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ScottyP wrote:The Transformers comics are now canonically taking place in the same universe as the following Hasbro franchises: G.I. Joe, Rom, M.A.S.K., Micronauts, Action Man, Jem and The Holograms (The Misfits too by association), and they've hinted strongly at Visionaries and Inhumanoids joining the party by year's end.

Spoilers, as of G.I.Joe #4 that last one is no longer a "by the year's end" thing. Anyone else looking forward to some hot combiner-on-kaiju action..?

..and yes, I AM aware its design is based on a Fluffy from "Pyramid of Darkness" and is even called out as "Fatal Fluffy" in the back of the book...the Fluffies were also never subterranean or building-sized in the cartoon, so I'm reasonably sure Metlar's been doing some recruiting since the 80s.

Coming up this week from IDW Publishing is another instalment of the Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe - GI Joe #5! Given Skywarp's more significant than usual involvement, we'll also be trying to cover this issue in review form as well, so keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com once the book is out.

G.I. JOE #5
Aubrey Sitterson (w) • Giannis Milonogiannis (a) • Aaron Conley (c)
MONSTERS! G.I. JOE has fought Cobra, the Dreadnoks and more, but never before have they faced a threat like this: Gigantic, heaving abominations crawling up from the depths of the Earth itself. As teams of Joes struggle to respond to the unpredictable attacks, Scarlett must decide what to do with the enemy in the team's midst. Plus, the G.I. JOE leader reveals a troubling secret to her second-in-command, Roadblock.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Bullet points:
New storyarc!
Variant cover by Tom Neely!

Well... Skywarp is still Skywarp.
Y'know, it kinda makes sense for Skywarp to be 'fighting for freedom', seeing as that was the original Deception sentiment.

If it is the Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe, why don't they use a better artist?

Nik Hero wrote:If it is the Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe, why don't they use a better artist?

I don't think the art is necessarily bad. It's just cartoonish, which I think works for a book where a parrot is wearing a scuba diving helmet while a giant robot fights an aquatic Minotaur.

ricemazter wrote:

Nik Hero wrote:If it is the Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe, why don't they use a better artist?

I don't think the art is necessarily bad. It's just cartoonish, which I think works for a book where a parrot is wearing a scuba diving helmet while a giant robot fights an aquatic Minotaur.

Whatever the art can be called, it does no favors for Skywarp's face.

When I first read the solicits for the issue, I was hoping for the hideous monsters from beneath the Earth to be another specific Evil That Lies Within from the Hasbro pantheon ? Although I'm glad to see king sized Fluffies.

"Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe".

Did I miss something? Does it genuinely sell better than other Hasbro-based properties? My guess is no. I'm sure I'm a bit biased, but when IDW has been publishing their TF comics/G1 universe for almost 12 years now, and had two ongoing titles for nearly 5 years each.....and GI Joe has had a spotty publication history over that same time period....

When you self-promote by referring to your book as "The Crown Jewel" of the shared universe, then you're not what you claim you are. At all.

So why do many doubt that GI Joe is the "Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe"?

Maybe because it's because they created a superfuel that just about everyone is going af- No, no, wait, that was Shockwave that created the Ore-13, a Transformer.

Well, maybe they had a space adventure that has expanded the univ- Crap, no. The Transformers, a highly advanced race with spacefaring capabilities have been doing that for years.

Hey, maybe they inspired the creation of advanced military tech like the M.A.S.K. ve- Halt. Nope, that was mainly in response to the multiple Transformers conflicts that took place on Earth.

Wait! Maybe, just maybe, they fought Cobra in a war the killed off hundreds of millions o- Dammit, that large death count (something I wouldn't even want to advertise for the "Crown Jewel" though) was a consequence of an invasion by a Transformers faction.

Maybe it has to do with the fact G.I. Joe's book have been going non-stop with multiple books ongo- Ah, blasted it all. That would be the (wait for it) Transformers. G.I. Joe's books kept getting cancelled, while Transformers have kept going on strong.

Soooo... wait, there is absolutely no good reason for IDW to label the series as such? Well, now I get it.

Bounti76 wrote:"Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe".

Did I miss something? Does it genuinely sell better than other Hasbro-based properties? My guess is no. I'm sure I'm a bit biased, but when IDW has been publishing their TF comics/G1 universe for almost 12 years now, and had two ongoing titles for nearly 5 years each.....and GI Joe has had a spotty publication history over that same time period....

When you self-promote by referring to your book as "The Crown Jewel" of the shared universe, then you're not what you claim you are. At all.

You type so much faster than me. I didn't see your comment when I began typing.

I don't know why they call it that, but I guess they just do. I swear Va'al said something about it previously, but he is off for the next several days still, so yeah. YO JOE!

