Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers Gets Teased, Killadelphia Returns, Marvel Zombies Also Return | Comic Book Club News For August 31, 2023

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On today’s Comic Book Club News, Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers gets a sneak peek. Killadelphia returns with some Image Comics guest stars. And the Marvel Zombies are back this October. All that, on our news podcast for August 31, 2023.

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Episode Transcript:

Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers gets a sneak peek.

Killadelphia returns.

Marvel Zombies are back, too.

This is Comic Book Club News for August 31, 2023.

Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers Gets A Sneak Peek:

One of the limitations of doing an audio podcast about comic books is that you don’t get to see the art. This makes it very tough to present a story about a recently released sneak peek at Daniel Warren Johnson’s Transformers series… But we’re going to try, anyway.

The rebooted Transformers comic is part of creator Robert Kirkman’s rapidly expanding Energon Universe. Kicking off with the title Void Rivals, the universe mixes together original characters with Hasbro properties like the robots in disguise, and G.I. Joe. In Warren Johnson’s new book, we’re going back to the beginning of the Autobots and Decepticons’ time on Earth, per a release provided by Skybound.

“Optimus Prime was supposed to have led the Autobots to victory. Instead, the fate of Cybertron is unknown, and his allies have crash-landed far from home, alongside their enemies—the Decepticons. As these titanic forces renew their war on Earth, one thing is immediately clear: the planet will never be the same. New alliances are struck. Battle lines are redrawn. Humanity’s only hope for survival is Optimus Prime.”

The cast of the first arc will include Autobots Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Cliffjumper, Arcee, and Wheeljack, and Decepticons Starscream, Rumble, Skywarp, Laserbeak, and Soundwave.

There will also be some humans involved, we’re sad to say. Per the preview pages, one of the humans is named Spike and is friends with a female human who he may or may not be dating. These two humans stumble onto a ship, filled with knocked-out Transformers. As it is Warren Johnson on art, this all looks very, very rad.

Transformers #1 hits stores everywhere on October 4 from Skybound and Image Comics.

Transformers #1 Preview Pages (not in audio):

Killadelphia Returns With Image Comics Guest Stars:

Speaking of connected universes… Image Comics’ Killadelphia is returning in November, and it’s bringing a host of Image guest stars. Along with Spawn, who appeared towards the end of issue #30, the new arc will feature Savage Dragon, Blacula, and more.

Written by Rodney Barnes with art by Jason Shawn Alexander, Killadelphia started as the story of a beat cop returning to Philadelphia to bury his father. Since then, the title has spun out into a time-spanning battle between Heaven and Hell involving an undead army led by John Adams. So, Spawn should feel right at home.

“It’s tough to convey how excited I am about this story arc,” Barnes said via press release. “Big thanks to Todd McFarlane and Eric Larsen for lending us their creations. Also thanks to MGM Studios for allowing Blacula to visit the city of Philadelphia. And lastly a humongous thanks to the late great Bram Stoker for creating Count Dracula who will be joining the battle as well. Great times!” 

Barnes is no stranger to the Blacula character, though. He also wrote Blacula: Return of the King, a title he talked about back on Comic Book Club’s live show on May 9.

This is also far from the only crossover book Image has put out lately. On top of this week’s Local Man Gold, which brought together an assortment of Image heroes and other characters, there’s the appropriately named Crossover from Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw. And a recent issue of Something Epic also included Spawn, Savage Dragon, and a few other Image characters.

Safe to say, Image is killing it. Killadelphia-ing it, if you will. You won’t? Okay.

Marvel Zombies Are Back:

In a non-Image Comics story, Marvel Zombies are back. The undead superhero franchise will return this October as a series of variant covers from Marvel’s Stormbreakers, aka the artists they’re pushing pretty hard right now. Not only that, Marvel will launch a four-issue long series titled Marvel Zombies: Black, White, and Blood. Per the title, the series will be black and white, except for some red coloring, which will be made out of human blood. Just kidding.

The current roster of Stormbreakers is Elena Casagrande, Nic Klein, Jan Bazaldua, Chris Allen, Martin Coccolo, Lucas Werneck, Federico Vicentini, and C.F. Villa. The variant covers will run weekly in October and will include titles like Black Panther, Amazing Spider-Man, and a new run on Captain Marvel.

Marvel Zombies was originally created in 2005 by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips as a literal take on the playful nickname for Marvel fans. Since then it has spawned multiple series and even an episode of What If…? on Disney+.

For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And this episode was also guest-starring Spawn.

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