Void Rivals | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Skybound Entertainment (Image Comics) |
Schedule | Monthly |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | |
Publication date | June 14, 2023 – present |
No. of issues | 7 |
Main character(s) | Energon Universe |
Creative team | |
Created by | Lorenzo De Felici Robert Kirkman Matheus Lopes |
Written by | Robert Kirkman |
Artist(s) | Lorenzo De Felici |
Letterer(s) | Rus Wooton |
Colorist(s) | Patricio Delpeche Matheus Lopes |
Editor(s) | Ben Abernathy Sean Mackiewicz Jonathan Manning Bixie Mathieu |
Void Rivals is an American comic book ongoing series written by Robert Kirkman, drawn by Lorenzo De Felici, colored by Matheus Lopes, and published by Skybound Entertainment, an imprint of Image Comics. [1] It is the first installment in the Energon Universe, a shared universe that combines new Transformers and G.I. Joe comics developed by Skybound, in collaboration with Hasbro. [2] The series debuted on June 14, 2023. [3]
Around the Sacred Ring, there is an interplanetary war between Agorrians and Zertonians. In the middle of this, two survivor enemies get lost on a planetoid and must work together to return home, but they also discover their war is based on a cycle of secrets and lies. [1]
Void Rivals was announced in February 2023 as part of an "all-new shared universe" developed by Skybound Entertainment. [1] The series is being written by Robert Kirkman, drawn by Lorenzo De Felici and colored by Matheus Lopes. [4] Kirkman and De Felici had previously worked together in another comic titled Oblivion Song . [5]
Kirkman said, "With every project I do, I’m always trying to challenge myself. One thing I’ve always loved doing is starting small with a story and expanding the depth, scope and stakes as we progress. With Void Rivals we’ll be going bigger than I ever have and at a much faster pace. This project is going to be monumental. I can’t wait for people to see what Lorenzo and I have cooking." [4]
Sean Mackiewicz, publisher and SVP for Skybound Entertainment, also added, "Void Rivals takes every element fans expect from Skybound comics—incredible worlds, dynamic characters, and jaw-dropping twists—and kicks off our first shared universe. This comic is the start of something we’ll be talking about for years to come." [4]
By the time issue 1 was published, Skybound announced the series to be part of the Energon Universe, which combines new comics based on Hasbro brands Transformers and G.I. Joe . [2]
Title | Issue(s) | Creative team | Release schedule | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Colorist(s) | Premiere date | Finale date | |||
Void Rivals | 1– | Robert Kirkman | Lorenzo De Felici | Matheus Lopes (1–4, 6) Patricio Delpeche (5, 7–) | June 14, 2023 | Present | [1] |
Energon Universe 2024 Special | One-shot | Daniel Warren Johnson Robert Kirkman Joshua Williamson | Lorenzo De Felici Ryan Ottley Jason Howard | Annalisa Leoni Matheus Lopes Mike Spicer | May 4, 2024 (Free Comic Book Day) | [6] |
The series received positive reviews, with critics praising the surprising guest appearance of several Transformers characters in each issue. [7]
Issue | Release date | Critic rating | Critic reviews | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | June 14, 2023 | 9.0/10 | 11 | [8] |
#2 | July 19, 2023 | 8.0/10 | 9 | [9] |
#3 | August 16, 2023 | 8.6/10 | 11 | [10] |
#4 | September 27, 2023 | 7.9/10 | 8 | [11] |
#5 | October 25, 2023 | 8.8/10 | 7 | [12] |
#6 | November 22, 2023 | 8.2/10 | 6 | [13] |
#7 | March 6, 2024 | 8.5/10 | [14] | |
Overall | 8.4/10 | 47 | [7] |
Title | Material collected | Pages | Publication date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
Void Rivals, Volume 1: More than Meets the Eye |
| 136 | February 20, 2024 | 1684158958 , 978-1684158959 |
Void Rivals, Volume 2: Hunted Across the Wasteland |
| 128 | September 3, 2024 | 1534328378 , 978-1534328372 |
Transformers is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, such as vehicles and animals. The franchise encompasses toys, animation, comic books, video games and films. As of 2011, it generated more than ¥2 trillion in revenue, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for co-creating The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Invincible, Tech Jacket, Outcast, Oblivion Song, and Fire Power for Image Comics, in addition to writing Ultimate X-Men, Irredeemable Ant-Man and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt.
