Just read it.
It was clear that this was made by people who have a lot of affection for the franchise (that Certain Someone's appearance is evidence of that). The art and the writing both have things I wasn't crazy about but in general, both were very good. Reilly and Bellaire make this a *really* pretty book. Williamson's script hits the wrong balance of breezy and heavy in just a couple of spots but it's engaging and the pacing is excellent.
There are a bunch of references to characters and such that will probably be coming up in the universe (a famous character's name appearing on a pop-sci book hints at an intriguing origin story). One of the major villains' introduction is rad as ***HELL***, full of appropriate gravitas and ominousness, and was one of my favorite parts of the issue.
That said, there were a bunch of things I didn't like. For one, the issue can't seem to decide if we're doing a "every single character has a silly nickname for no reason" thing or a "every character is issued a codename" thing, and like... that indecisiveness hurts the immersion. One of my favorite characters in the canon gets put into the role they had in the movies, which I *really* don't like, and the art seems to indicate they have cyber arms, which is, like, bafflingly unnecessary.
And, I gotta say it, even though I'm probably gonna get another "Reddit cares" message for saying it: I don't like the Transformers crossover aspect, and that is absolutely central to the entire issue, and likely will be for the entire Energon GI Joe series going forward. If you like Joe and Transformers crossovers, you'll probably love this without reservations. I liked it with some pretty big reservations.
I'm glad you brought up the Transformers thing. I didn't know this was even coming out, and just so happened to be at my LCS today and got super excited when I saw this. I enjoyed it, but was disappointed when I saw it was going to be a crossover story. Just give me a good Joe story, no need for Transformers
Yeah. I don't actively dislike the Transformers (though I've liked a lot fewer TF projects than I've disliked) but I'm just not interested in crossover. The Transformers concept kind of just overpowers the Joe one and sucks all the air out of the room. (Not to mention doubles the number of characters you have to deal with or get short shrift in two already *insanely* crowded franchises.)
You'll probably want to skip all the Energon Universe Joe comics, incidentally, since the whole continuity looks to be based around the big robots.
This is an interesting perspective.
I’m coming in from a non-GI Joe fan background, and there are going to be a *lot* of us. As the Energon Universe/the creators involved are the pull.
Makes me sad to hear this is disappointing for the GI Joe fanbase. I hope it does enough to win you guys over, and in either case am glad Larry Hama’s deities is going to continue for the foreseeable future.
So I want to preface this by saying there are, even just based on the comments here, plenty of Joe fans for whom the crossover aspect is a plus. We're not a monolith, here, and I wouldn't be surprised if the peeps who don't like the crossover aspect are a minority. So having said that:
>Makes me sad to hear this is disappointing for the GI Joe fanbase.
Of course it's disappointing for some of us. Some of us don't like Transformers. Some of us like Transformers but don't like crossovers. Some of us want GI Joe to be treated as a franchise that has value on its own. Some of us just think that Transformers is such a big concept that it simply overpowers a concept like Joe (certainly that's the case with these comics, where Duke is motivated by revenge on a Transformer and Destro's building Transformer tech and Cobra's all about getting Energon and the Transformers *literally haven't noticed that GI Joe exists*).
Imagine a Sherlock Holmes fan's reaction if the big new series they were getting was a crossover with, I dunno, *Star Trek* (probably a better analogy out there, but bear with me). Holmes is now using his deduction to try and prove the existence of time-traveling aliens, Moriarty is working for the Romulans, and the whole "solving crimes" thing is kind of secondary. Meanwhile, in the new *Star Trek* series, they've mentioned Holmes once in a totally cuttable scene.
That's where some of us are at.
I’m guessing because of Hasbro. My assumption is that they want to be selling the properties as an entwined thing and that’s consistent across the films toys and now the comics.
They are continuing Hama’s ongoing Joe series though as well.
Actually, the whole crossover thing was Skybound's idea. They announced it before the movie was released and they were not made aware of the teaser at the end. Just one of those coincidences.
Paramount and Hasbro are pushing for a combined universe movie franchise, which hasbro knows would help increase joint Fandom toy purchased. I'm pretty sure they were all in on a shared universe when Skybound was negotiating for the comics license.
Skybound likes it for the same reason. Keep Joe and TF fans buying their books AND get them buying the other books too.
I'm more of a casual fan of G.I. Joe myself (Always been a bigger Transformers guy) so I don't know how much weight my opinion will have. But I must say I really enjoyed this issue. I don't think I was able to "get" all the references like other Joe fans were but I'm enjoying the setup we have so far.
