The Energon Pub

[Va'al]

Fellow Seibertronian Daniel Adkins has spotted over on CBR an interview with IDW Publishing editor David Hedgecock about the next event in the company's planned Hasbro franchises crossover: First Strike! The interview can be read in full here, and some snippets of interest below, such as the end of most major (non-TF, bar Till All Are One) series, rebranding into First Strike monickers as of September, and why that might be. Also included are solicits and covers for some of the books - check it all out!

IDW Publishing’s next Hasbro crossover is looming, and it looks to have an even bigger impact on the line than fans might have initially guessed. First Strike, which brings together Transformers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K. and more, gets going next week with a #0 issue from co-writers Mairghread Scott & David A. Rodriguez and artist Max Dunbar, also the creative team of the main six-issue First Strike miniseries which kicks off with twice-monthly issues in August.

Along with the imminent debut comes the news that some of IDW’s current licensed Hasbro books will end in August — due to a “seasonal” model and in-story changes brought by the events of First Strike. August will bring the last issues of G.I. Joe (with #9), M.A.S.K. (#10), Micronauts: Wrath of Karza (#5) and Rom (#14).

But those characters, naturally, aren’t going away for good — September sees a G.I. Joe: First Strike by Aubrey Sitterson and Ilias Kyriazis and a Micronauts: First Strike one-shot by Christos Gage and Chris Panda; October follows with a M.A.S.K.: First Strike one-shot from Sitterson and Kyriazis and Rom: First Strike from Christos Gage and Chris Panda. Additionally, a Optimus Prime: First Strike one-shot is scheduled for September from John Barber and Guido Guidi; Barber is joined by artist Guido Guidi in October for the Transformers: First Strike one-shot in October.

Then in November, a new series titled G.I. Joe: Unmasked (uniting G.I. Joe and M.A.S.K.) is set to debut in the wake of First Strike, and Rom & The Micronauts is slated for December.

[...]

2. For story reasons that will become clear during First Strike, the titles we’re drawing to a close won’t really make any sense any more! After the events of First Strike, we’ve got plans for radically new, fresh takes on some of these properties and we want to signify how important the changes are. We couldn’t do that and keep the current series titles in place.

[...]

This is coming a year after Revolution — are you planning on annual Hasbro events?

We have a three-year story arc in mind for the shared Hasbro universe. First Strike is the second act. While Revolution brought everything together, First Strike is the first chance we get to see the ramifications of this bold direction we’ve undertaken, and it leads us directly into… well, I can’t wait to tell you what it leads us into but I can’t just yet!

G.I. JOE: First Strike #1—Cover A: Drew Johnson—SPOTLIGHT

Aubrey Sitterson (w) • Ilias Kyriazis (a) • Drew Johnson (c)
As Scarlett heads off to Cybertron to confront the events of First Strike, her G.I. Joe team on Earth faces an unusual enemy… V.E.N.O.M.! With the help of a former M.A.S.K. member, G.I. Joe looks to put an end to Miles Mayhem’s sinister group once and for all, in the Greatest Crossover One-Shot Of All Time!
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/27/17

G.I. JOE: First Strike #1—Cover B: Ilias Kyriazis

Aubrey Sitterson (w) • Ilias Kyriazis (a & c)
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/27/17
*Retailer incentives: Order 10 copies, get one free variant cover by Nick Bradshaw!

Micronauts: First Strike #1—Cover A: Nelson Daniel—SPOTLIGHT

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!
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/13/17

Micronauts: First Strike #1—Cover B: Chris Panda

Christos Gage (w) • Chris Panda (a & c)
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/13/17
*Retailer incentives: Order 10 copies, get one free variant cover by Nick Bradshaw!

Optimus Prime: First Strike #1—Cover A: Sara Pitre-Durocher—SPOTLIGHT

John Barber (w) • Guido Guidi (a) • Sara Pitre-Durocher (c)
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!
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/20/17

Optimus Prime: First Strike #1—Cover B: Guido Guidi

John Barber (w) • Guido Guidi (a & c)
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/20/17
*Retailer incentives: Order 10 copies, get one free variant cover by Nick Bradshaw!

