Robert Kirkman’s transfomis manage resurrections, surprises and crossover of GI Joe

Robert Kirkman has modeled pop culture for decades with successes such as Deaths walking and invincible. He is now immersing himself headlong in the Energon universe of Hasbro, taking on the writing tasks on Transformers while continuing to guide the empty rivals.

With a potential crossover between Transformers AND Gi joe Hanging in the Air, Kirkman has recently opened his childhood love for these franchises, the creative process behind comics and what fans can expect from his race.

Kirkman explained that his story with these properties is profound:

“I was born in 1978 and I was six when Transformers started in 1984. I saw the film Transformers in cinemas, I said I saw GI Joe’s film in cinemas, but I don’t think it happened.

“I was running home every day to watch Transformers and Gi Joe, I collected both toys. One of the first comics I’ve ever had was a GI Joe comic, and the first time I saw the black spider-man costume was thanks to a comic of Transformers. I live every iteration of Transformers and Gioe, and I still collect the toys”.

That fandom is what feeds the Energon universe, but Kirkman has revealed that the project has not joined the traditional way:

“It’s not as if Hasbro came to us or anything else, Hasbro was going to other publishers and the publishers were putting the presentations together. We were climbing because we did not know it was available.

“We arrived at the last minute, we put together a presentation and we went out. We were lucky enough to guarantee rights. I feel it works, and it is a passion for all of us. We are excited to work in this universe. There is not much company planning with all this; it is very creative and fun before.”

Of course, the big question is if the fans will see the trucks and the decepticons eventually collide with GI Joe and Cobra. Kirkman made fun of the possibility, but clarified that he will not be hurried:

“Internally, there is a roadmap of a great clash that in the end could happen. It is not something that we are in a hurry to reach. The” book of events “was a little abuse in this sector and when you have more events that take place per year, they are no longer events.

“If/when we get there, it will be very methodically approached and it will be the biggest thing that has ever happened to the Energon universe. You will feel the branches for years later, so it is something we are taking time.

When it comes to actually writing the transformers, Kirkman said that one of the most rewarding parts is channeling the iconic voices of the characters:

“Nothing is more fun than trying to channel Peter Cullen when you are writing the Optimus Prime dialogue. I had the pleasure and honor of working with him in Invincible and it is a real high lock in my life having interacted with him, it is not a significant end in trying to support the character of Optimus.

“It is about imagining whether the lines can be pronounced by Peter, and the same with Frank Welker (Megatron) and also Soundwave. Trying to find those voices, I try to hear that these lines could exist in the original cartoon, so it’s fun.

“I am having a lot of fun with the character of the character, he did not exist in Generation One and most of our things revolves around” G1 “, so it changes things in an interesting way.”

Kirkman is entering the role after the brutal and relentless race of 24 numbers by Daniel Warren Johnson. He turned to how he is approaching the title in his own way:

“Daniel’s race was relentless in the best way. There were problems in which someone is not dead? I think I have a reputation for killing characters and I see online comments on me to say: ‘Oh Cadle, death will continue.

“It is about to worsen now that Robert is on the book.” I love playing against my first issue.

For Kirkman, death and resurrection are part of what makes the transformers unique:

“Death was a tradition in Transformers, as established in the animated film of 1986, and I also love that there is a tradition of resurrection. Thanks to the return of Optimus Prime and the fact that these characters are mechanical, in some cases, is only a matter of repairing them to bring them back.

“I will definitely play with the fact that these are not humanoid biological entities. There will be things that are different in them, I love the fact that they are aliens, so I will play there. Their lives work differently from ours.”

One of the greatest surprises of the new race is the addition of the artist Dan Morawhose work on Superman, Batman/Superman: the most beautiful and absolute power in the world has already made him a superstar in the comics. Kirkman could not hide his excitement to work with him:

“It is the most precious resource of DC Comics and want to make it happy, and wants to draw some transformers. He contacted Ben Abernathy (executive publisher of Skybound) and was a big fan of the transformers forever.

He loves Optimus Prime and was Jonesing to play in the sandbox. We are really lucky to have it, and it is one of the best artists who work today. His enthusiasm shows in every panel on each page.

“This is a boy who loves to draw comics, and that’s why he does so much. As much as I love the transformers and I was dying to write this book, I have so much to do. When I discovered that Dan Mora was working on it, I had to say yes. I could not miss the opportunity to work with this boy.”

Fans won’t have to wait long to see Kirkman’s vision and brunette for the Cybertronians. Transformers #25, their first issue, affects the shelves on October 8, 2025, with the cut of the final order set for September 15.