TF Views

No, seriously.

http://boards.idwpublishing.com/3/viewt ... =2&t=15226

On FaceBook, Ryall called it an ongoing.

The book will be co-written by Barber and Scioli, and drawn by the latter.
Here is link to some of Scioli's work.
http://www.ambarb.com/?p=553

I am interested in the over-all concept, but the art leaves me wary.

Scioli's work seems very "indie", which does not exactly fill me with confidence. But, I am a fan of Barber, so I will be checking this out.

It is like this book is a cross-over between various types of reactions.


-Divided Dom.....

Posted in the news, sorry for the delay, been busy with some real life things, was kinda hoping someone else would post it.

I got the press release text and the full image up, note that the image doesn't have space for publisher imprint or UPC, so likely this is just a teaser image.

I don't have much to judge on, but the art is very much that '70s to early '80s look that was inspired by Jack Kirby which got a lot of noses turned up at it at the time and now is enjoying a huge resurgence (though I do sometimes wonder if it's not earned), it's not as "indie" as I was expecting based on your texts. As an ongoing, I'm not sure it's for me, but it could work. I've been wanting to see someone take a better crack at it than anything we've gotten to date.

I hope this doesn't spread Barber too thin.

Look at the over-all stiffness off the characters and the sloppy composition of the image. It is likely a stylistic choice. But, the impression is "indie book".

I definitely agree about Kirby getting far too much praise. The man did some good things for the industry in broads stokes, largely getting people away from overly simplified character designs. But, he was not the master of all things visual (let alone narrative) that he has often been framed as.

Marvel's "GI Joe and the Transformers" was much under-appreciated. Higgins did a good job of balancing the book between the two properties (especially by making it accessible to fans of one franchise or the other) and closing it off as much as he could. The UK made a respectable effort several years later using "Action Force" characters.

Dreamwave's crossover was blown to hell by poor execution. Devil's Due made a better effort. But, it had obvious problems a decade ago and has not aged well.


I am not sure why you are worried about Barber being spread too thin. He would be co-writing this book with Scioli. As of now, he has one monthly book and some editorial duties. We can also expect him to be involved with the Bayformer movie books next year. But, we do not know if he will be staying on "Robots in Disguise".


Based on what I have seen of Scioli's work, this is likely to be a deconstruction. IDW has done deconstruction well (owning problems with the franchise without shitting on the property) in recent years. Hopefully, Barber will reign in Scioli's more "Cambridge" instincts.

It's Bronze-Age stylized, that's how it's meant to be.

I tell ya what though, Duke and Destro look like they're holding their weapons rather than having their weapons "exist" near their hands. Optimus and Megatron are fighting nearby and surrounding the humans yet not interfering with the plane of existence for either. Things MAKE SENSE in the image, people are tussling but still visually believable. That is not an art failure.

Barber is writing on 2 Transformers titles now, as well as editing all 4, that's how it seems likely to be spread too thin. He'll be writing full-time on RID and part-time on this book and on MTMTE, and editing all 4 books, while trying to keep some things isolated and others integrated.

Eh... I'll be skipping this one. I just can't get into GI Joe, and the Transformers/Joe concepts have never seemed like a good fit to me. I did buy a couple of the Dreamwave TF/Joe crossovers and they were okay, but nothing all that compelling.

Still, maybe the cross-promotion will be good for both brands. I certainly hope so.

A friend pointed out to me that this book will be REPLACING the current Regeneration One which ends at the upcoming issue 100, so it won't be stretching Barber any thinner as an editor.

I like the idea of GI Joe having regular GI Joe adventures and then just coming across the Transformers, they interact but don't make their lives the central focus of each other. I could definitely see that more as the Sunbow shows than any of the comics though.

I'm not a fan of Cross-overs comics,Especially after I read all of the Dreamwave & Devils Due TF VS G.I Joe cross-overs comics. The IDW multi zombie saga cross-overs was equally awful.

Having Snakes eyes & storm shadow's origins/conflict/confrontation consume/dominate all these recent TF VS G.I Joe cross-overs DW/DD comics was epic awful & the last nail in the coffin.

This week's Comic Shop News quotes Scioli as saying that the series will be focused on questions of man/machine and defining the differences.

IDW has impressed me with books that I was skeptical of in the past, so I am cautiously optimistic (despite my wariness of Scioli based on his previous work).

5 preview pages of FCBD issue

http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-new ... ew-179279/

Oh, what an epic shame. This is not only intentional fan art, which is to say, intentionally '80s-awful, but it's also repugnant writing. It is the definition of wrong-headedness, how IDW agreed to publish this train wreck is discomforting, and how these panels are supposed to entice readers to jump onto this line is beyond me. I know IDW made hay out of the retro-comic thing with ReG1, but that's a totally different ball of wax. This is just wrong on so many sides.

If this is just a gag, then they have lost the battle by not informing their audience as such, since knowing is half the battle.

Wow. That is....fucking terrible. But, it is not suprising. (Seriously, am I the only one who has checked out Scioli's other work as linked above?!?!?)

It looks and reads like an in-house "Mad Magazine" style parody of a style that existed 30 years ago. It looks like IDW is pitching to the Cambridge types with this one, because they love their oh-so clever subversions. The problem is that those types are not likely to pick up a TF or Joe book.

This is compounded by the fact that Scioli kind of sucks at writing and illustration. There have been dozens of riffs on Superman over the years, ranging from Majestic, Apollo, Hyperion (of the Squadron Supreme), the Sentry.... Scioli's contribution to what is almost a genre of itself is "Satan's Soldier", which is less insightful than an unironic reading of "Age of the Sentry" (which manages to parody the Silver Age by aping it).

Scioli's writing is at the level of a kid's writing. Hell, there are kids who could pitch higher. (I normally would not judge on a few pages worth of a preview. But, this, combined with Scioli's earlier work gives me no reason to think that IDW's TF/Joe crossover series is going to be any good.)


Here is some (not safe for work) "Satan's Soldier". The comments are also worth reading.

http://www.ambarb.com/?p=775
http://www.ambarb.com/?p=798

Kinda makes me wish for more from Fun Publications....

I know IDW made hay out of the retro-comic thing with ReG1, but that's a totally different ball of wax. This is just wrong on so many sides.

"Re-Generation One" was a noble attempt to continue a linear book after 20 years. It was not perfect. But, Furman deserves full credit for effort. (Even his mis-steps are difficult to judge too harshly.)

This is just trash resulting from a juvenile attempt to seem clever and subversive. I will read and review the Free Comic Book Day edition. But, I am unlikely to buy the book (which, as JT points out, fails at every level).