[Kurona]

Now this is where I get a bit worried about the expanded universe - if they're joining multiple franchises into a single book for each, then that not only says bad things about how this is working out from a financial standpoint but it's likely not gonna go down well with fans of each. You were loving the Micronauts but you weren't fond of ROM's story? Too bad, he's in Micronauts now! You were kinda liking where MASK was going but you really couldn't be bothered with GI Joe? Guess what, they're the exact same team now!

And I know, detractors to the Hasbro universe would argue this is already a thing; but for the most part outside of actual crossovers every book in the Hasbro universe was allowed to be its own thing with minimal effect from the other books. You could easily read GI Joe without giving one iota of a **** about what's happening in Lost Light, and you can have a fine time reading Optimus Prime without really needing to know what that ROM dude's up to. I just hope Transformers is popular enough as a brand on its own to not have the whole "two-franchises-in-one-book" thing happen to it. And what about Action Man?!


One thing I'm very confused about though. Why does GI Joe need to combine with any book? I thought it was the CROWN JEWEL OF THE HASBRO UNIVERSE, surely it was doing fine on its own?

[RNSrobot]

Nope nope nope nope nope nope

[Daniel Adkins]

Now this is where I get a bit worried about the expanded universe - if they're joining multiple franchises into a single book for each, then that not only says bad things about how this is working out from a financial standpoint but it's likely not gonna go down well with fans of each. You were loving the Micronauts but you weren't fond of ROM's story? Too bad, he's in Micronauts now! You were kinda liking where MASK was going but you really couldn't be bothered with GI Joe? Guess what, they're the exact same team now!

And I know, detractors to the Hasbro universe would argue this is already a thing; but for the most part outside of actual crossovers every book in the Hasbro universe was allowed to be its own thing with minimal effect from the other books. You could easily read GI Joe without giving one iota of a **** about what's happening in Lost Light, and you can have a fine time reading Optimus Prime without really needing to know what that ROM dude's up to. I just hope Transformers is popular enough as a brand on its own to not have the whole "two-franchises-in-one-book" thing happen to it. And what about Action Man?!


One thing I'm very confused about though. Why does GI Joe need to combine with any book? I thought it was the CROWN JEWEL OF THE HASBRO UNIVERSE, surely it was doing fine on its own?

I hate to say it, but Action Man will probably go with Kup and join the cast of Optimus Prime.

[Targetmaster Kup]

Maybe TAAO will be replaced by Kup of Action, a buddy comic with Kup and Action Man?

[Nexus Knight]

Now this is where I get a bit worried about the expanded universe - if they're joining multiple franchises into a single book for each, then that not only says bad things about how this is working out from a financial standpoint but it's likely not gonna go down well with fans of each. You were loving the Micronauts but you weren't fond of ROM's story? Too bad, he's in Micronauts now! You were kinda liking where MASK was going but you really couldn't be bothered with GI Joe? Guess what, they're the exact same team now!

And I know, detractors to the Hasbro universe would argue this is already a thing; but for the most part outside of actual crossovers every book in the Hasbro universe was allowed to be its own thing with minimal effect from the other books. You could easily read GI Joe without giving one iota of a **** about what's happening in Lost Light, and you can have a fine time reading Optimus Prime without really needing to know what that ROM dude's up to. I just hope Transformers is popular enough as a brand on its own to not have the whole "two-franchises-in-one-book" thing happen to it. And what about Action Man?!


One thing I'm very confused about though. Why does GI Joe need to combine with any book? I thought it was the CROWN JEWEL OF THE HASBRO UNIVERSE, surely it was doing fine on its own?

I hate to say it, but Action Man will probably go with Kup and join the cast of Optimus Prime.

That's probably actually the logical thing to do. Action Man is admittedly only one person (whose book surprisingly did poorly) teamed up with a big alien robot, especially since. It makes sense (to me) for him to join the Transformers and provide a human prospective. Of course they already have plenty of characters doing that, but hey, I'm alright with the human perspective.

[Daniel Adkins]

Now this is where I get a bit worried about the expanded universe - if they're joining multiple franchises into a single book for each, then that not only says bad things about how this is working out from a financial standpoint but it's likely not gonna go down well with fans of each. You were loving the Micronauts but you weren't fond of ROM's story? Too bad, he's in Micronauts now! You were kinda liking where MASK was going but you really couldn't be bothered with GI Joe? Guess what, they're the exact same team now!