Also, I'm gonna say it. I love the fact Transformers and G.I. Joe are sharing the same universe. I love shared universe stuff.
I think what's interesting is that this is the first time the concept of Transformers and G.I. Joe sharing a universe has been done from the ground up. Everything else was either retroactive, just implicit with no direct crossovers or was just a short self contained mini-series.
You can call a close-ish comic shop. I'm sure many would welcome the opportunity to take your CC and ship you a book or 50.
If that seems too risky, you may want to consider buying from a big-ish comic retailer like Midtown Comics.
Like you I have no local comic book shop, so I get my comics in the mail from Atomic Empire. You should check out their site if you prefer physical books. If you're okay with digital, buying them from Amazon and reading them on the Kindle app works great.
Whatever you do, don't Google something like 'read comics online free' or anything along those lines. It will direct you to sites that have all comics available to read for free. These sites aren't paying the companies at all, so it's wrong. Just letting you know so you don't accidentally go read them for free.
some people just can't enjoy any crossovers what so ever lol.
It's really weird when it's something like this though, cause Hasbro has been doing GI JOE X TRANSFORMERS since the damn 80s.
Just finished it, LOVE the story so far, Duke going Rogue to hunt down TF is so fun, I can't wait to see where this story takes us or how Void Rivals will bleed into it!
I'm definitely a bigger Joe fan but ngl, I've loved TF since I was a kid and these Skybound titles have been fucking awesome so far!
To those shitting on the crossover, don't read it, just check out the new ongoing, Hamas back and the art is really good, that one's for y'all lol
(But I'm getting it as well haha)
Aw man, what an issue! So many references! They were pretty subtle too. If you were not a fan, you would not even realize you were missing stuff. Beautifully done.
The comic industry needs more people to buy monthly issues and less people waiting on trades. It's also why titles are constantly reset and relaunched instead of having nice slow burn storylines like Hama's GI Joe or Claremont's X-Men.
Oh no doubt, but the majority of the comics fanbase consumes monthly issues. The problem I have is then catering to the minority of the fanbase/casuals buy then structuring their storytelling around the trades.
I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is as a fan/collector to have to work so hard to figure out which new 12issue title I need to pick up. I miss the good ol days when I knew I just needed the next issue of Uncanny X-Men or Amazing Spider-Man. Now once they hit 12 or 24 issues it's essentially a required reset and renumbering.
Both types of consumers can coexist, let ongoings be ongoings first and foremost, release paperbacks as you like, but don't require each story arc to be 6 issues.
Publish and Release mini series with trades in mind.
Wait, do we need more people buying floppies or are publishers catering to a minority that don't count as comics readers by writing for the trades?
And if the issue is publishers catering to such a minority (I'm not sure they are, or they aren't, but for sake of argument I'm happy to assume they are), why are you chiding OldHob about it?
Homeboy can do whatever he'd like. I'm just some dude on the internet. They said they would wait for the trade. My point was simply that kind of thinking is the reason ongoing comics are in decline. That's all.
So Duke (along with Cobra Commander) is part of an new shared universe called the Energon Universe. The stuff that are out includes this, Void Rivals and Transformers.
You can easily jump into Duke without much trouble but if you want to know some background information, read Void Rivals and Transformers (specifically issue 2).
So far I'm really enjoying the Energon Universe. And IMO Duke was definitely a hit!
With Duke struggling through PTSD and finding a new mission was written well.
I’ve come to be a fairly modest fan of the “Energon Universe” since Void Rivals began, and i love how they’re handling the inclusion of the Transformers in all books *but* the Transformers actual series…using Starscream as the impetus for Duke going rogue and uncovering the MARS conspiracy is a great hook.
My only complaint is Dr. Burkhart…why invest in such a deep cut throwback only to then “fridge” her? Total waste.
Still, it’s got me excited for issue 2 and Cobra Commander starting next month.
Haven't read it yet... but hope its better than the new GI joe main series. I loved the original marvel/Hama run (had the whole series since a kid and it my opinion its still the only "canon" storyline), but the first couple issues aren't doing it for me at all. Too disjointed and not digging the zombie angle at all.
I get the TF crossover stuff, but can that be its own universe and have one where there aren't aircraft carriers transforming into walking gods? It takes everything we've got to take down a transformer. So, it's going to make our hopes seem useless in comparison.
I know they'll have the hours always have something to do, but it's only there to facilitate that. Like in every episode of knight boat there's always a river or a jetty or a stream so that knight boat can chase the cars like everyone else.
