Via Itunes we get an IDW Optimus Prime #9 three-page Preview.
We can see a conversation between Marisa Faireborn and the President of the USA and what seems to be the return of Sideswipe to the story.
Transformers Optimus Prime #9
“THE LIFE OF SIDESWIPE! A Junkion machine finally gives long-injured Sideswipe a new lease on life! But when his brother goes missing, Sideswipe and Arcee return to Cybertron—and nothing will be the same between them ever again”.
As a bonus, Itunes is also sharing another preview of G.I. Joe #7 which has got the participation of Skywarp. You can check the pictures after the jump, and then share your thoughts at the 2005 Boards.
ZeroiaSD
There's some stuff that I used to think she'd be good at that she wasn't, which has made me lose respect for… well, not exactly skills as a writer, but her creative choices in story crafting. Halo's lore, for example.
Megastar
Don't sleep on the Baron.
SouthtownKid
Traviss should have been a good fit, and it's still mystifying to me that she wasn't.
Omegashark18
My two cents, I liked Chuck Dixon's run on the comics it was exactly where I like G.I. Joe to be, a serious story about an advanced, secret military unit but with sci-fi elements here and there. Plus Robert Atkins art was killer. And I liked SL Gallant's art for those series more then his current work in RAH. As for Costa's work, the Cobra comics, while pretty good, they got so gritty and serious to the point where it was repetitive, and boring to a degree. Not to mention I find Antonio Fuso's art to be the Joe equivalent to our Livio Ramondelli. And as for Karen Traviss' run, while very realistic, it was also very boring to me.
And now in the Hasbro-verse, a world filled with aliens, the Joes find themselves a out of their comfort zone and depth. Though I would prefer it if some of the Joes looked like military operatives again(ala Rock n' Roll and Quick Kick).
Danny-Boy
Clearly you've never heard me in agony as I try to read MASK. I can fix that though. Action And Adventure: The Hasbro Universe Podcast: Episode 2 – Acroyear: Weeblefall
If it's "realistic military" Joe you want, then you should DEFINITELY check out the Traviss run. Get back to me when you've read that.
SouthtownKid
The artist wears his inspiration on his sleeve. Except he can't pull it off. At all. He imitates surface elements without the knowledge the original is built on. I'm tired of hack work from someone not really ready for prime time being presented as the next greatest thing. And yeah, honesty. According to him, EVERY issue of EVERYTHING IDW publishes is GREAT. Every. Single. Month. That's not even possible with the best creators on the planet, which is not what we have here to begin with.
I guess it depends what you want out of GI Joe. Dixon's run wasn't perfect, because frankly, IDW continuity Joe has been highly flawed from day one, and only Costa's Cobra books have been legitimately great. But at least Dixon's run was recognizably GI Joe… maybe being more of the cartoon in tone than I'd prefer, but whatever. After that, yeah, all the relaunches and desperate new directions have been dire. And the new series is no exception. I wasn't wild about all of Devil's Due's time with the franchise. But compared to IDW Joe (not including ARAH, which is great), Devil's Due now feels like it was continuous home runs.
What I want is more of Costa's approach in tone and realism, and not to have Cybertronians and Inhumanoids and whatever jammed into it. A crossover once in a while is fine because it's skippable. But it's not skippable if the whole series becomes a permanent crossover.
Boatformer
Speaking as someone who's read all of IDW's G.I. Joe, the current run far outshines any of Chuck Dixon or Fred Van Lente's work. It's not better than Costa's writing, but Costa's G.I. Joe is genuinely near-perfect.
Ha. "Objectivity". Wow.
Jalaguy
Oh hey, are we doing "SouthtownKid believes his opinion is objective fact" again. Cool.
Like seriously, what are you talking about? "Honesty"? Are you saying that we actually think the books are bad, but are trying to trick other people into reading them for… what? Laughs? Or are we back to the "secret IDW shill" thing again?
My honest opinion of the Sitterson/Milonogiannis Joe book is that it's a very fun comic, which occasionally feels a little decompressed but is generally enjoyable. If you have a different opinion, that's cool, but don't go around accusing other people of being dishonest or whatever just because you disagree with them, y'know?
Omegashark18
Now that is a better way to do crossovers here, subtlety.
Danny-Boy
Or maybe you and I just have different tastes? Also, it's impossible to be "objective" in an opinion.
SouthtownKid
No prior knowledge is actually beneficial, because then you won't realize how much it sucks. And the art is a diluted imitation of Masamune Shirow, without any of his talent or underlying storytelling skill. I know you love to promote all these books unconditionally, but a little honesty or objectivity would be nice once in a while.
Acteon
Optimus Prime #8 looks interesting. I\'d like to see some focus on smaller groups of characters with some development. The idea of a Sideswipe/Arcee team up is a good one, given the way they\'ve been written they compliment each other well. I hope it goes somewhere interesting. Be nice to see more of Sunstreaker too given how much of a lead character he was for a spell, before fading into obscurity.
Danny-Boy
The new Joe run is an excellent book. Lots of fun writing and no prior knowledge of Joe history needed. I personally like the highly-stylized art, but I understand why it's more of a mileage may vary thing for other readers. I'm not even really a fan of G.I. Joe and I like it.
fishpop
I haven\'t been reading G.I. Joe. I hope it\'s not too late to start since they keep popping up so much in the TF comics.
Danny-Boy
We also now have the preview for Micronauts: Wrath of Karza #3, featuring an interesting cameo from Razorclaw. Action And Adventure on Twitter
SouthtownKid
As a GI Joe fan, all I can say is, "yuck." IDW Joe has always been hit and miss… some good times, a lot of bad times, but this series is really a new low point for the franchise. Even Extreme was better than this.
Story, blah, forced robots on the team, blah, and art inspired by Shirow, but with none of his storytelling or layout skills, blah. Please just let this end.
RazorclawX
I think that's the point. Currently he only likes one of the Joes and he follows them because he wants his teleport tech fixed. He's otherwise surprisingly good at following orders even from fleshy things (while insulting them at the same time).
Sockie
No. He had already left the Lost Light before they came to Cybertron, and stayed when they left. He's helped out Optimus's forces on Earth since then.
Omegashark18
It's really hit or miss, yes.
Knightsword
Didn't Sunstreaker leave with Mirage and Protectobots?