And I know, detractors to the Hasbro universe would argue this is already a thing; but for the most part outside of actual crossovers every book in the Hasbro universe was allowed to be its own thing with minimal effect from the other books. You could easily read GI Joe without giving one iota of a **** about what's happening in Lost Light, and you can have a fine time reading Optimus Prime without really needing to know what that ROM dude's up to. I just hope Transformers is popular enough as a brand on its own to not have the whole "two-franchises-in-one-book" thing happen to it. And what about Action Man?!


One thing I'm very confused about though. Why does GI Joe need to combine with any book? I thought it was the CROWN JEWEL OF THE HASBRO UNIVERSE, surely it was doing fine on its own?

I hate to say it, but Action Man will probably go with Kup and join the cast of Optimus Prime.

That's probably actually the logical thing to do. Action Man is admittedly only one person (whose book surprisingly did poorly) teamed up with a big alien robot, especially since. It makes sense (to me) for him to join the Transformers and provide a human prospective. Of course they already have plenty of characters doing that, but hey, I'm alright with the human perspective.

Action Man was always intended to be a 4-issue miniseries.

[Nexus Knight]

Action Man was always intended to be a 4-issue miniseries.

The series takes place immediately before the Revolution event in which it takes part; unfortunately, due to poor sales, "Action Man: Revolution" also happened to be the last issue of Action Man, with the series ending after a single four-issue arc.

This implies it was actually supposed to go on longer than the four issues. To be fair, though, I'm getting this off the IDW Hasbro Wiki (the offshoot of TFwiki, for those that don't know) on Action Man's comic page.

[Daniel Adkins]

Action Man was always intended to be a 4-issue miniseries.

The series takes place immediately before the Revolution event in which it takes part; unfortunately, due to poor sales, "Action Man: Revolution" also happened to be the last issue of Action Man, with the series ending after a single four-issue arc.

This implies it was actually supposed to go on longer than the four issues. To be fair, though, I'm getting this off the IDW Hasbro Wiki (the offshoot of TFwiki, for those that don't know) on Action Man's comic page.

As one of the admins who helped write that article, that was what we assumed at the time. I conducted an interview with John Barber at NC Comicon Oak City 2017, and he confirmed that it was only supposed to be a miniseries. But thanks for reminding me to fix that.

[Nexus Knight]

Action Man was always intended to be a 4-issue miniseries.

The series takes place immediately before the Revolution event in which it takes part; unfortunately, due to poor sales, "Action Man: Revolution" also happened to be the last issue of Action Man, with the series ending after a single four-issue arc.

This implies it was actually supposed to go on longer than the four issues. To be fair, though, I'm getting this off the IDW Hasbro Wiki (the offshoot of TFwiki, for those that don't know) on Action Man's comic page.

As one of the admins who helped write that article, that was what we assumed at the time. I conducted an interview with John Barber at NC Comicon Oak City 2017, and he confirmed that it was only supposed to be a miniseries. But thanks for reminding me to fix that.

My apologies if it seemed I insulted your intel, I didn't know that. But anything help!

[ricemazter]

Shoot, I was really starting to get into ROM since the IDA digital sale. He was one of those rare conduits into the wider galactic side of the transformers universe, and I always really like the concept of multi-species coalitions with their own gimmick like the Solstar Order or the Green lantern corps. It'll be a shame if he ends up stuck in a completely different universe or shrunk down with the micronauts.

[Big Grim]

One thing I'm very confused about though. Why does GI Joe need to combine with any book? I thought it was the CROWN JEWEL OF THE HASBRO UNIVERSE, surely it was doing fine on its own?

Came here to say just that!

[ScottyP]

As one of the admins who helped write that article, that was what we assumed at the time. I conducted an interview with John Barber at NC Comicon Oak City 2017, and he confirmed that it was only supposed to be a miniseries. But thanks for reminding me to fix that.

Off topic: hey, another NC guy! Raleigh resident myself, always nice to see more folks from the state here!

