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Robert Kirkman wants to give the Transformers villain Skuxxoid his own solo series (but he can't find the time)

The Energon Universe Kirkman helped start under the Skybound banner has room to expand. But that doesn't necessarily mean it should, he says.

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Robert Kirkman knows when a comic deserves a spinoff. The writer, responsible for both The Walking Dead and its offshoot Negan Lives, as well as both Invincible and its offshoot Battle Beast, has a pretty great handle on not just crafting a fictional universe, but knowing when it needs to expand in the direction of one particular character. So you would expect that, now that he's helming the Skybound Comics/Hasbro collaboration called the Energon Universe, he would want to plot out a few spinoffs down the line.

Well, the truth is - he does want to. And yet, he's holding back.

This is one of the things Kirkman discussed with Collider during their interview at this year's San Diego Comic Con. Kirkman is in the midst of writing one of Energon's main titles, Void Rivals, in which he works in a number of Hasbro-property characters into a single, cohesive (though massive) story. And as he told his interviewer, there is at least one character that stands out in his mind.

"I want to do a Skuxxoid book," said the Eisner-winner, "I would love to do a book just devoted to that character. I have so many ideas for that character."

Really quickly for those that don't know, Skuxxoid is the name of both a reptilian race of aliens from Transformers lore and a particular character at the heart of the current Void Rivals run. It's kind of like how some of the Smurfs have Smurf in their name. Kind of.

Anyway, the fact that the accomplished writer has any ideas at all surrounding a particular character had his interviewer asking the same question we are - why isn't there at least a Skuxxoid miniseries coming down the pike?

"It's a little bit I don't have the time," Kirkman said, but also "I just want everything to be like very simple."

Continuing that he wants Energon readers to be able to read the story, "in sequence," Kirkman said that "I feel like when you have a bunch of different miniseries, it's like there's Skuxxoid 1-6, and that technically takes place with Void Rivals 32 through 35. Then it starts getting tedious, and so I'm trying to avoid that for as long as I can."

I mean, you're the comic book genius, Robert, so we're happy to have you take the time to tell the story you want to tell. But as soon as Skuxxoid and Battle Beast start squaring up for a fight, you'll let us know, right?


Interested? Here's where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here's a guide to how (and where) to read comics online. If you're looking for the best comics in recent memory, check out the Eisner Awards winners and the Harvey Awards nominees. And if you like free comics, here's everything we know about Free Comic Book Day 2027.

 

Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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