The Energon Pub

[dragons]

like art its shame no comic stores around me to check out series

[ScottyP]

like art its shame no comic stores around me to check out series

Digital: comixology.com, iTunes, Amazon (Kindle e-delivery)

To order print books, I like midtowncomics.com

Disclaimer: that's US centric, if you're elsewhere I don't have instant recall for helpful resources

[Big Grim]

In this continuity, Miles Mayhem had all of the vehicles built based on Cybertronian tech derived from Blitzwing. The Rhino was given to Bruno Sheppard, who has the half metal face in the pages above. Sheppard has beef with Matt Trakker because Trakker focused on a mission instead of saving him from the fire that messed up his face.

Cliff Dagger was introduced in the MASK Annual and does have the Jackhammer, but he hasn't been used in several months.

Cheers. I loved MASK as a kid. Firefly had to be my favorite vehicle though.

The actual reasoning is even stupider than that.

I had blocked that out of memory. The MASK book is so bad. I wish it weren't :/

So not worth picking up?

I'm so far behind with TF and IDW issues.

[ScottyP]

So not worth picking up?

I'm so far behind with TF and IDW issues.

I'd say if you can get the trades later at a big discount (aka Amazon or through an inevitable digital sale), you probably won't hate it. That's as close as I can get in good conscience to recommending it.

Now the M.A.S.K. Annual somehow both ended up being awesome and being the only real significant link to TF stories through the run. I do recommend it, very fun read. This is probably because it's a loose retelling of MASK's pilot episode, "The Deathstone", only using this new IDW Hasbroverse.

[Tigertrack]

GI Joe fans should at least sort of like MASK. Honestly. I didn't hate it, but I didn't buy a single copy either. Perks. Also, my comic store would have had to order it, and I can't get into that kind of committed relationship, with only a 'don't hate it' comic.

[Tigertrack]

Forgot to mention... Firecracker was my favorite as a kid, followed by Stinger and Volcano. Those toys were so fun... Lots of good stuff that I never had too. Bulldog, Razorback... And they even had a countach lambo... Lovely toys.

[ScottyP]

I really like Firefly and Slingshot (Aerialbots separated at birth? :O ) but my favorite was Goliath. Finding it years after the line was over on clearance in a beat up box at the Friendly Center TRU in Greensboro, which was the next town over, is one of my fondest childhood memories for some reason.

[Bounti76]

Dumb question Micronauts fans can answer:Shazraella "enerchanged" with (who it's assumed for now is) Antagony. Does that kill the fembot, or just kind of put her in stasis?

[Daniel Adkins]

Dumb question Micronauts fans can answer:Shazraella "enerchanged" with (who it's assumed for now is) Antagony. Does that kill the fembot, or just kind of put her in stasis?

Hard to know. So far the only time we've seen a Microspacian enerchange with a Cybertronian was Baron Karza with the stasis-locked, near-dead body of Micronus Prime. But given that some of the Dire Wraiths that Karza enerchanged with during Revolution later showed up alive (Caleb Awan and Axiom in particular), I'd guess that Shaz enerchanging with Antagony wouldn't kill her.

[Big Grim]

So not worth picking up?

I'm so far behind with TF and IDW issues.

I'd say if you can get the trades later at a big discount (aka Amazon or through an inevitable digital sale), you probably won't hate it. That's as close as I can get in good conscience to recommending it.

Now the M.A.S.K. Annual somehow both ended up being awesome and being the only real significant link to TF stories through the run. I do recommend it, very fun read. This is probably because it's a loose retelling of MASK's pilot episode, "The Deathstone", only using this new IDW Hasbroverse.

Hrm. That's a damned shame. Will keep an eye out though. Cheers Dude.

[ScottyP]

Via PreviewsWorld, the 10-copy Retailer Incentive cover for the upcoming First Strike: Optimus Prime one-shot has been revealed. According to PreviewsWorld, this cover features artwork by Nick Bradshaw, and has been mirrored below.

(W) John Barber (A) Guido Guidi (CA) Nick Bradshaw
With Cybertron under siege by Baron Ironblood's forces, Optimus Prime and Arcee defend their homeland! Caught in the middle is the human/Transformer team known as the Revolutionaries-and one of them has a secret that puts everyone at risk!

Just for fun, and with its tenth anniversary upon us, why not check out the completely unrelated Seibertron.com gallery for the toy that shares the same name as this upcoming comic!

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Just in time for the comic to be released, we have a full preview courtesy of CBR for the new GI Joe First Strike comic! The comic is being released today, so read up on the preview below, and determine if this preview is enough to encourage you to go out and buy the full thing!

[Rodimus Knight]

I imagine with that cover, one wrong bump and Scarlet is going flying.