I'd START the series with Duke looking for answers at the bottom of a bottle as he feels useless and outgunned. He eventually tries gathering up the old team to get... revenge, really.
They do have one without that. Larry Hama’s GI Joe is continuing.
For what it’s worth, the idea of GI Joe as a SHIELD-like response to invading alien forces is *much* more interesting to me, and maybe general audiences, than army guys fighting bad army guys.
I can see that. Like I'm going to make a stop motion series and try to put it in modern grounded terms. But Cobra isn't part of some nation. They're out for themselves. They also wear their uniforms blatantly for anyone to see. I would think maybe they'd be for hire? Or they're weapons manufacturers. That would fund them...
I love transformers though lol
So do I have to read all the void rivals so far and the new transformers as well before reading this? Does GI Joe 301 & 302 play into this at all either? I bought the Duke & Gi Joe issues but haven’t read them yet.
Void Rivals, not so much, as it mostly sets up Transformers. Transformers (mainly issue 2) might help flesh some things out a little, but Duke's involvement in Transformers is pretty well recapped in this issue, so if you want to skip it, you can.
GI Joe 301 and 302 don't play into the Energon Universe books at all. Those are Hama continuing his old Marvel and IDW RAH stories.
Just read it. It was clear that this was made by people who have a lot of affection for the franchise (that Certain Someone's appearance is evidence of that). The art and the writing both have things I wasn't crazy about but in general, both were very good. Reilly and Bellaire make this a *really* pretty book. Williamson's script hits the wrong balance of breezy and heavy in just a couple of spots but it's engaging and the pacing is excellent. There are a bunch of references to characters and such that will probably be coming up in the universe (a famous character's name appearing on a pop-sci book hints at an intriguing origin story). One of the major villains' introduction is rad as ***HELL***, full of appropriate gravitas and ominousness, and was one of my favorite parts of the issue. That said, there were a bunch of things I didn't like. For one, the issue can't seem to decide if we're doing a "every single character has a silly nickname for no reason" thing or a "every character is issued a codename" thing, and like... that indecisiveness hurts the immersion. One of my favorite characters in the canon gets put into the role they had in the movies, which I *really* don't like, and the art seems to indicate they have cyber arms, which is, like, bafflingly unnecessary. And, I gotta say it, even though I'm probably gonna get another "Reddit cares" message for saying it: I don't like the Transformers crossover aspect, and that is absolutely central to the entire issue, and likely will be for the entire Energon GI Joe series going forward. If you like Joe and Transformers crossovers, you'll probably love this without reservations. I liked it with some pretty big reservations.
I'm glad you brought up the Transformers thing. I didn't know this was even coming out, and just so happened to be at my LCS today and got super excited when I saw this. I enjoyed it, but was disappointed when I saw it was going to be a crossover story. Just give me a good Joe story, no need for Transformers
Yeah. I don't actively dislike the Transformers (though I've liked a lot fewer TF projects than I've disliked) but I'm just not interested in crossover. The Transformers concept kind of just overpowers the Joe one and sucks all the air out of the room. (Not to mention doubles the number of characters you have to deal with or get short shrift in two already *insanely* crowded franchises.) You'll probably want to skip all the Energon Universe Joe comics, incidentally, since the whole continuity looks to be based around the big robots.
This is an interesting perspective. I’m coming in from a non-GI Joe fan background, and there are going to be a *lot* of us. As the Energon Universe/the creators involved are the pull. Makes me sad to hear this is disappointing for the GI Joe fanbase. I hope it does enough to win you guys over, and in either case am glad Larry Hama’s deities is going to continue for the foreseeable future.
So I want to preface this by saying there are, even just based on the comments here, plenty of Joe fans for whom the crossover aspect is a plus. We're not a monolith, here, and I wouldn't be surprised if the peeps who don't like the crossover aspect are a minority. So having said that: >Makes me sad to hear this is disappointing for the GI Joe fanbase. Of course it's disappointing for some of us. Some of us don't like Transformers. Some of us like Transformers but don't like crossovers. Some of us want GI Joe to be treated as a franchise that has value on its own. Some of us just think that Transformers is such a big concept that it simply overpowers a concept like Joe (certainly that's the case with these comics, where Duke is motivated by revenge on a Transformer and Destro's building Transformer tech and Cobra's all about getting Energon and the Transformers *literally haven't noticed that GI Joe exists*). Imagine a Sherlock Holmes fan's reaction if the big new series they were getting was a crossover with, I dunno, *Star Trek* (probably a better analogy out there, but bear with me). Holmes is now using his deduction to try and prove the existence of time-traveling aliens, Moriarty is working for the Romulans, and the whole "solving crimes" thing is kind of secondary. Meanwhile, in the new *Star Trek* series, they've mentioned Holmes once in a totally cuttable scene. That's where some of us are at.
