Oct 19, 2023
Growing up, Transformers was always something I thought was cool but didn't really look into other than some figures. My closest understanding of the characters and the franchise was based on the Michael Bay films which I stopped seeing after the third installment. So I went into Skybound/Image's Energon Universe with no expectations except the ones I had for Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer. But from the first page of their debut Transformers first issue, I was hooked. It's an incredible new start for the Transformers and we got to sit down with Daniel Warren Johnson to discuss it.
Daniel Warren Johnson's storytelling is often larger than life and bombastic with Spicer's incredible coloring. But beneath the art and incredible fight scenes, there are always relatable themes that have connected with me very personally. Transformers #1 is no exception. The human characters of the story have a really gripping introduction which I can only see blooming more as the story goes on. It's an incredible reintroduction to these characters that is an accessible jumping-on-point for people unfamiliar with the franchise.
You have a comic about giant transforming robots in disguise as cars, but you have a story of loss, war, and friendship that drives the story home more than any other major IP comics out there right now. If you haven't read the first issue yet, stop reading this and go pick it up.
I was lucky enough to sit down with Daniel Warren Johnson and talk about his storytelling methods. We also got into talking about the figures of Transformers and how he poses them for his art. But Daniel is also a huge wrestling fan so we end our conversation by setting up the ultimate AEW tag teams for Optimus Prime and Starscream. Make sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you can!