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Transformers/G. I. Joe, Vol 1: Tyrants Rise, Heroes Are Born
Reprints the fan-favorite series set in World War II. Cobra Commander unleashes Megatron and the United States creates the G.I. JOE team to combat him.
168 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2004
4 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
John Ney Rieber
306 books23 followersJohn Ney Rieber is an American comic book writer. He has written for the comics The Books of Magic, Captain America, G.I. Joe and Tomb Raider.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 5, 2019
This was something of a missed opportunity. A Transformers / G.I. Joe crossover set during World War II? Sign me up. The book does start well having Cobra take the place of Germany in 1939. The problem is after G.I. Joe lands on the island where the Terradrome lies. Jae Lee's art looks gorgeous when looked at as a single page or panel but it's terrible for telling a story. The coloring is dark and murky. Not only can you not tell any of the Decepticons and Autobots apart, you can't even tell the G.I. Joe members apart from Cobra. I had very little idea what was even happening. The only good thing that could possibly come out of this is if Hasbro made a line of World War II inspired Transformers.
May 27, 2021
interesting do-over for the Joes and Transformers. nice art and an interesting story. Recommended
February 28, 2021
This was an awesome idea: Transformers awakening during World War II. The GI Joes are still the US soldiers, but they're fighting Cobra, who is in place of the Nazis. Really awesome to see all the transformers as WWII tanks and planes instead of 80's vehicles.
The artwork was grainy and kind of hard to see details. I understand they were trying to make it look like old faded photos from that era, which was really cool, it was just very hard to make out what was happening at times.
The story itself was good. Had a proper ending, but you had to wait all the way to the end for the payoff. Would have been better if they extended some of these one page views into different concurrent action, give a little better flow, not so choppy.
The artwork was grainy and kind of hard to see details. I understand they were trying to make it look like old faded photos from that era, which was really cool, it was just very hard to make out what was happening at times.
The story itself was good. Had a proper ending, but you had to wait all the way to the end for the payoff. Would have been better if they extended some of these one page views into different concurrent action, give a little better flow, not so choppy.
January 17, 2023
Beautiful artwork, very average story...
October 22, 2007
This comic leaves the cheese-tastic cartoon storylines in the dust, favoring a darker treatment of the colliding Hasbro properties. Rich illustrations accompany a very engaging, revenge-driven storyline.
February 15, 2019
Beautiful artwork. The story could have been stronger. A weak explanation as to how the pairing of the two groups came about. Too many characters were used so you don’t ever get fully invested and the ending was very rushed. With all that said amazing artwork and a fun reimagining of WWII.
April 28, 2018
The history of G.I Joe crossing over with Transformers is as old as the franchises. The first crossover comic was put out by Marvel in 1986 at the height of both of their popularity. It was a natural crossover. Both were toy lines produced by Hasbro, both had cartoons produced by Marvel Entertainment, and both were popular titles put out by Marvel comics but were not part of the extended marvel universe. So why not have them meet?
Those who have picked up the franchise rights over the decades have continued the trend of the two groups meeting, resulting in the current book Transformers G.I. Joe: Tyrants Rise, Heroes are Born.
Most of the crossover series were non-cannon events and this volume takes that to an excellent extreme. It is set in the 1930s with Cobra Commander and his cohorts as Nazi analogues who stumbled across the three million year old Decepticons, buried in an ancient temple, and use them to enslave the whole of Europe in a weeks’ time.
Not sure what is happening, American forces create the G.I. Joe team to sneak into the Fera Islands where Cobra headquarters is(due to some leaked intel from Starscream and Destro) and reconnoiter as to what’s happening. They run across the Autobots and bing, bang, boom, massive violence ensues.
This not a book for people to begin with either series. The narrative assumes the reader is familiar with the major players of both Transformers (Megatron, Starscream, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee) and G. I. Joe (Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander, Flint, Stormshadow). If you aren’t the you will be lost a certain amount of the time (like most of it). But in reality the story isn’t why you want to read this book. It is straightforward and almost derivative- even if it does have a great ending.
No, the real treat, the real joy, of this book is the immaculate art by Jae Lee- who is an incredibly artist and simply blows me away with every stroke of his brush. He plays with light and shadow to create an omnipresent feeling of dread falling over all the protagonists. When a character first spots a Decepticon, you can feel their awe and fear.
Those who have picked up the franchise rights over the decades have continued the trend of the two groups meeting, resulting in the current book Transformers G.I. Joe: Tyrants Rise, Heroes are Born.
