Printable View
For those wanting a Retail version of this year's BotCon comic, it will be out next month at Comic Stores. Possibly the 27th.
To be sure you get one, ask your comic store to get one in for you (from Previews/Diamond).
A very small image of the cover can be seen at that link.
I find it odd that they are doing an Earth2 cover homage(*) - when that would be more appropriate to their Shattered Glass comics. A cross generational cover (like some of those classic JLA ones, or Flash of Two Cities) would make more sense.
Having classic G1 characters on the cover, but not in the book (at all or not in those forms) is pretty misleading.
(* forgive me if Quitely's Earth2 cover is also homage to a previous DC cover - I'm no expert there )
There was a complaint on the TFW site that even last year's regular edition comic had featured a Gen1 character that wasn't even in the comic either. It's as if they are producing misleading covers just to rope in people who are familiar with the Classic characters, expecting them to be in the actual comic. (or make them think that they are the original characters in new forms)
And if they were trying to homage that DC comic cover (as they have homaged/copied things like Movie posters before), then it should have been done in reverse, with the Gen1 versions as the reflections... but then it wouldn't have been able to fool people into buying it, thinking it was about Gen1 characters.
It's a common practice for comics though.
Marvel has been doing it for over a decade, featuring characters not even in the books.
It was a bit of a thing particularly with Morrison's New X-Men run.
I'm fine with it. It'll get the interest of the casual audience who wouldn't know Machine Wars designs. If it gets their attention and gets them to pick up the book, then job done, and hopefully they'll enjoy the introduction to a wider TF-verse.