G.I. Joe Vs. the TransFormers #4
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com on October 25, 2003
Quick Rating: Good
Optimus Prime breaks free of Cobra Commander’s control as the Joe team’s mission is altered irrevocably.
Writer: Josh Blaylock
Pencils: Mike S. Miller
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colors: Lynx Studio
Letters: Dreamer Design
Cover Art: Mike S. Miller (Cover A), Mark Brooks (Cover B)
Publisher: Image Comics/Devil’s Due
Review: With the release of Dreamwave’s TransFormers/G.I. Joe miniseries, this book seems to have gotten a little lost in the shuffle, which is a shame, because even though the Dreamwave book is better, this is a solid tale with lots of old-school action between the two classic properties.
Like the other title, this series creates an entire new continuity for the properties, rather than trying to meld the existing G.I. Joe and TransFormers universes. In previous issues we saw Cobra recover the remains of both the Autobots and Decepticons in the ruins of the Ark that brought the robots to Earth five million years ago. Dr. Mindbender managed to reprogram the robots to follow his commands, although the “big red one” gave him problems. When Cobra launches a series of attacks using their new toys, the United States government responds by forming a team of crack specialists to take them down: G.I. Joe.
In previous issues we saw the few Autobots Cobra failed to recover join with the Joe team to both save their friends and stop the threat. When this issue opens, Optimus Prime has broken free from mind-control, and Cobra Commander’s only hope is to let loose the Decepticon leader he’s kept under his thumb all this time: Megatron.
Blaylock has written the current G.I. Joe series since the first issue (although he will be leaving soon) and he’s clearly got a great handle on those characters. With this series he’s proven he gets the TransFormers as well, with both heroes and villains acting mostly in character, even in this alternate universe. Some of the dialogue is a little clunky, Optimus Prime saying lines like, “Give it up, Cobra Commander. It’s time you were delivered to your homeworld authorities,” but these lines aren’t prevalent enough to ruin the book, just to distract from time to time.
The Joe characters also behave the way we’ve grown to expect, although they aren’t given quite as much a chance to shine as the TransFormers. (Oddly enough, in the Dreamwave book it’s the TransFormers that stay out of the spotlight.) This book does throw a great twist in for the Joes, reminding us that they are soldiers first and foremost, and not the almost-superheroic characters we’ve seen from time to time, and that soldiers sometimes have to do things they don’t want to.
I’m rapidly becoming a big fan of Mike Miller’s artwork. He tells a story as good as anyone in the business, and he’s clean and not overly-detailed, either. The alternate designs for the TransFormers characters, Optimus Prime in particular, are great, as are the Gundam-like designs for the robots Cobra builds after reverse engineering some of the TransFormers technology. This is the kind of project he was meant for.
I’m really not sure how well this book is doing, sales-wise, but I hope fans of these two properties are giving it a fair shot. It’s old-fashioned action for both of these properties, and it’s really a lot of fun.
Rating: 8/10