I will admit right up front that I know absolutely nothing about the Danger Girl universe.  I was an avid comic reader in the 90’s, and read many Image titles, but for whatever reason, Danger Girl was not one of them.  As such, this series doesn’t necessarily captivate me from the cross-over appeal, just more as a G.I. Joe story.

In that regard, it works to a certain degree, though I’m looking forward to seeing a bit more depth explored throughout the remaining three issues.

Click the Read the Rest of the Story link below for the full review.

Danger Girl/G.I. Joe #1

Writer: Andy Hartnell
Artists: John Royle (p) and Phillip Moy (i)

This initial issue starts out with a furious air battle between G.I. Joe and Cobra, with no real explanation about what universe the story takes place in or what to expect.  Based on information from the IDW panel at JoeCon, we know that this takes place in the Real American Hero universe, but out of continuity with the IDW continuation.  Ultimately the continuity doesn’t seem to matter a whole lot, aside from some supporting characters like the female President and of course the associated Danger Girl related characters.

I did have some initial confusion with the air battle, as it seems as if Cobra maintains their familiar Rattler fighter jets, but for whatever reason the G.I. Joe team has upgraded the Skystriker to a new model, much more current looking.  I do think the updated planes look cool enough, but if the series is trying to maintain some attachment to the old school universe, it seems odd to use a plane model that nobody has seen.

The air combat ends with Flint and Scarlett ejecting from a colliding Skystriker and end up in the jungles below while Lady Jaye and Ace return to the USS Flagg.  They are quickly told by the arriving President that the G.I. Joe team is effectively shut down as a result of whatever cargo Cobra was able to get their hands on.  It just so happens, though, that Cover Girl has a contact who might be able to help find Flint and Scarlett, who is disconnected from the G.I. Joe team.  She contacts this person, named Johnny Barracuda, who I assume is a Danger Girl character and that adventure kicks off.

Meanwhile, we see Scarlett and Flint in the jungle, where Cobra quickly makes their move and they end up face to face with Abby Chase, claiming to be an agent of Cobra.

My initial feeling is that this was a pretty fun, fast-paced action story, though I do feel like I’m missing a bit of the impact without being closely tied to Danger Girl.  There were still some great moments and some great Easter Eggs for us Joe fans as well.  For instance, we see a Data-Viper and the HISS Tanks borrow elements of the G.I. Joe: Resolute design, too, so even those of us who aren’t diehard Danger Girl fans can find some things to enjoy here.

The art has a slight animated vibe, and is very reminiscent of some of the 90’s era Image stuff, which suits the Danger Girl universe well.  All in all, the first installment was fine, and I enjoyed the read.  I’m willing to give the series a shot, but it didn’t knock my socks off.

We’ll see where this goes.  Check out the preview below.

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