Void Rivals: Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1

Void Rivals #1-2

by Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici (illustrator), Mat Lopes (illustrator)

Explore the start of the critically acclaimed ENERGON UNIVERSE in the deluxe edition of VOID RIVALS from game changing team Robert Kirkman (Invincible, The Walking Dead) and Lorenzo De Felici (Oblivion Song, Kroma).

THE ENERGON UNIVERSE STARTS HERE!

War rages around the Sacred Ring, where the last remnants of two worlds have collapsed

around a black hole in a never-ending war. However, when pilot Darak and his rival Solila both crash on a desolate planet, these two enemies end up on a journey neither of them expected.

What dark forces await them? And will they be able to put aside their differences to confront them together?

Rediscover the series that started the Energon Universe in this landmark deluxe hardcover edition of VOID RIVALS from the game changing team of Robert Kirkman (Invincible, The Walking Dead) and Lorenzo De Felici (Oblivion Song, Kroma) that brings the world of TRANSFORMERS -- and beyond -- back to comics.

Collects VOID RIVALS #1-12 & material from ENERGON UNIVERSE 2024 SPECIAL

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

280 pages, Hardcover

Published June 3, 2025

About the author

Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Invincible for Image Comics, as well as Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of the original co-founders of that publisher.

Robert Kirkman's first comic books were self-published under his own Funk-o-Tron label. Along with childhood friend Tony Moore, Kirkman created Battle Pope which was published in late 2001. Battle Pope ran for over 2 years along with other Funk-o-Tron published books such as InkPunks and Double Take.

In July of 2002, Robert's first work for another company began, with a 4-part SuperPatriot series for Image, along with Battle Pope backup story artist Cory Walker. Robert's creator-owned projects followed shortly thereafter, including Tech Jacket, Invincible and Walking Dead.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great start to this series!

Two reasons I started reading the energon universe books: I wanted to see what Kirkman was currently writing and I’ve been wanting to check out transformers for a while. And then finding out Kirkman new series is set in a universe with transformers? Sold.

As far as this story goes it lays the groundworks really well of the world, I liked both of the main characters and I’m invested in what’s to come now. Looking forward to what comes next!

[Matt Quann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa! I read this in a single sitting. The folks at the local comic shop have been pushing me to try the Energon Universe, but I wanted to wait for some nicer deluxe editions that have more story and physical durability.

This has me pumped! Transformers and GI Joe are not properties that I really resonate with aside from playing with my kids. Turns out with Kirkman at the helm I’m in for an exciting sci fi adventure.

Great stuff, starting Transformers immediately!

[Hugh Pfabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid start to a new series and a new universe.

It's a quick read, but fun. The story definitely hits a lot of cliches, and I don't think most readers will be surprised by much of anything, except for which characters to chosen to appear. Those characters, really, are the reason to be here. It's a big nostalgia ride, with some major characters appearing, as well as a number who only had small parts in an episode or two in the 80s.

Good start, but I hope the story will become more interesting to keep me around for more than nostalgia.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You remind me of my brother.
Oh...thanks.
No, that's not a good thing I dont want you to end up as he did."

[Chris Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had low to no expectations for this book. I absolutely loved it. The only reason it isn’t 5 stars is because comics like Saga and Descender exist. Would highly recommend along with the latest transformers book. The hardcover format is beautiful and gives a really satisfying chunk of a story.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Void Rivals is the entry into the Energon universe, combining Transformers, G.I. Joe and unique characters to create an interesting blend of otherwise unrelated worlds. The book has a fair bit of world building and I found the premise to be very interesting. The part that falls a little short for me is this first entry feels like it’s trying to do far too much at once. There was a point near the end of the first chapter that flipped around between many different unrelated scenes that all continued forward in their stories. I felt that this would have been better served if they were more cohesive in their storytelling.

I am excited for what the future of this series brings the story is compelling, complex, complete with interesting characters that have depth.

The rating reflects the composition of the stories contained in the collection, I felt that there was a lot of changing scenes and ideas which made the read a little difficult for me. To be fair I am new to graphic novels so I am not sure if this is the standard for how they are put together, but for me the way it was organized in the book was hard for me to keep up with each story since they were constantly changing scenes. I feel that the book was trying to put too many elements together all at once and they could have been paced differently.

Will definitely be buying the next book.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Void Rivals Deluxe Edition Book 1, which contains the first two Chapters of the story by Robert Kirkman, with art by Lorenzo De Felici.

Okay that was REALLY good! I LOVE that it very much feels like a classic sci-fi story (most notably "Enemy Mine," which was itself a sci-fi version of a WW2 era story whose title I forget) but with Energon Universe twists, some secrets and details that are no doubt going to be paid off later. The Cybertronian and Quintesson connections are fascinating, and I can't wait to see in future volumes of Void Rivals and Transformers how it all plays out!

I am wondering what GI Joe will contribute towards all of this. I've never been a Joe fan, it just didn't interest me all that much, still doesn't. But if it has some good character work that could help.

In any case, Void Rivals (Deluxe Edition) Volume 1 was a great read, and I look forward to reading more in this Energon Universe!

[James Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept hearing how great this series is and how impressively this entire new Energon universe is coming together, but yeah, it's not for me. The ideas are great, but it's a little soft, and the story doesn't progress that far for 12 issues.

I really just wanted to see how GI Joe reads as an adult, so I should've just started there.

[Phillip Murrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start to a new series that clearly loves Transformers. I didn't even know about this until I saw the news about an animated show about it. I love Transformers, G. I. Joe, and Invincible. Getting this was a no brainer. I can't wait to read Transformers tomorrow. I read this straight through in 90 minutes the same day I got it.

[Al Capwned · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a lot better than I expected it to be. Let's see what the rest of the Energon Universe holds.

[Brandon Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t believe i have to wait til June for book 2!

[BookDragon Rin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like a little pewpewpew in your life, I highly recommend this.

[Jeff Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already knew the secret before I started but still really cool to see Transformers show up. I’m excited to see where Void Rivals goes and the Energon universe in general.