New IDW Transformers vs G.I. Joe Ongoing to Debut on Free Comic Book Day 2014

Sabrblade wrote:Are those... evil plant vines?

I’ve just completed the artwork for the inaugural Free Comic Book Day issue of Transformers vs. G.I.Joe. I want nothing more than to share it with the world immediately, but it’s not a webcomic, at least not yet. What I can share are the notes and sketches I did in preparation for working on this series.

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I’ve just completed the artwork for the inaugural Free Comic Book Day issue of Transformers vs. G.I.Joe. I want nothing more than to share it with the world immediately, but it’s not a webcomic, at least not yet. What I can share are the notes and sketches I did in preparation for working on this series.

I remember a toy, a set of plastic armor that allowed you to become an Autobot. I’m considering using that design as the basis for a cybernetic armor worn by Autobot-allied humans in the story. Although it’s not the driving force of the project, some of the appeal for me is linking it to the parts of these mythologies that resonated with me as a child, and in a way continue to resonate with me. There’s a generational aspect to these things. There was a generation that really basked in the glow of Marvel superheroes and created compelling second-generation work with those characters that someone from the generation before and after would be incapable of for the reason that these characters did not resonate with them in the same way. I feel like something similar is happening with this project. I was 8 when these characters, toys and cartoons were new. They were of the moment, but as far as I knew, they could’ve been around for a thousand years.

jgilkinson wrote:So snake eyes talks and doesnt wear a mask...

Seibertron wrote:Hey everyone ... these will help

Seibertron wrote:Hey everyone ... these will help

Sabrblade wrote:Guys, this is not supposed to look like a 1980s comics style.

It's supposed to look like a 1960s comics style drawn by Jack "The King" Kirby.

Burn wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Guys, this is not supposed to look like a 1980s comics style.

It's supposed to look like a 1960s comics style drawn by Jack "The King" Kirby.

And this is suppose to make us happy? Annoy us even more? Failing to see your point here.

Sabrblade wrote:Guys, this is not supposed to look like a 1980s comics style.

It's supposed to look like a 1960s comics style drawn by Jack "The King" Kirby.

Dead Metal wrote:This is even more insulting than Rob Liefeld's Jack Kirby "tribute".

Burn wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:This is even more insulting than Rob Liefeld's Jack Kirby "tribute".

You shut your mouth! How dare you criticise the great Liefeld!

Burn wrote:I'd love to see his take on TF's.

Dead Metal wrote:

Burn wrote:I'd love to see his take on TF's.

They would look way better than this piece of crap.

Va'al wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:

Burn wrote:I'd love to see his take on TF's.

They would look way better than this piece of crap.

Dead Metal wrote:

Va'al wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:

Burn wrote:I'd love to see his take on TF's.

They would look way better than this piece of crap.

I never thought I would say this, but Liefeld is clearly the superior artist here.

FCBD: For those who might be new to your comic book, give a quick rundown. What can we expect to see in terms of story and art?

Tom Scioli (writer/artist/colorist/letterer): "It’s the first chapter of TRANSFORMERS VS. G.I. JOE. It tells the story of the first encounter between the G.I. JOE team and the TRANSFORMERS of CYBERTRON. It’s got the scale and action of a summer superhero blockbuster, but with the unlimited budget that only the comics medium can provide. There’s a space battle. There’s an assault on an underground COBRA base built on the ruins of the ancient city of Koh-Buru-Lah. There are cool science fiction ideas, like the Doomsday Seed. The story culminates in a massive aerial battle between planes, helicopters, jet packs, and giant killer machines from space. We also establish the relationships between the characters in a compelling, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes tragic manner. There are character origins, deaths and lasting consequences. It’s a story that readers will never forget."

John Barber (co-writer/hanger-on): "Yeah, Tom hit it right on the head. This is such a unique and different take on the characters—really honoring the past but pushing the comics aspect out there further than ever… there’s stuff you can literally only do in comics, and Tom’s pulled off a lot of storytelling bits that I’ve never seen before. But the story is really non-stop, relentless action. Funny, touching, thrilling… usually in the same panel."

FCBD: What has been your favorite part of book or character to tackle?

Tom: "I really enjoyed the research process. Having grown up in the eighties, I had a certain level of familiarity with the characters, but in preparation for this series I dived headfirst into it. I read piles of comics, watched hours of cartoons and movies. It was intoxicating. The character of SNAKE EYES is the breakout character of G.I. JOE, so I had a lot of fun writing for him. He’s fun to draw, too. In a way he’s the original template for the ’90s Image-style characters—all pouches, straps, guns, grenades, mystery and attitude. I like STARSCREAM, too. It took a lot of practice to figure out his visual representation. He’s the one from the original cartoon that had the most interesting story. He’s the second banana, living and plotting in MEGATRON’s shadow. How did this envious, jealous, scheming social climber get to be the right hand man to somebody he hates? The one character that really made an impression on me above all in the old G.I. JOE comics is DR. VENOM. He’s kind of an obscure character. He’s profoundly evil, genuinely frightening, but darkly funny. He’s the representation of the banality of evil. He’s very ordinary looking in the operatically-costumed world of G.I. JOE. He is a lot of fun to write."

John: "For me, already get to play in the G.I. JOE and TRANSFORMERS sandboxes every day, editing G.I. JOE and a couple TRANSFORMERS comics and writing TRANSFORMERS: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE. What’s been fun for me is coming at the characters from a totally different perspective… really coming at them from a unique point of view. I love this idea of approaching them in a grand, operatic tradition—the sense of scale is huge, and I the whole sense of story and of the construction of this world is so amazing and so wild, it’s a lot of fun to be a part of."

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FCBD: Looking to the future of the book, is there anything you can tease about what's upcoming?

Tom: "We’re building toward a massive confrontation between the people of Earth and the people of CYBERTRON, a planet full of living, thinking, feeling, killer war-’bots."

John: "I can promise you this story doesn’t go the direction you think it’s going to go. There have been clashes between the TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE in comics before, but there has never been anything like TRANSFORMERS VS. G.I. JOE."