[Burn]

Scarlet falling off would be the least problem with this book.

It was atrocious, why IDW continue to call G.I. Joe "The Crown Jewel" is beyond me. "A Real American Hero" is a vastly superior book compared to the Hasbroverse G.I. Joe book.

[Va'al]

Out this week from IDW Publishing are two next chapter in the current Hasbro universe that involve Transformers - and first up, we're looking at First Strike #4, the current day events, and the attack to Cybertron with Shazraella's involvement. Check it out below!

First Strike #4—Cover A: Freddie E. Williams II
Mairghread Scott & David Rodriguez (w) • Max Dunbar (a) • Freddie E. Williams II (c)
Captured by Transformers! Even with the Autobots on their side, G.I. Joe is in trouble! Starscream doesn’t trust anyone, much less armed humans who show up during Cybertron’s darkest hour and he’ll do anything he can to keep G.I. Joe under control—including let COBRA get even closer to their goal! FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
The Hasbro comic book crossover event of 2017 is here!
Time is running out! It’s G.I. Joe and M.A.S.K. vs. the Transformers vs. the other Transformers vs. COBRA!
We’re in the home-stretch! It wouldn’t be hard to envision what is coming down the line! No tricks, no illusions, no holograms! So pony up because it is about to get wild! Okay, maybe not everything is part of the shared line, but some exciting stuff is! It’ll be a whole new status quo with all-new books!
Variant covers by Jay Fosgitt, Davide Fabbri, and Leonardo Manco!

[bluecatcinema]

"And now we're back to genocide. Why did I ever think politics would be less violent than war?"

Good one, 'Screamer.

[Stormshot_Prime]

Look at that, Starscream being the voice of reason. Looks like Ghost Bee and the whole Vigilem incident really affected him.

[Va'al]

In other Hasbro First Strike news this week, from IDW Publishing's releases, we have another of the tie-in issues from the various titles participating in the crossover event: Micronauts #1! Take a look a the full preview below, and let us know what you think in the discussion on the Energon Pub boards.

Micronauts: First Strike #1—Cover A: Nelson Daniel
Christos Gage (w) • Chris Panda (a) • Nelson Daniel (c)
Rom, remaining on Earth as the events of First Strike take place, finds himself in a most unusual team-up… with Earth’s smallest heroes, The Micronauts! Together, these two forces must prevent a catastrophe on Earth even while Cybertron descends into chaos!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Tying into the events of First Strike—A Hasbro Comic Book Event!
The first part of the Micronauts and Rom’s story—continued in next month’s ROM: First Strike #1!
Variant cover by Nick Bradshaw!

[ebonyleopard]

The writing is good when Starscream becomes the rational sounding one. Why to flesh out his character with humongous growth.

Gotta say this First Strike crossover may be the best IDW had done so far. (Just don't do a Marvel and make this a yearly thing).

[Kurona]

The writing is good when Starscream becomes the rational sounding one. Why to flesh out his character with humongous growth.

Gotta say this First Strike crossover may be the best IDW had done so far. (Just don't do a Marvel and make this a yearly thing).

There's another crossover planned for next year. Adding in Revolution, this means IDW are in the midst of doing at least three big multi-franchise crossover events per year in a row.

[Va'al]

Shut Up, Optimus
(Spoiler free-ish)

Synopsis

Captured by Transformers! Even with the Autobots on their side, G.I. Joe is in trouble! Starscream doesn’t trust anyone, much less armed humans who show up during Cybertron’s darkest hour and he’ll do anything he can to keep G.I. Joe under control—including let COBRA get even closer to their goal!

Agreed.

Story

We continue our exploration of the wider Hasbro Universe as the First Strike event reaches the second act in its first issue over at IDW Publishing, as writers Mairghread Scott and David A. Rodriguez attempt to bring together and make no one kiss from the various feeble alliances at hand - and Starscream is tired.

So very tired

The momentum we had seen in the previous three issues seems to have waned a bit by this fourth issue, as the charge of the story is shifted to the two major factions colliding on Cybertron, now that politics and policy take over the immediate response to Ironblood's threat. Which was to be expected narratively, but I think also drags the pacing a little too much - which may be rectified in the next two issues.

and we all stumble

Look, I like a good dissection of Optimus Prime's character and saviour complex, and I have always enjoyed how Scott included that in her look at religious issues in Cybertronian and its colonies' culture, but one sequence in this issue that once more to that felt a little redundant after the parallels drawn with Scarlett and Soundwave last issue. Either that, or more could've been seeded earlier in the event, if this is going where I think it might.

buuuuuuuurn

As for characters in general, there are some good moments and snippets for individuals - but Scarlett, like Optimus, unfortunately takes a little too much too far too heavy of a burden for the story and the personal/political side of the event. The back-up story (at the hands of John Barber), on the other hand, was particularly enjoyable, and once more Mayhem steals the scene now that Shazraella is fully introduced (who finally clicks with her WoK drive, too).


Art

Max Dunbar (pencils) and John Wycough (inks) take the lead story's art duties, with Ander Zarate on the colouring side, and I am not entirely conviced, I'll admit. Dunbar's style still feels as though he's trying to adapt to the different moments in the story, but rather than finding a lead motive, it just falls into looking like other art depending on the sequence - not helped by the jarring contrast of heavy inks on an otherwise much lighter touch everywhere else in the issue (Wycough is only pages 3-9), meaning that the Cybertronians in trial are a bit too static for a full appreciation of the exchanges.

See? The inks are just drowning everything else in her face

As for the small chapter of backstory at the end, on the other hand, the collaboration between Netho Diaz (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), and David Garcia Cruz (colours) meshes really nicely - and not unnecessarily darkly - with Barber's short script, bringing some good spotlights onto Shazraella and Mayhem, still my favourites by far, and the compositions that the difference in scales allow for such a short frame of story space.

Gilberto Lazcano takes on the lettering duties in the issue, and I find no faults in his approach to the captions and dialogues, but it takes a long while to see full creativity with the soundscape of the more action-based scenes later on. The cover chosen for the thumbnail is a good summary of the main thread running for the most part of the issue, by talented Alex Ronald and Thomas Teyowisonte Deer -- and all other covers, of which there are many, can be found in our updated entry database right here.

Thoughts
Spoilerish ahead

There have been comments about this event that I strongly disagree with, but I have to admit that this particular issue did not do well what the previous three had handled really quite nicely, by adding some forced parallels, stilted dialogue moments, and pairing them with some not particularly strong visual results to carry the story forward - meaning that a particularly important moment for TF readers may be lost in tonal overbearing.

basically, #same

I'm not saying it's a bad issue, but it does have its severely dipping moments that it most definitely could not afford at this stage of the event, and by the nature of the event itself, too. Enjoy the Mayhem, enjoy the Starscream, enjoy the jabs at Optimus - and appreciate the difficulty of balancing all of the characters involved. But if this were to be entirely Scarlett's story and her relation to Colton, the issue sunk a bit too far into itself to make any other emotional connection work for me.

. - out of

[ScottyP]

The few good parts put a glaring spotlight on the problem spots, at least for me. And the thing with the pushups, holy crap, way to make Scarlett look like a whiny Langley brat while Gloria, Matt, Roadblock, and Jaye keep things steady.

And don't get me started on Joe "Roman Reigns" Colton again. There are no stakes left. Will they overcome the odds? Yes. Someone will. Yay?

At least this is coming out on schedule so far and will be over in a month. Misery on paper.

[Va'al]

The few good parts put a glaring spotlight on the problem spots, at least for me. And the thing with the pushups, holy crap, way to make Scarlett look like a whiny Langley brat while Gloria, Matt, Roadblock, and Jaye keep things steady.

I think that's what got to me the most. Scarlett was a potentially very good character with some good motivations and general 'good' things about her - then that story came up, and it dragged down her, Optimus, Colton, and just a whole lot of set-up that had been avoided in a book predominantly about GI Joe (come on, it's true).

There are some very good parts, as you say - but no, between visual stumbles, forced dialogue and over-drama, it just doesn't work well as a set-up for the second act (of two).


Let's see next month.

[Va'al]

With issue #4 out, Previews World has now updated their listings for the variant covers for First Strike #5 - due next month from IDW Publishing - featuring artwork by Rob Duenas, Davide Fabbri and Monica Kubina, and Leonardo Manco, with the latter two choosing Joe Colton's scheming face with different entourages, and the former using the regular superdeformed brighly lit-up art we've come to see already. Check them all out below!

(W) Mairghread Scott, David Rodriguez (A) Max Dunbar (CA) Rob Duenas
Prison Break! After a daring escape, Optimus Prime, the Autobots, Scarlett, G.I. Joe and M.A.S.K. must venture into the heart of Cybertron to stop Cobra's devastating weapon that will kill every Transformer on the planet!
Bullet points:
* The Hasbro comic book event of 2017 continues!
* It's a race against time as Cobra reaches their goal! Can our heroes catch up? Or is Cybertron doomed?
* Filled with the action, drama and humor you've come to expect!

(W) Mairghread Scott, David Rodriguez (A) Max Dunbar (CA) Davide Fabbri

(W) Mairghread Scott, David Rodriguez (A) Max Dunbar (CA) Leonardo Manco

[Big Grim]

Ugh, they really cannot draw the masks, can they. The original worked. That does not look like any version of Viper I've known.