythology with some scenes on Cybertron, but in the end it seems like a lot of effort just to introduce the Dinobots. Perhaps it’s because Blaylock is gone, or perhaps it’s because of the lower page count, but this half of the book feels less inspired. The mechanism for the time travel is contrived, and a good deal of the action occurs off panel. The transformers also take a back seat to the JOEs, who get about 85% of the dialogue.
The art is still top notch, though. Each era visited by the JOES and Transformers has a distint look and feel. The action is smooth and easy to follow. The quiet scenes have easy-to-read facial expressions which convey emotion with clarity. Unlike the first half, the perspectives for each panel are always appropriate.
The ten issues are collected here at a slight discount off the cover price, but that’s a great value considering the trouble you’d likely have trying to locate the single issues (or even the orignal trades). These stories aren’t deep or literary, and they certainly aren’t like anything IDW is currently doing with GI JOE or Transformers, but they are entertaining. If you’re interested in a fun, large-scale story that’s well told and illustrated, this is for you.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – Browse before you buy.
