Tim Seeley Talks G.I. Joe Vs Transformers IV: Black Horizon

Comic News International (CNI) managed to catch up with comic book writer Tim Seeley to ask him a few questions about his upcoming project for Devil's Due, G.I. Joe Vs Transformers IV: Black Horizon 2-issue limited series.


CNI: How much longer after Art of War was all said and done was it decided that there should be a fourth mini-series?

Tim: Not long. I think it was only a few weeks. We realized that with the movie coming out, it was the right time for more TFs!! And, since I LOVE writing these, I agreed in seconds to write it... rather I BEGGED to write it. Once I knew Wildman was in, I danced a little dance.


CNI: Why was it decided it would only be two issues? Is that enough?

Tim: It's two DOUBLE-SIZED issues. This wasn't really a choice for us...it was decreed that with the movie coming out, everyone had to wrap up their versions of TF to make way for the film versions. So, I put together the equivalent of a 4-issue mini. I think it works fine, and hey, ya get more bang for your buck.


CNI: Did you come up with the idea for Dark Horizon, or were you approached with the idea?

Tim: This one was mine...it was actually the original story for Volume 3! But, at the time, the pitch was turned down by Hasbro, and Josh Blaylock suggested I rework the story with Serpentor. So I did, and I had a really good time with it. When I pitched Cobra-La and Unicron this time, all was approved. Of course now the story is new, but the players are the same as my original tale.


CNI: Some things that stirred up some "discussion" on the fan sites with Art of War were images of Soundwave and Megatron in their War Within forms, as well as an image of Optimus Primal. Fans were like "How can Soundwave know about Primal?" or "Is this the same continuity as War Within?" So please, can you set the record straight? Were these just Easter eggs?

Tim: Basically, the continuity here is one that combines elements of the cartoons and comics, along with the Beast Wars cartoon. So, since the Predacon's and Maximal's journey back in time involved the use of Teletran 1, Teletran would have recorded this use. The TF have computerized brains... all information could easily be passed through wireless communications. So anyone who had "learned" the file "The History of Cybertron" would know about it. That's what I was thinking, anyway. Heh, in either case, Optimus Primal is cool.


CNI: Most, if not all, of the the Decepticons were demolished, destroyed, and disassembled across the three previous mini-series. What can you tell us about the current state the Decepticons are in during Dark Horizon? Are they even a threat anymore?

Tim: The Decepticons we encounter in DH are disconnected from Megatron and Soundwave's Cybertron based war. In our story Bludgeon and his comrades are freelance mercenaries, who've been on Earth for a while. The threat in this case is really more Unicron and his tendency to eat people's house, yards..pretty much everything. But if anything can make it worse, it's Bludgeon.


CNI: Who will rise up to lead them this time, Bludgeon perhaps?

Tim: That sounds like a good idea! But yes, in this case, the Decepticons are not the lead instigators of the conflict, though they are thrown in for the ride. Bludgeon has his reasons for working with the creeps of Cobra-La, not to mention for disliking Prime.


CNI: Will Megatron and Soundwave ever get put back together, and are Starscream and Shockwave gone for good? And on a similar note, will Cobra Commander ever wake up?

Tim: If we see more volumes of the DDP Joe/TF books, all those questions will be answered. It's safe to say you can't easily keep any of these guys down for long. But I like that in our "universe", we've pushed the big stars out of the way for a bit and focused on a variety of other great characters.


CNI: Is Bumblebee dead for good, or will he be brought back to life? Maybe even as Goldbug?

Tim: In my mind, Bumblebee has passed on to Spark Heaven. That's one thing I wanted to do in Art of War; show that even for the TFs war has consequences. It always seemed to me that it was too easy for them. Any one of them could easily be brought back to life or rebuilt. That seemed to take away from what made them special...they aren't just mass-produced living toasters. They're individuals, and they have to cherish their lives as much as we do. Who better to portray that point than the Autobot who seemed to get the most joy out of life?



CNI: At the end of volume two, it looked like Cobra-La had infiltrated and killed everyone at Area 52. But in volume three, it's business as usual at the secret installation. Were the Joes, the government, and everyone else at area 52 oblivious to what happened? Was Cobra-La from then on in control of Area 52, thus making Serpentor their creation? Are the government keeping it under wraps? Or was the ending retconned and am I just thinking too hard?

Tim: Ha ha..well, the Joes were called to guard the base for the very reason that it was attacked by Cobra-La. They didn't know that was the reason. But they were there, and then that whole Serpentor business occurred. Cobra-La was only after Dr. Mindbender really and decided to steal every bit of info the US government had collected on Unicron throughout Area 52's research into "strange phenomenon" while they were there.


CNI: At the end of volume three, it looked as if Dr. Mindbender now was acting in some kind of leadership role with Cobra-La. In fact, at the end of volume two he reacted as if he knew who they were? Just what do they want with him?

Tim: Cobra-La is a place where all the technology is based on organics. When Cobra-La is presented with mechanical technology they can only scratch their heads or beat on it with a lobster. So, Mindbender had many uses to them.... Also, they knew he'd look sexy in an all crustacean wardrobe.


