One of the primary panels of the day on Saturday of New York Comic Con was additionally probably the most explosive. Skybound hosted its Energon Universe panel. For these not within the know, the Energon Universe is the brand new residence to Habro’s Transformers and G.I. Joe comics, in addition to the brand new comedian, Void Rivals, by Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici. Both males had been on the Energon Universe panel. They had been joined by Daniel Warren Johnson (Transformers), Joshua Williamson (Writer – Duke), Tom Reilly (Artist – Duke), and Sean Mackiewicz (Publisher – Skybound). The normally tight lipped Kirkman allowed his crew to open up concerning the new shared universe. And open up they did. Many spoilers had been shared. Read on at your individual danger.
Though in the event you’re in search of solutions as to the place is Megatron, Johnson solely had this to say: “No comment.”
Daniel Warren Johnson did a lot of the speaking on the panel. This is smart. Johnson’s Transformers #1 is the most popular comedian of the previous month, and one of many hottest of 2023. He was rapidly goaded by Kirkman to disclose why he killed Bumblebee. Johnson flat out stated he didn’t wish to draw him. He instructed the group, “He’s not coming back either. There’s no plans.” Robert Kirkman led the group in booing Johnson. To this, Johnson jokingly responded, “I love it. I feed on your tears.”
When requested what it was like pitching to Hasbro the dying of one in all their primary characters, Johnson replied, “He’s not the number one character, first off, let’s be real.” Kirkman reduce him off there, saying, “He’s in the top five.” Johnson agreed with that. He then continued, “Why did I kill Bumblebee? I didn’t want to draw him.” The crowd laughed and applauded, however Johnson continued, “It’s the truth.”
Kirkman appreciated the choice, saying, “Right of the gate, this is not like any other Transformers comic you’ve ever read.” Kirkman stated it evoked the sensation of the 1986 Transformers film, “because Transformers were dying nonstop in very disrespectful ways. For the first 10 minutes, it’s just brutal. You would just see beloved Transformers that you just watched for two season on the ground in a heap. And you’re like, “I loved that guy.” They didn’t even say his identify or give him a line of dialogue.” Daniel Warren Johnson piggybacked on this with “Whenever I see a car smoking by the side of the road, I think of Prowl.” The crowd, stuffed with Transformers followers, all laughed.
Daniel Warren Johnson additionally praised the 1986 Transformers film, calling it his “favorite thing about the franchise,” and one in all his “top ten favorite movies of all time.” He went on say “It’s been a really good guidepost for me.”
The moderator identified that killing off Bumblebee opens up a spot on the roster. Johnson agreed, saying “I really wanted to draw Cliffjumper. I also really liked his color scheme. Because it’s not easy to draw Transformers, let’s be honest. And you’ve got to find ways to make it fun.”
The moderator requested the panel in the event that they had been G.I. Joes, what could be their code identify? Williamson went with “Because of the mood I’m in, Burn Out or Burnt Out.” Reilly answered, “Bargain Bin.” Daniel Warren Johnson was impressed, telling Tom Reilly, “You’re so good at this” as he laughed. Reilly then instructed the group his identify the evening earlier than would have been “Smoke House, but Bargain Bin is funnier.” DWJ handed, and Mackiewicz gave himself the code identify “Useless.”
Kirkman gave Hasbro “a ton of props.” He was actually impressed in how a lot they care about their fan base. He additionally stated that any guardrails the corporate put in place for all of them made sense. If they ever had a be aware, it must do with a personality performing out of character.
What can diehard Transformers count on from the brand new established order? Johnson responded that “I’m just trying to have fun with it, to make sure the story is fun, and make sure the Transformers transform.”
Readers could have seen Optimus Prime performing some wrestling strikes within the pages of Transformers #1. Johnson defined, “In the script…the page says “Optimus fights Starscream.” And on web page 11, “Optimus fights Starscream some more. I had to figure this all out visually after the fact. I thought maybe I’d have Optimus do a wrestling move, a lariat would be really cool. What if I added another wrestling move after?” Mackiewicz requested, “Is there a wrestling move too far? Like an elbow drop?” Johnson quipped, “You mean like The People’s Elbow? That’s actually a great idea.” Williamson interjected that he and Reilly are going to attempt to discover a solution to one up Johnson and have Duke carry out a Stone Cold Stunner. Johnson promised the group that they’d see a Burning Hammer earlier than situation 6 is over. This led Kirkman to joke, “That issue is not drawn yet, so I’m going to make it my mission to prevent that from happening.”
A second printing Transformers #1 includes a shut up shot of a really useless Bumblebee. Kirkman joked, “We were hoping Bumblebee fans would buy all of those to burn them.”
Duke, of G.I. Joe will make his first look within the Energon Universe in November’s Transformers #2. Describing Duke’s altercation with Starscream, Duke scribe Joshua Williamson stated, “It goes very badly. It’s very bloody.” Williamson defined additional, “It messes him up. It messes him up…Suddenly here’s this jet that transforms and it messes him up.” Duke’s skirmish with Starscream will lead Duke down the trail to kind G.I. Joe, who usually are not but collectively on the time of Transformers #1 & 2. Don’t count on Duke to staff up with the Autobots anytime quickly. According to Williamson, after his encounter with Starscream, Duke will hate all Transformers.
Williamson stated he’s been a fan of G.I. Joe since he was a child. He was very excited to be introduced on as author for the collection. He’s going to indicate the formation of each G.I. Joe and Cobra. “That was one of the bigger motivators.” It was clear to him “that everyone hates Cobra Commander. They don’t like him and want to kill him, but he’s still their leader. I wanted to figure out how did that happen?” The Cobra Commander collection will give attention to that.
Joe followers could also be shocked about who’s within the G.I. Joe staff at launch. Hawk, Duke, Stalker, and…Baroness?? That’s proper! How did Baroness come to be a Joe? Fans must learn Duke to seek out out.
But what of Void Rivals, the e-book that launched the Energon Universe? Kirkman loves engaged on it, and is grateful to be reunited along with his Oblivion Song collaborator Lorenzo De Felici. He was adamant is saying that Void Rivals is its personal factor and never simply the Transformers cameo e-book, although do count on cameos from extra Transformers sooner or later. De Felici joked that he was stated about Johnson’s plan to kill off Bumblebee in Transformers #1, as a result of he was wanting ahead to drawing the diminutive Autobot in Void Rivals. Johnson jokingly responded that, okay, that made him really feel dangerous about killing off Bumblebee.
Transformers #2 comes out November 8. Duke #1 debuts 12/27/23, and Cobra Commander #1 debuts in January of 2024. Void Rivals takes a hiatus after situation #6, and returns with situation #7 in Spring of 2024
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