Tom Campbell's Reviews > Void Rivals, Vol. 1: More than Meets the Eye

I wasn't sure what to make of this going in. I knew this was the Image launch title for their rebooted Transformers/G.I. Joe universe but not much else. And, given how many iterations both properties have had over the years, I worried that this would just be regurgitating previous storylines. Much to my surprise, not only did it not do that, but this established characters and a story that, while containing appearances of Transformers characters, feels like it can exist independently.

The story has elements of Enemy Mine, with stranded representatives of warring species forced to cooperate in order to survive. From there, the premise deviates, while still developing the relationship between the main characters. A mystery concerning their species is introduced, introducing intrigue and politics into the mix. While this volume isn't the complete story, it's piqued my interest enough to likely read further volumes.

The writing is sharp, characters well-conceived, and the artwork is solid and stylistic. I can only hope future volumes live up to this standard, as well as any related Transformers and Joe books.

Thanks to the kind folks at Image Comics for providing a copy of this for review.