CNI: What can you tell us about Cobra-La's connection to Unicron?

Tim: Well, that's one of the big reveals in the story so I shouldn't ruin it for you. But, I tried real hard to come up with something that worked, so please, please love it.


CNI: Does Unicron have his usual connection to the Transformers: Chaos Bringer, enemy of Primus, etc...?

Tim: Yeah, sort of... though you don't see much of that, as I didn't have a lot of room to explain it. I did try to avoid making it too much like what you've seen before. We can all only handle so many scenes involving the Matrix and Unicorn and "You've Got the Touch" playing in our heads.


CNI: In volume three, the main Joes and Autobots we saw were Hawk, Roadblock, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Perceptor, Arcee, and of course Optimus Prime. What main Joes and Autobots, as well as Cobra and Decepticons, will we see this time around?

Tim: This story focuses on some maybe "odd" choices, but the characters ended up deciding who starred. Flint is a big star in this one... Hawk and Prime too. We also have Eject, Cosmos, Skids, Firewall, Destro, the cast of Cobra-La, Scott Baio and Bludgeon. Did Scott Baio get in there again? There's more, but I think it'll be more fun to see them in the story.


CNI: I believe you said once before that you originally wanted to go a different way with volume three and instead went with the Serpentor story. Did you originally want to do the Unicron/Cobra-La story for volume three? Because it sure looked that way at the end of volume two.

Tim: I sure did. But I'm glad things turned out as they did.


CNI: Andrew Wildman is someone who's been involved with the Transformers for quite a long time. Heck, he drew all of the original Unicron Saga (except for issue #75). When he returned for War Within: Dark Ages, his style had to conform to the Dreamwave house style. What can you tell us about his art style this time around?

Tim: I assure you, Pat Lee is not sitting on Andrew's shoulder making him draw like Pat in our book. It's all Wildman.


CNI: Whose decision was it to bring on Andrew Wildman for Dark Horizon?

Tim: Mike O'Sullivan suggested it. I had read the TF comics as a kid and was always a fan of Wildman's battle damaged robots.


CNI: Some fans believe Unicron has been overdone. In the final days of Dreamwave, he made appearances in almost all of their comics. He's been a big part of the recent anime and toylines as well. What sets this story apart from previous Unicron stories? Why does the story of Dark Horizon need to be told?

Tim: No doubt about it, Unicron is pretty overdone. But so is Wolverine, and people still love him. As long as you come up with fresh scenarios and interesting character interaction, you can use a character a hell of a lot (again..see Wolverine). In this case, I tried to come up with a Unicron that worked in the shared Joe/TF universe. DH needs to be told, because it's FUN. Because if you grew up in the 80s, you always wanted to mix your favorite toys into one big crazy story line. DH had to be told because I wanted to read it.


CNI: How is Hawk different now that he has access to the wisdom of the Matrix? Is that addressed in this story?

Tim: Definitely. Hawk finds he has some new "powers" which come from the Matrix. Hawk is our main character in this story... just as he was in "AoW."


CNI: How far reaching will this story be? Is it just isolated to Earth and Cybertron?

Tim: There will be some others drawn into this. Don't be surprised if you see a few nods to other toylines in here.


CNI: Art of War was pretty friggin good I must say, and I was pretty excited to find out you'd be writing the next crossover as well. What's the possibility of there being more crossovers, and you writing them?

Tim: Y'know, I don't know. I really hope we can do more... as I'm always up for it. But if this is the last, I'm happy. I got to use Cobra-La. I got to work with Wildman. And I can only hope I've given readers a really, really good read.


Comic News International would like to thank Tim Seeley for taking the time to answer our questions. G.I. Joe Vs Transformers IV: Black Horizon #1 from Devil's Due comes out in January 2007. In the mean time, be sure to check out the Devil's Due web site for more information on the all the other great comics they publish: DevilsDue.net



G.I. Joe Vs Transformers IV: Black Horizon #1 [of 2]
Author: Tim Seeley (Forgotten Realms, Hack/Slash, G.I. Joe)
Artist: Andrew Wildman (Transformers, G.I. Joe, X-Men Adventures)
Cover Artist(s): A – Tim Seeley B – Tim Seeley

Anything can happen when the G.I. Joe team and the Transformers meet, and this time - everything does! Joe Colton and Bludgeon! Colonel Hawk and Destro! Optimus Prime and Flint! And, waiting in the wings: Unicron and Cobra-La! No holds barred in this new -- and bizarre -- chapter in the war between worlds!


G.I. Joe Vs Transformers IV: Black Horizon #2 [of 2]
Author: Tim Seeley (Forgotten Realms, Hack/Slash, G.I. Joe)
Artist: Andrew Wildman (Transformers, G.I. Joe, X-Men Adventures)
Cover Artists: A – Tim Seeley B – Andrew Wildman

The unbelievable double-sized conclusion! The G.I. Joe team and the Autobots face the most bizarre and unbelievable threat they’ve ever faced! Cobra-La strikes, and with them comes the devourer of worlds – UNICRON! How does Joe Colton fit into all of this? The fate of millions depends on if Cobra-La's insidious plans can be stopped! Plus – the unrevealed origin of UNICRON!