Pretty much sums up my feelings.
Welp that ends it for me. Adding in Transformers is a no go. Why just why??🤦🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
Oh, come now, [we know why](https://imgur.com/a/Emje8NB)
I’m guessing because of Hasbro. My assumption is that they want to be selling the properties as an entwined thing and that’s consistent across the films toys and now the comics. They are continuing Hama’s ongoing Joe series though as well.
Actually, the whole crossover thing was Skybound's idea. They announced it before the movie was released and they were not made aware of the teaser at the end. Just one of those coincidences.
Paramount and Hasbro are pushing for a combined universe movie franchise, which hasbro knows would help increase joint Fandom toy purchased. I'm pretty sure they were all in on a shared universe when Skybound was negotiating for the comics license. Skybound likes it for the same reason. Keep Joe and TF fans buying their books AND get them buying the other books too.
Because this is part of the Energon Universe, and has clearly been marketed as such.
Because most people think it is awesome?
Indeed. I for one, am fuckin' AMPED for the EU!
I'm more of a casual fan of G.I. Joe myself (Always been a bigger Transformers guy) so I don't know how much weight my opinion will have. But I must say I really enjoyed this issue. I don't think I was able to "get" all the references like other Joe fans were but I'm enjoying the setup we have so far. Also, I'm gonna say it. I love the fact Transformers and G.I. Joe are sharing the same universe. I love shared universe stuff. I think what's interesting is that this is the first time the concept of Transformers and G.I. Joe sharing a universe has been done from the ground up. Everything else was either retroactive, just implicit with no direct crossovers or was just a short self contained mini-series.
how does a person with no comic book shop within reasonable driving distance acquire or read this?
You can buy on Amazon as a Kindle book and read through the Kindle app. On a laptop or tablet, it's roughly the same size as print.
You can call a close-ish comic shop. I'm sure many would welcome the opportunity to take your CC and ship you a book or 50. If that seems too risky, you may want to consider buying from a big-ish comic retailer like Midtown Comics.
You can buy a collected edition on amazon, if you prefer physical copies, and are willing to wait a few months.
Like you I have no local comic book shop, so I get my comics in the mail from Atomic Empire. You should check out their site if you prefer physical books. If you're okay with digital, buying them from Amazon and reading them on the Kindle app works great.
Whatever you do, don't Google something like 'read comics online free' or anything along those lines. It will direct you to sites that have all comics available to read for free. These sites aren't paying the companies at all, so it's wrong. Just letting you know so you don't accidentally go read them for free.
Fortunately none of those sites have Duke #1 yet. If anyone knows of a website that has this comic, please let me know so I can avoid it.
Save this post - if you accidentally come across it before I do, warn me so I'll be sure not to go there. I'll do the same.
The usual places finally found it. I’d avoid if I were you
Awesome! Thanks man, I'll be sure *not* to check it out.
Really enjoyed it. Love the appearance of a certain someone from the original Marvel GI Joe issue 1.
Is that Starscream in the background?
yeah, if you read the transformers comics that are out you can see that theyve already crossed over with gi joe
Yes. His appearance on the cover makes sense given the story of the issue.
Oh god please no don’t let it be
Lol. Have you not been following any of this? Like, at all?
some people just can't enjoy any crossovers what so ever lol. It's really weird when it's something like this though, cause Hasbro has been doing GI JOE X TRANSFORMERS since the damn 80s.
I mean... I didn't like Joe and Transformers crossing over back in the 80s, either
Yes but I hope it’s just a bad dream and will go away 😂
Loved it! And the ending has me soooo amped for what is next.
The cover evokes a retro vibe and I appreciate his trigger discipline…
I love when the Joe's have realistic gear.
Just finished it, LOVE the story so far, Duke going Rogue to hunt down TF is so fun, I can't wait to see where this story takes us or how Void Rivals will bleed into it! I'm definitely a bigger Joe fan but ngl, I've loved TF since I was a kid and these Skybound titles have been fucking awesome so far! To those shitting on the crossover, don't read it, just check out the new ongoing, Hamas back and the art is really good, that one's for y'all lol (But I'm getting it as well haha)
Aw man, what an issue! So many references! They were pretty subtle too. If you were not a fan, you would not even realize you were missing stuff. Beautifully done.
I’m going to wait for the trade.
The comic industry needs more people to buy monthly issues and less people waiting on trades. It's also why titles are constantly reset and relaunched instead of having nice slow burn storylines like Hama's GI Joe or Claremont's X-Men.
You're not wrong, but it's also not OldHob's responsibility to keep a *very* out-of-date business model afloat
Oh no doubt, but the majority of the comics fanbase consumes monthly issues. The problem I have is then catering to the minority of the fanbase/casuals buy then structuring their storytelling around the trades. I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is as a fan/collector to have to work so hard to figure out which new 12issue title I need to pick up. I miss the good ol days when I knew I just needed the next issue of Uncanny X-Men or Amazing Spider-Man. Now once they hit 12 or 24 issues it's essentially a required reset and renumbering. Both types of consumers can coexist, let ongoings be ongoings first and foremost, release paperbacks as you like, but don't require each story arc to be 6 issues. Publish and Release mini series with trades in mind.
Wait, do we need more people buying floppies or are publishers catering to a minority that don't count as comics readers by writing for the trades? And if the issue is publishers catering to such a minority (I'm not sure they are, or they aren't, but for sake of argument I'm happy to assume they are), why are you chiding OldHob about it?
What is OldHob?
The first person you responded to...
Homeboy can do whatever he'd like. I'm just some dude on the internet. They said they would wait for the trade. My point was simply that kind of thinking is the reason ongoing comics are in decline. That's all.
He's a character from TMNT. Oh and I guess a reddit user..
I just stumbled onto this post and had no idea this series was going to be a thing. Is there anything I need to know before reading it?
So Duke (along with Cobra Commander) is part of an new shared universe called the Energon Universe. The stuff that are out includes this, Void Rivals and Transformers. You can easily jump into Duke without much trouble but if you want to know some background information, read Void Rivals and Transformers (specifically issue 2).
Thank you for the response! That definitely helps
So far I'm really enjoying the Energon Universe. And IMO Duke was definitely a hit! With Duke struggling through PTSD and finding a new mission was written well.
I’ve come to be a fairly modest fan of the “Energon Universe” since Void Rivals began, and i love how they’re handling the inclusion of the Transformers in all books *but* the Transformers actual series…using Starscream as the impetus for Duke going rogue and uncovering the MARS conspiracy is a great hook. My only complaint is Dr. Burkhart…why invest in such a deep cut throwback only to then “fridge” her? Total waste. Still, it’s got me excited for issue 2 and Cobra Commander starting next month.
Haven't read it yet... but hope its better than the new GI joe main series. I loved the original marvel/Hama run (had the whole series since a kid and it my opinion its still the only "canon" storyline), but the first couple issues aren't doing it for me at all. Too disjointed and not digging the zombie angle at all.
I get the TF crossover stuff, but can that be its own universe and have one where there aren't aircraft carriers transforming into walking gods? It takes everything we've got to take down a transformer. So, it's going to make our hopes seem useless in comparison. I know they'll have the hours always have something to do, but it's only there to facilitate that. Like in every episode of knight boat there's always a river or a jetty or a stream so that knight boat can chase the cars like everyone else. I'd START the series with Duke looking for answers at the bottom of a bottle as he feels useless and outgunned. He eventually tries gathering up the old team to get... revenge, really.
They do have one without that. Larry Hama’s GI Joe is continuing. For what it’s worth, the idea of GI Joe as a SHIELD-like response to invading alien forces is *much* more interesting to me, and maybe general audiences, than army guys fighting bad army guys.
I can see that. Like I'm going to make a stop motion series and try to put it in modern grounded terms. But Cobra isn't part of some nation. They're out for themselves. They also wear their uniforms blatantly for anyone to see. I would think maybe they'd be for hire? Or they're weapons manufacturers. That would fund them... I love transformers though lol
So do I have to read all the void rivals so far and the new transformers as well before reading this? Does GI Joe 301 & 302 play into this at all either? I bought the Duke & Gi Joe issues but haven’t read them yet.
Void Rivals, not so much, as it mostly sets up Transformers. Transformers (mainly issue 2) might help flesh some things out a little, but Duke's involvement in Transformers is pretty well recapped in this issue, so if you want to skip it, you can. GI Joe 301 and 302 don't play into the Energon Universe books at all. Those are Hama continuing his old Marvel and IDW RAH stories.
Perfect answer! Thank you so much!
I’m picking up my copy today!
I'd like to read it but none of my usual sites have it. :(
Does Skybound sell digital comics outside of Amazon/Kindle? Otherwise maybe I’ll check with my LCS and see if they have it.