In a sense, G.I. Joe is the line that started every single thing. Without it, there would never have been Transformers at all:

G.I. Joe was the basis for Takara's Henshin Cyborg, which lead to Microman. Later, Microman inspired Diaclone and the two would lead to the foundation of Transformers.

I'll let you guys figure out how the rest of the lines relate to all this.

Sorry, comic books relate to art, and this art, the self proclaimed "crown jewel of the IDW Universe," is not impressive at all. Heck, it's pretty bad, in my opinion. Very kiddish, and the monster looks like it's drawn by s kid . Sorry

For the "Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe: GI Joe sure doesn't get the top notch artist. No offense to the artist team, but...Well...I've seen better in many black and white Indy comics.

Oof! Sorry but that art is pretty brutally bad. Not a fan.

GI JOE #5 Review

Previous:
Seeming sorcerer supreme Crystal Ball and the always destructive Dreadnoks have been causing trouble. The Joe team has been infiltrating different cults and anarchic organizations investigating how the growing world anarchy events tie together, and if they involve dire wraiths, Rom, Cybertronians, or *GASP* the rise of Cobra again. Now the Joe team has taken Crystal Ball prisoner, but only after he seems to have magically unleashed some nasty creatures from under the Earth.

This Issue:
The Joe team, which also consists of Decepticon Seeker Skywarp, attempts to learn more about the monsters and to drive them back to where they came from before they can do some serious damage. Skywarp, luckily, is about the size of these menaces, so he’s getting more front line action. Rock ’N Roll’s guilt becomes the focus for Crystal Ball, Doc faces her heritage, and Scarlett shares a big secret with Roadblock, who shares it with someone else…

Brought to you by these hard working creative types:


The Art:
As you’ve probably noticed if you own the issue, or have taken a look at the preview, the art takes center stage here, with artist Aaron Conley along with colorist Lovern Kindzierski taking over the duties for the issue over regular Giannis Milonogiannis. Milonogiannis' style has been something for a reader to get used to, as it’s pretty different than what has been done in the past -much more stylized, but still fairly realistic.

With Conley in, we get something even more stylized, and perhaps maybe even more jolting to Joe readers. Conley’s style seems to be inspired by Christopher McCullough’s animated show, ‘The Venture Brothers’. This style may feel more jarring to some, others may welcome the change, or the reference to the show’s style. It seems very stylized and un-realistic, but GI JOE has become much less realistic and much more SCI FI as of late as it intertwines with the HASBROverse’s aliens, robots, and other properties. It’s also only a one off mission, so Giannis will be returning next issue, although Conley will still continue to do covers and other IDW series.


Didn't know Brock Sampson was on GI JOE too, did ya'?


And it's Roadblock's birthday. Time for cake!
Yay!



My take (GI JOE fan):
There’s a lot for a GI JOE fan to like. It’s nice to see some underutilized characters appearing, like Stretcher, and to see that the book’s cast will not only be the small group that we were initially introduced to. The addition of Skywarp, and the push towards much heavier sci-finess may be too much at the moment, especially with the art, but this new Joe mag is still trying to figure out where it fits within the HASBROverse -as its Crown Jewel.

There’s some heavy humanity as Doc wrestles with her and her dad’s alien history, some downright creepiness with Crystal Ball’s sorcery and interactions with Rock N’ Roll, and moral and humane lines involving prisoners. These are balanced off with some silliness as the good guys' banter- which even Skywarp seems to be learning to enjoy. With the giant inner-Earth creatures being the more violent form of Sunbow’s old favorite Fatal Fluffies (albeit much bigger), it’s overall a fun issue. The art to me betrays some of the serious feelings incumbent in the issue. Is it what Joe fans really like? I’ll have to ask some… but this Joe fan is mostly tolerating it, albeit willing to continue to give it a chance.


In the show, cute turned into...


...RWOARRRRR!!!!!!!

My take (Transformers fan):
If I were a big Skywarp fan, I know I would have to tune in much more to this book. This issue contains probably the most we’ve seen of the bot in a long time. He’s almost fully operational, but does not currently seem to be able to teleport. His addition to this team as the only Transformer, and one pushed into being an ally mostly against his will, seems awkward for him-true to his previous character. You can tell he’s not a fan of humans - still bearing the same smugness and holier-than-thou attitude toward the ‘insects’- but he seems like he ’s beginning to feel somewhat better about his predicament- less of a prisoner.

He seems to have some grudging respect for a few members of the team, and plays nicely with most of the rest. He also seems like he’d like to jet (pun intended) at the first opportunity - or does he? At this point, he does not seem to do much reflection on the past, or his relationships with the Decepticons and seems almost content in his new role.


