EULOGY FOR A CROSSOVEROfficial Synopsis:
THE END IS NIGH! Final battle erupts—the forces of G.I. JOE and the AUTOBOTS head-to-head (or head-to-toe, depending on the size difference) with the DECEPTICOBRA alliance! The fate of the universe hangs on every decision!Lots of contributors listed for this issue:
Welcome friends and board mates, readers and lurkers. Today we celebrate the series that was Transformers Versus G.I. Joe. With issue number 13, this out-of-the-box, discussion causing series, has come to its final Earthly conclusion.
My name is Tigertack, I’ve read Transformers and G.I. Joe fiction (and a lot of other comic book and narrative book fiction as well) since I was but a young lad, borrowing comic books from my cousin Dan’s vast collections when 4-H had ended, and from the libraries that my mother worked at for one of her many jobs. Many of you know me from Seibertron as a former newsie, news admin, and Botcon attendee, sometime podcaster and reviewer.
After TF #54, this is not what I expected under the mask to look like. Transformers Versus G.I. Joe was a series assigned to me review, mainly I think because Va’al thought that I needed to be tortured, maybe because no one else would do it…but more likely he wanted to challenge me, and as ‘the-resident-active-staff-member-who-is-also-involved-with-comics-and-enjoys-G.I.Joe-too’ it fell to me to try to relate to anyone reading these reviews about the latest iteration of a series that historically has never been what was really desired, but could be relied upon to be very different from the last version.
White haired and short-buzz cut...Race Bannon? And so we have this interation, written, drawn, lettered, and colored by Tom Scioli all by himself, with John Barber editing and offering advice here and there. A dream come true for a creator who loves both franchises and their toys and comics… and it shows!
The next Billy figure to need an FSS version. Or maybe they could make a whole Scioli inspired set.
The series though, immediately caused a lot of water cooler talk, tweets and posts, as it looked and read like no previous TFvsGIJOE story ever really had. It was Tom’s universe and he was making it what he wanted, all the while paying homage to the people who came before him like Larry Hama, Simon Furman, and Bob Budiansky, and using other media influences that ranged from comics like Watchmen, Kirby drawn and written materials like New Gods and other works, to movies like Rocky and Firestarter.
And what a world it was: Decepticobra alliances, GI JOE and Autobots fighting then working together, Earth getting eaten by Seibertron (har!), Scarlett and Snake Eyes becoming headmasters, Megatron getting a taste for human flesh, drug addicted Autobots, greenery added to Cybertron, robot invasions and government reactions, a general who never wears his cap straight, Cobra La, the Death of Optimus Prime, and Megatron wishing to dissolve the sun for its energy. ENERGY is a fantastic way to describe the series, as there was always something new thing different, something alive about the series, and it always brought a nervous, excited energy to the reader.
I always found it hard to write about this series because most of the time, I felt as many did…there was this imaginary line drawn and you were usually either on one side or the other of it as far as this series was concerned: you liked the creativity, newness and energy involved with the series, or it had the polar opposite effect on you, and you simply hated it. The side I started on was the side that hated it, the art being the biggest turn off to me as a former artist in training, I knew I could do better and it irked me. But as the series progressed it was not enough to just complain about the art and the ‘weirdness’ that was happening. I had to look for something to appreciate, a way to enjoy it. And I did. I liked it for its differences, its surprises, its always making its own way, and telling its own story while paying homage to so many great influences.
"Always in the eye of the beholder, this series has been."
And so, in conclusion, we celebrate the life of this series, and its final issue…which even though it is the final issue, still manages to pack in surprises and homages as it is ending. It’s a double issue and its packed until the very last page. I know many of you either read it and enjoyed its Lord of the Rings ending, its creative use of G.I. Joe Retaliation and Transformers movie references, the use of previous classic Joe and TF comic panels, and its downright original Atlas (it ain’t Unicron!), the always perfect hair of Billy, the use of Ultra Magnus and his white cab, and the marriage that you just could not have predicted. In all its wild ENERGY laden pages it never-stopped, until it had to stop.
This was one of my favorite pages...ever!
Movie Megs ultimate combinerWith these last words, I say that we celebrate the passing of this iteration of Transformers Versus G.I. Joe, and laud its creator and collaborators, its inspirations and its ENERGY. We can truly say that there never was a series like this, and there most likely will never be a series like this again (except in 2025 when we see ‘Shipwreck Space Pirate’). Kudos Mr. Scioli and Mr. Barber.
For the next installment of Transformers and G.I.Joe action we'll see what the new 'Revolution' has for us. Thanks for reading.
’Til All Are One! Yo Joe!
Revolution?Some random images I had wanted to use until the review went a different way.
