Playing catch-up, I'm trying to do synopsis and reviews for older
comics series now. Here's Dreamwave's first TF vs G1 Joe series.=20
Visually, it's a radical departure from anything TF or Joe before:=20
set in the Second World War, the Joes' costumes and TF alt modes have
been redesigned to suit the period. The art is also very different,
stylized to resemble WWII era B&W photographs. While I commend the
artists on their innovation, unfortunately in some places the new art
style is so dark that it obscures detail to the extent that it's
difficult to understand what's going on in some of the panels. It's a
shame the series supervisors didn't remember: readability FIRST, art
second.
Book 1: The Line.
Major Bludd awakens the Decepticons on the Fera Islands in the winter
of 1938. Cobra, not the Nazis, become the Axis Power that takes over
the world (there are no Nazis whatsoever in this book--presumably
Cobra Commander in this world plays the role that Hitler played in
ours, therefore there is no CC meets Hitler, etc.)
The Joe team is assembled to counteract the menace of Cobra: the US
has only rough ideas of the devastation in Europe. Both Paris and
Berlin are in ruins. And the first meeting of the Joe team is
interrupted by Laserbeak who returns with the info to Cobra. Nice
suspense--the Joes don't know that the Decepticons exist, and you can
see them getting freaked/scared by the signs of damage from Europe and
the glimpse of Laserbeak. Cobra decides to bulk up the Fera Island
Terrordrome and let the Joes attack, cru****ng them then.
When the Joes jump in, they are ambushed. S**** Eyes faces off
against Storm Shadow, and Duke finds a half-buried Optimus Prime...
Book 2: Transformed
The Joes awaken the Autobots. Scared, they attack them. =20
I'm not going to go into detail on the S****yes/Storm Shadow running
duel. In this book, they were once both members of the Ara****kage
ninja clan, but Storm Shadow claims S**** Eyes shamed him. Storm
Shadow cuts him across the face; he cauterizes it with fire.
Prime won't let his Autobots attack the Joes, figuring they only
attacked out of fear and by mistaking them for the Decepticons. He
doesn't want to get involved with the Earth war, but Grimlock figures
if the Decepticons are involved it's the Autobots' job to fight them.
Rivalry time! Megatron and Starscream, Cobra Commander and Destro.=20
Wild Weasel runs into Grimlock; Decepticon reinforcements arrive.=20
S**** Eyes gets his sword and visor from a suit of armour in the
ruined castle that is Cobra headquarters. Unfortunately there he runs
into: Storm Shadow and RAVAGE.
--Enfilade
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