Most of the crossover series were non-cannon events and this volume takes that to an excellent extreme. It is set in the 1930s with Cobra Commander and his cohorts as Nazi analogues who stumbled across the three million year old Decepticons, buried in an ancient temple, and use them to enslave the whole of Europe in a weeks’ time.
Not sure what is happening, American forces create the G.I. Joe team to sneak into the Fera Islands where Cobra headquarters is(due to some leaked intel from Starscream and Destro) and reconnoiter as to what’s happening. They run across the Autobots and bing, bang, boom, massive violence ensues.
This not a book for people to begin with either series. The narrative assumes the reader is familiar with the major players of both Transformers (Megatron, Starscream, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee) and G. I. Joe (Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander, Flint, Stormshadow). If you aren’t the you will be lost a certain amount of the time (like most of it). But in reality the story isn’t why you want to read this book. It is straightforward and almost derivative- even if it does have a great ending.
No, the real treat, the real joy, of this book is the immaculate art by Jae Lee- who is an incredibly artist and simply blows me away with every stroke of his brush. He plays with light and shadow to create an omnipresent feeling of dread falling over all the protagonists. When a character first spots a Decepticon, you can feel their awe and fear.
February 25, 2020
I've heard many things about this comic. Many people say it's hard to read because of the dark and gritty art. But if you look close enough it is easier to read. This was an epic comic full of explosions, heroism and giant robots. The Transformers look so dang cool in this comic. This comic is a symbol of sacrifice and heroism. It talks about how true heroes will never give up. This comic really gives you an understanding of how courage and bravery can overcome all evil including death. I really enjoyed this comic and it's message of sacrifice. This book is a symbol of the true heroes in this world. I recommend this book to people who enjoy these things. Though this book is pretty violent and has some dark moments it is awesome.
July 18, 2024
I can’t not give a Transformers/GI Joe less than 4 stars, but I did have more issues with this one than the other mainline crossover. The premise of this one as a standalone was fascinating. Cobra Commander finds the Decepticons on Earth shortly before World War II and uses the Matrix to control them to take over Europe. The Joes are sent in to stop them and luckily find the Autobots to help them. The visuals of the comics were far too dark and felt like I was constantly trying to figure out what was going on. The Joes were too generic looking (which kept in line with a more authentic military feel I guess), but the Transformers as World War II vehicles worked.
September 7, 2025
This is horribly unreadable. It looks like the artist cut some corners. Too much of the artwork is darkened or covered in shadow - I suppose it's easier on the penciller and colorist. Unfortunately, it looks like crap. The story is a convoluted mess.
Cobra discovers the Decepticons who offer to band together to rule the world. Several European capitals fall to their alliance, from Paris, to Rome and Berlin. The US creates the GI Joe unit to combat this threat. They stumble over Optimus Prime and his Autobots who join their faction.
Cobra discovers the Decepticons who offer to band together to rule the world. Several European capitals fall to their alliance, from Paris, to Rome and Berlin. The US creates the GI Joe unit to combat this threat. They stumble over Optimus Prime and his Autobots who join their faction.
March 3, 2025
The Transformers and GI Joe cartoons were a staple of my after-school afternoons. I've read a couple of the comics but not a lot of them. I know that a lot of the original marvel comics were written by Larry Hama, a Vietnam Veteran.
I've always like Jae Lee's art. Though I do have trouble with some of panels, a few are hard to tell what you're looking at.
It's a fun Elseworlds sort of mini series.
I would recommend it to anyone that's a fan of either, you will probably like this series
I've always like Jae Lee's art. Though I do have trouble with some of panels, a few are hard to tell what you're looking at.
It's a fun Elseworlds sort of mini series.
I would recommend it to anyone that's a fan of either, you will probably like this series
January 23, 2022
Interesting concept, like a Transformers/ GI Joe What If or Elseworlds, the toy-based characters fight an alternate World War 2 with Cobra and Decepticons. Some interesting Transformer designs, moody art and some good storytelling.
February 20, 2016
Jae Lee's art is stunning, if occasionally hard to follow, and there's so much else to like about this book. It's got some interesting ideas and designs, and imagining both the Transformers and the Joe cast during the WWII era makes this much different from your standard crossover.
December 7, 2007
The art is GORGEOUS. Murky, rusty, and delightful.
I wish Dreamwave had been able to produce a hardcover as they'd planned...
I wish Dreamwave had been able to produce a hardcover as they'd planned...
December 3, 2012
I wanted to like this, but the art was too dark. The story was rather lacking too.
February 23, 2016
Good story, but sometimes the art was too dark to tell what was going on and towards the end it seemed like it was rushed.
August 17, 2016
A massively wasted opportunity.
March 20, 2016
Put one dumb thing together with another dumb thing and what do you get?
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews