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Review: Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #2

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. TFJOE_02_COV_A-1Unfortunately, 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