There have been four main publishers of the comic book series bearing the name Transformers based on the toy lines of the same name. The first series was produced by Marvel Comics from 1984 to 1991, which ran for 80 issues and produced four spin-off miniseries. This was followed by a second volume titled Transformers: Generation 2, which ran for 12 issues starting in 1993. The second major series was produced by Dreamwave Productions from 2002 to 2004 with multiple limited series as well, and within multiple story continuities, until the company became bankrupt in 2005. The third and fourth series have been published by IDW Publishing with the third series starting with an issue #0 in October 2005 and a regular series starting in January 2006 to November 2018. The fourth series started in March 2019 with issue #1 and concluded in June 2022. There are also several limited series being produced by IDW as well. Skybound Entertainment began publishing Transformers comics starting in June 2023, kicking off the Energon Universe. In addition to these four main publishers, there have also been several other smaller publishers with varying degrees of success.
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The Image Universe (IU) is a fictional universe in which some of the stories published by Image Comics take place. It was introduced in the early years of the publisher, shared by the various creators who formed the Image partnership. The independent, creator-owned nature of their work led to limited interaction between their characters, and little coordination of the Image Universe as a shared setting, with the primary versions populated by a number of superheroes/villains, including Supreme, Invincible, Omni-Man, Spawn, Angela, Atom Eve, the Dragon, Gert, Bomb Queen, and Witchblade, as well as incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Skybound Entertainment is an American multiplatform entertainment company founded by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert. It operates in concert with Image Comics.
The Hasbro Universe refers to several shared fictional universes featuring characters from several franchises owned by toy and entertainment company Hasbro.
Hasbro Reconstruction was a 2016 comic book launch by IDW Publishing about its line of comic books based on properties of the toy company Hasbro. Since June 2016, this branding converged most of IDW's Hasbro comics into the Hasbro Comic Book Universe, using the end of Revolution as its launching pod, which then continued with First Strike. For November 2018, IDW concluded the branding.
The Hasbro Comic Book Universe (HCBU) is an American comic book franchise and shared universe created and published by IDW Publishing, based on various properties of the toy company Hasbro.
Oblivion Song is an American comic book series created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Lorenzo de Felici, which debuted by Image Comics in 2018, and concluded with its 36th issue in June 2022.
Transformers: Unicron is a science fiction comic book limited series presented by IDW Publishing, in collaboration with Hasbro. The series is being written by John Barber, with art from penciller Alex Milne and colorist Sebastian Cheng. Issue #0 was published during Free Comic Book Day before running from July to October 2018, featuring references in Optimus Prime and Transformers: Lost Light.
Transformers is an American comic book series that is mostly written by Brian Ruckley and was initially published twice-monthly by IDW Publishing. Based upon the Transformers franchise by Hasbro and Takara-Tomy, this series is a reboot of the previous comic book series that started with The Transformers: Infiltration in 2005 and concluded with Transformers: Unicron in 2018, taking place in a new continuity that is separate from the Hasbro Comic Book Universe.
G.I. Joe is an American comic book series published by IDW Publishing, written by Paul Allor and drawn by pencillers Chris Evenhuis, Niko Walter, Ryan Kelly and Emma Vieceli, alongside colorist Brittany Peer. Based upon the G.I. Joe franchise by Donald Levine and Hasbro, this series is a reboot of the previous comic book series that used to take place in the Hasbro Comic Book Universe.
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Transformers: Shattered Glass is a series of American comic books and prose stories published by Fun Publications published between 2008 and 2011, being based on the Transformers franchise by Hasbro. Two reboot series are being published between 2021 and 2022 by IDW Publishing.
The Energon Universe (EU) is an ongoing American comic book franchise and shared fictional universe created and published by Skybound Entertainment, an imprint of Image Comics, in collaboration with Hasbro.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is an ongoing American comic book series published by Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment based on the G.I. Joe toy line by Donald Levine and Hasbro. The series is being written by Larry Hama and continues the run left from the previous series by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing, starting with issue #301. The series debuted on November 15, 2023.
G.I. Joe is an ongoing line of American comic books published by Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment based on the toy line of the same name by Donald Levine and Hasbro.
Transformers is an ongoing line of American comic books published by Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment, being based on the toy line of the same name by Hasbro and Takara Tomy.