On topic: intentions aside, Action Man did really poorly from the physical monthly sales perspective. I don't even think 4 cracked the top 300 :/

[Kurona]

It's a shame too as it was a pretty decent mini. For the most part it was pretty standard (the whole 'the actually well-trained and experienced people don't trust this daredevil newcomer but it turns out the latter is in fact correct and justified' thing has been done to death), but the characters were likeable and it pulled off a few legitimately well-done and surprising twists while having the expanded universe thing play into character motivations without being overly-intrusive. I honestly think Micronauts aside it was the best of all five new Hasbro books.

[Daniel Adkins]

I still think ROM has been the best ongoing, because Micronauts hit some major pacing problems once they got to Earth, but Action Man is such a solid standalone story that I will always recommend the trade to people. I'd certainly love to see another series or mini after Revolutionaries and First Strike.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

The only good thing so far from the "expanded universe" thing is Action Man and Kup. That is my one jewel from the mess of the past almost year

[Daniel Adkins]

But Rom is there. Rom improves anything by at least 20%.

[Va'al]

From Vince Brusio of Previews World, we have some more information about the upcoming IDW Publishing Hasbro Universe event First Strike - which will apparently change the concept of shared universe even further - courtesy of an interview with the two writers Mairghread Scott and David Rodriguez! The full piece can be read here, but some relevant snippets (such as who is directly involved, and what is the role played by Joe Colton in it all) are copied below - check them out, and beware that some spoilers for current stories are present!

Vince Brusio: What core idea helped to first strike sparks for this story? How did the concept of this Hasbro crossover first begin, and then grow to the point where it took two writers to make it all fit?

Mairghread Scott: The core concept is two-fold: IDW and Hasbro very much wanted G.I. Joe on Cybertron – a fight so big it dragged all the other Hasbro brands into it, and that idea is super-fun! The two franchises have a long history together and it’s definitely something I was interested in exploring. But I wanted to bring a second, more personal, layer to the story and so we hit on our central theme. Scarlett, the head of G.I. Joe is now being pitted against her own mentor, Joe Colton, who seems to be hell-bent on dragging Earth into an interplanetary war!

So it’s not just a question of saving the Transformers, or saving all of Earth, it’s also a question of saving one man in the midst of this who means the world to you. Is it really Colton doing this? Could he be brainwashed or coerced? If not, can he be redeemed? That balance is one we’re really striving for in this book. Big action, but with a big heart behind it.

David Rodriguez: It gives the entire story a great, emotional core. We’re all for piles of ninjas (so many ninjas) and explosions, but having this conflict that the series pivots on grounds it in stakes that are relatable on a human level. And to make matters more interesting, Colton is not a supervillain with a grandiose or cartoonish plan. He is thoughtful, tactical and incredibly dangerous. He’s spent years planning and assembling the execution of this mission. And Scarlett knows that Colton would not have pulled the trigger unless he knew he had a reasonable shot at pulling this off. So even though the Transformers think the humans pose little to no threat to Cybertron, the reality is that the entire planet is in very real and immediate danger.

[...]

Mairghread Scott: Well, fighting global genocide should never take away from petty squabbling. Naturally our primary heroes (Scarlett and her team from G.I. Joe, Matt and Gloria from MASK, Soundwave and Optimus from Transformers) get along fairly well, they’re not without conflict. Lady Jaye throws a lot of shade at people and Soundwave is not a fan of humans, but his character is weirdly adorable. (He’s really trying to be respectful of these vastly inferior, squishable things but…ugh.)

On the bad guys’ side, keeping competing minds like Storm Shadow from GI Joe and Shazraella from Micronauts (who gets a big upgrade in our story) together is a tall order. Miles Mayhem totally lives up to his name and it’s a joy to write whenever he gets cut down a peg. But they’re not the only people causing trouble. Elita One ends up throwing a wrench in everyone’s works when she steamrolls in with her own agenda. Let’s just say she makes Starscream seem like an upright citizen.

David Rodriguez: The twins (Skyburst and Stormclash) might be my new favorites. I wasn't really familiar with them before the series, but after researching them and seeing them in action in the story I am totally smitten. They have so much energy in their designs and personality that its hard not to enjoy every panel that they're on. But what is great about the human characters is that they hold their own in every scene. Any normal person would be dwarfed (in every sense) by the Transformers, but there really isn't anything “normal” about Scarlett and her team. They rise to the occasion and stand shoulder to shoulder with their robot allies. (Well, metaphorically. In the literal sense they sometimes stand on their shoulders. But that's purely tactical). The other duo that caught me by surprise are Stormshadow and Shaz. They need to have their own, buddy-villain, spin-off after this is said and done. Luckily vans and talking animals are easy to come by.

