For those interested in such things, IDW is coming out with a book collecting the various painted images from the original Transformers toys, along with a lot of other material. I love stuff like this and would love something similar with the painted images on the GI Joe cardbacks. As you can see in the above image, even with the characters represented in their rather simplistic, toyesque forms, there is an unmatched charm in the artwork. I mean, look at the vehicles driving through space!
Remember the thrill of tearing open a gift on Christmas morning, discovering a brand-new Transformer in a shiny new box? While the toys were amazing in their own right, what made the packages stand head-and-shoulders above the myriad competing action figures on shelves was the stunning box art. Transformers: Legacy collects hundreds of beautifully airbrushed paintings from the iconic first decade of The Transformers. Hasbro, Takara, and private collectors opened their archives, yielding an unparalled level of quality. Essays and interviews from the original illustrators give unprecedented insight into the process behind the art. This book is chock-full of extras, including never-before-seen artwork from toys that never were, original design sketches, catalog artwork, and more.
The book is available for preorder now at Amazon.