Date: Thursday, June 15th 2023 10:15pm CDT
Categories: Comic Book News,
Press Releases
Posted by: william-james88 Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 64,403
Yesterday, it was announced that two of the world’s most popular franchises – Transformers and G.I. Joe – have a new comic book home as part of the historic partnership between toy and game company Hasbro and Skybound, effective immediately.
Comic book fans who picked up their copies of Void Rivals #1 in comic shops today were the first to learn the news, as the blockbuster Oblivion Song team of writers Robert Kirkman (Invincible, The Walking Dead) and artist Lorenzo De Felici (Kroma), along with colorist Matheus Lopes (Step By Bloody Step) and letterer Rus Wooton, revealed that the highly anticipated series was actually a stealth launch of this new shared “Energon Universe” with the surprise first appearance of iconic Transformers character Jetfire.
Three upcoming releases, alongside Void Rivals, mark the beginning of the interconnected “Energon Universe” featuring both the characters and franchises you know and love, along with entirely new concepts developed in partnership by Hasbro and Skybound.
“It's a tremendous honor to be able to reintroduce this world to a new audience under the Skybound banner,” said Robert Kirkman. “I've loved these characters for most of my life and to have the opportunity to add to the already rich tapestry Hasbro has built with the all-new Void Rivals is an unbelievable opportunity. If you look at everything done with Transformers and G.I. Joe, you can see the inkling of a vast universe with tremendous potential for crossovers and interaction that will enhance the fan experience while staying true to the individual identities of both concepts. I look forward to exploring that potential for years to come.”
“When we first discussed plan for the surprise reveal in Void Rivals #1, I never expected it would be a secret we could keep for over a year,” said Michael Kelly, Hasbro’s VP of Global Publishing. “Now that it is finally here, we are all excited to finally be able to talk about all the amazing stories to come from our great new partners at Skybound.”
Launching in October, Transformers #1 begins an all-new era for the iconic robots in disguise from superstar creator Daniel Warren Johnson (Extremity, Do a Powerbomb, DC’s Wonder Woman: Dead Earth) and colorist Mike Spicer (Stillwater). Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies—the Decepticons. As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. And humanity’s only hope of survival is Optimus Prime.
“To my readers, retailers, and fellow transformer fans: GET READY! I've only been drawing Optimus Prime and the rest of this amazing cast since I was in FIRST GRADE,” said Daniel Warren Johnson. “This is a dream project for me, and I'm so glad to be adding a new chapter to the decades long celebration of robots turning into cars. Also, cab-over trucks are so fun to draw!”
The new Energon Universe expands in December with Duke #1, a limited series from Joshua Williamson (DC’s Superman, Dark Ride), Tom Reilly (The Thing) and Jordie Bellaire (W0rldtr33), that tells the story you’ve never read before – the origins of G.I. Joe and Cobra in a world grappling with the arrival of the Autobots and Decepticons. When Conrad S. Hauser (codename DUKE) investigates the mysteries behind The Transformers, the answers will lead to the birth of forces for good and evil that the world never imagined.
Duke will be the first of four G.I. Joe limited series coming from Skybound, setting the stage for a fresh new take on G.I. Joe, Cobra and the iconic characters that you only think you know!
"Childhood dreams come true! Get hyped! Tom and I are bringing you a new take on Duke and the formation of G.I. Joe that honors all that we love about the characters but takes it into a new and exciting direction,” said Joshua Williamson. “It's been awesome working with Skybound and Hasbro to bring this new take on the G.I. Joe franchise. For the last few years, I've been picking up all of the new G.I. Classified figures, so I am pumped to contribute to this new world of G.I. Joe and Transformers!"
“I’m super excited to be working with Josh and the team at Skybound to usher in a new beginning for these iconic characters,” said Tom Reilly. “The Joes have a rich history in comics, one that we look forward to adding something new and exciting to. It’s going to be a fun ride!”
This will be followed by the launch of Cobra Commander #1 in January 2024, from Joshua Williamson, Andrea Milana (Impact Winter: Rook) and Annalisa Leoni (Oblivion Song). In a world where Cobra doesn’t exist, one man’s sinister plans to utilize the mysterious alien substance known as Energon will send shockwaves across the globe.
“My first comic was G.I. JOE, and I couldn’t be more excited to unite the Transformers and G.I. Joe into one universe,” said Sean Mackiewicz, SVP, Publisher. “This line is being guided by the best comic creators in the world and features the same action-packed, surprise-filled, emotional storytelling you expect from all Skybound comics.”
Void Rivals #1 (JAN238443) is available today at comic book shops and digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play.
Fans can pre-order their copies of Transformers #1, Duke #1, and Cobra Commander #1 right now at their local comic book shops.
Below is Transformers #1 Cover A by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer.
Date: Monday, June 12th 2023 8:16pm CDT
Categories: Cartoon News,
Comic Book News,
Toy News
Posted by: Emerje |
Credit(s): TFW2005
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Views: 74,089
The next Buzzworthy Bumblebee box set has been leaked and it's one people will be buying in multiples. The Troop Builder Multipack includes a generic G1 Decepticon Seeker (using the Earthrise Voyager mold), a Quintesson Trooper with two heads (using the War For Cybertron Quintesson Baliff mold), G2 Universe Cybertronian Trooper with two new heads (using the Legacy Skullgrin mold) and Animated Universe Autotrooper with two new heads (using the Siege Ironhide mold). Jtprime17 reports the set as having an MSRP: $77.99 and DCPI: 870-26-0196. If that price holds that's quite the deal as buying three Deluxes and Voyager would normally run you $110 at current MSRPs. Thanks to Seibertronian Sowndwave76 for letting us know!
