GoBots: GoBots on Earth

by Robin Snyder, Steve Ditko (Illustrator)

As the battle between the Guardian and Renegade GoBots moves to Earth, each side establishes contact with a human ally.

Genres: Fiction

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Mutant Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I don't think anyone would argue that this was Steve Ditko’s finest work. The art is rough, even for a kids' tie-in book, and it really pales in comparison to the more lushly painted illustrations found in other Golden Super Adventure books from the same era, such as the ones from Masters of the Universe.

I always knew the Gobots were riding the coattails of Transformers’ success, but I didn’t realize just how shamelessly derivative they really were until now. This book feels like it starts halfway through a story and wraps up before anything actually happens.

The big “climax” involves a couple of heroes stumbling across the villains’ secret base, overhearing their plan, and then escaping with ease. That’s it. No battle, no twist, no conclusion.

It’s a curious artifact of a franchise that was clearly trying to keep up, but even kids in the ‘80s probably knew they were getting the off-brand version.

[Gabriel Wallis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second book in the series of the GoBots published by Western Publishing Company, Inc. I've had this book since I was a child. It's been years since I've read it. Wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be, honestly. Entertaining? Yes. The story wasn't the best, the art wasn't the best, but it was definitely fun to read again.