[Daniel Adkins]

Might wanna put that in spoiler tags, Va'al, considering it spoils the identity of Baron Ironblood.

[Va'al]

Might wanna put that in spoiler tags, Va'al, considering it spoils the identity of Baron Ironblood.

Was already spoiled in previous news, and the tags don't show up on the front page due to formatting! It's.. frustrating, but I did warn against them in the write-up.

[SG Roadbuster]

ugggghhhh, another crossover "mega-event" that de-rails the books i actually care about for 3-6 months and forces in characters that I just can't bring myself to care about.

IDW, please stop trying to be Marvel.

at least they're leaving Lost Light alone. RIP TAAO

[Kurona]

Friggin' sweet, more of Elita One! She quickly became one of my faves in TAAO.

[Va'al]

Courtesy of Newsarama, we have some more covers for the First Strike comics event happening with IDW Publishing as of this August/September, featuring a number of Hasbro Universe franchises - namely, G.I. Joe, Transformers, and M.A.S.K.. Check out the covers for issues #3 and #4 below!

First Strike #3—Cover A: Freddie E. Williams II—SPOTLIGHT
Mairghread Scott & David Rodriguez (w) • Max Dunbar (a) • Freddie E. Williams II (c)
Secrets revealed! G.I. Joe, the Autobots and M.A.S.K. make their way to Cybertron to stop the siege and encounter the COBRA leader, but all is not as it seems! Will their arrival help—or just bring more disaster?
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/13/17

First Strike #3—Cover B: Max Dunbar
Mairghread Scott & David Rodriguez (w) • Max Dunbar (a & c)
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/13/17

First Strike #3—Cover C: Alex Ronald
Mairghread Scott & David Rodriguez (w) • Max Dunbar (a) • Alex Ronald (c)
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/13/17

First Strike #3—Cover D: Rob Duenas


Mairghread Scott & David Rodriguez (w) • Max Dunbar (a) • Rob Duenas (c)
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/13/17

*Retailer incentives:
Order 10 copies, get one free “Cartoon Noir” variant cover by Jay Fosgitt!
Order 25 copies, get on free variant cover by Davide Fabbri!
Order 50 copies, get one free variant cover by Leonardo Manco!
Order 50 copies of both issues #3 and #4 and get one free variant cover of issue #3 by Whilce Portacio!

Bullet points:
· The Hasbro comic book event of 2017 continues!
· G.I. Joe strikes back! So, I guess you could call this issue “SECOND STRIKE!”

First Strike #4—Cover A: Freddie E. Williams II—SPOTLIGHT
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
Expected in-store date: 9/27/17

First Strike #4—Cover B: Max Dunbar
Mairghread Scott & David Rodriguez (w) • Max Dunbar (a & c)
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/27/17

First Strike #4—Cover C: Alex Ronald
Mairghread Scott & David Rodriguez (w) • Max Dunbar (a) • Alex Ronald (c)
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/27/17

First Strike #4—Cover D: Rob Duenas
Mairghread Scott & David Rodriguez (w) • Max Dunbar (a) • Rob Duenas (c)
*Retailers: See your order form for incentive information.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Expected in-store date: 9/27/17

*Retailer incentives:
Order 10 copies, get one free “Cartoon Noir” variant cover by Jay Fosgitt!
Order 25 copies, get on free variant cover by Davide Fabbri!
Order 50 copies, get one free variant cover by Leonardo Manco!
Order 50 copies of both issues #3 and #4 and get one free variant cover of issue #3 by Whilce Portacio!

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!

[/quote]

[Daniel Adkins]

...Huh. Maybe we were wrong about Baron Ironblood's identity.

BUT HEY LOOK GUYS, THE SOLSTAR ORDER! Nikomi, Q'b, and Blob Guy are here to help save Cybertron!

[SG Roadbuster]

the max Dunbar cover......is that Antagony?