Energon Universe Year One Review - RIB06
Energon Universe Year One Review
Disclaimer: This will be the first piece of fiction I review here on Riding Into Battle. As such, I will try to keep it spoiler-free, but can’t promise I’ll be good at it.
TLDR: The Energon Universe is being treated with the respect it deserves, with amazing writing and art to go along with it. I am hooked, but I am also biased and it looks like it’s going to take a while before things get really good. In the future, I can’t predict anyone saying that Year One was the best but it’s still great fun.
Before I begin I’ll start by saying that I define Year One the same way that Skybound seems to, which would be the first 25 issues across the two ongoing (Void Rivals #1-9 and Transformers #1-8) and 2 completed limited series (Duke #1-5 and Cobra Commander #1-5), right before the first issues of Scarlett and Destro. I am also biased because G.I. Joe and Transformers were a massive part of my childhood. I’m not quite old enough to have grown up with the original cartoons (I grew up with Transformers: Animated and G.I. Joe: Renegades), however very recently, with becoming a figure collector and diving into the fandoms as I strive for more creativity, I’ve learned about multiple characters and lore pieces that are referenced within this comic universe.
Comics are a strange thing, you’ll have people (rightly) say that they are too complicated to get into, you’ll have the old timers telling you to just pick up random issues and start anywhere, others who say that with the internet no one should complain and all sorts of other opinions. The simple fact is that manga is succeeding where comics have failed, and for good reason, but that doesn’t mean quality stories aren’t being told or that somehow one thing is worth less of someone’s time than another. Comics, in my opinion, take a little getting used to for figuring out releases, formats, timelines and all the rest, but it’s also like riding a bike, a one and done skill that is super rewarding. As with any skill, some paths are easier than others for picking it up.
25 issues seems like a lot, but I’ll walk you through how to understand them to the best of my ability (Wikipedia also has the release order at time of writing). The Energon Universe seeks to simplify the crossover nature of comic releases and to start something fresh, meaning you don’t need to dig into anything published before or by other companies to understand what’s going on. At time of writing, they release issues in 2 ongoing and 2 limited series at a time. An ongoing series just means that they will keep releasing issues for it, basically until sales dry up. Limited series are planned for a certain amount of issues from the start. The Energon Universe started with 2 limited series with 5 issues each, these being Duke and Cobra Commander, while releasing issues in their two ongoing series, Void Rivals and Transformers.
If you’re confused about what Void Rivals is in this G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover universe, it’s basically a brand new IP made by Robert Kirkman (of Invincible and The Walking Dead fame) in order to add some intrigue to the universe and to craft a better overall narrative. I hope this makes sense so far, and if it does then congrats, that's all the background you need to know in order to jump in and start reading.
Well, kinda. If you’re really new to comics then you might not know that individual issues for series are collected as trade paperbacks (TPBs), and so instead of following an issue-by-issue reading order you could also just read the collected editions in honestly whatever order you want. Although I do recommend the issue-by-issue approach, these series don’t crossover so much that you’d lose track of plot elements (this will probably change as the Energon Universe develops), and it’s also more convenient for those who like to read physically instead of digitally like me.
So, to actually review the series I’ll give you my overall impressions of the series collectively within Year One, as well as some mild comparisons of how I felt about them. I read Year One issue-by-issue in release order, as such I started with Void Rivals. At first I was annoyed because I was expecting more of a crossover with the IPs that I would actually recognize, and although there are some, it doesn’t satisfy me quite yet. Luckily, this series is pretty entertaining once you get into the groove with it, and one can tell that it’s building up into something with a lot of potential. The humor is pretty good, the visuals are great, and there’s a good amount of intrigue, although action is lacking.
Transformers is the sweetheart of the Energon Universe, spearheaded by Daniel Warren Johnson as both writer and artist, it really is a treat. I know this is blasphemy but the art isn’t really to my taste. Johnson’s art is great for emotional story beats but I’m of the opinion that it isn’t quite well suited to action (although with certain action panels it feels like no other art would be better, so he definitely knows how to play to his strengths). There’s lots of action, I feel like some of it gets muddied with multiple combatants but the one on one fights are really nice. The plot is pretty good, I don’t want to spoil anything in this review but the pacing is decent and this connected universe is evolving at a very believable pace.
Duke is the first limited series put out for the Energon Universe centering on, well, Duke from G.I. Joe. The art here works well for what they’re trying to do, the dialogue isn’t to my taste sometimes but the overall plot is pretty good and something new for fans of the character to enjoy. It also weaves in a pretty good connection with the wider connected universe so it’s an enjoyable read. There was a lot of action but I felt like the fights resolved a little too fast, though this gets a lot better in the later issues. Overall, it’s a pretty cool read but the overall context of the Energon Universe is necessary to make it more than a basic action series.
Cobra Commander is the other limited series, and I liked this a lot. There was a surprising amount of humor, the action was great, the art is exactly how I like my comics, and they took a direction that some people didn’t see coming with establishing the character and continuity. It’s a divisive take but this series is even great as a stand alone, if you’re not sure about the Energon Universe I’d even go as far as to suggest you read this series before the rest via the collected edition, although I think plenty of people would disagree.
If you’re a fan of Transformers, G.I. Joe, or even comics at large then you’re really missing out by not keeping an eye on this initiative. If you’re new to comics or these IPs, this connected universe is the perfect way to dip your toes in and experience something new. I’m very happy that this is being made and will definitely continue reading it because it’s pretty enjoyable so far.
Nikhil Saxena
Founder, Destrier Studios
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