SDCC Exclusive 2013 Transformers & G.I. Joe Issue #7

This review is an overview of the 2013 ComicCon Exclusive G.I. Joe & Transformers Boxed Set. To see the individual reviews, click the appropriate links below:

As you can see the review format is changing up somewhat with this year's ComicCon exclusives, keeping in mind the migration currently happening to YoJoe's database platform, and just for the sake of better organization. Plus with this particular set, it seemed to make more sense to break it up with all of the different elements involved.

The first thing I can't help but talk about, considering this is labeled as the "Epic Conclusion" is how much I've enjoyed and appreciated what the Hasbro design team has done over the past three years with this endeavor. They've managed to bridge a gap pretty nicely between G.I. Joe and Transformers, and create some very unique exclusive offerings that appeal to different fanbases. These items aren't items that would necessarily be huge at retail, so offering them through collector themed channels is a brilliant idea.

The vague storyline woven between all three sets offers some interesting twists, though part of me wishes Hasbro had done something a bit more concrete and specific. Even some 15 - 20 page mini comics or something that told the story of this great adventure would have added some cool play and collectible value to the sets. Regardless of any of this, the whole beginning and end points here offer awesome book ends to these ComicCon events, and I'm thrilled we got exposed to some actual official crossover items.

As a conclusion this set works too, finally giving us some Autobots to go against the Decepticons released in previous sets. I've already started imagining the Starscream and Shockwave vs. Jetfire and Hound battles in my mind, and I love that we have this whole team developed, with characters like Soundwave, Blaster, and the various tapes as background fodder.

The star of this set is far and away Jetfire, with the incredible stark white paint scheme, vibrant, newly tooled red boosters (doubling as a secondary vehicle!) and fantastic sticker set. Bludgeon and the Baroness are next in line, offering some new looks at classic characters on both sides of the battle, all while satisfying some fandom needs with Ravage and a G.I. Joe scale Bludgeon.

Snake Eyes and Hound don't offer the same outstanding quality in my opinion, but they're servicable elements to the overall set and don't detract a whole lot, especially considering the reasonable $100 price tag.

Overall this year's set has been a remarkable conclusion to the previous two year's sets, and I'm simultaneously satisfied with the end result and disappointed that this concept won't continue. It actually makes me a bit nervous as to whether or not we'll see any G.I. Joe related exclusive at SDCC next year. I guess time will tell.

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