You can tell, Skywarp does really like them. They're still alive.

One wonders if more interaction with the other Cybertronians is in his future (how can it not be?)… will he at some point have to confront Thundercracker? Will he be willing to escape if given the opportunity? Where would he turn if he did — Starscream and Cybertron?





Final:
I cringe somewhat when asked to do GI JOE-related reviews. I feel like I represent a fandom that I do not know that well anymore. I’m such a Sunbow cartoon GI JOE fan first, and that’s where most of my love for the franchise came from. I apologize if I ever misrepresent any GI JOE group. Like Transformers fans, Joe fans have their passionate and yet different kinds of fan cliques.


The right of might...wow!

I hope Joe fans are giving this comic a try. I’m fairly certain it won’t be a ‘purist’s’ (GI Joe geewunner) first choice, but it may provide enough so far to garner some interest and possible support to see in what direction it’s headed. The spread of Joe throughout the different HASBROverse books is new, and maybe exciting, with Zartan and Cobra showing up in MASK, Joes in Optimus Prime and Rom, and Revolutionaries playing around the edges of Transformers, Joe and Adventure Team history; it seems to be a fun time to be a fan of several franchises.

And, like I said above, if you’re a Skywarp fan, it looks like it’s time to start paying attention…




...they can't keep you in this comic as the only Transformer forever!

I'm sorry. I want to take GI Joe series, I really looking forward to it, but this is ridiculous. I know the artist are working hard on this, I truly do. Illustrating comics myself I know how much time goes into every single page. BUT, this work is not "Crown Jewel" Worthy. And until they take that moniker seriously with some serious looking art, I just can't buy this. How can they get ROM so right and JOE so wrong?

Also out this week with IDW Publishing, and we keep talking about it just enough to cover our bases thanks to Skywarp, is issue #7 of the new GI Joe ongoing comics series! With the regular creative team back together, check out a full preview of the issue below.

G.I. JOE #7
Aubrey Sitterson (w) • Giannis Milonogiannis (a) • Aaron Conley (c)
G.I. Joe's subterranean mission takes a turn for the worse after the team is attacked by one of their own! Meanwhile, back in their underground base, Scarlett's command is challenged and a long-simmering rivalry boils to a head! Plus: Monsters, explosions, jokes and more in The Crown Jewel of the Hasbro universe!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Variant cover by Ed Luce variant cover!

I figured it out.


It's Skywarp.


Skywarp is TCJotHU.

Out this week from IDW Publishing, alongside Rom vs Transformers: Shining Armor, is another of the soon-to-come-to-an-end-series from the Hasbro Universe, now in its eighth issue: Mobile Armor Strike Kommand (with a K)! Check out a full preview of the book below, as Ore-13, Mount St Helen, and several other parts of the shared lore are mentioned or used in the plot..!

M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand #8
Brandon Easton (w) • Igor Lima (a) • Tone Rodriguez (c)
Determined to end the threat of Ore-13 radiation poisoning, Matt Trakker and the M.A.S.K. team go on a mission into the depths of the Earth where they discover much more than they could have imagined—a race of powerful mutated creatures borne from the strange Cybertronian energy source. Are these monsters too powerful even for the technology of M.A.S.K.?!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
All-new storyline starts here!
Variant cover by Marcelo Perez Dalannays!

I have got nothing against Mask. I had the motercycle and sidecar submarine
toy as a kid. But on the other hand, why is this even posted? It is nothing to do with Transformers. Is this site going the route of Hascon? Will it soon become the Hasbro fan site?

Rated X wrote:I had the motercycle and sidecar submarine toy as a kid.

That was the Pirana with Sly Rax and Stilleto.

Rated X wrote:It is nothing to do with Transformers.

You mean other than Ore-13? The synthetic Energon that was there at the start of IDW's Transformers comic? And is a foundation to the shared Universe in which the Transformers now exist?

Rated X wrote:I have got nothing against Mask. I had the motercycle and sidecar submarine
toy as a kid. But on the other hand, why is this even posted? It is nothing to do with Transformers. Is this site going the route of Hascon? Will it soon become the Hasbro fan site?

It's got quite a bit to do with Transformers due to sharing a universe with them in IDW -- especially this issue. From the preview alone you can see it involves Ore-13 and Mt. St. Helens, both concepts originating from and tied to Transformers.

Just ignore him. He's just being his usual stuck-in-the-80's self that has to criticise this site on a regular basis.

I haven't been keeping up on things but are those meant to be Inhumanoids?

Burn wrote:Just ignore him. He's just being his usual stuck-in-the-80's self that has to criticise this site on a regular basis.

I could...but I wont.

Check your PM.