Date: Friday, June 9th 2023 11:40am CDT
Category: Comic Book News
Posted by: ScottyP |
Credit(s): Bleeding Cool
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Views: 41,031
Confirmation of rumors about where and when Transformers would return to the world of comic books has arrived today, with
Bleeding Cool posting the news that next week's
Void Rivals #1 from Image Comics will feature the debut of the Transformers in a new shared universe. If your next question is "shared with whom?", the answer is
unsurprisingly the real American heroes of G.I. Joe.
Void Rivals' first issue arrives next week on June 14th with writing by Robert Kirkman - yes, the one you've heard of from
The Walking Dead - and artwork from Lorenzo De Felici.
Image's website teases the book with the following description:
The blockbuster OBLIVION SONG team of ROBERT KIRKMAN & LORENZO DE FELICI debut the biggest new comic book series of 2023 with the launch of AN ALL-NEW SHARED UNIVERSE and a SURPRISE you won't see coming!
War rages around the Sacred Ring where the last remnants of two worlds have collapsed around a black hole in a never-ending war.
However when pilot Darak and his rival Solila both crash on a desolate planet these two enemies must find a way to escape together. But are they alone on this strange planet? And what dark forces await that threaten the entire universe?
It's hard not to think of IDW Publishing's ill-fated attempt at a shared universe of Hasbro properties that began with
2016's Revolution series when reading this news as Transformers fans have not been especially keen on following non-Transformers comic series alongside the franchise's own books. Of course, we also don't yet know what other series may follow in the near future related to
Void Rivals, or how many of those there will be ("Would G.I. Joe fancy a team-up with M.A.S.K.?"), but if the story's good enough those secondary concerns really don't matter.
Regardless of any past history, the fact remains that Transformers will return to comic books next week, and that's pretty exciting.
Date: Wednesday, June 7th 2023 4:57pm CDT
Categories: Comic Book News,
Toy News
Posted by: william-james88 Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 41,061
So it turns out Takara is releasing the wave 2 Velocitron figures as exclusives on their end as well and they are TTMALL exclusives, which means
you can only order them on their website with a Japan shipping address. Forwarding services in Japan do exist so this is how some fans will be getting these highly coveted toys. Fellow Seibertronian Emerje details how he will be getting them below. He also shared that there is a new manga up which we also put below, along with the links for Galaxy Shuttle, Crasher and Shadowstrip.
Emerje wrote:So orders just opened of Takara Tomy Mall, Galaxy Shuttle is under $60 USD with tax with pre-orders ending on July 10 release in November. I do have a TTM account, I think I'll order one since the shipping should be free within Japan and I'll just have the shipping service I use receive it and sent it to me, shouldn't cost that much, I'd be surprised if the total was more than $90.
Also there's a new comic up. Crasher is straight out of Challenge of the GoBots, all the way down to her square hands.
https://takaratomymall.jp/img/goods/490 ... comics.pdf
Galaxy Shuttle
https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810907244/
Shadowstrip:
https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810907213/
Crasher:
https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810907220/
Here is a synopsis to the manga from TFwiki:
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Velocitron_Speedia_500_Part_3
It's the second week of the Speedia 500 to determine the leader of the planet Velocitron. Cosmos is still hosting, and notes the emergence of three mysterious black racers—two race cars and... a locomotive? The previous racers are surprised at this intrusion into their race.
One of the black race cars reveals himself to be Shadowstrip, an expert in dark courses who shoots out the lights in the tunnel he's travelling through. Bragging of having obtained the power of shadow, Shadowstrip claims that the darker it gets, the more powerful he is. He's interrupted before he can reach the goal, though, by Crasher creating powerful earthquakes that cause the shadowy Decepticon and Clampdown (with Miko Tezuka inside) to fall into a newly created crack in the ground.
The remaining new racer easily foils Crasher's plan by revealing his space shuttle mode to fly over the crack. Proclaiming this triple changing ability his new power obtained after a remodel, the space shuttle reveals himself as Galaxy Shuttle and he goes on to win the race! The other racers aren't appreciative that this intruder went on to win, but things become more chaotic as many Transformers who were spectating join in for a new race!
Meanwhile, Dia Cinders's G1 World counterpart is arrested by her and Burnout.
Date: Monday, February 13th 2023 12:47am CST
Categories: Comic Book News,
Toy News
Posted by: Emerje |
Credit(s): Flame Toys on Twitter
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Views: 96,720
This past weekend at Wonder Festival 2023 [Winter] as part of the
AmiAmi Hobby Camp display Flame Toys showed off an early look at a new addon for their 2020 take on IDW G1 Optimus Prime from their Kuro Kara Kuri high-end figure line. The "Jet Power Armor" set is very similar to what we saw in the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie and even features scratched up silver Decepticon symbols. Flame Toys doesn't do movie figures so this is probably more of a homage than anything. There are no details given like price and date, though it should be pointed out that Optimus himself goes for around US$450 and stands 210mm or 8.27". While these figures don't transform there is a chance that the jet armor can be reassembled into a jet mode similar to what they did with their Victory Leo figure.
Images below come from Dengeki Hobby Web and Flame Toys on Twitter.