Having taken their shuttle to Cybertron, The G.I.Joes look to bring the battle to the giant metal invaders’ home planet. The Joes’ weapon of choice is none other than a bomb that infects the fallout zone with green plants. Unfortunately, the Joes have their sights set on the Autobots. When they begin fighting, the Decepticons enter the battle and take prisoners. Mirage uses his holographic abilities to create a diversion. Meanwhile, a second team of Joes has an encounter with some Autobots that may turn the tide of the battle.

This book contained something that all other IDW Transformer books lack: robots that transform into vehicles. Other than that, this book has absolutely nothing going for it. The visual style would appeal to a child just learning to read because the colors are bold and bright, the images are painfully two-dimensional, and the sketchbook doodle styles are nothing short of laughable.

I fully understand that a level of campiness resides in many iconic and beloved properties. The Batman television series did it. The Rocky Horror Picture Show grew a cult following because of its endearing oddness. But those examples are campy because they seem silly to us now. Trying to imbue a Transformers comic book with campiness might have seemed a great idea at first. However, this comic book with its less-than-devotional tongue-in-cheek look now comes off as insulting. Yes, the 80s did have some silly execution and sheer absurdity in its productions (like ALF—a show that I still love). Transformers vs. G.I. Joe flounders because it should have been a one-shot laugh like an Amalgam book (Darkclaw, anyone?); instead, it has become a four-issue series (with each issue having multiple covers) that wallows in poor design and execution rather than tell a dynamic story to venerate its title characters.

Score: 1/5

Writers: Tom Scioli and John Barber Artist: Tom Scioli Publisher: IDW Publihsing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/27/14 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital